McCabe knocks in four as Charlotte rallies for six in bottom of ninth
Team Ontario and Ontario Blue Jays grad David McCabe (Courtice, Ont.) hit a double and two homers and drove in four runs as the Charlotte ‘49s beat North Carolina Wilmington 15-14. Photo: University of Charlotte Athletics
May 22, 2021
Official University of Charlotte Athletics News Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The 16th-ranked Charlotte ‘49ers put up six runs without registering a single out in the bottom of the ninth to walk-off 15-14 on North Carolina-Wilmington Seahawks Saturday afternoon.
The victory gives Charlotte 39 overall and ties them for fourth all-time with 27 home wins this season.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever been more proud of a ball team as a coach,” said coach Robert Woodard. “We finished the regular season with one of the best comeback wins I’ve ever seen. It has that feeling of being a ride I never want to end. Just compete as hard and as focused as you possibly can and good things happen. That’s what our players did today. I can’t recall a time where I’ve been more proud of a group of players and that’s saying something. I’ve been really blessed to be in the dugout with some unbelievable teams and some unbelievable players. It’s such a good feeling right now.”
LET’S WALK IT OFF
The regular season ended with a big bang starting with David McCabe (Courtice, Ont.) wrapping up his huge day with a leadoff double to left-centre. LuJames Groover III and Jack Dragum followed with back-to-back walks to load the bases for Aaron McKeithan, who drew his own free pass trimming the lead to 14-10. A fielder’s choice to third by Todd Elwood and throwing error during the play allowed Groover and Dragum to score cutting the lead to two. Pinch-hitter Thomas Caufield followed with a single to right bringing in McKeithan before Carson Johnson’s double to right-center ended the game. Elwood easily scored from third on Johnson’s double but a fielding error on the play in right-center allowed Caufield to score the game-winner all the way around from first.
Woodard on the Ninth Inning Comeback
“We couldn’t have had a better guy leading us off. We all love McCabe hitting in RBI situations, but every single at bat of his today was quality. He got on and we started moving the line. I give our hitters a lot of credit. They laid off a lot of tough pitches. Our players did a great job of getting into hitters counts, staying with their approach and put a good swing on it. Elwood, Caufield and Johnson all battled left on left. To give you those kinds of at-bats were relentless on their end.”
BIG BOMB TO START
Charlotte (39-17) got on the board during the first frame as Nate Furman began things with a one-out walk. Later with two outs, McCabe crushed a 390-foot no-doubter to right-centre off a 1-1 pitch for his 11th of the year and a 2-0 lead for the Niners.
ADDING ON EARLY
Johnson followed with a one-out solo blast to right in the third before McKeithan started a two-run fourth with an infield single to third. After an Elwood bunt single to third and Jake Cunningham infield single to short, Johnson drew a bases loaded walk to bring in McKeithan for a 4-0 lead. Furman followed two pitches later with a sacrifice fly to center bringing in Elwood for the fifth run of the afternoon.
DING DONG AGAIN
In the home half of the seventh, Knight reached on a fielding error at short setting the table for McCabe again. On a 1-1 pitch, McCabe destroyed his second homer of the game, a mammoth 447-foot blast to right-center, getting two runs right back in a 12-8 contest.
BIG BOX SCORE NUMBERS
McCabe led the way with a 3-for-4 afternoon hitting a pair of homers to drive in four and start the ninth with his two-bagger. Johnson picked up a pair of hits in the win providing the dramatic walk-off in the ninth. Groover extended his career-best hit streak to 15 after his own long ball as the 49ers belted five home runs in the win doing so for the second time this season.
TOURNEY TIME ON TAP
Charlotte ends the regular season with 39 wins, 27 at home, heading into the Conference USA Tournament. The 49ers are the top-seeded team after winning the regular season title and will face eighth-seeded Middle Tennessee at 1:30 p.m. eastern on Wednesday. ESPN+ will have the TV coverage while 730 The Game, ESPN Charlotte will carry the Niners radio broadcast from Ruston.