Georgia Southern 20, Coppin State 2 (7 inn.)
Georgia Southern 22, Coppin State 5 (7 inn.)
Game One
Georgia Southern baseball defeated Coppin State 20-2 in game one of Saturday’s doubleheader at J.I. Clements Stadium.
“I thought we did a better job today,” said head coach Rodney Hennon. “It’s a totally different look from what we’ve seen. You have a tendency to try to do too much and you’ve got to be patient - take your walks when they’re there and hopefully get some good counts to hit. When you do get good pitches, don’t try to do too much with it. Keep it simple.”
The Eagles scored their 20 runs on 11 hits and outhit Coppin State 11-7.
Andy Moye (Alpharetta, Ga.) pitched well, earning the win in six innings of four-hit ball.
Eric Phillips (Carrollton, Ga.) and Chris Jones (Lithonia, Ga.) both had multi-hit games. Phillips drove in two runs and crossed home plate three times in his second start of the season. Jones led off the bottom of the third with a solo shot to left for his first career home run.
“It felt good,” said Jones. “We needed to get some more runs on the board to go ahead and put it away. It felt good to get out there on the field and contribute to the win.”
The Eagles scored nine runs in the first inning on six hits. Matt Miller (Canton, Ga.) led off with a walk and scored on Griffin Benedict’s (Dunwoody, Ga.) RBI single. Jonathan King (Athens, Ga.) plated Phillip Porter (Marietta, Ga.) for the second run of the inning. Phillips continued the damage with a RBI single. Brian Pierce (Roswell, Ga.) doubled into the left field power alley plating two more runs. Miller tripled to right field scoring Pierce. Porter homered in his second at-bat of the inning plating two more runs before Josue Martinez got the third out of the inning.
Coppin State loaded the bases in first inning, but Moye stranded the runners.
Georgia Southern scored three more runs in the third on two home runs. Jones led off with a solo shot to left field, and Roman Grimaldi (Duluth, Ga.) hit a two-run two-RBI bomb to right to give the Eagles a 12-0 lead.
Georgia Southern added two more runs in the fourth inning on two errors by Coppin State.
The Eagles scored six runs in the bottom of the sixth on three hits. Pat Smith (New Castle, Del.) drove in the first run of the inning with a RBI single to left.
Game Two
Georgia Southern came from behind to defeat Coppin State 22-5 in game three of the series to complete the sweep at J.I. Clements Stadium Saturday.
The Eagles tied a school record for walks with 18 on Vince Smith’s free pass in the bottom of the sixth. The school record was originally set in 1975 against Virginia Tech.
Georgia Southern scored 22 runs on 14 hits.
Michael Hester (Evans, Ga.) picked up the win after pitching three scoreless innings in relief of the starter Colin Snow (Alpharetta, Ga.).
The Eagles scored 11 runs in the second inning on six hits and seven walks. Porter drove in three of the runs with a bases-clearing double. Pierce also had a RBI single in the inning.
Coppin State took an early three-run lead in the top of the first. Lonnel Bush drove in two of the runs with his first homerun of the season.
Georgia Southern scored six runs in the fourth inning to make the score 18-4. Pat Smith drove in the second run of the inning with a RBI double into the right field power alley. Randy Williams (Valdosta, Ga.) plated two more runs with a single up the middle.
The Eagles added three more runs in the bottom half of the sixth. Jones drove in one of the runs on a RBI double to right.
Baseball returns to action Tuesday against Winthrop at J.I Clements Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Samford 4, Bethune-Cookman 2
FORT MYERS, Fla ? The Samford baseball team claimed its first win of the FGCU Classic by defeating Bethune-Cookman, 4-2, Saturday evening.
With the win, Samford improves to 3-3 on the season. Bethune-Cookman drops to 3-4 with the loss.
Samford was led at the plate by Michael Johnson, David Schulze and Trey Hayes, driving in a run each in the win. Andrew Jones started the game and pitched 6.0 innings, giving up two runs on four hits and striking out six batters to earn the win on the mound. Kyle Nichols pitched the final 2.0 innings, giving up just one hit to get his first save of the season.
For Bethune-Cookman, C.J. Lauriello and Patrick Jones drove in a run each. Eric Thomas pitched 6.0 innings, giving up four runs on five hits to take the loss for the Wildcats.
After Bethune-Cookman took an early lead with a run in the top of the first inning, Samford came back with three runs in the bottom of the first inning and one more in the second inning to take a 4-1 lead.
In the first inning, after Wayne Miller singled and stole second base to begin the inning, Johnson singled through the left side of the infield to drive in Miller and tie the score at 1-1. Johnson later scored on a passed ball to give Samford the lead for good. The final run of the first inning was scored when Hayes singled through the left side of the infield to score Mason Meredeth for a 3-1 Samford lead.
Meredeth walked with two outs in the second inning and then advanced to second base on a passed ball. Schulze then singled to left field to drive in Meredeth to give Samford a 4-1 lead.
Bethune-Cookman plated one final run in the fifth inning to make the final score 4-2.
Samford will conclude play in the FGCU Classic when the Bulldogs take on Boston College Sunday morning at 11 a.m.
Tennessee Tech 7, The Citadel 6 (15 inn.)
Charleston, S.C. ? The Citadel dropped a 15-inning marathon to Tennessee Tech, 7-6, Saturday morning in a game that lasted four hours and 54 minutes before 737 at Riley Park. The teams battled in The Citadel’s second-longest game in history in Game Four of The Citadel Memorial Challenge presented by the Charleston Crab House.
Tennessee Tech’s A.J. Kirby-Jones blasted a solo home run to left center in the top of the 15th inning despite 20 mph winds blowing in from center to give the Golden Eagles (5-2) the advantage.
Chris McGuiness went 4-for-5 with an RBI and two walks to lead the Bulldogs and four of The Citadel’s first five hitters recorded two or more in the game. The game marked the fourth time The Citadel (2-4) has played an extra-inning game this season.
Sonny Meade went 3-for-6 in the game with two RBI and a run scored while Nick Orvin went 2-for-5 with a run scored.
Drew Mahaffey (0-2) took the loss after a career-long 6.0 innings pitched on the mound. Mahaffey entered in the 10th inning having never pitched for more than 2.0 innings in his collegiate career. Mahaffey allowed three hits in his 6.0 innings while striking out eight batters, matching Wes Wrenn’s mark for the most strikeouts in a game this year.
Matt Crim, in his second start, did not receive a decision after 6.0 innings pitched as he struck out five while allowing three runs on nine hits.
Lee Henry (1-0) was credited with the win after throwing 6.2 innings in relief as he struck out three and only allowed four hits.
Tied at six, The Citadel threatened in the bottom of the ninth with bases loaded and one out before Richard Jones grounded into a double play with a close play at first that ended the inning.
The Citadel put runners in scoring position in each of the last three innings but couldn’t get any runs across the plate.
The game marked the longest game since the Bulldogs dropped an 8-6, 15-inning game to Old Dominion in 2004. Both that game and Saturday’s game are tied as the second-longest games in school history. The longest game The Citadel has played was a 16-inning affair in Coral Gables, Fla., dropping a 3-1 decision to the Miami (Fla.) Hurricanes.
No. 24 Southern California 6, Western Carolina 4
Los Angeles, Calif. - (From USC Sports Information) - Junior Robert Stock went 1-for-4 with two RBI, including the game-winning run, and threw 2.1 scoreless innings to earn the save Saturday as the USC Trojans evened its nonconference series with a 6-4 win over the Western Carolina Catamounts. Stock gave the Trojans (3-3) the lead in the third with an RBI groundout and added an RBI single in the fifth.
Junior right-hander Kevin Couture earned the win for the Trojans after allowing four runs on nine hits in six innings. WCU (4-1) took its first loss of the season after starter Chris Masters gave up six runs on six innings in six innings.
The Catamounts took a 2-0 lead in the first after junior Nick Liles led off the game with a double to left center. He advanced to third on a fly ball from sophomore Matt Johns and scored on junior Brent Greer's groundout. WCU senior J.C. Lyons then legged out his second triple of the season, lacing the ball to left center and scored on a double by freshman Ross Heffley double.
Joe De Pinto put the Trojans on top in the second with his first collegiate home run with a three-run blast to left. Western Carolina responded with two in the top of the third with Lyons scoring on a passed ball and Heffley making it a 4-3 game on Tyler Kirkpatrick's RBI double.
Hector Rabago was hit by a Masters pitch in the top of the third, followed by a double from Grant Green. Stock's single scored Rabago and Green would later score on a Masters' wild pitch for the 5-4 advantage. With the bases loaded in the seventh for Western Carolina and two outs, Stock went to the mound and struck out Stephen Notaro to preserve the lead. He would strike out Notaro again in the ninth for the final out of the game.
The series concludes tomorrow at 1:00 pm PT / 4:00 pm ET and the game will be broadcast by a live video webcast on usctrojans.com, courtesy of TrojanTV All-Access.
Remainder of Furman-Ohio Series Cancelled
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Furman’s Saturday afternoon doubleheader and Sunday’s single game against Ohio University have been canceled due to wet conditions, Paladin head coach Ron Smith has announced.
The Paladins and Bobcats were scheduled to play four games this weekend, but all four were canceled after steady rains, which began Friday morning and continued through Saturday afternoon, made the playing surface, particularly the outfield, unplayable.
Furman (3-2) will entertain Charlotte on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m.
Spartans vs. Princeton weekend series cancelled
GREENSBORO, NC - Today's UNC Greensboro baseball game against Princeton has been cancelled due to adverse weather in the Greensboro area. Sunday's contest that was scheduled for 1 p.m. has been cancelled as well.
The Spartans will return to the diamond on Wednesday when they make the short trip to Duke University for a 3 p.m. contest.
Wofford Saturday Baseball Postponed
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Due to excessive periods of rain on Saturday, the double header scheduled against Xavier has been postponed.
The games are tentatively scheduled as part of a double header against Xavier beginning at noon on Sunday at Russell C. King Field, weather permitting.
Final Two Games of Saturday’s Tournament Action Canceled; Sunday’s Schedule Moved Up an Hour
Charleston, S.C. ? Games two and three of The Citadel Memorial Challenge presented by the Charleston Crab House ? including The Citadel’s game against former Southern Conference foe Marshall ? have been canceled due to inclement weather in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Sunday’s schedule has also been adjusted with game times moved up one hour. Sunday’s action will begin at 10 a.m. at Riley Park.
Sunday’s first game will start at 10 a.m. with Radford facing Marshall. The second game of the day, and final game of the tournament, will be The Citadel facing Tennessee Tech with first pitch taking place around 1:30 p.m. or shortly following the conclusion of the first game.
Stay tuned to CitadelSports.com for the most up-to-date coverage of The Citadel Memorial Challenge presented by the Charleston Crab House.
ASU-Elon Baseball Postponed
BOONE, N.C. - Saturday's Appalachian State-Elon baseball game has been postponed due to rain. The game, the finale of a three-game Southern Conference series, will be played on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
Davidson Weekend Series Canceled Due to Rain
DAVIDSON, N.C. ? After getting the first game in on Friday evening, the Davidson baseball team will not play its remaining three games against Cincinnati this weekend due to rain. The remaining games were cancelled for today and tomorrow.
Davidson returns to the diamond when it heads to Auburn on Monday, Mar. 3, for a two-game series against the Tigers. Gametime is set for 6 p.m. for both contests.