WOFFORD 9, UNC GREENSBORO 8
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? Michael Gilmartin drove in a career-high five RBIs, including a go-ahead three-run homer in the seventh inning, to power Wofford to a 9-8 win over UNC Greensboro in the series finale Sunday afternoon at Russell C. King Field.
Gilmartin went 2-for-5 in the game with a two-run single and a seventh inning three-run homer that broke a 6-6 tie and gave the Terriers the lead for the remainder of the game. He also contributed two runs and was part of two of Wofford’s three double plays in the game.
Gilmartin’s go-ahead homer in the seventh came after UNC Greensboro scored four runs in the top of the sixth with a grand slam to tie the game at 6-6. The Spartans led 2-0 through the first three innings before Wofford took a 6-2 lead after putting together a six-run fourth inning that featured eight hits, including Gilmartin’s two-run single. Scott Schneider’s two-out grand slam in the sixth would tie the game at 6-6 before Gilmartin’s homer put the Terriers ahead by three.
UNC Greensboro (21-19, 8-7) took the first lead of the game on an RBI single from Schneider. Schneider laced a ground ball down the right field line to drive in Ricky Orton from second base after Orton led off the inning with a double. Terrier second baseman Eric Sturkie would get pitcher Zack Parmer out of the inning after turning a double play on a ground ball hit to Gilmartin at shortstop.
Spartan second baseman Tim Carrier drove in another run with an RBI single in the third to give UNC Greensboro a temporary 2-0 advantage. Carrier’s base hit up the middle scored Corey Overholtzer from second base after the right fielder doubled earlier in the inning. Parmer would escape the inning with minimal damage, however, as Gilmartin turned a second double play after catching a line drive and firing to first baseman Adam Wood in time to catch Carrier, who left the base early on the line drive.
Wofford (20-21, 4-11) put up six runs in the bottom of the fourth after batting around to take a 6-2 lead. The Terriers strung together five straight singles to begin the inning, and added three more after a sacrifice bunt from Sturkie. After third baseman Brandon Waring began the rally with a base hit to left-center field, Keith Munns drove in the SoCon Player of the Year candidate with another base knock through the left side. Outfielder Emre Caglayan followed with another single, and Adam Wood drove in Munns and John Brandt with a single up the middle. Sturkie then laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance runners to second and third, and Gilmartin sent them home with a single to left field. Sterling Dye would then drive in Gilmartin with another RBI single to cap the six-run rally.
The Wofford lead was short-lived, however, as Schneider blasted a two-out grand slam in the top of the sixth to tie the game at 6-6. Schneider’s bomb came with a 1-2 count and two outs on the board, and drove in Carrier, Matt Gaski and Sean Snell. After the blast, Wofford called on Adam Kearney to relieve Parmer, and Kearney pitched the final 3 1/3 innings to complete the game.
Gilmartin’s three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh broke open the tied game and gave Wofford a 9-6 lead. The Terriers put two runners on base with two outs in the eighth after Caglayan singled to left and Sturkie walked. With two men on, the Spartans made a pitching change in favor of right hander Rob Gilliam, who came in to face Gilmartin. Gilliam made one offering to Gilmartin and it was ripped over the right-center field fence to drive in three runs. The homer was the second of the series for Gilmartin which brings his season total to nine.
With a three run lead in hand, Kearney retired the side in order in the seventh and eighth innings, but the Spartans would mount a small comeback in the ninth. Catcher Adam Deleo received a leadoff walk to open the inning and advanced to second on a throwing error by Kearney on a failed pickoff attempt. Kearney got the next batter to fly out to deep left field, but Deleo tagged up to advance to third. Kearney then forced Overholtzer to ground out to second base on the next at bat, but the out gave Deleo just enough time to cross the plate from third base and narrow the deficit to 9-7. With two outs, nobody on and the top of the Spartan lineup coming to bat, Carrier, Gaski and Guy Welsh strung together three straight singles to narrow the gap to 9-8. Gaski’s base hit up the middle drove in Carrier from second base after the leadoff man advanced from first uncontested on a fielder’s indifference. Kearney would not be denied the win, however, and forced Orton to fly out to end the game and pick up his second win of the season.
Kearney (2-3) allowed two runs on five hits over his 3 1/3 innings pitched. He retired eight straight batters at one point, and struck out three compared to just one walk. Parmer allowed just two runs through the first five innings before allowing the grand slam in the sixth to Schneider. The freshman southpaw struck out three and allowed eight hits.
Greg Martin (1-1) took the loss for UNC Greensboro after allowing the go-ahead runs that scored on Gilmartin’s home run to reach base in the seventh.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN 16, APPALACHIAN STATE 10
BOONE, N.C. ― Georgia Southern erased a 9-1 deficit with 15-straight runs and went on to hand Appalachian State University baseball a 16-10 setback on Sunday afternoon at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
With two-straight losses after a series opening victory on Friday, Appalachian (22-19, 9-9 SoCon) squandered an opportunity to win a series over Georgia Southern (22-22, 5-10 SoCon) for the first time since GSU joined the Southern Conference in 1992.
It appeared that the Mountaineers were well on their way to an easy victory when they scored three runs in the first inning and six more in the second to open up a 9-1 lead. Tom Prosser’s (Etowah, Tenn./McMinn Central) RBI triple in the first and home runs from David Rubinstein (Charlotte, N.C./South Mecklenburg) and Isaac Harrow (Hickory, N.C./Hickory) in the second were the biggest of the Apps’ 10 hits in the first two frames.
However, Georgia Southern chipped ASU’s deficit to 9-7 with five runs in the top of the third inning and a single tally in the fourth. Appalachian clung to the two-run lead until the sixth, when GSU exploded for its second five-run stanza of the game to take its first lead at 12-9. The Eagles tacked on four more runs in the seventh to stretch their advantage to 16-9.
Jerod Faggart (Concord, N.C./Northwest Cabarrus) put the Mountaineers in double-digits for the 13th time this season with a two-out homer in the bottom of the ninth, but it was too little, too late, as the Apps dropped their third-consecutive SoCon series. Each of the last two series setbacks came after the Mountaineers won the first game of the weekend.
Designated hitter Kyle Blackburn spearheaded Georgia Southern’s rally with a pair of home runs that traveled approximately 800 feet in total distance. He finished the afternoon 2-for-5 with five RBI and three runs scored. First baseman Will Southwell led all players with three hits.
The first five hitters in ASU’s lineup ― Jason Altenhof (Santa Fe, Fla./Santa Fe), Prosser, Rubinstein, Andrew Franco (Niceville, Fla./Niceville) and Harrow ― collected two hits apiece, but just one of those came after the second inning. Rubinstein registered four RBI and Harrow drove in three.
After the Eagles first two pitchers surrendered nine runs in the first 1.1 innings of the contest, four relievers combined to hold the Mountaineers to just one run on five hits in the final 7.2 frames. On the other hand, the Eagles reached four of the Apps’ five hurlers for at least two runs apiece.
WESTERN CAROLINA 5, ELON 4
CULLOWHEE, N.C. ? Western Carolina freshman shortstop Brent Greer collected his second home run in as many games, wrapping up a 2-for-3 performance with a lead-off, walk-off home run over the tallest section of the “Purple Monster” in left field to provide the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning as the Catamounts swept the Elon Phoenix with a 5-4 victory Sunday afternoon at Childress Field/Hennon Stadium.
Greer scored three of WCU’s five runs in the victory, finishing with two walks and a pair of RBI at the plate and six put outs with two assists in the field The freshman from Manassas, Va., also hit the game-tying home run on Saturday evening in the bottom of the ninth to help WCU win the series over the Phoenix.
Western (27-12, 11-4 SoCon) posted its 13th victory in its last 14 games ? its longest such streak since winning 17-of-18 back in 1994 ? completing its third conference series sweep of the year (The Citadel, Davidson and Elon). The Catamounts have also posted their best record through 39 games since the 1998 season when they opened 29-10. Sunday also marked the first time since 2005 that Elon has suffered a SoCon series sweep as the Phoenix dropped three-straight to Western in Cullowhee and to the College of Charleston that season.
Reliever Greg Holland, who came into the game in the top of the ninth in relief of freshman Chris Masters, was vying for his SoCon-leading eighth save of the season, but ran into trouble. After allowing a lead-off single by catcher Drew Davis, the Marion, N.C., native recorded back-to-back outs on a sacrifice bunt ground out to first and a swinging strikeout of Chris Dove. With two gone, Jordy Snyder singled to right field on an 0-1 pitch to score pinch-runner, Matt Hill, from second to tie the game at four. Holland allowed a walk to Pat Irvine before ending the threat with his second strikeout of the game.
In the Elon 10th, Holland retired the first two batters before issuing a pair of two-out walks sandwiched around a single up the middle to load the bases. However, Dove flew out to right field to end the threat, stranding three, setting up Greer’s heroics in the bottom of the frame.
Holland (4-2) recorded his third victory of the series on Sunday, lasting two complete innings while giving up one earned run on three hits with three walks and two strikeouts. WCU starter, Corey Martin, went five solid innings on Sunday, allowing three earned runs on six hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Senior Tyler Johnson, who took over for classmate Brock Thornburg in the sixth inning, finished out two solid frames of work, scattering two hits in shutout relief. Masters finished off the eighth in two pitches, giving way to Holland who went the remainder.
The Phoenix (22-20, 11-7 SoCon) again jumped out in front first, capitalizing on back-to-back walks and a fielder’s choice to put runners at the corners in the top of the third before Jordy Snyder fouled out to left field for a sacrifice, bringing Davis to the plate for the 1-0 Elon lead. Western answered in similar fashion, however, in the bottom of the fourth as Greer led off with a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. Junior Steven Strausbaugh advanced the freshman to third with a long fly ball out to right before a sacrifice fly by junior Jonathan Greene scored Greer to tie the game at one.
In the fourth and fifth innings, Elon put runners at the corners with one out, but consecutive 4-6-3 double-play ground outs erased the threat. WCU did likewise in the bottom of the fifth, putting runners at the corners on a walk by freshman Nick Liles and a successfully executed a one-out hit-and-run by junior Blake Murphy. However, the Phoenix turned two across the infield to end the threat.
Elon pushed across two runs in the sixth to reclaim the advantage, 3-1, but the Catamounts retaliated with a two-spot of its own in the bottom of the frame to again tie the game. Shaft opened the inning with single up the middle that skipped between the legs of Phoenix starter, Zach Booker. Greer walked to put two on in front of Strausbaugh, who laid down the sacrifice bunt to move the two runners into scoring position. With two out and Elon threatening to strand more Catamount base runners, Smith laced a 2-1 pitch through the right side allowing both Shaft and Greer to score, tying the game at three.
An inning later, Western took its first lead of the game, rallying with two-outs in the seventh. Pinch hitter, Adam Baker, reached on a field error by Phoenix short stop, Snyder, before being lifted for Dylan de Graaf as a pinch runner. Shaft drew a two-out walk to chase Elon starter, Zach Booker who finished with six and two-thirds innings with four runs allowed, three earned, on four hits with four walks and four K’s. On the second pitch from reliever Daniel Britt, Greer lined a single into center field to drive in the go-ahead run in the form of de Graaf, giving WCU the 4-3 lead to set up the final frames.
Britt (0-1) gave up two base hits ? both to Greer ? including the game-winning home run while also allowing the inherited runner, de Graaf, to score.
All told, Elon stranded 12 base runners after out hitting WCU, 12-to-6, while the Catamounts left half as many on base, 6.
THE CITADEL 9, DAVIDSON 4
DAVIDSON, N.C. ? Chris Swauger's sacrifice fly in the seventh inning busted up a 4-4 stalemate and proved to be the winning run in The Citadel's 9-4 win over the Davidson Wildcats on Sunday afternoon at Wilson Field, as the Bulldogs claimed their first Southern Conference series victory at Wilson Field since 1999.
The beneficiary of Swauger's RBI, Jamie Maxwell (1-1) picked up his first win of the season on the hill for the Bulldogs with two innings of one-hit ball. Thomas Middour (4-5) took the loss for the 'Cats, allowing five runs on 13 hits in 6 1/3 innings.
The Citadel (24-15, 8-7) collected 19 hits, paced by third baseman Matt Arnold (3-for-5, 2 RBI), second baseman Bryan Altman (3-for-5, RBI) and first baseman Zach Brown (3-for-5, RBI). First baseman Alden Crissey led the 'Cats (17-24, 6-12) going 2-for-5 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored.
The Citadel reached the scoreboard first, as Arnold singled to lead off the inning and bumped around on a sac bunt and base hit before scoring an the RBI-groundout by catcher Sid Fallaw. A fielding error by third baseman Graham Chapman at the hot corner gave the 'Dogs a second run in the inning, as Fallow crossed the plate to give his team a 2-0 lead.
The Bulldogs added another run in the third, as the two-out RBI single of center fielder Chance Smith drove in first baseman Zach Meade, who led off the inning with a double down the left field line.
The Citadel got another run in the fourth behind three consecutive one-out singles. A base knock from Brown followed Swauger and right fielder Sonny Meade to send in a run and give the Bulldogs a 4-0 lead through four.
With Middour settling in, Davidson got on the board in the bottom of the inning, when left fielder Gregory Zage got his 10th double and designated hitter Rob Wilson followed with his 30th RBI of the season.
The Wildcats added three runs in the fifth to knot the score. To open the frame, second baseman Zach Kayne reached safely on a throwing error by Citadel shortstop Kyle Jordan and took second on shortstop Matt Webb's single through the right side. Crissey sent a 1-1 pitch into left field to plate Kayne and push Webb to second, before Zage just missed his 11th home run of the season. Yet, he gave the pitch enough of a ride to allow Webb to move up a base and chase starter Chris McGuiness from the game in favor of reliever Raymond Copenhaver.
Copenhaver got a rude welcome to the game, as his second pitch was wild to the backstop and allowed Webb to post the 'Cats second run of the inning. Crissey moved into scoring position, and after Wilson drew a free pass, scored the tying run when right fielder Blake Osborn sent a 2-1 offering, but the 'Cats ended the inning with two on.
Effective through six innings, Middour got into trouble in the seventh and, after allowing back-to-back one-out one-baggers to Fallaw and Jordan, was lifted in favor of rightie Sean Lennox. Altman knocked his third hit of the day to juice the bases, and Swauger's sacrifice fly to center field gave the Bulldogs a lead they would not relinquish. Lennox got Meade to fly out and end the inning with a pair of runners stranded, but the 'Cats went scoreless the rest of the way.
The Citadel added three insurance runs in the eighth and another in the ninth for the final 9-4 margin.
FURMAN 12, COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 10
CHARLESTON, S.C. --- Connor Lind scored the go-ahead run in the 12th inning on a throwing error as Furman rallied from a 9-3 deficit to edge 30th-ranked College of Charleston, 12-10, in the finale of its Southern Conference three-game series before 711 at Patriots Point Field.
The Paladins, who scratched for two runs in the ninth to tie the game, improved to 12-28 overall and 7-11 in league play. Charleston, which lost for the first time in nine leagues games at home, fell to 31-10 and 12-3. The Cougars took two-of-three games in the series.
In the decisive 12th, Lind led off with a walk and moved to second on a bunt single to first base by Marcus Rose. Bobby Hubbard bounced to second with Charleston second baseman tagging Rose for the first out, but his throw to first to complete the double play sailed into the Cougar dugout allowing Lind to score to give the Paladins an 11-10 lead. Jay Jackson followed with an RBI single to left that scored Hubbard for a 12-10 advantage.
The Paladins used four walks and a wild pitch to score twice in the ninth and erase a 10-8 Charleston lead. After three consecutive walks to start the ninth, Charleston got a double play that allowedTony Maccani to score to make it a 10-9 game. But, Cougar relief pitcher Mike Lynn uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Joe Daysh to score to send the game into extra innings.
Furman’s relief corp of Matt Klinker and Nick Hollstegge silenced the Cougars over the final 9 2/3 innings. Klinker entered in the third inning and allowed only one run on four hits with six strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings. Hollstege (1-5), who picked up the win, blanked Charleston on just two hits over the final four frames. Curtis Dowling (2-1) allowed two runs, one earned, over the final two innings in suffering the loss.
The Cougars built a 9-3 lead after three innings. Michael Harrington’s two-run homer to right in the first gave Charleston a 2-0 lead. After the Paladins scored three times to take a 3-2 lead heading into the bottom of the second, Charleston answered with three runs highlighted by Campbell’s two-run double to right. Alex Garabedian’s two-run homer to left and Campbell’s two-run single to center in the third gave Charleston a six run lead. The Cougars could only muster a baseball loaded walk in the sixth the rest of the way.
The Paladins got a run in the fourth and a two-run homer to left by Joe Daysh in the fifth that cut Charleston’s lead to 9-6. Joey Rodgers’ two-run double with two outs in the seventh got the Paladins to within 10-8.