PEMBROKE, N.C. – The University of North Carolina at Pembroke swept a Peach Belt Conference baseball doubleheader from Young Harris College Saturday (March 9) afternoon at Sammy Cox Field.
The Braves won the opener 2-0 before winning the second game 7-6 in 12 innings. UNC Pembroke improved to 16-5 overall and to 6-5 in the Peach Belt while Young Harris fell to 8-9 and 1-7. The two teams conclude their three-game series with a 1 p.m. contest Sunday (March 10).
In the opener, Ethan Carter (6-0) earned the complete-game shutout as he allowed just three hits and struck out 13. Carter walked one and hit another batter as he only allowed just one runner to reach second base in a game that took just one hour and 40 minutes to play. Trey Rogers, Zach Bricknell and Spencer Thomas each had a single against Carter.
Taylor Topping (0-2) was the hard-luck loser for the Mountain Lions as he scattered eight hits and struck out five in the complete-game effort.
UNCP got the only runs they would need off Topping in the second. Derrick Phillips started the inning with a single through the right side and was sacrificed to second by Drew Cole. After a walk to Drew Alford, Chad Whitehead doubled through the left side to score Phillips. Daniel Fraga drove in the other run on a sacrifice fly left.
A bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the 12th inning to Zade Denton was the difference in the nightcap. Alford led off the inning with a triple to right field off Young Harris reliever
Cody Beck (2-1), who only allowed three hits and struck out eight in seven innings. Beck was forced to intentionally walk the next two batters to load the bases.
Young Harris had forced the extra innings with two runs in the top of the ninth to tie the game at 6.
Mike Medori and Bricknell led off the inning with back-to-back walks. After back-to-back wild pitches from reliever Patrick McMahon scored Medori, a single to right from Rogers tied the game. Young Harris, which left 12 runners on base, had runners on second and third base with one out, but McMahon (2-0) wiggled out of harm's way by striking out
Jack Morrow and
Dom Wyshinski to end the threat.
Rogers had a solo home run – his fifth of the year – to right in the third for the Mountain Lions while
Adam Moore clubbed a solo shot – his second of 2013 – in the fifth.
