The Citadel 13, Appalachian State 2
Charleston, S.C. - The Citadel used a season-high 23 hits and another strong outing by Asher Wojciechowski to defeat Appalachian State, 13-2, on a warm Friday night in front of 794 at Riley Park.
The Bulldogs improved to a league-best 7-0 in conference play. The last time The Citadel started out the season with seven consecutive conference wins was in 2001. Every starter for the Bulldogs had a hit and 11 different Cadets in all tallied a hit. ASU's seven hits were by seven different players and they used five pitchers total in the contest. The 13 runs and 23 hits were the most the Mountaineers have given up all season. It was also the largest margin of defeat for ASU in 2010.
"It was another very good performance by Wojciechowski tonight," said head coach Fred Jordan. "We were fortunate that Andress was not able to locate some of his pitches early and we were able to jump on him. It was a good offensive ballgame for us, we hit a lot of balls hard and ran the bases well."
Wojciechowski (Sturgis, Mich.) moved to 6-0 in his sixth start as he went 7.0 innings, scattering seven hits, allowing two runs, one earned run, two walks and striking out 11 on 113 pitches. The junior is now 3-0 and has 36 strikeouts in 23.0 innings pitched against SoCon foes. His streak without walking a batter reached 22.1 innings, as he walked a pair of ASU pinch hitters in the seventh inning.
The Citadel (16-6, 7-0) scored in the first inning when Brad Felder (Orangeburg, S.C), who went 2-for-3 with a walk and three runs scored, walked and then stole second before Bryan Altman (Summerville, S.C.) doubled to center to score Felder.
The Bulldogs would put up a five spot in the second inning of Appalachian State (14-4-1, 2-4-1) starter Matt Andress, who came into the game with a 5-1 record. The Mountaineer ace was lit up for 11 hits, eight runs, four walks and two strikeouts in 3.1 innings pitched and took the loss. Justin Mackert (Cleveland, Ohio) doubled and then scored on a two-run homer by Legare Jones (Columbia, S.C.). Nick Orvin (Moncks Corner, S.C.) then walked, followed by a Felder single and Altman then hit a ground-rule double two batters later to score the third run of the inning. David Greene's (Columbia, S.C.) single to the right side scored two more as the Bulldogs moved in front, 6-0.
In the fourth, the Bulldogs would strike again as Orvin and Felder led off with singles, before Matt Simonelli (Orlando, Fla.) doubled in a run. A walk by Greene and then an RBI single by Kyle Jordan (Goose Creek, S.C.) ended the evening for Andress and put the Bulldogs up two more runs.
Another RBI double in the fifth by Simonelli scored Orvin, who 3-for-4 with three runs scored, two walks, a stolen base and an RBI. In the sixth, Jordan walked and advanced on a passed ball, before scoring on an RBI single by William Ladd (Winnsboro, S.C.), who was 4-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored. Orvin then tripled to center to score Ladd and bump The Citadel lead up to 11-0.
A homer by Altman, his fourth of the season and 23rd of his career, in the seventh, followed by an RBI double by Ladd that scored Mackert capped the scoring for The Citadel who surpassed their season high of 22 hits last Saturday at Elon with 23 base knocks tonight. The Bulldogs scored in six innings overall.
Appalachian State was finally able to break through in the seventh when pinch hitters Zach Briggs and Frankie Lewis drew walks from Wojciechowski. Designated hitter Jerod Faggart then singled to bring in Briggs for the Mountaineers first run of the game. Second baseman Wes Hobson then reached on an error by Greene at third to score Lewis, an unearned run.
Jeffrey Spillane (Houston, Texas) pitched the next 1.2 innings, walking two and striking out one in scoreless relief. Nick Sprowls (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) came in to record the last out of the game for the Bulldogs. Altman led the way for The Citadel, going 3-for-4 with a homer, two doubles, two runs scored, three RBI and was hit by a pitch. His 23rd career homers ties him for tenth most in school history. Pinch hitters Grant Richards (Morrisville, N.C.) and Will Darby (Atlanta, Ga.) both got their first career hits in the bottom of the eighth inning.
The Citadel continues the series with Appalachian State on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Elon 8, Davidson 3
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Junior southpaw Jimmy Reyes struck out a career-high 14 hitters in career-high 8 2/3 innings to pitch the Elon Phoenix to an 8-3 win over the Davidson Wildcats in the opening game of the SoCon series Friday night at Wilson Field.
With rain in the forecast for Sunday, Davidson (13-9, 4-3 SoCon) and Elon (13-9, 3-4 SoCon) will play a double-header starting tomorrow at 1 p.m.
After allowing three runs on three hits in the opening frame, Reyes (3-3) allowed just three hits through the final 7 2/3 shutout innings to pick up his third win of the season.
The Wildcats did all of their scoring in the first, as junior right fielder Sam Payne drew a lead-off walk, and sophomore center fielder Drew Gadaire (1-for-4) followed with a one-out double down the left field line. Junior first baseman Danny Weiss, who led the Wildcats at the plate batting 2-for-4 with two RBI, doubled in the pair and scored as senior catcher Tommy Piacenza (1-for-4) slapped a two-out single to center field.
Reyes allowed lone hits in the third and fourth to Weiss and freshman designated hitter Michael Goldberg (1-for-3), both stranded on two-out singles. Reyes retired 13 straight hitters after Zeblo's hit in the fourth, until freshman third baseman Andrew Barna (1-for-4) led off the ninth with an infield single for the Wildcats' sixth and final hit of the night.
Senior left-hander Thomas Middour held the Phoenix hitless through the first four innings, working with a 3-0 lead before surrendering two straight walks to first baseman Ryan Adams and second baseman Seth Canipe to start the fifth. Middour struck out left fielder Matt Hinson for the first out, but walked the bases full for third baseman Scott Riddle, who singled to shallow right field as Elon busted up the shutout.
Junior submariner Mike Frongello (2-1) came out of the bullpen and retired right fielder Justin Hilt on strikes for the second out, but center fielder Niko Fraiser knotted the game with a two-RBI base hit into left field. After Davidson went down one-two-three in the bottom of the inning, Elon scored what proved the winning run in the top of the sixth as Canipe singled in Adams, who led off the inning with a double down the left field line.
Neither team managed a hit until the Phoenix busted the game open with four runs on two hits and four Wildcat errors in the top of the ninth, and Barna was stranded after getting a lead-off base hit in the bottom of the inning, for the final 8-3 margin.
Hilt reached on a one-out fielding error by freshman short stop Michael Zeblo and bumped around to third on a two-base, failed pickoff attempt by junior right-hander Matt Sliwiak. Fraser doubled him in, and catcher Mike Melilo hit the second straight double to put runners on second and third before short stop Neal Pritchard took the intentional free pass to load the bases.
Senior leftie Mac Read took over and got a ground ball from Adams that allowed Fraser to score from third, but another failed pickoff attempt allowed a pair of runs to score as Piacenza's throw to third got by Barna. Canipe reached on the fourth Wildcat error of the inning, a throwing error by Zeblo, but sophomore right-hander Michael Loeb got the final out of the inning to strand a pair.
Davidson, though, couldn't do anything with Barna's lead-off single in the ninth, and freshman Kyle Webb, younger brother of former Davidson short stop/closer Matt Webb, got the final out as the Phoenix took the first game of the series 8-3.
With rain expected on Sunday, the two teams will play a double-header tomorrow starting at 1 p.m. Junior right-hander Ian Horkley (2-0, 4.68) will start the first game for the Wildcats, against Elon's junior right-hander Jared Kernodle (2-0, 4.64). Wildcat sophomore right-hander Ryan Overcash (4-0, 3.81) will go for his fifth win in the nightcap against Phoenix senior right-hander Daniel Britt (1-2, 4.94).
College of Charleston 11, Western Carolina 8
Cullowhee, N.C. ? Western Carolina fell short in a seesaw contest that included four lead changes as the College of Charleston snagged an 11-8 victory in the series-opener on Friday evening at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium. The Cougars improved their record to 14-5 overall and 5-2 in the Southern Conference, while WCU fell to 13-7-1 overall and 1-5-1 in conference action.
Friday’s tilt-a-whirl contest featured a combined 13 walks, eight hit batters, seven wild pitches, two passed balls and a balk. The Catamounts out-slugged CofC, 11-to-8, in the contest.
WCU jumped ahead 1-0 before the Cougars countered with four unanswered runs. A sixth-run frame catapulted Western Carolina to a 7-4 advantage before CofC out-gained the Cats 7-to-2 in the final three innings.
Five Western Carolina batters collected multiple hits as the three-thru-four hitters combined for eight hits and five RBIs.
Catcher Ollie Goulder led WCU with a 2-for-3 evening with two RBIs, two walks and a run scored. Goulder hit his team-leading sixth home run in the sixth inning. Right fielder Cameron Dullnig also had a pair of hits and RBIs, including his team-high seventh double.
Senior Dylan de Graaf hammered his first solo shot of the season in the second with a bomb to left field to give the Cats a 1-0 lead. De Graaf finished 2-for-5 with a run and RBI. Ross Heffley anchored a pair of hits, while Matt Johns hit a comfortable 2-for-2 as a pinch hitter.
The Cats used six pitchers in the contest, as starter Jason Sullivan tossed four and a third innings in the no-decision. The right-hander gave up just two runs on two hits with six walks after missing his start at Appalachian State on March 19. Andrew Chilcoat surrendered two runs in an inning, before Mat Batts tossed a third of an inning in situational relief. Junior Brandon Johnson gave up two runs in an inning and a third before Daniel Ottone came into a save situation in the eighth inning. Ottone (0-2) took the loss, giving up five runs on three hits with two strikeouts and a walk in one inning of work. Andrew Blackwell wrapped up the game in the ninth, retiring the four batters he faced.
Western Carolina rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the bottom of the sixth with a six-run home-half. WCU used three doubles in the frame to take a three run lead. Goulder hit the second home run of the contest with a two-run bomb to left field. Radley Haddad walked in his pinch-hit appearance for Cory Cronan. Haddad added the tying run with a Tyler Kirkpatrick double. Kirkpatrick added another run after Matt Johns roped a double to left field. Austin Schultz’s single to center field allowed Johns to add the fifth run in the inning. Schultz capped the six-run rally after scoring from a Dullnig double to right centerfield.
The College of Charleston answered with a three-run eighth that resulted in an 8-7 lead for the Cougars. Dullnig’s single up the middle drove in Johns to give tie the contest at 8-8. CofC again answered back with another trifecta of runs to take the 11-8 advantage.
Closer Heath Hembree (4-0) earned the win for the Cougars holding the Cats scoreless in the final inning and a third. Second baseman Joey Bergman led the CofC offense with a 2-for-3 evening, four RBIs and three walks.
Western Carolina will resume the series on Saturday with a two full nine innings doubleheader. The game for Sunday was moved to Saturday due to the potential of inclement weather. The first contest will start at 2:00 p.m. with the final game of the series beginning thirty minutes later. Live stats coverage of the games will be available online at CatamountSports.com.
Samford 3, Furman 2
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford's David Schulze and Mason Meredeth each hit solo homers and Jonathan Stephens turned in a strong pitching performance to lead the Bulldog baseball team to a 3-2 win over Furman in the first game of a three-game Southern Conference series Friday night at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
Stephens pitched 6.1 innings, giving up just one unearned run on six hits to earn the win and improve his season record to 4-0. Andrew Jones pitched 1.2 scoreless innings in relief, and Lex Rutledge tossed the final inning, giving up just one run to earn his sixth save of the season.
"I thought Jonathan did a great job, he kept the ball down in the zone and got some big ground balls," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "He really pitched well, and when he got fatigued, we felt like if we could shorten it to a two or three-inning game with Andrew and Lex we'd be in good shape. Jonathan was able to get us into the seventh inning, but this was just a great job by all three of those guys tonight."
For Samford (12-10, 3-1 SoCon) at the plate, Trey Hayes went 3-for-4 and Tripp Swann was 2-for-4. Meredeth and Schulze each went 1-for-4 with a solo homer. Schulze's home run was his team-leading seventh of the season, while Meredeth's was his fourth of the year.
Furman (8-14, 2-5 SoCon) was led at the plate by Will Owens, going 2-for-4 with a double. Will Muzika and Will Miller drove in a run each for the Paladins. Ian Parry pitched the complete game, giving up three runs on 11 hits to take the loss and fall to 1-2. Parry struck out nine Samford batters while allowing no walks.
"Ian Parry did a heck of a job tonight and kept us off-balance," Dunn said. "I was proud of our guys for, when he did make a couple of mistakes, making him pay because he didn't leave too many up in the zone tonight."
After playing three and a half scoreless innings, Samford put the first run of the game on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth inning. Schulze led the inning off with a solo home run to left field to give Samford a 1-0 lead.
In the fifth inning, Samford added another run to make the score 2-0. Meredeth homered to right field for Samford's second run of the game.
Furman came back with a run in the top of the sixth inning to cut the Samford lead to 2-1. Miller hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Aaron Thompkins for Furman's first run of the game.
Samford added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth inning to push its lead to 3-1. Hayes doubled to right field with one out to get things started for the Bulldogs. With two outs, Michael Johnson singled to drive in Hayes for the eventual game-winning run.
Furman plated one run in the top of the ninth inning to make the final score 3-2. Muzika singled to left field with two outs to drive in Cameron Allmendinger to cut the Samford lead to one run. The Paladins had runners on first and second with two outs, but Rutledge got Thompkins to ground out to second base to end the threat.
The teams will play again Saturday at 1 p.m. CT.
Georgia Southern 6, UNC Greensboro 4
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern’s Jake Brown pitched his second complete game of the season, and third of his career, and Kyle Blackburn hit a two-run homer to stage a 6-4 Eagle rally over UNC Greensboro on Friday (March 26) in a Southern Conference matchup at J.I. Clements Stadium.
After spotting the Spartans an early 3-0 lead, the Eagles battled back and took the lead with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning on an RBI single by Arthur Owens (Fayetteville, Ga.).
Georgia Southern improved to 12-11 overall and 5-2 in the conference while UNCG dropped to 11-10 and 0-4.
Brown (4-2) allowed three earned runs on seven hits en route to his second complete game of the season. The Forest Hill, Md., native struck out seven and walked three.
Blackburn (Marietta, Ga.) was 2-for-3 with two RBI and Michael Burruss (Marietta, Ga.) was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles as the Eagles collected 11 hits off of two Spartan pitchers. Owens and Steve Cochrane were also 2-for-4.
With a crowd of 1,612 in attendance, Brown needed just 18 pitches to get through the first two innings. He retired the first six batters he faced on five groundballs and an infield popup.
The Spartans broke the scoreless tie in the top of the third. Harry Slade had an RBI infield single and Ed Jayjack added a sacrifice fly as the Spartans used three hits, two walks and an error to score three times.
Spartan starter Warren Slack (1-5) had a three-hit shutout through four innings. Georgia Southern scored its first run in the bottom of the fifth when Burruss led off with a double and scored on Roman Grimaldi’s (Duluth, Ga.) one-out single.
The Eagles tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Kevin Bowles (Statesboro, Ga.) led off with a single and Blackburn followed with his seventh homer of the season to bring the ballgame even at 3-3.
Georgia Southern took the lead and chased Slack with two runs in the bottom of the seventh. After Burruss led off with a double and Grimaldi drew a one-out walk, Slack gave way to Blake Hassebrock. Owens greeted the reliever with a run-scoring single that gave the Eagles a 4-3 advantage.
Grimaldi then advanced to third on a fielder’s choice by Bowles and scored on a wild pitch, increasing Georgia Southern’s lead to 5-3.
In the top of the eighth, UNCG used two singles and a fielder’s choice to set up an RBI groundout by Jayjack that sliced the Eagles’ cushion to 5-4.
Georgia Southern added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. Cochrane led off with a single, moved to second on Eric Phillips’ (Carrollton, Ga.) sacrifice bunt, advanced to third when Burruss grounded out to the second baseman and scored on Shawn Payne’s (Stone Mountain, Ga.) single.
A one-out walk gave the Spartans life in the top of the ninth, but Brown quickly slammed the door by getting the final two outs of the game on grounders to the shortstop and third baseman.
Slack was charged with the loss. In 6.1 innings, he allowed five runs (all earned) on eight hits with four strikeouts and three walks.
The three-game series will continue on Saturday (March 27) at 2:30 p.m.
New Mexico State 20, Wofford 7
LAS CRUCES, N.M. ? The Wofford baseball team was defeated 20-7 on Friday night by New Mexico State University at Presley Askew Field. The Aggies used six hits and seven runs in the first to take a lead and added six runs in both the fifth and seventh innings. The teams combined to issue 24 walks in the game.
Wofford is 8-12 on the season, while New Mexico State is 14-10 overall. The game was played in windy conditions, with sustained winds of 35 mph and gusts of up to 50 mph blowing left to right across the field that slowly died down over the course of the night. Wofford was led by Landon Bennett with two hits, including a home run. The Aggies were led by Leo Aguirre with four hits and three RBIs.
In the bottom of the first, the Aggies loaded the bases with two walks and a single. A single to left by Leo Aguirre scored one run and another walk brought in run as well for a 2-0 lead. A single by Chance Perkins and a fielder’s choice by Parker Hipp added two runs before a double to right center by Wesley Starkes plated two more runs for a 6-0 advantage. Nate Shaver hit an RBI single to make it a 7-0 game before Ben Harty flew out to right with the bases loaded to end the inning.
Wofford got on the board in the top of the second when Konstantine Diamaduros walked and went to third on a throwing error by the pitcher. Landon Bennett grounded out to drive in the run for a 7-1 score. The Aggies left three on base in the bottom of the third.
In the top of the fourth, Mac Doyle reached on an error and Konstantine Diamaduros walked. Landon Bennett then hit a ball to deep right that carried over the fence to score three runs and make it a 7-4 game. New Mexico added two hits in the bottom of the fourth, but a double play and ground out ended the inning.
New Mexico State added a run on a walk in the bottom of the fifth. A double to right by Mike Sodders scored a run as the Aggies took a 9-4 lead. Chance Perkins added a two-run double with two outs. A triple by Wesley Starkes to the left center wall drove in two more runs for a 13-4 lead.
The Terriers loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the sixth, but a strikeout and fielder’s choice left them loaded with two outs. James Foster hit a single up the middle to score two runs and it was a 13-6 game in the middle of the sixth. New Mexico State added a run on an RBI single by Leo Aguirre for a 14-6 lead.
Wofford left two runners on base in the top of the seventh. The Aggies added a run in the bottom of the seventh on a single by Wesley Starkes that dropped in shallow right field. With the bases loaded, a passed ball scored one run. Mike Sodders hit a home run deep to center to score three runs and a 19-6 lead. New Mexico State added one more in the inning for a 20-6 score after seven. Wofford was able to add one run in the top of the ninth when Neil Robinette walked and scored when Bradley Evsich reached on an error for a 20-7 final.
For the Terriers, starter John Cornely (1-4) went three innings and allowed seven runs on eight hits with two strikeouts and seven walks. Brandon Yarusi went one and two thirds, allowing six runs on six hits. Pete Noordsy threw 1.1 innings with two hits and one run allowed with three strikeouts. Alex Wilson went a third of an inning and allowed five runs on three hits with a strikeout. Jordan Mickleberry threw the final two innings with one run on two hits.
New Mexico State starter Daniel Simon (2-3) went six innings and allowed six runs on three hits with seven walks and seven strikeouts. Jared Jordan picked up the save with three innings of work with one run allowed on one hit.
Wofford continues the series in the desert on Saturday with two games and one on Sunday before concluding the road trip with a two-game series at Vanderbilt on March 30 and 31.