Cory Tilton's RBI triple in the eighth game Charlotte its 30th win of the season. |
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Niners Win 30th Game in Fourth-Straight Season, 8-7 over USC Upstate
April 23, 2008
Charlotte, N.C. - Right fielder Cory Tilton broke a six-all tie in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI triple as the Charlotte 49ers got back in the win column by putting together its 19th come-from-behind victory Wednesday with an 8-7 defeat of visiting USC Upstate in college baseball action at Robert and Mariam Hayes Stadium. Charlotte gets its 30th win in four straight seasons and improves to 30-10. The Spartans slip to 20-23 this season.
First baseman Rob Lyerly collected three hits, including a double, in the contest. Lyerly has hit safely in his last 13 contests, his longest such stretch of the season. He has 27 hits in that span, including a school-record-tying six on Saturday at Massachusetts. Lyerly has raised his average 75 points during that run, scoring 17 runs and driving in 19.
Both teams scored a pair of runs in the third, with Upstate grabbing a one-run lead with a run in the fourth and Charlotte tying the game in the fifth.
The Niners scored three runs in the sixth, two unearned on two of the Spartans' four errors.
Upstate got an unearned run back in the seventh and tied the game in the eighth on a two-RBI single by catcher Jimmy Tanner. He led all players with three RBI.
Pitcher Bryan Hamilton allowed that pair of inherited runners to score in the eighth, and had to move into the batting order when designated hitter Chris Taylor came in defensively due to an apparent injury to starting catcher Ross Steedley. In his first at-bat of his collegiate career, Hamilton singled to center to drive in what became the winning run.
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Charlotte left fielder O'Brien Taylor hit a leadoff double down the left field line, and Tilton knocked him in with the triple in the right field corner for Hamilton, who lined a single into center to bring home Tilton and give the Niners the two-run lead.
In the ninth, Hamilton hit left fielder Brian Dempsey to start the inning. After an out and a walk, shortstop Eric Guillen singled through the right side of the infield to close the gap to just one run, but Hamilton struck out the last two batters he faced to get the win and improve to 3-1.
Tilton added three hits to go with Lyerly's three. Tilton scored two runs and drove in two for Charlotte.
Guillen had three hits for Upstate.
Charlotte, in a tie atop the A-10 standings, continues the five-game homestand by hosting a weekend series against third-place Duquesne. The Friday contest starts at 6 p.m.
NOTES: This is the first senior class in school history that has won 30 games in four straight seasons. Four times in history has Charlotte won 30+ games in consecutive seasons. Charlotte is a combined 145-65 in the last four seasons, a winning percentage of .690 since 2005.
