Saturday, March 17, 2007

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Mar. 13, 2007) - Junior Anthony Russell (Waldorf, Md.) hit a game one grand slam, and freshman Danny Petro (Atlanta, Ga.) drove in five runs in game two as the Baseball Bucs opened Atlantic Sun Conference play with a doubleheader sweep over Gardner-Webb, 4-3 and 8-3, Saturday afternoon at Varsity Field.

Trailing 3-0 and having collected just one hit entering the sixth inning of the opening game, the Bucs (14-7) loaded the bases with two walks and an infield single.  Russell drove Gardner-Webb starter Josh Drewery's 1-1 pitch into a strong wind and over the left field wall for his fourth home run of the season, giving the Bucs a 4-3 lead.

Junior Brandon Langston (Ringgold, Ga.) made the lead stand up, throwing 7 1/3 innings and striking out six, picking up his fourth consecutive win and improving to 4-1 on the season.  Senior Caleb Glafenhein (Knoxville, Tenn.) pitched a perfect ninth inning for his fifth save.  Drewery fell to 1-4, giving up four runs on four hits in six innings of work.

Freshman Ryan Self (Mount Juliet, Tenn.) led off game two with a bunt single, and scored later in the inning on Petro's sacrifice fly. 

After the Bulldogs (10-13) tied the game in the second, the Bucs tacked on two more runs in the third on RBI single by Petro and freshman Tanner Moore (Chattanooga, Tenn.).

Leading 3-1 in the fourth, the Bucs pulled away with three more runs, highlighted by senior C.J. Lee's (Bristol, Va.) RBI double and Petro's two-RBI single; his third and forth RBI of the day.

Freshman Todd Caldwell (Johnson City, Tenn.) pitched six strong innings, striking out two and allowing just two runs, picking up his first career victory.  Gardner-Webb starter Ben Campbell allowed six runs in 3 1/3 innings, falling to 2-2 on the season.

In addition to Petro and Russell's stellar offensive performances, freshman Justin Tramble (Marietta, Ga.) went 4-for-8 over the two games with two runs scored and a RBI, while Lee finished the day 3-for-6 with two doubles and four runs scored.

The teams conclude the series Sunday afternoon at Varsity Field.  First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.