Samford 2, The Citadel 1
Charleston, S.C. - The Citadel Baseball team was outdueled by Samford, 2-1, on a warm Sunday afternoon at Riley Park in front of 512 fans.
The Citadel (7-8, 3-3) was swept at home for the first time in a conference series since Western Carolina took three games on May 9-10, 2008. Samford (11-6, 3-0) won all three games at Riley Park by one run.
Sunday's game was billed as a brilliant pitching matchup and it did not disappoint. Preseason SoCon Pitcher of the Year Matt Talley (Sumter, S.C.) returned for The Citadel, making his first start since Feb. 25. He squared off against preseason All-America selection Lex Rutledge for Samford.
Rutledge (3-1) was just short of hurling a complete game as he went 8.2 innings, allowing five hits, one unearned run, four walks and seven strikeouts. Andrew Jones came in to record the final out and get the save after Rutledge walked William Ladd(Winnsboro, S.C.), who has reached base in every game this season, and then plunked Brad Felder (Bowman, S.C.) with a pitch.
Talley, who was on a strict pitch count, received a no decision after going 5.0 innings, allowing five hits and one unearned run. He did not walk a batter and struck out four.
The Citadel struck first as Nick Orvin (Moncks Corner, S.C.) led off with a base hit and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Drew DeKerlegand (Pearland, Texas). A groundout by Matt Simonelli (Orlando, Fla.) moved Orvin to third and the leadoff man would score on an error by shortstop Tyler Filliben off the bat ofJustin Mackert (Cleveland, Ohio).
Samford evened the game in the fourth off Talley when Saxon Butler narrowly missed a solo home run on a ball that bounced off the left field wall for a double. A fly out to right then advanced Butler to third and a single by Tommy Corbin put runners on the corners. Talley attempted to pick off Corbin at first, but his throw sailed wide of Mackert at first, allowing Butler to score from third to knot the game at 1-1.
TJ Clarkson (Coral Springs, Fla.) came in to relieve Talley and Samford scored a run off the right-hander quickly in the sixth as Phillip Ervin singled and Butler walked to start off the inning. Brandon Miller then ripped a single to left that bounced in the air off of the third base bag, allowing Ervin to score. Samford would load the bases but Clarkson induced a pair of pop ups to avoid further damage.
Clarkson (0-2) set down the order in both the seventh and the eighth innings, but the damage had been done as Samford only needed the one run to hold on for the win. Drew Mahaffey (Summerville, S.C.) pitched a scoreless ninth inning in relief as well.
"We played good baseball this weekend," said head coach Fred Jordan. "We very easily could have won all three of the games but Samford executed all weekend and played tremendous baseball to win these tight games. You have to give them a ton of credit, Rutledge pitched excellent today. Talley was very good today as well which was encouraging to see."
Orvin went 2-for-4 with a run to lead The Citadel on offense while Butler led Samford, going 2-for-3 with a run, a walk and a double.
The Citadel hits the road for the first time in 2011 on Tuesday when they travel to Rock Hill to face Winthrop at 6 p.m. Live stats will be available.
Samford plays a midweek, two-game set with UAB, beginning Tuesday at Samford with a 6 p.m. CT first pitch.
UNCG 9, Western Carolina 6
GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNCG trailed 5-0 after four innings of play, but rallied to complete the sweep over Western Carolina, 9-6, on Sunday afternoon at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
It marked the first time UNCG (10-5, 3-0 Southern Conference) has swept an opening SoCon series since 2008 and the first time the Spartans have swept Western Carolina since 2004.
Tyler Hollstegge moved to 2-0 on the season after pitching the final three innings and giving up no hits and no walks, while striking out one. Reliever Brandon Johnson was credited with the loss for the Catamounts (7-6, 0-3 SoCon) after giving up five runs, two earned, on five hits in three innings of work.
Cody Walker had a 2-for-5 day at the plate with a triple and pair of RBI and Joe Hager also added a pair of RBI. Trevor Edwards went 1-2 with two walks and added a solo home run.
Ross Heffley led the Catamounts with two RBI and a run scored on a 2-4 performance. Stephen Notaro, Cameron Dullnig and Adam Martin also added an RBI each.
UNCG held the Catamounts without a hit in the first three innings, but Western Carolina exploded for five runs in the top of the fourth inning. Matt Johns led off with a double down the left field line and Heffley followed with a home run down the left field line to make it 2-0.
The extra-base hits continued to come for the Catamounts as Austin Schultz doubled to right center. Notaro followed with a double of his own to left center to score Schultz and make it 3-0.
Dullnig then hit a double down the left field line and later scored on a wild pitch in the inning to make it 5-0.
The Spartans began to chip away at the Catamount lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth. Bobby Martin led off with a single to center field before stealing second. Eric Brindle followed with a single to left field that scored Martin, but Brindle was thrown out trying to stretch it to a double. Edwards then hit his second home run of the series, this time a solo shot to right field, to make it 5-2.
After Western Carolina stretched its lead to 6-2 in the top of the sixth on an RBI single by Martin, UNCG mounted its rally to tie the game in the bottom half of the inning. John Hein, Ray Crawford and Drew Gehringer all singled to lead off the inning and load the bases.
Hein then scored on a passed ball before Crawford and Gehringer scored on a triple to left center by Walker that make it 6-5. Martin then singled through the left side of the infield to score Walker and tie the game at six.
The Spartans carried their momentum into the seventh inning as Gehringer delivered a one-out single to left field and then stole second. After a UNCG strikeout, Martin hit a groundball to the shortstop, but he misplayed it and Gehringer was able to come around and score the go-ahead run.
UNCG added a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth to stretch its lead to 9-6. With two outs and runners on second and third, Hager slapped a single to left center to score both runners and make it a three-run contest.
The Spartans return to the diamond on Wednesday as they host Princeton at 6 p.m. at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Western Carolina travels to Kennesaw State Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Elon 16, Appalachian State 10
BOONE, N.C. - Elon's nine-run fourth inning was the difference in Appalachian State University baseball's 16-10 setback at the hands of the Phoenix on Sunday at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
On the strength of a three-run double by Zack Briggs (Lexington, N.C./Central Davidson) in the first inning and a solo home run by Tyler Zupcic (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) in the second, Appalachian (8-8, 0-6 SoCon) led 4-1 after two stanzas. However, Elon (12-5, 3-0 SoCon) erupted for nine runs in the top of the fourth to turn ASU's three-run advantage into a 10-4 deficit.
Elon scored eight of its nine runs in the fourth inning with two outs. Twice in the fateful frame, the Mountaineers were one strike away from getting out of the jam but on both occasions the Phoenix came up with two-strike hits to extend the rally. In all, Elon sent 13 batters to the plate in the inning and banged out five hits. Appalachian used three pitchers in the fourth with the trio combining to issue four walks, hit a batter and throw two wild pitches in the inning.
ASU managed to cut the deficit to 11-7 with a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth but Elon plated five more runs in the top of the sixth to extend its lead to 16-7 and effectively end any hopes of a Mountaineer comeback.
Briggs led Appalachian's 14-hit effort by going 2-for-4 with a career-high four RBI. Zupcic, Jack Myers (Charlotte, N.C./Myers Park) and Preston Troutman (Rockwell, N.C./East Rowan) added two hits apiece for the Mountaineers.
Every batter in Elon's starting lineup had at least one hit with Jake Luce, Ryan Kinsella, Seth Canipe and Sebastian Gomez leading the 14-hit attack with two apiece. Highlighted by a three-run homer, Canipe drove in four of the Phoenix's 16 runs.
The loss completed a three-game series sweep for ASU at the hands of Elon and dropped the Mountaineers to 15-54-1 over the first two Southern Conference series of the year since 2000. The Apps have opened the past three SoCon campaigns with 2-3-1, 0-5 and 1-5 marks but rebounded to finish with 14-14-1, 15-13 and 14-13 league records, respectively.
Appalachian opens a four-game road trip on Tuesday with a non-conference affair at High Point. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
Elon is off until a three-game SoCon series at Western Carolina next weekend.
#21 College of Charleston 13, Davidson 2
DAVIDSON, N.C. - The No. 21 College of Charleston Cougars looked like the preseason favorite Sunday, winning its opening Southern Conference series with a 13-2 victory in the rubber match Sunday afternoon at Wilson Field.
Charleston (14-3, 2-1) and Davidson (6-9, 3-2) came into the day with a win apiece in the series. The Cougars won the opener, 4-2, on Friday before the Wildcats evened the series with an 8-3 win yesterday.
After a couple of forgettable days, the Charleston offense exploded for 13 runs on 17 hits Sunday, led by third baseman Matt Leeds, who went 4-for-5 with a home run and four RBI. Right fielder Marty Gantt (3-for-6, RBI), center fielder Cole Rakar (2-for-5), left fielder Jose Rodriguez (2-for-6, RBI), designated hitter Daniel Aldrich (2-for-3, HR, 3 RBI) and first baseman Ryan Daniels (2-for-4, RBI) also had multi-hit afternoons.
The Cougars took a 4-0 lead behind a solo home run by Aldrich in the second and a three-run blast by Leeds in the third, and tacked on three more in the fifth on four hits and a pair of walks. Aldrich, Daniels and Gantt all singled and drove in a run in the inning.
Josh Renfro (W, 3-1) gave up just one hit - a leadoff double to Weiss in the second, and one walk - a leadoff free pass to junior shortstop Calvin Sigelbaum in the fifth, but stayed firmly in control through the first five innings.
Davidson had something cooking in the sixth as junior first baseman Drew Gadaire (1-for-3, RBI) doubled down the right field line, and senior designated hitter Danny Weiss (2-for-4) followed with a base knock to left. Renfro hit sophomore third baseman Andrew Barna, his second of the game, to load the bases with no outs but, with a strikeout and a fly out, held the ‘Cats to just one run - Sigelbaum's sacrifice fly.
The Cougars responded in the top of the seventh, busting the game open with five runs on five hits and an error to take a 12-1 lead. Catcher Rob Kral's base hit to right scored both Gantt (single) and shortstop Jamie Holler (error), and Leeds drove in Rakar, who bunted for a base hit, in the next at-bat. After Rodriguez doubled in Kral, the Cougars got one more run in the inning on a sacrifice fly from Aldrich.
Davidson got its final score in the seventh off reliever Christian Powell. Freshman catcher Daniel Gerow (1-for-3) dropped one into right field and moved from first to third on freshman left fielder Forrest Brandt's (1-for-4) one-out base hit to the gap in right. Charleston added its final run in the ninth on an RBI-single from Hanna.
Junior center fielder Seth Freeman (2-for-5) and Weiss combined for four of Davidson's seven hits.
Junior RHP Brian Russell (L, 1-2) took the loss for the Wildcats, allowing three runs on two hits, walking three and striking out four in the first 2 1/3 innings.
Davidson will return to action Tuesday night, when it hosts UNC Asheville in non-conference play at 7 p.m. at Wilson Field.
The Cougars host Jacksonville Wednesday at 5 p.m.
Georgia Southern 14, Furman 7
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern (11-5, 3-0) took the sweep in the opening series of Southern Conference play with a 14-7 victory over Furman (6-11, 1-4) Sunday afternoon, March 13th. All nine starters in the batting order for the Eagles recorded a hit and all but two tallied multi-hit games. Eric Phillips (Carrollton, Ga.) reached base in 10-straight plate appearances dating back to Saturday's 11-1 win over the Paladins. The junior captain finished hitting .750 in the series and raised his batting average to .531 on the year.
Georgia Southern scored the 14 runs on 18 hits, two less than Saturday's 20 hit total, and one Furman error. The bottom-third of the order combined for seven runs, six hits and five RBIs. Ben Morgan (Evans, Ga.) and Brent Pugh (Atlanta, Ga.) each scored three runs, and Pugh doubled three times in three at-bats. Morgan drove in three runs with back-to-back singles in the fifth and sixth innings.
Matt Murray (Spring City, Pa.) only struck out two batters and allowed just his fourth walk of the season, but had another solid outing out of the bullpen, lowering his already impressive ERA to 0.47. The junior pitched earned his third win of the season in relief of Andy Moye (Alpharetta, Ga.) and allowed three hits and one unearned run in four innings of work. Moye was cruising until the fifth inning, when he was unable to get any outs. The senior captain was tagged with four hits and four earned runs in four innings of action.
The Eagles took a 6-1 lead after three innings of play, scoring multiple runs in the first and second innings. Shawn Payne (Stone Mountain, Ga.), who extended his reached-base streak to 45 games, led off the bottom of the first with a home run off the Jack Stallings Field sign in right field to get the scoring started for GSU. Garren Palmer (Dalton, Ga.) drove in a two-out run in the first inning after back-to-back hits by Phillips and Steve Cochrane (Mooresville, N.C.) put a runner in scoring position.
Tyler Wood, who started on the mound for Furman, struck out the side in the first inning but allowed the early lead. He lasted less than two innings and gave up six hits and four runs. He received a no-decision after the Paladins tied the game at 6-6 in the fifth inning. Jay Friedman received the loss, allowing four runs and four hits in 2.1 innings of work.
Furman batted around in the fifth inning and took advantage of two Georgia Southern errors and a pair of walks to score five runs. Will Owens had the only RBI single in the inning and the other four runs scored on a fielder's choice, error and a passed ball. The Paladins' offense added another run in the sixth inning, but was not able to keep up with the scoring by the Eagles.
The Georgia Southern offense exploded for seven runs in the fifth and sixth innings combined and tacked on another run in the seventh to take the 14-7 lead. RBI singles by Morgan and Michael Burruss (Marietta, Ga.) plated three runs in the fifth inning, before the Eagles batted around in the sixth, scoring four more runs.
Pugh plated Morgan, who walked with one out in the seventh inning, with a double to right center, for the Eagles final run.
Georgia Southern travels to Georgia Tech for two games, a 6 p.m. contest on Tuesday and a 4 p.m. game on Wednesday before heading to Birmingham, Ala., to face Samford.
Furman hosts defending national champion South Carolina Tuesday at Fluor Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Wofford 13, Harvard 2
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Wofford baseball team defeated Harvard 13-2 on Sunday at Russell C. King Field. The Terriers scored five runs in the third inning and seven runs in the fourth inning on the way to the four-game series sweep.
Wofford is now 11-5 on the season, while Harvard is 0-8. The Terriers were led by David Roney and Konstantine Diamaduros with three RBIs each and Clark Wise with three runs scored. Drew Sheridan struck out a career-high eight batters without a walk to earn the win. The Crimson left twelve men on base in the game and had eleven hits.
The Crimson got on the board first with an RBI single by Marcus Way in the top of the first inning. Wofford tied the game in the bottom of the first when Clark Wise walked, reached second on an error and was driven in by a hit by Mac Doyle.
In the bottom of the third, Wofford loaded the bases with nobody out. Clark Wise hit a single that dropped into shallow left field to score one run. Mac Doyle added a sacrifice fly to make it a 3-1 game. With the bases still loaded, Landon Bennett was hit by a pitch to bring in another run. A single by Josh McKinney drove in two runs for a 6-1 lead.
With the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth, Konstantine Diamaduros hit a triple to right center that cleared the bases for a 9-1 lead. Landon Bennett added a single to right field to drive in Diamaduros to take a 10-1 advantage. David Roney then hit a home run to right field that gave the Terriers a 13-1 lead.
Neither team added runs in the fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth innings. In the top of the ninth, the Crimson scored one run on a ground out by Jon Smart for the 13-2 final score in the contest. It was the first four-game series sweep for the Terriers since defeating Maine in 2000.
For Wofford, starter Drew Sheridan (1-1) threw five innings and allowed only one run on six hits. He struck out eight batters without issuing a walk. Alex Wilson went two innings with one hit allowed and one strikeout. Anthony Rowland threw an inning with two hits allowed and Jesse Morris went the ninth inning with one run on two hits and two strikeouts.
Harvard starter Marcus Way (0-1) went two innings and allowed five runs on three hits. Joey Novak threw an inning with one hit and one run allowed with a strikeout. Baron Davis went a third of an inning and allowed six runs on four hits with one strikeout. Ben Sestanovich threw the final 4.2 innings and allowed only one run on four hits with one strikeout.
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 beginning on Friday night at 7:00 p.m.