Junior
Alex Whipple ripped a pinch-hit three-run triple in the top of the ninth to take an 8-6 lead as the Ashland University baseball team defeated host Charleston (W.Va.), 9-6, on Friday (March 12) afternoon.
The Eagles (3-2) trailed, 6-5, going into the ninth inning when they loaded the bases with one out. Head coach
John Schaly turned to Whipple, who cleared the bases with a three-bagger to left field. Junior
Logan Moss followed with a squeeze bunt to give the Eagles a 9-6 lead.
Then junior right-hander
Perry Bewley, who came on to get the last three outs of the sixth, retired the Golden Eagles (4-2) in order in the bottom of the ninth to secure his first win of the season.
Bewley has now thrown nine scoreless innings on the season, giving up just four hits while striking out 10.
The Eagles took a 1-0 lead in the first inning as junior
Austin Eifrid was hit by a pitch to lead off the game, stole second and scored on a single by junior
Mike Flemming.
Ashland then tacked on four in the second inning, getting an RBI double from junior
Logan Moss, an RBI single from Eifrid and a two-out, two run single from Flemming.
Sophomore
Michael McBriar got the start for Ashland and held Charleston in check through the first four innings before running into trouble in the fifth. Junior lefty
Alex Bish came on to get the last out of the inning, but the Golden Eagles had cut the margin to 5-3.
Mitchell Vincent's two-run triple in the sixth tied the game at 5 before Bewley came on to induce a fly out from Bryce Toussaint that brought in the go-ahead run.
Bewley kept the Golden Eagles off the board in the seventh and eighth innings to give the lineup a chance to take the lead in the ninth.
Flemming reached base five times, going 3-for-3 with two walks and three RBI. Eifrid was 2-for-5 with two runs scored and Moss was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI.
Ashland and Charleston will play Game 2 of their three-game series on Saturday (March 13) at 1 p.m. in West Virginia.
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