Feb. 24, 2009
Box Score
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Senior Rob Merkle scored two runs and went 1-for-3, while seniors Justin Wilson, Taylor Traub, and freshman Tim Ryan all drove in runs, but it was not enough for the Oakland University baseball team (1-1) as Charlotte (1-3) put together a six-run eighth inning to provide the winning margin in an 8-4 victory over OU on Tuesday at Hayes Stadium.
"We played very well tonight against a team that won 43 games last year," said head coach John Musachio. "We put ourselves in a position to win with the three-run rally in the eighth inning."
Charlotte jumped on the board first with a two-run fourth inning, the only two runs that the 49ers would score off OU starter Jeff Gorecki, who went five full innings, scattering six hits, walking two, and fanning four. Junior Chad Yinger tossed a perfect sixth inning, and the Golden Grizzlies narrowed the scoring gap to 2-1 in the seventh as Wilson singled Merkle home.
In the top of the eighth inning, the Golden Grizzlies pulled ahead after scoring a pair of runs on a fielder's choice by Traub, taking advantage of a Charlotte error and taking a 3-2 lead. The OU lead was pushed to 4-2 later in the frame as Ryan reached on a fielder's choice, capping a three-run inning.
However, the 49ers staged a rally of their own in the bottom of the eighth, knotting the game on a two-run homer by Alan Parks that chased sophomore reliever Jake Arendsen from the game after 1.1 innings of work, where the two-run homer was the only hit off the southpaw.
With the game tied and two out in the bottom of the eighth, Charlotte freshman Shane Brown, in his first collegiate at-bat, hit an inside-the-park grand slam that set the Charlotte lead at 8-4, and the Golden Grizzlies went down in order in the ninth inning as the 49ers held on for the victory.
Freshman Connor Mielock suffered the loss for OU after allowing four runs, all earned, on three hits in 0.2 innings of work.
The Golden Grizzlies and 49ers will play the second game of their three-game set on Wednesday, Feb. 25, with a 4 p.m. game at Hayes Stadium.
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