Pfeiffer baseball splits twinbill to open season

Published 12:58 pm Wednesday, February 20, 2019

The Pfeiffer University baseball team opened the 2019 season with a doubleheader split against Washington & Lee University at Joe Ferebee Field on Saturday.

The Falcons took game two by a 15-13 final. Pfeiffer got the scoring going in the first inning when Chaston Gordon  knocked an RBI single to left field.  He would later advance to second on a Bryce Marsh single, which drove in Noah Martindale, putting Pfeiffer up 2-1.

WLU put up four runs in the second inning and one in the fourth to take the 6-2 lead, but Pfeiffer’s offense came alive by putting up four runs to tie it at 6-6.  The big blow for the Falcons coming when Bryan Kowalski  launched a three-run blast into the trees beyond the left field fence.

Pfeiffer would then take the 7-6 lead in the fifth inning when Marsh smashed his first home run of the season.

Pfeiffer would then put up five runs in the sixth inning to go up 12-6. The lead was short-lived, as WLU scored five of their own in the seventh to draw to 12-11. Pfeiffer manufactured a run in the seventh, which started with a Blake Winebarger double. He later scored on a Mason Striplin single that made it 13-11.  WLU then tied it at 13-13 in the eighth inning, but Pfeiffer responded once more, plating two in the home half of the eighth to provide the eventual 15-13 final.

Freshman Slayton Fletcher earned his first collegiate win, surrendering just one hit in 1.2 innings of work while Peyton McCann was tagged with the loss after giving up five runs in 1.2 innings.

Marsh finished 3-of-4 from the plate and drove in four while Striplin also went 3-of-4 from the plate.

In game oneIra Dorin went 3-of-4 with a home run and three RBI to lead the Falcon hitters. Dorin’s heroics came in the sixth inning when he launched a three-run shot to left center. Winebarger then lifted a solo shot down the right field line for the back-to-back homers, putting Pfeiffer up 7-6.

Washington & Lee would then push two across in the ninth and held on for the 8-7 in game one.

The split evens the Falcon record to 1-1 while Washington & Lee stands at 5-1.

About Charles Curcio

Charles Curcio has served as the sports editor of the Stanly News & Press for more than 16 years and has written numerous news and feature storeis as well. He was awarded the NCHSAA Tim Stevens Media Representative of the Year and named CNHI Sports Editor of the Year in 2014. He has also won an award from Boone Newspapers, and has won four North Carolina Press Association awards.

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