NEWBERRY — Seventh-ranked Newberry’s bats stayed silent through the first seven innings and a late rally fell short as the Wolves were downed by USC Aiken 6-4.
All four Newberry (33-10) runs and four of its seven hits came in the final two frames after USC Aiken (21-17) had built a sizable advantage. Down to its final strike, pinch hitter Tony Matos fouled away two 0-2 pitches before ripping a single up the middle to cut the deficit to two runs.
But the Pacers induced a fielder’s choice three pitches later to quell the rally and mark just the second time in 22 tries that a visiting team has walked away from the Smith Road Complex victorious in 2019.
Seven Newberry players finished the game with one hit apiece as the Wolves struggled to solve reigning Southeast Region Pitcher of the Week Mitch Spence and trusted reliever Henry Cartrett. Because the Pacers do not play this weekend, Head Coach Kenny Thomas was able to turn to his ace five days after a complete-game, 16-strikeout effort against Augusta.
Spence allowed three hits in his five innings to earn the win. Cartrett faced the minimum through two innings before the Wolves began to rally with four runs on Zach Rafuse. Austin Sandifer needed three pitches to earn a save.
Newberry, meanwhile used six pitchers, with none exceeding two innings of work, in a “Johnny Wholestaff” game. Starter Tyler Fuhr suffered the loss despite allowing a run on two hits in two innings on the mound. Ryan Harbin struck out five batters in his two innings, with Josh Bookbinder, Jeb Fulmer, Beau Thompson, and Quinton Driggers all working at least one frame.
Driggers ran his scoreless streak to 21.1 innings before a bloop into shallow left center between three converging fielders, one that was nearly corralled by Colin Allman in what would have been a tremendous over-the-shoulder grab, drove in the Pacers’ sixth run of the game.
The play was illustrative of the night as a whole for Newberry. Three plays at the plate, each of which followed a Pacers’ single into center field, went USC Aiken’s way. A diving stop and SportsCenter-esque throw by Allman from the seat of his pants beyond second base pulled Tyler Ackard ever so slightly off the bag at first.
Danton Hyman lost a fly ball in the lights, was out in a bang-bang play at first, and had an RBI robbed by a spectacular diving snare of a line drive by Pacers’ shortstop Chandler Rogers.
Hyman, however, sparked the Newberry rally with an RBI triple into the gap in right center in the eighth inning. Zane Tarrance’s RBI groundout gave Newberry its second run of the inning before a walk, a single, and a groundout set the table for Matos in the ninth.
USC Aiken built its lead with single runs in the first, fourth, and sixth innings before adding three more over the final two frames.