SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Gardner-Webb delivered a strong all-around performance on Tuesday night, shutting out Wofford 6–0 at Russell C. King Field. Behind a dominant effort from the pitching staff and timely offense late in the game, the Runnin' Bulldogs improved to 21–24 on the season while head coach Jim Chester picked up his 500th win of his career.
The Runnin' Bulldogs struck first in the second inning. Drew Ripepi set the tone with a one-out double before coming home on an Ethan Liao two-bagger to left field, giving the visitors an early 1–0 lead. While the offense was limited early, the pitching staff made that run hold up through the middle innings.
Matt Stuart set the tone on the mound, tossing three scoreless innings while allowing just two hits and striking out one to earn the win. Josh Gentile followed with an outstanding relief outing, striking out four batters across three hitless innings and keeping Wofford's lineup off balance. Matt Manley then worked through the seventh and eighth innings, striking out three while navigating a few walks to maintain the shutout. Jerek Hobb closed the door in the ninth, allowing one hit but sealing the combined three-hit shutout.
Gardner-Webb finally broke the game open in the seventh inning. Alejandro Sanchez led the frame off with a towering solo homerun before hits from Liao and Daniel Smith put two runners on with one out. Merik Carter produced a sacrifice fly before Ryan Kennell helped score the fourth run of the game for the Dawgs after reaching via error.
The Runnin' Bulldogs added two more insurance runs in the eighth inning to put the game out of reach. Liao contributed a strong night at the plate with two hits, a double, an RBI, and a run scored, while Bennett Shealor added a clutch two-RBI hit to help build the lead.
In total, Gardner-Webb collected eight hits while the pitching staff limited Wofford to just three. The Runnin' Bulldogs' staff combined for nine strikeouts and did not allow a run across all nine innings, securing the team's second shutout of the season.
Gardner-Webb returns to action this weekend, heading back to Spartanburg for a three-game Big South series with USC Upstate.
