LOOKOUT MTN., Ga. – The Greensboro College baseball team swept a doubleheader Saturday against the Scots of Covenant College.
The Pride won Game 1, 12-8, before completing the three-game sweep with a 5-0 victory in Game 2.
The wins move the Pride to 3-0 on the season. They also mark the first time since 2008 that a Greensboro College baseball team has started out the season 3-0.
Game 1
Greensboro jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after
Blake Glass doubled home
Brandon Soden, who had reached on a Scots error.
The Pride tacked on three more runs in the second inning before Covenant answered back with three runs in the bottom of the inning.
Zach Neumeister and Glass each had an RBI in the inning.
Covenant took its first lead at 5-4 before Greensboro quickly tied the game in the fourth inning. Soden led off the inning with a double down the left-field line before scoring after another Scots error.
After shutting down Covenant in the bottom of the inning, Greensboro exploded for five runs in the fifth inning to take a five-run lead.
Brady Dignan singled home the first run of the inning before
Hunter Curtis scored after a pitch hit Soden.
Adam Murray and
Michael Faul had an RBI later in the inning before
Jimmy Short hit into a double play to score Soden.
Greensboro extended its advantage to 12-5 with two more runs in the sixth inning. Curtis came in to score on a Neumeister fielder's choice despite being caught in a rundown before Soden hit a one-out triple to score Neumeister from third base.
Covenant pulled within four runs in the seventh inning before
Andrew Ray recorded his first save of the season with a strikeout to end the game.
Tyler Garam started for the Pride but pitched only three innings and did not factor into the decision. Reliever
Willis Booth was credited with the win. Dignan and Soden had two hits each, while Glass,
Michael Faul,
Mac Graham,
Scotty McGuire, and Curtis had one hit each.
Game 2
Michael Faul got Greensboro on the board quickly in the first inning after he plated Tim Osborne from third base on a fielder's choice.
Later in the inning with the bases loaded,
Adam Murray tallied his first RBI of the season with a walk to give Greensboro a 2-0 lead.
The Pride added one run in the third inning and two final runs in the sixth inning. Murray plated Faul on a fielder's choice in the third inning, while
Jacob Rodriguez recorded an RBI single to score
Edward Milian in the sixth inning.
Piero Amador, who pitched 5 2/3-innings of two-hit baseball, struck out six batters to earn the victory, while
Christian Kercado and Curtis tossed the final 3 1/3 innings. Soden and Rodriguez finished the contest with a team-high two hits, while Neumeister, Faul, Milian, and Murray had one hit each.
"This was a nice weekend for our guys," Head Coach
Frank Maldonado said. "The team played with a lot of energy for all three games, and I could not be more proud. All three of our starters, along with our bullpen guys, came in and pitched to contact and our position players did their jobs behind them.
"With that being said, this is just a start to a very long season; we are in a marathon and not a sprint as there is a lot of baseball left to play. We will get back to the field for practice Monday to prepare for our home opener next weekend."
The Pride will return to action Saturday when they host Southern Virginia University in a doubleheader. The first pitch of Game 1 is set for 1 p.m. For more information on Greensboro College baseball, continue to follow www.greensborocollegesports.com. Also be sure to follow the Pride baseball team on twitter at @GCPrideBaseball.
