Conference Carolinas Institutions See Mixed Results on Second Day of NCAA Division II Southeast Regional
North Greenville Regional Webpage | Wingate Regional Webpage
TIGERVILLE, S.C./WINGATE, N.C. - On the second day of the 2022 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional hosted by North Greenville and Wingate, North Greenville split with Lenior-Rhyne to force a winner-take-all rubber game on Saturday while Belmont Abbey saw its season come to an end in heartbreaking fashion.
North Greenville (46-9) and Lenoir-Rhyne (46-11) will play on Saturday, May 21 with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. with the winner advancing to the Southeast Super Regional, May 27-28.
In the first game of the day, top-seeded and nationally top-ranked North Greenville fell to fourth-seeded and nationally 14th-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne, 7-1. It was a pitchers' duel through six innings with just two runs and six hits between the two teams with Lenoir-Rhyne leading after a pair of hits and a sac fly plated two in the first. The Bears broke things open in the seventh as the leadoff man reached on a strikeout wild pitch. Two hits, a sacrifice bunt, an error and a sacrifice fly made it 5-0. Gehrig Octavio plated the lone Crusaders' run in the bottom of the frame on a fielder’s choice which scored Bryce Roddey who had walked. The Bears added two more in the eighth to secure the win.
The 6-9 hole hitters for the Bears went 5-for-14 with five runs scored and four RBIs to lead the visitors while Cory Bivins paced the Crusaders’ offense with two hits. Reece Fields took the loss as he allowed seven runs on eight hits over eight innings with two walks and one strikeout while Dawson Taylor finished the contest for NGU. Andrew Patrick was stellar for Lenoir-Rhyne as he allowed one run on four hits with five walks and four strikeouts over seven innings.
In game two, North Greenville’s Noah Takac twirled a gem to force the if necessary game as the junior right-hander scattered six hits over eight innings and allowed two runs and a walk with six strikeouts. The offense collected 12 hits led by Ethan Stringer who went 3-for-4 with a run scored. Josh Senter drove in two runs and scored twice while Marek Chlup and Bivins also crossed the plate twice in the win. The Bears used five pitchers in the contest and tallied nine hits.
North Greenville jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first as Stringer reached on a bunt base hit and scored on a Senter two-run single to left center. Zach Zarra followed with an RBI single for the early lead. A Bivins home run to right field made it 4-0 before the Bears got a home run of their own to cut into the lead. In the third, Chlup led off with a walk, stole second and scored on a two-out RBI single by Campbell Conard. An RBI double in the fifth made it 5-2 before Octavio took over in the sixth. The Crusaders’ second basemen doubled home Bivins and then stole third and scored on a Bears’ error to push the lead to five. A pinch-hit, two-out RBI single by Andrew Kaminsky in the eighth made it 8-2 NGU. After a quick out to begin the inning, the Bears strung together three straight hits to plate a pair of runs to make things interesting in the ninth, but Nathan Barolet was able to shut the door and preserve the win.
In Wingate, North Carolina, sixth-seeded Belmont Abbey (34-19) got an impressive pitching performance from Alex Sniffen, but a walk-off home run gave the seventh-seeded Mountain Lions of Young Harris (39-18) the 6-5 win and a spot in the Southeast Regional No. 2 semifinal against the winner of host Wingate and No. 3 Columbus State on Saturday at 3 p.m. Kale Rhame paced the Crusaders’ 12-hit attack with three hits and two RBIs while Adam Overcash and Ben Ferguson each had a pair of hits and scored while Ferguson also drove in a run. Sniffen was nearly untouchable for Belmont Abbey as he allowed just three hits and walked three with 11 strikeouts over seven innings. Nic Aehlert took the loss while Travis Burnette earned the win for Young Harris who used three pitchers in the contest and tallied 10 hits.
The Abbey got on the board first as Sean Johnson led off with a home run to left-center on the seventh pitch of the at-bat for the 1-0 lead. Overcash followed with a double to right and scored on a Ferguson single. Zach Aelhert made it 3-0 with a two-out, RBI double to right to plate Ben Gobell, who was hit-by-pitch. Things were quiet until the eighth when Ferguson and Overcash started the frame with back-to-back doubles and scored on a Rhame single to right to push the lead to five. The Mountain Lions got on the board in the bottom of the frame as three hits and an error scored a pair of runs to make it 5-3. Young Harris was down to its final two outs in the ninth when two singles and a double cut the lead to one before Jackson Jones drove a ball over the right-field fence for a two-run, walk-off home run in the 6-5 win.
2022 NCAA Division II Southeast Region #1 Schedule (Tigerville, S.C.)
Thursday, May 19
Game 1: #4 Lenoir-Rhyne def. #5 UNC Pembroke, 12-5 (Box Score)
Game 2: #1 North Greenville def. #5 UNC Pembroke, 6-4 (Box Score)
Friday, May 20
Game 3: #4 Lenoir-Rhyne def. #1 North Greenville, 7-1 (Box Score)
Game 4: #1 North Greenville def. #4 Lenoir-Rhyne, 8-4 (Box Score)
Saturday, May 21
Game 5: #1 North Greenville vs. #4 Lenoir-Rhyne, 1 p.m.
2022 NCAA Division II Southeast Region #2 Schedule (Wingate, N.C.)
Thursday, May 19
Game 1: #2 Wingate def. #7 Young Harris, 9-4 (Box Score)
Game 2: #3 Columbus State def. #6 Belmont Abbey, 15-8 (Box Score)
Friday, May 20
Game 3: #6 Belmont Abbey vs. #7 Young Harris, (Box Score)
Game 4: #2 Wingate vs. #3 Columbus State, 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 21
Game 5: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser, 3 p.m.
Game 6: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 7 p.m.
Sunday, May 22
Game 7: Game 6 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser, 3 p.m. (If Necessary)