COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 7, WESTERN CAROLINA 6
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? Trailing 6-3 entering the ninth inning, the Western Carolina Catamounts rallied with three runs to tie the game and force home standing College of Charleston to play the bottom of the frame. In the home half of the inning, though, Cougar pinch hitter Jedd Cordisco, who led off with a single to right center field, scored the game-winning run on a two-out wild pitch on an attempted intentional walk to give CofC the victory in the Southern Conference opener for both squads.
The loss snapped Western’s four-game winning streak and dropped the Catamounts to 14-8 overall, 0-1 in league play. The College of Charleston improved to 16-6 and 1-0 in the SoCon.
Despite loading the bases in the top of the first inning, the Catamounts were only able to plate one run to take an early, 1-0, lead over Cougar starter, Nick Chigges. Three innings later, Western capitalized on Cougar miscues to stretch its lead to three.
Senior transfer Kenny Smith led off the fourth with a routine fly ball to left center that was muffed by CofC’s Michael Kohn, leaving the Asheville native standing on second base. Two pitches later, junior Steven Strausbaugh lifted an RBI single to the gap in right center to score Smith, pushing WCU ahead 2-0. After back-to-back strikeouts, an error by Cougar shortstop, Barrett Kleinknecht, kept the inning alive, moving Strausbaugh to second where he scored on a RBI single through the right side by Andy John for the 3-0 advantage.
The Cougars responded in the bottom of the frame, though, with a two-run home run to left center field by catcher Alex Garabedian to pull within one, 3-2.
A four-run College of Charleston bottom of the seventh gave the Cougars their first lead of the game, 6-3. However, in the top of the ninth, WCU erased the deficit using junior Blake Murphy’s two-run single, which cut the lead to 6-5, and Kenny Smith's RBI single to center scored Murphy to tie the game at 6-6 despite stranding the bases loaded.
However, WCU freshman reliever Chris Masters gave up a wild pitch on his second offering on an attempted intentional walk to allow the game-winning run to score.
Murphy, Strausbaugh, classmates Barrett Shaft and designated hitter Andy John each tallied multiple hit games for the Catamounts with Strausbaugh tallying a single and a double to finish 2-for-3 with a walk in the loss. Western stranded 12 base runners on the night.
Overshadowed by the loss was the solid pitching effort of WCU junior left-hander, Tyler Sexton, who tossed a solid six and a third innings ? including the first three and a third hitless ? before giving way to reliever, Greg Holland. Sexton scattered four earned runs on five hits with five walks and six strikeouts, but did not factor into the decision.
FURMAN 8, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 1
STATESBORO, GA. -- Matt Klinker threw six innings of shutout ball and Jay Jackson homered and drove in four runs to lead Furman to an 8-1 win over Georgia Southern in the opener of three-game Southern Conference series Friday evening at Clements Stadium.
With the victory Furman (6-14, 2-2 SoCon) secured its fifth win in its last six clashes with Georgia Southern (16-10, 0-1) but only its seventh triumph in its last 33 games against the Eagles in Statesboro.
Klinker (3-1), a senior righthander, limited Georgia Southern to six hits ? all singles ? and struck out six while walking three to earn the victory. He stranded a pair of runners in the first and third innings and worked out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the fourth before coming back in the fifth and striking out the side. After yielding seven runs in a season opening loss to Kentucky, the West Chester, Ohio, product has gone 3-0 with a 1.65 ERA over his last six appearances, which includes five starts.
Jackson, who entered the game batting only .163 with no extra base hits and just two RBI in 49 at bats, singled twice and swatted his first home of the campaign in a three-run fifth inning. A year ago the Taylors, S.C., and former Christ Church Episcopal School standout, hit .296 with nine home runs and 43 RBI.
Furman fashioned a 13-9 advantage in hits to snap a string of six games in which the Paladins had been out-hit by the opposition. Joe Daysh joined Jackson atop Furman’s attack with three hits.
Brian Wilkerson (4-3) absorbed the loss for Georgia Southern, yielding eight runs on 10 hits over 4 2/3 innings. He struck out four and walked two.
Furman grabbed the early lead, scoring two runs in the second after Daysh and Paul Ortenzo delivered back-to-back doubles and Jackson singled to left field to score Ortenzo.
The Paladins then built on their solid start by scoring in the third, fourth, fifth innings.
In the third Joey Rodgers drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a sacrifice, and later scored on a single to right field by Will Stembridge to give Furman a 3-0 lead.
An inning later the Paladins took advantage of a pair of Georgia Southern errors and got a two-run double from Spence Gibbs to stretch the advantage to 5-0.
In the fifth, Maccani and Stembridge led off with back-to-back singles and moved up on a sacrifice. After Maccani was picked off third base for the second out and Ortenzo drew a two-out walk, Jackson picked up his teammates by belting his first home of the campaign, a three-run shot to left field to extend Furman’s lead to 8-0.
Georgia Southern avoided the shutout in the ninth after Brian Pierce singled with two outs and scored on a Matt Miller double off Paladin reliever Spencer Hale, who earned his first career save after giving up one run on three hits over the final three innings.
APPALACHIAN STATE 9, WOFFORD 7
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? Chris Baker drove in three runs and scored once in a 2-for-3 outing to lead Appalachian State to a 9-7 victory over Wofford in the Terriers’ Southern Conference opener.
Baker drove in the tying and go-ahead runs with a two-RBI single in the seventh inning as Appalachian State (12-11, 2-2) came back from a 7-3 deficit to defeat Wofford (16-8, 0-1).
Freshman shortstop Michael Gilmartin gave Wofford an early 1-0 lead with a leadoff blast to right field from the left side of the plate. The Mountaineers stopped another run from crossing the plate in the inning when third baseman Isaac Harrow fielded a groundball with runners on second and third and gunned down Bradford Eaves at the plate.
Appalachian State took a 2-1 lead in the second on a perfectly executed squeeze play and an RBI double. After Jason Rook walked and advanced to third on a single by David Towarnicky, Baker put down a bunt to the right side to score Rook and advance Towarnicky to third. Towarnicky scored on the next at bat as Nick DeRose slammed an RBI double to right field.
Terrier third baseman Brandon Waring knocked an RBI single up the middle to tie the game at 2-2 in the third. Waring drove in Chuck Eller, who came in to pinch run for Eaves and ended up scoring three runs and driving in one in a 2-for-3 performance at the plate.
After tying the game, Eller started a two-out rally in the fourth inning with an RBI single. Wofford went on to score three runs in the inning, all with two outs on the board. With a 1-2 count, Eller pulled a single to right field to score Sterling Dye who led off the inning with a base hit. Shane Kirkley followed with a base-clearing double to deep center field to score Gilmartin from third and Eller from first. Mountaineer starter Matt Andress walked the next batter, prompting Appalachian State to bring in reliever Chris Patterson who forced a bases loaded flyout to left field to escape the jam. Andress completed 3 2/3 innings of work, allowing five runs ? all earned ? and eight hits.
Appalachian State slapped four hits in the fifth and took advantage of a throwing error by Wofford starter Austin Redwine, but superb defense by the Terriers minimized the damage to one run. Mountaineer shortstop Jason Altenhof led off with a bunt single and advanced two bases when Redwine’s throw sailed over the head of first baseman John Brandt. Altenhof scored on the next at bat when Tom Prosser grounded out to Gilmartin. David Rubinstein followed with a line drive single to right that outfielder Sterling Dye dove for, but could not come up with. Dye came up firing to first, however, and connected with Brandt to tag Rubinstein, who was caught off base after rounding the bag too far. The Mountaineers followed with two more hits, but Kirkley made a diving stop on a ground ball to second base to save a run and end the inning.
A two-run blast from Kirkley in the sixth regained the lost run for Wofford. Kirkley mashed a line drive that narrowly cleared the left field fence to score Eller, who reached base on his second hit of the game. Kirkley drove in four runs in the game while posting a 3-for-5 performance at the plate with a home run and his team-leading eighth double of the season.
A fielding error in the sixth by the Terriers proved costly as the Mountaineers cut the lead to 7-5 with a two runs in the inning. After Towarnicky led off with a walk, Gilmartin made a diving stop on a double play ball up the middle and flipped it to Kirkley at second base. The junior second baseman could not handle the toss, however, and dropped the ball to allow the runners to stay on base with no outs. Redwine settled down to force three straight ground outs, but Appalachian State scored on a passed ball and a groundout by Altenhof. Redwine completed six innings of work and allowed five runs ? three earned ? and seven hits.
Following Redwine’s departure, the Mountaineers rallied for three runs in the seventh ? two with two outs ? to take an 8-7 lead. Lance Player started the inning for Wofford, but gave up two runs before being pulled for Gilmartin. Player allowed a hit to Andrew Franco who advanced to third on back-to-back walks and scored on a wild pitch from Gilmartin. With runners on second and third following the wild pitch, Baker knocked a two-RBI single to put Appalachian on top by one run.
Wofford could not recover from the Mountaineer rally, and was held scoreless over the final two innings by Garrett Sherrill, who earned the save. Zach Quate earned the win for Appalachian State with one inning of hitless work in the seventh. Player (2-1) took the loss for Wofford after being credited for all three runs in the eighth.
ELON 3, THE CITADEL 1
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? The Citadel fell to Elon, 3-1, in their Southern Conference opener Friday night at Riley Park. The starters for both squads went the distance as they each registered a complete game in the pitching duel. Elon hurler and former freshman of the year, Steven Hensley, along with Bulldog right-hander Wes Wrenn, both tossed their third career complete game in the contest.
The Bulldogs saw their seven-game winning streak come to an end as they fall to 15-6 on the year and 0-1 in the Southern Conference. The loss marks the first time The Citadel has ever dropped a league opener at Riley Park. Elon improves to 13-11 on the season and 3-1 in the SoCon after taking two of three from Appalachian State last weekend.
The Phoenix jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second as catcher Drew Davis notched a leadoff single and then came around to score on a two-run shot off the bat of right fielder Ryan Addison. Shortstop Chase Austin reached on an infield single and moved to second as Wrenn surrendered a walk to designated hitter Mike Melillo. Both runners moved up on a sac bunt by second baseman Matt Hill. Austin was then able to race home as center fielder Jordy Snyder chopped one back to the pitcher and Wrenn threw the ball wide trying to get Austin out at the plate.
Wrenn (3-2) settled in and only allowed three hits and did not give up a walk in his final seven frames. The High Point, N.C. native struck out three in his nine innings of work, allowing three runs (two earned) and scattering eight total hits on the evening.
The only run that Hensley gave up came off the bat of freshman designated hitter Chris McGuiness. McGuiness smashed a 0-2 pitch over the right field wall in the seventh for his second career round-tripper. Hensley (4-1) also allowed eight hits on the night, while walking two and striking out eight.
“He’s probably the top pro prospect in our league based on what I saw tonight,” said head coach Fred Jordan. “He was phenomenal.”
The Bulldogs threatened in the eighth as sophomore right fielder Sonny Meade notched a one-out single and moved to third on a double to the gap in left by senior first baseman Zach Brown. Hensley then forced consecutive groundouts to get out of the inning.
“We knew it was going to be tough with Hensley on the mound and we wouldn’t get to their bullpen,” commented Jordan. “We just have to come out here tomorrow and get it done.”
DAVIDSON 6, UNC GREENSBORO 1
DAVIDSON, N.C. ? The senior tri-captains of the Wildcats led Davidson to a 6-1 victory over visiting UNC Greensboro on Friday evening at Wilson Field in front of 278 fans. Charlotte native Rob Wilson twirled seven shutout innings, while Alden Crissey and Gregory Zage each drove in a pair of runs to help the ’Cats improve to 14-10 on the season and 3-1 in the Southern Conference. The Spartans fell to 11-10 overall and 0-1 in the league.
A product of Myers Park High School, Wilson (1-1) threw 96 pitches in his seven frames, allowing just four hits and walking two while equaling a season high with seven strikeouts. The first of those seven whiffs was the 200th of his career, making him just the fifth Wildcat to reach the milestone.
It wasn’t smooth sailing the entire game, however, as the lead-off batter reached base in five of the seven innings. But only one runner got as far as third base and only once did two Spartans reach base in the same inning when Wilson was on the mound.
Crissey, from Lexington, Ky., drilled three singles in four trips to the plate. One of those singles drove in a pair of runs in the third to give Davidson a 3-0 lead. He also extended his hitting streak to eight games, during which he is batting .545 (18-for-33).
A native of Lake Forest, Ill., Zage stroked a triple to lead off the second and scored the first run of the game on a grounder to second by senior Blake Osborn. Then with Davidson holding a 4-1 lead in the eighth, he provided some insurance with a towering two-run blast just to the right of the scoreboard in right. In the last game, Zage had hit a walk-off grand slam against Princeton, and this clout was his sixth of the season and 30th of his career.
In the third, junior Hugh Eden laid down a one-out bunt single, then stole second and third. Sophomore Zach Kayne walked and stole second before the second out of the inning, and Crissey delivered the big hit with a base hit on a full count offering to score both runners.
Davidson chased UNCG starter Ryan Falcon (1-5) in the sixth when Wilson helped his own cause with a lead-off double, then raced home on Osborn’s line single right through the box. Spartan reliever Clinton McKinney escaped further damage when the Wildcats had two players caught stealing on a busted suicide squeeze play to end the inning.
The Spartans got the tying run to the plate in the eighth against Kayne, who came on to pitch from his position at second base to start the inning. A pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases before Kayne balked home a run. Spartan clean-up hitter Guy Welsh ? already 2-for-3 on the night with a double ? then sent a deep fly to right on which Osborn made a tremendous diving catch on the warning track to end the threat.
Crissey led off the bottom of the eighth with his third hit of the game, and the left-handed hitting Zage crossed up the UNCG strategy of bringing in a southpaw. He thought he had a home run on the second pitch when he launched a ball high and deep down the line in right, but it was ruled foul. Zage was able to shrug it off and send a 1-2 change-up way out of the park.
Falcon allowed four runs on seven hits in his five-plus innings of work, walking two and fanning four.
Joining Crissey and Zage with two RBIs was fellow senior Osborn.
Welsh, Matt Gaski and Adam Deleo each had two hits for the Spartans, who managed just seven in the game.
Davidson and UNCG will play the second of three games in the series tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m.