Story courtesy of The Citadel sports information
UNC Greensboro 3, The Citadel 2
Charleston, S.C. ? UNC Greensboro never relinquished the lead from the second inning on as the Spartans defeated The Citadel, 3-2, Saturday afternoon in Southern Conference baseball action in Riley Park. Jermaine Mitchell drove in what proved to be the game-winner as he grounded into a fielder’s choice in the fifth inning.
The Citadel (14-13, 2-3 SoCon) took an early 1-0 lead in the first as senior Trent Weathers roped a double down the left field line to lead-off the frame. Sophomore Chris Swauger then ripped an RBI-double to push Weathers across the plate.
UNC Greensboro (11-17, 2-3 SoCon) answered back in the second as they went up, 2-1. Wes McCall worked the count for a walk with one out. Brandon Harvey then smacked a base hit into left before David Adams loaded the bases on a bunt single. Adam Deleo registered a sac fly for the first score as Mike Mongiello tallied an RBI-single through the right side to give the Spartans a slight one-run advantage.
The Spartans tacked on another run in the fifth as Citadel starter Ryan Owens surrendered a lead-off walk to Deleo. Deleo then swiped second for his first steal of the season before moving over to third on a on a bunt single off the bat of Mongiello. Deleo raced home as Mongeillo was out on the force at second to extend the Spartan lead to two. The Bulldogs pulled within one in the sixth. UNCG reliever Greg Martin issued back-to-back walks on one out. Martin forced junior Zach Brown to fly out to left before freshman Sonny Meade singled up the middle to plate senior Matt Covington. The Dogs threatened to tie it up as they loaded the bases with two out after Clinton McKinney took to the hill in relief and allowed a free pass to senior Matt Matulia. McKinney then got the Spartans out of trouble as he caught sophomore Matt Arnold looking on a 3-2 count.
Citadel hurlers Justin Smith and Link Saunders combined to hold the Spartans scoreless for the final three frames, but the Bulldog offense could not get going as McKinny, Clay Gibson and Patrick Currin worked together on the mound to hold the Dogs hitless and scoreless to preserve the 3-2 victory.
Falcon (1-1) picked up his first win of the season as he tossed five innings, allowing one run on two hits and striking out three while issuing one free pass. Owens (1-4) suffered the loss as tossed six frames, giving up three runs on six hits and fanning two while walking three.
Currin earned his third save of the year as he came on to pitch the ninth. He forced the first two batters to groundout to second before surrendering a walk. The senior then forced a third groundout to protect the win.
The Dogs and Spartans will fight for the series’ win and complete the three-game set on Sunday, April 2 at 1 p.m. in Riley Park.
Story courtesy of Appalachian State sports information
Appalachian State 4, Western Carolina 3
BOONE, N.C. ? A day after Western Carolina torched Appalachian State University pitching for four home runs and 11 runs, Appalachian freshman pitchers Jason Rook, Aubrey Edens and Garrett Sherrill held the Southern Conference’s top scoring team to just three runs to lead ASU to a thrilling 4-3 win before an over-capacity crowd at Red Lackey Field on Saturday.
Especially impressive was the relief work turned in by Edens and Sherrill, as they made Appalachian’s onerun lead hold up by not allowing a hit over the final 1.1 innings of the ballgame. Edens faced a bases loaded jam when he entered the game in the top of the seventh but struck out Western’s Blake Murphy on a perfect 2-2 pitch to get ASU out of the inning unscathed.
In the ninth, Mountaineer head coach Chris Pollard brought Sherrill on despite the fact that his ace is slated to start Sunday’s series finale. Sherrill didn’t disappoint as he retired the side in order, including a strikeout of the nation’s second-leading home run hitter, Steven Strausbaugh, to end the game.
Rook set the tone on the mound for the Mountaineers by scattering seven hits and limiting the powerful Catamount offense to just three runs over 6.2 innings of work to up his record to 2-3 on the season. Sherrill’s save was the first of his career.
A three-run, two-out rally in the second and Adam Beasley’s sacrifice fly in the sixth would be all the support that the freshman pitching trio would need to secure Appalachian’s 11th victory of season and surpass the team’s win total from each of the past two campaigns.
Joey Robinson and Chris Baker led Appalachian (11-15, 1-7 SoCon) with two hits apiece and freshmen Rand Smith and Nick DeRose sparked the two-out offensive outburst in the second with a two-run single and RBI bunt single, respectively.
Strausbaugh hit his league-leading 14th homer of the season in the top of the first while WCU’s only other runs came on a two-run blast by Boone-native Jonathan Greene in the sixth. Starting pitcher Tyler Sexton allowed four runs in 6.1 innings to fall to 5-2 on the season for Western Carolina (16-11, 5-3 SoCon).
The rubber match of the three-game SoCon series is set for 1 p.m. Sunday at Red Lackey Field.
Story courtesy of College of Charleston sports information
College of Charleston 3, Elon 2
Mt. Pleasant, S.C. ? Oliver Marmol and Phillip Coker had RBI doubles in the seventh inning, and Danny Meszaros and Josh McLaughlin combined on a five-hitter as 28th-ranked College of Charleston edged Elon, 3-2, in Southern Conference baseball action before 617 at Patriots Point Field on Saturday.
With the win, the Cougars improved to 23-5 overall and 7-1 in league play. Elon fell to 21-10 and 5-3. By winning the first two games in the series, the Cougars have now won 34 consecutive SoCon series dating back to 2003.
Elon grabbed a 1-0 first inning lead when Donny Jobe walked and eventually scored on Chris Price’s sacrifice fly to left. Charleston tied it at 1-1 in the bottom of the second when Joey Friddle’s two-out single to left scored Ben Lasater.
Marmol’s one-out double to right center in the seventh scored Friddle from first and gave Charleston a 2-1 lead. Coker followed with a double down the right field line that plated Marmol and stretched CofC’s lead to 3-1.
Price cut the margin to 3-2 with a two-out, solo homer to center in the eighth, his seventh of season.
McLaughlin pitched the final 1 1/3 innings with three strikeouts to record his seventh save of the season. McLaughlin pitched around Robert Rodebaugh’s leadoff double in the ninth by striking out Grant Rembert and Patrick Irvine, and getting Paul Bennett to ground out to end the game.
Meszaros (5-0) picked up the win allowing two runs on just four hits over 7 2/3 innings. Meszaros walked three and struck out eight. Matt Chastain (6-1) suffered his first loss of the season surrendering two runs on three hits over 6 1/3 innings.
The finale of the series is Sunday at 1:00.
Story courtesy of Davidson sports information
Georgia Southern 13, Davidson 11
DAVIDSON, N.C. ? Senior Ronnie Shore went 5-for-6 and fellow senior Jay Heafner blasted a pair of home runs, but Davidson could not quite rally from a seven-run deficit as the host Wildcats lost to the Georgia Southern Eagles, 13-11, on Saturday afternoon at Wilson Field. Justin Klinger drove in four runs to help GSU improve to 14-15 on the season and 3-2 in the Southern Conference. Davidson fell to 12-15 overall and 2-6 in the league.
The Eagles jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first on a two-run double by Klinger, and RBI single by Jeremiah Parker and a run-scoring double off the bat of Mike Economos. In the bottom half, the ’Cats quickly responded when Shore led off with a single and junior Rob Wilson followed with a two-run homer to right-center, his fourth of the season. Georgia Southern hurler Josh Lairsey escaped further damage when Blake Osborn’s line drive to right was caught for the final out with runners on second and third.
Klinger got those two runs right back in the second inning for the Eagles with a towering two-run homer to right, his fourth of the year, which knocked out Wildcat starter Brant West.
Davidson tied the score in the fourth at six thanks to a two-run double by Wilson and Heafner’s first home run of the game, scoring Wilson.
Again, Georgia Southern responded by matching the Wildcats with four runs of its own. Three consecutive singles loaded the bases to start the inning, and Brian Pierce cleared them with a double to the gap in right-center off reliever Matt Meade (1-1). Matt Miller then greeted Davidson’s third pitcher of the day, senior Michael Kaufman, with a n RBI single for a 10-6 Eagle advantage.
In the sixth, GSU boosted its lead to seven runs on a Brett Pelfrey three-run shot, his third, just over the fence in left.
But the Wildcats tried to rally once again, loading the bases in the bottom of the sixth with two outs. Junior Alden Crissey brought all three runners home with his own double to right-center, and Osborn sent Crissey plateward with a single, cutting the deficit to three at 13-10.
Heafner cranked his second long ball of the day, his fifth of the season, to lead off the eighth to get the ’Cats within two. After a walk to junior Gregory Zage, closer David Cogswell was summoned for Georgia Southern. He surrendered a one-out double to Crissey, putting the tying runs in scoring position, but got out of the jam with a short fly to center and swinging strike three to end the inning.
Cogswell allowed just a one-out single in the ninth before getting a game-ending double play with Heafner on deck to earn his fifth save of the year.
Reliever Aaron Eubanks (2-2) was credited with the victory, yielding just Heafner’s second homer in 1.1 innings.
Griffin Benedict led the Eagles’ 18-hit attack with four hits while Klinger had three to drive in his four runs. Both Pelfrey and Pierce finished the game with two safeties and three RBIs.
Shore scored three times and became the first Wildcat with five hits in a game since Heafner had five as a freshman at Duke on March 26, 2003. Wilson had a career-high four RBIs while Heafner and Crissey each drove in three.
The two teams will play the rubber match of the series tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m. Davidson won the first game on Friday, 6-0, and has won just two of the 13 season series against GSU since the two became conference foes in 1993.
Story courtesy of Furman sports information
Furman 17, Wofford 4
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- A.J. Davidiuk went 3-for-5 and drove in five runs to propel Furman to a 17-4 win over Wofford in Southern Conference baseball action Saturday evening at Furman Stadium.
Davidiuk, a senior All-SoCon shortstop from Indian Trail, N.C., doubled in a pair of runs in the first inning, added a two-run single in the third, and blasted a solo home run in the fifth frame to highlight a 20-hit attack for Furman (16-8, 5-0 SoCon), which claimed its fifth straight game and seventh decision in the last eight outings.
Wofford (15-16, 2-6 SoCon) managed only six hits in the contest but three left the park, including two clouts by John Brandt.
The victory marked Furman’s 12th consecutive triumph over SoCon opponents dating back to last season. The Paladins have outscored their last five opponents 69-10 and outhit those same five foes 82-44. Furman is now batting .342 on the campaign.
Tony Maccani belted a two-run home run, scored three runs, and drove in four runs as part of a 3-for-5 performance to improve his SoCon leading batting average to .457, and Andrew Greene collected three hits to extend his hitting streak to 19 games. Jay Jackson also had three base hits in the contest.
Furman’s heavy hitting made a winner of Mason Smith (3-1), who tossed five innings, allowing five hits, three runs, and walk while striking out four.
Dawson Smith (2-1) took the loss after lasting just 2 1/3 innings and yielding seven hits, eight runs, and two walks.
Wofford grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first inning on Brandt’s high arching two-run shot over the left centerfield fence.
The Terriers’ lead was short-lived, however, as the Paladins tied the game in the bottom of frame on Davidiuk’s two-run double down the left field line and scored three times in the second on RBI singles by Greene and Case Cassedy, and a run scoring double by Jackson.
Furman blew the game open in the third by sending 11 batters to the plate and scoring eight runs on seven hits to take a 13-2 lead. The big blows include Ben Terry’s two-run triple down the right field line and a two-run single to left by Davidiuk.
The Paladins went on to tally a pair of runs in the fifth, including a solo home run by Davidiuk, and two runs in the seventh on a Maccani two-run roundtripper.
Furman will take aim for its second consecutive series sweep in Sunday’s finale, which gets underway at 1:00 p.m.