COLUMBIA, S.C. - CIU baseball capped off Senior Day and its final home game of the season with a 6-3 win over Carolina University (N.C.) on Friday night in Columbia. The Rams jumped out early and answered a seventh-inning surge from Carolina to maintain control. CIU improved to 17-27 on the season in the non-conference matchup.
Game One: CIU 6 CU 3: The Rams took control early, scoring three runs in the second inning. Aiden Pomnitz sparked the rally with a triple before Gavin Creede drove in a run, and Jennings Greene added an RBI double to give CIU a 3-0 lead. CIU added another run in the third on a sacrifice fly from Ethan Hynicka, extending the advantage to 4-0.
Carolina battled back in the seventh inning, scoring three runs on a pair of hits to cut the deficit to 4-3 and shift momentum. The Rams answered immediately in the bottom half of the inning. After putting runners on, Maddux Smith came through with a two-RBI pinch-hit single to push the lead back to 6-3.
On the mound, Campbell Denton earned the win in relief, striking out 10 over 5.1 innings. Michael Meilinger started and provided two scoreless innings, and Collin Otte closed the game with 1.2 scoreless innings, striking out four to secure the save. Offensively, Greene and Daniel Sidoti each recorded two hits to lead CIU, while Smith's pinch-hit single provided the key insurance runs late in the game.
Up Next: CIU closes the series against Carolina University (N.C.) tomorrow, Saturday, April 18, with a doubleheader in Winston-Salem, N.C.
