TIGERVILLE, S.C. – The nationally 14th-ranked Newberry College (12-2) baseball team drew only its second loss of the season to the Crusaders of North Greenville University by a 14-5 decision on the road on Wednesday, February 23.
The top of the lineup was the highlight offensively for the Wolves on the evening as the top three hitters on the card recorded seven of Newberry's nine hits. Redshirt-junior Braylin Marine provided momentary sparks throughout the contest as he went four-for-five on the night with three RBIs. Sophomore Jacob LeBron (Lexington, S.C.) pitched in an RBI as well with freshman Cooper Gentry (Inman, S.C.) tallying another in a pinch-hitting appearance.
Newberry struggled to find their rhythm on the mound late in the contest after sophomore Rylan Brown (Spartanburg, S.C) allowed just three runs over his three and a third innings. The Crusaders were able to put up 13 runs over just a four-inning span that changed the momentum of the contest.
The Wolves were positioned to strike early in the contest as they put runners on the corners with just one out on the board. However, the Crusaders were able to make the put out at home plate on a hard-hit ball in the infield as the Wolves were trying to secure the first run, but nothing came out of it. North Greenville was getting power behind the bat all night as they were able to tally four home runs on the afternoon with the first one coming in the bottom of the first to give the 1-0 lead.
The teams traded a scoreless frame in the second before Newberry was able to pull back even in the contest with a single run added on the board in the top of the third. A lead-off walk and a sacrifice bunt would move the runner on the bags into scoring position for the Wolves were Marine recorded his first RBI of the evening with a single through the left side of the infield that brought home the first run for the Scarlet and Gray.
Another half inning for each team would go by without any more damage to either side before the Crusaders were able to add two more runs to their total in the bottom of the fourth. However, in typical Wolves fashion, the fight would continue as a two-out single followed by a pair of doubles by senior Zane Tarrance (Odessa, Fla.) and Marine brought around a pair of runs for the Wolves and brought the score back to 3-3.
Heading to the bottom half of the inning, the Wolves would start to falter as they allowed the Crusaders to post eight runs on the board in the frame and add another one in the sixth before they were able to respond with some offense of their own off an RBI-single by LeBron in the top of the sixth to bring the score to 12-4 in favor of the Crusaders.
Two more runs would find themselves on the scoreboard for the Crusaders in the bottom of the seventh and Newberry was able to add another run in the top of the eighth, but that would bring the scoring to a close on the evening as the Wolves dropped the 14-5 decision.
The Wolves will look to bounce back this weekend as they make the trip to Aiken, S.C. for an away-home-away series with the Pacers that kicks off on Friday, February 25.
