Diamond 'Dogs Rally Past First-Place Liberty, 9-8, Friday Afternoon
April 24, 2009 | Baseball
BOILING SPRINGS – Ty Boyles doubled off the wall in left to
drive home Daniel Cooke with the winning run Friday, as
Gardner-Webb rallied with two runs in the ninth for a 9-8 win over
first-place Liberty.
Gardner-Webb (21-16, 10-6 Big South) won its sixth league game in a
row in the process. The Runnin' Bulldogs trailed 8-7 entering the
ninth, and had not threatened seriously since the fourth
inning.
Brock Miller led off with a single up the middle, then Cooke
followed with a seeing-eye hit up the middle that moved Miller to
third. Justin Loyd then hammered a game-tying single to left
center, and GWU had two men on with no outs.
Liberty closer Andrew Wilson struck out Kurt Fulginiti with a nice
breaking pitch for the inning's first out, but Boyles belted a 1-0
pitch for the line drive double that ended the game.
Liberty (27-13, 14-4 Big South) went up 3-0 in the top of the
first, collecting four hits on starter Devin Campbell's first five
pitches of the game. Matt Williams led off with a first-pitch
single, Curran Redal put a first-pitch double just inside the right
field line and Doug Bream drove in both with a double down the line
and Errol Hollinger hammered a single to center on the first pitch
he saw to plate Bream for a 3-0 edge.
Campbell recovered however, getting out of the jam without further
damage, with Boyles' throw on a steal attempt by Hollinger helping
the cause.
Gardner-Webb was held in check by Liberty starter Steven Evans in
the first two frames, with a Loyd single the only damage incurred
by the southpaw. In the third inning, however, Gardner-Webb started
to awaken at the plate. Cooke roped a two-out single to center
field, and Loyd followed with a two-run bomb into the trees in left
on a 1-2 pitch – cutting Liberty's edge to just one run.
Campbell settled down again in the fourth inning, keeping the
Flames off the board for the third-straight inning, and
Gardner-Webb struck for five runs in the bottom half to go in
front.
A pair of errors in the field – one by Evans on a sacrifice
bunt attempt – put GWU men at second and third with no outs.
Evans walked O.J. McFarland, but recovered to get Matt Rizzuto in
an 0-2 count quickly. Rizzuto worked the count full, however, and
hit the payoff pitch over the fence in right center for a grand
slam and a 6-2 Bulldog edge. Evans recovered to get the first out
of the frame on a line drive, but Miller legged out an infield
single to keep things going. The speedster swiped second base, and
scored on Cooke's single up the middle for a 7-3 edge.
Carter Browning came on for Liberty in relief and kept the inning
from getting worse with a pickoff for the second out. Loyd doubled
with two outs into left field, but was stranded by a ground ball to
end the inning.
Liberty got a double from P.J. Jimenez and RBI singles from Redal
and Hollinger to cut the lead to 7-5 in the fifth and the Flames
tied the game with two runs in the sixth, the second coming on an
error with two outs.
Browning, meanwhile, mowed through the Gardner-Webb order, retiring
the Bulldogs in order in the fifth and allowing only one hit in the
sixth as his offense kept plugging away. A groundout by Trey Wimmer
put Liberty in front, 8-7, in the top of the seventh, and Browning
sat Gardner-Webb down in order once again in the seventh to hold
the lead.
Reliever Ryan Maxa, who came on with two outs in the sixth, settled
down in the eighth and ninth innings, allowing just one hit to keep
Liberty from extending its lead – and allowing Gardner-Webb
the chance for its game-winning rally in the ninth.
The Bulldogs managed 14 hits in the game, with Loyd going 4-for-5
with three RBI and a run scored. Cooke finished with a 3-for-5
effort and Brock Miller went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and his
30th steal of the season. O.J. McFarland also had a pair of hits
(2-for-3) with a run scored. Rizzuto (1-for-4, HR, 4 RBI), Boyles
(1-for-4, 2B, RBI) and Ahearn (1-for-4) had the rest of
Gardner-Webb's offensive output.
Campbell pitched 5.2 innings and allowed six earned runs in a no
decision, fanning four and walking just two. Maxa (5-0) picked up
his fifth relief win of the season, allowing just one run and three
hits in 3.1 innings of work.
Wilson (4-2) was saddled with the loss, allowing five hits and two
runs in 1.1 innings of work (two strikeouts). Evans went 3.1
innings, and allowed just four earned runs on seven hits. Browning
was nearly flawless in 3.2 innings of work, allowing just two hits
and fanning two (no runs).
Doug Bream went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI to pace Liberty's 14-hit
afternoon. Tim Rotola (3-for-4, run), Williams (2-for-5, RBI),
Redal (2-for-5, 2B, RBI) and Hollinger (2-for-5, 2 RBI) also had
multiple hits.
The two teams will play the second game of the series on Saturday
at 1 pm ET on Masters Field in Boiling Springs.
| Box Score (PDF) |
