WILSON, N.C. -- Left-hander Kramer Sneed was solid on the mound and Barton College banged out 12 hits Thursday afternoon to defeat Limestone 5-3 in the first round of the Conference Carolinas Baseball Tournament at Fleming Stadium. Barton is seeded third and Limestone is sixth.
Sneed (5-2) went 7 2/3 innings, scattered five hits, struck out eight and walked four for the 29-15 Bulldogs, who will play #7 Anderson at 10 a.m. Friday in Fleming Stadium.
Seth Austin (Hurdle Mills, N.C.) batted 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs to pace the Saints.
Zach Boyette batted 2-for-5 with two doubles to pace the Bulldogs. Will Johnson was 2-for-4 with a double, Wesley Francis went 2-for-5 and Aaron Watkins doubled.
Nick Nigito secured his fifth save in relief of Sneed while Limestone’s
Jordan Barnett (Richlands, Va.) (Richlands, Va./5-3) was the losing pitcher in 7 2/3 innings of action.
George Hardin (Forest City, N.C.) (Forest City, N.Y.) pitched the final 1/3 inning for Limestone. He gave up two hits.
Limestone scored the game’s first run in the top of the first.
Greg Dailey (Baltimore, Md.) singled to get on base, and eventually advanced to third. He came home to score on a throwing error by Barton’s shortstop. Barton got on the board with two runs in the second inning for the 2-1 advantage.
The Saints tied the contest in the sixth.
David Christy (Greenville, S.C.) drew a walk to get on base, stole second, and scored on Austin’s double. The Bulldogs added two more runs in the bottom of the frame to regain the lead.
The Saints cut the Bulldogs’ lead to one with another run in the eighth. Austin recorded his second RBI of the game as he singled to score Christy from second.
Barton scored once more in the bottom of the eighth for the 5-3 victory.
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