Florence, S.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs had 13 different players either score or drive in a run Saturday night en route to a convincing 16-1 victory over the Claflin University Panthers in NCAA Division II baseball action on the campus of Francis Marion University. Wingate moves to 1-1 on the year, while the Panthers fall to 0-2 overall.
Sophomore designated hitter
Bradley Brown (Rockingham, N.C.) was three-for-five with a double, homer, three RBI and two runs scored to lead the Wingate attack. Senior infielder
Colby Barnette (Monroe, N.C.) added a double, two RBI and a run scored, while freshman infielder
McCann Mellett (Charlotte, N.C.) also drove in a pair of runs. Junior outfielder
Ty Andrus (Winston-Salem, N.C.) was three-for-six with three stolen bases, an RBI and three runs scored, while junior
Trent Wynn (New Bern, N.C.) and sophomore
Andrew Llewellyn (Moseley, Va.) each contributed an RBI and a run scored.
Wingate jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, when Andrus started the game with a double, stole third, then scored on Barnette's sacrifice fly. Andrus reached on an error in the third, went to second on a wild pitch, stole third, then scored on Barnette's RBI double to make it 2-0.
Wynn started the fourth inning with a double, then scored on an RBI single from Andrus. Redshirt freshman
Joseph Mason (Morehead City, N.C.) drew a bases-loaded walk to give the Bulldogs a four-run lead. Brown led off the fifth with a solo shot to right, the 25th career homer for the junior to make it 5-0.
Wingate scored four more runs in the sixth to push the advantage to nine. Two walks and an Andrus single, along with an error allowed the first run to score. Brown followed with a two-run double to right to make it 8-0, while Wynnn's RBI single pushed the lead to nine.
The Bulldogs plated seven runs in the eighth to take a 16-0 lead. Llewellyn started things by plating sophomore
David Nash (Monroe, N.C.) with an RBI double down the left field line, while a two-run single from Mellett made it 12-0. Sophomore
Matthew Grecco (Norfolk, Va.) added an RBI single, while a two-run double from sophomore
Austin Turgeon (Athens, Ga.) gave the 'Dogs 15 runs. An RBI groundout from Nash made it 16-0.
As good as the offense was, the Bulldogs pitching was just as impressive, led by a dominant performance from junior right-hander
Hunter Hamilton (Troy, N.C.). He tossed five shutout innings, allowing just one hit while striking out nine. Freshmen right-handers
Alex Rodriguez (Kannapolis, N.C.),
Sawyer Lee (Norwood, N.C.),
Josh Karklin (Waxhaw, N.C.) and
Cameron Smetak (Monroe, N.C.) each notched an inning of relief without allowing an earned run, giving up just two total hits while striking out eight. Karklin struck out three in his inning, while Lee and Smetak added a pair of strikeouts each.
Torriun Towers took the loss, falling to 0-1. He allowed four runs on five hits in four innings, striking out two and walking three.
The Bulldogs are back in action Sunday, facing Francis Marion at 2 p.m.
