NEWBERRY, S.C. — Opening their third series in conference play at the friendly confines of the Smith Road Complex, the Newberry College (22-4, 6-1 SAC) dropped their first home contest of the season to the Pioneers of Tusculum University by a score of 8-5 on Friday, March 18.
The Wolves struggled offensively on the night despite scattering seven hits, the left ten runners stranded on the base paths in the contest. Freshman Donovan Ford (Greenville, S.C.) provided a spark for the Scarlet and Gray in the game as he went 3-for-4 at the dish, including a triple and an RBI. Senior Beau Thompson (Pickens, S.C.) recorded a pair of hits on the night. Despite not recording a hit on the evening, freshman Jonathan Velez (Mayaguez, P.R.) led the team with a pair of RBIs.
Junior Kyle Baker (Gaston, S.C) drew the loss in the game, allowing three runs while striking out a pair. Sophomore Johnathan White (Simpsonville, S.C.) pitched two innings of scoreless baseball to keep the Wolves in the contest in the late stages, but unfortunately did not receive the necessary offensive support.
Tusculum jumped out to a lead in the first inning as the second batter to step in the batters box blasted a solo shot to left field that gave them the early 1-0 advantage. They would further extend that lead with three runs in the top of the second inning before the Wolves would crawl back into the contest with three runs of their own in the bottom half.
A lead off walk followed by a pair of singles by Thompson and Ford, with a little help from a defensive miscue, would plate the first run of the contest for Newberry before a hard ground out would cut the lead to just a pair of runs. A botched play by the Pioneers trying to get the runner out at home would plate the third run of the frame for the Wolves and pull them back to trailing by just one, 4-3.
The two teams would go scoreless over the next two innings before Tusculum was able to scratch across an additional run in the top of the fifth. It would take another inning before the Wolves would respond, but they did so with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth, pulling the score to even at five. Thompson would lead off the inning with a single and would be driven in by Ford's RBI-triple to left field. A fielders choice just two batters later would bring Ford home and level the playing field.
Neither team found their way around the bags in the seventh, but the Pioneers were able to tally three runs on one swing in the top of the eight inning to retake the 8-5 lead. Newberry would move two runners into scoring position in the bottom of the frame, but back-to-back strikeouts would keep them off the board. The Wolves were unable to find an answer in the bottom of the ninth as Tusculum took away the 8-5 in the series opener.
The two teams return to action tomorrow as they continue their series with a doubleheader slated for a 1:00 p.m. start.
