Story courtesy of The Citadel sports information
The Citadel 4, No. 17 College of Charleston 1
Charleston, S.C. ? A three-run rally in the eighth propelled The Citadel (21-20) to a 4-1 victory over No. 26 College of Charleston (33-10) in the first annual Trademark Properties “Turn Back the Century” game presented by Builder’s First Source Tuesday night in front of a crowd of 3,828 at Riley Park.
Freshman designated hitter Sonny Meade knocked in the go-ahead run, while he also picked up his first collegiate victory. Citadel closer Link Saunders came on in the ninth to earn his 12th save of the season and preserve the win for the Bulldogs.
The game was dominated by pitching through the first seven innings as Citadel starter Ken Egleton took to the mound for only his third start of the season. Egleton tossed six frames, allowing only one run on six hits, while striking out six, leaving the mound with the game tied at one. Cougar starter Danny Meszaros (7-1) suffered his first loss of the season as he only gave up one unearned run through seven innings before surrendering the go-ahead score in the eighth.
The Cougars struck first as they went up 1-0 in the third. Clay McCord reached on a bunt single before Phillip Coker was issued a free pass. Oliver Marmol attempted to bunt both runners over, but Egleton got McCord out on the force at third. Chris Campbell loaded the bases with a single to left before Graham Maiden went down on strikes. With the bases loaded and two outs, Jess Easterling registered an infield single to short to plate Coker. Egleton then forced Alex Garabedian to groundout to get out of the inning.
The Dogs evened the score in the fifth as senior catcher Brady Mashak worked the count for a lead-off walk and then went to second on a sac bunt off the bat of senior second baseman Tripp Cappelmann. Senior center fielder Trent Weathers was hit by a pitch to put two on with one out. Senior right fielder Matt Covington then grounded into a possible inning-ending double-play, as Weathers was out at second on the force, but an errant throw to first by Cougar second baseman Campbell allowed Covington to reach while Mashak raced home to knot the game at one.
The game stayed 1-1 until the eighth, when The Citadel exploded for a three-run rally. Meszaros forced Covington to groundout to second for the first out, but then surrendered a triple to sophomore left fielder Chris Swauger. The Cougars then called closer Josh McLaughlin to the rubber. With the infield in, Meade grounded to third where Easterling attempted to get the out at the plate, but his throw was in the dirt, allowing Swauger to score and Meade to sprint to second.
Junior Zach Brown then blasted a double to the gap in left center to send pinch-runner Chance Smith across the dish. Senior shortstop Matt Matulia flew out to left before sophomore third baseman Matt Arnold reached on a walk. Freshman Sid Fallaw was hit in the helmet to load the bases with two outs. Brown then raced home on a wild pitch to give the Bulldogs a 4-1 advantage before Cappelmann went down looking to end the inning.
The Citadel looked to Saunders in the ninth as he caught Garabedian looking for the first out. Joey Friddle reached on a walk and advanced to second on a groundout to first by Larry Cobb. Saunders then forced McCord to groundout to preserve the 4-1 victory for the Dogs.
Meade (1-0) was credited with the win as he went 2.0 innings, holding the Cougars scoreless and hitless. Meszaros suffered the loss as he tossed 7.1 frames, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits, while striking out 11.
Saunders’ now has 12 saves on the season, putting him first in saves in the Southern Conference. The junior right-hander is only one save shy of the The Citadel’s single-season record of 13 held by Randy Corn (2002). Swauger’s triple in the eighth was his seventh of the season, tying him with Kip Hagwood for the most three-baggers in a season.
The Citadel is now 2-4 against ranked opponents this season, while holding a 2-2 record when playing nationally ranked foes at home. The College of Charleston is ranked as high as No.17 by Baseball America and the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Association, while the USA Today poll has the Cougars as 20th and Collegiate Baseball ranks them at No. 26.
Next up, The Citadel will travel to Spartanburg, S.C. to face the Wofford Terriers this weekend for a three-game, SoCon set. The Bulldogs look to pick up their third conference series win as game one is slated for Friday, April 28 at 5 p.m. at Russell C. King Field.
Story courtesy of Western Carolina sports information
Western Carolina 7, Georgia 5
Athens, Ga. ? Playing a game that was just added to the schedule on Sunday, Western Carolina got home runs from Jonathan Greene and Blake Murphy and Tyler Johnson pitched a career-high 5.1 innings to hand Georgia a 7-5 loss Tuesday night at Foley Field. The Catamounts improve to 23-18, while the Bulldogs fall to 24-16.
The teams added the contest as both teams had a game rained out earlier in the season.
Western Carolina drew first blood, scoring four in the fourth. Barrett Shaft, who had two hits, had a leadoff single and moved to second on Steven Strausbaugh’s second walk of the game. Trey McDaniel singled to right, plating Shaft and putting runners on the corners. Greene cleared the bases with a monster three-run blast to left-center field, his sixth homer of the season.
The Bulldogs answered with a run in the home half of the fourth. With two outs, Josh Morris, who had a home run robbed by Shaft in the second, reached on an error. Matt Robbins then got Georgia’s first hit of the game, a slow roller to third. Matt Olsen then plated Morris with a single to right.
The Catamounts got that run back and added another in the sixth to take a 6-1 lead. Blake Murphy lined a home run, his ninth of the year, over the left-center field wall, just beyond the reach of UGA left fielder Jonathan Wyatt. Greene drew a one-out walk and moved to third on Scott Ward’s hit-and-run single through the left side of the infield. With out outs, Mitchell Hatley lined a single to left, driving in Greene.
Once again, Georgia was able to answer in the bottom of the sixth, scoring four runs to make the score 6-5. After a leadoff double by Joey Side, Morris hit a two-run blast to straight away center field. After pinch hitter Bobby Felmy doubled, Brian McCullen came out of the WCU bullpen and nearly got out of the jam. McCullen got one out, but Brad Peisel beat out an infield hit to score Felmy. After a walk, Matthew Dunn delivered an RBI single to center for UGA’s final run of the frame.
Johnson improves to 3-1 on the season, allowing five hits and four runs (three earned) with a walk and two strikeouts.
In the ninth, Tim Hallam and Shaft had one-out singles. With the runners going, Strausbaugh looped a single to left, driving in Hallam for a 7-5 Catamount lead.
Catamount closer Greg Holland worked the ninth, allowing two hits and no runs, to earn his fifth save of the season.
For the Bulldogs, Side had two hits, while Morris had two RBI. Iain Sebastian suffered the loss, allowing four hits and four runs in one inning.
Western Carolina is scheduled to return to action on Tuesday, playing at Gardner-Webb. First pitch is set for 3:00 pm.
Story courtesy of Elon sports information
Elon 9, UNC Wilmington 4
ELON, N.C. ? The Elon Phoenix extended its home winning streak to 14 games as it knocked off the UNC Wilmington Seahawks 9-4 in a non-conference baseball game from Latham Park on Tuesday night. The win pushed Elon’s record to 33-12 while UNCW, who came into the contest averaging 10.0 runs per game, dipped to 30-12 this year.
The Seahawks grabbed a first inning lead as Jason Appel knocked his second homer of the season over the wall in right, a solo shot with one out. UNCW threatened for more when they loaded the bases on a single and two walks with two outs. A third consecutive walked forced home the second run of the frame, giving the Seahawks a 2-0 advantage.
Donny Jobe began the Phoenix half of the first with a walk and came around to score on Robert Rodebaugh’s one-out double down the line in left, trimming the deficit to 2-1.
Following a leadoff ground out in the third inning, Paul Bennett was hit by a pitch and moved to second when Rodebaugh walked. Both runners scored to give Elon a 3-2 lead when Chris Vasami singled to center.
Elon began the fourth with an infield single from Ryan Addison who moved to second on a walk to Pat Irvine. Addison moved to third on a failed pickoff and then scored the fourth Phoenix run when Adam Weaver doubled down the leftfield line. With men on second and third, Donny Jobe lifted a fly ball to center and the Seahawks turned it into a double play as John Raynor gunned down Irvine at the dish.
Back-to-back one-out doubles from Lee McLean and Steve Halford in the sixth pulled the Seahawks with in 4-3. Kenny Smith’s single through the left side of the infield put runners on the corners before an infield single from Grayson Evans evened the score at four. A wild pitch advanced both runners up a base before Kevin Regan got Raynor to fly out to right with out number two. At that point Elon skipper Mike Kennedy turned to the Phoenix’s normal Friday starter in Lance Cole to get the final out of the inning.
The Phoenix grabbed the lead back in the bottom of the inning, scoring two times. Elon loaded the bases thanks to two walks and a bunt single before Bennett singled to right, plating Jordy Snyder. Rodebaugh followed that with a single through the right side of the infield that allowed Weaver to score Elon’s sixth run of the evening. Chris Price’s hard ground ball was scooped up by Halford at third who tug the bag and fired across the infield to record the double play and end the Phoenix inning.
Price’s double to the gap in left knocked in Jobe with Elon’s bottom of the eighth to extend the lead to 7-4 with one out. That was followed up by a two-RBI triple off the bat of Vasami as the lead grew to 9-4.
Cole’s effort out of the pen earned him his eighth victory of the season as the senior improved to 8-1 on the year. He went 1.1 innings and did not allow a hit. Chad Tilley grabbed his sixth save of the season after hurling 2.0 innings and giving up no runs on X hits.
Allen Flood (2-3) took the loss after surrendering two runs on two hits in 2.1 innings out of the bullpen. Starter Jared Sutton lasted 2.2 innings and allowed three runs on two hits.
Vasami knocked in four runs while going 2-for-5 with his team-leading third triple of the season. Grant Rembert extended his hitting streak to 12 games, tied for the longest such streak on the squad in 2006, after his 1-for-4 night. Rodebuagh finished 2-for-3 with a run and two RBI.
For UNCW, Appel and Jonathan Batts each posted 2-for-5 nights and scored one run.
Elon returns to the diamond on Friday night as it hosts SoCon foe Georgia Southern in a 7:00 p.m. tilt from Latham Park.
Story courtesy of Georgia Southern sports information
Georgia Southern 7, Georgia State 5
ATLANTA, Ga. ? Freshman Chris Shehan hit a 2-run homer with two outs in the eighth inning as Georgia Southern rallied for a 7-5 win at Georgia State Tuesday night (April 25). The Eagles improved to 24-19 overall.
A pair of walks to start the game led to two Georgia Southern runs, a lead it held for most of the game. Matt Miller and Shehan drew a free pass, then Greg Dowling pulled a ball through the right side scoring Miller and allowing Shehan to advance to third. He scored on Jeremiah Parker’s sacrifice fly.
Justin Newman hit his team-leading eighth triple with two down in the second. Aeden McQueary-Ennis dropped a single into centerfield, making it a 2-1 game.
To start the third inning Shehan took advantage of third baseman Nick McEntyre’s throwing error, advancing all the way to third. He scored on Bobby Bennett’s wild pitch with Dowling at bat. Consecutive singles from Parker, Mike Economos and Griffin Benedict scored another run, extending the Eagles’ lead to 4-1.
Similar to the second inning, Matt Shurley retired the first two batters he faced in the fourth before running into trouble. Newman hit his fourth home run on the year, a solo shot to right field.
Charlie Pelt bounced a single to start the sixth. Following a sacrifice bunt, head coach Rodney Hennon brought in A.J. Battisto in relief of Shurley. The junior right-hander stranded the runner at second getting back-to-back strikeouts.
The Panthers stifled Georgia Southern’s two-out, two-on rally in the seventh then took the lead for the first time. McEntyre singled to start and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Suttle lined a RBI triple off the centerfield fence. He scored on Ryan Sterling’s sacrifice fly, giving Georgia State a 5-4 lead.
Brett Pelfrey lined a single to start the eighth inning rally, the Eagles’ first hit since the third inning. Chris Hollis’ sacrifice bunt sent Pelfrey to second. Pinch-hitting Justin Klinger drew a walk. Pelfrey advanced to third on a wild pitch then scored on Miller’s RBI groundout, tying the game at 5-all.
Dustin Carder came in relief of Bennett to face Shehan. In a battle of freshmen, Shehan slammed a shot over the left field fence, his second round-tripper this year putting the Eagles ahead for good.
David Cogswell, who worked around a leadoff walk in the ninth, recorded the final four outs for his eighth save. He started a game-ending 1-6-3 double play, the second DP Georgia Southern turned in the game.
Shurley gave up three runs on seven hits in 5.1 innings. He struck out one and did not issue a walk as all but two of his outs recorded were on ground balls. Battisto (4-0) allowed two runs on three hits in 2.1 innings, striking out two.
Seven different Eagles recorded a hit as they were out-hit 11-7 by the Panthers. Shehan scored three of the seven runs. Cogswell moved past his older brother Steve into a tie for seventh place among the season ?Top 10’ saves leaders.
Bennett (3-3) was charged for six runs - five earned - on six hits through 7.2 innings. He walked six, hit four batters and struck out two.
Suttle had three hits while Newman and McQueary-Ennis had two each for the Panthers (19-22).
The two-game series concludes on Wedneday (April 26), first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m.
Story courtesy of Charlotte sports information
Charlotte 4, Appalachian State 3
Charlotte, N.C. - Chris Lane went 3-for-4 and Aaron Bray knocked in two runs, as the Charlotte 49ers held off Appalachian on Tuesday night at Tom and Lib Phillips Field, 4-3.
Charlotte (28-12-1) and Appalachian (17-23-1) met for the second time this season and the 49ers came out with their first win in the last four contests between the schools. The 49ers and Mountaineers tied 13-13 in Boone back on April 4.
Chris Lane had three singles, including a run scoring base-knock in the second inning. Bray's two-run single in the second gave his team a momentary 3-2 lead. Cory Lane drove in the fourth run of the night for Charlotte, floating a ball into shallow right field behind a draw-in infield in the third inning. That plated Mike Ambrose with what would prove to be the game-winning run.
The game was delayed 43 minutes with two outs in the bottom of the first inning due to lightning, but both teams and starting pitchers recovered after the break to continue the action.
After the delay, Appalachian scored a pair of runs in the top of the second to take the first lead of the evening. With two outs and a man on first base, Joey Robinson singled up the middle to put runners on the corners. Rand Smith then hit a 2-run single into center field.
The 49ers answered back in the bottom half of the frame off Mountaineers starter Scott Clark, with three runs on four singles. Chris Taylor singled to right center and Alan Parks followed with a single to the same spot for runners on the corners. Chris Lane then logged his first hit of the afternoon to score one run.
After a groundout moved the runners to second and third, Aaron Bray pulled the first pitch he saw through the right side for a 3-2 Niners advantage.
Appalachian tied the ballgame with a run in the top of the third, when Adam Beasley walked with two outs. He moved over on a wild pitch and then scored on a single down the left field line by David Rubenstein.
The 49ers got the go-ahead run in the bottom of the third when Mike Ambrose led off the inning by reaching on an error at second base. After a pitching change brought Josh Fish into the game, Steedley sacrificed Ambrose to second and he then advanced again on a balk. Cory Lane's single into right field plated what would eventually become the game winner.
Spencer Steedley (1-0) pitched six strong innings in his second start of the season for Charlotte, allowing six hits and one walk through six innings. He forced the Mountaineers to strand runners in scoring position in both the fifth and sixth innings to preserve the lead for his team.
Senior closer Erik Walker worked the 7th, 8th and 9th innings for his fifth save this season. Walker struck out three while allowing just one single. He erased that baserunner, Chris Baker, on a pickoff at first base to end the game.
Earlier in the inning, David Rubenstein reached on an error in right field. But in the next at-bat, he tried to steal second on a ball in the dirt and 49ers catcher Chris Taylor threw him out for the first out of the inning.
Tuesday night's game was the first of two non-conference matchups at Tom and Lib Phillips Field this week. The 49ers take on red-hot Furman (26-12) on Wednesday night at home, in their final scheduled home non-conference game of the season. This weekend Charlotte plays host to Atlantic 10 Conference opponent and longtime rival Saint Louis.