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5/22/2008 - BASEBALL
No Under-Dog: Gardner-Webb Downs Stetson
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Courtesy ASunPhotos.com
DeLAND, Fla. - A critical error allowed Gardner-Webb to take the lead for good en route to a 10-6 victory against Stetson in Thursday's final game at the 2008 Atlantic Sun Baseball Championship Presented by Progress Energy from Stetson's Melching Field at Conrad Park.
Trailing 4-2 in the top of the fifth, the Runnin' Bulldogs (28-28) cut the lead in half with back-to-back doubles by Jamall Kinard and Tyler Johnson. Johnson would be at third base and Brock Miller would be at second base with no outs only to see Ty Boyles foul out and Justin Loyd strike out. The rally appeared to die when Bubbie Spake lifted a routine fly ball center, but Jeff Simpson dropped the potential third out allowing both Johnson and Miller to score giving the Bulldogs a 5-4 lead. Spake would make the margin two, scoring on a base hit by Daniel Cooke.
After tacking on a single run in the seventh, Gardner-Webb put the contest out of reach adding three runs in the ninth inning. Johnson led off the inning with a single followed by a Miller bunt single. Boyles drove home Johnson with a single to center while Miller scored on a wild pitch. Cooke collected his fourth hit of the evening, driving in Boyles with a single to center field. Stetson would score one in the ninth and loaded the bases for the reigning A-Sun Player of the Week Justin Bass, but Wes Cogdill induced a ground out to third.
“They are the benchmark in A-Sun baseball,” Gardner-Webb head coach Rusty Stroupe said. “We said before the game that we match up well with them this year. Our guys are real excited right now, but we have work to do. This thing is so far from over. We could play them again tomorrow.”
Cooke and Kinard manhandled the Stetson (26-32) pitching staff throughout the ballgame, each collecting four hits and combining to drive home three runs. For Kinard, it extended his dominance against the Hatters, improving his season average to .579 (11-for-19) with five RBI. Cooke struggled in the regular-season series versus Stetson, accumulating only a .200 average (2-for-10) in the three games. The two join Campbell's Brandon Scott in collecting four-hit games at this year's A-Sun Championship
“I’ve been in a slump the last couple weeks, and it felt real good to come out and do my thing today,” Kinard said. “It feels kind of weird, because at Gardner-Webb we are usually the underdog. It feels weird but we’ll stay focused because we have a job to do and we’re only halfway there.”
The Hatters will now have to win two games on Friday if they wish to advance to championship Saturday. First, they will face Lipscomb at 11:00am. Gardner-Webb will face the winner of that 11:00am contest in the 7:00pm nightcap. Both games as well as all A-Sun Championship games can be seen on ASun.TV.
Notes: After losing 15 of 17 to Stetson all-time entering this season, the Runnin' Bulldogs have won three of the four meetings in 2008...Casey Frawley went 3-for-5 and is now hitting .500 (10-for-20) against Gardner-Webb this season...With the win, Gardner-Webb improved the record of teams playing an extra-inning game in the A-Sun Championship to 6-9 in the game following the extra-inning game...Gardner-Webb improved to 24-1 when scoring at least nine runs in a game...No other A-Sun school has scored at least nine runs more than 18 times...Gardner-Webb has reached double digits in runs scored against the Hatters in three of the four contests...Cooke swiped two bases to take over the career lead at GWU in steals with 66.
The Atlantic Sun Conference is a 12-member league committed to Building Winners for Life, with a focus on academic and athletic integrity and a balance between the two for the student-athlete, and maintaining a high level of sportsmanship. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun encompasses six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun consists of some of the most dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Gardner-Webb University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.
