ROCK HILL, SC -- Brian Ingram collected three hits to become Elon’s all-time hits leader and lead the third-seeded Phoenix to a 9-4 win over No. 4-seeded UNC Asheville Wednesday afternoon on the opening day of the 2003 Big South Baseball Championship at The Winthrop Ballpark.
Elon (33-21-2) advances to take on second-seeded Coastal Carolina Thursday at 11:00 a.m., while an elimination game now looms for the Bulldogs (26-27) at 8:00 p.m. Thursday against the survivor of Wednesday night’s clash between top-seeded Winthrop and No. 6-seed Liberty.
The Phoenix rallied from a 1-0 deficit in the bottom of the second with four runs off UNCA starter Steven Cook (9-5). An RBI single by Holt Montgomery scored Chris Price, and Wes Miller followed with a two-run base hit to score Montgomery and Paul Bennett. Elon went up 4-1 following a sacrifice fly by Gary Morris which plated Miller.
After the Bulldogs pulled within 4-2 on a solo homer by Daniel Pruitt in the third, Elon increased its lead to 6-2 with a pair of runs in the fifth. The Phoenix added one run in the seventh and two in the eighth for the final margin.
Hensen allowed two earned runs in six innings of work, while Luke Pangle threw three innings of scoreless relief to record his third save of the year.
The 2003 Venture Industries Big South Conference Baseball Championships will continue through Saturday with all games being played at The Winthrop Ballpark. The winner of the double-elimination tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.
POST-GAME QUOTES
ELON HEAD COACH MIKE KENNEDY
(on starter Brian Hensen’s pitching performance)
“The last two times out, he (Hensen) beat Clemson and Wake Forest, plus he’s left-handed, so we knew he was the right man for the job today. He made them put balls in play, and that’s all we needed him to do. He wasn’t quite as good as he has been all year, but he got the job done.”
(on winning in the first round)
“It’s nice, but you know you have two more. That’s the way coaches think. That’s the way players think. Losing the first one, you don’t know how many you have left. Offensively, we did very well today, and (reliever) Luke Pangle did a great job for us today.”
ELON SHORTSTOP BRIAN INGRAM
(on becoming the school’s all-time hits leader)
“I wasn’t focused on that (the record), I was focused on winning the game. That last at-bat, I was just concentrating on seeing the ball and hitting it. Fortunately, I got a good pitch that I could drive. I give credit to getting to play a lot and working hard everyday. It’s nice to have it out of the way.”
UNC ASHEVILLE HEAD COACH MATT MYERS
“The difference in the game was that we left too many pitches up – and when we did, Elon hit it and scored runs. I liked the way we battled back, but we just couldn’t get that big hit when we needed to have it. When Elon’s pitching needed a big out, they were able to get a ground ball and get out of the inning. We had chances, and they helped us a little bit, but they always seemed to get the big out.”
Game Box Score
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