Georgia Southern 7, #1 Florida 0
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The Georgia Southern Baseball team (8-5) knocked out 11 hits, took advantage of four Florida errors and threw a shutout in a 7-0 victory over the nation's top-ranked team on Wednesday, March 8th. The Eagles handed the Gators (10-2) only their second loss of the season and hurled their fourth shutout of the season, the most since the 2003 season. For Georgia Southern Baseball, it marked the first win over a number-one ranked team as the Eagles defeated the second-ranked Georgia Tech in 1993.
The bottom of the order set the table for GSU all night, as freshman shortstop Ben Morgan (Evans, Ga.), who batted eighth, went three for four with two runs scored. Scooter Williams (Detroit, Mich.), batting in the ninth spot, dropped two sacrifice bunts and reached base on a hit by pitch.
The Georgia Southern pitching staff was stellar and combined for 11 strikeouts, the Florida's most this season. Chris Beck (Jefferson, Ga.) started the game and allowed only one hit in two innings. Beck faced one over the minimum while striking out four Gators. Josh Adams (Bath, S.C.) earned the win, his third of the season, and threw three innings. Adams allowed two hits and struck out two Gators.
Matt Murray (Spring City, Pa.) closed out the game to earn his second save of the season. Murray struck out five batters over the final four innings of the game. The junior pitcher struck out the side in the sixth inning and retired 11-straight batters before hitting a batter in the ninth inning.
Georgia Southern opened the scoring in the fifth inning on a wild pitch and a Shawn Payne (Stone Mountain, Ga.) RBI single. Andy Moye (Alpharetta, Ga.) led off the inning with a hustle single on a ball dribbled down the third-base line and he reached second base after Morgan beat out a bunt for a base hit. Williams moved both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt and Moye scored on a wild pitch before Payne drove in the second run of the inning.
GSU tacked on three runs in the seventh inning with two scoring on an infield single by Steve Cochrane (Mooresville, N.C.). Morgan reached on the third Gator error of the game and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Williams, his second of the game. Payne plated his second run of the game with a base hit up the middle and promptly stole second base. The senior outfielder moved to third on a ground out. Payne did not advance on the next play but allowed Eric Phillips (Carrollton, Ga.) to reach second base after a bunt hit. Both scored on the Cochrane base hit.
The Eagles loaded the bases in the third inning with one out but were unable to bring home a run. The bottom of the order set up the opportunity after Morgan singled and Williams was hit by a pitch. Payne loaded the bases after reaching on an error by the third baseman, but a strike out and fly out ended the inning.
Georgia Southern returns home to J.I. Clements Stadium to open Southern Conference play against Furman on Friday night at 7 p.m. The Eagles will also square off with the Paladins on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and Sunday 1:30 p.m. Former Head Coach Jack Stallings will be honored Saturday, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch as part of the Jack Stallings Day Festivities at J.I. Clements Stadium. Tickets for Saturday's game are $1 to match his #1 retired uniform number.
UNCG 9, St. John's 7
GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNCG opened up a 9-2 lead in the game and had to hold off St. John's ninth-inning rally as the Spartans defeated the Red Storm, 9-7, on Tuesday afternoon at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Reliever Dylan Hatchcock picked up his first win of the season for the Spartans (7-5) after pitching two innings of relief and allowing no hits and striking out two batters.
Red Storm (5-5) starter Jake Woodward was credited with the loss after giving up four runs on five hits in just two innings of work.
Drew Gehringer continued to impress at the plate as he went 3-3 with three RBI and three runs scored to raise his average to .390. Ray Crawford also went 1-2 with an RBI and run scored, while Cole Harrison and John Hein each added a pair of hits.
St. John's was led by Joe Panik who went 3-4 with an RBI and run scored and Rowan Wick added a pair of RBI.
UNCG struck first in the game as it put up three runs in the bottom of the second. Thomas Troelstrup led off with a single and John Hein reached on a bunt single. Crawford advanced both runners on a sacrifice bunt and then Gehringer delivered a double down the left field line to score both runners.
Gehringer would score a batter later as Chris Barker doubled down the right field line to give the Spartans a 3-0 lead.
After the Red Storm got one back in the top of the third, UNCG put up two more runs in the bottom half of the inning to stretch its lead to 5-1. Andrew Spleth and Troelstrup led off the inning with a pair of walks and then Hein had his second bunt single of the day to load the bases with no outs.
Crawford then hit a sacrifice fly to deep right field that easily scored Spleth and Gehringer followed with a single to right field that scored Troelstrup to put the Spartans ahead by four.
St. John's manufactured a run in the top of the fourth after a pair of stolen bases led to a sacrifice fly to make it 5-2.
UNCG struck for another pair of runs in the fifth inning to make it 7-2. With one out, Crawford was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a single by Gehringer. After a UNCG out, Harrison delivered a single to right field that was bobbled by the right fielder and allowed both runners to come home.
Crawford and Gehringer led another rally for the Spartans in the seventh inning. Crawford led off with a walk and Gehringer followed with a walk to put two runners on with no outs.
Cody Walker then laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners and Crawford scored on a wild pitch to make it 8-2. Eric Brindle then delivered a single through the left side with two outs to score Gehringer and give the Spartans a comfortable seven-run lead.
It seemed things would stay that way until UNCG ran into trouble in the top of the ninth. The Red Storm had runners on first and second before back-to-back RBI singles make it an 8-4 game. After a UNCG pitching change, Jeremy Baltz hit a double to left field that scored another runner and put runners on second and third with just one out.
The Red Storm drew a walk to load the bases before Wick singled down the right field line that made the score 9-7 and put runners on the corners. The Spartans then induced an game-ending double play to hold on for the victory.
The Spartans open Southern Conference play this weekend as they host Western Carolina for a three-game series beginning on Friday at 6 p.m. at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
#21 College of Charleston 4, USC Upstate 0
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Sophomore RHP Christian Powell (Greenwood, S.C.) combined with three relievers to lead #21 College of Charleston to a 4-0 shutout of visiting USC Upstate Tuesday night at Patriots Point. The Cougars improve to 11-2 on the season and host Ball State tomorrow evening at 5:00 p.m.
Powell tossed five innings, scattering two hits and striking out three for his second win of the season. Sophomores Matt Pegler (Greenville, S.C.) and Jake Zokan (Columbia, S.C.), along with junior Rob Harding (Columbia, S.C.) allowed only four hits over the final four innings to secure the win.
The Cougars put a run up in the bottom of the first on a RBI single by redshirt-junior C Rob Kral (Randolph, N.J.) after junior RF Marty Gantt (North Augusta, S.C.) led off the inning with a double to right center and advanced to third on a fielding error by the Spartans' centerfielder. Charleston scored again in the third to take a 2-0 lead. Senior CF Cole Rakar (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) reached on a throwing error by the third baseman and moved to second on the error. Rakar advanced to third on a fly out to right by Kral and scored on a fielder's choice to first by redshirt-junior 3B Matt Leeds (Boca Raton, Fla.).
Charleston plated two runs in the fourth to close the scoring on the 4-0 win. After walking on four pitches and stealing second, senior 2B Jesse Mesa (Mirimar, Fla.) advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a RBI groundout by sophomore DH Dre Watts (Laurens, S.C.). Senior SS Jamie Holler (Rock Hill, S.C.) followed up with a double down the left-field line and scored on a RBI single up the middle by Gantt.
The Cougars recorded eight hits on the evening, led by Gantt's two hits and were aided by a pair of Upstate errors. David Roseboom took the loss for the Spartans, allowing two runs on four hits in three innings with two strikeouts.
The Cougars return to action Wednesday evening against Ball State at Patriots Point. First pitch is set for 5:00 p.m. Senior RHP Robert Jeroszko (Greenville, S.C.) will take the mound for the College.
The Citadel 6, Ball State 4
Charleston, S.C. - The Citadel Baseball team scored four runs in the first inning and held on for a 6-4 win over Ball State in their opening midweek game of the 2011 season on Tuesday evening at Riley Park.
The Bulldogs (7-5) move to 2-0 all-time against the Cardinals (1-10) and won their fifth consecutive game in the process. The Citadel also got started off on the right foot in midweek action. It took the final week of the regular season last year to win a game on Tuesday as they went just 1-7 in games played on that day in 2010.
The Cardinals got on the board in the top of the first when leadoff man Cody Elliott singled off Citadel freshman starter Connor Hitchingham (Jacksonville, Fla.), moved to second on a sac bunt and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. He scored on a sac fly to deep center by Stephen Claypool.
The Citadel would plate four in the bottom half of the inning off BSU starter Devin Wilburn. An RBI double to right field by Justin Mackert (Cleveland, Ohio) would scoreBrad Felder (Bowman, S.C.) who walked. A walk to Drew DeKerlegand (Pearland, Texas) and a base hit off the pitcher by William Ladd (Winnsboro, S.C.) loaded the bases with two outs for freshman designated hitter Joe Jackson (Mauldin, S.C.) who roped a bases-clearing double into the right field corner to increase the lead to 4-1.
"It felt good to come through in a big spot early in the game with two outs," said Jackson, who set a career high with three RBI. "It was a great team win. We came out a little flat after the first few innings today, but we pitched well and had good defense to get a solid victory heading into another SoCon series this weekend."
The teams then exchanged a run each over the next two innings as Grant Richards (Morrisville, N.C.) doubled and came into score on an RBI double by Matt Simonelli (Orlando, Fla.) down the left field line. That would end the day for Cardinals starter Wilburn, who went just 2.1 innings, allowing five hits, five runs, two walks and a strikeout in the loss.
Ball State would get a run off Hitchingham in the top of the third when Elliot singled and stole second before coming around to score on an RBI single through the left side by Mitch Wadau. Hitchingham (1-0) would settle down after that and go 5.0 innings, allowing seven hits, two runs, two walks and a pair of strikeouts in his first collegiate win.
In the fourth, the Bulldogs would plate another run when Mackert drew an RBI walk with the bases loaded to score Nick Orvin(Moncks Corner, S.C.) who reached on a single up the middle. BSU would close the gap to 6-3 in the sixth when Wes Winkle reached on an error by Simonelli at shortstop, scoring Tim Issler from second off Bulldog reliever Logan Cribb (Rock Hill, S.C.)
TJ Clarkson (Coral Springs, Fla.) then came on in relief for the next 2.1 innings, allowing just one hit, one run, one walk and a pair of strikeouts. Issler walked and moved to second in the eighth inning before Winkle doubled off Clarkson down the left field line on a ball that came inches away from going foul and just out of reach of Felder in left field to close the gap to 6-4.
Closer Drew Mahaffey (Summerville, S.C.) came in to earn his fourth save of the season as he set down the side in order in the ninth and closed the game out with a strikeout.
Widau and Blake Beemer each went 2-for-4 to lead Ball State while Jackson went 1-for-4 with three RBI and Mackert went 1-for-3 with a run, a walk and a pair of RBI to lead the Bulldogs.
"Hitchingham kept us in the ballgame early," said head coach Fred Jordan. "He pitched well in relief for us recently and had some confidence going today on the mound, getting his first win. Jackson had a timely double for us there early on and then Ball State did a great job managing the game to stay close. Clarkson and Mahaffey were excellent for us in closing out the game."
The Citadel returns to Southern Conference action this weekend at Riley Park when they host Samford. The first game of the series begins Friday at 6 p.m.
Appalachian State 2, LaSalle 0
Appalachian State 6, LaSalle 3
BOONE, N.C. - Six pitchers combined to allow just three runs on 13 hits over two ballgames and lead Appalachian State University baseball to a home-opening doubleheader sweep over visiting LaSalle on Tuesday at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium. Appalachian won the opener, 2-0, and claimed the nightcap, 6-3.
ASU (8-5) snapped a skid of four losses in five games by sweeping the twinbill from visiting LaSalle (4-7). With the victories, the Mountaineers also upped its all-time record in non-conference games at Smith Stadium to 28-5.
Thanks to sterling starts on the mound by Appalachian's Ryan Arrowood (Rutherfordton, N.C./Central) and LaSalle's Shane Petrellis, Tuesday's opener was scoreless going into the bottom of the eighth inning. In the eighth, LaSalle made a pair of costly errors and the Mountaineers took advantage when senior Jack Myers (Charlotte, N.C./Myers Park) laced a one-out single into right field, plating a pair of unearned runs for the only scoring of the game.
Arrowood, who did not figure into the decision, scattered five hits over seven scoreless innings to lower his ERA after three starts to a miniscule 0.49. Petrellis (0-1) was just as good, allowing just six hits in a complete-game effort but was saddled with his first loss of the year due to the unearned runs in the eighth.
Will Helms (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) worked a scoreless eighth to earn the win and move to 1-0 while Taylor Miller (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) struck out two in a perfect ninth to pick up his second save.
The shutout was Appalachian's fourth of the young season, which is already almost halfway to the school record of nine, set in 1983. ASU notched just one shutout in all of 2010 and had only three over the past two seasons combined.
The Mountaineers broke out of a scoring slump with six runs in the nightcap, which was just one fewer than they plated in the previous four games combined. Third baseman Zack Briggs (Lexington, N.C./Central Davidson) led the charge, going 2-for-3 with a triple, home run, three RBI and two runs scored.
Briggs provided what proved to be the winning runs when he extended ASU's lead to 4-0 with a two-run homer to right field in the third inning. He added some insurance with an RBI triple in the fifth and closed out then scoring one batter later when he scored on Daniel Kassouf's (Lexington, N.C./North Davidson) sacrifice fly to center field.
Shortstop Will Callaway (Greenville, S.C./Eastside) also contributed to the nine-hit attack with a pair of triples and first baseman Trey Holmes (Rockwell, N.C./East Rowan) added two hits and an RBI.
ASU received another fine start on the mound in the second game with freshman southpaw Chad Farmer (Evans, Ga./Greenbrier) (1-0) limiting the Explorers to three hits over four scoreless innings to earn his first collegiate win. David Port (Dunwoody, Ga./Dunwoody), who came into the game with the tying run on third base in the fifth, tossed 2.1 perfect innings to close out the game and pick up his first save of the campaign.
Appalachian continues a five-game homestand this weekend when it hosts a three-game Southern Conference series versus Elon. The set begins on Friday at 3 p.m. at Smith Stadium.
East Tennessee State 4, Furman 2
JOHNSON CITY, TENN. -- John Long went 3-for-4 with an RBI to lead East Tennessee State to a 4-2 victory over Furman in baseball action Tuesday evening at Cardinal Park.
The win improves East Tennessee State to a 7-2 on the season while Furman drops to 6-7.
Long's RBI single in the bottom of the first inning off Paladin starting pitcher Tyler Wood drove home Dylan Pratt to give the Buccaneers a 2-0 lead.
Furman cut it to 2-1 in the third after Rob Fondu tripled and came home on Will Owens' sacrifice fly.
East Tennessee State made it 3-1 in the fourth on Paul Hoilman's RBI double and added another run in the fifth on an Alex Reynolds single, which plated Long for a 4-1 lead. Both runs were charged to Furman reliever Jay Friedman, who came on the fourth and was touched up for two runs on three hits over 1 2/3 innings.
The advantage proved to be enough for Bucs' starting pitcher Derek Bushey (1-1), who allowed a run on five hits over five innings. He walked two and struck out five.
Bushey surrendered back-to-back hits to open the game but rallied to avoid trouble by striking out Will Muzika and retiring Will Miller on a pop out and Reese Wade on a ground out.
Furman cut the ETSU advantage to 4-2 in the seventh on a pinch-hit RBI double by Hunter Burton.
The Paladins put a couple of runners on in the ninth before Buccaneers' closer Bo Reeder struck out Fondu to end the threat and notch the save.
The loss was charged to Wood (1-1), who allowed two runs on six hits over three frames. He issued two walks and fanned four.
The Buccaneers fashioned an 11-9 advantage in hits, with Derek Trent and Reeder adding two hits each. Furman's nine hits were scattered among nine players.
The Paladins return to action with at 2:00 p.m. contest at Presbyterian.
#2 Vanderbilt 12, Wofford 1
NASHVILLE, TENN. -- The No. 2 Vanderbilt Commodores handed the Wofford Terriers a 12-1 loss Tuesday night at Hawkins Field in nonconference baseball game.
The Terriers were limited to five hits and fanned 14 times, while the Commodores scattered 12 hits. Wofford also committed four costly errors resulting in four unearned runs.
Vanderbilt got on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the first inning with two unearned runs. A two out walk by Aaron Westlake and a double by Jason Esposito set up the inning. Conrad Gregor reached on a Terrier error that plated both Westlake and Esposito to give the Commodores the 2-0 lead.
Vandy would add a run in the bottom of the third inning when Esposito was hit by a pitch, advanced to second on a Gregor walk and scored on two wild pitches to make it 3-0.
In the fourth the Terriers threatened as Clark Wise recorded the Terriers first hit of the ball game. Mac Doyle followed with a single advancing Wise to third and Doyle advanced to second on the throw. However both runners were stranded at second and third.
Wofford's only run of the game came when David Roney tripled with one out in the top of the fifth and scored on a Vanderbilt balk.
The Commodores erupted in the bottom of the fourth with four runs. They had three hits in the inning and were aided by two Terrier errors that extended the inning.
Vanderbilt would add their final five runs in the seventh inning sending 11 batters to the plate. They scattered six hits, none of which went for extra bases.
Wofford had five different players record a hit in the game -- Wise, Doyle, Konstantine Diamaduros, Roney and Matt Moore. Moore doubled in the seventh and Roney's triple were the only Terrier extra base hits.
The Commodores were led offensively by Anthony Gomez, who was 2-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. Westlake was 2-for-3 with two RBI and three runs scored, while Esposito had two hits in four plate appearances and the team's only extra base hit, a double in the first inning.
Wofford will return to the diamond Friday as they begin a five game set against Harvard at Russell C. King.
#14 North Carolina 16, Elon 0
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- After a solid first three innings, the Elon Phoenix saw its contest against 14th-ranked North Carolina quickly go south. The Tar Heels notched two five-run innings on their way to a 16-0 victory over the Phoenix on Tuesday, snapping Elon's winning streak at three.
Elon (8-5) was held to just three hits, two of which came in the ninth inning off the bats of Ben Scott and Matt Kirchner.
The game was scoreless until the bottom of the fourth when the Tar Heels (12-1) grabbed a 1-0 lead on a two-out single from Jeff Bouton that drove home Jesse Wierzbicki who had led the inning off with a double to left.
Tommy Coyle led off the bottom of the fifth with a single up the middle and stole second while Levi Michael struck out. After a walk to Jacob Stallings and a balk put two in scoring position for UNC, Colin Moran lined a single up the middle to drive home Coyle to make it a 2-0 game. Wierzbicki followed by drawing a walk to load the bases before Chaz Frank who layed down a bunt that went for a single that plated Stallings. After a wild pitch let Stallings score the fourth UNC run. With two away, Bouton beat out a slow grounder to short as two more runs scored to make it a 6-0 Tar Heel lead.
North Carolina tacked on five more in the sixth, including a three-RBI double from Greg Holt, to stretch its lead to 11-0 before scoring once more in the eighth. Finally, the Heels scored their final four runs in the last of the eighth to provide the final margin.
Dylan Clark (0-3) took the loss after giving up five runs on five hits and five walks in 4.1 innings. All told, four Elon pitchers issued 13 walks on the night.
UNC's Kent Emanuel (2-0) held the Phoenix to just one hit over six innings while fanning five.
Elon's first hit was a Niko Fraser single in the second inning.
For the Tar Heels, Moran finished the day 2-for-5 with two runs scored and five RBI while both Holt and Bouton drove in three runs.
The Phoenix will get right back on the diamond tomorrow, hosting Saint Joseph's in a 4 p.m. game from Latham Park.
Jacksonville State 5, Samford 2 (5 inn.)
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Samford baseball team dropped a 5-2, rain-shortened contest at Jacksonville State Tuesday evening. The game was called in the bottom of the fifth inning due to heavy rain in Jacksonville.
With the loss, Samford drops to 8-6 on the season. Jacksonville State improves to 8-3 with the win.
Samford was led at the plate by Michael Johnson, going 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBI. Gardner Richey went 2-for-2 at the plate for the Bulldogs.
Samford's Rumiko Forrester (0-1) took the loss on the mound. Forrester pitched a third of an inning, giving up three runs on one hit.
For Jacksonville State, Ben Waldrip went 2-for-3 with a home run and an RBI. Erik Underwood drove in two runs in a 1-for-2 performance. JSU's Tanner Freshour (0-1) pitched a third of an inning to earn the win.
After three and a half scoreless innings, Jacksonville State put the first runs on the scoreboard with three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Underwood scored the game's first run when Sam Eberle grounded out to shortstop. Waldrip then hit a solo home run to right field to make the score 2-0. Stephen Bartlett later singled down the right field line to drive in Kyle Bluestein for a 3-0 JSU lead.
Samford came back with two runs in the top of the fifth inning. Richey and Brad Moss both singled. With two outs, Johnson tripled to center field to drive in Richey and Moss to cut the JSU lead to 3-2.
The Gamecocks plated two more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning before the game was called. Underwood doubled to left field to drive in Michael Bishop and Coty Blanchard to make the final score 5-2.
Samford will return to action on Friday when the Bulldogs open Southern Conference play with a series at The Citadel. Friday's series-opener is scheduled for a 5 p.m. (CST) start. The teams will also play Saturday at 1 p.m. (CST) and Sunday at 12 p.m. (CST).