Elon 12, Wofford 11 (18 inn.)
ELON, N.C. -- Justin Hilt's sacrifice fly to center scored Pat Irvine with the winning run as the Elon Phoenix defeated the Wofford Terriers 12-11 in the longest Southern Conference game in league history ? 18 innings. The previous long was a 15-inning affair between Appalachian State and East Tennessee State in 2000. The longest game involving a SoCon team also went 18 innings and was between Georgia Southern and Clemson in 1996.
Elon is now 31-13, 18-4 on the year while Wofford is 17-23, 7-14.
In the first, three walks to Zeth Stone, Irvine and Bennett Davis loaded the bases with two outs before a Scott Summers balk allowed Stone to score.
Jake Williams led off the top of the second with a double off the wall in right and moved to third on a fly out to center. Jimmy Reyes then fanned both Mac Doyle and Neil Robinette to end the inning, stranding Williams at third base.
With two outs in the top of the third, James Foster walked. Foster broke toward second and Reyes tried to pick him off, but the ball was dropped by the Phoenix first baseman and Foster ended up on third. Michael Gilmartin's single bounced just over the head of Davis at third to plate Foster with the tying run.
Cory Harrilchak reached on a one-out infield single in the bottom of the third before Chase Austin belted his 16th homer of the year to put the Phoenix on top 3-1.
Kyle Behrendt started the Wofford fourth with a bunt single and went to second when the throw to first was off the mark at first. He headed to third on a fly out before Mike McDonnell drew a two-out walk to put runners on the corners. David Roney struck out swinging to end the inning, leaving two runners in scoring position after McDonnell swiped second.
Stone reached on a one-out double down the left field line in the Elon fifth. Harrilchak followed with a ball that the Terrier second baseman could not handle and Stone scored to give the Phoenix a 4-1 edge. Chase Austin followed with a line drive single to right before a wild pitch moved both runners up a bag. Irvine drove a single to left to score both Harrilchak and Chase Austin as Elon upped its margin to 6-1.
Behrendt snapped a streak of five consecutive strikeouts by Reyes with a solo homer to right in the sixth inning. The homer was the fourth of the season for Behrendt. Doyle made it back-to-back bombs as his shot down the left field line was his fifth homer of the year and pulled Wofford back within three at 6-3.
With two away in the seventh, Gilmartin and Diamaduros recorded back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners. John Brebbia replaced Reyes and got Williams to hit a grounder to third for the final out.
Elon loaded the bases with one out in the seventh with an Austin single, a walk to Irvine and a bunt single from Davis. Anthony Rowland then struck out Mike Melillo before he walked Hilt on four straight pitches to force home Austin.
Doyle brought the Terriers a run closer at 7-4 in the eighth when he hit his second homer of the night, this solo shot cleared the wall in center. Neil Robinette drove a ball off the wall in right-center for triple. David Roney drew a walk to put runners on the corners with two outs before Foster lined a single to right, plating Robinette with Wofford's fifth run of the contest. The Terriers took their first lead of the game at 8-7 when Gilmartin ripped a two-out homer to left, his ninth of the year.
After Neal Pritchard was hit by a pitch, Chase Austin tripled off the center field wall to drive in the tying run with two outs. A wild pitch allowed Chase Austin to race home with the go-ahead run.
Williams led off the top of the ninth with a solo homer to left, his seventh of the year. With one out, Doyle reached on an infield single. Doyle swiped second before the Phoenix intentionally walked McDonnell. Gus White delivered his first hit of the season to put Wofford back up 10-9 as Doyle scored. Foster's single to right looked like it would drive in another run, but McDonnell missed home and the tag was applied for the final out.
Melillo was hit by a pitch to start the bottom of the ninth and took second on a wild pitch. Melillo headed to third when Hilt grounded out to first. He scored to tie the game when Tarleton reached on an error. Harry Austin ripped a single to put two men aboard before the next two hitters were retired.
Harrilchak started the Elon 12th with a walk and went to second on Chase Austin's sacrifice bunt. After Irvine was issued an intentional walk Davis reached on a fielder's choice that erased Irvine and left runners on the corners. The Terriers escaped when Melillo fouled out to the catcher.
Diamaduros began the Wofford 13th with a double down the right field line. Ryan Adams then got Wiliams to fly out. Behrendt bounced a ball back to Harrilchak who had just come on to pitch and the lefty fired to third to erase Diamaduros. Doyle's single put two runners on before Robinette's soft single to center plated Behrendt.
Elon got the tying run aboard in the bottom of the 13th when Hilt walked. Hilt stole second then Tarleton put down a sac bunt that was thrown wild to first allowing Hilt to come home to tie the game. On the play, Tarleton tried to advance to second, but was thrown out. Pritchard reached on a two-out bloop single down the right field line before Harrilchak flew out, forcing the teams to the 14th inning.
The Phoenix put the potential winning run on when, with one out, Irvine reached on an infield single and moved to second on the poor throw. After Melillo was walked intentionally, Hilt bounced a ball to third for the last out of the inning.
Greg Annarummo walked with one out in the 15th and headed to third on a Harrilchak single with two down. Chase Austin walked to load the bags for Irvine. On a 3-2 pitch, Irvine flew out down the left field line, forcing a 16th inning.
Gilmartin started the top of the 17th with a single through the left side of the Elon infield. Diamaduros' sac bunt advanced Gilmartin to second before Williams was intentionally walked. Behrendt's infield single loaded the bases for Doyle. Harrilchak struck out Doyle and then got Robinette to bounce out, leaving the bags full.
Once again, Elon put the potential winning run aboard. Dallas Tarleton began the bottom of the 17th with a single and headed to second on a sac bunt. Pritchard walked on four straight pitches before Harrilchak fouled out on a sliding catch by Behrendt. Chase Austin then flew out to right to end the inning.
Irvine ripped a double to start the bottom of the 18th. A Davis sac bunt allowed Irvine to head to third with just one out. The Terriers intentionally walked Melillo to set up a double play. Hilt then delivered the winning run with his sac fly to center, ending a game that last six hours and 19 minutes.
Harrilchak (3-1) picked up the win after hurling 5.2 innings and fanning a career-best nine hitters. He did not allow a run. Lost in the historic night was the performance of Reyes who left with a lead after 6.2 innings. He struck out a career-high 13 batters and allowed just three runs.
Wofford's Bobby Steisel (0-2) gave up two runs on five hits in 6.2 innings to take the loss. He walked eight.
Chase Austin went 4-for-8 with four runs and two RBI and finished a double shy of the cycle for Elon. Irvine was 3-for-5 with a run, two RBI and five walks. Harry Austin finished 3-for-5.
For Wofford, Doyle posted a 4-for-9, three-run, two-RBI night. Behrendt, Diamaduros and Robinette all had three-hit outings.
The two teams made their marks on the SoCon record book as five league records were set.
The squads will be back at Latham Park for a 7 p.m. first pitch on Saturday night.
SOCON RECORDS UPDATE
? Wofford 76 at bats set a new record, surpassing the 64 by Georgia Southern vs. Clemson in 1996 (18 Innings).
? Elon's 63 at bats are now third on the chart.
? Elon's 17 walks are the fourth-most ever drawn in a game and are the third-most ever issued by a team.
? Wofford's 25 strikeouts are the most ever in a game, two more than Chattanooga struck out against Vanderbilt in 1970.
? Elon's 25 strikeouts pitched are the most since West Virginia fanned 22 against Waynesburg in 1964.
? Elon's five sacrifice bunts are tied for the second-most ever.
? Elon stranded 22 hitters, one more than the league-record of 21 done three times before. Wofford left 17 runners, tied for ninth-most.
? Elon's 18.0 innings pitched tie the record for most innings pitched (GSU vs. Clemson in 1996) while Wofford's 17.2 innings rank second.
Western Carolina 10, UNC Greensboro 3
GREENSBORO, NC ? Stephen Notaro hit a home run in his first three at-bats and starter Chris Masters went eight innings as Western Carolina took game one against UNC Greensboro, 10-3, on Friday evening at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Masters cruised through eight innings while only allowing three hits and struck out eight for the Catamounts (28-17, 14-7 SoCon). Notaro paced the visitors at the plate as he hit a solo home run in the third, fourth and fifth inning.
UNCG starter Greg Smith was credited with the loss after giving up eight runs (five earned) in five innings of work for the Spartans (16-24, 4-16 SoCon).
It appeared as if the Spartans would be the first team to get on the board in the second inning. Pedro Leon walked to lead off the inning and appeared to be picked off first, but as he was going to second the first baseman threw the ball into center field allowing Leon to advance to third. Rob Gilliam then hit a line drive towards the left side of the infield that the third baseman dove to grab and was able to throw home to nail Leon at home plate.
Western Carolina blew the game open in the third inning as the Catamounts jumped out to a 5-0 lead. Notaro led off the inning with a towering blast off the light pole in left center for his first home run of the evening. The Catamounts would go on to hit three singles and a double in the inning and take advantage of a Spartan error to score four more runs in the inning.
Notaro and the Catamounts picked up where they left off in the third inning as Notaro hit another leadoff home run in the fourth inning. This time Notaro went opposite field with a line drive shot over the right field wall. After a strike out, Trevor Collias doubled to left field and Ross Heffley followed two batters later with an RBI single to left field to put Western Carolina ahead, 7-0.
Notaro struck again for the third consecutive inning to give Western Carolina an 8-0 lead in the fifth inning. After the first two batters were retired, Nataro hit his third home run in as many innings over the right field wall for his 11th home run of the season.
Masters flirted with no-hitter until the bottom of the fifth when Drew Gehringer hit a two-out double down the left field line to break up any chance of a no-no for the Catamounts.
The Catamounts extended their lead to 10-0 in the top of the eighth after the first six batters in the inning reached base safely, including a walk and two hit by pitches. With the bases loaded, Heffley was hit by a pitch to score a run and Brent Greer followed with a single to right field to score one before the Spartans were able to get out of the inning.
The Spartans erased the shutout in the bottom of the ninth on Gehringer’s triple to the power alley in right center. Corey Overholtzer led off the inning with a single through the right side before pinch hitter John Cucchiarella was hit by a pitch. Leon then reached on a fielder’s choice before Gehringer hit a triple just past the diving Catamount center fielder to score Overholtzer and Leon to make the score 10-2. Gehringer scored later in the inning when Trevor Edwards reached on a fielding error by the right fielder.
The Spartans return to action on Saturday as UNCG and Western Carolina meet for game two of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
College of Charleston 9, Davidson 4
Mt. Pleasant, S.C. -- Clay McCord (Atlanta, Ga.) homered and drove in three runs and Matt Mansilla (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) added a solo homer leading College of Charleston to a 9-4 Southern Conference win over Davidson before 314 at Patriots Point Stadium on Friday.
Charleston improved to 28-16 overall and 12-10 in league play, while the Wildcats fell to 17-23 and 11-11. Game two of the series is Saturday at 4 p.m.
McCord led off the bottom of the first with his fifth homer of the season, a shot to right center, that staked Charleston to a 1-0 lead. Joey Bergman (Jacksonville, Fla.) followed with a single, stole second and third, and scored on a grounder by Joash Brodin (Olympia, Wash.) for a 2-0 Charleston advantage.
Davidson's James Cerbie belted a solo homer to left center with two outs in the second that cut the Cougars' advantage to 2-1. McCord's two-out, two-run single to center in the bottom of the second gave Charleston a 4-1 lead.
Mansilla led off the fifth inning with his 15th homer of the season, a towering blast to center, for a 5-1 Charleston lead.
Ryan Daniels (Victoria, Tex.) delivered a two-run double in the fifth and Cole Rakar (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) plated Daniels with a sacrifice fly to right for an 8-1 lead. Daniels sacrifice fly in the seventh gave the Cougars a 9-1 margin. Davidson's Zach Kayne, Drew Gadaire and Chase Fitzpatrick added a run-scoring hits in the ninth for the final margin.
Mansilla finishied with three hits and drove in a run while McCord and Bergman added two hits each. Davidson got two hits from Cerbie and Tommy Piacenza.
Jesse Simpson (Baton Rouge, La.) was the starter and winner for Charleston and improved to 8-2. Simpson allowed a run on five hits with seven strikeouts over the first seven innings.
Thomas Middour (2-5) was the starter and loser for the Wildcats.
Samford 5, The Citadel 4
CHARLESTON, S.C. ? Richard Jones went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI but Samford’s late inning rally allowed them to clip The Citadel, 5-4, in front of 831 at Riley Park Friday night.
The Citadel (25-18, 12-10 SoCon), which had not lost a Friday night game since March 13, scored four runs on seven hits while committing two errors in the game. Samford (17-29, 9-16) scored five runs on 10 hits in the game as the Birmingham Bulldogs took the first game in the all-time series between the two schools.
Samford’s Michael Jarry (4-5) pitched just the second complete game of a Samford pitcher this year as he collected the win after allowing four runs on seven hits while walking three and striking out six.
Wes Wrenn (7-2) ended his streak of six consecutive starts with a win as he allowed five runs ? four earned ? on 10 hits while walking one and striking out five in 7.2 innings on the mound. Drew Mahaffey pitched the remaining 1.2 innings, not allowing a walk or a hit and striking out one.
Wayne Miller and Joe Durham both led Samford with two doubles each as both players collected two hits and scored a run each.
Samford held an early 2-0 lead after scoring a run in each of the first two innings. The Citadel would get on the board on a Matt Simonelli sacrifice fly in the second and a Richard Jones RBI single to short in the third, tying the game at 2-2.
Samford struck back in the top of the fourth with back-to-back RBI by Stephen Ballard and Mason Meredith. The Cadets tied the game again in the bottom of the seventh as Sonny Meade hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Nick Orvin.
Samford took the lead for good in the top of the eighth as Miller hit a sacrifice fly to right field with bases loaded, scoring Trey Hayes.
The two teams will meet for the second game in the three-game Southern Conference series on Saturday, May 2 at 3 p.m. at Riley Park.