The Citadel 7, Furman 6
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- David Greene homered and drove in three runs to power The Citadel past Furman, 7-6, in Sunday’s Southern Conference baseball series finale at Latham Stadium.
Greene delivered a two-run home run in the third inning to give The Citadel (31-19, 17-10 SoCon) a 4-0 lead and added an RBI single in the seventh to extend the Bulldogs’ advantage to 6-3 en route to the three-game series sweep.
The Citadel got a 3-for-4 performance from Chris McGuiness, who also collected two RBI and scored three runs. His solo home run in the ninth put the Bulldogs up 7-4 and proved to be the deciding hit as Furman rallied for two runs in the bottom of the ninth with a two-out, two-run home by Matt Hemingway off Citadel closer Drew Mahaffey. The Paladins’ comeback bid ended, however, when Mahaffey struck out Campbell Lewis to end the game.
Despite the loss Furman (21-26, 9-18 SoCon) remains in eighth place in the SoCon standings, ahead of Samford (9-20 SoCon), Wofford (7-19 SoCon), and UNC Greensboro (5-20 SoCon). The Paladins open a three-game conference series versus UNCG on Thursday. The Spartans were officially eliminated from the race for the eighth and final tournament slot following a Sunday loss to Appalachian State. Wofford, meanwhile, remains a game and a half behind Furman in the standings after its defeat by College of Charleston on Sunday, and Samford trails Furman by a game pending the outcome its Sunday contest versus Georgia Southern, which was delayed by rain. Furman will win any tiebreaker situation with Samford by virtue of its regular season series win over the Bulldogs.
The SoCon Tournament is set for May 20-24 at Greenville’s Fluor Field.
In all The Citadel pounded out 16 hits in Sunday’s victory. Bryan Altman and Sonny Meade joined McGuiness and Greene with three hits apiece, with Meade collecting two doubles.
Hemingway had three of Furman’s eight hits, including his eighth roundtripper of the campaign.
The Bulldogs got to Paladin starter and losing pitcher Barry Benton (2-6) in the second inning when Matt Simonelli cracked a solo home run to left field.
The Citadel made it 4-0 in the third after Meade led off with a double to left field and came around to score on a McGuiness double down the left field line. Two batters later Greene deposited a Benton offering over the left field fence to cap the three-run frame.
Furman used a hit, an error, and passed ball to plate two runs and make it 4-2 in its half of the third.
In the fifth Simonelli saved the Bulldogs a pair of runs with a two-out, full extension diving catch in left center field on a ball off the bat of Brian Harrison.
Furman made it 4-3 in the sixth after three walks by Citadel starter Matt Crim (6-4) led to a run. Reliever Raymond Copenhaver escaped further damage, however, when shortstop Kyle Jordan speared a low line drive off the bat of Justin Holloway to end the inning with runners at second and third.
In the seventh Meade’s two-run double scored Altman, and Greene’s RBI single plated McGuiness to extend the Bulldog advantage to 6-3.
Leading 6-4 in the ninth McGuiness provided Citadel with an insurance run with a long home run to right center field off Paladin reliever Nick Karow.
In the Furman ninth Marcus Rose led off with an infield single, and two outs later Hemingway cleared the left field fence with a two-run shot off Mahaffey to pull Furman to within a run, 7-6.
Mahaffey recovered with a strikeout of Lewis to end the game and record his seventh save of the season.
Crim earned the victory after allowing three runs, only one of which was earned, on four hits over 5 1/3 innings. He walked five and struck out one.
Furman plays Clemson at Fluor Field on Monday at 4:00 p.m. in a makeup of last Wednesday’s rainout with the Tigers while The Citadel visits Presbyterian Tuesday at 3:00 p.m.
Appalachian State 9, UNC Greensboro 8 (10 inn.)
GREENSBORO, NC ? Chris Allesandria appeared to hit a game-winning grand slam in the top of the ninth for Appalachian State, but UNC Greensboro fought back to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth before falling in the 10th inning, 9-8, in the rubber match on Sunday afternoon at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Zach Quate picked up his second for the Mountaineers (30-18, 15-13 SoCon) despite giving up a season-high three earned runs. Quate came into the game with an 0.54 ERA for the year after allowing just two earned runs in over 33 innings.
Rob Gilliam was credited with the loss for the Spartans (17-28, 5-20 SoCon) after allowing seven runs in four innings of relief.
With the Spartans cruising with a 5-2 lead heading into the eighth inning, Appalachian State was able to narrow the UNCG lead to 5-4. After a lead off strikeout, Nick DeRose walked before Ryan Arrowood took a 1-0 pitch over the left field wall to pull the Mountaineers within one.
Rand Smith led off the ninth inning for the Mountaineers with a single to center field to spark the rally. Wes Hobson then reached on a fielder’s choice when Smith was thrown out at second. Isaac Harrow then drew a four-pitch walk before David Towarnicky was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Allesandria then came up and took a 1-2 pitch out to right field to put the Mountaineers ahead, 8-5, on his grand slam.
The Spartans refused to go down quietly as they responded with three runs in the bottom half of the ninth to knot the game at eight. Corey Overholtzer and Pedro Leon drew back-to-back walks to lead off the inning before Ray Quinones hit a double off the wall in right field to score Overholtzer. Leon scored on the next play when Trevor Edwards hit a ground out to the shortstop up the middle. After a line out, Kris Richards hit a two-out double to left center to score Quinones and tie the game.
In the 10th inning, Jerod Faggart drew a leadoff walk before moving to second when Smith popped out on a bunt, but the throw to first to double off Faggart was thrown down the right field line. Hobson followed with a single to right field to score Faggart from second easily to put ASU ahead 9-8.
UNCG got the scoring started in the third inning thanks to a triple by Drew Gehringer to right center with one out in the inning. Gehringer would score later in the inning on a fielder’s choice by Leon to put the Spartans ahead, 1-0.
The Spartans extended their lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the fourth when Michael Wall led off the inning with a double to left center. He then scored after advancing to third on a wild pitch before the throw from the catcher was thrown into left field to allow Wall to easily score. With one down, Alex Frederick hit a double to left center and scored on Brent O’Berry’s single to left field. O’Berry scored later in the inning with Leon hit into a bases loaded fielder’s choice.
The Mountaineers responded with two runs in the top of the fifth to narrow the Spartan lead to 4-2. With two out in the inning, Smith hit a solo shot over the wall in left center for his third home run in as many days. Hobson followed with a double down the right field line and later scored on David Towarnicky’s RBI single to left field.
UNCG would go on to add one more run in the sixth inning after Frederick hit a leadoff single to right field. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by O’Berry and later scored on a fielder’s choice by Overholtzer.
The Spartans return to the diamond on Wednesday evening to face UNC Asheville for the final home game of the season. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the UNCG Baseball Stadium for Senior Day.
Appalachian State heads to Raleigh to take on North Carolina State Tuesday at 7 p.m.
College of Charleston 5, Wofford 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? The Wofford College baseball team was defeated 5-0 by the College of Charleston on Sunday afternoon at Russell C. King Field. Cougar pitcher David Peterson threw a complete game shutout, limiting the Terriers to four hits on the day.
Wofford is 17-29 on the season and 7-19 in the Southern Conference. The College of Charleston is 35-16 overall and 17-10 in the conference. The Terriers were led by Mac Doyle with two hits, while Jake Williams and Neil Robinette also had hits. The Cougars were paced by Brandon Sizemore with a two-RBI double and Cole Rakar and Mike Hentz with two hits each.
The Cougars struck first with a solo home run by Ryan Daniels in the top of the second inning. Wofford left two on base in the bottom of the second and both teams stranded a runner in the third.
After both teams went down in order in the fourth, Mike Hentz doubled to lead off the fifth for the Cougars. With two out and runners on second and third, Brandon Sizemore doubled and drove in both runners. A single from Joash Brodin added a run and the Cougars had a 4-0 lead.
Wofford opened the bottom of the fifth two singles from Mac Doyle and Neil Robinette. A sac bunt from Michael McDonnell moved the runners over, but a double play ended the inning.
The game moved along quickly in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, with the teams combining for just two hits in the three innings. In the top of the ninth, Cole Rakar led-off with a double and he advanced to third on a fly ball. A sacrifice fly from Austin Morgan drove in Rakar for a 5-0 score. Wofford had one hit in the bottom of the ninth from Jake Williams, but he was left on base to end the game.
Wofford starter John Cornely (3-2) went five innings with seven hits allowed, four runs and five strikeouts. Bobby Streisel threw an inning without allowing a hit. Michael Gilmartin threw the final three innings and allowed on erun on two hits.
The College of Charleston starter David Peterson (7-2) threw the complete game and allowed only four hits along with four strikeouts. The Cougars swept the three-game season series with Wofford.
The game marked the final home game for seniors Reid McElveen and Scott Summers, who were honored prior to the game. In addition, the team wore special caps with a pink “W” for Mother’s Day.
Wofford will travel to Georgia Southern for a three game series beginning Friday night at 7:00. The series will continue Saturday and Sunday, with the Sunday contest airing on CSS.
College of Charleston visits Clemson Tuesday night at 7:15 before closing the regular season with a three-game SoCon series at The Citadel Thursday through Saturday.
No. 28 Elon 7, Western Carolina 2
Cullowhee, N.C. - Elon completed its first-ever road series sweep of Western Carolina on Sunday afternoon, limiting the Catamounts to a pair of runs on six hits in a 7-2 victory in Southern Conference action at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium. Pat Irvine tripled, homered and walked twice as a part of a 2-for-2 performance, scoring two runs for the Phoenix in the victory.
Elon, which clinched its second-straight SoCon regular season title with Friday night's extra inning victory over the Catamounts, improved to 36-14 overall and 23-4 in league play while WCU dropped to 30-20 overall, 16-10 in the SoCon.
Western Carolina's six hits were scattered between six different players. Matt Johns stretched his career-best hitting streak to 16-straight with a single, adding a sacrifice bunt in a 1-for-3 performance. Stephen Notaro put Western on the board with his team-leading 13th home run of the season in the bottom of the fifth, with J.C. Lyons driving in the Catamounts' only other run with an RBI single in the sixth.
Elon climbed on top in the visitor's half of the second inning as Irvine tripled to right center on a ball that careened off the fence away from centerfielder Nick Liles. A hit bats man and walk loaded the bases for the Phoenix with Dallas Tarleton driving in the first run on a sacrifice fly to right. Consecutive RBI singles then gave Elon a 3-0 edge through two.
In the third, Irvine lifted a one-out line drive solo homer that just cleared the right field fence, with the second marker of the frame coming on a double-steal as Mike Melillo advanced to home on a throw to second base in an attempt to nail Dallas Tarleton.
Cory Harrilchak stretched the lead to 6-0 with a solo home run to right center with two out in the fourth.
WCU got on the board on the first pitch in the home half of the fifth. Notaro blasted a solo shot over the left field fence, but could not ignite a rally as the Catamounts went in order following his homer.
An inning later, Western had a golden opportunity but managed just a single run. Liles and freshman Ross Heffley opened the frame with consecutive singles before a one-out rip up the middle by Lyons drove in Liles from second, trimming the deficit to four, 6-2. Johns sacrificed runners to second and third with a bunt attempt up the middle ahead of Notaro, who walked to load the bases. However, after battling to a full count, Mitchell Hatley flew out to center on a well-struck ball to end the threat.
Including Hatley's line-out to center, the Catamounts went in order through the final three frames - 10-straight, all told.
Senior Mike Tavernier (5-5) suffered the loss in his final home appearance for WCU. The Clearwater, Fla., native allowed the first six Elon runs on seven hits with a walk and three strikeouts in four innings of work. Classmate Garrett Ozar was again solid in relief limiting the Phoenix to one run on three hits in four and two-thirds with two walks and four strikeouts. Daniel Ottone allowed one hit and a walk in a third of an inning relief in the ninth.
Tom Porter (2-3) allowed both WCU runs and all six hits in his five and two-thirds innings pitched to score the victory, working around one walk with four strikeouts. Jordan Darnell walked one in a third of an inning in loading the bases, while Ken Ferrer faced the minimum through the final three frames with two strikeouts to earn his second save of the season. v Offensively for Elon, Cory Harrilchak and Pat Irvine homered as part of two-hit performances with Irvine also legging out his fourth triple of the season. Harry Austin rounded out the trio of Phoenix with multi-hit games with a pair of singles.
The Catamounts will hit the road for the final four games of the 2009 regular season beginning Wednesday evening at High Point. WCU downed the Panthers, 14-4, in Cullowhee back on March 17. Western will wrap-up its slate with a three-game SoCon series at Davidson beginning Thursday night.
The 2009 Southern Conference Baseball Championship will be held May 20-24 at Fluor Field at the West End in Greenville, S.C. Final seeding and pairings will not be determined until next Sunday.
Elon has completed its SoCon regular season slate and will close out the regular season Tuesday night when it hosts High Point at 7 p.m.
Georgia Southern 16, Samford 3
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.?After a rain delay of over three hours, the Samford baseball team wrapped up the 2009 season with a 16-3 loss to Georgia Southern in the final game of a three-game Southern Conference series Sunday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
Samford ends the season with a record of 17-35 overall and 9-21 in SoCon play, as the loss eliminates Samford from qualifying for the upcoming SoCon Tournament.
Georgia Southern improves to 35-14 overall and 17-8 in league play. The Eagles stand in second place in the league with one conference series remaining before the SoCon Tournament begins on May 20.
“I wish today would have turned out differently for this group of guys, but this was another tough day,” Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. “This was not the way we wanted it to end, but unfortunately, it is the way the season has gone for us.”
Samford was led at the plate by Stephen Ballard, going 3-for-4. Trey Hayes was 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI.
Andrew Jones pitched 4.0 innings, giving up 11 runs on nine hits to take the loss for Samford. Mark Lewallyn, Grant Sides, Tyler Vanderheiden and Kyle Nichols also saw action on the mound. Nichols, a senior, also made his first collegiate plate appearance in the bottom of the ninth inning, going 0-for-1.
Georgia Southern hit four home runs in the game. A.J. Wirnsberger hit two home runs, while Ty Wright and Phillip Porter had one homer each. Wirnsberger drove in a total of seven runs in the game, tying a career high. Matt Murray pitched 5.0 innings, giving up three runs on six hits to earn the win.
Georgia Southern jumped out to an early lead with three runs in the top of the second inning. Wirnsberger hit a three-run homer with Kyle Blackburn and Porter on base for a 3-0 GSU lead.
Samford answered with a run in the bottom of the second inning, but GSU pulled away with six runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 9-1 lead. Porter had a two-run homer, Kevin Bowles doubled with the bases loaded to drive in three runs, and Griffin Benedict singled to drive in the final run for an eight-run GSU lead.
Samford cut the lead to 9-3 with two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Hayes hit a home run with Bo Smith on base to cut the Eagles’ lead to six runs.
GSU plated three runs in the fifth inning, one run in the sixth inning and three runs in the seventh to make the final score 16-3. Wirnsberger hit a three-run homer for the runs in the fifth inning. The sixth-inning run was scored on a sacrifice fly by Wirnsberger.
In the seventh inning, Wright hit a two-run homer for the first two runs of the inning. The game’s final run scored when Roman Grimaldi reached base on a fielder’s choice to drive in Benedict.
For the game, Georgia Southern pounded out 14 hits to Samford’s eight. Samford left seven runners on base to GSU’s six.
Prior to the game, Samford honored its five seniors. Joe Durham, Michael Jarry, David Knapp, Nichols and Stewart Young were the five seniors on Samford’s 2009 baseball team.