Catcher Nick Daddio delivered a two-RBI double in the fifth inning. Photo by Linnea Stoops.
The Charlotte 49ers baseball team captured their second win in as many days with a 4-3 victory over the Presbyterian Blue Hose in a mid-week non-conference contest on Wednesday evening. The Blue Hose loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the ninth inning, but Logan Sherer got out of the jam with a deep fly ball to left field earning his fourth save of the season.
“It’s hard to win two games in the middle of the week on Tuesday and Wednesday,” said Charlotte head coach Loren Hibbs after the game.
“I thought that yesterday went really well and we knew that it was going to be a tougher battle today. We’ve got a lot of stuff going on with guys going to class everyday and leaving for FIU tomorrow afternoon so I’m proud of our guys for being able to buckle down and get two wins during the week.
The Niners (6-9) struck first in the bottom half of the second inning when designated hitter Danny Raley delivered a two-out RBI single. Raley, making his second consecutive start as the lead off man in the lineup, chased home Luke Gibbs from second to give Charlotte an early 1-0 lead.
Presbyterian (14-7) responded immediately in the top half of the third with a two-out RBI of their own. Tyler Weyenberg lifted a double over the head of Brad Elwood in right field to knot things up at 1-1 through three innings.
The 49ers jumped on top again in the bottom of the fifth on the strength of Nick Daddio’s two-RBI double that found the gap in left-center field. Sherer scored from second and Gibbs raced home all the way from first for his second run of the night to give the Niners a 3-1 lead after five frames.
Yet again, the Blue Hose answered in the next half inning with two runs of their own to deadlock the game at three runs apiece. First baseman Jacob Midkiff rolled an infield single to third base and a miscommunication by the Charlotte defense allowed the tying run to score from third base.
49ers starter Trevor Gay was chased after allowing the game-tying RBI. Gay worked 5.2 innings while allowing eight hits and the three earned runs in his first start of the season on the mound.
The Niners pulled away for good in the bottom half of the seventh as they loaded the bases with back-to-back singles and a bunt for a hit to lead off the inning. Raley made his presence felt once more as he picked up his second RBI of the evening with a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Elwood and giving the Charlotte a 4-3 advantage.
The 49ers will hit the road this weekend for their first true away games of the season. The Niners will continue the search for their first Conference-USA victory of the year as they prepare for a three-game series with the FIU Panthers.