April 1, 2009

Final Stats

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Junior Jimmy Tanner (Fayetteville, Ga./Starr's Mill) and senior Tommy Shovlin (Merritt Island, Fla./Daytona Beach C.C.) each posted two hits and junior Ryan Wilkins (Spartanburg, S.C./Spartanburg Methodist) hit a two-run homer but four runs in the first inning helped pace Gardner-Webb to an 11-3 non-conference win at Harley Park on Wednesday night.

Gardner-Webb (14-10 overall) scored four runs in the top of the first, using just one infield hit and taking advantage of three walks and a hit batter. Two more runs followed in the second and the Runnin' Bulldogs kept rolling with two more runs each in the fourth and fifth innings to take a 10-0 lead.

Upstate (7-19 overall) got on the board in the bottom of the sixth inning, as senior Eric Guillen (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Thousand Oaks) led off with a walk and senior Kyle Simpson (Lyman, S.C./Byrnes) followed with a sharp single to center field and Tanner loaded the bases with liner under the first baseman's glove. After an infield fly, a sac fly brought in Guillen before a strikeout ended the inning.

Upstate got within seven runs in the seventh inning, as Shovlin singled up the middle to lead off. After a lineout and a groundout, Wilkins blasted an 0-1 curveball over the right-field fence for his first homer as a Spartan. The Bulldogs tacked on a run in the top of the eighth, using a hit, a walk and a wild pitch, ending the scoring at 11-3.

Tanner finished 2-for-2 and Shovlin added a 3-for-4 game with a run to lead the Spartans. Matt Rizzuto led the Bulldogs, going 3-for-4 with six RBIs, thanks to a two-RBI single in the second, a two-RBI homer in the fourth and a two-RBI double in the sixth. Kurt Fulginitti went 2-for-3 with three runs and an RBI and both Brock Miller and Daniel Cooke added three runs.

Junior Brian Dempsey (Montverde, Fla./East Ridge) (0-1) took the loss, allowing three walks, a hit batter and four runs. Mike Lewis (2-0) earned the win for the Bulldogs, tossing six innings, allowing five hits and a run. He walked two and struck out four.

Upstate now gets set for a three-game Atlantic Sun Conference set with Stetson, which starts on Friday with a 6 p.m. game before it wraps up with a 1 p.m. Saturday doubleheader.