March 12, 2008

Box Score

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Campbell Lewis delivered a lead off, walk-off home run in the bottom on the ninth inning to power Furman to an 8-7 comeback win over UNC-Asheville in baseball action Wednesday night at Furman Stadium.

After falling behind 7-0 after two innings, Furman battled back and tied the game in the eighth before Lewis led off the ninth with a blast off UNC-Asheville's Ben Buchanan over the right field fence to complete the comeback. It was the first career home run for the junior right fielder from Atlanta, Ga., who went 2-for-5 and scored a pair of runs.

The victory improves Furman to 8-4 on the season while UNC-Asheville falls to 6-9.

Furman found trouble from the outset as UNC-Asheville belted around Paladin starting pitcher J.P. Goldsberry for seven runs on five hits in just 1 1/3 innings. He exited in the second with the Paladins trailing 5-0, and by the time the inning ended the Bulldogs owned a 7-0 advantage

From that point Furman started chipping away, scoring four runs in its half of the second when UNC-Asheville starting pitcher Carso Mclean surrendered a pair of one out singles and three straight walks. He was relieved by Dillon Waters, who promptly walked Marcus Rose to force in another run before yielding an RBI single to Connor Lind, whose grounder caromed off first base, allowing Matt Hemingway to score.

The Paladins' comeback was fueled by excellent work by the bullpen, which allowed no runs and only three hits over the final seven innings. Freshman Jay Friedman was superb after coming on the second in relief of Goldsberry. The Paladin right-hander kept the Bulldogs' bats at bay over five innings, surrendering just three hits and one walk while striking out four. Barry Benton tossed two innings of shutout ball, and Nick Karow (1-0) came on to record the final two outs in the ninth and pick up the victory.

Buchanan (0-3) absorbed the loss for UNC-Asheville.

Connor Lind went 4-for-5 and drove in three runs. His RBI single in the fourth made it a 7-5 game, and an inning later Reese Wade doubled down the left field line and came around to score on pinch hitter Ryan Lee's double to right field that pulled the Paladins within a run.

Furman tied the game in the eighth on Lind's fourth hit of the game, a single up the middle that plated Joey Rodgers.

Furman, which out-hit UNC-Asheville 12-9, got a 3-for-4 performance from Wade that included a pair of doubles.

Kevin Mattison, Beau Zinman, and Catlin Carter each tallied two hits to lead the Bulldog attack.

Furman returns to action on Friday when it opens a four-game weekend homestand against High Point. First pitch is set for 7:00 p.m.