FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Gary Holden, Sports Info. Director
(540) 365-4306

March 29, 2007


Baseball Loses to Hampden-Sydney in 10 Innings

HAMPDEN-SYDNEY, Va. - The Ferrum College baseball team lost a tight non-conference battle to Hampden-Sydney College this afternoon, falling 8-7 to the Tigers in 10 innings.

Hampden-Sydney scored the winning run in the 10th on a single by LF Luke Swiney, driving in 1B Evan Rogers, who reached base on an error.

      Box Score:  Hampden-Sydney 8, Ferrum 7

Ferrum jumped out to a 6-0 lead midway through the fifth inning, but the Tigers scored three in the bottom of the fifth, then took the lead with four runs in the seventh inning.  Ferrum tied the game with a run in the eighth.

Senior DH Ben Walton (Amherst, Va./Holy Cross) had the Panthers most productive bat of the day, going 5-6 with five singles.  Walton also scored a pair of runs and stole a base.  Walton has made the most of his 27 at-bats this season, batting .529 with a double, triple, home run, and seven RBI.

Senior 1B Ryan Cooper (Stuarts Draft, Va./Stuarts Draft) went2-4 with a double, while sophomore SS Luke Mitchell (Martinsville, Va./Franklin County) went 2-6 with a double, a run, an RBI and a stolen base.

Senior Justin King (South Boston, Va./Halifax County) pitched five innings, allowing three hits and no walks while striking out four of the 18 batters he faced.  Senior John Gordon (Amherst, Va./Amherst County), the Panthers' fifth pitcher of the day, pitched the 10th inning and absorbed the loss for Ferrum.

Swiney led Hampden-Sydney (14-12) offensively, going 3-5 with a double, four RBI and a run.  Tyler Napier, the Tigers' fourth pitched of the day, was credited with the win.  He pitched the 10th inning only.

Ferrum (14-13) returns to action Saturday and Sunday, March 31 and April 1, at USA South Athletic Conference opponent Christopher Newport University.  Ferrum, CNU and Methodist University are currently tied for the lead in the USA South standings at 5-3 in league play.  For more information, please contact the Ferrum College Sports Information Office at (540) 365-4306.

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