CHARLOTTE 7, WINTHROP 5

Hamilton finishes for 49ers

Sophomore steady in relief as Charlotte gets victory at Winthrop

JIM UTTER

jutter@charlotteobserver.com

ROCK HILL --

The Charlotte 49ers' late-game pitching woes finally found a steady hand Tuesday night.

Sophomore Bryan Hamilton came in for the final 22/3 innings, gave up one hit and helped preserve Charlotte's 7-5 victory against Winthrop at The Winthrop Ballpark. The win is the third straight for the 49ers against the Eagles.

Hamilton, a 6-foot-1 right-hander, has been among a handful of Charlotte pitchers battling injuries in recent weeks.

"What Bryan was doing tonight, that's what we saw last season from him. We haven't seen it a lot this year because he's been battling some tendinitis," said Charlotte coach Loren Hibbs. "This may not have been his best performance of the season, but it was certainly his best in the past three or four weeks."

Hamilton, who earned his third save of the season, entered the game with one out and runners on first and third in the bottom of the seventh, with the 49ers clinging to a 6-5 lead. The first two batters he faced popped out to end the inning.

Charlotte (32-12) got a solo home run to left field by Chris Taylor in the eighth. The Eagles got one hit and had a player hit by a pitch in their final seven chances at the plate.

"I've been hurt for a while and it was good to get back in there," said Hamilton. "I don't really mind the situation I came into (in the seventh). I'm just glad we got out of it. Our fielders made some good plays for me."

Charlotte's Shayne Moody scored in the first on Brad McElroy's fielder's choice grounder, but Winthrop added single runs in the second and third, including a home run by Eddie Tisdale, to take a 2-1 lead.

Using a collection of three singles, two fielder's choice plays, a walk and a sacrifice fly, the 49ers pieced together a five-run fifth inning for a 6-2 lead. Winthrop (18-26) got three runs in the seventh, including a homer by Tyler McBride, before Hamilton took over.

"I think we were better tonight (on the mound) than we have been, but it's game-to-game right now," Hibbs said. "The reality is we have a lot of work to do and it starts this weekend at Fordham."