Gardner-Webb Blanks William & Mary, 6-0, Completes Sweep
May 10, 2014 | Baseball
The shutout was the second of the weekend for the Runnin' Bulldogs (23-26) and was the second of the season for Heiligenstadt, a redshirt junior from Forest, Va.
After the game was delayed for more than three hours due to thunderstorms and heavy rain, the Runnin' Bulldogs spent an hour prepping the playing surface - and wasted no time getting a lead in the game.
After a 1-2-3 inning from Heiligenstadt in the top of the first, JJ Nazzaro hit the first pitch he saw to left for a leadoff single in the bottom half.
With one away, Scott Coleman belted a fastball over the fence in left for a 2-0 lead. Matt Simmons followed with a sharp single through the right side and Hunter Smith doubled to left to put men on second and third with one away.
A two-run, two-out double from Scott Johnson just inside the bag at third stretched the lead to 4-0 and Adam Tiller hammered a double off the top of the fence in left for a 5-0 lead. Alex Newman, the ninth man to bat in the inning, roped an RBI single to centerfield, and Tiller slid in before the tag for a 6-0 lead.
William & Mary starter Daniel Powers got a groundball to end the rally, but gave way to southpaw Andrew White after just one inning of work.
Gardner-Webb stranded a pair in the third after two-out singles from Johnson and Newman, and left two more in the fifth after Smith walked and Ryan Hodge singled to lead off the inning.
The Tribe (30-18) would not mount a serious scoring threat, with Heiligenstadt rolling double plays in the fifth and the eighth to erase leadoff singles.
Heiligenstadt (4-6) needed only 92 pitches to get through the game, limiting the powerful top of the Tribe order to 0-for-15 as a group on Saturday. He fanned two, did not issue a walk and retired the side in order six times in 9.0 innings.
Gardner-Webb had 10 hits in the game, with seven coming in the first inning. Newman (2-for-4, RBI) and Johnson (2-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI) led the way. Nazzaro (1-for-4), Coleman (1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI), Simmons (1-for-4, run), Smith (1-for-3, run), Hodge (1-for-4) and Tiller (1-for-4, 2B, RBI) also had hits in the game.
Powers (1-2) took the loss for William & Mary, with four Tribe relief pitchers combining to hurl seven shutout innings after Gardner-Webb's explosion in the first.
Derek Lowe (2-for-3) led William & Mary at the plate, collecting half of the team's four singles.
Gardner-Webb's pitching staff capped off a tremendous weekend, limiting the nation's No. 2 hitting attack and top scoring team to a .132 batting average (12-of-91) and just three runs over three games.
The 'Dogs fanned 28 batters and walked just three in 27.0 innings of work in the series. The two shutouts marked the first two times this season that William & Mary failed to score in a game.
Gardner-Webb will wrap up its non-conference slate on Tuesday night, hosting the Tar Heels of North Carolina at 6:00 pm at Veterans Field / Keeter Stadium in Shelby, N.C.
Tickets for Tuesday's game are available through the American Legion World Series office in Shelby, N.C.
General admission tickets are $5 and box seats are available for $10. For tickets call (704) 466-3103 or email Brittany Spangler at Brittany@alws.us.
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