Story courtesy of Wofford sports information
Wofford 7-6, Longwood 4-0
SPARTANBURG, SC ? Wofford College swept Longwood University Saturday afternoon in a college baseball doubleheader at Russell C. King Field. The Terriers won the opener 7-4 and took the nightcap 6-0.
Wofford is now 2-0 on the season while the Lancers open the year 0-2. The two teams will conclude the three-game series Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at King Field.
Shane Kirkley homered in the first inning of the opening game to stake the Terriers to a 1-0 lead. Longwood tied the game in the third on a double by Travis Lydon and a Terrier error. Wofford reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the third when Zach Pittman was hit by a pitch and scored on a double by freshman Chuck Eller.
Longwood went up 3-2 in the fourth on an RBI double by Tyler Childress and a sacrifice fly by Nick von Gersdorff.
Wofford broke the game open with two runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth. In the sixth, with Eric Sturkie on second and Ben Austin on first, the Terriers attempted a double steal. The throw from the catcher sailed into left field allowing Sturkie to score. The throw was misplayed in the outfield, allowing Austin to score from first to give Wofford a 4-3 lead. In the sixth, John Brandt double home Stephen Johnson for one run before Adam Wood hit a two-run homer for a 7-4 Terrier advantage.
Austin Redwine took the win for the Terriers in the opener, going five innings and allowing just three hits while walking two and striking out seven. Freshman J.D. Melton earned the save in his first collegiate appearance.
In the night cap, Charles Vartanian, making his first start since his freshman year after spending last year as Wofford’s closer, scattered four hits over six innings and fanned five to lead the Terriers to a 6-0 win.
The Terriers scored twice in the second on a two-run homer by Keith Munns. Wofford added two more runs in the third on an RBI double by Brandon Waring and Johnson’s run-scoring single.
The Terriers concluded the scoring with two runs in the sixth on a two-run single by Austin.
Story courtesy of Georgia Southern sports information
North Florida 7, Georgia Southern 2
STATESBORO, Ga. ? North Florida proved successful in its inaugural game as a NCAA Division I member. The Ospreys allowed just three Georgia Southern hits, cruising to a 7-2 win at J.I. Clements Stadium Saturday afternoon. It was the season-opener for both teams.
UNF, the Division II national runner-up last season, allowed just one more hit after Jeremy Beckham led off the third inning with a single. Greg Dowling got Southern’s final base hit with two outs in the bottom of the eighth.
The Eagles struck first in their half of the first inning. Chris Hollis was hit by a pitch, advanced to second on a throwing error by UNF’s pitcher then to third on a sacrifice bunt. When Dowling received the first of his two intentional walks to put runners on the corners, they pulled off a successful double steal.
UNF scored once in the second on a RBI single by Andy Warren. During the third, the Ospreys scored all three runs with two outs. Grant Rogers accounted for two RBI on a single through the left side.
With the bases loaded and one out in the third, Jeremiah Parker hit a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 4-2. On the play, both runners advanced on a throwing error but the Eagles could not capitalize, stranding two of their six runners in the game.
Back-to-back doubles in the fifth brought home another run for the Ospreys. A sacrifice bunt and RBI single in the eighth scored North Florida’s final runs.
Hollis reached base in his first three plate appearances, two walks in addition to his hit by a pitch. The junior outfielder, who redshirted last year, also stole two bases. Brett Pelfrey accounted for the other GS hit.
Starter Dustin Evans (0-1) allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits in 4.1 innings. Everett Teaford allowed two runs (one earned) on one hit over three innings of relief, striking out four. David Cogswell scattered three hits over the final 1.2 innings. The Eagles committed three errors while UNF had two.
Jacob Dixon fanned six in five innings as the senior right-hander allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits. The UNF bullpen pitched four scoreless innings of relief.
“I thought (Jacob) Dixon pitched well. It seemed he was ahead in the count all day. Then their bullpen came in and threw well,” said Eagles’ head coach Rodney Hennon. “They executed a little better than we did. We’ve got to do a better job of being aggressive offensively and having better at-bats... Against a good team like North Florida you cannot make mistakes and expect to win.”
The two teams wrap-up the series on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 5) with first pitch scheduled for 1:30 p.m.