Western Carolina 10, The Citadel 9
Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina survived a four-run Bulldog rally in the eighth and worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth to win Sunday afternoon's series rubber match, 10-9, over The Citadel at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
Sonny Meade uncorked The Citadel's lone home run of the three-game set with the bases loaded in the top of the eighth inning off of Catamount closer, Daniel Ottone. The grand slam -- Meade's first home run of the season - cut Western's five-run advantage to one, 10-9.
An inning later, a one-out triple to right center by Nick Orvin, coupled with two hit batsmen sandwiched around a ground out, again loaded the bases for the Cadets. On the pay-off pitch (3-2) with two outs, though, Ottone managed to end the game as Chris McGuiness grounded out to short, handing Ottone his team-leading fifth save.
Western Carolina (15-5, 6-3 SoCon) claimed the three-game conference series, 2-to-1, after falling in the opener on Friday night. It is the third-straight series victory for the Catamounts over the Bulldogs, and WCU's fourth in the last five seasons.
Junior catcher Stephen Notaro was among four Catamounts with two-hit performances, blasting two opposite field home runs to right and driving in a team-high five runs. Classmate Nick Liles was 2-for-3 with a pair of walks and three runs scored. The Laurinburg, N.C., native, along with senior J.C. Lyons, also stole two bases apiece.
Freshman Ross Heffley went 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs driven in and a pair scored, while junior Dylan de Graaf finished 2-for-2 with an RBI in a relief role.
Sophomore Brandon Johnson (2-0) picked up the victory in relief of starter Corey Martin, who lasted just an inning and a third of five-run, five-hit action. Johnson struck out two with a pair of walks in his 3.2 innings. Senior Garrett Ozar tossed two innings of one-hit relief with four strikeouts - including fanning the side in the seventh - but was tagged with three earned runs on the homer by Meade.
The Bulldogs (9-9, 5-4 SoCon) opened scoring in the top of the first inning with two runs, both coming with two out in the inning. A trio of singles and a one-out walk led to both runs as McGuiness drove in Meade and David Greene singled in catcher Richard Jones.
Western answered, however, in the home half of the first with three runs including a two-run home run by Notaro. Liles opened the frame with a nine-pitch at bat before singling sharply up the middle before moving to second on a passed ball. Heffley then drove in his first of two runs on the afternoon with a single up the middle, scoring on Notaro's homer.
The Citadel surged back in front, though, in the second as Bryan Altman doubled to right center to plate Sid Fallaw, chasing Martin. Meade then drove in two on a single to left to give the Bulldogs a 5-3 lead they would hold until the bottom of the third.
WCU claimed a lead it would never relinquish with four runs on just two hits in the home half of the frame with Notaro's second long ball of the game - third of the weekend - plating three and chasing Bulldog starter Matt Crim (1-2). Lyons scored the fourth run on a sacrifice fly by Logan Bland to put the Catamounts ahead two, 7-5.
Western Carolina managed two insurance runs in the sixth as de Graaf scored on a sacrifice fly by Heffley and Brent Greer pushing Liles across on a sharp infield single to short, 9-5.
Senior Mitchell Hatley scored what proved to be the game-winning run in the seventh. After lifting a two-out single to shallow center, the Mt. Pleasant, N.C., native stole second to move into scoring position.
Dylan de Graaf drove him in on a 1-2 count, punching one through the right side to give the Catamounts a five-run lead which they would need to pick up the win.
Meade finished 4-for-6 on the day for The Citadel to lead the Bulldogs, driving in six and scoring twice, while Altman and Orvin each posted two hits apiece, going 2-for-4 and 2-for-5, respectively.
But, The Citadel left 14 base runners on in the game all told, including twice stranding the bases loaded.
Crim, who fanned three, only lasted the first two innings, officially, facing three batters in the third before being lifted for Zach Garrett who went one inning of one-run, yet hitless relief with two strikeouts. Matt Talley worked 2.1 innings and Drew Mahaffey the final 2.2, combining for seven strikeouts, five by the latter.
Western Carolina steps out of conference for two mid-week games beginning on Tuesday, March 24 as the Catamounts travel to Knoxville, Tenn., to face the Tennessee Volunteers and former skipper, Todd Raleigh. First pitch is set for 7:00 pm, and the game will be carried on WWCU-FM, Power 90dot5 in Cullowhee with air time at 6:45 pm.
WCU returns home to host Kennesaw State on Wednesday (March 25) at 6:00 pm.
Appalachian State 3, Georgia Southern 1
BOONE, N.C. ? Josh Dowdy (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) didn’t surrender an earned run in six-plus innings and relievers Chris Patterson (Laurinburg, N.C./Scotland County) and Zach Quate (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) tossed three nearly perfect stanzas out of the bullpen to lead Appalachian State University baseball to a 3-1 win over Georgia Southern on Sunday afternoon at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
With the win, Appalachian (7-14, 2-9 SoCon) snapped a six-game losing streak and salvaged the finale of a three-game weekend series with Georgia Southern (16-4, 3-1 SoCon). A year ago, ASU started with a 1-9 record in Southern Conference play, but spurred by a triumph over GSU, went on to win 13 of its final 17 conference games and finished 14-13 in league play, giving the program its first back-to-back winning SoCon campaigns in nearly two decades.
The Mountaineers had allowed double-digit runs to the hard-hitting Eagles in each of the first two games of this weekend’s series but received a huge boost on Sunday from Dowdy. The right-handed senior kept Georgia Southern hitters off balance for much of the afternoon, surrendering only an unearned run in the fourth inning.
Dowdy cruised into the seventh with a 3-1 lead but developed a painful cramp in his left hamstring while pitching with an 0-2 count to GSU first baseman Eric Phillips. He went on to throw only one more pitch ? which Phillips slapped through the left side for a single ? before being lifted from the game.
Following Dowdy’s departure, Patterson induced a fly ball to right field and struck out the final two batters of the seventh to preserve the two-run lead.
GSU led off the eighth with a single off Patterson, but the right-hander responded with a strikeout, foul out and groundout against the Eagles 3-4-5 hitters to squelch the threat.
Quate came on in the ninth to close out the ballgame and struck out the first batter he faced on three pitches. Georgia Southern then got a single to bring the tying run to the plate for the third time in the final three innings, but the Mountaineers turned a 6-4-3 double play to seal the win.
Appalachian needed every bit of its sterling performances on the mound, as GSU’s pitching was nearly as effective. ASU registered only seven hits but was able to plate single runs in the first, third and sixth innings. Isaac Harrow (Hickory, N.C./Hickory) drove in two of the three runs, Rand Smith (Bolivia, N.C./South Brunswick) scored twice and Jerod Faggart (Concord, N.C./Northwest Cabarrus) blasted a solo homer to lead the offensive effort.
The win evened Dowdy’s record at 2-2 while the save was Quate’s second of the season. Georgia Southern starter Matt Murray pitched into the eighth but was saddled with all three runs (two earned) and suffered the tough-luck loss to fall to 1-1.
The Mountaineers close a stretch of eight home games in 12 days when they host North Carolina A&T on Tuesday at 3 p.m. GSU returns from a 10-day Carolinas excursion to host Kennesaw State on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Elon 11, Furman 5
ELON, N.C. -- Another solid offensive performance from the Elon Phoenix carried the home squad to an 11-5 Southern Conference baseball victory over the Furman Paladins from Latham Park on Sunday afternoon. The win completed the weekend sweep for Elon who outscored Furman 41-15 in the three game series.
The Phoenix (12-5, 6-3 SoCon) put up a five-spot in the third, its fourth inning of five or more runs scored on the weekend, and did it with the benefit of only one hit. With one away, Bennett Davis was hit by a pitch. A walk to Mike Melillo was followed by a plunking of Justin Hilt to load the bases. Elon claimed the lead when Davis was forced home when Dallas Tarleton was also hit by a pitch. Chase Austin drew a walk on a 3-1 pitch to force in Melillo and the Phoenix was up 2-0. Ryan Adams drove home two with the innings only hit when he drove a single to right, scoring both Hilt and Tarleton. Austin completed the scoring when the Elon pulled off a double steal.
Elon added three more in the fourth on Justin Hilt's three-run bomb to left-center which delivered both Melillo and Davis. The shot was the sixth homer of the season.
The Phoenix advantage stretched to 10-0 in the fifth when Pat Irvine connected for his fifth home run of the year. This one came when Irvine turned around a 1-1 pitch and sent it over the wall in left. The homer also scored Cory Harrilchak who had singled earlier in the frame.
Furman (8-11, 3-6) trimmed the Elon lead to 10-5 in the sixth. Back-to-back doubles from Marcus Rose and Reese Wade plated the first Paladin run of the contest. With two outs and Wade on third, Aaron Thompkins singled to center to score Wade. Justin Holloway followed with a single to put runners on the corners for Will Miller. Miller sent the first pitch he saw in the at bat over the wall in left for a three-run homer, his first of the year.
Irvine's single in the seventh plated Neal Pritchard as Elon tacked on its 11th run of the game.
Daniel Britt (1-0) picked up the victory after allowing five runs on seven hits in 5.2 innings. The Phoenix bullpen of Tom Porter, Bobby Kennedy, Jordan Darnell and Thomas Girdwood combined to blank Furman over 3.1 innings and allowed just one hit. Elon pitchers issued just one walk in the contest.
J.P. Goldsberry (1-3) took the loss and lasted just 2.1 innings. He was charged with five runs on two hits. He walked four and hit four Phoenix hitters.
Both Hilt and Irvine drove in three runs for Elon. Harrilchak and Irvine were the only two Phoenix players to record multi-hit games as both went 2-for-5. Harrilchak has now reached base safely in 50 consecutive games and has a hit in 17 straight contests.
Miller finished 2-for-4 with a run and three RBI for Furman while Connor Lind went 2-for-4 as well.
Elon returns to the diamond on Tuesday when the squad will visit 16th-ranked Clemson for a 6:30 p.m. game.
Furman travels to Charleston Southern Tuesday with game time set for 2 p.m.
Davidson 16, Wofford 8
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? The Wofford College baseball team was defeated 16-8 by Davidson on Sunday afternoon at Russell C. King Field. The Wildcats scored six runs on seven hits in the top of the sixth that proved to be the difference in the game.
Wofford is 10-9 on the season and 3-3 in the Southern Conference. Davidson is 9-9 overall and 4-3 in conference play. The Terriers were led by Jake Williams with two hits and three RBIs, while Josh McKinney, Kyle Behrendt, Mike McDonnell and James Foster also had two hits each. The Wildcats were led by Danny Weiss with four hits and five RBIs and Seth Freeman and Chase FitzPatrick with three hits each.
Davidson opened the game with a single by Zach Kayne and a single from Danny Weiss four batters later drove in Kayne for a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the first, Wofford had singles from Alex Lee and Josh McKinney. A sacrifice fly by Konstantine Diamaduros scored one run, while a single from Jake Williams scored the other to take a 2-1 lead.
The Wildcats added two runs in the top of the second as an error scored one run and a sacrifice fly by Zach Kayne with the bases loaded scored a second run for a 3-2 lead.
In the third inning, Davidson scored a run with a sacrifice fly by James Cerbie. Wofford answered with a solo home run by Konstantine Diamaduros to make it a 4-3 game. Neither team scored in the fourth or fifth.
Davidson broke the game open in the top of the sixth when with one out, six straight batters had hits, which scored four runs. With two out, a single by Chris FitzPatrick drove in two more runs and the Wildcats had a 10-3 lead.
The Wildcats were able to put four more runs on the board in the top of the seventh, with three of the runs coming on a home run down the left field line by Danny Weiss. Wofford was able to get the four runs back in the bottom half of the seventh. Josh McKinney singled, followed by a double from Michael Gilmartin. A single by Jake Williams scored both runners. A home run by Kyle Behrendt drove in Williams as well and the score was 14-7 after seven.
A two-run homer by Chase FitzPatrick in the top of the eighth extended the Wildcats lead. Wofford was able to score one run in the bottom of the inning when Michael Gilmartin hit a sacrifice fly that scored Mike McDonnell, who had reached on a single.
In the ninth, both teams were three-up and three-down to end the game at 16-8.
Terrier starter Cash Collins (1-2) threw three innings with six hits, four runs and three strikeouts. Bobby DeLuria went 2.1 innings with eight hits and six runs allowed and one strikeout. Anthony Rowland threw two-thirds of an inning with four hits and four runs allowed and a strikeout. Jordan Mickleberry went two innings with one hit and two runs with two strikeouts. Reid McElveen pitched the ninth without allowing a base runner.
For Davidson, starter Chris Kennedy went 1.1 innings with two runs and five hits with two strikeouts. Matt Webb (1-0) threw 4.2 innings with three hits, one run and four strikeouts. Ryan Overcash and Mac Hunter each pitched a third of an inning with two runs and two hits allowed. Andy Bass threw 1.1 innings with two hits and a run allowed. Mike Frongello pitched the ninth without a hit allowed.
The Terriers won the season series with Davidson 2-1. The loss ended Wofford’s second three-game winning streak of the season. Wofford had 14 hits in the game, the eleventh time this season with ten or more hits.
Wofford will play at USC Upstate on Wednesday before hosting Western Carolina for a three-game conference series beginning Friday night at 7:00 pm at Russell C. King Field.
Davidson hosts Wake Forest Tuesday at 6 p.m.
College of Charleston 9, Samford 7
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.?The Samford baseball team dropped a 9-7 decision to the College of Charleston Cougars in a Southern Conference game Sunday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field. The game gives the Cougars a three-game sweep of the Bulldogs in the weekend series.
With the loss, Samford drops to 7-14 overall and 3-6 in SoCon play. College of Charleston improves to 17-3 overall and 8-1 in league play.
“Our kids did a good job of competing and playing hard today,” Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. “I thought we had eight good innings of at-bats. I thought we swung the bats well, we just didn’t finish.”
College of Charleston belted four home runs in the game. Brandon Sizemore hit two homers, going 2-for-5 with three RBI. Joey Bergman (3-for-4) and Austin Morgan (2-for-5) also had a home run each for the Cougars.
David Peterson pitched 6.0 innings, giving up six runs on eight hits to pick up the win. Owen Brittle tossed the final two innings to earn the save for the Cougars.
For the Bulldogs at the plate, Wayne Miller went 2-for-5 with a double and three RBI. Stephen Ballard went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI. Marcus Rodriguez was 2-for-3 at the plate for Samford.
Andrew Jones pitched 3.0 innings, giving up six runs on six hits to take the loss for the Bulldogs. Samford used seven pitchers in the game.
College of Charleston jumped out to a 6-0 lead with one run in the first inning, three runs in the second inning and two runs in the third inning. Bergman homered for the run in the first inning. Morgan had a two-run homer and Greg Blake singled to drive in Matt Mansilla for the three runs in the second. In the third inning, Sizemore belted a two-run homer to give the Cougars a six-run lead.
Samford came back with three runs in the third inning to cut the lead to 6-3. Ballard doubled to right field to drive in Miller and Michael Johnson for Samford’s first two runs of the game. Mason Meredeth later singled to right field to drive in Ballard to cut the Charleston lead to three runs.
After the Cougars plated a run in the fourth inning to make the score 7-3, Samford answered with three runs in the bottom of the fourth to cut the lead to 7-6. With two outs, Rodriguez singled, Johnson walked and Brad Moss singled to load the bases. Miller then cleared the bases with a double to center field to make the score 7-6.
College of Charleston added two runs in the top of the seventh inning to push its lead to 9-6. Sizemore homered to right-center field for the first run of the inning. Blake later singled to right field to drive in Ryan Daniels, who had reached base after being hit by a pitch, to give the Cougars a three-run lead.
Samford plated one final run in the bottom of the seventh inning to make the final score 9-7. Miller led the inning off with a single. Ballard then singled and Miller moved to third base. Miller then scored when Meredeth reached base on a Charleston error for the game’s final run.
Samford will return to action on Tuesday, March 24, when the Bulldogs play host to Auburn. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start from Joe Lee Griffin Field.
College of Charleston hosts South Carolina Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
UNC Greensboro 10, Albany 6
GREENSBORO, NC ? UNC Greensboro rallied to score five runs in the eighth inning to complete the weekend sweep over Albany, 10-6, on Sunday afternoon at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Sophomore Brent O’Berry went a perfect 4-4 at the plate with four RBI and two runs scored for the Spartans (7-9) and Rob Gilliam came in to pitch four innings of two-hit relief to pick up the win.
Albany reliever Sean Gregory allowed five runs in 4 2/3 innings to pick up the loss for the Great Danes (2-13).
The Great Danes got on the board in the first inning after the first three batters walked to start the game. Gary Pitcheralle would score later in the inning on a sacrifice fly.
UNCG seemed to have taken control of the game in the bottom half of the second after scoring four runs. With one down in the inning, Ed Jayjack singled to right field and would later advance to second on a passed ball. After a Spartan batter struck out, Michael Wall walked to begin a two-out rally. Raymond Frias would load the bases after a single before O’Berry singled up the middle to score Jayjack and Wall. Pedro Leon followed with a double to left center to score Frias and O’Berry to give UNCG a 4-1 lead.
UNCG starter Alex Shelton continued to struggle with his command as he walked two more batters in the second inning, which led to two RBI singles to make the score 4-3 after three innings.
The Great Dane hitters continued to jump on the Spartan pitchers as Albany pushed one run across the plate in the fourth, fifth and sixth inning to take 6-4 lead after the top of the sixth.
The Spartans got one run back in the bottom half of the sixth inning to narrow the Albany lead to 6-5. With two outs, Frias reached on a catcher’s interference call and moved over to second on a balk. O’Berry followed with his third hit of the day to score Frias from second.
With the Spartans down to just six outs, they rallied for five runs to jump out to a 10-6 lead. Ed Jayjack led off the inning with a double to center field on a ball that the centerfielder lost in the sun. John Cucchiarella moved Jayjack to third on a sacrifice bunt. After a strike out, the Spartans put together another two-out rally. Pinch hitter Kris Richards walked to put runners on the corners before O’Berry came through with his fourth hit of the day to score Jayjack and knot the game at 6. Leon followed with a single to left field to score Richards and move O’Berry to second. Corey Overholtzer kept the rally going with a single to left field to score O’Berry from second. Ray Quinones loaded the bases with a single and Trevor Edwards hit a two RBI single up the middle to cap off the scoring.
UNCG will look to extend its winning streak on Tuesday at the Spartans make the short trip to Raleigh to face NC State at 6:30 p.m. at Doak Field.