Baseball Southern Conference

SoCon Baseball Results, Monday, May 12, 2003

Western Carolina 10, Appalachian State 8

Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina senior Rod Goldston, who extended his career-long hitting streak to 21 games with a 3-for-5 performance, hit a grand slam in the bottom of the eight to lift the 28th-ranked Catamounts to a 10-8 victory over Appalachian State Monday night at Childress Field/Hennon Stadium.

Western Carolina (36-15, 21-6 SoCon) clinches the 2003 Southern Conference regular-season title outright for the first time since 1997. The Mountaineers fall to 12-34, 6-21.

The Catamount rally in the eighth began with a solo home run by Matt Nelson, his second blast of the season. Todd Roper followed with a walk and Wayne Kilmer singled to put runners on the corners to chase Mountaineer starter Joe Norton. Jonathan Reeder (0-3) came out of the bullpen and walked Alan Beck. After a strikeout, Goldston sent an 0-2 fastball over the right field fence.

Sylva native Derrick Hawk picked up his second win of the series, improving to 10-1 on the season. He came in relief of Ryan Foster in the seventh and surrendered three hits, two runs and no walks in the win.

Western Carolina took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of first. Roper, WCUs junior second baseman, led off with a walk and advanced to second on a balk. Two batters later, Todd Buchanan delivered two-out single through the right side of the infield to plate Roper.

The Mountaineers answered with two runs in the top of the second. Leftfielder Travis Hunnicutt had a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a steal and to third on a ground ball. Ben Marsh then tallied ASUs first hit with an RBI bloop single to left. Marsh then moved to second on a Ty Racette walk and to third on a Justin Thomas fly ball. WCU starting pitcher Brandon McDowell then threw a wild pitch, allowing Marsh to score.

Western answered with three runs in the bottom half of the second, making the score 4-2. After Nelson reached on a fielders choice to avoid an inning-ending double play, Roper just missed his first career home run, resulting in an RBI triple. Kilmer followed with a double to right, plating Roper. Beck drove in Kilmer with a sharpe single to left.

The Apps tied the game at 4-4 in the top of the third. A leadoff double by Derek Smith and a two-out, RBI double by Hunnicutt. Marsh singled to right to bring home Hunnicutt and tie the game. The Mountaineers took their first lead of the game (5-4) in the top of the fourth. Thomas started the inning with a single and moved to second on a throwing error on an attempted pickoff. He scored two batters later on Smiths single to left. With two on and one out, WCU closer Foster got a pair of strikeouts to end the threat.

Appalachian State extended its lead to 6-4 in the top of the sixth, thanks to a single, a hit batter, an error and an RBI ground out. Smith singled to start the frame and moved to second when Eric Pittman was hit by a pitch for the thrid time of the contest. For the second time in the game, an errant throw on a pickoff attempt set up an unearned run. With runners now on second and third, Graham Thompson grounded to short to plate Smith.

The Mountaineers made it an 8-4 game in the top of the seventh. Marsh singled and moved to second on a Ty Racette sacrifice bunt. A single to center by Thomas put runners on the corners, then a Joey Robinson sacrifice bunt set up a two-run single by Smith.

The Catamounts cut its deficit to 8-5 with a run in the bottom of the seventh. Denver Edick singled to third, but a throwing error on the play allowed him to move to second. McDowell followed with a single to center to score Edick.

Western took its first lead since the second inning in the bottom of the eighth on Nelsons leadoff homer and Goldstons grand slam.

In addition to Goldstons performance, Kilmer, Buchanan and Edick added two hits. Roper, who was 1-for-3 with an RBI, scored three times, while Kilmer and Nelson each scored twice. Foster held the Mountaineers in check through the middle innings, but did not factor in the decision. Westerns all-time saves leader allowed two hits and an unearned run with two strikeouts in 2.2 innings.

Appalachian was led by Smith, who went 4-for-4 for the second time in the three-game series with three RBI and two runs scored. Marsh also contributed four hits in five at bats. Norton surrendered 13 hits and eight runs (seven earned) with six walks and a strikeout. Reeder only allowed one hit, Goldstons grand slam, and two runs with three strikeouts in one innings work.

Western Carolina will return to action Tuesday night (May 13) with a game at Tennessee Tech, making up a game that was rained out on Feb. 19. First pitch in Cookeville is set for 6:00 pm (CT), which is 7 pm (ET).


VMI 5, College of Charleston 3

Lexington, Va. -- The VMI Keydets used a strong pitching performance from
sophomore Duke Acors (Richmond, Va. / Atlee) to topple the College of
Charleston Cougars, 5-3, on Monday at Patchin Field.

The Cougars (28-24, 15-12 SoCon) jumped on top in the top of the first on
consecutive doubles from seniors Brett Spivey and Lee Curtis to take a 1-0
advantage.

VMI (21-24, 15-12 SoCon) responded in the bottom of the inning with a double
to right-center field from senior Justin Briggs (Rustburg, Va. / Rustburg),
scoring freshman Kelly Sweppenhiser (Herndon, Pa. / Line Mountain) to tie
the game at 1-1. The Keydets took the lead in the second inning on a solo
homer to right field from senior Andy Barden (Chesterfield, Va. /
Manchester) for a 2-1 lead.

Acors and College of Charleston pitcher Sean Oliver allowed no more runs to
come across until VMI scored two in the bottom of the seventh. The first
came on a single to center field from Briggs to score senior Ben Rand (South
Boston, Va. / VCU). The Keydets added their second run of the inning on a
double to left-center field from sophomore Elliott Erbe (Portsmouth, Va. /
Western Branch) to bring freshman Allan Wimmer (Vienna, Va. / James Madison)
home for a 4-1 lead.

The Cougars narrowed the gap to 4-3 in the top of the eighth inning when
junior Victor Martinez singled to center field, scoring Adam Tolman and Matt
Hallett.

VMI added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth on a sacrifice fly
from Sweppenhiser to score senior Jason Annis (Placentia, Calif. /
Valencia). From there, freshman J.J. Hollenbeck (Vienna, Va. / James
Madison) closed the door, striking out the final two batters, to record his
third save of the season.

On the mound, Acors allowed three runs on eight hits with three strikeouts
to get the win. Oliver was given the loss.

"Duke Acors had an outstanding pitching performance once again," stated VMI
head coach Tom Slater. "Jeff DeMara and J.J. Hollenbeck gave a couple of
good innings to finish the game out. We did a great job of manufacturing
runs throughout the day. It's a good win for our guys, especially with it
being senior day."

VMI will next battle The Citadel next Saturday in a doubleheader at 1 p.m.
College of Charleston will host Western Carolina on Friday in a 6 p.m.
contest.

East Tennessee State 11, Tennessee Tech 9

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (May 12, 2003) - East Tennessee State scored 11 runs in the first two innings then withheld a late Tennessee Tech rally to defeat the Golden Eagles, 11-9, Monday night from Cardinal Park in Johnson City, Tenn.

Tennessee Tech (25-21) started strong, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning. Center fielder Ben Shannon led off the game with a double to left center. After a walk to left fielder Cole Helms, both runners advanced on a ground out. Both Shannon and Helms would cross the plate on a double by the next batter, first baseman Ryan Hay.

The Buccaneers (15-33) came right back in the bottom of the first, scoring two runs to tie the game. Junior shortstop Andy Howdeshell (Maryville, Tenn.) took Tennessee Tech starter Collins Hughes' first pitch of the frame deep over the right field wall for his team-leading 10th home run of the season. With one out in the inning, freshman right fielder Jordan Abromovitz (South Park, Pa.) walked then stole second base. He came home on a double to deep center field by senior first baseman Chad Boruff (Knoxville, Tenn.).

TTU wasted no time regaining the lead, scoring another run in the top of the second. Second baseman Chris McLain singled with one out then moved to second on a single by third baseman Phillip Hatch. Shannon then hit the third-consecutive single of the inning, scoring McLain from second.

East Tennessee State blew the game open in the bottom of the second, sending 13 batters to the plate and scoring nine runs. With one out in the inning, sophomore second baseman Justin Clear (LaFollette, Tenn.) walked then stole second. Howdeshell then came to the plate and hit a double to right field, scoring Clear. Next, sophomore third baseman Caleb Moore (Knoxville, Tenn.) singled to left field and Abromovitz walked to load the bases. Boruff then came through for the second time in the game, hitting a single through the left side, scoring Howdeshell and Moore.

After a pitching change, the Bucs did not let up, scoring six more runs in the inning. Freshman designated hitter Blake Church (Roswell, Ga.) laced a single to left, bringing home Abromovitz. After junior left fielder Bo Calloway (Knoxville, Tenn.) reached on a fielder's choice, junior center fielder Tim Turner (Marietta, Ga.) blasted his second three-run homer in as many games over the left field wall. Then, after a walk to freshman catcher Justin Benard (Erwin, Tenn.), Clear capped the ETSU rally with his first home run of the season over the right field fence.

ETSU freshman starter Steven Calicutt (Spartanburg, S.C.) settled in nicely following the second inning, allowing only four more hits until he left the game prior to the seventh. In the seventh however, Tennessee Tech began to cut into ETSU's lead.

Two errors and a walk loaded the bases for the Golden Eagles to begin the inning. Hay hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Shannon to cut the Buccaneer lead to 11-4. Another run would cross the plate as left fielder Carlos Martin singled to bring Helms home. Later in the inning, Tennessee tech scored two more runs when designated hitter Scott Terry hit a double to center field to score Martin and shortstop Casey Benjamin, making the score 11-7 in favor of ETSU.

The game got tighter in the eighth, as Tennessee Tech put two more runs on the board. Hatch led off the inning with a single to left field and moved to third on a double by Benjamin with two outs. The subsequent batter, Hay, reached on an error would score both baserunners.

With Tennessee Tech gaining momentum late and trailing 11-9 to begin the top of the ninth, ETSU head coach Tony Skole brought Moore in to pitch from third. Moore did not disappoint, retiring the side in order, including the first two batters on strikeouts to earn his first collegiate save.

Calicutt (3-6) earned the win, allowing three runs on nine hits in six innings. He also walked two batters and struck out five. Hughes (2-5) was charged with the loss for the Golden Eagles, allowing seven runs on six hits in 1.1 innings.

Howdeshell led the charge for the Bucs this evening, going 4-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI. Boruff had two hits and three RBI while Clear had two hits, two RBI and scored two runs.

Tennessee Tech was led by Hatch, who had three hits, and Shannon, Benjamin and McLain, who each had two. Shannon, Helms and Benjamin scored two runs each while Hay drove in three.

East Tennessee State returns to the diamond on Thursday night at 7 p.m. against Georgia Southern in game one of their final series of the season. Tennessee Tech heads home to face another SoCon opponent, Western Carolina, tomorrow night at 6 p.m. from Cookeville, Tenn.