Feb. 27, 2011

Box Score

Cullowhee, N.C. - Freshman Luke Gragg drove in the game-winning run with a walk-off, two-out bloop single to right field to score senior Stephen Notaro as Western Carolina took Sunday's rubber match of the three-game series with Manhattan College, 9-8, at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.

Tied at eight with two runners aboard and two down in the bottom of the ninth, Gragg, who pinch hit for starting designated hitter Macon Smith in the sixth inning, lifted the seventh-pitch of his at bat into shallow right field close to the foul line where it was out of reach of all three right-side players - right fielder, second baseman and first baseman. Running with the crack of the bat, Notaro raced around third and scored the game winner from second base.

Gragg finished 2-for-2 in the win, recording his first career double in his first plate appearance of the day in the sixth.

Senior reliever Brandon Johnson (2-0) picked up the victory out of the bullpen, tossing the final two frames with a pair of walks and three strikeouts. WCU starter Adam Curtis threw a career-long 4.1 innings in his first career start, scattering six base hits and two earned runs. The Arden, N.C., native fanned three against just one walk.

Matt Benedict tossed an inning and a third of relief, with Andrew Chilcoat, Morgan McKinney and Jeremy Sluder combining for an inning and a third out of the pen. All told, WCU pitchers recorded eight strikeouts with just four free passes.

Western Carolina (5-2) had to rally twice after jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the home half of the first inning. Senior Austin Schultz drew the first of his four walks on the day to open the frame with Cameron Dullnig plunked by his team-leading fourth pitch of the season to put two aboard with no outs. Back in the lineup after missing the opening two games of the series due to illness, junior Ross Heffley doubled to left center on the first pitch he saw and moved to third on the throw to the plate. Seeing Heffley running for third, the Jaspers cut-off the throw home, heaved the ball towards the corner where it scooted away from the third baseman allowing Heffley to scamper home for a 3-0 lead.

Heffley drove in four runs on a 2-for-5 showing with a pair of doubles. The Snellville, Ga., native currently leads the team with 14 RBI and four two-baggers. Notaro finished 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Manhattan (1-2) chipped away at the Catamount lead with single runs in the fourth through sixth innings while Tyler White belted his first home run of the season to keep WCU ahead, 4-3, after six complete.

In the seventh, the Jaspers rallied for two runs to grab their first lead of the contest. Mark Onorati singled to left and sacrificed into scoring position where Chad Salem drove him in on a RBI single up the middle. Austin Sheffield - who opened Manhattan's scoring with a solo homerun in the fourth inning - then doubled to left center to score Salem and put the Jaspers ahead, 5-4.

However, WCU rallied in the bottom of the seventh with a single run to knot the game at five. Matt Johns pushed a bunt single to third base. A balk call moved the Stafford, Va., native to second where he promptly stole third with no throw. White then drove in his second run of the game on a sacrifice fly ball to right, tying the game 5-5.

Manhattan regained momentum in the game as Anthony Vega blasted a home run to right field, handing the Jaspers a 6-5 lead. Back-to-back singles put two aboard with a sacrifice bunt putting the runners at second and third with just one out. Consecutive walks to Mike McCann and Salem drove in a second run, with Sheffield recording his third RBI on a sacrifice fly to left, handing Manhattan an 8-3 lead through seven and a half.

Two walks amongst the first three batters started to swing momentum back to the home dugout. It continued to back the Catamounts as Schultz grounded into a would-be, inning ending double-play, but raced down the line to beat the relay throw to first. Dullnig then singled through the right side to score Aaron Attaway, who drew first free pass of the inning, with Heffley doubling home the game-tying runs with Dullnig sliding into home ahead of the tag to tie the game, 8-8, setting up Gragg's walk-off heroics.

Reliever Taylor Sewitt (0-1) was saddled with the loss after starter Mike Giordano settled down after the first-inning miscues. Giordano worked six innings, allowing four runs on four hits with six walks and six strikeouts. Sewitt allowed one earned run on two hits in one-inning of action.

Onorati finished 2-for-3 while Nick Camastro was 4-for-5 with two runs scored to lead the Jaspers in the series finale. Sheffield drove in three runs on two base hits, while Salem had two RBI including one on a walk.

Western Carolina travels to Richmond, Ky., on Tuesday and Wednesday for a two-game set against Eastern Kentucky, which is where WCU head coach Bobby Moranda played for two seasons. The Catamounts took 2-of-3 in the head-to-head series in Cullowhee a season ago, but had their six-game series winning streak snapped with a 12-9 loss in the second game of the set. WCU leads the all-time series, 23-10.

The series was rekindled after a 19-year hiatus in 2009 with the Catamounts claiming a five-hour marathon by one run, 24-23. All told, the two squads combined for 47 runs, 47 hits and 12 errors in a game that took five hours and six minutes to complete. The two also combined to strand 25 base runners, 18 by the Catamounts alone.