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Blue Eagles Hold Off Owls To Secure Victory
Web Posted June 14, 2010
 SPARTANBURG,
S.C. – Tyler Miller (USC-Upstate) went three for four with four RBI’s, while Aaron Preston (Presbyterian) blasted his first homerun of the year to lead the Spartanburg Blue Eagles to a 9-7 victory over the Statesville Owls in Spartanburg South Carolina Monday night.
The Blue Eagles were able to win despite a late rally by the Owls in the ninth inning. Going into the top of the ninth inning, the Blue Eagles held a 9-2 lead over the Owls, but after a hit, an error, and string of walks, the Owls cut the seven run deficit they faced entering the inning, to only two.
Blue Eagle closer Chris Knauff (USC-Upstate) entered the game with runners on first and second with two outs. Knauff threw a wild pitch that allowed both Owl runners to advance to second and third before finally getting Owl shortstop Chris Vasquez (Wingate University) to line out to Blue Eagle centerfielder Alex Dozier (USC-Sumter) that secured the victory.
Knauff recorded his fourth save of the season in a game that featured starting pitcher Gaither Bumgardner (USC-Upstate) and right fielder Tyler Miller.
Bumgardner (1-0) had his best outing of the year as he pitched 6.1 innings, allowed two runs, (one earned) only surrendering two hits throughout the night.
Bumgardner’s collegiate teammate Tyler Miller was just as impressive at the plate going three for four with four RBI’s. The biggest sequence of the game occurred in the bottom of the fifth inning when Spartanburg was trailing Statesville 1-0 and Miller stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded. Miller proceeded to hit a bases clearing triple that landed down the first baseline. Miller spoke about facing a two strike count and looping the triple down the right field line after the game.
“I fell down 0-2 (0 balls and 2 strikes) and I was thinking curve ball,” said Miller. He (Brantley Blalock) had thrown it to some hitters before, so I was just sitting on it.”
Miller came up again in the sixth inning with the bases loaded and again he produced, driving a fast ball to right field for a single that drove in one run.
“I’ve never hit balls like this in my life to right field. They (the pitchers) are just throwing me a lot of off speed stuff away and I just keep going with it,” said Miller.
Beside’s Miller, other Blue Eagles contributed at the plate such as Alex Dozier and Aaron Preston. Dozier went two for four with a double and two RBI’s, while Preston went one for three, blasting a homerun over the left field fence.
“It was my first homerun this year with wood, so it felt really good” said Preston. We are getting more comfortable and it seems like we just explode around the fifth and sixth innings.”
Preston would be accurate in his assumption as the Blue Eagles have scored 29 runs in the fifth and sixth innings dating back to the previous four home series. That dates back to the Carolina Chaos game in which the Blue Eagles scored eight runs in the fifth inning alone.
Brantley Blalock threw 5.1 innings for the Owls but fell to 0-2 on the season. Dylan Cole (Furman) appeared out of the bullpen pitching 1.2 innings, striking out three Owl batters.
The Blue Eagles and Owls meet again this Wednesday night in Statesville at 7pm.
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