WILMINGTON, N.C. - Junior lefthander Cameron Roth and two relief pitchers combined to pitch a five-hitter and UNC Wilmington (12-10, 1-1) took advantage of a seasonal-high four errors by the Tigers (5-17, 2-3) as the Seahawks evened their three-game Colonial Athletic Association series with a 7-3 victory over Towson at Brooks Field on Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers, who earned a 7-2 win in the series opener on Friday night, will face UNC Wilmington in the third and deciding game of the series on Sunday afternoon at 12:00 noon.
Roth, who upped his record to 4-1 on the season, pitched seven very effective innings before turning the game over to the Seahawks' bullpen. Roth scattered five hits in seven innings while allowed two earned runs with three walks and six strikeouts. Senior righthander Bryan Booth pitched a perfect eighth inning before junior righthander Stephen Harrold closed out the win with a scoreless ninth inning.
From the sixth inning until the end of the game, UNCW pitchers retired Towson's final 12 hitters of the game.
The Seahawks took a 4-0 lead in the first inning with the help of two errors by Tiger pitcher Nate Curd. Shortstop Michael Rooney opened the game with a double to left center. After Curd issued a walk to Rhett Miller, centerfielder Grayson Evans lined a double to centerfield as Rooney and Miller scored for a 2-0 lead. Curd struck out junior designated hitter Cody Stanley for the first out of the inning. When Curd misplayed Robbie Monday's ground ball back to the mound, the Seahawks had runners at first and third base. Catcher David Shambley grounded out to shortstop for the second out of the inning as Evans scored an unearned run for a 3-0 advantage. Curd made his second error of the inning when he made an errant throw to second base trying to pick off Monday. When Hunter Ridge singled to left field, Monday scored to make it a 4-0 lead. Curd struck out Alex Hill to finally retire the side.
In the second inning, the Tigers cut their deficit in half. Junior third baseman Austin Harclerode led off the inning by drawing a walk. When junior second baseman Chris Wychock doubled to right centerfield, the Tigers had two men in scoring position. However, Roth came back to strike out Eric Weller and retire junior shortstop Nick Natoli on an infield pop fly. Sophomore catcher Brian Wyman delivered two runs when he singled to centerfield, making it a 4-2 game. Roth pitched out of the inning when he retired Steve Rice on a popup.
The Seahawks added another unearned run in the second inning to increase their lead to 5-2. Second baseman Michael Bass led off the inning with a single to right. Rooney followed with a bunt single to third base and both runners moved into scoring position when Harclerode made a throwing error. Miller drove in Bass with a single to center as Rooney advanced to third. However, Curd pitched out of the inning by getting Evans to pop up and getting Stanley to ground to Natoli, who turned it into a double play.
In the third inning, the Tigers threatened to cut into the lead when sophomore centerfielder Ben Winter and senior first baseman Steve Yarsinsky singled, giving them two runners on base with one out. However, Harclerode grounded into the inning-ending double play.
After his difficult start, Curd settled down and shut out the Seahawks through six innings. Roth matched his effort until the fifth inning when the Tigers cut their deficit to 5-3. Wyman led off the inning with a walk. With two outs, senior rightfielder Kevin Collins also drew a walk. Yarsinsky reached on an error by Ridge to load the bases. When Harclerode was hit by a pitch, Wyman scored an unearned run. However, Wychock grounded into a force play to end the threat.
Weller led off the sixth inning with a single for the Tigers. However, his base hit was the Tigers' last hit of the game.
The Seahawks added to their lead in the eighth inning against junior righthander Charlie Cononie. Monday led off the inning with a walk. With two outs, Hill drew a walk to give the Seahawks runners at first and second base. Both runners moved up a base on a wild pitch before Bass singled to shortstop, making it a 6-3 lead. After another wild pitch, junior righthander Tyler Bugna relieved Cononie. Rooney reached base on an error by Harclerode as Hill scored another unearned run. Bugna pitched out of the inning by striking out Evans.
Led by Bass, who had three hits, the Seahawks outhit the Tigers by a 9-5 margin. No Tiger had more than one base hit. With his third inning single, Yarsinsky extended his hitting streak to 13 games.
Despite suffering his fifth loss of the season, Curd pitched well. In six innings of work, he allowed only two earned runs on eight hits with three walks and five strikeouts.
The Tigers and the Seahawks conclude their three-game series on Sunday afternoon at 12:00 noon.
