Pride Baseball Drops Season Opener To Knights Despite Rupp’s Three RBI Performance:Strong start from Parker Strader(Northeast Guilford High School)

Pride Baseball Drops Season Opener To Knights Despite Rupp’s Three RBI Performance
from Wes Gullett, Greensboro College Sports Information Director

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Despite a strong start on the mound by Parker Strader(Northeast Guilford High School), the Greensboro College baseball team could not overcome a rocky seventh inning and fell in their season opener to the Knights of Southern Virginia Friday, 10-8.

Southern Virginia took a one-run lead in the top half of the first inning before Greensboro took a one-run lead of their own in the bottom. With runners on the corners and no outs, Chance Bryant laced a single into left field to tie the game before Braxton Rupp grounded out to score Hunter Curtis to make the score 2-1.

However, the Knights tallied another run in the second to tie the game once again, but the Pride struck for one run in the third and two in the fifth to make the score 5-2. Rupp tallied two run-scoring hits during the run, while Kendal Tucker had a RBI single.

Both teams then scored two runs a piece in the sixth inning to make keep the Pride advantage at three runs, but Southern Virginia struck for the games next six runs to take a 10-7 lead into the bottom of the ninth.

In the final inning, Greensboro got a RBI sacrifice fly off the bat of Devin Brackin, who came in to pinch hit, to score Bryant but the Pride could not get any closer and fell by the two-run margin.

Rupp paced the Pride at the plate in the loss after going 3-for-4 with a triple and three RBIs. Bryant also finished with three hits on the evening, while Michael Garvey Jr.(Northwest Guilford High School) tallied two hits in four trips to the plate and scored two runs.

Strader tallied seven strikeouts over 5.1 innings pitched, but did not factor into the decision. Chenzo Scanio was credited with the loss. Clayton Slater, Cole Cooper, and Hunter Curtis(Southern Alamance High School) also came on in relief and combined to pitch 2.1 innings.

The Pride will return to action Saturday when they close out their three-game set with the Knights to open the season with a doubleheader at BB&T Point Field, home of the High Point Rockers. For more information on Greensboro College baseball, continue to follow www.greensborocollegesports.com.