DAVIDSON 6, THE CITADEL 4
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? Matt Webb knocked in what proved to be the game-winner in the seventh and earned his seventh save of the season as Davidson posted a 6-4, come-from-behind victory over The Citadel in Southern Conference baseball action Friday night at Wilson Field. The Wildcats posted five runs in the seventh and eighth innings to overcome a two-run deficit.
The Citadel (22-15, 6-7 SoCon) took the early lead as senior first baseman Zach Brown doubled down the right field line to begin the second and eventually came in to score on a line drive to left field by junior third baseman Matt Arnold.
Davidson (17-22, 6-10 SoCon) evened the score in the bottom half of the frame as Zage notched a lead-off single, stole second and ended up at third after freshman catcher Matt Reifsnider was charged with a passed ball on ball four to Rob Wilson. Bulldog starter Wes Wrenn induced a double-play ball from Blake Osborn, allowing Zage to sprint home.
Freshman designated hitter Richard Jones recaptured the lead for the Bulldogs with a two-run shot over the right field fence in the sixth to make it 3-1. Brown reached on a fielder’s choice and scored on the round-tripper. Jones has registered a home run in each of The Citadel’s last three weekend series, including a grand slam against Wofford and Appalachian State.
Wrenn cruised through the sixth enjoying the two-run lead as he only allowed one unearned run on four hits. The right-hander ran into trouble in the seventh as Davidson notched back-to-back singles to begin the frame. The Wildcats then loaded the bases as Brown fielded a bunt and fired the ball to third but did not get it there in time, allowing all runners to reach safely. A passed ball by Reifsnider allowed the first run to score before Zach Kayne cleared the bases with a two-bagger. Jamie Maxwell took over on the hill and forced a groundout before giving way to Raymond Copenhaver. Matt Webb greeted Copenhaver with an RBI-triple to cap off the four-run seventh for Davidson.
The Citadel put runners on the corners on one out in the eighth thanks to a pair of singles by sophomore right fielder Sonny Meade and Brown. Davidson starter Rob Wilson, who tossed 7.1 frames, yielded to Matt Webb who forced a foul out and groundout to end the Bulldog threat.
Gregory Zage tacked on an insurance run in the eighth as he led off the frame with a solo home run to right center. The Bulldogs were able to push across a run in the ninth on a two-out, RBI-single off the bat of freshman second baseman Bryan Altman, but the scoring ended there with the final, 6-4.
Wrenn (3-4) suffered the loss for the Dogs as he tossed 6.1 innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on seven hits while striking out three and walking two. Wilson (2-5) was credited with the win as he went 7.1 frames, allowing three runs on six hits while fanning three and not allowing a single walk.
Meade and Brown paced the Bulldogs at the plate with two hits each, while Jones collected two RBI on the night. Zage and Blake Osborn led the Wildcats as they both batted 3-for-4 in the contest.
WESTERN CAROLINA 4, ELON 2
CULLOWHEE, N.C. ? After surrendering a one-run lead in the top of the eighth inning, Western Carolina rallied with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame and reliever Greg Holland worked a one-two-three top of the ninth as the Catamounts upended the Elon Phoenix, 4-2, in game one of a three-game Southern Conference series Friday night at Childress Field/Hennon Stadium.
Starting pitcher, junior Tyler Sexton (6-0), worked seven innings before running into trouble in the eighth and was unable to earn his seventh victory of the season. Instead, Holland (2-2) worked the final two frames to pick up his second win this year, facing the minimum in hitless, scoreless relief.
Sexton pitched a gem for the Catamounts, which won for the 11th-time in its past 12 games. The High Point, N.C., native only gave up two unearned runs on five base hits with five strikeouts versus no walks.
Junior Steven Strausbaugh led the Catamounts at the plate, raising his seasonal batting average by 17 points with a perfect 3-for-3 outing and two runs scored, including the game-winner. Freshman Nick Liles collected his sixth double of the season in the lone extra base hit of the game.
After allowing the game’s second unearned run in the top of the eighth, Western rallied in the home portion to reclaim the lead. Strausbaugh led off with a single to right field, hammering an 0-2 curve ball before advancing to second when the right-fielder, Ryan Addison, bobbled the all. Junior Jonathan Greene was hit by a pitch to put two aboard before senior Kenny Smith laid down a sacrifice bunt that advanced the runners to second and third.
With two on and no outs, Elon (22-18, 11-5 SoCon) intentionally walked senior John Ingram to load the bases. Then, after two fastball swinging strikes to the WCU designated hitter, Andy John, Phoenix starter, Steven Hensley, plunked John to drive in the go-ahead run in the form of Strausbaugh. The next batter, Liles, grounded out to the third baseman on a ball hit slowly along the infield which allowed Greene to score for the 4-2 advantage.
In the ninth, Holland induced a pop-fly and two ground outs to the left side of the infield against the two, three and four hitters in the Phoenix lineup to earn the victory.
In addition to the play of Strausbaugh and pitching of Sexton, Western’s defense shown through in the tight, nip-and-tuck game. The Catamounts managed a pair of double-plays in the win, both coming after Elon had managed to put their lead-off man aboard.
Western opened scoring in the bottom of the third as freshman Brent Greer led off with a single to left field before advancing to third on a ground out and fly out by juniors Barrett Shaft and Blake Murphy, respectively. The Manassas, Va., native touched home for the first run on an RBI single up the middle by Strausbaugh.
Elon tied the game in the top of the sixth, capitalizing on a one-out WCU throwing error before Sexton picked off a base runner and struck out the next batter to retire the side. The Catamounts, though, responded with a single run in the bottom of the inning, missing out on an opportunity to blow the game open. Three-consecutive singles by Strausbaugh, Greene and Smith ? the latter an infield bunt base hit that allowed Strausbaugh to score from second with nobody out. However, Ingram reached on a fielder’s choice and Greene, who advanced to third on Smith’s bunt, was hung up between third and home for the first out. With two on, Hensley got consecutive ground outs to end the threat after only allowing the one run, setting up the eighth inning heroics.
UNC GREENSBORO 8, WOFFORD 1
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Ryan Falcon held Wofford to one run while scattering five hits over seven complete innings to lead UNC Greensboro to an 8-1 win in the series opener Friday night at Russell C. King Field.
Falcon (4-6) tossed 104 pitches and struck out six batters - one in each of the first six innings - while allowing one walk. He faced only three batters in five of his seven innings.
The Spartan southpaw dueled with Wofford starter Austin Redwine for the first three innings, as Redwine did not allow a hit during the span compared to only one allowed by Falcon. Following a one-out walk in the first, Redwine retired eight straight batters to take a no-hitter into the third inning. The Spartans would finally jump on Wofford's senior right-hander in the fourth inning, however, and scored three runs on four hits, including a two-run homer from third baseman Guy Welsh. Shortstop Matt Gaski led off the fourth inning with an infield single before Welsh drove a 1-0 fastball over the left field fence to give UNC Greensboro a 2-0 lead. First baseman Ricky Orton followed with a double to the left-center gap and scored from second on the next at bat when outfielder Sean Snell singled up the middle.
A two-out RBI single from Terrier designated hitter Keith Munns in the bottom of the third put Wofford on the board and cut the deficit to 3-1. Shane Kirkley was the first Terrier on base in the inning after beating out an infield single to deep shortstop. He advanced to second on a hard-hit line drive by John Brandt that bounced off Falcon's foot for a single and scored on Munns' RBI base hit to left field.
UNC Greensboro added another two-run bomb in the top of the sixth, compliments of outfielder Greg Feltes, to begin a three-run inning that gave the Spartans a 6-1 lead. The blast drove in Welsh who led off with a single to left field. Following the home run, a walk and another base hit to outfielder Sam Snell, Wofford called on Charles Vartanian to take the mound. Vartanian forced two quick outs on a fielder's choice ground ball and an infield popup, but outfielder Corey Overholtzer slapped an RBI double down the left field line to drive in Snell from second base.
The Spartans would add two more runs on back-to-back base hits from Feltes and first baseman Ricky Orton in the seventh to stake an 8-1 lead. Welsh reached base with his third hit of the game and scored from first base on Feltes' double. The run was the third of the game for Welsh, who also added two RBIs in a 3-for-5 outing. With Feltes on second, Orton singled up the middle to drive in Feltes, who scored twice in the game while also contributing three RBIs in a 2-for-4 performance at the plate.
With the lead in hand, the Spartans went to reliever Kory Judd, who held Wofford to two hits over the final two innings. Brandt slammed a two-out double down the left field line in the ninth for his second hit of the game, but the effort was too late for the Terriers, who fell 8-1 in the series opener.
Redwine (4-3) took the loss for Wofford after allowing six runs on eight hits through five complete innings. The start was the 50th of Redwine's career, and the senior ace now trails only Anthony Salley for the school career starts record of 52, set from 1994-97. Vartanian also pitched effectively over the final four innings for the Terriers, allowing only two runs on five hits while striking out two.
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 12, FURMAN 3
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. -- Nick Chigges recorded his 300th career strikeout and Graham Maiden and Ben Lasater homered as 30th-ranked College of Charleston downed Furman, 12-3, in the opener of its three-game Southern Conference series before 738 at Patriots Point Field on Friday.
Charleston improved to 30-9 overall and 11-2 in league play, while the Paladins fell to 11-27 and 6-10. The Cougars reach the 30-win plateau for the sixth consecutive season. The second game of the series is Saturday at 6:00.
Chigges became just the second player in school history to reach 300 strikeouts. Scott Oliver (1996-99) had 341 in his career. Chigges (7-0), who retired 11 in a row and 17 out of 18 batters at one point in the game, picked up the win working eight innings allowing five hits, three runs, one earned, with eight strikeouts. He improved his career record to 27-4 and his career strikeout total to 303. Marc DeDecker (1-3) was the starter and loser for the Paladins.
Maiden capped the Cougars' first inning with a grand slam to right field, his sixth of the season, to stake Charleston to a 5-0 lead.
The Paladins added a pair of unearned runs in the second on a sacrifice fly by Spence Gibbs and a throwing error by Chigges.
Charleston scored three times in the bottom of the second to take an 8-2 lead. Stuart Haywood had an RBI single and later scored on a wild pitch, and Lasater added a run-scoring single to right.
Haywood added another RBI single in the fifth and Joey Bergman a two-run double in the seventh that stretched Charleston's advantage to 11-3. Furman had cut the margin to 9-3 on an RBI single in the top of the seventh by Connor Lind.
Lasater belted his club-leading 11th homer of the season with one out in the eighth, a towering blast to left, for the final margin.
Haywood and Chris Campbell had three hits each and Alex Garabedian two doubles to pace Charleston's 15-hit attack. Jay Jackson and Joey Rodgers had doubles for Furman, which finished with six hits.
APPALACHIAN STATE 10, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 4
BOONE, N.C. ― Matt Andress (Charlotte, N.C./South Mecklenburg) became the first Appalachian State University starter this season to pitch into the ninth inning, as the freshman tossed 8.1 strong innings to lead Appalachian to a 10-4 win over Georgia Southern on Friday afternoon at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
Andress faced the minimum number of batters through 4.2 innings and surrendered just one hit to the first 26 GSU batters of the game en route to upping his record to 4-3 on the season. He retired the first batter in all nine innings out and sat down the side in order in the third, fourth, sixth and seventh stanzas.
Andress also received plenty of support from his offense, as the Mountaineers jumped out to a 10-0 lead by scoring in four of the first six innings. Isaac Harrow’s (Hickory, N.C./Hickory) three-run homer in the first got the ball rolling and the Apps went on to tack on four runs in the third, one in the fifth and two more in the sixth to grab the 10-run advantage.
The Mountaineers’ cause was helped by four Eagle errors, including two by shortstop Brian Pierce.
Despite Appalachian’s 12th double-digit scoring output of the season, the story of the day was Andress. His 8.1 innings of work marked the longest outing by an ASU starter this season, besting the eight innings turned in by himself and Garrett Sherrill (Kannapolis, N.C./A.L. Brown) in wins over Fairleigh Dickinson in early March. In all, the freshman surrendered four runs on four hits (all four runs and three of the hits coming in the eighth and ninth innings) and struck out four. He threw 73 of his season-high 134 pitches for strikes.
Harrow led the Mountaineers’ 11-hit effort with a 2-for-4, three-run, three-RBI performance. First baseman David Towarnicky (New Bern, N.C./New Bern) also banged out a pair of hits, including an RBI double in the fifth, and left fielder Tom Prosser (Etowah, Tenn./McMinn Central) capped the ASU scoring with a two-run triple in the sixth. All nine Mountaineers in the starting lineup contributed at least one hit and seven of the nine scored.
Nobody in Georgia Southern’s lineup managed more than one hit.