College of Charleston 9, UNC Greensboro 2
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? College of Charleston scored at least one run each of in the final five innings and got seven strong innings from starter Kevin Decker as UNC Greensboro fell to the Cougars, 9-2, on Saturday afternoon at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Decker moved to a perfect 3-0 with the win as he allowed just two runs on three hits in his seven innings. UNCG starter Warren Slacked picked up the loss after giving up four runs, two earned, on six hits in 5 1/3 innings, while striking out five batters.
Harry Slade went 2-4 for the Spartans on Saturday and Corey Overholtzer and Taylor Schwarz each added an RBI.
Matt Leeds led the Cougars at the plate as he went 2-4 with four RBI and a runs scored. Robert Pritcher also had a nice afternoon as he went 3-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.
The Cougars were the first team on the board as they scored a pair of runs in the top of the third inning. With one out, Baker Knox reached on a fielding error before advancing to second on a walk by Cole Rakar. Rob Kral was then hit by a pitch to load the bases and Leeds was also hit by a pitch to score Knox from third. Jose Rodriguez then hit into a fielder’s choice to score Rakar and put College of Charleston ahead, 2-0.
UNCG got one of those runs back in the bottom of the third when Eric Brindle and Schwarz drew back-to-back one-out walks. After a walk to Chris Barker to load the bases, Overholtzer hit an infield single to score Brindle and make it a 2-1 game.
The score stayed that way until the fifth inning when Rakar led off with a double to left field. Leeds delivered a double of his own two batters later to score Rakar and put the Cougars in front, 3-1.
The Spartans pulled within 3-2 in the bottom half of the fifth when Slade hit a leadoff double down the left field line. He advanced to third and then scored on a pair of groundouts to make it a one run game.
Pritcher led off the top of the sixth inning for the Cougars with a double to left center and scored two batters later on a groundout to second base. Kral would add an RBI single later in the inning to score Rakar from second and make it a 5-2 game.
The Cougars kept adding to their lead as Greg Blake hit a single to right field and Pritcher knocked him in with his second double of the afternoon.
CofC went ahead 8-2 in the top of the eighth when Knox hit a leadoff single and Leeds took a 1-0 pitch over the right field wall two batters later for his sixth home run of the year.
The Cougars capped off their scoring in the top of the ninth when Pritcher hit a triple off the top of the wall in center field and scored a batter later on a sacrifice fly to make the final score, 9-2.
The two teams will finish the three-game series on Sunday with a 1 p.m. game at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
The Citadel 20, Elon 15 (10 inn.)
ELON, N.C. -- The Elon Phoenix rallied from a 12-4 deficit to force extra innings, but was unable to secure a Southern Conference baseball victory as it fell by a 20-15 margin in 10 innings to The Citadel Bulldogs. Elon dropped to 10-8 overall in 2010 and is now 2-3 in SoCon play while The Citadel improved to 13-5, 5-0.
Elon fought back nearly every time it trailed, erasing holes of 2-0, 6-2, 12-4 and 15-12, but was unable to come up with one more rally in the 10th.
Nick Orvin singled to lead off the game, went to second on a sacrifice bunt and to third on a wild pitch before scoring on Matt Simonelli's double that was laced just inside the bag at first. Simonelli promptly stole third and then scored on Bryan Altman's ground out.
With Neal Pritchard aboard at second after a single and a Bulldog error, Matt Hinson belted a two-out home run to right to tie the game at 2-2. The blast was the seventh of the year for Hinson.
The Citadel quickly took the lead back as William Ladd sent a 3-2 pitch over the fence in left for a leadoff homer in the third. With one out, Brad Felder drew a walk which was followed by back-to-back singles from Simonelli and Altman, the second of which plated Felder. David Greene doubled home both runners with a ball down the left field line to give the Bulldogs a 6-2 lead.
Justin Hilt began the Phoenix third by reaching on an error and then going to second on a failed pickoff attempt. After a Niko Fraser ground out moved Hilt to third, Mike Melillo reached on an infield single which scored Hilt. On the play, the throw to first was off the mark and Melillo went to second on the third Bulldog miscue of the inning. Elon put runners on the corners after a Seth Canipe single to left. Melillo scored with the fourth Phoenix run on a Ryan Adams ground out.
With two down and Ladd on second in the fourth, Felder lined a two-run homer just above the left field fence to push its lead to 8-4.
Kyle Jordan drew a four pitch walk with two outs in the top of the fifth and went to second on a wild pitch before scoring on Justin Mackert's line drive single that was nearly snared by a diving Canipe.
The Citadel continued to put the pressure on as the Bulldogs got back-to-back singles from Ladd and Orvin to begin the sixth before the Phoenix turned the ball over to Bobby Kennedy. Kennedy issued a walk to Felder to load the bases for Simonelli who singled home Ladd with a ball through the left side of the infield. With one out, Greene singled home both Orvin and Felder as the Bulldog advantage reached 12-4.
The Phoenix began its comeback in the bottom of the sixth, loading the bases with a walk to Grant McCoury, a single from Hinson and Ben Scott being hit by a pitch. Hilt then fisted a ball into right for a single that brought home McCoury. Fraser reached on a fielder's choice that erased Scott, but scored Hinson as the Phoenix chipped into the lead a little more and trailed 12-6. Melillo then lined a single to center to reload the bases for Canipe who lifted a pitch from new Bulldog pitcher Chris Boyce into right for a sacrifice fly to drive home Hilt to make it 12-7. Adams made it 12-8 by lining a single to right that scored Fraser from second and left runners at the corners before Boyce walked Pritchard to load the bases. Pinch-hitter Alex Swim then fanned on three pitches to end the inning.
The Phoenix bats stayed hot in the seventh as Hinson, Scott and Hilt all singled to load the bases to begin the at bat. A single through the left side from Fraser scored Hinson and kept the bags loaded for Melillo. Melillo drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch to force home pinch-runner Matt Kirchner and the Phoenix cut its deficit to 12-10. At this point, The Citadel handed the ball to Raymond Copenhaver to face Canipe. Canipe grounded a ball to short and the Bulldogs forced Fraser out at third, but Hilt scored to make it 12-11. With two outs, Pritchard walked on four pitches to load the bases again, bringing Swim to the plate. Swim's infield single scored Melillo to tie the game before Hinson grounded out to end the inning.
Altman drew a walk just ahead of a Greene single to put two on for The Citadel with one out in the eighth. After a fielder's choice eliminated Altman, Mackert sent the first pitch from Thomas Girdwood through the left side of the infield to drive home Greene from second with the go-ahead run. Legare Jones walked to load the bases before Jordan walked home when Ladd was plunked.
Felder added another to the Bulldog total by leading off the top of the ninth with a solo homer to right, his second home run of the game.
Trailing 15-12 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Adams drew a walk and raced to third on a Pritchard single. Pinch-hitter Harry Austin delivered Adams with a single before a wild pitch left Pritchard on third and Austin on second. Hinson then tied the game with a single to right-center as Pritchard scored easily and Austin slid in safely.
Jordan and Mackert started the 10th with singles for The Citadel. Jones put down a bunt and Elon tried to get the lead runner, but was unsuccessful and the bases were loaded for Ladd. Ladd sent a soft line drive into left to score Jordan as the Bulldogs went back on top at 16-15. The count ran full to Orvin before he walked to force home Mackert. Felder drove in two with a bouncing single over Adams' head at first before a fielder's choice let Orvin score.
Elon could not muster anything in the 10th, putting just one runner on thanks to a walk.
Kyle Webb (0-1) took the loss after allowing the five 10th inning runs. He gave up four hits. The Phoenix used a total of six pitchers, none lasting longer than three innings.
Drew Mahaffey (1-0) picked up the win despite allowing Elon to score three times in the ninth. In his two innings, Mahaffey gave up three hits and walked two.
For Elon, Hinson had a career-high four hits, drove in four runs and scored three times. Pritchard also had thre hits while Fraser, Melillo, Canipe and Adams all drove in three runs. Of Elon's 19 hits, only Hinson's homer was of the extra base variety.
Felder led The Citadel with a 3-for-4, two-homer, four-run, five-RBI performance. Greene drove in four while both Simonelli and Ladd posted three-RBI games.
After dropping the first two games of the series, Elon will look to take game three at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon from Latham Park.
Furman 6, Davidson 5
GREENVILLE, S.C. ? Dylan Cole belted a walk-off home run in the ninth inning to propel Furman to a 6-5 win over Davidson in Southern Conference baseball action Saturday at Latham Stadium.
A night after surrendering seven ninth inning runs on the way to a 12-9 loss, Furman seized the opportunity for its own dramatic finish when Cole launched the fourth pitch he saw from Davidson reliever Matt Sliwiak over the left field fence for the game winner.
Cole, a freshman catcher from Spartanburg, S.C., went 2-for-3 in the contest, including an RBI double in a five-run Paladin fifth.
The win went to Bobby Lyne (2-1), who came on in the eighth and struck out the Wildcats’ Michael Goldberg to end the inning with two runners on base. Lyne retired Davidson in order in the ninth to keep it a 5-5 game and set up Cole’s game winning blast.
Sliwiak (1-2) was charged with the loss.
Davidson grabbed a 4-0 lead in the third inning against Paladin starter Brian Dudzinski, getting an RBI single by Drew Gadaire and a Danny Weiss three-run home run to left center field.
It remained 4-0 until the fifth, when Furman got to Davidson starter Ian Horkley, who had limited the Paladins to only one hit over the first four frames.
J.B. Jenkins led off with a single and Cameron Allmendinger reached after being hit by a pitch. Cole then stroked an RBI double off the left field fence to score Jenkins. Allmendinger came home on a groundout to make it 5-2. Two batters later Matt Bona laced a two-run double into the right center field gap to tie the game. Will Miller capped the rally with a sacrifice fly to plate Bona for a 5-4 lead.
Furman took its slim advantage into the eighth before Davidson tied the contest on a two-out Michael Zeblo RBI single that scored Matt Ray.
Both teams registered seven hits in the error free game.
Sunday’s series finale is set for 1:00 p.m.
Western Carolina 10, Appalachian State 7
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University baseball nearly battled all the way back from a 10-run deficit but the comeback fell short in a 10-7 loss to Western Carolina on Saturday afternoon at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
The loss, which came in front of a Smith Stadium-record crowd of 969, snapped the nation's longest home winning streak at 22 games (19 in a row at Smith Stadium plus a three-game sweep over Rider at Hickory's L.P. Frans Stadium earlier this month).
Appalachian (14-3, 2-3 SoCon) committed four errors in the game's first five innings to help Western Carolina (13-6, 1-4 SoCon) jump out to a commanding 10-0 lead.
WCU plated four runs in the first inning, two in the second and three more in the third en route to chase ASU starter Tyler Jackson (Jonesville, N.C./Starmount) from the game after just 2.1 innings of work and grab a 9-0 lead. The Catamounts scored their fourth unearned run of the game in the fifth to extend the lead to 10-0.
The Mountaineers' rally began with a five-run sixth inning. Like Western, Appalachian benefitted from poor Catamount fielding that made four of the five sixth-inning runs unearned. Freshman Tyler Zupcic (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) provided the inning's big hit with a two-out, two-run single to center field and scored the stanza's fifth run on Hector Crespo's (Miami, Fla./Florida Christian) RBI double to right center.
Freshman Nathan Hyatt (Brevard, N.C./Brevard) kept ASU in the game with four innings of hitless relief and the Mountaineers made it interesting when Wes Hobson's (Winston-Salem, N.C./North Forsyth) two-run home run cut the deficit to 10-7 in the ninth. The Apps went on to put the tying run on deck but WCU closer Daniel Ottone came on to record the final out for his fifth save of the year.
The Mountaineers out-hit the Catamounts, 11-7, but couldn't overcome their four errors or WCU's clutch hitting, as Western scored five of their 10 runs with two outs.
Designated hitter Jeremy Dowdy (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) went 3-for-5 to pace Appalachian's 11-hit attack while Hobson and Zupcic drove in two runs apiece.
Ross Heffley had two of Western's seven hits and he and Trevor Collias drove in three runs apiece.
ASU and WCU play the rubber match of this weekend's three-game Southern Conference series on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Smith Stadium.
Wofford 12, Georgia Southern 6
Georgia Southern 11, Wofford 2
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? The Wofford baseball team split a doubleheader with Georgia Southern on Saturday afternoon at Russell C. King Field. In the first game, Wofford won 12-6 with four RBIs from Mac Doyle. The second game, originally scheduled for Sunday, was moved due to potential rain and was won 11-2 by the Eagles.
Wofford is 7-11 on the season and 2-4 in the SoCon, while Georgia Southern is 11-10 overall and 4-2 in conference play. On the day, the Terriers were led by Mac Doyle with six hits, including one home run and five RBIs. The Eagles were led by Steve Cochrane with four hits and five RBIs.
In the first game, Georgia Southern opened with a run in the top of the first when Kyle Blackburn reached on a fielder’s choice to score one run. Wofford answered in the bottom of the first when James Foster hit a lead-off single and moved to second on a ground out. A single from Kyle Behrendt drove in Foster. Mac Doyle added a single and a single by Taylor Rozier brought home Behrendt for a 2-1 lead.
After a scoreless second, Wofford added two runs in the bottom of the third. James Foster walked, stole second and third and scored on a passed ball. A single by Mac Doyle brought home Kyle Behrendt for a 4-1 advantage.
Wofford broke the game open in the bottom of the fourth. With two runners on base, James Foster doubled to score one run. The bases were loaded when Mac Doyle hit a triple to score three runs for an 8-1 lead. Mac Doyle scored on a balk. With one runner on base and two outs, Konstantine Diamaduros tripled to score another run. A single by Landon Bennett scored Diamaduros and the Terriers had an 11-1 lead.
In the top of the sixth, the Eagles got one run back when after two walks, a single by Kevin Boles scored one run. The Georgia Southern half of the inning ended when A.J. Wirnsberger flied out to left field and Taylor Rozier was able to throw out Arthur Owens at the plate for the double play. Wofford added a run in the bottom of the sixth when a single from Konstantine Diamaduros scored Kyle Behrendt for a 12-2 score.
Georgia Southern was able to score three runs in the top of the eighth inning. Runs were scored on a walk, a wild pitch and a ground out by A.J. Wirnsberger. The Eagles added a run on an RBI single from Michael Burress in the top of the ninth, but the Terriers held on for the 12-6 victory. The win was the first over the Eagles since May 20, 2006, a stretch of ten games.
For the Terriers, J.D. Osborne (3-0) went 7.1 innings with five hits, five runs allowed and five strikeouts. Ryan Traylor, Brandon Yarusi and Cash Collins combined to go the final 1.2 innings with only one run allowed. The Eagles starter Matt Murray (2-1) went 3.2 innings with seven hits and seven runs allowed with three strikeouts. Michael Hester gave up four runs on three hits in a third of an inning. Chris Beck went the final four innings with only three hits and one run allowed with five strikeouts.
In the second game, Steve Cochrane hit a sacrifice fly to score a run in the top of the first for Georgia Southern. Wofford answered in the bottom of the first when a double by Konstantine Diamaduros scored James Foster. In the second inning, the Eagles used four hits and an error to score four runs and take a 5-1 lead. They added a run in the top of the third when a double by Kyle Blackburn scored Arthur Owens and Michael Burress scored on a wild pitch for a 7-1 score.
Neither team scored in the fourth or fifth innings, with each team leaving one on base. In the top of the sixth, Steve Cochrane hit an RBI double to add a run for the Eagles. A solo home run to center field by Mac Doyle in the bottom of the sixth made it an 8-2 game.
Wofford loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh, but a double play ended the inning. The Eagles added three runs, including a triple from Steve Cochrane that scored two, to increase the lead to 11-2. Wofford had two singles to open the bottom of the eighth, but a double play ended the Terrier threat. The Eagles left one on in the top of the ninth, but Wofford went one-two-three in the bottom of the ninth to end the game.
Wofford starter Gus White (2-2) went 2.1 innings with seven runs scored on five hits. Drew Sheridan threw 4.2 innings and allowed five runs on four hits with one strikeout. Ryan Traylor, Pete Noordsy, Anthony Rowland, Cash Collins and Brandon Yarusi went the final two innings with a combined two hits and no runs allowed.
For the Eagles, starter Andy Moye (2-2) went 6.1 innings with seven hits and two runs allowed with five strikeouts. Dexter Bobo allowed only one hit in two-thirds of an inning and Justin Hess went the final two innings with two hits and a strikeout.
Wofford returns to the diamond on Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m. against Presbyterian College before heading out west for a weekend series against New Mexico State.
Samford 2, Minnesota 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford's David Schulze doubled to left-center field to drive in Mason Meredeth with the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift the Bulldog baseball team to a 2-1 win over Minnesota Saturday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
Schulze led Samford at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI. Wayne Miller, Bo Smith, Austin Allison and Brad Moss had one hit each for the Bulldogs.
Kyle Putkonen pitched 7.1 strong innings, giving up just one unearned run on nine hits, striking out six batters and walking none. Lex Rutledge earned the win, pitching the final 1.2 innings and giving up just one hit.
For Minnesota, Nick O'Shea went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Matt Puhl and Kyle Knudson both went 2-for-4 at the plate for the Golden Gophers. Billy Soule pitched 1.1 innings in relief, giving up one run on two hits to take the loss.
The teams were stuck in a scoreless tie for the first five and a half innings of the game.
Samford put the first run on the board in the bottom of the sixth inning. Miller doubled to left field to start the inning and then moved to third base on a ground out by Stephen Ballard. After Meredeth was intentionally walked, Schulze singled through the left side of the infield to drive in Miller for a 1-0 Samford lead.
Minnesota tied the score with a run in the top of the eighth inning. Michael Kvasnicka singled with one out to start the rally and then advanced to second base on a Samford error. After Rutledge replaced Putkonen on the mound, Knudson lined out to shortstop. O'Shea then singled to left field to drive in Kvasnicka to make the score 1-1.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Meredeth walked with one out. Schulze then doubled to bring in the game-winning run.
With the win, Samford improves to 11-8. Minnesota falls to 6-13 with the loss.
The teams will conclude their four-game series on Sunday. The final game of the series is scheduled for a 12 p.m. start.