Elon 12 Western Carolina 10
ELON, N.C. -- Five of the Elon offense's nine hits were home runs, including two from Justin Hilt, as the Phoenix earned a 12-10 victory over the Western Carolina Catamounts in the rubber match of a three-game Southern Conference baseball series on Sunday afternoon. With the win, Elon clinched its third consecutive series win over the Catamounts.
The Phoenix (25-13, 11-7 SoCon) got off to a quick start in the first, scoring two runs. Harry Austin led off with a walk before heading to third on an Alex Swim single and scoring on Mike Melillo's single through the left side of the infield. After Neal Pritchard was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Scott Riddle plated Swim with a one-out ground out to second.
Western Carolina (23-11-1, 6-8-1) answered in the second by scoring three two-out runs. Ross Heffley led off with a single and went to third on a one-out double by Ollie Goulder. Cameron Dullnig was hit by a pitch with two away. Austin Schultz followed with a single to right-center to tie the game at two as both Heffley and Goulder came home. With runners on the corners, Trevor Collias put the Catamounts in front 3-2 with a bounding single over the head of a leaping Riddle at third that drove home Dullnig.
Elon wasted no time in knotting the score at three as Hilt crushed a 2-2 pitch over the wall in left-center to lead off the bottom of the second. It was the fifth homer of the season for Hilt.
Alex Maruri started the Phoenix fourth with a walk and then rode home on Seth Canipe's one-out bullet over the left field wall, the eighth home run of the year for Canipe. Austin followed by being hit by a pitch and then went to second on a Swim single. The Catamounts attempted to pick Swim off of first, but the throw went down the right field line allowing Austin to score and Swim to move to third. Melillo's ground out brought home Swim to give Elon a 7-3 lead.
With Tyler Kirkpatrick on second and two outs in the top of the fifth, Tyler White singled through the left side to drive home the fourth Catamount run.
Ryan Adams and Riddle belted back-to-back homers to begin the fifth inning for Elon. With one out, the Phoenix belted its third long ball of the inning when Hilt drilled his second of the day as Elon built a 10-4 advantage.
The sixth frame got started with a double off the batt of Matt Johns. After Dullnig was hit by a pitch, Schultz made it a 10-7 game with his fifth homer of the season.
Dullnig and Schultz led off the eighth with back-to-back singles to put Catamount runners at the corners. After a fielder's choice eliminated Shultz, but let Trevoer Collias reach, Dylan de Graaf grounded into a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning and keeping Elon's edge at three runs.
The Phoenix added an insurance run in the eighth when Melillo doubled home Austin who was on second after reaching on an error. Melillo moved to third on a deep fly out by Pritchard and then raced home on a wild pitch to build a 12-7 lead.
Western Carolina attempted to rally in the ninth, scoring the first of three runs when Goulder doubled home Heffley with a shot to right-center with two outs. Johns followed with a homer to left-center to pull the Catamounts within two at 12-10. After Dullnig was hit for the third time Schultz singled to right to put the tying run aboard. Thomas Girdwood finished off the Cats as he fanned Collias to end the game.
Elon starter Jared Kernodle (4-0) allowed seven runs on nine hits in five innings, but picked up the victory. Jim Stokes and Kyle Webb came on to hurl three scoreless frames, giving up just two base hits and not issuing a walk, before Girdwood came on in the ninth.
Mat Batts (3-1) took the loss. Batts gave up four runs (two earned) on two hits in 2.1 innings of work out of the bullpen. Starter Vance Chavis lasted just 0.2 innings, giving up two runs on two hits and two walks. Kyle Stewart did not fare much better, allowing a run on a hit and a walk in just a third of an inning before giving way to Batts. Western Carolina used a total of seven different pitchers.
Elon will finish off its brief four-game homestand by hosting the High Point Panthers in a 7 p.m. contest on Wednesday evening.
Swim, Melillo and Hinson all notched two-hit days at the plate for the Phoenix. Melillo drove in three runs while Riddle, Hilt and Canipe all finished with two RBI. Austin was 0-for-1, but scored three of Elon's 12 runs.
Schultz drove in five runs during his 4-for-5 performance for Western Carolina. The bottom three in the Catamounts' order ? Johns, Dullnig and Schultz ? combined to go 8-for-12 with five runs scored and seven RBI.
UNC Greensboro 9, Appalachian State 3
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University baseball had its nine-game winning streak snapped with a 9-3 loss to UNC Greensboro on Sunday at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
Despite Sunday's loss, Appalachian (26-8-1, 9-8-1 SoCon) came away with its third-straight Southern Conference series victory, thanks to wins in the first two games of the three-game set on Friday and Saturday.
Walks doomed ASU in Sunday's setback, as Mountaineer pitchers issued eight free passes to a UNCG team that came into the afternoon hitting just .249 on the season.
On the strength of RBI singles by Jeremy Dowdy (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) and David Towarnicky (New Bern, N.C./New Bern) in the first inning and a run-scoring double from Towarnicky in the third, Appalachian led 3-2 after four innings.
UNCG (15-21, 3-14 SoCon), which held an early 2-0 lead after scoring twice in the top of the first, regained the advantage with two runs in the fifth. The Spartans added another run in the seventh to stretch the lead to 5-3.
It appeared that the score would remain 5-3 going into the bottom of the eighth when ASU reliever Taylor Miller (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) induced a looping liner off the bat of Spartan center fielder Corey Overholtzer with two outs and two runners on base in the top of the stanza. However, the soft floater landed just beyond the pitcher's mound and neither Miller nor second baseman Wes Hobson (Winston-Salem, N.C./North Forsyth) could make a play on it in time to nab Overholtzer. The fluke hit proved to be especially costly when UNCG's next batter, Lloyd Enzor, hit his second grand slam of the weekend, extending the Spartans' lead to 9-3 and effectively ending any hopes of a Mountaineer comeback.
Despite Enzor's eighth-inning slam, the story of the day was UNCG reliever Colby Hyatt (4-3), who limited ASU's high-powered offense to just one run on four hits while working the final seven innings out of the bullpen.
Appalachian managed just seven hits in all, with Hobson, Dowdy and Towarnicky accounting for six of the seven with two apiece. With his 2-for-4 performance, Hobson upped his season batting average to .413.
Freshman Nathan Hyatt (Brevard, N.C./Brevard) walked five and allowed four runs over 4.2 innings of work to suffer his first collegiate loss and fall to 2-1 on the campaign.
ASU, which went 12-2 while playing 13 of its last 14 games at home, begins a four-game road trip on Wednesday when it visits local rival East Tennessee State. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. at Cardinal Park in Johnson City, Tenn.
College of Charleston 3, Wofford 0
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Sophomore RHP David Peterson (Walnut Creek, Calif./Los Lomas) tossed a complete-game shutout with career-high eight strikeouts to lead College of Charleston to a 3-0 victory over visiting Wofford Sunday afternoon at Patriots Point. With the three-game sweep, the Cougars improve to 27-11 overall and 12-6 in the SoCon. Wofford falls to 11-24, 4-11 in league play.
Charleston opened a 1-0 lead in the second inning as sophomore 3B Matt Leeds (Boca Raton, Fla./American Heritage) led off the frame with a single up the middle and proceeded to steal second. After a walk by junior RF Baker Knox (San Mateo, Fla./Daytona Beach CC), senior 1B Greg Blake (Westerly, R.I./Lake City CC) popped an infield single that the Wofford defense was unable to corral and Leeds came around from second to score the game's first run.
The Cougars put two on the board in the sixth inning to increase their lead to 3-0 on Wofford. Junior C Rob Kral (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) ripped a double down the right-field line to open the frame and advanced to third on a fly out to center by Leeds. Sophomore LF Jose Rodriguez (Hialeah, Fla./Broward College) lined a RBI single to left center, scoring Kral and Knox picked up his second walk of the game to put runners at first and second. Junior DH Kolby Epley (Yadkinville, N.C./Forbush) loaded the bases, reaching on a fielding error by Wofford shortstop Matt Moore, and a sacrifice fly to center by Blake plated Rodriguez to give CofC all the offense they would need on the evening.
Peterson scattered six hits and allowed three walks on the way to his fifth win of the season. Leeds and Kral each had two hits for the Cougars, while Blake had two RBI. John Cornley tossed six innings in the loss for Wofford, allowing three runs, two earned, on seven hits with five strikeouts. Kyle Behrendt went 3-for-4 with a double and a triple for the Terriers.
The Cougars return to action Tuesday evening as they face local SoCon rival The Citadel in a non-conference clash at Riley Park. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m.
The Citadel 6, Furman 5
Charleston, S.C. - The Citadel tied the game in the seventh and won the game with a pair of sac flies in the ninth to earn a 6-5 come-from-behind win over Furman on Sunday at Riley Park.
The Bulldogs, who were down 4-0 early, won in walk-off fashion for the third time this season. The win improves The Citadel to 26-13 overall and 14-1 in the SoCon at the halfway point in the conference schedule. It was the sixth sweep in the last seven regular season Southern Conference series for the Bulldogs, dating back to 2009, as The Citadel boasts a 20-1 record in that span.
In the top of the ninth, Furman (11-25, 5-13) would take the lead when J.B. Jenkins singled off reliever Drew Mahaffey (Summerville, S.C.). A base hit by pinch hitter Blaine Rosenburg then put runners on the corners. Leadoff man Will Owens would draw a walk to load the bases with one out. Aaron Thompkins then lifted a ball to center field that would score Jenkins on a sac fly to give Furman the 5-4 lead.
William Ladd (Winnsboro, S.C.) was hit by Furman reliever Kevin Gottlieb (1-3) to start the bottom of the ninth. Nick Orvin (Moncks Corner, S.C.) then drew a four-pitch walk to put two aboard. A sac bunt attempt by Brad Felder (Orangeburg, S.C.) was placed perfectly down the third base line allowing the redshirt sophomore to reach base and load the bases for the Bulldogs with no outs. Matt Simonelli (Orlando, Fla.) then hit a sac fly to right field to score Ladd and knot the game at five. New reliever Stephen Gary then gave up a base hit to Bryan Altman (Summerville, S.C.) to re-load the bases with one down. Justin Mackert (Cleveland, Ohio) would hit a fly ball to left field that scored Orvin, giving the Bulldogs the 6-5 walk-off win.
It was the second walk-off RBI for Mackert in a little over a week as his base hit against Indiana State on April 9 gave the Bulldogs a 4-3 win over the Sycamores. Mackert also won the game for The Citadel on Sunday, April 4 as his RBI single in the top of the tenth lifted the Bulldogs past Wofford, 8-7.
Furman was able to jump on Bulldog starter Michael Clevinger (Jacksonville, Fla.) early when Will Miller singled and stole second in the second inning. A groundout, followed by an RBI single by Paul Nitto gave the Paladins a 1-0 lead. They expanded it in the third when Owens and Thompkins singled to lead off the frame. Both runners moved up on a wild pitch and Miller would score on a passed ball by Altman. After a walk to Will Muzika, who then stole second base, Brian Harrison singled to score Owens. Altman would then attempt to gun down the runner at second, but an unsuccessful throw allowed Cole to reach second and allowed Muzika to come home from third to make it 4-0.
The Citadel would get on the board in the bottom of the third off Furman starter Daniel Stallsmith when Legare Jones (Columbia, S.C.) doubled to lead things off. Ladd then singled to score Jones from second. The Bulldogs would manufacture another run in the fifth when Felder walked and stole second. Simonelli then singled to bring in Felder and cut the lead in half to 4-2.
In the seventh, Ladd and Orvin led things off with a pair of walks. A sac bunt by Felder moved both runners over and ended the afternoon for Stallsmith. New reliever Jay Friedman got Simonelli to groundout, but Ladd scored from third on the play. Altman then laced a single to center to score Orvin and tie the game at four.
Clevinger was able to settle down after the third inning as the freshman matched his career-high with 7.0 innings pitched, allowing eight hits, four runs, three walks. He also tied a career high with eight strikeouts. Stallsmith went 6.1 innings, allowing five hits, four runs, five walks and no strikeouts.
Chris Boyce (Simpsonville, S.C.) picked up the win in relief as he got the last out in the top of the ninth to improve to 5-0 on the season. Raymond Copenhaver (Apopka, Fla.) pitched a scoreless inning of relief in the eighth.
Simonelli led the Bulldog offense, going 3-for-4 with three RBI. Orvin and Ladd both scored a pair of runs, while Altman went 2-for-4 with an RBI. For Furman, Harrison went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Miller went 2-for-3.
"I thought we fought an uphill battle all day," said The Citadel head coach Fred Jordan. "We were able to chip away and make adjustments against their starter. Clevinger tried to do a bit too much in the third, but was able to settle down and give us quality innings after that. We had three quality starts from our starting pitching this weekend."
The Citadel continues their eight-game home stand when they host cross-town rival College of Charleston in a non-conference game on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Riley Park.
Georgia Southern 12, Samford 9
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern completed the first series sweep recorded over Samford this season, holding on for a 12-9 victory on Sunday (April 19) at J.I. Clements Stadium. The Eagles built an early lead and behind the pitching of starter Andy Moye and reliever Dexter Bobo, improved its win streak to six games.
Victor Roache (Ypsilanti, Mich.) went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs to lead the Eagles (21-15, 12-6 SoCon). Georgia Southern starter Moye (Alpharetta, Ga.) allowed three runs, all of them earned, on 10 hits in seven-plus innings to pick up his fifth win of the season, improving to 5-3. The junior struck out three and walked three.
The Eagles led 12-1 after six innings, but the Bulldogs (21-14, 11-4) rallied in the top of the eighth before Georgia Southern closer Bobo (Cumming, Ga.) slammed the door with 1.1 innings of perfect relief.
Out-hit by a 15-13 margin, the Eagles helped themselves by turning a season-high four double plays, three of them by second baseman Kevin Bowles (Statesboro, Ga.) and shortstop Eric Phillips (Carrollton, Ga.). Phillips and A.J. Wirnsberger (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) were both 2-for-5 while Michael Burruss (Marietta, Ga.), Shawn Payne (Stone Mountain, Ga.) and Randy J. Williams (Valdosta, Ga.) drove in two runs apiece.
Georgia Southern scored in each of the first four innings en route to a 10-0 lead. In the bottom of the first, Arthur Owens (Fayetteville, Ga.) led off with a single and scored on a two-out error by the shortstop to put the Eagles ahead 1-0. Burruss had an RBI double, while Williams and Owens had sacrifice flies as Georgia Southern scored three runs and chased Samford starter Josh Martin in the second for a 4-0 advantage.
In the third, Payne had a two-run double while Roache and Williams added one-run singles as the Eagles scored four times for an 8-0 cushion. Wirnsberger had an RBI single and Roache had an RBI double in the fourth, increasing Georgia Southern’s lead to 10-0.
Moye took a three-hit shutout through four innings. The Bulldogs scored their first run on a one-out single by Brad Moss in the fifth. The Eagles posted their final two runs in the sixth on a double by Phillips and a fielder’s choice by Burruss.
Trailing 12-1, Samford sent 14 batters to the plate in the eighth, scoring eight runs on seven hits, two walks, two hit batters and two errors. Moye was allowed a single and Stephen Ballard’s RBI double before giving way to Colin Snow (Alpharetta, Ga.), who surrendered five runs (four earned) on four hits and a walk in 2/3 innings. After Mason Meredeth and David Schulze greeted him with back-to-back singles, Snow got the next two batters, but Gary Cramer hit a three-run homer and Tommy Corbin followed with a solo shot that sliced Georgia Southern’s lead to 12-7.
Snow walked Moss and yielded to Michael Hester (Evans, Ga.), who was greeted by Michael Johnson’s double. Ballard hit a line drive to the shortstop for what should have been the third out, but Phillips dropped the ball and then committed a throwing error that allowed two runs to score.
After Hester hit Meredeth and walked Schulze to load the bases, Bobo entered the game and retired pinch-hitter Austin Allison on a fly ball to right field. Bobo got the Bulldogs in order on a groundball and two strikeouts in the ninth for his third save of the series and sixth of the season.
For Samford, Johnson was 3-for-5, Gardner Richey was 2-for-2, and Cramer was 2-for-5 with three RBIs. Martin (2-4) was charged with the loss. In 1.1 innings, he gave up four runs (two earned) on three hits with one strikeout and no walks.
Georgia Southern will visit fifth-ranked Georgia Tech for mid-week games on Tuesday (April 20) at 7 p.m. and Wednesday at 4 p.m. For those Eagle fans who have purchased tickets to the tailgate party prior to the game on April 20, the tailgate spot is now inside the Russ Chandler Stadium, down the first base line, near the corner of Ferst and Fowler Streets, inside Gate 1 (visitor side/right field).
Davidson 14, North Carolina Central 4
DURHAM, N.C. - The Davidson Wildcats rode an early 8-0 lead to a 14-4 victory behind 17 hits, including three each by freshman third baseman Andrew Barna and sophomore left fielder Calvin Sigelbaum, to complete the series sweep of the N.C. Central Eagles Sunday at Durham Athletic Park.
Barna batted 3-for-5 with two RBI in the teams' finale and a team-best .538 (7-for-13) over the three-game set to lead Davidson (17-19), who took an 8-0 lead behind a six-spot in the second, to a series sweep of the N.C. Central Eagles (1-35). Sigelbaum batted 3-for-5 as well, and drove in three runs on a bases-clearing double in the ninth inning. Davidson, who recorded 39 hits over the three-game series and extended its winning streak to four games, also got multi-hit games from sophomore catcher Seth Freeman (2-for-6, RBI) and sophomore center fielder Drew Gadaire (2-for-3, RBI).
Senior left-hander Thomas Middour (W, 2-2) earned the win, holding the Eagles to a lone run on four hits while striking out five over five innings in his 11th start of the season.
Glenn Frye (L, 0-8) took the loss for the Eagles, allowing nine runs (six earned) on 10 hits in four innings.
The Wildcats started the scoring with a couple of runs in the first inning on two hits. Barna drove in his 40th run of the season, plating Gadaire (single), and junior right fielder Sam Payne (1-for-3, 3 RBI, HR) scored junior first baseman Danny Weiss (1-for-2, RBI) on a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.
Davidson added six runs in the second on five hits and two errors, highlighted by Payne's two-run, two-out home run. Freeman, Gadaire and Barna also had RBI-hits in the inning, and sophomore second baseman James Cerbie (1-for-3), who led off with a single, and Weiss (hbp) also scored in the inning as the 'Cats jumped out to an 8-0 lead.
Sigelbaum led off the fourth with a base hit to left field, stole second and scored on a two-out base-hit from senior designated hitter Tommy Piacenza (1-for-4, RBI), before N.C. Central busted up Middour's shutout bid with a run in the home half. Nate Smith stretched out a triple on a ball hit down the right field line, the Eagles' third hit of the game to start the frame, and scored on a groundout from pinch hitter Tim McAlister in the next at-bat to make it 9-1.
Davidson got another run in the fifth when Gadaire was hit by a pitch with one out, stole second and took third on a wild throw by reliever Jeremy Tillet to get into position for Weiss, who hit a screaming double down the left field line to score him.
Freshman shortstop Michael Zeblo (1-for-5, HR) hit his sixth home run of the season to lead off the seventh inning, a towering shot over the park's high wall in short right field, and Davidson added three more runs on two hits in the top of the ninth as Sigelbaum slapped a bases-clearing double into the gap in right center to score Barna (walk) and pinch hitters Jay Honeycutt (walk) and Jake Berman (single).
The Eagles added their final three runs in the bottom of the ninth for the final 14-4 margin. After a bases-loaded, RBI-single by Edward Pegues, freshman right-hander Steven Hummel got a double play ball from Brandon Strickland, allowing the Eagles another run. Senior left-hander John Edwards walked Ross Plummer before a fielding error by Barna extended the inning for the Eagles third run, but Akeem Hood grounded out to end the game.
N.C. Central collected seven hits, led by Hood and Pegues, who each had a pair. Junior right-hander Andy Bass, senior left-hander Mac Read and junior right-hander Matt Sliwiak each worked a shutout inning of relief for the Wildcats, allowing just one hit over three innings.
Davidson will travel to No. 21 North Carolina for a 6 p.m. game on Wednesday before returning to SoCon play with a three-game set at The Citadel this weekend.