NEWBERRY, S.C. – Opening up South Atlantic Conference play at home with a three-game series against Limestone, the Newberry College (16-3, 1-0 SAC) baseball team opened their league schedule on the right foot as they turned in a 18-3 win over the Saints on Friday, March 4.
Senior Joe LaFiora (Philadelphia, Pa.) picked up his third win on the year and his first win in league action this season as he went a full seven innings allowing just one run on three hits. He fanned six batters along the way. Sophomore Connor Hodge (Montreal, Quebec) and freshman Logan Bledsoe (Summerville, S.C.) wrapped up the contest for the Wolves.
At the plate the Scarlet and Gray scattered 22 hits on the day with both freshman Hunter French (Minneola, Fla.) and freshman Ben Freeman (Easley, S.C.) went perfect for the day as French went 3-for-3 with a trio of RBIs while Freeman went 4-for-4 with two RBIs of his own. Redshirt-junior Braylin Marine (Freeport, N.Y.) knocked three runners in on the day and senior Beau Thompson (Pickens, S.C.) brought in four runs in the contest.
Limestone kicked off the scoring in the contest with a two-out solo shot in the top of the first, but Newberry responded with a trio of runs in the bottom of the frame to swing the lead back in their favor for good. A lead-off single by sophomore Jacob LeBron (Lexington, S.C.) followed by a bunt single by senior Zane Tarrance (Odessa, Fla.) put runners on the corners with the ever-dangerous Marine coming up to the plate. He would knock a single up the middle to bring around two runs while a throw by the defense would bring both runners left into scoring position.
A hard ground out scored another run for the Wolves while Freeman would record his first RBI of the day later in the inning with a single up the middle to finally plate Marine from third and give Newberry the 3-1 lead. The two teams would trade a pair of scoreless innings, and they both carried that momentum into the fourth inning before the Wolves were able to get the scoring going again in the bottom of the fifth, posting a pair of runs.
A single by Tarrance and a stolen base would set Marine up to drive him in, recording another RBI before Marine would be plated two batters later off a sacrifice fly by Thompson to increase the Newberry lead to 5-1. An eight-pitch inning in the top of the sixth retired the side before Newberry continued to extend their lead with another pair of runs in the bottom of the frame. Freeman kicked off the inning with a double and was driven in by senior Ian Clements (Upper Marlboro, Md.), who would find his way around the bags as well off a double from freshman Jonathan Velez (Mayaguez, P.R.) to bring the lead up to six.
Another three-up three-down inning for the Saints in the top of the seventh would give way to an offensive onslaught from the Scarlet and Gary in the bottom of the seventh as the recorded a season-high 11 runs in the inning. The inning would come together on the back of three singles, four doubles, a triple, three walks and a hit batter. The Wolves recorded eight RBIs in the frame, ending the seventh with an 18-1 lead. Limestone was able to put two runs on the board in the top of the ninth, but the Wolves shut them down after that, securing the 18-3 win.
The two squads wrap up their three-game series with a doubleheader on tap on Saturday, March 5. First pitch of the early game is set for 1:00 p.m.
