Baseball Falls by One Run For the Fourth Straight Game, 3-2 to Elon

ELON, N.C. – Chris Price smacked a game-winning eighth-inning sacrifice fly and Luke Pangle pitched three scoreless frames in relief as Elon hung a 3-2 Big South Conference baseball loss on Radford for the second time in as many days Sunday afternoon at Latham Park. (Box Score)

The Phoenix (15-8-1, 4-0 Big South) trailed 2-1 entering the eighth inning, but came up with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame to claim its second seven-game winning streak of the season. Brian Ingram evened the count on an RBI single up the middle, scoring Evan Tartaglia from second base. Price immediately followed that up with a pinch-hit sacrifice fly to right field, plating pinch-runner Ricky Callison from third for the contest’s eventual game-winning run.

Pangle (3-0) pitched the seventh, eighth and ninth innings to post the victory. He allowed no earned runs, no hits and no walks to go with a strikeout. Pangle relieved Phoenix starter Justin Weeks, who surrendered one earned run on four hits and no walks in six frames while fanning six Highlanders.

Radford reliever Bret Lieberman (0-2) was charged with the loss for the second-straight day, despite giving up just one hit to go with one strikeout in 2/3 of an inning. Lieberman followed Highlander starter Josh Deaver (three hits, one earned run, three BB, five SO in six and 2/3 innings) and fellow reliever Rob Bursey (two earned runs, one BB in 2/3 of an inning).

The teams could only muster four hits apiece in a contest marred by four errors, including three Elon miscues. The Phoenix drew four bases on balls while the Highlanders (4-10, 0-2) were unable to draw a walk on the day. Elon stranded five baserunners to Radford’s four.

Ingram, Gary Morris, Holt Montgomery and Robbie Smith all rapped hits for the Phoenix while Alan Ashworth, Mark Fleisher, Matt Mantione and Nat Hodges all collected hits for the Highlanders. A triple by Morris and doubles by Montgomery and Hodges marked the game’s lone extra-base hits.

Elon is off to a best-ever 4-0 start in Big South play for the second consecutive season. The two teams will meet for the series finale at 2:30 p.m. Monday at Latham Park.