Baseball Southern Conference

Regular Season Concludes As Elon Claims SoCon Title

Story courtesy of College of Charleston sports information

The Citadel 11, College of Charleston 10

Mt. Pleasant, S.C. ? Chance Smith hit a pair of homers and Matt Arnold added a solo shot as The Citadel upset 20th-ranked College of Charleston, 11-10, in the finale of its three-game Southern Conference series before 1,462 at Patriots Point Field on Saturday.

 

The Citadel concludes the regular season at 30-25 and 15-12 in league play.  The Cougar are 39-15 and 20-7.

 

In the bottom of the first inning Joey Friddle hit a solo homer to left and Alex Garabedian and Ben Lasater added RBI singles for a 3-0 Charleston lead.

 

The Citadel cut the margin to 3-2 on Smith’s first homer in the game, a solo shot to left in the third, and Arnold’s opposite-field homer in the sixth.

 

The Bulldogs broke through in the seventh inning parlaying seven hits and three walks into nine runs.  Smith capped the inning with his second homer of the day, a three-run shot to left.

 

Charleston scored three times in the seventh, once in the eighth and three more runs in the bottom of the ninth that cut the margin to 11-10.  But, with two outs and Larry Cobb at third base and pinch runner Steve Trask at first, Graham Madien’s bouncer to the right side glanced off the glove of first baseman Zach Brown directly to second baseman Tripp Cappleman who threw out Maiden on a close play to end the game.

 

Ken Egleton (1-3) picked up the win allowing three runs on nine hits over six innings.  Danny Meszaros (8-2) suffered the loss.

Story courtesy of Wofford sports information

Wofford 11, Georgia Southern 10

SPARTANBURG, SC ? Wofford scored four runs in the eighth inning to wipe out a 9-7 deficit and went on to defeat Georgia Southern 11-10 Saturday afternoon at Russell C. King Field.

 

Stephen Johnson hit an RBI double, Ben Austin drew a bases loaded walk and John Brandt drove home two runs with a single during the Terriers’ eighth inning rally.

 

Georgia Southern then loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth inning before Mike Economos was hit by a pitch to force in a run to make it an 11-10 game.  Designated hitter Griffin Benedict then flied out to left to end the game.

 

Wofford had built a 4-0 lead with a pair of runs in each of the first two innings.  Zach Pittman and Stephen Johnson led off the bottom of the first with singles before Adam Wood drove them both home with a single to left.  In the second, Bradford Eaves doubled and scored on a single by Pittman.  Pittman scored on an RBI double by Shane Kirkley.

 

Georgia Southern tallied a single run in the third when Brian Pierce walked, moved to third on a double by Chris Hollis and scored on a sac fly by Economos.  That was one of four sacrifice flies by the Eagles on the day.

 

Wofford extended its lead to 5-1 in the third when Brandt walked and scored from first on a double by Keith Munns.

 

The Eagles took a 6-5 led with five runs in the fourth off Wofford starter Whit Kennedy.  Hollis plated a run with a sac fly, Greg Dowling drove in two runs with a double and Economos hit a two-run homer.

 

GSU went up 7-5 in the sixth when Matt Miller bunted for a base hit, went to third on a single by Hollis and scored on a sacrifice fly by Economos.

 

Wofford pulled to 7-6 in the bottom of the sixth when Eric Sturkie led off with a single moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Brent Pearce and scored on a single by Johnson.

 

Georgia Southern scored two runs in the seventh for a 9-6 lead after Jeremiah Parker led off with a double and moved to third on a bunt single by Jeremy Beckham.  Pierce plated a run with a sac fly and Hollis singled to score Beckham.

 

Wofford had closed the lead to 9-7 in the seventh when Wood doubled and scored on a single by Ben Austin.

 

J.D. Melton earned the win with two innings of relief to improve to 7-4 on the year.  Georgia Southern reliever Josh Lairsey took the loss, falling to 3-5.  Chip Hunt worked the Terriers out of the jam in the ninth to earn his second save of the year.

 

Georgia Southern’s four sacrifice flies in the game were one off the Southern Conference record of five in a contest.

 

Zach Pittman finished an outstanding series, going 4-for-5 on Sunday.  Johnson finished with three hits and two RBIs.  Wood, Brandt and Austin also drove in two runs apiece.

 

Economos was 1-for-3 for the Eagles but drove in five runs with two sacrifice flies, a two-run homer and a bases loaded hit by pitch.  Hollis and Dowling each had a pair of RBIs.  Dowling was intentionally walked three times by the Wofford pitching staff.

 

The win was the 20th of the season for the Terriers, marking the second-most wins by a Wofford baseball team since moving to Division I in 1996.

 

Wofford will play in the first round of the Southern Conference Tournament on Tuesday.  The game time is to be announced.

Story courtesy of Appalachian State sports information

Davidson 6, Appalachian State 5 (12 inn.)

BOONE, N.C. ? After blowing a save on the mound in the bottom of the 11th, Davidson’s Jay Heafner hit the game-winning home run in the top of the 12th to hand Appalachian State University baseball a 6-5 defeat in Saturday’s regular-season finale at Red Lackey Field. Eighth-seeded Appalachian (23-29-1, 9-18 SoCon) and No. 9 Davidson (18-32, 6-21 SoCon) will square off for the fourth-straight time on Tuesday at noon in the opening game of the Southern Conference Tournament at Riley Park in Charleston, S.C.

           

Heafner’s eighth home run of the season capped the scoring in a wild game that saw both teams exchange runs in the 11th inning. Despite allowing the Mountaineers to knot the contest at 5-5 with a run in the bottom of the 11th, Heafner pitched a perfect 12th to earn his first win of the season.

           

Appalachian trailed 4-0 early but rallied for two runs in the fifth, one in the sixth and one in the seventh to send the contest to extra frames for the second time in the three-game series. All three games of the series were decided by just one run, with ASU earning 10-9 (10 inn.) and 9-8 wins in the first two matchups of the weekend.

 

Zach Quate allowed two runs in two innings of relief to suffer the loss and fall to 4-3 on the season. In the final home game of his career, senior Scott Clark pitched a perfect eighth to become Appalachian’s all-time career leader with 249 innings pitched.

 

Rand Smith led the Mountaineers’ seven hit attack with a 2-for-4 effort. Kevin Butler, Wes Borden, Nick DeRose, Tom Prosser and Smith all drove in runs for the Mountaineers.

 

Heafner, Ronnie Shore and Alden Crissey all had multi-hit performances for the Wildcats, with Crissy driving in three runs on a solo homer in the second and a two-run double in the fifth.

 

Despite Saturday’s loss, Appalachian’s 23 regular-season wins are its most since winning 27 in 1996 and its eighth-place SoCon finish is its highest since 2001. 

Story courtesy of Western Carolina sports information

Western Carolina 7, Furman 5 (Game 1)

Furman 10, Western Carolina 6 (Game 2)

Cullowhee, N.C. ? Western Carolina scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to hand Furman a 7-5 setback in game one of a Saturday doubleheader at Childress Field/Hennon Stadium. In game two, which was the regular-season finale, Furman scored four times in the eighth to claim a 10-6 victory in a contest which was delayed 51 minutes by rain and lightening. It is believed that the Catamounts will bee the sixth seed in next week’s Southern Conference Championship and, it is believed, face the third seeded Paladins. However, please check back with CatamountSports.com for a complete schedule and times of the SoCon Tourney, played in Charleston, S.C., at Riley Park.

 

In the doubleheader today, Catamount third baseman Jonathan Greene was 6-for-9, hitting three home runs in the two games, including two in game two. For the Paladins, Will Stembridge was 5-for-8.

 

Like Furman did last night, Western took advantage of a miscue by the defense to score in the first. With two outs, Barrett Shaft singled. Greene, who was 3-for-4 in game one, followed with a single to left, but an error on the play allowed Shaft to score from first.

 

Case Cassedy answered for the Paladins in the second, hitting a leadoff home run for his seventh round-tripper of the season.

 

The Cats took advantage of a second Paladin error to score twice in the second to go up 3-1. Trey McDaniel started the frame reaching on an error. Blake Murphy moved McDaniel to third on a well-executed hit-and-run. Scott Ward plated McDaniel with a single. After a sacrifice bunt, Tim Hallam drove in Murphy with a sacrifice fly.

 

Furman used the long ball again in the sixth to tie the game. With one out, Ben Terry hit his first home run of the season. Two batters later, A.J. Davidiuk cleared the left field fence for his 11th homer of the season.

 

Western responded in the home half with two runs of its own. Greene started the inning with a double and scored two batters later on a two-run home run by McDaniel, marking his 11th blast of the season.

 

The Paladins knotted the game once again in the seventh. Jay Jackson had a leadoff single and moved to third two batters later on Spence Gibbs’ double, chasing WCU starter Bryan Tupper. Terry plated Jackson with an RBI ground out and Will Stembridge followed with an RBI single.

 

However, the Catamounts answered again in the home half of the seventh to go up 7-5. Hallam had a leadoff double, moved to third on a ground ball and scored on Shaft’s sac fly to center. Greene followed with a towering home run over The Purple Monster in left, giving the sophomore 12 homers on the season.

 

Brian McCullen, who allowed two hits, did not allow a run over the final 2.2 innings to pick up the win, improving to 6-1 on the season. Tupper, who pitched a career-high 6.1 innings, allowed eight hits and five runs. For Furman, Patrick Arnett suffered the loss, falling to 3-7. Starter Ryan Hudson worked six innings, allowing seven hits and five runs.

 

In game two, Furman strung together four straight singles to start the game for a 2-0 lead. Terry got things started with an infield single and Stembridge followed with a bunt single. Davidiuk plated Terry with a single to center and Cassedy singled to right to score Stembridge.

 

Western tied the game at 2-2 in the third. Jason Haynes and Hallam had leadoff singles. Although Haynes was thrown out stealing, Donnie Wilson plating Hallam with a single to left and, after a wild pitch, Wilson scored on Greene’s single down the left field line.

 

In the third, the Cats pushed a run across to take a 3-2 lead. With one out, Blake Murphy walked, Ward singled and Haynes singled to load the bases and chase Paladin starter Ryan Hodinka. Hallam welcomed new pitcher Jay Jackson with an RBI ground out.

 

In the top of the fifth with one out and a runner on second, the game was halted for 50 minutes due to lightening and rain. Once play resumed, Andrew Greene, who started the inning with a single and moved to second on a sac bunt, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Terry, tying the game at 3-3. The Paladins would put two runners on and Cassedy nearly gave his team a three-run lead, but Shaft robbed Cassedy of a home run.

 

In the home half of the fifth, Western answered with two runs for a 5-3 lead. Shaft singled and scored on Greene’s second homer of the doubleheader.

 

However, Furman rallied right back in the sixth to tie the game (5-5) once again, thanks to a two-out, two-run triple by Joey Rodgers. The back-and-forth game continued in the top of the seventh. Stembridge drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a two-out single by Joe Daysh.

 

In the bottom of the seventh, Western’s Greene sent the first pitch he saw for a home run, his second of the game, third of the doubleheader and 13th of the season. Later in the inning, Western had runners on first and second. Haynes singled up the middle and Steven Strausbaugh tried to score on the play, but was he was thrown out at home.

 

The Paladins exploded for four runs in the top of the eighth. Stembridge had a two-run single and Davidiuk followed with an RBI double to right. Cassedy drove in the fourth run of the inning with an RBI ground out.

 

Jackson got the win for the Paladins, improving to 3-0. He allowed eight hits and four runs over four innings. Nick Hollstegge pitched the final 1.2 innings, allowing no hits or walks to earn his 11th save. Greg Holland (4-3) suffered the loss, his first setback since Mar. 8. He allowed six hits and five runs (four earned) over 2.2 innings.

Story courtesy of UNC Greensboro sports information

Elon 11, UNC Greensboro 6

GREENSBORO, NC ? Elon pitcher Jesse Lewter hurled four innings of scoreless relief en route to his fourth win of the season and the Phoenix pounded out 11 runs en route to the outright regular season Southern Conference championship with an 11-6 win over UNC Greensboro Saturday evening at UNCG Baseball Stadium.

 

Lewter (4-1) entered the game in the bottom of the fourth with the Phoenix trailing 5-3, but Elon scored seven runs over the next two innings to make a winner out of the lefty.  Lewter finished the game allowing no runs on five hits while collecting two strikeouts.

 

Freshman Clinton McKinney (1-5) suffered the loss after surrendering five runs (three earned) on six hits in 1-2/3 innings on the hill.

 

Elon (42-14, 21-6 SoCon) jumped out to an early 3-0 edge after Chris Vasami hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the first.  UNCG starter Clay Gibson hit both Donny Jobe and Adam Weaver to start the game before Vasami laced a line drove over the rightfield wall.

 

UNCG (24-31, 13-14 SoCon) exploded for five runs in the bottom of the third to take a 5-3 advantage.  Greg Feltes was hit by a pitch to start the frame and Sean Snell reached on an error on Ryan Addison in right to put runners on first and second.  Jermaine Mitchell then pushed a single through the right side to extend his hitting streak to 13 games.  Guy Welsh then doubled home Snell and Harvey then plated Mitchell with a sacrifice fly to left.  Wes McCall added an RBI double to rightfield and later scored on an error on the Phoenix infield.

 

Mitchell picked up his 37th RBI of the season an inning later when he singled to leftfield to score Feltes to put UNCG out in front 6-3 after four.

 

The Phoenix answered with a six-run fifth to take the lead for good.  With the score 6-4 in favor of the Spartans, shortstop Paul Bennett gave Elon the lead when he cleared the bases with a two-out three-RBI triple to rightfield.  The Phoenix would tack on another run on an error on the UNCG infield and Weaver produced the final run of the frame with a single into leftfield.

 

Elon would tack on runs in the sixth and seventh and limit the Spartans to just three hits over the final four innings en route to its first regular season baseball title in the Division I era.

 

Mitchell led the way at the plate for the Spartans as the Daingerfield, TX product went 3-for-5 with two RBI to finish the regular season with a league-leading even .400 batting average.  Wes McCall also produced a multi-hit game for UNCG as he went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

 

Prior to the game, UNCG honored its three seniors who took part in their final regular season game at UNCG Baseball Stadium.  Senior shortstop David Adams played in his 188th career game as a Spartan, leaving the Statesville, NC native tied for 10th place on the all-time list.  Pitcher Jonathan Nichols pitched an inning of relief for UNCG and Patrick Currin notched his league-leading 37th appearance during the contest.

 

UNCG returns to the diamond Tuesday afternoon when the Spartans begin their quest for the 2006 Southern Conference Tournament Championship.  The Spartans enter the tournament as the No. 7 seed and will take on tenth-seeded Wofford in a single elimination game at noon from Riley Park in Charleston, SC.  Should UNCG get past the Terries, the Spartans would then have to lose twice to be eliminated from the post-season event.