ASHEVILLE, N.C. (Interstat) — The Winthrop Eagles built a five-run first inning and made it stand up for a 5-1 victory over the UNC Asheville Bulldogs on Friday night at Greenwood Baseball Field in a Big South Conference series opener.

Winthrop improved to 29-17 overall and 10-8 in the Big South, while UNC Asheville dropped to 17-29 and 6-12.

The Eagles sent 10 batters to the plate in the top of the first. Catcher Natividad started the outburst with a double down the left-field line. After a foul out and a groundout, Natividad scored on a passed ball. Wouters singled down the right-field line, stole second and came home on a single to left by Ben that was compounded by a fielding error by Bulldogs left fielder Blaize Johnson. A strikeout ended the inning, but Winthrop had already seized a 5-0 lead.

UNC Asheville answered in the bottom of the third. Lowe was hit by a pitch, stole second and scored on a single to right by center fielder Jake Pereira, trimming the deficit to 5-1. That was all the Bulldogs could muster against Winthrop pitching.

The Eagles added an insurance run in the fifth. Hernandez led off with a double to center, moved to third on a groundout and scored on Wouters’ single through the left side. Winthrop pushed across an unearned run in the seventh after Skowronski reached on a fielding error by second baseman T. Parks, advanced on a throwing error by a pitcher and came home on a single through the right side by Green.

Bulldogs starter Garrett Crum took the loss, working 4 1/3 innings and allowing four earned runs on seven hits with four strikeouts. Four UNC Asheville relievers combined for 4 2/3 scoreless innings. Landon Gross pitched 1 1/3 innings, giving up two hits and no earned runs with one strikeout. Branden Barna tossed 1 1/3 innings, allowing one hit with a strikeout. TJ Brooks worked two innings, surrendering two hits while striking out one. The Bulldogs’ bullpen held Winthrop to just one earned run over the final 4 2/3 frames.

Offensively, UNC Asheville managed five hits. Catcher Owen Michelson went 2 for 3, and Pereira was 1 for 3 with an RBI. The rest of the Bulldogs lineup combined for two hits in 25 at-bats and struck out six times.

Winthrop’s bats collected 11 hits. Hernandez, Wouters and Natividad each had multi-hit games.

The Bulldogs threatened in the seventh, loading the bases with none out on a hit batter and a walk, but Winthrop reliever WilsonH entered and induced a sacrifice bunt, a groundout to the pitcher and a groundout to shortstop to escape the jam. UNC Asheville went down in order in the eighth and ninth, with the final three batters striking out in the bottom of the ninth.

The series continues Saturday with a doubleheader and concludes Sunday. Winthrop next travels to North Carolina on Wednesday, then opens a series at High Point. UNC Asheville visits Western Carolina on Tuesday before a three-game set at Radford.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Winthrop 5, UNC Asheville 2, and the Interstat ELO system gave the Eagles a 69.60 percent probability to win.