Niner Nuggets- Week 5

Top Stories

Playing Uptown at Truist Field– The Niners were scheduled to play College of Charleston this weekend in Charlotte with Game 2 of the series being played at Truist Field, home of the Charlotte Knights. As we are well aware, any sporting event these days is always “subject to change.” On Wednesday afternoon it was announced the College of Charleston would not be coming to Charlotte due to Covid 19 concerns within the Charleston program.  It was a crazy 24-48 hours following the announcement, but Rhode Island agreed to come down to Charlotte and play Charlotte for 3 games.  Since the Rams were traveling by bus, the Friday game was moved to create a double header at Truist Field on Saturday. The series finale was scheduled for Sunday at the Hayes.  A socially distant crowd of nearly 2,000 fans bought tickets to see the Niners play Uptown on a Saturday afternoon and it was a great college baseball atmosphere.

Series Win over Rhode Island– The Niners scored one run in the 1st inning and 1 run in the 10th inning to walk it off on Rhode Island in Game 1. The Niners fell in 7 innings to URI in Game 2 by the score of 6-3, then bounced back with a 6-3 win at the Hayes on Sunday.  The series win gives the 49ers 3 series’ wins to 2 series’ losses in the early non-conference schedule.

Mid-Week at Wake Forest – The Niners dropped a 4-1 decision at Wake Forest to close out their 4 game road trip. Marozas allowed 2 ER on 4 H over 5 IP, and struck out a career high 6.

49ers game at Atrium Health Ballpark in Kannapolis sold Out – look for a decidedly pro-Charlotte crowd in Kannapolis on Tuesday night for the game vs App St. The Grand Slam Club/ Charlotte Students presale was a success. When the remaining tickets were put on sale to the general public, they were gone within minutes.

Top Performers

• Austin Knight– 5 for15, 3 Doubles, 4 RBI
• Gino Groover -5 for 15 , 2 Doubles, 2 RBI
• Bryce McGowan– 7.1 IP, 5 K , 4 H 1 ER
• Andrew Lindsey– 4 IP, 4 H, 6 K, 0 ER
• Jackson Boss– 5.2 IP in 3 Appearances, 4 H , 1 ER, 4 K
• Walk-off Heroics- After the bullpen kept URI off the board in the 9th & 10th innings of Game 1, with the help of some outstanding defensive plays by Carson Johnson & Todd Elwood, the Niners were able to walk it off in the 10th. The inning started, fittingly by Elwood working a leadoff Walk, then Johnson was HBP. A wild pitch that opened up 1st base, made the URI staff decide to Intentionally walk David McCabe to load the bases. Craig Keuchel then worked a 4 pitch walk-off walk to grab the game winning RBI.

Tracking the Enemy

Here’s a look at how Charlotte’s (10-8, 36 RPI) Non-Conference opponents faired this week:

This Week in C-USA

C-USA presently sits at 7 in the RPI ratings, just behind the Missouri Valley for 6th, and just ahead of the Sun Belt in 9th.

Up Next

Before jumping in to Conference USA play this weekend, the Niners will host App State at Atrium Health Ballpark on Tuesday.  This will be the 1st baseball game ever played in the new ballpark, which is home of the Class A Kannapolis Cannonballers. The game will be televised on CUSA TV at 6:00.

Conference USA play begins this weekend as the 49ers travel to Bowling Green, KY to take on the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.  They travel to Louisville on Tuesday before heading into conference play this weekend.  The weekend series will be a 4 game series with a Double Header on Saturday, and single games on Friday and Sunday.  It appears that the Friday game and Sunday will be on Hilltoppers Facebook Channel.