TIGERVILLE – Newberry saw its modest three-game winning streak come to an end Friday evening with a 5-2 loss at No. 8 North Greenville.
The Crusaders (2-2) were opportunistic, plating an unearned run in the first inning without the benefit of a hit and retaking the lead for good on a fly ball to center that the wind knocked down. A throwing error on the same play made the advantage two runs.
The teams traded runs in the seventh and North Greenville tacked on an insurance run in the eighth for the final margin.
Newberry's (3-2) bats, which accounted for 13 runs and 11 hits in a Tuesday win over Francis Marion, were quieted in the series opener. The Wolves finished with six hits and stranded six runners.
Aidan Baur paced the Wolves with a 2-for-3 day at the plate.
Colin Allman's game-tying single through the left side in the sixth inning gave the Wolves their first RBI of the day, plating
Zane Tarrance one pitch after he advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch.
Dalton Lansdowne provided the other, grounding out 1-4-3 with runners on second and third to make the score 3-2.
Charlie Fessler suffered the loss to drop to 0-2 on the season. He gave up three runs, only one of which was earned, on six hits before being chased with one out in the sixth and a runner on second. In the loss, however, he lowered his ERA from 4.50 to 2.89 and issued just one walk while striking out three.
North Greenville reliever Ethan Garner earned the win with four innings out of the bullpen. He gave up two runs on five hits but shut the Wolves down in the late innings in support of starter Ryan Kirk, who yielded a single hit in his five innings of work.
The Crusaders took an early lead with an unearned run in the first inning, putting runners on the corners with a walk, a fielding error, and a flyout to right field. First baseman Adam Sasser lifted a 2-2 pitch to right center that was deep enough to score the runner from third and put the Crusaders ahead.
After Allman's single tied the score in the sixth, North Greenville came right back in the bottom of the inning with four hits to take a 4-2 lead.
The Wolves and eighth-ranked Crusaders wrap up their season series tomorrow with a doubleheader beginning at noon.
