Georgia Southern 9, Davidson 7
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Victor Roache homered twice, including a three-run home run in the ninth inning to open up a one-run game, to lead the Georgia Southern Eagles to a series sweep of the Davidson Wildcats behind a 9-7 win in the Saturday finale at Wilson Field.
Davidson (19-29, 5-22 SoCon) put up single runs in the sixth and seventh on RBI-singles from freshman third baseman Andrew Barna (2-for-4, RBI) and junior left fielder Sam Payne (1-for-4, RBI) to cut Georgia Southern's (33-19, 19-8 SoCon) lead to just one run.
Neither club managed a run in the eighth and junior submariner Mike Frongello limited the Eagles to just a run on a base-loaded ground ball from third baseman A.J. Wirnsberger before Roache took junior right-hander Matt Sliwiak deep for his second home run of the day to open up a five-run lead.
The Wildcats looked like they might manage some late-game magic, getting three runs back on a two-out home run by sophomore center fielder Seth Freeman (2-for-5, 3 RBI), but Eagle closer Dexter Bobo got Payne on strikes to end the rally.
Sophomore right-hander Ryan Overcash (L, 5-3) was tagged with the loss, allowing five runs on seven hits and striking out three in five innings.
For the Eagles, Matt Murray (W, 6-2) allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits and struck out 11 in six innings to earn the victory.
Davidson finished the day with nine hits. Along with Freeman, Barna and junior designated hitter J.P. Craven (2-for-3) each had a pair.
The Eagles tallied 13, led by shortstop Eric Phillips, who batted 3-for-4 with an RBI.
The Wildcats took a 2-0 lead, getting a run across on a sacrifice fly in both of the first two innings. Freeman tripled into right field to start the bottom of the first, and Payne flew out to center field to score him. Freshman right fielder Coleman Barron plated Craven, who hit a one-one base hit to left, with another sacrifice fly in the second.
Davidson got two quick outs in the third, including a diving play by sophomore first baseman Drew Gadaire to rob Michael Burruss of the Eagles' first hit of the day, to start the third before Overcash loaded the bases with a pair of singles and a hit batsman. Kyle Blackburn plated a pair with a single into left field, and Phillips gave the Eagles the lead with an RBI-single up the middle before Barron made a spectacular catch on A.J. Wirnsberger to end the inning and strand a pair of Eagles.
Roache led off the fourth with a home run to right center field, and Overcash retired the next two batters before giving up another solo home run to Randy J. Williams to put Georgia Southern ahead 5-2.
Davidson chipped away with a run in both the sixth and seventh to cut the lead to just a score before Roache's home run in the ninth. Working against junior right-hander Andy Bass, Shawn Payne, the Southern Conference leader with 38 stolen bases, led with a base hit to left field and was caught stealing for the first time this season for the first out of the inning. Bass loaded the bases with a pair of walks bookending a base hit to bring on Frongello, who got a ground ball from Wirnsberger for an out and a run before Roache's three-run home run. Sliwiak walked Burruss, but the Wildcats picked him off to the end the inning.
Bobo took over to start the bottom of the ninth and retired his first hitter before walking senior catcher Tommy Piacenza and plunking Barron. He got freshman shortstop Michael Zeblo on strikes for the second out before Freeman knocked his second home run of the season down the left field line, but retired Payne to end the game.
Davidson will play its final home game and non-conference game of the season against Virginia Tech at 4 p.m. Tuesday before concluding the regular season with a three-game road trip to Western Carolina.
College of Charleston 15, Appalachian State 5
BOONE, N.C. ? Appalachian State University baseball fell, 15-5, to College of Charleston in the opener of a three-game Southern Conference series on Saturday afternoon at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium. The second game of Saturday's doubleheader was rained out. The game will be made up as part a doubleheader on Sunday beginning at 11 a.m. at Smith Stadium.
Charleston's Cole Rakar hit for the cycle on Saturday, going 4-for-5 with four RBI and three runs scored. Rakar had a bunt single in the first inning, a double in the second, an RBI triple in the third and completed C of C's first cycle in three years with a three-run homer in the seventh. Ben Lasater was the last Cougar to hit for the cycle on April 1, 2007 at Wofford.
Rakar's big day highlighted an offensive onslaught for College of Charleston (37-14, 20-8 SoCon), which racked up 19 hits as a team in the win. The Cougars did the lion's share of the damage in just four innings, scoring four in the first, five in the second, two in the fifth and three in the seventh en route to their 14th victory in 16 games.
Appalachian (32-13-1, 11-12-1 SoCon) banged out 12 hits of its own in the loss. Wes Hobson (Winston-Salem, N.C./North Forsyth) led the 12-hit attack with three doubles in a 3-for-4, two-RBI, three-run performance. Jerod Faggart (Concord, N.C./Northwest Cabarrus), Jeremy Dowdy (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) and David Towarnicky (New Bern, N.C./New Bern) chipped in with two hits apiece.
Despite being hit by hard comebackers on three separate occasions, Charleston starting pitcher David Peterson worked five innings to move to 8-3 on the season. ASU starter Matt Andress (Charlotte, N.C./South Mecklenburg) surrendered nine runs on 10 hits in 2.2 innings ? his shortest outing of the season ? to fall to 8-3.
The Citadel 5, UNC Greensboro 0
Charleston, S.C. - Matt Talley threw his second complete game shutout of the season on Saturday afternoon at Riley Park in a 5-0 win by The Citadel over UNC Greensboro.
It was the second consecutive complete game for The Citadel (33-20, 20-6) after Asher Wojciechowski (Sturgis, Mich.) went the distance against the Spartans on Friday afternoon. The last time the Bulldogs posted back-to-back complete games was in last year's Southern Conference Tournament when Matt Crim and Wojciechowski did it in the same day against Applachian State and Elon on May 23, 2009.
It was the fourth shutout and the fourth complete game of the season for the Bulldogs. Talley (Sumter, S.C.) labored a bit early, but found a groove after the offense gave the southpaw a lead to work with. The lefy scattered seven hits, hit a pair of batters, allowed one walk and struck out eight to improve to 6-3 and keep the Bulldogs atop the Southern Conference standings.
"I really felt good going into the later innings once we had a lead," said Talley. "They (UNCG) were aggressive early and I was forunate enough to make the pitches I needed to and we made the plays in the field to keep them off the board. It's definitely important to go deep into games for the starters to save our bullpen. We have to come out ready to play again tomorrow in such an important series."
The Bulldog offense would wreak havoc on the base paths for the second consecutive day as the Cadets stole seven bases and have now swiped 15 bags in the series. In the last three games in fact, The Citadel has stolen 20 bases and been caught stealing only twice.
The Citadel scored their first run in the bottom of the second whenJustin Mackert (Cleveland, Ohio) lined a ball down the left field line for a double, the first extra-base hit in the series for the Bulldogs. The sophomore then moved to third on a wild pitch from UNC Greensboro starter Colby Hyatt. Kyle Jordan (Goose Creek, S.C.) would line a ball to center and Mackert tagged from third to make it 1-0.
In the fifth, the Bulldogs would plate four runs off Hyatt as William Ladd (Winnsboro, S.C.) singled to shallow center and then stole second. Nick Orvin (Moncks Corner, S.C.) followed with an RBI single to right field to score Ladd. Orvin then stole second and scored when Matt Simonelli (Orlando, Fla.) roped a double into the gap in left center. Bryan Altman (Summerville, S.C.) followed with an RBI single through the left side to score Simonelli. Altman would then steal second and third base and score on a throwing error by catcher Zach Leach to make it 5-0.
Mackert led the offense for The Citadel, going 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Jordan, Orvin, Simonelli and Altman each collected an RBI. Altman tied a career-high with two stolen bases in the game while Grant Richards (Morrisville, N.C.) swiped the first bag of his career on Saturday. For UNCG, Corey Overholtzer went 3-for-4. Hyatt (7-3) took the loss, allowing seven hits, five runs, four earned runs, no walks and three strikeouts in 5.0 innings pitched.
"Talley did an outstanding job for us today," said head coach Fred Jordan, who record his eighth season of 20 or more conference wins with the victory. "He got hit a little bit early, but eventually settled in and pitched very well. The ability for our starters to go deep into games certainly saves our bullpen from getting overworked. Hyatt pitched well today, he has solid numbers and just gets guys out. We were patient and eventually able to get a few big hits off him at key times."
The Citadel and UNC Greensboro conclude the series on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Riley Park in the final home game for the Bulldogs this season. The team will honor their seven seniors before the game as well.
Western Carolina 8, Samford 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Western Carolina pitcher Matt Benedict allowed just one run over 7.0 innings of work to lead the Catamount baseball team to an 8-1 win over Samford in the second game of a three-game Southern Conference series Saturday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
Samford drops to 28-21 overall and 15-10 in Southern Conference play with the loss. Western Carolina improves to 31-17-1 overall and 13-12-1 in league play.
Samford was led at the plate by Brad Moss with a solo home run in a 1-for-3 performance. Kyle Putkonen pitched 7.0 innings, giving up seven runs on nine hits and striking out five batters while walking just one to take the loss and drop his season record to 3-6.
For Western Carolina at the plate, Matt Johns went 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBI. Trevor Collias went 2-for-4 with a home run and one RBI. Ross Heffley went 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI, while Tyler White went 2-for-3 with two RBI.
Benedict struck out six batters while walking three in the winning performance. He improved his season record to 8-1.
Western Carolina got on the scoreboard first with a run in the top of the second inning. White singled to right field to drive in Collias for a 1-0 WCU lead.
Samford came back to tie the score with a run in the bottom of the third inning. Moss hit a solo home run to left field to make the score 1-1.
The Catamounts plated three runs in the top of the fourth inning to take the lead for good at 4-1. Ollie Goulder doubled to right-center field to drive in Tyler Kirkpatrick to give WCU the lead. Collias then scored from third base on a sacrifice bunt by Cameron Dullnig. White then hit a sacrifice fly to left field to drive in Goulder for a three-run Catamount lead.
Western Carolina added a run in the sixth inning, two runs in the seventh inning and one more in the ninth to take the 8-1 win. In the sixth inning, Collias led the inning off with a solo home run to left field to make the score 5-1. Johns hit a two-run homer in the seventh inning for a 7-1 WCU lead. In the ninth inning, Heffley doubled to drive in Johns for the game's final run.
Samford and Western Carolina will conclude their three-game series with a game Sunday at 1 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field. The game will be the final home game for Samford's 11 seniors, and those seniors will be honored prior to the start of the game.
Sunday's game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu.
Furman 12, Wofford 1
GREENVILLE, S.C. ? Ian Parry pitched eight innings of stellar ball and Will Muzika tripled, homered, and drove in three runs to propel Furman to a 12-1 win over Wofford in game two of a Southern Conference baseball series Saturday afternoon at Latham Stadium.
With the win Furman (15-33, 7-19 SoCon) pulled into a ninth place tie with UNC Greensboro, two games behind eighth-place Wofford (17-34, 9-17 SoCon) for the final qualifying spot for this year’s Southern Conference Tournament, scheduled for May 26-30 in Charleston. The Paladins and Terriers conclude their series Sunday with a 1:00 p.m. game.
Parry (4-6), a senior right-hander from Naples, Fla., making the final home start of his career, allowed only four hits and an unearned run over eight innings to earn the victory. He walked one and struck out two.
Muzika, a top candidate for Southern Conference Freshman of the Year honors, delivered a two-run triple in the seventh and stroked his team leading 13th home run in the eighth to finish with a 3-for-5 performance while also scoring three runs.
After failing to record a hit over the first three innings, Furman got to Wofford starting pitcher J.D. Osborne in the fourth, plating three runs on a sacrifice fly by Will Miller and Paul Nitto towering two-run home run to left center field.
The Paladins added a pair of runs in the fifth before Wofford tallied an unearned run in the sixth to make it 5-1.
Furman blew the game open in the seventh, roughing up Terrier reliever Bobby Streisel for six runs, highlighted by Muzika’s two-run triple into the right center field gap that chased home Will Owens and Aaron Thompkins. Miller also delivered and RBI single that scored Muzika, and Reese Wade’s RBI double down the right field drove home Miller. J.B. Jenkins capped the big fame with a sacrifice fly that stretched the Paladin advantage to 11-1.
Muzika finished off Furman’s big offensive effort with a solo blast to right center field in the eighth.
The Paladins racked up 11 hits, with Thompkins joining Muzika in the multiple-hit column with a 2-for-4 performance. In addition Owens walked four times and scored twice.
Osborne (3-4) took the loss for Wofford, surrendering five hits, five runs, and five walks in 4 1/3 innings.