CHARLESTON, SC ? Second baseman Tim Carrier’s game-ending triple play in the top of the ninth gave fifth-seeded UNC Greensboro an 8-6 victory over sixth-seeded Georgia Southern in the Southern Conference Tournament Friday afternoon at Joe Riley Park.

With the bases loaded and no outs, Justin Klinger lined out to Carrier, who then proceeded to step on second and throw out the runner at first to turn the first ever triple play in UNCG history.

“We were in a jam and knew we had to get out to hold the lead. He (Klinger) hit the line right to me and I instinctively went to second. I was about to go to third but Matt (Gaski) was yelling one and I saw Ricky (Orton) standing there so I went to him for the triple play,” said Carrier. “It was awesome.”

Brandon Harvey (1-0) earned his first career win, giving up just two runs on six hits in six innings of relief for UNCG. Freshman Alex Shelton picked up his second save of the season after pitching one inning on the mound.

GSU’s Kyle Kampii (4-3) took the loss after allowing two runs on four hits in four innings of work.

GSU (34-28) grabbed an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first off a two-run home run by Mike Economos. Chris Shehan led-off with a single before Economos hit the roundtripper to rightfield, his tenth of the season. The Eagles added another run in the second on a RBI hit by Shehan to take a three-run advantage.

Matt Miller led-off the third for GSU with a solo shot to rightfield, giving the Eagles a 4-0 lead. GSU had the bases loaded with one out in the same inning but the Spartan defense turned a double play to get out of the jam.

UNCG (30-29) put a run on the board in the third to cut GSU’s lead to three. Adam Deleo and Sam Martin recorded back-to-back singles and two batters later, Matt Gaski loaded the bases with a hit to right. Guy Welsh drew a 3-1 walk to plate Deleo.

The Eagles quickly responded in the fourth when Matt Miller picked up a RBI two-bagger, making it 5-1 GSU. The Spartans cut into the Eagle lead in the same inning when Sean Snell smacked a two-run homer to right.

Snell gave the Spartans their first lead of the game in the fifth when he sent his second four-bagger of the afternoon to right-center. Ricky Orton and Greg Feltes recorded back-to-back singles before Snell hit his team-leading seventh homer to give UNCG a 6-5 advantage. The Eagles, however, tied the game at six a piece in the sixth with a Kyle Blackburn sacrifice fly.

The Spartans pushed across two runs in the eighth to take a 8-6 lead. Carrier advanced on an Eagle error and stole second before Welsh belted a three-bagger to the rightfield corner, allowing Carrier to score. Orton followed with a hit to center that plated Welsh to give UNCG the two-run lead.

Snell finished 3-for-4 with five RBI and two home runs to lead UNCG behind the plate. Welsh tallied two hits and two RBI, while Orton and Deleo each recorded two hits for the Spartans.

UNCG will face the winner of No. 2 Elon/No. 4 Appalachian State tonight at approximately 7:30 pm. Georgia Southern ends its season with a 34-28 overall record.

ELON 9, APPALACHIAN STATE 5

CHARLESTON, S.C. ­? The number three-seeded Elon Phoenix used 11 hits to score nine runs en route to a 9-5 victory over the number four-seeded Appalachian State in the third round of the Southern Conference Baseball Tournament on Friday afternoon at Riley Park.

Elon improves to 31-28 on the season while Appalachian State falls to 33-26.

Appalachian State started the scoring in the top of the third inning when Nick DeRose scored on a sacrifice fly from Wes Hobson to give the Mountaineers a 1-0 lead.

Elon responded with two runs of its own in the bottom half of the frame.  Chase Austin was hit by a pitch and Chris Dove moved him to second on a sacrifice bunt before Adam Weaver singled through the right side to send Austin home and knot the game, 1-1.  With Weaver on second, Jordy Snyder singled into left field to plate Weaver and put Elon up 2-1.

The Phoenix added another run in the bottom of the fourth inning.  Mike Melillo was hit by a pitch and Ryan Adams singled to put runners on the corners before Austin bunted down the first base line to score Melillo, putting Elon ahead by two, 3-1.

Elon extended its lead to three in the bottom of the fourth inning on an RBI double from Drew Davis that plated Pat Irvine.

The Mountaineers cut the lead to two in the top of the sixth inning.  Isaac Harrow knocked a single to right field to send David Rubinstein home cutting the score to 4-2.

Elon posted four runs in the bottom half of the sixth frame.  Ryan Addison drew a walk to lead off the inning and stole second before Ryan Adams singled to left field to put runners on the corners.  Austin then doubled down the left field line to send Addison home.  Dove knocked an RBI single to centerfield to plate Adams, putting Elon ahead 6-2.  Snyder singled to shallow left field to score Austin before Irvine lined out to right field to plate Dove and give Elon an 8-2 lead.

In the top of the seventh, ASU posted two runs.  Tom Prosser led off the inning with a double down the left field line before Chris Baker doubled off the scoreboard in left field to plate Prosser.  DeRose singled to centerfield to put runners on the corners before Hobson doubled to left centerfield to score Baker and cut the Elon lead to four, 8-4.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Chris Vasmi earned a walk and Austin moved him to second on a sacrifice bunt before an error by the short stop put runners on first and third.  Weaver then knocked a ground ball to the second baseman who got the out at second, allowing Vasami to cross home plate to give Elon a 9-4 lead.

Elon relief pitcher Daniel Britt retired the first two batters of the ninth inning before Rubinstein doubled down the left field line.  Andrew Franco then took a 1-0 pitch into right field for an RBI single that score Rubinstein.  Britt walked the next batter before striking out Jerod Faggart to end the game.

Will Romanowicz (6-3) earned the win for the Phoenix after throwing 6.1 innings and giving up four runs on 11 hits while striking out one batter.  Tom Porter tossed 1.2 innings and gave up no runs on no hits while fanning one batter.

Matt Andress (6-5) suffered the loss for Appalachian State after hurling 5.0 innings and giving up six runs on seven hits while striking out one batter.

Adams was 2-for-3 from the plate with one run scored for the Phoenix while Davis went 2-for-4 with one RBI and Snyder was 2-for-5 with two RBI.  Austin was 1-for-1 from the plate with two runs scored and two RBI while Weaver also posted two RBI.

Elon returns to action at approximately 7:30 p.m. Friday night against UNC Greensboro.

WOFFORD 6, THE CITADEL 2

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Ben Austin held The Citadel to two runs over five innings while Charles Vartanian held the Bulldogs scoreless over the final three to lead Wofford to a 6-2 win in the semifinals of the Southern Conference baseball tournament Friday evening at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. With the win, Wofford advances to the finals with a perfect 4-0 tournament record.

Austin, on only two days rest following a 96-pitch outing in the first round against Furman, scattered eight hits and a walk against the Bulldogs on the way to his 11th win of the season, which ties Wofford's single season record. The win was also the second of the tournament for Austin, who has given up only three runs over nearly 13 innings of work in his last two starts. Vartanian picked up his second save of the tournament after holding The Citadel to three hits and no runs over the final 3 1/3 innings. Vartanian struck out five and walked one.

Eric Sturkie provided two RBIs for Wofford on a solo home run and a sacrifice fly ball. Shane Kirkley was 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI while Brandon Waring and Michael Gilmartin both went 2-for-5 with an RBI.

The Citadel jumped out to an early lead on a solo home run by Chris Swauger. With a 1-1 count, Swauger lifted a high fly ball to right field that cleared the fence for the first run of the game.

The Terriers scored twice in the bottom of the first to take a 2-1 lead. Shortstop Michael Gilmartin got the rally started with a base knock to left field off Citadel freshman Nick Sprowls. Bradford Eaves then moved Gilmartin to second with a sacrifice bunt before Shane Kirkley sent him across the plate with a triple to right center field. Third baseman Brandon Waring then drove in Kirkley from third with a bloop single to left field for his 14th RBI of the tournament.

Second baseman Eric Sturkie kept the rally going in the bottom of the second with a solo home run just inside the right field foul pole. The homer was the second of the tournament for Sturkie, and marked his second straight at bat with a home run after blasting a three-run shot in the bottom of the eighth against UNC Greensboro on Wednesday. Following the home run, Sprowls gave up a base hit to Eaves and was pulled in favor of right hander Justin Smith.

Catcher Richard Jones homered in the top of the fourth to bring The Citadel within one run at 3-2. Jones, the Southern Conference's Freshman of the Year, yanked a 2-2 fastball over the right field fence for his third home run in The Citadel's last four games.

Wofford took advantage of a fielding error by the Bulldogs to go up 6-2 with three runs in the bottom of the fifth. First baseman Adam Wood reached base with a single through the left side and advanced to second when right fielder Sterling Dye laid down a sacrifice bunt that slipped past Smith on the mound. Catcher Keith Munns then drew a walk to load the bases and Sturkie drove in Wood from third with a sacrifice fly to right field. Gilmartin then chopped a grounder that bounced over the head of first baseman Zach Brown for a double that scored Dye from third. The Citadel then brought in Link Saunders to stop the bleeding, but Saunders allowed Munns to score from third after hurling a wild pitch to the backstop.

After giving up only two runs through 5 2/3 innings, Wofford starter Ben Austin exited the game in the top of the sixth to make way for senior right hander Charles Vartanian. Vartanian inherited one base runner and struck out Kyle Jordan to end the inning.

Vartanian was effective through the seventh and eighth innings and gave up only one hit while striking out two. He came out in the ninth and struck out the first two batters he faced and ended the game by striking out three-hole hitter Sonny Meade to end the game and pick up his second save of the tournament.

Wofford will take the field at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 26 in the championship game. The Terriers could face No. 3 seed Elon, No. 5 seed UNC Greensboro or No. 7 seed The Citadel depending on the outcome of Friday and Saturday's games.