Elon 5, Samford 1
ELON, N.C. -- Elon's Ken Ferrer shut down the Samford offense while throwing the first complete game of his career as the Phoenix picked up a 5-1 Southern Conference baseball victory from Latham Park in the regular-season finale for both squads. Elon improved to 36-20 overall and finished the year 19-11 in SoCon play. Samford fell to 30-23, 17-12.
Ferrer, who needed only 99 pitches in the win, improved to 9-5 on the year and did not allow a walk. Of the five hits he allowed, only one came after the fifth inning. The junior has now earned a decision in 12 consecutive outings. Ferrer's complete game was the second of the year for Elon. The Phoenix now has two nine-game winners in the same season for the first time since moving to NCAA Division I play for the 2000 season. Jimmy Reyes also has nine wins for Elon this year.
Samford's Wayne Miller led off the game with an infield single and stole second with one out. On the steal, the throw to second went into center field and Miller ended up on third. Mason Meredeth followed by lining a single to right to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead as Miller crossed the plate.
Harry Austin and Niko Fraser started the Elon first with back-to-back doubles to tie the game at one.
The top of the order came through for the Phoenix again in the third. Austin led off with a double to left-center before Fraser was hit by a pitch. Mike Melillo followed by lining his 11th home run down the right field line to put Elon up 4-1. It was an advantage that the Phoenix would not relinquish.
The score remained 4-1 until the bottom of the seventh. Alex Swim began the frame with his first career triple and then scored on Austin's single up the middle through a drawn in infield to give the Phoenix a four-run cushion.
Josh Martin (4-6) was charged with the loss for Samford after allowing all five Elon runs on eight hits in seven innings.
Austin ended the day 3-for-4 with two doubles, two runs scored and a RBI as he extended his hitting streak to a season-long seven games. Fraser was 2-for-3 with a run and RBI while Melillo went 1-for-4 with one run and drove in three.
Miller scored Samford's lone run and was 1-for-4 at the plate while Meredeth, who also went 1-for-4, had the team's only RBI.
The two teams will meet again next Wednesday in Charleston, S.C. in the first round of the 2010 Southern Conference Baseball Championship which will be played at Riley Park. Elon will be the tournament's four seed while Samford will be seeded fifth. The game time has yet to be determined.
Furman 11, UNC Greensboro 6
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? UNC Greensboro hit three home runs and scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth, but it was too little, too late as the Spartans fell to Furman, 11-6, on Friday afternoon at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Daniel Stallsmith picked up the win for the Paladins (18-35, 10-19 Southern Conference) as he nearly pitched a complete game. He went 8 2/3 innings and gave up six runs on six hits, while walking three and not striking out any batter. Warren Slack suffered the loss after allowing six runs on 11 hits in six innings of work.
The Spartans (20-32, 7-22 SoCon) were led by Ray Quinones and Cody Walker who each had a hit and two RBI. Joey Frabasile and Kris Richards added solo home runs for UNCG as well.
Will Miller paced the Paladins as he went a perfect 5-5 with an RBI and four runs scored. Brian Harrison also had a nice afternoon by going 2-3 with an RBI and two runs scored, while Dylan Cole added three RBI.
The Spartans were the first team to get on the board as they pushed one run across the plate in the first to take an early lead. With one out, Chris Barker drew a walk and then advanced to second on a single by Corey Overholtzer. Quinones followed with a double to right center two batters later to score Barker and put UNCG ahead, 1-0.
That lead didn’t last long though, as Furman responded with a pair of runs in the top of the second. Miller led off the inning with a triple to right center before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Cole to tie the game. J.B. Jenkins followed with a solo home run to left center to put the Paladins in front, 2-1.
UNCG answered with a run in the bottom of the third to knot the game at two. Harry Slade led off with a walk and advanced to second as Barker was hit by a pitch. A batter later, Lloyd Enzor walked to load the bases. Quinones followed with a sacrifice fly to deep center field that allowed Slade to easily score and make it a 2-2 ballgame.
After that walk by Enzor, Stallsmith retired the next 17 Spartans in order on just 53 pitches until Frabasile’s home run in the ninth inning.
The Paladins took the lead for good in the top of the fourth inning as Rob Fondu hit an RBI single to right field that scored Cole to give the visitors a 3-2 advantage.
Furman continued to add to its lead as Harrison led off the fifth inning with a solo blast over the left field wall to make it 4-2. Cole would go on to make it 5-2 later in the inning on a RBI single to right field to score Miller.
Will Owens hit a one-out double to left center in the top of the sixth and later scored on a wild pitch to extend the Paladins lead to 6-2.
The Paladins continued to pour on the offense as Miller led off the seventh inning with a double to left center. He advanced to third on a wild pitch before scoring on a single to left field by Jenkins. Jenkins would also go on to score later in the inning on a groundout to make it an 8-2 ballgame.
Furman would go on to tack on three more runs in the top of the eighth, highlighted by Miller’s RBI triple, to push its lead to 11-2.
The Spartans were finally able to get to Stallsmith in the ninth inning, but it wasn’t enough. Frabasile led off the inning with a solo home run to left field. After a groundout, Eric Brindle singled to left field before Walker hit a two-run home run to left field. After a fly out, Richards hit his own home run to left field to make the final score, 11-6.
The Spartans will hit the field for the final time this season on Saturday as they wrap up the three-game series with Furman. UNCG will celebrate Senior Day for seniors Corey Overholtzer and Alex Shelton before the 2 p.m. contest.
Western Carolina 7, Davidson 5
Cullowhee, N.C. ? Junior Matt Johns led the Catamounts with four hits and drove in the game winning runs as Western Carolina came from behind to defeat Davidson, 7-5, at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium on Friday evening.
The Catamounts trailed, 5-4, going to the home-half of the eighth, where Western Carolina used a Johns’ double to right center to tally three runs and take the series victory. WCU (33-19-1, 15-13-1 SoCon) out-numbered Davidson (19-31, 5-24 SoCon), 10-to-12, in the hit column in the midst of extending their win streak to 12 games over the Wildcats.
Redshirt Sophomore Vance Chavis (3-4) notched the victory after shutting down the Wildcats in two-thirds of an inning pitched. Brandon Johnson claimed his second save of the season by finishing the final two outs in the contest with a ground-out double.
Johns led the WCU offense with a 4-for-5 evening, two RBIs and two runs scored. The Stafford, Va., native also notched his team-leading 18th and 19th doubles of the season.
Ollie Goulder added the first Catamount run in the second inning from a Cameron Dullnig RBI single. WCU took a 3-1 lead after three innings when Johns scored from a Trevor Collias sacrifice fly. WCU added the third run with a Bryant Noteboom single to center field, allowing Tyler Kirkpatrick to score. Kirkpatrick concluded the game with a pair of hits, a pair of walks and a run scored.
Davidson took the lead with a three-spot in the fourth as Cameron Barron began the rally with a two RBI triple to right center. Michael Zeblo added the second triple later in the inning, driving home Barron to give the Wildcats a 4-3 advantage. Andrew Barna’s solo shot to left field in the fifth extended Davidson’s lead to 5-3.
Goulder’s single to center field in the home-half of the fifth allowed Ross Heffley to score cutting the Catamounts deficit to 5-4. Goulder hit 2-for-4 in the contest with a run scored and a run-batted-in.
Freshman Taylor Sandefur tossed seven innings in the no-decision, giving up five earned runs with six strikeouts and two walks. Jeremy Sluder came on in relief for two-thirds of an inning, giving up one hit and fanning two Wildcat batters.
Dullnig was hit by his 23rd pitch of the season in the eighth inning, which broke the previous school record of 22 set by Jonathan Greene in 2007.
Western Carolina took the, 7-5, lead in the eighth with a three-run Johns’ double to deep right center that drove in Austin Schultz and Dullnig. Johns eventually scored on the play after a Davidson fielding miscue.
Brian Russell (3-4) was charged with the loss for the Wildcats after giving up three runs, two earned, on one hit in two-thirds of an inning tossed. Starter Chris Lamb tossed seven innings, giving up four runs on 11 hits with six strikeouts. Designated hitter J.P. Crave finished a perfect 3-for-3 with a run scored and a walk to lead the Davidson offense.
Western Carolina will conclude the 2010 regular season at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium at 3 pm tomorrow afternoon. Fans are encouraged to arrive to the stadium around 2:30 pm to take part in the ?Senior Day’ festivities that will honor the six Catamount seniors. Live coverage of Saturday’s contest will be available online through GameTracker at CatamountSports.com.
Appalachian State 7, Wofford 6
SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? In a game that was not decided until the bottom of the ninth, the Wofford College baseball team was defeated 7-6 by Appalachian State on Friday night at Russell C. King Field. The Terriers held a 5-0 lead after six innings, but the Mountaineers scored all seven runs in the final three frames.
Wofford moves to 17-36 on the season and 9-19 in the Southern Conference. Appalachian State is 33-16-1 overall and 12-14-1 in the conference. The Terriers were led by Kyle Behrendt with three hits and David Roney with two RBIs on a home run in the fourth inning. The Mountaineers were led by Jack Myers with two hits and two RBIs.
After three scoreless innings in which the teams combined to strand seven runners, Wofford broke open the scoring in the bottom of the fourth. With Landon Bennett on base after a single, David Roney hit his third home run of the season to right field to give the Terriers a 2-0 lead.
In the top of the fifth, the Mountaineers loaded the bases on two walks and a single, but a double play ended the scoring chance. In the Wofford half of the inning, James Foster single, stole second and moved to third on an error. Mac Doyle singled to drive in Foster. Konstantine Diamaduros reached first on an error and a single by Landon Bennett to right field scored Doyle for a 4-0 advantage. After a pitching change, a double steal resulted in Diamaduros scoring from third and Bennett moving to second to add a run to the lead.
Both teams left one runner on base in the sixth inning. In the top of the seventh, a walk and double by Wes Hobson gave the Mountaineers two runners in scoring position. An RBI single by Jerrod Faggart scored both runners to make it a 5-2 game.
Appalachian State was able to tie the game in the top of the eighth when a single and walk gave Chris Alessandria two on base when he hit a home run to left center field to make it 5-5.
Wofford regained the lead in the bottom of the eighth when Clark Wise walked and stole second. A pinch-hit single by Michael McDonnell scored Wise for a 6-5 lead. In the top of the ninth, the first two Appalachian State batters walked and they moved to second and third on a sacrifice bunt by Tyler Zupcic. A single by Jack Myers scored both runners for the 7-6 advantage.
In the bottom of the ninth, Kyle Behrendt singled and Konstantine Diamaduros walked, but a ground-out ended the game.
For the Terriers, John Cornely started and went 6.2 innings with five hits allowed and one run scored along with two strikeouts. Cash Collins allowed two hits and one run in a third of an inning, while Bobby Streisel allowed three hits and three runs in two-thirds of an inning. Ryan Traylor picked up one out, while J.D. Osborne allowed one walk. Drew Sheridan (2-6) got the final three outs but allowed one hit and one run.
Appalachian State starter Matt Andress threw 4.2 innings with nine hits and five runs allowed with two strikeouts. Will Helms went 1.1 innings and allowed one hit with one strikeout, while David Port went an inning and allowed only one hit. Taylor Miller allowed one hit and one run in two-thirds of the eighth inning. Chris Patterson (3-2) went the final 1.1 innings with one hit allowed and three strikeouts.
The Terriers will complete the regular season with a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday against Appalachian State. Wofford can still finish either eighth or ninth in the Southern Conference standings. If the Terriers win both games on Saturday and Furman is defeated at UNC Greensboro, Wofford will earn the eighth spot. In any other scenario, the Terriers will finish ninth. Appalachian State locked up the seventh seed with the win.
GSU-Citadel Postponed Due to Rain
The game will resume at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
STATESBORO, Ga. ? With one out in the bottom of the eighth, The Citadel vs. Georgia Southern game two has been postponed due to rain in the area. The game will resume at point of suspension at 1 p.m. on Saturday, May 22, with game three beginning at 2:30 p.m. as originally scheduled.
The Citadel currently leads the contest 7-2 in the bottom of the eighth. The Bulldogs took a 2-0 lead with a pair of home runs in the second, but GS cut the score to 2-1 in the bottom of the frame. A pair of doubles pushed The Citadel back in the lead 3-1 before another solo shot extended the lead to 4-1. Bryan Altman handed the Bulldogs a 6-1 lead with a two-run home run in the sixth.
The conference foes traded runs in the seventh, leaving the score at 7-2 when the rain began to fall.
Senior day will take place on Saturday before the final home contest of the 2010 regular season. Fans can follow the action via live stats and live streaming at www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com. The game will be broadcast live on WPMX 102.9 FM.