BOX SCORE

PLAY-BY-PLAY

CLINTON, S.C. – The Eastern Kentucky University baseball team jumped out to a seven-run lead and held on to win, 10-8, Saturday afternoon against Presbyterian College in game two of this weekend’s series.

The Colonels (3-3) took a 10-3 lead into the bottom of the sixth, but watched as PC (2-8) scored five unanswered runs over the next three innings to cut the lead to two. However, with the score at 10-8, a man on first and no outs in the bottom of the ninth, sophomore Greg Terry got Carl Della Torre to ground into a 4-6-3 double play. Junior Ryne Purcell then came on to earn his second save of the season by retiring Alex Loftin for the final out.

Junior Stephen Hefler (1-0) started for EKU and picked up his first career win, going five strong innings and allowing three earned runs on five hits.

Steven Richardson received the loss for PC, pitching four innings and surrendering nine runs on 10 hits.

In his first career start, freshman Matt Phipps batted 3-for-4 with two RBI and a solo home run. Juniors Jayson Langfels and Richie Allen and sophomore Richie Rodriguez all compiled two hits on the day while senior Anthony Ottrando drove in a team-high three runs.

Aaron Preston entered the game as reserve in the first inning and led the Blue Hose offensively, going 2-for-3 with a two-run home run.

EKU took a 3-0 lead in the top of the second as sophomore #A.J. Jamison started a rally with a single through the left side that scored fellow sophomore Michael Garcia#. Freshman Kyle England and Phipps – both making their first career starts – then hit consecutive singles, Phipps’ scoring Jamison and advancing England to third. When Phipps stole second, England scored on the throw to make it 3-0.

The Colonels added to their lead in the third as Langfels laced a single to start the inning and then came home on a single through the right side by Allen. Jamison then drove in his second run of the game with a sacrifice fly to center that plated Garcia and made the score 5-0.

After the Blue Hose got two back in their half of the third with a two-run shot by Preston, EKU added four more in the fourth – three off a bomb to left-center by Ottrando – and then another in the fifth courtesy of a solo shot by Phipps, his first home run as Colonel.

PC closed the gap in the sixth and seventh innings with a sacrifice fly by Loftin and solo home run by Nate Horton that cut the Colonels’ advantage to five, 10-5.

The Blue Hose threatened in the bottom of the eighth as they used three consecutive singles to load the bases with two outs; however, junior Macon Smith got Mack Hite to fly out to center to end the inning and preserve the Colonels’ five-run lead.

The Colonels will play the rubber match of this weekend’s series tomorrow at 2:00 p.m.