SoCon Baseball Recaps for March 26, 2008
UNC GREENSBORO 12, ALBANY 4
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? Down 2-1 in the fourth inning, UNC Greensboro assembled a mid-game 11-1 rally to take a commanding lead and an eventual 12-4 victory over UAlbany on Wednesday night at UNCG Baseball Stadium. The victory extends the Spartan win streak to nine-straight since March 15.
The blue and gold will head into their weekend series with Western Carolina holding an overall 17-5 record and a 3-0 undefeated Southern Conference mark. UAlbany dropped to 4-16-1 on the season.
The Great Danes grabbed an early 2-0 lead in the second with two RBI doubles to centerfield. Jamie Liebowitz tallied the first to score Ryan Gugel who was standing on first. Liebowitz was then plated by Ryan Breier’s hit.
In the third, first baseman Ricky Orton cut the lead in half with a solo shot out to right center. The homer was his second of the series and eighth of the season.
The Spartans then exploded with five runs the home half of the fourth to take a 6-2 lead. Third baseman Ray Quinones led things off with an RBI single to centerfield to round centerfielder Corey Overholtzer in from second. In the next at-bat, second baseman Tim Carrier bounced a two-run double off the centerfield wall to score both leftfielder Drew Gehringer and Quinones. Orton tallied his second and third RBI of the game with a single to centerfield to bring in Greg Feltes and Carrier.
The Great Danes drove one in to top the fifth, but UNCG shot back with a scattering of six runs between the fifth and the seventh inning to gain a 12-3 advantage. Quinones lined a double down the right field line to bring Pedro Leon around to the plate for the first of three runs in the fifth; the final two came by way of wild pitches.
Orton crushed a 2-2 count solo over the centerfield wall to open up the bottom half of the sixth inning. This was his second of the game, his ninth of the season, and the team’s 31st.
UNCG closed out their scoring drive in the seventh with runs scored off of a sacrifice fly and a passed ball.
After improving by just one more in the top of the ninth, UAlbany took their 16th loss of the season and gave UNCG a 12-4 win and their ninth-straight victory of 2008.
The UNCG sticks were led by Ricky Orton who for the second time this year, hit two home runs in a single game. Orton was 3-for-4 at the plate with four RBI and two runs. Tim Carrier was 2-for-4 with three runs, two RBI and two doubles. The Great Danes were led by Sean Donovan who was 2-for-3 with two walks and one run.
Spartan starter Alex Shelton (3-1) recorded his third win of the season after 3.2 innings of work. The freshman lefthander struck out two and gave up just one walk. UAlbany’s Dave Noble (1-2) took the loss after allowing UNCG to take the lead in the fourth inning.
UNCG is back on the road this weekend for their second conference series of the season. Starting Friday evening at 7pm, the Spartans will face the Catamounts of Western Carolina at the Ronnie G. Childress Field in Cullowhee, NC. They will meet again on Saturday at 4pm and Sunday at 2pm.
SOUTH CAROLINA 5, COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 3
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Reese Havens belted a two-run homer and Kyle Enders added two hits and drove in two runs as 9th-ranked South Carolina downed the College of Charleston, 5-3, in college baseball action before 5,047 at Sarge Frye Field on Wednesday.
Charleston, which fell to 16-8, opens a three-game Southern Conference series with Georgia Southern at 6:00 on Friday. The Gamecocks improved to 16-6.
Haven's two-run homer to right center in the third was his seventh of the season and staked the Gamecocks to a 2-0 lead. Andrew Crisp added a run-scoring single in the inning that stretched USC's lead to 3-0.
Stuart Haywood's two-run single in the top fifth cut USC's lead to 3-2. Enders answered with a two-run single in the bottom of the fifth to give South Carolina a 5-2 advantage.
Michael Harrington's RBI double in the sixth inning scored Gabe Marchant for the final margin.
Sam Dyson (2-0) was the winner allowing three runs on just three hits over seven innings. Brandon Todd pitched a perfect ninth with a strikeout for his second save of the season. Clay Caulfield (2-2) suffered the loss surrendering five runs over five innings.
CLEMSON 2, ELON 1
CLEMSON, S.C. - Three Tiger pitchers combined to retire the last 18 batters, as Clemson topped Elon 2-1 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Wednesday in front of 4,502 fans. Craig Gullickson, Justin Sarratt, and Ryan Hinson yielded only one run, four hits, and no walks while striking out 13. The Tigers, who won the midweek series 2-0, improved to 16-7, while the Phoenix dropped to 19-6.
Gullickson (3-0) went 5.0 innings to pick up the win, allowing one run on four hits while striking out eight and walking none. Sarratt, who did not factor into the decision, pitched 2.0 perfect innings while striking out two. Hinson also pitched 2.0 perfect innings to record his first save of the season and second of his career.
Tom Porter (1-1) pitched 0.2 innings in relief, as he allowed two runs on two hits to take the loss.
Doug Hogan went 2-for-3 with one RBI to lead the Tigers, who totaled five hits. Donny Jobe led Elon at the plate with one hit and one RBI. Elon, who entered the series hitting .327 on the season, went just 9-for-61 (.148) in the two-game series.
Elon took a 1-0 lead in the third when Harry Austin hit a two-out triple to left-center and scored on Jobe's single through the right side.
The Tigers took a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning. Alex Lee led off with a single to right field and moved to second on a groundout. Mike Freeman followed with a walk. Hogan then drove in Lee with a single to left, and both Freeman and Hogan moved up a base on the throw to the plate. Ben Paulsen drew a walk to load the bases, then Kyle Parker walked in Freeman.
After Clemson took the lead, Sarratt and Hinson retired the last 12 batters to preserve the one-run victory.
Clemson will return to ACC action on Friday when it travels to College Park, MD to face Maryland at 7:00 PM.
WESTERN CAROLINA 12, UNC ASHEVILLE 11
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Freshman Ryan Mathews sparked a ninth-inning rally with a leadoff, pinch-hit double as the Catamounts scored two runs in the final frame to edge mountain rival UNC Asheville, 12-11, Wednesday night at McCormick Field.
With the Bulldogs threatening in the bottom of the ninth, Tuesday night's hero, senior Jason Haynes, snared a line drive, flipping it to second for the game-ending double to play as Western (8-14) won its second-consecutive game. WCU has also one two straight against UNC Asheville, and six of the last seven contests in the series.
Sophomore Brent Greer led the Catamounts with a 4-for-4 outing, including three RBIs and two runs scored. Haynes was also perfect from the plate on the night, going 3-for-3 with a pair of RBIs and two runs. In addition to Greer, both junior J.C. Lyons and freshman Matt Johns both recorded three RBIs, with Johns' coming on one swing, a three-run home run in the sixth, which was a part of a four-run frame for the Cats.
WCU jumped to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but surrendered the margin courtesy of a two-run frame by the Bulldogs (12-14). The score was knotted up at 2-2 after three before the Catamounts erupted for four runs in the top half of the fourth inning, to take a 6-2 advantage, which proved to be short-lived as Asheville answered with six runs the following half-inning.
The Catamounts would never trail after taking the lead in the sixth inning, scoring four runs on four hits, including an RBI double by Lyons, followed by Johns' three-run shot over the left centerfield wall.
Eight different Catamounts contributed to the team's 15 hits on the night, with every WCU batter reaching base at least once. Also recording multi-hit games were sophomore Nick Liles and senior Blake Murphy, who finished the night with two hits apiece.
Making his first career start, sophomore Daniel Ottone threw three solid innings for Western, allowing four earned runs on four hits while striking out three Bulldogs. Junior Corey Martin had seven strike outs in 4.1 innings of relief, one shy of his career high. At one point, the third-year hurler from Yadkinville, N.C., retired nine-straight UNCA hitters, including four strikeouts looking. Classmate Garrett Ozar picked up his second win of the season after throwing one scoreless inning, recording one strikeout. The save was credited to sophomore Chris Masters, who came in for the last two outs of the game, facing a single batter to close out the contest.
Western will look to extend their winning streak when they return home this weekend for a three-game Southern Conference series with UNC Greensboro. First pitch Friday is scheduled for 7:00 p.m., followed by a 4:00 pm start on Saturday, with the final game of the weekend at 2:00 pm Sunday afternoon at Childress Field/Hennon Stadium.
APPALACHIAN STATE 10, NORTH CAROLINA A&T 1
BOONE, N.C. - Five pitchers combined to toss a six-hitter and lead Appalachian State University baseball to a 10-1 win over North Carolina A&T on Wednesday afternoon at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
Starter Nick Terry (Senola, Ga./Starr's Mill) and relievers Aubrey Edens (Greenville, N.C./D.L Conley), Calvin Teague (Taylorsville, N.C./Alexander Central) and Jason Rook (Greensboro, N.C./Western Guilford) held N.C. A&T scoreless on just three hits through eight innings. A&T finally got on the board with three hits against David Rubinstein (Charlotte, N.C./South Mecklenburg). Terry didn't allow a hit until the last of the 14 hitters he faced to up his record to 3-1 on the season.
Offensively, Appalachian (13-11) scored a run in the first inning, four in the second and five more in the fourth to jump out to a 10-0 lead. Rubinstein, Rook and Rand Smith (Bolivia, N.C./South Brunswick) led ASU's 10-hit attack with two apiece. Rubinstein headlined the effort with his third home run of the season in the second.
N.C. A&T starter Jody Calloway surrendered 10 runs in just 3.1 innings of work to fall to 1-1 on the season. C.J. Beatty and Nelson Santos each had two hits for A&T (10-12).
With the win, the Mountaineers completed their first season sweep of the Aggies since 1996. The Apps took the first meeting of the season between the two teams, 9-6, on Feb. 26 in Greensboro.
Appalachian looks to carry the momentum of a pair of midweek wins into the weekend when it travels for a crucial early-season conference series at The Citadel. Game times are set for 6 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at Riley Park in Charleston, S.C.
WINTHROP 11, THE CITADEL 6
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? Matt Reifsnider went 3-for-4 from the plate with a two-run home run but The Citadel couldn’t overcome an early 6-0 deficit after three innings in an 11-6 loss to Winthrop at Riley Park Wednesday night.
The Citadel (14-9) gave up six runs in the first three innings and five runs in the fifth inning, allowing Winthrop (9-15) to build a lead that would not be overcame Wednesday night in front of 692.
The Bulldogs scattered six runs on 10 hits and committed three errors in the game while Winthrop scored 11 runs on 14 hits and made one error in the field.
Winthrop’s Wade Newman (1-1) was credited with the win after pitching 2.1 innings and holding the Bulldogs scoreless and giving up only one hit while striking out three. Chris McGuiness (0-2), who gave up six runs on seven hits in 2.0 innings pitched, was credited with the loss.
Reifsnider recorded his second career home run in the fourth inning, sending a shot over the left field wall. The sophomore had two runs scored and two RBI in the game. Bryan Altman was the only other Bulldog to record multiple hits, going 2-for-5 with two RBI.
Chris Swauger, who went 1-for-2 with three consecutive walks, hit a double in the bottom of the ninth for his 62nd career double, placing him tied for eighth in Southern Conference history in career doubles. Swauger has now reached base 16 of his last 19 plate appearances since being moved to the leadoff spot in the batting line-up. Swauger is now hitting .750 in the leadoff spot with seven extra-base hits and a 1.313 slugging percentage.
Matt Arnold notched an RBI triple in the fourth inning, his only hit in five trips to the plate.
Kevin Nolan led Winthrop as he went 4-for-6 from the plate with a run scored and two RBI. Three other Eagles recorded multiple hits and every Winthrop batter that got to the plate reached base in the game.
Winthrop used nine different pitchers in the game, none of whom went longer than 2.1 innings. Five Bulldogs took the mound in the game, including Drew Mahaffey who went 2.0 innings in his first collegiate appearance, striking out three and not allowing a hit as he retired six straight batters.
The Citadel plays host to Appalachian State in a three-game Southern Conference series beginning Friday, March 28 at 6 p.m. at Riley Park. Live video and audio can be found on Bulldog Insider at CitadelSports.com with Darren Goldwater calling the play-by-play.