DAVIDSON 7, PRINCETON 6
DAVIDSON, N.C. ? Down to the last strike, senior Gregory Zage sent host Davidson to a thrilling 7-6 victory when he scalded a two-out, walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth against Princeton on Wednesday evening at Wilson Field. Zage’s fourth career walk-off hit ? and second walk-off homer ? improved the Wildcats to 13-10 on the season, while dropping Princeton to 3-8.
Trailing 6-2 entering the ninth, Davidson batters stayed patient at the plate and were rewarded with three walks to load the bases. Senior Alden Crissey stepped to the plate with two outs worked the count full before taking ball four for the fourth walk of the inning to force in a run, bringing the winning run to the plate in the form of Zage.
The lefty-swinging Zage took the first pitch for a strike, then another for a ball before taking a hack and fouling off a pitch, putting him in the hole, 1-2. Left-hander Michael Zaret (1-1), who had struck out Zage when he first came on in relief in the eighth, left his next pitch over the heart of the plate. Zage ripped his bat through the zone and did not miss the offering, lining a shot to right that easily cleared the fence for the dramatic grand slam.
The walk-off slam was just the third known in Davidson history. The last one came on April 12, 2000 by Stewart Sloan ’00 against Duke for an identical 7-6 final. The other was by Luke Goodwin ’98 on March 3, 1997 against Holy Cross for a wild 15-13 triumph. In addition, no Wildcat has had more than three walk-off hits in a career, making Zage the school’s career leader in the category.
For the 19th time in 23 games, Davidson’s opponent put a run on the board first. Freshman Brennan Baker, making his first career start on the mound, hit Aaron Prince with a pitch with one out, and Sal Iacono lined a double down the right-field line to score Prince.
The Wildcats countered with a pair of unearned runs in their half of the first. Sophomore Zach Kayne drew a lead-off walk, then came all the way around to score when the second baseman threw wildly to second on a ground ball trying to start the double play. Zage brought home the second run with a deep fly to center.
The two teams traded zeroes until the sixth when Princeton greeted reliever Brian Packey (1-1) with three consecutive singles by Greg Van Horn, Prince and Iacono to tie the score. A tap back to the mound put runners on second and third, and Adrian Turnham sent the first pitch he saw back through the box for a two-run single to break the deadlock. After a fielder’s choice, Spencer Lucian stole second and raced home on a single by Brian Berkowitz to make the score 5-2.
The Tigers added a run in the seventh on an Iacono two-out RBI single.
Save the four-run sixth, the Wildcat pitching staff did a fine job of holding down a Tiger offense that had scored 19 runs the previous night. Baker allowed just one run in his three innings, and freshman Chris Kennedy walked just one batter in his two innings while fanning four. Sophomore Matt Webb (1-1) picked up the victory after tossing a perfect ninth.
Princeton starter David Hale threw just 67 pitches in six innings of work, yielding just two unearned runs on three hits and a walk while striking out two.
Zage and Crissey each had two hits as Davidson managed just seven safeties in the contest, while Zage also drove in five of the seven runs.
Princeton was led by Iacono, who was 3-for-4 with a double, a run and three RBIs.
Davidson returns to the diamond on Friday evening when it hosts UNC Greensboro at 7 p.m. in the first game of a three-game Southern Conference series. Princeton will begin a three-game series at Longwood on Friday at 7 p.m.
FURMAN 14, GARDNER-WEBB 9
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Tony Maccani and Bobby Hubbard both homered and drove in four runs each, and Furman erupted for 11 first inning runs en route to a 14-9 win over Gardner-Webb in baseball action Wednesday night at Furman Stadium.
The victory snapped a four-game losing streak for Furman (5-14), which entered the contest having dropped 10 of its last 11 games. The loss was the fifth straight setback for Gardner-Webb ( 10-15).
After scoring only seven runs and combining for just 15 hits in a three-game sweep at the hands of Austin Peay over the weekend, Furman came out swinging in the first inning, tagging Gardner-Webb pitching for 11 runs on eight hits to grab an early 11-0 lead.
Bulldog pitcher Taylor Brooks got into immediate trouble after walking the first three batters, and Paladin clean up hitter Tony Maccani got the scoring started with a two-run single. Will Stembridge followed with an RBI single, and Paul Ortenzo added a run scoring double to left field to give the Paladins a 4-0 lead and chase Brooks. With one out, Cole Franklin delivered an infield single to plate Stembridge, and three batters later Marcus Rose drilled a three-run triple to centerfield of Bulldog reliever Jonathan Ban to stretch the Paladin advantage to 9-0.
Hubbard kept the inning going with a two-out single, and Maccani collected his second hit of the frame with a two-run home run to left field to make it 11-0. The 11-run outburst was the most in an inning by the Paladins since the 2000 campaign when Furman scored 14 runs in the fourth inning of a 24-13 win over Western Carolina.
Josh Drewery’s two-run single keyed a three-run Gardner-Webb second inning, and the Bulldogs added another run in the third to make it 11-4 before Furman’s offense struck again in bottom of the third. After a Joey Rodgers single and Marcus Rose double, Hubbard belted his first home run of the campaign, a three-run shot to left field to extend the Paladins’
lead to 14-4.
Gardner-Webb’s Jay McConnell’s three-run home roundtripper keyed a four-run fourth inning, and the Bulldogs added another run in the fifth before Furman’s relief corps of Spencer Hale, Butch Pucetas, J.P Goldsberry, and Nick Hollstegge settled down to retire 11 of the final 13 batters over the final four innings.
Hubbard, Maccani, Rose, Rodgers, and Stembridge ? the first five hitters in Furman’s lineup ? all collected two hits each and combined to account for 10 of the Paladins’ 13 hits.
Gardner-Webb pounded out 15 hits in the game, including three each by Drewery, Jeremiah Lokken, and Daniel Cooke.
Furman starting pitcher Ian Parry (2-1) earned the win after working two designated innings. Brooks (0-1) took the loss after yielding six runs on three hits and three walks. He did not retire a batter.
Furman resumes Southern Conference play this Friday when it travels to Statesboro, Ga., to open a three-game series against Georgia Southern beginning at 7:00 p.m. Saturday’s contest is set for 1:30 p.m., and Sunday’s final game is a scheduled 1:00 p.m. start.
UNC GREENSBORO 7, CORNELL 2
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? UNC Greensboro starting pitcher Nick Starnes picked up his first win of the season as the UNCG Spartans completed a two-game series sweep with a 7-2 win over Cornell at UNCG Baseball Stadium on Wednesday night.
Starnes (1-0), making just his fifth appearance this season, allowed two runs on four hits in six innings pitched. The Haw River, NC native walked three and had seven strikeouts on the evening.
Joel Johnson led the Spartans at the plate by going 3-for-4 with a team-leading three RBI. Scott Schneider also had a big game for UNCG (11-9) going 3-for-2 from the plate with three runs scored. Sean Snell also tallied two runs in the victory.
Wes McCall allowed no runs on no hits in 2.0 innings pitched in relief. He walked two and had three strikeouts. Greg Martin also saw time on the mound. He faced three batters and had one strikeout.
Cornell (5-7) got on the board first after a scoreless first inning from both teams. Jimmy Heinz got things started with a double through centerfield and came around the bases on an RBI single from Kyle Groth to give the Big Red the early 1-0 advantage.
UNCG responded with a run in the bottom of the inning. Cornell pitcher Tony Bertucci walked Scott Schneider, who advanced to second on a stolen base. Schneider was plated with an RBI single from Joel Johnson to tie the game at 1-1 heading into the third inning.
Cornell extended their lead to 2-1 in the third inning with a run scored by Domenic Di Ricco. Di Riccio, who reached on a fielder’s choice, came home on a RBI single from Nathan Ford.
UNCG jumped out to a 4-2 with a big fourth inning. Schneider started the inning with a single through left field and advanced to second with his second stolen base of the evening. Cornell walked Sean Snell giving the Spartans two runners on base. Logan Smith hit an RBI double which sent both runners home. The Spartans tallied one more run with a RBI double from Corey Overholtzer which plated Smith.
UNCG added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Greg Feltes hit a leadoff single followed by back-to-back singles from Schneider and Snell. Cornell pitcher Adam Loeding, who entered the ballgame in the fourth inning, walked Smith, which advanced both of the base runners and loaded the bases. Johnson hit and RBI single which brought home Schneider and Snell and put UNCG ahead, 6-2.
The Spartans tallied their final run in the sixth inning when Feltes, who hit a double in UNCG’s second at bat, rounded the bases on an RBI single from Greg Welsh.
Tony Bertucci suffered the loss for the Big Red. He allowed four runs on six hits in 3.1 innings pitched. In his first start of the season he walked two and had three strikeouts.
The Spartans are next in action Friday March 23 when they head to Davidson, NC for their Southern Conference opener against Davidson. First pitch is scheduled for 7 pm.
SOUTH CAROLINA 13, WOFFORD 1
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? No. 2 South Carolina used six pitchers to hold Wofford to five hits in a 13-1 win Wednesday evening at Russell C. King Field. The game drew a record 2,514 spectators to Russell C. King Field, the largest crowd in the stadium’s history.
Of South Carolina’s (19-3) six pitchers, only one allowed more than one hit and only two allowed runs. The staff combined for 13 strikeouts. Starter Arik Hempy (1-0) earned the win after holding Wofford to one hit over three shutout innings. Hempy struck out three before yielding the ball to his bullpen.
South Carolina right fielder Harley Lail gave the Gamecocks a first-inning lead after scoring from third on a sacrifice fly from Trent Kline. Lail led off the game with a walk and advanced two bases after stealing second and moving to third on a Wofford throwing error.
Left fielder Robbie Grinestaff tagged a two-run bomb in the top of the second to give South Carolina a 3-0 advantage. Grinestaff’s straight-away shot was one of two extra-base hits for the senior outfielder, who finished 2-for-3 with two runs, two RBIs and a double.
After the Gamecocks added another run in the fourth, Wofford cleanup hitter Brandon Waring cut the gap to 4-1 in the fourth with a towering solo shot to right-center field. The long-ball was the 11th of the season for Waring, who leads the nation in slugging percentage and is second in the country in home runs.
Wofford missed a chance to come within one in the fifth inning. The Terriers stranded men on second and third after USC reliever Jeff Jeffords forced three straight outs to escape the jam. Catcher Keith Munns led off with a walk and advanced to third on a pinch-hit double by freshman Kyle Behrendt. With two Terriers on and no outs, USC head coach Ray Tanner called for a conference on the mound with Jeffords, and the senior right-hander responded by striking out two of the next three batters to end the inning.
South Carolina began to run away with the game in the sixth when a two-run blast from James Darnell put the Gamecocks up by six. Darnell roped a shot to right field to score Lail, who reached first after Wofford could not complete a double play.
Gamecock shortstop Reese Havens slapped a two-run single up the middle to start a four run seventh for USC. Lail and Darnell followed with back-to-back RBI singles before Whit Kennedy ended the inning by striking out catcher Trent Kline.
USC added its final two runs in the eighth on a two-run bomb from sophomore Adam Crisp, who posted a 2-for-2 outing with two RBIs and a run after coming into the game in the fifth inning.
Jesse Cole (0-1) took the loss for Wofford after allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits in his two innings of work. Wofford also used six pitchers in the matchup. Freshman Tom Dolinak posted the best performance out of the group after closing out the final two innings in which he allowed no hits or runs.
Wofford (16-7) will begin conference play this weekend as the Terriers travel to Hickory, N.C., to take on Appalachian State at L.P. Frans Stadium, home of the A-league Hickory Crawdads. Wofford will begin the three-game series on Friday, March 23, with a 5 p.m. contest against the Mountaineers. The teams will follow with a 3 p.m. outing on Saturday and will conclude the series with a 1 p.m. game on Sunday.