APPALACHIAN STATE 9, ELON 8 (12 innings)
HICKORY, N.C. ? A pair of freshmen came up big for Appalachian State University baseball on Saturday, as Jerod Faggart’s (Concord, N.C./Northwest Cabarrus) two-out, two-run triple in the bottom of the ninth inning erased an 8-6 deficit and David Towarnicky’s (New Bern, N.C./New Bern) RBI double in the bottom of the 12th gave the Mountaineers a wild 9-8 victory over Elon at L.P. Frans Stadium.
Appalachian (11-9, 1-1 Southern Conference) led 6-1 after six innings, but Elon (11-10, 1-1 SoCon) scored seven times over the seventh, eighth and ninth stanzas to take an 8-6 advantage. Two ASU errors and a passed ball contributed to four of the seven runs being unearned.
With two runners on base but the Apps down to their final out, Faggart came off the bench and drove a 1-1 pitch over the head of Elon center fielder Ryan Addison. Tom Prosser (Etowah, Tenn./McMinn Central) and Chris Baker (Clarkton, N.C./East Columbus) easily scored on the play to send the game to extra frames.
With the score still knotted at 8-8, ASU right fielder David Rubinstein (Charlotte, N.C./South Mecklenburg) led off the bottom of the 12th by legging out a double to shallow right center field.
Following a failed sacrifice attempt and an intentional walk, Towarnicky ended the four-hour marathon when he drilled an 0-1 pitch deep into the gap in left center, bringing Rubinstein around from second with the winning run.
Garrett Sherrill (Kannapolis, N.C./A.L. Brown) allowed just one earned run in five innings of relief to up his record to 4-1 on the season. The right-handed sophomore also lowered his ERA to miniscule 2.12 over nine appearances on the campaign.
Hickory native Isaac Harrow (Hickory, N.C./Hickory) led the Mountaineers’ 15-hit attack with a 4-for-6 effort, which included his second home run of the season in the fourth inning. Rubinstein finished 3-for-6 and with a pair of RBI.
Jordy Snyder collected a team-high three hits and Matt Hill came off the bench to drive in three of the Phoenix’s eight runs.
CHARLOTTE 7-2, COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 6-4
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. - Jeff Beliveau pitched eight strong innings and Michael Kohn drove in two runs leading 30th-ranked College of Charleston to a 4-2 win over Charlotte in the second game of its college baseball doubleheader before 253 at Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium on Saturday. The 49ers scored twice in the ninth en route to a 7-6 win in the opener.
The Cougars are 14-5 overall, while the 49ers are 15-4. The two teams play the final game of their three-game series at 1:00 at Patriots Point Field in Mount Pleasant on Sunday.
Beliveau (2-0) worked the first eight innings surrendering two runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts. Russ Tomlinson pitched out of a two-on, no outs situation in the ninth to record his first save. Charlotte starter Adam Mills (5-1) suffered his first loss.
Kohn had an RBI grounder in the first that helped the Cougars to a 3-0 lead. Kohn's two-out RBI single in the third stretched Charleston's lead to 4-0.
In the opener, the Cougars scored twice in the top of the ninth to grab a 6-5 lead. Barret Kleinknecht's RBI grounder tied it a 5-all. Oliver Marmol followed with a run-scoring fielder's choice that scored pinch runner Hutson Dodds for the lead.
In the bottom of the inning, the 49ers tied it on O'Brien Taylor's RBI double to left. Shayne Moody eventually scored the game-winner on a throwing error with two outs.
Bryan Hamilton (1-1) picked up the win. Brian Schlitter (2-3) suffered the loss.
THE CITADEL 5, EASTERN ILLINOIS 4
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? Senior first baseman Zach Brown plated the winning run in the bottom of the 10th as The Citadel clinched their third series victory of the season, defeating Eastern Illinois, 5-4, Saturday afternoon at Riley Park. Sophomore catcher Sid Fallaw smashed his first career home run to even the score in the seventh to help the Dogs post their third consecutive comeback.
The story was quite different from Friday’s game where the Bulldogs and Panthers hammered out a combined 39 hits and had at least one run in every frame between the two. It seemed as though the trend was going to carry over in the first frame on Saturday as the Panthers went up 3-0, but there was only run scored in the last seven innings of the contest.
An RBI-single by catcher Kory Peppenhorst and a two-run shot off the bat of first baseman Erik Huber gave EIU the three-run advantage. Huber homered for the second consecutive game, extending his hitting streak to 11.
Citadel second baseman Bryan Altman quickly answered back in the Bulldogs’ half as he belted a lead-off round-tripper. The sophomore jumped on a 2-0 offering by Panther starter Tyler Kehrer and crushed it down the left field line to make it 3-1.
The Panthers regained a three-run advantage in the second with a sac fly to right by Huber, but the Dogs pulled within one in the third as Altman raced home on a double-play ball and junior left fielder Chris Swauger was able to cross the dish due to a wild pitch.
Both sides then settled in to throw three scoreless frames before Fallaw stepped in and lined one over the left field fenct to knot it up at four in the seventh. The Bulldogs have homered at least once in their last five games for a combined effort of 11.
The Dogs then turned it over to senior Link Saunders in the eighth and surrendered a walk to the first batter he faced before settling into a groove and retiring the next seven. The Panthers threatened in the 10th as Jordan Kreke and Matt Moore posted back-to-back singles with two outs, but Saunders forced Ryan Meyer to pop-out to get the Bulldogs back in the dugout.
Panther reliever Richie Drabek hit Altman with a 3-1 pitch to start things off in the bottom of the 10th before Swauger bunted him over to second. Sophomore right fielder Sonny Meade put runners on the corners with a base hit through the left side. Altman then took off for home on a potential double-play ball off the bat of Brown, but the Panthers could not turn it, allowing Altman to score the game-winner.
Saunders (3-1) earned his third victory of the season as he tossed 3.0 frames and did not allow a single run on two hits while striking out three. Crim, freshman Raymond Copenhaver and Saunders combined to hold the Panthers scoreless for the remaining eight frames. Derbak (0-1) suffered the loss for the Panthers as he went 2.0 innings, allowing one run on two hits while fanning one.
Altman led the Dogs at the plate as he registered a career-high three hits, including a home run and scoring three of The Citadel’s five runs. Freshman Richard Jones extended his hitting streak to six games after getting off to a sluggish .200 start to begin the season. Five different Panthers notched two hits to pace Eastern Illinois, while Huber drove in three of their four runs.
The Citadel extended their winning streak to five games with the victory. The last time the Dogs won five straight was in 2004 as they enjoyed a five-game streak with a sweep over UNC Greensboro and took their first two Southern Conference Tournament games en route to the Tournament title.
UNC GREENSBORO 12, PRINCETON 10
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? Scott Schneider’s walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth lifted UNC Greensboro baseball past Princeton, 12-10, Saturday afternoon at UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Schneider was 2-for-4 with a homer and three RBI, while both Guy Welsh and Sean Snell finished with a home run each. Welsh went 3-for-4 with five RBI and Snell had two RBI on the day.
With the game tied 10-10 and a runner on first, Schneider blasted his second homer of the season over the right-centerfield wall to give UNCG (8-8) the victory.
UNCG took an early 1-0 lead on a RBI single from Schneider in the first. Princeton, however, tacked on four runs in the third to take the 4-1 lead. After the Tigers scored off a Spartan error, Sal Iacono hit a three-run homer to give Princeton the lead.
The Tigers (1-6) added four more runs in the following inning, making the score 8-1 in their favor. Dan DeGeorge and Aaron Prince each recorded RBI singles before Jack Murphy drove in two runs with a single to left field.
The Spartans immediately answered with four runs of their own in the same inning. Junior Greg Feltes singled before Welsh smacked a roundtripper over right-centerfield. Three batters later, Snell sent a two-run homer over right, cutting the Princeton lead, 8-5. UNCG continued to fight back and added another run in the fifth on a Welsh single.
UNCG tied the game at eight in the seventh on a two-out two RBI double from Welsh to score Matt Gaski and Feltes. Princeton responded with a RBI single in the eighth to take back the lead, 9-8.
Junior Adam Deleo gave the Spartans the 10-9 lead in the eighth with a two RBI double to right to score Logan Smith and Brandon Harvey. The Tigers once again responded with a RBI double from Adrian Turnham in the ninth to tie the game, 10-10.
Kory Judd (2-0) picked up the win after allowing two hits and one run in one inning of work, while striking out three. Reliever Nick Starnes recorded a game-high four strikeouts in four innings on the mound.
Gavin Fabian (0-2) took the loss for the Tigers after allowing two hits and two runs in only 2/3 inning on the hill.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN 10, LIPSCOMB 6
STATESBORO, GA. ? Down 3-0 early, Georgia Southern scored nine unanswered runs and held off Lipscomb 10-6 Saturday afternoon (March 17) at J.I. Clements Stadium. The Eagles (15-9 overall) drew eight walks in the game and banged out 13 hits.
Lipscomb threatened in the first inning when the first two batters lined singles. John Ducey (Augusta/Westside) enticed a flyball out, and then struck out the next two batters to close out the frame. The Eagles also put a pair of runners on in their half when Chris Shehan (Strasburg,
PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) walked and Griffin Benedict (Dunwoody/St. Pius) was hit by a pitch for the sixth time this year. However, Bisons starter Rex Brothers struck out A.J. Wirnsberger (Tuscaloosa, AL/Paul Bear Bryant) to end the inning.
Ryan Wilkins lined a leadoff double in the second. Two groundouts brought home the first run of the game. The Bisons added two more runs in the third when Shane Simpkins lined a 2-run single up the middle. GS tied the game in its half.
Shehan and Benedict drew back-to-back one-out walks. A passed ball on catcher Caleb Joseph advanced both runners into scoring position. Wirnsberger brought home one run on a groundout. Jeremiah Parker (Carrollton/Carrollton) doubled off the left field wall, scoring Benedict. Parker beat a play at the plate on Mike Economos’ (Atlanta/Marist) single to right to tie the game at 3-all.
The Eagles drew three walks off Brothers in the fourth inning to load the bases with two outs. Relief pitcher Matt Schnelly (2-3) got a groundout to end the threat. Lipscomb threatened to score in its half of the fifth, putting runners on the corners with one out. However, Ducey rolled up 6-4-3 inning-ending double play.
During the fifth Georgia Southern plated three more runs. Parker started the inning by getting hit. Economos singled and Chris Hollis (Loganville/Faith Academy) walked to load the bases with no one out. Brian Pierce (Roswell/Roswell) hit a sharp grounder but was out on a fielder’s choice, which allowed a run to score. Jeremy Beckham (Griffin/Griffin) and Matt Miller (Canton/Woodstock) hit consecutive run-scoring singles for a 6-3 lead.
In the sixth, Wirnsberger hit a leadoff double when centerfielder Casey Bond lost the ball in the sun. He went to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Economos’ bloop single just behind first base. Economos stole second base and scored on Pierce’s RBI double.
With Miller on third base and one out in the seventh, Benedict dropped down a suicide bunt that he beat out for an infield single. That made it 9-3 Eagles.
Lipscomb (13-9) staged a rally in the eighth. Justin Sanders lined a sacrifice fly to left. Relief pitcher Kyle Kamppi (Savannah/Benedictine) entered the game. On the first pitch Branden Cadavid followed with a RBI single to right then Ben Williams sent Kamppi’s next pitch into right field. That prompted head coach Rodney Hennon to bring in A.J. Battisto (Pottstown, PA/Pottsgrove). Before Battisto even threw a pitch home, he made a quick throw back to second base and picked Cadavid off to end the inning.
Beckham lined a RBI single up the middle in the eighth for a 10-5 lead. Joseph hit his team-leading 15th double in the ninth. Bond hit a single to Pierce at short, whose throw went into the dugout allowing Joseph to score for the final margin.
“I thought our guys showed a lot of poise (coming from behind). We got a couple of big two-out hits to score three runs and tie the game. John (Ducey) settled in and pitched well from that point on,” said Hennon. “We were able to piece together hits and score runs. So far the new line-up has worked pretty well. Different guys contributed today, and I thought Mike Economos had a big day.”
Economos finished with four hits, two RBI and two runs scored to pace the offense. Pierce added two hits, hitter Beckham finished with two hits and two RBI while Miller also tallied two hits and a run scored. The Eagles held a 13-12 edge in hits.
Ducey (3-2) allowed three runs on seven hits, walking two and striking out four in six innings of work. Battisto entered the game with the potential tying run on deck, and promptly shut down the Bisons to get his third save.
Brothers gave up three runs on three hits in 3.2 innings. He struck out two, walked seven and hit a batter. Schnelly allowed six runs on eight hits in 3.1 innings. Offensively, Bond had three hits while Kevin Gavigan and Williams added two each.
MONMOUTH 19-3, WOFFORD 3-10
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? The Wofford baseball team dropped game one of Saturday’s double header 19-3 to Monmouth, but rebounded for a 10-3 victory in the second contest to split the two-game spread at Russell C. King Field.
In the opener, Kyle Higgins drove in five runs and crossed the plate four times in a 5-for-5 outing to power Monmouth to a 19-3 victory. Higgins reached base in all six plate appearances while adding a two-run homer, a double, three base hits and a walk.
Monmouth starter Ryan Buch (2-0) held Wofford to four hits and three runs over six innings to claim the win. Buch struck out six and walked one in the outing. He did not give up a hit until the fourth inning, when Brandon Waring, John Brandt and Kyle Behrendt strung together two singles and a home run to put Wofford on the board. Behrendt followed the consecutive base hits with a three-run blast to right field for his third home run of the season. The shot cut Wofford’s deficit to five runs, but that would be the closest the Terriers would come to closing the gap.
Monmouth (5-5-1) tagged Austin Redwine for two runs in the top of the first for an early lead and never trailed for the remainder of the game. Higgins led off the game with a walk and advanced to second on a single from Shawn Teters. Andy Meyers followed with a double off the left-center field fence to score the base runners.
Higgins added another run in the second inning with an RBI single to center field. The base hit scored Brett Holland from second after the left fielder reached base with a single to lead off the inning.
Monmouth took an 8-0 lead with five runs in the third inning. Mike Casale and Rick Niederhaus hit back-to-back singles and scored on a base hit by Chris Collazo. Higgins drove in Collazo with another single, and catcher John Dennis scored on a wild pitch.
Wofford cut the lead to 8-3 with Behrendt’s three-run homer in the fourth. The blast was the third of the season for Wofford’s freshman designated hitter, who boasts a .333 batting average and 13 RBIs this season.
Higgins would make up for the runs in the next half inning, however, with a two-run bomb to put Monmouth up 10-3.
The Hawks put any notion of a Wofford comeback to rest with a nine-run seventh inning. Monmouth tallied eight hits in the inning to score nine straight runs. Niederhaus slammed a three-run homer to highlight the offensive foray, which included extra-base hits from Higgins, Teters and Dennis.
Austin Redwine (4-1) took the loss for Wofford, his first of the season. Redwine allowed seven runs (six earned) and eight hits in 2 2/3 innings of work. Redwine recorded his 200th career strikeout in the outing, becoming only the sixth Terrier in school history to reach the milestone. With 200 career Ks, Redwine is seventh on Wofford’s all-time strikeouts list.
Wofford catcher Keith Munns tied a school record in game one after being hit by a pitch, marking the 24th time in his career that the junior has been pegged the plate. Munns ties the all-time school record of 24 set by Scott Holloway from 2002-05.
In the nightcap, Ben Austin pitched a complete game, scattering five hits and three runs over seven innings to record his sixth straight win, a 10-3 Wofford victory.
Austin (6-1) matched a career high with six strikeouts and did not give up a walk in the outing while being charged for just one earned run. The junior right-hander also contributed defensively, recording three assists from the mound.
After being held to four hits in game one, Wofford responded with 14 knocks in the nightcap. Wofford fell behind 2-0 early in the game, but responded with an RBI single from shortstop Michael Gilmartin in the bottom half of the second. Gilmartin slapped a base hit to right field to score catcher Adam Kearney for Wofford’s first run of the game. Wofford would have tied the score in the same inning, but a heads-up play by Monmouth first baseman Andy Meyers saved a run. With Behrendt on third base, Kearney put a bunt down the first base line, but Meyers scooped up the ball and fired to catcher John Dennis who tagged Behrendt as he was sliding into the plate.
The Hawks could not keep Wofford’s bats down for long, however, as the Terriers drove in four runs in the third to take the lead. Brandon Waring reached base on a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Behrendt. Right fielder Sterling Dye followed with an RBI single to score Waring, the first of two RBIs in the game for Dye. Kearney followed by blasting a two-run homer to the left field power alley to cap the offensive explosion. Kearney finished 2-for-3 and recorded career highs with three RBIs and two runs scored.
Wofford added three more runs in the fifth to take an 8-2 lead. Waring reached on a bunt single and scored on a balk by Monmouth pitcher Brad Brach. Brandt added a double in the inning and scored on a past ball, while Dye doubled and scored on an RBI single by Kearney.
Kyle Messineo mashed a solo shot in the seventh inning for Monmouth, but the bomb did little damage as Wofford had built an eight run lead with two runs in the bottom of the sixth.
AUSTIN PEAY 5-7, FURMAN 1-5
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Austin Peay swept a baseball doubleheader from Furman on Saturday, winning game one, 5-1, and taking game two, 7-5.
Furman (4-13), which has now lost three straight and nine of its last 10 games, combined for only 12 hits in the two contests. The doubleheader sweep extended Austin Peay’s winning streak to seven games and improved the Governors to 10-6 on the season.
In game one, Austin Peay starting pitcher Shawn Kelley (3-2) stymied Furman’s offense, going the distance and surrendering only four hits and a run while striking out six and walking none. The senior righthander gave up a solo home run to Joe Daysh in the third inning, but then slammed the door on a weak Paladin offense, allowing only three hits -- all singles -- the rest of the way and retiring the final 10 Furman batters.
The Governors’ offense, meanwhile, scratched across a game tying run in the sixth on Ryan Hogue’s two-out single that plated Levi Cheshire, and in the eighth took advantage of a Furman error to tally three unearned runs to give Kelley a comfortable 4-1 lead. Tyler Bullock’s two-out, two-run single off Paladin reliever Spencer Hale (0-1) proved to be the frame’s big hit for Austin Peay, which added another run in the ninth on a JB Gilbert double.
Hale took the loss for Furman after working two innings and yielding three hits, four runs, only one of which was earned, and two walks. Paladin starter Matt Klinker pitched effectively for seven innings, giving up only five hits and a run while striking out three.
In game two Austin Peay’s Ryne Mantooth (2-1) hurled 7 1/3 innings of effective baseball to earn the victory and give the Governors the twinbill sweep. He yielded seven hits, five runs, and three walks while striking out four before tiring in the eighth.
Austin Peay grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third on Gilbert’s solo home run off Paladin starter and losing pitcher Jay Jackson (0-1).
Furman tied it at 1-1 in the fourth on a Tony Maccani RBI single, but the Paladins’ bid for a big inning ended when Joe Daysh hit into an inning ending double play with the bases loaded.
The Governors took the lead for good with a run in the fifth and later added two in the sixth and three in the eighth to stretch their advantage to 7-1 before Furman’s bats came to life with a four-run eighth, highlighted by a three-run home run by Marcus Rose
Governors’ closer Ben Wilshire came on with one out in the eighth to short-circuit Furman’s rally and earned his fifth save after yielding only one hit over the final 1 2/3 innings.
Will Hogue led APSU’s 14-hit attack in game two with a 3-for-5 performance, and Gilbert finished the contest going 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Rose went 2-for-4 with three RBI for Furman.
CORNELL 8, DAVIDSON 6
LEHIGH 8, DAVIDSON 7
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Twice on Saturday afternoon at Wilson Field, the Davidson Wildcats put the tying run in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth, only to have the rally quashed in 8-6 and 8-7 losses to Cornell and Lehigh, respectively. Cornell also defeated the Mountain Hawks earlier in the day, 7-6, on a two-run homer with two outs in the ninth by Brian Kaufman.
Davidson (11-8) has now lost five of its last six games, while the Big Red improved to 5-4 on the season and Lehigh bumped its record to 4-8-1.
Trailing 8-3 in the ninth of the nightcap, the Wildcats took advantage of Mountain Hawk relievers inability to throw strikes. Sophomore Matt Webb was hit in the back by a pitch with one out, then senior Alden Crissey drew a four-pitch walk. Order seemed to be restored after a pitching change as the second out was recorded on a grounder to first. But senior Rob Wilson sent a pitch back through the box for a two-run single, cutting the deficit to three.
A grounder to short should have ended the contest, but the ball was booted for an error. A Chris FitzPatrick single loaded the bases, then another Lehigh reliever came on and walked in two runs, making the score 8-7. But with the tying run on third and winning run at second, Geoff Campbell was summoned from the bullpen and got a third strike for the final out and his first save.
The game began as a scoreless duel through three innings before Lehigh broke through for three runs in the fourth. David Moscow found the gap in left-center with one out for a two-run double, and Liam O?Connor delivered an RBI single with two outs. Davidson got one of those runs back in its half when Crissey hustled for a lead-off double and senior Blake Osborn brought him plateward with a two-out single.
In the fifth, the Mountain Hawks got two more off senior Matt Knight (2-2) thanks to a pair of RBI singles with two out by Billy Swenson and Moscow.
Matt Reitz jacked his second homer of the year for another Lehigh run in the seventh, and Davidson countered with a pair of unearned runs in its half.
Lehigh got both runs back on a two-run shot by Joe Ercalano in the eighth.
Joe Hockman (1-1) got the win, tossing six innings of one-run ball, allowing six hits and a walk while fanning two.
In the first game, the Big Red jumped out to a 7-0 lead after three innings against Wildcat starter Rob Wilson (0-1). Singles by Domenic Di Ricco, Brant McKown and Kyle Groth brought home a run in the first, Brian Kaufman capped a three-run second with a two-run homer to right, and Scott Hardinger singled home two runs of the three runs in the third.
The Wildcats began chipping away at that lead in the fourth when Osborn ripped a one-out double to score senior Gregory Zage, who led off the inning with a walk. FitzPatrick then hit a slow chopper to short that was thrown away, allowing Osborn to score. One out later, sophomore Brett Shore ripped an RBI with a single, making it 7-3.
Wilson helped his own cause with a solo shot just inside the right-field foul pole in the sixth, and Zage slammed a two-run shot to dead center in the seventh, the fourth long ball of the season for both, to get Davidson within a run.
In the eighth, Cornell got an insurance run without the aid of a hit as two Wildcat pitchers walked four batters, forcing in a run.
Davidson led off the ninth with a pair of walks, but Bryce Klinesteker came on and retired the next three batters, finishing with a strikeout to earn a save in his first appearance of the season.
Walker Toma (2-1) earned the victory, hurling 5.2 innings while yielding four runs, two earned, on six hits and a pair of walks with two strikeouts.