Story courtesy of Furman sports information
Furman 3, The Citadel 2
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Andrew Greene went 3-for-4 and singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning to lift Furman to a 3-2 win over The Citadel in Southern Conference baseball action Friday at Charleston’s Joseph P. Riley Park.
Greene, a senior outfielder and preseason All-Southern Conference selection, extended his hitting streak to 22 games by singling three times in the contest, including a one-out base hit down the right field line off The Citadel’s Link Saunders in the eighth to score pinch runner Marcus Rose and give the Paladins a 3-2 lead.
Ryan Hodinka, who recorded the final out in the seventh, combined with David Mitchell to retire the Bulldogs in order in the bottom of the frame, and Nick Hollstegge followed with a perfect ninth to record his third save of the campaign and fifth consecutive save in Riley Park. Last year Hollstegge was named SoCon Tournament Most Outstanding Player after recording saves in four straight games in leading Furman to the 2005 tournament championship.
The victory was the eighth triumph in the last nine games for Furman (19-9, 7-0), which is off to its best start in league play since 1976. It also marked the Paladins’ 14th consecutive triumph over conference opposition dating back to last year and halted a six-game series losing skid to The Citadel (16-14, 3-4 SoCon).
Furman, which entered the game as the SoCon’s top hitting team with a .348 average, recorded seven hits to The Citadel’s five.
Furman starting pitcher Matt Klinker pitched allowed only one earned run and five hits in 6 1/3 innings, while Citadel starter Wes Wrenn gave up two earned runs and five hits in seven innings of work.
Hodinka, Furman’s scheduled Sunday starter who often hurls an inning on Friday, picked up the win in relief to improve his league leading record to 8-0. Saunders took the loss to even his record at 3-3 on the season.
The Citadel took a 1-0 lead in the third on Chance Smith’s RBI triple that scored Tripp Cappelmann.
Furman quickly tied the game in the top of the fourth on Case Cassedy’s RBI grounder.
It remained 1-1 until the sixth when Spence Gibbs doubled with one out and came around to score on Greene’s two-out single down the right field line.
The Bulldogs knotted the contest at 2-2 in the seventh, scoring an unearned run on Matt Covington’s squeeze bunt that plated Conrad Kellehan.
Furman took the lead for good in the eighth after Gibbs led off with a single to centerfield off Saunders. Pinch runner Marcus Rose then advanced to second on Ben Terry’s sacrifice bunt and came around to score on Greene’s base hit down the right field line.
Hodinka, who came on to record the final out in the seventh, struck out Zach Brown to lead off the eighth before giving way to Mitchell, who struck out Sonny Meade and Mark Egleton to end the inning.
Saturday’s Furman-Citadel game, originally slated to begin at 2:00 p.m., has been moved up to 11:00 a.m. due to expected rainy weather in the Charleston area Saturday afternoon. The contest will be televised by ETV on a tape delay basis in its originally scheduled 2:00 p.m. time slot.
Story courtesy of Appalachian State sports information
UNC Greensboro 20, Appalachian State 10
BOONE, N.C. ? UNC Greensboro broke out of an offensive slump in a big way with 20 runs and 20 hits in a 20-10 victory over Appalachian State University baseball on Friday afternoon at Red Lackey Field.
UNC Greensboro (13-18, 3-4 Southern Conference) came into the game as the last-ranked team in the Southern Conference in most offensive categories but pounded Appalachian pitching throughout the afternoon en route to season highs for both runs and hits.
Nick DeRose’s leadoff home run gave Appalachian (11-17-1, 1-9 SoCon) a 1-0 lead after one inning, but UNCG exploded to post all 20 of their runs over the next six innings with two in the second, three in the third, five in the fourth, one in the fifth, six in the sixth and three in the seventh.
Trailing 20-2, the Mountaineers rallied for eight runs in the bottom of the eighth to climb within 10. A grand slam by reserve catcher Nick Riddle in only his second at-bat of the season highlighted the eight-run outburst.
But it was too little, too late for the Apps, who committed a season-high five errors en route to their 12th loss in 14 games. Freshman right-hander Jason Rook (2-4) allowed seven runs (five earned) on eight hits in three innings of work to suffer the loss.
Not to be overshadowed by the Spartans’ offensive explosion was the performance turned in by starting pitcher Nick Starnes (3-1). The right-hander struck out eight of the first nine batters that he faced following DeRose’s leadoff homer and recorded 11 strikeouts in all over six innings of work to pick up the win.
Eight of the nine batters in UNCG’s starting lineup collected multiple hits, led by designated hitter Clinton McKinney, who went 4-foor-6 with a home run, three runs scored and four RBI. Leadoff hitter Jermaine Mitchell registered two of Greensboro’s four homers on the afternoon.
The two teams continue their three-game series on Saturday. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. at Red Lackey Field.
Story courtesy of Wofford sports information
Elon 10, Wofford 5
SPARTANBURG, SC - Chris Vasami hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs to lead Elon to a 10-5 win over Wofford Friday night at Russell C. King Field.
Wofford rallied late in the game, scoring four times in the final three frames.
Elon took a 1-0 lead in the second off starter Chip Hunt when Grant Rembert led off with a double. After a walk to Robert Rodebaugh, Ryan Addison grounded into a 6-4-3 double play with Rembert moving to third. He scored on a single to center by Paul Bennett.
Vasami hit his two-run homer in the third to put the Phoenix up 3-0. Elon tallied four times in the fifth, all with two outs, to take a 7-0 lead. Vasami drove in one run with a single and Rodebaugh hit a two-run single with another run scoring on a wild pitch.
Wofford cut the lead to 7-1 in the bottom of the fifth when Eric Sturkie was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a single by Zach Pittman and scored on a double by Chuck Eller. The play proved costly to the Terriers as Pittman suffered a dislocated shoulder when he slipped coming around third. His status for the remainder of the series is yet to be determined.
Elon went up 8-1 in the sixth when Donny Jobe led off the inning with a walk, stole second, was sacrificed to third and scored on a sacrifice fly by Chris Price.
The Terriers started their rally when Keith Munns led off the seventh with a home run, his third of the year. Bradford Eaves drew a walk and stole second before advancing to third on a single by J.D. Melton. Eaves scored on an infield ground out by Eller.
Elon tallied twice in the seventh as a walk to Rodebaugh was followed with a single by Addison. Dorman High grad Jordy Snyder knocked a double to right to plate both base runners.
Wofford added a pair of runs in the eighth. Shane Kirkley led off with a single and John Brandt followed with a walk before each moved up a base on a passed ball. Bradford Eaves legged out a single to third which scored both baserunners and pulled Wofford to within 10-5.
Elon starter Lance Cole (7-1) went seven innings and scattered seven hits while walking two.
Hunt took the loss to fall to 0-4 but he struck out a career-high nine batters in 4 and two-thirds innings of work. Dawson smith yielded just two hits over the final 4 and one-third innings.
Wofford is now 15-19 overall and 2-8 in the SoCon. Elon improved to 23-11 and 7-3.
The two teams meet again at King Field Saturday at 1 p.m. Wofford is scheduled to send Ben Austin to the mound to face Matt Chastain.
Story courtesy of Davidson sports information
College of Charleston 12, Davidson 3
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Twentieth-ranked College of Charleston equaled a season high with four home runs to power its way to a 12-3 Southern Conference victory over the host Davidson Wildcats on Friday evening in front of 398 fans at Wilson Field. The Cougars improve to 25-6 on the season and 8-2 in the league, while Davidson loses its fourth straight game to fall to 12-18 overall and 2-8 in the conference.
Chris Campbell belted a two-out, two-run home run in the first inning, his third of the year, to get the scoring started for Charleston. The Cougars tacked another run on off Wildcat junior hurler Blake Osborn (1-3) with a double by Jess Easterling and a single by Larry Garabedian.
In the second, Larry Cobb belted a solo shot, his second, to give the Cougars a 4-0 lead.
The Wildcats halved the four-run deficit in the fourth with a pair of solo home runs from juniors Gregory Zage and Alden Crissey, their sixth and fifth of the year, respectively.
Osborn settled down after the first two frames, retiring 11 of the 13 batters following Cobb?s home run. But after a Garabedian single with one out, Michael Harrington slammed a two-out, pinch-hit homer for a 6-2 Cougar lead.
Davidson got a run back in its half of the sixth. Singles by senior Alex Entrekin and Osborn, sandwiched around a walk to Crissey, loaded the bases with nobody out and ended the evening for Charleston starting pitcher Nick Chigges. Quinn Monsma came on and surrendered an RBI single to pinch hitter Will Ogden, which also put the tying runs on base. But Monsma got the first out on strikes, then induced the Wildcats? leading hitter, Ronnie Shore, to hit a hard grounder right to short for an inning-ending double play.
Charleston put the game out of reach with four runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth. Phillip Coker provided three of the runs in the eighth with his first four-bagger of the season.
Chigges (5-1) earned the victory by hurling five-plus innings and allowing three runs on eight hits and two walks while tying a season-high seven strikeouts.
Osborn suffered the loss by yielding six runs on 11 hits in 6.2 innings while fanning three.
Campbell, Easterling and Garabedian all had three hits to bolster the 18-hit attack for Charleston.
Shore and Entrekin each had a pair of safeties for Davidson while senior Jay Heafner extended his hitting streak to eight games with a first-inning single.
The two teams will play again tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m., weather permitting.
Story courtesy of Georgia Southern sports information
Georgia Southern 17, Western Carolina 0
Statesboro, Ga. ? A close game was blown open late as Georgia Southern, who hit six home runs on the night, had four round-trippers over the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to hand Western Carolina a 17-0 loss Friday night at J.I. Clements Stadium.
The Eagles (17-16, 5-2 Southern Conference) were clinging to a 3-0 lead with just six hits through five complete innings. Then with two on and one out in the top of the sixth, Georgia Southern starter Everett Teaford got back-to-back strikeouts to keep the shutout intact. The Eagles then erupted for two runs in the bottom of the sixth, four in the seventh and eight in the eighth to get the win.
Teaford improves to 4-3 on the season, scattering seven hits over eight innings with zero walks and eight strikeouts. For Western Carolina (18-12, 6-4 SoCon), Brock Thornburg suffered the loss, falling to 2-2 on the season. He allowed six hits over 5.2 innings with five runs (three earned) with no walks and a strikeout.
Georgia Southern drew first blood, scoring two runs in the third. After a leadoff double by Matt Miller, Greg Dowling hit a one-out, two-run home run for his sixth blast of the season.
The Eagles used the long ball again in the fourth as Brett Pelfrey lined a home run down the left field line for his fourth of the season.
In the sixth, Georgia Southern took advantage of two Catamount errors to push across two unearned runs and take a 5-0 lead. Mike Economos started the home half by reaching on an error and David Richardson put runners on second and third with a one-out, two-base error. Brian Pierce plated Economos with a sacrifice fly to center. After a walk, Chris Shehan singled to bring home Richardson.
Parker put the Eagles up 6-0 in the seventh, hitting a one-out home run down the left field line. With one on, Pelfrey delivered his second homer of the contest for an 8-0 GSU cushion. Western looked to get out of the inning with a strikeout, but a wild pitch allowed Richardson to reach and Pierce struck out for what would have been the third out. Shehan, after a walk to Miller, drove in Richardson with a single to left-center.
The Eagles kept the peddle down, scoring eight runs in the eighth. With the bases loaded, pinch hitters Phillip Porter and Jeremy Beckham had back-to-back RBI singles. Later, with two outs and the bases loaded, pinch hitter Chris Hollis had a two-run single. Shehan then cleared the bases with a three-run home run. On the next pitch, pinch hitter Will Southwell hit a homer to left.
The Catamounts had three players account for their eight hits. Barrett Shaft and Jonathan Greene each had three and Tim Hallam added two. Steven Strausbaugh had his 14-game hit streak snapped.
Game two of the three game set will come on Saturday with first pitch set for 1:30 pm.