Diamond 'Dogs Hold Off William & Mary, 4-3, Friday Night
May 09, 2014 | Baseball
BOILING SPRINGS - Andrew Barnett struck out 13 batters over 7.0 innings and Gardner-Webb held on for a 4-3 win over William & Mary Friday night at John Henry Moss Stadium / Bill Masters Field.
The Runnin' Bulldogs (22-26) scored two runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh to take a 4-0 lead, but William & Mary (30-17) struck for three runs in the eighth - before closer Brad Haymes came on to strand the tying run at third in each of the last two innings.
Barnett picked up where teammate Matt Fraudin finished the night before, striking out 10 batters through his first five innings. William & Mary's John Sheehan kept GWU off the scoreboard as well during that stretch.
Both starting pitchers worked out of potential scoring situations in the middle innings.
Gardner-Webb's Scott Johnson led off the bottom of the fifth with a single and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt from Ryan Hodge - but was cut down at third base on a sharp groundball by Henry Rundio for the second out of the inning. Rundio swiped second base with two outs, but Sheehan got out of the jam with a pop up to shortstop.
A two-out walk to Nick Thompson in the sixth gave William & Mary life, and Michael Katz ripped a single to right to put two aboard. Barnett recovered, striking out cleanup man Ryan Hissey to keep the scoreless tie intact.
Gardner-Webb took the lead in short order, with Tyler Best drawing a walk to lead off the bottom of the sixth. Scott Coleman hammered a double off the fence in left center two pitches later, driving in Best all the way from first for a 1-0 lead.
Two pitches later, Matt Simmons laced a single through the right side to drive home Coleman. Sheehan was able to limit the damage, however, getting the Tribe back to the dugout with Simmons stranded on third.
A leadoff single by Hodge in the seventh put Gardner-Webb back in business and, after a sacrifice bunt from Rundio, JJ Nazzaro ripped a triple off the fence in right center to make the score 3-0. Nazzaro pulled off a steal of home with two outs - when Coleman stayed alive in a run down between first and second long enough for the speedy outfielder to cross the plate - pushing Gardner-Webb's lead to 4-0.
William & Mary finally got on the board in the eighth, with a pinch hit double off the wall from Devin White and an infield single from Nutter placing runners on the corners and chasing Barnett from the game.
Relief man Mitch Warner came in the game, and Thompson drove in the Tribe's first run of the night with a long sacrifice fly to left. Warner walked Katz on five pitches to bring the tying run to the plate with one away. The southpaw coaxed a shallow pop up for the second out of the inning - and the 'Dogs made the call to righty Andrew Massey in the pen.
Charley Gould greeted Massey with a two-run double off the wall in right center, cutting the Gardner-Webb lead to 4-3. The 'Dogs then went to Haymes, who got out of the inning with a strikeout that stranded Gould at third.
Gardner-Webb went down in order in the bottom of the eighth, and William & Mary got the tying run on board in the ninth when Derek Lowe reached on an error. A sacrifice bunt moved Lowe to second and another groundout pushed him to third with two away.
Haymes went back to his slider to strike out leadoff man Nutter to finish the game.
Barnett (5-3) picked up the win, allowing just two runs on six hits - with a baker's dozen strikeouts and one walk in 7.0 innings on the mound. Haymes fanned two in 1.1 innings of perfect relief work for his fourth save of the season.
Gardner-Webb had seven hits, with Hodge (2-for-2, run) leading the way for the second night in a row. Nazzaro (1-for-3, 3B, SB, run, RBI), Coleman (1-for-3, 2B, RBI, run), Simmons (1-for-4, RBI), Smith (1-for-3) and Johnson also had hits for the 'Dogs.
Sheehan (5-4) took the loss, allowing two runs on five hits through 6.0 innings of work. He struck out one batter and walked two. Nick Brown allowed the two runs in the seventh, but settled down to fan a pair of batters in a scoreless eighth inning effort.
The Tribe also had seven hits, with Nutter (3-for-5, 2B, run) pacing that effort. Katz (1-for-3), Gould (1-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI), Lowe (1-for-4) and White (1-for-1, 2B) had the rest of those knocks for William & Mary.
The two teams will wrap up the three-game series on Saturday afternoon, with first pitch set for 2:00. Gardner-Webb will honor seniors Andrew Barnett, Scott Coleman, JJ Nazzaro and Adam Tiller prior to the start of the game - as part of Senior Day 2014 festivities.
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