JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - UNCG baseball keeps its postseason hopes alive on Saturday, coming back from a Friday series-opening loss to ETSU with a Saturday doubleheader sweep to take the series. The Spartans won game one by a final of 13-5 with that contest scheduled to go seven innings, before ending the night on a 9-6 victory in game two.
After a pair of one-run performances against Western Carolina and ETSU, the Spartans' offense got back to work on Saturday, scoring 22 runs on 22 hits during the sweep of the hosting Buccaneers.
Josh Madole and
Greg Hardison each finished with five hits over their two appearances on day, driving in four runs apiece.
Both sides went scoreless in the first inning of game one but the Spartans would hang runs in each of the final six of the seven-inning contest, a streak that the side continued into the second offensive frame of the series finale. UNCG scored one apiece during the second, third and fourth innings with
Robbie O'Neal providing the RBI knock in two of those frames.
The Spartan offense collected three doubles to score two more during the top of the fifth. Hardison's second two-bagger of the day came with one out in the frame, as he traded places with
Hogan Windish in the following at bat.
Spencer Smith continued the trend with his own RBI double, scoring Windish to give the visitors a commanding 5-0 lead.
That advantage disappeared quickly however, with the Bucs scoring three before the first out registered in the bottom half of the inning. They would end up scoring five on four hits in the frame to tie things up, as the contest looked to be a tight one going down the stretch.
The UNCG hitters had other ideas however, taking back their lead in sixth.
With two outs in the frame and a man on third, the ETSU staff decided to intentionally walk
Corey Rosier, who was hitless up to that point, in favor of facing Hardison, who stepped in the box with two doubles on the day. That decision proved costly as Hardison collected his third hit of the contest on a chopped single up the middle, putting the Spartans out in front 7-5.
Already holding a two-run lead, the UNCG offense opened things up in the seventh. Scoring six on five hits, the Spartans batted through the order with all of their runs coming across with two outs on the board.
Josh Madole had two knocks in the inning while Hardison delivered his fourth hit, as the Spartans finished game one of the doubleheader 13-5.
UNCG's scoring streak continued into game two as the visitors scored six in the first two innings.
Three straight walks to open the contest were followed by Windish's 19th hit by pitch of the season to drive in a run in the bases loaded situation. A couple of groundouts put two across before
Grant Jarman tagged his first hit of the series with an infield single. The Spartans increased their lead to 6-0 in the second after Hardison drove in Callahan with his third double of the doubleheader, crossing home himself on a Madole RBI-knock.
It took almost five innings for ETSU to get to Spartan starter
Alex Hoppe, who put together a strong start in the early stages. While the righty gave up a one out walk in the first, he went on to retire his next five batters faced on 14 pitches before giving up his first hit of the night to start the third. The Bucs would score in that frame before getting shutout in the fourth, but it was in inning number five that the home team plated four to get back within striking distance of their opponents.
The Bucs continued to chip away at the Spartan lead, scoring another run in the eighth, but a two-run blast from Windish provided his side with some insurance in the top of the ninth. After assisting in a double play to end the eighth and keep his team's advantage, the UNCG second baseman followed a Madole single with a no-doubter to left while collecting his 10th homer of the 2021 season.
Brandon Stephens earned the winning decision in a 9-6 final in game two, combining with
Kross Robinson for 4.1 innings without an earned run against. Robinson closed out the night with a single unearned run coming home over his 2.2 IP, giving up a single hit during his fourth save of the year.
With the doubleheader sweep, the Spartans clinched a third straight series win in SoCon play, further keeping their hopes alive for an appearance in the conference tournament. Thanks to a Mercer three-game sweep of Western Carolina, UNCG's 10-14 record in SoCon competition leaves them just a few games back of the Catamounts (10-9) for the final spot in the postseason. The Spartans complete the 2021 regular season with a three-game road series at Samford before finishing with a series at home with VMI, while WCU closes 2021 with three games each against Wofford and The Citadel.
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