Salisbury, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs jumped out to an 11-2 lead Friday night en route to a 14-9 victory at fourth-ranked Catawba College in South Atlantic Conference baseball action Friday night. Wingate improves to 22-13 overall and 13-12 in the SAC, while the Indians see their 12-game SAC winning streak snapped, falling to 28-7 overall and 17-4 in the conference.
Senior catcher
Josh Clark (Clemmons, N.C.) went three-for-four with a homer, four RBI and two runs scored to lead the Wingate attack. Senior shortstop
Michael Godinez (Cutler Bay, Fla.) added a homer, two RBI and two runs scored, while senior outfielder
Thomas Spitz (West Chester, Pa.) went three-for-five with an RBI and three runs scored. Junior outfielder
Bill Krebs (West Chester, Pa.) and freshman designated hitter
Bradley Brown (Rockingham, N.C.) each had an RBI and two runs scored, while sophomore infielder
Shane Billings (Kernersville, N.C.) had two hits and two runs scored for the Bulldogs.
Will Albertson had two homers and five RBI to lead the Catawba attack.
Blake Houston was two-for-four with an RBI and three runs scored, while
Craig Brooks and
Kyle Smith homered for the Indians.
Wingate jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. A Billings single, followed by two walks loaded the bases, while a Catawba error allowed two runs to score. An RBI groundout from
TJ Wharton made it 2-1 in the bottom of the frame.
The Bulldogs added four runs in the third. Godinez led off the inning with a walk, then went to third on a Spitz single. Brown's RBI single made it 3-1, while Clark followed with his sixth homer of the year, a three-run shot to right to put the 'Dogs ton top by five.
Smith led off the bottom of the inning with a solo homer to make it 6-2.
The Bulldogs responded with five runs in the sixth. Senior infielder
Blake Prince (Winter Park, Fla.) led off the inning with a double, then scored on an RBI double from Krebs. Godinez then connected on his sixth homer of the season, a two-run shot to left to make it 9-2. An RBI double from Clark, along with an RBI single from senior first baseman
Brad Cherry (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) gave Wingate an 11-2 advantage.
Catawba responded with four runs in the bottom of the frame. Albertson provided the big blow, a three-run shot to left center to make it an 11-6 game.
Brooks led off the seventh with a solo shot to make it 11-7. Albertson added a two-run homer in the eighth to make it 11-9.
Wingate answered with three runs in the top of the ninth. A walk and a single put two on with two outs, while an RBI single from Spitz plated the first run. An error on the play allowed the second run to score, while another error plated another run, making it 13-9.
Junior right-hander
Tyler Brown (Suffolk, Va.) shut down Catawba in order in the ninth to cap the victory.
Sophomore right-hander
Brandon Donahue (Charlotte, N.C.) got the win in relief. He allowed five runs on five hits in 2 2/3 innings, striking out three and walking one to move to 1-2 on the year. Brown notched his third save of the year, allowing two runs in three innings of work, striking out two. Redshirt freshman right-hander
Jimmy Doolittle (Charlotte, N.C) allowed two runs on four hits in 3 1/3 innings of work, striking out four.
Shaefer Shepard took the loss, falling to 7-2. He allowed six runs on five hits in two innings of work, striking out one and walking three.
The two teams are back in action Saturday, meeting for a doubleheader at 3 p.m.
