NEWBERRY, S.C. – The first six members of the Newberry College (1-0) baseball lineup posted multi-hit games as the Wolves were able to take down the visiting Patriots of Francis Marion (0-1) on Opening Day at the Smith Road Complex on Friday, February 3.
Sophomore Jonathan Velez (Mayaguez, P.R.) led the way for the Wolves at the plate as he recorded a trio of hits and a trio of RBIs to lead Newberry to their first victory of the year. Sophomore Donovan Ford (Greenville, S.C.), junior Henry Gibson (Walterboro, S.C.) and sophomore Kade Faircloth (Oviedo, Fla.) each went 2-for-3 at the dish on the evening with Gibson posting a pair of RBIs as well. Senior Braylin Marine (Freeport, N.Y.), sophomore Jesse Free (Moncks Corner, S.C.) and junior Rhett Jolly (Edgefield, S.C.) each chipped in an RBI on the night.
Senior Joe LaFiora (Philadelphia, Pa.) picked up the win on the day for the Wolves on the mound after tossing six scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, the first batter of the day, while fanning seven. Junior Wesley Livingston (Pomaria, S.C.) put together a pair of innings to keep the Patriots in check while junior Kenny Miller (North Augusta, S.C.) came in and shut them down in the top of the ninth with a trio of strikeouts to his credit as well.
After the Patriots got their first batter on the bags through a single to right field, the Wolves were able to retire the next three in order to get out of the first inning of the season unscathed. The same could not be said for the Francis Marion defense as a single by Ford and a ground out by Marine set up the first scoring opportunity. Ford ended up 90 feet closer as he stole third before Gibson knocked a single up the middle to bring him around for the first run of the year and give the Wolves the 1-0 lead.
Neither team would strike in the second inning but the Wolves were able to able to add five more runs to their tally through small-ball tactics to extend their lead. A double by Ford would kick off the streak for the Wolves and he was brought around just one batter later by Marine, who himself would end up in scoring position. A walk and a single loaded the bags for the Wolves before Velez would lace a ball just inside the third base bag and down the line to score two runs and leave two more in scoring position.
After a pitching change in the inning, the next two Wolves batters laid down perfectly executed sacrifice bunts to increase their lead by two and take the 6-0 advantage after three. Gibson added another RBI to his tally in the fourth to increase the Newberry lead to 7-0. Both teams would then go silent over the next two innings until Francis Marion was able to plate their first two runs of the game in the top of the seventh. Newberry answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the frame and the Patriots added one to their tally in the top of the eighth, but that's where the scoring would stop as the Wolves were able to shut them down the rest of the way to take home the 8-3 win.
The two teams continue their three-game weekend series with a single game on Saturday, February 4 at 2:00 p.m.
