College of Charleston 10, #4 Coastal Carolina 4
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Senior 1B Greg Blake (Westerly, R.I./Lake City CC) hit a three-run double to key a five-run seventh inning and junior RHP Casey Lucchese (Lexington, Ky./Paul Lawrence Dunbar) tossed 2-2/3 shutout innings in relief to earn the victory as College of Charleston knocked off #4 Coastal Carolina 10-4 in non-conference action at BB&T Coastal Field Tuesday night. The Cougars reach the 40-win plateau for the first time since the 2006 season at 40-14, while the Chanticleers fall to 45-7.
The Cougars jumped on Coastal starter Jim Birmingham early, scoring three runs in the top of the first and sending the pitcher to the bench after recording only two outs. With junior CF Cole Rakar (Mt. Pleasant, S.C./Wando) on first after a base on balls and two outs, sophomore 3B Matt Leeds (Boca Raton, Fla./American Heritage) drew a walk on six pitches and sophomore LF Jose Rodriguez (Hialeah, Fla./Broward College) plated Rakar with a RBI single through the left side. Blake was hit by a pitch to load the bases and junior DH Kolby Epley (Yadkinville, N.C./Forbush) roped a two-run single to right for a 3-0 lead and sent Birmingham to the bench in favor of fellow LHP Matt Laney. It was the second straight game in which the opposing starter did not make it out of the first inning against the Cougars' potent lineup.
Coastal plated a single run in the bottom of the frame, as Rico Noel led off with a double to left, advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a RBI single up the middle by Tommy La Stella. Charleston restored the three-run cushion with a run in the top of the second. Junior SS Jamie Holler (Rock Hill, S.C./USC Sumter JC) lined a double down the left-field line to start the inning and scored when senior 2B Joey Bergman (Jacksonville, Fla./Bishop Kenny) hit a double of his own down the line in right field.
The Chants would pull within two runs in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Adam Rice and knot the game in the fifth on back-to-back solo home runs by Josh Conway and Rico Noel.
With two outs and Bergman on first, redshirt-sophomore C Rob Kral (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) and Leeds drew walks to load the bases for Rodriguez. The left fielder was hit on the third pitch from Coastal reliever Matt Rein to score Bergman for a 5-4 lead. Blake stepped to the plate and cleared the bases with a three-run double to center and senior PH Justin Brewer (Greer, S.C./Spartanburg Methodist College) plated Blake with a single to left center for a 9-4 advantage.
After back-to-back doubles by Holler and Bergman to lead off the eighth, Rakar grounded out to short and Kral was intentionally walked to set up the possible double play scenario. Leeds countered with a sacrifice fly to deep left center, scoring Holler from third for a 10-4 lead.
Lucchese was superb in relief of Charleston junior starter Josh Salay (Rock Hill, S.C./Spartanburg Methodist College) to improve to 3-0 on the season. The junior only needed 29 pitches to retire nine Coastal batters, five on strikes, and allowed only one hit. Salay tossed 5-1/3 innings, scattering five hits and allowing four runs with three strikeouts. Junior RHP Heath Hembree (Cowpens, S.C./Spartanburg Methodist College) tossed a perfect ninth, striking out two to close the door on the Chants. Bergman finished with three hits, two doubles, while Holler added two doubles as well.
Keith Hessler took the loss for Coastal, allowing two runs on one hit in 1-2/3 innings of relief. Birmingham was tagged for three runs on two hits with two walks in two-thirds of an inning. Noel had two hits for the Chants.
The Cougars return to action with a non-conference tilt at UNC Wilmington Thursday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
The Citadel 10, Winthrop 4
Rock Hill, S.C. - The Citadel won its fifth straight game and finally won on Tuesday in a 10-4 win over Winthrop. The five-game win streak is tied for the longest of the season for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs came into the game with a record of 0-7 on Tuesday games this season. The Cadets were 34-13 on the other six days of the week, but finally managed to break out of their slump by stealing five bases and jumping on the Eagles early in the game. The win also marks the first time in the series history that The Citadel has won four consecutive games over Winthrop.
"We did a good job from a pitching standpoint in making good pitches at the right times tonight to keep them off the board," said Bulldogs Head Coach Fred Jordan. "We had pretty good performances out of our guys in the bullpen to set things up for this weekend."
The Citadel (35-20) would plate four in the second as Justin Mackert (Cleveland, Ohio) led off with a double in the gap to right center. Two batters later, David Greene (Columbia, S.C.) laced a double that snuck just inside the left field line to score Mackert, who moved to third on a balk by WU starter Dom Patterozzi. Grant Richards (Morrisville, N.C.) then dumped a single to center to score Greene. William Ladd (Winnsboro, S.C.) would walk to put runners on first and second and chase Paterozzi from the game. Nick Orvin (Goose Creek, S.C.) mashed a double off the left field wall off new Eagle pitcher Matt Pierpont to score both Richards and Ladd to make it 4-0.
Winthrop (23-27) would get a run back in the bottom of the second when Chas Crane led off with a walk from Bulldog starting pitcher Austin Pritcher (Charleston, S.C.). Matt Thielapape followed with a single to put two aboard with no outs. Patrick Gamblin hit a grounder to Greene and Thielapape was erased at second, but Crane would come around to score when Bryan Altman's (Summerville, S.C.) throw to first went awry allowing Gamblin to reach on a fielder's choice. A pop up and a fly out would allow Pritcher to get out of the rest of the inning unscathed.
In the top of the fourth, Richards reached on a single that rolled down the third base line staying fair and would move to second on a sac bunt by Ladd. Orvin then collected his third hit of the game when he poked one through the left side to put runners on the corners and then proceeded to steal second base. Matt Simonelli(Orlando, Fla.) would follow two batters later by ripping a double down the right field line to score Richards and Orvin to make it 6-1.
In a predetermined split, Chris Boyce (Simpsonville, S.C.) came in to pitch 1.2 scoreless innings and was followed by Raymond Copenhaver (Apopka, Fla.) who pitched for the 131st time in his career, breaking the record for the most appearances of any pitcher in Southern Conference history.
The Eagles would threaten against Copenhaver in the fifth as Tyler McBride ripped a shot off the senior, but the right-hander's throw to first pulled Mackert off the bag. Copenhaver then hit Tyler Cook with a pitch and Adam Gliebe singled through the right side to load the bases with no outs. After Eddie Rohan hit a pitch back to Copenhaver for a double play to get outs at the plate and at first, Crane would walk for the third time to re-load the bases. Thielapape then hit a grounder up the middle to Kyle Jordan(Goose Creek, S.C.) who flipped to Bryan Altman (Summerville, S.C.) for the out at second to escape the bases-loaded jam.
Drew Mahaffey (Summerville, S.C.) and TJ Clarkson (Coral Springs, Fla.) each followed with a scoreless inning of relief each for the Bulldogs.
In the top of the seventh, Simonelli reached on an error by Crane at third, stole second base and moved to third on a throwing error by Rohan behind the plate. Altman then dumped an RBI single into shallow right that no Eagle could get to as Simonelli came around to score. Mackert would follow with his second double of the day, to deep center that scored Altman. Richards would eventually get this third hit of the day, this time up the middle off Winthrop reliever Eric Ruth to bring in Mackert to make the score 9-1.
Gamblin launched a two-run homer that scored Crane off reliever Nick Sprowls (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) in the bottom of the eighth. In the top of the ninth, Richards was hit by a pitch and came around to score his third run of the day on a fielder's choice groundout by Brad Felder (Orangeburg, S.C.) to make it 10-3.
In the bottom of the ninth, Tyler Donovan and Crane led off with a pair of singles off Matt Reifsnider (Ormond Beach, Fla.) in his 100th career appearance. Sean Sullivan hit an RBI single to center to score Donovan for the final run of the game to make it 10-4.
Orvin tied a career in hits, going 4-for-5 with a run, a pair or RBI and a walk. Richards set a career high with three runs scored and tied his career in hits going 3-for-4 with two RBI. Mackert went 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and an RBI. Pritcher (3-3) picked up the win, going 2.0 innings, allowing one hit, one run, no earned runs and a walk while Paterozzi (0-5) took the loss, going 1.1 innings, allowing four hits, four runs and two walks. McBride, Sullivan, Gamblin, Thielapape and Crane all collected two hits a piece for the Eagles.
"It felt good to go out there and finally get a win on Tuesday," said Orvin. "It's nice to get on this winning streak and head into this huge conference series with some confidence."
The Citadel completes the regular season with a three-game set at Georgia Southern. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. on Thursday
Georgia Southern 19, Jacksonville 4
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Georgia Southern was held scoreless in only two innings at Sessions Stadium Tuesday evening (May 18),defeating Jacksonville 19-4 in a non-conference matchup. The Eagles collected a season-high 25 hits in the win to improve to 34-19 overall and push their current win streak to 12 games. Jacksonville fell to 23-26 with the loss.
Every Eagle starter in the contest collected at least one hit with A.J. Wirnsberger (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) and Arthur Owens (Fayetteville, Ga.) leading the team. Wirnsberger finished the game 4-for-6, while Owens also tallied four hits, going 4-for-5 with three runs scored.
Shawn Payne (Stone Mountain, Ga.), Kevin Bowles (Statesboro, Ga.) and Michael Burruss (Marietta, Ga.) each posted three hits with Kyle Blackburn (Marietta, Ga.) and Eric Phillips (Carrollton, Ga.) recording three RBI apiece. Bowles went 3-for-4 with a team-high four runs scored.
Only one home run was recorded in the win, a three-run shot from Phillips to left center in the seventh inning.
Colin Snow (Alpharetta, Ga.) picked up the win working 3.2 innings, allowing no runs on only two hits, while striking out four. Clay Kollenbaum was charged with the loss after 0.2 innings of work, surrendering three runs on four hits. Jacksonville was forced to use seven pitchers in the loss.
The Eagles jump started the evening by scoring two runs in the top of the first using a double from Payne and single from Blackburn. GS tacked on another run for a 3-0 lead in the second using doubles from Owens and Randy J. Williams (Valdosta, Ga.) with two outs.
But the cushion was erased in the home half of the inning as Jacksonville scored three runs on three hits and one error to knot the game at 3-all.
Three runs in the third allowed the visiting Eagles to take the final lead before the Dolphins recorded their last run in the bottom of the frame.
Georgia Southern went on to hold Jacksonville scoreless in the next six innings, while adding another 13 runs to the board beginning with a six-run fifth inning in which the Eagles batted around. GS scored seven runs over the final three innings and posted at least one hit in each inning for its 25 total.
Georgia Southern returns to the field for its final home series of 2010 this weekend. The Eagles play host to The Citadel May 20-22. Game times are set for 6 p.m., 7p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
#6 South Carolina 11, Furman 6
COLUMBIA, S.C. ? Bobby Haney’s grand slam highlighted a nine-run seventh inning and helped propel nationally sixth-ranked South Carolina to an 11-6 victory over Furman in baseball action Tuesday evening at Carolina Stadium.
With the score tied 2-2, the Gamecocks (42-11) sent 14 men to the plate and banged out seven hits, including Haney’s bases clearing clout, to score nine runs en route to their seventh straight victory, which also completed the two-game season sweep of Furman (16-34).
Reese Wade’s two-run home run in the fourth tied the contest at 2-2, which the Paladins maintained behind the solid work of starting pitcher Barry Benton, who worked into the sixth inning before departing.
In the seventh, however, the Paladins watched the Gamecocks take a 5-3 lead on Christian Walker’s two-run single to right field off Nick Karow. USC’s onslaught continued against relievers Kevin Gaid and Kevin Gottlieb, who yielded five hits and six runs, including Haney’s big blow, which cleared the right field fence to give the Gamecocks an 11-2 advantage.
The Paladins tallied a run in the eighth and used a two-run single by Aaron Thompkins in the ninth to make it 11-6.
South Carolina posted a 14-7 advantage in hits, including Haney’s 3-for-4, four-RBI performance. Whit Merrifield also had three hits for the Gamecocks.
Furman was paced by Rob Fondu, who doubled twice and scored two runs, and Wade, whose 2-run line drive home run, his fourth of the campaign, landed in the Gamecock bullpen in over the right center field wall.
Steven Neff (2-1) was the beneficiary of South Carolina’s seventh inning outburst, earning the win in relief after retiring the Paladins in the seventh.
Karow (0-2), making his first mound appearance since Apr. 7, was charged with the loss after allowing three runs on a pair of hits.
Furman entertains Gardner-Webb at 3:00 p.m. Wednesday at Latham Stadium in the final home game of the 2010 season.
Tennessee Tech 11, Western Carolina 2
Cookeville, Tenn. ? Tennessee Tech scored 11 unanswered runs in the final five innings to down Western Carolina, 11-2, on Tuesday evening at Quillen Field.
The Catamounts (31-19-1) led 2-0 after three innings, but Tennessee Tech (26-23) tallied 11 runs in the next five innings en route to the victory.
Junior Matt Johns led the Catamounts with a 2-for-4 performance including a double with a run scored. Johns notched five combined hits against the Golden Eagles during the past two seasons.
Western Carolina jumped out to a 2-0 lead after Johns doubled to left field. Tyler Kirkpatrick drove in Johns after reaching on base by a Golden Eagle defensive miscue. Ross Heffley’s single to right center field drove in Kirkpatrick to open the Catamounts lead to two runs. Heffley finished the afternoon 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Chad Hayes’ launched a two-run homer to left field in the home-half of the fourth to tie the contest at 2-2 for Tennessee Tech. A double by Seth Edwards in the fifth drove in Chad Oberacker to give the Golden Eagles the 3-2 advantage. Edwards added the fourth Golden Eagle run with a Hayes RBI single to left field. In the sixth inning, A.J. Kirby-Jones smacked his 21st roundtripper of the season as TTU took a 5-2 lead.
The Golden Eagles padded their lead in the sixth as Zephan Guyear’s triple drove in a pair of runs. Brandon Crossman’s sacrifice fly would allow Guyear to add another run as Tennessee Tech opened an 8-2 gap. In the seventh, Kirby-Jones hammered his second homer of the game to right field to make it a seven-run TTU lead. Tennessee Tech added a trifecta of runs in the third in the bottom of the eighth.
Catamount starter Preston Hatcher (1-2) tossed four innings in the loss, giving up three earned runs on five hits. The Atlanta, Ga., native fanned a career-high six batters, surpassing his season total of four combined strikeouts in 11 previous appearances.
Wade Bilbrey (1-0) snagged the victory for the Golden Eagles as he threw four scoreless innings, allowing just two hits with six strikeouts.
Jeremy Sluder tossed a third of an inning with a run surrendered on two hits. Lefty Vance Chavis tossed an inning giving up three runs on two hits. Andrew Chilcoat and Andrew Blackwell also came in relief, giving up two runs in an inning and two-thirds.
Cameron Dullnig closed out the game with an inning pitched, as he surrendered two runs on two this.
The Catamounts return home after a seven-game road trip to close out the regular season. WCU welcomes Davidson for a three-game series that will begin at 6 pm on Thursday. Fans who purchase a ticket to this weekend’s contest will receive a gift from the athletic department.
Wake Forest 10, Appalachian State 3
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. ? Appalachian State University baseball had no answer for a red-hot Wake Forest offense in a 10-3 loss to the Demon Deacons on Tuesday evening at Wake Forest Baseball Park.
The setback was the eighth in nine games for Appalachian (32-16-1) and ruined its bid to finish tied for the nation's fewest losses in non-conference play this season. ASU wrapped up the non-conference portion of its regular-season schedule with just two defeats in 23 games, one more than No. 3 Arizona State, which has finished its non-league slate at 27-1.
Wake Forest (16-36), which came into Tuesday's contest fresh off of taking 2-of-3 games from No. 19 Clemson last weekend, picked up where it left off against the Tigers by torching six Mountaineer pitchers for 10 runs on 14 hits. The Demon Deacons did all of the damage in the middle innings, plating two runs in the third and fourth frames, five in the fifth and one in the sixth en route to scoring in double-digits for the third time in their last five games.
One of ASU's lone bright spots came on Jerod Faggart's (Concord, N.C./Northwest Cabarrus) 13th home run of the season, a solo shot to left center in the fourth inning. The blast was Faggart's 13th of the season, the fourth-most in school history and the most by a Mountaineer since Kenny Osborne hit 15 in 1997, and the 28th of his career, which moves him into a tie for fifth all-time at ASU.
Faggart finished 1-for-2 with a sacrifice fly and two RBI while Jack Myers (Charlotte, N.C./Myers Park) collected three of Appalachian's eight hits in a 3-for-4 effort. Myers' three hits were a career high.
Matt Conway paced Wake Forest's offensive onslaught, going 2-for-5 with a double, home run, three RBI and two runs scored. In the process, the ACC Freshman of the Year candidate extended his hitting streak to 15 games.
Appalachian closes the regular season with a three-game Southern Conference series at Wofford this weekend. The series begins with a single game on Friday at 7 p.m. and concludes with a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday at King Field in Spartanburg, S.C.
Davidson Baseball Game vs. Virginia Tech Canceled
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Today's baseball game against the Virginia Tech Hokies has been canceled due to field conditions at Wilson Field and will not be rescheduled.
Davidson will conclude the regular season with a three-game SoCon series at Western Carolina this weekend. The Wildcats and Catamounts will begin the series Thursday at 6 p.m. The second game is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday, and the teams will play the finale at 3 p.m. Saturday.