NEWBERRY, S.C. – A stellar outing on the mound from sophomore Rylan Brown (Spartanburg, S.C.) helped the Newberry College (25-4) baseball team to a 3-2 win over the Pacers of USC Aiken on a night where runs were few and far between.
Brown tossed eight innings in the contest for the Wolves, scattering just four hits while keeping the Pacers scoreless throughout that stretch. He was able to fan six batters through his own work while not allowing a single walk. Junior Kyle Baker (Gaston, S.C.) picked up the save on the night, recording the final two outs in the ninth, one by way of a strikeout.
At the plate, the Wolves were able to record seven hits in the contest with both sophomore Henry Gibson (Walterboro, S.C.) and Jacob LeBron (Lexington, S.C.) able to record two hits in the contest while also knocking in a run each. Senior Zane Tarrance (Odessa, Fla.) was able to pick up the other RBI on a fielder's choice play.
The Pacers were able to record a pair of hits in the first inning, but Brown would be able to work out of having a runner in scoring position, keeping them off the board in the early goings. However, a pair of walks and a play on the bases left the Wolves with a runner just 90 feet away with two-out on the board. Gibson would record his lone RBI of the contest as he would knock a triple to deep left field that allowed him to trade places with the runner. However, he would end up stranded on the bag but not before the Wolves took the 1-0 lead.
The Pacers would go down in order with a 10-pitch inning from Brown before they would respond with another run in the bottom of the second. After a lead-off bunt and a sacrifice bunt moved a runner all the way over to third base, the Wolves would plate their second run of the day after a hard-hit infield single by LeBron that gave them the 2-0 lead.
Both teams went scoreless in the third while Newberry was able to add another run to their total in the bottom of the fourth. A pair of singles sandwiched around a hit batter would load the bags for the Scarlet and Gray, but they would only be able to record a single run off the opportunity to extend their lead to 3-0. Brown continued to retire the side in order through the seventh inning while the Wolves were unable to further their lead over the same period.
The Pacers best chance of the contest so far was snuffed out at third base in the eighth, but they would claw back to within one run in the top of the ninth off a two-run homer to right field. However, Baker would take over on the mound and retire the next two batters to wrap up the 3-2 win for the Wolves and secure the save.
The Wolves return to action this Friday as they play host to Queens University for a conference series starting on March 25.
