Elon 19, UNC Greensboro 5
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? UNC Greensboro held a 2-1 lead after three innings of play, but Elon scored 17 of the next 18 runs en route to a 19-5 over the Spartans as the Phoenix completed the series sweep on Sunday afternoon at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Elon starter Jared Kernodle moved to 3-0 on the season after pitching 5 1/3 innings and giving up just three runs, two of them earned, on seven hits. Warren Slack picked up the loss for the Spartans (13-15, 1-9 Southern Conference) after allowing four runs on three hits in four innings.
Scott Riddle led the Phoenix (19-10, 8-4 SoCon) at the plate as he went 3-3 with three RBI and two runs scored on the afternoon. Justin Hilt and Mike Melillo also had three RBI and a pair of hits for Elon.
Zach Leach went 2-3 with an RBI and a run scored for UNCG, while Ed Jayjack and Joey Frabasile also knocked in a run for the Spartans.
The Phoenix got on the board first in the second inning as Matt Hinson led off with a walk before moving over to second on a balk. After a fly out to center field, Riddle singled to center to score Hinson and put Elon ahead, 1-0.
The Spartans battled back though to take the lead in the bottom of the third inning. With one out, Chris Barker struck out, but reached first on a third-strike wild pitch. After a foul out, Ray Quinones singled to right center to put runners on the corners.
Jayjack then popped up to left field, but the Phoenix left fielder lost the ball in the sun and it dropped into shallow left field to score Barker and move Quinones to third. Quinones went on to score later in the inning on a wild pitch to put UNCG ahead, 2-1.
That was the only lead for UNCG on the afternoon as Elon immediately responded with three runs in the top of the fourth inning. Elon loaded the bases with only one out on a pair of walks sandwiched around a single. Harry Austin then singled through the left side to score a pair of runs. Elon added a sacrifice fly to score a run later in the inning to take a 4-2 lead.
The Phoenix continued to pour on the runs in the fifth inning as they added seven runs to blow open the game and extend their lead to 11-2. Elon loaded the bases with no outs on a pair of walks sandwiched around a single again. Elon scored on an RBI single and a wild pitch to score a pair of runs.
Elon went on to add another pair of runs on a double by Riddle and then added three more runs on a groundout, double and single to give the visitors a nine-run lead.
Frabasile and Alex Frederick led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a walk and single, respectively, for the Spartans. Frabasile then came around to score on a fielding error by Elon to make it an 11-3 contest.
Grant McCoury led off the seventh inning with a walk for Elon and then Melillo stepped to the plate and belted a home run to left center. Ben Scott then delivered a pinch-hit single before scoring on a double by Neal Pritchard to make it 14-3.
The Phoenix weren’t done their though as they put up five unearned runs in the top of the ninth inning to make it 19-3.
UNCG went on to add two runs on a pair of doubles by Leach and Frabasile after a one-out walk to make the final score 19-5.
The Spartans will return to action on Wednesday as they host SoCon foe Davidson for a 7 p.m. contest at the UNCG Baseball Stadium in the second of three midweek games they will play this season.
No. 25 The Citadel 8, Wofford 7 (10 inn.)
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? The Wofford College baseball team was defeated 8-7 in ten innings by The Citadel at Russell C. King Field on Sunday afternoon. The Terriers tied the game with a three-run pinch-hit homer by Michael McDonnell in the eighth, but the Bulldogs scored a run on an RBI single from Justin Mackert to take the lead.
Wofford is 9-19 on the season and 3-6 in the SoCon, while The Citadel is 21-8 overall and 11-1 in conference play. The #25 ranked Bulldogs win the weekend series 2-1. The Terriers were led by Michael McDonnell with three RBIs on one hit and Mac Doyle with two hits and one RBI. The Bulldogs were led by Brad Felder with three hits and three RBIs.
The Bulldogs scored first in the top of the second when Kyle Jordan singled and moved to second with a walk by David Greene. Grant Richards reached on an error that scored Jordan for a 1-0 lead. The Citadel added a run in the top of the third when Brad Felder tripled and was driven in by a single from Matt Simonelli.
In the bottom of the third, the Terriers opened with singles from Alex Lee and Matt Moore. A double down the left line by Kyle Behrendt scored both runners to tie the game. A triple by Mac Doyle to right field scored Behrendt, which was followed by a groundout by Konstantine Diamaduros to score Doyle and give the Terriers a 4-2 lead.
The lead did not last long as the Bulldogs scored three runs on a two-out homer by Brad Felder to left for a 5-4 advantage. In the bottom of the fourth, Wofford had Josh McKinney lead-off with a double and Landon Bennett added a single with no outs, but two runners were left on base.
The Citadel added a run in the top of the fifth when Justin Mackert reached on an error and scored on a single by David Greene. In the bottom of the inning, Wofford again had the first two hitters in the order reach base, but both were stranded and The Citadel had a 6-4 lead.
After a scoreless sixth in which The Citadel left the bases loaded, the Bulldogs added a run in the top of the seventh on an RBI single from Grant Richards. The inning ended with three runners left on base for the Bulldogs.
In the bottom of the eighth, David Roney and Josh McKinney walked to lead-off the inning. With one out, Michael McDonnell came in as a pinch hitter and drove the ball over the fence in left center to tie the game at 7. Both teams went down in order in the ninth and the game headed to extra innings.
Brad Felder doubled in the top of the tenth and after moving to third on a fly ball, scored on a single by Justin Mackert. The Terriers went one-two-three in the bottom of the tenth with two strikeouts to end the game.
For the Terriers, starter John Cornely went five innings with six runs allowed on nine hits with four strikeouts. Cash Collins had two strikeouts in 0.2 innings, while Ryan Traylor, Pete Noordsy and Bobby Streisel combined for 1.1 innings and one run scored. Drew Sheridan (2-3) went the final three innings and allowed three hits and one run with two strikeouts.
The Citadel starter Michael Clevinger went seven innings with eight hits, six runs scored and eight strikeouts. Chris Boyce threw an inning and gave up one hit and a run with two strikeouts. Drew Mahaffey (2-1) picked up the win with two innings of work without allowing a base runner and two strikeouts.
Wofford will return to action on Friday, April 9 at Western Carolina for the start of a three-game conference series.
College of Charleston 11, Georgia Southern 8
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. ? Five different College of Charleston batters hit home runs, including a three-run blast by sophomore RF Thomas Brittle (Cross, S.C./Berkeley) in a five-run fourth inning, as the Cougars earned a sweep of visiting Georgia Southern with an 11-8 victory Sunday afternoon at Patriots Point. CofC improves to 23-7 overall and 8-4 in the Southern Conference, while the Eagles fall to 15-14, 7-5 in the SoCon.
Georgia Southern jumped to an early lead, scoring three runs in the opening inning off Charleston sophomore RHP David Peterson (Walnut Creek, Calif./Los Lomas). Kevin Bowles singled up the middle and Kyle Blackburn followed up with another single moving Bowles to second. A.J. Wirnsberger roped a RBI double to left center and Eric Phillips added a RBI groundout to third for a 2-0 lead. Michael Burress singled through the right side, bringing home Wirnsberger for an early 3-0 advantage.
Charleston got one run back in the second on a leadoff home run to right center by sophomore 3B Matt Leeds (Boca Raton, Fla./American Heritage), but the Eagles restored the three-run cushion on a RBI single to center by Steve Cochrane in the top of the third.
The Cougars used the long ball to knot the score at 4-4 in the bottom of the third, as senior 1B Greg Blake (Westerly, R.I./Lake City CC) put a 0-1 pitch over the wall in left center to cut the deficit to 4-2. With two outs, junior CF Cole Rakar (Mt. Pleasant, S.C./Wando) doubled to left center and junior C Rob Kral (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) tied the game with a two-run shot to left center on a 2-1 pitch from Georgia Southern starter Andy Moye.
Georgia Southern pulled ahead in the top of the fourth on a RBI double by Blackburn that made the score 5-4, but the Cougars dialed up the long ball again, crushing two more home runs in the bottom of the frame for a 9-5 lead. Junior 2B Baker Knox (San Mateo, Fla./Daytona Beach CC) ripped a solo shot to right center, his third of the season and junior DH Kolby Epley (Yadkinville, N.C./Forbush) walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch before Blake picked up a free pass on five pitches. came to the plate and deposited a 3-1 pitch over the right-field wall for a three-run home run, his second round-tripper of the year.
Justin Hess relieved Moye and issued a walk to Rakar, who stole second and Kral picked up another free pass and Leeds singled through the right side to score Rakar and give the Cougars the four-run lead. Georgia Southern cut the Cougars’ lead to 9-7 in the sixth, plating runs on a RBI triple by Wirnsberger and a RBI double by Phillips.
The Eagles continued to chip away, pulling within one in the seventh on a RBI groundout by Arthur Owens, but Charleston added single runs in the seventh and eighth to secure the victory. Knox lined a RBI double down the left-field line in the seventh, while Rakar roped a RBI double to right in the eighth.
Peterson earned a hard-fought victory to improve to 3-2 on the season, allowing 13 hits and seven runs, five earned in six innings. Senior reliever Tom Schiller (Rochester, N.Y./Monroe CC) tossed 2.2 innings of hitless relief for his first save of the season. Brittle went 3-for-4 on the afternoon with two runs scored, while Rakar, Leeds and Knox each added two hits. Moye took the loss for Georgia Southern, allowing eight runs on six hits in 3.1 innings with four strikeouts.
The Cougars return to action Wednesday evening as they travel to Columbia to face South Carolina at Carolina Stadium. SportSouth will televise the 7:00 p.m. game and the radio broadcast can be found on ESPN Radio 910-AM and can also be heard live on the internet at www.CofCSports.com. Ted Byrne will be handling the broadcasting duties for the baseball season.
Furman 6, Appalachian State 3
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University baseball never recovered from Furman's three-run third inning in a 6-3 loss to the Paladins on Sunday afternoon at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
Despite the setback, Appalachian (17-7-1, 4-7-1 SoCon) took the weekend's three-game Southern Conference series from Furman (9-19, 3-9 SoCon), two games to one, marking the fourth-straight year that ASU triumphed over FU in the clubs' regular-season series.
The Paladins jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third on Dylan Cole's RBI double and Will Miller's two-run single.
The Mountaineers drew within a run twice by scoring once in the fourth and twice in the fifth, but each time, Furman matched ASU's scoring in its next at-bat.
As was the case in last weekend's three-game sweep at first-place The Citadel, stranded base-runners plagued Appalachian in Sunday's loss. The Mountaineers left 13 men on base on Sunday, including nine in scoring position.
Jeremy Dowdy (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) led ASU in the loss by going a career-best 4-for-5 with two RBI and his third home run of the season. Hector Crespo (Miami, Fla./Florida Christian) and Wes Hobson (Winston-Salem, N.C./North Forsyth) added two hits apiece to the Mountaineers' 12-hit offensive output.
Cole and Miller paced Furman, each going 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Paladin starter Daniel Stallsmith surrendered 11 hits and four walks over six innings but allowed just three runs to move to 2-0 on the season. ASU's Ryan Arrowood (Rutherfordton, N.C./Central) suffered the loss after giving up four runs on seven hits in 4.1 innings of work.
Appalachian continues its nine-game homestand on Tuesday when it hosts North Carolina A&T for a doubleheader at Smith Stadium. The twinbill starts at 2 p.m.
Western Carolina 11, New York Tech 8
Cullowhee, N.C. ? Western Carolina fought back from an early five-run deficit to nip New York Tech, 11-8, on Sunday afternoon at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium. WCU (18-8-1) clinched the weekend series by outscoring NYIT (5-11) 7-to-2 in the last five and a half innings.
The Bears scored six runs on seven hits in the top of the second to take the 6-1 lead. Junior Matt John’s highlighted a two-run bomb to left field to cut the Cats’ deficit to 6-4. Western Carolina added five more runs in the middle innings to take control of the game, 9-7.
Johns, a native of Stafford, Va., hit two home runs in the contest as he finished the afternoon with a team leading 3-for-4 with four RBIs, three runs scored and a walk.
Reliever Brandon Johnson (4-1) secured his team-best fourth victory of the season after tossing four and two-thirds innings of relief. The junior fanned six New York Tech batters before being relieved by Catamount closer Daniel Ottone in the ninth.
Facing a 6-1 deficit, the Catamounts chipped away with a trio of runs in the home-half of the second. Infielder Tyler Kirkpatrick scored from a Cameron Dullnig sacrifice fly to cut the NYIT lead to four. Johns’ first blast of the contest to left field cut WCU’s deficit to 6-4.
NYIT padded their lead with another run in the top of the third, before Johns added his fourth homer of the season to cut the Bears’ lead to 7-6. Trevor Collias’ single at third drove in Kirkpatrick to tie the contest at seven. On the next play, Collias was caught in a rundown between first and second, but the distraction allowed Cameron Dulling to slide in safely to give the Catamounts the 8-7 advantage.
Dullnig went 2-for-4 with a run and RBI, as Collias picked up a 2-for-5 afternoon with a run and RBI.
Kirkpatrick singled again in the seventh to drive in catcher Ollie Goulder to add to the Catamounts’ advantage. Kirkpatrick finished Sunday’s contest with a hit, two runs, two walks and a RBI.
In the eighth, Dylan de Graaf scored another run from a defensive miscue by New York Tech. On the same play, Goulder rounded third and scored to give the Cats their 11th run of the game. Goulder finished with a pair of this and runs on Sunday. The junior managed a team-high six hits in three games in the weekend series against New York Tech.
Sophomore Ross Heffley earned another multi-hit contest, while senior Russell Robertson notched his first run of the season.
Starter Kyle Stewart gave up six runs on seven hits in an inning and two-thirds in the no-decision. Andrew Blackwell surrendered a run on three hits in his inning and two-thirds in relief before Johnson took over for the middle innings.
Jon Costa (1-1) took the loss for NYIT, giving up two earned runs with three strikeouts in an inning and two-thirds. Jerry and Brian Smith managed a combined six hits and two runs for the Bears, while teammate Effery Valdez collected three hits with two RBI.
Due to scheduling conflicts, Western Carolina’s make-up game with UNC Asheville on Monday has been cancelled. The Catamounts will return to non-conference action on Wednesday, April 7 when they play at the University of Tennessee. The game is scheduled for a 6:00 p.m. first pitch.