Western Carolina 18, Furman 4
Cullowhee, N.C. ? Western Carolina pounded out a season-high 22 hits en route to a season-best 18 runs as the Catamounts overcame a shaky start to complete the three-game Southern Conference series sweep of the Furman Paladins, 18-4, on a rainy Monday afternoon at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
Furman used a lead-off single and a trio of walks to take an early lead before an out was recorded in the top of the first, chasing the Catamount starting pitcher. The visitors welcomed the relief hurler with a sacrifice fly to extend its lead before an inning-ending double-play allowed WCU to escape trailing by just two, 2-0.
However, after the shaky start in the top of the first, the Catamounts responded with runs in five of the next six frames, including scratching the scoreboard for eight in the decisive sixth inning as they completed its first three-game conference series sweep of the season ? and first three-game sweep of Furman since 2004. The victory also moved WCU into sixth place in the SoCon standings, leapfrogging archrival Appalachian State.
Freshman T.J. Page (1-0) earned his first collegiate win, tossing a career-long seven innings out of the bullpen in relief of classmate Preston Hatcher who was chased in the opening frame. Page struck out a career-best six while limiting Furman to just one run on five hits with a walk. The Savannah, Ga., native managed three, 1-2-3 innings on the mound.
Sophomore Andrew Blackwell and freshman Adam Curtis each threw an inning apiece out of the bullpen, both striking out two in recording their three outs.
Offensively, every starter for WCU secured at least one hit with seven recording multi-hit games with all but two of the players that took swings on Monday securing a base hit. Sophomore Ross Heffley led the Catamounts with a 3-for-4 outing with a pair of doubles, a walk and a game-high six RBI. It is the second time this year that Heffley has driven in six runs in a single-game.
Senior Tyler Kirkpatrick also finished 3-for-4 with a pair of runs driven in while Austin Schultz was 3-for-5 with four runs scored and two RBI.
Sophomore Radley Haddad, who was a mid-game substitution behind the plate, finished a perfect 3-for-3 with a trio of singles and a run scored with seniors Dylan de Graaf (2-for-3, 1 stolen base) and Trevor Collias (2-for-6, 2 RBI) rounding out the Catamounts with multiple hits.
Both Tyler White and Cameron Dullnig recorded doubles during WCU’s offensive onslaught.
After scoring two in the bottom of the first inning to knot the game at two, Western Carolina pushed across four in the second and three in the third to claim a seven-run, 9-2, lead through three innings.
Leading 10-2 entering the sixth inning, WCU rapped out 10-consecutive, one-out base hits including eight singles and two doubles to further break it open as eight runs came home. During the rally, Kirkpatrick drove in two with a base knock and Haddad singled twice in his two plate appearances to help hand the Catamounts an insurmountable 18-2 lead.
The Paladins would add solo runs in the seventh and eighth innings to provide the final tally.
Furman starter Kevin Gaid (1-5) took the loss after surrendering six runs on five hits with one walk. Gaid faced six batters without registering an out in the second inning before giving way to Nate Smith who allowed three runs on four hits with a pair of walks. Reliever Jay Friedman came on in the sixth and gave up eight runs on nine hits for the Paladins.
The two teams combined to strand 19 runners on base including 12 by the Catamounts.
Western Carolina opens its final road swing of the regular season with a five-game road trip beginning Wednesday night at High Point. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 pm. The Catamounts will have a three-game SoCon series at Samford this Friday through Sunday, and concludes with a nonconference road tilt at Tennessee Tech next Tuesday, May 18 with a 4:00 pm CT / 5:00 pm ET start.
All five games of the upcoming road swing will be broadcast by the Catamount Sports Network and can be heard online at CatamountSports.com with air time scheduled for 15 minutes prior to first pitch.
Georgia Southern 5, Alcorn State 3
STATESBORO, Ga. ? Freshman Justin Hess threw seven complete innings, allowing only two runs, to pick up his first collegiate win with a 5-3 victory over Alcorn State Monday afternoon (May 10) at J.I. Clements Stadium. With the series sweep, Georgia Southern improved to 29-19 overall, while Alcorn State dropped to 23-24.
For the third consecutive game, Alcorn State took an early lead, but Georgia Southern battled back to take the final advantage.
The non-conference foes traded runs in the third inning with Kyle Blackburn (Marietta, Ga.) knotting the score at 1-all with a double to left scoring Shawn Payne (Stone Mountain, Ga.). Before the home half, Cedric Perdomo’s double to right center allowed Kenny Rowan to score after reaching on a free pass.
With two outs in the fifth, the Braves loaded the bases using three singles, but starter Hess (Panama City, Fla.) worked out of the jam with a fly out to left field. The Eagles took their first lead in the home half of the frame using a walk and double to left from Payne. A pair of sacrifice flies handed GS a two run advantage, 3-1, off the bats of Kevin Bowles (Statesboro, Ga.) and Blackburn.
After a scoreless sixth, Alcorn State manufactured a run in the seventh on an RBI groundout. But a two-run double to the left field corner from Eric Phillips (Carrollton, Ga.) in the home half of the inning gave the Eagles a couple insurance runs as GS took a 5-2 lead.
Marking the final offensive output from either team, the Braves cut their deficit putting up a run in the eighth inning. Two singles were bookended with two fly outs before a blooper to right center from Cole Vicars scored Alcorn State’s third run, 5-3. Dexter Bobo (Cumming, Ga.) entered in mid-eighth to close out the contest and worked out of a bases loaded situation to prevent further damage.
Bobo gave up a double in the ninth, but the runner never reached third base as Georgia Southern finalized the 5-3 win on three fly outs.
Payne finished the contest 2-for-3 with three runs scored, while Victor Roache (Ypsilanti, Mich.) went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles. Payne collected three stolen bags in the final game to finish with six for the series.
Hess drew the win (1-1) allowing six hits and two runs in seven innings with four strikeouts. Bobo picked up the save for his ninth on the season. Brave starter Cedric Pomerlee was charged with the loss after going 6.1 innings allowing five runs on seven hits.
Both Kilby Perdomo and Rodney Warren went 2-for-5 for the Braves, who outhit the Eagles 10-8.
Facing a quick turnaround, the Eagles return to J.I. Clements Stadium on Tuesday, May 10 to face Charleston Southern in a 6 p.m. matchup.