NEWBERRY – Fresh on the heels of a thrilling series win over Belmont Abbey, Newberry found its high-octane offense in a 13-7 win over visiting Francis Marion in a final tuneup before a weekend series at nationally-ranked North Greenville.
The Wolves (3-1) took a 4-3 lead into the seventh inning stretch and emerged in the eighth with a 10-run advantage. Francis Marion (2-2) was forced to use four pitchers in the inning that saw Newberry plate nine runs, eight of them unearned after a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt. Newberry sent 14 men to the plate and collected six hits, three walks, and hit batsman.
Danton Hyman's three-run triple that rattled around the right field corner provided the biggest blow in the inning and punctuated a career night for the senior. Hyman finished with four hits for the third time in his career, raising his batting average nearly 100 points to .526 on the young season. He also scored three runs and was perfect in three defensive chances.
Hyman sparked the offense early as well, laying down a bunt single and advancing to third on a throwing error on the game's first pitch. He came in to score on an RBI groundout two batters later to give the Wolves the early lead.
Freshman right fielder
Zane Tarrance went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and an RBI, while
Tyler Ackard batted in two runs and scored twice on a 1-for-3 night. In all, seven starting position players finished with at least one hit as the Wolves forced Francis Marion to use eight pitchers.
While the Newberry bats stole the show, its pitching staff quieted the Patriots' offense until a four-run ninth-inning rally.
Tomas Sorcia, Jr. bounced back from a rough first outing to earn the win, pitching into the seventh inning. He gave up three runs, only one of which was earned, and racked up seven strikeouts against a single walk.
Austin Copeland struck out the only two batters he faced in the seventh and
Aaron Copeland worked a perfect eighth with a pair of punchouts.
The Wolves took the lead for good with a two-run fourth inning. A hit batsman, a walk, and a wild pitch put two in scoring position for
Tony Matos, who lifted a fly ball to left center that was deep enough to move both runners up 90 feet and tie the score at two runs apiece. After a walk,
Dalton Lansdowne pushed a bunt to the right of the mound to bring another run home.
The Patriots were led by three hits from right fielder Cole Hinnant and two apiece from catcher Alex Griffith and second baseman Tanner Wakefield. Reliever Brayden Barry was saddled with the loss despite facing just two batters, hitting one and walking the other to begin the fourth inning.
Newberry is back in action with a three-game series at North Greenville, the top-ranked team in the Perfect Game rankings and the current No. 8 squad in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll. First pitch for Friday's opener is set for 3:30 p.m.
