SoCon Baseball Recaps for May 13, 2008
ELON 16, WAKE FOREST 15
ELON, N.C. ? Donny Jobe doubled home the game-winning run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the Elon Phoenix belted five homers to earn a 16-15 non-conference baseball victory over the visiting Demon Deacons of Wake Forest from Latham Park on Tuesday afternoon. With the win, Elon swept the two-game season series from Wake Forest and improved to 39-16. The Demon Deacons dropped to 22-28 on the year. The five homers give Elon 69 on the year, establishing a new school record.
Wake Forest jumped out to a 2-0 lead with two down in the first inning when Dustin Hood tripled to right-center, scoring both Steven Brooks and Mike Murray, both of whom reached on walks.
The Phoenix quickly got one back as Chris Dove led off the bottom of the first by sending a 2-1 pitch from Brandon Johnson over the fence in left. It was the fifth homer of the year for Dove. After Cory Harrilchak doubled down the leftfield line to extend his streak of reaching base safely to 26 straight games, Bennett Davis grounded out to advance Harrilchak. Dallas Tarleton’s single scored Harrilchak to even the score at 2-2.
After a one-out single from Andy Goff and a walk to Eric Williams, Ben Terry connected for his second homer of the year, a three-run shot to left-center.
With Dove on third and Donny Jobe on first with two outs in the bottom of the second, Johnson was called for a balk, allowing Dove to cross the plate.
Elon closed within a run at 5-4 thanks to back-to-back doubles from Tarleton and Chase Austin to begin the Phoenix half of the third. Mike Melillo walked before a balk moved the runners to second and third with one out. Pat Irvine then drew a walk to load the bases. Dove greeted Matt Hammond, the new Wake Forest pitcher, with a bouncing double over the bag at third to score both Austin and Melillo. Jobe then grounded out, but got the RBI as Irvine crossed the dish with Elon’s seventh run of the game. Harrilchak’s infield single plated Dove.
The Demon Deacons answered in the fourth as Williams doubled to left-center and scored on Terry’s single.
Jobe walked with one out in the fifth and raced to third on Harrilchak’s single. Davis flew out to the wall in center for a sac fly as Jobe scored. The RBI was the 66th of the season for Davis who is now two shy of equaling Elon’s single-season record of 68.
Goff started the Wake sixth with a double and moved to third on Williams’ single. The Deacons loaded the bases as Terry was plunked. Steven Brooks delivered two runs with a double down the rightfield line. Terry came in to tie the game at 9-9 on a Willy Fox ground ball to short. After Murray walked on four straight pitches with one out, Hood grounded out for out number two. Weldon Woodall drew a walk to reload the bases. Tyler Smith drilled a double to the gap in right to clear the bases and put Wake Forest back on top by a 12-9 margin.
After Austin led off the bottom of the sixth with a single, Elon loaded the bases thanks to back-to-back hit batters in Irvine and Dove with two outs. Jobe then grounded a 3-2 pitch to first to end the Phoenix threat.
Elon pulled within 12-10 when Harrilchak belted the first pitch of the bottom of the seventh over the fence in center for his seventh homer of the year. Tarleton evened the score at 12 all by blasting his fifth homer of the year. This one, a two-run shot, cleared the fence in center. Mike Lobacz put Elon back on top, crushing his second home run of the year, a two-out solo shot to center. That shot, the 68th of the year for the team, equaled the Elon school record for homers in a season set by the 2006 Phoenix team.
Smith’s single to right with two away and runners on first and second in the top of the eighth knotted the score at 13-13 as pinch-runner Austin Jones slid past Tarleton’s tag. A pop-up should have ended the inning, but the ball was dropped and the go-ahead run scored. On the play, Smith was thrown out at home to end the frame.
Williams walked to start the top of the ninth and moved to second on Terry’s sacrifice bunt. After Brooks walked, both runners advanced on a ground out. Pinch-hitter Brett Linnenkohl singled to right, scoring Williams, but Brooks was gunned down at the plate for the final out.
Austin slammed his eighth home run of the year to start the bottom of the ninth and set a new school record with the team’s 69th homer of the campaign. Melillo followed with a single up the middle and raced to second on a passed ball. Pinch-hitter Matt Hill executed a perfect sacrifice bunt, sending Melillo to third. Greg Annarummo’s looping liner sailed over the drawn in infield for a single, scoring pinch-runner J.D. Reichenbach with the tying run. Annarummo stole second before the second out of the inning was recorded. Jobe lined a double to the gap in right to score Annarummo with the game-winning run.
Thomas Girdwood (5-1) earned the win with 1.0 inning of work. He allowed one run on one hit.
Phil Negus (4-3) suffered the loss after giving up three runs on four hits in 1.2 innings.
For Elon, Harrilchak was 4-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI. He finished the regular season with a .407 batting average. Both Tarleton and Austin had three hits. Tarleton drove in three while Austin knocked home two.
Terry went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and four RBI to pace Wake Forest’s attack. Smith also drove in four runs while Williams scored four times.
Elon, which has clinched at least a share of the 2008 Southern Conference title, will be off until its first SoCon Tournament contest on May 21 in Charleston, S.C.
APPALACHIAN STATE 9, UNC ASHEVILLE 3
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Appalachian State University baseball exploded for eight runs in the seventh and eighth innings en route to its 30th win of the season, a 9-3 victory over UNC Asheville on Tuesday evening at historic McCormick Field.
With the triumph, Appalachian (30-23) extended its season-best winning streak to six games and registered back-to-back 30-win seasons for the first time since 1985 and '86.
For much of Tuesday's ballgame, it looked like the Mountaineers would have to wait until at least Friday to get win No. 30, as the Apps left 11 men on base over the first six innings and trailed 3-1 heading into the seventh.
However, ASU erupted for three runs in the seventh and five more in the eighth to turn the two-run deficit into a commanding 9-3 lead. Jason Rook (Greensboro, N.C./Western Guilford), David Towarnicky (New Bern, N.C./New Bern) and Jason Altenhof (Santa Fe, Fla./Santa Fe) all drove in runs to give Appalachian the lead in the seventh and ASU took advantage of two UNCA errors in the eighth to stretch the lead to six runs.
Mountaineer starter Zach Quate (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) allowed five hits and walked three in six innings of work but matched a career high with seven strikeouts to earn the win and move to 5-3 on the season. Adam Mills (Asheboro, N.C./Southwest Randolph) closed out the ballgame with 2.1 innings of one-hit relief to collect his fifth save of the year.
With three scoreless innings from Mills and Taylor Miller (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield), Appalachian's
bullpen stretched its string of consecutive scoreless innings to 9.2. ASU relievers have surrendered just 17 total runs over their last 50 innings combined. As a team, Appalachian has held 13 of its last 18 opponents to five or less runs after doing so only nine times in the first 34 games of the season. Additionally, ASU has held allowed three or fewer runs in four-consecutive games for just the second time since 1994.
Altenhof, Rook, Towarnicky and Andrew Franco (Niceville, Fla./Niceville) led the Mountaineers' 18-hit attack with three apiece. Altenhof and Franco drove in two runs each, Towarnicky scored three and Rook matched Appalachian's single-season record with his sixth triple of the year.
The red-hot Apps close the regular season with a three-game Southern Conference series this weekend at Wofford. The set begins with a 7 p.m. contest on Friday and closes with a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday at Russell C. King Field in Spartanburg, S.C.
CLEMSON 12, COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 6
CLEMSON, S.C. - Stan Widmann hit a pair of homers and Jeff Schaus added a two-run shot leading Clemson to a 12-6 win over the College of Charleston in college baseball action before 4,308 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Tuesday.
With the win, the Tigers improved to 27-25-1, while the Cougars fell to 34-18. Charleston opens a crucial three-game Southern Conference series at Western Carolina at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
Schaus, a freshman, belted a two-run first inning homer to left center that gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead. It was his first homer of the season.
After Charleston's Stuart Haywood cut the margin to 2-1 with an RBI single in the second, Clemson scored seven times in the bottom of the inning highlighted by Widmann's three-run homer to left for a 5-1 lead. The Tigers added four more runs in the inning for a 9-1 advantage.
Mike Hentz's RBI double in the sixth cut the Clemson lead to 9-2. Widmann's second homer of the game was a two-run blast to left in the seventh that gave Clemson a 12-2 lead.
Charleston's Jeremie Tice added two-run homers in the eighth and ninth innings for the final margin. Tice has 17 homers and 68 RBIs on the season.
Casey Harman (1-5) picked up the win in relief for Clemson when he blanked the Cougars on just one hit with three strikeouts over two innings. Clay Caulfield (4-3) suffered the loss.
TENNESSEE 4, FURMAN 2
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Tennessee scored three unearned runs in the fifth inning to defeat Furman, 4-2, in baseball action Tuesday evening at Fluor Field in downtown Greenville.
The win snapped a nine-game losing streak for Tennessee (26-27) and sent Furman (29-21) to its sixth consecutive loss. The Paladins dropped their third decision this season at Fluor Field and are now winless in five game since the facility’s opening in 2005.
With the game tied 1-1 with one out in the fifth, Cody Brown was hit by a pitch from Furman’s Justin Holloway, and Danny Lima followed with a sharp grounder outside third base that was ruled fair to put runners at second and third. Spencer Hale, who relieved Holloway, retired Mike Moore on an infield fly for the second out, but Jarred Frazier’s grounder was misplayed by Paladin third baseman Brian Harrison, allowing two runs to score. Josh Liles then followed with an RBI double off the left center field wall to plate Frazier, giving Tennessee a 4-1 lead.
It remained that way until the sixth when Bobby Hubbard belted a solo home run to right center field, chasing Volunteer starter Joey Rosas. Matt Heminway and Ryan Lee stroked consecutive two-out singles, but the Paladins’ bid to extend the inning came up short after designate hitter Nick Karow’s fly ball was caught up against the center field fence, approximately 405 feet from home plate.
The Paladins were retired in order in the seventh and eighth before putting two runners on following a walk and error with two outs in the ninth. Tennesse closer Danny Wiltz, however, rallied to retire Marcus Rose on a check swing grounder to first base to end the game,
Rosas (4-2) was the beneficiary of the three-run Volunteer fifth, earning the victory after yielding five hits and two runs over five innings. He walked three and struck out six.
Holloway (1-3) took the loss after working 4 1/3 innings and giving up four hits and three runs, though only one was earned.
Paladin freshman Ryan Lang registered his most impressive outing of the season, tossing 3 1/3 innings of no-hit relief.
Ryan Lee went 2-for-4 for Furman, which out-hit Tennessee 7-5. Danny Lima’s 2-for-3 performance paced the Volunteers.
Furman returns to action on Thursday when it opens a three-game Southern Conference series against Georgia Southern in a 7:00 p.m. game. The Paladins and Eagles are tied for third place in the league standings with 15-9 records.
SOUTH CAROLINA 10, THE CITADEL 2
COLUMBIA, S.C. ? Kyle Jordan’s two-run home run in the top of the third was the extent of the run production for the Bulldogs as The Citadel dropped a 10-2 decision to the 18th-ranked Gamecocks of South Carolina in front of 5,037 at Sarge Frye Field Tuesday night.
Jordan hit his sixth home run of the season ? a two-run shot over the left center field wall ? in the third inning but that would be all the runs scored for The Citadel in a game where the Bulldogs left eight runners stranded. The Citadel (25-27), which has lost 14 of its last 17 games, scored two runs while notching six hits.
After losing pitcher Matt Talley (1-4) allowed five runs on two hits in 0.1 innings pitched while walking four, senior Timmy Martin entered and pitched a career-long 5.2 innings. After giving up a home run to Reese Havens in the third, Martin shined on the mound, only allowing two hits against the remaining 11 batters faced and tied a career-high by striking out three.
“I was very happy with my performance,” said Martin. “I entered in a bad spot and got us out of it. I wasn’t supposed to pitch for long but I told coach that if I put up a goose-egg that I want to stay out there and he said ?okay.’ I was just trying to keep putting up goose-eggs.”
South Carolina (35-18) scored 10 runs on 10 hits and was able to thwart a Bulldog rally in the fifth when The Citadel threatened with runners on second and third and again in the eighth when Chris McGuiness reached third with only one out.
“Timmy Martin calmed the game down for us, but they played excellent defense,” said The Citadel head coach Fred Jordan. “We had a chance in the fifth when we got runners on second and third but just couldn’t score.”
Sonny Meade went 2-for-4 in the game while Brian Shubsda went 1-for-2 with a run scored and a walk.
The Gamecocks led 7-2 after Havens’ solo home run in the third and The Citadel did not allow South Carolina to score until Justin Smoak hit a three-run home run over the scoreboard in right center field. The Gamecocks were also led by Whit Merrifield’s 3-for-4 performance and three runs scored.
“I felt like it was a good win,” said South Carolina head coach Ray Tanner. “I have never looked at The Citadel as a game easy to win or easy to play because they are tough. We just scored some runs early and [starting pitcher Sam] Dyson pitched well.
Dyson (7-0) got the win after going 5.1 innings for the Gamecocks, allowing only two runs on five hits while striking out seven Bulldogs in the game.
The Citadel hosts Presbyterian at Riley Park in Charleston to close the regular season in a three-game series beginning on Thursday, May 15 at 4 p.m. before hosting the 2008 Bennett Hofford Family of Hotels Southern Conference Tournament. The SoCon Tournament returns to Charleston for the 19th consecutive season this year.
JACKSONVILLE 9, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 4
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. ? Georgia Southern grabbed an early lead but Jacksonville scored eight unanswered runs during the middle innings in a 9-4 decision Tuesday night (May 13) at Sessions Stadium. The Eagles dropped to 31-21 overall while JU moved above .500 at 27-26.
GS had won the first two games against the Dolphins by a combined 29-13 at home heading into the final regular season non-conference game.
JU got a two-out RBI single from Alex Martinez in the first inning. He advanced to second on a wild pitch but Aaron Eubanks (Moultrie/Colquitt County) teamed with Brian Pierce (Roswell/Roswell) to pick Martinez off second base to end the frame.
A.J. Wirnsberger (Tuscaloosa, AL/Paul Bear Bryant) hit a one-out single in the second. David Richardson (Dahlonega/Lumpkin County) followed with a walk. Wirnsberger advanced to third on Pierce’s flyball. Jeremy Beckham (Griffin/Griffin) and Ty Wright (Montrose/West Laurens) hit consecutive RBI singles to take a 2-1 lead.
Jeremiah Parker (Carrollton/Carrollton) reached on an error to start the fourth inning. On a hit-and-run, Wirnsberger doubled down the left field line and Parker easily scored to make it 3-1.
In the Dolphins’ half of the fourth consecutive singles to start the inning put runners at first and second. Eubanks struck out Dan Maier for the first out but gave up another single to load the bases. Freshman Trent Franzago (Byron/Peach County) struck out Jamaal Hawkins for the second out but issued a walk to bring home JU’s second run. Franzago worked out of the jam getting a flyball to end the inning. Martinez lined a RBI double in the fifth to tie the game.
JU had the first five batters of the sixth reach base, plating five runs in all to take an 8-3 lead. Four runs scored on a single and another came home on a wild pitch by Michael Hester (Evans/Greenbrier). JU made it eight unanswered runs with a RBI single from Ferreira.
In the ninth, Beckham drew a one-out walk and went to third on Wright’s 21st double of the year. Phillip Porter (Marietta/Sprayberry) plated a run on a groundout for the final margin.
Eubanks gave up two runs in 3.1 innings, leaving with the lead. He walked two and struck out two. Franzago (1-2) only gave up one hit but walked four which led to two runs in 1.2 innings as he suffered the loss. Burt Barto (Columbus/Columbus) was charged for one run on three hits working the final two innings.
Wright, Shehan and Wirnsberger accounted for two hits apiece, six of the team’s seven hits. Richardson saw his team season-high 17-game hitting streak end.
Ferreira and Martinez had three hits apiece. Garrett Dunlap (3-1) earned the win pitching three scoreless innings.
The Eagles close out the regular season playing a three-game Southern Conference series at Furman on Thursday-Saturday. First pitch on Thursday night (May 15) is scheduled for 7 p.m.