SPORTS

 

DAVIDSON — An eight-run fifth inning turned the tide for the Davidson baseball team Sunday afternoon in a 14-9 win over Lafayette at Wilson Field.

With the win and second straight weekend series sweep, the Wildcats are a program-best 17-3 and have won nine straight.

“It was good conditions to hit in the last couple of days, and the guys did a nice job collectively offensively with some good swings and base running,” said Davidson coach Rucker Taylor. “We had some great two-strike at-bats that allowed us to have some big innings.

“For the majority of this weekend, the pitchers did a nice job of attacking and making the opponent earn their way on. When we do that, we typically put ourselves in favorable positions.”

Sunday, Davidson entered the bottom of the fifth trailing 4-3, but took control with six hits leading to eight runs. Joe Haney and Jacob Friend drew bases-loaded walks, and Michael Carico had an RBI-single to make it 6-4. Trevor Candelaria followed with a two-RBI single, and Jake Wilhoit plated a run with a sacrifice fly. John Hosmer’s RBI-single drove in Henry Koehler and made it 11-4.

Koehler finished the day 5-for-5, including a two-RBI single in the fourth and an RBI-double in the sixth. Ryan Wilson also singled in a run in the sixth, and Wilhoit’s RBI-single in the eighth scored Koehler for the game’s final run.

The Wildcats led after their first batter Sunday, as Carico belted his team-leading sixth home run to lead off the first. Carico, Candelaria, Wilson and Hosmer joined Koehler with multiple hits.

On the mound, Ryan Feczko threw 3.1 innings, allowing three earned runs and striking out seven. Alex Fenton (2 IP, 3 ER, 4 Ks) took over from there, before Ryan Kutz (2 IP) and Gabe Levy (1.2 IP) kept the Leopards scoreless down the stretch.

Up Next
The Wildcats return to action Wednesday when they face cross-county rival Charlotte at Truist Field, home of the Charlotte Knights.