North Carolina Greensboro finished sweeping a three-game weekend series against the Ohio baseball team Sunday, following a preseason that allowed the Bobcats to practice outside only once.
Greensboro (8-0) beat Ohio (0-3) 12-2 to start the weekend. Harsh weather conditions postponed Saturday's contest to Sunday, where the Spartans won the double header 10-4 and 4-2, respectively.
"We're 0-3, but we're a better baseball team for having come down and played," Ohio coach Joe Carbone said.
Despite the three losses, Carbone said he was impressed with his whole pitching staff's ability relatively to control Greensboro's explosive offense. He especially was pleased with pitcher Marc Cornell, who was clocked in the upper 90s, despite allowing six runs in 3 2/3 innings in Friday's loss.
"That's the first time (Cornell) had his feet on dirt," Carbone said. "For his first time, I thought he threw excellent."
The Bobcats made their biggest threat to Greensboro in the final game of the series last night. Ohio clung to a 1-1 tie entering the bottom of the seventh, but a bases-clearing triple off the bat of Spartan right fielder Justin Saltalamacchia put Greensboro ahead for good. With the win, undefeated Greensboro is enjoying the best start in the history of the program.
In the final loss, pitcher Chris Bova allowed one run on four hits in six innings of work. Bova struck out six Spartans, while walking two.
Carbone said the offense's performance was adequate, but showed rustiness moving from the batting cage to the actual field. Outfielder Dan Lunsford collected five hits on the weekend, including one homerun and two runs batted in. Infielder Omari Briscoe recorded two doubles on his way to three hits and one run scored.
Weather permitting, Ohio will play Louisville at 3 p.m. Tuesday in Cardinal Stadium.
17 Archives
T.J. Lasita
