Georgia Southern 6, No. 8 Georgia Tech 5
STATESBORO, Ga. - A.J. Wirnsberger (Tuscaloosa, AL/Paul Bryant) delivered a two-run single in the seventh, then Dexter Bobo (Cumming/Darton College) pitched two hitless innings of relief as Georgia Southern defeated eighth-ranked Georgia Tech 6-5 Tuesday night (Feb. 24) at J.I. Clements Stadium.
The Eagles (4-0 overall) snapped a five-game losing streak to the in-state rival Yellow Jackets, doing so in front of the fifth-largest crowd in J.I. Clements Stadium history - 2,197 on a night where temperatures dropped into the 40s.
Tech (3-1) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second off freshman starter Matt Murray (Spring City, PA/Owen Roberts). With the bases loaded Chase Burnette drew a walk then Jeff Rowland recorded a RBI groundout. Murray struck out Patrick Long to avoid any more damage.
Griffin Benedict (Dunwoody/St. Pius) doubled to start the bottom of the second. Ty Wright (Montrose/ABAC) hammered his first home run of the year, a line drive to left field, tying the score at 2-all.
The Yellow Jackets plated two more runs in their half of the third when Tony Plagman lined a RBI double and Tony Skole followed with a RBI single. Skole tried extending it into a double but was gunned down.
Will Southwell (Moultrie/Colquitt County) lined a RBI single with two down in the fourth then Wirnsberger came through with two down in the fifth, a RBI single to right tying the game.
Charles Matthews (Athens/Spartanburg Methodist) worked around a one-out walk in the sixth when Benedict threw out Jason Haniger trying for second base on a ball in the dirt. In the seventh he walked the leadoff hitter then Rowland reached on a bunt single. Matthews got Long to ground into a 4-6-3 double play but Derek Dietrich came through for Tech, lining a 3-2 RBI single up the middle for a 5-4 lead. Once again, the Eagles quickly responded.
Kevin Bowles (Statesboro/Statesboro) walked to start the Eagles' half of the seventh. Thomas Nichols hit Matt Miller (Canton/Woodstock) on the very next pitch then both advanced a base thanks to a balk. With one down, Wirnsberger lined a fastball up the middle to bring home what proved to be the game winning runs.
Bobo entered the game in the eighth and retired the six batters he faced in order, including three strikeouts, to record his first save. Wright made an impressive catch on the run on the left field line for the second out of the ninth, then Bobo struck out pinch-hitter Connor Winn on four pitches to secure the win.
"To me it was just another game. I was trying to focus on just one pitch at a time. (Pitching) coach Beverlin told me to keep the ball down and that's what I tried to do," said Bobo. "Our offense is huge, it doesn't matter who it is one through nine in the line-up, different people have come through. As a team, it is a big win. I think all the pressure was on them being ranked eighth, and we came out ready to play."
Benedict joined Wirnsberger with two hits apiece. Miller and Benedict scored two runs apiece. Murray was charged for four runs on five hits in five innings. He walked three and struck out four.
Matthews (1-0) gave up one run on two hits in two innings, striking out one as the Eagles improved to 4-0 to start the year for the first time since 2001.
Nichols (0-1) was charged for the loss, allowing two runs in one-third of an inning. Starter Andrew Robinson allowed four runs on seven hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out eight. Rowland led Tech with two hits as the Eagles held an 8-7 edge in hits.
The two teams conclude their two-game midweek series on Wednesday afternoon (Feb. 25). First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Furman 5, UNC Asheville 3
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Marcus Rose belted two home runs, including a two-run blast in the eighth inning that broke a 3-3 tie, to lead Furman to a 5-3 victory over UNC Asheville in baseball action Tuesday evening at Latham Stadium.
Rose, a senior second baseman who sat out the Paladins’ season opening four-game series with Ball State over the weekend, drilled a solo home run in first inning on his first swing of the campaign, and his second roundtripper of the contest was a high arching shot to deep left center field. The Madison Heights, Va., product went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs in the contest.
Furman improves to 3-2 on the season while UNC Asheville falls to 0-5.
After Furman starting pitcher Ian Parry surrendered a pair of runs and three hits in the first inning, Paladin relievers Barry Benton, Jay Friedman, and Stephen Gary combined to throw shutout ball over the next six innings, allowing only one hit and a walk while striking out six.
The Paladins out-hit the Bulldogs 10-8, with Aaron Thompkins leading the way with a 3-for-3 performance. Brian Harrison joined Rose with a pair of hits.
Reed Kreiser’s two-run home run in the top of the first inning gave UNC Asheville a 2-0 lead.
Rose’s solo shot in the Paladin first cut the lead in half, and a Thompkins RBI double into the right center field gap in the second scored Nick Karow to tie the game at 2-2.
It remained deadlocked until the Furman seventh when Harrison led off with a ground rule double to right center field. Following a Matt Hemingway sacrifice, Reese Wade’s soft grounder up the middle against a drawn in Bulldog infield was good enough to plate Harrison, giving Furman a 3-2 lead.
The Bulldogs answered with a run in the eighth against Paladin reliever Marc DeDecker. Catlin Carter led off with an infield single, moved to second on a sacrifice, and came around to score on Justin Schumer’s line drive single to left field.
The Furman eighth proved to be decisive as Karow induced a leadoff walk off Bulldog reliever Taylor Wohlwend and scored on Rose’s one-out home run.
Karow worked a perfect ninth to secure his first save of the season.
DeDecker (1-0), who missed the entire 2008 season due to a torn labrum, earned his first victory since the 2007.
Wohlwend (0-2) took the loss for UNC Asheville after yielding two runs on two hits and a pair of walks in an inning of work.
Furman opens a four-game weekend home series against Ohio this Friday beginning at 4:00 p.m.
Davidson 12, North Carolina Central 2
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Senior second baseman Zach Kayne hit three home runs, and freshman Seth Freeman recorded a grand slam for his first collegiate hit to power the Davidson Wildcats past the North Carolina Central Eagles, 12-2, Tuesday afternoon at Wilson Field.
Kayne finished the day batting 3-for-4 with three runs scored and four RBI to lead the Wildcat offense. Freeman's slam came as part of a six-run first inning, giving the Wildcats (4-1) early control of the game.
Sophomore Ian Horkley (1-0) allowed just one run on two hits while striking out five in a schedule three-inning start. Freshman Michael Loeb, sophomore Mac Read, freshman Brian Russell and freshman Jonathan Fisher combined to hold the Eagles to a lone run on just four hits over the final six frames.
For N.C. Central (0-4), starter Douglas Dalley (0-1) was tagged with the loss, after allowing six runs on three hits - including Freeman's grand slam, in just one inning.
Kayne, who was just one home run off Gus Quattlebaum's school record from 1997, started the day for the 'Cats with a leadoff home run. Senior center fielder Brett Shore followed with a double into right center, and sophomore designated hitter Danny Weiss took a one-out walk. Shore scored as senior right fielder Chase Fitzpatrick reached on a field error by Eagle short stop Anthony Wilson, and freshman first baseman James Cerbie juiced the bases with a two-out walk. Freeman drove a fast ball down the left field line to clear the bases and put the 'Cats' up 6-1.
The Wildcats would add another run in the third inning on a solo homer from Weiss driven into left field and two more in the fourth on Kayne's second home run of the day. Senior third baseman Chris Fitzpatrick, who singled into left to open the inning, also scored, to push Davidson's lead to 9-1.
Central strung together three hits to scratch across a run in the top of the fifth, but that was all the scoring they would manage the rest of the way.
Davidson, though, added another run on Kayne's third round-tripper of the day, this one to straight away center in the sixth, and picked up its final two runs on just one hit, a one-out double by Freeman coupled with three wild pitches and a hit batsman, in the eighth.
The Wildcats will return to action Friday at Wilson Field, hosting Cincinnati, Pennsylvania and Georgetown for another four-game weekend. The 'Cats open with Cincinnati Friday at 6 p.m., play Pennsylvania Saturday at 3:30, and close with a double-header against Pennsylvania and Georgetown Sunday at 1 p.m.
UNC Wilmington 5, College of Charleston 3
Wilmington, N.C. -- Grayson Evan highlighted a four-run eighth inning with the go-ahead RBI single that propelled UNC Wilmington to a 5-3 come-from-behind college baseball win over the College of Charleston before 372 at Brooks Field on Tuesday.
Charleston, which fell to 3-1, takes on Oklahoma State at 1:00 on Friday in the Keith LeClair Classic hosted by East Carolina.
The Seahawks opened the decisive eighth inning with a walk and a hit batter against Charleston righty Kevin Decker (Washington, Ind.). A throwing error by Charleston relief pitcher Owen Brittle (Moncks Corner, S.C.) allowed the tying runs to score and Evans followed with his game-winning hit to center. Mike Rooney capped the comeback with an RBI double to left that scored Evans.
The Cougars opened the scoring in the second inning. Matt Mansilla (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) singled, Greg Blake (Westerly, R.I.) walked and Austin Morgan (Katy, Tex.) singled to load the bases with no outs. Cole Rakar (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) followed with a two-run single to left that gave Charleston a 2-0 lead. Joey Bergman's (Jacksonville, Fla.) sacrifice fly scored Morgan and extended the Cougars' advantage to 3-0.
The Seahawks cut the margin to 3-1 in the third inning. Ben Thielsen led off the inning with a single and eventually scored on Evans' two-out single to left.
Brittle (0-1) suffered the loss surrendering a pair of unearned runs in 2/3 of an inning of work. Bryan Booth (1-0) picked up the win in relief. Tyler McSwain pitched a scoreless ninth for his second save of the season.
Right-hander Nick Osterman (Goose Creek, S.C.), a sophomore, worked the first six innings for the Cougars and left with a 3-1 advantage. Osterman allowed a run on just four hits with three strikeouts.
Wake Forest 15, Appalachian State 3
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Appalachian State University baseball couldn't recover from an early 9-0 deficit and saw its season-opening three-game winning streak snapped with a 15-3 loss to Wake Forest on Tuesday evening at Wake Forest Baseball Park.
All seven Appalachian pitchers that saw action on Tuesday were making their collegiate debuts and Wake Forest (5-0) took advantage early, scoring four runs in the first inning, three in the second and one each in the third and fourth stanzas to grab the 9-0 advantage.
Defensive lapses also contributed to Wake Forest's early outburst, as the Mountaineers committed all four of their errors in the first four innings.
Ryan Arrowood suffered the loss in his first-career start, allowing four runs (three earned) on three hits in two-thirds of an inning. David Port was a bright spot for the ASU pitching staff, as the redshirt freshman struck out the side in the sixth.
Offensively, the Apps managed five hits against six WFU pitchers, highlighted by Chris Alessandria's solo home run to left field in the seventh.
Nine different hitters contributed to the Demon Deacons' 15-run, 14-hit effort, led by right fielder Ryan Semeniuk, who went 3-for-4 with three runs scored. Starting pitcher Daniel Marrs tossed five shutout innings for his first-career win.
Appalachian (3-1) returns to action on Wednesday at Gardner-Webb. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.