Georgia Southern 20, College of Charleston 8
STATESBORO, Ga. ? For the third straight game Georgia Southern’s offense erupted, compiling 20 runs on 19 hits as the Eagles completed a three-game Southern Conference sweep of College of Charleston 20-8 on Sunday afternoon (April 5). The Eagles improved to 21-7 overall and 7-3 in the SoCon.
After falling behind 13-4 in the bottom of the seventh Friday night and eventually winning 15-14 in 14 innings, the Eagles kept the offense rolling. GS scored 51 runs on 50 hits (10 doubles, 1 triple, 11 home runs) in the series, completing the program’s first-ever regular season sweep of the Cougars.
The Eagles jumped on the board quickly in the first. Griffin Benedict (Dunwoody/St. Pius) hit a sacrifice fly, Phillip Porter (Marietta/Sprayberry) lined a RBI triple and eventually scored on a wild pitch.
Charleston (20-8, 10-5) got those three runs back in its half of the second inning, but the Eagles plated six runs in the second all with two outs.
Kevin Bowles (Statesboro/Statesboro) ripped a 2-run double, Benedict lined a 2-run homer then two batters later Porter smacked a two-run shot for a 9-3 lead.
Junior Jake Brown (Forest Hill, MD/Pitt CC) came on in relief of Matt Murray (Spring City, PA/Owen Roberts) in the third, who was scheduled to throw only a set amount of pitches. Brown shut down the Cougars the rest of the way, the only blip a 3-run ninth inning by Charleston.
“They (Charleston) have been hitting the ball all weekend, but all we had to do is make pitches. (Pitching) Coach (Jason) Beverlin told us to pitch them inside. They have long swings that opened up the outside with the breaking stuff then come inside with fastballs,” said Brown. “This is a big sweep for us.”
Eric Phillips (Carrollton/Carrollton) hammered a 3-run homer in the fourth, then Roman Grimaldi (Duluth/North Florida CC) and Matt Miller (Canton/Woodstock) hit solo homers in the fifth. In the seventh Brian Pierce (Roswell/Roswell) hit a RBI double. A.J. Wirnsberger (Tuscaloosa, AL/Paul Bryant) came on to pinch-hit and slammed a 2-run homer down the right field line.
During the eighth Chris Banker (Martinez/Chattahoochee Valley CC) lined a RBI single, Pierce followed with a run-scoring double and Wirnsberger delivered a RBI single.
Brandon Sizemore and Joash Brodin homered in the ninth for the final margin.
Porter finished a double shy of hitting for the cycle, finishing 3-for-4 with two runs scored and career-high matching three RBI. Ty Wright (Montrose/ABAC), Bowles, Wirnsberger (batting in the two spot), Benedict, Grimaldi and Pierce had two hits apiece. Benedict, Wirnsberger and Phillips joined Porter with three RBI in the win. Georgia Southern held a 19-12 edge in hits.
Brown (2-2) allowed four runs on nine hits in 6.1 innings. He walked two and struck out three.
Murray allowed four runs on three hits in 2.2 innings.
Corey Ashner, making his first start, was charged for nine runs on eight hits in 1.2 innings, falling to 1-1. Cole Rakar had three of the team’s hits.
The Eagles begin a six-game road trip on Tuesday night (April 7). GSU will face nationally-ranked Georgia Tech twice in Atlanta, the first game a scheduled 6 p.m. first pitch with Wednesday set for 4 p.m.
Wofford 5, The Citadel 4
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? David Greene went 2-for-3 with two runs scored but The Citadel only managed four hits over the last seven innings as the Bulldogs dropped a 5-4 decision in front of 573 Sunday afternoon at Riley Park. The Bulldogs, having clinched the series with Saturday’s win, were prevented from claiming their first Southern Conference series sweep of the season.
Greene scored two of The Citadel’s four runs and only he and Matt Simonelli (2-for-4) recorded multiple hits in the game. The Bulldogs (17-11, 7-5 SoCon) scored their four runs on seven hits but committed four errors in the field.
Wofford (13-13, 4-7 SoCon) scored five runs on 12 hits and committed one error in the game. The Terriers were led by Michael Gilmartin’s 3-for-5 day at the plate and he also picked up his sixth save of the season, shutting The Citadel down over the final two innings. John Cornely (1-0) picked up his first career win after allowing one hit and striking out one in 0.1 innings on the mound.
Matt Crim (2-3) was responsible for the loss after allowing five runs ? three earned ? on 10 hits while walking two and striking out five. Raymond Copenhaver pitched for 2.0 innings, allowing no runs on two hits while Drew Mahaffey struck out both batters he faced.
The Bulldogs got on top early with two runs in the second inning. Chris McGuiness earned one of his three walks on the day to lead off and then went to second on a Greene single to center. A bunt single by Simonelli gave The Citadel bases loaded with no outs. Back-to-back sacrifice flies by Sid Fallaw and Kyle Jordan put a pair of runs across the board as The Citadel took a 2-0 lead.
Wofford cut the lead to one in the top of the fifth off an RBI single by Josh McKinney and then tied the game in the sixth as Mike McDonnell’s ground ball turned double play with no outs allowed the runner on third, Mac Doyle, to score.
The Citadel regained the lead in the bottom half of the sixth inning. Facing two outs, Greene singled to short and then was driven in by a triple down the left field line by Simonelli. Fallaw reached base as he swung at the third strike on a wild pitch that also allowed Simonelli to score as the Bulldogs took the 4-2 lead.
The Terriers fought back in the top of the seventh as James Foster led off with a single to short and then advanced to second on a throwing error by Jordan. Crim forced Alex Lee to fly out to center for the first out. A throwing error by Greene put runners on the corners as McKinney safely reached first and Foster moved to third. Gilmartin followed with an RBI single to left, sending Foster across the plate.
Konstantine Diamaduros singled up the middle, which allowed McKinney to score from second. Two batters later, a sacrifice fly by Kyle Behrendt scored Gilmartin as Wofford took a 5-4 lead.
The Citadel will play at the College of Charleston on Tuesday, April 7 in a non-conference game at 6 p.m. at Patriot’s Point Field.
Appalachian State 4, Furman 1
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Chris Alessandria's two-out, two-run single in the sixth inning broke a 1-1 tie and helped propel Appalachian State to a 4-1 win over Furman in Southern Conference baseball action Sunday afternoon at Latham Stadium.
The victory gave the Mountaineers (13-16, 5-11 SoCon) the series two games to one and marked ASU's third consecutive series win over the Paladins (11-16, 5-10 SoCon) in Greenville.
Alessandria's decisive hit, a flare that fell in short center field, scored Wes Hobson and Isaac Harrow to cap a the two-run frame for ASU, whose rally came after two outs. Hobson had reached on a hit through the right side and advanced to third on Harrow's double down the right field line.
Appalachian State added an insurance run in the eighth when, with one out and the bases loaded, Alessandria's squib roller down the first base line bounced out of foul territory and back into play for an out, but not before Ryan Arrowood scored from third base to make it 4-1.
Mountaineer closer Zach Quate came on in the ninth to retire the side and earn the save, his third of the season.
Alessandria, who singled and scored the game's first run in the second on a double play, went 2-for-4 at the plate and drove in three runs. Rand Smith and Wes Hobson also had two hits in four at bats for the Mountaineers, who finished with 11 hits.
Aubrey Edens (2-2) earned the victory after working eight innings and allowing six hits, an unearned run, and two walks while striking out five.
Paladin starting pitcher Barry Benton (2-4) took the loss, surrendering 10 hits and four runs over seven innings. He struck out five.
Furman returns to action on Tuesday when it entertains Presbyterian in a doubleheader beginning at 4:00 p.m.
Elon 15, UNC Greensboro 9
ELON, N.C. -- The Elon Phoenix banged out a season-high eight doubles, including two each from Cory Harrilchak and Neal Pritchard, en route to defeating the visiting UNC Greensboro Spartans 15-9 to complete a three-game series sweep in SoCon baseball action from Latham Park on Sunday afternoon. The Phoenix, which also homered three times, improved to 17-10 overall and 11-4 in league play. UNCG fell to 8-17, 0-10 on the year.
The Phoenix jumped out to a 2-0 lead with one away in the first inning when Chase Austin crushed his fourth homer of the season to left. Also riding home on the bomb was Harrilchak who had doubled to right-center.
In the top of the second, Ed Jayjack walked and moved to third on Trevor Edwards' double to right. With one away, Kris Richards recorded a RBI ground out to first that also moved Edwards to third. Edwards tried to score on a wild pitch, but Eric Temple, the hitter at the time, failed to move out of the way and the runner was ruled out on an interference call.
Mike Melillo began the Phoenix second by drilling a 3-2 pitch from Greg Smith over the wall in right for his seventh homer of the year. After Dallas Tarleton walked and swiped second, Pritchard was plunked to put two runners on without an out in the inning. Mike Lobacz drove home Tarleton with a single to right and the Phoenix had runners on the corners. Justin Hilt followed by drawing a walk to load the bases. A wild pitch allowed Pritchard to score the fifth Elon run of the afternoon. Harrilchak then ended Smith's day with a two-RBI double down the right field line.
The Spartans loaded the bases thanks to walks to Eric Temple and Alex Frederick and a single by Michael Wall to start the third. After Corey Overholtzer popped up back to the pitcher, Pedro Leon drew a walk to force home Temple as UNCG closed the gap to 7-2. A Jayjack sacrifice fly plated Frederick before Edwards grounded out to end the inning.
Melillo started the Phoenix third with a walk and went to third on a Tarleton double before Pritchard doubled home both runners as Elon extended its advantage to 9-3. With two down and Pritchard on third and Harrilchak on second, Austin sent a double off the wall in right-center to score both runners.
With two away in the top of the fourth, Wall connected on a 3-2 pitch for his first home run of the year. This was a three-run shot to right that also plated Rau Richards and Ray Quinones.
Melillo did some more damage in the fourth when he ripped his second home run of the day, another solo shot to right.
Hilt doubled into the left field corner with one out in the bottom of the fifth and scored on Harrilchak's single to increase Elon's lead to 13-6.
The Phoenix tacked on two more in the sixth on Pritchard's double to left that plated both Bennett Davis and Melillo.
UNCG added three runs to its total in the ninth when Jayjack connected for his third homer of the year, a three-run shot to right.
Ryan Adams (2-0) picked up the win in relief. Adams hurled 3.0 scoreless innings and allowed just one hit.
For UNCG, Smith (2-4) took the loss after being tagged for seven runs on six hits and two walks in just an inning of work.
Austin and Pritchard both drove in our runs while going 2-for-4 at the plate. Harrilchak went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI to reach base safely for the 60th consecutive contest. The two homers from Melillo (2-for-2, career-high tying four runs scored, two RBI) marked the second time this season that the junior went deep twice in a contest. Austin's hitting streak is now at a season-long 14 games.
Jayjack finished the day 1-for-3 with two runs scored and four RBI to lead the UNCG attack. Wall drove in three runs and scored another during his 2-for-5 outing. Leon and Quinones also posted two-hit games for the Spartans.
Elon heads on the road for a 3 p.m. game at Old Dominion on Monday afternoon. UNCG is off until Wednesday when the Spartans will play host to Duke at 6 p.m.