Davidson 6, Samford 4
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.- The Davidson baseball team plated six runs in the third inning and held on late for a 6-4 Southern Conference win over Samford Saturday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
Samford's Lex Rutledge (5-2) pitched 2.2 innings, giving up six runs, only four earned, on four hits to take the loss on the mound for the Bulldogs. Rutledge struck out five batters and walked five in the loss. Gil Walker, Grant Sides, Josh Martin and Joseph Burns combined to pitch the final 6.1 innings, surrendering no runs on just four hits.
Samford was led at the plate by Stephen Ballard, going 2-for-4 with two RBI. Saxon Butler went 2-for-5 with an RBI, while Gary Cramer went 2-for-3 and Kevin Putkonen went 2-for-4 for the Bulldogs.
Ian Horkley (3-3) pitched 5.0 innings, giving up three runs on six hits to earn the win on the mound for the Wildcats. Andy Bass tossed the final 2.0 innings, allowing just one hit to pick up his third save of the season.
Davidson was led at the plate by Daniel Gerow, going 2-for-4 with a double. Andrew Barna and Kelly Myers drove in two runs each, both going 1-for-5 at the plate.
Samford took the lead first with a run in the bottom of the second inning. With one out, Cramer singled to center field and then advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Cramer then advanced to third base when Putkonen reached base on a bunt single. Ballard then singled to center field to drive in Cramer for a 1-0 Samford lead.
Davidson came back with six runs in the top of the third inning to take a 6-1 lead. Barna and Myers drove in two runs each in the inning. Myers and Michael Zeblo both scored on a Samford error to give Davidson a five-run lead.
Samford plated two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to cut the Wildcats' lead to 6-3. After Michael Johnson walked to lead off the inning, Phillip Ervin doubled to left-center field to drive in Johnson for the first run of the inning. Butler then singled to center field to drive in Ervin to make the score 6-3.
The Bulldogs added one final run in the eighth inning to make the final score 6-4. Butler singled up the middle to lead off the inning. After moving to second base on a ground out, Butler scored when Ballard singled up the middle.
Samford, however, couldn't get any closer and the Bulldogs fell to the Wildcats, 6-4.
With the loss, Samford drops to 18-11 overall and 7-4 in SoCon play. Davidson improves to 13-13 overall and 6-7 in league play.
Samford and Davidson will conclude their SoCon series with a game Sunday at 1 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
Georgia Southern 15, The Citadel 2
STATESBORO, Ga. - Victor Roache (Ypsilanti, Mich.) hit one home run shy of the school record of four to power Georgia Southern (17-11, 8-3) to its first series win over The Citadel (10-17, 5-9) since 2008 with a 15-2 victory on Saturday. More than 2,000 fans were in an attendance and saw Roache move into the Southern Conference lead with 10 homers on the year.
Roache had a pair of two-run home runs and a double in his first three at-bats and launched a second two-run bomb in his fourth at-bat. The sophomore outfielder became the first player since Matt Easterday in 2000 to hit three bombs in a game. The 2000 Southern Conference Player of the Year hit three on February 25th of that season against East Tennessee State. The school record for home runs in a game was set in 1999 by Dustin Langley, who hit four in a contest with Appalachian State on March 6 of that year.
GSU knocked out 21 hits and took advantage of three Bulldog errors to score its 15 runs. Seven Eagles recorded multi-hit games, including four hits from Michael Burruss (Marietta, Ga.), Roache and three from Steve Cochrane (Mooresville, N.C.).
The Eagles got out to an early start with four runs in the first inning and added three more in the second. After a scoreless third inning for both teams, Georgia Southern pushed seven runs across the plate over the middle three innings. GSU wrapped up its offensive output with a single run in the eighth inning.
The Citadel scored single runs in the second and fourth innings. The leadoff batter reached in both innings and came around to score on a pair of sacrifice flies. Justin Mackert led off the second inning with a base hit and scored on the first out of the inning, a sac fly by Joe Jackson. William Ladd led off the fourth with a single to left center and crossed the plate on a fly ball hit by Tyler Griffin.
Josh Adams (Bath, S.C.) struggled at times, but pitched well enough for Georgia Southern, earning his team-leading fifth win of the season. Adams allowed just two runs on five hits and worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the second inning.
Austin Pritcher dropped to 3-3 on the season after being unable to get out of the second inning. Pritcher allowed six earned runs on seven hits and struck out three batters. David Leeth saved The Citadel bullpen after a four-inning outing to close out the contest. Leeth allowed only two earned runs on eight hits and faced 22 batters over the final four frames.
The series wraps up on Sunday with a 1:30 p.m. first pitch. Recently retired Georgia Southern Ticket Manager, Kay Shuman, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before the game. Andy Moye (Alpharetta, Ga.), who is 3-1 with a 2.76 ERA, is scheduled to pitch tomorrow for Georgia Southern, while The Citadel will counter with Justin Russell (1-2, 6.00 ERA).
Appalachian State 6, Wofford 2
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University baseball clinched its first Southern Conference series victory of the season with a convincing 6-2 triumph over Wofford on Saturday afternoon at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
Appalachian (14-13, 3-8 SoCon) fell behind 2-0 in the top of the first inning but tied the game in the bottom of the frame on Trey Holmes' (Rockwell, N.C./East Rowan) and rode strong pitching performances from Nathan Hyatt (Brevard, N.C./Brevard) and David Port (Dunwoody, Ga./Dunwoody) the rest of the way.
Aside from issuing six walks, Hyatt (3-4) was nearly flawless after the two-run first. He surrendered just four hits, only two of which came after the first inning, and retired 10 of the last 13 batters he faced before turning the ball over to Port with two outs in the seventh inning. Port came on to strand two Wofford baserunners in the seventh and allowed just one hit over the final two innings to close out the victory.
Offensively, the Mountaineers scored what proved to be the winning run on Jeremy Dowdy's (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) RBI single in the third inning. They tacked on a pair of unearned runs in the fourth thanks to Wofford (14-14, 2-6 SoCon) committing two of its four errors in the frame and closed out the scoring on Preston Troutman's (Rockwell, N.C./East Rowan) RBI triple in the fifth.
ASU also received one of its best all-around defensive performances of the season on an afternoon that featured wind gusts as high as 60 miles per hour. Holmes picked several low throws off the turf at first base, Troutman made a running catch while crashing into the wall in left field, Tyler Zupcic (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) made a full-out diving catch of a sinking line drive in center and Hector Crespo (Miami, Fla./Florida Christian) made a terrific back-hand play behind second base in the ninth inning.
With the victory, Appalachian moved to 2-0 in April, a month that it has dominated over the past two-plus seasons. The Mountaineers are 36-4 overall in the month since 2009.
ASU goes for the three-game series sweep on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Smith Stadium.
College of Charleston 15, Western Carolina 8
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Five College of Charleston batters had multi-hit efforts and junior RHP Josh Renfro (Bradenton, Fla.) struck out seven in seven innings as the Cougars scored 13 runs in the first two innings on the way to a 15-8 victory over Western Carolina Saturday afternoon in Southern Conference action at Patriots Point. The Cougars improve to 18-9 on the season, 5-3 in the SoCon and look for the sweep against WCU tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 p.m.
Western Carolina scored the first run of the game on a RBI double to right by Ross Heffley in the top of the first. The Cougars exploded for six runs in the bottom of the first and added seven more in the second to open a 13-1 lead. Back-to-back singles by junior RF Marty Gantt (N. Augusta, S.C.) and senior CF Cole Rakar (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) opened the first and redshirt-junior DH Rob Kral (Randolph, N.J.) added a RBI single through the right side to get things going for Charleston. Two batters later, redshirt-freshman Daniel Aldrich (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) launched a three-run home run to right field, his ninth of the season, for a 4-1 lead. Junior 3B Rob Harding (Columbia, S.C.) followed with a single to right and senior C Robert Pritcher (Charleston, S.C.) roped a RBI double to right center, scoring Harding. Senior 2B Jesse Mesa (Miramar, Fla.) brought home Pritcher with a RBI single to right center for a 6-1 first inning advantage.
The Cougars continues to pour it on in the second, plating seven runs and batting around the order for the second straight frame. Rakar was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and Kral deposited a 1-0 pitch over the wall in right for a two-run homer. Later, with the bases loaded, Pritcher was hit by a pitch to bring home another run. Mesa added a sacrifice fly to center and Rakar cleared the bases with a three-run double to left as Charleston opened a 13-1 lead.
Western Carolina scored a single run in the third and the Cougars answered with a run in the sixth on a RBI single by Mesa. The two teams traded solo runs in the eighth, the Catamounts scoring on a RBI single by Luke Gragg and Charleston taking a 15-3 lead on a RBI double by redshirt-freshman C Jimmy Holton (West Palm Beach, Fla.). Western Carolina scored five unearned runs in the ninth off Gantt, as two early errors help put runners on for a three-run homer by Dykota Spiess.
Renfro picked up his fifth win of the season, scattering five hits and allowing two runs in the seven innings. Rakar and Harding had three hits apiece, while Gantt, Kral and Aldrich added two hits for the Cougars, who pounded out 16 on the afternoon. Jordan Smith took the loss for Western Carolina, allowing eight runs on eight hits in one inning of work.
UNCG 13, Elon 9
GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNCG took advantage of some good fortune to score six runs in the sixth inning to take a commanding 12-3 lead en route to a 13-9 victory over backyard-rival Elon on Saturday afternoon at the UNCG Baseball Stadium. The win tied the weekend series at one and forced a rubber game on Sunday.
Jarett Miller recorded his third win of the season for UNCG (15-10, 7-4 Southern Conference) after pitching two innings of relief and allowing just one run on one hit, while striking out five.
Elon starter Ken Ferrer moved to 3-2 on the year after giving up six runs, three earned, on five hits in 4 2/3 innings of work.
Ray Quinones helped pace the Spartans offense as he went 2-4 with three RBI and two runs scores, while Chris Barker also added a trio of RBI. Thomas Troelstrupand Trevor Edwards both went 1-3 with two RBI and two runs score apiece, as well.
Eric Serra went 2-2 with three RBI and a run scored off the bench for the Phoenix (18-10, 9-2 SoCon) and Garrett Koster also had a pair of RBI.
UNCG got the scoring started in the second inning as it jumped out to an early 3-0 lead. With the bases loaded and one out, Ray Crawford delivered a single to the opposite field to score Eric Brindle to make it 1-0. After a strikeout, Barker singled through the right side of the infield to plate two more runs.
The Phoenix came right back in the top of the third to make it 3-1 when Niko Fraser singled up the middle to score Harry Austin from third.
Elon was then able to tie the game at three in the top of the third as Sebastian Gomez drew a walk and Koster followed with a home run to right field.
The Spartans would retake the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth with three more runs. With one out and a runner on first, Edwards took the first pitch he saw and put it off the scoreboard in right field for his fourth home run of the season to make it 5-3. Two batters later, Zach Leach singled to left field and scored on a double by Troelstrup that stayed just fair down the left field line.
Leading 6-3, UNCG blew the game open in the sixth inning with six runs after is appeared it would be a simple 1-2-3 inning. With two outs, Bobby Martin hit a high fly ball to center field and it seemed as if the center fielder was under it, but the ball fell harmlessly next to him to allow Martin to reach third. After a walk to Edwards, Brindle singled on a pop up to shallow center field that fell between two Phoenix players.
A walk to Cambric Moye loaded the bases and Troelstrup followed with a walk of his own to score Edwards. Quinones then hit a triple to the wall in center field to clear the bases and make it 11-3. After Crawford was hit by a pitch and Drew Gehringer walked to load the bases again, Barker drew a six-pitch walk to score one final run in the inning.
Elon would go on to score a run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly and had a pair of RBI singles in the eighth to cut the Spartan lead down to 12-6.
UNCG got a run back in the home half of the eighth on a double by Gehringer before the Phoenix scored three runs in the top of the ninth to make it 13-9.
The Spartans and Phoenix will meet in the rubber game on Sunday at 1 p.m.