WILMINGTON – The UNC-Wilmington baseball team tied a school record with seven home runs in a single game during Sunday’s series finale over Hofstra.
After hitting four round trippers in a row thanks to big swings from Riley Zayicek, Ryan Jeffers, Mason Berne and Robbie Thorburn, preseason All-Americans Nick Feight and Brian Mims went back-to-back later in the frame to cap a nine-run eighth inning as the Seahawks grabbed two-of-three on the road with a 20-7 victory.
UNCW improved to 7-5 in the league and 18-20 overall. The Seahawks’ six homers in the eighth inning were a program record. UNCW continues a stretch of eight games in 10 days on Tuesday at Campbell.
Several local players continued to put together impressive seasons for their respective colleges this weekend. North Carolina State teammates Joe O’Donnell and Shane Shepard had a chance to play inside Fenway Park on Saturday, while left-handed pitcher Bryan Sammons continues to inch his way up the Western Carolina record books.
#Pack9 had the incredible opportunity to play at Fenway Park over the weekend, take a look at some of the #VIEWS inside the stadium ?? pic.twitter.com/iVd77Uxwbo
— #Pack9 ⚾️ (@NCStateBaseball) April 24, 2017
Hoggard
- Bryan Sammons, Western Carolina
Sammons struck out 12 batters in eight innings as Western Carolina claimed game one of its Southern Conference series over VMI, 9-1, on Friday afternoon.
The senior southpaw (5-2) limited VMI to just one run on three hits through eight innings to score his fifth victory of the season.
With his 52nd career start, the Wilmington native moved into third in program history for games started, while the win pushed him into a tie for seventh-place, matching Phillip Grundy (1991-93) with 24 career victories on the mound.
With his 12 strikeouts, Sammons also by-passed former Catamount Jordan Smith (291, 2011-14) for fourth in the school ledgers, now with 295 career punch outs.
- Joe O’Donnell , N.C. State
In the first-ever Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) game played at Fenway Park, the NC State baseball team came up short against Boston College, 8-3, in the Sixth Annual ALS Awareness Game Saturday evening.
The game was played in honor of former Eagles captain Pete Frates and former Wolfpack standout Chris Combs, who have both been diagnosed with the disease. It was also the first time that BC has held its annual ALS game at Fenway Park.
O’Donnell allowed two runs-one earned-on four hits with one strikeout in one inning of relief. For the season, the righty has a 4-0 record, one save and 4.18 ERA. In 28 innings pitched, O’Donnell has 31 strikeouts.
- Brad Pennington, N.C. Wesleyan
N.C. Wesleyan concluded its baseball season with a 24-16 record this spring. Pennington received USA South Honor Mention accolades. During his rookie campaign, the former Hoggard led the team in hits (41), doubles (15), triples (4), and runs scored (32).
- Brandon Boone, Brunswick Community College
Brunswick Community College is riding a 22-game winning streak at 35-7 overall this spring. With a 19-1 conference mark, the Dolphins have seven games left in the regular season.
Boone has a 6-0 record on the mound. In 12 appearances and four starts, the righty has allowed just three earned runs in 53.2 innings pitched. The sophomore threw six shutout innings and struck out seven in a 4-2 win on Sunday over Patrick Henry.
- Julian Blackburn, Brunswick Community College
Blackburn has two saves in 12 appearances. On Sunday, Blackburn came out of the bullpen to replace his former Hoggard teammate to earn the save. With Brunswick Community College leading in the seventh, Boone gave way to Blackburn and the lefty recorded the final nine outs of the ball game.
New Hanover
- Collin Thacker, Gardner Webb
Gardner Webb dropped two-of-three to Liberty over the weekend after splitting a double header on Saturday. Thacker had two hits in the series.
Now at 20-19 overall and 8-7 in Big South Conference play, the Runnin’ Bulldogs return to the diamond for a midweek tilt against Furman.
Thacker is hitting a team-high .355 this season. He also leads the ball club in hits (55), doubles (12) and RBI (31).
Trey Croom, N.C. Wesleyan
Croom finished his sophomore campaign with 12 multi-hit games and .317 batting average. His 44 hits and 30 run scored were third on the team.
- Max Johnson, Phoenix College (Arizona)
In 171 at-bats this spring, Johnson is hitting .251. The sophomore is slumping as of late, with just two hits in his last 23 at-bats. Phoenix College has a 35-17 record this spring.
- Cory Everett, Guilford Tech
Everett has a .290 average with eight home runs and 29 RBI. He has 12 doubles, 32 runs scored and seven stolen bases. On April 22, Everett hit two home run in a game with four runs batted in during a 9-8 loss to Wake Tech.
Ashley
- Shane Shepard, N.C. State
Shepard went 0-for-1 during a pinch hit at-bat on Saturday at Fenway Park. In 40 games this season for the Wolfpack, Shepard has made 23 starts. He has a .169 batting average.
Topsail
- Clark Cota, UNCW
Cota has been one of the more consistent relievers out of the bullpen for UNCW this spring. With a fastball in the mid-90s, the big righty has 14 appearances as sophomore.
With a 1-1 record and four saves, Cota has a 3.52 ERA. In 15.1 innings, the former Topsail standout has 17 strikeouts. He earned his fourth save of the season on Friday in 1.2 innings of scoreless relief.
UNCW carried a 5-4 lead into the bottom of the eighth on Friday when Hofstra loaded the bases with just one out. Cota came in relief to induce an inning ending double play and pitched a perfect ninth inning for the save.
- Mason Berne, UNCW
Berne smacked his first home run since March 24 during Sunday’s 20-7 win over Hofstra. The right handed power hitter has a .293 batting average, with six doubles, six home runs and 16 RBI. Berne has reached base safely in 15 straight games.
- Danny Wilson, UNC-Asheville
- Jake Madole, UNC-Asheville
- Bryce Cota, Campbell
Former high school teammates Wilson, Madole and Cota all had a chance to reunite over the weekend when UNC-Asheville traveled to Buies Creek for a three-game Big South Conference series against Campbell.
UNC-Asheville took two-of-three as Campbell stole the middle game on a walk off win.
Wilson went 1-for-2 on Sunday with four walks. The four free passes in his final four at-bats gave him 36 for the year. The 36 walks move Wilson into the top-10 for walks in a single season.
Wilson went 5-for-10 during the weekend series. The sophomore is leading UNC-Asheville with a .299 average. The Bulldogs are 17-23 overall and 7-8 in Big South play. Wilson has started every game this season, with a team-high 41 hits, eight doubles, three home runs and 25 RBI.
Madole has made 13 starts this season for UNC-Asheville. He’s hitting .234, one home run and nine runs batted in. Cota has made four appearances in his rookie season for Campbell.
- Sam Luchansky, Belmont Abbey
The Belmont Abbey baseball team swept the Erskine Flying Fleet in their last conference series to improve to 30-15 on the year and 19-8 in conference play. The Crusaders secured the three-seed in the Conference Carolinas tournament next weekend.
In game two of the double header, Luchansky earned his third win of the season tossing two perfect innings. The sophomore side winder is second on the team with 19 appearances out of the bullpen. He has a 3-2 record and two saves. In 17.2 innings, Luchansky has a 4.08 ERA.
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Chase Riker, left, and Sam Luchansky, were teammates at Topsail High School. (Port City Daily photo/COURTESY AMY WONS RIKER) Chase Riker, Barton College
The Barton baseball team dropped a pair of games on Saturday in a Conference Carolinas doubleheader against No. 28 North Greenville University at Ashmore Field.
Barton (28-21, 13-14) earned the No.4 overall seed in the upcoming Conference Carolinas Tournament. Riker has enjoyed success in his freshman season. The left-handed hitting second baseman has a .347 average. He’s hit 11 doubles with 16 runs batted in.
- Payton Rice, Louisburg College
Rice suffered the tough luck loss in his last outing on April 23 against USC-Salkehatchie. The freshman allowed just two earned runs in seven innings of work in a 5-4 setback. Rice struck out five in his latest appearance.
In six starts and 10 appearances this spring, Rice has a 1-4 record. He’s logged a strike out per inning and 7.40 earned run average.
Laney
- Pete Wildeboer, Methodist
The Methodist baseball team split a doubleheader at Covenant in non-conference play on Saturday afternoon. With the results, the Monarchs fell to 17-21 on the year,
Wildeboer went 2-for-6 during the twin bill with one RBI and one run scored. The Laney grad has a .321 average this season. He’s seven for his last 16 at the plate with 13 multi-hit games this spring.
- Kennedy Hardy, Guilford Tech
Hardy has a .259 batting average, with four home runs and 14 RBI.
- Jonathan Kuebler, Guilford Tech
Kuebler has upped his average to .284 this spring. He went 2-for-2 with a home run and double in his last game against Wake Tech on April 22.
West Brunswick
- Tyler Stanley, Elon
Stanley has made one start and played in 24 games this spring. Elon has a 19-21 overall record and 9-6 mark in the CAA. He’s 3-for-13 on the year with one double and five runs scored.
North Brunswick
- Shelton Perkins, Pitt Community College
Perkins has seen an increased work load as the season has progressed. In nine starts, the righty has an 8-0 record and one save. Perkins has thrown 55 innings this season, with 50 strikeouts and 2.62 ERA.
Perkins grinded his way through six innings in his last start on April 23. He allowed three earned runs in a 15-5 win over Lenoir.
- Chris Graham, Brunswick Community College
Graham is second on the team with a .378 average. He’s leading the red hot BCC Dolphins with 56 hits, 44 runs scored and three triples. Graham has also hit 11 doubles and 30 runs batted in.
The leadoff man has hit safely in seven of his last eight games. During that stretch, Graham is 14-for-35 at the plate, with eight runs, two doubles and seven RBI.
