Winthrop falls short to Eastern Kentucky, Delaware State

An Eagle striking the ball during the Eastern Kentucky game.
Photo by Synera Shelton • sheltons@mytjnow.com

This Sunday, the Eagles couldn’t soar past their two opponents in the 2013 Coca-Cola Classic, falling 7-6 to Eastern Kentucky and 6-5 to Delaware State.

The Eagles played Eastern Kentucky first, starting with freshman Joey Strain as pitcher, who started off the game with two early runs. Though Eastern Kentucky got off to a good start, Winthrop fought back in the bottom on the first inning with freshman Nick Bateman giving off a lead single. Bateman also scored on an RBI single thanks to sophomore Clay Altman.  The game became tied in the second inning thanks to freshman Stephen Wallace led with a double and scored on a single to centerfield.

The next inning started off with a 4-2 lead when junior Cody Dolan earned a double followed by a walk to senior Matt Lobacz. Eastern Kentucky would lead Winthrop to one run with another in the fifth which gave them a 5-4 lead. In the ninth, Eastern Kentucky got the strong lead they needed to finish up the game.

The following game against Delaware State seemed to mimic the previous.

Thanks to Dolan, the Eagles took an early 1-0 lead when the junior earned his first homerun of the season. Delaware State fought back after this score with six unanswered runs, leading Winthrop 6-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning. Lobacz had three hits in the game, assisting the Eagles with an RBI single to raise the score to 6-2.

In the eighth inning, sophomore Jace Whitley delivered a two out and two RBI double to the right field, assisting freshmen Tyler Ashbll and Kyle Edwards. Junior Leighton Daniels followed with an RBI single helping bring the score to 6-5.

The Eagles will next play at Central Florida Friday at 6:30 p.m.