The Citadel 10, UNC Greensboro 4
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? UNC Greensboro fell behind 7-0 early and Wes Wrenn pitched seven-and-1/3 innings for the Bulldogs as the Spartans fell to The Citadel, 10-4, on Friday evening at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Wrenn picked up his sixth win of the season for the Bulldogs (22-14, 10-6 SoCon) after allowing just four hits and striking out eight on the night. Bryan Altman went 3-6 at the plate for The Citadel and drove in two runs, including a home run in the second inning.
UNCG starter Greg Martin was credited with the loss for the Spartans (12-19, 2-12 SoCon) after giving up five runs in 1 2/3 innings of work. Freshman Trevor Edwards paced the Spartans at the plate, going 2-3 with two RBI and a run scored.
The Bulldogs struck early as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top half of the first. Nick Orvin led off the game with a walk and Altman followed with a double to left field to move Orvin to third. Sonny Meade then hit a single through the left side to score Orvin and make the score 1-0. Richard Jones then hit into a fielder’s choice, which scored Orvin from third. Jones later scored in the inning on Chris McGuiness’ single to right field to put the Bulldogs ahead, 3-0.
The Citadel added two more runs in the second inning when Altman hit his fifth home run of the season to left center to give the visitors a 5-0 lead.
The Bulldogs added one more in the third and another in the fourth as they extended their lead to 7-0.
Spartan reliever Blake Hassebrock was a bright spot for UNCG after he pitched a career-high six 1/3 innings of relief while striking out a career-high eight batters and allowing just one earned run in relief of Martin.
The Spartans narrowed the Bulldog lead to 7-2 in the eighth inning thanks to some timely hitting. With one down, Kris Richards singled to center before Raymond Frias walked to move Richards to second. That was it for Wrenn as Chris Boyce came into relieve him. After recording a strikeout, Pedro Leon hit a double to the wall in left center to score Richards and Frias.
The Citadel responded with three more runs in the top of the ninth to extend their lead to 10-2 before Edwards hit his third home run of the season over the scoreboard in right field to make the score 10-4.
The Spartans and the Bulldogs will meet on Saturday for the second game of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
No. 27 Georgia Southern 12, Davidson 7
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern broke open a close game scoring seven times in the seventh inning to support Chris Mederos' (Valdosta/Gordon College) stellar outing as the Eagles defeated Davidson 12-7 Friday night (April 17) at J.I. Clements Stadium. The 27th-ranked Eagles improved to 26-9 overall and 10-4 in the Southern Conference.
Mederos recorded season-highs of nine strikeouts in eight innings pitched. The SoCon strikeout leader gave up an unearned run on four hits, improving to 8-0 on the year.
During the second inning Davidson (13-18, 8-8) used a one-out walk and single, then passed ball, to put a pair of runners in scoring position. Chris FitzPatrick hit a grounder hard enough to score the first run of the game. GS used two-out hitting in its half of the second inning to tie the score.
Will Southwell (Moultrie/Colquitt County) doubled down the right field line then Brian Pierce (Roswell/Roswell) followed with a RBI single to right.
Kevin Bowles (Statesboro/Statesboro) delivered a RBI single in the third then Ty Wright (Montrose/ABAC) hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the fourth inning making it 3-1 Eagles.
The score stayed the same until GS broke it open in the seventh. Wright doubled to start the frame. A walk to Bowles and single by Griffin Benedict (Dunwoody/St. Pius) loaded the bases. In the process, Benedict extended his hitting streak to 14 games. Eric Phillips (Carrollton/Carrollton) lined a 2-run single. Four batters later Pierce delivered a 2-run single, then Wright came up again and delivered yet another double which scored two more.
Phillip Porter (Marietta/Sprayberry) moved into a tie for the team lead hitting his sixth home run of the year, a 2-run shot in the eighth.
Davidson scored six times in the ninth inning. Seth Freeman, FitzPatrick and Will General all drove home a run on a base hit then Graham Chapman lined a 2-run single to chase Dexter Bobo (Cumming/Darton College). Charles Matthews (Athens/Spartanburg Methodist) got the final two outs to close out the win.
Only one time in the eight innings did Mederos allow more than four Wildcats up to the plate. In six of his nine starts Mederos has fanned at least eight batters. He came into the game tied for fourth nationally in wins and 36th in strikeouts per nine innings.
"I had been struggling a little lately with my command, so I decided tonight I wanted to go right at the hitters. All my pitches were working, and my defense was certainly working tonight," said Mederos. "I saw (Wednesday night) when Andy (Moye) pitched he went right at them. I was doing that at the beginning of year, but then began to think too much. So I told myself to just go out there and throw."
Wright went 4-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored while Phillips added three hits, two runs and two RBI. Porter also recorded two hits, scored twice and drove in two.
Pierce, who a game earlier saw his career-high 10-game hit streak end, responded with a 3-for-4 night and made a couple of spectacular defensive plays at shortstop as well. The Eagles, one game after recording just three hits in the win over Jacksonville, responded with 12 runs on 16 hits.
Thomas Middour (2-4) allowed three runs on seven hits in six innings suffering the loss. He walked one and struck out three.
Drew Gadaire and Chapman finished with two hits apiece.
Game two of the series is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon (April 18).
Samford 8, Western Carolina 7 (10 inn.)
Cullowhee, N.C. - Single runs in the top of the ninth and tenth innings lifted the visiting Samford Bulldogs to an 8-7, extra-inning win over Western Carolina Friday night in the Southern Conference series opener at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium. It was the first-ever meeting between the two schools in baseball.
Mason Meredeth's two-out, two-strike double off the `Purple Monster' in left drove home the game-tying run in the form of Wayne Miller to force extra innings. Then, Joe Durham's pinch-hit single up the middle plated the game-winning run as Bo Smith touched the dish for the 8-7 lead.
A tough-luck double-play in the bottom of the tenth ended any chance at a Catamount rally, sealing the win for the Bulldogs. With runners on first and second and one out, Bulldog pitcher Josh Martin got Ross Heffley to ground into a 6-4-3, game-ending double-play that was far from routine. Replacement shortstop Michael Johnson bobbled the chopper up the middle, booting the ball towards second base. Unfortunately for WCU, second baseman Stephen Ballard was able to corral the loose baseball on the bag at second for the force play, and then threw on to first in time to beat Heffley by a step to end the game.
Johnson (1-4) pitched the final 4.1 innings in relief of starter Michael Jarry to earn his first victory of the season. The reliever struck out three against one walk, holding WCU to a pair of hits and one earned run. The Catamounts touched-up Jarry for 11 hits, including three home runs and six earned runs. He fanned five with just one walk.
In an attempt to avoid the forecasted rain showers on Sunday, officials at Western Carolina have made the decision to move the finale to Saturday as a part of a double-header which will begin at 2:00 pm. Forecasters are calling for rain to begin mid-morning on Sunday and linger through the early afternoon hours before changing over to thunder storms late, prompting the change.
Friday was the second extra inning victory in a row for Samford (14-24, 8-11) who downed in-state rival, Alabama, on Wednesday night, 14-13, in 10 innings in Birmingham. WCU suffered its first extra inning loss, dropping to 2-1 in extra frames this year. The Catamounts have also matched a season-long losing skid with their fourth-straight defeat - and ninth in the last 11 games.
Western Carolina (20-15, 9-6 SoCon) matched a season-high with four home runs in the game. Brent Greer put WCU on the board with a solo shot in the bottom of the fourth, with Stephen Notaro notching his team-leading eighth homer of the year two batters later to trim the Bulldog advantage three, 5-2, after four. Nick Liles' lone hit of the night was a solo homer to left in the sixth, with Trevor Collias belting his fourth home run in the last eight games also with a solo shot to left.
Despite not logging a four-bagger, Matt Johns led the way for the Catamounts with a perfect 4-for-4 showing at the plate with three singles and a two RBI double. Notaro and Collias were the only other Catamounts with multi-hit games, each finishing 2-for-4.
Closer Daniel Ottone (3-2), who threw one pitch to end the Bulldog threat in the top of the ninth after the game-tying run had already scored, suffered the loss after allowing three hits and the game-winning run in the 10th.
Reliever Garrett Ozar, who threw two and two-thirds in relief of starter Chris Masters, was one strike away from closing the game with a Catamount win in regulation. The RBI double to left by Meredeth chased the senior for Ottone in the ninth. Ozar struck out three while allowing two earned runs on four hits. Masters surrendered five runs - only two of which were earned - on five hits in six innings in the no-decision.
Again, games two and three of the series have been moved into a Saturday double-header beginning at 2:00 pm. Right-handers Corey Martin and Mike Tavernier are scheduled to start for the Catamounts.
Wofford 8, Furman 6
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? A walk-off grand slam by Michael Gilmartin lifted the Wofford College baseball team to an 8-6 win over Furman on Friday evening at Russell C. King Field. The Terriers were down 6-4 with one out in the bottom of the ninth when Gilmartin hit the ball out of the park over the right center wall.
Wofford is 15-17 on the season and 6-9 in the Southern Conference. Furman is 15-19 overall and 5-11 in the conference. The Terriers were led by Konstantine Diamaduros with three hits and two RBIs, while Gilmartin added two hits and five RBIs on the night. The Paladins were led by Reese Wade with four hits and three RBIs.
The Paladins scored one run in each of the first five innings to take a 5-0 lead. Justin Holloway hit a solo home run in the first, while an RBI double by Connor Lind made is 2-0 in the second. In the third, a single by Reese Wade scored a runner on third base. A ground-out from Marcus Rose added a run in the fourth and a single from Wade made it a 5-0 game.
Wofford broke into the scoring column in the bottom of the sixth. James Foster singled, stole second and advanced to third on an error. A single to right field by Michael Gilmartin scored Foster. A double from Konstantine Diamaduros scored Gilmartin to make it a 5-2 game.
Furman added a run in the top of the seventh when Reese Wade hit a double to score Brian Harrison from second base. The Terriers got one run back with a solo home run by Mac Doyle with one out in the bottom of the seventh. Jake Williams followed with his second double of the night. A single from Konstantine Diamaduros scored Williams to make it a 6-4 game at the end of seven.
Neither team added a run in the eighth, with the Paladins leaving one runner on base and the Terriers ending their half of the inning on a double-play. Furman had one runner reach on a walk in the top of the ninth with one out, but John Cornely struck out the final two batters.
In the bottom of the ninth, Landon Bennett singled, then Mac Doyle reached on a fielder’s choice in which Bennett was safe at second following an error. Jake Williams also reached on a fielder’s choice, however Bennett was out at third for the first out. James Foster walked to load the bases. Michael Gilmartin was at 2-1 in the count when he hit a ball deep over the right center fence to score four runs and end the game with a 8-6 final score.
Wofford starter Scott Summers went six innings with nine hits and five runs allowed and three strikeouts. Drew Sheridan threw an inning with one run on one hit. John Cornely (3-0) went the final two innings and did not allow a hit with three strikeouts.
For the Paladins, starter Ian Parry went six innings with five hits and two runs allowed with seven strikeouts. Jay Friedman went a third of an inning with two runs and two hits allowed, with Stephen Gary went two-thirds of an inning with one hit allowed. Nick Karow threw the eighth and did not allow a hit. Spencer Hale allowed two hits and four runs in the ninth.
Wofford and Furman will continue the series on Saturday at 3:00 pm and Sunday at 1:00 pm at Russell C. King Field.
College of Charleston 5, Appalachian State 3
MT. PLEASANT, S.C - Joash Brodin (Olympia, Wash.) collected two hits and scored three runs, while Jesse Simpson (Baton Rouge, La.) struck out nine over seven innings lifting the College of Charleston to a 5-3 win over Appalachian State in Southern Conference baseball action before 354 fans at Patriots Point Stadium.
With the win, the Cougars improved to 23-13 overall, 11-8 in the Southern Conference, while Appalachian State fell to 19-17, 9-11 in the SoCon. Game two of the three-game set is Saturday at 1 p.m.
In the first, Appalachian State scored first to take a 1-0 lead. Charleston came back in the bottom half of the inning with a run of their own after Matt Mansilla (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) forced a bases loaded, RBI walk to score Clay McCord (Atlanta, Ga.).
The Cougars added a run in the fourth after Brodin scored on a wild pitch and added another run in the fifth after Mansilla laced an RBI single to right knocking in Brodin to make the score 4-1.
The Mountaineers added two runs in the top of the seventh to make it 4-3, but Charleston added an insurance run in the bottom half of the inning when Brodin scored on a Cole Rakar (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) sacrifice fly to center.
From there, the Charleston bullpen held the lead, as Curtis Dowling (Columbia, S.C.) pitched a scoreless eighth inning. In the ninth, Nick Osterman (Goose Creek, S.C.) allowed two hits, but forced ASU's Chris Alessandria to fly out to right with two outs and two runners on base to end the contest
On the mound, Simpson allowed three runs, while scattering eight hits to move to 6-2 on the year, while Osterman earned his first save of the season. Brodin and Joey Bergman (Jacksonville, Fla.) each went 2-for-4 on the night, while Mansilla was 2-for-2 with two RBI.
For Appalachian State, Matt Andress (2-5) was the loser allowing four runs (three earned) in five innings of work. Rand Smith was the leader at the plate for the Mountaineers, going 3-for-5 with a run scored. That is Smith’s 25th consecutive game with a hit, which ties an ASU school record.
Elon 22, North Carolina Central 0
ELON, N.C. -- After a slow start, the Elon Phoenix offense erupted for 10 runs in the third and fourth innings on its way to a 22-0 romp over the visiting North Carolina Central Eagles in non-league baseball action from Latham Park on Friday night. Elon improved to 22-12 on the year and recorded its first shutout of the 2009 campaign. Central dropped to 5-23 and was blanked for the second consecutive outing.
Zeth Stone drove in a career-best five runs, including three on a triple, while Chase Austin homered twice and drove in four to pace the Elon attack.
Justin Hilt was hit by a 2-1 pitch to lead off the Phoenix first. After stealing second, Hilt moved to third on a fly out. A two-out single from Pat Irvine plated Hilt to give Elon a 1-0 lead.
Chase Austin extended Elon's lead to 2-0 in the third by crushing a 1-2 pitch over the left field fence for his ninth home run of the season. Irvine followed with a single before stealing second. Bennett Davis and Mike Melillo then drew walks to load the bases. After a pitching change, Ryan Adams chopped a single over the first baseman's head to drive home two more as both Irvine and Davis crossed the plate. Melillo ended up on third while Adams took second on the throw home. Matt Kirchner drew a walk on a 3-2 count right before Stone ripped a triple off the top of the wall in left-center, scoring three more runs as the Phoenix built a 7-0 lead. Stone then raced home on the next pitch as the Eagle catcher was unable to handle the ball for a wild pitch.
With one away in the bottom of the fourth, Irvine was hit by a pitch. Davis followed by ripping a double to the gap in left-center to score Irvine with the ninth Elon run of the night. Davis then scored on a Melillo single up the middle. Adams followed that up with a single to put runners on the corners. Kirchner picked up a RBI on a ground out that plated Melillo and the Phoenix built an 11-0 advantage.
The Phoenix erupted for 10 runs in the seventh inning. Elon loaded the bases with a Hilt single, an error and a hit batter with no outs. Harry Austin laced a double to left, scoirng both Hilt and Cory Harrilchak. With one out, Melillo chopped an infield single to third, driving home Chase Austin. Scott Riddle's single through the left side plated Harry Austin to extend the Phoenix edge to 15-0. After a single from Kirchner loaded the bases again, Stone singled down the right field line to drive home two more. Harrilchak later lined a RBI single to right and Chase Austin belted his second homer of the night, a three-run shot to right-center, to give Elon a 21-0 lead.
Matt Hinson drew a two-out, bases loaded walk in the eighth to force home another Elon run.
Jimmy Reyes (6-0) stayed perfect as he allowed just six hits and struck out 10 in his eight-inning performance. Bobby Kennedy gave up one hit in the ninth. The two did not walk a batter.
Brandon Strickland (2-2) took the loss after being tagged for five runs on three hits in just 2.1 innings.
Along with Stone and Chase Austin, Elon saw Irvine go 2-for-2 with two runs scored and one RBI while Harry Austin, Melillo and Adams all drove in two runs. Harrilchak (1-for-6) extended his streak of reaching base safely to 67 games with a single in his final at bat of the night.
For Central, Anthony Wilson (3-for-3) and Akeem Hood (2-for-4) accounted for five of the seven Eagle base hits. Of the seven, five were infield hits. All seven were singles.
The two teams will play again at 7 p.m. Saturday night from Latham Park.