Furman 11, College of Charleston 9
Furman 5, College of Charleston 3
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Furman claimed an 11-9 win over the College of Charleston in the completion of a Friday suspended game and later recorded its second victory of the day with a 5-3 decision over the Cougars in Saturday's regularly scheduled Southern Conference baseball contest at Furman Stadium.
The two wins gave Furman (19-13, 5-6 SoCon) its first series victory over the College of Charleston (23-11, 8-3 SoCon) since 2003 and also snapped the Cougars' streak of 21 consecutive league road series victories dating back to 2004.
Furman, which has won seven of its last nine games, has now matched last year's 19-game win total.
In the completed game from Friday, Joey Rodgers' two, three-run home runs and seventh inning sacrifice RBI highlighted a seven-RBI performance and keyed the Paladins to the win.
Rodgers, a senior center fielder from Cincinnati, Ohio, went 2-for-3 in the contest and delivered his first clout in the fourth inning off College of Charleston starter Austin Garrett to give the Paladins a 4-0 lead. After the Cougars got on the board with a run in the fifth, Rodgers came back in the Furman fifth with his second three-run blast, his seventh home run of the season, over the left field fence to finish off a five-run Paladin inning and stretch the Paladin advantage to 9-1.
The College of Charleston sliced into Furman's lead with a four-run seventh that featured a two-run home run by Jeremie Tice and solo route jobs by Michael Harrington and Brandon Sizemore.
The Cougars got three more in the eighth to make it 10-8 on an RBI double by Matt Leeds and run-scoring singles by Tice and Michael Kohn, but when play was resumed Saturday Furman pushed across an unearned run in the bottom of the frame on a Brian Harrison's two-out RBI single to left field.
In the ninth Paladin reliever Nick Karrow yielded a one-out solo home run to Cole Rakar but rallied by striking out pinch-hitter Joah Brodin and retiring Clay McCord on a groundout to end the game.
Joining Rodgers' with solid work at the plate were Bobby Hubbard, who went 3-for-4 and scored a pair of runs, and Matt Hemingway and Reese Wade, who had two hits each.
The College of Charleston was paced by Tice's 3-for-3, three-RBI performance and by Clay McCord, whoc went 3-for-6 and scored three runs.
Jay Jackson (7-1) earned the win for Furman with 6 1/3 innings of solid work. The junior right-hander and former Christ Church Episcopal School standout, scattered eight hits and alllowed only three runs, all earned, and five walks while striking out three.
The loss went to Austin Garrett (5-1), who tossed 4 1/3 innings before being pulled. He gave up seven hits and six runs, three of which were earned, and walked three to go along with six strikeouts.
In Saturday's regularly scheduled game Paladin pitchers Mason Smith and Ian Parry combined to tame the nation's top scoring offense (11.2 runs per game) in a 5-3 Furman victory.
Smith (3-2), a Columbia native and Dreher High product, earned the win after pitching seven innings and limiting the College of Charleston to only five hits and three runs before departing with a 4-3 lead.
Parry, meanwhile, came on to start the eighth and worked a perfect final two frames while striking out three to earn his second save of the season. The Paladin duo also did not issue a walk.
The Paladins combined a Bobby Hubbard RBI single with a pair of Cougar error and two wild pitches by starting and losing pitcher Casey Lucchese (4-2) to grab a 3-0 lead in the third.
Another Cougar error in the fourth allowed Furman to stretch its lead to 4-0 before Tice's two-run double down the left field line in the fifth narrowed the lead to 4-2.
Sizemore's one-out solo home run in to left field in the sixth made it 4-3, but the Paladins pushed across a run in the eighth when Brian Harrison sprinted home from third base to score ahead of a wild throw from Cougar shortstop Cole Rakar following a sharp grounder off the bat of Marcus Rose.
Parry followed up his perfect eight with a pair of strikeouts in the ninth to secure the victory.
Hubbard had two of Furman's seven hits, including a double. Sizemore collected two of the Cougars' five hits in the contest.
Furman goes for the series sweep on Sunday in a 1:00 p.m. game.
Elon 3, Western Carolina 2 (11 inn.)
ELON, N.C. ? A wild pitch in the bottom of the 11th inning scored the game-winning run as the Elon Phoenix knocked off the visiting Western Carolina Catamounts by a 3-2 margin in front of 772 fans from Latham Park on Saturday night. The Phoenix, winners of eight consecutive Southern Conference contests, upped its mark to 28-8 overall and 12-2 in SoCon action. The Catamounts dropped to 15-18, 5-6 on the year.
For the second straight night, Western Carolina claimed an early 1-0 lead with a solo home run. On Saturday, Blake Murphy led off the second inning with his 11th homer of the season.
Cory Harrilchak began the Phoenix half of the fourth with a triple off the fence in right before Bennett Davis drove a ball to the wall in dead center for a sacrifice fly to knot the game at 1-1.
After loading the bases with a Harrilchak single, a hit batter and a failed out on a sacrifice bunt, Chase Austin grounded into a double play which allowed Harrilchak to score the go-ahead run.
Jason Haynes evened the score at 2-2 by leading off the Catamount seventh with his third homer of the season.
Tied at two in the bottom of the ninth, Chase Austin got things going with an infield single and went to second on a sacrifice bunt from Dallas Tarleton. After Neal Pritchard was intentionally walked to set up the double play, pinch-hitter Mike Melillo struck out. On the play, Elon successfully pulled off a double steal, putting the winning run just 90 feet away. The Catamounts issued an intentional walk to Chris Dove to load the bases for Harry Austin. Harry Austin battled and lined the eighth pitch he saw to right field where Ryan Mathews was waiting, ending the threat.
Mitchell Hatley got on after being hit by a pitch to start the Western 10th. Nick Liles lined a ball to right-center that Dove nearly ran down, but the ball fell in for a single. Hatley went to third and Liles moved to second on the throw. Brent Greer walked to load the bases with one out for Murphy. Phoenix closer Thomas Girdwood got Murphy to pop out to short for out number two. Dylan de Graaf followed by driving Harrilchak to the wall in right, but the ball stayed in the yard for the final out of the half inning.
Harrilchak led off the bottom of the 10th with an infield single, his fourth hit of the night. Donny Jobe put down a successful sac bunt to advance Harrilchak to second. After a pitching change, Mike Lobacz drew a walk to bring Chase Austin to the dish. Chase Austin lined a single to left, loading the bags for Tarleton. Tarleton struck out for out number two, leaving the games in the hands of Pritchard who also struck out and Elon left the bases loaded for the second time in as many innings.
With one away in the Elon 11th, Dove walked and went to second on a wild pitch. Harry Austin walked, placing runners on first and second. A double steal moved both runners up a bag. After a strike out, Jobe stepped up to the plate. A wild pitch from Chris Masters let Dove scamper home with the game-winning run.
At the dish, Harrilchak went 4-for-6 with two runs scored while Chase Austin was 2-for-5.
Western’s offense was held to just four hits, including the two homers from Murphy and Haynes.
Girdwood (2-0) earned the win with 1.2 innings out of the pen for the Phoenix. He did not allow a hit and struck out three. Daniel Britt’s start lasted a career-long 7.0 innings. Britt gave up two runs on three hits and fanned a career-best six hitters.
Masters (3-3) took the loss after allowing one run on one hit and three walks in 1.1 innings. Starter Mike Tavernier went 7.0 innings and gave up two runs on six hits.
Elon and Western are slated to play game three at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.
The Citadel 9, Davidson 1
Charleston, S.C. ? Wes Wrenn went 6.1 innings of no-hit ball and allowed only one hit in seven innings on the mound as The Citadel cruised to a 9-1 victory over Davidson at Riley Park Saturday afternoon.
The Citadel (21-13, 9-5 Southern) jumped on Davidson early, holding a 7-0 lead after three innings of play in front of 817 at “The Joe.” The Wildcats (8-21, 1-10 SoCon) remain winless on the road this season and dropped their eighth straight game.
Wrenn (4-3) struck out four and walked three in his seven innings of work as he earned a victory in his second straight start. Timmy Martin pitched the final two innings and allowed two hits. The masterful performance by the two on the mound enabled The Citadel to drop its team ERA to a Southern Conference-best 3.82 this season.
Chris Kennedy (0-4) was credited with the loss after giving up six runs on five hits in 2.1 innings on the mound while walking four and not registering a strikeout. Ian Horkley pitched the next three innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits. Mac Hunter and Bobby DeMuro finished the final 2.2 innings of the game for Davidson, not allowing a run while only giving up three hits.
Bryan Altman, Sonny Meade and Richard Jones each scored in the first with Meade scoring off a wild pitch by Kennedy. The Citadel sent all nine players to the plate in the inning as they scored three runs on two hits and left three stranded.
The Bulldogs added four more runs in the third as Matt Arnold led off with a double to left center before Trey Thomas sent him home with an RBI single to right. Kennedy put runners on first and second after walking Sid Fallaw before Davidson head coach brought in Horkley to pitch.
Horkley immediately gave up an RBI double to Kyle Jordan, allowing Thomas to score and sending Fallaw to third. Fallaw the scored on Chris Swauger’s sacrifice fly to left. An error by Davidson’s Shane Hammond allowed Altman to reach, which scored Jordan for the fourth run of the inning.
The Citadel’s final two runs of the game came in the fifth as Arnold and Jordan both scored with Jordan scoring on a balk by Horkley. Chris Swauger notched his 68th career double, tying him for fifth in Southern Conference history in career doubles.
The Citadel and Davidson will meet for the third and final game of the series on Sunday, April 13 at 1 p.m. at Riley Park. Asher Wojciechowski (4-0, 2.89 ERA) is slated to start for The Citadel while Davidson had not named a starter as of Saturday afternoon.
Appalachian State 5, Georgia Southern 3
STATESBORO, Ga. ? Georgia Southern gave up a pair of ninth inning runs, losing 5-3 to Appalachian State Saturday night (April 12). An announced crowd of 2,495 ? the third-largest crowd in J.I. Clements Stadium history watched the Southern Conference contest.
Wes Hobson led off the ninth with a single off Blake Nation (Brooks/Starr’s Mill). Rand Smith hit a potential double play ball but the relay throw to first sailed past Jeremiah Parker (Carrollton/Carrollton) and Smith advanced to second. A pinch-hit double by Andrew Franco and RBI single from Adam Beasley proved to be the difference.
Georgia Southern (18-15 overall, 5-6 SoCon) had a chance to break the tie score during the eighth. Chris Shehan (Strasburg, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) singled to start the frame and then Griffin Benedict (Dunwoody/St. Pius) was hit by a pitch. That brought in Garrett Sherrill from the bullpen. Parker perfectly executed a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners. However, Sherrill worked out of the jam with a flyball and grounder to end the inning.
Ty Wright (Montrose/West Laurens) lined a two-out double in the ninth but Phillip Porter (Marietta/Sprayberry), the potential tying run, flew out to end the game.
Hobson started the scoring with a 2-run homer in the second inning. In the third Kyle Kamppi (Savannah/Benedictine Military) made quick work of the Mountaineers throwing just six pitches.
GS got on the board in its half. Jeremy Beckham (Griffin/Griffin) lined a single up the middle. He stole second then advanced to third on Wright’s flyball to the warning track. Porter lined a two-out double down the left field line to bring home Beckham.
The Mountaineers (17-19, 2-9) added a sacrifice fly in the fourth for a 3-1 lead. During the fifth A.J. Wirnsberger (Tuscaloosa, AL/Paul Bear Bryant), working out of a 1-for-24 slump, hit a solo homer to start the frame. His 10th home run of the year cut the deficit to one.
Shehan and Benedict hit back-to-back doubles to start the sixth, tying the score at 3-all.
Kamppi struck out a career-high seven batters in a career-long six innings pitched. He allowed three runs on six hits and did not walk a batter. Tony Chisman (Conyers/Salem) pitched two hitless innings, striking out three. Nation (1-3) suffered the loss.
Porter tallied three hits and Shehan added two as both teams finished with nine hits.
Sherrill (1-2) gave up the one hit in two innings. Aubrey Edens allowed three runs on six hits in five innings, striking out six. Hobson had three hits and two RBI.
The Eagles will go for the series win Sunday afternoon (April 13), first pitch scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
UNC Greensboro 16, Wofford 9
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? UNC Greensboro scored ten runs off of a season-high five home runs to defeat the Wofford Terriers, 16-9, on Saturday afternoon at UNCG Baseball Stadium in Greensboro, NC.
Right fielder Pedro Leon and first baseman Ricky Orton accounted for six of those runs as both slammed three-run home runs over the left side fence; Leon went yard in the first while Orton hammered away for the tenth time in the second. In the fourth, shortstop Matt Gaski sent a solo shot out the left center and Sean Snell brought in two with a hit out to left field. Third baseman Ray Quinones added another solo to the list in the seventh after sending another ball out on the left side.
Following Sunday’s Southern Conference victory, UNCG moved 21-12 on the season with a 7-4 conference mark. Wofford fell to 19-15 on the season and is now 4-7 in the league.
With the help of Leon and Orton, the Spartans jumped out to a 9-2 lead after two innings. Home runs by Gaski and Snell in the fourth, along with an RBI single by second baseman Tim Carrier pushed UNCG ahead by four more to put the game at 13-3 in favor of the Spartans.
The Terriers came back in the fifth with a five-run rally to come within five runs of the Spartans. Michael Gilmartin started things off with an RBI single to right center. In the next at-bat, Shane Kirkley doubled down the leftfield line to bring in Kyle Behrendt from third. Gilmartin came home off of a wild pitch before Jake Williams bounced a three-bagger off of the centerfield wall to bring one in. Keith Munns closed out the rally with an RBI single through the left side.
After scoring three more between the sixth and the seventh inning and allowing just one in the sixth, the blue and gold took a 16-9 lead over Wofford. One of the Spartan runs came off of the bat of Quinones as he tallied the team’s fifth home run of the game to set a new season high for UNCG.
Greg Feltes went 3-for-4 with four runs, two RBI, and a pair of doubles. Pedro Leon was 2-for-5 with four RBI and a run scored. The Terriers’ Kyle Behrendt was 3-for-4 with three runs and an RBI.
Reliever Matt Bjorkstrom (2-1) nabbed the win for the Spartans after taking over for James White in the fifth. Matt Gibbs (3-0) notched his second save of the season after coming to the mound in the seventh. Wofford’s Ben Austin (4-3) took the loss after giving up 13 of UNCG’s 16 runs.
The Spartans return again tomorrow to UNCG Baseball Stadium for the final game of the series with the Wofford Terriers. First pitch is set for 1pm. Sunday’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.