SPORTS
Wildcat Baseball Wins Series Against Lafayette
This homer by Parker Nolan was good for 3 runs in the bottom of the 7th inning.
DAVIDSON — Parker Nolan hit two more home runs, and Davidson completed its third straight weekend series win with a 7-5 victory over Lafayette Sunday afternoon at Wilson Field.
A sophomore center fielder, Nolan homered for the third consecutive day to finish the weekend 6-for-12 with a triple, four home runs and 10 RBIs as the Wildcats improved to 9-2.
Sophomore Alex Fenton had a strong start for the ‘Cats, with 10 strikeouts.
“I feel like I just made some small adjustments, and I’m trusting myself a lot more,” said Nolan. “It felt good to contribute a little bit.”
Nolan’s first shot went to right center in the bottom of the sixth, turning a scoreless game into a 2-0 lead after Matt Frey was hit by a pitch. Alex Fedje-Johnson followed Nolan by drawing a walk to set up Ruben Fontes’ own long ball to right — his first of the year — that made it 4-0.
Lafayette answered with three runs in the top of the seventh, including two on a single by Patrick Vandenbergh, but then Nolan struck again in the bottom half. This time, he followed Jacob Hinderleider (double) and Frey (walk) with a three-run shot to straightaway center to make it 7-3.
The Leopards (3-7) pulled to within 7-5 with a two-RBI single by Bill Russo in the eighth and threatened to do more damage with the bases full and one out. But freshman right-hander Bennett Flynn entered and struck out the next two batters to end the inning. Then he struck out two more in the ninth en route to his second save.
The Wildcat outfielders celebrate the win.
Sophomore right-hander Alex Fenton gave the Wildcats another strong start on the mound. He struck out 10 in 6.2 innings and retired 17 straight batters in one stretch, while improving to 2-0.
“His slider is something serious,” said Nolan. “I’ve been on the wrong side of that a lot. It’s nice to see other people strike out against it.”
Sunday’s win completed Davidson’s 11-game homestand to open the season. Head coach Rucker Taylor said he liked how the team responded after an 8-2 loss in Friday’s series opener.
“Today’s game was a good one, and it was great to see us do some things well in a tight game,” he said. “We had a couple of great starts, and then some nice work out of the pen. A lot of guys had better at-bats the last two days, and that’s a good sign.”
Up Next
The Wildcats play at Charleston Southern on Tuesday and Wednesday, then return home to face Siena, beginning with a doubleheader next Saturday.
See our News of Davidson album of photos from Sunday’s game.