DURHAM, N.C. – The Presbyterian College baseball team totaled 17 hits and rolled to a road win over North Carolina Central at the Durham Athletic Park on Tuesday night, 9-4.
PC evens its record at 24-24, tying the program high for wins in a Division I season. The Blue Hose continue their road stretch with a three-game Big South Conference series at Winthrop this weekend, beginning on Friday at 6 p.m. NC Central falls to 19-28.
The win marked PC's sixth straight midweek victory dating back to March 24. The Blue Hose scored in the first four innings en route to the win.
Jay Lizanich (Greer, S.C.) went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate and drew a walk with an RBI. Cam McRae (Darlington, S.C.) drove in three runs and Tyler Weyenberg (Marietta, Ga.) hit a two-run home run as well.
Aaron Lesiak (Greenville, S.C.) earned the win, improving to 5-2. The righthander tossed five innings, allowing three runs and six hits while striking out six and walking two. David Sauer (Irmo, S.C.) pitched a perfect inning before Michael Trebendis (Fayetteville, Ga.) threw a scoreless frame of his own with two strikeouts. Hayden Deal (Newton, N.C.) pitched a scoreless inning as well.
PC wasted no time finding the scoreboard. Centerfielder Tyler Weyenberg watched four straight balls for a leadoff walk, scoring two batters later when Lizanich ripped the first pitch to the left field fence for a 1-0 PC lead. After an error and a Jacob Midkiff (Rock Hill, S.C.) single to load the bases, AJ Priaulx (Warner Robins, Ga.) capped the scoring with a fielder's choice RBI to give PC a 2-0 edge.
NC Central took a run back in the bottom of the opening inning after a pair of Eagles doubles, cutting PC's lead to 2-1.
The Blue Hose struck again in the second inning. After Glen Casaceli (Jupiter, Fla.) reached on a single, Weyenberg cranked a home run into the short porch in right field for a 4-1 PC lead. The shot marked the sophomore's second of the season and extended his hitting streak to 11 straight games.
Brandon Martin (Gray Court, S.C.) added another run in the fifth by knocking a two-strike, two-out pitch up the middle for a 5-1 PC lead.
Carlos Ortiz, who scored in the first inning, hit a solo shot in the third to narrow PC's gap to 5-2. Ortiz finished the day with a 4-for-5 effort and three RBI to lead the home side.
McRae continued his hot senior season by delivering a two-run double to the left field corner in the fourth, pushing PC's lead to 7-2.
Lesiak struck out two straight in the fourth to hold the Eagles scoreless, but Ortiz hit another solo home run in the fifth for a 7-3 score.
McRae drove in a run in the sixth and PC loaded the bases with one out soon after. Colton Chapman (Catawba, N.C.) pinch hit and beat out an infield single to short for the first RBI of his career and a 9-3 PC lead.
NC Central scored one run in the ninth, but Russell Thompson (Alcolu, S.C.) struck out the final Eagle with the bases loaded to seal the win.
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Presbyterian College 221 202 000 - 9 17 0 (24-24)
NC Central.......... 101 010 001 - 4 7 1 (19-28)
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Pitchers: Presbyterian College - LESIAK, Aaron; SAUER, David(6); TREBENDIS, Michael(7);
DEAL, Hayden(8); BEEGLE, Logan(9); THOMPSON, Russell(9) and McRAE, Cam; KOSKI, Rob.
NC Central - FIGUEROA,Jonathan; HINTON,Jamar(4); SHIELDS,Kyle(5); MORGAN,Blake(6); DEY,James(8)
and KOVALCIK,Conrad.
Win-LESIAK, Aaron(5-2) Loss-FIGUEROA,Jonathan(1-2) T-3:10 A-105
HR PC - WEYENBERG, Tyler (2).
HR NCCUBB - ORTIZ,Carlos 2 (11).
Weather: Low 80s, clear, wind SSW 7 mph
