May 23, 2008

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CAMDEN, N.J - Sophomore Rob Lyerly had three hits and four RBI and lefty Luke Stahl notched his first career complete game as defending champion Charlotte downed fifth-seeded Rhode Island on Friday afternoon, 11-1, to advance to the finals of the 2008 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship.

Seeking to become the first program since Virginia Tech in 1999-00 to win consecutive A-10 titles, the second-seeded 49ers (42-14) will face Xavier, Duquesne or Rhode Island on Saturday at 12:00pm. If Charlotte would drop its contest at Noon on Saturday, it would play a winner-take-all finale at 3:30pm on Saturday.

Stahl delivered a dominating performance in just his sixth start of the season, yielding just two hits while fanning five as he improved to 4-1 on the year.

"Our defense was sick all day and they were just amazing," said Stahl, who walked just one in a 109-pitch effort.

"We know with our offense we're going to score runs, it's just a matter of time. But if you get them big and you get them early and then go out and set the tone defensively, it just makes things that much easier."

The 49ers wasted no time getting its offensive attack rolling as it plated three runs on three hits, in the top of the first against Rhode Island starter Eric Smith (1-5), which included RBI singles by Lyerly and senior Chris Taylor. Rhode Island looked to rally in the bottom of the first as centerfielder Kenny Burns opened the inning with a single and sophomore Zoey Argulo was hit by a pitch. However, Stahl got senior Zach Zaneski to fly out to right and second baseman Mike O'Malley to ground out into a 5-4-3 double play to retire the side.

Charlotte added two runs in the second on just one hit, freshman Cory Tilton's sixth double of the season, but were aided by a pair of walks and one of three URI errors on the afternoon. A two-run single by Lyerly with the bases loaded in the fourth pushed the 49ers lead to 7-0 and Charlotte tacked on a single run in each of the next four innings to become the first team in Championship history to reach double digits in five consecutive games. During that span, the 49ers have outscored their five opponents by an astounding 68-17.

For the second consecutive game, every starter collected at least one hit for the 49ers. Lyerly and Bray each enjoyed three-hit performances while shortstop Shayne Moody, the Most Outstanding Player of the 2007 Championship, added two hits and three runs scored.

"Our guys are used to being in this environment and we've played against good teams at this time of the year. Hopefully it will continue for one more day," said Charlotte head coach Loren Hibbs.

"Just proud of the way we came out and played but [Luke] Stahl was the deal today. He was really, really good for us."

Vying for its first league crown since 2005, Rhode Island (31-26-1) will take on the Xavier-Duquesne winner at 7:00pm in hopes of meeting Charlotte in Saturday's final. Shortstop Dan Rhault accounted for the Rams offense with a solo homer in the fifth, his sixth of the season.

For complete coverage of the 2008 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship, log on to www.atlantic10.org