Story courtesy of Appalachian State sports information
College of Charleston 2, Appalachian State 0
BOONE, N.C. ? Appalachian State University freshman Garrett Sherrill held the Southern Conference’s top hitting team to just four hits over seven innings but the ASU offense couldn’t come up with a big hit in critical situations en route to a 2-0 loss to College of Charleston on Sunday afternoon at Red Lackey Field. The setback completed Appalachian’s third-straight sweep at the hands of C of C.
Sherrill only allowed single runs in the first and seventh innings, but Appalachian (9-10, 0-3 Southern Conference) could only muster three hits off the Charleston pitching duo of Danny Meszaros and Josh McLaughlin. Meszaros (3-0) struck out 10 in 6.1 innings of work before giving way to McLaughlin, who tossed 2.2 hitless innings to pick up his third save of the season.
The Mountaineers put eight runners on base but stranded them all, including five in scoring position.
Sherrill suffered his second tough-luck loss of the week to fall to 3-2 on the season. On Wednesday at North Carolina A&T, the right-handed rookie from Kannapolis, N.C. struck out three in 1.1 innings of relief but a dropped third strike and an infield single led to the setback in the bottom of the 10th. Despite the two losses, Sherrill still leads the Mountaineer staff with a 1.83 ERA and .186 opponents’ batting average.
Senior Kevin Butler, junior Bryan Ford and freshman Rand Smith each banged out hits for the Apps, who were shut out for the first time since a 6-0 loss to Gardner-Webb on March 30 of last season.
Larry Cobb collected the Cougars’ only RBI in the first. The only other run of the ballgame came when Sherrill picked Charleston’s Joey Friddle off first base, but Ford tripped over Friddle on the tag to allow Jess Easterling to score from third.
Appalachian looks to snap a season-long five-game losing streak on Tuesday when it hosts UNC Asheville on Tuesday at 2 p.m. College of Charleston (17-4, 3-0 SoCon) returns to action on Tuesday when it hosts Coastal Carolina.
Story courtesy of Wofford sports information
IPFW 7, Wofford 3
SPARTANBURG, SC ? Tyler Baatz scattered eight hits and held Wofford to just one run through the first seven innings in leading Indiana-Purdue at Fort Wayne to a 7-3 win over the Terriers at Russell C. King Field on Sunday afternoon.
Baatz yielded three consecutive singles in the third inning with Stephen Johnson’s hit scoring Keith Munns. Baatz walked one and struck out two in six and two-thirds innings.
IPFW took a 1-0 lead in the first when Chris Venvertloh singled, moved to second on a walk and scored on a single to right when the ball was bobbled in the outfield.
The Mastodons scored four runs in the fourth. Tony Nichting and Eric Lambert led off the frame with singles before Nick Diem plated one run with a sacrifice fly. Sean Kirk followed with a single before Ryan Keena and Venvertloh knocked run-scoring singles. The four runs chased Wofford starter Reid McElveen as Chip Hunt came on to close the inning.
IPFW extended its lead to 6-1 in the seventh when Nichting singled and was replaced at first by pinch-runner Quentin Brown. An attempted pickoff throw sailed wide of the bag and the return throw was also wild, allowing Brown to move all the way to third. He scored on a sac fly by Zach Walton.
In the eighth, Venvertloh walked, was sacrificed to second before scoring on a double by Nick Millspaugh to give IPFW a 7-1 lead.
Wofford rallied in the ninth with Shane Kirkley hitting a two-run homer to cut the deficit to 7-3. It was Kirkley’s fifth homer of the season.
McElveen took the loss as his record fell to 2-1. Braatz improved to 2-0.
Kirkley collected two hits on the afternoon as did Ben Austin. Catcher John Brandt was three-for-four. Millspaugh led IPFW’s offensive effort with three hits while Nichting and Kirk collected two hits apiece.
IPFW is now 7-8 on the season while the Terriers are 15-9.
Wofford will host North Carolina A&T on Wednesday night at 6:00 at King Field.
Story courtesy of Elon sports information
Elon 13, Kent State 12
ELON, N.C. -- After trailing for 8.1 innings, Elon’s Adam Weaver launched a 1-2 pitch from Kent State’s Ryan Davis over the wall in left for a walk-off grand slam as the Phoenix defeated the Golden Flashes 13-12 in the final game of a weekend series from Latham Park. Elon’s win gave the Phoenix the three-game sweep of the series.
Kent State (7-8) jumped on top early, leading 6-0 after their first two at bats, scoring three runs in both innings. In the first, the Golden Flashes scored on a sac fly from Kurt Eichorn, an Andrew Davis double and a Todd Balduf triple. The three second inning runs scored on a single from Joe Tucker and a two-run homer from Eichorn. Eichorn’s shot was his seventh on the year.
Elon (17-7) got one back in the bottom of the second on a Robert Rodebaugh home run before trimming the Kent State lead to 6-3 in the third on a two-run blast from Chris Price that cleared the wall in left-center. Rodebaugh’s shot was his second while Price’s was his fourth on the season.
The Golden Flashes extended their lead to 7-3 in the fourth when a sacrifice fly from Andrew Davis plated Drew Saylor. Elon got that run back in the bottom of the fifth when Rodebaugh doubled home Weaver.
In the top of the sixth, Kent State banged out five hits and pushed across five runs to claim a commanding 12-4 advantage. The inning began with a double from Emmanuel Burriss. A ground out moved Burriss to third before Saylor homered to dead center, scoring two runs with his third long ball in 2006. Eichorn kept the rally going with a single and then swiped second. Eichorn moved to third on a ground out and scored on Balduf’s single. Brad Winter then launched a screaming liner over the wall in left for his first homer and two more Kent State runs before the Phoenix recorded the third and final out of the frame.
The bottom of the sixth saw Elon push across three runs on a Donny Jobe home run to right, his second of the season. The Phoenix added one more in thee seventh when Pat Irvine hit his second career home run over the wall in right to cut the deficit to 12-8.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Golden Flashes retired the first hitter of the inning before Ryan Radford reached on an infield single. A second infield single, this one from Paul Bennett, put runners on first and second before Jordy Snyder drew a walk to load the bases. Kent State’s Ryan Davis then walked home Elon’s ninth run when he issued a free pass to Jobe. Weaver fell behind 1-2 in the count before scorching a line drive that cleared the wall in left and gave the Phoenix a 13-12 win on its first lead of the afternoon.
For Elon, Bennett put together a 5-for-5 day at the plate, scoring twice. In the process, Bennett became just the sixth player in the history of Elon baseball to eclipse the 200-hit plateau. Price finished the afternoon 3-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI and sits just two hits shy of 200 for his career. Jobe, Weaver, Rodebaugh and Irvine each had two-hit days for the Phoenix while Chris Vasami recorded one hit to run his hitting streak to a team-best 11 games.
Kent State’s offense was led by three-hit days from Tucker, Saylor and Eichorn. Tucker also scored twice and drove in one, Saylor crossed the plate three times and knocked in two and Eichorn scored twice and pushed home three. Burriss, Andrew Davis, Balduf and Winter all had two hits.
Tom Porter (1-1) earned his first career victory after throwing a perfect ninth, striking out two. Ryan Davis (0-2) took the loss, allowing five runs on three hits and two walks over 0.2 innings of work.
Elon starter Ryan Basham was roughed up for six runs on seven hits in 1.1 innings on the mound. Kent State starter John Pacella left with a lead at the start of the sixth. Pacella went 5.0 innings and gave up four runs on nine hits.
The Phoenix will hit the road for two games at Clemson this week. Game one is Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. from Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson, S.C. Kent State will begin Mid-American Conference play next Friday when they travel to Western Michigan for a 3:00 p.m. start.
Story courtesy of UNC Greensboro sports information
UNC Greensboro 7, Albany 4
GREENSBORO, NC ? Sophomore Wes McCall picked up his first win of the season as UNC Greensboro claimed a three-game series victory with a 7-4 win over Albany Sunday afternoon at UNCG Baseball Stadium.
McCall (1-3) allowed two runs in the top of the first, but settled in nicely and surrendered just two hits over the next six innings. The Gastonia, NC native allowed just four hits while striking out seven and walking just two.
Albany (4-12) starter Mark Suchowiecki took the loss after allowing five unearned runs on seven hits in six innings on the hill.
The Great Danes struck for two runs in the top of the first inning on a two-out RBI single from catcher Tom Hill and a bases loaded walk that scored Hill.
Suchowiecki held the Spartans offense at bay for the first four frames, but UNCG erupted for five runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a three-run lead. Brandon Harvey and Sean Snell reached base on back-to-back errors on the Albany infield before Adam Deleo laced a two-run triple to right-centerfield to tie the game at two.
Jermaine Mitchell added an RBI single in the inning to extend his hitting streak to 14 games and Guy Welsh added two RBI of his own with a single to centerfield to cap the inning.
Welsh collected a third RBI in the seventh with another single and Logan Smith picked up an RBI with a single up the middle to score Welsh.
Albany scored two runs in the top of the eighth to get within three runs on a pair of home runs, but junior Brandon Harvey pitched a perfect ninth inning to secure the win for the homestanding Spartans.
Greg Feltes, Welsh, Harvey and Deleo each had two hits for the Spartans while Welsh finished with a game-high three RBI.
UNCG returns to action Tuesday when the Spartans welcome Princeton to Greensboro for a two-game series. First pitch between the Spartans and Tigers is schedule for 6 p.m. at UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Story courtesy of Furman sports information
Furman 7, Penn State 5
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Jay Jackson went 3-for-4 with a triple and two RBI and Ryan Hodinka won his fifth consecutive start as Furman defeated Penn State 7-5 Sunday afternoon in the rubber game of a three-game series.
Jackson, a freshman and former standout at Greenville’s Christ Church Espiscopal School, had two singles and a two-run triple in the fifth inning to highlight Furman’s 15-hit attack. Tony Maccani also had three hits, including a triple, for the Paladins, who improve to 11-7 on the year. Penn State falls to 4-13.
Hodinka (5-0), a senior preseason All-Southern Conference lefthander from Springfield, Pa., yielded one earned run on five hits and a walk while striking out three in six innings of work to earn the victory.
Craig Clark (0-3) absorbed the loss after working 6 1/3 innings and surrendering 11 hits, six runs, including five earned, and no walks while striking out five.
Furman survived four errors in the contest, including one with two outs in the ninth inning that led to three unearned Nittany Lion runs. Paladin reliever David Mitchell worked around the miscue by retiring James Leitgeb on a fly to center to end the game.
Penn State took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Lance Thompson doubled with two outs and came around to score on an error.
The Nittany Lions made it 2-0 in the third on a Leitgeb’s RBI single.
After managing just one hit over the first three innings, Furman combined five hits with a pair of Penn State errors to score four runs in the fourth. Spence Gibbs and A.J. Davidiuk led off with singles, and Gibbs came around to score on a throwing error by pitcher Craig Clark. Case Cassedy followed with a sharp single off Clark’s foot to score Davidiuk.
Nittany Lion shortstop Scott Gaffney, who gathered in the deflection off Clark, then threw wildly over catcher James Spinelli’s head, allowing Jay Jackson to score the third run. Maccani closed the rally with base hit to right field to plate Cassedy.
Furman increased its advantage to 6-2 in the fifth on Jackson’s two-out, two-run triple to right center field.
The Paladins added an insurance run in the eighth when Andrew Greene beat out a two-out bases loaded bunt, allowing Cassedy to score to make it 7-2.
Furman’s next game is Wednesday against South Carolina in Columbia begining at 7:00 p.m. The Paladins clipped the Gamecocks twice a year ago, including an 11-5 decision in Columbia.
Story courtesy of Western Carolina sports information
Western Carolina 10, Princeton 8 (12 inn.)
Cullowhee, N.C. ? With two outs in the bottom of the 12th, Western Carolina third baseman Jonathan Greene hit a two-run home run to give the Catamounts a 10-8 come-from-behind victory over Princeton Sunday afternoon at Childress Field/Hennon Stadium.
Down one run (8-7) to start the home half of the 12th, Steven Strausbaugh doubled to left-center field with one out to start the rally. Then, with two outs, Blake Murphy tied the game at 8-8 with an RBI double. Greene, who was 2-for-5 on the day, sent the first pitch he saw over the center field fence to give Western (9-9) the three-game sweep over the Tigers (3-7).
While Western’s closer Greg Holland picked up the win (1-2), relief pitchers Tyler Johnson, Bryan Corbett and Brian McCullen proved key in the victory. With the Catamounts down 7-0, the trio held Princeton scoreless over the middle 3.2 innings, allowing just two hits and one walk over the span. Holland entered the game with a runner on third and two out in the eighth, but got the first batter he faced out. He proceeded to scatter seven hits over his 4.1 innings, allowing one run and one walk with a career-high seven strikeouts.
Princeton took an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first. After a one-out walk to Aaron Prince, Andrew Salini doubled, followed a two-out, two-run double by Zach Wendkos.
The Tigers pushed their advantage to three with a run in the top of the third. Salini had a leadoff walk and Sal Iacono followed by being hit by a pitch. The two moved up 90 feet on a bunt by Wendkos and Andrew Doupe plated Salini with an RBI ground out to first.
In the fourth, Princeton took a 7-0 lead. Dan DeGeorge had a one-out single and, two batters later, Salini brought him home with a double to right-center. Iacono was hit by a pitch and Wendkos cleared the bases with a three-run blast to left-center for his fourth homer of the season.
Western got on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Despite striking out, Andy John reached on a wild pitch. Then, Barrett Shaft walked, Strausbaugh was hit by a pitch and Murphy walked to bring home John. With the bases still loaded, Princeton starter Eric Walz avoided further damage by getting a fly out to end the inning. Walz pitched well, but did not factor in the decision. He pitched six innings, allowing just one hit and one run with five walks and six strikeouts.
In the bottom of the seventh Western trimmed its deficit to three (7-4). The Catamounts welcomed new Tiger pitcher Reid Peyton with three consecutive hits to score two runs. Shaft started things with a single then Strausbaugh had an RBI double followed by an RBI single by Trey McDaniel. With the bases loaded and one out, Tim Hallam was hit by a pitch for Western’s third run of the inning. Steven Miller (0-3) came out of the Princeton bullpen to get a strikeout and ground out to escape further damage.
Western tacked on another run in the bottom of the eighth to make the score 7-5. Shaft had a leadoff single and Strausbaugh followed with an RBI double.
The Cats tied the game at 7-7 in the bottom of the ninth. With two outs, Hallam walked and John was hit by a pitch. Princeton looked to end the game on a ground ball by Grey Gregory, but an error allowed Western to load the bases. Shaft plated Hallam and John with a double to right. However, on the play, Gregory was thrown out at home for the final out, forcing extra innings.
Princeton broke the tie in the top of the 12th thanks to back-to-back doubles by Matthew Becker and Dan DeGeorge. The Tigers would eventually load the bases, but a ground out ended the threat.
Miller suffered the loss, allowing seven hits and six runs (four earned) over 5.1 innings with two walks and three strikeouts.
Leading the way for Western offensively was Shaft, who went 4-for-6, while Strausbaugh had three hits and Greene two. For the Tigers, Wendkos and Stephen Wendell each had three hits as DeGeorge, Aaron Prince and Salini each added two hits.
Western Carolina will continue its nine-game homestand with a doubleheader versus Hartford on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 3:00 pm. The following day, Western will host Gardner-Webb at 7:00 pm before hosting Southern Conference foe Wofford for a three-day, weekend set.
UNLV 8, The Citadel 7 (10 inn.)
Las Vegas, Nev. ? The Citadel took their first lead of the weekend in the ninth, but could not hold on as UNLV completed the sweep with an 8-7 victory over the Bulldogs in ten innings at Earl E. Wilson Stadium Sunday afternoon. Bulldog center fielder Trent Weathers made it a close play at the plate, but Kowalski slid in safe at home for the game-winner.
Rebel Mike Cruz drove in the winning run with a single up the middle. The contest was tied up four separate times, as the Bulldogs erased a four run deficit and drove in the go-ahead run in the ninth. The Rebels answered back in their half of the inning to make it 7-7 before sending the contest into extra frames.
Citadel closer Link Saunders (3-2) suffered the loss as he tossed two and a thirds innings, allowing two runs, one of which was earned, on four hits and striking out two. Rebel reliever Jabe Beard (1-1) earned his first win of the season, pitching two and two thirds innings and allowing two runs on four hits and fanning five.
The Dogs, down 6-2 in the fifth, chipped away at the UNLV lead as they scored in three of the final four frames. Third baseman Matt Arnold smashed a two-run triple to the right center gap to tie it up at six in the eighth before shortstop Matt Matulia ripped an RBI-single in the ninth to put the Dogs up, 7-6.
UNLV answered back in the bottom of the inning after Citadel closer Link Saunders hit Lang with a pitch to start the frame. Saunders misplayed a bunt by Cruz before Smith laid a down a ball that rolled just fair up the left field line to load the bases on no outs. Bonnell registered a sac fly for the tying run and the first out. After an intentional walk, Saunders garnered a strike out and fly out to send it to extra frames.
UNLV scored in the first for the third consecutive game. Zach Borba ripped a lead-off single up the middle before Citadel right fielder Matt Covington bobbled a single off the bat of CJ Lang to allow Borba to sprint to third. Keith Smith then grounded into a double play to plate Borba and give the Rebels a one run advantage.
The Citadel answered back in the second as first baseman Zach Brown smacked a single to right and advanced to second on a sac bunt by third baseman Matt Arnold. Brown then came around to score on a double to the gap in right center off the bat of second baseman Tripp Cappelmann to knot the game at one.
The Rebels regained the lead in their half of the inning as Michael Brenley worked the count for a leadoff walk. A balk by Citadel starter Matt Crim put Brenly on second before Braden Walker singled to move him over to third. Crim then threw a fast ball up and away over the head of catcher Brady Mashak, allowing Brenly to race home.
Covington laced a double to left to begin the third frame for the Dogs and moved to third on a groundout by left fielder Chris Swauger. Shortstop Matt Matulia then tallied a sac fly to right to score Covington and tie it up again, 2-2.
Crim held the Rebels scoreless in the third with two strikeouts and a groundout. UNLV then came back and plated two in the fourth and fifth. Three back-to-back doubles allowed one to score before Walker registered a sac fly. Citadel reliever Justin Smith took over on the hill in the fifth. Lang singled, swiped second and moved over to third on a fly out before racing home on a wild pitch by Justin Smith. Chris Bonnell then registered an RBI-double to put the Rebels up, 6-2, before the Dogs erased the four-run deficit and took their first lead of the series in the late innings.
Matulia and Arnold led the Bulldog offense as both tallied two hits and drove in two. Covington and Cappelmann also registered two hits in the contest.
The Citadel begins Southern Conference action as they look for their first win on the road against Georgia Southern. The Dogs travel to Statesboro, Ga. to play the Eagles in a three-game set beginning Friday, March 24 at 6:00 p.m. The Citadel-Georgia Southern game slated for Saturday, March 25 at 12:00 p.m. will be televised by CSS.