SALISBURY – Fourth-seeded UNC Pembroke held off a late rally from fifth-seeded Young Harris to take an 8-7 win in the NCAA Southeast Regional opener Thursday afternoon at Catawba's Newman Park.
Joey Rezek led the way with a 5-5, two double, one home run day, while
Kody O'Connor went big fly twice on the way to a 3-5 performance. The duo combined to go 8-10, with three doubles, three home runs, and six RBI.
Jake Inman picked up the win, going 3 1/3 innings in relief of
Jonathon Jacobs, allowing just one run before
Chase Jernigan pitched into and out of danger in the ninth to hang on for the victory.
The Braves fell behind 3-0 early, but eventually tagged Conference Carolinas Pitcher of the Year, Zach Murray, for ten hits and six runs.
The Braves (43-12) improved to 18-7 in the all-time series with the Mountain Lions (39-14), and have now taken seven of the last eight matchups.
The Braves will be back in action Friday, May 17, as they will take on Catawba in what will either be an elimination game for Catawba, or the start of a best-of-three series for the regional title depending on the result of tonight's Catawba-Young Harris matchup. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
| GAME SUMMARY |
| FINAL SCORE |
UNC Pembroke 8, Young Harris 7 |
| PITCHERS |
WP: Jake Inman (6-1) LP: Zach Murray (9-2) Save: None |
| RECORDS |
UNC Pembroke 43-12; Young Harris 39-14 |
| KEY INNINGS |
| TOP 2 |
Steve Spell got the Mountain Lions on the board first with a 2-run single, while Jack Enrico added an RBI walk to put Young Harris out to an early 3-0 lead. |
| BOT 3 |
The Braves answered back in the 3rd, as Joey Rezek connected for his 21st home run of the year, while Kody O'Connor went back-to-back to cut the deficit to 3-2. |
| BOT 4 |
Will Hood worked a leadoff walk, stole second, and came around to tie the game on a Blake Hinson RBI single up the middle. Hinson stole second and would come home to score on Rezek's RBI double to give the Braves a 4-3 lead. |
| TOP 5 |
Young Harris responded with a James Basham RBI single to tie the game back up at 4-4. |
| BOT 6 |
Hood reached via a leadoff single and moved to 3rd on Hinson's single, setting the stage for a perfectly executed double steal to put the Braves back ahead 5-4. Rezek struck again with another RBI double to score Hinson, while O'Connor sent one into orbit for a two-run job to stretch the lead to 8-4. |
| TOP 9 |
Basham scored one with an RBI double, Jeremy Begora worked an RBI walk, and Jack Enrico was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it 8-7, before Chase Jernigan nailed down the win with a strikeout of Ethan Stamps. |
| UNCP LEADERS |
YHC LEADERS |
Joey Rezek 5-5, 2 2B, HR, 3 RBI
Kody O'Connor 3-5, 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI
Blake Hinson 3-5, 2 SB, RBI
Jake Inman W, 3 1/3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER
|
James Basham 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI
Marco Colina 3-4, 2B
Steve Spell 2-5, 2 RBI |
| UP NEXT |
| The Braves will be back in action Friday, May 17, as they will take on Catawba in what will either be an elimination game for Catawba, or the start of a best-of-three series for the regional title. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. |
| BACK THE BRAVES |
| Fans can help support the UNC Pembroke Baseball program by joining the Braves Club, or by making a gift directly to the program. To find out more information about the Braves Club, visit UNCPBraves.com/BravesClub or email braves.club@uncp.edu. To make a monetary gift, visit UNCPBraves.com/Give and indicate "baseball team" in notes section. |
