The Citadel 9, Elon 4
ELON, N.C. -- Asher Wojciechowski struck out 11 and scattered five hits in 8.0 innings of work to lead The Citadel Bulldogs to a 9-4 Southern Conference baseball victory over the Elon Phoenix in game one of a three-game set from Latham Park on Friday night. The loss dropped Elon to 10-7 overall and 2-2 in SoCon action. The Citadel remained perfect through four league games and are now 12-5 overall.
After Jimmy Reyes retired the first two hitters of the game, Matt Simonelli grounded to second, but the ball was bobbled and Simonelli reached. Bryan Altman then drew a walk and David Greene lined a single to right-center to drive home Simonelli with the first run of the game.
The Bulldogs loaded the bases in the third after Simonelli was hit by a pitch and Altman and Kyle Jordan singled. Justin Hilt then made a diving catch to turn a Justin Mackert line drive into a sacrifice fly that scored Simonelli. Matt Reifsnider's two-out single plated Altman, but Jordan was gunned down trying to head to third.
With two down in the bottom of the third, Mike Melillo doubled to dead center field to score both Hilt, who had singled, and Alex Swim who reached on a fielder's choice.
After back-to-back singles from Altman and Greene began the Bulldog fifth, Jordan advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt. Mackert then lined a single to right-center to score both runners as The Citadel lead grew to 5-2.
Elon cut its deficit to 5-3 when Seth Canipe belted a no-doubt shot to left-center on the first pitch of the bottom of the seventh. The blast was Canipe's team-leading seventh homer of the year and just the second allowed by Wojciechowski. The homer also ended a streak of 10 consecutive Phoenix hitters retired by the Bulldog flamethrower.
Altman answered Canipe's bomb with one of his own in the top of the eighth. The shot came with two outs and was his third of the year.
The Citadel loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth before Jordan Darnell hit William Ladd to force in a run. He then walked Simonelli and Altman on five pitches each to add another two to the Bulldog total as the lead stretched to 9-3.
Melillo made it a 9-4 game when he sent a 3-2 pitch from Drew Mahaffey well over the left field fence to start the bottom of the ninth. It was the second bomb of the year and 30th of his career for Melillo.
Reyes (2-3) suffered the defeat after he allowed five runs (four earned) on nine hits and a walk in 5.0 innings. He struck out five. The Elon bullpen allowed four runs on two hits while issuing seven walks.
Wojciechowski (5-0) won for the fifth time this season.
Melillo accounted for two of Elon's six hits and three of the squad's four RBI. Swim's eight-game hitting streak was snapped with an 0-for-4 night. It was just the second game this season in which the freshman did not record a hit.
Altman drove in two runs and scored three times with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate. Mackert also drove in three runs during a 2-for-4 night for the Bulldogs.
Appalachian State 11, Western Carolina 7
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University baseball banged out 16 hits against the Southern Conference's top pitching staff and downed archrival Western Carolina, 11-7, on Friday in the first game of a three-game SoCon series at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
With its 19th-consecutive victory at Smith Stadium, Appalachian (14-2, 2-2 SoCon) extended the nation's longest home winning streak.
Every member of ASU's starting lineup had at least one hit in as the Mountaineers torched a WCU pitching staff that brought the SoCon's lowest ERA (4.08) and opponents' batting average (.244) into the weekend series. Six of the nine Apps had multiple hits, led by freshman Ryan Stetson (Charlotte, N.C./Ardrey Kell), who went 3-for-5.
Appalachian fell into a 2-0 hole in the first inning on a two-out, two-run homer by Catamount clean-up hitter Ollie Goulder but the deficit was short-lived, as the Mountaineers notched the first of its three three-run innings in the second to take a 3-2 lead. Freshman Tyler Zupcic (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) provided the inning's big hit with a two-run single to left field.
Western Carolina (12-6, 0-4 SoCon) tied it at 3-3 with a single run in the fourth but Jerod Faggart (Concord, N.C./Northwest Cabarrus) gave ASU the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth when he blasted a three-run homer to left center field that made it 6-3. The home run was Faggart's fourth in the past four games and his team-leading sixth of the season.
The Catamounts cut the ASU lead to 6-5 in the top of the fifth but the Mountaineers answered with another three-run frame in the bottom of the stanza that made it 9-5.
The clubs traded a pair of runs over the game's final four innings but WCU never cut the Appalachian advantage to less than three runs the rest of the way, thanks in large part to ASU's bullpen duo of Taylor Miller (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) and Chris Patterson (Laurinburg, N.C./Scotland County). Miller and Patterson combined to limit the Catamounts to only a ninth-inning unearned run over the final three stanzas of the ballgame.
Mountaineer starter Matt Andress (Charlotte, N.C./South Mecklenburg) battled through six innings to earn the win and move to 5-1 on the season. Andress surrendered six runs on 10 hits but struck out seven over 103 pitches to move into a tie for second on ASU's all-time wins list with the 22nd victory of his career.
Nonetheless, the story of the afternoon was the Mountaineer offense. In addition to Stetson's three hits, Hector Crespo (Miami, Fla./Florida Christian), David Towarnicky (New Bern, N.C./New Bern), Jeremy Dowdy (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield), Chris Alessandria (Ponte Vedra, Fla./Nease) and Doug Jones (Charlotte, N.C./South Mecklenburg) all added two hits apiece. Eight of ASU's nine starters also scored at least one run in front of a raucous crowd of 772, the second-largest in Smith Stadium history.
Catamount southpaw Vance Chavis was pounded for six runs on nine hits in four innings of work to suffer the loss and fall to 2-3 on the season. Dylan de Graaf led Western with three hits.
Appalachian and Western Carolina continue their weekend series on Saturday at Smith Stadium. First pitch is set for 2 p.m.
Georgia Southern 10, Wofford 8
Spartanburg, S.C. ? The Wofford baseball team rallied to score seven runs in the final three innings but the comeback fell short as the Terriers lost to visiting Georgia Southern 10-8. With the loss Wofford falls to 6-10 on the year and 1-3 in the Southern Conference. Georgia Southern improves to 10-9 and 3-1 in the Southern Conference.
The Terriers were led by Mac Doyle with three hits and two RBI’s. Matt Moore had two hits and an RBI. Georgia Southern was led by Eric Phillips with two hits and three RBI’s.
After two scoreless innings to start the game Georgia Southern jumped out to an early lead by scoring five runs on three hits in the top of the third inning. Kevin Bowles led off with a double and scored on a RBI single from Kyle Blackburn. Blackburn scored two batters later on a RBI single from Steve Cochrane. With the bases loaded the Terriers walked in two runs by A.J. Wirnsberger and Steve Cochrane. Eric Phillips scored the final run of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Arthur Owens.
Georgia Southern added another run to their lead in the top of the fourth. Kevin Bowles reached base on an error and scored three batters later on a sacrifice fly by Eric Phillips. In the bottom of the fourth inning the Terriers got on the board scoring one run on a home run by Mac Doyle to left center field.
After a scoreless fifth and six inning Georgia Southern tacked on another run in the top of the seventh. Steve Cochrane led off with a walk and scored four batters later on a RBI single by Arthur Owens.
The Terriers answered in the bottom of the seventh scoring three runs on four hits and an error. David Roney led off with a single and advanced to third on a double by Matt Moore. Roney and Moore both scored when Alex Lee reached base on a Georgia Southern error. Alex Lee scored on a RBI single by Mac Doyle.
In the top of the eighth inning Georgia Southern scored three runs on two hits. Kyle Blackburn hit a solo home run to left center to make the score 8-3. A.J. Wirnsberger reached base after being hit by a pitch and scored on a two run home run by Eric Phillips to dead center.
Wofford rallied in the bottom of the eighth scoring four runs on two hits and an error. David Roney led off with a walk and advanced to second on a single by Josh McKinney. Roney scored on a RBI double by Matt Moore. McKinney scored on a wild pitch by Colin Snow and Matt Moore advanced to third. After a walk by Kyle Behrendt Mac Doyle reached base on an error which scored Moore and Behrendt.
Bobby Streisel came in to pitch a scoreless top of the ninth for the Terriers but Colin Snow struck out the side to close the game for Georgia Southern in the bottom of the ninth.
Wofford starter John Cornely (1-3) pitched five innings giving up six runs (five earned) and striking out five. Cash Collins pitched a scoreless sixth inning of relief striking out one. Alex Wilson got two outs in the seventh giving up one run. Ryan Traylor got the final out of the seventh and the first out of the eighth. Traylor gave up two runs. Anthony Rowland got the final two outs of the eighth while giving up one run. Bobby Striesel pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
Georgia Southern starter Jake Brown pitched 6.2 innings giving up four runs (one earned) and striking out four. Dexter Bobo pitched .2 innings of relief giving up three runs (two earned) and striking out one. Colin Snow got the five out save giving up one run (zero earned) and striking out four.
The Terriers will continue their series with Georgia Southern Saturday afternoon at 3:00 at Russell C. King Field.
Davidson 12, Furman 9
GREENVILLE, S.C. ? Andrew Barna’s two-run single keyed a seven-run ninth inning rally and lifted Davidson to a 12-9 victory over Furman in the opener of a three-game Southern Conference series Friday evening at Latham Stadium.
With one out in the ninth and Furman holding a tenuous 8-7 lead, Barna fisted a delivery from Paladin closer Nick Karow through the right side with the bases loaded to score Drew Gadaire and James Cerbie and give Davidson a 9-8 lead. After a Furman error again loaded the bases, Tommy Piacenza continued the onslaught with a two-run single through the left side to make it 11-8. Piacenza capped the frame by scoring from second on the Paladins’ second error of the inning.
Davidson closer Andy Bass allowed a run in the ninth but rallied to seal the comeback for the Wildcats (12-6, 3-1 SoCon), who won for the first time in the last seven games in Greenville.
Davidson, which grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first on Cerbie’s solo home run, watched Furman answer with eight runs to take an 8-1 lead.
The Paladins (6-11, 1-3 SoCon) scored twice in the bottom of the first on a two-run single by Will Miller and made it 4-1 in the second on back-to-back RBI doubles by Will Owens and Will Muzika.
Aaron Thompkins’ two-run home run in the fifth off Wildcat starter Thomas Middour stretched the margin to 6-1, and Furman added two more in the sixth for the 8-1 advantage.
Seemingly in control behind Paladin starting pitcher Ian Parry, who retired 11 of 12 batters he faced from the fourth through the seventh inning, the Paladins came unglued in the eighth and ninth.
In the eighth Parry gave up back-to-back singles to Michael Goldberg and Michael Zeblo and hit Sam Payne to load the bases with nobody out. A fielder’s choice plated Goldberg, and Gadaire followed with a single through the right side to score Zeblo. An Andy Weiss RBI single made it a 8-4, and Barna then drew an RBI walk on four pitches from Paladin reliever Daniel Stallsmith, Karow was then summoned, and he recorded the final two outs but not before the Wildcats tallied a fourth run on a ground out to make it 8-5.
Davidson opened the ninth with a Jake Berman’s single that found no man’s land between Karow and Paladin third baseman Cameron Allmendinger. The next two batters, Zeblo and Payne, blooped singles into short center field to load the bases and set the table for the Wildcats’ ninth inning rally.
Both teams had 14 hits, with Weiss and Zeblo pacing Davidson with 3-for-5 performances. Barna went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs, and Cerbie also collected three RBI.
Six Paladins combined for two hits apiece, including Owens, Muzika, Miuller, Jenkins, Thompkins and Allemendinger.
The victory went to Brian Russell (2-0), who worked 2 1/3 innings of relief and was the beneficiary of Davidson’s big eighth and ninth.
Karow (0-1) was the losing pitcher for Furman.
Saturday’s game is a 5:00 p.m. start
College of Charleston 14, UNC Greensboro 10
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Rob Kral hit three home runs and Jose Rodriguez added a pair of homers himself for College of Charleston, as UNC Greensboro fell to the Cougars, 14-10, on Friday evening at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Freshman Christian Powell picked up his fourth win of the season for the Cougars (15-5, 2-2 Southern Conference) although he gave up seven runs on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings. UNCG (11-6, 0-1 SoCon) starter Blake Hassebrock was credited with the loss after allowing six runs on seven hits in just two innings of work.
Harry Slade led the Spartans at the plate after going 2-3 with two RBI and two runs scored, while leadoff hitter Chris Barker had a 2-5 night with an RBI and three runs scored. Ray Quinones and Lloyd Enzor each chipped in a pair of RBI for UNCG as well.
Kral had a career night as he went 3-6 with five RBI and three runs scored. Rodriguez also had a nice evening as he went 3-4 with three RBI and three runs scored, while Cole Rakar went 4-5 with two runs scored.
Rodriguez got the scoring started in the top of the second as he took the first pitch of the inning over the left field wall to put CofC ahead, 1-0. Jesse Mesa and Greg Blake then hit back-to-back singles and Mesa scored later in the inning on a groundout to make it 2-0.
College of Charleston opened the game up in the top of the third by scoring five runs in the inning. Rakar led off with a walk and Rob Kral delivered his first home run of the game to right center to make it a 4-0 contest. Matt Leeds and Rodriguez hit back-to-back singles to put runners on the corner and Mesa hit another single to center field to score Leeds. Blake then hit a double down the right field line to score Rodriguez and Mesa then scored on a wild pitch to give the Cougars a 7-0 lead.
The Spartans continued to fight though as UNCG got three runs back in the bottom half of the third to make it a 7-3 game. Barker began the inning with a walk and Corey Overholtzer followed with an infield single on a bunt down the third base line. Quinones then singled up the middle to score Barker. After a strikeout, Enzor hit a single to right field to load the bases and Slade delivered a single to center field two batters later to score Overholtzer and Quinones.
The Cougars continued to pour on the offense in the sixth inning as they stretched their lead to 10-3. After UNCG got the first batter to strikeout, Rakar doubled to right center and Kral followed with his second home run of the game out to right field to make it 9-3. Leeds made it back-to-back home runs for the visitors as he took a 3-2 pitch out to left field for his fifth home run of the season.
Once again, UNCG continued to battle back as they responded with five runs in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, Slade singled up the middle and Eric Brindle followed with the same. Taylor Schwarz walked to load the bases before Barker hit a chopper through the left side to score Slade.
Quinones and Jayjack then drew back-to-back walks to score Brindle and Schwarz and make it a 10-6 contest. Enzor followed with a single to right field to knock in Barker and Quinones to pull the Spartans within 10-8.
That was as close at the Spartans would get the rest of the game though as the Cougars added one insurance run in the seventh inning to go ahead 11-8.
The Cougars didn't stop their though as Krol led off the eighth inning with a solo home run to right field. Leeds followed with a walk before Rodriguez took the first pitch he saw out to left center for his second home run of the game to give CofC a 14-8 advantage.
The Spartans continued to fight though in the bottom of the ninth as Slade scored on a sacrifice fly and Overholtzer hit an RBI double to make the final score 14-10.
The Spartans and Cougars will face off in the second game of the series at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Samford 14, Minnesota 9
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford's Wayne Miller went 4-for-6 with a home run and three RBI to lead the Bulldog baseball team to a 14-9 win over Minnesota Friday evening at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
Samford improves to 10-8 with the win. Minnesota drops to 6-12 with the loss.
Behind Miller for Samford, David Schulze went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI. Austin Allison was 2-for-4 with three RBI. Stephen Ballard and Bo Smith also had two hits apiece for the Bulldogs.
Andrew Jones pitched 3.0 innings in relief, giving up no earned runs on six hits to earn the win. Lex Rutledge got his fifth save of the season, pitching the final 2.0 innings without giving up a hit.
Minnesota was led at the plate by A.J. Pettersen and Kyle Knudson, both going 3-for-5 with two RBI. Michael Kvasnicka went 3-for-5 with an RBI for the Golden Gophers. Seth Rosin pitched 5.1 innings, giving up nine runs on eight hits to take the loss.
Samford plated three runs in the first inning to take an early 3-0 lead. Ballard, Smith and Trey Hayes drove in a run each in the inning for the Bulldogs.
After Minnesota cut the lead to 3-2 with two runs in the top of the fourth inning, Samford pushed its lead to 6-2 with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Allison drove in a run, while Miller hit a two-run homer to give Samford a four-run lead.
Minnesota took the lead with six runs in the top of the fifth inning. Pettersen drove in two runs, while Matt Puhl, Knudson and J.T. Canakes drove in a run each in the inning to give the Golden Gophers an 8-6 lead.
Samford answered with two runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth to take a 10-8 lead. Schulze hit a two-run homer to tie the game in the fifth. In the sixth inning Ballard and Schulze drove in a run each to give Samford a two-run lead.
After Samford scored a run in the seventh inning to make the score 11-8, Minnesota answered with a run in the eighth to cut the lead to 11-9. Samford put the game away with three runs in the bottom of the eighth to make the final score 14-9.
Samford and Minnesota will continue their four-game series with a game Saturday. The first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field.