HAMPTON, VA. -- Sophomore Andrew Yonta tied a school record going 5-for-5 and drove in four runs as the Apprentice School defeated College of The Albemarle 11-6 on Wednesday afternoon at War Memorial Stadium.
After giving up a run in the top of the first, the Builders pushed two across as Yonta singled in Andrew Hooper and Dory Fields' sacrifice fly drove in Josh Tuck for a 2-0 lead. In the second inning, Devorn Lake blasted his second home run on the season with a line-shot over the left-centerfield wall for a 3-1 lead.
College of The Albemarle scored another run in the third and the Builders followed with a pair in its half of the third. Chris Kennedy doubled in Yonta who earlier singled and Lake singled in Fields who also singled in the inning for a 5-2 lead.
The Dolphins scored a pair of runs in the fourth and fifth to take a 6-5 lead. Apprentice School answered with four in its half of the sixth inning to take the lead for good. Tuck doubled in Josh Wilson who started the inning with a double and scored on a two-run double fron Yonta. Fields drove in Yonta with a single to right field to give the Builders a 9-6 lead.
Apprentice School scored once in the seventh as Hooper singled in Lake and added another run in the eighth as Yonta capped his 5-for-5 day with a RBI single to score Dehoux for the 11-6 lead. Yonta joins six others who have had five hits in a game and is the second player to do it this year as Fields had five hits against Bloomsburg University on February 18.
Hooper and Fields had three hits each for the Builders who outhit the Dolphins 16-12. Fields also drove in a pair along with Lake who was 2-for-3 on the day with a pair of runs scored. Junior Coire Barnitz was the winning pitcher throwing the last 4.2 innings of scoreless relief allowing four hits and striking out two.
The Builders return to action on Thursday with a key US Collegiate Athletic Association matchup with NCAA Division II Washington Adventist University at 3 pm. These teams played twice last year in the 2009 USCAA Nationals splitting a pair of one-run games. Apprentice School won 1-0 in the opening game and lost a 4-3 decision for third-place in the tournament.