No. 22 Elon 10, High Point 9
ELON, N.C. -- Neal Pritchard and Chase Austin each homered twice as the 22nd-ranked Elon Phoenix held off a fiesty High Point Panther squad for a 10-9 non-conference baseball victory in its season finale on Tuesday afternoon. The Phoenix improved to 37-14 overall and conclude the year with a 14-game home winning streak. High Point fell to 18-28.
With Harry Austin on second and Mike Melillo on first in Elon's first at bat, Bennett Davis ripped a double into the left field corner. Harry Austin scored easily, but Melillo was cut down trying to score.
Elon added another in the second on Justin Hilt's one-out homer to left-center, his 16th bomb of the year.
Melillo belted the first pitch from reliever Al Yevoli over the wall in left-center to begin the Phoenix third. The home run was the 16th of the year for Melillo.
Kyle Mahoney recorded High Point's first hit of the day to start the fifth, a double into the left field corner. A one-out double to right from Eric Marion plated Mahoney as the Panthers closed the gap to 3-1. Jeff Cowan's single to left drove home Marion with the second Panther run of the game.
Chase Austin's 18th homer of the year began the Phoenix fifth. The shot to center also set a new program record for RBI in a season for the team as it was the 497th of the year, surpassing last year's total of 496. With one out, Davis walked and stole second before Dallas Tarleton went deep for the 12th time this season to give Elon a 6-2 edge. With two down, Neal Pritchard belted his eighth home run of the year, this one a solo shot to center.
The Panthers got two back when Billy Alvino hit his third homer of the year with a blast to left that also scored Bill Manion who had been hit by a pitch. Max Fulginiti followed with a walk and advanced to second on Mahoney's single through the left side. Drew Geissinger put down a sacrifice bunt, but the throw to first was off the mark, allowing Geissinger to reach and Fulginiti to score as HPU closed to within 7-5. With runners on the corners, Marion singled through the left side to score Mahoney. With one out, Cowan reached on an infield single before a double play ended the inning with Elon holding a 7-6 lead.
Manion led off the Panther seventh with a double down the right field line before Alvino's single up the middle drove him home to tie the game at seven.
Elon regained the lead in the bottom of the eighth on Pritchard's second homer of the game, a solo shot to left. The Phoenix tacked on another when Cory Harrilchak went yard for the 15th time this year. Chase Austin's 19th bomb of the year cleared the wall in center for another solo home run.
In the ninth, Alvino reached on an infield single before Fulginiti walked. A fielder's choice allowed Mahoney to reach first and moved Alvino to third, but erased Fulginiti at second. Geissinger struck out for the second out of the inning before Marion singled home both runners to make it a 10-9 game. Pablo Rosario followed with a single through the right side to put runners on the corners for Cowan. The final out was recorded when Cowan swung and missed at a 1-2 pitch from Elon closer Thomas Girdwood.
Ken Ferrer (8-1) earned the win out of the bullpen for Elon. He allowed one hit in an inning and a third. Girdwood picked up his 15th save of the season after giving up two runs on three hits in the ninth. The save was the 25th of his career, moving him into a tie for sixth in SoCon history.
Wally Scott (0-2) was charged with the loss. He was hit for two runs on two hits in an inning and two-thirds.
Eight of Elon's nine starters recorded at least one hit, led by Pritchard's 3-for-4, two-run, two-RBI outing at the dish. Chase Austin was the only other Phoenix player with a multi-hit day.
The Phoenix belted eight homers on the day, upping its nation-leading total to 124 on the season.
Marion drove in four and scored once while going 3-for-4 at the plate for High Point. Alvino drove in thre and scored twice in his 3-for-5 day.
Elon will break for exams before entering the SoCon Tournament as the top seed. The tournament will be held in Greenville, S.C. beginning on May 20.
No. 14 Clemson 5, College of Charleston 2
Clemson, S.C. -- Jeff Schaus and John Nester homered and starter Scott Weismann pitched five strong innings leading 14th-ranked Clemson to a 5-2 win over College of Charleston before 4,597 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Tuesday.
Clemson, which snapped Charleston's 10-game winning streak, improved to 36-17. The Cougars, who open a three-game Southern Conference series at The Citadel at 6 p.m. on Thursday, fell to 35-17.
Schaus gave the Tigers a 1-0 first inning lead with his 11th homer of the season, a line shot to left with two outs. Jason Stolz's RBI grounder in the third allowed an unearned run to score to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.
Nestor led off the fifth inning with his fifth homer of the season, a shot to left center, that stretched the Tigers' lead to 3-0.
The Cougars scored a pair of unearned runs in the sixth inning. Clay McCord (Atlanta, Ga.) walked and Joey Bergman (Jacksonville, Fla.) extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a single to left to start the inning. Matt Mansilla's (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) grounder with the bases loaded and two outs was misplayed for an error allowing McCord and Bergman to score and cut Clemson's lead to 3-2.
The Tigers got sacrifice flies from Mike Freeman and Schaus in the eighth inning for the final margin.
Wiesman (2-0) picked up the win as he blanked the Cougars on three hits with three strikeouts over the first five innings. Matt Vaughn allowed two hits in the ninth but worked out of trouble to record his fourth save of the season. Casey Lucchese (Lexington, Ky.) was the tough-luck loser for Charleston surrendering five runs, four earned, over the first six innings.
Mike Hentz (Port Charlotte, Fla.) led the Cougars with two hits, while Nester paced Clemson with three hits and three runs scored.
Auburn 8, Georgia Southern 6
AUBURN Ala. ? Georgia Southern walked a season-high 12 batters, the last coming around for the go-ahead run, as the Eagles dropped an 8-6 decision Tuesday night (May 12). The Eagles fell to 35-15 overall.
The Tigers got a leadoff walk in the eighth, then with two outs got a RBI single from Brian Fletcher then run-scoring double from Casey McElroy to score the game-winning runs.
Pinch-hitter Will Southwell (Moultrie/Colquitt County) singled to start off the ninth. Ty Wright (Montrose/ABAC) reached on an error by third baseman Dan Gamache then Kevin Bowles (Statesboro/Statesboro) executed his second sacrifice bunt of the game to put the tying runs on base. Closer Austin Hubbard struck out the final two batters to close out the game.
Wright hustled out a leadoff double to start the game. He took second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Eric Phillips’ (Carrollton/Carrollton) sacrifice fly.
Auburn (29-24) got a RBI single from Hunter Morris to tie the game. McElroy hit a single to left to bring home one run, but when tried scoring but a Brian Pierce (Roswell/Roswell) throw to catcher Griffin Benedict (Dunwoody/St. Pius) nailed him at the plate to end the inning.
A.J. Wirnsberger (Tuscaloosa, AL/Paul Bryant) doubled with one out in the second, took third on Pierce’s single then scored on a single by Roman Grimaldi (Duluth/North Florida CC) to tie the score.
The Tigers regained the lead in their half of the inning, taking advantage of four walks and a 2-run double by Ben Jones to go ahead 6-2.
GS tied the game in the fifth. Grimaldi started with a single. Wright hit a grounder that went through the legs of second baseman Justin Hargett to put runners on the corners. Benedict ripped a 2-run to center, then Phillips lined a double down the right field line. Later in the inning, Wirnsberger capped five straight base hits with a RBI single to right.
Auburn threatened in the sixth with a one-out double putting runners on second and third. Dexter Bobo (Cumming/Darton College) walked the bases loaded but got a lineout and strikeout to end the threat.
Starter Andy Moye (Alpharetta/Alpharetta) was charged for six runs on five hits in 1.2 innings. He walked five and struck out two. Colin Snow (Alpharetta/Alpharetta) pitched 3.2 scoreless innings. The freshman allowed one hit, four walks and struck out three. Bobo (2-2) pitched a season-high 2.1 innings and was charged for one run on one hit and struck out two.
GS actually out-hit Auburn 11-9, led by Wirnsberger and Grimaldi with two hits apiece. Phillips and Benedict drove in two runs each.
McElroy finished with two hits and three RBI. Sean Ray (1-0) pitched 3.1 scoreless innings to earn the win. He struck out four and scattered three hits. Austin Hubbard struck out the final two batters to earn his 12th save.
The Eagles close out the regular season this weekend with a three-game Southern Conference series against Wofford at J.I. Clements Stadium. Friday night’s (May 15) first pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
North Carolina State 10, Appalachian State 6
RALEIGH, N.C. ? Wes Hobson’s (Winston-Salem, N.C./North Forsyth) three-run home run in the top of the eighth inning gave Appalachian State University baseball a 6-4 lead, but NC State rallied for six runs in the bottom of the stanza to hand Appalachian a 10-6 setback on Tuesday night at Doak Field.
Appalachian (30-19) left nine men on base in the first seven innings of the ballgame and appeared to be en route to adding to that number when Hobson got into an 0-2 hole when batting with two runners on and two outs in the eighth. However, the junior drilled the 0-2 offering from NC State reliever Sam Brown over the right-field wall for a dramatic three-run homer that gave ASU a 6-4 lead.
Unfortunately for the Mountaineers, NC State (25-28) staged a two-out rally of its own in the bottom of the eighth, as it plated six runs with two away to turn the Apps’ 6-4 advantage into a 10-6 deficit.
Kyle Wilson played the role of hero for the Wolfpack, as his two-run double to the right center field gap knotted the score at 6-6. One batter later, he displayed incredible speed in scoring all the way from second on an infield single to provide what proved to be the winning run.
State went on to score two more runs on a double to right field by Pratt Maynard and capped the six-run eighth when Maynard came home from third on a wild pitch.
Chris Patterson (Laurinburg, N.C./Scotland County), who came into the evening with an impressive 2.45 ERA in 28 appearances out of the bullpen, was charged with all six runs in the eighth to fall to 4-2 on the season.
Isaac Harrow (Hickory, N.C./Hickory) led the Mountaineers’ 13-hit effort with a 4-for-5 performance that upped his batting average to .425 on the season. Hobson collected three of the Apps’ four RBI with his eighth-inning blast.
In all, ASU left 11 men on base in the frustrating loss.
Wilson paced the Wolfpack by going 3-for-5 with three RBI and three runs to go along with his eighth-inning heroics. Brown (3-0) got the win despite allowing three runs on five hits in two innings of work.
Appalachian closes the regular season with a three-game home series versus Longwood on Thursday and Friday at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium. The set opens on Thursday at 7 p.m. and closes with a Friday doubleheader, beginning at 2 p.m.
Presbyterian 12, The Citadel 6
CLINTON, S.C. ? Nick Orvin went 2-for-3 with three runs scored and his first career home run but The Citadel was defeated by Presbyterian, 12-6, in front of 119 at the PC Baseball Complex Tuesday afternoon.
The loss, the Bulldogs first to Presbyterian since 1928, dropped The Citadel to 31-20 on the year. Presbyterian is now 11-37 in their second year of transition to NCAA Division I.
TJ Clarkson (3-1) took the loss after allowing five runs on three hits while walking three and striking out one in 2.2 innings on the mound. Clarkson was one of five pitchers for the Bulldogs in a game where only Raymond Copenhaver (0.2 innings pitched) and Zach Garrett (1.0 inning pitched) did not give up a run.
Mitchell Odom (4-3) was credited with the win after allowing five of The Citadel’s six runs on nine hits while walking four.
The Citadel held a 4-0 lead with two of its runs coming off a Bryan Altman home run in the first before the Blue Hose exploded for five runs in the third inning. Five hits scored three more runs for PC in the fourth inning, giving the Blue Hose the 8-4 advantage.
The two teams would trade runs in the fifth and go scoreless in the sixth before PC added on another three runs in the seventh, the final run coming off an Altman error.
The Bulldogs’ lone run late in the game came when Nick Orvin hit his first career home run in the ninth inning, a solo shot over the left field fence.
The Citadel returns home to Riley Park to host the College of Charleston for a pivotal Southern Conference series to close the season starting Thursday, May 14 at 6 p.m. Both teams enter the final weekend of regular season play tied for third in the Southern Conference standings with Western Carolina only a half-game behind.