The Citadel 9, Davidson 3
Charleston, S.C. ? Sonny Meade was a perfect 5-for-5 from the plate with three runs scored while Matt Reifsnider showed his effectiveness from the plate with a 3-for-4 performance and four RBI as The Citadel opened its weekend series with a 9-3 win over Davidson in front of 1,257 at Riley Park Friday afternoon.
The Citadel jumped out to an 8-2 lead and strolled on with their 20th victory of the season, upping their mark to 20-13 (8-5 in the Southern Conference). Davidson remained winless on the road this season and fell to 8-20 (1-9 SoCon).
Matt Crim (5-2) allowed three runs ? two earned ? on nine hits in 6.0 innings of work on the mound while striking out four. Raymond Copenhaver pitched 2.0 innings in his Southern Conference leading 23rd appearance of the season. Copenhaver allowed one hit and no runs while striking out one. Chris Boyce pitched the final inning of the game, forcing the Wildcats to go three up, three down.
Thomas Missour (2-1) was credited with the loss ? the first of the season for junior southpaw. Middour allowed eight runs ? four earned ? on 10 hits in 4.0 innings on the mound. Andy Bass went the final four innings for the Wildcats, allowing one run on three hits and striking out three.
The Citadel jumped out to a 4-0 lead as Meade singled to short with one out, sending Bryan Altman to second. Richard Jones was hit by Middour’s first pitch to him, loading the bases for the Bulldogs. Facing one strike, Chris McGuiness was also hit by a pitch which allowed Meade to score.
Reifsnider followed with an RBI single to right center and Matt Arnold reached on an error by first baseman Danny Weiss for the third run of the inning. Trey Thomas hit sacrifice fly to center field as McGuiness scored for the fourth run of the inning.
Meade hit a solo home run to left field with two outs in the fourth to start another four-run inning. A second error by Weiss kicked off a string of three consecutive errors by the Wildcats as three more runs ? all unearned ? crossed the plate for The Citadel.
The Citadel returns to action on Saturday, April 12 as the ?Dogs and ?Cats return to Riley Park for the second game of a three-game series. Game time is set for 1 p.m., moved up an hour from the previously scheduled time due to the threat of inclement weather in the Charleston area late Saturday.
Elon 16, Western Carolina 1
ELON, N.C. ? Steven Hensley struck out 11 hitters and threw his fourth career complete game while Chase Austin went 2-for-3 with a run and four RBI to lead the Elon Phoenix to a 16-1 Southern Conference rout of visiting Western Carolina from Latham Park on Friday night. The win was the seventh consecutive SoCon decision for the Phoenix which improved to 27-8 overall and 11-2 in league play. The Catamounts dipped to 15-17, 5-5.
Nick Liles started things off on a high note for the Catamounts, sending the first pitch of the game from Phoenix starter Hensley over the wall in right.
Elon got that run back in the bottom of the second when Chase Austin led off with his fourth homer of the year which cleared the fence in left. After reaching on a fielder’s choice which recorded the second out, Greg Annarummo came around to score the second Phoenix run on Dallas Tarleton’s double off the top of the fence in dead center.
After Donny Jobe lined a single into left, Bennett Davis grounded a ball to second for what should have been an inning-ending double play. However, the throw from Liles at third was low to second and ended up in shallow left field, allowing Jobe to end up on third. Chase Austin drove in his second run of the night with a sacrifice fly to left, scoring Jobe with Elon’s third run of the game.
The Phoenix added to its lead in the fourth. Harry Austin reached on an error to start the frame before three straight singles from Annarummo, Tarleton and Cory Harrilchak plated a run. Chris Dove lined a ball to left for the first out of the inning, but it was a productive out as Annarummo tug and scored from third.
Neal Pritchard upped the Elon edge to 6-1 in the fifth inning by hitting his sixth homer of the season, a solo shot, to left-center.
A hit batter and two bunt singles loaded the bases with one out for Western Carolina in the top of the sixth inning. After Hensley fanned Matt Johns for out number two, Mitchell Hatley grounded into a fielder’s choice as the final out was recorded at second to end the Catamount threat.
A one-out triple by Harrilchak got Elon started in the bottom half of the sixth before Dove lined a ball through the right side of the infield to drive home the seventh Phoenix run of the contest. After a ground out moved Dove to second, Davis lined a single to left-center, scoring Dove. Chase Austin continued his hot night at the plate by lining the first pitch from Catamount reliever Brandon Johnson into right-center for a RBI double as Davis scored from first.
The fourth Catamount error of the night allowed Dove to score Elon’s 10th run of the night before a Chase Austin sac fly knocked in pinch-hitter Pat Irvine who had walked. With pinch-hitter Mike Lobacz on first after a fielder’s choice, the Phoenix loaded the bases when Harry Austin was hit by a pitch and Ryan Adams walked. Tarleton delivered two with his double down the rightfield line. Harrilchak followed with a three-run bomb to right, his fourth of the year.
Tarleton aided in the Elon attack by going 3-for-5 with a run and three RBI while Harrilchak finished the night 3-for-5 with two runs scored and four RBI.
Jason Haynes rapped three hits in four at bats to lead the Western offense while Liles had a 2-for-4, one-run, one-RBI outing. The Catamounts entered the ninth tied for eighth in the nation by averaging 9.6 runs per game.
Hensley saw his record improve to 7-0 after hurling 9.0 innings and allowing just one run on eight hits. He walked just one and fanned 11 to pull within just seven K’s of Elon’s all-time record of 274 set by Matt Garner from 2001-04. The win was also the 21st of the junior’s career, pulling him into a tie for ninth with Gary Henson (1957-60) on the school’s career chart.
Drew Saberhagen fell to 2-4 after giving up nine runs (seven earned) on 11 hits and no walks in 5.2 innings of work. He struck out three.
The Phoenix and Catamounts will play game two at 7 p.m. on Saturday night from Latham Park.
Friday Furman-College of Charleston Baseball Game Suspended In Eighth Inning Due To Rain, Lightning
Contest Will Be Resumed At 4:30 p.m. Saturday Prior To 6:00 p.m. Regularly Scheduled Contest
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Furman's Friday night baseball game against College of Charleston has been suspended heading to the bottom of the eighth inning due to rain and lightning that have moved into the Greenville area.
With Furman holding a 10-8 lead, the game, which was suspended at 10:26 p.m., will be resumed at 4:30 p.m. Saturday and will be followed by Saturday's regularly scheduled contest at 6:00 p.m.
UNC Greensboro 3, Wofford 2
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? After taking a 3-0 lead over Wofford in the fifth inning, the UNC Greensboro baseball club fended off the Terriers to take a 3-2, Friday night victory at UNCG Baseball Stadium. This marks UNCG’s first Friday night win since the 9-3, Southern Conference victory over Appalachian State on March 21 in Boone, N.C.
The Spartans took the lead in the home half of the fourth inning as right fielder Pedro Leon hit a two-run double to left center. In the fifth, the Spartans made it 3-0 off of a sacrifice fly to center. Just two innings later, the Terriers nipped at the heels of the Spartans after tallying two runs of their own. Wofford had their chances to tie-up the game, but the UNCG defense fended them off to take the 3-2, home field victory.
With the win, UNCG moved to 19-20 on the season with a 6-4 record in the conference. Wofford dropped to 19-14 overall with a 4-6 league mark.
After three scoreless innings, Leon put the Spartans up 2-0 with a two-run double to left center. His slice into the outfield brought around second baseman Tim Carrier and right fielder Sean Snell. The two-bagger was Leon’s ninth of the season.
Designated hitter Greg Feltes bumped the blue and gold up by one more in the fifth inning with a sacrifice fly. His fly out to centerfield allowed third baseman Ray Quinones to head down the third baseline and give UNCG the 3-0 lead.
Two innings later, the Terriers made it a one-run game. Neil Robinette chipped the first run away with an RBI single to left field. Two bats later, Robinette made his way home as Josh McKinney dropped a single into the left field to put the game at 3-2 in favor of the Spartans.
With a runner on second, Wofford had the chance to tie in the ninth, but a snag in centerfield by Corey Overholtzer gave the Spartans the third out and the 3-2 victory over Wofford.
The UNCG bats were led by Sean Snell who was 3-for-4 (.291) with one run. Ricky Orton and Pedro Leon each tallied a double. The Terriers’ Neil Robinette was 2-for-3 (.364) with a run and an RBI.
Starter Greg Martin (3-2) grabbed his third win of the season after 6.1 innings on the mound and two strikeouts. Reliever Rob Gilliam (1-3) earned his fourth save of the season after holding off the Terriers in the eighth and ninth innings. Wofford’s Scott Summers (5-4) took the game loss after allowing all three of UNCG’s runs.
The Spartans return tomorrow to UNCG Baseball Stadium for the second game of the series with the Wofford Terriers. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. Saturday’s game will be a continuation of 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.
Georgia Southern 13, Appalachian State 7
STATESBORO, Ga. ? A pair of 3-run doubles keyed Georgia Southern’s 13-7 Southern Conference victory over Appalachian State Friday night (April 11) at J.I. Clements Stadium. The Eagles snapped a five-game conference losing streak, improving to 18-14 overall and 5-5 in league play.
Jason Altenhof led off the game for Appy hitting Drew Murray’s (LaGrange/LaGrange) 3-2 pitch down the right field line for his third home run of the year. The Eagles had an answer of their own.
Ty Wright (Montrose/West Laurens) hit his fourth leadoff home run this year, ninth homer overall, to tie the score. Phillip Porter (Marietta/Sprayberry) reached on an infield single then Chris Shehan (Strasburg, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) added to his team-leading walk total. Griffin Benedict (Dunwoody/St. Pius) reached on a catchers interference to load the bases. Jeremiah Parker (Carrollton/Carrollton) cleared the paths thanks to a double in the right field gap for a 4-1 lead.
In the third, Shehan reached on an infield single. He stole second then scored on Benedict’s single.
App State (16-19, 1-9) put two on base in the third but Murray got David Rubinstein on a foul out to end the inning. The Mountaineers got a leadoff single in the fourth but Murray got a strikeout and flyball for two quick outs. A throwing error and hit batter loaded the bases. Jerod Faggart walked to bring home a run. Altenhof lined a shot off Murray’s leg for an infield single. The junior right-hander walked it off then stayed in the game to get Jason Rook swinging to end the threat.
During the fifth ASU got a pair of singles to leadoff. They advanced on a wild pitch then Brett Stewart brought home one run on a sacrifice fly. Two walks again loaded the bases but Murray got an inning-ending ground out to maintain a 5-4 lead.
GS took advantage of three walks in the fifth to extend the margin. Shehan walked, stole second then Benedict walked. Parker worked the count full before drawing a walk that chased starter Matt Andress. Adam Mills got a flyball for the second out. David Richardson (Dahlonega/Lumpkin County) lined the first pitch into the right field gap, nearly the same spot as Parker’s first inning double, which again cleared the bases.
Jeremy Beckham (Griffin/Griffin) was hit by a pitch to start the sixth. He stole second then scored on Wright’s RBI double. After a groundout that advanced Wright to third, Shehan singled past a drawn-in infield. Benedict hit his first home run in 10 games, a 2-run shot to centerfield. His ninth homer of the year extended the Eagles’ lead to 12-4.
Stewart lined a 2-run homer down the left field line in the eighth. Porter smacked his fourth round-tripper of the year, a solo shot to straightaway center to start the Eagles’ half of the eighth. App finished off the scoring when Adam Beasley hit a solo homer in the ninth.
According to Murray, having the offense getting off to a fast start was a big key.
“The offense really gave us a lift getting on top early which made it easier to pitch against a pretty good lineup. I was able to work ahead and put myself in a pitchers count,” said Murray. “I think it’s a huge win to get the first one of the series out of the way and snap that SoCon losing streak.”
Wright, Porter, Shehan, Benedict and Parker all had two hits apiece, accounting for 10 of the team’s 12 hits. They also scored 12 runs and drove in 10. Shehan matched a season-high scoring four times. He reached base in all five plate appearances, two hits and three walks. Benedict, Parker and Richardson had three RBI apiece.
Murray (4-1) gave up four runs (two earned) off six hits in five innings. He walked five and struck out five. Charlie Strohecker (Alpharetta/Milton) pitched two scoreless innings.
Andress (4-3) was charged for eight runs (seven earned) on five hits in 4.1 innings. He struck out two and walked five. Altenhof had three hits and two RBI.
Game two of the series is scheduled for 6 p.m. Saturday (April 12).