The Citadel 3, UNC Greensboro 1
Charleston, S.C. - The Citadel scored three runs late on Sunday at Riley Park for a come-from-behind win over UNC Greensboro, 3-1.
The win on Senior Day gives The Citadel a 14-1 record at home this season in Southern Conference games, the best mark in the league. It's also the best mark for the Bulldogs since they went 15-0 at Riley Park in 2004 in league games.
The Bulldogs rallied late against UNC Greensboro (20-30, 7-20) starter Warren Slack, who handcuffed the Bulldog offense for most of the contest. The Citadel (34-20, 21-6) was able to capitalize on Spartan mistakes late in the game to earn the win and hold onto first place in the conference going into the final week of the regular season.
Raymond Copenhaver (Apopka, Fla.) picked up the win for The Citadel as he pitched a season-high 3.0 innings, allowing two hits and striking out three to improve to 3-1. The right-hander tied UNC Greensboro's Ted Toler with his 130th career appearance, the most appearances by any pitcher in Southern Conference history.
UNCG would strike first as Zach Leach started the fourth inning with a base hit off Bulldog starter Michael Clevinger (Jacksonville, Fla.) and then advanced to second on a groundout. After a walk to Taylor Schwartz, Alex Frederick then hit an RBI single up the middle to score Leach for the only Spartan run of the game.
The Bulldogs would score lone runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings off Slack to put the game away. In the sixth, Brad Felder(Orangeburg, S.C.) singled deep in the hole to the shortstop and followed with a steal of second base. A walk to Bryan Altman(Summerville, S.C.) and Justin Mackert (Cleveland, Ohio) would load the bases with one out. Kyle Jordan (Goose Creek, S.C.) then reached on a fielder's choice when his ball was hit to Schwartz at third who stepped on the bag to erase Altman and then threw home too late to get Felder who scored to tie the game.
In the seventh, Grant Richards (Morrisville, N.C.) singled down the left field line to start the inning and advanced to second and to third on two different wild pitches. After a strikeout, Nick Orvin(Moncks Corner, S.C.) walked and Richards came home to score when Slack's throw over to first to keep Orvin on the bag went passed the first baseman into right field.
Mackert led the eighth off with a base hit to right field and moved over to second on sac bunt by Jordan. David Greene's (Columbia, S.C.) deep fly to right was enough for Mackert to tag from second and advance to third and a base hit by Richards to center would bring Mackert home to make it 3-1 in favor of The Citadel.
Richards went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI to lead the Bulldogs. Clevinger went 6.0 innings, allowing eight hits, one run, two walks and striking out four in a no-decision. Leach went 2-for-3 with a run while Frederick went 2-for-4 with an RBI to lead the Spartans. Slack (3-8) took the loss, allowing eight hits, three runs, four walks and struck out six in the complete game effort.
"Slack was outstanding today, he threw three pitches for strikes and Clevinger was very good for the most part," said Bulldogs Head Coach Fred Jordan. "Copenhaver was excellent out of the bullpen to nail it down. Eventually we were able to use our athleticism and capitalize on some miscues to scratch out a big win."
The Citadel travels to Winthrop on Tuesday for a 5 p.m. first pitch in Rock Hill. Please note the game has moved up an hour as it was originally scheduled for a 6 p.m. start.
UNCG opens its final regular season series Thursday night at home against Furman, starting at 7 p.m.
College of Charleston 13, Appalachian State 1
College of Charleston 9, Appalachian State 1
BOONE, N.C. ? Appalachian State University baseball suffered its first three-game home series sweep in over two years when it dropped both ends of a doubleheader to College of Charleston on Sunday afternoon at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium. Appalachian fell, 13-1, in Sunday's opener and dropped a 9-1 decision in the nightcap.
Appalachian (32-15-1, 11-14-1 SoCon) managed just eight combined hits in Sunday's two games while Charleston (39-14, 22-8 SoCon) racked up 26.
C of C's Jose Rodriguez did the lion's share of the damage, going 3-for-4 with two home runs, a double, four RBI and four runs scored in the opener and 2-for-4 with a double, RBI and run in the nightcap.
The momentum of the day shifted in the fourth inning of the first game. With ASU trailing 1-0, starting pitcher Tyler Jacksonseemingly worked his way out of a bases-loaded jam when he struck out Charleston's Hutson Dodds for the third out of the inning. However, the third strike bounced past catcher Jerod Faggart and all four Cougar runners advanced, including Rodriguez, who slid under Jackson's tag to give C of C a 2-0 lead. One batter later, Jamie Holler slapped a two-run single through the left side of the infield to make it 4-0.
Charleston went on to score 18 more runs over the next eight innings (the final five of the opener and the first three of the nightcap) to seal the series sweep, the first suffered by the Mountaineers at home since C of C also swept a three-game set at Smith Stadium from April 4-6, 2008.
The lone bright spot for Appalachian was senior second baseman Wes Hobson who became the eighth player in SoCon history with 300 career hits by going 2-for-4 with a triple in Sunday's opener. FreshmanHector Crespo led ASU with two hits in the nightcap.
Despite losing 7-of-8 games since returning from a week long layoff for final exams, Appalachian clinched one of the eight spots in this month's SoCon Tournament with The Citadel's sweep over UNC Greensboro this weekend.
ASU wraps up regular-season play this week with four road games, beginning with a 6 p.m. affair at Wake Forest on Tuesday.
The Cougars visit nationally-ranked Coastal Carolina Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Furman 11, Wofford 10
GREENVILLE, S.C. ? Brian Harrison homered twice, including a two-out, three-run clout in the bottom of the eighth inning, to lift Furman to an 11-10 victory and series sweep over Wofford in Southern Conference baseball action Sunday afternoon at Latham Stadium.
Following a one hour and 50-minute rain delay, Wofford scored three runs in the top of the eighth to take a 10-8 lead before Harrison and the Paladins answered with a decisive three-run rally in its side of the inning.
Will Owens and Aaron Thompkins stroked one-out singles, and following a strikeout Harrison directed a one-strike pitch by Terrier reliever Drew Sheridan over the left field fence to give the Paladins the 11-10 lead.
Alex Lee led off the Wofford ninth with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice, but Furman reliever Daniel Stallsmith regrouped by striking out James Foster and Kyle Behrendt to end the game.
The series sweep by Furman (16-33, 8-19) moves the Paladins into ninth place, a game ahead of UNC Greensboro and one game behind Wofford (17-35, 9-18 SoCon) for the eighth and final qualifying spot for this year’s Southern Conference Tournament, scheduled for May 26-30 in Charleston.
The Paladins wrap up their SoCon schedule with a three-game series at UNC Greensboro beginning on Thursday while Wofford entertains Appalachian State in its final league set.
Sunday’s victory marked the Paladins’ 10th consecutive triumph over the Terriers in Greenville.
Harrison paced Furman at the plate, going 3-for-4 with four RBI and three runs scored. The junior third baseman, who missed nearly two months of action this season with a knee injury, doubled and scored in the third and led off the fifth with a solo home run.
Owens went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run, and Will Muzika swatted his team leading 14th round tripper of the year, a two-run shot to right center field in the first inning, for the Paladins, who led 3-1 after three innings.
Wofford plated three times in the fourth to take a 4-3 lead. Clark Wise’s two-run single tied the game at 3-3, and he later scored on an RBI single by Matt Moore to put the Terriers ahead.
The advantage was short-lived, however, as the Paladins responded with three runs of their own in the fourth. Rob Fondu’s double into the right field corner drove home J.B. Jenkins, and Owens followed with a two-run home run round tripper to left to put the Paladins up, 6-4.
Furman made it 8-4 with two more in the fifth, including Harrison’s lead off home run to left, and Dylan Cole’s double into short left center field that drove home Reese Wade from second base.
A Paladin throwing error with one-out in the sixth led to three unearned runs, which sliced the lead to 8-7.
After a scoreless seventh, the game was suspended for an hour and 50 minutes due to lightning and heavy rains. When it resumed the Terriers struck for three runs to take a 10-8 lead. Consecutive RBI singles by Konstantine Diamadurous, Mac Doyle, and Landon Bennett gave the Terriers a two-run margin before the Paladins answered again, scoring three decisive runs in the bottom of the frame on Harrison’s home run.
Wofford fashioned a 16-12 advantage in hits, but four of the Paladins’ hits left the ballpark and accounted for eight runs. Diamaduros, Bennett, and Moore each had three hits for the Terriers.
The win went to Stallsmith (4-2), who also was the starting and winning pitcher in Friday’s 14-6 series opening verdict. The sophomore left-hander worked the final 1 2/3 innings, allowing a pair of hits while striking out two.
Sheridan (2-5) was charged with the loss, allowing three runs and on three hits in an inning of work.
The Paladins, who out-homered the Terriers 9-1 in the series, upped their school record home run tally to 60 this season.
Samford 8, Western Carolina 5
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford senior center fielder Wayne Miller went 4-for-5 with a home run, a double and three RBI to lead the Bulldog baseball team to an 8-5 Southern Conference win over Western Carolina Sunday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
The win, which came after a three hour and 34 minute rain delay in the seventh inning, gives Samford the series win, two games to one. Samford improves to 29-21 overall and 16-10 in SoCon play with the win. Western Carolina drops to 31-18-1 overall and 13-13-1 in league play.
The game was the final home game for Miller and 10 other seniors on the Samford team. Following Miller, fellow senior Trey Hayes went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Michael Johnson went 2-for-4 at the plate for the Bulldogs.
Samford senior pitcher Mark Lewallyn pitched 2.0 innings in relief, giving up just one hit to get the win and improve to 1-0 on the season. Lex Rutledge tossed the final 2.0 innings, giving up just one hit to earn his 11th save of the season, tying the school's single-season record for saves, set by Joseph Edens in 2006.
For Western Carolina, Matt Johns went 3-for-5 at the plate. Austin Schultz was 2-for-3 for the Catamounts. Tyler Kirkpatrick and Dylan de Graaf each homered and went1-for 4 for WCU. T.J. Page pitched 2.0 innings, giving up five runs on four hits to take the loss and drop his season record to 1-1.
Western Carolina jumped on top first with a run in the top of the first inning. Kirkpatrick hit a sacrifice fly to center field to drive in Schultz for a 1-0 WCU lead.
Samford came back with three runs in the bottom of the first to take a 3-1 lead. Miller led the inning off with a solo home run to left-center field to tie the score. Hayes later hit a two-run homer to left field with Bo Smith on base for a two-run Samford lead.
The Catamounts plated two runs in the top of the second inning to tie the score at 3-3. Tyler White hit a sacrifice fly to left field to drive in Ollie Goulder to make the score 3-2. The tying run scored on de Graaf's solo home run to left field.
Samford took the lead for good with two runs in the bottom of the second inning. Miller doubled to left field to drive in Brad Moss and then scored on a WCU error to give Samford a 5-3 lead.
Western Carolina plated a run in the top of the third inning to cut the Samford lead to 5-4. Kirkpatrick led the inning off with a solo home run to left field to bring the Catamounts to within one run.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Samford added a run to make the score 6-4. Miller singled through the right side of the infield to drive in Johnson for a two-run Samford lead.
The Catamounts came back with a run in the top of the fifth inning to cut Samford's lead to 6-5. Schultz scored from third base when Ross Heffley reached base on a Samford error.
Samford plated another run in the bottom of the fifth inning to push its lead to 7-5. Smith hit a sacrifice fly to left field to drive in Mason Meredeth for Samford's seventh run of the game.
After the rain delay in the seventh inning, Samford added one final run in the bottom of the eighth inning to make the final score 8-5. The game's final run was scored when Moss reached base on a WCU error, allowing Johnson to score from third base.
Samford will return to action on Wednesday, May 19, when the Bulldogs open a three-game SoCon series at Elon. The series-opener is scheduled for a 6 p.m. (CT) start from Elon, N.C.
The Catamounts’ continue their weeklong road trip with a single game at Tennessee Tech, Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET.