The Citadel Shuts Out Davidson, 7-0, in Single Elimination Round of SoCon Tournament
Charleston, S.C. ? Seventh-seeded The Citadel jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the second and never looked back as they downed No. 10 Davidson, 7-0, in the single-elimination round of the 2007 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament Tuesday afternoon at Riley Park. The Bulldogs will now enter double-elimination play as the seven seed and will face No. 2 Western Carolina on Wednesday, May 23 at 7:30 p.m.
The last time the Bulldogs earned a shutout at Riley Park was in 2006 as they defeated Richmond, 6-0, on Feb. 17. The last time the Dogs earned a shutout in the SoCon Tournament was in 2002 with a 6-0 win over Furman. Davidson has not won a contest at Riley Park in their last 17 games and is 2-26 all-time in Charleston.
Sophomore hurler Wes Wrenn (5-6) turned in a solid performance for the Bulldogs to pick up his fifth win of the year. The right-hander tossed six innings of shutout ball and allowed seven hits while striking out seven and walking four. Davidson managed to get six runners in scoring position, but left 11 stranded in the first six frames.
The Citadel put up six in the second as the Bulldogs ripped seven hits in the frame. Senior first baseman Zach Brown started things off with a single through the right side before freshman catcher Richard Jones crushed his second home run in as many games to put two on the board. Senior right fielder Joe Hoerter smacked an RBI-single to the gap in right center and junior left fielder Chris Swauger blasted a two-run double. Sophomore designated hitter Sonny Meade capped off the scoring as he punched a single through the left side that pushed Swauger across the dish.
The Dogs tacked on the final run in the seventh courtesy of a sac fly off the bat of Brown to end it, 7-0. Davidson left the bases loaded in the sixth and seventh innings as the Wildcats stranded a season-high 16 runners.
Justin Smith, Jamie Maxwell and Raymond Copenhaver combined to hold the Wildcats to only one hit over the last four innings as Copenhaver made his 32nd appearance of 2007, putting him in ninth place in single-season appearances at The Citadel as a freshman.
Four Bulldog batters registered two hits while Jones paced the club with two RBI. Jones’ round-tripper was his 13th of the year, the most ever by a true freshman in a single-season at The Citadel. He is now tied with Brown on the single-season list. Swauger also continues to move up the career doubles chart as he is now tied with Aaron Haigler in sixth place with 51.
Rob Wilson and Chase FitzPatrick led the Davidson offense with two hits each. The Citadel enjoyed 12 hits to Davidson’s eight. The Dogs have hammered out 10 or more hits in 32 of their 56 games this year.
The Citadel (31-25) will return tomorrow, May 23, to face No. 2 Western Carolina (40-16). The Bulldogs are 8-8 versus the Catamounts in tournament play with the Dogs winning the last meeting, 4-2, to eliminate Western from the 2006 SoCon Tournament. The Bulldogs hold a 0-3 record against the Catamounts this season after suffering a sweep in Cullowhee, N.C.
The Bulldogs and Catamounts will face-off for game six of the 2007 Southern Conference Tournament on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Riley Park. Bulldog fans can access all the live action through Bulldog Insider at CitadelSports.com.
Wofford Tops Furman, 5-3, in Baseball Tournament Opener
SLIDESHOW
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Ben Austin hurled seven strong innings and Brandon Waring went 2-for-5 and drove in a pair of runs to propel Wofford to a 5-3 win over Furman in 2007 Southern Conference Tournament first round action Tuesday afternoon at Joseph P. Riley Park.
With the win Wofford (26-31) advances to play tournament No. 1 seed College of Charleston at 1:00 p.m. Wednesday.
The loss ends the season for Furman (19-36).
Austin, a junior right-hander from Chapel Hill, N.C., pitched into the eighth inning to earn the victory and improve to 10-5 on the season. He allowed only one run on five hits over seven innings and walked three while recording four strikeouts.
Waring, a junior third baseman, doubled in a pair of runs in the first inning to help stake Wofford to an early 3-0 lead. After stretching their advantage to 5-0 with a pair of unearned runs in the second, the Terriers used strong defense in the later innings, turning double plays in the seventh and eighth frames, and throwing out a runner at the plate to end the eighth, to maintain their advantage.
Matt Klinker (5-6) absorbed the loss after working 5 2/3 innings. The senior right-hander gave up five runs, only three of which were earned, on five hits. He walked one and struck out three.
The Terriers and Paladin collected eight hits apiece, with Waring pacing Wofford and Jay Jackson leading Furman with a 3-for-4 performance.
Wofford jumped on Klinker and Furman for three runs in the first inning. Michael Gilmartin led off with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice. After a Shane Kirkley single put runners at first and third, Waring drilled a triple off the center field wall to score Gilmartin and Kirkley. John Brandt finished off the outburst with an RBI single to plate Waring for a 3-0 lead.
The Terriers stretched their advantage to 5-0 in the second inning with a pair of unearned runs. With one out Keith Munns was hit by a pitch and moved to second with two outs when Jackson dropped a fly ball in left field off Gilmartin’s bat. Bradford Eaves followed with an RBI single to center field, and Gilmartin later scored on a wild pitch.
Austin shackled Furman’s bats until the seventh when, with one out, Jackson, Tony Maccani, and Will Stembridge delivered consecutive singles to load the bases. Paul Ortenzo then worked a walk to plate Jackson, but Austin recovered by getting Spence Gibbs to gound into an inning ending double play.
In the eighth Austin issued a leadoff walk to Joey Rodgers before being relieved by Michael Gilmartin, who promptly induced Connor Lind to hit into a double play. Marcus Rose kept the frame alive for Furman after getting hit by a pitch and coming around to score on Bobby Hubbard’s double to center field. Jackson followed with an run-scoring double but was thrown out at home plate by Wofford right fielder Sterling Dye while attempting to score on Tony Maccani’s single.
Gilmartin worked a perfect ninth to nail down the victory.