APPALACHIAN STATE 10, WOFFORD 9 (10 inn.)
HICKORY, N.C. ? David Rubinstein knocked in the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning to lead Appalachian State to a 10-9 win over Wofford in the series finale Sunday afternoon at L.P. Frans Stadium.
Rubinstein’s RBI single capped a two-run 10th inning for Appalachian State (14-11, 4-2) as the Mountaineers rallied twice to overcome an early 6-0 deficit and then a 9-8 deficit in the final inning. Rubinstein drove in the winning run, but the comeback was made possible by Jason Rook who came off the bench to drive in six runs with two home runs. Rook’s first blast brought Appalachian State within two runs, and his second shot ? a three-run homer in the eighth inning ? gave the Mountaineers an 8-7 lead, their first of the game.
Wofford got on the board quickly and held the lead until the bottom half of the eighth. John Brandt gave the Terriers an early 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the first inning. With two outs and runners on first and second, Brandt slapped a base hit up the middle to drive in Sterling Dye for his 24th RBI of the season.
Wofford (16-10, 0-3) played small ball to put up three more runs in the second. Designated hitter Kyle Behrendt led off with a double down the left field line and catcher Adam Kearney followed with a walk to put runners on first and second. Wofford then strung together three straight runs, the first of which scored when pitcher Aubrey Edens overthrew his first baseman on a sacrifice bunt by Terrier outfielder Emre Caglayan, allowing Behrendt to score and Kearney to reach third. Kearney scored on the next at bat as Michael Gilmartin hit a groundball to Mountaineer shortstop Jason Altenhof, who hesitated before trying to throw out Caglayan at third, allowing the Wofford speedster to beat the throw. Wofford capped the rally as Dye beat out a bunt single down the first base line to score Caglayan.
Appalachian State called on reliever Jonathan Reeder in the third after Edens walked Brandt to open the inning, and Wofford pounded out two hits against the right-hander for another run. Brandt advanced on a Behrendt single and scored from second on a tweener through the right side by Caglayan.
The Terriers continued to hammer Reeder in the fourth and scored another run to go up 6‑0 after second baseman Shane Kirkley sent a solo shot over the left field fence. The blast was the first of two in the game for Kirkley and his third in the last five games.
Two hit batters and a base hit by Altenhof loaded the bases with one out for Appalachian State in the fourth, but Wofford starter Zack Parmer kept his cool and allowed only one run to score. Terrier left fielder Chuck Eller came up firing to home on a potential sacrifice fly to keep the runners at bay and save a run, but a wild pitch on the next at bat allowed the Mountaineers to cut the lead to 6-1.
Wofford went to reliever Lance Player in the fifth to escape a no-out bases loaded jam. The senior right-hander was effective, allowing only one run to cross as Jerod Faggart scored on a fielders choice. Player needed only 10 pitches to get three straight outs and escape the jam.
Wofford reclaimed a five-run lead in the next half inning as Waring led off the sixth with a single and scored on a fielders choice groundball from Behrendt. With two hits in Sunday’s game, Waring extends his hitting streak to eight games.
Terrier reliever Tom Dolinak brought Wofford out of a potential game-tying situation in the sixth after escaping a bases loaded no-out jam without allowing a run. The Mountaineers loaded the bases on two hit batters and a single before Wofford called on Dolinak. The freshman right-hander responded by getting three outs in two at bats, forcing a fly ball and a ground ball double play to escape the inning.
The Mountaineers bats could not be held down for long, however, as a two-run blast in the seventh by Jason Rook put Appalachian State within two runs to begin five-run comeback.
Rook slammed another bomb in the bottom half of the eighth, a three-run shot to right field, to give Appalachian State an 8-7 lead, the first of the game for the Mountaineers. The homer scored Faggart and Altenhof, who reached base on a walk and a single.
Gilmartin kept Wofford’s hopes alive with a two-out solo home run in the top of the ninth off of right-handed Mountaineer ace Garrett Sherrill. Sherrill retired the first two batters before Gilmartin tied the game with his fifth homer of the season.
Wofford seemed poised to earn the win in the tenth as Kirkley put the Terriers on top with a solo shot to left in the tenth, his second of the game and his 10th of the season. Left fielder David Rubinstein made a leaping grab for the ball at the fence, but could not hold on as the ball bounced out of his glove to clear the fence.
Wofford’s lead was short-lived, however, as Appalachian State strung together two runs in the bottom half of the tenth to complete the late-game comeback. Chris Baker reached base after being hit to lead off the inning and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Altenhof singled to right field to score Baker and advanced to second on the throw to home. Rook was issued an intentional walk to put runners on first and third for Rubinstein, who came through with a base hit to right field to score Altenhof and end the game. Altenhof crossed the plate four times in the game while posting a 2-for-4 outing at the plate.
Gilmartin (0-2) took the loss for Wofford after allowing two runs on two hits in the tenth inning. Sherrill (5-2) took the win for Appalachian State after pitching two innings and allowing two runs on two hits.
DAVIDSON 5, UNC GREENSBORO 4
DAVIDSON, N.C. ? Davidson starter Thomas Middour hurled 6-1/3 innings and allowed four runs on seven hits and struck out a game-high five batters as the Wildcats defeated UNC Greensboro, 5-4, in final game of the three-game series on Sunday afternoon at Wilson Field.
Davidson (15-11, 4-2 SoCon) opened with a two-run first inning. Alden Crissey sent a two-run shot to right-center for his fourth homer of the season. The Wildcats added two more runs in the home half of the third for the 4-0 advantage. Crissey reached on a single to left-center and scored on a Spartan fielding error. Davidson got its final run of the inning on a J.P. Craven RBI single to right.
UNCG (12-11, 1-2 SoCon) answered with four runs in the fourth to tie the game, 4-4. Guy Welsh and Tim Carrier opened up with two-out singles and junior Sean Snell drove them home on a double to left center. Senior Brandon Harvey followed with a two-run blast to left field for his first roundtripper of the season.
With the game still tied at 4-4, Matt Webb gave Davidson the lead for good in the sixth. Craven doubled to right-center and advanced to third on a ground out before Webb sent the game-winning RBI single to left-center.
Webb then tossed a perfect ninth to record his sixth save of the year.
Kory Judd (3-1) took the loss for the Spartans after allowing one run on two hits in an inning of work. Reliever Clinton McKinney struck out a team-high three batters.
Carrier finished 2-for-4 for UNCG, while Snell and Harvey each finished with two RBI a piece.
College of Charleston Scores Three Runs in Final Three Innings to Complete Sweep of WCU, 8-7
Juniors Murphy, Greene combined for five hits and five RBI; Saberhagen goes six solid innings
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 8, WESTERN CAROLINA 7
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? College of Charleston right fielder Gabe Marchant singled through the right side to score Michael Kohn, who drew a leadoff walk to open the ninth inning as the Cougars completed a three-run come-back, sweeping the Southern Conference opening series over Western Carolina with an 8-7 win on Sunday afternoon at Patriots Point. CofC scored three runs over the final three frames to erase WCU’s 7-5 lead to win for the second-time on the weekend in the final inning.
Juniors Jonathan Greene and Blake Murphy led WCU on the afternoon, posting 3-for-5 and 2-for-4 outings, respectively, with Murphy driving in three Greene posting two RBI. A third junior, Barrett Shaft, and senior Kenny Smith were the only other Catamounts to post multiple hit games, each recording two in the loss.
Much like Friday night’s one-run loss, Western (14-10, 0-3 SoCon) took an early lead in the top of the first as junior Blake Murphy ripped a solo home run to left center field to put the Catamounts on top, 1-0. However, the lead was short-lived as the Cougars answered in the bottom of the frame, manufacturing a run to tie the score at one apiece after one.
WCU pulled back in front in the third on what was ruled an RBI double to right field by Greene. On the play, the bloop hit down the line fell between three Cougar players including the eventual hero, Marchant. Shaft, who laced a one-out single to second base, scored on the play from first to give the Catamounts a 2-1 lead.
Yet again, Charleston responded in the home half of the inning as Barrett Kleinknecht turned a lead-off bunt single into a run on a two-out RBI single to left by Chris Campbell to knot things at two.
With two gone and the bases loaded in the top of the fourth, Murphy lined a single up the middle to score two, again thrusting the Catamounts in front, 4-2, scoring designated hitter Tyler Kirkpatrick and freshman third baseman, Nick Liles. Greene’s second RBI base hit, a single to left center, plated the third run of the inning and gave Western a 5-2 lead.
The Cougars would cut the lead back to one in the bottom of the fourth, capitalizing on two hits and a walk to load the bases before back-to-back sacrifice flies scored two runs making it 5-4 after four innings, then tying it with an RBI double by Kohn in the fifth.
Taking advantage of shaky bull pen work for the Cougars, Western was able to reclaim the lead with two runs in the visitor half of the sixth inning. Murphy scored the first run, drawing a walk and moving to second on a single to left by Greene. Then, back-to-back wild pitches by Cougar reliever Brian Schlitter allowed Murphy to move to third and eventually score. A third wild pitch enabled Greene to move from second to third, John Ingram reaching on a fielding error at second, scoring WCU’s final run for a 7-5 lead after five and a half.
Charleston began its three-run rally, though, with two runs in the home half of the seventh. Center fielder Stuart Haywood opened the frame by lacing a sharply hit ball to short where, as it tailed away at the end of its flight, freshman Brent Greer could not come up with the play putting one on with the infield error. The miscue at short chased Catamount starter, Drew Saberhagen, for reliever Greg Holland. CofC used a single and a fielder’s choice ? on a play where WCU nearly turned over a double-play on the middle infield ? to put runners at the corners with two out. A second single and a throwing error by Holland allowed the runs to score for Charleston and tie the game at seven, setting up Marchant’s heroics in the ninth.
Saberhagen went six innings on Sunday allowing six runs, only five of which were earned, on eight hits with a pair of walks and one strikeout. He did not factor in the decision, though, as Holland surrendered the tying and game-winning run in 2.2 innings of work with two walks and one strikeout.
Charleston reliever, Russ Tomlinson, earned the victory in three innings of work, holding Western both hitless and scoreless despite passing out three walks and posting three strikeouts.
FURMAN 6, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 1
STATESBORO, GA. -- Mason Smith hurled seven strong innings and Jay Jackson belted a two-run home run to propel Furman to a 6-1 win over Georgia Southern Sunday afternoon at Clements Stadium.
In notching its fourth consecutive victory, Furman (8-14, 4-2 SoCon) completed the three-game series sweep of Georgia Southern (16-12, 0-3 SoCon) and notched its seventh win in the last eight meetings with the Eagles. The sweep marked the Paladins’ first against the Eagles since taking three games from GSU in Greenville in 1995. Prior to this weekend Furman’s last series sweep of a league foe had come last year when the Paladins took three games from Wofford, and the road sweep was Furman’s first against a SoCon opponent since the Paladins won three straight at Davidson on the final regular season weekend of the 2005 season.
After scoring just 75 runs in its first 18 games, Furman has now registered 37 runs over the last four contests.
Smith (1-4), a junior righthander from Columbia, S.C, allowed only one run on seven hits en route to notching his first win of the 2007 campaign. He walked one and struck out six.
The loss went to John Ducey (3-3), who allowed four runs, only two of which were earned, on six hits over four innings. He struck out two and did not issue a walk.
Jackson’s home run, a two-run blast in the third inning, put Furman ahead for good and capped a strong weekend for the former Christ Church Episcopal standout, who connected on a three-run home run in Friday’s 8-1 win and earned the victory after tossing seven innings in a Saturday’s 9-3 triumph.
Tony Maccani, Marcus Rose, and Joey Rodgers collected two hits each for the Paladins, who had 10 hits in the contest.
Georgia Southern opened the scoring in the second when Jeremiah Parker belted a leadoff home run to centerfield off Smith. Parker’s roundtripper marked the Eagles’ only extra base hit of the game.
Furman answered with two runs in the top of the third with a leadoff single by Paul Ortenzo and Jackson’s two-run home run that gave the Paladins a 2-1 lead.
The Paladins added two more runs in the fourth on an RBI groundout by Ortenzo that plated Tony Maccani and a passed ball that plated Joe Daysh.
An inning later Furman made it 6-1 after Marcus Rose singled with outs and scored on a Bobby Hubbard double. Hubbard later came around to score on a Maccani single.
Smith and Paladin relievers Spencer Hale and Nick Hollstegge limited Georgia Southern to only three hits over the final five frames.
ELON 12, THE CITADEL 8
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? Elon and The Citadel exchanged leads three times to begin the contest, but the Phoenix pulled away with a 12-8 victory to clinch the Southern Conference series Sunday afternoon at Riley Park. The Phoenix were able to score in every inning except for two as they improve to 14-12, 4-2 SoCon and the Bulldogs fall to 16-7, 1-2 SoCon.
Elon took the lead first for the third consecutive game on a Chris Vasami double that plated center fielder Jordy Snyder. The Citadel then went up, 2-0, in their half of the frame as freshman second baseman Bryan Altman scored from second on an errant throw by Elon third baseman Adam Weaver after reaching with a leadoff double. Junior left fielder Chris Swauger, who reached second on Weaver’s error, raced home on a two-bagger down the left field line by sophomore right fielder Sonny Meade. Elon starter Will Romanowicz then retired three straight to get out of the inning.
The Phoenix tied it up in the second as right fielder Ryan Addison notched an infield single, stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch. With two outs and a 0-2 count on the batter, Addison took off for home and beat the throw by Bulldog starter Justin Smith for the score. Left fielder Pat Irvine gave the lead back to Elon in the third with a two-out, solo home run over the right field wall.
Altman belted his second leadoff double in the third off the left field wall and was pushed home on a line drive to left off the bat of Meade to even the game, 3-3. Elon again retaliated with a single run in the fourth on a sac fly by shortstop Chase Austin that gave the advantage back to the Phoenix.
Elon extended their lead to four in the fifth as left fielder Pat Irvine plated two with a hard grounder that got through the right side. Irvine then raced around to score on a double off the left field wall by catcher Drew Davis.
The Citadel loaded the bases in the fifth with one out on singles by freshman Richard Jones, Altman and Swauger. Meade then registered his third RBI of the afternoon with a sac fly to right to send Jones across the dish to make it 7-4.
The Phoenix tacked on four more in the seventh to make it 11-4. Weaver notched a base hit to the gap in left center with one out. Bulldog reliever Chris McGuiness forced Irvine to pop up to second for what seemed to be the second out, but a balk was called prior to the pitch, putting Weaver on second and giving Irvine a second chance. McGuiness then hit Irvine with a pitch before surrendering a double to Vasami that scored both runners. The Dogs then called freshman Raymond Copenhaver to the hill. Davis hit a dribbler back to the mound that Copenhaver picked up and threw away at third, allowing Vasami to race home. Davis moved to third on a single by Addison and was able to score on a blooper off the bat of Melillo that fell into shallow center. Copenhaver then forced to flyouts to end the frame.
The Bulldogs put up two in the eighth as Meade leadoff the frame with a single that was misplayed by Irvine in left, allowing Meade to sprint to second. Meade moved to third on a groundout and then crossed the dish on a base hit through the left side off the bat of Arnold. Ryan Basham entered the game for Elon and walked the first batter he saw before striking out McGuiness. Jones then ripped a base hit back up the middle to plate Arnold. Right-hander Tom Porter then took to the hill for Elon and recorded the final out as he forced a flyout to end the inning.
Elon then added another run on an RBI-groundout by Austin in the ninth before the Dogs tacked on a couple more on a run scoring single by Meade and an RBI-groundout by Brown to make the final 12-8, giving the Phoenix their eighth straight SoCon series victory.
The starters were the pitchers of record for both squads as Romanowicz (3-1) got the win as he tossed 7.3 innings, allowing six runs on 12 hits while striking out three. Smith (4-1) suffered the loss for the Dogs as he went 5.0 frames, allowing seven runs on 10 hits while fanning and walking one.
Meade paced the Dogs at the plate for the second straight day as batted a perfect 4-for-4, including a double and four RBI while also scoring twice. Altman registered three hits of his own, including two doubles and scoring twice.
Addison led the Phoenix batting 4-for-5 and swiping two bags while crossing the plate two times. Vasami and Irvine each collected three RBI for Elon.
The Bulldogs used six pitchers in the affair, with freshman Matt Reifsnider and sophomore Brett Bull being the only two hurlers to not allow a run. The Dogs notched 15 hits to Elon’s 16.