Georgia Southern 15, College of Charleston 9
Mt. Pleasant, S.C. -- David Richardson hit for the cycle and Jeremiah Parker and A.J. Wirnsberger added homers leading Georgia Southern to a 15-9 win over the College of Charleston in the opener of its three-game Southern Conference baseball series before 478 at Patriots Point Stadium on Friday.
Georgia Southern improved to 15-8 overall and 4-0 in league play. The Cougars fell to 16-9 and 3-1. Game two of the series is Saturday at 1:00.
Richardson singled leading off the fourth, hit a two-run homer in the fifth, doubled leading off the sixth, and added a triple in the seventh inning.
The Eagles broke a 4-4 tie in the fifth when they sent 11 batters to the plate and parlayed six hits and two walks into five runs for a 9-4 advantage.
Griffin Benedict's two-out, three-run double capped a four-run Georgia Southern sixth inning that stretched its lead to 13-4.
Charleston got a two-run homer from Gabe Marchant in the sixth, his 10th of the season, that cut GSU's lead to 13-6. After Charleston scored twice in the seventh and once in the eighth, Wirnsberger belted a two-run homer in the ninth, his seventh of the season, for the final margin.
Parker finished with a pair of hits including a solo homer to left in the third that tied the game at 3-all.
Georgia Southern, which banged out 18 hits, got two hits and five RBI from Benedict and three hits and two runs scored from Jeremy Beckham.
For Charleston, Joash Brodin had five hits, four RBI and hits fourth homer of the season in the fourth inning that tied the game at 4-all.
Drew Murray (3-0) was the starter and winner for the Eagles allowing four runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts over five innings. Danny Meszaros (2-2) suffered the loss.
The Citadel 6, Appalachian State 5
Charleston, S.C. ? Richard Jones was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle and Kyle Jordan hit his second home run of the season as The Citadel won their first Southern Conference series opening game of the season in a 6-5 win over Appalachian State Friday night.
The Citadel (15-9, 4-3 Southern) notched their first Friday SoCon win in three tries and went above .500 in the Southern Conference for the first time this season. The Bulldogs have now won three consecutive conference games and improved to 39-6 against the Mountaineers (13-12, 0-4 SoCon) when playing in Charleston.
The Bulldogs scored six runs on six hits in an errorless game while Appalachian State scored five runs on eight hits and committed two errors.
Matt Crim (3-2) was credited with the win after 6.0 innings of work where he gave up three runs ? two earned ? on six hits and struck out one. Matt Reifsnider closed the game for The Citadel and earned his Southern Conference leading sixth save. Raymond Copenhaver pitched for 2.0 innings in between and struck out three.
Josh Dowdy (1-5) was charged with the loss after giving up four runs ? three earned ? on five hits in 6.0 innings of work. Dowdy struck out three and walked one.
Down 1-0, The Citadel took the lead in the bottom of the third as Bryan Altman hit an RBI fielder’s choice back to the mound, allowing Jordan to score. Dowdy, trying to get Chris Swauger out at second, threw the ball into center field which set up Swauger to score an unearned run off a sacrifice fly by Sonny Meade later in the inning.
The Bulldogs added two more runs in the fourth as Richard Jones led off with a triple to center field. Jones then scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Matt Arnold. After Sid Fallaw struck out for the second out, Jordan hit a solo home run over the left field fence, almost the same location on the field where his first home run of the season was hit (at Elon).
Back-to-back RBIs by the Mountaineers in the top of the sixth cut The Citadel lead to 4-3.
In the eighth, Altman led off the inning by reaching on an Appalachian error and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt laid down by Meade. Chris McGuiness drew a walk to put runners on first and second before Jones laced an RBI single to right field, scoring Altman. Arnold followed with his second sacrifice fly of the game, scoring McGuiness.
Entering in the ninth to close out the game, Reifsnider gave up two runs and two hits while walking two, but struck out Rand Smith swinging to end the game with a 6-5 victory and his sixth save of the year, the most of any SoCon pitcher this season.
The Citadel and Appalachian State will be back in action on Saturday, March 29 at 2 p.m. at Riley Park.
Western Carolina 17, UNC Greensboro 2
Cullowhee, N.C. ? Playing its most complete game of the season, Western Carolina scored each of its 17 runs in the middle four innings, pushing across five runs in a single frame three times en route to a 17-2 shelling of UNC Greensboro Friday night in Southern Conference action at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
WCU starter Drew Saberhagen (1-3) worked eight solid innings, scattering seven Spartan hits while holding UNCG to just two earned runs to capture his first win of the season. He pitched around two walks with a season-high six strikeouts, which also tied his career-best tossed against Georgia Southern a year ago.
Saberhagen, a pre-season All-SoCon selection, also tied his career benchmark with his third, eight inning effort for the purple and gold. Last season, the Calabasas, Calif., native threw eight shutout innings against UNC Greensboro, surrendering just eight hits to the Spartans in a win on the road.
Freshman Geoff Turner worked a hitless ninth, pitching around a walk with strikeout in relief of Saberhagen helping the Catamounts win their third-straight.
WCU junior J.C. Lyons sparked the hit parade with his first career grand slam home run as a part of a 4-for-6, eight RBI performance. The Marietta, Ga., native finished with two round trippers to give him a team-leading nine on the year and was just a triple shy of hitting for the cycle in the win.
Sophomores Brent Greer and Nick Liles each also posted four-hit nights with Greer going 4-for-5 with a double and Liles rapping out four singles. Senior Barrett Shaft posted a 3-for-5 night with two RBI while classmate Blake Murphy drove in three on a 2-for-4 showing, legging out his 10th double of the season.
UNC Greensboro jumped on top early with single runs in the top of both the second and third to lead 2-0 headed into the home portion of the third inning. Back-to-back one out singles by Liles and Greer followed by the 11th HBP of the season for Murphy loaded the bases in front of Lyons. The transfer blasted a 2-1 pitch over the left field fence for the team’s first grand slam of the season and giving WCU a lead it would never relinquish. The Catamounts would rally with two away to scratch the board for a fifth run as Shaft singled home freshman Matt Johns for a 5-2 edge after three.
Western (8-14, 1-3 SoCon) again lit the scoreboard for five in the home half of the fourth, scoring one on a RBI double to right center by Murphy. The Waynesville, N.C., product would later trot home on a Spartan balk for a 7-2 advantage. Freshman transfer Ryan Mathews drove in a run with a single through the left side, with Shaft and senior Jason Haynes each driving in the additional three runs.
Lyons’ strong night continued with a RBI double down the right field line to score Greer, who laced a double to right center to put two aboard in the frame. Murphy drove in the second run of the inning as Western Carolina continued to pull away from the Spartans, 12-2.
The scoring barrage was concluded in the sixth as Haynes dropped a bunt single to score Shaft from third after doubling and moving over on a fly-out by sophomore Dylan de Graaf. Murphy then drove in his third run of the game on an RBI single up the middle ahead of Lyons who belted his second four-bagger of the night, a three-run shot to straight away centerfield to provide the final tally, 17-2.
For the Spartans (17-6, 3-1 SoCon), starter Greg Martin suffered his first defeat of the season after only lasting three and a third innings, allowing eight runs ? seven earned ? on nine hits with a pair of walks and strikeouts. All told, UNCG sent six hurlers to the mound in the loss which snapped their nine-game winning streak.
Offensively, designated hitter Greg Feltes finished 2-for-3 to pace the Spartans as all seven of UNCG’s hits on the night were singles.
Game two of the three game set is scheduled for Saturday afternoon at 4:00 pm at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
Elon 15, Furman 12
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Bennett Davis went 2-for-4 with a home run and drove in four runs to lead Elon past Furman, 15-12, Friday night in the opener of a three-game Southern Conference baseball series at Furman Stadium.
Davis delivered a two-run single in a five-run Phoenix second inning and later belted a two-run home run in a five-run fifth to help Elon (20-6, 5-2 SoCon) take a 12-1 lead. The Phoenix, however, were forced to survive a testy ninth inning that saw Furman (12-9, 1-3 SoCon) rally from a 15-6 defict with six runs and bring the potential winning run to the plate. Elon's Thomas Girdwood, however, choked off Furman's comeback attempt by inducing a game inning force play off the bat of Furman's Tom Andrews with the bases loaded.
In a game that featured two of the league's top starting pitchers in Furman's Jay Jackson and Elon's Steve Hensley, neither junior right-hander proved to be highly effective. Few in attendance also figured to see a game that would last three hours and 47 minutes.
Jackson (5-1), who took the loss, lasted only four innings before departing with Furman trailing 7-1. The former Christ Church Episcopal star, the victim of poor control and poor defense behind him, allowed only three hits but surrendered seven runs, only three of which were earned, while issuing a career high seven walks. He struck out three.
Hensley, who like Jackson entered the game with a perfect 5-0 record on the season, fared better until the fith, when he couldn't pitch around an error that opened the the frame. After getting two outs, the Asheville, N.C., product issued a pair of walks and three singles that led to four unearned runs before he was pulled one out shy of qualifying for the win. He surrendered five hits and five unearned runs while walking three and striking out five.
Chase Austin and Cory Harrilchak paced Elon's 16-hit attack with a pair of 3-for-6 performances. Austin also homered and drove in three runs, and Donny Jobe scored three runs.
Furman managed 10 hits in the contest that saw the Paladins commit a season high four errors.
Aaron Thompkins, who came on as a pinch-hitter in the fifth inning, led Furman at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a three RBI, and Bobby Hubbard went 2-for-2 with a triple and scored two runs.
Earning the win for Elon was Greg Jones (2-0), who came on the fourth in relief of Hensley and worked 1 1/3 innings of no-hit ball.
The Phoenix took advantage of pair of Furman errors to grab a 2-0 lead in the first. Chris Dove led off with a walk and Donny Jobe was awarded first base on catcher's interference. With one out, Ryan Adams singled to right field to score Dove, and Jobe came around to score after Paladin right fielder Campbell Lewis allowed the ball to get past him for the Paladins' second error of the frame.
Elon extended the lead with five more runs in the second, taking advantage of four walks by Jackson and another Paladin fielding error to extend the lead to 7-0. Two-run singles by Davis and Chase Austin marked the Phoenix's only hits of the inning.
Furman got on the board with a run in third, but Elon answered with a five-run fifth to extend their advantage to 12-1. Chase Austin's lead off home run off Furman's Jay Friedman got the frame started, and later Davis capped the inning with a two-run blast over the left field fence.
Furman struck for four in the fifth, highlighted by Thompkins' two-run single, to narrow the lead to 12-5.
After both teams scratched for runs to make is 13-6 heading into the ninth, the Phoenix scored twice in their last at bat to make it 15-6.
Furman, however, refused to go easy even after Cameron Allmendinger opened the bottom of the ninth with a groundout. Four hits, including a two-run double by Ryan Lee, four walks, and a hit batsman produced six Paladin runs and a bases loaded, two-out situation for Tom Andrews, who represented the winning run. Andrews, however, couldn't deliver as Elon closer Thomas Girdwood worked him for a soft grounder that Phoenix third baseman Bennett Davis fielded and threw to second base to retire Allemendiger to end the contest.
First pitch for Saturday's contest has been moved up to 4:00 p.m. due to threat of wet weather Saturday evening.
Wofford 13, Davidson 4
DAVIDSON, N.C. ? Wofford scored a combined seven runs in the seventh and ninth innings to turn a one-run game into a 13-4 win over the Davidson baseball team in the first of a three-game Southern Conference series on Friday evening at Wilson Field.
The Wildcats dropped their fourth straight conference game in falling to 0-4 in SoCon action and 7-13 overall. Wofford evened its league mark to 2-2 and improved to 16-8 overall with the road win.
Held to just five hits, junior Zach Kayne led the Davidson offense with a two-hit night, including jacking his first home run of the season, while driving in three runs. Senior Hugh Eden dented the plate twice to go along with a hit in four at bats, while freshman Danny Weiss hit his first collegiate home run.
Wofford's Moe Seay drove in five of the 13 runs, with two of his RBIs coming in the decisive seventh inning on a two-run homer to left field that gave Wofford a 7-4 lead at the time. The Terriers went on to add two more runs in the inning thanks to a couple of Wildcat errors to give them a five-run cushion.
Kayne got the scoring started for the Wildcats with a drive over the right-center field fence in the bottom of the first, but Wofford countered with two runs in the top of the second on two hits and two Davidson errors. The Wildcats defense had trouble all evening, committing seven errors.
After both teams traded single runs in the third and fifth innings, the Terriers took a 5-3 lead on a Seay RBI single.
Weiss brought the 'Cats to within one at 5-4 on his deep drive to left-center to lead off the sixth, but Wofford pushed the game out of reach with its eight runs in the final three innings.
Starter Zach Long (1-3) fared pretty well despite the loss, going 6.1 innings and allowing six runs, four of them earned, on eight hits. He struck out three.
The Terriers' Scott Summers (5-2) earned the win on the mound with seven innings of five-hit, four-run ball. He set down five Wildcats on strikeouts, but also walked five, though only one of the walks dented the plate.
Davidson looks to even the series with a 2 p.m. contest at Wilson Field against the Terriers as sophomore Thomas Middour is expected to get the start for the Wildcats.