LAURINBURG —Point University’s baseball team logged 20 hits and used a seven-run fourth inning to take control in a 15-6 victory at St. Andrews in Appalachian Athletic Conference action on Friday.
It was St. Andrews’ fifth straight loss. The Knights (20-27, 5-20 AAC) will conclude the regular season with a doubleheader against Point beginning at noon on Saturday.
St. Andrews found some momentum as dark clouds hovered around the area in the seventh inning. Dean Pulley hit a leadoff single before moving to third base on Seth Spillman’s double. As light rain turned into a downpour, Josh Wallace hit a three-run homer to cut Point’s lead to 8-5.
Officials then called for a rain delay, and that temporary stoppage put an end to the Knights’ rally.
After players returned to the field, a flyout and a pair of strikeouts ended St. Andrews’ half of the seventh inning. Point went on to outscore the Knights 7-1 over the final two innings.
“The rain delay kind of killed us,” St. Andrews coach Andy Fox said. “We were playing the weather. We’ve been playing the weather all year, and it’s been taxing. We’ve had to put the tarp on, pull the tarp off, all of that stuff.
“I thing our guys got in the mindset that the weather will set in and we’re going to call this thing.”
Wallace finished with four RBIs. Spillman had three hits.
The teams were tied at 1-all after the first inning. Point’s seventh-inning surge began when St. Andrews starter Nate Moretz hit Joey Medeiros to load the bases with one out. Dayton Cook gave the Skyhawks a 2-1 lead with an RBI single, and another run scored on a passed ball. Point’s Alberto Lozada then notched an RBI single, and the Skyhawks took a 5-1 lead when a run scored from third base on a wild pitch. B.J. Johnson drove in another run with a single, and Carnegy Calzado made it 7-1 with an RBI triple. Anthony Young capped off the rally with an RBI double.
St. Andrews’ Cam Harvey hit an RBI single to bring home the Knights’ second run of the day in the fifth inning. After Wallace’s seventh-inning homer, the Knights scored their final run on a wild pitch in the ninth inning.
Each of the first five batters in Point’s lineup finished with at least two RBIs. Johnson led the Skyhawks (28-20, 12-13 AAC) with four RBIs.
