No. 26 Georgia Southern 23, No. 8 Georgia Tech 3
ATLANTA, Ga. ? Ty Wright (Montrose/ABAC) went 4-for-5, including his first career grand slam to highlight a 7-run seventh inning, as Georgia Southern hammered Georgia Tech 23-3 Wednesday afternoon (April 8). The 26th-ranked Eagles, scoring a program-high 23 runs in the series against Tech, improved to 22-8 overall.
Wright led off the contest with a base hit for the fourth consecutive game, and also extended his hitting streak to a career-high 13 games. Kevin Bowles (Statesboro/Statesboro) singled and two wild pitches by Jed Bradley brought home Wright. With Bowles on third and two out, Phillip Porter (Marietta/Sprayberry) reached on a RBI infield single for a 2-0 lead.
Tech (20-7) got a leadoff double in the first from Jeff Rowland and he scored on a RBI single from Derek Dietrich. Thomas Nichols added a sacrifice fly in the fourth to tie the score. From there the offense scored in every inning afterwards and the bullpen shut down the eighth-ranked Yellow Jackets.
In the fifth Wright led off with a single. Bowles walked then Griffin Benedict (Dunwoody/St. Pius) lined a RBI single through the right side for a 3-2 lead.
Chris Banker (Martinez/Chattahoochee Valley CC) drew a two-out walk in the sixth. Wright followed with a walk to put runners at first and second. Bowles worked the count full before lining a RBI single to right field and a 4-2 lead.
After a groundout to start the seventh, GS got a single and five consecutive walks to bring home two runs ? the last two bases loaded walks coming from Brian Pierce (Roswell/Roswell) and Banker. Wright followed with a no-doubt grand slam to left field. Eric Phillips (Carrollton/Carrollton) lifted a sacrifice fly in the seventh to cap the scoring, but also saw his season-high 11-game hitting streak end.
“I’ve been getting a lot of fastballs yesterday and today but been missing some of them. During the previous at-bat Phillip (Porter) said I was lifting my head. So I was concentrating on keeping my head on the pitch, saw another fastball and got a good piece of it,” said Wright.
A.J. Wirnsberger (Tuscaloosa, AL/Paul Bryant) hit a solo homer to start the eighth, his team-leading sixth. In the ninth off closer Mark Pope, the first nine Eagles reached base and all would come around to score. Will Southwell (Moultrie/Colquitt County) hit a 2-run homer then Kyle Blackburn (Marietta/Walton) and Wirnsberger hit RBI singles. Matt Miller (Canton/Woodstock) ripped a RBI double to the gap. A throwing error by the Tech catcher led to another run then Banker drove home another run on a single. Southwell hammered a 2-run shot later in the inning to cap the 11-run frame.
Starter Andy Moye (Alpharetta/Alpharetta) gave up two runs on six hits in four innings. Freshman Colin Snow (Alpharetta/Alpharetta) earned the win in relief pitching 2.1 scoreless innings of relief. He allowed one hit and struck out two. Charles Matthews (Athens/Spartanburg Methodist), Dexter Bobo (Cumming/Darton College) and Kyle Kamppi (Savannah/Benedictine) gave up one run over the final three innings to close out the win.
Wright’s four hits were a season-high, the four runs scored matched a career-high and the four RBI equaled a season-high.
Southwell went 2-for-2 in the ninth inning with four RBI. Bowles finished with three hits and matched a career-high of four runs scored. Benedict, Wirnsberger, Porter and Pierce had two hits apiece as the Eagles held a 20-9 edge in hits.
Bradley (1-2) was charged for only three runs on six hits in four innings while the bullpen suffered the most damage.
“I hope we saved some offense (for this weekend), everyone was concentrating and doing their job on offense, and the bullpen came in and shut them down,” said Wright. “This is a very special win considering Tech is eighth in the country. Hopefully we can build on today and carry it over to this weekend.”
The Eagles return to Southern Conference play this weekend for a weekend series at Western Carolina, a team Georgia Southern is tied with for first in the loss column. First pitch on Friday night (April 10) is scheduled for 6 p.m.
UNC Greensboro 13, Duke 4
GREENSBORO, NC ? UNC Greensboro scored five early runs and broke the game open in the eighth inning with six run as the Spartans defeated Duke, 13-4, on Wednesday evening at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Five UNCG pitchers combined to allow just four runs and eight hits and reliever Greg Smith was credited with the win after allowing just two hits in 2 1/3 innings of work. Corey Overholtzer went 3-5 with four RBI and three runs scored to lead the Spartans (9-17) at the plate.
Duke starter Trevor Cesar picked up the loss for the Blue Devils (22-12) after allowing five runs in just 1 1/3 innings of work.
The Blue Devils jumped out to an early lead in the top half of the first inning to go ahead 1-0. With one out in the inning, Matt Williams singled to left field before moving to second on a ground out. Jeremy Gould followed with a single through the left side to score Williams from second and give Duke the early lead.
The Spartans took advantage of Cesar’s early control issues and responded in the bottom of the first with two runs. Michael Wall drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third on a single by Overholtzer. Overholtzer moved over to second on a wild pitch before a line out retired the first Spartan. Ed Jayjack followed with a single through the right side to score Wall from third and move Overholtzer to third. Overholtzer would later score on a Ray Quinones sacrifice fly.
UNCG continued to jump on Cesar by scoring three more runs in the second inning. Brent O’Berry walked to begin the inning before Kris Richards moved him to second on a sacrifice bunt. Wall was then hit by a pitch and Overholtzer followed with a triple to the center field wall to score O’Berry and Wall. Pedro Leon followed with a double to left field to plate Overholtzer and give the Spartans a 5-1 lead.
Duke began to chip away at the Spartan lead in the fifth inning to narrow the UNCG lead to 5-3. With one out in the inning, Ryan McCurdy singled to center and scored on Alex Hassan’s double to left center. Williams followed with a double of his own to score Hassan and make the score 5-3.
The Blue Devils made it 5-4 in the sixth inning when Will Piwnica-Worms scored on a sacrifice fly by Dennis O’Grady.
The Spartans responded in the bottom of the sixth with two more runs to extend their lead to 7-4. With one down, O’Berry, Richards and Wall drew back-to-back-to-back walks to load the bases. Overholtzer hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score O’Berry to give UNCG a 6-4 lead. After Leon reached on an error to load the bases again, Richards would score from third on a wild pitch to make the score 7-4.
With UNCG clinging to a three-run lead, the Spartans blew the game open in the eighth inning with six runs. The Spartans drew four walks in the inning and had four singles as 10 UNCG batters came to the plate in the inning.
The Spartans return to action Thursday evening as they kick off a three-game series with SoCon opponent Wofford. The two teams will play at 7 p.m. on Thursday, 7 p.m. on Friday and will wrap up the series on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Western Carolina 24, Eastern Kentucky 23 (11 inn.)
Cullowhee, N.C. - Nick Liles' bases loaded chopper through the left side in the bottom of the 11th inning lifted Western Carolina to a 24-23 win over the Eastern Kentucky Colonels in non-conference baseball action Wednesday night at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
Western Carolina's Mitchell Hatley led nine Catamounts with multi-hit games with a career-best, 7-for-7 performance including six singles and his first career home run as WCU tied a school-record with 30 base hits. The Mt. Pleasant, N.C., native also drove in seven and scored three runs in the win.
All told, the two squads combined for 47 runs, 47 hits and 12 errors in a game that took five hours and six minutes to complete. The two also combined to strand 25 base runners, 18 by the Catamounts alone.
The Catamounts finished with a .492 (30-of-61) team batting average in the win, which snapped a four-game seasonal slide and improved the team to 19-10 on the season. The 61 at bats rank second all-time in Southern Conference record books behind Georgia Southern's 64 plate appearances against Clemson in an 18-inning affair back in 1996.
Liles (4-for-8) and Trevor Collias (4-for-6) each rapped out four base hits apiece with J.C. Lyons driving in five runs on three hits including a double and his second homer of the season. He, along with Hatley, Collias and Dylan de Graaf all registered round-trippers for the Catamounts.
Eastern Kentucky (18-10) erased an eight-run, 17-to-9, deficit midway through the game to take a one-run, 20-19, lead in the top of the eighth inning.
However, WCU responded with a single run in the home half of the frame to eventually force extra innings. Liles drew a two-out walk, and then stole both second and third before Hatley drove him in as the tying run on a single to right field.
In the 10th, the Colonels capitalized on a pair of WCU errors to plate three runs and appeared to be in the driver's seat after a fly-ball out on the first Catamount hitter in the bottom of the inning. Yet, a throwing error allowed Matt Johns to reach where he was moved to third on consecutive singles by Collias and Liles to load the bases trailing by three.
Hatley registered RBI number seven on a single up the middle with Ross Heffley, who tallied three hits in the win, pushing across the second run on a sacrifice fly to right. The drama continued as Brent Greer singled deep in the hole at short to allow the game-tying run to come home in the form of Liles and a 23-23 deadlock. However, Lyons was struck out swinging to end the threat.
Greer finished 3-for-6 with two RBI and a pair of runs scored.
After facing four batters in the top of the inning, the Catamounts again loaded the bases in the 11th as Johns doubled to left center with one aboard to put runners at second and third with one out. Collias was intentionally walked to put the force play back into effect, but Liles bounced a 1-1 pitch through the left side of the Colonel infield to drive in Reid Rollison with the game-winner.
Daniel Ottone (3-1) pitched the final 3.2 innings in relief to earn the victory, scattering three hits and surrendering four runs - only two of which were earned - with three walks and three strikeouts. Starter Matt Benedict was one of five pitchers used by WCU on the night, with Andrew Blackwell seeing the most extensive action. The Brevard, N.C., native allowed seven runs - five earned - on eight hits with a walk and a strikeout before being lifted after facing two batters in the seventh.
Western Carolina scored in four of the first five innings to claw out its eight-run, 17-to-9 advantage. The Catamounts erased EKU's four-run top of the second with a four-spot in the home half of the frame. The Colonels reclaimed the lead in their portion of the third before a six-run bottom, which featured a two-run homer by de Graaf and a bases-clearing, 3-RBI double by Lyons, put Western back on top, 10-5.
Eastern Kentucky plated 11 runs between the seventh and eighth innings to reclaim the one-run, 20-19, lead in the middle of the eighth setting up the frantic final four frames.
EKU reliever Matt Harris (1-2) was saddled with the loss after allowing four runs - only one of which was earned - on six hits in the final 2.2 innings. The seventh Colonel pitcher used in the loss, Harris walked two with a pair of strikeouts.
Seven EKU players finished with multi-hit games as Matt Davis and Anthony Ottrando each went 3-for-7 with one of Michael Garcia's two hits clearing the fence in left center for a two-run home run.
Western Carolina returns to conference play this weekend as it hosts Georgia Southern for a three-game set. WCU, which was swept by the Eagles a year ago in Statesboro, has lost five-straight to GSU, last taking 2-of-3 in the 2007 series in Cullowhee.
First pitch on Friday and Saturday night is scheduled for 6:00 pm, with Sunday's finale slated for a 2:00 pm start.
The Citadel 9, Charleston Southern 2
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? David Greene went 4-for-4 with a double and three RBI and The Citadel’s early lead propelled the Bulldogs to a 9-2 victory over Charleston Southern in front of 837 at Riley Park Wednesday night.
The Citadel (18-12) scored eight of its nine runs in the first four innings, providing an insurmountable lead as the Bulldogs broke a two-game losing streak. Charleston Southern (12-21) dropped its fifth consecutive contest with The Citadel.
TJ Clarkson (2-0) was credited with the win after allowing two runs on four hits in six innings on the mound while walking two and striking out four. Clarkson held the Buccaneers scoreless until the fourth, when The Citadel already had a five-run advantage.
TJ Green (1-4), who took the loss in the March 25 meeting between the two teams, was responsible for the loss again as he allowed four runs on six hits in 2.0 innings on the mound. Green walked one and struck out one.
Back-to-back RBI hits by Chris McGuiness and Greene in the first put The Citadel on top early with a 3-0 lead after one inning. Kyle Jordan scored on an RBI hit by Altman in the second after reaching on an error by Buccaneer shortstop Mark Perry. Jordan drove in a run in the third with a sacrifice fly to center as Greene trotted home from third as the Bulldogs took the 5-0 lead.
After CSU put up two runs in the top of the fourth, The Citadel answered with another three runs in the bottom half of the inning. Nick Orvin and Altman reached as both were hit by pitches as Altman reached after Orvin had already stolen second.
Both advanced on a double steal and then Orvin scored on a throwing error by CSU catcher Blake Hunt while Altman went to third on then play. Sonny Meade then ripped a double to right center, allowing Altman to score. Meade would eventually score on a sacrifice fly by William Ladd.
Both teams remained scoreless until the bottom of the eighth when The Citadel added one more run with an RBI single by Greene.
The Citadel returns to action on Friday, April 10 when the Bulldogs begin a stretch of six games in six days, starting with a 7 p.m. game at Davidson. Both teams enter the three-game Southern Conference series with identical 7-5 league records.
Gardner-Webb 11, Davidson 10 (12 inn.)
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Freshman first baseman Drew Gadaire tied a school record with four home runs, but the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs put together three hits for the winning run in the top of the 12th, taking an 11-10 win over the Davidson Wildcats Wednesday night in midweek non-conference action at Wilson Field.
With his fourth home run of the game coming in the 11th, Gadaire (5-for-6) tied the record set by Gus Quattlebaum, who homered four times on Feb. 16, 1997 against VCU. He also singled in his first at-bat and finished with a game-high five RBI.
Gadaire was one of four Wildcats to record multi-hit games, joined by short stop Zach Kayne (2-for-6, RBI), designated hitter Tommy Piacenza (2-for-5, RBI), and catcher Seth Freeman (2-for-6, RBI).
The Bulldogs (14-13) scratched across the winning run in the 12th, handing reliever Mac Read (1-1) his first loss of the season. Read entered in the top of the inning for Matt Webb and surrendered a pair of one-out walks, before Tyler Johnson legged out a two-out infield single to the third-base side of the mound.
Jake Watts (1-1) became the winner for the Bulldogs, working the final two frames and allowing just one run on one hit. Mike Lewis made the start for Gardner-Webb, allowing seven runs on 11 hits in five innings. Justin Loyd led the Bulldogs at the plate, batting 4-for-6 with three RBI.
Chris Kennedy started the game for the Wildcats (12-14), but worked only one 30-minute inning, extended by a pair of Wildcat errors, as the Bulldogs jumped out to an early 5-0 lead.
Davidson got back in the game with a three-run bottom of the inning. Kayne, Gadaire and Brady started the game with three consecutive singles for the Wildcats, with all three scoring in the inning. Gadaire's leadoff home run in the third put the 'Cats within a run, 4-3, but Gardner-Webb kept some distance with another run in the fourth.
The Wildcats added three runs on three hits in the bottom of the fourth to take a 7-6 lead. Freeman hit a leadoff single up the middle and bumped a pair of bases on ground outs by Brett Shore and Calvin Sigelbaum. Kayne singled home Freeman, and Gadaire's first round-tripped of the game cleared the bases to give the Wildcats their first lead.
Chris Lamb and Mac Hunter worked a pair of shutout innings of relief before Gardner-Webb reclaimed the lead with a pair of scores in the top of the eighth on three hits.
Matt Sliwiak came on with two out and a runner on to get the final fly out of the frame, and the 'Cats went into the bottom of the eighth down a run.
Davidson went down one-two-three, but Sliwiak kept Davidson in the game, stranding pinch-hitter Adam McFarland at second, before Gadaire's third home run of the game with one out knotted the score at 8-all. Chase FitzPatrick drew a two-out walk, but was picked off trying to steal second to end the inning and force extras.
Webb came on for the 'Cats to start the 10th and surrendered a leadoff bunt to Tyler Johnson, who was sacrificed to second and scored on a controversial play that required a 30-minute deliberation by the umpire crew. Webb's wild pitch got by Freeman and ended up in front of the Wildcat dugout where it was touched by a player on the Davidson bench. After much discussion, Johnson was awarded home plate, and the Bulldogs took an 9-8 lead.
Davidson, though, answered in the bottom of the inning, as Piacenza reached second on an error in left and took third on a sac bunt by James Cerbie. Freeman singled up the middle to again tie the score, but Graham Chapman and Shore ended the inning with a pair of outs.
Read came on to start the 11th and retired his first batter before dealing a pair of walks. Johnson bunted to the third base side of the mound, and with Read's throw online, legged out a single to score the go-ahead run again.
Gadaire, though, hit his record-tying home run with one out in the bottom of the inning, but again, the Wildcats could get no more. Pat Brady's offering was fielded by the short stop, but he reached safely as the throw pulled first baseman Kurt Fulginiti off the bag. After Chase FitzPatrick hit a long fly out into left field, Brady bumped over to second on a wild pitch and then third on a throwing error by the catcher, but was stranded as pinch hitter Jay Honeycut struck out.
The Bulldogs plated the winning run in the top of the 12th, as Fulginiti doubled home Justin Loyd, and the Wildcats went down one-two-three in the bottom of the inning to suffer the 11-10, six-hour loss.
Davidson will return to action this weekend, hosting The Citadel for a three-game Southern Conference set. Game times are 7 p.m., 2 p.m. and 1 p.m. for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Troy 17, Samford 11
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.?The Troy University baseball team plated nine runs in the final two innings to pull away from Samford for a 17-11 win Wednesday night at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
With the loss, Samford drops to 11-21 on the season. Troy improves its record to 19-13 with the win.
“Tonight, I thought we were pretty good offensively in places,” Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. “I thought we swung the bats well. When you give up 16 and 17 runs on back-to-back nights, it makes it tough.”
Troy’s Adam Bryant was 4-for-5 with three home runs and six RBI. Miles Hoyle went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Charley Williams also had a pinch-hit home run for the Trojans.
Josh Storm pitched 1.2 innings in relief, giving up three runs on two hits to get the win for the Trojans. Chris Sorce pitched the final 1.2 innings, giving up just one hit to earn the save.
For Samford, Bo Smith was 4-for-4 with a home run and six RBI. Stephen Ballard was 5-for-5 with one RBI for the Bulldogs. Mason Meredeth went 2-for-5 with an RBI. David Knapp tossed a third of an inning in relief, giving up three runs on three hits to take the loss for the Bulldogs.
After a scoreless first inning, Troy plated three runs in the top of the second inning on a three-run home run by Hoyle to give the Trojans a 3-0 lead.
Samford scored a run in the bottom of the second inning to cut the lead to 3-1. Smith led the inning off with a double. After moving to third base on a balk, Smith scored on a wild pitch for Samford’s first run of the game.
Troy plated two runs in the third inning and two more in the fourth to push its lead to 7-1. In the third inning, Ryan Ditthardt singled up the middle to drive in Steven Felix and Chad Watson. Bryant hit a two-run homer to account for the runs in the fourth inning to give the Trojans a six-run lead.
Samford came back with two runs in the fourth inning, one run in the fifth and four more in the sixth to take an 8-7 lead. In the fourth inning, Smith homered with David Schulze on base to make the score 7-3. In the fifth inning, Smith singled to drive in Meredeth to cut the Troy lead to 7-4.
In the sixth inning, Smith drove in two runs with a single to right field. Ballard and Meredeth also drove in a run each in the inning to give Samford an 8-7 lead.
Troy’s Bryant led off the top of the seventh inning with a solo home run to tie the score at 8-8. The Trojans then added five runs in the eighth inning to take a 13-8 lead. Williams homered for the first run of the eighth inning. Watson drove in two runs, and Bryant and Felix drove in a run each in the inning for a five-run Troy lead.
Samford came back with three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to cut the Troy lead to 13-11. Ballard singled, Meredeth singled and Schulze walked to load the bases with no outs. Smith then hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Ballard to make the score 13-9. After Joe Durham walked to load the bases again, Austin Allison singled to drive in Schulze and Meredeth for Samford’s final two runs of the game.
Troy put the game out of reach with four runs in the top of the ninth inning to make the final score 17-11. Daniel Peterson drove in two runs with a single, and Bryant hit his third home run of the game, a two-run shot for the game’s final two runs.
Samford will return to action on Friday when the Bulldogs play at Appalachian State. Friday’s game opens a three-game Southern Conference series, and is scheduled for a 6 p.m. (CT) start from Boone, N.C.
UNC Asheville 4, Furman 1
ASHEVILLE, N.C. ? UNC Asheville pitchers Justin Schumer, Michael Bogaert and Grier Harrington allowed just one run on two hits as the Bulldogs defeated Furman 4-1 Wednesday evening at McCormick Field.
Reed Kreiser led off the bottom of the second inning with a double that hit the middle of the centerfield wall. A single from Mike Vaughn moved Kreiser to third base; however, Kreiser was picked off of at third by Furman catcher Matt Hemingway. Catlin Carter grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Kreiser reached second base again in the bottom of the fifth after Paladin third baseman Brian Harrison misplayed a sharply hit ground ball. Vaughn gave the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead with a mammoth home run over the leftfield wall. It was Vaughn’s second home run of the season.
In the bottom of the seventh, Vaughn reached first after getting walked by relief pitcher Marc DeDecker. A sacrifice bunt by Carter moved Vaughn to second. Danny Baatz got on first base with a bunt single and Vaughn advanced to third. A pickoff attempt by DeDecker got away from the Furman first baseman and Vaughn scored.
The Bulldogs tacked on another run in the bottom of the eighth after Furman closer Spencer Hale walked Catlin Carter with the bases loaded.
Rose reached first base in the top of the ninth after getting walked by Grier Harrington. Rose later moved to second after a grounder by Brian Harrison. The Bulldogs recorded two outs and the game looked to be over after Hemingway hit a grounder to Jordan Lurie at third base. However, Lurie’s throw to first was low and went by Schumer, which allowed Rose to score Furman’s only run of the game. A double to centerfield by Reese Wade put two runners in scoring position, but Harrington struck out Will Miller to end the inning and earn his second save of the season.
Schumer was the game’s winning pitcher. He is now 1-5 on the season.
Goldsberry (1-4) earns the loss for Furman.
Asheville improves its record to 6-26 overall, while Furman drops to 13-17.
Mercer 16, College of Charleston 12
Macon, Ga. - Thomas Carroll and Nick DiMauro belted homers and Michael Langley gave Mercer the lead for good with a sixth inning two-run double as the Bears rallied for a 16-12 win over College of Charleston in college baseball action before 182 at Claude Smith Field on Wednesday.
The Cougars, who fell to 21-9, open a three-game Southern Conference series at Elon at 7 p.m. on Friday. Mercer improved to 11-14.
DiMauro led off the bottom of the first with a homer to left and Carroll's two-run homer in the fourth gave the Bears an 11-7 lead.
After Cole Rakar's (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) RBI infield hit in the sixth inning with two outs gave Charleston a 12-11 lead, the Bears sent eight batters to the plate in the bottom of the frame and parlayed three hits, a walk and a wild pitch into a 15-12 lead.
After Langley's two-run double gave the Bears the lead for good at 13-12, Tyler McCarty and Steven Karwatt added RBI grounders to cap the inning.
Brandon Sizemore (Jacksonville, Fla.) hit a two-run homer in the first, Joash Brodin (Olympia, Wash.) hit a grand slam in the third and Matt Mansilla (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) added a two-run homer in the fifth.
J.T. Odom (2-2) picked up the win in relief for Mercer retiring 11 of the final 12 batters. Curtis Dowling (Columbia, S.C.) was the loser in relief and fell to 0-1.