Wofford 12, North Carolina A&T 9
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? The Wofford College baseball team defeated North Carolina A&T 12-9 on a wet and overcast Wednesday afternoon at War Memorial Stadium. The Terriers scored in all but the sixth inning and seven different players had RBIs.
Wofford is 12-11 on the season and 3-5 in the Southern Conference. North Carolina A&T is 7-17 overall and 3-2 in the MEAC. The Terriers were led by Kyle Behrendt and David Roney with three hits each and Michael Gilmartin with three RBIs. The Aggies were led by Xavier Macklin with four hits, including a home run.
The Terriers opened the game with a lead-off single from Alex Lee. A double from Michael Gilmartin scored Lee to take an early 1-0 lead. The Aggies responded in the bottom of the inning with a single from Carvell Copeland. Xavier Macklin drove the next pitch over the left field fence for a two-run homer and a 2-0 score after one inning.
In the second, the Terriers had singles from Jake Williams, David Roney and James Foster. Foster’s single scored Williams, while a sacrifice fly by Michael Gilmartin scored Roney. Foster scored on a single from Konstantine Diamaduros for a 4-2 lead. North Carolina A&T responded with two singles and Marquis Riley stole home on a double-steal for a 4-3 score at the end of two innings.
Wofford had a double from Kyle Behrendt to open the third and after advancing on a wild pitch, he scored on a ground-out by Jake Williams to take a 5-3 lead. In the top of the fourth, Josh McKinney reached on an error and eventually scored on a wild pitch. A single from Kyle Behrendt scored Diamaduros who was walked to go up 7-3.
The Aggies got one run back in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single from Ronald Perry that scored Nick Rogers. In the top of the fifth, a base hit from Josh McKinney and an error on the throw scored David Roney. A ground-out by Michael Gilmartin pushed James Foster across home plate for a 9-4 lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, Nick Rogers hit a double and after a wild pitch scored on a ground-out by Lester Rivenbark. The Aggies then loaded the bases with two out, but left all three runners stranded with a 9-5 score.
The Terriers added a run in the top of the seventh when a single from Alex Lee drove in James Foster. North Carolina A&T chipped away in the bottom of the seventh when Lester Rivenbark hit an RBI single to drive in Xavier Macklin. The lead was cut to 10-8 with a double from Eric Chiz with two outs that scored two runs.
Wofford added a run in the top of the eighth on a sacrifice fly from Jake Williams to score Mac Doyle for an 11-8 advantage. In the top of the ninth, the Terriers added another run on a double by Josh McKinney that scored James Foster. The Aggies had two hits in the ninth and scored one run, but could not pull closer for the 12-9 final score.
Terrier starter Jordan Mickleberry (1-0) threw six innings with five runs on nine hits allowed and five strikeouts. Reid McElveen worked the seventh and allowed three runs on three hits. Mason Bradly threw the eighth and allowed only one hit. J.D. Osborne pitched the ninth and allowed two hits and one run.
For North Carolina A&T, starter Jonathan Smith (0-1) threw the first 3.1 innings with five runs and eight hits allowed with a strikeout. Jared Via allowed two runs and one hit in 1.1 innings. Nick Oelker went 2.1 innings with three hits and three runs allowed with a strikeout. Blaine McCraw threw the seventh with one hit allowed, while Nick Rogers moved to the mound in the eighth and allowed three hits and two runs in two innings.
With two outs in the top of the fourth a rain delay was called for 19 minutes, however play resumed and the sun broke through the clouds briefly in the seventh inning. In midweek games this season, the Terriers are 7-2, with losses to Clemson and Georgia, and have won five in a row.
On Friday, Wofford will play the first of a three-game Southern Conference series against The Citadel at 7:00 pm at Riley Park. The two teams will also meet on Saturday and Sunday.
Appalachian State 4, High Point 3
BOONE, N.C. ? David Towarnicky’s looping line drive into right center field with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning brought Rand Smith home with the winning run in Appalachian State University baseball’s 4-3 victory over High Point on Wednesday evening at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
Appalachian (11-15) has won five of its last six and sports a three-game winning streak for the first time since sweeping a three-game series from Jacksonville State on the opening weekend of the season.
ASU’s decisive 11th inning was a microcosm of the entertaining game, which featured strong pitching and clutch hitting but also costly mistakes and missed opportunities for both clubs.
Jeremy Dowdy led off the bottom of the 11th with a solid single to left field but was gunned down at second base on a failed sacrifice bunt attempt by Smith. One pitch later, Smith advanced to second on a wild pitch to put the winning run in scoring position with just one out. However, Wes Hobson flew out to right field on a 3-0 pitch for the second out of the inning.
High Point (7-16) pitched around red-hot Isaac Harrow, walking him on four pitches to bring Towarnicky to the plate. Towarnicky lofted an 0-1 pitch from Zach Scott over the second baseman and into shallow right center field, where it was corralled by right fielder Drew Geissinger. Breaking on contact from second base with two outs, Smith slid into home in plenty of time to beat Geissinger’s throw.
Despite Towarnicky’s heroics, the play of the game came in the top of the ninth, when right fielder Jason Wallace made a spectacular diving catch on a ball belted to the right center field gap by HPU catcher Billy Alvino. Had the ball fallen to the ground, it almost assuredly would have rolled to the wall and scored two runs. Instead, the grab ended the inning and squelched High Point’s final scoring threat.
Not to be overshadowed by the late-inning drama was the performance turned in by the Mountaineer pitching staff down the stretch. The Panthers rapped out 11 hits over the first six innings to take a 3-2 lead but the Apps limited HPU to just one hit over five scoreless stanzas to close out the game.
Trailing 3-2 after six-and-a-half innings, Appalachian knotted the game at 3-3 on Hobson’s two-out RBI double down the left field line in the bottom of the seventh. ASU also had a terrific opportunity to end the ballgame in regulation but left the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to send the contest to extra frames.
Sophomore Taylor Miller (1-2) rebounded from some shaky outings as of late by sitting down all six batters he faced in the 10th and 11th innings to earn his first win of the season. He was the sixth Mountaineer reliever of the evening, the final five of which (Nick Daniels, Josh Dowdy, Chris Patterson, Zach Quate and Miller) didn’t allow a run.
HPU’s Scott surrendered his first earned run of the season in the bottom of the 11th and fell to 1-3.
Nick DeRose led the Apps’ 14-hit effort with a 3-for-5 showing. Harrow hit his team-high-tying sixth home run of the season in the fourth inning and finished 1-for-5, giving him 15 hits (including seven for extra bases) in his last 24 at-bats.
Alfie Wheeler paced High Point with a 3-for-6 evening at the plate.
Appalachian looks to stay hot and make a move up the Southern Conference standings when it travels to Furman for a three-game series this weekend. The set begins with a 7 p.m. first pitch on Friday at FU’s Latham Stadium.
Wake Forest 4, UNC Greensboro 3
WINSTON-SALEM, NC ? Despite leading 3-0 early in the game, UNC Greensboro fell 4-3 to Wake Forest on a walk-off double by Steven Brooks at the Wake Forest Baseball Stadium on Wednesday night.
Wake Forest reliever Zach White pitched a scoreless ninth inning for the Demon Deacons (15-11) to record the win.
UNCG reliever Alex Shelton was credited with the loss for the Spartans (8-14).
With the game tied at 3 heading into the final frame, Wake Forest used a pair of doubles to claim the win. After the first batter fouled out to first, Austin Stadler doubled down the right field line. Greg Smith then came in to pitch for Shelton and got Bently Heyman to fly out to center field. Brooks came up and hit a fly ball to left center that looked like left fielder Pedro Leon was going to catch, but he slipped on the wet grass and wasn’t able to make the play.
The Spartans got on the board first in the top half of the second thanks to a fielding error by the Wake Forest second baseman. With one down in the inning, Trevor Edwards walked and then moved to second on a single by Raymond Frias. Brent O’Berry hit what looked to be an inning-ending double play, but the ball went under the second baseman’s glove and Edwards was easily able to score from second to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead.
UNCG extended its lead in the fourth inning with a pair of runs to make the score 3-0 thanks to two Demon Deacon errors. Edwards led off the inning and reached on a fielding error by the first baseman before advancing to second on a thowing error on a fielder’s choice by Frias. O’Berry loaded the bases as he successfully reached on a bunt down the third base line. After a fly out, Leon lifted a ball to center for the second out of the inning, but Edwards was able to tag up and score on the play. Corey Overholtzer followed with a single through the right side of the infield to score Frias from second and put the Spartans up 3-0.
After UNCG starter Warren Slack began the game by allowing just one hit over the first five innings, but he ran into trouble in the sixth inning.
The Deacons led off the inning with back-to-back singles and Brooks followed by loading the bases on a fielder’s choice and error by the catcher. Evan Ocheltree got Wake Forest on the board with a two RBI single through the right side. After Dustin Hood walked to load the bases again, Brooks scored on a passed ball to tie the game at 3. After the two runners advanced to second and third on a wild pitch, Tyler Smith flew out to left field. Ocheltree tried to tag up on the play and score, but Leon threw a perfect ball to home where Jacob Golliday applied the tag to get out of the inning.
The game remained that way until Brooks’ walk off double in the ninth inning.
UNCG will return to conference play this weekend as they make the quick trip over to Elon for a three-game series this weekend. The Spartans and the Phoenix will meet in game one on Friday night at 7 p.m. at Latham Park.
Winthrop 12, The Citadel 9
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? The Citadel allowed Winthrop to score six runs on four hits as the Eagles rallied in the ninth for a 12-9 victory in front of 576 at Riley Park Wednesday night, snapping the Bulldogs’ six-game winning streak.
The Bulldogs (15-10) lone error in the game was costly, allowing Winthrop to take the lead in the top of the ninth after the Bulldogs held a 9-6 lead heading into the final frame. Winthrop (16-10) won their first road mid-week game of the season despite trailing for most of the game.
Raymond Copenhaver (2-2) was credited with the loss after allowing two unearned runs on two hits in 0.1 innings pitched on the mound. Matt Reifsnider recorded his first start in two years, allowing six runs on nine hits in 6.1 innings on the mound, striking out three. In middle relief, Zach Garrett allowed three runs on three hits in 2.0 innings on the mound while Sonny Meade finished the game for the Bulldogs, allowing one run on one hit while walking one and striking out one.
Tyler Mizenko (2-3) took the win after pitching the final 2.1 innings for Winthrop and holding the Bulldogs scoreless on one hit while walking two and striking out two.
The Bulldogs imploded in the ninth as Eddie Tisdale hit a one-out RBI single down the right field line with two runners on. Copenhaver entered the game for Garrett and gave up an RBI single to John Murrian. After Bryn Henderson struck out swinging for the second out of the inning, Sean Sullivan hit a sharp single past the outstretched glove of third baseman David Greene to score the tying run. That single drove in the tying run for the Eagles.
Meade then took the mound and after Sullivan stole second, Matt Theilepape hit a ground ball to second but Bryan Altman threw the ball high, forcing Chris McGuiness to come off the bag as Theilepape safely reached first and Murrian scored the go-ahead run for Winthrop. A Tony Brunetti single drove in another run, giving Winthrop the 11-9 lead. After Aaron Bonomi entered the game to pinch run for Brunetti, Bonomi and Theilepape executed a double steal as Bonomi stole second and Theilepape stole home to give Winthrop the 12-9 lead. Meade struck out Kevin Nolan to end the inning.
Winthrop took the early 3-0 lead in the second before the Bulldogs tied the game in the bottom of the fourth as Richard Jones drove in one run on a groundout and Chris McGuiness hit a two-run home run to right center.
A five-run Bulldog sixth inning put The Citadel on top, 8-3, as Sonny Meade and Richard Jones hit back-to-back home runs to lead off the inning. The Bulldogs capitalized on two Winthrop errors in an inning that witnessed five runs scored on four hits.
Sonny Meade and Richard Jones hit back-to-back home runs to lead off the sixth. Two hits and two Winthrop errors later, the Bulldogs had scored three more runs and held the 8-3 lead.
Winthrop scored three more runs and the Bulldogs added one more in the seventh as The Citadel held a 9-6 lead going into the fateful final inning.
The Citadel will return to action on Friday, April 3 as the Bulldogs host Wofford at Riley Park for the start of a three-game Southern Conference series beginning at 7 p.m.
Duke 3, Elon 2
DURHAM, N.C. -- In front of a decidedly pro-Elon crowd on the road at Duke, the Phoenix allowed two unearned runs and fell 3-2 to the Blue Devils in non-league baseball action from Jack Coombs Field on Wednesday night. The win snapped a five-game losing streak to Elon by Duke. The Phoenix fell to 14-10 on the year.
Duke (19-9) got things started with one out in the first as Matt Williams doubled off the wall in right. Alex Hassan followed with a walk on a 3-2 pitch before Tom Porter got Nate Frieman to foul out to right for out number two. Porter then induced a ground ball to short off the bat of Jeremy Gould to keep the Blue Devils off the board.
With one away in the top of the second, Bennett Davis drilled the first pitch he saw from Duke starter Jonathan Foreman over the wall in center for his sixth homer of the year. The blast also moved Davis into a tie for eighth on the program's all-time homer chart with 24 dingers.
The Blue Devils came back in the bottom of the second. With two away, Will Piwnica-Worms lined a single to right-center. He then moved to third on Dennis O'Grady's looping double down the left field line. Once again Porter averted any damage as he fanned Tom Luciano to end the frame.
Neal Pritchard added to Elon's lead in the third by sending a 3-1 pitch over the wall in left for his third homer of the year and his third in three games.
Piwnica-Worms and O'Grady lined back-to-back singles to begin the bottom of the fifth for Duke, putting runners on the corners. Luciano followed with a walk to load the bases. Williams grounded a ball to short, but the throw to second sailed wide and allowed both Piwnica-Worms and O'Grady to score to tie the game at two. With runners on the corners Hassan grounded into a double play, but Luciano scored to put the Blue Devils on top by a 3-2 margin.
In the sixth, Gould was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a balk. After Jake Lemmerman walked, a failed pick off at second moved both runners up a bag. But the Phoenix slammed the door shut when Jared Kernodle got Gabriel Saade to fly out to shallow left before getting ground outs to third by both Piwnica-Worms and O'Grady.
Porter (0-2) was the tough luck loser after he threw a career-long 4.2 innings, but was charged with three runs ? only one of which was earned. He allowed five hits, walked three and struck out two.
Eric Pfisterer (2-1) picked up the win in relief. He kept Elon scoreless for 3.1 innings and allowed just three hits while fanning five. Hassan came on to earn his seventh save of the season after keeping the Phoenix off the board in the ninth.
Elon, which went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and just 1-for-13 with runners on base for the night, was led at the plate by a 2-for-4 night by Pritchard. Mike Melillo had one single, extending his hitting streak to a career-best seven games while Cory Harrilchak drew a walk to move his streak of reaching base safely to 57 straight games.
Piwnica-Worms and O'Grady both went 2-for-3 on the night to pace the Duke offense.
The Phoenix returns home for a three-game Southern Conference series with Triad rival UNC Greensboro beginning with a 7 p.m. contest on Friday night.
South Carolina 10, Furman 0
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Jay Brown pitched 6 2/3 innings of shutout ball, and Bobby Haney went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs to lead South Carolina to a 10-0 victory over Furman in baseball action Wednesday evening at Carolina Stadium.
The victory gave South Carolina (19-8) the two-game season sweep over Furman (10-14).
Brown (2-0) allowed only four hits while striking out five en route to the victory.
He would get all the runs he would need in the second after Andrew Crisp doubled to lead off and scored on Justin Dalles’ double into the left center field gap.
Jackie Bradley, Jr., opened the third with a solo home run to make it 2-0, and the Gamecocks added two more in the fourth on a Haney RBI single and a balk.
USC blew the game open with a trio of, two-run doubles in the eighth by Haney, Whit Merrifield, and DeAngelo Mack.
Spencer Hale (2-1) was the losing pitcher after allowing two runs on five hits in two innings of work.
Whit Merrifield had three of the Gamecocks’ 15 hits, and Bradley, Haney, and Mack collected two hits apiece.
Matt Hemingway went 2-for-4 to lead Furman, which tallied six hits in the contest.
Furman returns to action on Friday when it opens a three-game Southern Conference series against Appalachian State with a 7:00 p.m. game at Latham Stadium.
UAB 9, Samford 2
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford baseball team dropped a 9-2 decision to cross-town rival UAB Wednesday night at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
With the loss, Samford drops to 10-17 overall, while UAB improves to 16-10. The game marked the second night that Samford took on UAB. On Tuesday night, the Blazers defeated the Bulldogs, 17-7, at UAB's Young Memorial Field.
Samford was led by Wayne Miller, going 2-for-5 at the plate. Mason Meredeth drove in both of Samford's runs in a 1-for-4 performance. Josh Martin, who was one of eight pitchers used by Samford, tossed 3.0 innings, giving up three runs on five hits to take the loss.
For UAB, Cody McMurry went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Andrew Manning went 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBI. Colin McMurry, one of seven pitchers used by the Blazers, pitched 1.0 inning in relief to earn the win.
UAB grabbed the early lead with two runs in the top of the first inning. Cody McMurry singled to drive in Brint Hardy and Jonathan Merritt for a 2-0 UAB lead.
Samford came back with a run in the bottom of the first inning to cut the lead to 2-1. Miller tripled to lead off the inning. With one out, Meredeth singled up the middle for Samford's first run of the game.
The Blazers added a run in the second inning to make the score 3-1. Manning led off the inning with a solo home run for a two-run UAB lead.
Samford plated a run in the bottom of the third inning to cut the lead to 3-2. Miller doubled to center field to lead off the inning. After moving to third base on a fly out, Miller scored when Meredeth grounded out to second base.
The score remained 3-2 until the top of the fifth inning when UAB plated four runs to pull away and take a 7-2 lead. Hardy singled up the middle to drive in Merritt, who had singled to lead off the inning, for the inning's first run. Luke Stewart and Austin Taylor both walked with the bases loaded for the next two runs. The final run of the inning was scored when Manning hit a sacrifice fly to left field to bring in McMurry.
The Blazers added a run in the seventh inning and another in the ninth to make the final score 9-2. Manning drove in the run in the seventh inning with a sacrifice fly, and McMurry homered to center field for the run in the ninth inning.
Samford will return to action on Friday when the Bulldogs play host to Davidson in the first game of a three-game Southern Conference series. The first pitch for Friday's game is scheduled for 6 p.m. from Joe Lee Griffin Field.
Western Carolina 11, UNC Asheville 0
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Kyle Stewart did not allow a base hit through the first five and two-thirds of his career-best seven innings pitched Wednesday night as he and Jason Sullivan combined to toss a three-hit shutout for Western Carolina over mountain-rival UNC Asheville at McCormick Field. Western Carolina (18-6) pounded out 13 base hits and scored multiple runs in four separate frames - including six in the final two alone - to down the Bulldogs, 11-0, marking the fifth-straight win in the series dating back to the 2007 season.
Stewart tied his career-high with seven strikeouts in the longest outing of his young collegiate career. The Onalaska, Wisc., native worked around a pair of walks in the third, as well as an error and hit batsman in the fourth in keeping the Bulldogs off the scoreboard. With one aboard on his third walk of the game in the sixth, the right-hander surrendered a bouncing ball up the middle by Bulldog right fielder Reed Kreiser to break-up the no-hitter.
UNCA (5-23) managed just one additional hit off of Stewart - a bunt single that hugged the third-base line by third baseman Jordan Lurie. He gave way to Sullivan in the bottom of the eighth for the final two innings, striking out a pair while allowing a lone single to left field.
Offensively for Western, junior Nick Liles reached base in all six plate appearances, officially going 2-for-2 with a pair of singles and four walks. He also stole one of WCU's five bases on the day. Freshman Ross Heffley tallied a team-best three hits on a 3-for-6 performance with three RBI including two in the three-run eighth inning.
Juniors Brent Greer and Trevor Collias round out the four Catamounts with multi-hit games on Wednesday, with Collias legging out his second triple of the season to accompany a stolen base.
Senior J.C. Lyons plated two on a first inning single for a 1-for-4 showing, while late-inning replacement, classmate Mitchell Hatley, drove in two on a single through the right side in the ninth. Hatley also added a sacrifice bunt in the win while Lyons swiped a team-best two bases.
Western Carolina took the lead for good in the home half of the first inning. Back-to-back singles by Liles and Heffley, and a successful sacrifice bunt by Stephen Notaro, put runners in scoring position for Lyons who laced two-RBI single to left with the bases loaded to give the Catamounts a 2-0 lead.
The two-run advantage stood until the fifth when Collias tripled to straight-away center field ahead of Liles who delivered an RBI single up the middle to make it 3-0. Greer and Matt Johns plated two more runs for a 5-0 Catamount lead through five innings.
Western added three runs in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, to pull out the win.
For the Bulldogs, starter Justin Schumer (0-5) was saddled with the loss after allowing five runs - four earned - on eight hits, three walks and four strikeouts. Matt Dalby tossed two and a third, with reliever Dan Weller surrendering two earned runs on one hit in just one-third of an inning. Billy Enright gave up the final three runs in the tally on two hits with a pair of walks and a strikeout.
Kreiser, Lurie and first-baseman Mike Vaughn recorded the three Bulldog hits in the losing effort.
Western Carolina, which will play its next five games out of conference, opens a three-game set against BYU on Thursday night at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium. First pitch for the first two games is set for 6:00 pm, with Saturday's finale slated for a 2:00 pm first pitch.