Hot Start Sparks Greensboro College Pride Baseball To Opening Day Win Over Covenant:Chris Fenisey has Pride batters in launch-mode

Hot Start Sparks Pride Baseball To Opening Day Win Over Covenant
(Courtesy of Wes Gullett, Sports Information Director for Greensboro College Pride)

LOOKOUT MTN., Ga. – The Greensboro College baseball team opened the 2017 season in dominating fashion with a 15-4 victory over Covenant College Friday.

Zach Neumeister wasted no time getting the Pride (1-0) on the board in the first inning as he blasted a 2-2 pitch over the centerfield wall to give the Pride a 1-0 lead.

However, Greensboro did not stop there. After Brandon Soden singled and stole second base, Kristopher Taveras hit his second career home run to extend the Greensboro advantage to 3-0.

“I was really excited to see guys swinging the bat well early in the game,” Head Coach Frank Maldonado said. “Coach (Chris) Fenisey has been working with the guys on their approach at the plate and it paid off early.”

Josh Evans pitched out of a jam in the second inning before Greensboro exploded for six more runs in the third inning.

Blake Glass and Michael Faul led off the inning with back-to-back singles before Glass came in to score following a Covenant error.

Later in the inning, Braedon Jewett and Hunter Curtis hit consecutive RBI singles to force the Scots into their bullpen.

Following the pitching change, Jacob Rodriguez, Neumeister, and Soden each recorded one RBI to push the Greensboro lead to 9-0.

Covenant was then able to score the game’s next three runs before Soden recorded yet another RBI following a sacrifice fly that scored Jewett.

With Greensboro leading 10-3 going into the bottom half of the fifth inning, Covenant scored one-run before Adam Murray came on to pitch with two outs to close the inning.

Greensboro then pushed five more runs across over the next two innings to extend their advantage to 15-4.

Mac Graham recorded three RBIs during the spurt after recording a RBI single in the sixth inning before roping a 2-out 2 RBI double to center field.

Greensboro then kept Covenant off the board for the remainder of the contest to secure the 11-run victory.

“It was a good way to start the season,” Maldonado added. “We had a nice balance from top to bottom in the lineup, but I cannot say enough about our defense and pitching.

“Josh had an outstanding first start of the season for us today and Adam came in and finished it off. I told the guys that this was just one game and we have a lot of baseball left to play. We are going to go out tomorrow and try to win the series.”

Graham finished with a three RBI day on three hits, while Soden, Neumeister, and Taveras combined for six RBIs on five hits. Jewett and Rodriguez also had one RBI each. Josh Evans, who started on the mound for Greensboro, threw 4 2/3-innings and gave up four run. Adam Murray then came on to toss final 4 1/3 innings to pick up the win, while recording five strikeouts.

The Pride baseball team will return to action at 12 p.m. Saturday when they take on Covenant in Game 1 of a doubleheader. For more information on Greensboro College baseball, continue to follow www.greensborocollegesports.com.