UNCG 11, Western Carolina 4
GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNCG jumped out to a 4-0 lead and rattled off seven unanswered runs to end the game as the Spartans defeated the Western Carolina Catamounts, 11-4, on Saturday afternoon at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Jarett Miller recorded his first win of the season for UNCG (9-5, 2-0 Southern Conference) after coming out of the bullpen to pitch the final five innings, while allowing only three hits and no runs. Catamount starter Jordan Smith picked up his first loss of the season after pitching only 4 2/3 innings and giving up six runs, five earned, on seven hits.
Trevor Edwards continued his hot performance with the bat this weekend as he went 3-4 with two doubles, an RBI and two runs scored. Drew Gehringer also provided a pair of hits and two RBI, while Cole Harrison and Andrew Spleth each added a pair of RBI.
The Catamounts (7-5, 0-2 SoCon) were led by leadoff hitter Austin Schultz who went a perfect 4-4 at the dish with two RBI. Stephen Notaro also had three hits for Western Carolina and Adam Martin added an RBI.
For the second-straight day, it was the Spartans who jumped on Western Carolina for the early advantage. Edward led off the bottom of the second with a double down the right field line and Thomas Troelstrup followed with a walk. The two runners advanced on a passed ball before a fielder's choice and error allowed Edwards to score.
Ray Quinones then delivered a double to left field that scored Troelstrup and put Zach Leach on third. Gehringer continued the extra-base hit parade for UNCG as he hit a triple to the gap in right center that scored Leach and Quinones to make it 4-0.
The Spartan lead didn't last long, however, as the Catamounts answered with a four-spot of their own in the top of the fourth inning. Matt Johns led off with a walk and then scored on a double by Martin. Later in the inning, Schultz hit a two-run double to left field and the Catamounts would add another run on a wild pitch to make it 4-4.
It was all UNCG the rest of the way as the Spartans put up seven unanswered runs in the next five innings.
The Spartans immediately recaptured the lead in the bottom half of the fourth as Harrison hit a towering two-run home run to left field that gave UNCG a 6-4 lead.
Harrison found himself on the other end of things in the sixth inning as he drew a one-out walk and would later score on a double by Chris Barker to the gap in right center to make things 7-4.
Ray Crawford added a pinch-hit single right back up the middle in the seventh inning to score Spleth and make it 8-4 in favor of the home team.
UNCG really blew things open in the bottom of the eighth with three more runs, thanks to an RBI single by Edwards and a two-run double by Spleth.
The Spartans and Catamounts will wrap up the series on Sunday with a 1 p.m. contest at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Davidson 8, #21 College of Charleston 3
DAVIDSON, N.C. - The Davidson Wildcat pitching staff held No. 21 College of Charleston to just three runs on six hits, while the offense put up a run in all but two innings, evening the series to a game apiece with an 8-3 victory Saturday afternoon at Wilson Field.
For a second night, Davidson (7-8, 2-2 SoCon) got strong starting pitching, as senior RHP Ian Horkley (W, 2-1) held the explosive College of Charleston (13-3, 1-1) to just three runs on five hits and struck out five over 5 1/3 innings. Seniors Mike Frongello and Andy Bass finished the Cougars off, allowing just one hit over the final 3 2/3 innings of shutout relief.
Davidson, whose last victory over the College of Charleston was on May 18, 2007, finished with eight runs on nine hits, as eight different Wildcats recorded hits. Junior center fielder Seth Freeman batted 2-for-5 and drove in a run, and both sophomore third baseman Andrew Barna (1-for-4, 2 RBI) and freshman catcher Daniel Gerow (1-for-1, 2 RBI) drove in a pair to lead the ‘Cats.
Charleston managed just three runs on six hits, led at the plate by SoCon February Player of the Month Matt Leeds (1-for-4, 2 RBI).
Horkley got two of his five strikeouts and faced the minimum in the first, and Freeman gave him the early lead to work with, doubling in Davidson's first at-bat, advancing to third on a wild pitch and scoring on a ground out. Horkley retired his first two batters in the second before left fielder Daniel Aldrich tied the game up with a solo shot to right field, but he struck out second baseman Jesse Mesa in the next at-bat to keep the game knotted up.
Charleston's Josh Salay (L, 1-1) saw just three Wildcats in the second, but Davidson tacked on a run in both the third and fourth to shorten his afternoon. To start the third, freshman right fielder Kelly Myers (1-for-2) legged out an infield bunt down the third base line and was sacrificed over by Gerow. Brandt plated him with a two-out base hit down the right field line for what proved the winning run.
With Horkley working 1-2-3 innings in the fourth and fifth, Davidson added another score to get into the Charleston bullpen. Senior designated hitter Danny Weiss (1-for-2) drew a leadoff walk in the fourth, stole second and advanced to third on Salay's failed pickoff attempt to get into position for junior second baseman James Cerbie, who gave Davidson a 3-1 lead with a single to left. Nick Osterman took the mound for the Cougars and used a pair of strikeouts to get out of the inning.
The Wildcats, who scored a run in all but two innings, took control of the game in the fifth putting up three runs on two hits and two Charleston errors. For a second straight inning, Davidson took advantage of a leadoff walk, this time to Gerow, who moved to second on a throwing error by Osterman and scored when Freeman singled to left. Freshman left fielderForrest Brandt reached safely on a fielder's choice when Mesa failed to make the play on Freeman at second in the next play. Junior first baseman Drew Gadaire successfully sacrificed the pair over a base for Barna, who scored them both with a base knock to left to give Davidson a 6-1 lead.
Horkley got into his first hint of trouble in the sixth. After two straight one-out base hits, Leeds cut Davidson's lead in half with a two-RBI single to right. But Frongello got a double play ball from his first batter, first baseman Jose Rodriguez, to limit the damage, and as he and Bass shut down the Charleston offense the rest of the way, the ‘Cats tacked on insurance runs in the sixth and eighth.
Sigelbaum took another leadoff walk, this one from Charleston reliever Casey Lucchese in the sixth, and he scored on Gerow's base hit after being sacrificed over by Myers. Frongello faced the minimum in both the seventh and eighth, and the Wildcats got their final score in the bottom of the eighth on Gerow's sacrifice fly.
Designated hitter Rob Kral got the Cougars' only hit in the last three innings, doubling to start the ninth to bring on Bass. He got Leeds on strikes, and after Brandt robbed a two-run home run from Rodriguez, got Aldrich to fly out for the final out of the game.
Davidson and Charleston will play the rubber match tomorrow at 1 p.m.
Samford 8, The Citadel 7
Charleston, S.C. - The Citadel Baseball team rallied to tie Saturday's game in the seventh with Samford, before eventually falling late, 8-7, at Riley Park in front of a season-high 722 fans.
The Citadel (7-7, 3-2) has now lost back-to-back conference games at home for the first time since May 9-10, 2008, when they were swept by Western Carolina at Riley Park. That was also the last time the Bulldogs lost a conference series at home.
Samford (10-6, 2-0) wasted no time getting to Citadel starter Justin Russell(Jacksonville, Fla.) as first baseman Saxton Butler belted a two-run homer to left field in the top of the first to make it 2-0 quickly. In the second inning, Stephen Ballard and Tyler Filliben each singled to start the frame. Ballard scored on a groundball back to Russell, while Filliben came around to score on an RBI single off the bat off second baseman Michael Johnson to increase the Samford lead to 4-0.
The Citadel slowly started to chip away as they scored one in the fourth when William Ladd (Winnsboro, S.C.) singled, moved to second on a base hit byJosh Pless (Boiling Springs, S.C.) and advanced to third on a sac bunt off Calvin Orth's (Jackonsville, Fla.) bat. A wild pitch by Samford starter Charles Basford would score Ladd for The Citadel's first run of the game. Basford went just 4.0 innings, allowing three hits, one run, two walks and three strikeouts in the no-decision.
In the fifth, the Bulldogs would cut the lead to 4-3 when Drew DeKerlegand (Pearland, Texas) and Matt Simonelli (Orlando, Fla.) led the inning off with base hits. An RBI single up the middle byJustin Mackert (Cleveland, Ohio) would score DeKerlegand and a fielder's choice RBI from Joe Jackson (Mauldin, S.C.) would score Simonelli to shrink the lead.
In the sixth, Samford would bat around as three singles would knock Russell from the game after he went 5.2 innings, allowing 11 hits, seven runs, a walk and four strikeouts in a no-decision. An RBI single from Brandon Miller up the middle off reliever Bryce Hines (Hanahan, S.C.) would plate two more and give Samford a 7-3 edge.
The Citadel would rally off Samford's bullpen in the seventh as they batted around and scored four runs to tie the game. Simonelli reached and advanced to second on a fielding error from Ballard at third base to lead things off. Mackert then drove him in with a base hit up the middle. The Citadel would then load the bases as Ladd reached on a single, pinch hitter Brad Felder(Bowman, S.C.) reached on a fielding error by Butler at first base and Orth walked. Legare Jones (Columbia, S.C.) then drew a walk with the bases loaded to score Ladd. Nick Orvin (Moncks Corner, S.C.) would tie the game when he ripped a single through the left side off Samford reliever Tyler Vanderheiden to plate Felder and Orth.
In his second inning of work out of the bullpen in the ninth, Drew Mahaffey (Summerville, S.C.) walked center fielder Kyle Putkonen and then advanced him over to third on two different wild pitches. A deep fly out to right by Ballard would score Putkonen in what would becoming the winning run as C.K Irby closed out the final 2.1 innings of the game for Samford to earn his first save of the season.
"It was almost like two games in one today," said head coach Fred Jordan. "The first four innings it was all Samford, the next four innings were mostly ours and then they capitalized on a mistake in the ninth to win the game. We have got to go out and battle and play as hard as we can to salvage a game on Sunday. Samford is playing and pitching extremely well right now."
The Citadel managed 10 hits, all of which were singles. Orvin, Mackert and Pless each had two hits to lead The Citadel. Mahaffey (0-2) took the loss, going 2.0 innings, allowing one hit, one run, two walks and a strikeout. Filliben went 3-for-5 with a run to lead Samford while Putkonin, Evin and Johnson each tallied two hits.
The Citadel and Samford will meet on Sunday in the series finale at Riley Park. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast with play-by-play announcer Darren Goldwater on Fox Sports Radio 1450 AM in Charleston and video streamed online at Bulldog Insider.
Georgia Southern 11, Furman 1
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern (10-5, 2-0) takes the series in blowout fashion with an 11-1 victory over Furman (6-10, 1-3) on Jack Stallings Day, Saturday, March 12th. Andy Moye (Alpharetta, Ga.) sent one out of the park for the second-straight game and plated four runs. All nine starters recorded base hits for the Eagles and belted 20 hits to score the 11 runs. In another all-around team effort, Josh Adams (Bath, S.C.) threw nearly six innings, scattering five hits and one run for his fourth win of the season.
Adams, who paces the staff in the win category with four, earned his second win this week after defeating #1 Florida in relief on Tuesday. Joe Lower (West Palm Beach, Fla.) pitched the final 3.1 innings in relief and earned the save the long way. Lower, just the second relief pitcher used by GSU in the series, allowed only one hit and no runs while striking out two of the 13 batters he faced.
The top-four hitters in Georgia Southern's batting order tallied multiple hits and the top-three hitters each scored multiple runs. Shawn Payne (Stone Mountain, Ga.) extended his reached-base streak to 44 games after doubling in the third inning. Payne finished with two hits, two runs and two RBIs. Michael Burruss (Marietta, Ga.) followed with three runs and three hits, while Eric Phillips (Carrollton, Ga.) singled four times and scored three runs.
Furman opened the game with a run in the first inning, taking the early lead. Will Owens walked to lead off the inning and a sacrifice bunt by Aaron Thompkins moved him to second base. A two-out double by Will Miller scored the first run of the game.
The Paladins held onto their advantage until the bottom of the third inning when Georgia Southern took a 5-1 lead. Four different Eagles plated runs in the third and the inning was capped off by Moye's two-run homer, his second of the season. Georgia Southern batted around in the fourth inning, scoring four runs to blow open the contest.
The Eagles tallied four singles around a sacrifice bunt by Scooter Williams (Detroit, Mich.) to score the first two runs in the inning. Moye plated the final two runs in the fourth with a two-RBI single up the middle. Georgia Southern added single runs in the sixth and seventh innings to get to the final score of 11-1.
Nate Smith was tagged with his third loss of the season after lasting only 3.1 innings. Smith allowed nine runs on 11 hits but walked only one batter. Jay Friedman threw 2.2 innings and allowed one run on five hits before being relieved by Brant Masters in the eighth inning. Master closed out the game, allowing one run on four hits and recording a strike out.
Georgia Southern wraps up the first conference series of the year at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at J.I. Clements Stadium, before hitting the road for five-straight road games.
Elon 10, Appalachian State 4
Elon 5, Appalachian State 4
BOONE, N.C. - A furious comeback in the nightcap fell just short as Appalachian State University baseball dropped both ends of a doubleheader to visiting Elon on Saturday at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium. Appalachian lost the opener, 10-4, and fell 5-4 in game two.
After Elon (11-5, 2-0 SoCon) turned a close game into a rout with five runs in the final two innings of game one, Appalachian (8-7, 0-5 SoCon) rallied late to nearly earn a comeback win in the nightcap.
Trailing 5-0 after four-and-a-half innings of the second game, ASU scored a run in the sixth inning and three more in the seventh to cut the deficit to 5-4. Back-to-back singles by Tyler Zupcic (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) and Jack Myers (Charlotte, N.C./Myers Park) put the tying and winning runs on base with one out in the bottom of the ninth but catcher Jeremy Dowdy (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield), who had three hits in his first seven at-bats of the afternoon, grounded into a game-ending double play.
An early deficit haunted the Mountaineers in the first ballgame too, as Elon led 3-0 after one-and-a-half innings. Much like the nightcap, Appalachian battled back from the early deficit to cut the Elon lead to one run. However, after ASU rallied to cut the Phoenix led to 5-4 in the seventh inning, Elon answered with three runs in the eighth and two in the ninth to put the game out of reach.
Besides Dowdy, who went 3-for-8 over the twinbill with an RBI in the first game and a double in the second, the Mountaineers were led offensively by Myers, who had five hits in two ballgames (2-for-4 in game one and 3-for-4 in game two). Zupcic scored two runs and drove in another in the opener and added two hits, an RBI and a run scored in the nightcap. Freshman Lawrence Pardo (Miami, Fla./Christopher Columbus) had a career-best 3-for-4 effort with a double in game one.
Appalachian's starting pitchers - Nathan Hyatt (Brevard, N.C./Brevard) and Pardo - labored through six innings apiece, with both surrendering five runs (although one of Hyatt's was unearned). However, relievers Tyler Jackson (Jonesville, N.C./Starmount) and Ryan Arrowood (Rutherfordton, N.C./Central) were integral to the ASU rally in game two, as the duo combined for three innings of one-hit relief.
Elon was led by shortstop Neal Pritchard (3-for-4, triple, RBI, run) in the opener and left fielder Jake Luce (2-for-3, double, triple, RBI, run) in the nightcap. The Phoenix banged out five triples in the doubleheader while the teams combined to turn eight double plays (five by ASU, three by Elon).
ASU will look to salvage a win in the three-game series when the teams meet on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Smith Stadium.
Wofford 10, Harvard 0
Wofford 7, Harvard 2
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Wofford baseball team swept both games of a doubleheader against Harvard on Saturday at Russell C. King Field. In the first game, the Terriers pounded out 16 hits in a 10-0 win. In game two, Wofford used a grand slam by Mac Doyle in the fifth on the way to a 7-2 victory.
Wofford is now 10-5 on the season, while Harvard is 0-7. The Terriers were led by Mac Doyle with four home runs and nine RBIs on the day. The pitching staff combined to allow only two runs in the sixteen innings played along with 15 strikeouts. The shutout in the opening game was the first for the Terriers this season.
In the first game, the Terriers scored twice in the first inning. James Foster led off with a single and Konstantine Diamaduros walked. Landon Bennett and Josh McKinney each hit RBI singles to give Wofford a 2-0 lead.
Wofford added a run in the bottom of the second. Alex Lee singled, moved to second on a wild pitch and a single by James Foster moved him to third. Foster and Lee pulled off a double-steal, with Lee scoring for a 3-0 advantage.
The Terriers had seven hits and scored five runs in the bottom of the third to take an 8-0 lead. Matt Moore hit a sacrifice bunt to score the first run of the inning. Alex Lee hit a single for an RBI and James Foster doubled to add a run. Mac Doyle hit a home run to left center to score two runs.
In the bottom of the fifth, James Foster led off with a single and Mac Doyle added his second home run of the day to left center to take a 10-0 lead. The Crimson went down in order in the sixth and seventh innings as four Wofford pitchers combined for the first shutout of the season. It also was the first shutout for the Terriers since a 4-0 win over Yale on March 15, 2008.
Wofford starter Cash Collins (4-0) went five innings with five hits allowed and four strikeouts. Ryan Traylor threw two-thirds of an inning without a hit allowed. Thomas Nichols struck out the one batter he faced and Mason Bradley threw the ninth and struck out three.
For the Crimson, Brent Suter (0-2) threw 2.2 innings and allowed seven runs on ten hits with three strikeouts. Jonah Lees went 1.1 innings with three hits and one run allowed with one strikeout. Andrew Hatch went an inning with two runs allowed on three hits with two strikeouts. Zachary Hofeld threw the final inning and did not allow a hit with one strikeout.
In the second game, Harvard loaded the bases in the top of the first, but left all three runners stranded. The Crimson got on the board in the second with a sacrifice bunt by Kyle Larrow to score Dillon O'Neill from third for a 1-0 lead. Harvard added a solo home run in the top of the third by Marcus Way to make it a 2-0 game.
The Terriers had their first hit of the game in the bottom of the fifth on a double by Luke Feisal. He was driven in by a single from Matt Moore. With the bases loaded, Mac Doyle hit a grand slam over the left field fence to give the Terriers a 5-2 lead.
In the bottom of the seventh, Mac Doyle added a solo home run to left center for a 6-2 advantage. Konstantine Diamaduros added a double and he was driven in by a single by Landon Bennett for a 7-2 lead after seven complete. Harvard had two runners on base in the top of the ninth, but both were stranded at the end of the contest with a 7-2 final score.
For Wofford, starter Gus White (1-1) threw five innings and allowed two runs on five hits with three strikeouts. Eric Eck went three innings without allowing a run on three hits with three strikeouts. John Cornely pitched the final innings and struck out two.
Harvard starter Eric Eadington (0-1) went 5.1 innings with five hits and five runs allowed with four strikeouts. Daniel Beradro went 1.2 innings with two runs scored on three hits with two strikeouts. Robert Wineski threw the final inning and struck out two without allowing a hit.
On Sunday the four-game series concludes at 1:00 p.m. Next week Wofford will travel to South Carolina to face the defending National Champions on Wednesday night before hosting Furman for the first Southern Conference series of the season.