Elon 14, College of Charleston 3
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. ? Elon LF Matt Hinson went 3-for-5 with two home run and six RBI, including a grand slam in the fourth inning to lead Elon to 14-3 win over College of Charleston Friday evening at Patriots Point. The Cougars fall to 28-12 overall, 12-7 in the Southern Conference, while Elon improves to 26-14, 12-7. Due to the threat of rain on Sunday, the two teams will play a doubleheader Saturday afternoon. The first game will start at 1:00 p.m. and the second contest will begin 30 minutes later.
After three scoreless innings to open the game, Elon blitzed the Cougars with five runs in the fourth. Mike Melillo opened the frame with a single and stole second, while Ryan Adams walked and Scott Riddle singled to load the bases for Hinson, who delivered his 11th home run of the season. Hinson hammered the first pitch over the wall in right for a 4-0 lead and Justin Hilt followed with a solo shot to left off Charleston freshman RHP Christian Powell (Greenwood, S.C./Greenwood).
The Phoenix added two more runs in the fifth to take a 7-0 lead on a two-run double down the right-field line by Adams. CofC broke through with a single run in the bottom of the inning, as junior 2B Jesse Mesa (Miramar, Fla./Central Florida JC) ripped a RBI single up the middle to score junior DH Kolby Epley (Yadkinville, S.C./Forbush), who opened the frame with a double to left.
Elon’s offense kept coming at the Cougars, scoring four more times in the sixth, once in the seventh and twice in the eighth. Seth Canipe blasted a solo home run to left with one out in the sixth and Harry Austin scored when Melillo reached on a fielding error by Mesa with two outs. The error proved costly as two more runs would come home in the inning, as Pritchard roped a RBI double down the left-field line and Adams lined a RBI single to left. Hinson added a solo home run in the seventh and Pritchard did likewise in the eighth, with Hinson adding a RBI triple.
The Cougars plated two final runs in the bottom of the ninth on a two-run blast to right center by senior PH Justin Brewer (Greer, S.C./Spartanburg Methodist College).
Powell and three Charleston relievers combined to strike out 13 Elon batters, with Powell taking the loss to fall to 5-3 on the season. The freshman lasted 4.1 innings, allowing seven runs on seven hits with six strikeouts.
Elon starter Jimmy Reyes picked up his sixth win of the season, tossing seven innings and allowing one run on three hits with 10 strikeouts. Pritchard added three hits for the Phoenix, while Adams had three RBI.
Davidson 5, The Citadel 2
Charleston, S.C. - Davidson beat The Citadel, 5-2, on Friday night to earn their first win over the Bulldogs in Charleston since 1998.
The Citadel (26-15, 14-2) lost for only the second time this season in conference play and lost for the first at Riley Park in Southern Conference action this season. It was also the first loss in almost a year for ace Asher Wojciechowski (Sturgis, Mich.) The last time the right-hander was dealt a loss was April 25, 2009 vs. Georgia Southern.
Davidson (18-20, 5-13) has now won five of their last six games and claimed their first win over The Citadel in Charleston since it won 4-3 in eight innings on April 11, 1998.
The Wildcats were able to capitalize on a pair of Bulldog errors and a pair of base hits off Wojciechowski in the top of the first inning. Drew Gadaire singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch and then moved to third on a throwing error by Bryan Altman (Summerville, S.C.) A single by Danny Weiss then scored Gadaire. Andrew Barna would reach on a fielder's choice when the Bulldog infield could not make a play at first or second to record an out. Davidson would then load the bases when Sam Payne reached on an error by David Greene (Columbia, S.C.) at third. Calvin Singelbaum then hit an RBI groundout to put the Wildcats in front, 2-0.
Davidson starter Thomas Middour (3-2) shut down The Citadel offense for most of the night as he went 7.0 innings, allowing eight hits, one run, two walks and struck out four.
The Wildcats would push across another run off Wojciechowski in the third as Weiss singled and Barna then moved him over to third on a base hit of his own. Barna was then caught stealing by Altman at second, but Weiss would slide in at home safe to make the score, 3-0.
A solo homer by Greene off Middour to left field, his first at home this season, would get the Bulldogs on the board in the fifth.
Wojciechowski (8-1) went 8.0 innings, allowing seven hits, three runs, two earned runs, no walks and struck out 12. Matt Reifsnider (Ormond Beach, Fla.) came in out of the bullpen in the ninth and gave up a pair of runs as Siglebaum singled and was sacrificed over. A double by Michael Zeblo then scored Siglebaum and prompted Raymond Copenhaver (Apopka, Fla.) to enter the game for The Citadel. A single by leadoff man Seth Freeman then scored Zeblo to make it 5-1 in favor of Davidson.
The Citadel would threaten in the ninth, but only be able to push across a single run. Pinch hitter Josh Pless (Boiling Springs, S.C.) walked on four pitches from Davidson reliever Mike Frongello. William Ladd (Winnsboro, S.C.) then pushed Pless to third when Zeblo whiffed on the groundball, but Ladd was tagged out trying to stretch to second base. A rocket single up the middle by Nick Orvin (Moncks Corner, S.C.) then scored Pless. A single by Matt Simonelli (Orlando, Fla.) would keep hope alive, but Altman's groundout to short ended the rally and sealed the win for Davidson.
Simonelli went 3-for-4 with a walk to lead The Citadel, while Greene went 2-for-4 with a run, an RBI and a homer. Frangello picked up his second save of the year for Davidson, working 2.0 innings. Weiss went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and an RBI to lead the Wildcat attack.
"I thought Middour was outstanding for Davidson tonight and Frangello was able to make quality pitches with runners in scoring position," said The Citadel Head Coach Fred Jordan. "They pitched well and played well enough to beat us. We weren't able to catch a break and get the big hits when we had the chance and that's the nature of the beast. We just have to put out of our minds and come ready to play tomorrow."
Due to impending severe weather on Sunday, the Bulldogs and Wildcats will play a doubleheader at Riley Park on Saturday, April 24 beginning at noon. The second game will follow approximately thirty minutes after the conclusion of the first contest. Both games will be scheduled for nine innings.
Georgia Southern 11, Western Carolina 4
STATESBORO, Ga. ? A season-high four home runs were recorded in an 11-4 victory to open the series over Western Carolina Friday night (April 23). Kyle Blackburn, Shawn Payne, Victor Roache and Randy J. Williams all took it deep as the Eagles improved to 22-17 overall and 13-6 in Southern Conference outings. The Catamounts suffered a loss that dropped them to 23-13-1 and 6-9-1.
Eagle starter Jake Brown (Forest Hill, Md.) improved to 6-4 on the year working 7.1 innings allowing only four runs, three in the eighth, on eight hits. The senior struck out six Catamounts and had no three-ball counts through seven complete innings. During a stretch from the third to fifth innings, Brown used only nine pitches to record five outs before being relieved by fellow classmate Charles Matthews (Athens, Ga.) in the eighth.
For the Eagles, A.J. Wirnsberger (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) was 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run scored. Payne (Stone Mountain, Ga.) and Williams (Valdosta, Ga.) each added another two hits apiece with two home runs and collected five RBI combined.
Catamount starter, Taylor Sandefur, was credited with the loss as the freshman fell to 1-1 on the year. Sandefur threw six complete allowing five runs on four hits before WCU used four pitchers from the bullpen to finish the game.
Tyler Kirkpatrick and Dyan de Graaf were both 2-for-4 with Matt Johns going 2-for-5.
The Catamounts took a 1-0 lead in the first with a solo shot down the left field line from Kirkpatrick, but the advantage was washed away quickly when the Eagles came to the plate in the bottom half of the frame. Three straight walks from WCU starter Sandefur loaded the bases without a hit allowed before Wirnsberger lined a single up the middle plating Blackburn (Marietta, Ga.) and Kevin Bowles (Statesboro, Ga.) for a 2-1 lead.
Williams launched his second home run of the season in the second inning, a solo blast that hit the scoreboard in left field pushing GS’s lead to 3-1.
WCU posed a small threat in the fifth inning when de Graaf doubled down the left field line. But in the next at-bat, Payne robbed Johns of a home run to centerfield that would have tied the game, climbing the ladder to make the catch. Brown finished the inning striking out Trevor Collias stranding de Graaf on third base.
Payne extended the Eagles’ lead in the sixth recording his first home run as an Eagle. After Wirnsberger drew a walk, Sandefur forced two outs before Payne, whose two-run shot to right field was only the fourth hit for GS, cushioned the advantage, 5-1.
The third and fourth long balls from the Eagles came in the seventh inning. Arthur Owens (Fayetteville, Ga.) led off with a single up the middle and with one out, Blackburn blasted a 3-2 pitch to right field. Three batters later Victor Roache (Ypsilanti, Mich.) added another two runs to the board with a two-run drive to deep center for a 9-1 contest. A two-run double from Williams capped a six-run seventh inning for the Eagles.
WCU got back on the board in the eighth after being held scoreless for six innings, scoring three runs on three RBI singles from Collias, Kirkpatrick and Tyler White. But reliever Matthews, who entered in eighth, closed out the contest working the final 1.2 innings for a final 11-4 score.
Game two of the three-game series will start at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 24 with the finale set for Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
UNC Greensboro 7, Wofford 5
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? UNC Greensboro reliever Colby Hyatt pitched the final seven innings and Ed Jayjack hit a go-ahead two-run triple down the right field line in the bottom of the eighth to help lead the Spartans to a 7-5 win over Wofford on Friday evening at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Hyatt allowed only two runs on seven hits during the final seven innings for the Spartans (17-21, 4-14 Southern Conference) to pick up his fifth win of the season. Pete Noordsy was credited with the loss after the only batter he faced in the eighth inning walked and eventually scored the winning run.
Jayjack led UNCG at the plate on Friday as he went 2-5 with a pair of RBI, while Chris Barker went 2-3 with a solo home run in the first inning. Harry Slade added a pair of RBI for the second-straight game for the Spartans as well.
The Terriers (11-26, 4-12 SoCon) were led by Landon Bennett who went 2-3 with two runs scored and David Roney who had a 3-4 performance with one run scored.
Trailing 5-4 entering the bottom of the eighth, Alex Frederick and Slade drew back-to-back walks to lead off the inning. Drew Gehringer then laid a sacrifice bunt down and the pitcher tried to catch Frederick going to third, but his throw sailed over the third baseman’s head to allow Frederick to score and tie the game at five.
After a groundout and strikeout, Jayjack delivered a triple into the corner down the right field line to score Slade and Gehringer and give UNCG the 7-5 lead.
The Spartans struck first in the first inning as Barker took a 2-1 pitch over the scoreboard in right field for his second home run of the season to give UNCG a 1-0 lead.
The Terriers immediately responded with a trio of runs in the top of the second inning to take a 3-1 lead. Bennett led off the inning with a walk and then moved to third on a double to right center by Roney. A ground out to shortstop allowed Bennett to score and tie the game at one.
Clark Wise then singled up the middle to score Roney and give Wofford its first lead of the evening. James Foster and Alex Lee then drew back-to-back walks to load the bases before Kyle Behrendt was hit by a pitch to walk home Wise from third.
The Spartans bounced back though with three runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth inning to retake the lead. Ray Quinones led off with an opposite-field single before advancing to second after Eric Brindle was hit by a pitch. Kris Richards loaded the bases after laying a bunt down the third base line for an infield single. After a line out, Slade cleared the bases with a double to right center. His hit allowed Quinones and Brindle to easily score and Richards also scored on the play on a throwing error by Wofford to put UNCG back ahead, 4-3.
After four innings, the Terriers were finally able to reach Hyatt as they put together a pair of runs in the top of the seventh inning. With one out, Behrendt and Mac Doyle hit back-to-back triples to tie the game at four. Bennett then hit into a fielder’s choice as Doyle was thrown out at the plate by Quinones as he tried to score the go-ahead run.
A Roney single to right field moved Bennett to second before a single to left center by Konstantine Diamaduros scored Bennett to put Wofford in front, 5-4.
The Spartans and Terriers will meet on Saturday for the second game of the series beginning at 2 p.m.
Samford-Appalachian State Game Suspended
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford baseball team's Friday night Southern Conference game against Appalachian State has been suspended due to heavy rain in the Birmingham area at the beginning of the fifth inning and will be finished Saturday evening at 7 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
The teams were tied at 7-7 when the game was stopped at the start of the fifth inning. Each team scored a run in the first inning. Samford then took a 3-1 lead with two runs in the second inning.
After each team plated a run in the third inning to make the score 4-2, Appalachian State plated five runs in the top of the fourth inning on a pair of home runs to take a 7-4 lead. Samford then answered with three runs in the bottom of the fourth to tie the score at 7-7 before the game was suspended.
Through the first four innings, Samford's Wayne Miller was 3-for-3 at the plate with an RBI. Michael Johnson was 2-for-3 with a home run and an RBI.
For Appalachian State, Wes Hobson was 2-for-2 with two home runs and three RBI. Ryan Stetson also had a homer for the Mountaineers through the first four innings.
After finishing the game on Saturday, the teams will play a doubleheader on Sunday at a yet to be determined time.