Rachel Boyle
Sports Staff Write
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The UNC Asheville baseball team brought home a victory against Wofford College, with a final score of 5-3.
UNCA senior pitcher Jordan Fulbright said he felt great about their strong win in Wednesday’s game.
“It is the best feeling in the world every time when we win. Just knowing that you went out and you played your best, because baseball games are not short, and you know you went out and you just played better than somebody else for about three hours, giving it your all,” Fulbright said.
The stands were filled with students and parents cheering on the Bulldogs. One student was there as a support of the team and also a supporter of her friends. Junior political science student Elinor McKeon was a proud supporter of her Bulldogs.
“I love it when UNC Asheville wins after all the hard work of the players. It is nice to see them succeed in something that they have put so much work into,” McKeon said.
Senior psychology student Emily Werth was another Bulldog present in the stands cheering on the players.
“I am friends with a couple of the guys on the team and I wanted to come out to support. It is also so nice and fun to come out and watch them play when it is such a beautiful day. They are a fun team to watch and even if they do not win the game they still have great attitudes about it and still bring excitement to the Bulldog family and they are good guys,” Werth said.
Throughout the game, the team had a few ups and downs. In the first half of the game the Bulldogs struggled to reach home plate but kept high hopes and focused on playing the game.
“I definitely feel a stronger connection to the players out there during a game as a student athlete because I know some of them personally and give them the support they need. As a UNCA swimmer, we are always going hard in the pool so I know the feeling of the grind that they have to go through as well. I understand the difficulties of conditioning. have been there in their shoes before so it is definitely something I can connect to,” Werth said.
Baseball has been a key part of the lives of many of the players on the team as they can remember. Senior pitcher Nick Boyles said he grew up playing the sport.
“I love playing baseball. I truly play it for the love of the game. I have been playing baseball for as long as I can remember I think I started when I was 4 or 5-years-old and every time that I got an opportunity to play I would take it, because I mean when it is something you love you cannot just pass it up. It is a lot of fun being around such a great group of guys. I have a lot of love for them,” Boyles said.
Boyles is not the only player on the team who had baseball in his life before college. Fulbright said it was a big transition to go from playing high school baseball to playing baseball at a collegiate level.
“I played baseball in high school so playing as a college athlete is totally different. At UNCA, it is a lot more of a time commitment than it was in high school and all together it is more of a commitment of your life because you are working and playing for it every single day but it is worth every minute of it,” Fulbright said.
As the baseball season comes to an end, Wednesday night’s victory was a proud moment for the team and the fans in the stands. The Bulldogs left the stadium with a victory on and the team has high hopes for the rest of the season, Boyles said.
“It was great that we won tonight’s game. We have been going through a little bit of a rough patch so winning against Wofford it was a great feeling. I feel like we are going to end the season strong and I know the team has good motivation after tonight to keep pushing hard,” Boyles said.