DAVIDSON 12, HOLY CROSS 10
DAVIDSON, N.C. ? Sophomore second baseman Zach Kayne blasted two home runs, including a grand slam, and the Wildcats scored four in the eighth inning to steal a 12-10 victory from Holy Cross on Wednesday afternoon at Wilson Field. Davidson (9-2) has won four games this year despite allowing at least 10 runs in those contests, while the Crusaders (1-8) lost its eighth straight game since opening the season with a victory at Lamar.
Kayne’s first long ball came leading off the fourth, leaving the Wildcats down two runs at 6-4. Holy Cross got a two-out, RBI single by Joe Moore in the fifth, then Davidson loaded the bases in the bottom half on three consecutive two-out singles. That brought Kayne to the plate, and he sent the first pitch over the fence in right-center for an 8-7 Wildcat lead. It was the first grand slam for the ’Cats since Gregory Zage hit one barely more than a year ago.
The Crusaders responded in the seventh, tying the game on a triple by Mat Perron, who went 4-for-5, then taking the 9-8 lead when Perron raced home on a wild pitch
Davidson trailed 10-8 in the eighth after Andrew Tenaglia’s deep fly to right caromed off the glove of sprawling right fielder Blake Osborn and over the fence for a solo home run, the first of the year for Tenaglia. But in the bottom half of the frame, the ’Cats mounted a rally without the aid of even a single hit. Senior Alden Crissey drew a lead-off walk and went to second on a wild pitch. On the 14th pitch of senior Rob Wilson’s at-bat, the senior from Charlotte hit a deep fly to right-center, only to see right fielder Norm Roth make an outstanding diving catch to rob Wilson of extra bases. Crissey did tag, giving Davidson a man on third with one out.
After senior Gregory Zage was hit by a pitch, Holy Cross called upon reliever Mike Miller (0-1) to quell the uprising. But Miller’s control was not sharp, walking senior Blake Osborn, then hitting Chris FitzPatrick in the helmet to force in a run. In from the bullpen trotted Mike Thater, who induced J.P. Craven to hit a hard double-play grounder right to short ? only the ball went through the shortstop’s legs, allowing two runs to score for an 11-10 Wildcat lead. Chase FitzPatrick drove in the fourth run with a fly ball to right, scoring his twin brother from third.
Sophomore Matt Webb moved from short to the mound and pitched a scoreless ninth for his fourth save.
The Crusaders jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first, highlighted by RBI doubles by Brendan Akashian and Tenaglia. The four-run advantage was trimmed to one after Davidson finished its first turn at the plate, getting RBI singles from Zage, Chris FitzPatrick and Craven.
In the third, Holy Cross scored twice more on another run-scoring double by Tenaglia and a Kyle Lister sacrifice fly.
Junior Bobby DeMuro (2-1) picked up the win for the Wildcats, although he gave up a total of three runs in the seventh and eighth innings.
The freshman Craven led Davidson with his first career three-hit game, driving in two runs and scoring another. Kayne finished the game 2-for-5 with his two bombs, plus had five RBIs. The Wildcat lead-off hitter now leads the team with four home runs and 18 RBIs in just 11 games. Webb and Osborn did not record a hit for the first time this season, ending their 10-game hitting streaks.
Holy Cross out-hit Davidson, 17-10, led by Perron with four safeties and Tenaglia, who was 3-for-5 with two doubles, a homer and three RBIs. Six Crusaders had at least two hits.
EAST TENNESSEE STATE 13, APPALACHIAN STATE 12
JOHNSON CITY, TENN. -- Appalachian State University baseball squandered a six-run ninth-inning lead and dropped a heart-breaking 13-12, 11-inning decision to East Tennessee State on Wednesday evening at Cardinal Park. All six runs in the bottom of the ninth were unearned due to three Appalachian errors.
ASU (8-5) scored four times in the top of the first and never trailed until Justin Tramble’s RBI single gave ETSU (10-5) the improbable victory in the bottom of the 11th.
Isaac Harrow’s two-run double and Chris Baker’s run-scoring single were the Mountaineers’ only hits in the four-run first, but the Apps benefited from two walks and a hit batter to take the early advantage. Buccaneer starter Ryan Howe faced just five batters before being removed from the contest.
Appalachian’s advantage dwindled to one run on two occasions, but another four-run frame in the seventh gave it a seemingly comfortable 11-6 lead. In the top of the ninth, ASU put what appeared to be an insurance run on the board, giving it a six-run lead heading into the bottom of the stanza.
After Aubrey Edens retired the first batter he faced in the bottom of the ninth, things began to unravel for the Mountaineers. The Bucs’ rally began with an error by ASU third baseman Nick DeRose. Two singles and a walk later, with ETSU still trailing by five runs, Bubba Herbold hit a sharp grounder to second baseman Wes Hobson for a tailor-made, game-ending double-play ball. However, Hobson’s throw to second base sailed wide of the bag and into left field, allowing two runs to score and cut the Mountaineer advantage to 12-9.
One batter later, Baker committed the Apps’ third error of the inning when he misplayed a single to center field and the ball rolled all the way to the wall. The miscue allowed both runners on base to score and put the tying run on third. ETSU’s Michael Courtney sent the game to extra innings with a sacrifice fly to left field.
ASU reliever Zach Quate (0-1) wasn’t able to retire any of the three batters he faced in the 11th and suffered the loss. East Tennessee ace Caleb Glafenhein didn’t surrender an earned run in three innings out of the bullpen to move to 5-0 on the campaign.
Jason Altenhof led the Apps’ 17-hit attack with a 4-for-6, three-RBI effort. Hobson chipped in with three hits and a game-high four RBI. In all, eight different Mountaineers collected hits as they scored in double figures for the eighth time in 13 games this season.
The four-hour-and-10-minute affair was ASU’s longest since a 17-16 win at Winthrop in 2002 that took 4:53 to play.
Appalachian will look to bounce back from the disappointing loss when it hosts a three-game series with Fairleigh Dickinson this weekend at L.P. Frans Stadium in Hickory. The weekend set opens with a Saturday doubleheader beginning at noon.
GEORGIA STATE 7, FURMAN 3
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Charlie Pelt went 3-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs to lead Georgia State to a 7-3 win over Furman in baseball action Wednesday evening at Furman Stadium.
With the win, Georgia State improves to 9-7. Furman, meanwhile, falls to 3-7 on the campaign.
Georgia State starting pitcher Drew Grant (1-0) picked up the win after working into the fifth inning before departing with a 7-1 lead. He yielded three hits and a run while striking out three and walking four.
Marc DeDecker (0-1) was charged with the loss after going just 1 2/3 innings and surrendering seven hits and seven runs, only two of which were earned.
After Furman took a 1-0 lead in the first on a Will Stembridge double and RBI single by Bobby Hubbard, Georgia State used a pair of hits and two Paladin errors to score three unearned runs in the third to for a 3-1 advantage. Pelt’s single through the right side off DeDecker plated Jean-Michel Rochon-Salvas for the frame’s third run.
The Panthers tacked on four more in the fourth, combining five hits with another Paladin error, to stretch the lead to 7-1. Chase Childers led off with a double and scored on a triple to right field by Michael McCree, who came on a Bradley Logan sacrifice fly. Dusty Bennett followed with a single and later scored on a throwing error by Furman third baseman Bobby Hubbard. Pelt finished off the rally with an RBI single that scored Rochon-Salvas.
Furman loaded the bases with one no outs in the seventh but managed to score only one run on a Joe Daysh groundout before a double play ended the threat.
Both teams collected 10 hits. Led at the plate by Tony Maccani’s 3-for-4 performance, the Paladins stranded 12 runners in the contest.
MERCER 13, WESTERN CAROLINA 10
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Mercer plated 10 runs in the top of the fourth inning to erase a 3-1 Western Carolina lead, and then held the Catamounts off over the final five frames to earn the 13-10 win in non-conference action Wednesday afternoon at Childress Field/Hennon Stadium. WCU pounded out a season-high 20 base hits, but also stranded 15 base runners including leaving the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth.
After surrendering the lead with 10 runs in the fourth, Western (7-5) countered with six runs in the home half of the frame. Junior Steven Strausbaugh opened up the frame by lining a full count pitch up the middle to put one on for senior Kenny Smith. The Asheville, N.C., native delivered his team-leading fifth home run to left center to pull WCU back within six, 11-5. Junior Barrett Shaft drew a one-out walk and had moved into scoring position on a wild pitch before freshman Nick Liles laced a double to center field to score Shaft.
With two away in the inning and Liles on third, junior Blake Murphy walked in front of senior John Ingram, who singled through the left side to score Liles and making it 11-6. Strausbaugh, batting for the second time in the fourth, drew a bases loaded walk for an RBI, with Smith delivering a two-out single to short to score the sixth and final run, slicing the deficit to just two, 11-9.
All told in the fourth, the two squads combined for 16 runs on 14 hits and left a combined four runners on base.
Mercer (11-7) stretched its lead back to four in the sixth inning with a two run homer. Murphy posted back-to-back outs for the Catamounts, gunning down two would-be base stealers at second to put two away. Third baseman, Liles, was charged with just his fourth error of the season on a hard hit ball that skipped off his shoulder to keep the inning alive for the Bears' Steven Karwatt, who hit a two-run homer over the left field fence. Murphy did record the final out of the inning, catching a foul ball near the backstop screen to retire the side.
The Catamounts added a run in the eighth as Smith doubled down the left field line and scored on an RBI single by pinch hitter Andy John to close to within three, 13-10.
In the ninth, against Mercer's top closer Cory Gearrin, Western loaded the bases but could not push a run across. Gearrin, who had only allowed seven walks versus 23 strikeouts in just over 12 innings of work this season, offered back-to-back free passes to Liles and junior Jonathan Greene to put two on with nobody out. However, the junior from Dayton, Tenn., tallied two consecutive strikeouts before allowing a third base runner, senior Donnie Wilson, on a third base on balls.
Yet, Gearrin managed to pitch out of trouble, inducing a fly ball to center field to earn his fifth save of the season.
WCU starter Tyler Johnson (0-2) suffered his second defeat of the year, tossing three complete innings before being lifted in the top of the fourth inning after facing five batters without recording an out. Johhson allowed six earned runs on five hits, striking out and walking two. Reliever Ryne Nelson entered the game with the bases loaded, surrendering a three-RBI double to left center on a 1-2 pitch that cleared the bases. He finished with one inning pitched, giving up five earned runs and striking out one.
The remainder of the Catamount bullpen, including freshman Daniel Ottone, sophomore Bryan Corbett, and junior Andrew Larrimore, combined to hold Mercer to two runs on just five hits over the final five innings.
A trio of Catamounts finished 4-for-5 on the day as Shaft, Liles and Smith each racked up four hits. Shaft scored three runs with Liles and Smith each touching the dish twice and the latter recording a team-high three RBI. Murphy finished 2-for-4 with a walk and his third double of the season, also driving in two.
For Mercer, right-hander Andy Campbell earned his second victory on the season, pitching an inning and a third of scoreless relief. Karwatt tallied a game-high five RBI on a 3-for-5 day at the plate. He, along with designated hitter Tyler Brown were the lone Bears with more than two hits.