Samford 9, Auburn 8 (10 inn.)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.- Samford freshman center fielder Phillip Ervin singled down the right-field line to drive in Michael Johnson with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Bulldog baseball team a 9-8 win over Auburn Tuesday night at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
The win marked Samford's first extra-inning win of the season and the team's first walk-off win of the year. The Bulldogs improve to 30-19 with the win, while Auburn drops to 25-23 with the loss. The win was Samford's second over Auburn this season and its third over a Southeastern Conference opponent this year.
Ervin went 2-for-2 with two RBI for Samford at the plate. Saxon Butler was 3-for-3 with a home run and four RBI for the Bulldogs. Johnson went 3-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI.
Andrew Jones (1-3) pitched the final 2.0 innings, giving up no runs on two hits and striking out two batters to earn the win on the mound for Samford. Jones was the last of six pitchers used by Samford in the game. Joshua VanFleteren started the game for the Bulldogs, pitching 3.0 innings, giving up three runs on six hits. C.K. Irby, Lex Rutledge, Joseph Burns and Arthur Strauss also saw time on the mound for the Bulldogs.
"It was a big win for us, we played well tonight," Jones said. "We hit the ball well and we should take away confidence from that. Confidence is big at this time of year, because right now, everyone is starting to get tired, but if you have confidence in your ability to get the job done, that really goes a long way."
For Auburn at the plate, Justin Fradejas went 3-for-5 with a double, a triple and three RBI. Tony Caldwell went 3-for-5 with an RBI, while Cullen Wacker was 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBI. Casey McElroy went 2-for-5 for the Tigers.
Auburn's Ethan Wallen (4-5) pitched the final 2.0 innings, allowing one run on one hit to take the loss for the Tigers. Bradley Hendrix was Auburn's starting pitcher, tossing 3.2 innings, giving up seven runs on seven hits. Will Kendall and Jay Wade also pitched in the game for the Tigers.
With one out in the bottom of the 10th inning, Johnson struck out swinging, but reached base on an Auburn wild pitch. Johnson then moved to second base when Brad Moss grounded out to shortstop. After Auburn intentionally walked Butler, Ervin delivered the game-winning single, driving in Johnson for the 9-8 win.
Samford struck first in the game with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. After Moss walked with one out in the inning, Butler hit a home run to left field, his ninth homer of the season, to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead.
Auburn came back with two runs in the top of the second inning to tie the score at 2-2. Wacker hit a two-run home run with Kevin Patterson on base to put Auburn's first two runs on the scoreboard.
The Tigers took the lead with a run in the top of the third inning. Wes Gilmer singled to drive in Fradejas to give Auburn a 3-2 lead.
Samford answered with two runs in the third inning and three more in the fourth to take a 7-3 lead.
In the third inning, Kevin Putkonen singled to left field to drive in Butler and Moss to give Samford a 4-3 lead.
In the fourth inning, Johnson doubled to drive in Tripp Swann for the first run of the inning. Butler later singled up the middle to drive in Johnson for a three-run Samford lead. Ervin then singled to right field to drive in Moss to make the score 7-3.
Auburn cut the Samford lead to 7-4 with a run in the top of the sixth inning. Patterson hit a sacrifice fly to right field to drive in Caldwell to bring Auburn to within three runs.
Samford plated a run of its own in the bottom of the sixth to make the score 8-4. Butler singled to right field to drive in Johnson for a four-run Samford lead.
Auburn scored three runs in the seventh inning and one run in the eighth inning to tie the score at 8-8.
Rutledge walked Justin Hargett and Brooks Beisner to lead off the seventh inning and then both runners moved up a base on a wild pitch. Fradejas then doubled to right field to drive in Beisner and Hargett to make the score 8-6. Caldwell later doubled to right field to drive in Fradejas to bring Auburn to within one run.
With two outs in the eighth inning, Fradejas tripled down the right-field line to drive in Hargett, who had singled earlier in the inning, to tie the score at 8-8. The teams remained tied until the bottom of the 10th inning.
Samford will return to action on Friday, May 13, when the Bulldogs play host to Wofford in the first game of a three-game Southern Conference series. The teams will play Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
College of Charleston 7, The Citadel 1
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Sophomore LHP Jake Zokan (Columbia, S.C.) pitched seven strong innings and the College of Charleston used three Citadel errors to defeat the Bulldogs 7-1 in non-conference action Tuesday evening at Patriots Point. The Cougars improve to 32-17, while The Citadel falls to 20-28.
The Citadel broke through first, scoring a single run in the third for a 1-0 lead. Josh Pless singled through the right side and advanced to third on a throwing error by redshirt-junior C Rob Kral (Randolph, N.J.) that sailed over the head of junior 1B Marty Gantt (N. Augusta, S.C.) and into right field. Pless would later score on a sacrifice fly to center by Nick Orvin.
Kral would make amends for the error in the fourth, knotting the score at 1-1 with a solo homer run to right-center, his eighth of the season. Charleston would take a 2-1 lead in the fifth as senior SS Jamie Holler (Rock Hill, S.C.) hit a two-out single to center and stole second. Gantt knocked a slow grounder to third and Bulldog 3B Drew DeKerlegand's throw to first was in the dirt and rolled into foul territory, allowing Holler to score for the 2-1 lead.
Charleston plated five runs in the eighth for a 7-1 lead and with all the runs coming with two outs in the inning. Redshirt-junior 3B Matt Leeds (Boca Raton, Fla.) walked to open the frame and stole second. After one out, Leeds advanced to third on a wild pitch by Citadel reliever TJ Clarkson and with two away, Leeds scored when redshirt-senior PH Ryan Daniels (Victoria, Texas) reached on a fielding error by Citadel 1B Justin Mackert. LHP David Leeth came on to pitch for the Bulldogs and senior CF Cole Rakar (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) reached on a fielder's choice to short. An RBI single by junior 2B Rob Harding (Columbia, S.C.) plated another run before the two teams sat through a 38-minute lightning delay.
When play resumed, the Cougars' offense picked up where it left off. Holler ripped a two-run double to left and Gantt cleaned up the bases with a RBI double down the left-field line to close the scoring. Senior RHP Casey Lucchese (Lexington, S.C.), who entered the game in the eighth with the score 2-1, tossed a perfect ninth to finish the game and earn his third save of the season, allowing one hit over two innings with four strikeouts.
Zokan improved to 2-1 on the season, scattering five hits over the seven innings and striking out five. The southpaw allowed one run, an unearned run in the third. Holler collected three hits on the evening, with two RBIs and scoring twice.
Bryce Hines suffered the loss for The Citadel, falling to 4-4 despite recording nine strikeouts in five innings. Hines allowed two runs - one earned - on four hits and walked none.
Charleston returns to SoCon action this weekend as it hosts Appalachian State for a three-game series. Friday's first pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. and all three games can be heard on ESPN Radio 910-AM with Jeff McCarragher calling the play-by-play. The Cougars will host Wall of Fame Day on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. and honor their seniors on Senior Day before Sunday's 1:00 p.m. contest.
The Citadel visits USC Upstate Wednesday at 7 p.m. in a game to be played at Greenville's Fluor Field.
UNCG 12, High Point 4
HIGH POINT, N.C. - UNCG fell behind 3-1 after the first inning, but it was all the Spartans from then on, thanks in part to a career-high six RBI from Trevor Edwards, as they defeated High Point, 12-4, on Tuesday evening at Williard Stadium.
Jonathan Jones (2-4) picked up the win after pitching 2 1/3 innings of relief for UNCG (28-18) and allowing no runs on three hits and striking out two batters. Nick Schumacher (0-1) was credited with the loss after allowing two runs on two hits in just a third of an inning.
Edwards went 3-5 for the Spartans with all three hits being doubles to knock in his career-high six runs. Eric Brindle also added a pair of doubles to knock in three runs. Leadoff hitter John Hein went 3-5 as well and was hit by a pitch as he scored four times on the night.
Ryan Retz provided the offense for the Panthers (21-27) as he went 3-4 with two doubles and two RBI. Kyle Mahoney added a pair of hits, as well.
The Spartans looked to be in business early as John Hein had a leadoff single in the top of the first and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Edwards delivered his first double of the evening later in the inning to score Hein and give UNCG a 1-0 lead.
High Point had an answer in the home half of the inning, though, as they plated three runs. Sal Pezzino led off with a walk and then was sacrificed over to second on a bunt. After another walk, Retz doubled down the left-field line to score Pezzino and tie the game at one.
The Panthers would add a sacrifice fly and an RBI single from Robbie Gilles to take a 3-1 lead after the first.
The score would stay that way until the top of the fifth when UNCG would tie the game. Hein led off with a single and moved over on another sacrifice bunt by Bobby Martin. Hein would move over to third on a fly out before scoring on an RBI single by Drew Gehringer. After stealing second, Gehringer scored on an RBI double by Brindle.
High Point would take the lead back for a second in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single by Retz to make it 4-3.
That lead wouldn't last long as the Spartans would put up five runs in the top of the sixth to take command of the game. Edwards and Brindle each had two-run doubles in the inning and Cody Walker added an RBI double of his own later in the inning to go ahead, 8-4.
The Spartans added to their lead in the top of the seventh when Zach Leach led off with a single and Hein and Martin were hit by pitches. Edwards then stepped to the plate and hit his third double of the game to left field to clear the bases and make it an 11-4 game.
UNCG would tack on one more run in the top of the eighth on an RBI single by Cambric Moye to make the final score 12-4.
The Spartans will host The Citadel this weekend for a three-game series beginning on Friday at 6 p.m.
Elon 8, Old Dominion 2
NORFOLK, Va. -- Garrett Koster and Harry Austin combined to go 5-for-7 with four runs scored, two RBI and four stolen bases to lead the Elon Phoenix to an 8-2 win over the Old Dominion Monarchs on Tuesday night. The victory gave Elon the three-game season series sweep over the Monarchs.
With one out in the bottom of the first, ODU (24-21) put runners on second and third thanks to two walks and a wild pitch. Shawn Sizemore put the Monarchs on the board by sending a 2-2 pitch through the right side that drove home both runners.
Elon (34-18) got its first hit on Koster's slow roller toward third in the third inning. After he stole second, Koster scored on Austin's single up the middle. Austin quickly stole second and went to third on Niko Fraser's single to right. A wild pitch then allowed Austin to score to even the game at two.
Koster got it started again in the fifth by drawing a walk. Koster again stole second and then moved to third on Austin's bunt single. Fraser gave the Phoenix the lead, 3-2, with a sacrifice fly to center that allowed Koster to score.
The Phoenix kept the pressure on in the sixth as Sebastian Gomez started things off with a double down the left field line. After Neal Pritchard walked, Alex Swim hit what should have been a double play ball, but the throw from the shortstop was dropped by the first baseman. On the error, Gomez scored to make it 4-2. Ryan Kinsella followed with a one-out single to right to put runners on first and second before Grant McCoury drove home Swim with a line drive single to left. With runners on the corners with two outs after a fielder's choice, Austin delivered his third hit of the game, a double to left-center that plated Kinsella with the sixth Elon run of the night.
Elon made it a 7-2 game in the seventh when a Swim sac fly to left drove in #Jake Luce# who had began the inning with a double and went to third on a sac bunt.
With Koster on third after a single, steal and ground out, Fraser lined a double into the left field corner to extend the Elon advantage to 8-2 in the top of the eighth.
David Whitehead (6-1) picked up the win for the second consecutive game as he allowed just two runs on four hits in six innings. He struck out four. Greg Amorosso and McCoury combined to keep the Monarchs off the board over the final three frames.
Joe Haumacher (1-4) was charged with his second loss of the year to Elon. He gave up six runs (four earned) on seven hits in 5.1 innings.
Along with Koster and Austin, Fraser had a multi-hit night, going 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Edgar Hernandez had two of ODU's six hits.
Elon will break until May 18 when it will begin a three-game SoCon series with Furman at Latham Park at 6:30 p.m.
#13 Clemson 5, Furman 1
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Will Lamb went 3-for-4 and drove in two runs to power 13th-ranked Clemson to a 5-1 win over Furman in baseball action Tuesday evening at Fluor Field.
The victory gave Clemson (33-15) the two-game season sweep of Furman (20-18), which saw its first action after a nine-day break for exams and graduation. The loss was the ninth in its last 10 outings for the Paladins.
Lamb stroked a two-out RBI single in the fourth to tie the game at 1-1 and in the seventh recorded a bunt single, stole second, and scored the go-ahead run on a Chris Epps double into the left center field gap. Jason Stolz followed with a single to plate Epps and later scored on a John Hinson double to stretch Clemson's advantage to 4-1.
The Tigers added an insurance run in the eighth on Lamb's third hit of the contest, a single that drove home Richie Shaffer.
Furman threatened in the eighth and ninth, putting a pair of runners on in both frames, but failed to capitalize.
Earning the victory in relief was Scott Firth (4-1), who came on in the fifth and worked three innings, allowing three hits and no runs while striking out four.
Jay Friedman (1-3) was charged with the loss after coming on the seventh with the game tied 1-1. The senior right-hander retired the first batter he faced but Lamb's one-out bunt single got the Tigers going in the decisive three-run frame that saw Friedman charged with all three runs on three hits.
Matt Campbell, who was summoned from the bullpen with two on and one out in the Furman eighth, worked around three walks in the ninth to notch the save, his first of the season.
The Paladins scored an unearned run in the second on a Cameron Allmendinger RBI single to center field that drove home Will Muzika from third base.
Clemson forged a 10-7 advantage in hits with Shaffer and Stolz each collecting a pair of base knocks to join Lamb in the multi-hit parade.
J.B. Jenkins and Aaron Thompkins paced Furman with two hits apiece.
Furman opens a three-game Southern Conference seris against Western Carolina this Friday at Latham Stadium. First pitch is set for 7:00 p.m.
USC Upstate 12, Wofford 7
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Wofford baseball team took a short road trip for the final non-conference game of the season and was defeated 12-7 by USC Upstate on Tuesday night at Harley Park. The game was delayed by almost an hour in the fourth inning due to rain. Wofford won the two previous meetings against the Spartans this season.
Wofford is now 21-28 on the season and USC Upstate is 16-32 overall. The Terriers used eight pitchers in the contest and had eight different players record hits. Mac Doyle and Taylor Rozier both had two RBIs.
The Terriers left two runners on base in the top of the first inning and the Spartans had the first hit of the game in the bottom of the second. In the top of the fourth, Konstantine Diamaduros had a single up the middle, but the Terriers left one on base.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Spartans had two singles and then a single by Tyler Miller scored the first run of the game. Lightning and rain delayed the game by 56 minutes. Upon resumption of play, the Spartans had the bases loaded with two outs. A walk allowed one run to score for a 2-0 lead. A single up the middle by Branden Millhouse drove in two runs for a 4-0 advantage.
David Roney led off the top of the fifth with a double and he moved to third on a fly ball. James Foster reached on an error that scored Roney for a 4-1 game. With two runners on base for the Spartans in the bottom of the fifth, a ground rule double by Tyler Miller scored two runs for a 6-1 lead. A triple by Tyler Cook added another run to push the lead to 7-1.
Wofford added two runs in the top of the sixth when Konstantine Diamaduros singled and then Taylor Rozier blasted a ball over the fence in left field for a 7-3 score. It was Rozier's second home run of the season.
The Spartans added a run in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single from Luke Weber. The Terriers had two runners in scoring position in the top of the seventh inning. A double down the left field line by Mac Doyle scored both runners to make it an 8-5 game. Josh McKinney added an RBI single to center field to cut the lead to 8-6.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Spartans added another run with an RBI single by Blake Green. With the bases loaded, a wild pitch and throwing error scored two more runs to push the lead to 11-6. Wofford had an RBI single by James Foster in the top of the eighth with two outs, but the Terriers left a runner on base with the score 11-7.
Another run was added to the lead for the Spartans in the bottom of the eighth on a single by Grason Wiggins. Wofford left one on base in the top of the ninth for the 12-7 final score.
Wofford starter Drew Sheridan went the first three innings with one hit allowed and two strikeouts. Pete Noordsy (0-1) threw two-thirds of an inning and allowed three hits and four runs with one strikeout. Jesse Morris went two-thirds of an inning and gave up three hits and three runs. Ryan Traylor threw two innings and allowed three runs on four hits with two strikeouts. Eric Eck faced two batters and gave up a hit and a run. Bobby Streisel picked up two strikeouts. Thomas Nichols allowed a hit and a run in a third of the inning. Cash Collins gave up one hit and had a strikeout in two-thirds of an inning.
USC Upstate starter Scott DeCecco threw four innings and allowed only one hit with three strikeouts. Andrew Wyant (2-4) went two innings and gave up three runs on four hits with two strikeouts. Chris Knauff threw an inning and allowed four runs on three hits. Bobby Rednour went the final two innings with two hits allowed and three strikeouts.
Wofford will begin a three-game series at Samford on Friday night. The final home series will begin on Friday, May 20 against UNC Greensboro at 7:00 p.m.