HOLLY SPRINGS, NC – Wake Tech Baseball picked up three wins this weekend in their series against Southwest Virginia. The Eagles improved to 10-10 on the season and 7-2 in conference play. They are winners of their last seven in conference games.
The Eagles blasted six home runs this weekend coming from Kaden Smith (2), Andrew Holub (1), Garrett Thompson (1), Aidan Cannaday (1), and Matthew Cipriano (1). The Eagles now lead all of NJCAA Division II teams with 38 home runs.
Jason Jelic leads Region 10 DII with eight home runs, while Garrett Thompson is tied for second with seven.
The weekend rotation seems to be solidified for head coach Robert Dudley, as he dispatched Aaron Slep, Sawyer Smith, and Lucas Cash in that order for the third straight weekend.
Slep threw five shutout innings in game one on Saturday and picked up the win, improving his record to 3-1. T.J. Parker came in to pitch the final inning.
Smith got the ball in game two on Saturday, making his sixth start of the season. It ended up being his best start in a Wake Tech uniform. He struck out 13 Southwest Virginia batters, a new career-high for the sophomore. The Norwood, NC native leads Region 10 DII pitchers with 30 strikeouts on the season.
Cash pitched all five innings in the series finale, allowing three runs and striking out five. He leads the team in innings pitched (24.2) and ranks second among Region 10 DII pitchers, carrying a 3-2 record and a 5.47 ERA. He continued to pitch to contact on Sunday, and having a defense behind him that finished the weekend with zero errors committed certainly helped. Cash has 23 strikeouts on the season and just 10 walks.
The Eagles travel to Pitt for a midweek game this Wednesday, March 6. The game was originally scheduled to be played at Ting Stadium but has been moved to Pitt. The Bulldogs are 5-4 on the season. Conference play resumes next weekend against Patrick & Henry, a three-game series at Ting.
Additional notes:
Andrew Holub recorded four RBI this weekend, and leads Region 10 DII with 27 total. Holub is also second in the region with 17 stolen bases.
Wake Tech leads NJCAA Region II with 38 home runs. The team ranks fifth in runs scored (191).
The Eagles have won seven-straight conference games, marking the longest win streak in conference play since 2015.