GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Greensboro College baseball team split its USA South Conference doubleheader with visiting William Peace on Friday, April 23, by winning the opening game 5-4 at Ted Leonard Park. The Pacers retaliated with a 18-4 win in the second game, which concluded after eight innings.
GAME 1: Greensboro 5, William Peace 4
Trailing 4-3 heading into the bottom of the eighth Greensboro (11-16, 3-9 USA South) scored two runs in the frame and answered with a double play in the top of the ninth, to keep the Pacers' offense at bay.
Jamar Ellis opened the Greensboro eighth with a walk, advancing to third on a single to right field by Michael Garvey Jr. After an intentional walk loaded the bases, Cameron Peters delivered a single to left for The Pride, knotting the game at 4-4. Pinch hitter Devin Brackin followed with a sacrifice fly to first that allowed Garvey to score the game-winning run.
William Peace (19-14, 10-5 USA South) took the lead on a single to left by Tyshawn Barr in the fourth, but The Pride answered with two runs in the fifth to move in front 2-1. The first run scored on a Braxton Rupp sacrifice fly and the second crossed the plate when Alex Morales delivered a single to right that plated Peters.
Morales was responsible for the third Greensboro run as well, despite grounding into a double play, by bringing Peters home from third. William Peace had its breakout inning in the top of the eighth, highlighted by a home run to left by Tyler Vaughn. The Pacers scored the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly to center by Hunter Ward, scoring Nathan Holt from third.
The Pride came through with 13 hits, capitalizing on a trio of multi-hit performances by Peters (4-4, 2 runs, RBI), Chance Bryant (2-4, run, double) and Scotty McGuire (2-5). Jake Baldini (2-3) earned the win for Greensboro, tossing 1.2 innings, allowing five hits, after relieving starter Hunter Curtis who scattered one walk, five hits and four runs over 7.1 innings.
GAME 2: William Peace 18, Greensboro 4 (8 inn.)
William Peace evened the doubleheader with a 14-4 win in eight innings in the second game of the afternoon.
The Pacers (20-14, 11-6 USA South), who had five extra-base hits over the course of the game, took an early 4-0 lead in the top of the first. They stretched that lead to 7-0 in the top of the third, highlighted by a two-run home run over the left field wall by Tyler Vaughn.
Greensboro put its first two runs on the board in the third, following a two-run single through the right side of the infield by Braxton Rupp, but the Pacers countered with two runs of their own in the fourth.
The final two runs by The Pride came in the fifth after a double to left by Chance Bryant and a sacrifice fly by Rupp.
The Pacers scored nine runs over the final three innings to win the second game of the three-game series.
William Peace closed with 19 hits and six sluggers tallied at least two hits in the victory. The top hitters in the Greensboro lineup were Michael Garvey Jr. (3-4, 2 runs) and Chance Bryant (3-4, RBI, run, double).
The Pride and William Peace conclude the three-game series on Sunday, April 25th, when they meet at Tad Leonard Park at 2 p.m.
