NEWBERRY — The first six members of the Newberry College (1-0) baseball lineup posted multi-hit games as the Wolves were able to take down the visiting Patriots of Francis Marion (0-1) on Opening Day at the Smith Road Complex on Friday, February 3.
Sophomore Jonathan Velez (Mayaguez, P.R.) led the way for the Wolves at the plate as he recorded a trio of hits and a trio of RBIs to lead Newberry to their first victory of the year. Sophomore Donovan Ford (Greenville), junior Henry Gibson (Walterboro) and sophomore Kade Faircloth (Oviedo, Fla.) each went 2-for-3 at the dish on the evening with Gibson posting a pair of RBIs as well. Senior Braylin Marine (Freeport, N.Y.), sophomore Jesse Free (Moncks Corner) and junior Rhett Jolly (Edgefield each chipped in an RBI on the night.
Senior Joe LaFiora (Philadelphia, Pa.) picked up the win on the day for the Wolves on the mound after tossing six scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, the first batter of the day, while fanning seven. Junior Wesley Livingston (Pomaria) put together a pair of innings to keep the Patriots in check while junior Kenny Miller (North Augusta) came in and shut them down in the top of the ninth with a trio of strikeouts to his credit as well.
After the Patriots got their first batter on the bags through a single to right field, the Wolves were able to retire the next three in order to get out of the first inning of the season unscathed. The same could not be said for the Francis Marion defense as a single by Ford and a ground out by Marine set up the first scoring opportunity. Ford ended up 90 feet closer as he stole third before Gibson knocked a single up the middle to bring him around for the first run of the year and give the Wolves the 1-0 lead.
Neither team would strike in the second inning but the Wolves were able to able to add five more runs to their tally through small-ball tactics to extend their lead. A double by Ford would kick off the streak for the Wolves and he was brought around just one batter later by Marine, who himself ended up in scoring position. A walk and a single loaded the bags for the Wolves before Velez laced a ball just inside the third base bag and down the line to score two runs and leave two more in scoring position.
After a pitching change in the inning, the next two Wolves batters laid down perfectly executed sacrifice bunts to increase their lead by two and take the 6-0 advantage after three. Gibson added another RBI to his tally in the fourth to increase the Newberry lead to 7-0. Both teams went silent over the next two innings until Francis Marion was able to plate their first two runs of the game in the top of the seventh. Newberry answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the frame and the Patriots added one to their tally in the top of the eighth, but that’s where the scoring would stop as the Wolves were able to shut them down the rest of the way to take home the 8-3 win.
In a game where hits were few and far between for both squads, the team picked up a gritty 3-1 win over the Patriots of Francis Marion (0-2) at home on Saturday, February 4.
Marine picked up a pair of hits on the afternoon while sophomore Faircloth and sophomore Velez each recorded a hit in the game with the latter two notching an RBI as well. Sophomore Tyler Chinpire (Jupiter, Fla.) pitched five scoreless inning for the Wolves to start the day while fanning three. Junior Kyle Baker (Gaston) picked up his first win of the season in relief as he closed out the last four innings of the contest allowing just a single run.
Neither team was able to put a run on the board in the opening frame, however; the Wolves were able to take the early lead in the second inning with just a single run. A hit batter, a pair of wild pitches and a walk left runners on the corners for the Wolves. A throwing error on the part of the Patriots catcher allowed the first Wolves run to cross the plate and give them the 1-0 lead after two.
The bats went cold for both sides again until the top of the sixth when Francis Marion was able to scratch across a run and tie the game in the late goings. While neither team would score in the seventh, Newberry was able to plate two runs in the bottom of the eighth to take the final lead of the game. A sacrifice fly by Faircloth and then an RBI-single by Velez brought around both scores and extended the Wolves lead to 3-1, which would be the final score line as the Patriots were retired in order in the top of the ninth.