GEORGIA SOUTHERN 34, KENNESAW STATE 1
STATESBORO, GA. ? Georgia Southern set a record for runs scored in a game, slamming New Jersey Tech 34-1 Friday night (Feb. 16) at J.I.
Clements Stadium. The Eagles (6-2 overall) won their fifth straight while NJIT played in its season-opener.
Nearly half of the runs came during a 16-run fifth inning, in which the Eagles sent 20 batters to the plate and registered 14 hits. The 16 RBI that inning tied for fourth in NCAA Division I history, while the 14 hits tied for third-most in the Division I annals. Chris Shehan (Strasburg, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) hit his first career grand slam, five RBI in all during the fifth inning and part of his career-high six RBI in the game. Mike Economos (Atlanta/Marist) nailed a 3-run homer. David Richardson (Dahlonega/Lumpkin County) added a pinch-hit 2-run single that inning as well.
Georgia Southern scored in all but two innings: five in the first and sixth innings; two in the third and fourth innings; then four in the eighth to set the record. The previous runs scored record was 32 at Samford back in 1985, a 32-11 win.
Eight Eagles recorded a multi-hit game, led by Griffin Benedict (Dunwoody/St. Pius) and Shehan with four apiece. Benedict also tied a GS record hitting three doubles in the game, finishing with three runs scored and two RBI while matching his personal-best hit effort. Shehan added to his team-leading RBI total, now with 17 in the first eight games.
Starter Drew Murray (LaGrange/LaGrange) used two 4-6-3 inning-ending double plays to help his cause. He was pulled after the nearly 50 minute fifth inning. Murray (1-1) allowed one run on five hits, walking three and striking out three. Aaron Eubanks (Moultrie/Colquitt County) and Blake Nation (Brooks/Starr’s Mill) each pitched two scoreless innings of relief.
Redshirt-freshman Kevin Bowles (Statesboro/Statesboro) had two hits in his first-ever collegiate game. Freshman Brett Maxwell
(Douglasville/Alexander) also got his first-ever base hit. Also, 11 Eagles scored at least two runs in the game.
“I’m pleased with the guys who came off the bench on how they played and how the bullpen pitched. It was really good to play a lot of guys tonight,” said Hennon. “We did a good job staying focused, throwing strikes and playing solid defense.”
Matt Schlitter had two hits and drove in the Highlanders’ run. Elliot Hagburg also had two hits to lead NJIT. Starter Brian Ascolese (0-1) gave up nine runs (seven earned) on six hits in three innings of work.
He walked three and struck out three.
Game two of the series is set for Saturday afternoon (Feb. 17) at 1:30 p.m.
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 7, TOWSON 6
MT, PLEASANT, S.C. ? Oliver Marmol’s sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the 10th inning scored Stuart Haywood with the game-winning run lifting the College of Charleston to a thrilling 7-6 win over Towson in college baseball action before 311 at chilly Patriots Point Field on Friday.
With the win, the Cougars improved to 2-0. The Tigers fell to 0-1.
Michael Harrington led off Charleston's 10th inning with a double down the right field line and, after Haywood pinch ran for Harrington, Michael Kohn was intentionally walked putting runners at first and second.
Gabe Marchant’s sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third with one out. After pinch hitter Graham Maiden was intentionally walked to load the bases, Marmol sliced a 2-0 pitch down the right field line for the game-winning fly ball.
Charleston scored four times in the first inning on Chris Campbell’s RBI triple, an RBI single by Ben Lasater, a run-scoring double by Harrington and an RBI grounder by Marchant. Campbell’s sacrifice fly in the second scored Marmol and gave the Cougars a 5-0 lead.
Towson got a run in the fourth and CofC added a single run in the seventh for a 6-1 lead.
The Tigers, who had just one hit through seven innings, used a pair of Charleston errors in the eighth to score five unearned runs and tie the game at 6-all. Ryan Schreiter’s two-out infield hit plated Greg Furmanek with the tying run.
Brian Schlitter (1-0) picked up the win in relief for Charleston allowing two hits and an unearned run over the final 2 1/3 innings. CofC starter Jeff Beliveau struck out six and allowed only one run on one hit over the first 5 2/3 innings. Nate Curd (0-1) suffered the loss.
Marmol finished with three hits in four at bats, while teammates Campbell, Lasater and Harrington added two hits each to pace Charleston’s 12-hit attack. Kyle Skellchock had two hits for the Tigers.
Game two of the three game series is Saturday at 1:00.
THE CITADEL 7, RICHMOND 6 *10 innings)
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? Junior Conrad Kellahan collected a sacrifice fly to drive in the winning run as The Citadel earned a 7-6 victory over Richmond in 10 innings Friday night at Riley Park in game two of The Crab House Shootout presented by Trademark Properties. Senior first baseman Zach Brown scored the game-winner after leading off the 10th with a triple, while senior right-hander Link Saunders picked up his first victory of the season.
The Dogs (3-1) erased a two-run deficit on two occasions before taking a one-run lead in the seventh. The Spiders (0-1) then plated one in the eighth to tie it up and send the contest into extra frames. The Citadel only need one more inning as Brown blasted the first pitch he saw to deep center for a lead-off triple. Kellahan then came in to pinch-hit and lofted a 3-2 offering to left, allowing Brown to tag up and race home for the winning score.
Saunders was called to the mound in the eighth and gave up a hit to the first batter he faced, but then settled in to record six straight outs in the ninth and 10th, including three strikeouts. The Irmo, S.C. native was credited with the victory as he tossed 2.2 innings and did not allow run, while giving up one hit and fanning three. Spider reliever Matt Zeilinski suffered the loss as he was responsible for Brown’s triple. The southpaw pitched 4.2 frames and gave up three runs on three hits while striking out five and walking three.
Richmond struck early as the Spiders put one on the board in the first on an
RBI- double by third baseman Cameron Brown. The Spiders added another run in the third as they took advantage of a throwing error by Bulldog second baseman Bryan Altman that allowed center fielder Andrew Justice to race home from second after reaching on a fielder’s choice.
The Citadel evened the score, 2-2, in the third on RBI-singles by junior center fielder Chris Swauger and sophomore right fielder Sonny Meade.
Richmond regained the lead in the fourth with a sacrifice fly off the bat of second baseman Austin Reilly and went up by two again in the fifth thanks to an RBI-single by left fielder Vince Riggi.
Sophomore right fielder Sonny Meade tied it up for the Bulldogs for the second time in the fifth as he blasted a double to the gap in right center to plate two for his second and third RBI of the night. Alex Wotring then gave the lead back to the Spiders in the sixth as he pushed one across with an RBI-double of his own.
Brown gave The Citadel its first lead of the evening in the seventh as he roped a double to right, sending two runs home to make it 6-5, before Richmond answered back in the eighth on a Wotring RBI-single to send the game into extra frames.
Sophomore right-hander Wes Wrenn made the start for the Bulldogs but did not factor in the decision as he threw 5.0 innings, allowing four runs (one earned) on seven hits while striking out two.
Brown matched his personal best three hits as he batted 3-for-4 and drove in two while scoring the winning run. Altman set a career mark against Richmond as he tallied three hits of his own and has hit safely in all four of the Dogs’ games. Meade also extended his hitting streak to 16 games as he notched two in the contest, tying him for seventh in The Citadel’s all-time longest hitting streaks. The Bulldogs belted out a combined 12 hits on the evening and they have gathered 10 or more hits in each of their first four games.
The Diamond Dogs are back in action tomorrow as they will face Liberty at 2:30 p.m. in game four of The Crab House Shootout presented by Trademark Properties. Liberty fell 10-2 to South Carolina in game one on Friday.
Richmond will face the Gamecocks at 11 a.m. Saturday at Riley Park.
WESTERN CAROLINA 9, KENNESAW STATE 6
KENNESAW, GA. - Western Carolina plated five runs in the top of the third inning to rally from a 2-1 deficit to down the Kennesaw State Owls, 9-6, on Friday afternoon at Stillwell Stadium in the 2007 season opener. Junior Blake Murphy led WCU with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate highlighting a trio of Catamounts with two RBI.
The Owls (0-2) jumped out to a 2-1 lead before the Catamounts responded in the third. Nick Liles led off the frame with a walk and Barrett Shaft moved him to second with a single through the left side. With one out, KSU hurler Bubba Blalock attempted to pick Liles off of second base, but the ball sailed into centerfield allowing Liles to advance to third putting runners at the corners. Liles then came home to tie the game as Jonathan Greene reached on fielder's choice.
Murphy continued the inning by drawing the second base on balls of the frame, with the second Owl error coming on a short toss from first baseman Andrew Martin to Blalock allowing Drew Saberhagen to reach to load the bases for transfer John Ingram. The former Clemson Tiger singled through the right side to score two, Murphy and Greene, for a 4-2 Western lead. The next batter, Kenny Smith, belted the only extra base hit for WCU on the day, doubling to right field to score two for the 6-2 advantage.
Kennesaw State got two runs back in the bottom of the fourth when Martin started the rally with a double to right center and then Ray Redden reached on Western's lone error of the game. Tyler Stubblefield notched his first run batted in when his fielder's choice scored Martin, who had advanced to third on wild pitch. Jacob Robbins, who had five hits in the game and extended his hit streak to 24 straight games, plated Redden to pull the Owls within two at 6-4.
After a scoreless fifth, the Catamounts added two runs in the top of the sixth to pull ahead by four, 8-4. Shaft singled up the middle and then stole second to put a runner in scoring position with one away in the inning. He moved 90 feet away on a single by Steven Strausbaugh and later scored on a wild pitch. Murphy drove in his second run of the game with a single to left field to score Strausbaugh.
Western added a final insurance run in the seventh to help seal the win.
Liles and Shaft joined Murphy with multiple hits with Ingram, Smith and Murphy all tallying two RBI.
Tyler Sexton picked up the win for the Catamounts after going five innings, allowing two earned runs while striking out four. Ryne Nelson and Chris Masters combined for two innings of work and six strikeouts, with Greg Holland earning his first save of the year throwing two innings and striking out five of the nine batters he faced. Blalock suffered the loss for Kennesaw State despite only allowing one earned run and five hits in four innings of work.
Game two of the three-game series is scheduled for Saturday afternoon at 1:00 pm.
AUBURN 9, UNC GREENSBORO 2
AUBURN, ALA. ? Auburn starting pitcher Bryan Woodall allowed just one run and five hits in six innings on the mound as the UNC Greensboro baseball team fell 9-2 to Auburn in the Spartans’ season opener on Friday afternoon at Hitchcock Field.
Auburn (4-1) put a run on the board early in the first when Luke Greinke gave the Tigers the 1-0 on a single to center. Center fielder Bruce Edwards worked a walk and stole second before Greinke’s hit brought him home.
Greinke went on to score for Auburn off a single from Andy Bennett to close out the first with a 2-0 advantage.
The Tigers added four more runs in the bottom of the second to take the 6-0 lead. After an Edwards triple and two walks, Mike Bianucci singled to left field to score Edwards and Bennett sent a double down the line and drove home three more runs. One inning later, Auburn tacked on another run off a Bianucci single for the 7-0 lead.
UNCG’s second baseman Tim Carrier gave the Spartans (0-1) their first run of the game in the top of the fifth. The junior sent a single to center field to bring in right fielder Sean Snell who singled to start the inning.
Auburn answered back with a run in the bottom of the fifth off a sacrifice fly by Josh Donaldson.
Auburn scored its final run of the game in the bottom of the sixth on another sacrifice fly. The Tigers grabbed a commanding 9-1 lead going into the final innings.
Senior Guy Welsh produced UNCG’s second run of the game with a RBI double down the right field line, scoring Matt Gaski who walked earlier. That was as close as the Spartans got as Auburn went on to win 9-2.
UNCG starter Nick Starnes (0-1) took the loss after allowing six hits and seven runs in 2-1/3 innings pitched.
Carrier led the Spartans at the plate going 2-for-4 and collecting a RBI.
UNCG and Auburn resume the three-game series on Saturday beginning at 3 pm.
KENTUCKY 12, FURMAN 1
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Antone DeJesus tripled and drilled a sixth-inning grand slam to lift 26th-ranked Kentucky to a 12-1 win over Furman in the 2007 season opener for both teams Friday afternoon at Furman Stadium.
DeJesus, a junior from Amherst, Ohio, led off the game with a triple off Paladin starting pitcher Matt Klinker and scored on Sawyer Carroll’s ground out to stake the Wildcats to an early 1-0 lead.
Later in the sixth, with Kentucky leading 6-0, DeJesus came to the plate with the bases loaded and deposited an offering by Furman freshman pitcher Barry Benton over the right field fence to stretch the Wildcat advantage to 10-0.
DeJesus’ two big hits highlighted a 14-hit Kentucky attack, which featured three hits from Ryan Wilkes and pair of base knocks by Matt McKinney and Jason Kipnis.
Kentucky pitchers Andrew Albers and Aaron Lovett, meanwhile, handcuffed Furman’s bats, limiting the Paladins to only six hits. Albers (1-0) surrendered only a pair of singles and one walk while notching four strikeouts over the first five innings, and Lovett followed with four strong innings of work to earn the save.
Furman registered its lone run in the eighth after Joey Rodgers led off with a triple and came home on a Connor Lind RBI single. Spence Gibbs, starting at shortstop for an injured Marcus Rose, collected two of the Paladins six base hits.
Klinker took the loss after working 5 2/3 innings and yielding eight hits and seven runs, all earned, while striking out six.
The two teams play game two of the series on Saturday in a 1:00 p.m. game at Furman Stadium. The Paladins will start junior righthander Mason Smith (3-4, 4.30 ERA in 2006), and the Wildcats will counter with sophomore lefthander Chris Rusin (5-0, 4.03 ERA in 2006).
Sunday’s series finale is scheduled for noon.