College of Charleston
UNCW
Cougars Rally Late to Top No. 15 UNCW
5/8/2016 11:35:00 PM | Baseball
WILMINGTON, N.C. – Trailing 5-4 with one out in the ninth inning, College of Charleston junior Bradley Jones singled home Dupree Hart to force extra innings, where the Cougars scored three runs en route to an 8-5 win over No. 15 UNCW on Sunday at Brooks Field.
Following a ground out to open the ninth, UNCW opted for a pitching change and called on closer Jared Gesell. The first batter he faced, Dupree Hart tapped a 2-1 pitch to the third base side of the mound. Gasell raced over to field the ball, but his throw to first pulled the first baseman off the bag allowing Hart to reach. Two pitches later, Hart swiped second and with a full count, Jones came through with an RBI single, his fifth RBI in the game.
Carter Love held the Seahawks scoreless in the bottom half forcing extra innings. Ryan Brown picked up his third single of the contest to start the 10th and Bradley Dixon reached on a fielding error on a sacrifice bunt attempt. Luke Manzo also squared to bunt but beat out the throw for a base hit. Tommy Richter watched four consecutive balls pass to drive in the go-ahead run and, following a pitching change, a wild pitch plated the second run of the inning. Hart capped the inning with an RBI single to give the Cougars the three run cushion.
Jones hit his 11th home run of the season to give CofC a 4-3 lead in the fifth; he also put the Cougars on the board in the third with an RBI single. Jones finished the game 3-for-6 with five runs batted in.
The Seahawks (33-11, 13-3 CAA) hit three home runs in the game and seven in the series as they posted double-digit hits in all three contests over the weekend.
UNCW hit home runs to lead off three innings, including a solo shot in the sixth to re-take the lead, 5-4. Cougar starting pitchers had allowed 13 home runs entering the series but surrendered seven over the three games.
Senior Eric Bauer got the start on the mound and lasted 5.2 innings allowing five runs on 10 hits. Love earned the victory and improved to 3-2 on the season.
CofC entered the game 0-for-19 on the season when trailing after eight innings. The last time the Cougars won a game when trailing entering the ninth was April 21, 2015 at Georgia Southern. CofC scored four runs in ninth to win 7-6, erasing a 6-3 deficit.
College of Charleston (24-21-1, 8-10) will step out of Colonial Athletic Association play to travel to take on Clemson on Tuesday and Wednesday.
NOTEWORTHY
> Bradley Jones moved into second in the CAA with his 11th home run of the season.
> Jones finished the game with three hits, his team-leading 17th multi-hit game of the year.
> Jones became the first College of Charleston player to record five RBI in a game since Carl Wise on March 27, 2015 at James Madison. Jones' previous career-high was four RBI, which he matched four times.
> CofC is 2-0 when playing in temperatures of at least 80 degrees. Sunday's game time temperature was 86.
For more information on College of Charleston baseball, visit CofCSports.com or follow the team on Twitter at @CofCBaseball.
