EMORY, Va. – The No. 8 Newberry College (27-5, 11-2 SAC) baseball team gave Head Coach Russell Triplett his 376th win with a 15-2 win over the Wasps of Emory and Henry to tie him all-time among coaches at Newberry, rising level with hall of famer Tim Medlin.
Sophomore Jomar Lugo (San Sebastian, P.R.) led the Wolves on the day with four RBIs in the contest while sophomore Donovan Ford (Greenville), sophomore Jonathan Velez (Mayaguez, P.R.), junior Rhett Jolly (Edgefield) and freshman Brody Winter (Anderson) each recorded a pair of RBIs in the game. Ford and Winter recorded theirs through two-run home runs while senior Braylin Marine (Freeport, N.Y.) and Velez also launched moonshots in the game, nearly increasing the Wolves home run total by 50% on the season.
Freshman Bennett Roemer (Bluffton) picked up his sixth win on the season, remaining perfect on the mound as he only allowed a pair of runs in the game while fanning seven along the way. Junior Johnathan White (Simpsonville) picked up the save in the game by tossing a trio of shutout innings allowing just one hit and recording five strikeouts.
A hit batter put the first runner aboard in the contest for the Wolves and was driven in just two batters later with an RBI-single up the middle by Velez that plated the first run of the game for Newberry and gave them the 1-0 lead. The top of the second saw the Newberry offense explode as they were able to post six runs on the board on seven hits, including a pair of dingers from Ford and Marine. Lugo and Jolly recorded the other three runs for the Wolves in the frame, with Lugo driving in a pair while Jolly knocked in one to give the Wolves the 7-0 lead.
The Wasps were able to scratch a run across in the bottom of the second and were able to hold Newberry scoreless in the top of the third and fourth innings but the Wasps were unable to produce over the same stretch. Newberry added another two runs to their tally in the top of the fifth off a defensive miscue and a hard ground out to increase their lead to 9-1. A pair of RBI-singles by Lugo and sophomore Kade Faircloth (Oviedo, Fla.) put two more runs in the Wolves advantage. Emory and Henry was able to plate a run in the bottom of the sixth, cutting into the Wolves lead, 11-2.
Jolly knocked another RBI-single in the top of the seventh before Velez and Winter were able to add a trio of runs to the score board in the top of the ninth with a pair of dingers, with Winter knocking in two runs while Velez led-off the inning with a solo shot to give the Wolves the final 15-2 margin.