Story courtesy of Furman sports information
Furman 9, Georgia Southern 7
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Tony Maccani’s two-out, two-run double highlighted a five-run seventh inning and keyed Furman to a 9-7 come-from-behind win over Georgia Southern in Southern Conference baseball action Saturday afternoon at Furman Stadium.
Trailing 7-1, the Paladins (23-11, 10-2 SoCon rallied for three runs in the sixth inning and scored five in the seventh to take the win and rubber game of the three-game series from the Eagles (20-19, 7-5 SoCon).
The victory marked the 17th triumph in the last 19 clashes for Furman against SoCon opposition dating back to last year and 12th victory in the last 13 home games for the Paladins, who also claimed their fourth decision in last five meetings with the Eagles.
Furman’s bullpen, which hurled 4 2/3 innings of scoreless ball in Friday’s 14-3 Paladin victory over GSU, delivered another strong performance, yielding only three hits and one run over the final four innings to set the stage for the Paladin comeback.
A.J. Davidiuk paced Furman’s 13-hit attack with a 3-for-4, two RBI performance that included his seventh home run of the season. The senior shortstop from Indian Trail, N.C., went 8-for-12, homered twice, scored six runs, and collected four RBI in the three game series. Maccani and Ben Terry added two hits each for the Paladins, who are now batting .340 as a team on the season.
David Mitchell (2-0) picked up the win after working 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief before giving way to Nick Hollstegge, who held the Eagles hitless while recording two strikeouts over the final 1 2/3 innings for his seventh save of the campaign.
Georgia Southern’s bullpen, meanwhile, surrendered five earned runs on five hits and a pair of walks over 2 1/3 innings. David Cogswell (1-5) absorbed the loss the loss after entering the game in seventh and giving up three runs on three hits, including Maccani’s two-run double that put Furman ahead 8-7.
Georgia Southern opened the scoring in the fourth with Greg Dowling’s third home run of the series, a towering solo shot over the right field fence off Paladin starting pitcher Ryan Hodinka.
Furman quickly tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the frame on Davidiuk’s lead off home run to left field off Eagle starter Josh Lairsey.
In the fifth, Georgia Southern combined four hits with two Furman errors to put five runs on the board. With one out, Brett Pelfrey, David Richardson, and Brian Pierce delivered consecutive singles to load the bases. Matt Miller followed with a fourth straight hit, a single to right field to plate Pelfrey for the first run. A fielding error allowed two runs to score, making it 4-1. With two outs, Dowling was intentionally walked and stole second. Jeremiah Parker followed with a line drive to right field that bounced off the glove of Furman right fielder Jay Jackson for the inning’s second error, allowing Dowling and Miller to cross home plate for a 6-1 advantage.
Furman countered in its half of the fifth by loading the bases with two walks and infield single, but Lairsey short-circuited the threat by inducing a double play grounder off the bat of Andrew Greene.
Georgia Southern made it 7-1 in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Pierce.
Furman put together five hits with a pair of Georgia Southern errors in the sixth to slice the Eagle advantage to 7-4. A single by Case Cassedy drove home Jay Jackson for the inning’s first run. Joe Daysh followed with a base hit to left to plate Cassedy, and Spence Gibbs’ doubled down the left field line to drive home Daysh and chase Lairsey. Pinch hitter Paul Ortenzo attempted to keep the inning going with a single to right field, but the throw home by Mike Economos nailed Gibbs at the plate for the final out.
In the decisive seventh, Terry doubled to lead off and Greene walked.
Davidiuk smacked the first pitch from Eagle reliever A.J. Battisto back through the middle to score Terry and advance to second on the throw home. With one out, Cassedy was intentionally walked, and Joe Daysh reached on a fielder’s choice RBI that plated Greene to make it 7-6. Maccani then lined a Battisto offering into the left centerfield gap to score Daysh and Davidiuk. Joey Rodgers capped the rally with a single to right field, scoring Maccani.
Furman returns to action on Wednesday when it travels to Clemson to take on the Tigers in a 7:15 p.m. game.
Story courtesy of UNC Greensboro sports information
UNC Greensboro 12, Davidson 7
GREENSBORO, NC ? UNC Greensboro pounded out 16 hits and scored runs in each of the final five innings as the Spartans defeated Davidson 12-7 in game two of a three-game series Saturday afternoon at UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Davidson (12-23, 2-12 SoCon) jumped out of the gates hot as the Wildcats opened the game with a pair of extra base hits to take a 1-0 lead after one half inning. Ronnie Shore led off the game with a double to leftfield and came around to score on Alex Entrekin’s standup triple to left-centerfield.
The duo struck again in the top of the second as the Wildcats plated another two runs on an RBI single from Ronnie Shore and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Entrekin.
UNCG (16-21, 6-5) cut the lead to just a run in the bottom of the fourth as the Spartans tallied two runs. Guy Welsh laced a one-out double to rightfield and came around to score after Wes McCall followed with a single to right. After McCall later reached third, Sean Snell drove him home with a single up the middle to extend his hitting streak to 13 games.
The Wildcats answered with a run in the top of the fifth, the Spartans responded with three runs in the home half to take the lead for good. Greg Feltes reached base after being by a pitch with one out and advanced to second on a wild pitch before Jermiane Mitchell singled him home with a hit to rightfield. Mitchell, who ended up at third base due to an error to the rightfielder, scored on the next play when Jay Heafner booted a ball on the infield, allowing Welsh to reach as well. Brandon Harvey capped the inning with an RBI double to deep centerfield to score Welsh.
Mitchell collected two more RBIs in the sixth inning as the Spartans tallied another three-run inning. Mitchell, a product of Daingerfield, TX connected for a two-out double to left-centerfield to score Adam Deleo and Snell before Welsh followed with a triple to right-centerfield to plate Mitchell.
Two innings later, the Spartans scored another three runs to take a 12-6 lead. McCall chipped in with an RBI single while Harvey hit his second RBI double to the game. Senior David Adams also added an RBI single in the inning.
Freshman Clinton McKinney (1-3) earned his first collegiate victory after allowing one run on two hits in 3-2/3 innings of mound duty in relief of starter Ryan Falcon. Senior Patrick Currin picked up the save for the second consecutive day as the Chapel Hill, NC went the final four innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits while striking out four.
Davidson starting pitcher Rob Wilson (3-5) suffered the loss after giving up eight runs (three earned) on 11 hits while striking out four in 5-2/3 innings of work.
Mitchell, Welsh and Harvey led the way for the Spartans as the trio each recorded three hits on the afternoon. Mitchell led the way in the RBI department as the junior collected three. All but one Spartan starter recorded at least one hit and five produced a multi-hit afternoon.
UNCG and Davidson put the finishing touches on a three-game series when the Spartans look to complete the series sweep Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. from UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Story courtesy of Western Carolina sports information
College of Charleston 14, Western Carolina 6
Cullowhee, N.C. ? The College of Charleston, ranked 17th nationally, scored six runs in the eighth to cruise to a 14-6 victory over homestanding Western Carolina Saturday afternoon at Childress Field/Hennon Stadium. All nine Cougar starters had at least one hit, with eight collecting at least two, as Charleston (30-6, 12-1 Southern Conference) had 21 hits in the contest. The Catamounts fall to 19-16, 7-7 SoCon.
Charleston was led by Oliver Marmol, who had four hits and turned in a fine defensive play at shortstop in the seventh to turn a key inning-ending double play, Phillip Coker added three hits and Graham Maiden had a game-high three RBI.
Danny Meszaros improved to 7-0 in the season, allowing four hits and four runs with five walks and two strikeouts over six innings. Josh McLauhglin, who leads the nation in ERA, pitched the final three innings to get his 10th save.
The Cougars, who sent nine men to the plate in the top of the first, jumped out to an early 3-0 lead. After a leadoff single by Larry Cobb, Coker hit a two-strike, two-out home run over The Purple Monster. A double by Marmol, a single by Chris Campbell and Jess Easterling was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. Alex Garabedian pushed across Charleston’s third run of the inning with a sacrifice fly to center. A strikeout and eventually a ground out would limit the damage.
Western answered back with two runs in the home half to make the score 3-2. After walks to Tim Hallam and Barrett Shaft, Steven Strausbaugh had an RBI single to right center, putting runners on the corners. Trey McDaniel followed with an RBI ground out.
In the second, the Charleston took advantage of a Catamount error to make the score 4-2. Cobb started the frame reaching on an error, stole second, advanced to third on ground ball and scored on Campbell’s RBI double.
The Cougars extended their advantage to 6-2 in the third. Garabedian and Ben Lassiter began the inning with single and would score on Joey Friddle’s single to center.
As it did in the first, Western answered the Cougars, scoring two runs on one hit to make the score 6-4 in the home half of the third. Shaft, who drew a leadoff walk, scored on a Jonathan Greene ground out. Later, with the bases loaded, Mitchell Hatley plated Strausbaugh with a single to center.
Charleston took advantage of another WCU error in the fourth to score two runs. Coker and Marmol had back-to-back infield hits to start the fourth. Then, with the runners going on the play, Coker scored when Campbell reached on an error, putting Marmol on third. Easterling followed with a sacrifice fly to left, making the score 8-4.
After being held scoreless over the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, the Cougars scored six in the eighth. Cobb started the eighth with a triple and scored on a one-out single by Marmol. Campbell followed with an RBI double to right-center. Garabedian then plated Campbell with a single to right-center. Graham Maiden gave Charleston its 10-run cushion with a three-run blast to right.
Western added two runs thanks to two CofC errors in the ninth to provide the final 14-6 margin. Hallam doubled, advanced to third on an error and scored on Shaft’s infield single. Shaft would later score on Blake Murphy’s single.
Tyler Sexton suffered the loss for Western, falling to 5-4 on the season. He allowed 11 hits and eight runs (five earned) in four innings’ work. Bryan Tupper pitched a season-high 3.1 innings in middle relief, holding the Cougars in check over the span. He allowed three hits and one run.
The two teams will complete the three-game series on Sunday with first pitch set for 2 pm.
Story courtesy of Wofford sports information
Appalachian State 10-6, Wofford 3-8
SPARTANBURG, SC ? Wofford scored twice in the eighth inning to take an 8-6 win in the second game of its doubleheader with Appalachian State and earn a split of the twinbill. The Mountaineers won the opener 10-3.
The Terrier victory snapped a 16-game losing streak. It was Wofford’s first win since posting an 8-4 win over Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne on March 18.
In the nightcap, the Terriers built a 6-1 lead before Appalachian State rallied for five runs in the seventh and eighth innings to knot the game at 6.
Wofford scored twice in the bottom of the eighth to post the win. Adam Wood led off with a single and was sacrificed to second by Keith Munns. Bradford Eaves’ grounder to second was mishandled for an error, allowing Wood to beat the throw to the plate. Eaves moved to second on the throw before stealing third and scoring when the throw to third sailed into left field.
The Terriers opened the scoring, tallying two runs in the third when Steven Fusaro singled, stole second, and scored on a double to center by Chuck Eller. John Brandt followed with another double to center to score Eller for a 2-0 lead.
Wofford tacked on three runs in the fourth. Keith Munns led off with a single and was sacrificed to second on a bunt by Eaves. But ASU pitcher Garrett Sherrill dropped the ball while attempting to tag Eaves putting runners on second and third. Eric Sturkie doubled home two runs then scored on a double by Chuck Eller.
John Brandt blasted his 11th homer of the season leading off the fifth for a 6-1 lead.
Kevin Butler homered in the seventh off starter Ben Austin who went 6 and one-third innings and scattered eight hits and allowed just three runs. Austin issued a walk to David Rubinstein and reliever Reid McElveen walked two more hitters to load the bases. Chris Baker grounded out to force home a run and cut the deficit to 6-3.
ASU tied the game with three runs in the eighth. Adam Beasley doubled home one run and Rubinstein delivered a two-run single.
J.D. Melton earned the win for the Terriers, going 2 and two-third innings and striking out two to improve to 3-3. Aubrey Edens saw his record fall to 0-3 with the loss.
Appalachian State won the first game of the doubleheader by a 10-3 score.
Appalachian scored three unearned runs in the second. With one out, Rubinstein reached on an error by the third baseman and moved to second on a balk. Baker doubled to drive in Rubinstein and that was followed by an RBI double by Wes Borden. Rand Smith then singled to score Borden and put ASU up 3-0.
ASU scored five runs, all unearned, in the fourth. Wofford committed three errors and Kevin Butler blasted a two-run homer.
Wofford scored twice in the fifth. Munns led off the inning with a solo homer to left, his fourth of the year. Sturkie followed with a double and after moving to third on an infield out, scored on a sacrifice fly by Brent Pearce.
Ben Billingsley blasted a two-run homer in the sixth to give the Mountaineers a 10-2 lead.
Wofford rallied in the sixth. Shane Kirkley hit his ninth homer of the season to cut the deficit to 10-3. Starter Jason Rook walked Adam Wood and Eric Sturkie and allowed a single to Keith Munns. But reliever Calvin Teague came on with the bases loaded and struck out J.D. Melton to extinguish the threat.
Rook earned the win to improve to 3-4 while Teague notched his first save. Wofford’s Austin Redwine (5-4) was the hard-luck loser, giving up eight runs, all unearned, on just five hits.
Wofford will host North Carolina A&T on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. at Russell C. King Field. Appalachian State will host North Carolina A&T on Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m. at Red Lackey Field.
Story courtesy of Elon sports information
Elon 7, The Citadel 4
ELON, N.C. ? The Elon Phoenix banged out four home runs and held off a late rally from The Citadel Bulldogs to pick up a 7-4 Southern Conference baseball victory from Latham Park on Saturday night. Elon (28-11, 11-3 SoCon) has now won 11 consecutive games at home. The Citadel fell to 18-17, 4-7.
Elon grabbed a 3-0 lead in the first inning when Chris Vasami touched off a two-run bomb, his eighth on the year, over the trees beyond the leftfield wall that also delivered Adam Weaver. Two pitches later, Grant Rembert lined a ball over the wall in left for a solo shot, his fourth of the season.
The Citadel responded in the second when Matt Arnold scored on a ground out from Tripp Cappelmann, but the run was unearned thanks to an Elon error earlier in the frame.
Ryan Addison’s sixth homer of the year to begin the second inning got that one run back and made the score 4-1 in favor of the Phoenix.
To begin the sixth, Chris Swauger singled up the middle. On a hit-and-run, Sonny Meade found the vacated hole at second and the ball rolled to the wall for an RBI triple to trim the lead to 4-2. Zach Brown’s ground out delivered the third Bulldog run of the night in the next at bat.
Elon began the bottom of the sixth by having both Chris Price and Vasami reach on walks. After the first out was recorded, Robert Rodebaugh loaded the bases when he drew a walk on a 3-2 count. Addison’s swinging bunt down the third base line that allowed Price to score from third and push the Phoenix margin to two at 5-3.
With one out in the eighth, The Citadel put men on first and second thanks to a walk and a single before Elon turned the ball over to Jesse Lewter. Lewter retired Swauger on a line drive to center and Meade on a fly to center to end the threat without a run scoring.
Jordy Snyder greeted The Citadel’s Brett Bull, who came in in relief of Ryan Owens to begin the inning, with a triple to dead center to begin the frame. Snyder was able to score the sixth Phoenix run of the night when Donny Jobe grounded out.
The Phoenix tacked on another run in the eighth inning when back-to-back singles from Rodebaugh and Addison were followed by a double to the gap in right from Paul Bennett.
Trent Weathers banged a pinch-hit leadoff triple to the gap in right to lead off the ninth inning for The Citadel. Weathers scored on a one-out single to left past a diving Bennett off the bat of Chance Smith. The Bulldogs loaded the bases with one out when what appeared to be a double play ball was dropped at second base. Elon closer Chad Tilley then fanned Meade for out number two. Tilley then got Brown to ground out to end the game.
For Elon, Addison posted a 3-for-4 day with one run scored and two driven in. He was the only Phoenix player with a multi-hit outing.
The Citadel’s Arnold scored once and went 3-for-4 from the dish. Both Swaugher and Meade scored once and went 2-for-5. Meade also drove in one run.
Matt Chastain (8-1) became Elon’s first eight game winner since Matt Garner in 2003. Chastain threw 6.1 innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on nine hits. Chad Tilley came in for the final 2/3 innings to earn his fifth save of the season.
Owens (2-5) took the loss after giving up five runs on five hits in 6.0 innings of work.
The two squads will finish off the series tomorrow afternoon at 1:30 p.m.