Western Carolina 4, Appalachian State 0
Cullowhee, N.C. ? Using a two-run bottom of the six inning to break open a four-run lead, Western Carolina (6-2, 1-0 SoCon) went on to defeat the Appalachian State Mountaineers (5-4, 0-3 SoCon) Friday afternoon, 4-0, in game one of the three game series against Appalachian State at Childress Field/ Hennon Stadium.
Senior Mike Tavernier earned the win (1-0) throwing 6 2/3 allowing just five hits and no earned runs while striking out five Mountaineer hitters en route to his first victory of the 2009 season. Matt Andress (0-2) took the loss for Appalachian State going 5 2/3 allowing six hits and four earned runs to go along with four walks.
Garrett Ozar and reigning Southern Conference Relief pitcher of the week Daniel Ottone combined for 2 1/3 to complete the shut-out for the Catamounts, their first of the 2009 season. Ottone retired the side in order striking out the final two Mountaineer batters swinging to end the game.
The Catamounts had three players who had multi-hit games including leadoff hitter junior Nick Liles who went 2-for-4 with a double on the night. Shortstop Brent Greer went 2-for-3 with two singles. Ross Heffley had his seventh multi-hit game of the season already going 2-for-4 with two singles. Heffley also extended his current eight-game hitting streak.
Western Carolina (6-2, 1-0 SoCon) opened the scoring in the bottom of the third inning when with one out junior centerfielder Trevor Collias blast a solo Home Run, his first of the season, to left center to give the Catamounts a early 1-0 lead.
The Catamounts added another run in the bottom of the fifth inning when with two outs Collias drew a walk and stole second base while Liles was at the plate. Liles then hit a hard ball to the shortstop in the hole and Collias rounded third without a hesitation sliding in safely to give Western Carolina a 2-0 lead.
One inning later in the bottom of the sixth inning the Catamounts used a leadoff single from Heffley followed by a walk from J.C. Lyons to set up runners at first and second. Greer sacrificed them over to put runners at second and third with one out. After a fielders choice from Tyler Kirkpatrick, catcher Stephen Notaro laced a clutch two-out two-run double to right field plating Kirkpatrick and Lyons making the score 4-0 Western Carolina after six innings of play.
Appalachian State had an opportunity in the top of the seventh when with two runners on and with two outs in the inning Head Coach Bobby Moranda pulled Tavernier for Ozar. Ozar proceeded to strike out Rand Smith to end the inning stranding two Mountaineer runners. Appalachian State left nine runners on base to finish the game.
The second of the three-game series is set for 2:00 pm on Saturday afternoon. The Catamounts are scheduled to start junior left-hander Chris Masters.
College of Charleston 8, UNC Greensboro 0
Mt. Pleasant, S.C. - Brandon Sizemore (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Matt Mansilla (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) homered, and Jesse Simpson (Baton Rouge, La.) and two relief pitchers combined on a three-hitter leading the College of Charleston to an 8-0 win over UNC Greensboro in the Southern Conference baseball opener for both schools before 105 at Patriots Point Stadium on Friday.
Charleston improved to 7-2 overall and 1-0 in league play with its fourth straight win. The Spartans fell to 1-6 and 0-1. Game two of the series is Saturday at 1:00.
Sizemore belted his fourth homer of the season, a solo shot to left leading off the fifth, that stretched Charleston's lead to 5-0.
Mansilla hit a two-run homer to right center in the fifth inning, his third of the season, that scored Ryan Daniels (Victoria, Tex.) and staked the Cougars to a 7-0 lead.
Austin Morgan's (Katy, Tex.) sacrifice fly and Joey Bergman's (Jacksonville, S.C.) run-producing triple in the second inning gave Charleston a 3-0 lead. Joash Brodin (Olympia, Wash.) tripled with one out in the fourth inning and scored on a grounder by Mike Hentz (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) that extended Charleston's lead to 4-0.
Sizemore added an RBI single in the eighth that scored Clay McCord (Atlanta, Ga.) for the final margin. Daniels, McCord and Sizemore finished with two hits each. Ray Quinones had two hits for the Spartans.
Simpson (2-1) picked up the win blanking the Spartans on just three hits over seven innings with nine strikeouts and no walks. Curtis Dowling (Columbia, S.C.) worked the eighth, while Evan Goldberg (Simpsonville, S.C.) pitched the ninth for Charleston. Greg Martin (0-2) suffered the loss surrendering seven runs, three earned, on seven hits with five strikeouts over the first five innings.
Davidson 5, Furman 3
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Senior left fielder Pat Brady's leadoff home run in the second inning proved the game-winner, as the Wildcats captured a 5-3 win over the Furman Paladins in the Southern Conference opener Friday evening at Wilson Field.
Davidson moves to 5-4 overall and 1-0 in the SoCon, while Furman drops to an even 4-4 and 0-1 in the league.
Furman scored in the first frame, converting a leadoff walk to second baseman Marcus Rose into a run, but Davidson answered in the bottom of the half to knot the score and never trailed the rest of the way.
Senior short stop Matt Webb hit a two-out double into the gap in right field, stole third and scored on sophomore designated hitter Danny Weiss' RBI-single through the right side.
Brady led off the second inning with a home run into right center to put the 'Cats ahead, 2-1, and Davidson got another run on senior right fielder Chase Fitzpatrick's leadoff home run in the fourth. Brady hit his second home run of the season, while Fitzpatrick recorded his SoCon-leading fourth.
The Wildcats added another run in the fifth when senior center fielder Brett Shore connected on a two-out single into right and scored on Webb's second hit of the day, a double into right center. Brady's second hit was a ground-rule double over the right field wall in the sixth, and he scored the Wildcats final run on freshman catcher Seth Freeman's double to left.
Furman threatened in the seventh, getting the bases loaded with two outs, but only managed two runs on two hits to get within two, 5-3.
Sophomore Mike Frongello entered in relief of starter Thomas Middour, who scattered six hits over six innings to pick up his first win of the season. Frongello coaxed a fly out of Rose, but gave up a base hit to Connor Lind, who took second on a groundout. Matt Hemingway was hit by a pitch, and sophomore Mac Hunter walked Reese Wade.
With the bases loaded and two outs, Campbell Lewis snuck a base hit up the middle past sophomore Andy Bass to send in a pair of runs, but Justin Holloway struck out to end the rally.
Bass faced just four batters in a scoreless eighth inning, before Webb worked a shutout ninth to pick up his first save of the season.
For the Paladins, Ian Parry took the loss, after allowing five runs on nine hits in 5 2/3 innings.
Furman and Davidson continue the three-game set with a 2 p.m. first pitch tomorrow at Wilson Field and conclude with a 1 p.m. contest Sunday.
The Citadel 12, Elon 8 (11 inn.)
Charleston, S.C. ? Bryan Altman sent a walk-off grand slam over the left field wall in the bottom of the 11th inning as The Citadel clipped Elon, 12-8, in front of 635 at Riley Park Friday night. The home run completed a dramatic rally that witnessed the Bulldogs scoring 10 of their 12 runs in the final four innings.
Altman went 3-for-6 on the night with a run scored and five RBI as the Bulldogs (3-5, 1-0 Southern) handed the reigning Southern Conference Champions their first league loss of the season.
Elon (4-3, 2-1 SoCon) used nine pitchers in the game, using eight in the final four frames. Bobby Kennedy (0-2) took the loss after allowing two runs on two hits while walking one. The Phoenix struggled to contain the top four hitters for the Bulldogs, who went 10-for-21 with four runs scored and eight RBI.
Drew Mahaffey (1-2) was credited with his first career win after holding the Phoenix to one run on one hit while striking out four in 3.0 innings on the mound. Mahaffey retired the last five batters he faced.
Elon was led by Zeth Stone’s 3-for-4 outing with two runs scored while Mike Melillo went 2-for-5 with two runs scored.
The Phoenix led early, taking a 5-0 lead after three innings. After The Citadel scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth, Elon extended their lead to a 7-2 advantage in the seventh as Cory Harrilchak’s only hit of the night sailed over the right field fence for a solo home run. Chase Austin hit an RBI single to left to score Stone for the second run of the inning.
The never-say-die Bulldogs, who have now played into extra-innings in five of their eight games, began to mount their comeback in the bottom of the eighth. Sid Fallaw and Trey Thomas led the inning off with a pair of walks before David Greene singled to left to score Fallaw from second. After the first of Elon’s three pitching changes in the inning as the Phoenix brought in Tom Porter, Kyle Jordan drew a walk to load the bases. Elon then made their second pitching change with Jared Kernodle reliveing Porter. Kernodle was immediately charged with a balk, allowing Thomas to score.
Nick Orvin then hit a sacrifice fly to score Greene from third before Altman hit an RBI single through the left side to score Jordan. Sonny Meade drew a walk before J.D. Reichenbach entered the game to pitch for Kernodle and retired Richard Jones and Chris McGuiness to end the inning after four Bulldog runs on two hits, cutting Elon’s lead to a 7-6 advantage.
The Citadel tied the game in the ninth off an RBI single by Greene to score William Ladd from third, who pinch ran for designated hitter Sid Fallaw. Fallaw reached second with a leadoff double.
Both teams traded a pair of runs in the 10th inning to send the game to the 11th frame where Mahaffey retired all three Elon batters, sending the last two batters back to the dugout on strikeouts.
In the bottom of the 11th with one out, Johnny Dangerfield, who pinch ran for Greene in the 10th and remained in the game at third base, laced his first pitch up the middle for a single. Jordan followed suit with a double down the left field line, sending Dangerfield to third and putting both runners in scoring position. Elon loaded the bases by intentionally walked Orvin before Altman ended the game with his walk-off grand slam.
The Citadel and Elon return to action on Saturday, March 7 for the second game in this three-game Southern Conference series. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. at Riley Park.
Georgia Southern 8, Indiana 6
STATESBORO, Ga. ? The Georgia Southern baseball team (9-1) continues to roll defeating Indiana (3-5) 8-5 in the Holiday Inn Eagle Invitational opener at J.I. Clements Stadium Friday night.
Chris Mederos (Valdosta, Ga.) got the starting nod and promptly struck out the side in the top half of the first. Mederos picked up his third win of the season pitching six solid innings while striking out eight.
Dexter Bobo (Cumming, Ga.) picked up his second save of the season pitching two innings of scoreless ball.
Ty Wright (Montrose, Ga.) picked up three base hits improving his average to .281.
The Eagles got the scoring started with two runs in the second on one hit. Wright reached second on a routine grounder after the third baseman threw the ball away. Georgia Southern loaded the bases when Will Southwell (Moultrie, Ga.) was hit by a pitch, and Randy Williams (Valdosta, Ga.) walked. Two runs were scored on a fielder’s choice and a throwing error during A.J. Wirnsberger’s (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) at-bat.
The Eagles added four more runs, all coming with two outs in the fourth. Three straight two-out walks loaded the bases without a hit. Wirnsberger drove in two runs with a base knock. Griffin Benedict (Dunwoody, Ga.) drove in another run with a RBI single up the middle. Wright drove in the fourth run of the inning on an infield base hit.
Georgia Southern added a pair of runs in the fifth extending their lead to eight. Kevin Bowles (Statesboro, Ga.) drove in a run with his first hit of the day a RBI double to right. Wirnsberger added another run with a grounder that scored Brian Pierce (Roswell, Ga.) from third.
Indiana got on the board in the sixth after a lead off walk came around to score Alex Dickerson’s base hit through the left side of the infield. Dickerson scored on a Tyler Rogers RBI double to right.
The Hoosiers added three more runs in the seventh on Dickerson’s bases-clearing double to left. Indiana continued to threaten with runners on the corners with one-out but Kyle Kamppi (Savannah, Ga.) coaxed a double play out of Rogers to end the inning.
Baseball continues the Holiday Inn Eagle Invitational Saturday at J.I. Clements Stadium. First Pitch against LeMoyne is set for 2 p.m. East Carolina defeated the Dolphins 18-9 in game one of Friday’s action.
Samford 6, Wofford 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.?Samford senior pitcher Michael Jarry tossed a complete game, giving up one run and striking out six batters to lead the Bulldogs baseball team to a 6-1 win over Wofford in Samford’s Southern Conference debut Friday night at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
“Michael pitched well and really only walked two guys, both in the same inning,” Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. “He threw strikes. I thought we played well and there were two huge double plays that we turned that really calmed us down.”
For Samford in the game, Mason Meredeth was 3-for-4 with an RBI. Wayne Miller went 2-for-5 with an RBI and Stephen Ballard was 2-for-4 with an RBI. David Schulze drove in two runs in a 1-for-3 performance.
For Wofford, Jake Williams went 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI. Scott Summers pitched 5.1 innings, giving up six runs on 10 hits to take the loss on the mound for the Terriers.
Samford jumped on top first with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. After Michael Johnson walked and Meredeth singled with one out, Schulze doubled to left field to drive in Johnson and Meredeth for a 2-0 Samford lead.
Wofford came back with a run in the top of the fourth inning to cut Samford’s lead to 2-1. Williams hit a solo home run for Wofford’s lone run of the game.
Samford added two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to push its lead to 4-1. Miller doubled to left field to drive in Ballard, who had earlier singled for Samford’s first run of the inning. Johnson then doubled to center field to drive in Miller for a three-run Samford lead.
Samford plated a run in the fifth inning and another in the sixth to make the score 6-1. In the fifth inning, Ballard tripled to drive in Bo Smith, who had reached base on an infield single. The run in the sixth inning scored when Meredeth singled to right field to drive in Miller, who had reached base on a Wofford error to give Samford a five-run lead.
Wofford threatened in both the fifth and seventh innings, having men on base with one out. However, the Samford defense was able to turn a double play in both innings to end the threat.
With the win, Samford improves to 4-5 overall and 1-0 in SoCon play. Wofford drops to 3-5 overall and 0-1 in league play.
The same teams will meet again Saturday at 2 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field. The game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu. The game can also be viewed online via SoCon TV at www.soconsports.com.