Charlotte 49ers Baseball's Gillespie Glistens in AAC Championship Day One Gem

Bats stay hot as 49ers ride their ace to day one victory

Photo Courtesy of the American Athletic Conference

Charlotte 49ers baseball got things started in Clearwater, Fla., defeating the Wichita State Shockers 7-1 on the opening day of the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Championship behind a gem from AAC Pitcher of the Year Blake Gillespie.

"We're certainly going to feel really good running Blake Gillespie, the conference Pitcher of the Year, out there in game one," said Head Coach Robert Woodard. "He kinda makes it look easy, but I can assure you, as we all know, it's not."

Striking early

The Niners' offense scored runs in each of the first three innings, getting one in the first, three in the second, and two in the third, keeping up the red-hot hitting they ended the season on.

Gillespie commanding the mound

Gillespie was perfect through the first three innings. Then, he faced some issues in the fourth, with two runners reaching via a walk and a single, but Gillespie gathered himself and worked through the jam to keep the Shockers scoreless.

Shockers stop the bleeding

After Charlotte scored six runs early, the Shockers made a call to the bullpen, bringing in Jeremiah Arnett, who shut the door on the Niners for the four innings, preventing the lead from spiraling out of control.

Camden Johnson cramped after making a solid defensive play to prevent the 49ers from scoring in the bottom of the 7th inning. Johnson persevered through the cramping and put one the other way to end the shutout with an RBI single to cut it to 6-1.

Niners response

Charlotte answered back with an RBI single from Carson Bayne to bring home Logan Poteet after he had walked earlier in the inning to make it 7-1.

Closing the door to the winner's bracket

The 49ers brought in Chase Carson to pitch the final inning, and despite some solid contact from the Shockers, he pitched a perfect inning, keeping the 7-1 win intact.

Takeaways

Wichita State knew how Gillespie would attack their hitters, but it did not seem to matter as he gave them a heavy dose of sliders, tearing through them.

"As I saw Blake [Gillespie] leave the press conference, I told him I'm really looking forward to never seeing him again," said Wichita State Head Coach Brian Green. "What a fantastic performance by that young man. I saw it twice this year, and I know most of the league has seen it. He was fantastic; he suffocated us at the plate, and we actually knew what he was going to do with his pitch plan. I think everyone could see it in the ballpark, and we weren't able to do anything with it."

The Niners' bats are staying hot, keeping the momentum going. Over the last eight games, the 49ers have averaged 12.13 runs per game, which is in good form for a tournament run.

Players of the game

Gillespie got the nod to open the tournament, and he delivered strongly. He pitched eight innings, giving up a lone run on four hits and one walk while breaking the single-game AAC Championship record for strikeouts with 13.

Estes was successful in his opportunities with runners on base, going 2-4 with one run scored and three RBI, helping build the early lead.

Arnett provided much-needed innings for the Shockers, throwing four scoreless innings and helping to preserve some of the bullpen as they prepare for their elimination game on Wednesday.

Next up

Charlotte earned the day off and will take on the ECU/USF game winner on Thursday, May 22, playing 47 minutes after the first game that day at 1 pm ends.