GASTONIA – Fourth-seeded UNC Pembroke jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, but then found themselves down 4-3 before tying the game in the 7th and walking it off in the 9th to beat fifth-seeded Emmanuel 5-4 in the Conference Carolinas Tournament opener Thursday afternoon at Sims Legion Park in Gastonia.
Michael Dolberry II doubled, moved to third on a groundout, and would sprint home on an Emmanuel wild pitch to send the Braves into the winner's bracket.
Freshman
Jacob Smith got the start and turned in a career-high seven innings, allowing just three earned runs while striking out seven.
The Braves (39-12) moved to 6-3 all-time against Emmanuel (30-21), as the two squads have now alternated wins in the last seven matchups.
The Braves will be back in action Friday, May 3, as they square off against eighth-seeded Erskine. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at CaroMont Health Park.
| GAME SUMMARY |
| FINAL SCORE |
UNC Pembroke 5, Emmanuel 4 |
| PITCHERS |
WP: Jake Inman (5-1) LP: Simon Boggie (1-2) Save: None |
| RECORDS |
UNC Pembroke 39-12; Emmanuel 30-21 |
| KEY INNINGS |
| BOT 1 |
Blake Hinson worked a walk and would come around to score on Joey Rezek's RBI ground out, while Kody O'Connor launched his 16th homer of the season to dead center to put the Braves up 3-0. |
| TOP 3 |
Jesus Cruz reached on a single, while Thomas Collins would reach via a walk. Cruz and Collins would move up 90 feet on a ground out, before coming around to score on Brody Campbell's 2-RBI single. |
| TOP 5 |
Nick Dietsch got aboard with a 2-out error and would eventually score to tie the game on a Ryan Muniz RBI single. |
| TOP 7 |
Van Gupton Jr. led off the frame with a 2-strike homer to left to give the Lions a 4-3 lead. |
| BOT 7 |
Dolberry would reach on an error, steal 2nd, and advance to 3rd on another Emmanuel error. O'Connor provided his third RBI of the day with a single to score Dolberry and tie the game at 4. |
| BOT 9 |
Dolberry laced a double into the left-center field gap and moved to 3rd on a ground out. After O'Connor drew his second intentional walk of the day, a wild pitch would squirt away enough for Dolberry to race home for the game-winning run. |
| UNCP LEADERS |
EU LEADERS |
Kody O'Connor 2-3, HR, 2 BB, 3 RBI
Michael Dolberry II 1-5, 2B, 2 SB, 3 R
Jacob Smith 7 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 7 K
Jake Inman W, 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R
|
Brody Campbell 1-4, 2 RBI
Van Gupton Jr. 1-3, HR, RBI |
| UP NEXT |
| The Braves will be back in action Friday, May 3, as they square off against eighth-seeded Erskine. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at CaroMont Health Park. |
| 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. |
