SoCon Baseball Recaps for April 9, 2008
WOFFORD 7, UNC ASHEVILLE 3
ASHEVILLE, N.C. ? The Wofford College baseball team picked up a 7-3 win over UNC Asheville on Wednesday night at McCormick Field. After the Bulldogs scored the first three runs of the game, Wofford scored five in the second to take the lead on the way to the victory.
Wofford is now 19-13 on the season and 4-5 in the Southern Conference, while UNC Asheville is 13-22 overall and 1-5 in the Big South Conference. The Terriers were led by Kyle Behrendt with three hits and Jordan Mickelberry had the win with six strikeouts.
In the first inning for the Bulldogs, three hits and a walk led to three runs as UNC Asheville took a 3-0 lead. Wofford got things going in the top of the second. Neil Robinette opened the inning with a single and a double by Mo Seay gave the Terriers a run. A walk by Shane Kirkley and a bunt single by Josh McKinney loaded the bases. Sterling Dye drew a walk, which scored a run. A single by Kyle Behrendt scored another run. Sacrifice flies by Michael Gilmartin and Shane Kirkley gave the Terriers a 5-3 lead.
Jordan Mickleberry struck out three in the bottom of the second for the Terriers and Ben Buchanan struck out all three batters faced in the top of the third for Asheville. Mickleberry added a strikeout in the bottom of the third as the Bulldogs went three-up and three-down.
After scoreless fourth, fifth and sixth innings, the Terriers were able to add to the lead in the top of the seventh. A double by Shane Kirkley scored Kyle Behrendt who had reached on a single. A sacrifice fly deep to centerfield by Jake Williams scored Michael Gilmartin and the Terriers took a 7-3 lead.
The Terriers stranded two runners in the top of the eighth. In the bottom of the eighth, the Bulldogs went three-up and three-down. Wofford left one on base in the ninth. UNC Asheville opened the bottom of the ninth with a walk and Kevin Mattison hit a double, but both were left on base as Wofford took the 7-3 victory.
Wofford starter Jordan Mickleberry went 5.0 innings with four hits, three runs and six strikeouts. John Cornely threw an inning and gave up two hits with one strikeout. Pete Noordsy came in for the seventh inning and did not allow a hit with one strikeout. Drew Sheridan pitched the eighth inning with one strikeout and no hits. Chip Hunt entered the game in the ninth inning and allowed one hit.
For UNC Asheville, starter Ben Buchanan posted seven strikeouts in 6.0 innings with five hits and five runs allowed. Chris Brookey pitched the seventh with two runs, two hits and one strikeout. Billy Enright allowed one hit in 2.0 innings to close the game for the Bulldogs.
Shane Kirkley had a double in the seventh inning, giving him 230 hits in his career to move into first place all-time at Wofford. Wofford head coach Todd Interdonato and assistant coach Nick Jaksa are both graduates of UNC Asheville.
On Friday at 7:00 pm, the Terriers will begin a three-game series at UNC Greensboro. The next home game at Russell C. King Field will be Tuesday, April 15 against UNC Asheville at 7:00 pm.
CHARLOTTE 16, FURMAN 6
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- O’Brien Taylor went 2-for-5 with a home run and drove in four runs to lead 26th-ranked Charlotte to a 16-6 win over Furman in baseball action Wednesday evening at Furman Stadium.
Taylor’s three-run blast to left field highlighted a seven-run eighth inning that blew the game open for Charlotte (26-5), which completed the two-game season sweep of Furman (17-13).
Charlotte brought out the heavy lumber after falling behind 6-0 in the second inning, pounding Furman’s bullpen for 15 of its 16 hits. The Paladins used nine pitchers in the contest.
Joining Taylor with hot bats were Aaron Bray, who went 3-for-6, and Rob Lyerly, who went 3-for-5 with two RBI while also scoring three runs. Brad McElroy, Chris Taylor, and Corey Shaylor also collected two hits each for the 49ers.
Furman banged out 10 hits but only managed four base knocks over the final seven innings. The Paladins were paced at the plate by Ryan Lee’s 2-for-4, 3 RBI performance that also included a two-run home run.
B.J. Hagen (2-1) earned the win in relief after working three scoreless innings and allowing only three hits.
Will Feemster (0-2) took the loss for Furman, also in relief. He gave up two runs on three hits over 1 1/3 innings.
Lee’s second home run in two days, a two-run shot to left field, staked Furman to a 3-0 lead in the first inning.
Joey Rodgers’ two-run single and Lee’s second hit of the game, an RBI single to right field off 49ers starter Andrew Smith, stretched Furman’s advantage to 6-0 in the second inning.
Charlotte’s bats came to life in the third against J.P. Goldsberry, who came on for Paladin starter Mason Smith. Goldsberry recorded only one out and yielded five runs on three hits and a walk while uncorking two wild pitches. McElroy’s bases loaded, two-run double to left field proved to be inning’s big blow and helped Charlotte narrow Furman’s lead to 6-5.
McElroy’s fifth inning solo home run to center field tied the game, and the 49ers took the lead for good later in the inning when Lyerly scored on Shaylor’s sacrifice fly.
Charlotte made it 9-6 with a two-run seventh on a pair of RBI grounders by Alan Parks and O’Brien Taylor.
The 49ers blew the game open in the eighth, using a pair of Furman errors and five hits to plate seven runs, six of which were unearned.
The Paladins open a three-game Southern Conference series this Friday when they entertain the College of Charleston at Furman Stadium in a 7:00 p.m.
game.
GARDNER-WEBB 10, APPALACHIAN STATE 3
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University baseball managed just four hits over the first eight innings en route to a 10-3 loss to Gardner-Webb on Wednesday evening at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
Appalachian (16-18) came into the evening averaging 11 runs and 13 hits per game in mid-week contests this season but was stymied by Gardner-Webb freshman Brett Stackhouse. The southpaw limited ASU to four hits and an unearned run over seven sterling innings to earn the first win of his career.
The Mountaineers attempted to mount a comeback in the bottom of the ninth by doubling the four hits they recorded to that point - including back-to-back home runs from Jason Wallace (Greensboro, N.C./Ragsdale) and Isaac Harrow (Hickory, N.C./Hickory) - but the rally wasn't enough to keep the Apps from falling for the fifth time in six games.
While Appalachian uncharacteristically struggled at the plate, Gardner-Webb (15-16) pounded seven ASU pitchers for 17 hits. GWU relied on small ball to pace its offensive attack, as 14 of its 17 hits were singles and it stole seven bases, including three each from right fielder Jamall Kinard and center fielder Brock Miller.
Matt Rizzuto, Bubbie Spake, Daniel Cooke and Miller all recorded three hits to lead the Bulldogs. Wes Hobson (Winston-Salem, N.C./North Forsyth) was the only Mountaineer with multiple hits, leading the squad with a 2-for-4 effort. Wallace's ninth-inning homer was the third in just 10 at-bats for the freshman this season.
Nick Terry (Senola, Ga./Starr's Mill) threw 54 pitches in just two innings of work, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits to suffer the loss and fall to 3-3.
Appalachian returns to Southern Conference action this weekend when it travels to Statesboro, Ga. for a three-game series versus Georgia Southern. The three-game set kicks off on Friday at 7 p.m.
EAST CAROLINA 7, ELON 3
ELON, N.C. ? The 28th-ranked East Carolina Pirates rallied from a 7-3 deficit heading into the eighth inning and scored nine runs over the final two innings to claim a 12-7 non-conference baseball victory over the home-standing Elon Phoenix in front of 1,002 fans from Latham Park on Wednesday night. The loss snapped Elon’s four-game winning streak and dropped the Phoenix to 26-8 on the year. With the win, the Pirates took two of the three meetings from Elon this season and improved to 23-9.
Elon jumped on top of the Pirates in the first inning. Harry Austin began the game by being hit with a 1-0 pitch before going to second on Donny Jobe’s sacrifice bunt. Bennett Davis lined a single through the right side of the infield to drove home Harry Austin from second for his team-leading 42nd RBI of the season.
ECU got even in the second. Back-to-back one-out singles from Kyle Roller and Brandon Henderson put runners on first and second. After a passed ball moved up both runners, Jamie Ray grounded out to second to plate Roller.
The Phoenix threatened in the bottom of the second when Chase Austin led off with a walk and went all the way to third on when the throw from the pitcher got away on a pick-off attempt. Mike Melillo’s ground out scored Chase Austin with Elon’s second run of the night.
Elon upped its edge to 3-1 in the third inning. Harry Austin reached on an infield single before going to second on a ground out and to third on a passed ball. Davis grounded out to plate Harry Austin with the third Phoenix tally in as many innings.
The Phoenix bats stayed hot in the fourth as Cory Harrilchak singled to begin the at bat. Chase Austin followed with his first triple of the season to bring home Harrilchak. Neal Pritchard followed with a sac fly to right-center, scoring Chase Austin.
With two down in the top of the fifth, Harrison Eldridge drew a 3-2 walk and came around to score on Ryan Wood’s triple down the rightfield line.
The Pirates pulled within 5-3 when Corey Kemp blasted a solo homer to centerfield, his ninth of the season. With one away, Henderson and Ray reached on back-to-back singles. Elon got Henderson hung up between second and third on a pickoff attempt. Henderson made it back to the bag at second, but Ray was also occupying the bag. Chase Austin applied a tag to Henderson, but was not called out. After Ray was tug and ruled out, Henderson stepped off the base and was tug by Austin for the final out of the inning.
Melillo’s two-run bomb to right in the bottom of the sixth extended Elon’s advantage to 7-3. Riding home on Melillo’s second homer of the year was Harrilchak who led the frame off with a walk.
Henderson hit his seventh homer of the season in the top of the eighth, a two-run shot that scored Roller with one out. A second two-run bomb in the seventh, this one by Broc Sutton scored Dustin Harrington to knot the game at 7-7. It was the first career home run for Sutton. After two singles and a walk loaded the bases, Phoenix closer Thomas Girdwood walked in the go-ahead run on a 3-1 pitch. Roller delivered two with a single through the right side to build the ECU lead to 10-7.
Sutton delivered his second two-run shot of the game in the top of the ninth.
For Elon, Melillo went drove in three runs with a 1-for-4 outing while Davis finished with two RBI in a 1-for-3 night.
Sutton was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three driven in while Kemp, Roller and Henderson all finished with two RBI for the Pirates.
Elon wasted a solid starting effort from Ken Ferrer who threw 5.0 innings and allowed just two runs (one earned) five hits. The freshman righty also struck out four and left the game with a 5-2 lead. Jared Kernodle, one of Elon’s most dependable arms out of the pen, suffered the loss to fall to 0-1. He gave up three runs on two hits and a walk in just 0.1 inning.
Josh Ruhlman upped his record to 3-1 after throwing the final 2.2 innings, shutting out the Phoenix and not allowing a hit in that span. The last hit for Elon was Melillo’s homer. Starter Daniel Holder was chased after just 1.2 innings. Holder allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits.
The Phoenix gets back to SoCon play by hosting Western Carolina at 7 p.m. on Friday night.
DUKE 10, UNC GREENSBORO 0
DURHAM, N.C. ? UNC Greensboro was handed their 12th loss of the season as they were shutout by the Duke Blue Devils, 10-0, Wednesday evening in Durham, NC. The victory snapped Duke’s five-game losing streak.
The Blue Devils led the Spartans, 4-0, heading into the sixth inning before going on a six-run rally in the sixth to take a commanding 10-0 lead. Duke out hit UNCG 12-2 and tallied the only two hits higher than a single; both were doubles.
UNCG will hold a 19-12 overall record heading into this weekend’s Southern Conference action and is 5-4 in the league. Duke is now 22-10 on the season with a 4-10 record in the ACC.
With two outs and two on the bags, Duke took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. Alex Hassan knocked a two-run double into left center to bring around both Jake Lemmerman and Kyle Kreick.
The Blue Devils increased their lead to 4-0 in the fourth starting with a sacrifice fly to right field by Matt Williams to plate Michael Ghizzoni. In the next play, Gabriel Saade slid in home as an attempt was being made to pickoff Hassan who was looking to steal second. During the relay from home to second, Hassan made his way down the third baseline. The ball was immediately sent back to down to the plate, but it was just a bit too late as Hassan scored safely.
In inning six, Duke took a commanding lead with a six-run rally started by another sacrifice fly by Williams. His fly out to centerfield allowed Ghizzoni to safely cross home. Then with two outs, a single to centerfield by Ryan McCurdy brought in both Jeremy Gould and Jonathan Nicolla. Duke’s final two runs were brought in off of a defensive error and a balk, respectively.
UNCG’s two hits were tallied by Greg Feltes and Ricky Orton. Duke was led by Ryan McCurdy who was 2-for-3 with a run, a walk, and a pair of RBI.
Blue Devil starter Christopher Manno (3-0) was credited with the win after striking out nine and allowing just one hit in five innings on the mound. UNCG’s Alex Shelton (3-2) took the loss after three innings on the rubber. In the seventh inning, reliever Warren Slack struck out two of his three batters faced.
The Spartans return to UNCG Baseball Stadium on April 11 as they begin a three day, three game series with Southern Conference opponent, the Wofford Terriers. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 7pm with start times of 2pm on Saturday and 1pm on Sunday. The weekend has been dedicated as Katie Ball Memorial Baseball Weekend in honor of the late Katherine (Katie) Ball, former baseball administrative assistant. Fans are invited to join UNCG baseball and the rest of Spartan athletics in their effort to STRIKEOUT cancer.