No. 23 Stetson Completes Sweep Of GWU With 12-5 Win Saturday
April 07, 2007 | Baseball
DELAND, Fla. - Gardner-Webb briefly held its first lead of the
series against No. 23 Stetson, but the Hatters quickly erased that
edge and rolled to a 12-5 win and series sweep Saturday
afternoon.
Gardner-Webb (13-22, 3-9 A-Sun) got an RBI single from Jay
McConnell to plate Joey Testa in the top of the first for a 1-0
lead, the only point in the three-game series that the Bulldogs'
have gone up on the Hatters.
Stetson (27-9, 10-2 A-Sun) didn't allow that lead to hold very
long, collecting three consecutive singles to lead off the bottom
of the first to tie the game, and getting a sacrifice fly from
Brian Pruitt to go up 2-1. GWU starter Ben Campbell allowed a
double to Justin Bass, but got out of the inning without further
damage after coaxing a pair of pop ups to right field.
Gardner-Webb loaded the bases in the top of the second, taking
advantage of some wildness from Stetson starter Jake Hitchcock (two
walks, hit batsman), but stranded all three when Jamall Kinard's
hard liner was snagged by shortstop Kevin Johnson.
Daniel Cooke tied the game for GWU in the third, following a single
by Josh Drewery and a stolen base with a knock up the middle - but
Stetson got an opposite field home run from Pruitt with a man on
and one out in the bottom of that same inning to go up 4-2. The
Hatters followed with three consecutive singles to go up 5-2, and
got a two-out hit from No. 9 hitter Johnson to make the score
6-2.
Pruitt belted another home run - a solo shot - with two outs in the
bottom of the fourth for a 7-2 lead, as Stetson's bats continued to
thunder. Pruitt's second four bagger of the game was the Hatters'
16th extra base hit in the series and fifth home run off of GWU
pitching.
Gardner-Webb loaded the bases again in the top of the fifth, and
drove in a pair to cut Stetson's lead to 7-4 after a sacrifice fly
by Cooke and a Jeremiah Lokken RBI single. GWU wasted a leadoff
walk in the sixth, as Stetson came up with two strong defensive
plays to snuff out a potential rally, and the Hatters got their own
bats going again in the bottom of the inning to put the game out of
reach.
Shane Jordan led off with an infield single, moved to second on a
sacrifice bunt and scored on high-chopped double down the line by
Jeremy Cruz. Josh Drewery saved a run with a nice play at
shortstop, but Cruz scored easily one play later on an RBI single
by Bass. Kevin Mierzwinski followed by hammering a changeup into
the gap to score Bass from first for a 10-4 Hatter lead - and the
rout was on for the third game in a row.
Stetson pushed its lead to 11-4 with a run in the seventh, but Matt
Rizzuto belted his fourth home run of the season to lead off the
eighth and cut the margin to 11-5. The Hatters added a run in the
eighth for the final margin.
The Hatters rapped out 18 hits in the game, with Cruz (4-for-5) and
the red-hot Bass (3-for-3) leading the way. Bass finished the
series by going 10-for-12 at the plate with seven RBI and 10 runs
scored in three starts.
Hitchcock (3-1) got the win despite giving up eight hits and
walking four in 5.0 innings for Stetson.
Campbell (3-3) took the loss for Gardner-Webb - his second in a row
- after giving up 15 hits and 10 earned runs in 6.0 innings of
work.
Gardner-Webb had 11 hits and benefited from seven walks, but
stranded 11 runners in the game. Rizzuto (2-for-2, HR, two walks),
Jay McConnell (2-for-3) and Testa (2-for-4, two runs) paced that
effort for the Diamond 'Dogs. O.J. McFarland had a pinch hit double
in the top of the ninth.
GWU, which has lost seven of its last eight away from home, will
remain on the road Tuesday. The 'Dogs travel to face Appalachian
State in Boone, N.C., at 3 pm ET.
| BOX SCORE: #23 Stetson 12, GWU 5 |
| Updated Season Statistics (PDF) |
