Story courtesy of Georgia Southern sports information
Georgia Southern 5, The Citadel 4
STATESBORO, Ga. ? Georgia Southern held off The Citadel’s bases loaded ninth inning rally, defeating the Bulldogs 5-4 in a Saturday afternoon (March 25) Southern Conference contest at J.I. Clements Stadium. The Eagles (13-12 overall, 2-0 SoCon) won their fourth straight game and clinched the series.
During the decisive seventh inning, Matt Miller hit a sacrifice fly then later Jeremiah Parker drew a bases loaded walk, scoring Brian Pierce, which gave GS a 5-3 lead. Those runs not only snapped a 3-all tie but proved to be the game-winners.
David Cogswell used one pitch to get the final out of the eighth inning but the ninth proved more difficult. Zach Brown dropped a single in left centerfield between three converging Eagles. Sid Fallaw reached when his grounder bounced over the head of Pierce at shortstop. Mark Egleton unsuccessfully tried to sacrifice the runners over and eventually struck out looking.
Pinch-hitter Conrad Kellahan dropped a single in virtually the same spot as Brown did to load the bases. Trent Weathers’ soft bouncer up the middle went under Cogswell’s glove to make it 5-4. However, the junior right-hander made up for his error by striking out Matt Covington then got the hot-hitting Chris Swauger on a groundout to Pierce to end the game.
“We made some mistakes in the ninth inning but we kept our composure and held on to win,” said head coach Rodney Hennon. “These last two games could have gone either way but we’ve put ourselves in a good position. Hopefully we can carry this momentum heading into Sunday’s game... We have 25 Southern Conference games left and every one is important.”
Swauger’s first inning home run gave the Bulldogs (12-11, 0-2) an early 1-0 lead. Parker gave GS the lead when he hit a 2-run single with the bases loaded in their half. The Citadel scored a single run in the third and fourth inning but the Eagles tied it in the bottom half of the fourth thanks to Pierce’s sacrifice fly.
A.J. Battisto pitched 1.2 innings of relief of Josh Lairsey to improve to 2-0. He gave up one hit and struck out one. Cogswell was charged for an unearned run off two hits. Lairsey, who was trying to shake off two sub-par performances in his last outings, gave up three runs on seven hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out two.
Mike Economos accounted for two of the Eagles’ six hits. Parker totaled three RBI.
Ryan Owens (1-3) suffered the loss as he was charged for five runs (three earned) on six hits through 6.2 innings. He struck out four but saw his defense commit four errors.
The first seven Bulldog batters each had a hit as they out-hit Georgia Southern 10-6.
The Eagles go for the series sweep on Sunday afternoon (March 26), first pitch scheduled for 1:30 p.m. That game will again be broadcast live via the internet on the GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com homepage.
Story courtesy of UNC Greensboro sports information
College of Charleston 5, UNC Greensboro 0
GREENSBORO, NC ? Danny Meszaros stuck out a career-high 12 batters en route to his fourth win of the season as College of Charleston evened a three-game series at two games apiece with a 5-0 win over UNC Greensboro Saturday afternoon at UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Meszaros, who improved to 4-0 overall, threw a complete game shutout and limited the Spartans to just six hits while walking just one. Wes McCall (1-4), who was also extremely effective on the hill, took the loss after allowing four runs (two earned) on six hits while striking out three in 6-2/3 innings on the mound. Clinton McKinney finished the game for UNCG and allowed one run on two hits in 2-1/3 innings of work.
The Cougars (19-5, 4-1 SoCon) scored three runs in the top of the third to take an early advantage. Phillip Coker hit a one out double and then stole third base before Chris Campbell plated him with a groundout to the right side. After catcher Alex Garabedian walked, UNCG centerfielder Jermaine Mitchell misplayed a single from Jess Easterling, allowing Garabedian to score and Easterling to reach third. Easterling then scored the final run of the inning on the next play as the Spartans committed an error on the infield that allowed Matt Kirkpatrick to reach first as well.
Campbell put the Cougars out in front 4-0 in the seventh inning after connecting for an RBI double to leftfield that score Oliver Marmol from second base. Charleston added a final run in the ninth inning on an RBI groundout from Campbell. Campbell finished the afternoon 2-for-5 and collected each of the Cougars’ three RBI.
Only two of the Cougars’ five runs were earned as the Spartans committed four errors that lead to three unearned runs. Just one of the runs scored in the third inning was earned.
Sophomore second baseman Greg Feltes led the Spartans at the plate with a 3-for-4 showing on the afternoon. Guy Welsh went 1-for-4 and extended his hitting streak to six games.
The two teams return to UNCG Baseball Stadium Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. for the rubber match of a three-game series.
Story courtesy of Western Carolina sports information
Western Carolina 11, Wofford 7
Cullowhee, N.C. ? Western Carolina first baseman Trey McDaniel had a career-high five hits in five at bats, including a three-run home run in the first inning, while Steven Strausbaugh hit his 11th round tripper of the season to lead the Catamounts to an 11-7 victory over Wofford on a snowy Saturday afternoon at Childress Field/Hennon Stadium. Western improves to 14-9 overall and 3-2 in the Southern Conference, while the Terriers drop to 15-12, 3-2.
McDaniel’s day overshadowed an impressive performance by Wofford left fielder Steven Fusaro, who was 4-for-5 with three RBI.
Wofford jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first. With two outs, Fusaro delivered two-run triple to right-center, plating Adam Wood and John Brandt.
However, Western answered in the home half. After walks to the top two batters, Tim Hallam and Barrett Shaft, McDaniel hit a one-out, three-run home run, giving him seven on the season and making the score 3-2.
The Catamounts took advantage of two hits and an error to tack on two runs in the bottom of the third. After a one-out single by McDaniel, Blake Murphy reached on a two-base error, putting McDaniel on third. Grey Gregory brought the two home with a two-run double down the right field line.
In the fourth, Western extended its advantage to 8-2. Aaron Gabrielian, who walked, and Hallam, who was hit by a pitch, moved up to third and second on a passed ball. Shaft and Strausbaugh had back-to-back sacrifice flies. Then, with two outs, McDaniel singled and scored one batter later on Murphy’s double to right.
Wofford cut into its deficit in the fifth, scoring two runs on two hits with two Western errors. Zach Pittman had a leadoff triple and Bradford Eaves followed with an RBI ground out. The Terriers would put runners on the corners with two outs, thanks to consecutive Catamount errors. Fusaro made WCU pay for the miscues with an RBI single to center.
Western used the long ball and a sac fly in the sixth to take an 11-4 lead. After a one-out walk to Shaft, Strausbaugh hit his 11th home run of the season. McDaniel then came through with his fourth hit of the day, moved to second on a passed ball, advanced to third on a balk and scored on Murphy’s sac fly.
The Terriers used an RBI single by John Brandt in the seventh and a two-run home run by Eric Sturkie in the eighth to provide the final margin.
Tyler Sexton picked up the win for the Catamounts, improving to 5-1 on the season. The sophomore pitched seven innings, allowing 11 hits and five runs (three earned) with zero walks and six strikeouts. Terrier starter Reid McElveen was saddled with the loss, falling to 2-2 on the season. He only allowed five hits, but walked five in allowing eight runs (seven earned) with three strikeouts.
The two teams will complete their three-game, weekend series with a single contest Sunday with first pitch set for 2 pm.
Story courtesy of Furman sports information
Furman 6, Davidson 0
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Mason Smith, Ryan Hudson and Nick Hollstegge combined to hurl Furman’s first shutout since the 2003 season as the Paladins defeated Davidson 6-0 in Southern Conference baseball action Saturday afternoon at Furman Stadium.
The victory was the second for Furman (13-8, 2-0 SoCon) over Davidson (10-12, 1-4 SoCon) heading into Sunday’s 1:00 p.m. series finale and the Paladins’ ninth consecutive triumph over SoCon foes dating back to last season.
Smith (2-1) won for the second time in his last three starts after working 5 2/3 innings and surrendering seven hits and three walks while striking out three. Hudson gave up only one hit and a walk while striking out four in 2 1/3 innings of strong relief, and Hollstegge finished off the pitching gem with a scoreless ninth.
Furman’s pitching trio combined to scatter nine Davidson hits and strand 13 baserunners. The Wildcats left runners on base in each of the first seven innings and two in the ninth.
Davidson starter Rob Wilson (3-2) absorbed the loss despite pitching effectively for seven innings before tiring and yielding four runs in the eighth.
Furman also had nine hits in the contest, including three by freshman Jay Jackson, who also belted his fourth home run of the season, a solo shot in the eighth inning. Tony Maccani added two hits and two RBI, and Will Stembridge had a two-run double to lead the Paladins.
Ronnie Shore and Hugh Eden had three hits apiece to lead Davidson.
Furman touched up Wilson for two runs in the fourth inning. Jackson led off with a single and advanced to third on Joe Daysh’s one-out double.
Maccani followed with a single to left to score Jackson and Daysh.
The score remained 2-0 until the eighth when Jackson drilled a one-out Wilson offering deep over the left field fence to make it 3-0. Stembridge added a two-run double to left center, and Marcus Rose capped the rally with an RBI single to center that plated Stembridge.
Appalachian State at Elon, ppd.