Appalachian State 12, Gardner-Webb 3
BOONE, N.C. - Daniel Kassouf (Lexington, N.C./North Davidson) and Zack Briggs (Lexington, N.C./Central Davidson) continued their recent tears at the plate to lead Appalachian State University baseball to a 12-3 rout over Gardner-Webb on Wednesday evening at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
Kassouf homered for the third-straight game and notched his fourth-consecutive multi-hit outing while Briggs hit his fourth home run in five contests and extended his hitting streak to 15 games to pace Appalachian's season-high-tying 14-hit attack.
The duo provided ASU (20-15) with all the scoring it would need in the first three innings of the game. In the first, Kassouf drove in the game's initial run with an RBI double to left field and Briggs followed with his fifth homer of the season, a two-run blast that gave the Mountaineers a 3-0 lead.
Two innings later, Kassouf launched a towering two-run blast to left center field that extended the ASU advantage to 5-0.
Appalachian stretched the lead to 8-0 before Gardner-Webb (20-10-1) finally got on the board with a single run in the sixth. The Bulldogs would cut the deficit to 9-3 with two more runs in the seventh but the Mountaineers ended any hopes of a GWU comeback with a three-run eighth.
In addition to Kassouf (2-for-4) and Briggs (2-for-5), who each doubled and homered in the romp, ASU also received multi-hit performances from Jack Myers (Charlotte, N.C./Myers Park) (2-for-4, RBI, two runs), Tyler Tewell (Charlotte, N.C./Butler) (2-for-3, two runs) and Will Callaway (Greenville, S.C./Eastside), who came off the bench to go 3-for-3 with a double and two RBI.
On the mound, three Mountaineer pitchers limited Gardner-Webb, the nation's sixth-best hitting team with a .328 average coming in, to just seven hits while not walking a batter. Ryne Frankoff (Apex, N.C./Apex) got the win, surrending just one run on four hits while striking out five over a career-long six innings. Frankoff (1-0) had never pitched more than 2.1 innings in 10 previous apperances in his career.
Daniel Merck and Dusty Quattlebaum led GWU with two hits apiece.
ASU, the winner of eight of its last 10 ballgames and 23 of its last 25 non-conference tilts at home, continues a five-game homestand this weekend when it hosts a pivotal three-game Southern Conference series versus third-place Samford (21-13, 9-6 SoCon). The three-game set opens on Friday at 6 p.m. at Smith Stadium.
Charleston Southern 4, College of Charleston 3
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Charleston Southern pinch-runner Ben Qualkinbush scored on a throwing error in the top of the ninth inning to break a 3-3 tie and give the visiting Buccaneers a 4-3 victory over the College of Charleston Wednesday evening at Patriots Point. The loss is the first for the Cougars against CSU since Feb. 20, 2007, a span of 14 straight wins, and drops Charleston to 22-12 on the season.
With sophomore RHP Christian Powell (Greenwood, S.C.) on the mound in the ninth in relief, CSU's Brian Welch drew a full-count walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Brandon McKinney. Qualkinbush came in to pinch-run and after a base on balls to Brantley Meier, redshirt-freshman C Jimmy Holton (West Palm Beach, Fla.) attempted to pick off Qualkinbush at second and the throw went into center field, allowing the runner to come home for the go-ahead run.
The Cougars took an early 1-0 lead in the game on a solo home run by senior C Robert Pritcher (Charleston, S.C.) to lead off the third inning. CSU knotted the score in the fourth, scoring on a RBI sacrifice fly by Walt Quattlebaum. Charleston reclaimed the lead with a pair of runs in the sixth to take a 3-1 lead. A single by redshirt-junior LF Jose Rodriguez (Hialeah, Fla.) was followed by a pair of base on balls to redshirt-freshman LF Daniel Aldrich (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) and junior 2B Rob Harding (Columbia, S.C.). A RBI fielder's choice by senior SS Jamie Holler (Rock Hill, S.C.) plated the first run and after a walk to Pritcher, a bases-loaded walk to junior 1B Marty Gantt (N. Augusta, S.C.) pushed ahead the second run of the frame.
The Bucs knotted the score at 3-3 with two runs in the top of the eighth, scoring on RBI singles by Nick Chinners and Jaren Sustar.
Senior RHP Robert Jeroszko (Greenville, S.C.) tossed eight solid innings for the Cougars, allowing three runs on 10 hits with one strikeout. Powell took the hard-luck loss to fall to 4-1 on the season. Gantt paced the Cougars' offense with three hits, all singles.
Ali Williams earned the win in relief for CSU, scattering three hits over 1-2/3 shutout innings with three strikeouts. Patrick McCready tossed a perfect ninth for his third save of the season.
The Cougars return to Southern Conference action on the road this weekend as they travel to face Elon. Friday's first pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
UNC Asheville 4, Wofford 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Wofford baseball team was defeated 4-0 by UNC Asheville on Wednesday evening at Russell C. King Field. The Bulldogs scored all four runs in the first three innings. Wofford outhit UNC Asheville six to five, but could not plate a run.
Wofford is now 14-20 on the season and UNC Asheville is 13-20 overall. The Terriers six hit were by six different players. Jesse Morris led the team on the mound by going four innings with a career-high seven strikeouts. The Bulldogs were led by Grant Gajdosz with three RBIs on the night.
The Bulldogs opened the game with a single by Jordan Lurie. He moved to second on a stolen base and then to third on a fly ball. A ground out by Grant Gajdosz scored Lurie for a 1-0 lead. UNC Asheville had a double by Danny Baatz to lead off the second inning. He moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a wild pitch for a 2-0 lead.
In the bottom of the second, Josh McKinney singled and Luke Feisal doubled, but both were left on base. The Bulldogs had two runners on base when a single by Grant Gajdosz scored both runners to take a 4-0 lead in the top of the third.
Landon Bennett opened the bottom of the fifth with a double for the Terriers, but he was stranded at the end of the inning. The Wofford pitching staff retired eleven batters in a row in the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth innings. In the bottom of the eighth, Wofford had singles from Josh Hyman and James Foster to open the inning, but a double play ended the scoring chance for the Terriers. UNC Asheville left one runner on in the top of the ninth and the Terriers were retired in order to end the game at 4-0.
Wofford starter Eric Eck (1-5) went three innings with four hits and four runs allowed along with two strikeouts. Jesse Morris threw four innings with only one hit allowed and a career-high seven strikeouts. Ryan Traylor retired all three batters faced in the eighth inning with one strikeout. Anthony Rowland went an inning and did not allow a hit.
UNC Asheville starter Brian Connolly (1-0) threw six innings without allowing a run on four hits and two strikeouts. Grier Harrington went an inning with a strikeout, Matthew Pate threw an inning with two hits allowed, and Dillon Tabar threw the ninth with one strikeout.
The Terriers will remain at home this weekend for a three-game Southern Conference series against Davidson. The series will begin on Friday at 7:00 p.m.
East Tennessee State 12, Furman 9
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Bo Reeder went 4-for-4 with a home run, scored three times, and earned his nation leading 13th save to lead East Tennessee State past Furman, 12-9, in non-conference baseball action Wednesday evening at Latham Stadium.
The victory was the sixth straight for East Tennessee State (21-9) and gave the Bucaneers the season series over Furman (17-18) two games to one.
Reeder delivered an RBI single in a four-run Buccaneer third, hit a two-run home run in the fifth to give ETSU a 6-5 lead, stroked and RBI double in the sixth, and singled and scored in the eighth. In the ninth he moved from third base to the mound and worked around a leadoff walk to secure the win for the Buccaneers and notch the save.
Paul Hoilman also homered for East Tennessee State, belting a three-run third inning clout, to highlight ETSU's 12-hit attack. Matthew Scruggs scored four runs for the Buccaneers, who also go two hits each from Dylan Pratt and Andrew Green.
Furman was paced by Will Owens' 3-for-5 performance. Reese Wade collected two hits and a pair of RBI, and J.B. Jenkins drove in two runs with a double.
ETSU reliever Logan Rice (1-0) was credited with the win despite allowing four runs on four hits in 2 1/3 innings of work. He walked three and struck out one.
Matt Plate (2-3) took the loss for Furman after working 1 2/3 innings and yielding Reeder's two-run fifth inning home run.
The Paladins grabbed an 1-0 lead in the first, but it didn't last long as East Tennessee State struck for four, two-out runs in the third against Furman starting pitcher Steven Gary. Reeder's single to center field tied the game at 1-1, and Hoilman followed with a line drive three-run home run to left field for a 4-1 lead.
Furman answered with three in the bottom of the inning to tie the game on a run-scoring double by Aaron Thompkins, an RBI grounder by Wade, and Heath Burton's double to left field that plated Thompkins.
The Paladins turned to small ball to scratch across an unearned run in the fourth to take a 5-4 lead, but ETSU responded in the fifth with Reeder's two-run blast to left field off Furman reliever Matt Plate.
The Buccaneers used RBI doubles by Reeder and Green and pair of Furman errors in the sixth to stretch the advantage to 9-5.
ETSU led 10-5 when J.B. Jenkins' two-run double down the left field line keyed a four-run Furman seventh that made it a 10-9 game. The Bucs, however, quickly pushed the lead to 12-9, taking advantage of a hit, a pair of walks, a two wild pitches by Paladin reliever John Patterson to plate the game's final two runs in the eighth.
Bo Burton combined with Reeder to work a scoreless eighth and ninth.
Furman continues its season long 11-game homestand on Friday when it opens a three-game Southern Conference series against The Citadel. First pitch is set for 7:00 p.m.
North Florida 7, Georgia Southern 3
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Baseball team (20-14) suffered a 7-3 loss to North Florida. The Ospreys opened the game with runs in four of the first five innings and scored six of their seven runs in the first half of the game.
The Eagles attempted to mount a comeback, scoring three runs in the final three frames. Stryker Brown (Dalton, Ga.) picked up hits in his final three at-bats and drove in two runs on his first career home run. Brown also singled in the fifth inning and again in the ninth, putting two runners on base with one out. A ground ball to third baseman in the next at-bat turned into a double play to end the contest.
Victor Roache (Ypsilanti, Mich.) sent his 15th home run of the season into the night in the eighth inning, the most since Chris Shehan hit 22 in 2008. Roache is currently in second place in the NCAA trailing only Jake Lowery of James Madison, who has 17 on the year. Roache finished the day with two hits in two at-bats and two walks.
North Florida scored an unearned run in the first inning and added another in the second inning on a two-out double by Kyle Dahl. Alex Hernandez walked to lead off the game and quickly reached second on a passed ball. Two ground outs to the right side followed, driving in the first run of the game.
The Eagles brought on their closer, Matt Murray (Spring City, Pa.), in the fifth inning to try to keep the game at 4-0. Joe Lower (West Palm Beach, Fla.) sandwiched a pair of ground outs around back-to-back base hits and was lifted in his second inning of work for Murray. The junior pitcher coaxed a soft ground ball up the middle out of Alex Bacon, but it was just out of reach of the defense to drive in two runs.
Murray would only allow one other hit and struck out two batters in 1.1 innings. Josh Adams (Bath, S.C.) dropped his third-straight decision and fell to 5-5 on the year. Adams allowed three earned runs on four hits in 2.2 innings. Lower gave up two hits, two runs and struck one a batter in two innings. Will Middour (Atlanta, Ga.) nearly finished off the game with a hitless 2.1 innings of work. Ryan McCafferty (West Chester, Pa.) recorded the final two outs in the game, striking out the last batter he faced.
Tommy Organ earned his fourth win (4-0) of the year, allowing just one hit in two innings. The next three pitchers combined for four scoreless innings, before Chandler Jagodzinski gave up two runs on two hits. Jagodzinski also struck out two batters in his inning of work. Evan Stermer and Andrew Karmeris closed out the ballgame, allowing one run over the final two innings.
The Eagles return to Southern Conference play this weekend at Western Carolina. The two teams meet Friday in the series opener at 6 p.m. The series concludes with a 3 p.m. game on Saturday and a 2 p.m. contest on Sunday.