College of Charleston 16, The Citadel 7 (Non-Conference)
Charleston, S.C. - College of Charleston scored ten runs in the third inning and never looked back as they rolled past The Citadel, 16-7, on Tuesday night at Riley Park.
It was the most runs The Citadel (26-14) has given up all year as the Bulldogs fell to 0-6 on games played on Tuesday this season. College of Charleston (28-11) pounded out 18 hits and snapped a three-game losing streak to the Bulldogs.
The Citadel managed to take an early lead as they scored a pair of runs off Cougar starter Josh Salay in the first. Brad Felder (Orangeburg, S.C.) walked, stole second and moved to third on a single by Matt Simonelli (Orlando, Fla.) A sac fly by Bryan Altman (Summerville, S.C.) then scored Felder. Justin Mackert (Cleveland, Ohio) drew a walk, moving to Simonelli to second and Kyle Jordan (Goose Creek, S.C.) then singled to score Simonelli and put the Bulldogs ahead, 2-0.
Bulldog starter Austin Pritcher (Charleston, S.C.) cruised through the first two innings, but ran into trouble in the third as Greg Blake and Jesse Mesa led off with a pair of singles. A single by Joey Bergman then scored Blake and a double by Cole Rakar would score Mesa and Bergman. After a popup, Pritcher then walked Matt Leeds and an infield single off Pritcher by Jose Rodriguez would load the bases. A Baker Knox singled would then score Rakar and keep the bases loaded. Kolby Epley would then unload the bases as he hit a grand slam to end Pritcher's night and make it an 8-2 lead for the Cougars.
New pitcher Chris Boyce (Simpsonville, S.C.) then gave up a homer to right on his first pitch to Blake. Two batters later, Bergman would single, steal second and third and eventually score on a throwing error by Altman behind the plate to cap the ten-run inning for the College of Charleston.
An RBI single by William Ladd (Winnsboro, S.C.) that scored David Greene (Columbia, S.C.) would get one run back in the fourth, but the Cougars put up three more runs in the sixth off new reliever TJ Clarkson (Coral Springs, Fla.)
In the seventh, Mackert singled and would come around to score on a double by Jordan. Josh Pless (Boiling Springs, S.C.) walked and advanced to third on a pair of wild pitches, before coming around to score on a Nick Orvin (Moncks Corner, S.C.) single in the eighth.
A triple by Blake would score pinch hitter Thomas Brittle and a base hit by Jamie Holler would then score Blake in the top of the eighth as the Cougars continued to pour it on. In the ninth, a sac fly by catcher Robert Pritcher scored Rakar to cap the College of Charleston scoring.
In the ninth the Bulldogs would plate a pair when Legare Jones (Columbia, S.C.) doubled off Cougar reliever Heath Hembree and came around to score on a single by Pless. A passed ball would allow Pless to advance to third and score on a single by Orvin to get the seventh run of the game for The Citadel.
Ladd and Jordan both collected a pair of hits and a pair or RBI to lead The Citadel. Rakar went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBI, while Bergman went 3-for-6 with a pair of runs scored to lead the Cougars. Knox went 2-for-3, while Blake went 4-for-5 and was a double short of the cycle.
Pritcher (2-3) took the loss for the Citadel as he allowed a career-high eight earned runs in 2.1 innings, walking one and striking out one. Salay (1-3) picked up his first win of the season, going 5.0 innings, allowing three runs, three walks and five strikeouts.
The Citadel continues their eight-game home stand when they host Davidson in a three-game conference set beginning Friday at 6 p.m. at Riley Park. Live play-by-play, video and stats will be available.
College of Charleston hosts Elon in a three-game SoCon set this weekend.
Samford 8, UAB 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Three Samford pitchers scattered nine hits, allowing just one run in an 8-1 win at cross-town rival UAB Tuesday night at Young Memorial Field.
Samford improves to 22-14 with the win. UAB drops to 20-16 with the loss. The same two teams will meet Wednesday night at Samford's Joe Lee Griffin Field.
Austin Allison led Samford at the plate, going 2-for-5 with a double, a triple and three RBI. David Schulze drove in three runs in a 1-for-5 performance at the plate. Michael Johnson went 2-for-3 at the plate for the Bulldogs.
"This was a good outing," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "It was a nice job by our guys tonight. We did a good job of being patient at the plate."
Josh Martin started the game on the mound for Samford, pitching 3.0 innings, giving up just one run on four hits to earn the win and improve his record to 3-4 on the season. Charles Terry tossed a solid 4.0 innings in relief for Samford, giving up no runs on four hits and Lex Rutledge pitched the final 2.0 innings, surrendering just one hit. The three pitchers combined for six strikeouts and only one walk.
UAB was led at the plate by Jonathan Merritt, going 2-for-3. Luke Stewart went 2-for-4 for the Blazers. Harry Clark drove in UAB's lone run of the game in a 1-for-3 performance. Shay Crawford pitched 5.1 innings, giving up five runs on two hits to take the loss and drop to 2-3 on the season.
Samford jumped on top first with a run in the top of the second inning. Trey Hayes walked and then moved to second base on a ground out by Gardner Richey. Marcus Rodriguez then doubled to center field to drive in Hayes for a 1-0 Samford lead.
UAB tied the game with a run in the bottom of the second inning. Ryan Ussery doubled and then scored on a single by Clark to tie the score at 1-1.
Samford took the lead again with three runs in the top of the third inning. Johnson was hit by a pitch and Stephen Ballard and Mason Meredeth were both walked to load the bases. Schulze then doubled to right-center field to score all three runners for a 4-1 Samford lead.
The Bulldogs scored a run in the sixth inning and another in the seventh to push their lead to 6-1. In the sixth inning, Allison doubled to right field to drive in Hayes. In the seventh inning, Meredeth singled through the left side of the infield to drive in Johnson for a five-run Samford lead.
Samford added two runs in the ninth inning to make the final score 8-1. Allison tripled to left field to drive in Hayes and Schulze for the game's final two runs.
Wednesday night's game between Samford and UAB is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start at Samford's Joe Lee Griffin Field. The game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu. The game can also be viewed online via the Bulldog Big Screen at www.samfordsports.com.
#3 Georgia Tech 6, Georgia Southern 2
ATLANTA, Ga. ? A four-run fifth inning sealed a 6-2 game one win for No. 3 Georgia Tech over Georgia Southern on Tuesday (April 20) at Russ Chandler Stadium. The tough loss dropped the Eagles to 21-16 overall, while the Yellow Jackets improved to 32-5.
The non-conference foes traded runs and the lead in the first and third innings. A Kyle Blackburn (Marietta, Ga.) double down the right field line gave GS the early advantage when it plated Arthur Owens (Fayetteville, Ga.). To open the contest, Owens singled to the pitcher’s mound and advanced a base on a Kevin Bowles (Statesboro, Ga.) groundout. The double from Blackburn followed to hand the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
But the home squad knotted the score in the bottom half of the frame. Jeff Rowland led off with a double to right for GT and a throwing error from right field allowed the junior to reach third. Rowland scored in the next at-bat on a single off the bat of Derek Dietrich. Eagle starter Matt Murray (Spring City, Pa.) worked his way out of a jam stranding Dietrich on third base with a fly out, pop up and groundout.
After a scoreless second, the teams tossed runs back-and-forth in the third when Randy J. Williams (Valdosta, Ga.) opened with another Eagle double. Owens followed with a single to right field moving Williams to third base who then scored when Bowles drilled a single back to the pitcher as the Eagles took a 2-1 lead.
A leadoff walk from Tony Plagman put the tying run on base in the bottom of the third for GT. Plagman reached second a Cole Leonida single and scored two batters later on a Chase Burnette single to right field. The Yellow Jackets ran their way out of the third inning when Leonida was caught stealing after a strikeout to end the inning with a double play.
A four-run fifth inning would seal the non-conference win for GT. Dietrich gave the Yellow Jackets the only run they would need for the win with a solo home run to right center to leadoff. GT manufactured its second run of the inning using a walk, single and fielder’s choice for a 4-2 lead with one out. With one runner on base, Thomas Nichols launched Tech’s second home run of the frame, a two-run shot to right field, for a 6-2 cushion. The inning closed in the next at-bat with a strikeout as both teams were held scoreless for the remainder of the contest.
GT starter Mark Pope (6-0) picked up the win throwing eight complete innings, allowing 10 hits and two runs. The sophomore walked only two batters, while striking out four. Eagle reliever Chris Beck (Jefferson, Ga.) drew the loss, falling to 2-4 after working 4.1 innings, allowing five runs on five hits with three strikeouts.
For the Eagles, both Blackburn and Owens went 2-for-4 for the only multi-hit tallies. Georgia Southern picked up its other six hits from Eric Phillips (Carrollton, Ga.), Victor Roache (Ypsilanti, Mich.), Michael Burruss (Marietta, Ga.), Shawn Payne (Stone Mountain, Ga.) and Williams.
Dietrich went 2-for-4 for the Yellow Jackets who were out-hit by the Eagles 10-8.
The two-game series concludes on Wednesday, April 21 with a first pitch set for 4 p.m.