WESTERN CAROLINA 14, COLUMBIA 6
CULLOWHEE, N.C. ? Kenny Smith was a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI including his ninth home run on the year as Western Carolina (13-7) completed a three-game series sweep over Columbia, 14-6, Sunday afternoon at Childress Field/Hennon Stadium.
Western reliever Corey Martin allowed one run in two innings of relief duty to collect his first win of the season.
Smith drove in the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly, scoring Blake Murphy from third. Steven Strausbaugh belted a double to score John Ingram who reached base on a walk, giving the Catamounts a 2-0 lead in the fourth.
Columbia (4-9-1) answered in the fifth with a lead-off double from Mike Roberts followed by a triple down the right-field line off the bat of Mike Malfettone scoring the Lions first run of the game. Jason Banos scored Malfettone on a sacrifice fly knotting the game at 2-2.
Western responded in the bottom half with a two-run homer from Jonathan Greene, his fifth of the season, scoring Nick Liles who extended his hitting streak to 12-games with a lead-off double. Ingram pushed his hitting streak to 10-games on a double followed by Smith’s home run over the left field wall to give the Catamounts a 6-2 advantage.
The Lions were quick to respond in the sixth with a three-run homer from Mike Roberts to put them within one, 6-5. Starting pitcher Tyler Johnson struck out eight on the day but failed to record an out in the sixth and was relieved by Martin after five innings of work. Columbia later connected on another triple to be plated on the ensuing batter to tie the game, 6-6.
The Catamounts once again countered as lead-off batter Brent Greer was hit by a pitch, Barrett Shaft singled, and Liles drove in Greer on a chopper to third base. Greene was then hit by a pitch and Murphy followed with an RBI double to give the Catamounts a two-run lead. Greene later scored on a wild pitch from reliever Clay Bartlett for the last run of sixth.
After holding Columbia scoreless, Western tacked on five insurance runs in the eighth on Murphy’s solo home run, his fourth of the year. With the bases loaded, reliever John Baumann tossed a wild pitch to score Ingram. Tyler Kirkpatrick pinch-hit three-run homer was his first collegiate home run completed the scoring.
Chris Masters and Greg Holland each tossed an inning of work and preserved the series sweep.
ELON 5, APPALACHIAN STATE 0
HICKORY, N.C. -- Stymied by a complete-game performance by Will Romanowicz, Appalachian State University baseball was shut out for the first time this season in a 5-0 loss to Elon on Sunday afternoon at L.P. Frans Stadium.
Romanowicz held Appalachian (11-10, 1-2 SoCon) to just seven hits and designated hitter Robert Rodebaugh supplied Elon (12-10, 2-1 SoCon) all the offense it needed with a three-run homer in the fourth inning.
The Mountaineers pitched relatively well, highlighted by a combined 5.1 innings of four-hit relief from left-hander Brandon Graves and right-hander Adam Mills. However, the Apps couldn’t get a big hit offensively to fortify the pitching effort, as they stranded all nine of their base runners in the defeat. The shutout loss was the Mountaineers’ first since Western Carolina blanked them, 11-0, on March 31 of last season.
Hickory native Isaac Harrow and Nick DeRose had two hits apiece for ASU. Leadoff hitter Joey Snyder paced the Phoenix with a pair of hits and runs scored.
Appalachian continues its eight-game homestand with a pair of mid-week non-conference tilts at L.P. Frans Stadium. ASU hosts East Tennessee State on Tuesday and UNC Asheville on Wednesday, with both games slated to start at 5 p.m. Elon returns to action on Tuesday at nationally ranked Coastal Carolina.
UNC GREENSBORO 7, COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 6 (10 innings)
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Cory Lane belted a two-run homer in the 10th and pitcher Bryan Hamilton worked out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the inning as Charlotte rallied for a 7-6 win over 30th-ranked College of Charleston in college baseball action before 307 at Patriots Point Field on Sunday.
With the win the 49ers improved to 16-4 on the season, Charleston, which has lost five of its last seven, fell to 14-6.
Lane's homer to centerfield came on a 1-0 pitch from Jake Goldberg and scored Aaron Bray who started the inning with a walk. Charleston loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the 10th on a double by Joey Bergman, a hit batter and a fielding error. After Bergman scored on a wild pitch to cut the margin to 7-6, Chris Campbell's soft liner was caught by Charlotte shortstop Shayne Moody to end the game.
Charleston scored twice in the seventh to take a 5-3 lead. Campbell's sacrifice fly to right scored Stuart Haywood for a 4-3 lead. Michael Kohn's towering solo homer to left, his sixth of the season, gave Charleston a two-run lead.
The 49ers answered to tie the game in the eighth. Alan Parks RBI single cut the lead to 5-4, and Lane followed with an RBI single to center scored Bray and tied the game at 5-all.
Lane and Brad McElroy finished with three hits each to pace Charlotte's 12-hit attack. Lane scored once and drove in four runs. Haywood and Kohn had two hits each for the Cougars.
Hamilton (2-1) picked up his second win in the series. He allowed only an unearned run on just two hits with four strikeouts over the final 3 1/3 innings. Hamilton picked up the win in the 49ers' 7-6 win in the series opener on Saturday in Kannapolis, N.C. Russ Tomlinson (0-1) suffered the loss.
THE CITADEL 5, EASTERN ILLINOIS 4
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? The Citadel registered its first sweep of the season as the Diamond Dogs downed Eastern Illinois, 5-4, in the series finale Sunday afternoon at Riley Park. The Bulldogs plated two in the eighth to take a one-run lead that was never relinquished. Sophomore right fielder Sonny Meade notched a sac fly to plate the go-ahead run, while freshman Chris McGuiness tossed four scoreless innings to allow the Dogs to post the come-from-behind victory.
The Dogs (14-5) extended their winning streak to six, their longest since the 2004 season when The Citadel captured the Southern Conference Tournament crown. The victory also marks their fourth straight come-from-behind win, making the Bulldogs 9-2 when an opponent scores first.
The Bulldogs trailed 3-0 for the second straight day as Eastern Illinois (4-10) put up one in the third on an RBI-double by Mark Chagnon and added two in the fourth on an Adam Varassi single.
The Citadel then pulled within one as Panther starter Mike Manns surrendered back-to-back walks to Meade and senior first baseman Zach Brown to start the inning. Freshman designated hitter Matt Simonelli went down swinging for the first out before sophomore catcher Sid Fallaw blooped a double into shallow right that sent Meade across the dish. Brown was then able to tag up on a sac fly by junior center fielder Chance Smith for the second run. Sophomore third baseman Trey Thomas grounded out to third to end the frame.
EIU pushed their advantage up to two in the fifth as Bulldog starter Justin Smith allowed consecutive singles to Erik Huber and Ryan Campbell. Justin Smith forced Kory Peppenhorst to ground into a double play, placing Huber on third. Jason Cobb then sent Huber home with a base hit up the middle before Richie Derbak grounded out.
McGuiness entered the game in the sixth and shutdown the Panther offense as he held them scoreless for the remainder of the contest and only gave up one hit, allowing The Citadel to post a comeback in the later innings.
Freshman designated hitter Matt Simonelli came through with a big two-out hit in the seventh as he plated Meade with a single to the gap in left center.
The Citadel took the lead in the eighth as junior third baseman Matt Arnold smacked an infield single to lead-off, moved to second on a sac bunt by sophomore Graham Couch and raced to third on another infield base hit off the bat of freshman shortstop Kyle Jordan. Altman then tied it up with a double down the right field line, pushing Arnold across the dish. Panther reliever Chris Vaculik intentionally put junior left fielder Chris Swauger on first to load the bases. Meade then lifted one into right field, allowing Jordan to tag up and score what proved to be the game-winner.
McGuiness (2-0) earned his second win in as many games and has not allowed a run in his last eight innings of work. The left-hander threw a career-high 4.0 frames and matched his personal-best two strikeouts, while he only allowed one base runner the entire afternoon. Vaculik (0-4) suffered the loss as he tossed 1.1 innings, allowing two runs on three hits while fanning and walking one.
Simonelli was the only Bulldog that posted a multi-hit day as he batted 2-for-4, including an RBI. Meade scored twice and knocked in the game-winning run in the eighth, while freshman Richard Jones pinch-hit in the sixth and extended his hitting streak to seven games with an infield single.
Eastern Illinois was led by Campbell as he went 2-for-4. Varrassi was 1-for-4 on the afternoon and drove in two of the Panther’s four runs.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN 6, LIPSCOMB 2
STATESBORO, GA. ? Back-to-back home runs in the first inning helped support Aaron Eubanks’ (Moultrie/Colquitt County) career-best outing as Georgia Southern completed a sweep of Lipscomb. The Eagles, improving to 11-1 at home this year, defeated the Bisons 6-2 Sunday afternoon (March 18) at J.I. Clements Stadium.
Eubanks (1-1), who had only 5.2 innings of work this year, recorded personal-highs of 6.1 innings pitched and six strikeouts. The junior left-hander walked one and scattered six hits, throwing 99 pitches as GS improved to 16-9 overall.
In that first inning, Jeremy Beckham (Griffin/Griffin) drew a leadoff walk but was picked off first base. Matt Miller (Canton/Woodstock) followed with a walk and scored when Chris Shehan (Strasburg, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) hammered a shot into the trees beyond the left field fence. That was Shehan’s fifth home run, moving him into a share of the team lead, and team-leading 30th RBI. Griffin Benedict (Dunwoody/St. Pius) followed with his first homer this season, nailing a shot down the right field line. It marked the first time this year Georgia Southern hit back-to-back homers.
Making just his second career start, Eubanks gave up a single to start the game but then retired nine straight. The Bisons (13-10) hit consecutive doubles by Kevin Gavigan and Caleb Joseph to start the fourth inning, making it 3-1. Two batters later Shane Simpkins added another two-bagger, cutting the deficit in half, 3-2. First baseman A.J. Wirnsberger (Tuscaloosa, AL/Paul Bear Bryant) made a key diving catch on a line drive off the bat of Branden Cadavid to keep the Bisons from surely tying the game.
Eubanks was able to bounce back after those three doubles to shut down Lipscomb. “I knew a strikeout would be big in that situation (one on, one out). I had a base open so I was going for a strikeout rather than a groundball (and possibly advance the runner). A.J.’s catch was huge, that helped save us from giving up a big inning,” said Eubanks.
Pinch-hitter Jeremiah Parker (Carrollton/Carrollton) started off the sixth inning getting hit by a pitch. Chris Hollis (Loganville/Faith Academy) dropped down a sacrifice bunt, moving Parker into scoring position. Brian Pierce (Roswell/Roswell) greeted relief pitcher Taylor Merry with a RBI double down the left field line, his fourth double of the year to extend the lead to 4-2.
Eubanks got the first out of the seventh but gave up a double and walk. That prompted head coach Rodney Hennon to bring in Burt Barto (Columbus/Columbus). He got a flyball out to Miller in centerfield for the second out, but Allen Bouldin reached on an error to load the bases.
Hennon went to the bullpen again, bringing in Kyle Kamppi (Savannah/Benedictine). The sophomore right-hander enticed a groundball from Kevin Gavigan to end the threat.
With the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh, Hollis added a pair of insurance runs on a 2-run single. From that point, Kamppi and A.J. Battisto (Pottstown, PA/Pottsgrove) closed the door on the Bisons.
“It was very important to complete the sweep. This will keep the team positive heading into this week of practice and preparing for the home conference opener next weekend,” stated Eubanks.
Shehan, Pierce and Kyle Blackburn (Marietta/Walton) had two hits apiece. Benedict scored twice, as the 1-5 hitters accounted for five of the six runs scored. Kamppi and Battisto combined for three strikeouts and just one hit over the last 2.1 innings.
Seven different Lipscomb players recorded a hit. Starter Brandon McClurg (2-1) gave up four runs on seven hits in 5.1 innings. He walked two and struck out six.
MONMOUTH 11, WOFFORD 8
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? Kyle Messineo accounted for five runs, scoring three and driving in two, to lead Monmouth to an 11-8 win over Wofford in the finale of a three-game series at Russell C. King Field.
Messineo went 3-for-4 at the plate with two doubles and two stolen bases in the win, as Monmouth took the series 2-1. Eight home runs were hit in Sunday’s game, including two by Monmouth and six by Wofford.
Monmouth (6-5-1) jumped on top early with two runs in the second. Messineo led off the inning with a double and crossed the plate following a ground-rule double down the right field line by Chris Collazo. Collazo would score on a sacrifice fly from leadoff man Kyle Higgins.
Wofford (16-6) responded in the bottom half of the second as Adam Kearney evened the score with one swing, blasting a two-run shot over the left field fence. The homer was the second of the series for the sophomore catcher, who ended the day 1-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
The Hawks were in position to reclaim the lead in the next half inning, but Wofford starter Zack Parmer pitched his way out of a jam after the Hawks loaded the bases with one out. After giving up a base hit, a fielder’s choice and a hit batter, Wofford’s freshman southpaw struck out two straight batters to escape the inning unharmed.
Shane Kirkley gave Wofford a 3-2 lead in the third with a solo home run to left. The blast was the seventh of the season for Wofford’s junior two-bagger, who has driven in a team-high 26 runs this season.
Monmouth regained a 5-3 lead in the next half inning by way of back-to-back home runs that came with two outs on the board. First baseman Andy Meyers started the rally with a two-run opposite field blast and Mike Casale followed with a solo shot to left center. Wofford went to the bullpen following the homers and called on reliever Tom Dolinak, who struck out the next batter to end the inning.
Wofford matched the Hawks with three runs in the fourth on home runs from Sterling Dye and Bradford Eaves. Dye launched a two-run shot down the left field line to score Kearney, and Eaves followed with a solo shot three batters later. Monmouth then made the call for reliever Matt Frazier, who pitched the final 5 1/3 innings.
After adding another run in the fifth to tie the game, Monmouth took the lead with three more runs in the sixth. Meyers took a free pass to first base and advanced to second after Rick Niederhaus singled to center field. Messineo cleared the bases with a double down the left field line and scored on an error after stealing third.
With the lead, Frazier cruised through the next two innings before surrendering home runs to Michael Gilmartin and Brandon Waring in the eighth. Both were solo shots that cut the Monmouth lead to 11-8. Waring’s blast was his conference-leading tenth of the season while Gilmartin’s was the third of the year for the freshman shortstop.
Wofford could not complete the comeback, however, as Frazier (1-0) retired the side in order in the ninth to end the game. Frazier earned the win for his 5 1/3 innings of work in which he allowed two runs and four hits while striking out three.
Dolinak (0-1) took the loss for Wofford after giving up four runs in relief.
Wofford will welcome No. 4 South Carolina to Russell C. King Field on Wednesday, March 21 for a single nine-inning contest. Reserve seats for the game have been sold out, but standing room only tickets will be available for purchase on the day of the game.
AUSTIN PEAY 4, FURMAN 1
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Matt Reynolds pitched a complete game three-hitter to lead Austin Peay to a 4-1 win and series sweep over Furman in baseball action Sunday afternoon at Furman Stadium.
Reynolds (4-1), a senior lefthander from Knoxville, Tenn., retired the first 12 Paladin batters he faced and yielded only three singles and walk to Furman, which scored only seven runs and managed only 15 hits in the series’ three games. The Paladins (4-14) have now lost four straight and 10 of their last 11 contests, and have been swept in three of four three-game series’ this season.
With the win, Austin Peay (11-6) extended its winning streak to eight games.
The Governors opened the scoring in the fourth inning after Will Hogue drew a two-out walk, stole second, and came around to score on Matt Smith’s single to right field off Paladin starter Mason Smith.
Furman managed to tie the game in the fifth thanks, in part, to a pair of Austin Peay errors. Tony Maccani reached on throwing error by Governors’ third baseman Tyler Farrar to lead off the frame and came around to score on the Paladins’ first hit of the day, a two-out infield single by Cole Franklin that Reynolds fielded but threw wide of first in his haste to retire Franklin.
Austin Peay retook the lead in the sixth after Rafael Hill was hit by a pitch, stole second with one out, advanced to third on a fielding error on a failed pickoff attempt, and came home on Hogue’s sacrifice fly.
The Governors extended their advantage to 4-1 with a pair of runs in the eighth off Paladin reliever Marc DeDecker.
Furman starter Mason Smith (0-4) took the loss after going seven innings and giving up six hits, a pair of runs, and two walks while striking out four.
Austin Peay finished the game with 10 hits, including two each by Smith, Tyler Bullock, and Josh Kemph.
LEHIGH 9, DAVIDSON 4
DAVIDSON 7, CORNELL 4
DAVIDSON, N.C. --- Senior Alden Crissey busted out in a big way with two long home runs and a 5-for-7 day at the plate in leading the Davidson baseball team to a split in its two games on the day against Lehigh and Cornell on Sunday afternoon at Wilson Field. The Wildcats dropped the first game against the Mountain Hawks, 9-4, before coming back to stop their three-game skid with a 7-5 win over the Cornell Big Red in the second game.
Davidson, who finished the weekend 1-2 against Lehigh and Cornell, ran its record to a mark of 12-9 overall. Lehigh moved to 5-8-1 overall, while Cornell fell to an even 5-5 on the season.
Of Crissey's five hits on the afternoon in the two games, three of them were extra base hits as he raised his season average to .343 for the year. Before his second and third home runs of the season, Crissey had not gone deep since Mar. 4 against Furman.
His first dinger of the day came in the third inning against Lehigh with the Wildcats trailing 5-1. Lehigh strung together three hits and four runs, two of them scoring on a Patrick Groome ground-rule double, in the second inning for an early 4-0 advantage. Crissey brought the 'Cats to within three at 5-2 with his homer.
Later in the fourth inning with Davidson down 5-3, Crissey stroked a one-out double and came around to score on Rob Wilson's only hit of the game, an RBI single up the middle, to close the gap to one at 5-4.
Lehigh got the run back on a run-scoring double by Dan Clauson and its bullpen took care of the rest. Three relievers, led by Andrew Berger (1-0), combined to throw 5.2 innings of shutout ball, limiting the Wildcats to just three hits. The Mountain Hawks added three more insurance runs in the top of the ninth for a 9-4 win.
Davidson, who almost pulled out two late-inning comebacks in yesterday's contests, put Matt Webb and Gregory Zage on the corners in the bottom of the ninth, but Lehigh's Greg Mortka retired the next two batters for his first save of the season.
Junior reliever Brian Packey did the best he could in keeping the score close till the end with one of his best outings of the year. He came in for starter Mac Read (0-1), who lasted just two innings, to pitch a season-high 6.1 innings of seven-hit, three-run ball.
In game two, the Wildcats wasted no time in dented the plate first with a two-spot in the bottom of the first. A single, a Big Red error and a wild pitch followed by a sac fly off the bat of Crissey allowed Davidson to score its first run. Zage followed up Crissey with a sharp single to right field to plate Webb, who had reached on the error, for a 2-0 Wildcat lead.
Cornell used a long-ball over the left field fence from Adam Jacobs in the top of the second to knot things up at 2-apiece. It was Thomas Middour's (3-1) only real mistake as he went six innings, allowing three runs, all earned, on seven hits for his third win of the season.
Crissey then gave the Wildcats the lead for good when he jacked his second homer of the afternoon, a two-run shot, on the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the third for a 4-2 lead. The senior first baseman would finish the game 2-for-2 with three RBIs and a run scored.
After Cornell plated a single run in the top of the sixth, Davidson answered with two of its own in the bottom half of the frame without the assist of a hit. Wilson started the inning off with a single and eventually came home on a balk. Chris FitzPatrick later walked and he came home on a wild pitch for a 6-3 Wildcat lead.
Webb tacked on the final run for Davidson with his team-leading eighth home run of the season in the seventh inning and the Wildcat relievers Zach Kayne and Webb held off a late rally by the Big Red for the 7-5 win. Webb pitched the ninth for his fifth save of the season.
Speaking of Webb, he also had a nice day at the plate going 4-for-10 with three runs scored. He had one of four Davidson bunt singles on the afternoon, with center field Hugh Eden picking up two of them in the first game, which resulted in two runs batted in against Lehigh.
Davidson continues its 16-game homestand with another Ivy League school, playing host to Princeton on Tuesday and Wednesday, Mar. 20-21 with both games set for 6 p.m.
CHARLOTTE 7, COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 6
Cory Lane belted a two-run homer in the 10th and pitcher Bryan Hamilton worked out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the inning as Charlotte rallied for a 7-6 win over 30th-ranked College of Charleston in college baseball action before 307 at Patriots Point Field on Sunday.
With the win the 49ers improved to 16-4 on the season, Charleston, which has lost five of its last seven, fell to 14-6.
Lane’s homer to centerfield came on a 1-0 pitch from Jake Goldberg and scored Aaron Bray who started the inning with a walk. Charleston loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the 10th on a double by Joey Bergman, a hit batter and a fielding error. After Bergman scored on a wild pitch to cut the margin to 7-6, Chris Campbell’s soft liner was caught by Charlotte shortstop Shayne Moody to end the game.
Charleston scored twice in the seventh to take a 5-3 lead. Campbell’s sacrifice fly to right scored Stuart Haywood for a 4-3 lead. Michael Kohn’s towering solo homer to left, his sixth of the season, gave Charleston a two-run lead.
The 49ers answered to tie the game in the eighth. Alan Parks' RBI single cut the lead to 5-4, and Lane followed with an RBI single to center that scored Bray and tied the game at 5-all.
Lane and Brad McElroy finished with three hits each to pace Charlotte’s 12-hit attack. Lane scored once and drove in four runs. Haywood and Kohn had two hits each for the Cougars.
Hamilton (2-1) picked up his second win in the series. He allowed only an unearned run on just two hits with four strikeouts over the final 3 1/3 innings. Hamilton picked up the win in the 49ers' 7-6 victory in the series opener on Saturday in Kannapolis, N.C. Russ Tomlinson (0-1) suffered the loss.