Ober Pitches CofC Past W&M, 7-2
Rob Washburn
Box Score
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. (May 26, 2016) – College of Charleston redshirt sophomore pitcher Bailey Ober allowed just five hits over 8.1 innings as the sixth-seeded Cougars defeated #2 William & Mary, 7-2, on Thursday afternoon in Game 5 of the CAA Baseball Championship at the Ballpark at Patriots Point.
CofC (31-24-1) will meet #1 UNCW at Noon on Friday in the finals of the winner’s bracket. W&M (25-29) plays at 3:30 p.m. on Friday in an elimination game against the winner of tonight’s contest between Northeastern and James Madison.
Ober, who improved to 7-4, threw seven shutout frames before giving up solo runs in the eighth and ninth. The 6-foot-8 right-hander finished just two outs shy of his third straight complete game. Tribe starting pitcher Nick Brown suffered the loss after giving up three runs over 5.0 innings.
Freshman second baseman Dupree Hart went 3-for-4 and scored twice to pace the CofC offense. Bradley Dixon, Tommy Richter, Alex Pastorius and Luke Manzo each contributed a pair of hits for the Cougars. For the Tribe, designated hitter Ryder Miconi and shortstop Kyle Wrighte each went 2-for-4.
Both teams were limited to two hits through four scoreless innings before CofC got on the board in the fifth. A leadoff walk to Manzo and a Hart single set the stage for Cougars’ catcher Erven Roper, who came through with a two-run single to center.
After pushing their lead to 3-0 on a Manzo RBI single in the sixth, the Cougars broke the game open in the seventh. Ryan Brown doubled and Hart singled to put a pair of runners in scoring position. Brown came across on a wild pitch and Hart scored on a Dixon infield single. Dixon later made it 6-0 when he scored during a rundown between first and second.
Both teams picked up a run in the eighth. CofC’s Pastorius doubled and scored on a Tribe fielding error. W&M got on the board in the bottom of the frame when Wrighte smacked a solo homer to left.