Samford 4, #21 Alabama 2
TUSCALOOSA, Ala.- Samford freshman outfielder Phillip Ervin went 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBI to lead the Bulldog baseball team to a 4-2 win at 21st-ranked Alabama Tuesday evening at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
The win, which was Samford's fourth-straight over Alabama, improves the Bulldogs' overall record to 20-9. Alabama drops to 21-10 with the loss.
Samford's C.K. Irby, in his first career start on the mound, pitched 3.0 innings, giving up no runs on just one hit to earn the win and improve to 3-1 on the season. Andrew Jones pitched the final inning to pick up his eighth save of the season. Tyler Vanderheiden, Joseph Burns, Gil Walker, Grant Sides and Arthur Strauss all saw time on the mound for Samford as well. The seven pitchers combined for six strikeouts and just two walks.
"I think the biggest thing is our kids came down here and played with confidence," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "We came down here to win a game and we felt the arms we had to throw tonight were going to be good enough to get us a win, and obviously all of those guys threw really well."
In addition to Ervin at the plate for Samford, Saxon Butler, Tyler Filliben and Brad Moss had a hit each for the Bulldogs.
Alabama was led at the plate by Taylor Dugas, with a home run and two RBI in a 1-for-4 performance at the plate. Josh Rosecrans and Brett Booth had a hit each for the Crimson Tide.
Case Nixon pitched 1.0 inning, giving up three runs on one hit to take the loss on the mound. Nixon drops his season record to 0-1 with the setback.
Samford jumped on top first with three runs in the top of the third inning. Tommy Corbin walked to lead off the inning. With two outs, Michael Johnson walked. Ervin then homered to left field to give Samford a 3-0 lead. The home run was Ervin's third of the season.
The Bulldogs plated another run in the top of the fifth inning to push their lead to 4-0. Moss doubled with one out in the inning. With two outs, Ervin singled to right field to drive in Moss for a four-run Samford lead.
Alabama came back with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut the Samford lead to 4-2. Booth walked with one out to start the rally. With two outs in the inning, Dugas hit a home run to right field to cut the Samford lead to two runs.
Samford will return to action on Friday, when the Bulldogs travel to Cullowhee, N.C., to take on Western Carolina in the first game of a three-game Southern Conference series. The teams will play Friday at 5 p.m. (CT), Saturday at 12 p.m. (CT) and Sunday at 1 p.m. (CT).
Furman 14, East Tennessee State 5
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Will Miller homered twice and drove in a career high six runs to power Furman to a 14-5 victory over East Tennessee State in baseball action Tuesday evening at Latham Stadium.
Miller hit a two-run home run in the first inning and belted a three-run shot an inning later to help Furman (14-15) take an early 8-1 lead. The junior center fielder walked in the fourth, singled and scored in the sixth, and reached on error in the seventh to complete a 3-for-4, three-run performance that saw him reach base five times.
The 14 runs marked a season high, and the Paladins' 15 hits represented the second most on the campaign. Furman, which entered the game with only six home runs on the campaign, belted three round trippers.
Paul Nitto also contributed significantly in the win with a season best 3-for-4 outing that included his first home run of the season, a three-run shot in a five-run Paladin first, and Will Owens returned to the lineup from injury to go 3-for-4. Reese Wade had two hits and scored twice.
East Tennessee State (16-9) was paced by Paul Hoilman, who went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run in the eight-hit Buccaneer attack.
The Paladins roughed up ETSU starting pitcher Clinton Freeman early, striking for five runs in the first inning after two outs and the bases clear. Reese Wade's single to right field was followed by Miller's first home run of the contest, a two-run line shot over the left field fence for a 2-1 lead. After a walk and a double by Alex Abrams put runners at second and third, Nitto drilled a Freeman offering over the left field hedge to make it 5-1.
Miller and Furman tacked on three more in the second, again after two outs. Back-to-back singles by Aaron Thompkins and Wade brought Miller to the plate, and he stroked one-ball, one-strike pitch out of the park for an 8-1 advantage.
The Paladins made it 10-1 with a two-run third, and blew the game open with four more in the sixth, highlighted by a Miller RBI single.
The solid run support made an easy winner of Paladin starter Daniel Stallsmith (3-1), who was designated to throw 50 pitches. He allowed a run on four hits over three innings and walked one.
Freeman (1-3) took the loss after getting tagged for seven runs, all earned, on seven hits in just 1 2/3 innings. He walked one and fanned two.
Furman plays Presbyterian on Wednesday in a 6:00 p.m. game at Latham Stadium.
Appalachian State 10, North Carolina A&T 5
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University baseball scored three runs in the seventh inning and three more in the eighth to down visiting North Carolina A&T, 10-5, on Tuesday evening at blustery Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
Appalachian (16-13) saw a 4-0 lead evaporate when N.C. A&T (8-19) scored five runs with two outs in the top of the sixth inning but ASU rallied for six runs over its final two at-bats to extend its winning streak to a season-high-tying four games. With the victory, the Mountaineers moved to 38-4 in the month of April since 2009.
After Xavier Macklin's grand slam to straightaway center field gave A&T its only lead of the game in the top of the sixth, the Mountaineers regained the lead for good with three runs in the bottom of the seventh. Trey Holmes (Rockwell, N.C./East Rowan) knotted the game at 5-5 with an RBI double then scored the go-ahead run when Aggie catcher Ryan Carlton launched a throw into left field as Holmes stole third.
Tyler Tewell (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) capped Appalachian's three-run seventh with a solo home run down the right field line and Holmes ended put the game away when he crushed an opposite-field three-run homer to left in the eighth.
ASU freshman left-hander Lawrence Pardo (Miami, Fla./Christopher Columbus) turned in perhaps his best start since he beat No. 20 Miami (Fla.) on Feb. 25, tossing 5.2 shutout innings before running into trouble with two outs in the sixth. After retiring two of the first three batters he faced in the frame, Pardo surrendered two singles and issued a walk to bring Macklin to the plate with the Mountaineers clinging to a 4-1 lead. Macklin, who is expected to be a high selection in June's Major League Baseball Draft, hit the first pitch of the at-bat just past the outstretched glove of Tyler Zupcic (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) and over the center field wall to give A&T a 5-4 advantage.
Despite keeping the Aggies' strong lineup at bay for much of the evening, Pardo did not figure into the decision. Left-handed reliever Will Helms (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) worked 1.1 innings in relief of Pardo to earn the win and move to 2-0 on the season. Helms' 1.1 scoreless stanzas jump-started an impressive evening by ASU's bullpen, with three relievers combining to limit N.C. A&T to just one hit over the final 3.1 innings of the ballgame.
The first three batters in Appalachian's lineup - Zupcic, Holmes and Jack Myers (Charlotte, N.C./Myers Park) - combined for seven of the Mountaineers' 11 hits and drove in seven of the Apps' 10 runs. Zupcic went 2-for-2 with two walks, two runs scored and an RBI, Holmes went 2-for-5 with four RBI and Myers raised his team-leading batting average to .386 with a 3-for-4 effort that included a double and two RBI.
North Carolina A&T managed just six hits and committed five errors in its eighth-straight loss to ASU.
Appalachian opens a five-game road stint on Wednesday when it makes the short trip to Johnson City, Tenn. to square off with longtime rival East Tennessee State. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. at Cardinal Park.
Elon 9, Old Dominion 4
ELON, N.C. -- Grant McCoury hit a fifth-inning grand slam while David Whitehead turned in seven strong innings as the Elon Phoenix upended the visiting Old Dominion Monarchs 9-4 from Latham Park on Tuesday night.
Elon (19-11) loaded the bases without the benefit of a hit to start the first inning as Harry Austin and Alex Swim both walked around Niko Fraser being hit by a pitch, but failed to score as Ben Verlander got an infield fly and a double play to end the threat.
A leadoff double from Nathan Hartman turned into an ODU (14-16) run when, after a wild pitch, Hartman scored on a RBI ground out from Kenny Stoneback.
Hartman grounded a one-out single into left field and went to second as, with two away, Stoneback reached on a passed ball on strike three. An error on the play sent Hartman to third. Brandon Shelton pushed the Monarchs' advantage to 2-0 with a single to center that plated Hartman.
Four straight two-out walks - to Swim, Neal Pritchard, Ryan Kinsella and then Garrett Koster - got Elon on the board in the last of the fifth. McCoury then cleared the bases by belting a 2-0 pitch deep over the wall in left for his first career grand slam that put the Phoenix in front 5-2. The homer was the third of the year for McCoury and the first hit of the game for Elon.
With Whitehead out of the game, the Phoenix bullpen issued three straight walks to Shelton, Brent Frazier and Joshua Wright before Christopher Baker lined a single to right to make it a 5-3 game in the top of the eighth. Shawn Sizemore followed by drawing a four-pitch walk to force home Frazier with ODU's fourth run of the night. Dylan Clark then fanned both pinch-hitter Ty Yesensky and Hartman before John Brebbia came on to retire Edgar Hernandez on a fly ball to right to end the inning.
Elon extended its advantage to 9-4 in the last of the eighth. Cyle Rasmus got things going with a walk, stole second and moved to third on a ground out. Austin then blooped a ball into shallow right over the drawn in infield to score Rasmus. Austin then swiped second and third, giving the senior 70 steals for his career and moving him to fourth in program history in that category. Fraser's single through the drawn in infield plated Austin with the second run of the frame. The speedy outfielder picked up the Phoenix's seventh stolen base of the night when he swiped second. Fraser scored the eighth run of the game as Swim tripled to center before Pritchard lined a single to left to cap the scoring.
Whitehead (2-0) picked up the victory after allowing just two runs (one earned) on three hits in his seven innings. The freshman walked two and struck out five. Brebbia earned his second save of the year with 1.1 perfect frames.
Verlander (1-2) took the loss, but did not allow a hit in 4.2 innings as the ODU starter. Verlander was plagued by seven walks and three hit batters and ended up being charged with three runs.
McCoury drove in a career-best four runs with his blast while Pritchard had Elon's only two-hit day, going 2-for-3 with a run and one RBI. Elon's seven steals matched a season-high as Austin and Fraser both swiped two bags while Rasmus took a career-best three bases.
Two of ODU's four hits on the night were tallied by Hartman who finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
Elon will be right back on the diamond tomorrow night in a 6 p.m. game at East Carolina. That game is a make-up of last week's rained out contest.
Duke 7, Wofford 5
DURHAM, N.C. - Despite a rally in the eighth inning, the Wofford baseball team was defeated 7-5 by Duke on Tuesday night at Jack Combs Field. The Blue Devils scored five runs in the second inning, but the Terriers answered with five in the eighth before the rally came up short.
Wofford is now 14-16 on the season and Duke is 17-14 overall. The Terriers were led by Mac Doyle with three hits and an RBI, while James Foster added two hits and two RBIs. The Blue Devils were led by Will Piwnica-Worms with three hits and Marcus Stroman and Angelo LaBruna with three RBIs each.
The Terriers had singles from Mac Doyle and James Foster to lead off the second inning. A sacrifice bunt by Taylor Rozier moved the runners into scoring position and David Roney was hit by pitch to load the bases, but all three were stranded.
In the bottom of the second, the Blue Devils loaded the bases on three straight singles. A triple down the right line by Marcus Stroman scored three runs. Angelo LaBruna grounded out to score Stroman for a 4-0 lead. An RBI double by Chris Marconcini added a run to make it a 5-0 game after two innings.
Both sides were retired in order in the third inning and Duke left two runners on base in the bottom of the fourth. Duke also left one on base in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings. Mac Doyle singled for the Terriers in the top of the seventh. A single by Taylor Rozier moved Doyle to third base with two outs, but both runners were left on base.
Duke loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh on two singles and an error. A single with two outs by Angelo LaBruna scored two runs for a 7-0 advantage. Wofford had a single from Alex Lee in the top of the eighth and he moved to second on a wild pitch. Clark Wise reached on a walk. A double down the left line by Josh McKinney scored Lee to make it a 7-1 game. A single by Konstantine Diamaduros drove in Wise for a second run and a double by Mac Doyle drove in McKinney for a 7-3 score. A single to right field by James Foster drove in two more runs to cut the lead to 7-5.
The Blue Devils were retired in order in the bottom of the eighth inning. In the top of the ninth, the Terriers also went down in order to end the game with a 7-5 score.
Wofford starter Eric Eck (1-4) went two innings and allowed six hits and five runs with a strikeout. Alex Wilson threw a career-high four innings and allowed three hits with one strikeout. Ryan Traylor, whose father Steve was the head coach at Duke from 1988-99, pitched the seventh and allowed two runs on three hits with a strikeout. John Cornely threw the eighth and did not allow a hit with one strikeout.
Duke starter Robert Huber (3-0) went six innings and allowed only two hits with four strikeouts as he retired 13 batters in a row. Ben Grisz went 1.1 innings and allowed six hits and five runs with three strikeouts. Marcus Stroman threw 1.2 innings and allowed one hit along with four strikeouts.
On Friday, Wofford will begin a three-game Southern Conference series at Elon.