Appalachian State 7, #20 Miami 5
CORAL GABLES, Fla. - Appalachian State University baseball snapped a 29-year losing streak against nationally ranked opponents with an impressive 7-5 triumph over No. 20 Miami (Fla.) on Friday night at Alex Rodriguez Park.
Appalachian (5-1) defeated a nationally ranked club for the first time since it downed No. 23 The Citadel, 5-4, in 1982. However, the victory is ASU's sixth since 2007 over an opponent from the perennially powerful Atlantic Coast Conference.
A towering three-run home run by catcher Jeremy Dowdy (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) in the fifth inning proved to be the difference in Friday's triumph. The blast hit midway up the scoreboard beyond the left field fence at Alex Rodriguez Park and gave the Mountaineers a commanding 6-0 lead.
Despite Dowdy's bomb, the story of the evening was clutch performances turned in by Appalachian's pitching staff. Making his second collegiate start just miles from his home, freshman left-hander Lawrence Pardo (Miami, Fla./Christopher Columbus) worked six terrific innings, allowing just four hits and striking out five while not surrendering an earned run.
The only runs that Miami (3-3) managed against the young southpaw came with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning when fellow freshman third baseman Noah Holmes (Rockwell, N.C./East Rowan) misplayed a big-league popup with the bases loaded. The miscue allowed two UM runners to score and the third came home when Pardo made an errant throw to the plate at the end of the same play.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, it was David Port's (Dunwoody, Ga./Dunwoody) turn for heroics on the mound. The right-handed junior came on with the bases loaded and nobody out and surrendered just one run to maintain a 6-4 advantage. Port got out of jam by buckling the knees of pinch-hitter Chatz Mack with a devastating curveball for an inning-ending strikeout.
After the Mountaineers tacked on an insurance run in the top of the ninth, the Hurricanes made it interesting in the bottom of the stanza. With one out, two runners on and a run already in against ASU closer Taylor Miller (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield), Mack hit a long single off the wall in left center field. UM held Harold Martinez at third on the hit but pinch-runner Nathan Melendres also tried to advance to third thinking Martinez would be sent home on the deep line drive. Melendres was tagged for the second out. One batter later, Miller fanned pinch-hitter David Villasuso to end the ballgame.
Miami, which made four errors in Thursday's series opener, had three more miscues on Friday, and also walked eight ASU batters. The Hurricanes' sloppy play was especially evident in the top of the fourth inning when they issued three walks and committed an error that led to the Mountaineers scoring three runs with only one hit that left the infield.
Pardo (1-0) earned his first-career win while Miller picked up his first save of the season.
Appalachian goes for the series victory when it meets Miami for the rubber game of the three-game weekend set on Saturday. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. at Alex Rodrigiuez Park.
Elon 4, South Florida 3 (10 inn.)
TAMPA, Fla. -- A three-run ninth tied the game before a 10th-inning walk brought home the game-winning run as the Elon Phoenix handed South Florida a 4-3 defeat in the opening of the Bulls' new stadium on Friday night. In front of a USF-record crowd of 3,126 fans, Elon won four the fourth consecutive outing and for the third straight time in its final at bat.
After the first hitter of the Phoenix 10th was retired, USF walked three straight Elon (4-1) batters to load the bases. With two outs, pinch-hitter Seth Canipe drew a walk on a 3-1 pitch to force home Eric Serra.
Thomas Girdwood retired the first two hitters of the bottom of the 10th before allowing the next two hitters to reach base. With the tying run at second and the winning run at first, Girdwood faned Mende to end the game and give Elon the series-opening victory.
The Phoenix fell behind in the first inning when, after Jonathan Koscso was hit by a pitch, Sam Mende sent the first pitch he saw over the wall in right to give the Bulls (0-4) a 2-0 lead.
The score remained 2-0 until the bottom of the sixth when Daniel Rockhold belted a solo homer to left to give USF a 3-0 edge. It would be the last hit of the night for the Bulls.
The Elon eighth began with a walk to Cyle Rasmus who then scored when Garrett Koster doubled down the left field line to get the Phoenix on the board. Harry Austin followed by drawing a four-pitch walk to force a pitching change. After Kevin Quackenbush came on to record two outs, Alex Swim singled up the middle to drive home Austin to make it a 3-2 game. On the play, Niko Fraser, who had reached on a fielder's choice, went to third and Swim ended up at second. USF looked like it would be out of the inning when Neal Pritchard swung through strike three, but a passed ball allowed Fraser to score to tie the game as Pritchard to reached first.
John Brebbia (1-0) picked up the win with a perfect ninth inning in relief of starter Kyle Webb who had another stellar outing. Webb allowed three runs on five hits in 8.0 innings. He did not walk a batter and struck out five. The save was Girdwood's second of the season.
Swim's seventh-inning single extended his hitting streak to a career-long nine games as he finished the night 2-for-4 with one RBI. Grant McCoury and Garrett Koster both recorded two of Elon's eight hits on the night.
USF's Kevin Quackenbush (0-1) was charged with the loss after giving up one run on one hit in 2.1 innings. The Bulls wasted a gem by Randy Fontanez, a 23rd round pick of the Cincinnati Reds a year ago, who did not allow a run in 7.0 innings. Fontanez did surrender six hits.
Elon and USF will play game two of this three-game set on Saturday night at 7 p.m. from the new USF Baseball Stadium.
#19 College of Charleston 14, Youngstown State 1
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - College of Charleston used back-to-back-to-back home runs in the first inning to open a four-run lead en route to a 14-1 non-conference victory over visiting Youngstown State Friday evening at Patriots Point. The #19-ranked Cougars improve to 5-0 on the season and keep Youngstown State winless on the year at 0-4. The two teams meet again tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 p.m.
With two outs in the opening inning, junior RF Marty Gantt (North Augusta, S.C.) drew a full-count walk and scored on the first of three consecutive round-trippers by the Cougars, this one off the bat of redshirt-junior 3B Matt Leeds (Boca Raton, Fla.). Fellow redshirt-junior 1B Jose Rodriguez (Hialeah, Fla.) and redshirt-freshman LF Daniel Aldrich (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) followed suit, with both clearing the right-field fence.
The Cougars added three more runs in the sixth, two coming on a double to right by Aldrich and a solo run on a sacrifice fly to center by senior 2B Jesse Mesa (Mirimar, Fla.) that scored Aldrich from third.
Charleston plated seven runs in the seventh, sending 10 batters to the plate, and giving the Cougars a 14-0 advantage. Gantt drew a leadoff walk and Leeds was hit by a pitch on a full count. Both Gantt and Leeds advanced on a passed ball before Rodriguez ripped a double down the left-field line to clear the bases. Rodriguez moved to third on a deep fly out to right by Aldrich and scored on a double to left center by Mesa. Freshman PH Waymon Hurd (Tallahassee, Fla.) walked on five pitches and advanced to third on a RBI single by senior CF Cole Rakar (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.), that plated Mesa. Sophomore PH Dre Watts (Laurens, S.C.) brought home Hurd and Rakar with a two-run double to center to give the Cougars a 13-0 lead. Watts would close out the scoring by Charleston, scoring on a throwing error by the Youngstown third baseman.
The Penguins broke the Cougars' shutout bid in the eighth as Drew Dosch scored on a RBI single to left center by Jonathan Crist after singling up the middle to lead off the inning.
Sophomore RHP David Peterson (Walnut Creek, Calif.) tossed six innings of one-hit ball for the win. Peterson struck out three and walked two, allowing just a single in the fourth inning. Rodriguez and Aldrich each had three RBIs on the evening, while Gantt and Leeds scored three times apiece.
The Cougars and Youngstown State meet for a game two of the series Saturday, Feb. 26 at Patriots Point. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m.
Wofford 10, Butler 2
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Wofford College baseball team opened the weekend with a 10-2 win over Butler at Russell C. King Field on Friday afternoon. The Terriers scored at least one run in all but the first inning as they hammered out 16 hits on the day.
Wofford is now 4-1 on the season. The game was the first of the season for Butler and they are 0-1. The Terriers were led by Clark Wise, who was four-of-four from the plate with two doubles, two stolen bases and three runs scored.
After a scoreless first inning, the Terriers got things started in the bottom of the second. Konstantine Diamaduros led off with a single, which was followed by a single by Clark Wise. David Roney drove in Diamaduros. A single by Taylor Rozier brought in Wise for a 2-0 lead.
The Terriers added two runs in the bottom of the third when James Foster led off with a triple. An RBI single by Konstantine Diamaduros drove in Foster, while a single from David Roney brought Diamaduros home. The Bulldogs answered with two runs in the top of the fourth as Grant Fillipitch hit a double that scored a run and Nick Hladek added an RBI single for a 4-2 score.
In the bottom of the fourth, Alex Lee was hit by a pitch, stole second and reached third on an error. Lee was brought in by a single through the left side by Josh McKinney. In the bottom of the fifth, Clark Wise singled, stole second and reached third on a passed ball. A single by Taylor Rozier scored Wise for a 6-2 lead.
Wofford scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single by Josh McKinney and a double to left field by Clark Wise that scored one as the Terriers had an 8-2 advantage. James Foster had an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh and a single by Landon Bennett in the bottom of the eighth drove in Clark Wise for then 10-2 final score.
Wofford starter Tom Dolinak (1-0) went seven innings and allowed only three hits and two runs with a career-high nine strikeouts. Alex Wilson threw the final two innings and allowed two hits with a strikeout.
For the Bulldogs, starter Mike Hernandez (0-1) threw five innings and allowed six runs on ten hits with five strikeouts. Joel Leichty went an inning and allowed two runs on three hits along with two strikeouts. Brad Schnitzer went the final two innings with three hits and two runs allowed with a strikeout.
Wofford will host Presbyterian College at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon at Russell C. King Field and will close the weekend with a home game at 1:00 p.m. Sunday against Dayton.
Georgia Southern 15, North Carolina Central 0
STATESBORO, Ga. - Chris Beck (Jefferson, Ga.) earned his first win of 2011 in Georgia Southern's (4-2) third shutout victory of the season. GSU recorded has already recorded the most shutouts in a season since 2003 when the pitching staff blanked four different teams, all in the month of February. The Eagles pounded out 15 hits and scored 15 runs in the 15-0 win over North Carolina Central (0-5).
Beck was stellar on the mound, striking out a career-high 12 batters while not allowing any walks or runs. The sophomore pitcher pounded the strike zone and all but 15 of his 81 pitches came as strikes. Beck carried a one-hitter into the seventh inning before Akeem Hood reached on a long infield hit.
Shawn Payne (Stone Mountain, Ga.) and Eric Phillips (Carrollton, Ga.) tallied three hits in three at bats each and both scored three times. Phillips doubled twice in the game, while Michael Burruss (Marietta, Ga.) drove in three runs on a home run and a single.
GSU did most of its damage at the plate in the first three innings before emptying the bench. The Eagles scored all but two runs in the first three frames and added single runs in the sixth and eighth innings.
Beck set down North Carolina Central in order in the first inning and Georgia Southern exploded for five runs on four hits in the bottom half of the inning. The Eagles opened the inning with extra-base hits from their top three hitters before Steve Cochrane (Mooresville, N.C.) reached on an error by the shortstop.
Burruss' first homer of the season, which hit off the right field wall below the Jack Stallings Field sign, drove in Payne who doubled to lead off the first inning. Phillips launched the second double of the inning into the left field and scored on the error. Victor Roache (Ypsilanti, Mich.) stroked a well-hit ball into the left field corner, moving Cochrane to third base. A passed ball and a ground out would bring in both runs.
Georgia Southern scored five runs in the second inning and added three more in the third inning. Cochrane doubled in a pair of runs after the first run of the second inning scored on an error. A fielder's choice and a RBI single from Ben Morgan (Evans, Ga.) scored the final two runs of the Second.
Payne led off the inning with a single to left field and scored on a double by Phillips. Garren Palmer (Dalton, Ga.) drove in the second run of the inning on a ground out to first base and the third run scored on a fielder's choice by Jesse Piccolo (Flagler Beach, Fla.). Piccolo drove in three runs without a hit and was one of three Eagles to play the entire game in the field.
D.J. Henderson (Detroit, Mich.) drove in a run in the sixth inning with his sacrifice fly, and Stryker Brown (Dalton, Ga.) plated the final Georgia Southern run on another sacrifice fly in the eighth inning.
North Carolina Central finished with four hits. Centerfielder Nate Smith singled with two outs in the second inning for the first NCCU hit and doubled in the eighth inning. N.C. Central threatened to score a run and break up the shutout after Derrell Parker dropped a pinch-hit single in front of the rightfielder, moving Smith to third base. Beck struck out Tyson Simpson Jr. to end the inning, stranding both runners on base.
NCCU's Smith made a pair of stellar diving plays in the outfield to record the first two outs of the fifth inning. Brandon Oatis worked around a base hit by Arthur Owens (Fayetteville, Ga.) to retire the Eagles without a run for the second-straight inning. Oatis went five innings out of the bullpen and allowed four runs on six hits.
Fans can use their baseball ticket stubs from tomorrow's 1:30 p.m. game against North Carolina Central for free admission to the Men's and Women's Basketball doubleheader at Hanner Fieldhouse later in the day.
UNCG 5, Cleveland State 4
GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNCG took advantage of a pair of Cleveland State errors to push three runs across the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Spartans defeated the Vikings, 5-4, on Friday evening at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Down 4-2 with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Drew Gehringer and Chris Barker drew back-to-back four-pitch walks. After a pitching change, Ray Quinones also drew a walk to load the bases.
After another pitching change, Zach Leach reached on an error by the shortstop that allowed Gehringer and Barker to score to tie the game at four. After another Spartan walk loaded the bases, Matt Crump reached on an error by the Viking second baseman to put UNCG in front, 5-4.
Zach Furl picked up the win for the Spartans (3-2) after throwing a pair of no-hit innings to end the game with one strikeout. Tyler Wynn was credited with the loss for the Vikings (1-3) after walking the only batter he faced.
Barker led UNCG at the plate as he had a 3-4 night with a run scored, while Gehringer went 1-2 with an RBI and run scored.
Tom Carter went 2-4 with an RBI for the Vikings on Friday.
The Vikings struck first with three runs in the top of the fourth inning to take the early lead. Tyler Wynn singled to led off the inning and then stole second before scoring on a single by Chuck Gasti to center field.
With runners on second and third later in the inning, Cleveland State was able to score both runners on a groundout and single to take a 3-0 lead.
UNCG responded with a run of its own in the bottom of the fourth as Eric Brindle led off the inning with a walk. He advanced to second on a groundout before scoring after back-to-back singles by Thomas Troelstrup and Gehringer to make it 3-1.
The Spartans would pull within a run in the bottom of the sixth as Bobby Martin reached on an error to start the inning. After stealing second, Martin would later score on a single by Barker to make it 3-2.
The Vikings came right back with a run in the top of the eighth when Zach Thompson scored on a sacrifice fly.
The Spartans and Vikings will play game two of the series on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Davidson 2, Ohio 1
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- In a classic pitcher's duel, the Davidson Wildcats prevailed when freshman left fielder Forrest Brandt's walkoff single delivered the 2-1 victory over the Ohio Bobcats Friday night at Wilson Field.
Junior left-hander Chris Lamb scattered four hits -including a leadoff home run to third baseman Dan Ward that put Ohio ahead 1-0 in the eighth, and struck out six in eight strong innings of work in his second start of the season.
While the Wildcat offense managed just two hits off Ohio's Seth Streich, who walked four and struck out nine in seven innings in the start, the team got runs when it mattered, manufacturing a run in both the eighth and ninth to emerge victorious.
After Ward's home run in the eighth, junior second baseman Calvin Sigelbaum (1-for-4) led off the bottom half with a double to the gap in left. Junior center fielder Drew Gadaire executed the sacrifice, and with senior designated hitter Danny Weiss at the plate, Sigelbaum scored from third on a wild pitch to knot the game.
Lamb came back out to start the ninth but gave way to senior right-hander Andy Bass (W, 1-0) after dealing the leadoff walk to center fielder Ethan Newton. With base runners a premium in the low-scoring affair, Newton was gunned down trying to steal second by junior catcher Seth Freeman, his second of the night. Bass sat second baseman Bryan Barnes down on strikes, and after walking designated hitter Jensen Painter, got first baseman Taylor Emody to pop up to Matt Ray (1-for-2) at first to keep the game tied.
Heading into the bottom of the ninth, Ray dropped a flare into right center to put the winning run aboard. Freshman Kelly Myers came on to pinch run, and Zeblo put down another successful sacrifice for the Wildcats to move him to second. Myers was running from second as Brandt's single dropped into left field, and the play at the plate never really manifested for Ohio.
Bass took the win for the Wildcats, working the final inning of no-hit ball. Jason Moulton (L, 0-1) was tagged with the loss, allowing two runs on three hits over the final 1 1/3.
The Wildcats finished with five hits, one each by Freeman, Sigelbaum, Gadaire, Ray and Brandt. The Bobcats tallied four, including two by Ward, who was 2-for-3 with a home run. Shortstop Wess O'Neill and left fielder Kory Burkhart also had hits for Ohio.
Lamb retired his first eight batters of the game, before allowing a two-out single up the middle to Burkhart in the third. O'Neill legged out an infield single to Zeblo at short to give the Bobcats a pair of base runners, but Lamb got Newton to fly out to right to end the inning.
Freeman doubled to lead off the home half of the first and Gadaire reached safely on a fielding error by O'Neill, but the Wildcats come up empty.
Streich retired his next six batters until giving up a double to Gadaire to start the fourth. Weiss successfully sacrificed him over a base, and Payne and Ray drew walks to load the bases, but Streich worked around the jam with a pair of punch-outs to leave the bases full of Wildcats.
Davidson's defense committed no errors in its first blemish-free game this season. The Wildcats lone wrinkle came in the fifth when Ward got a one-out double off a ball that was popped up high in shallow right field and landed between three Davidson defenders. Catcher Kyle Dean flied out to Brandt in left, and Sigelbaum threw out Burkhart to keep the game scoreless.
The Wildcats got another base runner in the fifth when Brandt reached on a fielding error at second. Davidson executed the sacrifice again, but Streich used back-to-back strikeouts to keep the 'Cats off the scoreboard.
Lamb faced the minimum in the sixth, and Streich got an unconventional double play ball from Payne in the bottom half, as Weiss got doubled up at first on the failed sac bunt. Painter took a leadoff walk to start the seventh and moved around to third on a sacrifice and a groundout, but Freeman threw him out trying to steal third to end that frame scoreless as well.
Ray drew the third straight leadoff walk, and Streich continued the trend of getting out of a jam by retiring the next three hitters. Ward's home run busted up the shutout in the eighth in what looked like it could be the only scoring of the night. Lamb, though, came back to retire the next three straight, and the Davidson offense did enough in the final two innings to scratch out the 2-1 win.
The Wildcats return to action tomorrow with a double-header against Lafayette and Lehigh. Davidson's first game of the day is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. against Lafayette, but is being played after a 10 a.m. neutral-site game between Ohio and Lafayette. The second game, against Lehigh, is scheduled for 5 p.m.
Wright State 5, The Citadel 2
Charleston, S.C. - The Citadel Baseball team fell into an early 5-0 hole and could not recover in their opening game of the Homewood Suites Shootout presented by the Charleston Crab House as Wright State won 5-2 on Friday afternoon at Riley Park.
The Bulldogs are now 1-4 on the season for the first time since the 1998 season. Wright State notched their first victory of the season with the win and move to 1-4 overall. Earlier in the day, after a rain delay, Old Dominion defeated Wright State, 3-2, in a game that took just over two hours.
Senior left-handed pitcher Matt Talley (Sumter, S.C.) was hit hard in the second inning as Wright State sent 11 batters to the plate and scored five runs off the Bulldog ace. Talley (0-1) took the loss, going 5.0 innings, allowing nine hits, five runs (four earned), two walks and striking out five.
The Raiders used six hits (five of which were singles) and were aided by a walk and an error as they plated five runs to take an early 5-0 lead. Leading the offense for Wright State was left fielder Dan Marsh and third baseman Jake Hibberd, who both went 2-for-5 with an RBI. First baseman Kody Krizman added a pair of RBI as well.
The Bulldogs would get their first run of the day in the bottom of the third off WSU starter Max Friedman (1-0) when Brad Felder(Bowman, S.C.) hit his sixth career triple with two outs. After Matt Simonelli (Orlando, Fla.) was hit by a pitch, Justin Mackert(Cleveland, Ohio) reached on a throwing error by Hibberd at third base that scored Felder.
The Citadel would get another run in the bottom of the sixth when freshman third baseman Drew DeKerlegand (Pearland, Texas) ripped his first career triple to deep right field. Shortstop Calvin Orth (Jacksonville, Fla.) then singled home DeKerlegand to cut the deficit to 5-2.
That would be as close as the Bulldogs would get however as the Raider bullpen shut down The Citadel offense for the rest of the game. Friedman went 6.0 innings, allowing five hits, two runs (one earned), two walks and a strikeout in the win. Jordan Marker came in and struck out Felder before Taylor Braun shut the door the rest of the way, picking up first save as he went 2.2 innings, allowing three hits and striking out two.
Coming out of the bullpen and shutting down Wright State for the remainder of the game was junior right-handed pitcher TJ Clarkson (Coral Springs, Fla.) who had one of the most impressive outings of his career, going 4.0 innings, allowing just one hit and striking out six batters, one short of his career high. Simonelli led the Bulldog offense, going 3-for-3 on the day.
The Homewood Suites Shootout presented by the Charleston Crab House continues on Saturday as Wright State and Old Dominion face-off at 11 a.m. The Citadel and Old Dominion then take the field for a 3 p.m. start.
Manhattan 11, Western Carolina 6
Cullowhee, N.C. - Manhattan's Chad Salem posted a 3-for-4 outing including a pair of two-run home runs in his first two plate appearances as the Jaspers jumped out to an 8-0 lead through five innings and held on for an 11-6 victory over Western Carolina on Friday afternoon at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
Manhattan (1-0) starting pitcher John Soldinger no-hit the Catamounts through five innings until redshirt junior Cameron Dullnig laced a lead-off double to right field to snap the hitless proceedings in the bottom of the sixth inning. Soldinger worked around four walks with six strikeouts, surrendering three runs on three hits through six innings.
Reliever Kevin Bonanni worked through two and two thirds matching Soldinger's three runs on three hits with four strikeouts against three walks. With the bases loaded for WCU in the bottom of the ninth, Bonanni was pulled for Taylor Sewitt who induced a game-ending fly ball to center field on one pitch to earn the save.
Already down a man with leading hitter Ross Heffley out sick on Friday, the Catamount lineup took yet another blow when starting catcher, freshman Adam Martin had to be lifted in the fourth inning after taking a foul ball off his throwing hand. Normal starting catcher Stephen Notaro, who was in the lineup as the designated hitter, moved into the field and thereby eliminating the DH, putting the pitcher's spot in the offensive lineup.
Western Carolina (3-2) closed to within five runs, 8-3, with a three-spot in the home half of the sixth inning, ignited by Dullnig's two-bagger. Senior Matt Johns drove him home with a RBI single and later crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly by classmate Stephen Notaro. Freshman Aaron Attaway completed the scoring by singling to left and scoring on a dropped fly ball off the bat of Cody Jones.
Dullnig led the WCU attack with a 2-for-3 showing at the plate and was aboard four times with a walk and his team-leading third hit batsman. Johns, Schultz Notaro and Attaway all had one hit apiece as WCU was out-hit 14-to-6 in the loss.
Manhattan answered WCU's three runs in the bottom of the sixth with two in the top of the seventh with the Catamounts matching in the home portion of the same frame. Austin Schultz doubled home freshman Macon Smith and eventually scored on a wild pitch to again make it a five-run deficit, 10-5.
The Jaspers added a solo home run - the team's third long ball of the day - in the top of the ninth inning by Mark Onorati to make it 11-5. Half an inning later, pinch hitter Jacoby Mitchell was plunked with the bases loaded to drive in a run, providing the final tally.
All told, WCU stranded the bases loaded in the home half of both the eighth and ninth innings in the loss.
Catamount starter Taylor Sandefur (1-1) suffered his first defeat of the season, allowing eight runs on nine hits through five innings of work. The Mechanicsville, Va., native struck out five with only one walk in his second start of the season.
Working around the vacant batters slot in the lineup vacated by Martin, WCU pieced the final four innings together with seven different pitchers with none throwing more than an inning out of the bullpen. Combined, WCU pitching struck out 12 Jaspers batters with T.J. Page fanning three and Mike Gaffigan striking out two to lead the way.
Game two of the three-game series is set for Noon on Saturday at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
Jacksonville 6, Samford 1
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Samford baseball team suffered its first loss of the 2011 season in a 6-1 setback in game one of its weekend series at Jacksonville Friday night at Sessions Stadium.
With the loss, Samford drops to 5-1 on the season. Jacksonville improves to 3-2 with the win.
Samford starting pitcher Kyle Putkonen (1-1) took the loss for the Bulldogs. Putkonen pitched 5.2 innings, giving up six runs, just four earned, on eight hits and striking out three batters in the loss.
The Bulldogs were led at the plate by Gardner Richey with a solo home run to account for Samford's lone run of the game, in a 1-for-4 performance. Michael Johnson, Stephen Ballard and Phillip Ervin had one hit each for the Bulldogs.
Jacksonville's Tony Mollica (1-0) earned the win on the mound, tossing 6.0 innings, giving up one run on two hits and striking out seven batters. Adam Brett Walker led Jacksonville at the plate, going 3-for-4 with an RBI. Jimmy Howick drove in two runs in a 1-for-3 performance at the plate.
Samford jumped on top first with a run in the top of the second inning. With two outs in the inning, Richey hit a solo home run to left field, his third homer of the season, to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.
Jacksonville answered with two runs in the bottom of the second inning to take a 2-1 lead. Alex Swenson singled through the right side of the infield to drive in Walker to tie the score. Chris Moye later hit a sacrifice fly to center field to drive in Howick to give the Dolphins the lead.
The Dolphins added two runs in the bottom of the third inning to push its lead to 4-1. Howick singled through the left side of the infield to drive in Walker and Kevin Lehane to give Jacksonville a three-run lead.
Jacksonville added a run in the bottom of the fifth inning and another run in the sixth to make the score 6-1. In the fifth inning, Walker singled through the right side of the infield to drive in Jonathan Murphy for the Dolphins' fifth run of the game. The run in the sixth inning scored when Taylor Ratliff reached base on a bunt single to bring in Esterlin Perozo from third base for a five-run Dolphin lead.
Samford and Jacksonville will continue their series with a doubleheader Saturday at 12 p.m. (CST). Fans can follow the game online via Live Stats at www.judolphins.com.