March 11, 2003

Final Stats

Boiling Sroings, N.C. - Western Carolina scored two runs in each of the first, third and fourth innings to hand home-standing Gardner-Webb an 8-3 loss Tuesday afternoon at Varsity Field.

The Catamounts, who claimed their first road win of the season, improved to 11-6 and has won 10 of their last 11 contests. The Bulldogs fell to 9-9 on the year.

Western pounded out 14 hits in the game, including three each from Wayne Kilmer, Todd Buchanan and Alex Gary, and got a strong pitching performance from senior Ryan Basner (1-1), who worked 8.0 innings, struck out seven and walked only one while scattering eight hits.

WCU got an RBI sacrifice fly from Buchanan and an RBI double off the bat of Rod Goldston in the top of the first to take a 2-0 lead on Gardner-Webb starter Abe Gonzalez. The Bulldogs responded with a run in the bottom of the second to trim the lead to 2-1, as Sammy Styers drove in Ryan Quirello with a broken bat single to right field.

Buchanan roped an RBI double to left to add to Western Carolina's lead in the top of the third inning, and scored on an RBI single by Goldston to push the Catamounts' edge to 4-1 before Gonzalez fanned a pair of batters to end the threat. Buchanan ripped a two-run single through the right side with two outs in the top of the fourth inning, taking advantage of a previous GWU fielding error to push Western Carolina to a 6-1 lead.

Gardner-Webb responded with an RBI double from Styers in the bottom of the fourth to cut the lead to 6-2, and got a solo home run from Clint Abernathy in the bottom of the fifth to cut the lead to 6-3. Western Carolina, however, would turn to Buchanan for more offense in the sixth, as the senior first baseman smacked an RBI double to push the score to 7-3. The Cats added another run on an infield single by Alex Gary for its final run of the day.

Gardner-Webb put a pair of runners aboard in the bottom of the ninth, but Western Carolina reliever Ryan Foster came on to record the final two outs for the Catamount win.

Buchanan led the Catamounts on the afternoon, going 3-for-4 with five RBI, Kilmer (3-for-5, three runs), Gary (3-for-5, RBI), Todd Roper (2-for-6, two runs) and Goldston (2-for-4, two RBI) also had solid days at the plate for Western Carolina.

The Bulldogs finished with nine hits on the afternoon, but hit into three double plays and stranded nine runners. Gonzalez took the loss for GWU, working 5.2 innings and striking out eight while allowing 10 hits and four earned runs.

Jay Bennett (2-for-4, run), Styers (2-for-4, 2 RBI), Abernathy (1-for-4, HR, RBI) and JD Milford (1-for-3) led GWU at the plate on Tuesday.

Western will play the second of its current six-game road swing on Wednesday, when the Cats travel to Columbia to face 11th-ranked South Carolina. First pitch is set for 7 pm and the game will be broadcast on WWCU, 90.5 FM in Cullowhee.