FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2-3-01

College Baseball: No. 28 Armstrong Atlantic State 9-2, Gardner-Webb 5-1

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Senior righthander B.J. Brinkmeier outdueled Gardner Webb's Dan Rothem, giving up five hits and one run while striking out seven in AASU's 2-1 win in the second game of a doubleheader sweep of the Bulldogs on Saturday. AASU won the first game, 9-5.

The Pirates (5-0) plated single runs in the third and fourth innings behind Brinkmeier in the second game to give AASU a 2-1 lead, and Brinkmeier made it stand up, retiring the last nine Gardner-Webb (0-2) batters of the game to pick up his second win of the season. GW's Dan Rothem gave up only four hits and two runs in taking the loss.

In the first game, the Pirates struck first with two unearned runs in the opening frame, then extended their lead to 4-0 with single runs in the third and fourth innings. Senior Bill Keifer and sophomore Chris Boaen drove in runs in the fifth inning to extend the AASU lead to 6-0, then after the Bulldogs plated a run on a double play in the sixth, the Pirates struck for three more runs, putting the game out of reach.

Junior Ross Koenig pitched five scoreless innings, giving up four hits and striking out nine batters to pick up his first win for AASU. The Bulldogs' Eric Boyd gave up six hits and six runs, three earned, in 4 1/3 innings to take the loss.

The Pirates' Kirk Nordness went 4-for-7 in the doubleheader to lead AASU offensively, and junior Rob Mills went 3-for-7. Gardner-Webb's Sam Bradford went 3-for-9 with two doubles and a three-run home run to lead the Bulldogs.

The Pirates and the Bulldogs conclude their weekend series at Pirate Field with a single game on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.

- Pirates -