April 12, 2002
Wilmington, NC.-- UNC Wilmington sophomore reliever Blake Cross pitched out of aninth inning jam with the tying runs aboard to give the Seahawks a 3-1 CAA baseballvictory over the Monarchs Friday night. UNCW is now 23-9 overall and 6-1 in theCAA, while the Monarchs are 16-16 overall and 1-5 in the CAA.
With UNCW holding on to a 3-1 lead in the ninth, ODU mounted a two-out rally.Pinch hitters Mike Croley (Jupiter, FL.) and Demarque Hairston (Martinsville, VA.)both drew walks with two outs. Cross came in and got a groundout to end the gameand pick up his fourth save of the year.
The Monarchs lone run came in the sixth inning. Jared Musolf (Lakehurst, NJ.)drew a walk and Brent Sollenberger (Chambersburg,PA.) beat out an infield hit. Musolfthen scored on an errant throw to make it 2-1. Sollenbergers hit broke up BrianWhitaker no-hit bid.
The Seahawks scored two runs in the third on Matt Wright's two-run single scoringZack Harris and Kiley Vaughan. The third run came on Harris' solo homer in the seventh.
ODU freshman sensation Justin Verlander(Goochland, Va.) fanned seven, walked five in seven-plusinnings. he came into the game ranked 23rd nationally with a 1.79 earned run average.It is now at 1.97.
The two team play again on Saturday night at 7 p.m. in Wilmington, NC.
Linescore
ODU 000 001 000=1-2-1UNCW 002 000 01x=3-5-1
ODU Battery: Justin Verlander, Jon Tinkham(8) and John OehlerUNCW Battery: Brian Whitaker, Matt McDonnell(8), Blake Cross(9) and Pilegard
WP: Whitaker (4-4) LP:Verlander (4-4) Save:Cross(4)
HR: UNCW: Harris (4)