SoCon Baseball Recaps for April 22, 2008
ELON 19, WAKE FOREST 10
ELON, N.C. ? Greg Annarummo belted three home runs and drove in 10 runs while fellow freshman Neal Pritchard drove in six to lead the Elon Phoenix to a 19-10 rout of the visiting Wake Forest Demon Deacons in front of 520 fans at Latham Park on Tuesday night. With the win, the Phoenix improved to 30-13 overall and extended its streak of 30+ win seasons to nine. Wake Forest dropped to 15-25 on the year.
Following a one-out double from Willy Fox, Allan Dykstra blasted his 11th homer of the season over the fence in center, giving the Demon Deacons a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
Elon had a big bottom half of the first, sending 10 men to the plate and scoring five times. The Phoenix got one back after it loaded the bases with two walks and a hit batter. When Wake starter Mark Adzick plunked Pritchard, Donny Jobe was forced in from third. Annarummo then cleared the bases, touching off a bomb into the trees in left-center for his third homer of the year for his first career grand slam.
Pritchard lined a two-out double to the gap in left, scoring both Chase Austin and Cory Harrilchak. Annarummo followed with his second long ball of the night, driving in two more and building the Phoenix lead to 9-2 in the second.
Elon’s bats stayed hot in the third as Harry Austin laced a double to the gap in left-center to start the at bat. After moving to third on Chris Dove’s ground out, Harry Austin scored on Jobe’s bouncing single through the right side of the drawn in infield. Pritchard drove in three more by hitting a bases loaded double to right-center, scoring Jobe, Chase Austin and Harrilchak. Annarummo struck again, this time lining a double to the gap in left, driving home Pritchard.
After Harrilchak had retired six consecutive Deacon hitters, including five straight strike outs, Evan Ocheltree lined a solo homer to left, his fourth of the season, trimming Elon’s lead to 14-3 in the top of the fifth. Two hitters later, Fox hit his fifth home run of the year, this one a solo shot off the scoreboard in left-center.
Chase Austin got one of those two back in the bottom half, hitting a solo shot to lead off the inning, his fifth of the year. Harrilchak followed with a walk and moved to second on Pritchard’s single to left. After a fielder’s choice allowed Mike Melillo to reach, erasing Pritchard and advancing Harrilchak to third, Harry Austin lined a single to left, plating Harrilchak.
Ocheltree singled and Ben Terry doubled to start the Wake Forest half of the seventh. Fox then bounced a ball to short for out number one, but Ocheltree scored on the play. After Dykstra drew a 3-2 walk, Mike Murray singled to left to score Ocheltree. On the play, the throw to third from Pritchard was wide and Terry raced home. Dustin Hood’s single to right to bring home Murray and pulling the Demon Deacons within 16-8.
After both Harrilchak and Pritchard were hit by pitches, Annarummo drove his eighth, ninth and 10th RBI of the game with a three-run homer to left-center.
Wake added another when Dykstra doubled home Fox with two down in the eighth. The Deacons tacked on a 10th run when Hood hit his first career home run in the top of the ninth, a solo shot.
Harrilchak picked up the victory to improve to 4-3 on the year. He lasted 6.2 innings and allowed eight runs on 12 hits. He walked just one and fanned a career-best 12. Brian Bodjiak hurled the final 2.1 innings, surrendering two hits and allowing two runs.
Adzick suffered the defeat, falling to 0-3 on the year. He lasted just 0.2 innings and was tagged for five runs on just one hit.
Annarummo finished the night going 4-for-5, scoring three times. He becomes the first Elon player to hit three homers or drive in 10 runs since the Phoenix joined the SoCon for the 2004 campaign. Annarummo needed a solo home run for the home run cycle ? a solo, two-run, three-run and grand slam in one game. Pritchard posted a 3-for-4, four run night while both Chase Austin and Harry Austin had two hits. Harrilchak, despite reaching base five times via a hit-by-pitch or a walk, went 0-for-1 to see his hitting streak end at 13 games.
Wake’s offense was led by Dykstra who went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI. Fox and Hood both went 3-for-5 with two driven runs driven in. Fox scored three times.
Elon will hit the road for a 6 p.m. Wednesday contest at Winthrop.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN 17, NORTH FLORIDA 4
STATESBORO, GA. ? Georgia Southern recorded a season-high 25 hits, two off the single-game record, and cruised to a 17-4 win over North Florida Tuesday night (April 22) at J.I. Clements Stadium. The Eagles improved to 21-18 overall.
The 25 hits were two shy of the record set last year against New Jersey Tech during the 34-1 win. GS also scored in every inning save for the first and eighth.
David Richardson (Dahlonega/Lumpkin County), who was named Georgia Southern Male Student-Athlete of the Year the night before, went a career-best 5-for-5 at the plate and reached base in all six plate appearances. Griffin Benedict (Dunwoody/St. Pius) finished with four hits for the fifth time in his career as the Eagles nearly doubled up UNF in the hits column 25-13.
A.J. Wirnsberger (Tuscaloosa, AL/Paul Bear Bryant) led off the second inning hitting a solo home run, his 13th on the year. Richardson followed with a single. He took second on a balk, third on Brian Pierce’s (Roswell/Roswell) sacrifice bunt then scored on Kevin Bowles’ (Statesboro/Statesboro) sacrifice fly.
A two-out rally in the third plated another run. Benedict lined a single through the right side. Jeremiah Parker (Carrollton/Carrollton) delivered a double down the right field line. He just missed on a ground rule double, which enabled Benedict to score from first base for a 3-0 lead.
The Ospreys plated two runs in the fourth. They loaded the bases with two outs then Chad Knight lined a 2-run single to cut the deficit to one run. Georgia Southern got those runs back and then some in its half of the fourth, sending 11 batters to the plate.
Richardson reached on a single, stole second then scored on Knight’s error at shortstop. Bowles singled and Ty Wright (Montrose/West Laurens) plated a run thanks to a RBI double. Two batters later Chris Shehan (Strasburg, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) hit a RBI single. Benedict dropped a run-scoring single to right then Parker brought home a run on a groundout. The five-run frame extended the lead to 8-2.
The Eagles batted around again for the second straight inning, scoring five more runs. Wright hit his second RBI double in as many innings. Phillip Porter (Marietta/Sprayberry) hit a high chopper into left field to score another run. Benedict brought home a run thanks to a RBI single. Parker hit into a double play, but Shehan scored. Three batters later Pierce sent a single up the middle to make it 13-2.
In the sixth, Shehan hit a 2-run homer and Parker added a solo shot down the right field line. Shehan regained the team-lead with 14 round-trippers on the year while Parker hit his eighth. Porter was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the seventh inning for his second RBI of the game.
Knight hit another 2-run single in the eighth. Charlie Strohecker (Alpharetta/Milton) entered the game with two down in the eighth and closed the door on UNF, recording two strikeouts in his four outs.
Burt Barto (Columbus/Columbus), making his second start of the year, picked up the win. He matched a season-high of 3.1 innings pitched and was charged for two runs on five hits.
“It was huge to come out tonight as aggressive as we were, both at the plate and on the mound. In game three at Davidson we weren’t as aggressive as we were in the first two games of the series,” said Barto. “We know that every game we play (midweek and conference) will be against a good, aggressive team. Tonight North Florida wanted to come into our house, score some runs and try to get a win from us. But when we are at home I think the way we play we have the upper hand.”
Richardson also scored three runs, in addition to his career-high hit total.
Porter and Shehan had three hits and scored three runs apiece. Wright finished with two hits (both doubles), two runs scored and two RBI. Parker had three RBI to go with his two hits. Wirnsberger added two hits and two runs. Bowles matched his career-high of two hits (doing so in two of the last three games) and drove in a run.
Trent Franzago (Byron/Peach County) and A.J. Gilbert (Marietta/Kell), in addition to Strohecker, blanked the Ospreys (23-19) out of the bullpen.
J.R. Dunaway (0-1) allowed four runs on seven hits in three innings. Knight had three hits and drove in all four runs.
The Eagles travel to Kennesaw State on Wednesday afternoon (April 23), first pitch scheduled for 5 p.m.
COASTAL CAROLINA 8, COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 6
CONWAY, S.C. -- Adam Rice drove in four runs including a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the seventh inning that lifted 15th-ranked Coastal Carolina, 8-6, win over the College of Charleston in college baseball action before 495 at Watson Stadium on Tuesday.
With the win, Coastal improved to 34-7, while the Cougars fell to 27-14. Charleston opens a three-game Southern Conference series against The Citadel at Patriot's Point Stadium at 7:00 on Friday.
Rice, who belted a three-run homer in the third that gave Coastal a 5-0 lead, drove in Dock Doyle in the seventh to give the Chanticleers the lead for good at 7-6. David Anderson followed with his second solo homer of the night for the final margin.
Charleston got a two-run homer from Jeremie Tice in the fourth that cut Coastal's lead to 5-2. Brandon Sizemore tied the game at 6-all in the top of the seventh with a grand slam to left, his 10th homer of the season.
Kent Altman (2-1) picked up the win in relief working 1.2 shutout innings. Pete Andrelczyk struck out the side in the ninth for his sixth save. Pete VandenBout (0-1) suffered the loss.
TENNESSEE 12, APPALACHIAN STATE 4
KNOXVILLE, TENN. - Appalachian State University baseball recorded as many hits as Tennessee on Tuesday evening, but 10 walks issued by four ASU pitchers were the difference in a 12-4 loss to UT at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Appalachian (20-22) surrendered eight walks over the first six innings alone to help stake Tennessee (24- 16) to a commanding 11-2 lead.
That would be more than enough support for UT starter Jeff Lockwood, who limited ASU to just two runs on three hits over six innings to move to 2-1 on the season. Appalachian added single runs in the seventh and ninth innings, but it was too little, too late, as it dropped its third-straight non-conference decision.
In addition to the eight walks, Mountaineer pitchers threw four wild pitches, committed two balks and hit a batter in the loss. Starter Nick Terry (Senola, Ga./Starr's Mill) surrendered six runs on just two hits in 2.1 innings of work to fall to 3-4 on the campaign.
A bright spot in the loss was right fielder David Rubinstein (Charlotte, N.C./South Mecklenburg), who went 2-for-3 and drove in three of the Apps' four runs with a two-run homer in the sixth and an RBI double in the ninth. In all, the Mountaineers equaled the Volunteers nine hits but had just 12 base runners, compared to 20 for the Vols.
Appalachian remains on the road for Wednesday's 3 p.m. contest at in-state rival Gardner-Webb.
CLEMSON 6, WESTERN CAROLINA 0
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - A trio of Tiger pitchers combined for a three-hit shutout win as Western Carolina fell to Clemson, 6-0, Tuesday night in front of 1,864 fans at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium. In what turned out to be a pitcher's game, the two sides combined for 19 strikeouts with Catamount hurlers fanning 10 combined.
The loss prevented Western - who downed Clemson, 6-2, at Doug Kingsmore Stadium one week ago - from completing the first-ever seasonal sweep of the Tigers in the 62-game series history. WCU dropped to 18-21 overall while Clemson moved back to the .500 mark on the season at 20-20-1.
Western was shutout for the first-time since the 2006 season when the College of Charleston behind ace hurler Nick Chigges blanked the Catamounts, 1-0, in the Southern Conference tournament (5/25/06) - a span of 102 games played.
Sophomore Daniel Ottone was saddled with the loss despite tossing five solid innings, surrendering four runs - only three of which were earned - on six hits with a walk and five strikeouts. Junior Garrett Ozar tossed 3.1 innings in relief, allowing a pair of earned runs on three hits with three K's, while sophomore Chris Masters worked two thirds of an inning allowing one hit and one inherited runner to score with a two strikeouts.
Offensively, the Catamounts only mustered three hits on the night. Sophomore Nick Liles extended his current hitting streak to 12 games with a single to center in the bottom of the eighth inning after being robbed of extra bases two innings earlier. Sophomore Reid Rollison continued his recent hitting tear with a double down the left field line to represent Western's lone extra base hit, while senior Barrett Shaft singled to comprise all of WCU's offense.
Sophomore Tyler Kirkpatrick reached base the most for WCU, finishing 0-for-1 with a pair of walks in the loss.
Clemson jumped on top in the first inning with back-to-back singles by Mike Freeman and Jeff Schaus, putting two on with no outs. A fielder's choice split the runners between the corners with what proved to be the game-winning run coming home on a wild pitch, 1-0.
In the second, the Tigers posted a two-out rally to plate three runs for a 4-0 advantage. Ottone struck out the first two batters of the frame before third baseman Matt Sanders doubled down the left field line. A single to left by shortstop Stan Widmann pushed the lead to two, with Widmann advancing to third on the first of four Catamount errors. Schaus then delivered an RBI single through the right side and a second error of the frame allowing the game's fourth run to be plated.
The four-run advantage stood until the top of the ninth when the Tigers rapped out back-to-back doubles, followed by a third two-bagger two batters later to push the lead to six where it would remain.
Schaus led Clemson with a 3-for-5 showing including a double with a game-high two RBI. Freeman and centerfielder Wilson Boyd each produced two hits in the game, with the previous scoring three of the six runs.
Junior starter Trey Delk threw seven two-hit, shutout innings to secure his first win of the season, fanning seven and only walking two. Justin Surratt and Matt Vaughn each pitched one shutout inning in relief, with Surratt allowing one hit and a walk between the four batters he faced.
Western Carolina returns to the diamond in non-conference action on Wednesday as it travels to Macon, Ga., to face the Mercer Bears (18-25), who fell in a 16-9 slugfest Tuesday night at home to No. 27 Georgia Tech. First pitch is set for 6:00 pm.
SOUTH CAROLINA 5, FURMAN 3
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Phil Disher’s three-run ninth inning home run broke up a tie game and lifted ninth-ranked South Carolina to a 5-3 win over Furman in front of 6,241 fans at Fluor Field Tuesday night.
Disher’s decisive blast on the first pitch by Paladin reliever Nick Karow, cleared the left field wall and broke a 2-2 tie. Furman rallied for a run after two outs in the bottom of the ninth and brought the potential winning run to the plate, but the Gamecocks’ Brandon Todd retired the Paladins’ Brian Harrison on a groundout to end the game.
The win gave South Carolina (30-11) a season split with Furman (23-15) after the Paladins claimed a 4-2 win over the Gamecocks in Columbia on March 25.
Both teams managed only six hits in the contest, but two of USC’s left the yard. Scott Wingo’s two-run clout in the sixth tied the game at 2-2 after Furman had taken a 2-0 lead in the third highlighted by a Jay Jackson solo home run, his seventh of the season. Disher’s 14th roundtripper in the ninth proved to be the difference.
USC starting pitcher Nick Godwin recorded a career high 10 strikeouts and allowed only three hits, two runs, and a walk over 7 1/3 innings. The senior right-hander also picked off two baserunners.
Furman starting pitcher Mason Smith pitched two scoreless innings and was followed by Justin Holloway, who hurled three effective frames, giving up only one hit and a run. With Furman leading 2-0, he opened the sixth by hitting USC lead off man Andrew Crisp and was lifted for Ian Parry, who surrendered Wingo’s two-run blast to left field that tied the game at 2-2.
Parry kept the Gamecocks under control until the ninth when he hit Whit Merrifield to lead off the inning. Justin Smoak followed with a double into the left field corner that put runners at second and third with no outs. After retiring James Darnell on a foul pop, Parry was replaced by Karow, whose first pitch Disher deposited over the green monster in left field to make it 5-2.
In the ninth, South Carolina closer Brandon Todd recorded two quick outs before Bobby Hubbard doubled down the left field line and came around to score on a Ryan Lee double off the left field wall. Reese Wade kept the inning going with a sharp single to left field, but Todd regrouped to get Harrison on a game ending grounder to short stop.
USC’s three-run ninth made a winner of Parker Bangs (3-1), who came on in relief of Godwin in the eighth. Todd’s shaky ninth netted him his fifth save of the campaign.
Parry (3-2) absorbed the loss for Furman, which will return to action on Friday when it travels to Cullowhee, N.C., to open a three-game league series against Western Carolina. First pitch is set for 7:00 p.m.
DUKE 10, UNC GREENSBORO 3
GREENSBORO, NC ? With a pair of four-run innings, Duke defeated UNC Greensboro, 10-3, in a Tuesday evening contest at UNCG Baseball Stadium. The Blue Devils out hit the Spartans, 10-7, to claim their second victory in Greensboro and their fourth overall against UNCG.
After three scoreless innings, Duke lit up the board first with four runs in the fourth; a rally sparked by back-to-back hits to right center. Two innings later, another hit into the right center gap gave them the 6-0 lead. UNCG crept up scoring two in the home half of the sixth, but another inning of four in the ninth pushed the Blue Devil lead to 10-2. Holding the Spartans to just one in the bottom of the ninth, Duke came away with the 10-3 win.
After dropping its seventh ACC contest of the season, the Spartans are now 24-15 overall and remain tied for second place in the Southern Conference with a 10-5 mark. With the win, Duke improves to 28-13-1, 6-13-1 ACC.
Both Matt Gaski and Sean Snell notched hits on the evening to extend their hits streaks to eight straight games. Snell and Corey Overholtzer were both 2-for-4 on the evening with an RBI and a run. Snell added a double while Overholtzer tacked on his third triple of the season.
Despite throwing three of the pitching staff’s six strikeouts, junior Kory Judd (0-1) took the loss for UNCG in his first start on the rubber this season. Duke starter Will Currier (4-5) was credited with the victory after 5.1 innings on the hill with three strikeouts and no walks.
The Blue Devils posted four runs off of four hits to take the lead over the Spartans in the fourth. Gabriel Saade drove in the first two runs of the game with the evening’s first double. He was then plated in the next at-bat as Jonathan Nicolla singled to right center. Four bats later, Nicolla rounded home to give Duke the 4-0 lead.
A right center double by Matt Williams bumped Duke up by two more in the sixth before UNCG could put their first mark on the board.
In the home half of inning six, senior Sean Snell slapped a double into left field to bring fellow senior Matt Gaski down the line from third. Snell scored UNCG’s second run of the game off of a leftfield single by sophomore Corey Overholtzer.
Already holding a 6-2 lead, the Blue Devils went on a four-run rally in the ninth to take a commanding 10-2 lead with just one of the runs scored off of a successful hit.
A leadoff triple by Overholtzer in the bottom half of the inning put him in position to score during the next at-bat. He would be the lone Spartan to cross the plate in the final inning as the Blue Devils came away with the 10-3 victory and tallied their second win at UNCG Baseball Stadium.
The Spartans are back in action Wednesday night at UNCG Baseball Stadium as they take on the Wolfpack of NC State. Game time is slated for 6pm. They remain at home to play their sixth conference series as they take on SoCon rivals, the top-ranked Elon Phoenix starting at 6pm Friday evening at UNCG Baseball Stadium. The teams will follow with a 1pm first pitch on Saturday and a 1pm start on Sunday.
NORTH CAROLINA A&T 9, WOFFORD 1
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? The Wofford College baseball team was defeated 9-1 by North Carolina A&T on Tuesday afternoon at Russell C. King Field. Wofford was held to just five hits on the day, while the Aggies had 14 hits.
Wofford is now 20-21 on the season and 4-11 in the Southern Conference, while North Carolina A&T is 19-23 overall. The Terriers were led by Shane Kirkley and Emre Caglayan with two hits each.
After a scoreless first inning, the Aggies scored one run in the top of the second when Nick Mayo hit a sacrifice fly to right field. In the top of the third, back-to-back singles by James Howard and Jeremy Jones opened the inning. A sacrifice fly by CJ Beatty to right field gave the Aggies a 2-0 lead.
The Terriers got on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning. Michael Gilmartin walked, Shane Kirkley doubled and a walk by Neil Robinette loaded the bases. A sacrifice fly to centerfield by Mo Seay scored Gilmartin, but the Terriers ended the inning with two runners left on base.
In the top of the fifth, the Aggies banged out five hits and scored four runs to take a commanding 6-1 lead. A total of nine batters went to the plate in the inning and the hits included a double by Joe McIntyre and fielders choices from George Hines and Jeremy Jones.
North Carolina A&T added a run in the top of the eighth when Nick Mayo scored on a passed ball from third base to take a 7-1 lead. The Terriers left two runners on base in the bottom of the eighth. In the top of the ninth, Nick Rogers hit a two-run homer to right center for the 9-1 final score.
Wofford pitcher Joe Haumacher started his first career game and went 4.2 innings with ten hits and six runs and one strikeout. Drew Sheridan threw 3.1 innings with two hits, one run and five strikeouts. Ryan Conway went the ninth inning with two hits and two runs allowed and a strikeout.
For North Carolina A&T, starter Chris Eggers went 7.0 innings and allowed three hits and one run with five strikeouts. Ryan Sellers threw one inning with one hit and one strikeout, while Tim Johnson pitched the ninth inning and allowed one hit with one strikeout.
Wofford and North Carolina A&T both left eight runners on base. The Terriers had four errors, while the Aggies had just one. The loss drops the Terriers to under .500 for the first time this season. The Terriers were without Jake Williams due to injury. Eight of the nine Aggies in the line-up had hits.
On Wednesday, the Terriers will travel to Columbia to play #11 South Carolina. Wofford will host Georgia Southern in a three-game Southern Conference series beginning Friday night at 7:00 pm.