Elon 9, UNC Wilmington 2
WILMINGTON, N.C. -- Jared Kernodle struck out six hitters over seven innings and three different Elon hitters scored two runs as the Phoenix defeated the UNC Wilmington Seahawks 9-2 from Brooks Field on Wednesday night. With the victory, Elon improved to 31-18 overall and finished the regular season with an 18-7 road mark. UNCW dropped to 25-21 on the year.
Elon manufactured the game's first run in the fourth inning. With one down, Neal Pritchard was hit by a pitch for the 20th time on the year. The Phoenix executed a hit-and-run with Ryan Adams sending a single through the right side of the infield to put runners on the corners before Scott Riddle's fielder's choice to third scored Pritchard.
With Harry Austin on second and Niko Fraser on first with two outs, Matt Hinson roped a ball that was just over a leaping effort by the Seahawk outfielder and off the wall for a double that scored both runners to give Elon a 3-0 lead in the fifth. The Phoenix loaded the bases as Pritchard followed with a walk ahead of Adams being hit by a pitch. Riddle grounded a ball to third, but the throw to first was in the dirt for an error which allowed Hinson to score.
The Phoenix loaded the bags without a hit in the sixth. With one out, both Austin and Fraser walked before Hinson was hit with a two-out pitch. After a passed ball let Austin score the fifth Elon run, Pritchard lined a single up the middle to plate both Fraser and Hinson to increase the Phoenix's edge to 7-0.
After 10 consecutive Seahawk hitters had been retired by Kernodle, Ben Thielsen drew a walk to begin the bottom of the sixth. Michael Rooney followed with a double just past a diving Ben Scott at third to put two aboard. Thomas Pope's deep fly ball to center allowed both runners to tag and advance, including Thielsen who crossed the plate with UNCW's first run of the game. Cody Stanley then lifted a fly ball to right and Rooney tried to tag and score, but Justin Hilt's perfect throw to the plate gunned down Rooney to end the inning.
Riddle led off the Phoenix seventh with a walk before going to second on a wild pitch and to third on a ground out. Hilt's sacrifice fly to right-center brought home Riddle and Elon's lead was 8-1.
Robbie Monday drilled a 1-0 pitch down the right field line for his 15th home run of the season to lead off the bottom of the seventh for the only other Seahawk run.
With one down in the top of the ninth, Adams singled. Pinch-runner David Wood moved to second when Riddle reached on an error and then scored on Ben Scott's single through the right side.
Kernodle improved to 6-2 on the year with his solid performance. He allowed both runs on just three hits.
UNCW starter Daniel Cropper took the loss, falling to 1-4. He gave up four runs on four hits in 4.2 innings.
Hinson finished the day 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI while Adams and Scott each added two hits. Despite going a combined 0-for-8, Austin and Fraser each scored twice for Elon.
The four hits by the Seahawks came from four different hitters.
Elon will play its final seven games of the regular season at home beginning with Friday night's 7 p.m. tilt with Appalachian State.
Gardner-Webb 6, Appalachian State 5
BOONE, N.C. ? Appalachian State University baseball suffered its first loss in 21 non-conference games this season with a 6-5 setback to visiting Gardner-Webb on Wednesday evening at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
Appalachian (31-9-1) led 3-1 after two innings but Gardner-Webb (21-23) scored the game's next four runs ? capped by a three-run fourth inning ? to take a lead it would never relinquish.
The Mountaineers were in prime position to at least tie the game when back-to-back singles and a two-base throwing error by GWU right fielder Adam McFarland cut the ASU deficit to 6-5 with a runner on third base and nobody out in the sixth. Doug Jones (Charlotte, N.C./South Mecklenburg) struck out for the first out of the inning but Ryan Stetson (Charlotte, N.C./Ardrey Kell) roped a line drive to to right field that appeared to be deep enough for a game-tying sacrifice fly. However, McFarland made up for his errant throw earlier in the inning by launching a bullet that beat Jason Wallace (Greensboro, N.C./Ragsdale) to the plate by a step and kept the Bulldogs' one-run lead intact.
ASU threatened to tie the ballgame again in the seventh when Jerod Faggart (Concord, N.C./Northwest Cabarrus) laced a two-out double off the left field fence to put the tying run in scoring position. However, GWU reliever Jeff Howell came on to get the final out of the seventh then ended any hopes of a Mountaineer comeback by retiring the side in order in the eighth and ninth innings.
Faggart led three Mountaineers with multiple hits by going 2-for-3 with his team-best 12th home run of the season, a double and a walk. Jeremy Dowdy (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) extended his hitting streak to 11 games with his fifth homer of the season but Wes Hobson (Winston-Salem, N.C./North Forsyth) saw his 13-game hitting streak come to an end with an 0-for-4 evening. Hobson was the only member of the starting lineup that didn't contribute to the Apps' 11-hit attack.
Ryan Arrowood (Rutherfordton, N.C./Central) surrendered all three Gardner-Webb runs in the fourth to suffer the loss and fall to 5-3 on the season.
GWU's Kyle Paeplow (2-0) tossed 1.1 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win while Howell picked up his second save with 2.1 perfect frames to close out the ballgame.
In addition to being the Mountaineers' first non-conference loss of the season, the defeat also snapped ASU's four-game winning streak versus in-state rival Gardner-Webb.
Appalachian hits the road this weekend for a pivotal three-game Southern Conference series at Elon (31-18, 14-10 SoCon). Game times are set for 7 p.m. Friday, 4 p..m. Saturday and 1:30 p.m. Sunday at Elon's Latham Park.
East Tennessee State 12, Wofford 4
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. ? The Wofford College baseball team was defeated 12-4 by East Tennessee State on Wednesday evening at Cardinal Park. The Bucs scored in each of the first seven innings in the contest and limited the Terriers to only six hits.
Wofford is 14-30 on the season. East Tennessee State is 27-18 overall. The Terriers were led by Mac Doyle with two doubles on the night and Landon Bennett with two RBIs. The Bucs were led by Paul Hoilman with two home runs and four RBIs.
The Bucs got on the board in the bottom of the first with an RBI single from Derek Trent. A double to the right field hill by Bo Reeder drove in a second run. Kerry Doane followed with another double to the right field hill to bring in two more runs for a 4-0 lead.
In the bottom of the second, Paul Hoilman reached on a fielder’s choice and a throwing error on the play allowed one run to score to make it a 5-0 advantage. The Bucs added a run in the bottom of the third when Chas Byrne hit an infield single.
To open the fourth inning, Alex Lee was hit by a pitch and Kyle Behrendt walked. A double to the centerfield wall by Mac Doyle drove in both runners. A sacrifice fly by Landon Bennett to left field brought in Doyle from third for a 6-3 score. Paul Hoilman hit his 18th home run of the season in the bottom of the fourth to make it 7-3.
Wofford added two bases runners in the top of the fifth with a double by Matt Moore and a walk by James Foster, but both were left on base. In the bottom of the fifth, back-to-back doubles by Kerry Doane and Michael Gonzalez added a run to take an 8-3 lead.
Mac Doyle added a double in the top of the sixth and he was brought home on a sacrifice fly to left field by Landon Bennett for an 8-4 score. In the bottom half of the inning, two singles and a home run by Paul Hoilman over the left field wall made it 11-4.
The Bucs opened the bottom of the seventh with a double from Michael Gonzalez and he scored on a ground-out by Derek Niesman for a 12-4 lead. Neither team was able to score in the eighth inning. Konstantine Diamaduros hit a single with one out in the ninth, but the Terriers left one on base to end the game.
For the Terriers, J.D. Osborne (3-3) started and went six innings with thirteen hits allowed and eleven runs along with four strikeouts. Pete Noordsy went the seventh and allowed two hits and one run. Ryan Traylor pitched the eighth and allowed one hit with one strikeout.
East Tennessee State starter Derek Bushey (1-1) went three innings and allowed only one hit with one strikeout. Drew Story gave up one hit and three runs and Joseph Timp went three innings with two hits and one run allowed. Scott McNally threw the seventh and allowed one hit with one strikeout. Kerry Doane went the eighth and did not allow a hit. Bo Burton threw the ninth and allowed one hit.
With a double in the fourth inning, Mac Doyle became the Wofford single season record holder for doubles with 22 and added his 23rd in the sixth. The previous record was 21 held by Chad Livingston (2001) and Michael Gilmartin (2008).
The Terriers return home on Friday night for the beginning of a three-game series against Samford at 7:00 p.m.
North Florida 12, UNC Greensboro 5
GREENSBORO, N.C. ? UNC Greensboro held a 4-3 lead though three innings, but North Florida ran off nine unanswered runs as the Spartans fell, 12-5, to the Ospreys on Wednesday afternoon at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Kyle Westwood picked up the win for the Ospreys (24-20) after pitching the final seven innings of relief, while allowing just one run on four hits. UNCG starter Blake Hassebrock was credited with the loss after giving up nine runs in 5 2/3 innings.
Corey Overholtzer led the Spartans (20-26) on Wednesday as he went 3-5 with two RBI and a run scored. Lloyd Enzor, Ed Jayjack and Kris Richards also added RBI for UNCG.
Andrew Karmeris led North Florida as he went 3-5 with five RBI and two runs scored, while Justin Preckajlo added three hits himself with two RBI and four runs scored. Preston Hale also had three hits on the afternoon with an RBI and two runs scored.
Both offenses came out hot to begin the day as they both scored runs in the first two innings. With one out in the top of the first, Preckajlo hit a solo home run to right center and Hale scored on a sacrifice fly after walking earlier in the inning to give the Ospreys a 2-0 lead.
UNCG responded with a run in the bottom half of the first as Chris Barker drew a walk. Enzor followed with a walk two batters later before Jayjack singled up the middle to score Barker and pull UNCG within 2-1.
The Ospreys got that run right back though as Sam Perry hit a two-out double in the top of the second inning to left center and then scored on a single by T.J. Gavlik to make it 3-1.
The Spartans continued to match the Ospreys as they tied the game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second. Richards led off the inning with a walk and then Alex Frederick reached on a UNF error. The runners moved to second and third on a sacrifice bunt by Harry Slade before Overholtzer hit a two-run single to center field to tie the game at three.
UNCG would go on to take the lead in the bottom of the third as Ray Quinones hit a single to right field and then scored later in the inning on a groundout by Richards to put the Spartans ahead, 4-3.
The score would stay that way until the top of the fifth inning when the Osprey took the lead for good with a pair of runs. Preckajlo hit a one-out single to left field to get things going before scoring on a double to left field by Karmeris to tie the game at four. Karmeris would then go on to score on a single up the middle by T.J. Thompson to give UNF a 5-4 advantage.
The Ospreys would take complete control of the game in the sixth inning as they put up four runs in the inning, highlighted by a three-run home run to left field by Karmeris, to take a 9-4 lead.
North Florida wasn’t done there as they put together a two-out rally in the top of the eighth inning. Preckajlo got it started with a double to left center and then scored as Hale followed with a single to left center. Karmeris kept it going with a double to left field that scored Hale from first and made it an 11-4 ballgame.
After the Ospreys added another run in the top of the ninth, Overholtzer hit a triple in the bottom of the ninth before scoring on a sacrifice fly to make the final score, 12-5.
The Spartans now have a week off before hosting Wake Forest on May 12 at 6 p.m. at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.