Samford 8, Alabama 7
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford baseball team overcame a four-run deficit to claim an 8-7 win over the Alabama Crimson Tide Wednesday evening at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
The win gives Samford the season sweep over Alabama, and it marks the Bulldogs' third-straight win over the Crimson Tide. Samford improves to 27-20 on the season, while Alabama drops to 29-20. The game was played in front of 1,835 fans, the fourth-largest crowd in Joe Lee Griffin Field history.
Samford was led at the plate by Mason Meredeth, going 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI, and Wayne Miller, going 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI. Trey Hayes went 2-for-4 for the Bulldogs.
Andrew Jones (5-2) pitched 1.2 hitless innings of relief to get the win for Samford. Lex Rutledge tossed the final inning, allowing just one hit to earn his ninth save of the season. Mark Lewallyn, Michael Gunter, Joshua VanFleteren, Rumiko Forrester and Tyler Vanderheiden also saw time on the mound for Samford.
"This was big for us to come out and win tonight with our guys being in the middle of finals and with graduation coming up for several of our guys," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "Three of our seniors (Miller, Meredeth and Hayes) had great nights at the plate, and Andrew and Lex were solid again at the end of the game for us."
For Alabama at the plate, Jake Smith went 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI. Jon Kelton went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and two RBI. Josh Rutledge and David Kindred each went 2-for-4 at the plate for the Crimson Tide. Brett Whitaker (1-3) pitched the final 2.0 innings, giving up one run on two hits to take the loss.
Alabama jumped on top first with two runs in the top of the second inning. Kelton hit a home run to right field with Kindred on base for a 2-0 Alabama lead.
Samford came back with a run in the bottom of the third inning. Miller doubled to right-center field to drive in Brad Moss to make the score 2-1.
The Crimson Tide got its second two-run home run of the game in the top of the fourth inning when Smith homered to left field with Rutledge on base for a 4-1 lead.
Samford added a run in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut the Alabama lead to 4-2. Meredeth singled to left field to drive in Austin Allison to bring Samford to within two runs.
In the top of the sixth inning, another two-run home run gave the Crimson Tide a 6-2 lead. Smith homered for the second time in the game, again with Rutledge on base, for a four-run Alabama lead.
Samford took the lead for the first time when the Bulldogs plated five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning for a 7-6 lead. Moss walked with the bases loaded to drive in Hayes for Samford's first run of the inning. Miller then singled to center field to drive in Gary Cramer to make the score 6-4.Stephen Ballard then scored when Michael Johnson reached base on a fielder's choice to bring Samford to within one run. Meredeth then doubled down the left-field line to drive in Johnson and Moss to give Samford the 7-6 lead.
Alabama tied the score with a run in the top of the seventh inning. Taylor Dugas walked with one out to start the rally and later scored from third base on a wild pitch to knot the score at 7-7.
Samford answered with one final run in the bottom of the seventh inning for an 8-7 lead. Hayes doubled to lead off the inning and then moved to third base on a sacrifice bunt by Cramer. Bo Smith then hit a sacrifice fly to left field to drive in Hayes for the game-winning run.
Jones and Rutledge then held Alabama scoreless for the final two innings to secure the win.
Prior to the game, Samford's new softball coach, Stephanie VanBrakle threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Samford will return to action on Friday when the Bulldogs play host to Southern Conference foe Western Carolina in the first game of a three-game league series. The series is scheduled to start Friday at 6 p.m. The teams will also play Saturday at 3 p.m., and Sunday at 1 p.m. Prior to Sunday's game, Samford will honor its 10 seniors who will be playing their final game at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
Wofford 6, Duke 4
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? On Wednesday afternoon, the Wofford College baseball team defeated Duke 6-4 at Russell C. King Field. The game was tied at four in the seventh when Landon Bennett hit a single to score two runs.
Wofford moves to 17-32 on the season. Duke is 28-22 overall. The Terriers were led by James Foster with two hits and Landon Bennett with two hits and two RBIs. The Blue Devils had two hits from Marcus Stroman.
The Blue Devils got on the board first with a single by Will Piwnica-Worms and an RBI double by Jeremy Gould in the top of the first. Wofford tied in the game in the bottom of the first when James Foster singled, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Alex Lee and scored on a single to right by Kyle Behrendt.
In the top of the second, Duke took the lead when Marcus Stroman doubled and he scored on a single from Ryan McCurdy. Both teams went three-up and three-down in the third inning.
Duke added to the lead in the top of the fourth with an RBI single by Ryan Munger and a sacrifice fly by Joe Pedevillano to take a 4-1 lead. Wofford answered in the bottom of the fourth. With two out, David Roney singled and a double by Konstantine Diamaduros scored one run. Clark Wise added a single that plated Diamaduros. Wise stole second and when James Foster reached on an error, he was able to tie the game at 4-4.
After scoreless fifth and sixth innings, Wofford led-off the bottom of the seventh with a double by James Foster. A sacrifice bunt by Alex Lee moved Foster to third, but Foster was out at home when he attempted to score on a wild pitch. With Kyle Behrendt and Mac Doyle both intentionally walked and Behrendt moving to third on the wild pitch and Doyle stealing second, a single up the middle by Landon Bennett scored both runners for a 6-4 lead.
In the top of the eighth, the Blue Devils had two runners on and one out when a double play ended their half of the inning. Wofford left one on base in the bottom of the eighth and Duke had one left in the top of the ninth before a strikeout ended the contest.
For the Terriers, Brandon Yarusi started his first career game and went six innings with six hits and four runs allowed with three strikeouts. Ryan Traylor (1-0) picked up his first career win with two innings of work with hit hits allowed and one strikeout. J.D. Osborne earned his first save of the season in the ninth with one hit allowed and one strikeout.
Duke starter Michael Ness went five innings with six hits and four runs allowed and three strikeouts. Ben Grisz (3-2) threw 1.2 innings and allowed two runs and two hits. Michael Seander went the final 1.1 innings without allowing a hit and two strikeouts.
The win for Ryan Traylor came against the team that his father, Steve, coached from 1988 to 1999. For the Terriers, the game marked the second game in a stretch of five games in six days. The Terriers will play at Furman to begin a three-game series on Friday night.
Appalachian State 12, UNC Asheville 2
ASHEVILLE, N.C. ? Led by five RBI from Ryan Stetson (Charlotte, N.C./Ardrey Kell) and a strong start on the mound by Ryan Arrowood (Rutherfordton, N.C./Central), Appalachian State University baseball got back on track with a 12-2 win over UNC Asheville on Wednesday afternoon at McCormick Field.
Stetson not only extended his hitting streak to 10 games with his 3-for-4 performance but may have single-handedly snapped Appalachian (32-12-1) out of a week-long funk with runners in scoring position when he belted a two-out grand slam to left field in the top of the second inning that gave ASU a 4-0 lead. Prior to the grand slam, Appalachian's first of the season and the first of Stetson's career, ASU had just three hits in its previous 32 at-bats with runners in scoring position.
Stetson's slam was just what the Mountaineers needed to jump-start their clutch hitting, as they were 6-for-12 with runners in scoring position on Wednesday after the blast.
The Apps tacked on three runs in the fourth and another in the fifth to make it 8-0, all before Arrowood had allowed a hit. UNCA finally managed to record a base hit against the right-handed sophomore with two outs in the bottom of the fifth and scored its only run against him in the sixth.
Arrowood, who was on a pitch count after working an inning on Sunday at Elon, came out of the game with two outs in the sixth. He surrendered just one run on four hits while striking out six over 5.2 innings to move to 6-3 on the campaign.
Appalachian added four more runs in the eighth to complete its 17th double-digit scoring output of the season.
Stetson, who had a base hit to lead off the game and an RBI single in the fourth to go along with his grand slam, has now hit safely in 33 of his last 35 games. Wes Hobson (Winston-Salem, N.C./North Forsyth), Jack Myers (Charlotte, N.C./Myers Park) and Hector Crespo (Miami, Fla./Florida Christian) chipped in to the 12-hit attack with two apiece.
Wednesday's win snapped a four-game losing streak for the Mountaineers, their longest of the season, and extended their winning streak over local rival UNC Asheville (12-32) to nine games.
Appalachian returns home this weekend for a pivotal three-game Southern Conference series versus second-place College of Charleston. Game times are set for 6 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
Western Carolina 6, High Point 5
High Point, N.C. - Trevor Collias belted his team-high tying 12th home run of the season as a part of a four-run first inning as Western Carolina scored six runs in the first three innings and then held off High Point to score its 30th victory of the season, 6-5, over the Panthers in mid-week, nonconference action at Williard Stadium.
Collias finished 2-for-5 with Matt Johns driving in one on a game-high 3-for-4 outing with a double in the win. Austin Schultz also posted a multi-hit game, finishing 2-for-4 for the Catamounts.
Preston Hatcher (1-1) secured his first collegiate victory after tossing the first five and a third innings, with Brandon Johnson tallying his first save of the year after shutting out the Panthers over the final five frames as WCU completed the two-game season sweep of HPU.
Western Carolina opens a three-game Southern Conference series against Samford on Friday night.
The Citadel 10, USC Upstate 3
Spartanburg, S.C. - The Citadel rebounded from their first home shutout loss in five years with a 10-3 rout of USC Upstate at Harley Park on Wednesday night.
The Citadel (31-20) tied their season high with five stolen bases and pounded out 14 hits while keeping the USC Upstate (16-35) offense in check most of the night. The Bulldogs defeated the Spartans at Riley Park on March 10 also by a score of 10-3.
The Bulldogs would get a pair in the top of the first as Nick Orvin (Moncks Corner, S.C.) led the game off with a double off USC Upstate starter Gaither Bumgarder. Brad Felder(Orangeburg, S.C.) then drew a walk and two batters later, after a double steal by both runners, Bryan Altman (Summerville, S.C.) sent a ball to deep center that was caught, but sent centerfielder Andre Harris crashing into the wall that scored Orvin from third and Felder from second for a rare two-RBI sac fly to make it 2-0.
An RBI single by Altman would bring Felder home in the top of the third after the designated hitter led the inning off with a walk and advanced to second on a deep fly to center. Altman then stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by catcher Jimmy Tanner. Kyle Jordan (Goose Creek, S.C.) lined a double to the left side to score Altman and make it 4-0.
Grant Richards (Morrisville, N.C.) led off with the fourth with a double off Bumgardner. Three baters later, Felder hit a hotshot past the second baseman Austin Liput to score Richards to make it 5-0.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Spartans would get on the board when Tyler Cook hit a double to center off Bulldog starter Jeffrey Spillane (Houston, Texas). Two batters later, Trey Richardson roped a single up the middle to score Cook. A base hit by Austin Moyer would chase Spillane from the game. Matt Reifsnider(Ormond Beach, Fla.) then came out of the bullpen and Andre Harris reached on an error by Altman at second that scored Richardson to cut the lead to 5-2.
The Bulldogs and Spartans would each score a run in the fifth as Jordan reached on an error by third baseman Joe Barnes in the top of the frame. David Greene (Columbia, S.C.) then walked and Jordan would come around to score on an RBI single by Richards that knocked Bumgardner from the game. In the bottom half of the inning, Cook dropped in a double to shallow right that was just out of the reach of three converging Bulldogs and then came around to score on an RBI double by Richardson to make the score 6-3.
The Citadel would bat around in the sixth as Felder would draw another walk, steal a base and moved to third on another throwing error by Tanner to lead off the frame. Matt Simonelli (Orlando, Fla.) then chopped a double into left field to score Felder. Simonelli then stole third base and Altman would reach on a fielder's choice to put runners on the corners off new USC Upstate reliever Scott DeCecco. Jordan would line a single up the middle to score Simonelli and Greene would follow with a base hit of his own up the middle to score Altman. Richards dumped a single into right to score Jordan for the fourth run of the inning to make it 10-3.
Spillane made his first career start and went 3.1 innings, allowing five hits, two runs, one earned run, one walk and stuck out two. Reifsnider (2-1) picked up his second win of the season, going 4.2 innings, allowing seven hits, one run, no walks and striking out five. Raymond Copenhaver (Apopka, Fla.) came in to pitch a scoreless ninth innings while striking out a pair of Spartans.
"It felt pretty good to be back on the mound again," said Spillane, who hadn't pitched since April 20. "There are always nerves everytime you pitch out there, but it's re-assuring when you have a good defense behind you. It was nice to be a part of a good team win today."
Jordan led the Bulldog attack, going 3-for-5 with a pair of runs and a pair of RBI while Richards had a career-high three hits in going 3-for-5 with a run and a pair of RBI. Altman added three RBI, two runs and a stolen base while Felder went 1-for-2 with three runs scored, an RBI, three walks and two stolen bases. Richardson went 3-for-4 with a run scored and a pair or RBI for USC Upstate.
"Felt pretty good to get the offense going early today and give us confidence after a tough night at home last night," said Jordan. "It was important for us to get to their starter early and get to their bullpen. Hopefully this will give us momentum heading into a big conference weekend series with UNC Greensboro."
The Citadel returns to Riley Park for their final home games of the season in a three-game set with UNC Greensboro beginning Friday at 4 p.m.
#21 North Carolina 10, College of Charleston 0
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - #21 North Carolina scored nine runs in the third inning and Tar Heel starter Greg Holt held College of Charleston to two hits over six innings as UNC shutout the Cougars 10-0 Wednesday evening at Boshamer Stadium. The Tar Heels improve to 32-17, while CofC falls to 36-14.
The Tar Heels exploded for nine runs in the third inning, using seven hits and one Charleston error to do the damage. Levi Michael led off the frame with a bunt single and scored on a RBI double down the left-field line by Dillon Hazlett. Freshman starter Matt Pegler (Greenville, S.C./Riverside) retired Brian Goodwin on a fly out to center, advancing Hazlett to third. Ryan Graepel lined a double down the right-field line to score Hazlett and advanced to third on a groundout by Tommy Coyle. Junior RHP Robert Jeroszko (Greenville, S.C./J.L. Mann) relieved Pegler and gave up a two-run blast to left by Jesse Wierzbicki for a 4-0 UNC lead.
A walk to Jacob Stallings and a single to right center by Mike Cavasinni put runners at the corners for the Tar Heels and Jeroszko loaded the bases on six pitches to Ben Bunting. Back-to-back walks with the bases loaded by Jeroszko increased UNC's lead to 6-0 before senior RHP Tom Schiller (Rochester, N.Y,/Monroe CC) came in from the bullpen for the Cougars. A pair of back-to-back singles by Goodwin and Graepel scored the final three runs of the inning, in which the Tar Heels sent 14 batters to the plate.
With junior RHP Casey Lucchese (Lexington, Ky./Paul Lawrence Dunbar) on the mound, UNC added a single run in the bottom of the sixth on a RBI double by Bunting to left that scored Cavasinni, who walked earlier in the inning. The Cougars threatened in the top of the seventh as sophomore LF Jose Rodriguez (Hialeah, Fla./Broward College) singled up the middle, but on a double down the right-field line by senior 1B Greg Blake (Westerly, R.I./Lake City CC) was thrown out attempting to score by five feet. Junior DH Kolby Epley (Yadkinville, N.C./Forbush) walked on six pitches and Blake advanced to third on a wild pitch by UNC reliever Zach Bernard, but sophomore RF Thomas Brittle (Cross, S.C./Berkeley) struck out to end the frame.
Pegler allowed three runs on five hits in 2-2/3 innings, while Jeroszko was touched for six runs on two hits with four walks without recording an out. Blake had two hits for the Cougars, who where held to five hits in the game.
Holt walked one and struck out three in the six innings for the Tar Heels. Five UNC batters had two hits apiece as their lineup collected 13 hits, four for extra bases.
Charleston returns to action Friday evening in Boone, N.C. as it faces Appalachian State in the final Southern Conference series of the regular season. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m.
Wake Forest 22, UNC Greensboro 9
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? Wake Forest put up 12 runs in the top of the first inning before UNC Greensboro even had time to touch a bat as the Spartans fell to the Demon Deacons, 22-9, on Wednesday evening at the UNCG Baseball Stadium. It was the final midweek game for the Spartans this season.
Zach White picked up his first win for the Demon Deacons (13-35) as he went 5 2/3 innings, while allowing five runs on five hits and striking out six. UNCG starter Alex Shelton suffered the loss after giving up three runs on one hit and walking two without recording an out.
The Deacs were led by Matt Conway and Mac Williams who each had six RBI in the game, while Steven Brooks and Mike Murray each chipped in three RBI apiece. Conway had three doubles in the game and Williams had a triple and two home runs for Wake Forest.
Drew Gehringer helped lead the way for the Spartans (20-27) as he went 3-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. Kris Richards added a pair of hits and three RBI and Zach Leach had two hits and two RBI.
The Demon Deacons had an incredible first inning that lasted 38 minutes as they sent 16 batters to the plate to score 12 runs on just eight hits. Brooks and Mike Lubanski led off the game with back-to-back walks before Conway and Murray followed with back-to-back RBI singles to make it 2-0.
Ryan Smeniuk then walked to load the bases before Williamson hit a sacrifice fly to right field for the first out in the inning. A walk to Carlos Lopez loaded the bases again as Mark Rhine followed with an RBI single to make it 4-0. Pat Blair then hit an RBI single of his own before Brooks came up again in the inning and hit a two run single to put the visitors up 7-0.
Lubanski was hit by a pitch to load the bases once more and Coway then delivered a double to left center to score two more runs. Murray followed with his second RBI single of the inning and Williamson capped off the scoring two batters later as he hit a two-run triple to center field to put the Deacs ahead, 12-0.
Once the Spartans were able to come to bat, they were able to put together some offense. With one out, Chris Barker reached on a fielding error before stealing second base. Later in the inning, Lloyd Enzor hit a single to center field to score Barker and make it a 12-1 game.
The Deacs responded though in the top of the second as Rhine hit a leadoff single to center field before moving to second on a walk and later scoring on a RBI single by Brooks.
The Spartans added another run in the bottom of the second as Gehringer hit a one-out double down the left field line and then scored as Richards hit a double off the wall in right field to make it a 13-2 ballgame.
UNCG had no answer though for the Deacs offense all night as Semeniuk led off the third inning with a walk and Williamson followed with a home run to left field. Blair added a home run of his own later in the inning to make it 16-2.
The Deacs added an RBI single and a two-run double by Conway in the top of the fifth to extend their lead to 19-2.
The Spartans kept on fighting though as they put up three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning on a two-out rally. John Cucchiarella got it started with a walk before scoring on a triple into the right field corner by Leach. Gehringer followed with a triple of his own to center field to score Leach. He went on to score later in the inning on a groundout by Richards to pull the Spartans within, 19-5.
Wake Forest added two more runs in the seventh inning and another one in the eighth inning on a solo home run by Williamson to take a 22-5 lead.
The Spartans scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth on RBI singles by Leach, Gehringer and Taylor Schwarz and another on a groundout to make the final score, 22-9.
The Spartans will return to action this weekend as they travel to face The Citadel for a three-game series beginning Friday at 4 p.m.