NEWBERRY, S.C. – Mirroring their start from the 2020 season, the Newberry College (4-0) baseball team picked-up their fourth straight win to open the season as they took down the Bobcats of Georgia College (2-3) on Wednesday, February 9 at the Smith Road Complex.
Freshman Kade Faircloth (Oviedo, Fla.) boasted the best day at the plate for the Wolves as he went three-for-four on the afternoon while also turning in four RBIs. Senior Ian Clements (Upper Marlboro, Md.) pitched in a pair of RBIs on the day as well after going two-for-three at the dish.
Sophomore Rylan Brown (Spartanburg, S.C.) started the afternoon on the mound for the Wolves and was able to work his way through two and a third innings only allowing one run. The bullpen struggled to initially replace him but found their groove once redshirt-junior Kyle Baker (Gaston, S.C.) took to the bump and pitched a pair of shutout innings while fanning a trio of Bobcats along the way to pick up the win. Freshman Parker Fenton (Minneola, Fla.) and redshirt-sophomore Tyler Tuck (Liberty, S.C.) shut them down over the last three innings to keep the Bobcats at bay.
After retiring the side in order to open up the game, the Wolves turned in some early offensive production as after a lead-off single sophomore Jacob LeBron (Lexington, S.C.) moved over to second and into scoring position off a balk by the Bobcats hurler. Three batters later he would find his way across the plate to record the first run of the day for the Wolves off a single by freshman Ben Freeman (Easley, S.C.) to take the 1-0 lead.
Another quick top half of the inning for Georgia College led to the Wolves extending their lead with another run in the bottom of the second after Clements knocked a double to left centerfield and was driven in by Faircloth on the next at-bat, recording his first RBI of the day and giving Newberry the 2-0 lead.
The Bobcats recorded a single run in the top of the third to bring the game back to a one-run margin and though the Wolves moved a runner into scoring position in the bottom of the frame, they were unable to respond, leaving the score at 2-1. The Bobcats kept the momentum in the top of the fourth however as they were able to take their first lead of the day after posting two runs in the frame to move to a 3-2 advantage.
However, Faircloth would bring the Wolves back even in the bottom of the inning as he drove in the lone run for Newberry in the fourth, brining the score back level at three. After shutting out the Bobcats in the top of the fifth, the Wolves opened the floodgates in the home side of the inning, posting six-runs on the board.
Two walks and a single would load the bags up for the Wolves and a defensive miscue on the part of the Bobcats trying to roll a double play would allow the first run of the inning to cross the plate. Clements would string together his second hit of the contest to drive in two more runs before Faircloth recorded his third and fourth RBIs of the afternoon to bring across another pair. Redshirt-senior Zane Tarrance (Odessa, Fla.) punched a single deep in the infield that found himself on first base and another run across the plate to round out the scoring in the inning and leaving the score at 9-3.
That would wrap up the offensive production for both teams on the afternoon as between both sides the teams only recorded two more runners in scoring position over the final innings, wrapping up the 9-3 win for the Wolves. Newberry will return to action on Friday, February 11 as they welcome in Southern Wesleyan for the first of a three-game series. First pitch is set for 5:00 p.m. while the final two games of the series will take place in Central, S.C. on Saturday, February 12.
