Appalachian State 13, Wofford 9
BOONE, N.C. ? Isaac Harrow (Hickory, N.C./Hickory) went 3-for-3 with two triples and three RBI to lead Appalachian State University baseball to a 13-9 victory over visiting Wofford on Friday evening (April 24) at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
The win was the 10th-straight at home, the 13th in 14 games overall and the 10th in the last 13 Southern Conference games for red-hot Appalachian (24-17, 11-12 SoCon).
Friday’s contest was delayed for two hours by lightning but the 9:01 p.m. start didn’t appear to adversely affect the Mountaineers at first. They jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Harrow belted the first of his two RBI triples to right-center field and scored one batter later on a sacrifice fly from David Towarnicky (New Bern, N.C./New Bern).
However, Wofford (17-20, 7-11 SoCon) answered with three runs in the second, two in the third and one in the fourth to grab a 6-2 advantage. Starting pitcher Scott Summers did his part to stake the Terriers to the four-run lead by limiting the Mountaineers to just one hit over the first three innings.
ASU began to cut into the deficit with two runs in the fourth and one in the fifth but still trailed 7-5 before taking the lead back for good with a five-run sixth.
Rand Smith (Bolivia, N.C./South Brunswick) provided the big hit in the five-run sixth with a two-run single up the middle. Wes Hobson (Winston-Salem, N.C./North Forsyth) and Harrow each added an RBI and Hobson scored on a wild pitch with two outs to cap the rally and give ASU a 10-7 lead.
The Terriers kept things interesting by slashing the Appalachian advantage to 10-9 with two runs in the top of the seventh, but ASU took advantage of a critical Wofford mistake in the bottom of the frame to effectively wrap up the win.
With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Terrier reliever Drew Sheridan struck out Jeremy Dowdy (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) to seemingly end the inning. However, catcher David Roney dropped the third strike, allowing Dowdy to reach base on the passed ball. Jerod Faggart (Concord, N.C./Northwest Cabarrus) and Smith followed the miscue with back-to-back RBI doubles and Hobson added an RBI single to turn the would-be inning-ending strikeout into three unearned runs that stretched the Mountaineers’ advantage to 13-9.
The ASU relief duo of Chris Patterson (Laurinburg, N.C./Scotland County) and Zach Quate (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) went on to strike out six of the final eight batters that Wofford sent to the plate to close out the win.
Harrow pushed his batting average back above .400 with the 3-for-3 effort, finishing the evening with a .405 average for the season. Additionally, the senior became Appalachian’s all-time leader in total bases, surpassing the previous school-record of 377 amassed by Tommy Green from 1984-88. Harrow also moved within five hits of ASU’s all-time record of 239, currently held by Chris Behne (1997-2000).
The top third of the Apps’ batting order ? Smith (2-for-5, three RBI), Hobson (2-for-4, two RBI) and Harrow ? provided seven of the club’s 12 hits and drove in eight of the 13 runs.
Wofford’s first three hitters also turned in an impressive evening, as Jake Williams, James Foster and Michael Gilmartin combined to go 7-for-14 with six runs scored.
Will Helms (2-0) earned his second win of the week and his career with two scoreless innings out of the bullpen. He allowed a hit but induced an inning-ending double play in the fifth to face the minimum six batters in his two innings of work.
The Mountaineers torched Terrier reliever John Cornely (3-1) for five runs (four earned) in one inning to hand him his first loss of the year.
The teams continue their three-game SoCon series on Saturday afternoon at Smith Stadium. First pitch is set for 4:30 p.m.
Elon 11, Samford 8
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.?A ninth-inning comeback fell just short as the Samford baseball team dropped the first game of a three-game Southern Conference series to Elon, 11-8, Friday night at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
With the win, Elon improves to 26-13 overall and 15-4 in SoCon play. Samford drops to 15-27 overall and 8-14 in league play.
For Samford at the plate, David Schulze was 3-for-4 with three RBI. Stephen Ballard went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Mason Meredeth extended his current hitting streak to 27 games with a 1-for-3 performance.
Michael Jarry pitched 5.1 innings giving up six earned runs on nine hits to take the loss. Dayne Cutrell pitched the final 3.2 innings, giving up three runs on five hits.
Elon belted three home runs in the game. Cory Harrilchak, Justin Hilt and Dallas Tarleton each homered for the Phoenix. Harrilchak was 3-for-6 with three RBI. Mike Melillo also had three hits, going 3-for-4 with two RBI.
Jimmy Reyes pitched 6.0 innings, giving up four runs on seven hits to earn the win. Thomas Girdwood tossed the final third of an inning to earn his 11th save of the season.
With Samford trailing, 11-4, heading into the ninth inning, the Bulldogs plated four runs in the final inning to make the final score 11-8. Pinch-hitter Gary Cramer walked to lead off the inning. Michael Johnson, who was also pinch-hitting, then singled to right-center field and Cramer advanced to third base.
Wayne Miller was then hit by a pitch to load the bases. Cramer scored the first run of the inning when Ballard reached base on a fielder’s choice. Meredeth then walked to once again load the bases. Schulze then singled to drive in Johnson to make the score 11-6.
Bo Smith hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Ballard, and Meredeth later scored when Trey Hayes reached base on an Elon error to make the score 11-8. With runners on first and second base and the tying run at the plate, Joe Durham hit a fly ball to right field that Elon’s Hilt caught on the warning track to end the game.
Samford jumped on top first with a run in the bottom of the first inning. Elon plated one run in the second inning, two runs in the third inning and one more in the fourth to take a 4-1 lead. The Phoenix pulled away with five runs in the top of the sixth inning to make the score 9-1.
Samford came back with three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut the lead to 9-4. Elon added two more runs in the eighth inning to push its lead to 11-4.
The same two teams will continue this weekend’s series with a game Saturday afternoon. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start from Joe Lee Griffin Field.
Davidson 5, UNC Greensboro 4
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Chase FitzPatrick hit two home runs, including the game-winner in the sixth, and Mike Frongello silenced the UNC Greensboro Spartans to earn the win as Davidson took the opening game of the Southern Conference series, 5-4, Friday night at Wilson Field.
Davidson got all five of its runs on the long ball, and Frongello and Matt Webb held the Spartans to just two hits over the last four shutout innings to secure the win.
FitzPatrick powered Davidson (15-21, 9-10) for a second straight night, hitting 2-for-4 with three RBI and two home runs. Danny Weiss also homered to drive in a pair of runs, and Seth Freeman added a pair of hits.
Weiss' two-run blast in the first put the 'Cats on the board, also sending in Drew Gadaire, who singled into right with one out.
The Spartans threated in the second, scratching across a run on an RBI-single from Brad Raynor and jamming the bases, but Thomas Middour coaxed an ending-inning double-play ball out of Kris Richards to strand a pair and hold the 2-1 lead.
FitzPatrick's 11th home run of the season gave the 'Cats some breathing room, extending the lead to 4-1 in the third. Weiss, who was a hit by a pitch with one out, also scored.
Greensboro added an unearned run in the fourth, as James Cerbie fielded an offering from Alex Frederick and overthrew first to allow Michael Wall to score from second, and Leon's two-run home run in the fifth tied the game at four. Graham Chapman fielded a hot shot from Drew Gehringer and fired to Gadaire, who handled it at first for the second out of the inning, and Middour sat Wall down on strikes to get out of another jam.
Frongello (2-1) came on to start the sixth and made quick work of the Spartans, allowing just two hits in three shutout innings, extending his consecutive scoreless innings streak to seven over his last four appearances.
FitzPatrick's second home run of the game came with one out on an 1-0 pitch in the sixth inning and proved the game-winner. With his 12th home run of the season, he moves into 10th place on the individual season all-time Davidson bests.
Matt Webb worked a hitless ninth inning to earn his fourth save of the season.
Pedro Leon led Greensboro (15-20, 4-13) at the plate, batting 3-for-4 with two RBI. Greg Smith (3-6) took the loss for the Spartans, allowing five runs on seven hits in six innings.
Davidson and Greensboro will play the second game of the series tomorrow at 2 p.m. at Wilson Field.
Western Carolina 5, Furman 1
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Chris Masters pitched eight strong innings of baseball to lead Western Carolina to a 5-1 win over Furman in the opening game a Southern Conference series Friday evening at Latham Stadium.
Masters (4-2), a junior from Marietta, Ga., allowed only three hits and one run while striking out nine en route to the victory. During one strech he retired 13 consecutive batters, and the only run the left-hander allowed was on a wild pitch.
Trevor Collias paced Western Carolina (24-16, 12-6 SoCon) at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two RBI, two runs scored, and a pair of stolen bases. His two-run home run in the third inning off Paladin starter Ian Parry (3-4) gave the Catamounts a 2-0 lead and would prove to be enough offense.
Furman (18-21, 6-13 SoCon) cut the lead to 2-1 in the third after Marcus Rose was hit by a pitch, advanced to second on a sacrifice, and to third and home on a pair of wild pitches.
Collias made it a 3-1 in the seventh after reaching on a one-out single, stealing second, advancing to third on an error and coming home on a Nick Liles single to center field.
The Catamounts broke the game open in the ninth on a pinch-hit two-out, two-run double to center field by Rembert Rollinson that plated J.C. Lyons and Mitchell Hatley.
Parry pitched effectively for Furman, surrendering four hits and just two runs. He walked two and fanned eight in a career long 6 1/3 innings of work.
Daniel Ottone came on in relief of Masters in the ninth and worked around a pair of hits to help the Catamounts nail down the victory.
Western Carolina tallied nine hits in the contest while Furman had five. Campbell Lewis went 2-for-4 for the Paladins.
The teams play game two of the series on Saturday at 5:00 p.m.
The Citadel 6, No. 28 Georgia Southern 2
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? Wes Wrenn struck out eight batters in eight innings on the mound Friday night and shut a potent Eagle offense down as The Citadel topped Georgia Southern, 6-2, in front of 925 at Riley Park.
Down 2-1, The Citadel (24-16, 11-8 SoCon) broke the game open with a four-run sixth inning rally and added another run in the seventh. Georgia Southern (29-10, 12-5 SoCon) was only able to score two runs in the third inning as their six-game winning streak came to a halt.
Wrenn (7-1), who has now received wins in his last six starts, held a tough Georgia Southern offense at bay as he allowed two runs on 10 hits while walking two and striking out eight in 8.0 innings on the mound. Wrenn, who was strong from start to finish, threw 143 pitches in the game as he fanned the last two batters he faced. Drew Mahaffey finished the game as he retired all three batters faced in the ninth.
Chris Mederos (8-1) was took the loss ? his first this season ? as he allowed five runs on eight hits in 5.2 innings pitched. Mederos walked two and struck out eight in the start. Charles Matthews pitched the final 2.1 innings for the Eagles, allowing one unearned run on one hit while striking out two.
Richard Jones led the Bulldog offense with a 2-for-4 day with a triple and two runs scored.
Georgia Southern got on the board first as Phillip Porter hit a two-run single up the middle in the third inning, but the Eagles were unable to score after that point and only moved runners into scoring position once more in the game.
The Citadel cut the lead to a 2-1 GSU advantage was Sid Fallaw’s double off the left center field wall sent Chris McGuiness home from second in the bottom of the fourth.
The Bulldogs broke the game wide open in the sixth as Jones led off with a triple to center field, his first triple of the season. McGuiness followed with a walk and Simonelli drove in Jones on a fielder’s choice to first that put McGuiness out at second. Fallaw drew a walk in the next at bat and following a Kyle Jordan strikeout, Johnny Dangerfield drove a run in with a single through the left side, scoring Simonelli.
Nick Orvin kept the rally going with a double to left center field, driving in Fallaw and Dangerfield and chasing Mederos from the game. Matthews entered at that point and retired Bryan Altman to end the inning.
In the seventh inning, Jones hit a one-out single through the right side and moved to third as McGuiness reached base on an error by GSU second baseman Kevin Bowles. Simonelli grounded out to second but was credited with an RBI as Jones was able to cross the plate on the play.
The two teams will meet in the second game of the three-game Southern Conference series on Saturday, April 25 at 2 p.m.
College of Charleston 6, UNC Asheville 1
Asheville, N.C. - Starting pitcher Jesse Simpson (Baton Rouge, La.) worked seven strong innings and Ryan Daniels (Victoria, Tex.) drove in three runs pacing the College of Charleston to a 6-1 win over UNC Asheville in college baseball action before 107 at Greenwood Field on Friday.
With the win the Cougars improved to 25-15, while the Bulldogs fell to 7-34. The two schools play at doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1 p.m.
Matt Mansilla's (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) RBI single capped Charleston's first inning and gave the Cougars a 2-0 lead.
Joey Bergman (Jacksonville, Fla.) led off the third inning with a double to right and scored on Brandon Sizemore's (Jacksonville, Fla.) double to left center for a 3-0 Charleston advantage. Daniels, who delivered a sacrifice fly in the first inning, drove in Sizemore with a single to center that extended Charleston's lead to 4-0
Bergman scored on another RBI single by Daniels in the fourth to give Charleston a 5-0 lead.
Charleston added an unearned run in the seventh inning. Mansilla singled to center with two outs, stole second, and scored on an error for a 6-0 Charleston lead. Mike Vaughn's RBI double in the bottom of the seventh cut Charleston's lead to 6-1. The Cougars had seven stolen bases in the game.
Simpson (7-2) retired the leadoff batter in each of his seven innings of work. Simpson surrendered a run on six hits while walking none and striking out two. He made just 81 pitches, 53 strikes.
Justin Schumer (1-7) allowed six runs, three earned, on 13 hits over the first seven innings.