Georgia Southern 9, Samford 2
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.- The Samford baseball team dropped the final game of its three-game Southern Conference series with Georgia Southern, 9-2, Sunday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
The loss ends Samford's seven-game win streak. The Bulldogs drop to 15-7 overall and 5-1 in SoCon play. Georgia Southern improves to 12-9 overall and 4-2 in league play.
Samford was led at the plate by Saxon Butler and Brandon Miller, each going 2-for-4. Tommy Corbin and Tyler Filliben each had an RBI for the Bulldogs.
Samford's Charles Basford took the loss on the mound for the Bulldogs. Basford pitched 4.0 innings, giving up six runs on seven hits in the setback.
For Georgia Southern at the plate, Victor Roache was 2-for-4 with a grand slam and four RBI. Eric Phillips went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. GSU's Andy Moye pitched 7.0 innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and striking out five batters to earn the win.
Georgia Southern jumped on top first with a run in the top of the first inning. Phillips hit a home run to left field to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
Samford came back with two runs in the bottom of the second inning to take a 2-1 lead. Miller doubled to lead off the inning and later scored when Corbin reached base on a GSU error for Samford's first run of the game. The Bulldogs took the lead when Kevin Putkonen, who had walked earlier, scored when Filliben reached base on a fielder's choice.
Georgia Southern took the lead again, plating four runs in the top of the third inning. Roache hit a grand slam to left-center field with Steve Cochrane, Phillips and Arthur Owens on base to give the Eagles a 5-2 lead.
The Eagles added another run in the top of the fourth inning to make the score 6-2. Michael Burruss singled to center field to drive in Brent Pugh for a four-run GSU lead.
Georgia Southern plated three more runs in the top of the third inning to push its lead to 9-2. Owens, Phillips and Cochrane drove in a run each in the inning to give the Eagles a seven-run lead.
Samford will return to action on Tuesday, March 22, when the Bulldogs play at Ole Miss. The game is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. start from Oxford, Miss.
Georgia Southern hosts Kennesaw State Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Elon 9, Western Carolina 6
Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina fell behind by seven runs through the first four innings on Sunday afternoon before scoring two runs in three of the final five frames including loading the bases in the ninth inning. However, Elon was able to hold off the Catamount rally to complete the three-game Southern Conference baseball sweep with a 9-6 win at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
Freshman RHP Dakotah Thomas (1-1) took the loss as one of seven different pitchers to toe the rubber for the Catamounts on Sunday afternoon. Thomas worked three and a third, allowing three runs - only two of which were earned - on two hits with four walks against a pair of strikeouts. Sophomore Taylor Sandefur lasted two and two thirds in the longest appearance of the six relievers, walking four with a pair of strikeouts. Senior Brandon Johnson closed the final inning and two-thirds of one-hit relief, walking and fanning one.
Elon's Jared Kernodle (3-1) scored the victory after limiting WCU to two runs on six hits with five walks and three strikeouts. Reliever David Whitehead worked three and a third of four-run, four-hit action while also walking four with a strikeout. John Brebbia picked up his first save of the year, inducing a game-ending ground ball out on the would-be game-tying run in the bottom of the ninth.
All told, the two pitching staffs combined for 20 walks, a pair of hit batters and four wild pitches on the afternoon. As a result, the teams left a combined 23 runners on base including 12 by WCU and 11 by the Phoenix, and both teams turned two double plays in the field.
Elon (15-6, 6-0 SoCon) capitalized on a pair of Catamount errors in the third inning as Eric Serra drew a one-out walk before swiping second base. The throw down to second skipped into center field allowing Serra to move to third while the relay from center field was overthrown allowing him to scamper home to give the Phoenix the 1-0 lead through three.
The lead grew to four with three runs on just two hits in the fourth inning for Elon, with the visitors stretching the lead to seven by again plating three runs on two hits in the fifth. In the latter, WCU was unable to take advantage of a dropped tag at home plate that would have been the second out of the inning. The Catamounts also issued two HBP's and a walk during Elon's rally.
Western Carolina (8-10, 0-6 SoCon) got on the board in the home half of the fifth inning as Aaron Attaway singled ahead of senior Austin Schultz who belted his first home run of the season, a two-run shot over the left field wall. With two outs, a walk and consecutive singles loaded the bases for WCU, but Elon survived with a strikeout to end the frame, trailing 7-2.
An inning later, the Catamounts again scratched the scoreboard for two runs as freshman Luke Gragg welcomed Whitehead to the mound with a second-pitch double down the right field line. Attaway walked to put two aboard with Schultz sacrificing the two into scoring position. Consecutive wild pitches by Whitehead allowed both Gragg and Attaway to score, but that would be all the runs WCU would manage with the score 7-4 through six innings.
Schultz finished 1-for-3 with a walk and the sacrifice hit, driving in two on his homer.
Elon stretched its lead back to five runs in the top of the eighth inning, leading 9-4 as the Catamounts came to the plate down to their final three outs.
In the bottom of the ninth, two singles by Ross Heffley and Tyler White sandwiched around a one-out walk by Adam Martin loaded the bases for the Catamounts. Freshman pinch hitter Cody Jones then singled to left to drive in Heffley while Gragg lifted a sacrifice fly to center to allow Martin to tag and score. Redshirt junior Cameron Dullnig was called on to pinch hit, representing the game-tying run, but reliever Brebbia got the San Antonio, Texas, native to ground out to second to end the game.
White led the Catamounts with a 3-for-4 showing at the plate with a trio of singles while Martin also collected two base hits in a 2-for-4 finish. Sebastian Gomez finished 2-for-3 with two walks for the Phoenix while Niko Fraser was 2-for-5 with a pair of runs scored. Garrett Koster drove in three runs in the win for Elon, finishing 1-for-4.
Western Carolina hosts Gardner-Webb in mid-week nonconference action Wednesday evening at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 pm.
Elon visits Clemson for a two-game, midweek set with games at 6:30 p.m. on both Tuesday and Wednesday.
Davidson 7, The Citadel 6 (10 inn.)
Charleston, S.C. - The Citadel Baseball team lost their first series to Davidson in Charleston since 1996 and fell to 8-11 overall and 4-5 in league play on a blustery Sunday afternoon at Riley Park.
The Bulldogs have now played in six consecutive conference games decided by one run, going 1-5 in those games. Overall on the season, The Citadel is 2-7 in games decided by a single run. The team has now lost six of their last seven games overall by a combined seven runs.
The Wildcats (9-10, 4-4) took the lead early, as they had in the previous two games, in the top of second off Citadel starter Justin Russell (Jacksonville, Fla.) when Kelly Myers took the freshman deep to right for a solo homer in winds that were gusting up to 30 miles per hour to center field. The Bulldogs responded off Davidson starter Andy Bass in the bottom of the second when Justin Mackert (Cleveland, Ohio) doubled in the gap to left center and scored on an RBI sac fly two batters later by William Ladd(Winnsboro, S.C.)
In the fourth inning, The Citadel would bat around and score four runs in the inning when Matt Simonelli (Orlando, Fla.) reached on a base hit, advanced to second on a wild pitch and to third on a throwing error by catcher Daniel Gerow. After a walk by Mackert, Simonelli came into score on another wild pitch from Bass. A walk to Joe Jackson (Mauldin, S.C.) would chase Bass from the game. Ladd then singled off Wildcat reliever Brian Russell to score Mackert, moved to second on a groundout and then to third on a wild pitch by Russell that scored Jackson. Legare Jones (Columbia, S.C.) then ripped a single through the left side to score Ladd for the fourth run of the inning.
The lead would not last for the Bulldogs as the Wildcats rallied against Russell in the fifth when Forrest Brandt walked and Drew Gadaire singled to put two aboard. Designated hitter Danny Weiss then powered a double to deep center to score both runners and Andrew Barna then doubled over the head of Simonelli in right to score Weiss, tying the game in the process and knocking Russell from the contest.
Russell went just 4.1 innings, allowing nine hits, five runs and two walks. The freshman right-hander did set a career high with eight strikeouts in the game in the no-decision. TJ Clarkson (Coral Springs, Fla.) came on in relief and hurled 2.2 scoreless innings of relief, allowing just one hit, one walk to go along with three strikeouts. Logan Cribb (Rock Hill, S.C.) pitched a perfect eighth inning with a strikeout.
The Bulldogs would rally against long reliever Mike Frongello, who pitched in all three games of the series, in the bottom of the eighth when Ladd reached on a single and stole second base. The Wildcats then elected to intentionally walk Brad Felder (Bowman, S.C.) to put two aboard with one out. Jones hit a ball hard to the outfield, but directly at the right fielder for the second out. A wild pitch by Frongello moved Ladd to third and Josh Pless (Boiling Springs, S.C.) then picked up his first RBI of the season as he reached on an infield single to third base to score Ladd as the Bulldogs took a 6-5 lead heading to the ninth.
Closer Drew Mahaffey (Summerville, S.C.) came on for his third consecutive day of work and walked Davidson's leadoff pinch hitter J.P Craven. After a strikeout and a fly out, Mahaffey's wild pitch sent pinch runner Coleman Barron to second and Gadaire then singled to shallow centerfield to tie the game. After a single by Weiss, Bryce Hines (Hanahan, S.C.) entered the game and got a big strikeout of Barna to end the threat with the score tied at six.
The game would head to extra innings for the first time this season for The Citadel and Davidson scored the winning run in the top of the tenth inning off Hines when Myers hit his second solo homer of the game to right field. Frangello (3-1) picked up the win as he went the distance in relief, going 6.2 innings, allowing five hits, one run, two walks and two strikeouts. Hines (1-2) took the loss, going 1.1 innings, allowing one hit, one run and fanned two.
Jones matched a career high with two hits, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and a walk for the Bulldogs. Ladd went 2-for-4 with two runs and a pair of RBI while Felder set a career high with three stolen bases as he went 2-for-4 with a walk. For Davidson, Gardaire went 4-for-5 with a run and an RBI while Myers went 2-for-4 with a pair of solo homers to lead the Wildcats.
"After we scored four runs in the fourth, they got themselves back into the game by hitting three pitches that were up in the zone off Russell," said head coach Fred Jordan. "We left guys on in scoring position on two different occasions and just hit balls right at people today. Hopefully our ballclub will be tougher and stronger from losing these tough games. This has been one of the tougher stretches that I can ever remember going through. We have played good in these games, but not good enough to win and we have got to fix that."
The Citadel concludes their 20-game homestand to start the 2011 season on Wednesday when they host Coastal Carolina at Riley Park. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. as Darren Goldwater will be calling the action on Fox Sports Radio 1450 AM in Charleston.
Davidson hosts North Carolina A&T Tuesday at 6 p.m.
UNCG 5, Appalachian State 3
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Sophomore Zach Leach had three RBI and UNCG got a solid pitching performance out of Colby Hyatt as the Spartans took the rubber game from Appalachian State, 5-3, to win the series on Sunday afternoon at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Hyatt pitched six strong inning for UNCG (13-6, 5-1 Southern Conference) as he allowed only three runs, two earned, to pick up his second win of the year. Tyler Hollstegge came in to pitch a 1-2-3 ninth inning to record his third save of the season.
Appalachian State starter Seth Grant moved to 1-4 on the year after allowing four runs on five hits in six innings of work.
Leach led all hitters with a 2-3 performance at the plate to go along with his three RBI. Designated hitter Joe Hager went 1-1 with a double, RBI and run scored, while Thomas Troelstrup added the other RBI for the Spartans.
Tyler Zupcic led the Mountaineers (9-11, 1-8 SoCon) after going 2-5 with an RBI and two runs scored to go along with his solo home run. Jeremy Dowdy also had a pair of RBI and Jack Myers and Doug Jones each added a pair of hits.
Similar to Saturday, Appalachian State jumped on the board first as it put up a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. Zupcic led off the game with a single to right field and then moved to second two batters later on a single by Myers.
The Mountaineers were able to load the bases when Daniel Kassouf hit into a fielder's choice and Myers reached second on a throwing error by UNCG. Dowdy then came up and delivered a two-run single to center field to give the visitors the early 2-0 lead.
The Spartans were able to get one of those runs back, though, in the bottom of the second. With one out, Hager hit a double down in the left field corner and Leach followed with a single to center field to make it 2-1.
UNCG came right back in the third inning to take a lead it would never relinquish. After a fly out to start the inning, Bobby Martin singled up the middle and the advanced to second on a hit-and-run single by Trevor Edwards.
Andrew Spleth then drew a walk to load the bases before Troelstrup was hit by a pitch to allow Martin to trot home and tie the game at two. Hager then drew a five-pitch walk to score Edwards before Leach hit a sacrifice fly to deep left field that scored Spleth to give the Spartans a 4-2 advantage.
Things stayed that way until the top of the seventh when Zupcic led off with a solo home run for Appalachian State to make it a 4-3 game.
UNCG had an answer in the bottom half of the inning as Spleth got things going with a one-out single to left field. Troelstrup followed with a walk and then Spleth was able to tag up on a fly out to right field to advance to third. Leach came through with another clutch single to left center to allow Spleth to score and put UNCG back ahead by two runs.
The Spartans return to the diamond on Wednesday as they host cross-town rival North Carolina A&T at 6 p.m. at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Appalachian State hosts UNC Asheville Tuesday at 3 p.m.
Furman 3, Wofford 2
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - In the final contest of a three-game conference series, the Wofford baseball team was defeated 3-2 by Furman at Russell C. King Field on Sunday afternoon. The Paladins completed the series sweep by winning the three games by a total of only four runs.
Wofford is now 11-9 on the season and 0-3 in SoCon play, while Furman is 10-11 overall and 4-4 in the conference. The Terriers were led by James Foster, with two of the team's three hits. Aaron Thompkins had three hits and an RBI for the Paladins.
Furman opened the scoring in the top of the second when Will Miller doubled and he was driven in with a single by Will Muzika for a 1-0 lead. In the top of the third, Will Miller added an RBI single when he drove in Aaron Thompkins to take a 2-0 lead.
Over the next four innings, Furman left five runners on base and Wofford had two left on base.
In the bottom of the eighth, Josh Hyman walked and Alex Lee reached on an error. A sacrifice bunt by James Foster moved the runners into scoring position with one out. Clark Wise was hit by a pitch to load the bases. A wild pitch to the backstop allowed Hyman and Lee to score and tie the game at 2-2.
Furman regained the lead in the top of the ninth. Cameron Allmendinger led off with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. A single to right field by Aaron Thompkins drove in the run for a 3-2 advantage. In the bottom of the ninth, Landon Bennett walked. Eric Brenk came in to pinch run and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Josh McKinney. However the Terriers would leave the runner stranded in the 3-2 loss.
For Wofford, starter Eric Eck went 4.2 innings with seven hits and two runs allowed along with one strikeout. Ryan Traylor threw 1.2 innings with one hit allowed and two strikeouts. Pete Noordsy faced one batter and picked up one out. Bobby Streisel (0-1) went 2.1 innings with one run allowed on two hits along with three strikeouts.
Furman starter Daniel Stallsmith threw seven innings with three hits allowed and two strikeouts. Matt Plate went two-thirds of an inning without a hit, but allowed two runs with one strikeout. Stephen Gary (2-0) went a third of an inning without allowing a runner. Dylan Cole picked up his second save of the weekend by not allowing a hit with one strikeout in the ninth inning.
Next week Wofford will travel to Presbyterian College on Wednesday at 3:00 p.m. and will host The Citadel beginning on Friday night in a SoCon series.
Furman returns to Spartanburg to battle USC Upstate Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Rhode Island 3, #19 College of Charleston 2
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Tom Coulombe hit a sacrifice fly to right field in the top of the ninth that scored Evan Laude from third, breaking a 2-2 tie and giving Rhode Island a 3-2 victory over #19 College of Charleston Sunday afternoon in the Cougar Invitational at Patriots Point. The Cougars fall to 15-6 on the season and face #6 South Carolina Tuesday night in Columbia at 7:00 p.m.
Rhode Island scored a single run in the top of the first on a RBI single by Kyle Borden. Jeff Roy led off the game with a bunt single to third and advanced to third after a single by Jeff Cammans and a throwing error by senior SS Jamie Holler (Rock Hill, S.C.). Roy scored after Borden lined a 3-2 pitch through the right side.
The Cougars surged ahead in the bottom of the frame with a pair of runs to take a 2-1 lead. Senior CF Cole Rakar (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) singled to left and stole second, while back-to-back RBI doubles by redshirt-junior LF Jose Rodriguez (Hialeah, Fla.) and redshirt-junior C Rob Kral (Randolph, N.J.) plated the runs for Charleston.
Rhode Island knotted the score at 2-2 in the top of the seventh on a RBI single by Coulombe that brought home Greg Annarummo from second. In the ninth, pinch-hitter Pat Quinn led off the frame with a double to left off junior reliever Kyle Owings (Gilbert, S.C.). Laude pinch-ran for Quinn and a sacrifice bunt by Annarummo moved Laude to third, setting the stage for Coulombe's sacrifice.
Charleston mounted a rally in the ninth as Rodriguez singled to left field with one out and advanced to third on a two-out single to right by redshirt-freshman DH Daniel Aldrich (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.). The threat with the next batter as URI reliever Dan Johnson got redshirt-senior PH Ryan Daniels (Victoria, Texas) to ground out to first for the final out.
Aldrich extended his hitting streak to 16 games with the ninth-inning single. Rodriguez had two hits on the afternoon for the Cougars. Sophomore starter Christian Powell (Greenwood, S.C.) had a solid start for Charleston, scattering six hits over six innings and allowing an unearned run with six strikeouts. Owings took the loss for the Cougars.
Charleston faces #6 South Carolina Tuesday evening at Carolina Stadium in Columbia, S.C. at 7:00 p.m. The game will be televised live on SportSouth.