THE CITADEL 4, UNC ASHEVILLE 3
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? Freshman shortstop Kyle Jordan notched a walk-off, RBI-single to clinch a 4-3 win over UNC Asheville on an extremely windy Sunday afternoon in the final game of the Homewood Suites Shootout at Riley Park. The Dogs and UNCA were tied up at three in the ninth, but junior third baseman Matt Arnold smacked a two-out base hit and was able to score from first on Jordan’s single to the gap in right.
The Dogs (5-4) took the lead twice in the contest, but Asheville (3-7) was able to come back and tie it up on both occasions. The Citadel took an early 1-0 advantage in the first as the Bulldogs loaded the bases with one out for freshman second baseman Bryan Altman. Altman then hit a high fly ball to left that got caught up in the wind and fell in front of UNCA left fielder Rob Vernon to drive in a run.
Senior first baseman Zach Brown quickly put the Dogs up by two in the third as he blasted a solo shot over the right field wall with the wind blowing straight in. His two-out home run was his third round-tripper of the season.
UNCA was able to push two across in the fourth to knot it up. Center fielder David Williams started things off with a single before Bulldog starter Matt Reifsnider forced two flyouts. Catcher John Whited earned a free pass before Jordan booted a ball at short, allowing Williams to race home from second. An RBI-single off the bat of shortstop Matt Henson scored Whited to make it 2-2.
The Citadel regained the lead in the fifth as sophomore center fielder Graham Couch blasted a one-out triple, the first of his career. Swauger sent him home with a base hit to right. UNCA answered back in the sixth with an RBI-single off the bat of Henson to tie it up for the second time, 3-3.
Asheville had a chance to take the lead in the eighth as they filled the bases with only one out. Freshman side-armer Raymond Copenhaver, who entered the game in the seventh, got into some trouble as he allowed a single to Whited and walked Henson, getting one out on a sac bunt by Vernon. The Dogs called on senior right-hander Link Saunders who walked the first batter he faced before striking out the next two to help preserve Copenhaver’s perfect earned run average and keep the score even.
UNCA forced two quick outs in the ninth after two scoreless innings. The Citadel was able to avoid going into extra innings for the fourth time in nine games as Arnold singled and Jordan notched the game-winning hit.
Saunders (2-1) picked up his second win of the season as he pitched 1.2 innings, holding Asheville scoreless on one hit and striking out two. Ben Buchanan (0-3) suffered the loss as he gave up both hits in the ninth. Buchanan tossed 1.2 frames as well, allowing one run on two hits while walking one.
Freshman Matt Reifsnider made his first collegiate start on the hill. The right-hander pitched 4.0 innings, allowing two unearned runs on seven hits while striking out and walking two. Freshman designated hitter Matt Simonelli tallied his first career hit with a single up the middle in the second.
Sophomore right fielder Sonny Meade led The Citadel offense as he batted 2-for-4 and was the only Bulldog to garner more than one hit as the Dogs totaled nine on the day. UNCA was led at the plate by Henson who went 3-for-4, including two RBI. Asheville tallied 14 hits but left 15 runners on base in the contest.
The Citadel will play their first mid-week game of the season as they host Campbell on Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 3 p.m. at Riley Park. After that, the Bulldogs will hit the road for the first time this year to participate in the Dairy Queen Classic hosted by Minnesota March 2-4.
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 23, GEORGE MASON 9
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - The College of Charleston banged out a school record 28 hits and belted four homers en route to a 23-9 win over George Mason in college baseball action before 279 at windy Patriots Point Field on Sunday.
Charleston, which eclipsed the old school mark of 27 hits in a 22-11 win over Lipscomb on March 6, 2005, improved to 7-1 on the season. The Patriots fell to 2-4.
Gabe Marchant's second homer of the season, a two-run blast to center in the second inning, gave Charleston a 6-0 lead. Marchant finished the day 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored.
Michael Harrington led off the bottom of the third with a towering homer to right, his second of the season, that gave the Cougars a 7-1 lead. Graham Maiden's solo homer down the right field line leading off the sixth, his second of the season, gave Charleston a 13-1 lead.
Oliver Marmol, who went 4-for-5 with five RBI and a school record tying five runs scored, hit a three-run homer to left in the seventh that extended Charleston's lead to 20-5. It was his first of the season.
Harrington finished with three hits, Maiden had three hits and Clay McCord added three hits and four runs scored in five trips to the plate. Ben Lasater had two hits and four runs batted in.
Chris Fournier led the Patriots with two hits and three RBI.
Michael Bunton (1-0) was the winner working the first seven innings with seven strikeouts and only one walk. Ryan Brecko (0-1), the first of six GMU pitchers in the game, suffered the loss.
Charleston plays at Savannah State at 5:00 on Tuesday.
MIAMI (FLA.) 6, ELON 3
CORAL GABLES, FLA. ? Dennis Raben led No. 11 Miami’s 12-hit attack by going 3-for-5 with two RBI and sophomore Jason Santana tossed three scoreless innings in relief as the Hurricanes won the series with a 6-3 victory over Elon Sunday afternoon at Mark Light Field. Yonder Alonso went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs while Ryan Jackson and Jemile Weeks each had two hits for Miami (6-5), which won its second straight series at home.
Santana (2-0) didn’t allow a hit in three innings and struck out two to pick up his second win of the season. Enrique Garcia pitched two scoreless innings for UM. Starter Manny Miguelez tossed three innings and limited Elon to two runs, both unearned, on three hits, but he walked three batters. Miguelez had three strikeouts.
Zach Booker (0-1) took the loss for the Phoenix (5-4) as he allowed three runs on four hits. He walked five batters. Second baseman Matt Hill led Elon going 1-for-2 with one run and two RBIs.
Miami jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Weeks tripled down the right field line and scored on Roger Tomas’ sacrifice bunt. The Phoenix tied things up in the top of the second. Ryan Addison hit a two-out single through the right side. Drew Davis had an infield single and Addison reached third on an error. Hill’s RBI single tied it, 1-1.
Elon capitalized on a Miami error and three walks to take a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth. Pat Irvine walked and reached second on an error. Davis followed with a walk to load the bases with no outs. Hill then drew a bases-loaded walk to score Irvine for Elon’s one-run lead. Santana relieved Miguelez and struck out the first batter he faced. He recorded a ground out and got Adam Weaver to line out to get out of the bases-loaded jam.
Two runs came across for UM in the bottom of the fourth. Dave DiNatale was hit by a pitch and scored on Dennis Raben’s ground-rule double tying the game, 2-2. Miami took the lead back when Weeks drew a bases loaded walk to score Raben putting the Hurricanes ahead, 3-2.
Miami stretched its lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the fifth on Raben’s RBI single to center field that scored Mark Sobolewski. The Hurricanes tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the seventh. Jackson reached on a bunt single and Tekotte walked. Tomas walked to load the bases. Alonso ripped a two-run single to right field to score Tekotte and Jackson for a 6-2 lead.
Elon pulled within 6-3 in the top of the ninth on Jordy Snyder’s ground out that scored Hill. Irvine, Addison, Davis and Chris Dove each had one hit for Elon.
FLORIDA STATE 12, APPALACHIAN STATE 8
TALLAHASSEE, FLA. ? Florida State scored nine runs in the fourth and held off a late charge by Appalachian State (4-4) to sweep its fourth, three-game series of the season with a 12-8 victory on Sunday afternoon. The Seminoles ran their record to 13-0 on the year and are off to their best start since 1975 when Florida State started 15-0 under then head coach Woody Woodward. That season was also the first as an assistant coach for current head coach Mike Martin.
FSU also extended its double-digit hit streak to 11 straight games as five Seminole starters registered at least two hits in the ball game.
The Seminoles got another impressive performance from Ryan Strauss as he ran his record to 3-0 on the year. Strauss tied his season-high for innings pitched against the Mountaineers as the junior right hander threw six innings allowing two runs on five hits, while striking out five. Strauss has now worked into the fifth inning in all three of his starts this season.
Buster Posey and Dennis Guinn provided the offensive production for the Seminoles as they both went 2-for-3 with three RBI’s and two runs scored. Posey now leads the team in runs batted in with 19 on the season. Guinn sparked the nine-run fourth with his first home run of the season, a two-run shot off the scoreboard in left.
With rain threatening in the area at game time, Sunday’s game did not start until 2:35 and was then postponed for 16 minutes as ran rolled through in the second.
After the showers passed, Appalachian State scored first in the top of the third as Wes Hobson singled to left scoring Chris Baker, who led off the inning with a hit up the middle.
Florida State quickly countered in the bottom of the third as Tony Thomas, Jr. got a one out double down the line in left. The double was his team leading tenth of the season as it extended his hitting streak to 13 games. After he successfully stole third, for his eighth swipe in as many tries, Thomas would score on a Posey sacrifice fly to right to even the score at one.
The Mountaineers would answer right back in the fourth as designated hitter Andrew Franco led off the inning with a double to left field. He would come around to score as Strauss got Nick DeRose to bounce out into a bases loaded 6-4-3 double play. Strauss would end the inning as he got Baker to strike out swinging.
The Seminoles would take the lead for good as they posted a nine-run fourth to take a 10-2 lead. Jason Stidham extended his hitting streak to 13 straight games with a single to right field. Brandon Reichert, Thomas and Posey all registered singles in the inning, while Jack Rye hit a double off the wall in right. Stidham earned his second single of the inning and would score on the very next play as Guinn hit a towering two-run homer off the scoreboard in left. It was the second time this season the Seminoles scored nine-runs in an inning with the last time coming in the third game against Tennessee.
FSU would add two more in the sixth as Posey hit a double to right and advanced to third on a single by Rye. The sophomore catcher would score on a passed ball increasing the Seminole lead to nine. With one out in the sixth, Guinn would pick up his third RBI of the game as he knocked home Rye with a single to left making the score 12-2.
Appalachian State would make things interesting as they made a late push scoring two runs in the eighth and four more runs in the top of the ninth. With two outs and the bases loaded, the Mountaineers sent the tying run to the plate in Rand Smith. Florida State brought in Danny Rosen to close the door on ASU as he got Rand to fly out to Mark Gildea in centerfield for the final out and a 12-8 victory. Rosen was credited with the save, his second of the season and second of the weekend.