CENTRAL, S.C. – Wrapping up a three-game series with the Warriors of Southern Wesleyan with their first road-trip of the season, the Newberry College (7-0) baseball team turned in a series sweep on Saturday as they picked up a pair of wins in the doubleheader, scoring ten runs in each contest. The Wolves took the early game 10-1 before wrapping up the day with a 10-5 decision.
Freshman Tyler Chinpire (Jupiter, Fla.) picked up his first collegiate win in the opener while fellow freshman Ethan LeBron (Lexington, S.C.) mirrored that accomplishment in the nightcap. LeBron put down seven batters through his own work while Chinpire was able to strikeout a trio.
Sophomore Jacob LeBron (Lexington, S.C.) had an impressive day at the plate recording five RBIs, four of which came in the closing game of the day. Freshman Jonathan Velez (Mayaguez, P.R.) notched three RBIs on the day while fellow freshman Jomar Lugo (San Sebastian, P.R.) pitched in a pair of his own.
After a quiet first inning of the day, the Wolves burst onto the scene in the second inning, putting up four runs in the frame. After the first batter got on by a dropped third strike, Velez would lace a triple in the left centerfield gap to score the first run of the game and leave himself waiting just 90 feet away. Two hit batters in a row would load the bags for the Wolves before Jacob LeBron finally allowed Velez to trot the final distance with a single to left field that plated the second run of the inning. Redshirt-junior Braylin Marine (Freeport, N.Y.) would wrap up the scoring in the frame with a double to right field, scoring two more runs and giving the Wolves a 4-0 advantage.
The Wolves were able to add two more runs to their total in the fourth, with some help from a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly by Marine to extend their lead to 6-0. Keeping that trend going, they would add another pair to the tally in the top of the fifth, this time by way of a few stolen bases and a Lugo RBI-single. Newberry would wrap up the first game scoring one run in each of the final two innings while allowing the Warriors to sneak a run on the board to wrap up the 10-1 win.
In the nightcap, the Wolves carried their momentum over from the first game as after a pair of defensive miscues from the Warriors, Newberry would tally the first run of the contest on another well executed double steal that gave them the 1-0 lead after the first. Jacob LeBron would tally his first two RBIs of the late game in the top of the second as he was able to drive in a pair or runs and extend the Wolves advantage out to 3-0.
Velez's RBI-single in the top of the third kept the scoring rolling for the Wolves in the contest, making the score 4-0, before the Warriors were able to escape the fourth without allowing a run. And in face SWU would respond in the bottom of the fourth with a two-run homerun that brought them back to within striking distance at 4-2. However, the Wolves responded with a pair of runs in their next half inning and then would go silent on the offensive side of the ball until the seventh inning, holding a 6-2 lead.
After recording two-outs in the early goings of the frame, the Wolves were able to string together six straight singles that brought around a total of four runs in the top half, giving Newberry the 10-2 advantage. Again, the Warriors responded in the bottom half of the frame but were only able to chip into the Newberry lead by two runs. Though the Wolves went scoreless the rest of the way, the Warriors were able to add another run to their tally in the bottom of the ninth, though it wouldn't be enough as the Wolves came away with the 10-5 win.
Newberry continues a four-game road stint as they travel to Franklin Springs, Ga. to take on the Lions of Emmanuel College on Wednesday, February 16. First pitch for the single game is slated for 2:30 p.m.
