WESTERN CAROLINA 3, GEORGIA 1
ATHENS, GA. ? Capitalizing on back-to-back walks in the top of the ninth inning, Western Carolina senior John Ingram, who two days prior was named the Southern Conference Player of the Week, blasted a three-run home run to right field to lead the Catamounts to a 3-1 win over the Georgia Bulldogs Tuesday night at Foley Field.
The win gives Western (10-6) two victories over nationally-ranked teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and now one over a Southeastern Conference (SEC) member.
Junior right-handed reliever Greg Holland struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth, scattering a pair of singles and stranding a pair of Bulldog base runners to earn his first victory of the season. He came on in the middle of the seventh inning to replace WCU starter, Drew Saberhagen, who kept Georgia at bay as the Bulldogs peppered the Catamounts with 16 base hits. The red-shirt sophomore transfer from Pepperdine allowed 13 base hits in 7.2 innings of work while limiting UGA to one earned run. Holland finished the inning and a third, using four K’s to tally each out.
Trailing 1-0 entering the top of the ninth inning, junior Blake Murphy and senior transfer Kenny Smith each drew one out walks to put two on. After advancing to second and third on a wild pitch, Ingram took one to the opposite field for the three-run blast ? his fourth home run in as many games ? to give Western its first lead of the game.
In the home half of the ninth, Georgia led off with single by Jonathan Wyatt, but Holland countered by striking out Ryan Peisel swinging. Beckham delivered a one-out single to put runners at first and second with one away, but Holland again answered by striking out Joey Lewis for the second out of the inning. After a double steal by Wyatt and Beckham, Matt Olson could not hold up on a full-count pitch from Holland, striking out swinging to end the game, 3-1.
Ingram finished the day 2-for-4 with three RBI and was the only Catamount to have multiple-hits on the day. Freshman Nick Liles, who did not play in the series finale against Xavier, returned to the line-up and collected a single to extend his team-best hitting streak to eight games, matching the longest such streak of the season.
Georgia threatened early, using a single and a double down the right field line to put two on in the second inning. A slow-roller to the right side of the infield loaded the bases with no outs. Saberhagen battled back, though, recording back-to-back strikeouts ? his only two of the day ? before inducing a fly ball to centerfield by Wyatt to end the threat and leave the scoreboard empty heading into the third.
The Bulldogs had yet another chance to score in the sixth as Olson led off with a single, but was gunned out at the plate by left fielder Jonathan Greene trying to score from second on a base-hit by catcher Jake Crane.
Georgia (5-11) broke the scoreless tie in the eighth on consecutive singles by Olson and Clayton Cain to put runners on first and second. After a fly-out to center by Travis Parrott, Olson tagged and advanced to third with two outs. Holland relieved Saberhagen to face pinch-hitter Matt Cerione who hit a chopper over the head of third baseman, Liles, to plate the go ahead run, 1-0, setting up WCU’s ninth-inning heroics.
FURMAN 6, LAFAYETTE 5
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Furman belted three home runs in a four-run eighth inning to overcome a three-run deficit en route to a 6-5 win over Lafayette in baseball action Tuesday night at Furman Stadium.
The win snapped a six-game losing skid for Furman (4-10) in its first ever clash with Lafayette (5-4) on the diamond.
Trailing 5-2 heading to the bottom of the eighth, the Paladins’ Tony Maccani led off the frame with a solo home run to left centerfield off Leopards’ reliever Jason Mroytko. With one out, Charlie Bailes reached on a throwing error, and Nicholas Karow followed with a roundtripper over the centerfield fence to tie the game at 5-5. With two outs, Marcus Rose completed the rally and comeback with his first career home run, a solo blast to centerfield.
Nick Hollstegge gave up a leadoff single in the ninth but rallied to retire the next three Lafayette batters to notch his first save of the season and 19th save of his career.
Furman, which entered the contest with only five home runs in its first 13 games, had eight hits in the contest, including the three eighth inning home runs. Karow, Maccani, and Joe Daysh each had two hits apiece for the Paladins.
Furman’s comeback made a winner of freshman Marc DeDecker (1-1), who allowed a run on one hit over two innings. J.P Goldsberry made his first career start for the Paladins after sitting out the entire 2006 season following Tommy John surgery his senior year at Tampa Preparatory School. He went three innings and gave up five hits and a pair of runs while striking out three.
Morytko (0-2) took the loss for Lafayette after yielding four runs, including two earned, on three hits in 1 1/3 innings.
The Leopards collected 10 hits, including two each by Jeff Butler, Kevin Leasure, Chris Luick, and Daniel Bierce.
Lafayette took a 1-0 lead in the first on Tom Hayes’ solo home run down the left field line.
Furman quickly tied the game on Maccani’s two-out single in the bottom of the inning.
The Leopards tallied single runs in the third, fourth, and sixth to stretch their advantage to 4-1 before the Paladins made it 4-2 when Bobby Hubbard drew a two-out, bases loaded walk in the seventh.
Luick led off the Lafayette eighth with a double and came around to score on a DeDecker wild pitch for a 5-2 lead before the Paladins’ decisive rally in the bottom of the frame.
NORTH CAROLINA 5, ELON 1
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. --- Junior Kyle Shelton broke open a tight game with a two-run, pinch-hit double in the seventh, and starter Adam Warren and four relievers combined to allow just five hits, as No. 1 North Carolina defeated Elon, 5-1, Tuesday at Boshamer Stadium. The Tar Heels (16-1) extended their current winning streak to six games with their second straight victory over the Phoenix (10-9).
After falling behind on a Chase Austin solo home run in the second, Carolina regained the lead with three runs in the third and jumped out to a four-run cushion on Shelton?s first extra-base hit of the season in the seventh. His two RBI were a team-high, while left fielder Reid Fronk and catcher Tim Federowicz each added two hits. First baseman Dustin Ackley?s run-scoring single in the third gives him 15 straight games with an RBI and extends hit team-best hitting streak to nine games.
Warren (3-0) won his third straight start with 5 1/3 solid innings. He gave up just one run on Austin?s homer and allowed three hits and two walks, while striking out three. Relievers Brian Moran, Rob Wooten, Rob Catapano and Matt Danford allowed just two hits the rest of the way. Danford came on in a jam in the ninth but got the final two outs to record his first save since May 20, 2005.
Elon starter Ryan Basham (1-1) took the loss after allowing three runs on four hits and two walks over 2 2/3 innings.
Down 1-0 in the third, the Tar Heels loaded the bases on a single by Kyle Seager and a pair of walks, before Chad Flack tied the game with a sacrifice fly to left. Ackley followed two batters later with a line drive single off the foot of Basham before Federowicz singled up the middle for a 3-1 UNC lead.
Neither team managed much over the middle innings, until Shelton?s base hit in the seventh. Singles by Horton and Federowicz put runners on the corners, and after Federowicz moved up on a wild pitch, Shelton doubled down the left field line off Elon reliever Jesse Lewter to score two.
Elon threatened in the ninth, loading the bases with two out, but Danford got pinch hitter Zach Booker to fly out to center to end the game.
THE CITADEL 8, SAVANNAH STATE 7
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? The Citadel overcame a six-run deficit to defeat Savannah State, 8-7, Tuesday afternoon at Riley Park. The Bulldogs ignited for a five runs in the fifth thanks to back-to-back home runs by sophomore right fielder Sonny Meade and senior first baseman Zach Brown. Freshman right-hander Chris McGuiness also earned his first collegiate win in the contest.
The Citadel (11-5) snapped Savannah State’s (14-8) six-game winning streak. The Tigers took an early 6-0 lead in the fourth but the Bulldogs rallied for their seventh come-from-behind victory this season. The Dogs are now 6-1 in games where the opposition scores first.
Freshman right-hander Matt Reifsnider made his second start of 2007. His only earned run came in the third as Brandon Javis notched an RBI-single. The Bulldogs then surrendered five unearned runs due to a costly error in the fourth. Glen Wormley started the frame with a base hit through the right side and moved over to third on a double off the bat of Jonathan Ross. Christopher Phethean grounded out to short, but Javis held at third while Wormley attempted to advance behind him. Javis then took off for home and got caught up, but second baseman Bryan Altman threw the ball wide, allowing Javis to score. Alfred Arnold then went down swinging for what should have been the third out, but Reifsnider gave up back-to-back walks to Timothy Waine and Antonio Richmond. A bases-clearing double by John Keene forced the Bulldogs to hand it over to right-hander Brett Bull. Bull allowed a run-scoring single before forcing Sainz to groundout to end the inning.
The Bulldogs got on the board in the bottom half of the frame thanks to an RBI-single by junior third baseman Matt Arnold. The Citadel then evened the score in the fifth. With runners at first and second, junior Conrad Kellahan laid down a bunt right in front of the plate. Tiger catcher Jon Keene attempted to get the out at third, but a high throw went into left field and allowed sophomore catcher Sid Fallaw to sprint home. Meade then blasted a three-run shot to left center before Brown stepped in and belted a round-tripper of his own over the right field fence to make 6-6.
Brown’s home run total of five this season matches the five career home runs he had coming into 2007. Meade’s blast was his second of the year as he registered three as a freshman. The last time the Bulldogs had back-to-back jacks was in 2005 when Matt Matulia and Josh Stackley did it against Furman on May 14.
The Citadel took the lead in the sixth as freshman shortstop Kyle Jordan smacked his sixth double of the year and came around to score on a throwing error by Tiger shortstop Javis, attempting to throw Kellahan out at first. Junior left fielder Chris Swauger knocked in what proved to be the game-winner with a run-scoring double of his own.
Senior closer Link Saunders took to the hill in the ninth and was met by a base hit down the right field line by Keene. Meade bobbled the ball in the outfield, allowing Keene to race over to second. Saunders then forced Javis to fly out to right, deep enough to put Keene on third. Sainz grounded out to third for the second out, but an errant throw by Altman allowed the sixth unearned run of the contest to cross the plate as Keene sprinted home while Wormley reached second on the error. With the tying run at second and two outs, Saunders came through for his fourth save of the season, making Ross pop out to short.
McGuiness (1-0) was credited with his first collegiate victory as he tossed a career-high 3.2 innings in relief, allowing two hits and striking out two. Marcus Cortes (4-3) suffered the loss for the Tigers as he threw 5.2 frames, giving up eight runs (six earned) on eight hits while fanning one. Only seven of the 15 runs scored on either side were earned in the contest.
Arnold paced the Bulldogs at the plate as he batted 3-for-4 on the afternoon, tying his personal best. Meade pushed across a team-high three RBI on the day, while the Bulldogs tallied at least 10 hits for the ninth time this year.
Keene led the Tigers as he was 3-for-4, including a double and three RBI while also scoring twice.
SOUTH CAROLINA 13, APPALACHIAN STATE 5
COLUMBIA, S.C. ? No. 3 South Carolina broke open a close game with seven runs in the fifth inning and went on to defeat visiting Appalachian State University, 13-5, in front of a crowd of 4,407 on Tuesday evening at Sarge Frye Field.
On the strength of a solo home run from Chris Baker and an RBI single from Jason Altenhof, Appalachian (10-7) took a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the fifth. However, South Carolina (14-2) exploded for seven runs on seven hits in the bottom of the fifth to turn the one-run advantage into an 8-2 deficit. Justin Smoak’s grand slam and Trent Cline’s two-run homer highlighted the seven-run fifth for USC.
The Mountaineers attempted to claw their way back into the contest with two runs in the sixth and a single tally in the eighth, but the Gamecocks put the game away with a four-run eighth. In all, USC’s 13 runs and 20 hits were the most surrendered in a nine-inning game by ASU pitching this season.
Senior Jonathan Reeder cruised through four innings before being tagged for five of the seven runs in the fifth to fall to 0-1 on the season.
Offensively, Baker and Wes Hobson led the Apps with two hits apiece and David Towarnicky drove in a pair of runs.
YALE 18, DAVIDSON 13
DAVIDSON, N.C. - The Yale Bulldogs used three five-run innings to down the Davidson Wildcats baseball team, 18-13, in the first of a two-game series on Wednesday afternoon at Wildson Field.
Davidson (10-6) and Yale (4-3) combined for 41 hits and 90 at-bats in the slugfest, which lasted three hours and 11 minutes. Only one batter failed to get a hit in the game, that also featured a combined nine pitchers.
Senior catcher Doug Grunwald entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the fifth inning and finished with a team-leading four RBI while going 3-for-4 at the plate. Fellow classmates designated hitter Rob Wilson and right fielder Blake Osborn each tallied three hits as well, while sophomore short stop Matt Webb chipped in a pair of RBI for the Wildcats.
Four Bulldog hitters collected three hits, paced by nine-hole hitter Trey Rallis, who went 3-for-5 with two RBI.
Though the Bulldogs led from the start, Yale reliever Joe Castaldi (1-0) was credited with the win after starter Brandon Josselyn failed to pitch five complete innings. Castaldi allowed four runs (all earned) on six hits while walking two in 3.1 innings of work.
Chris Kennedy (1-1) made his first collegiate start for the 'Cats, but suffered the loss after allowing five runs on two hits and four walks in two-thirds of an inning.
The Bulldogs put up a five-spot in the first inning, and Davidson was unable to recover. Kennedy retired leadoff man Josh Cox, who went 3-for-7 with two RBI, on strikes to open the frame, but got into trouble after walking P.J. Gorynski and allowing a double to Justin Ankney. A hit batsman and a pair of walks sent in the first run of the game, before Kennedy retired Marc Sawyer for the second out. After getting another run on walks, Yale's Rallis dropped a two-RBI single into right field, and Sean Lennox, who pitched 4.1 innings of relief and allowed just two earned runs, came out of the bullpen to get the final out.
Davidson answered with a pair of runs behind back-to-back singles from Wilson and Osborn. Wilson's base hit to right field plated Webb, who reached on a fielder's choice, and Osborn followed with an RBI-single of his own to send in left fielder Gregory Zage, who reached on the free pass.
The 'Cats added another run on Webb's RBI-single in the bottom of the second to narrow the gap to 5-3, but Yale got two back in the top of the third inning behind a pair of RBI-singles from Stephen Miehls and Cox.
Zage led off the third with a single and scored three batters later on a fielder's choice from third baseman Chris Fitzpatrick, before both teams took advantage of pitching problems and fielding miscues to the tune of five runs in the fifth inning.
After Yale used four hits and three Wildcat errors to produce five runs, Davidson jammed the bases with three straight singles from Wilson, Osborn and Fitzpatrick. In his first at-bat of the game, Grunwald hit a bases-clearing double into the right field gap and then scored as center fielder Brett Shore's offering got by Bulldog second baseman Ankney.
Leading 12-8, the Bulldogs' Miehls blasted a solo shot into right center field in the top of the sixth, but Davidson tightened the score to 13-11 in the bottom of the inning. With another big at-bat, Grunwald narrowly missed the center field fence, as his ground-rule double allowed Wilson to score, but also forced Fitzpatrick to hold at third.
Shore sacrificed for Fitzpatrick, but the 'Cats would get no closer, as the Bulldogs put the game away with their final five-run inning in the seventh. Zage recorded his second home run of the season, a solo shot to straight-away center in the seventh, and reliever John Henry Davis walked in second baseman Zach Kayne in the eighth for Davidson's final run of the game.