Western Carolina 25, Wofford 14
Cullowhee, N.C. - Ross Heffley opened a six-run first inning for Western Carolina with a two-run home run to left to set the tone in Sunday afternoon's 25-14 rubber match victory over the Wofford Terriers at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium. WCU batted around three times in the first five innings en route to claiming the conference series.
WCU (16-20-1, 7-14 SoCon), which capitalized on five Wofford errors in the win, set seasonal highs with 25 runs on 24 hits against the Terriers. The 25 runs for the Catamounts were the most since scoring 26 in a home win over Samford during the 2009 season.
Seniors Stephen Notaro and Austin Schultz both drove in six runs apiece with Notaro finishing 5-for-5 with a double and a home run. Schultz finished 3-for-6 with two doubles and both drew a walk. Heffley recorded four RBI in a 3-for-6 showing, belting his team-leading fifth home run of the season to stake WCU to a lead it would never relinquish.
Freshman Macon Smith recorded his first career multi-hit game with his first extra base hit with a double for WCU in a 2-for-4 showing.
All but two Catamount batters recorded base hits on Sunday afternoon including six multi-hit games with WCU legging out six doubles and two home runs. Ten different hitters tallied a RBI on the day.
Preston Hatcher (2-1) earned the win for the Catamounts, tossing four innings while allowing three runs on three hits. He worked around four walks with a strikeout. Seven Catamount relievers closed the final five frames, all recording a strikeout.
Western Carolina jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first inning before Wofford plated three in the top of the fourth inning to trim the deficit in half, 6-3. However, the Catamounts sent 15 batters to the plate in a nine-run fourth inning to break it open, 15-3. WCU then answered a three-spot in the visitor's half of the fifth with five runs in the bottom of the frame to lead 20-6 through five innings.
Both squads bookended the stretch inning with three runs apiece before combining for three in the eighth. Wofford capped scoring with four runs in the top of the ninth inning before Darron Dotson was able to end the game with a three-pitch strikeout.
Wofford starter Tom Dolinak (3-4) was tagged with the loss after surrendering six runs - only one of which was earned - on five hits with four walks and a strikeout. The Terriers tossed five relievers out of the bullpen including Drew Sheridan the final three innings finishing with four strikeouts.
Designated hitter Mac Doyle finished 3-for-6 with a double to lead the Terriers while Josh Hyman was 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles and two RBI, with Matt Moore scoring three on a 2-for-3 outing including a two-bagger.
Western Carolina opens a busy week with a nonconference road game at High Point on Tuesday night at 6:00 pm before hosting Clemson on Wednesday in a rescheduled game from March 9. First pitch between the Tigers and Catamounts is scheduled for 6:00 pm at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
WCU hosts the San Diego State Aztecs, led by MLB Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn, next weekend in a three-game nonconference series in Cullowhee.
Elon 9, Georgia Southern 0
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Baseball team (24-16, 13-5) was unable to complete the sweep of Elon (29-16, 15-6) after falling 9-0 on Sunday, April 24th at J.I. Clements Stadium. The Eagles took the series, however, with wins in the first two contests.
Elon head coach Mike Kennedy earned career victory number 500 with the win.
Kennedy, already the all-time winningest coach in Elon history, now boasts a career record of 500-347 in his 15-year career.
Said Kennedy, "It's not about me. I care about our kids. I want them to do well. It's a great feeling because my kids just came up to me and shook my hand and gave me a hug. That's what makes it special. It's about our players and we've had some great ones come through here. There have been a lot of them to get you to the 500 mark. The neat thing about it that, over time, guys have gotten better and better. There have been a lot of guys to come through this program. Over time we've just had some very, very good players that have put us on the map. There's been an attitude of winning around here and that's what I don't want to relinquish."
Dylan Clark kept the GSU hitters at bay for six innings to earn his first career victory. Clark improved to 1-3 on the year after scattering five hits and striking out two batters. John Brebbia and Mitch Conner combined to throw the final three frames. Brebbia did not allow a hit and struck out two in his two innings of work.
Georgia Southern put runners in scoring position in the first two innings, but did not have another runner reach second base until Garren Palmer's (Dalton, Ga.) two-out double in the ninth inning. The Eagles put runners on second and third in the bottom half of the first, but could not bring them home when Clark struck out the side.
Palmer led off the second inning with a base hit and Tom Richardson (Lilburn, Ga.) followed with a single through the right side to put runners on the corners without an out. However, Elon got out of the jam with two fielder's choices and a runner interference call. The Phoenix retired GSU in order over the next five innings before the hit by Palmer in the ninth. Palmer finished the day with two hits and was the only Eagle to have a multi-hit day.
Josh Adams (Bath, S.C.) fell to 5-6 on the year after allowing three runs on three hits over two innings. Adams also walked two batters, struck out one and faced 10 batters on the day. Justin Hess (Panama City, Fla.) and Jarret Leverett (Eatonton, Ga.) pitched the next 4.2 innings and allowed a combined four earned runs on seven hits. Colin Snow (Alpharetta, Ga.) pitched a scoreless inning, allowing a walk and a run. Will Middour (Atlanta, Ga.) pitched the final frame allowing a solo shot to Sebastian Gomez while striking out Garrett Koster to end the inning.
A leadoff home run by Jake Luce started the scoring for Elon. The Phoenix went on to add a single run in the second inning and four more in the third for a 6-0 lead after the first three frames. Elon added three more runs in the contest with single runs crossing the plate in the sixth, seventh and ninth innings to take the final lead of 9-0.
The leadoff batter reached five times for Elon and scored four times. A walk of Gomez to start the second inning came around to cost the Eagles as he scored on a single by Eric Serra. The first four batters in the third inning reached base and came around to cross the plate for the Phoenix's big inning.
Serra led off the sixth inning and scored a two-out run on Cyle Rasmus' second single of the game. Neal Pritchard tucked Elon's second home run in the contest over the wall and into the left field corner. A solo shot in the ninth inning wrapped up the Phoenix's scoring.
Georgia Southern will be on the road all next week and will face Kennesaw State and UNC Greensboro at their respective home ballparks. The Eagles will face the Owls on Wednesday at 6 p.m. and will travel to Greensboro for a three-game Southern Conference series which starts Friday, April 29th at 6 p.m.
College of Charleston 13, Furman 12
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Redshirt-freshman RF Daniel Aldrich (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) knocked a two-out, two-run double to right field capping a five-run ninth inning as the College of Charleston rallied for a 13-12 victory over visiting Furman University Sunday afternoon at Patriots Point. With the weekend sweep, the Cougars improve to 27-15 overall, 11-7 in the Southern Conference. Furman falls to 19-23, 9-11.
Down 12-8 heading to the bottom of the ninth, Charleston worked Furman reliever Dylan Cole for four walks and two hits in the ninth, scoring five times for the walk-off victory. Senior CF Cole Rakar (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) and Junior 2B Rob Harding (Columbia, S.C.) each drew walks and pinch-hitter Ryan Daniels (Victoria, Texas) also drew a base on balls to load the bases with no outs. Senior SS Jamie Holler (Rock Hill, S.C.) forced in a run with the fourth straight walk of the inning, cutting the deficit to 12-9. Junior 1B Marty Gantt (N. Augusta, S.C.) lined a RBI single into left, plating Harding for a 12-10 score and leaving the bases loaded. Redshirt-junior DH Rob Kral (Randolph, N.J.) struck out and redshirt-junior 3B Matt Leeds (Boca Raton, Fla.) drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to cut the Furman lead to 12-11. With runners at first and second, Aldrich roped a 3-2 pitch down the right-field line for the game-winning hit and setting off a wild celebration for the Cougars.
Charleston plated a pair of runs in the second to take a 2-0 lead. Aldrich drew a full-count walk to open the frame and redshirt-junior LF Jose Rodriguez (Hialeah, Fla.) singled to right. Rakar reached on a fielder's choice with Aldrich forced out at third. Harding lined a RBI double the left-field line to score Rodriguez and a sacrifice fly to right by Holler brought home Rakar for a 2-0 lead.
The two teams traded two runs apiece in the third as Furman knotted the score at 2-2 and the Cougars retook a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the frame. Furman scored on a RBI groundout by Will Owens and a RBI single by Aaron Thompkins. The Cougars responded with a two-run single to right center by Harding that plated Aldrich and Leeds.
Furman tied the game at 4-4 with two more runs in the fourth on a two-run homer to left center by Paul Nitto and broke the game open with four runs in the fifth for an 8-4 lead. Charleston cut into the lead with a single run in the fifth on a solo home run by Aldrich, his 15th of the season, for an 8-5 Furman lead. The Paladins extended the lead to 10-5 in the sixth with a pair of runs on a RBI by Reese Wade and throwing error by sophomore reliever Dre Watts (Laurens, S.C.) on a pickoff attempt.
Charleston cut the deficit to 10-8 with three runs in the eighth. Senior PH Kolby Epley (Yadkinville, N.C.) led off the frame with a solo shot to left and after Holler walked, Gantt drilled an 0-1 pitch over the wall in left center for a two-run homer. Furman put more pressure on the in the ninth, scoring twice to take the 12-8 lead before the ninth inning outburst by the Cougars' offense.
Senior RHP Casey Lucchese (Lexington, Ky.) picked up his second straight win of the weekend to improve to 3-0 on the season. Lucchese faced one batted in the top of the ninth, recording a ground out to end the frame. Cole took the loss for Furman, allowing six runs on three hits and five walks in 1-2/3 innings.
Aldrich finished with three hits and three RBI for the Cougars, as did Gantt. Harding added a pair of hits and three RBI on the afternoon.