UNC Greensboro 12, The Citadel 4
GREENSBORO, NC ? UNC Greensboro recorded a season-high 18 hits on Sunday afternoon as the Spartans secured the series win by winning the rubber game against The Citadel, 12-4, at the UNCG Baseball Stadium. The Spartans have now won six of their last eight games, including a pair of SoCon series.
Reliever Matt Parish picked up his third win of the season after giving up just four hits in three innings of relief for the Spartans (14-19, 4-12 SoCon). The Spartans were led at the plate by Brent O’Berry and Ray Quinones, who each had four hits on the afternoon.
The Citadel starter Matt Crim was credited with the loss for the Bulldogs (22-16, 10-8 SoCon) after giving up six runs, all earned, in just 2 2/3 innings of work.
The Spartans struck in the first inning to give themselves an early 1-0 lead. O’Berry led off the inning with a single up the middle and scored later in the inning on Quinones’ single down the right field line.
UNCG added another run in the second inning thanks to Drew Gehringer’s leadoff single to center field. He would move to second on a sacrifice bunt before moving over to third on a fly ball to right field. O’Berry followed with his second hit of the afternoon to left field to score Gehringer and put UNCG ahead 2-0.
The Spartans exploded for four runs in the third inning to push their lead to 6-0. With one down in the inning, Quinones hit a double to center field and Michael Wall followed with a walk. Gehringer then hit a double off the right field wall to score Quinones from second and move Wall to third. After a Spartan strikeout, Kris Richards hit his first triple of the season to deep right center to score Wall and Gehringer. Richards would later score on an O’Berry single to give UNCG a six run lead.
The Bulldogs were able to respond with two runs in the top of the fourth to narrow UNCG’s lead to 6-2. Bryan Altman led off with a single and later scored on a ground out by Richard Jones. Chris McGuiness also scored later in the inning on Matt Simonelli’s single to right field.
UNCG added one more run in the sixth inning when Corey Overholtzer took the first pitch of the inning over the right field wall for his first home run of the season.
The Spartans continued their offensive onslaught in the seventh inning when Alex Frederick led off with a chopper up the middle to reach first. After moving over to third on a sacrifice bunt and wild pitch, Frederick scored on another O’Berry RBI single to left field.
With the Spartans carrying an 8-2 lead into the eighth inning, the Bulldogs made things interesting by narrowing the Spartans lead to 8-4 on Sonny Meade’s fourth home run of the season. Altman led off the inning with a walk before Meade hit a shot over the left field wall to bring the Bulldogs within 8-4.
The Spartans responded by blowing the game open in the bottom of the eighth with four runs. Pedro Leon hit a leadoff single through the left side and moved to second on Quinones’ single to right field. Wall followed with a triple to right center to score Leon and Quinones. Gehringer then recorded his third hit of the afternoon up the middle to score Wall. Gehringer would score later in the inning on Richards’ single to put the Spartans ahead 12-4.
The Spartans will try to carry their momentum into Tuesday night’s game as they look to defeat an ACC opponent for the third straight week. UNCG will face NC State at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
The Citadel returns to action Wednesday evening at Winthrop with first pitch set for 6 p.m.
No. 27 Georgia Southern 11, Davidson 2
STATESBORO, Ga. - Starting pitching was the key for Georgia Southern again as Matt Murray (Spring City, PA/Owen Roberts) pitched six strong innings helping the Eagles complete a Southern Conference sweep of Davidson, 11-2 on Sunday afternoon (April 19) at J.I. Clements Stadium. The 27th-ranked Eagles (28-9 overall, 12-4 SoCon) improved to 21-3 at home this year.
Davidson (13-20, 8-10) used back-to-back doubles from Zach Kayne and Drew Gadaire to start off the game and take a 1-0 lead. Much like when Davidson struck first on Friday night, the Eagles responded in their half of the inning.
Ty Wright (Montrose/ABAC) hit a popup in front of home plate that catcher Seth Freeman misplayed. Wright stole second and third base on consecutive pitches then scored on Griffin Benedict's (Dunwoody/St. Pius) sacrifice fly.
In fact, the Eagles scored in each of the first four innings, jumping out to a 9-1 lead. Jonathan King (Athens, TN/Young Harris) hit a RBI single in the second then Wright brought home another run on a sacrifice fly. In the third, with runners on second and third, Will Southwell (Moultrie/Colquitt County) hit a grounder to second baseman Graham Chapman. Despite the infield playing in, Benedict was able to beat Chapman's throw home and give the Eagles a 4-1 lead. Randy J. Williams (Valdosta/Andrew College) lined a sacrifice fly for the fifth run of the game.
Georgia Southern scored four times in the fourth off Matt Webb. Benedict extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a RBI single. Southwell lined a 2-run single then Williams hit a RBI double, making it 9-1 Eagles.
That would be more than enough run support for Murray. Following the lead of Chris Mederos (1 run/8.0 IP) and Jake Brown (1 run/6.0 IP), Murray gave up just the one leadoff run on nine hits in six innings of work. The freshman right-hander (3-2) matched a season-high of six strikeouts and did not walk a batter.
The Eagles added a RBI single from Williams in the sixth then Kevin Bowles (Statesboro/Statesboro) added a RBI double in the seventh.
Chase FitzPatrick delivered a RBI single in the seventh for the Wildcats other run scored.
Williams set a season-high going 4-for-4 at the plate with three RBI. Brian Pierce (Roswell/Roswell) and Wright stayed hot all weekend long. Pierce added three hits and Wright recorded two more as the pair of seniors both went 9-for-13 at the plate during the weekend.
The Eagles out-hit Davidson 16-13 in game three, and out-scored the Wildcats 43-17 in the three-game series. The bullpen kept Davidson from getting a big inning, much like the Wildcats did late on Friday and Saturday. Colin Snow (Alpharetta/Alpharetta), Dexter Bobo (Cumming/Darton College) and Kyle Kamppi (Savannah/Benedictine) combined for one run on four hits in the final three innings.
Webb (3-1) was charged for nine runs (eight earned) on nine hits in four innings. He walked one and struck out four. FitzPatrick finished with four hits while Pat Brady added three.
GS wraps up a five-game homestand, facing Charleston Southern on Tuesday night (April 21). First pitch at J.I. Clements Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Davidson visits Radford Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 p.m.
Appalachian State 6, College of Charleston 4
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Appalachian State's Nick Derose went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI to lead the Mountaineers to a 6-4 win over the College of Charleston in Southern Conference baseball action in front of 412 fans at Patriots Point Stadium.
Appalachian State, which won two-of-the-three games in the series, improved to 21-17 overall, 10-12 in the Southern Conference, while Charleston fell to 23-15, 11-10 in the SoCon. The Cougars return to action on Wednesday, Apr. 22nd when they travel to Coastal Carolina beginning at 5 p.m.
Charleston was first to score in the bottom of the first when Ryan Daniels (Victoria, Texas) hit an RBI single to left center scoring Clay McCord (Atlanta, Ga.). ASU, however, answered in the top of the second with two runs to take the lead.
The Cougars tied the game up at two in the bottom of the third on a Matt Mansilla RBI single scoring Joey Bergman (Jacksonville, Fla.), but Appalachian State would answer, scoring four runs over the next two innings to take a 6-2 lead.
Charleston scored in the bottom of the sixth on a Greg Blake (Westerly, R.I.) RBI single plating Rakar and scored again in the eighth on a McCord RBI single up the middle that also scored Rakar. But, that was the closest the Cougars got to the Appalachian State lead on the day, as the Mountaineers hung on over the final two innings to take the weekend series.
Appalachian State starter Aubrey Edens (4-2) earned the win after going five and two-thirds allowing three runs on seven hits, while Zach Quate picked up his ninth save of the season after throwing two innings of shutout relief.
For Charleston, David Peterson (Walnut Creek, Calif.) (5-2) was the loser after giving up six runs (three earned) in seven plus innings of work. The Cougars were also hampered by five errors on the day.
At the plate, Mansilla went 2-for-4 with a RBI, while Rakar also went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Wes Hobson went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored for Appalachian State.
Furman 4, Wofford 3
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? The Wofford College baseball team was defeated 4-3 by Furman on Sunday afternoon at Russell C. King Field. The Paladins scored one run each in the eighth and ninth innings to secure the win, however the Terriers won the weekend series 2-1.
Wofford is 16-18 on the season and 7-10 in the Southern Conference. Furman is 16-20 overall and 6-12 in the conference. The Terriers were led by Jake Williams with three hits, including a home run. Furman had two hits each from Marcus Rose and Campbell Lewis.
The Paladins opened the game with a single from Marcus Rose and he stole second. A single from Justin Holloway scored Rose for a 1-0 lead. Wofford answered with singles from James Foster and Jake Williams in the bottom of the first and a sac bunt from Michael Gilmartin advanced the runners. Konstantine Diamaduros hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Foster and tie the game at 1-1.
In the second and third, Furman went one-two-three, however the Terriers left two runners on base in both innings. In the top of the fourth, the Paladins regained the lead with an RBI single from Campbell Lewis for a 2-1 score.
Furman loaded the bases with two out in the top of the fifth on a single and two walks, but Bobby Streisel entered the game for Wofford and struck out Matt Hemingway for the third out.
The Terriers led off the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run by Landon Bennett over the right center wall to tie the game at 2-2. Two batters later, Jake Williams hit a ball over the fence in the same spot to give Wofford a 3-2 lead.
After a scoreless sixth and seventh, Furman loaded the bases with one out on a single and two walks. A third walk to Aaron Thompkins allowed one run to score. A strikeout and fielders choice ended the inning with three men still left on base, but the score was tied at 3-3.
Michael Gilmartin led off with a single in the bottom of the eighth and advanced on a stolen base, but two groundouts ended the inning. In the top of the ninth, Brian Harrison walked and stole second. Matt Hemingway hit a single to right to score the run and give Furman a 4-3 lead. Wofford went one-two-three in the bottom of the ninth to end the game.
Wofford starter Gus White went 4.2 innings with five hits and two runs allowed with three strikeouts. Bobby Streisel struck out one batter. J.D. Osborne threw an inning with one hit allowed. John Cornely went two innings with two hits, one run and two strikeouts. Michael Gilmartin (2-2) threw the ninth and allowed one hit and one run with a strikeout.
For the Paladins, starter Barry Benton went six innings with three runs allowed on five hits with three strikeouts. Bobby Lyne threw the seventh and did not allow a hit, while Daniel Stallsmith and Spencer Hale (4-2) combined to allow one hit in the eighth. Nick Karow picked up his second save of the season by not allowing a hit in the ninth.
With a 2-1 record in the series, the Terriers won the season match-up against Furman for just the third time since joining the Southern Conference (2004, 2007 and 2009). Landon Bennett hit his first career home run in the fifth inning.
This week, Wofford will play a home-and-home series with Presbyterian College. On Tuesday the teams will play at 3:00 in Clinton and on Wednesday the match-up will be at 7:00 pm in Spartanburg. The Terriers will travel to Boone for a three-game weekend series against Appalachian State beginning on Friday night.
Furman hosts Gardner-Webb Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Elon 15, UNC Wilmington 11
ELON, N.C. -- Mike Melillo went 4-for-5 and finished a triple shy of the cycle while Chase Austin homered twice to lead the Elon Phoenix to a 15-11 non-conference baseball victory over the visiting UNC Wilmington Seahawks in front of 814 fans from Latham Park on Sunday afternoon. With the win, Elon avenges an earlier 7-6 loss to UNCW and improves to 24-12 on the year. UNCW now sits at 21-14.
After the first hitter of the game was retired, UNCW's Cody Stanley reached on an error before Grayson Evans walked on four straight pitches. An infield single loaded the bases. Andrew Cain grounded a potential double play ball to short, but the throw at first was mishandled and two runs ended up scoring on the play.
Elon got one back with two down in the bottom of the inning when Austin belted his 11th homer of the year.
Mike Rooney started the Seahawk second with an infield single and went to second on a wild pitch before Ben Thielsen's sacrifice bunt advanced him to third. Marc Locklear's single up the middle with two outs brought in Rooney as UNCW extended its lead to 3-1.
Melillo's solo homer to begin the Phoenix second pulled Elon back within a run at 3-2. The blast was the 10th of the season for the junior.
With two away in the bottom of the third, Bennett Davis singled. He then scored to tie the game at three on Melillo's double to the gap in left-center. After Justin Hilt was hit by a pitch, Ryan Adams lined a single to left-center to plate Melillo to put Elon on top 4-3. Rooney kept the Phoenix from adding any more when he layed out to his right to take away a single from Neal Pritchard to end the inning.
Rooney drew a one-out walk before Thielsen singled to right. On the play, the ball was misplayed in the outfield, allowing both runners to advance. UNCW tied the game when a wild pitch allowed Rooney to race home.
Evans led off the Seahawk fifth with a double down the right field line and took third on a ground out. Cain then reached on the fourth Phoenix error of the game and picked up a RBI as Evans scored to put UNCW back on top 5-4.
Elon batted around in the fifth inning, sending 15 men to the plate and scoring nine times. After Pat Irvine was hit by a pitch to lead off, Davis walked. Melillo drove home his third run of the game with a single to right as Irvine scored and Davis headed to third. Hilt then worked a walk on a 3-2 pitch to load the bases. With one out, Pritchard unloaded the bases with a double to left-center, scoring Davis, Melillo and Hilt. With Harrilchak on first and Pritchard on third, Steven Davis was called for a balk that allowed Pritchard to come home with the ninth Elon run of the game. Irvine delivered Harrilchak with a single up the middle. Davis was called for his second balk of the inning with runners on the corners again. This one plated Austin. After Davis walked, Melillo doubled down the left field line to score Irvine and Elon built a 12-5 lead. Davis then trotted home when Adams walked.
The Phoenix added two more with one out in the sixth when Austin ripped his second home run of the game that also scored Harrilchak who had singled.
UNCW got back-to-back doubles from Cody Stanley and Evans to start the seventh. An Robbie Monday ground out scored Stanley from third with the sixth Seahawk tally of the game. With Evans on third, Cain bounced a ball up the middle to drive home the run.
In the eighth, Cameron Cockman drew a lead-off walk before going to second when Locklear was hit by a pitch. The Seahawks loaded the bases when Stanley drew a walk. Evans then delivered two runs with a single up the middle that scored Cockman and Locklear and UNCW trimmed its deficit to 15-9. With runners on the corners and one out, Cain bounced a ball to third and Elon was able to erase the runner from first, but Stanley scored with the 10th UNCW marker.
For the third consecutive game, UNCW attempted to rally in the ninth against the Phoenix. Rooney drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch to begin the inning before he took second on a wild pitch. Thielsen's infield single put runners on the corners. Elon turned the ball over to Thomas Girdwood who promptly fanned Cockman and Locklear. A balk allowed Rooney to score before Stanley flew out to center to end the game.
Ken Ferrer (6-1) earned the win for Elon. He allowed five runs (two earned) on five hits in 5.0 innings of work.
Seth Frankoff (2-3) took the loss in relief. He was charged with five runs on two hits in just 2.0 innings of action.
Melillo posted a career-high with his four hits while Austin (2-for-4, three runs, three RBI) homered twice for the fourth time in eight games. Zeth Stone and Irvine also had two hits apiece. Harrilchak has now safely reached base in 69 straight games.
For UNCW, Cain finished the day 1-for-5 with four RBI. Evans was 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two driven in.
Elon hits the road for a Tuesday 6 p.m. start at East Carolina before returning home for a 7 p.m. tilt with Duke on Wednesday when the Phoenix will put its season-best seven-game home winning streak on the line.