Tenn. Wesleyan Gives UVa-Wise First Baseball Region Defeat

May 9, 2008
BOXSCORE

Kingsport, Tenn. – After an encouraging first at bat with three runs, UVa-Wise saw its upset hopes of the top rated team of NAIA Region XII dashed. Tennessee Wesleyan scored three times in both the first and second innings and never trailed again to record an 11-6 victory.

With the defeat, the Highland Cavaliers will play an elimination game tonight starting at 7:00 p.m. against the winner of the Union College vs. Indiana-Southeast game.

Brad Robbins lined his 12 th home run of the year in the first, a two-run shot. Jorge Laboy doubled twice with two runs batted in. Matt Duffy added two singles in three at bats with an rbi. Brad Austin and Mike Lang rounded out the hits.

After one out, Brad Ricker walked in the top of the first. He stole second and moved to third on a Laboy ground out but came home easily on a single to right center by Duffy. Robbins made it a three-run frame with a two-run homer to right field for what would be the only Cavs’ lead of the day.

The Bulldogs’ first three hitters lined a double and two singles and all would score to tie the contest, 3-3 after one complete. Tennessee Wesleyan put the first two batters on base in the second on two UVa-Wise errors as part of a second trio of tallies to move in front, 6-3. The home team added a single score in the bottom of the sixth to make it 7-3.

The Cavs tried to mount a comeback in the eighth. Lang singled and Austin walked. Both were sacrificed to second by Ricker before Laboy doubled to deep center to plate both to cut it to 7-5.

The Bulldogs answered with four runs in the home eighth to put it back to a 11-5 contest. Matt Hall drew a leadoff walk in the top of the ninth and would score on an Austin single but UVa-Wise could get no more to fall 11-6.