SoCon Baseball Recaps for April 5, 2008
WESTERN CAROLINA 22, DAVIDSON 7
WESTERN CAROLINA 10, DAVIDSON 8
CULLOWGEE, N.C. - Western Carolina stretched its current winning streak to five straight by taking both ends of Saturday's Southern Conference double-header, 22-7 and 10-8, from the Davidson Wildcats at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium. Western has now won six-straight against the Wildcats over the past three seasons.
The Catamounts will go for the series sweep, while also trying to stretch their current winning streak to six games, in game three on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is set for 2:00 pm.
On the day, senior Blake Murphy hit .714 (5-for-7), including a 3-for-4 showing with two home runs and six RBI in game one, and 2-for-3 in the night cap with a double and a run driven in.
Freshman Matt Johns finished 3-for-5 (.600) on the afternoon with three RBI and a homer, while sophomore Brent Greer continued his current hitting streak with a 5-for-9 performance with two doubles in game two. The Manassas, Va., native has hit safely in 16-straight games.
Also, senior Jason Haynes added his second homer of the season, a three-run blast over the middle section of fencing in left field in game one.
In game one, Western Carolina scored in all but one frame in which it took swings, pounding out 20 hits en route to a 22-7 victory behind a strong outing from starting pitcher, Drew Saberhagen. The junior left-hander went seven innings, scattering six base hits while only giving up four runs, three of which were earned, while pitching around two walks with five strikeouts. He retired the first eight batters of the game before giving up his first hit.
Freshmen Brandon Johnson and Geoff Turner tossed the final two innings with Johnson striking out all three batters in which he faced with Turner allowing three earned runs on two hits, two walks and two K's.
WCU scored 15 runs in the first five innings, including an eight-run explosion in the third, to break the game open. Murphy opened the barrage in the first with his first of two home runs, blasting a two-run shot to left center for the early advantage. In the second, Haynes lifted an RBI double down the leftfield line with sophomore Tyler Kirkpatrick singling to the same location to drive in the game's fourth run.
In the third, freshman Ryan Mathews, who saw his hitting streak stretched to 15 games but snapped in game two, doubled to right center to start the hit parade with one out. Sophomore Dylan de Graaf drove in one of his two runs on the day with a single down the leftfield line to push the Catamount lead to six, 6-0. Johns delivered an RBI single, with Greer (RBI single) and Shaft (sacrifice fly to right) pushing runs across ahead of Murphy. The Waynesville, N.C., native blasted his second bomb of the game, a three-run shot to centerfield, to balloon Western's advantage into double-digits, 12-0.
Johns belted a two-run homer in the fourth, with Murphy lacing an RBI single to right center in the fifth to push WCU's advantage to 15-0.
Davidson (8-17, 1-7 SoCon) answered with a solo run in the sixth and three in the top of the seventh to trim the deficit to, 15-4. Yet, after a 21-minute rain delay, Western responded with one run after the seventh-inning stretch as sophomore Steven Notaro walked and later scored on a wild pitch.
Notaro drove in two of the Catamounts' six runs in the bottom of the eighth to help seal the deal, stretching the lead back out to 22-4. Davidson scored three earned runs off Turner in the ninth to provide the final tally in game one.
In the night cap, Western Carolina (14-15, 4-4 SoCon) had to rally in the late innings, scoring five runs in the home half of the eighth inning to earn the victory and the series win.
Junior Garrett Ozar pitched 5.1 innings, allowing four earned runs on just four hits with three walks and five strikeouts before being lifted for sophomore Chris Masters. The Marietta, Ga., native tossed the final 3.2 innings, giving up four earned runs on six hits with a pair of walks and six strikeouts to secure his third win of the year.
Despite leading 3-1, the Catamounts surrendered a two-out, two-run home run to right field by Hugh Eden to knot the game at three. The Wildcats added a single run in the sixth, three in the seventh and a solo run in the eighth to pull out to an 8-5 advantage headed into the bottom of the eighth.
In the decisive frame, WCU batted around, capitalizing on three hits and two costly Davidson errors to surge back in front for good. Haynes opened the frame with a lazy pop-up into shallow right field that was dropped by the Wildcat second baseman, allowing him to reach third. A walk by sophomore Tyler Kirkpatrick and a bunt single by Johns loaded the bases ahead of sophomore Nick Liles. The Laurinburg, N.C., native singled to right field to drive in the first run making it 8-6.
Greer laced a single through the right side to plate a second run, with senior Barrett Shaft - who saw his 10-game hitting streak end in game two - grounding out to second to drive in the game-tying run. With first base open, Murphy was intentionally walked to again load the bases with a throwing error on the middle of Davidson's infield allowing the two go-ahead runs to cross home, 10-8.
For Davidson, shortstop Zach Kayne led the way with a 4-for-9 performance in the two games with five runs driven in, while centerfielder Hugh Eden finished 3-for-8 with two home runs and also had five RBI.
FURMAN 5, UNC GREENSBORO 2
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? After seven and a half innings of play, Friday night’s game between UNC Greensboro and Furman was suspended due to heavy rains with Furman holding a 5-2 lead. Roughly 20 minutes after the 4:30pm resumption time on Saturday, the Paladins came away with a 5-2 victory in the first of a three game Southern Conference series.
With the loss, UNCG drops to 18-10 on the season with a 4-3 league mark. Furman is now 15-11 overall with a 2-6 conference record.
Furman took an opening inning, 2-0 lead following a sacrifice fly and a run scored off of a bases loaded walk. Greg Felts smacked a solo home run over the left center fence to put the score at 2-1.
In the home half of the third, first basemen Ricky Orton singled into right field to plate shortstop Matt Gaski and knot the game at 2-2.
The Paladins jumped out in front again in the top of the sixth inning with a 4-2 lead. Matt Hemingway came in off of a groundout to shortstop and Rob Fondu rounded home after a single to centerfield by Connor Lind.
In the following inning, an RBI double by Fondu put Furman out even further with a 5-2 advantage.
The game was suspended in the bottom half of the eighth inning with Furman still holding the 5-2 advantage and UNCG at the plate. When the decision was made, the Spartans had runners on second and third with one out and Feltes at the plate.
After the second out was made, right fielder Sean Snell was walked to load the bases. Unable to tally a much needed hit, UNCG recorded out number three and left three runners on the bags.
With neither lineup able to notch a run in the final inning, Furman held onto the 5-2 lead and came away with their second conference victory of the season.
At the plate, UNCG’s Greg Feltes was 2-for-4 with a home run, a run, and an RBI. Ricky Orton was 2-for-3 with an RBI. The Paladins’ Connor Lind went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run.
Furman’s Jay Jackson (6-1) took the game one victory after striking out four and allowing just two hits in 7.1 innings on the mound. After coming in for relief right before the game was suspended in the bottom of the eighth inning, Nick Karow was credited with his fourth save of the season. Greg Martin (2-2) took the loss for the Spartans after 5.2 innings of work and a game high seven strikeouts.
Due to the shuffled Saturday schedule, UNCG and Furman will resume action on Sunday afternoon with a 1pm conference doubleheader.
THE CITADEL 6, WOFFORD 2
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? The Wofford College baseball team was defeated 6-2 by The Citadel on Saturday night at Russell C. King Field. The Terriers had a 2-0 lead after the fourth inning, but a five-run fifth inning gave the Bulldogs the lead that they would not give up.
Wofford is now 17-12 on the season and 3-4 in the Southern Conference, while The Citadel is also 17-12 overall and 6-4 in the conference. The Terriers were led by Neil Robinette with three hits in four at-bats, while Keith Munns and Emre Caglayan had RBIs.
The Terriers led things off in the bottom of the first with a single from Sterling Dye. He stole second base, then a single by Keith Munns up the middle scored Dye for a 1-0 lead. In the third inning, both teams went three-up and three-down. For Wofford in the fourth inning, Neil Robinette doubled with two out. Emre Caglayan reached on an error, which allowed Robinette to score for a 2-0 lead.
In the top of the fifth, The Citadel led off with a single by Kyle Jordan and a double by Brad Felder. Chris Swauger then hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score one run. Bryan Altman then hit a two-run shot over the left field fence for a 3-2 lead. After walking Chris McGuiness, Richard Jones hit a double to drive in a run. Two errors by the Terriers late in the inning allowed another run to score and The Citadel had a 5-2 lead.
For the Bulldogs in the sixth, a sacrifice fly by Sonny Meade added a run for a 6-2 lead. Wofford left two runners on base in the bottom of the sixth and a double play ended the seventh for the Terriers. In the middle of the eighth inning, a light rain began to fall. Jake Williams had a double in the eighth, but was left on base.
Heading into the ninth inning, The Citadel loaded the bases with two out but they were unable to score. Sterling Dye hit a single with two outs for the Terriers in the ninth, but Wofford was unable to comeback.
For Wofford, starting pitcher Scott Summers went 6.0 innings with three strikeouts and six runs on eight hits. Pete Noordsy went the final 3.0 innings with three strikeouts, three hits and no runs allowed.
The Bulldogs starting pitcher Matt Crim threw 5.2 innings with five strikeouts, six hits and two runs allowed. Raymond Copenhaver went 2.1 innings with one strikeout and one hit, while Matt Reifsnider pitched the ninth inning and allowed one hit with one strikeout.
Wofford left nine men on base, while The Citadel stranded eleven runners. The Terriers had three stolen bases to the Bulldogs one.
The Terriers and Bulldogs will play two nine-inning games on Sunday beginning at 1:00 pm to complete the three-game series.
APPALACHIAN STATE-COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON GAME SUSPENDED
BOONE, N.C. - Saturday's baseball contest between Appalachian State and College of Charleston was suspended after three stoppages due to fog. Appalachian trails C of C, 8-2, with one out and runners on second and third base in bottom of the eighth inning. The game will be concluded on Sunday at 1p.m. at ASU's Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium. The final contest of the three-game weekend series will immediately follow the conclusion of Saturday's matchup.
Appalachian trailed 4-2 in the top of the seventh when fog first rolled in. Play resumed after an hour-and-38-minute delay and Charleston scored two runs to stretch the lead to 6-2. After ASU went down in order in the bottom of the seventh, C of C tacked on two more runs in the top of the eighth to stretch its advantage to 8-2.
The Mountaineers' first two batters of the eighth inning reached base before a strikeout, followed by a second fog delay. After 20 minutes, play resumed again but lasted just six pitches before the umpires pulled the teams off the field for a third time. When play resumes, Isaac Harrow (Hickory, N.C./Hickory) ? who has driven in both of the Apps' runs - will be at the plate with a 2-2 count.