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5/24/2008 - BASEBALL
Bulldogs Run Their Way into A-Sun Final
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Image courtesy of ASunPhotos.com
DeLAND, Fla. - Gardner-Webb advanced to its first title game, defeating Belmont 6-3 at the 2008 Atlantic Sun Baseball Championship Presented by Progress Energy. They will take on Lipscomb at 1:00pm on Sunday. The game will be carried on ASun.TV.
Brock Miller, the table setter for Gardner-Webb (29-29), opened the game by singling up the middle. He stole the first of two bases and one out later scored on a sacrifice fly by Justin Loyd. Belmont (25-33) answered in the third grabbing a 2-1 lead on a run-scoring double by Packy Elkins and a single by Carlo Testa. The back-and-forth play continued as the Runnin' Bulldogs regained the lead with single runs in both the third and fourth innings only to see the Bruins knot the score at 3-3 when Derek Wiley unloaded on a Jonathan Ban pitch with a majestic drive to dead center than landed halfway up the batters eye over 415 feet away.
"He's a good hitter," Ban said. "I made a mistake and he jumped all over it. I just had to clear my mind and go get the next guy."
The Runnin' Bulldogs closed the contest strong, registering single tallies in each of their final three trips to the plate. After Wiley’s shot, Jamall Kinard opened the Gardner-Webb sixth with a walk. He promptly stole second and advanced to third on a sacrifice. Ty Boyles greeted Chris Manning with a single chasing home Kinard.
One inning later, Loyd led off with a single and advanced to third following a sacrifice bunt and a throwing error by Wiley. One out later, Josh Drewery’s sacrifice fly drove home Loyd. With one out in the eighth, Boyles doubled to left and scored on a single by Loyd.
The Bruins could only muster a lead-off single in the ninth off Gardner-Webb reliever Kyle Paeplow who closed out the contest by inducing a harmless ground out by Elkins.
"We were able to score some runs today without getting hits," said Gardner-Webb Head Coach, Rusty Stroupe. "We didn't hit the ball real well either game today, but what happened today was that we really relied on our pitching."
Ban, the Runnin' Bulldogs starter against Belmont on Wednesday, returned on two days rest to turn in six innings of three-run baseball to pick up his fourth win in seven decisions. Belmont’s Eric Diaz suffered the loss in relief.
Notes: Derek Wiley's home run was the 41th of his career and 17th this season breaking the Bruins' single-season record set by Brian Bogaard in 1999…Wiley increased his career RBI total to 161 moving to within one of Jerry Wheeler's total which ranks second in school history…Carlo Testa and Wiley drove in 14 of the Bruins' 23 runs at the 2008 A-Sun Championship… Gardner-Webb set a school-record with 120 stolen bases breaking the benchmark set last year, 118…Brock Miller became the single-season record holder for steals with 32…Gardner-Webb is the second A-Sun school from North Carolina to advance to the final (Campbell, 2000)…Lipscomb is 4-0 against Gardner-Webb, marking the first time the Bisons defeated an opponent four times in the same season since joining NCAA Division I…With Belmont's elimination, 2008 marks the 20th straight A-Sun Championship that the runner-up one year will not win the title the next.
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.
