BOILING SPRINGS – Gardner-Webb rapped out 13 hits, including five for extra bases, in a 9-2 win over Dartmouth Friday in the series opener.
The two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at Noon. Saturday's opener will be a seven-inning game and the nightcap will be a nine-inning affair.
Benino Mendella's two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth put the 'Dogs (3-7) up 3-1 and a six-run burst in the bottom of the eighth – powered by Pete Capobianco's three-run blast – gave the home team plenty of cushion.
Mendella had a leadoff double in the third inning, and scored on an
AJ Jones single to right center to tie the game at 1-1. Dartmouth (1-3) jumped out to an early lead when cleanup man Kade Kretzschmar hit the first pitch he saw on a rope off the middle of the scoreboard to lead off the second inning.
Starter
Joe Simeone settled in after that solo shot, striking out a pair to get out of that inning and facing the minimum in the third, fourth and fifth. The graduate student pitched around a hit batter and single with two outs in the sixth and got two outs in the seventh before running into trouble.
Dartmouth's Connor Bertsch roped a single up the middle and Max Zajec hammered a ground rule double to right center to put two in scoring position. That prompted a call to the bullpen for the Runnin' Bulldogs.
Southpaw
Kyle Skidmore came on and coaxed a ground ball to second to end the threat.
Jacob Marcos reached on an error in the bottom of the seventh and stole two bags to get to third with two outs, but Gardner-Webb could not get him home. After Skidmore needed only six pitches to retire the Big Green in the top of the eighth, the 'Dogs came out swinging to put the game away.
Curtis Robison led off with a double to left center and
Bo Rusher III was plunked to get things started.
Alec Burns followed with a sharp single to deep left to push the lead to 4-1 and – after a Dartmouth call to the pen – Capobianco drilled a 2-1 pitch over the wall in left center for a 7-1 edge.
Daegan Brady walked with one out and
AJ Jones ripped a single to right to give the 'Dogs two more base runners. Marcos came through with a single to dead center for a 9-1 lead.
Trevor Mattson laced a two-out single to keep the inning alive and Robison followed with his second double of the inning to get Mattson to third.
Dartmouth was able to tamp down the rally, but the damage was done.
The Big Green took advantage of a pair of errors to plate a run in the top of the ninth, but Skidmore closed the door with a pop fly to left for his first save of the season.
Gardner-Webb had five different batters collect two hits in the game, with Mattson (2-for-5), Robison (2-for-4, 2 2B), Capobianco (2-for-3, HR, 3 RBI), Mendella (2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI) and Jones (2-for-4, RBI) in that club. Marcos (1-for-4, 2 RBI), Burns (1-for-3, RBI) and Brady (1-for-3) also had hits for the Runnin' Bulldogs.
Simeone (1-0) worked 6.2 effective innings for the mound win, allowing just one run on six hits with four strikeouts. He did not issue a walk in the game. Skidmore went 2.1 innings and allowed just one unearned run on one hit with two strikeouts.
Justin Murray (0-2) took the loss for Dartmouth, allowing three runs on six hits through 7.0 innings of work.
The Big Green had seven hits in the game, led by Kretzschmar's 2-for-3 effort with two runs scored and long home run.
Both games on Saturday will stream live on ESPN+.
