UVA-Wise Coach Banner Gets 200 th win in Dramatic Fashion, Sweep E&H

March 14, 2007
Game 1 Boxscore

Game 2 Boxscore

Wise, VA – UVA-Wise head baseball coach Hank Banner received his 200 th career win directing the program in dramatic fashion when Brad Robbins belted a pinch hit two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh for a 2-1 victory over Emory & Henry. The Highland Cavaliers completed the twinbill sweep with a 14-4 five inning run rule second game.

Banner becomes the second UVA-Wise baseball coach to reach 200 wins as he joins mentor and current athletic director Ray Spenilla. The Cavs are now 13-4-1 on the season while the Wasps fell to 3-12.

Robbins (Big Stone Gap, VA) went three for four in the two games with the two-run homer, a double and three runs. Matt Begley (Norton, VA) had a big second game of three for three, three runs, a three-run double and a two-run two-bagger. John Bigley (Woodbridge, VA) had three singles. Matt Hall (Hillsville, VA), Jorge Laboy (Woodbridge, VA), who had four rbi and two sac flies, Josh Verts (Winchester, VA) each had a pair of hits. Edwin Narvaez, Brad Austin (Hillsville, VA) and Mike Lang (Fredericksburg, VA) had the other three hits.

Brock Funk (Fries, VA) mproved to 3-1 throwing the final three innings of the opener. He allowed five hits and one earned run. Bigley claimed the second game win with three scoreless frames in relief, he gave up just two hits and fanned three.

Emory & Henry received a big day by Adam Hall, who went four for six with a double. Eric McAfee had a double of his own on a three for six effort.

In the opener, the Wasps broke a scoreless tie in the top of the sixth when McAfee singled home Hall. Then in the bottom of the seventh, Narvaez ground out and Verts flied out to start the UVA-Wise at bat. Bigley walked. Pinch hitter Robbins stepped to the plate a belted the walk-off two-run homer to center field for the 2-1 victory and coach Banner’s 200 th Cavs’ win.

Emory & Henry scored first in the second game as well. In the second, Preston Frye, Will Freeland and Anthony Lowry had three-straight run-scoring singles for a 3-0 lead.

The advantage was short lived as the home team jumped on reliever Garrett Amburgey. Verts, Bigley and Robbins lined three single in a row to load the bases to start the turn at the plate. Begley followed with a deep three-run double to center to tie the contest, 3-3. Austin walked and Lang laid down a bunt single to reload the bags. Hall laced a two-run double to put UVA-Wise ahead for good, 5-3. Laboy lofted a sac fly while Narvaez and Verts added rbi singles to finish the eight-run inning, all off Amburgey to lead 8-3.

The Wasps added one tally in the top of the third. The Cavs answered with a two-run single to right field by Laboy to make it 10-4. Begley drove in two more runs in the fourth on his second two-bagger as part of a four run fourth before Bigley held Emory & Henry scoreless in the fifth for the 14-4 run-rule final.

UVA-Wise will travel north to Bluefield College for two Appalachian Athletic Conference games starting at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday.