Georgia Southern 4, Marshall 3
STATESBORO, GA - Georgia Southern’s Steve Cochrane delivered a tie-breaking single in the bottom of the sixth inning as the Eagles edged Marshall 4-3 on Saturday (March 6) at J.I. Clements Stadium.
A.J. Wirnsberger (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) led off the sixth with a two-run homer for Georgia Southern (5-6), which rallied from a 2-0 deficit for its second straight win over the Thundering Herd (4-5).
Winning pitcher Matt Murray (1-0) and two Eagle relievers scattered 10 hits and limited Marshall to two earned runs. Murray worked 6.1 innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on eight hits with three strikeouts and one walk.
Colin Snow (Alpharetta, Ga.) pitched a scoreless inning before yielding to Dexter Bobo (Cumming, Ga.), who went the last 1.2 innings for his second save of the season.
A crowd of 1,936 watched as Thundering Herd starter Shane Farrell took a two-hit shutout and a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth. He walked Kyle Blackburn (Marietta, Ga.) on a 3-2 pitch before surrendering Wirnsberger’s fourth home run of the season, a shot to left-center field that tied the game.
Arik Sikula relieved Farrell and walked Kevin Bowles (Statesboro, Ga.), whose threat on the bases was ended when caught stealing. Eric Phillips (Carrollton, Ga.) singled and moved to second on a balk before being caught between second and third on a fielder’s choice groundball to Sikula.
However, Phillips escaped the ensuing rundown and ended up on third base with Cochrane (Mooresville, N.C.) approaching the plate. The junior followed with a run-scoring single to right-center field that broke a 2-2 tie and put Georgia Southern ahead 3-2.
Marshall had men on first and third with one out in the top of the seventh, but Snow entered in relief and worked his way out of the jam with a popup to the third baseman and a fielder’s choice to the shortstop.
The Thundering Herd threatened again in the top of the eighth, putting a man on second with one out, but a pitching change put Bobo on the mound who forced the last two outs with a strikeout and a grounder to the shortstop.
The Eagles added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth on a two-out single to right-center field by Arthur Owens (Fayetteville, Ga), scoring Michael Burruss (Marietta, Ga.).
Trailing 4-2, Marshall pulled to within a run on Chris Norton’s RBI single with two out in the top of the ninth. Norton advanced to second on a wild pitch, but Bobo retired the next batter on a popup to the shortstop for the final out of the game.
The Thundering Herd built a 2-0 lead in the first two innings. They scored an unearned run in the top of the first on Josh Valle’s RBI single, and added another run on Isaac Ballou’s RBI single in the top of the second.
The Eagles finished the game with seven hits and drew eight walks. They also stole five bases. Wirnsberger was 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run and Owens went 2-for-5 with an RBI.
For Marshall, Valle and Victor Gomez were both 2-for-4.
Sikula (1-2) was charged with the loss. In 2.2 innings, he allowed two runs (both earned) on three hits with two strikeouts and four walks.
The three-game series will conclude on Sunday (March 7) at 1:30 p.m.
Western Carolina 4, Illinois 2
Greenville, N.C. ? Western Carolina used 11 hits and had four Catamounts reach multi-hit games as WCU defeated Illinois, 4-2, in day two of the Keith LeClair Classic at Clark-LeClair Stadium. With the victory, the Catamounts improve to 8-1, continuing the program’s best start in school history.
WCU (8-1) spread out the runs in four innings to dispose of the Illini who fell to 1-4 on the season. In total, Western Carolina out-numbered Illinois in the hit column, 11-to-7. The middle of the Catamount lineup proved to be lethal as the three through six hitters each collected a pair of hits.
Right-hander Kyle Stewart (1-0) picked up his first decision of the year by giving up only one run on three hits with six strikeouts in five innings pitched.
Senior Tyler Kirkpatrick continued his nine-game hit streak with a roped single to left field in the second inning, allowing freshman Tyler White to score the first run of the contest. Kirkpatrick, a senior third baseman, tallied his seventh multi-hit game of the year in the eighth inning with a single. Overall, Kirkpatrick hit 2-for-3 with an RBI and a reached on base after he was hit-by-pitch.
White earned his team-high fifth double of the season in the second inning as the freshman hit 2-for-4 with a run scored.
Designated hitter Trevor Collias sent a leadoff homerun to left field to give WCU a 2-0 lead after three innings. The long bomb was Collias’ first of the season.
Catcher Ollie Goulder’s double down the leftfield line drove in shortstop Austin Schultz to give Western Carolina a 3-1 lead.
In the fifth inning, Ross Heffley would widen the Catamount’s advantage to 4-1 after scoring from an Illinois throwing error. Heffley, a sophomore from Snellville, Ga., went 2-for-4 with a run score. Meanwhile, Schultz also collected a pair of hits and drove in a run.
Illinois added a pair of runs in the fourth and fifth innings, but the Catamount’s biggest threat came in the top of the eighth. Western Carolina used a combination of Mat Batts and Brandon Johnson to stop the Illini rally. Batts replaced reliever Matt Benedict, who gave up a lead-off single. Batts faced one batter before Johnson took over. Johnson then allowed a single and hit a batter to load the bases. WCU avoided the logjam with a double play ball hit to the third baseman Kirkpatrick.
Benedict tossed two innings of relief, giving up a run on three hits with two strikeouts. Batts and Johnson combined for an inning of work with one hit allowed and fanning one Illini batter.
Daniel Ottone notched his third save of the year by pitching a flawless ninth inning.
Illinois’ Casey McMurray led the squad with a 2-for-4 afternoon. Starter Brian de la Torriente fell to 0-1 after surrendering three earned runs on eight hits in four and two-third innings.
Western Carolina’s defensive play was evident as WCU turned two double plays and the rare triple play in the contest. The Catamounts avoided an early Illinois threat due to a lineout to Kirkpatrick, who then stepped on the bag and threw the ball to first.
WCU will conclude the Keith LeClair Classic on Sunday with host East Carolina. The Pirates (5-3) are ranked in every baseball poll, including 14th in Baseball America and 21st in the Collegiate Baseball poll.
The first pitch is scheduled at 2:00 p.m. Left-hander Vance Chavis (2-0, 3.00 ERA) will be on the mound for the Catamounts. Live coverage of Sunday’s game can be found through GameTracker at CatamountSports.com.
Furman 13, Ohio 8
GREENVILLE, S.C. ? Will Muzika, J.B. Jenkins, and Will Owens each belted two-run home runs to power Furman to a 13-8 win over Ohio in baseball action Saturday afternoon at Latham Stadium.
Muzika, a freshman second baseman from Spartanburg, S.C., and Dorman High School, cracked his team leading fourth home run of the season in the first inning with one aboard to give the Paladins a 2-0 lead. Jenkins, meanwhile, connected on a two-run shot to center field in the fifth to put Furman ahead, 9-8, and Miller helped put the game away with a two-run blast over the left field fence to highlight a four-run sixth inning en route to the third consecutive win for Furman (4-6).
Robert Maddox paced Ohio (1-7) by going 4-for-5 with two singles, a double, a two-run home run, and two RBI. He also scored three runs.
John Paterson and Aaron Thompkins added two hits apiece for the Paladins, who finished the game with 11 hits.
Owens’ round tripper was his third in consecutive games. In Furman’s three wins this week the sophomore native of Greer and former Riverside High performer has gone 8-for-11 with three home runs 10 RBI.
Earning the victory was Nate Smith (1-0), who came on with no outs in the fifth after starting pitcher Brian Dudzinski yielded three consecutive hits and three runs, including a two-run home run to right field by Robert Maddox that tied the game at 7-7.
The first hitter Smith faced, Bobcat catcher Kris McDonnough, stroked a solo home run to left field to put Ohio ahead 8-7, but from that point the freshman left-hander rallied to retire the side in order.
In the Furman fifth Will Miller lined a one-out triple into right center field, and two batters later J.B. Jenkins launched a home run to straight away center field off Bob reliever and losing pitcher Michael Dillon (0-2) to put Furman up, 9-8.
The Paladins took command in the sixth, scoring four runs, including a pair on Owens’ two-run clout.
Daniel Stallsmith tossed shutout ball over the final three innings to earn the first save of his career.
Furman goes for the series sweep on Sunday in a 1:00 p.m. game.
Samford 7, Evansville 4
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.?The Samford baseball team earned its fourth-straight win with a 7-4 victory over the Evansville Purple Aces Saturday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
Samford improves to 7-3 with the win. Evansville drops to 2-8 with the loss. The two teams will wrap up their three-game series Sunday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
For Samford on Saturday, Stephen Ballard was 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI. Bo Smith went 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Mason Meredeth went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Brad Moss was 2-for-2 at the plate for the Bulldogs.
Kyle Putkonen pitched 6.0 innings, giving up four runs on five hits while striking out six batters to get the win for the Bulldogs. Lex Rutledge pitched the final inning, giving up just one hit to earn his fourth save of the season.
Evansville was led by Tom Heithoff, going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Jake Naumann gave up seven runs over 3.1 innings of work to take the loss for the Purple Aces.
After Evansville took a 1-0 lead with a run in the top of the first inning, Samford scored three runs in the first inning and three more in the second to take a 6-1 lead. Ballard hit a ground-rule double to drive in Wayne Miller for the game’s first run. Smith later singled to drive in Ballard to give Samford the lead for good. The final run of the first inning was scored when Smith scored from third base when David Schulze reached base on an Evansville error.
In the second inning Ballard, Meredeth and Smith drove in a run each to give the Bulldogs a 6-1 lead.
Evansville came back with two runs in the third inning and one more in the fourth to cut the Samford lead to 6-4. Eric Stamets scored when Greg Wallace grounded out to first base for the first run of the third inning. Heithoff later hit a solo home run to cut the Samford lead to three runs. In the fourth inning, Ty Legan hit a solo homer to make the score 6-4.
Samford plated one final run in the bottom of the fourth inning to make the final score 7-4. Ballard singled through the right side of the infield to drive in Moss for the game’s final run.
Sunday’s series finale is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start from Joe Lee Griffin Field.
Elon 10, Princeton 2
Elon 18, Princeton 8
ELON, N.C. -- Jared Kernodle threw six shutout innings in game one while the offense belted six home runs in game two to lead the Elon Phoenix to a double-header sweep of the Princeton Tigers in Saturday action at the Elon Invitational. The Phoenix took game one 10-2 before earning an 18-8 decision in the second game. Elon is now 6-4 on the year while Princeton is 0-3.
Both Seth Canipe and Matt Hinson homered twice in the second contest and Canipe finished with three homers on the day, including a grand slam in the opener. The duo combined to drive in 11 runs in the sweep.
The Phoenix took an early lead in game one, scoring once in the first. Harry Austin led off the inning with a single and went to second on Mike Melillo's one-out single. After Austin swiped third, Melillo attempted to steal second, but got caught in a rundown allowing Austin to score.
Elon loaded the bases thanks to an Alex Swim double, an infield single by Neal Pritchard and a walk to Ryan Adams. With two outs, Canipe turned around a 2-2 pitch from David Palms for a grand slam to left-center to give the Phoenix a 5-0 advantage. The homer was the third of the year for Canipe. Justin Hilt followed by reaching on an error and stealing second before scoring on Alex Maruri's double.
Austin began the Phoenix fourth with an infield single. After Austin stole second, Swim walked. Ball four was also a wild pitch that moved Austin to third. Elon added its seventh run of the game when Austin came in as Melillo grounded into a double play.
The Phoenix offense kept up the attack in the sixth. Austin drew a walk to start the frame before stealing his third bag of the game. Swim's infield single put runners on the corners for Melillo who singled to right, plating Austin as Elon stretched its lead to 8-0. After Pritchard was plunked to load the bases, a passed ball let Swim score and moved Melillo to third. Adams delivered Melillo with a sacrifice fly to left-center.
Princeton erased the shutout in the seventh. Brian Berkowitz drew a walk to begin the inning before Brandon Englert belted a two-run homer to right.
Kernodle (1-0) struck out two in a career-long 6.0 innings of work to earn his first win of the season. Kyle Webb threw 3.0 shutout innings to earn his second save of the year.
Palms (0-1) took the loss after allowing six runs (five earned) in 3.0 innings on the mound.
In game two, the Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the second when Sam Mulroy homered to left with one out.
The Princeton lead was short-lived, however, as Adams belted a two-run homer to right that also brought home Pritchard who had walked to start the bottom of the second. Canipe made it back-to-back jacks when he belted a solo shot over the wall in right as Elon took a 3-1 lead. The edge reached 5-1 when Austin smacked his first career home run, a two-run shot to left that plated Alex Maruri who had reached on a fielder's choice.
With two down in the top of the third, Matt Bowman was hit by a pitch. Bowman scored from first on Andrew Whitener's double to left-center as Princeton trimmed its deficit to 5-2.
Elon came right back in the bottom of the third. With one out both Adams and Canipe drew walks before Justin Hilt chopped a single through the left side of the infield to score Adams. With two away, Scott Riddle lined a single to right-center, scoring Canipe and sending Hilt to third. The Phoenix then pulled off a double steal as Riddle took second and Hilt came in to score the eighth Elon run of the day. After Austin walked to put two runners on, Fraser singled home Riddle and Elon led 9-2.
Berkowitz led off the Tiger fourth with a solo homer to left-center as Princeton chipped into the Elon lead. Englert and Mulroy followed with singles before John Mishu doubled to right-center, scoring both runners to make it 9-5. After a ground out advanced Mishu to third, Nate Baird's infield single scored a run.
In the bottom of the fourth inning Elon loaded the bases with a single from Pritchard, an error that allowed Adams to reach and a walk to Canipe. Hilt then doubled home both Pritchard and Adams before Hinson crushed a pinch-hit homer to center to give the Phoenix a 14-6 lead.
Canipe connected on his second homer of the game to lead off the Phoenix sixth as Elon pushed its advantage to 15-6. Elon tacked on another in the seventh on a Pritchard double that drove in Fraser.
Princeton pushed across two runs in the top eighth only to see Hinson drill a two-run home run in the bottom of the frame.
Bobby Kennedy (1-0) earned the victory in relief for Elon. He threw 3.2 shutout innings, striking out four and allowing just two hits. Starter Ken Ferrer lasted 3.1 innings and was charged with six runs on seven hits with five strikeouts. Combined, four Phoenix pitchers recorded 10 strikeouts, the highest total of the year for the squad.
Langford Stuber (0-1) took the loss and was roughed up for nine runs on six hits in 3.0 innings. He walked five and struck out two.
Elon will take on Radford in the final game of the 2010 Elon Invitational on Sunday at 4 p.m.
Davidson 4, Bryant 2
Davidson 7, UNC Asheville 6
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Sam Payne went a combined 5-for-7 with four RBIs and Ian Horkley pitched six solid innings in the night cap of the second game as the Davidson baseball team scored 7-6 and 4-2 wins over Bryant and UNC Asheville on Saturday at Wilson Field.
Payne led the offense in the first game with a 3-for-4 afternoon and a couple of RBIs, including driving in the game-winning run as Davidson (8-4) came back to win with a single run in the eighth inning.
After the Wildcats had taken a 5-2 lead in the fifth, UNCA (3-5) put up its own four-run inning in the top of the sixth to take a 6-5 lead. Danny Baatz led off with a home run down the left field line, and Zinman (sacrifice fly), Jonny Eaker (single) and Jordan Lurie (single) each drove in a run.
Davidson got the score knotted up in the sixth as Tommy Piacenza drew a leadoff walk, was sacrificed to second by Michael Zeblo and scored on an RBI single from Payne.
The Wildcats then took a one-run lead in the bottom of the eighth as Coleman Barron took a leadoff walk, was sacrificed over by Piacenza, bumped to third by a wild pitch and sacrificed on a hit by Payne.
Matt Sliwiak (1-1) was credited with the win after he shut down the Bulldogs in the final two innings on one hit, one walk and a strikeout.
The first two innings saw Asheville plate single runs, but the Wildcats scored one of their own in the bottom of the first. First baseman Danny Weiss drove an 0-2 pitch into right center field to score center fielder Drew Gadaire, who singled and stole second to get into position.
The Bulldogs though, reclaimed the lead in the top of the second with a leadoff home run down the left field line by Beau Zinman.
Asheville had chances in both the third and fourth, but the Wildcat defense turned a double play to end the third and left fielder Payne threw out a runner at second before Thomas Middour (5.2 innings- 6 runs, 5 unearned) sat down Zinman on strikes to end the fourth.
The Wildcats took their 5-2 lead behind four runs on six hits in the fifth. Payne led off with a base hit to left and moved to second on a balk to get into position for sophomore James Cerbie, who plated him with a double to left. Gadaire and Weiss followed with base knocks to load the bases with no outs, and designated hitter Will General drove in a pair with a single up the middle. Andrew Barna hit into a double play, but Barron drove in the fourth run on an infield single before getting caught stealing to end the scoring.
Horkley (2-0) led the Wildcats to the game-two win with six solid innings to pick up his second win of the year. He allowed just one run on three hits and struck out two Bulldogs.
The Wildcats gave Horkley all the run support he would need in the bottom of the second inning when they dented the plate four times on five hits. Barna singled to left center to start the inning and then stole second, but was tagged out a home later on Seth Freeman?s fielder?s choice to the pitcher. Jake Berman, who singled after Barna, went to third on the fielder?s choice and scored the OCats first run on a Zeblo double to right field. Payne then doubled to center field to drive in Freeman and Zeblo for a 3-0 lead, and he went on take third on a stolen base later and scored on Cerbie?s RBI single for a 4-0 advantage.
Bryant (0-5) got to Horkley in the top of the sixth with two runs and nearly tied the game, in the seventh, but Mike Frongello came in relief of Brian Russell and got out of a bases loaded jam. Bryant had loaded the bases on a hits batter, single and walk, but Frongello closed the door by grabbing a comebacker to the mound to hold the score at 4-2.
Andy Bass then tallied the OCats first save of the year with a perfect ninth inning.
Winners of eight of their last 10 contests, the Wildcats will close out their weekend with a 1 p.m. game vs. Bryant on Sunday, Mar. 7 at Wilson Field.
Appalachian State 8, Rider 5
HICKORY, N.C. - Appalachian State University baseball set a new school record for consecutive wins to start a season with a 8-5 triumph over Rider on Saturday afternoon at L.P. Frans Stadium.
With the win, Appalachian moved to 8-0 and surpassed the Mountaineers' 7-0 start in 1985 as the best in school history.
ASU led just 4-3 after five innings but scored a single run in the sixth and three in the seventh to seal the historic win. A two-run, inside-the-park home run down the right field line by first baseman David Towarnicky (New Bern, N.C./New Bern) in the seventh highlighted the late-inning onslaught.
Towarnicky (2-for-4) drove in three of the Mountaineers' eight runs. Wes Hobson (Winston-Salem, N.C./North Forsyth), Hector Crespo (Miami, Fla./Florida Christian) and Tyler Zupcic (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) chipped in to ASU's 10-hit effort with two apiece.
On the mound, true freshman Tyler Jackson (Jonesville, N.C./Starmount) earned his first collegiate win by surrendering just two earned runs over five innings of work. The southpaw allowed eight hits but worked his way out of a number of jams, thanks in part to a pair of defensive gems by fellow true freshman Crespo at third base.
Will Helms (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) locked down Rider, which had 12 hits in the game's other six innings, with three stanzas of scoreless one-hit relief. Closer Chris Patterson (Laurinburg, N.C./Scotland County) recorded the final out for his fourth save of the season.
The Broncs, which has lost two-straight after coming into the weekend with a unblemished 4-0 record, were led by designated hitter Steve Galella's 2-for-5, two-RBI performance.
Appalachian looks to complete the three-game weekend sweep and move to 9-0 on the season when it hosts the series finale versus Rider on Sunday at 1 p.m. at L.P. Frans Stadium.
Wofford 9, St. Peter’s 2
Spartanburg, S.C. ? The Wofford baseball team defeated St. Peters on Saturday evening 9-2 at Russel C. King Field. The victory improves the Terriers record to 4-6 on the year and St. Peter’s record drops to 0-7.
The Terriers were lead by starting pitcher J.D. Osborne with ten strike outs. Offensively David Roney had three hits and one RBI and James Foster had two hits and two RBI’s. St. Peter’s was lead by Matt Mancini with a home run.
The Terriers got on the board first in the third inning when Kyle Behrendt reached on an error and scored three batters later when James Foster drove the run in with a single. In the fourth inning Alex Lee reached base on a single and scored two batters later when Mac Doyle drove the run home with single.
Wofford broke the game open in the fifth inning when the Terriers combined for five hits and five runs. Landon Bennett and David Roney both reached base on a single. Bennett scored on a James Foster RBI single. Roney scored on an Alex Lee RBI single. Kyle Behrendt singled but cleared the bases and scored on two St. Peter’s errors. The Terriers picked up another run in the sixth when David Roney doubled and scored one batter later on an RBI single from Matt Moore.
St. Peter’s got on the board in the seventh inning when Matt Mancini hit a solo home run to left field. The Terriers scored their final run in the eighth inning when a leadoff walk by Konstatine Diamaduros lead to a run by pinch runner Clark Wise off a David Roney RBI single. St. Peter’s scored the final run of the game in the ninth inning when Sean McFadden drew a leadoff walk and score two batters later on a balk by Brandon Yarusi.
Wofford starter J.D. Osborne lasted seven innings giving up one run and striking out ten. Osborne set a new single game record for strikeouts. The previous record was five by David Dufour against East Tennessee on April, 10, 2004. Brandon Yarusi pitched one scoreless inning of relief and struck out two. Alex Wilson finished the game giving up one run and striking out one. The thirteen strikeouts by the Terriers is good for 4th on the all time single game record in Wofford history.
St. Peter’s starter Dom Macaluso went five innings with eight hits and four runs allowed. Brian Schroeder threw one inning of relief giving up two hits and one run. Anthony DeLeo threw one inning of scoreless relief. Andrew Costello threw one inning of relief giving up one hit and one run.
The Terriers will complete the series with St. Peter’s on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 at Russell C. King Field.
Army 9, UNC Greensboro 6
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? UNC Greensboro scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh to pull within one run, but Army added two more in the eighth inning to hold on and win, 9-6, on Saturday afternoon at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Ben Koenigsfeld had a no-hitter going into the sixth inning and allowed just one run and two hits in six innings as he picked up his second win of year. Kevin McKague came in for the Black Knights (4-1) to pitch a scoreless ninth inning for his second save. Warren Slack picked up the loss for the Spartans (6-3) after giving up four runs on six hits while striking out five.
Corey Overholtzer went 2-3 with an RBI and two walks at the plate for the Spartans and Lloyd Enzor and Cody Walker each tallied two RBI on the afternoon as well.
Joey Henshaw paced the Black Knights at the plate after going 2-4 with four RBI and a run scored. Zach Price also went 2-4 and added two RBI for the visitors.
The Black Knights broke open the scoring in the third inning as Shaun Wixted led off the inning with a single up the middle. After moving to second on a sacrifice bunt, Wixted scored from second on Price’s single to left field to give Army a 1-0 lead.
Army added another run in the fourth inning to go ahead 2-0 on Henshaw’s solo home run over the right field wall.
The Black Knights added two more in the sixth inning with one out. David Darnell got it started with a bunt single down the third base line and Clint Moore followed with a single to left field. Henshaw followed with another single to score Darnell and then Moore scored a batter later on a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0.
After Koenigsfeld dominated the Spartans for five innings, Drew Gehringer delivered a one-out infield single to break up the no-hitter. Overholtzer followed with a double down the left field line to score Gehringer from first and make it a 4-1 game.
Army appeared to have blown open the game in the top of the seventh by adding three runs and taking a 7-1 lead. Moore delivered an RBI single in the inning and two more runners scored on a error by the left fielder.
With Koenigsfeld off the mound in the seventh, the Spartans were able to mount a rally. Chris Barker led off the inning with a walk, but was later out on a fielder’s choice by Eric Brindle. Pinch-hitter Harry Slade delivered a double to left center to move Brindle over to third. Walker then doubled down the left field line to score Brindle and Slade and make it a 7-3 game.
Gehringer followed and reached on a fielding error that moved Walker to third. A walk to Overholtzer loaded the bases and Walker scored on an Ed Jayjack fielder’s choice. Zach Leach was then hit by a pitch before Enzor hit a two-run single to center to pull UNCG within 7-6. Pinch hitter Brad Raynor walked to load the bases, but Steve Cummings struck out the final batter to get Army out of the jam.
The Black Knights went on to tack on two more run in the top of the eighth on a sacrifice fly and RBI single to make the final score 9-6.
The Spartans and Black Knights return to the field on Sunday at 1 p.m. for the series finale at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Alabama 4, College of Charleston 0
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. ? Alabama’s Jimmy Nelson struck out 11 College of Charleston batters in six shutout innings and the Crimson Tide scored twice on a pair of passed balls in a 4-0 victory over the Cougars Saturday afternoon at Patriots Point. Alabama remains undefeated at 8-0, while CofC falls to 8-3.
After a pair of scoreless innings, Alabama tallied a single run in the third frame on a passed ball that scored Brock Bennett. Bennett reached base on a walk, stole second and moved to third on a fly out by Josh Rutledge before crossing home on the passed ball.
Alabama plated another run in the fifth, as John David Smelser singled to left center, stole second and third and scored on a second passed ball by junior C Rob Kral (Randolph, N.J./Randolph). The Crimson Tide added two more runs in the sixth on a pair of sacrifice flies by Ross Wilson and Brett Booth.
Charleston mounted an offensive chance in the bottom of the sixth, putting runners at the corners with two outs, but junior DH Kolby Epley (Yadkinville, N.C./Forbush) lined out to second on an outstanding run-saving grab by Wilson.
Sophomore 3B Matt Leeds (Boca Raton, Fla./American Heritage) led the Cougars with two hits on the afternoon. Freshman Christian Powell (Greenwood, S.C./Greenwood) tossed 5.2 innings in the loss, allowing three hits and four runs, two earned, with four strikeouts.
Charleston and Alabama wrap up the series tomorrow afternoon at Patriots Point. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m.
Hawaii 13, The Citadel 1
Honolulu, Hawaii ? The Citadel baseball team could not get on track Saturday afternoon in their attempt to win the series against Hawai’i as the Rainbows jolted the Bulldogs, 13-1, at Les Murakami Stadium.
Nick Orvin double in the first at-bat of the game, making it the third time in the four-game set that he accomplished that feat. A sacrifice by Brad Felder moved the speedy sophomore to third base and two batters later, David Greene singled in Orvin to put the Bulldog ahead, 1-0.
The lead would not last long for the Bulldogs (7-3) however, as Hawai’i (6-6) tied the game in the second on a homer by designated hitter Jeffrey VanDoornum. The Rainbows put up two runs in the third and fifth innings and blew the game open in the sixth as they scored five runs to go ahead, 10-1, and knocked starting pitcher Michael Clevinger out of the game.
Clevinger (1-2) was charged with 12 hits, 10 runs, a walk, two strikeouts and two hit batters in 5.1 innings. Chris Boyce came in relief and gave up a hit in 0.1 innings pitched, to go along with a strikeout. Austin Pitcher closed the game out for the Bulldogs as he gave up five hits, three runs and two walks in 2.0 innings pitched.
Hawai’i was led by second baseman Kolten Wong who went 3-for-3 with two runs, an RBI and two walks to help the Rainbows earn a split with The Citadel in the four-game set. Leadoff man Sean Montplaisir also helped the UH attack as he went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI.
Greene finished 4-for-4 for The Citadel with a double and the lone RBI for the Bulldogs. Orvin went 1-for-4 with a run scored and a double.
The Citadel returns home on Wednesday as they host USC Upstate at 6 p.m. at Riley Park.