APPALACHIAN STATE 11, COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 10
Freshman catcher Jerod Faggart’s (Concord, N.C./Northwest Cabarrus) three-run home run in the top of the eighth inning lifted Appalachian State University baseball to an 11-10 come- from-behind upset victory over College of Charleston Thursday morning.
The win eliminated the top-seeded Cougars from the Southern Conference Baseball Tournament while the fourth-seeded Mountaineers advance to play the loser of the Elon and The Citadel contest.
Faggart’s two-out shot down the right-field line was part of a four- run inning with the other run being scored on an RBI single up the middle from Andrew Franco (Niceville, Fla./Tallahassee C.C.). Following the single, Nick DeRose (Winston-Salem, N.C./Reynolds) earned a walk to put runners at first and second for Faggart.
The Apps (33-25) made CofC pay for its miscues in the field with eight unearned runs off of three Cougar errors. Garrett Sherrill (Kannapolis, N.C.) collected the win, his 10th of the season and seventh in relief. Sherrill surrendered four runs in the fourth inning, his first on the mound, on a pair of two-run home runs. However, he quickly settled in and only allowed two hits, one of them an infield single, in the final five innings.
CofC’s (39-19) Mike Lynn suffered the loss in relief, giving up four runs, all unearned, in 2.1 innings. Chris Campbell led CofC at the plate, going 2-for-5 with four RBI and a two-run home run.
Both teams scored runs in the first inning with ASU’s Wes Hobson (Winston-Salem, N.C./North Forsyth) scoring on a Franco single through the right side. Franco finished the game 3-for-4 day with two runs and two RBI. Hobson had reached base on a fielder’s choice and advanced to second on a failed pick-off attempt.
The Cougars also took advantage of a botched pick-off attempt as Oliver Marmol advanced to second and then scored on a Graham Maiden single up the middle. CofC took the lead with three runs in the next inning off a hit batsmen with the bases loaded and a two-run single from Chris Campbell to deep centerfield.
The Apps answered with a four-run third inning that was extended by an error from the shortstop. With two outs and the bases loaded, Jerod Faggart (Concord, N.C./Northwest Cabarrus) brought David Rubinstein (Charlotte, N.C./South Mecklenberg) home with an infield singe. The next batter, Issac Harrow (Hickory, N.C./Hickory), reached on a throwing error from the shortstop that scored Franco. Tom Prosser (Etowah, Tenn./Roane State) then singled to centerfield to bring Faggart and Harrow across the plate.
However, CofC answered with two runs in the bottom of the third and then four runs in the fourth on a pair of two-run homers from Chris Campbell and Ben Lasater to give the Cougars a 10-5 lead. ASU trimmed the lead with two runs in the sixth inning off a two-run single from Rubinstein to right-center field before taking the lead in the eighth courtesy of Faggart’s homer.
CofC threatened ASU’s one-run lead in the bottom of the eighth and ninth, getting runners on base in both innings, but Sherrill ended both threats with routine outs and a line drive to shortstop to end the ballgame.
The Mountaineers will play the loser of Thursday night’s Elon versus The Citadel game at 1 p.m. on Friday afternoon at Riley Park.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN 6, WESTERN CAROLINA 5
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? Griffin Benedict’s (Dunwoody/St. Pius) walk-off single with one out in the ninth sent Georgia Southern past second-seed Western Carolina 6-5 on Thursday afternoon (May 24) at Riley Park. The Eagles advance in the Southern Conference Tournament following the come-from-behind win and eliminated Western.
Georgia Southern (34-27 overall) will play Friday morning (May 25) at 10 a.m. against the loser of UNC Greensboro and Wofford.
After a 3-run rally with two down in the eighth inning tied the game, Jeremiah Parker (Carrollton/Carrollton) drew a leadoff walk against closer Greg Holland (4-3) to start the ninth. Will Southwell (Moultrie/Colquitt County) perfectly executed a sacrifice bunt, just his second this season, to advance Parker into scoring position.
Benedict lined a 1-2 pitch up the middle and centerfielder Donnie Wilson’s throw home wasn’t close as the Eagles pulled out just their fourth win in 30 games when trailing after seven innings.
“It feels good knowing that the coaching staff and my teammates have faith in me. There were a lot of good at-bats late in the game. It was a great team effort and each player deserves a lot of credit. A.J. Wirnsberger (Tuscaloosa, AL/Paul Bear Bryant) singled, Kyle Blackburn (Marietta/Walton) had a good one drawing a walk, Chris Shehan (Strasburg, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) hit the big double and Mike Economos (Atlanta/Marist) lined that game-tying single. Then Parker getting the leadoff walk and Southwell executing the sacrifice bunt all were huge,” said Benedict. “Josh Lairsey (Waycross/Ware County) and A.J. Battisto (Pottstown, PA/Pottsgrove) really went out there and competed. They gave us a chance to win the game.”
Drew Saberhagen was cruising along until the eighth. Wirnsberger lined a one-out single up the middle then pinch-hitting Blackburn drew a two-out walk. The Catamounts brought in First Team All-SoCon relief pitcher Holland to try and close it out. Shehan lined a RBI double down the right field line, his team-leading 21st double. Economos, managing to somehow play with a broken toe, hit a high chopper over third base for a 2-run single that tied the score. Those were his team-leading 49th and 50th RBI.
Brent Greer hit a one-out single off Battisto (4-0) in the ninth. He advanced to second on a groundout. With Blake Murphy at bat, Battisto made a spin move to second base and his throw to shortstop Brian Pierce (Roswell/Roswell) picked Greer off to end the inning. That was Battisto’s team-leading sixth pickoff.
Parker hit his second home run in as many at-bats (dating back to Tuesday’s game), leading off the second inning with a shot down the right field line to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead. That solo blast extended his team-lead total to 13.
Steven Strausbaugh lined Lairsey’s first pitch of the third inning into the right field gap. He eventually scored on Wilson’s RBI double with one out. Western put a pair of runners in scoring position but Lairsey got a strikeout and groundout to end the threat.
A pair of solo home runs in the fourth inning put the Catamounts ahead. Jonathan Greene hit one with one out then Strausbaugh lined a two-out homer off Lairsey.
Matt Miller (Canton/Woodstock) hit his fourth home run of the year when he pulled a fastball from Saberhagen to right field during the fourth inning. That made it a 3-2 game.
The Catamounts recorded four straight singles with one out in the seventh inning to extend their lead to 5-2. Battisto gave up the fourth single, then struck out SoCon Player of the Year Kenny Smith and got Greene on a flyball to end the threat.
Battisto gave up two hits in 2.2 innings of work, striking out three. Lairsey was charged for five runs on 12 hits in 6.1 innings. He struck out two and did not walk a batter.
Shehan and Miller recorded two hits apiece for the Eagles, winning despite getting out-hit 14-9. Parker scored two runs in the game.
Holland (4-3) was charged for two runs on three hits in two-thirds of an inning. He walked one. Saberhagen allowed four runs on six hits in 7.2 innings. He walked one and struck out three.
Greer finished with three hits, one of six Catamounts with a multi-hit game. The top two seeds in the tournament (College of Charleston and Western) both went 0-for-2. WCU (40-18 overall) and Charleston now will have to await word on a possible at-large berth in the NCAA Regionals.
WOFFORD 12, UNC GREENSBORO 5
Wofford’s Brandon Waring tallied two home runs and five RBI to lead the ninth-seeded Terriers to a 12-5 win over fifth-seeded UNC Greensboro in the second round of the Southern Conference Baseball Tournament on Thursday evening at Joe Riley Park.
Waring finished 3-for-5 on the evening and with his two homers, he tied the SoCon single season home run record of 26. Eric Sturkie went 2-for-5 for the Terriers, including a three-run home run.
Lance Player (3-2) picked up the win after scattering just one hit in 2-1/3 innings of relief. Charles Vartanian pitched 2-2/3 innings to earn his third save of the year
Starter Matt Gibbs (4-4) took the loss after allowing five runs on six hits in 2-2/3 innings of work.
UNCG (29-29) jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the visitor half of the first. Tim Carrier led off with a single through the left side to extend his hitting streak to seven games. He advanced to second on a Guy Welsh walk and was plated by Greg Feltes, who singled to right-center. Wofford (28-31) quickly responded in the same inning and tied the game at one a piece when John Brandt sent a double to leftfield to score Mike Gilmartin.
Waring gave the Terriers a 4-1 lead in the third when he hit a three-run homer over the leftfield wall. Adam Wood scored on a Keith Munns single and Sterling Dye came home on a Spartan error in the same inning to give the Terriers a five-run advantage.
Welsh cut the Wofford lead to two in the fourth when the senior smacked up his fifth homer of the season. Carrier and Matt Gaski both were hit by a pitch before Welsh blasted the three-run roundtripper to right, making it 6-4 in favor of the Terriers.
Wofford capitalized in the sixth and put another run on the board to take a 7-4 lead. After reaching on another Spartan, Eric Sturkie scored when Bradford Eaves singled up the middle. UNCG added a run in the top of the eighth when Sean Snell plated Feltes on an infield single, 7-5 Wofford.
The Terriers struck for five runs in the bottom of the eighth highlighted by Waring’s second homer of the evening. Shane Kirkley doubled before Waring tallied his 26th home run of the season. Sturkie capped off the Terrier scoring with a three-run shot to center, leaving the score 12-5.
Welsh went 2-for-4 with three RBI to lead the Spartans from the plate. Feltes finished 2-for-2 with a run scored and a RBI.
The Spartans return to action when they face off with sixth-seeded Georgia Southern on Friday at Joe Riley Park. First pitch set for 10 am.
THE CITADEL 6, UNC GREENSBORO 5
Down 5-2 in the seventh inning, The Citadel’s Bryan Altman knocked a grand slam ball off the left-field foul pole to give the number seven-seeded Bulldogs a 6-5 victory over the number three-seeded Elon Phoenix in the second round of the Southern Conference Baseball Tournament on Thursday night at Riley Park.
Elon got on the board in the top of the second inning when Zach Booker singled to the pitcher before Chris Vasami knocked a deep double to left field to plate Booker and give Elon a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom half of the frame, with runners on first and second, Kyle Jordan singled to left field to send Matt Arnold home and tied the game, 1-1. Chance Smith then hit a high fly ball to shallow right field but an error by second baseman Chase Austin allowed Smith to reach first and Joe Hoerter to cross home plate, giving The Citadel a 2-1 lead.
Elon tied the game in the top of the fourth inning. Drew Davis and Booker each singled and Vasami earned a walk to load the bases before Jordy Snyder grounded out to the short stop, allowing Davis to go home to knot the game, 2-2.
With two outs in the top of the fifth frame, the Phoenix rallied to take the lead. Pat Irvine singled to centerfield and stole second before Davis singled to put runners on the corners. Ryan Addison then drew a walk to load the bases before Ryan Adams singled to left field to score Irvine and Davis to put Elon ahead 4-2.
Elon added a run in the top of the seventh inning on a solo home run from Irvine, his second round tripper of the tournament, to take a 5-2 lead.
In the bottom of the seventh, Chris Swauger and Sonny Meade singled to get on base and advanced on a wild pitch before Zach Brown earned a walk to load the bases. Elon pitcher Jesse Lewter then faced Southern Conference Freshman of the Year Richard Jones and struck him out looking for Lewter’s seventh strikeout of the game, reaching a career best. Altman then took the 0-1 pitch off the left-field foul pole to put the Bulldogs up 6-5.
In the top of the eighth, Snyder singled and Austin was hit by a pitch to put runners on base and a bunt from Adam Weaver moved the runners to second and third before Bulldog pitcher Link Saunders retired Chris Dove and Pat Irvine to end the inning.
Elon will face number four-seeded Appalachian State at 1 p.m. on Friday afternoon while The Citadel will battle the number nine-seeded Wofford Terriers at 4:30 p.m.