SoCon Baseball Recaps for April 6, 2008
ELON 11, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 10
ELON 12, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 8
ELON, N.C. -- Neal Pritchard belted his first career grand slam while Dallas Tarleton doubled home the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth in game one of a doubleheader before Pritchard and Cory Harrilchak each drove home four runs in the nightcap to lead the Elon Phoenix to a sweep of the visiting Georgia Southern Eagles on Sunday afternoon. With the three-game series sweep, Elon improved to 25-7 overall and 10-2 in Southern Conference action while Georgia Southern dropped to 16-14, 4-5.
In game one, the Eagles jumped on top 2-0 in the second inning on a Jeremiah Parker home run to left and a RBI single by Jeremy Beckham. The lead grew to 4-0 in the third with a Chris Shehan homer to left-center and a sacrifice fly from David Richardson.
Elon got on the board in the bottom of the third with two runs. The first scored when Donny Jobe tripled home Harry Austin. The second came as Jobe crossed the dish on Bennett Davis' sac fly.
Georgia Southern came right back with a three-spot in the fourth. Ty Wright lifted a 3-1 pitch over the foul pole down the leftfield line for his seventh homer of the season to get the scoring started. With the bases loaded and one out, Parker singled home two to put the Eagles up 7-2.
Harrilchak led off the Phoenix fourth with a triple and scored on Tarleton's double down the rightfield line. Tarleton would then score on a Pat Irvine single.
After the Eagles got one in the top of the fifth on a bases loaded walk, Elon struck its big blow to knot the score at 8-8 in the bottom of the frame. After Davis reached on a fielder's choice, both Ryan Adams and Harrilchak walked to load the bases for Pritchard. The freshman responded by belting a 1-0 pitch over the fence in left-center for a grand slam which tied the game.
The Phoenix went on top with a run in the sixth on a Jobe double before seeing Georgia Southern go back on top 10-9 with a two-run eighth. In that inning, the Eagles scored on a wild pitch and a ground out.
Davis was plunked on an 0-1 pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth to tie things up at 10-10, setting up Tarleton's heroics in the bottom of the ninth. Harrilchak led the ninth off with a single before going to second on Pritchard's sacrifice bunt. Tarleton followed by sending a 2-2 pitch to the gap in right-center, scoring Harrilchak with the winning run.
Thomas Girdwood (1-0) earned his first career victory by throwing just 0.1 inning. Starter Jesse Lewter was touched for six runs (five earned) on eight hits in 3.1 innings.
Eagle reliever Blake Nation (1-2) was tagged with the loss. Nation hurled 1.1 innings and gave up two runs on three hits. Starter Kyle Kamppi lasted 4.0 innings and allowed four runs on six hits while fanning five.
In game two, Georgia Southern jumped right out to a 2-0 lead in its first at bat. Wright led off the game with a homer to left and Griffin Benedict singled home Richardson with the second tally.
The Phoenix stormed back with a four-run bottom half of the first, grabbing the lead for good. With two runners on and two outs, Harrilchak blasted a three-run shot to right-center. It was his third homer of the year and second of the series. The fourth run crossed home when Pritchard singled home Mike Melillo.
Elon added another four runs in the third thanks to a Chase Austin sacrifice fly, a Melillo single and Pritchard's two-run homer off the foul pole down the rightfield line. The blast gives Pritchard five home runs on the season.
With two down in the sixth, Ryan Adams singled to right and came around to score on a Harrilchak double. After Chase Austin walked, a wild pitch put Elon runners on the corners. Chase Austin took off for second and as the throw went down to second, Harrilchak broke for home to successfully complete the double steal. Chase Austin would later score on a Pritchard single.
The Eagles clawed back into the game with a four-run seventh. Wright started things off with a double and went to third on Richardson's single through the left side of the infield. Shehan singled home Wright and ended up on second as Chris Dove gunned down Richardson trying to take third. After a walk and a fly out, Kyle Blackburn singled home Shehan and the Eagles had runners on first and second. A wild pitch moved p both runners before a walk loaded the bases. A.J. Wirnsberger drove in two with his double to left-center, pulling Georgia Southern within 11-6.
An Adams double in the bottom of the seventh scored Jobe to push the Phoenix edge up to 12-6 before the Eagles scored twice in the eighth. Phillip Porters pinch-hit single knocked in both Benedict and Shehan.
Elon's Daniel Britt (3-1) picked up the win after throwing a career-long 6.2 innings. Britt surrendered six runs on 12 hits while striking out three. Girdwood threw the ninth in a non-save situation and struck out the side.
Andy Moye (2-3) was tagged for seven runs on six hits in just 2.1 innings while taking the loss for Georgia Southern.
On the day, Pritchard combined to go 4-for-7 with two run scored and eight RBI while belting two homers. Harrilchak finished the day 6-for-9 with six runs scored and four driven in. In game one, Jobe posted a 4-for-4, one-run, two-RBI, two-triple contest while Tarleton was 3-for-5 with a run scored and two RBI. Harry Austin had hits in both games to extend his hitting streak to a career-best 10 games.
For Georgia Southern, Shehan logged a 5-for-8, four-run, two-RBI day while Parker went 3-for-5 with a run and three driven in game one. Richardson logged a 4-for-6, one-run game in the second contest.
Elon will hit the road to take on North Carolina in a 6 p.m. contest in Cary, N.C. on Tuesday evening. Georgia Southern will play host to Jacksonville that same night and time.
UNC GREENSBORO 5, FORMAN 3
FURMAN 5, UNC GREENSBORO 4
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? Similar scores came out of both games in Sunday’s doubleheader between UNC Greensboro and Furman, but the winning team did not follow suit. The afternoon’s Southern Conference games were split as the Spartans took game one, 5-3 and the Paladins slipped by in game two with a 5-4 victory at UNCG Baseball Stadium.
After scoring two in the bottom of the fourth, UNCG led Furman 3-1 in the first game of the afternoon. The Paladins knotted the game at 3-3 in the top of the seventh, but two runs in the home half of the inning gave UNCG the lead once again and the eventual 5-3, game one victory.
In similar fashion, the Paladins tallied three in the second inning to take a 4-1 lead over the Spartans in game two. The blue and gold notched three of their own between the fourth and the fifth inning to tie the game at 4-4, but a sacrifice fly in the eighth put Furman back ahead with a 5-4 lead. UNCG had a chance to knot the game once again, but as centerfielder Corey Overholtzer tried to make the run home he was caught in a pickle and eventually picked off with a 5-2-5-1 play. Both teams were held silent in the ninth as Furman slipped away with the 5-4, game two win.
Following the split, UNCG is 19-10 on the season with a 5-4 conference mark. Furman moves to 15-12 overall, 3-6 SoCon.
In the first game of the afternoon, the Spartans took a 1-0 lead in the bottom half of the first inning as first baseman Ricky Orton’s ground out to second allowed second baseman Tim Carrier to cross the plate. Catcher Adam Deleo nearly made it a 2-0 game in the following inning, but his long ball out to left field was caught in the warning track just inside the foul line.
In inning three, pitcher Matt Gibbs took a shot off of the leg, but was still able to make the play to first and tab out number one. Two at-bats later, Furman made it a 1-1 game as a Connor Lind ground out to second base rounded Rob Fondu home.
UNCG took the lead in the home half of the fourth inning as right fielder Sean Snell walked in due to Carrier being stuck by a pitch. The Spartan lead was extended to 4-2 as a sacrifice fly by Matt Gaski allowed Deleo to come home.
Furman tied the game in the top of the seventh inning scoring two off of a UNCG fielding error.
The blue and gold claimed back their two-run lead in the bottom half of the inning. After reaching on a base on balls, Orton was plated by a bases loaded walk to Snell. Greg Feltes was then brought in by a Deleo single through the left side.
The Paladins began the ninth inning with a double to left center by Nick Karow, but unable to tally anything more, UNCG came away with the 5-3, game one victory.
The Spartan sticks were led by Adam Deleo who was 2-for-4 with am RBI and a run. Furman was led by Connor Lind who went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
James White (5-0) nabbed his fifth win of the season after one inning of work on the mound; starter Matt Gibbs led the team with 6.0 innings on the rubber and six strikeouts. Furman’s Chris Newell (0-3) took the loss after allowing two runs.
To start game two, Furman took a 1-0 lead in the opening inning as Marcus Rose crossed the plate following a sacrifice fly to right field by Bobby Hubbard. In the following inning, the Paladins increased their lead to 4-0. A ground out to short brought in Reece Wade for the first run. Later, as an attempt was being made to catch Rob Fondu stealing second, Joey Rodgers ran in from third and beat the throw heading back to the plate. Fondu was then plated for the final run of the inning off of a left field double by Lind.
The Spartans cut the lead down by one in the bottom half of the inning as Snell round home off of a right field single by third baseman Ray Quinones. They chipped away by one again in the fourth as Drew Gehringer came in off of a sacrifice fly to left field.
UNCG knotted the game at 4-4 in the home half of the fifth inning. Feltes took advantage of a wild pitch to bring the score to 3-4 and then Snell plated Orton with a sacrifice fly to center to knot the two teams.
Four batters into inning eight, Furman broke the tie as a popup to right field allowed Jay Jackson to cross the plate.
With the Spartans unable to put together a scoring drive in the next two innings, the Paladins slipped away with the 5-4, game two victory.
UNCG’s Drew Gehringer was 2-for-4 with a run; Matt Gaski and Corey Overholtzer both went 2-for-4. Furman’s Matt Hemingway went 1-for-3 with two RBI.
The Paladin’s Chris Newell (1-2) was credited with his first win of the season after 2.1 innings on the mound. Reliever Nick Karow recorded his fifth save of the season. After 5.2 innings on the rubber, UNCG’s Wes McCall took the loss. He led the team with three strikeouts.
The Spartans head to Durham, NC on Tuesday for a mid-week game with the Blue Devils. First pitch is set for 7pm. On April 11, UNCG and Wofford will kick off a three game conference series at UNCG Baseball Stadium. Game times are set for 7pm on Friday, 2pm on Saturday, and 1pm on Sunday.
THE CITADEL 18, WOFFORD 2
WOFFORD 6, THE CITADEL 5
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? The Wofford College baseball team split a doubleheader with The Citadel on Sunday afternoon at Russell C. King Field. In the first game, The Citadel scored five runs in the third on the way to an 18-2 win. In game two, the Terriers needed ten innings to pick up a 6-5 win.
Wofford is now 18-13 on the season and 4-5 in the Southern Conference, while The Citadel is also 18-13 overall and 7-5 in the conference. The Terriers were led by Shane Kirkley with five hits in the two games, including two home runs.
In the first game of the day, Richard Jones started things off for the Bulldogs with a solo homer in the second inning. In the third inning, The Citadel scored five runs on four hits, as the Terriers walked four runners. A double by Bryan Altman added a run in the top of the fourth for a 7-0 lead.
Wofford got on the board in the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run by Shane Kirkley that hit the scoreboard in right centerfield. After a scoreless sixth, the Bulldogs broke the game open in the top of the seventh. Bryan Altman hit a two-run homer, Matt Arnold hit a two-run triple and Kyle Jordan and Chris Swauger both hit RBI doubles as The Citadel took a 14-1 lead.
In the top of the eighth, The Citadel added four more runs for an 18-1 game. For Wofford in the bottom of the eighth, Neil Robinette reached on a fielder’s choice and was drive in with a double by Emre Caglayan. The Terriers left two on in the ninth for the 18-2 final.
Wofford starter Ben Austin went 6.1 innings with four strikeouts and twelve runs allowed on eight hits. Reid McElveen went 0.2 innings with a strikeout and two runs, while Joe Haumacher went 1.0 inning with four runs and a strikeout. Ryan Conway closed the game with an inning and one strikeout without a run. The Citadel went 6.0 innings with starter Wes Wrenn, who had three strikeouts and one run on seven hits. Timmy Martin got the save with 3.0 innings pitched and one strikeout with one run allowed.
In the second game, both teams were scoreless in the first inning. In the bottom of the second, Shane Kirkley singled up the middle and a home run by Jake Williams in the next at-bat gave the Terriers an early 2-0 lead. The Citadel answered in the third inning when a double by Sid Fallow scored a run to make it 2-1.
For The Citadel in the top of the fifth and with two out, the Bulldogs scored three runs on five hits, including an RBI double by Chris McGuiness, to take a 4-2 lead. The Wofford bats were quiet until the bottom of the seventh inning. Keith Munns led off with a double and advanced to third on a sacrifice fly by Josh McKinney. Emre Caglayan grounded out to score Munns. After a walk by Sterling Dye, Kyle Behrendt hit a double to score Dye and tie the game at 4-4.
Wofford took the lead in the bottom of the eighth when Shane Kirkley hit a bomb over the left field wall for a 5-4 score. The Citadel answered in the top of the ninth when Kyle Jordan hit a home run to make it a 5-5 game.
The Terriers left two runners on base in the bottom of the ninth and the game went to extra innings. The Citadel left two runners on base in the top of the tenth. With two out in the bottom of the tenth, Keith Munns hit a double off the right field fence. Ben Austin came in to inch run for Munns. Josh McKinney came to the plate and hit a double to the right field corner to score Austin and win the game 6-5.
In game two, Tom Dolinak went 7.0 innings with three strikeouts and four runs as the starter. Chip Hunt threw one inning without a hit and Michael Gilmartin picked up the win in 2.0 innings with two strikeouts. For The Citadel, starter Asher Wojciechowski went 7.0 innings with four runs and ten strikeouts. Raymond Copenhaver gave up a run in 0.1 innings and Matt Reifsnider closed the game with five strikeouts and one run on five hits.
Wofford will play at UNC Asheville on Wednesday night at 6:00 pm. On Friday, 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.
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 8, APPALACHIAN STATE 2
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 7, APPALACHIAN STATE 6 (10 innings)
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University baseball dropped a pair of decisions to visiting College of
Charleston on Sunday afternoon at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium. Appalachian fell in the
conclusion of Saturday's suspended game, 8-2, and lost the Southern Conference series finale, 7-6, in 10
innings.
Saturday's game was picked up with College of Charleston leading 8-2 in the bottom of the eighth, but
Appalachian sporting runners on second and third with just one out. ASU loaded the bases in the eighth
but couldn't push a run across, then went in order in the ninth to fall in the second-game of the weekend
set.
The Mountaineers trailed 6-3 after five innings in Sunday's finale, but Garrett Sherrill (Kannapolis,
N.C./A.L. Brown) kept the Apps in the game with four innings of scoreless, one-hit relief. Facing perhaps
the nation's most potent offensive attack, the right-handed junior struck out seven of the first eight batters
he faced to send the Mountaineers into the bottom of the ninth still facing just a three-run deficit.
Appalachian started its rally in the ninth when David Towarnicky (New Bern, N.C./New Bern) was hit
with an 0-2 pitch from Charleston closer Jesse Simpson. Following a groundout, pinch hitters Jerod
Faggart (Concord, N.C./Northwest Cabarrus) and Brett Stewart (Niceville, Fla./Niceville) loaded the
bases with a walk and single, respectively. ASU closed the deficit to 6-4 when all three runners moved up a
base on a wild pitch.
One pitch later, senior shortstop Jason Altenhof (Santa Fe, Fla./Santa Fe) knotted the scored at 6-6 with a
two-run single up the middle. With Altenhof representing the winning run at second base, ASU's Jason
Rook (Greensboro, N.C./Western Guilford) appeared to beat out an infield single that would have put
Altenhof on third base with only one out. However, it was ruled that the throw beat Rook to the bag, giving
Charleston the second out of the inning.
The controversial call stung even more when, after the Cougars walked David Rubinstein (Charlotte,
N.C./South Mecklenburg) intentionally, Isaac Harrow (Hickory, N.C./Hickory) lofted a fly ball to right
field that would have easily brought Altenhof home from third had there been less than two outs. Instead,
the inning ended with the winning run stranded at third base.
C of C pinch hitter Joey Bergman led off the tenth with a home run to center field and the Mountaineers
went down in order in the bottom of the stanza to suffer the heart-breaking loss.
Rubinstein led the Apps' 11-hit attack with three doubles, including one that drove in two runs in the
bottom of the first. The three doubles give the junior 54 for his career, breaking the school record of 53 set
by Wes Timmons from 1999-2001. Altenhof and Rook also had two hits apiece for the Mountaineers, but
the bottom six hitters in ASU's starting lineup combined to go just 3-for-23 in the ballgame.
Sherrill fell to 0-2 despite allowing just three hits and striking out a season-high seven in five innings out of
the bullpen. Simpson moved to 5-2 despite surrendering the three runs that tied the game in the ninth. Mike
Hentz, Clay McCord and Gabe Marchant hit back-to-back-to-back homers in the third inning to lead the
Cougars offensively.
With the series sweep at the hands of first-place College of Charleston (22-9, 8-1), Appalachian fell to 15-
17 overall and 1-8 in SoCon play.
WESTERN CAROLINA 8, DAVIDSON 4
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - Western Carolina scored all of its runs in the middle three innings and rode a solid relief appearance by senior Tyler Sexton to complete the series sweep of the Davidson Wildcats with an 8-4 win Sunday afternoon at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
Sexton tossed the final 4.1 innings, scattering six base hits and limiting the Wildcats to just one unearned run to secure his first victory of the season. The High Point, N.C., native struck out five without allowing a walk in the win.
"Anytime you get a series sweep, that's just wonderful. We need to do that, especially in our league," said first-year head coach Bobby Moranda. "The only thing that is disappointing is the fact that we had five errors, and we are trying to come up with a solution on that. We think we have the right personnel out there but we've got to do a better job defending the field."
He added, "I thought Tyler Sexton was the absolute key to the game. He was beautiful today and executed awesomely. I think he only threw one bad pitch - one pitch where he missed his spot and the kid got a base hit and that's when were able to score that one run. He did a fabulous job and we needed that."
WCU moved back to .500 overall on the season at 15-15, while improving to 5-4 in SoCon play with the next two conference series coming on the road (at Elon, at Appalachian State). Davidson dropped to 8-18 overall, 1-8 in the league.
The Catamounts had four players post multiple-hit games on Sunday led by a 2-for-3 showing by senior catcher Blake Murphy. The Waynesville, N.C., native doubled twice and drew a pair of walks to accumulate a game-high three RBI. Murphy finished 7-for-10 (.700) for the series with five extra base hits (three doubles, two home runs) and a team-leading 10 RBI.
Also posting multi-hit games for WCU were senior Barrett Shaft, and sophomores Dylan de Graaf and Tyler Kirkpatrick - all going 2-for-4 with the latter two hitting doubles. Sophomore Brent Greer finished 1-for-4 with his first inning single extending his hitting streak to a team-best 17 games.
Scoreless through three and a half, Western scratched the scoreboard first with three runs in the home half of the fourth inning. Murphy and freshman Matt Johns led off the inning with back-to-back walks before a double-steal put runners at second and third for de Graaf. The Cumming, Ga., native laced a double to right center field to score one and put runners at the corners. Senior Jason Haynes grounded out sharply to second to score the second run, with Kirkpatrick delivering a one-out single to score de Graaf.
Just as quickly as Western had climbed on top, the Wildcats answered with a three-spot of their own half an inning later. Davidson used three hits, including an infield bunt single and a two-RBI single to center by shortstop Zach Kayne, to knot the game after four and a half.
The Catamounts surged ahead for good in the sixth, again plating three runs. Murphy belted a two-RBI double down the left field line and later scored on another RBI base hit by de Graaf to give WCU a 6-3 advantage.
After the Wildcats manufactured a run in the sixth, Western Carolina concluded its scoring with two runs in the bottom of the sixth to pull ahead, 8-4. Johns led off with an HBP, with a single by sophomore Nick Liles putting two aboard. Two batters later, Shaft walked to load the bases with Murphy drawing his second free pass of the game to drive in a run. Following a Wildcat pitching change, freshman Ryan Mathews drew a walk to plate the game's final run.
Junior right-hander Corey Martin started for the Catamounts, working 4.2 innings before being lifted for Sexton. Martin only allowed three earned runs on four base hits, maneuvering around four walks with five strikeouts to receive a no-decision on a day when Catamount pitching did not allow an extra base hit.
Davidson starter Chris Kennedy (0-3) was saddled with the loss after allowing six earned runs on five base hits, walking five and striking out four. Kayne led the Wildcats offensively with a 3-for-5 showing, driving in two runs in the loss.