CHARLOTTE, NC - UNC Charlotte used a pair of runs in each of the second and third innings to build a 4-0 lead on the way to a 9-2 victory in the season-opener against the Iona College baseball team earlier this afternoon. The matinee was the first of a three game series, originally scheduled for a 3 pm and moved up to a noon start due to impending weather in the area.
The 49ers (1-0) scored both runs in each of the second and third with two outs on the board. Tommy Bullock knocked in the first couple of runs on a RBI single up the middle before Harris Yett notched a two-run homerun to left field in the third.
In the fifth, Iona (0-1) cut the deficit in half with RBI singles from
Fran Kinsey and
Sean Scales. Charlotte responded in the next half inning with a run on a double from Dominick Cammarata.
The lead grew to 8-2 in the next turn at-bat for the hosts that included another two-run homer, this time from Jackson Mims. Bullock added his third RBI of the day on a ground out two batters prior. Yett added the final run of the game during the bottom of the seventh, scoring on an infield throwing error after leading off the inning with a single and advancing to second on a walk to Cammarata.
Scales posted a game-high four hits in the effort to go along with his RBI while Kinsey ended the afternoon with three hits, a RBI and a run.
Kyle Ackley and
Jason Goetz combined for a no-hit inning of work out the bullpen for the Maroon & Gold.
The two teams are scheduled for a 1 pm start on Saturday for game two of the series. Stay tuned to ICGaels.com and @IonaBaseball on Twitter for all schedule updates throughout the 2018 season.
