By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Louisburg, NC---The Express baseball team faced stiff competition in their season opener Friday night in an 8-5 loss to NJCAA D-I No. 3 Louisburg College.
With the win, the Hurricanes remain undefeated at 19-0. They are also the fifth ranked junior college team in the nation by Perfect Game.
Chris Ward started on the mound for the Express and took the loss in four plus innings pitched. He allowed four hits, four runs (three earned) and two walks while striking out four.
Jordan Basinger, Dane Davis and Ryan Hotmer also saw action in relief. Basinger threw two scoreless innings despite giving up one hit and three walks.
Louisburg jumped out to a 1-0 lead after one. The Express tied it up with one in the third on an RBI single by Joe Sickler, but Louisburg would also score one in the third and then two in the fourth to take a 4-1 lead.
The Express then scored two in the sixth to cut the deficit to 4-3. The runs came on a fielder's choice groundout by Travis Tackett and an error by Louisburg's shortstop. However, Louisburg scored three in the seventh and one more in the eighth to seal the game. Owens did score two in the eighth on a two run single by Michael Louis, but it wasn't enough.
Despite the loss, Express head coach Del Young was pleased with the way his team fought throughout in their first game.
"We continued to play hard to stay in the game," said Express head coach Del Young. "Louisburg is a good team and we faced a really good pitcher."
That pitcher is Tim Brechbuehler, who went five innings for Louisburg to pick up the win, while Josh Roeder pitched the final two innings to pick up the save. Brechbuehler allowed five hits, three runs (two earned) and five walks, while striking out seven.
Louis and Ryan Horvath led the Express offensively. Louis finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs, while Horvath went 2-for-3 with two runs and two walks in his collegiate debut. Sickler and Tackett had one RBI apiece.
Tackett's RBI came on a fielder's choice, while the fifth run scored on a Louisburg error. The Express committed five errors of their own defensively.
Nate Manis, Horvath and Clayton Ruch each added one hit for the Express. Ruch, Heatherly and Sickler added one run apiece.
The two teams will play a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 1 p.m.