GAFFNEY, S.C. – Limestone College baseball collected a walk-off win in the first of a four-game series, taking a 5-4 decision after platting two runs in the bottom of the seventh, but was blanked in the nightcap, 5-0, as it split a twin bill with Goldey-Beacom College on Friday, February 15 at Founders FCU Stadium.
GAME 1 INFORMATION
Score: Limestone 5, Goldey-Beacom 4
Records: Limestone (3-6), Goldey-Beacom (0-1)
Location: Founders FCU Stadium
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Junior Josh Evans (Indian Land, S.C.) went 2-for-3 with an RBI at the dish
- Junior Alex Cornell (Columbia, Conn.) also tallied a pair of hits, including a walk-off single
- Senior Ryan Creps (Indiana, Pa.) doubled and scored twice
- Junior starter Jordan Adcox (Lawrenceville, Ga.) struck out five in a no-decision
- He surrendered just a run over 4.2 innings of work, allowing two hits and two walks
- Senior reliever Eric Mullinax (Greenville, S.C.) picked up the win out of the bullpen
- He allowed three runs – one earned – on three hits to go with five strikeouts
HOW IT HAPPENED
After Adcox retired the Lightning in order in the top of the first, the Saints loaded the bags with a pair of one-out walks and a hit batter in the bottom of the frame. Without a base knock, Limestone pushed across the go-ahead run as freshman
Benjamin Huber (Pendleton, S.C.) lifted a sacrifice fly to center.
Although his only blemish in the stat line was a walk over four innings, Adcox ran into trouble in the fifth following a leadoff single. His defense would turn a 4-6-3 double play, but a two-out walk and an extra out on a dropped third strike allowed Goldey-Beacom to tie things at 1-all with a double down the leftfield line.
The Blue and Gold responded in the bottom of the frame as Evans singled back up the middle before senior
Channing Painton (Marietta, Ga.) worked a walk to put two runners on for the Saints. Following a wild pitch by the visitors, Whetsell put Limestone back in front, 2-1, with a sacrifice fly to centerfield.
The Saints added a single run in the sixth after junior
Alex Cornell (Columbia, Conn.) started a string of three straight two-out singles with a shot up the middle. Two batters later, Evans staked Limestone to a 3-1 edge with an RBI single to right, but the Lightning rallied in the top of the seventh to take their first lead.
With a runner on second, Goldey-Beacom cut the margin to a single run with a double before taking its first lead of the year, 4-3, with a bases-loaded, two-out double a few batters later. In the bottom of seventh, the Saints were down to their final out when a two-out error allowed the tying run to score.
On the very next pitch, Cornell laced the game-winning hit down the leftfield line to score senior
Chase Allen (Sharpsburg, Ga.) – who had reached on a one-out single earlier in the seventh – as the Saints rebounded to take the opening game of the series with a 5-4 decision.
GAME 2 INFORMATION
Score: Goldey-Beacom 5, Limestone 0
Records: Goldey-Beacom (1-1), Limestone (3-7)
Location: Founders FCU Stadium
INSIDE THE BOXSCORE
- Freshman starter Peyton MacPherson (Cumming, Ga.) gave up an unearned run over five innings – he allowed six hits and three walks while striking out five in a hard-luck loss
- For a second straight game, Limestone only managed a handful of hits in MacPherson's start
- The Saints were held to just three knocks, only one of those going for extra bases
- Allen posted his second double of the season while Evans finished with base hit
- Senior John Staab (Cockeysville, Md.) added his fourth pinch hit of the season
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a pair of scoreless frames to start the nightcap, the Lightning put the first two men on to start the third and looked to take the lead with a single to left. However, Cornell gunned down the runner trying to score from second before MacPherson worked out of the jam with an inning-ending 5-3 double play.
Limestone registered just a pair of base hits over the first four innings – a two-out double by Allen in the first and a leadoff infield single by Evans in the third – before Goldey-Beacom broke through with the go-ahead score in the top of the fifth. A pair of hits and a crucial error allowed the unearned run to cross.
The Lightning put the game away in the seventh, platting four runs in the frame behind three one-out singles against the Limestone bullpen and a two-run error, to make it a 5-0 game. The Saints placed two runners on in the bottom half, but Goldey-Beacom would escape unscathed to maintain the clean sheet.
UP NEXT
Limestone and Goldey-Beacom will wrap up their first-ever meeting with a doubleheader on Saturday, February 16 at Founders FCU Stadium. First pitch is slated for 12 p.m.