Furman 11, Samford 2
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Aaron Thompkins went 4-for-4 and drove in a pair of runs to power Furman past Samford, 11-2, in the opening game of three-game Southern Conference baseball series Friday afternoon at Latham Stadium.
Thompkins, a sophomore outfielder from Canton, Ohio, singled and scored in his first at bat, delivered an RBI double in his second plate appearance, and finished off his outing with singles in both the sixth and seventh innings in helping Furman (7-6, 2-2 SoCon) even its league record.
Brian Harrison also contributed significantly at the plate, going 3-for-5 with three RBI, including a two-run triple in the sixth inning that helped break the game open. In all the Paladins pounded out 15 hits in the contest.
Furman starting pitcher Ian Parry (1-1) earned the victory after allowing only three hits and two runs, only one of which was earned, over five innings. The junior right-hander struck out seven and walked three, including the first two batters he faced.
Parry was followed on the mound by Jay Friedman, who tossed shutout ball over the final four frames to earn his first collegiate save. The sophomore from Birmingham, Ala., surrendered four hits, with two coming after two outs were recorded in the ninth, and fanned three.
Samford starter Michael Jarry (1-2) absorbed the loss. He worked six innings, allowing 11 hits, seven runs, and a walk while striking out six.
The Paladins grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first. After a pair of infield hits, Harrison stroked a single through the left side to drive in Marcus Rose, and Reese Wade later followed with a one-out single to right field
to score Connor Lind.
Furman made it 3-0 in the second before Samford got on the board with a Mason Meredith solo home run to left center field in the third.
Leading 4-2, Furman broke the game open in the sixth. With one out Thompkins singled and Rob Fondu walked. Rose followed with an RBI single that scored Thompkins. Harrison then highlighted the three-run inning by drilling an inside pitch down the left field line for a two-run triple, his fourth of the season, to stretch the Paladin lead to 7-2.
Thompkins added an RBI single in the seventh, and the Paladins tacked on three more in the eighth, including a two-run double to right center field by Matt Hemingway.
First pitch for Saturday’s game has been moved up to 2:00 p.m.
Appalachian State 10, The Citadel 6
BOONE, N.C. ? Appalachian State University baseball scored six runs in the first inning and never looked back on its way to a 10-6 win over The Citadel on Friday afternoon at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
Appalachian (6-8, 1-5 SoCon) fired out of the gates with its first seven batters recording hits en route to taking a 6-0 lead before The Citadel could record an out. Rand Smith (Bolivia, N.C./South Brunswick) and Wes Hobson (Winston-Salem, N.C./North Forsyth) led off the game with back-to-back singles, followed by a three-run home run by Isaac Harrow (Hickory, N.C./Hickory). After the blast, consecutive singles by David Towarnicky (New Bern, N.C./New Bern) and Chris Alessandria (Ponte Vedra, Fla./Nease) preceded an RBI double by Nick DeRose (Winston-Salem, N.C./R.J. Reynolds) and two-run single by Jeremy Dowdy (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) that made it 6-0. The Citadel wiggled out of the inning thanks to a strikeout/throw-out double play followed by another strikeout.
The Bulldogs chipped away at the Mountaineer lead with a run in the third, two in the fourth and one more in the fifth that cut the deficit to 6-4. However, that would be as close as the visitors would get, as the Apps answered with a run in the bottom of the fifth and three in the seventh to stretch the advantage to 10-4.
Towarnicky was the catalyst of both scoring stanzas, as he led off the fifth with a triple and scored on an Alessandria sacrifice fly and closed the ASU scoring with a two-run blast in the seventh. The junior first baseman was just a double shy of hitting for the cycle and finished 3-for-4 with two RBI and three runs. Smith chipped in with three hits of his own and Harrow drove in four runs.
The Citadel (6-7, 2-2 SoCon) scored two unearned runs off ASU closer Zach Quate (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) in the ninth inning to account for the final margin. Bryan Altman and Sonny Meade led The Citadel offensively with two hits apiece.
All-conference pitcher Matt Andress (Charlotte, N.C./South Mecklenburg) shook off a slow start to his junior campaign by tossing six solid innings to earn his first win of the season. The right-hander scattered six hits over six innings, allowing four runs (three earned) while striking out four. Bulldog starter Wes Wrenn surrendered seven runs on 11 hits in six innings to fall to 1-1 on the year.
The two teams continue their three-game Southern Conference series on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Davidson 7, Elon 1
ELON, N.C. ? The Elon bats were as cool as the mid-March temperatures and the Phoenix paid the price, dropping a 7-1 Southern Conference baseball tilt to the Davidson Wildcats in the opener of a three-game series on Friday night. The Phoenix (8-5, 3-3 SoCon) managed just three hits, two of which were infield singles.
The Wildcats (8-6, 3-1) grabbed the lead in the third when Seth Freeman sent a 1-0 pitch over the wall in left for his second home run of the season. Freeman’s solo shot was his second homer of the year.
Davidson pushed its lead to 3-0 in the fourth. After Pat Brady tripled to right with one out, Drew Gadaire belted his third homer of the year, this one to left-center.
Elon first baseman Bennett Davis was unable to come up with the throw from second baseman Zeth Stone for what could have been an inning ending double play which allowed Gadaire to reach and gave the Wildcats runners on the corners as Danny Weiss moved to third. Chris FitzPatrick then grounded a ball through the right side of the infield to plate Weiss with the fourth Davidson run of the game. After walking Freeman to load the bases, Graham Chapman grounded a ball to Chase Austin at third which was booted and another run scored.
The Cats tacked on another two runs in the eighth when Chase FitzPatrick homered to left-center. His sixth homer of the year also scored Weiss who had reached on an error.
Mike Melillo’s one-out solo homer to center in the bottom of the eighth erased the Wildcat shutout. The blast was the third of the year for Melillo.
Thomas Middour (2-0) picked up the victory after throwing 6.2 scoreless innings and allowing two hits.
Ken Ferrer (3-1) suffered his first loss of the year. He lasted 4.2 innings and surrendered five runs (four earned) on nine hits.
Brett Shore went 3-for-6 for Davidson while Chase FitzPatrick finished 2-for-5 with a run and two RBI. Gadaire also went 2-for-5 with two runs and two driven in to lead the Wildcats.
Elon's Melillo went 2-for-2 while Cory Harrilchak was 1-for-3, extending his streak of safely reaching base to 46 consecutive games. Harrilchak also improved his hitting streak to 13 games, equaling a career-best. Elon had numerous opportunities to get back in the game, but stranded 11 runners.
The two teams are scheduled to play game two at 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
College of Charleston 9, Western Carolina 3
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - College of Charleston starting pitcher Jesse Simpson (Baton Rouge, La.) struck out a career-high 14 batters in eight innings of work to lead the Cougars to a 9-3 victory over Western Carolina in Southern Conference baseball action in front of 347 fans at Patriots Point Stadium on Friday.
With the win, the Cougars improve to 12-2 on the season, 4-0 in the Southern Conference and have now won eight consecutive games. Charleston also recorded their 19th straight home victory dating back to last season. Western Carolina falls to 10-3, 3-1 in the SoCon with the loss.
Both teams return to action tomorrow at Patriots Point Stadium with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.
Western Carolina got on the board in the top of the first, after Trevor Collinas scored on a Simpson wild pitch with two outs.
After going scoreless through the first three innings on just one hit, the Cougars exploded for four runs on four hits in the bottom of the fourth. Matt Mansilla (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and Greg Blake (Westerly, R.I.) each hit RBI doubles in the inning, as Blake's hit knocked in two.
The Cougars added insurance runs in the fifth and sixth innings, scoring three runs in the fifth and two in the sixth. Mike Hentz (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) recorded a two-RBI double to left field in the fifth, while Brandon Sizemore (Jacksonville, Fla.) added an RBI double to right center in the sixth that made the score 9-1.
Western Carolina added two runs in the top half of the ninth after Rembert Rollison homered to left field, making the final score 9-3.
Simpson (2-1) earned the impressive win after throwing 114 pitches in eight, allowing just an earned run on eight hits, while not allowing a base on balls.
Simpson's 14 strikeout performance fell one short of tying the school record for strikeouts in a game, set by Brian Groves in a 2-1 win over Southeastern Louisiana State in March of 1995.
At the plate, McCord went 2-5 with an RBI and two runs scored, while Hentz went 1-4 with two RBI and two runs.
For Western Carolina, Mike Traverner (1-1) recorded the loss after giving up nine runs (seven earned) on nine hits in five and two thirds. Ross Heffley went 3-for-4 to lead Western at the plate.
UNCG-GSU Postponed on Friday Evening
GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Georgia Southern Baseball game at UNC Greensboro set for Friday night (March 13) has been postponed due to rain.
The two teams will move up Saturday's game time to 12 noon, but rain is also scheduled for most of the day.
Fordham 12, Wofford 10
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Wofford College baseball team gave up six runs in the top of the sixth in a 12-10 loss to Fordham on Friday afternoon at Russell C. King Field. The Terriers had a 5-1 lead after three innings, but allowed six runs in the seventh and four in the ninth in the loss.
Wofford is 6-7 on the season and 1-2 in the Southern Conference. Fordham is 3-9 and has not opened Atlantic 10 play. The Terriers were led by Konstantine Diamaduros with two hits and three RBIs, while Michael Gilmartin also had three RBIs in the game. The Rams were led by Danny Leach with three hits and two RBIs and Stephen McSherry with three RBIs.
Fordham took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when the Terriers walked Stephen McSherry with the bases loaded to score a run. In the bottom of the second, Wofford tied the game with a single from Mac Doyle to score Kyle Behrendt. David Roney singled, but got caught between first and second. Mac Doyle was able to cross home before Roney was tagged out to take a 2-1 lead.
In the bottom of the third, a single from Michael Gilmartin scored two runs. A single by Konstantine Diamaduros scored Gilmartin, who was at second after a stolen base, and Wofford had a 5-1 lead.
The Rams got one run back in the fourth when Stephen McSherry doubled and then was driven in by Nick Martinez. Neither team added runs in the fifth or sixth innings.
At the top of the seventh, Fordham led off with singles from Danny Leach and Mike Mobbs. A walk loaded the bases and another walk to Ryan David scored one run. A single from Stephen McSherry drove in two runs to tie the game at 5-5. A single from Chris Walker scored one more run and a double by Ryan McCrann scored another run to take a 7-5 lead. A wild pitch allowed one more Ram to score in the inning for an 8-5 advantage.
Heading to the top of the ninth, Fordham added four more runs to the lead. A fielder’s choice by Nick Martinez scored one run. A triple by Danny Leach drove in two runs and a wild pitch enabled Leach to score and give the Rams a 12-5 lead.
The Terriers fought back in the bottom of the ninth. A single by Alex Lee scored Bo Brandt, who walked, and Kyle Behrendt who reached on a hit by pitch. Josh McKinney added a single to load the bases for Michael Gilmartin. Gilmartin was hit by pitch, scoring a run and making it a 12-8 game. Konstantine Diamaduros came to the plate and hit a double to score two runs, but Gilmartin was out at home for the second out in a 12-10 game. A fly ball to right field ended the game with one left on base.
Wofford starter John Cornely went six innings with seven hits and five runs allowed with three strikeouts. Drew Sheridan (0-1) allowed three runs on three hits. J.D. Osborne worked a no-hit inning. Anthony Rowland pitched the eighth and ninth with four runs and three hits allowed with one strikeout.
For Fordham, starter John Flanagan went six innings with five hits and five runs allowed with three strikeouts. J.P. Mack threw 2.1 innings with four runs on one hit and a strikeout. Chris Kaible got the save in two-thirds of an inning with one run and two hits allowed.
Wofford and Fordham are scheduled to play a double-header on Saturday at 2:00 pm, weather permitting. The final game of the series is scheduled for Sunday at 1:00 pm.