Elon 10, Samford 8
ELON, N.C. -- A two-RBI single off the bat of Neal Pritchard in the bottom of the seventh inning capped a furious comeback as the Elon Phoenix rallied from a 7-1 deficit to defeat the visiting Samford Bulldogs 10-8 in the opener of a three-game Southern Conference series.
Elon's victory extends its SoCon winning streak to a program-best seven games to start a season as the Phoenix is now 16-8 overall and 7-0 in league play. Elon has now won eight straight SoCon games dating back to last season.
Samford dropped to 15-9, 5-2 on the year.
Samford's offense got off to a quick start as Michael Johnson doubled to right-center to begin the game. After a walk to Phillip Ervin, Saxon Butler singled through the right side to drive home Johnson and leave runners on the corners. Brandon Miller followed with a single through the left side to score another as Ervin trotted home to make it 2-0. Tripp Swann then dropped a pop up into shallow center just out of the reach of Pritchard that was picked up and thrown to third by Eric Serra. The throw beat the runner to the bag but was low for an error as the Bulldogs loaded the bases with no outs. Kevin Putkonen's fly ball to right allowed Butler to tag and score the third run. Stephen Ballard's ground ball to second erased Swann, but let Miller score the fourth run of the opening inning.
With one away in the bottom of the first, Niko Fraser reached on an infield single and then raced around the bases on Alex Swim's double into the left field corner.
The Bulldogs loaded the bases thanks to a single from Johnson, an Elon error and a hit batter in the second. With one out, Swann grounded out to first for the second out, but Johnson scored as Samford's lead reached 5-1. Kevin Putkonen followed with a single through the left side to drive home another before Ballard made it 7-1 with a soft single through the right side.
Elon inched closer in the fourth, scoring twice to close its deficit to 7-3. Garrett Koster drew a lead-off walk and moved to second on a Scott Carcaise single. After a sac bunt, Jake Luce picked up a RBI with an infield single. On the play, the throw to first went off the mark allowing Carcaise to race home.
Pritchard reached on a one-out single to start an Elon rally in the last of the fifth. A Bulldog error allowed Sebastian Gomez to reach before a ground out to first advanced both runners. Koster drilled a triple to the gap in right-center to score two ahead of Carcaise's third single of the day that pulled the Phoenix within a run at 7-6.
Samford was kept off the board until the top of the seventh when Ballard was plunked by a pitch to start the frame. He went to second on a sac bunt and then scored when Johnson's single to left was misplayed allowing both runners an extra 90 feet.
Elon threatened in the bottom of the seventh as Harry Austin got things started with a walk, went to second on a Koster single and to third on a Carcaise bunt single. With one out Luce lined a single up the middle which glanced off the pitcher's glove and scored both Austin and Koster to tie the game at eight. Fraser followed with a walk to load the bags back up before Pritchard lined a one-out single to left to drive home both pinch-runner David Wood and Luce to give the Phoenix a 10-8 lead.
Following a scoreless ninth, Mitch Conner came on to slam the door shut, striking out two of the three hitters he faced to record his fourth save of the season.
John Brebbia improved to 4-0 on the year after he tossed an inning and a third of scoreless relief. Dylan Clark kept the Phoenix in the game early when he gave up just one unearned run on four hits in a career-long five innings.
C.K. Irby (1-1) took the loss after being charged with three runs on four hits in an inning stint out of the bullpen. Starter Kyle Putkonen gave up six runs (two earned) on nine hits in five innings.
Luce finished the day 3-for-5 with a run and three RBI, marking the 12th time in 23 games that he has had at least two hits. Carcaise went 4-for-4 with a run and RBI while Pritchard (2-for-4, one run, two RBI), Swim (2-for-5, one RBI) and Koster (2-for-4, three runs, two RBI) all tallied multi-hit games during Elon's 14-hit attack.
Samford's Johnson ended the day 3-for-5 with two runs scored while both Kevin Putkonen and Ballard drove in two runs with 1-for-4 performances.
Game two of this three-game series will be played at 11 a.m. on Saturday morning due to the threat of afternoon rain.
Wofford 5, The Citadel 3
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Wofford baseball team opened a three-game SoCon series against The Citadel with a 5-3 win on Friday evening at Russell C. King Field. Cash Collins went 8.1 innings and retired 14 Bulldogs in a row and Mac Doyle had three hits, including a home run, to lead the Terriers.
Wofford is now 12-10 on the season and 1-3 in the SoCon, while The Citadel is 8-13 overall and 4-6 in conference play. The Terriers were led by Mac Doyle with three hits, including two triples and a home run, as he notched three RBIs. Cash Collins recorded his fifth win of the season with seven strikeouts and only one walk. The Bulldogs managed only five hits on the day and William Ladd had a three-run homer in the ninth to break-up the shutout.
The Bulldogs left two runners on base in the top of the first and Wofford stranded one in the bottom half of the inning. In the bottom of the second, the Terriers loaded the bases with two outs, but all three runners were stranded.
Mac Doyle opened the bottom of the third with a triple to right center by Mac Doyle. A single by Konstantine Diamaduros scored Doyle for a 1-0 lead. Wofford loaded the bases again with two out, but the three runners were stranded.
In the bottom of the fourth, Alex Lee reached on an error, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by James Foster and got to third on a stolen base. Mac Doyle then launched a ball over the left field wall to give the Terriers a 3-0 lead.
Alex Lee added a single in the bottom of the sixth and scored on a triple by Mac Doyle to left center to make it a 4-0 game. A pinch-hit single by Clark Wise scored Doyle for a 5-0 advantage.
In the top of the ninth with one out, two Bulldogs were on base when William Ladd hit a ball over the left field fence to cut the lead to 5-3. John Cornely closed the game and retired the two batters he faced to secure the 5-3 win.
For Wofford, starter Cash Collins (5-0) threw 8.1 innings and allowed three runs on five hits with seven strikeouts. John Cornely picked up his third save of the season with two-thirds of an inning and a strikeout in the ninth.
The Citadel starter Matt Talley (1-2) went 5.1 innings and allowed five runs on ten hits with eight strikeouts. T.J. Clarkson threw the final 2.2 innings and allowed only two hits with three strikeouts.
The three-game Southern Conference series against The Citadel will continue on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. and Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Game times might change due to the possibility of rain this weekend in the Upstate.
Georgia Southern 11, #28 College of Charleston 7
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Five Georgia Southern batters had multi-hit performances and the Eagles used a pair of four-run innings to defeat the College of Charleston 11-7 Friday evening in Southern Conference action at Patriots Point. The Cougars fall to 15-8 on the season, 2-2 in the SoCon and face Georgia Southern tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 p.m. in game two of the series.
Georgia Southern jumped to an early 1-0 lead in the second inning on a RBI bunt single by Tom Richardson that scored Victor Roche from third. The Cougars however, rallied in the bottom of the frame with four runs to take a 4-1 lead. Redshirt-junior LF Jose Rodriguez (Hialeah, Fla.) led off with a single to right center and advanced to third on a double down the right-field line by senior CF Cole Rakar (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.). Rodriguez would score on a passed ball, moving Rakar to third. Redshirt-senior 1B Ryan Daniels (Victoria, Texas) knocked a sacrifice fly to deep right to plate Rakar and give the Cougars a 2-1 advantage. Senior SS Jamie Holler (Rock Hill, S.C.) followed up with a double to left and junior RF Maty Gantt (N. Augusta, S.C.) walked to set up a two-run double to right center by redshirt-junior C Rob Kral (Randolph, N.J.) for the 4-1 lead after two.
That lead quickly evaporated as the Eagles scored four runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings to pull ahead by a 9-4 margin. Shawn Payne lined a two-run single up the middle in the fourth and added a two-run double in the fifth to pace Georgia Southern.
Charleston scored a single run in the fifth on a sacrifice fly to center by Rakar that plated Kral to cut the deficit to 9-5, but Georgia Southern answered with two more runs in the top of the sixth to stake an 11-5 lead. The Cougars completed the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the sixth on a RBI triple by Holler and a RBI double by Gantt.
Holler provided a spark of offense for the Cougars, collecting three hits and scoring twice. Kral picked up three walks and a pair of RBIs. Junior RHP David Peterson (Walnut Creek, Calif.) took the loss, as he was tagged for five runs on six hits in four innings with three walks and three strikeouts. Sophomore RHP Dre Watts (Laurens, S.C.) allowed six runs over one inning of relief, while senior RHP Casey Lucchese (Lexington, Ky.) tossed four solid shutout innings, allowing one hit and struck out six.
Redshirt-freshman DH Daniel Aldrich (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) went 0-for-3 on the evening, seeing his hitting streak come to an end at 17 games.
Richardson led the Eagles with three hits, while Payne added two hits and four RBIs. Chris Beck earned the win, allowing five runs on six hits in five innings with four strikeouts. Matt Murray picked up his third save, scattering two hits over 3-2/3 shutout innings with five strikeouts.
Western Carolina 2, Davidson 1
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Matt Benedict allowed just one run over eight innings and struck out 13 to lead the Western Carolina Catamounts to a 2-1 win over the Davidson Wildcats in the opening game of the SoCon series Friday night at Wilson Field.
Davidson (10-11, 4-5 SoCon) got 11 hits, including five to lead off innings, off Benedict (W, 1-1), who worked out of jams all night and left nine Wildcats on the base paths to earn the win for Western (9-10-1, 1-6).
Junior center fielder Seth Freeman (1-for-5) went up the middle in the first, but Benedict got a double play ball from freshman left fielder Forrest Brandt and out of the inning with a two-out strikeout of senior designated hitter Danny Weiss (1-for-4).
Sophomore third baseman Andrew Barna (2-for-4, RBI) dropped a double into shallow left field, and sophomore shortstop Michael Zeblo (1-for-4) followed with a one-out base hit to center in the second. But Benedict kept the ‘Cats off the board again with a punch out, before picking Barna off third to end the frame.
After getting lone hits in the first and second, Western got to junior LHP Chris Lamb (L, 1-3) for a run on a pair of hits in the third. Aaron Attaway doubled into the corner in right and bumped to third on a groundout in the next at-bat before scoring on an RBI-single from Matt Johns. But a spinning Zeblo flipped to junior second baseman James Cerbie, who connected with a lunging Gadaire at first for an inning-ending double play to keep it a one-run game.
Lamb faced the minimum in the fourth, and the Wildcats tied it up as Barna went down the left field line to score Gadaire, whose leadoff double looked like it might stay foul but swirled back into fair territory and dropped in shallow left field.
Benedict's sixth strikeout ended the scoring, and Lamb got a ground ball and two strikeouts in the fifth. But despite sacrificing him to second, the ‘Cats couldn't take advantage of a leadoff double from freshman right fielder Kelly Myers (3-for-4), as Benedict struck out two more before the Catamounts added what proved to be the winning run in the sixth. After working a leadoff walk, Austin Schultz stole second and scored on a one-out base hit by Ross Heffley. Lamb left a pair on with a pair of strikeouts, but not before Western went ahead 2-1.
The Catamounts threatened to do more damage in the seventh, getting a pair of base hits to bring out senior RHP Mike Frongello. Attaway sacrificed the runners over a base, and Frongello intentionally walked Schultz to load the bases for the force, a gamble that paid off as he struck out Johns and fielded a ground out from Heffley to leave the bases loaded.
Frongello stranded two more in the eighth and one more in the ninth, but the Wildcats couldn't find the tying run. Myers and pinch hitter J.P. Craven (1-for-1) put together a pair of one-out base hits in the seventh, but Benedict got a fly out and his 10th strikeout to end the inning. Davidson got a two-out rally going in the ninth off reliever Taylor Sandefur, as Myers smacked his second hit of the game and pinch hitter Matt Ray worked a walk to bring on Andrew Chilcoat (S, 1), who struck out Freeman to end the game.
The Catamounts finished with nine hits, led by Johns (2-for-5, RBI) and Julian Ridings (2-for-4).
With rain expected to affect the forecast, tomorrow's game has been moved up to 11 a.m. Senior RHP Ian Horkley (2-2, 3.80) will go for the ‘Cats against Western's RHP Jordan Smith (2-2, 4.30).
Furman 7, UNCG 4
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Aaron Thompkins doubled twice and drove in three runs to power Furman past UNC Greensboro, 7-4, in the opening game of a three-game Southern Conference baseball series Friday evening at Latham Stadium.
The victory marked the sixth triumph in the last seven games for Furman (12-12, 5-4 SoCon), which opened the SoCon season with eight straight road contests prior to facing UNC Greensboro (13-7, 5-2 SoCon).
Due to expected inclement weather over the remainder of the weekend, the two teams will attempt to play a Saturday doubleheader beginning at 11:00 a.m.
Thompkins, a senior first baseman, doubled in his first at bat to help give Furman a 1-0 lead and delivered a three-run bases loaded double in the second to stretch the Paladins' advantage to 4-0. He reached on an error and scored in a three-run fifth that provided Furman all the runs it would need.
The offensive support helped Paladin starting pitcher Bobby Lyne (1-2) notch his first win of the campaign. The junior right-hander yielded three runs, two of which were earned, on seven hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out five.
Warren Slack (3-1) absorbed the loss for the Spartans after getting touched up for seven runs on eight over 3 1/3 innings. He walked two and fanned two.
Will Owens went 2-for-3 and scored three times, Alex Abrams notched a 2-for-4 performance, and Reese Wade drove in a pair of runs in Furman's nine-hit attack.
UNC Greensboro, which also had nine hits, was paced by Trevor Edwards, who went 3-for-4 with two RBI.
Will Miller's RBI grounder in the first inning gave the Paladins a 1-0 lead.
An inning later Abrams led off with a single, and Paul Nitto and Owens followed with walks to load the bases with two outs. Thompkins then cleared the bases by steering a ground ball just inside first base into the right field corner to make it 4-0.
UNCG answered with two runs in the third on an RBI single by Edwards, which drove home Chris Barker, as well as Bobby Martin, who scored from first base on the play after Paladin center fielder Will Miller allowed Edwards' hit to get past him.
The Spartans' Thomas Troelstrup led off the fourth with a solo home run to left center field to cut it 4-3.
Furman, however, responded with three in the bottom of the frame, highlighted by Wade's two-run single to center field that made it 7-3 and ended the evening for Slack.
Dylan Cole retired the Spartans in order in the ninth to notch his sixth save of the season.
Cornell 5, Appalachian State 3
Appalachian State 8, Cornell 7
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University baseball's third late-inning comeback of the week lifted the Mountaineers to a doubleheader split with Cornell on Friday at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium. ASU dropped the first game of the twinbill, 5-3, but won the nightcap, 8-7, to take the three-game series from Cornell, two games to one.
Appalachian (12-12) trailed Cornell, 5-1, in Friday's second game but rallied for seven runs over its final three at-bats to claim the series victory. Trey Holmes' and Jack Myers' RBI singles highlighted a four-run seventh inning that gave the Mountaineers the lead for good and Holmes' groundout in the eighth pushed across what proved to be the deciding run.
Having already cut the deficit to 5-2 on Jeremy Dowdy's sacrifice fly in the sixth, ASU loaded the bases with one out for the second-straight inning in the seventh. Appalachian managed to push only one run across in the sixth and was close to coming up empty in the seventh when Tyler Zupcic struck out for the second out of the stanza.
However, Holmes ripped a 1-1 pitch through the right side of the infield to drive in one run and Cornell right fielder Chris Cruz misplayed the ball to allow a second run to come home and bring the Mountaineers within a run at 5-4. Myers followed with a full-count RBI single to center field that knotted the ballgame at 5-5. After Dowdy walked to load the bases again, Holmes scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch by Daniel Lea, Cornell's third pitcher of the fateful frame.
The Mountaineers tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the eighth when Hector Crespo scored on a throwing error by left fielder Conor McCabe (who entered the game that inning as a defensive replacement) and an RBI groundout to first by Holmes.
The two eighth-inning runs proved to be crucial in the ninth when Cornell reached ASU closer Taylor Miller for three hits, including two doubles, to cut the Mountaineer advantage to 8-7. With two outs and the tying run on third base, Miller induced a slow roller that was fielded on the run by shortstop Doug Jones, who fired a one-hop throw across to Holmes, who stretched to make a game-saving scoop of the short hop.
In addition to Holmes' two RBI, Appalachian received two hits apiece from Jones, Tyler Tewell and Preston Troutman in the series-clinching victory.
Chad Farmer recorded the final out of the seventh inning to earn the win and move to 2-1 on the season while Miller recoded his fourth save of the campaign.
The comeback victory was Appalachian's third of the week. ASU rallied for six runs in the eighth inning of Tuesday's 9-5 win over UNC Asheville and scored seven times over its final three at-bats in Thursday's 8-3 come-from-behind triumph against Cornell.
In Friday's opener, the Mountaineers received a strong start on the mound from sophomore Nathan Hyatt but he was out-dueled by Cornell senior Jadd Schmeltzer in the tough-luck loss. Hyatt surrendered just two runs on four hits while striking out five over seven innings of work but Schmeltzer limited ASU to two runs on four hits over 7.1 stanzas.
Appalachian cut a 4-0 deficit to 4-3 with three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning but the Big Red got a run back in the top of the ninth and sat the Mountaineers down in order in the ninth to force a rubber game in the nightcap.
Myers drove in two of ASU's three runs in Friday's opener.
After a rare weekend off, Appalachian makes the short trip to Hickory, N.C. on Tuesday for a neutral-site showdown versus long-time in-state rival Wake Forest. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. at Hickory's L.P. Frans Stadium.