SoCon Baseball Recaps for March 14, 2008
ELON 7, THE CITADEL 2
ELON, N.C. -- Bennett Davis went 3-for-5 with a run scored and two RBI while right-hander Steven Hensley struck out eight in 8.0 innings to lead the Elon Phoenix to a 7-2 Southern Conference baseball victory over The Citadel Bulldogs from Latham Park on Friday afternoon. Elon won its sixth consecutive game and improved to 16-1 overall and 1-0 in SoCon action. The Phoenix also improved to 5-0 in Southern Conference openers. The Citadel fell to 10-5, 0-1.
Hensley (4-0) gave the Phoenix another solid outing and allowed just two runs on six hits and four walks. With his eight K's, the junior moved into third place on Elon's career strikeouts list with 234, surpassing Whit Bryant who had 233 punch-outs between 1999-2002. He is just four shy of the 238 K's of Bill Shultz (1970-73) for second place.
The Phoenix pushed across the first run of the game in the second inning by manufacturing a tally. Neal Pritchard extended his hitting streak to five games by doubling down the rightfield line to lead things off. A ground out moved him to third before he came home on another ground out off the bat of Mike Lobacz.
In the fifth, the Bulldogs evened things up as Matt Arnold homered off the foul pole down the leftfield line. It was his second round-tripper of the season.
Elon responded immediately, scoring twice in the bottom of the fifth. After reaching on a fielder's choice, Chris Dove stole second and came around to score on Donny Jobe's single. Jobe would later score on Davis' double to right-center.
Another two-run push by the Phoenix in the sixth extended the lead to 5-1. After the first two hitters of the inning were retired, a Lobacz double was followed by a RBI double from Cory Harrilchak. Dove's single brought in Harrilchak from second.
Another solo homer, this one by Chris McGuiness to lead off the seventh brought The Citadel back to within 5-2. McGuiness' shot to right was the third of the campaign for him.
The Phoenix added solo runs in both the seventh and eight to seal the victory. In the seventh, Davis scored from third on a wild pitch while, in the ninth, Davis' single scored Harrilchak.
Wes Wrenn (1-2) took the loss by allowing five runs on 10 hits in 5.2 innings. He did not allow a walk and fanned four. Raymond Copenhaver, who had not allowed a run in 10.1 innings entering the day, gave up one run on two hits in just 0.1 inning.
Daniel Britt hurled a scoreless ninth for the Phoenix.
The 14 hits pounded out by Elon were the most allowed by the Bulldogs this season. Dove, Davis and Harrilchak each had three base hits while Prithcard finished with two hits. Davis now has a team-leading nine multi-hit affairs this season. None of the Phoenix hits were home runs, just the fourth time in 17 games that Elon has not gone yard.
Arnold was the lone Bulldog with a multi-hit outing, posting a 2-for-4, one-run, one-RBI day. Sonny Meade took an 0-for-3 to go hitless in back-to-back games for the first time since March 18 and 20 of last year.
Elon, who entered the game averaging 9.9 runs per game, 12th in the nation, continued its run of scoring at least five runs. The Phoenix has scored at least five runs in every game this year. Elon also entered the day tied for the most wins in the nation with Kentucky at 15.
The two teams will play game two of the three-game set on Saturday at 2 p.m. from Latham Park.
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 13, INDIANA STATE 1
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Michael Kohn had four RBI and Danny Meszaros allowed only three hits in six innings of work to lead the College of Charleston baseball team to a 13-1 win over the Indiana State Sycamores in front 406 fans at Patriots Point Stadium Friday night.
With the win, Charleston improved to 12-4 on the season, while the Sycamores fell to 2-9. The two teams play a doubleheader Saturday, with the first game starting at 12 noon.
Kohn's two-run blast to right-center in the bottom of the third helped the Cougars grab a 4-1 lead. Later, Kohn's two-run single extended a nine-run sixth inning. Stuart Haywood also added three RBI in the inning.
Joash Brodin went 2-for-3 with a double and a triple, and Gabe Marchant went 3-for-5 with one RBI.
Meszaros (1-1) struck out four, allowing only one run, to earn his first victory of the season.
Indiana State's Sean Osborne double in the top of the second inning brought in the only run for the Sycamores on the night.
FURMAN 10, HIGH POINT 1
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Jay Jackson pitched eight strong innings of baseball and Justin Holloway belted a third inning grand slam to propel Furman to a 10-1 win over High Point Friday evening in the opener of a four-game weekend series at Furman Stadium.
Jackson (4-0), a junior right-hander from Taylors, S.C., gave two hits in the first inning, including a solo home run, but quickly settled down, allowing only two hits the rest of the way en route to his fourth consecutive win on the young season. He retired 13 straight Panthers during one stretch and finished the game with eight strikeouts and two walks. Senior right-hander Will Feemster, a product of Greenville’s J.L. Mann High School, pitched a perfect ninth in his first appearance of the year.
Holloway, meanwhile, went 2-for-4 in the contest and drove in a game high five runs. His third inning grand slam to left field off High Point starting and losing pitcher Ryan Basham (0-4) broke open a 3-1 contest.
Joey Rodgers went 3-for-3 and added a solo home run for Furman in the ninth to cap the Paladins’ 10-hit attack. Marcus Rose and Ryan Lee joined Holloway with two hits each for Furman.
Jeff Cowan had two of High Point’s four hits.
The win improves Furman to 9-4 on the season while High Point falls to 3-12.
After Pablo Rosario’s solo home run to right field in the first gave High Point a 1-0 lead, Furman answered with three runs in the bottom of the first. Lee’s RBI single through the right side scored Marcus Rose from second tied the game, and Campbell Lewis’ RBI grounder plated Connor Lind to give the Paladins a 2-1 lead. Holloway capped the frame with an RBI single that scored Lee to make it 3-1.
That’s all the run support Jackson would need as the former Christ Church Espiscopal School standout allowed a one-out triple in the second inning but stranded the runner after retiring Max Fulginiti on a soft infield liner and striking out Chris Norwood looking.
In the High Point third Jackson walked Murray White to lead off the frame and grazed Bobby Kuzdale to put runners at first and second. He recovered, however, by striking out Rosario looking and inducing a double play groundout off the bat of Billy Alvino.
In the Furman third Bobby Hubbard drew a leadoff walk, and Lee followed with a single to left center field. With one out Reese Wade walked to load the bases, and Holloway stepped in and drilled a Basham offering over the left field field for the Paladins’ first grand slam since the 2005 season.
The Paladins made it 9-1 with a two-run fifth on Rose’s two-run single down the left field line.
The two teams are scheduled to play a Saturday doubleheader beginning at 3:00 p.m.
WOFFORD 4, YALE 2
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? The Wofford College baseball team defeated Yale 4-2 on Friday night at Russell C. King Field. The Terriers scored two runs each in the third and fourth inning and had strong pitching from Scott Summers and Chip Hunt for the win.
Wofford is 11-3 on the season, while Yale is 3-7. The Terriers had only four hits on the night, two by Emre Caglayan. The Bulldogs had ten hits, including three by Josh Cox, but stranded nine runners on base.
To open the game, Yale took an early lead when Ryan Lavarnway drove in Josh Cox for a 1-0 lead. Wofford took the lead in the bottom of the third inning when Emre Caglayan led off with a single and then he stole second. Jake Williams was hit by a pitch, then a passed ball advanced both runners. A single by Sterling Dye scored Caglayan. Michael Gilmartin grounded into a double play, but Williams was able to score from third to give Wofford a 2-1 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth with two out, Ryan Toniolo walked. Kyle Behrendt hit a triple down the left field line to score Toniolo. A single by Emre Caglayan to left field scored Behrendt to give Wofford a 4-1 lead.
For Yale in the fifth inning, the first two batters reached safely with hits. Josh Cox hit a single to score Andy Megge from second base. The Bulldogs ended the inning with the bases loaded.
Wofford had a scoring chance in the bottom of the fifth inning, but with the bases loaded the Terriers hit into a double play on an infield fly. In the sixth inning, Yale had the bases loaded with three singles and only one out. Keith Munns caught a foul ball for the second out and Josh Cox flied out to Jake Williams to end the inning.
In the eighth inning, Chip Hunt replaced Scott Summers on the mound for Wofford after a lead-off single. Hunt struck out two batters and the runner was picked off at second base for the third out. In the ninth, Hunt struck out the first batter then Keith Munns caught a foul ball for the second out. Josh Cox doubled to left center field, but Gant Elmore flied out to Jake Williams to end the ballgame.
On Saturday, Wofford and Yale will play a doubleheader at 1:00 pm, with two seven-inning games. A single game is scheduled for Sunday at 1:00 pm.
APPALACHIAN STATE 6, JACKSONVILLE STATE 1
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. ? Appalachian State University baseball received its second-straight sterling pitching effort in Friday afternoon’s 6-1 win at Jacksonville State.
Appalachian pitchers Josh Dowdy, Nick Terry and Garrett Sherrill combined to toss a seven-hitter in the victory. Since it surrendered 17 runs on 16 hits in Tuesday’s loss at Auburn, ASU pitching has allowed just three runs (two earned) and 16 hits over the past 18 innings in leading the squad to a pair of victories.
Dowdy turned in a breakout performance on Friday, as he scattered three hits over six innings and struck out three to earn his first win as a Mountaineer.
Terry worked a scoreless seventh before giving way to Sherrill, who came on with the Apps clinging to a slim 2-1 lead in the eighth. The right-hander struck out four over the final two stanzas to earn his third save of the season. The save was also the 11th of his career, moving the junior alone into second on ASU’s all-time list.
The Mountaineers benefited from five Gamecock errors offensively, as five of ASU’s six runs were unearned, including all four in the ninth inning that gave stretched the Apps’ lead from 2-1 to 6-1.
Shortstop Jason Altenhof led Appalachian offensively by going 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Left fielder David Rubinstein added three RBI.
Appalachian closes a five-game trip to Alabama with a doubleheader on Saturday versus JSU. The twinbill starts at 1 p.m. EDT (noon CDT).
COLUMBIA 8, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 5
STATESBORO, GA. ? Georgia Southern jumped out to a 5-1 lead but Columbia scored seven unanswered as the Eagles dropped an 8-5 decision Friday night (March 14) at J.I. Clements Stadium. The loss snapped the Eagles’ six-game home win streak.
Columbia struck first during the second inning. Aaron Eubanks (Moultrie/Colquitt County) hit a batter and gave up a bunt single to start the inning. Dean Forthun faked a bunt and lined a RBI single. A sacrifice bunt advanced the runners then a walk loaded the bases. Eubanks responded by getting Jason Banos to ground into a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play.
The Eagles (8-7 overall) responded during their half of the third, scoring five runs. Jeremy Beckham (Griffin/Griffin) singled, stole second then scored on Phillip Porter’s (Marietta/Sprayberry) RBI double. Chris Shehan (Strasburg, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) hammered a 2-run homer over the billboard in right centerfield. His team-leading sixth homer made it 3-1.
A.J. Wirnsberger (Tuscaloosa, AL/Paul Bear Bryant) singled and scored on Jeremiah Parker’s (Carrollton/Carrollton) RBI double. Parker took second when Ty Wright (Montrose/West Laurens) was hit by a pitch, third base on a throwing error by the Lions catcher and scored on Bill Purdy’s wild pitch.
The Lions scored three times to start the fifth inning. Ron Williams got his third hit in as many at-bats, a RBI single, then Mike Roberts followed with a 2-run homer that cut the Eagles’ lead to 5-4. Columbia tied it in the sixth on Jason Banos’ sacrifice fly.
In the seventh, Columbia (1-8) loaded the bases on Blake Nation (Brooks/Starr’s Mill) with no one out thanks to a single, hit batter and bunt single. Forthun lined out to Shehan in right field. He came up throwing but Henry Perkins just beat the throw home for a 6-5 lead. Nation worked out of the jam after getting a sacrifice bunt and groundout to end the inning. Columbia added a pair of RBI doubles in the eighth to extend its lead to 8-5.
Georgia Southern brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning following one-out walks to Griffin Benedict (Dunwoody/St. Pius) and Shehan. But Shehan was picked off first base then Jonathan King (Athens, TN/McMinn County) grounded out to end the game.
The Eagles drew eight walks but had only six hits, none after the third inning. Wirnsberger had two of the team’s hits. Shehan drove in his team-leading 18th and 19th runs and walked three times.
Nation (1-1) allowed two runs on three hits in 1.1 innings. Eubanks allowed four runs in five innings, walking two and striking out three.
Williams finished 4-for-4 and scored two runs. Roberts had two hits, two runs and three RBI. Max Lautmann (1-0) struck out one and walked one in 1.1 innings. Joey Mizzone struck out four over the final 2.2 innings for his first save.
The series continues Saturday afternoon (March 15), first pitch scheduled for 1:30 p.m.