Baseball Southern Conference

Wofford Beats Purdue With Late Slam

Wofford 6, Purdue 5

SPARTANBURG, SC -- D.J. Rhodes hit a pinch-hit grand slam on the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the seventh to rally Wofford to a 6-5 victory over Purdue tonight at Duncan Park in Spartanburg, S.C.

George Lehr pitched the final two innings in relief to earn his fourth save of the year, tying him for the single-season school record.

Wofford has won four in a row to improve to 14-6 on the season, representing its best start to a campaign since the Terriers began NCAA play in 1989.

The Terriers trailed 4-1 entering the bottom of the seventh when Tony Carbone and Matt Lein singled with one out. After they advanced a base on a passed ball, Strat Stavrou walked to load the bases. Chris Cotugno drew another walk to force in Carbone and cut the Terrier deficit to 4-2. Rhodes then delivered the grand slam for his first home run of the season and third of his career, giving Wofford a 6-4 lead.

The Boilermakers (2-9) closed the deficit to 6-5 in the eighth on an Adam Fazio ground out.

Pinch hitter Andy Rempel opened the Purdue ninth with a single and advanced to second on a Mitch Koester ground out. However, Lehr then struck out Daniel Underwood and John Manuel, the top two hitters in the Purdue lineup, to end the game.

Wofford newcomers Matt Lein, Kyle Raulinaitis, and Scott Holloway all had two hits. Lein, a freshman third baseman, is now batting .452 on the season. Holloway, a freshman catcher, had an RBI single in the sixth inning to cut the Purdue lead to 3-1.

Andy Halligan (1-2) picked up his first collegiate victory in relief for the Terriers. Starter Blake Timanus allowed three runs on five hits while striking out five and walking one in six innings.

Purdue starter Sean O'Neil allowed just one run on five hits in six innings. He struck out five and walked four. Heath Uppencamp (0-1) took the loss.

Underwood and Koester each had two hits for Purdue. A two-run double by Manuel in the fifth inning had given the Boilermakers a 3-0 lead.