UNCG 5, The Citadel 1
GREENSBORO, N.C. - After the game was delayed one hour and 24 minutes due to rain, UNCG came out and scored a run in each of the first three innings as the Spartans defeated The Citadel, 5-1, on Saturday afternoon at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
The win gave UNCG (30-18, 18-8 Southern Conference) its most wins in the conference since 2000 when the Spartans recorded 20 wins in the SoCon. It was also the Spartans' 11th win in their last 12 games and the first time they have reached 30 wins since 2008.
Brandon Browne (1-2) picked up his first win of the year after pitching five innings and giving up just one run on four hits. Jarett Miller came in to pitch the final 2 1/3 innings and gave up just one hit and struck out one to record his second save of the season.
The Citadel (20-31, 8-18 SoCon) starter Justin Russell (1-5) allowed three runs (two earned) on seven hits in just three innings of work.
Cole Harrison had a breakout 3-4 performance on Saturday and drove in three runs, while Eric Brindle also went 3-4 and scored twice. Cody Walker added a pair of doubles to extend his hitting streak to a team-high 10 games.
William Ladd went 2-4 for the Bulldogs and Drew DeKerlegand had the lone RBI as they were limited to five hits on the day.
After the rain delay ended, the Spartans jumped right on Russell and the Bulldogs to plate a run in the home half of the first. John Hein led off with a single to left center and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Bobby Martin, his team-leading 16th.
Trevor Edwards then singled to right center to put runners on the corners before Drew Gehringer single on a chopper of the third baseman's head to give UNCG a 1-0 lead. Brindle followed with a single to load the bases with one out, but the Bulldogs worked out of the jam.
The Bulldogs would take advantage of some shaky pitching by the Spartans in the top of the second to knot the game back up at one. With one out, Brad Felder drew a walk before Legare Jones singled up the middle. After a fielder's choice put runners on the corners, Nick Orvin drew a walk to load the bases and DeKerlegand walked as well to score Felder and make it 1-1.
The Spartan offense continued to click early as they used some good fortune of their own to take the lead back. Thomas Troelstrup drew a leadoff walk on eight pitches and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Troelstrup would then take third on a passed ball before scoring on a balk to make it 2-1.
UNCG played small ball again in the third as Brindle had a leadoff single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Walker. Harrison followed with a bloop single to left field to score Brindle and push the Spartan lead out to 3-1.
The score would stay that way until the bottom of the seventh when Harrison struck again. With one out, Brindle singled to the shortstop in the hole and moved to third when Walker doubled off the left-field wall. Harrison then doubled down the left-field line on a drawn-in infield to give UNCG a 5-1 advantage.
The Spartans will look to complete the series sweep against the Bulldogs on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Appalachian State 8, College of Charleston 5
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Appalachian State's Tyler Zupcic went 3-for-4 with four RBIs to lead the visiting Mountaineers to an 8-5 Southern Conference victory over the College of Charleston Saturday afternoon at Patriots Point, evening the weekend series at a win apiece. The Cougars fall to 33-18 overall, 16-10 in the SoCon. App State clinches a SoCon tournament bid and improves to 29-22, 13-13.
The Cougars jumped out to a two-run lead in the second, scoring on a RBI double down the right-field line by junior 2B Rob Harding (Columbia, S.C.) that scored senior CF Cole Rakar (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) and a sacrifice fly to right by senior C Robert Pritcher (Charleston, S.C.) that plated senior SS Jamie Holler (Rock Hill, S.C.). Appalachian knotted the game with a pair of runs in the top of the third. After Jeremy Dowdy doubled and Hector Crespo walked, Tyler Zupcic knocked a RBI double to right center and Trey Holmes followed with a RBI single up the middle.
Charleston pulled ahead again in the bottom of the third for a 3-2 lead. A sacrifice fly to right by redshirt-junior LF Jose Rodriguez (Hialeah, Fla.) brought home redshirt-junior DH Rob Kral (Randolph, N.J.), who walked to lead off the inning and advanced on a single by redshirt-junior 3B Matt Leeds (Boca Raton, Fla.) and a fly out by redshirt-freshman RF Daniel Aldrich (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.).
App State put up single runs in the fourth and fifth to knot the game and then take a 4-3 lead. Daniel Kassouf led off the fourth with a solo home run to center and pulled ahead on Zupcic's second RBI double of the game. The Cougars evened the score at 4-4 in the fifth as Rodriguez doubled to left and Holler lined a RBI single through the left side.
The Mountaineers tacked on three unearned runs in the sixth to take a 7-4 lead and bounce Charleston starter David Peterson (Walnut Creek, Calif.) from the mound. Preston Troutman reached on a throwing error by Holler and after two outs, Crespo singled and Zupcic collected his third RBI base hit of the afternoon, a two-run double to left for a 6-4 App State lead. After a single by Holmes moved Zupcic to third, App State pulled a double steal and Harding muffed the throw at second, sending the ball into center as Zupcic stole home for a 7-4 ASU lead.
Charleston pulled to within two with a single run in the seventh, cutting the App State lead to 7-5. Back-to-back singles by Harding and Holler and a walk by freshman PH Brandon Murray (Nassau, Bahamas) loaded the bases for junior 1B Marty Gantt (N. Augusta, S.C.), who knocked a sacrifice fly to right to score Holler from third.
App State added an insurance run in the ninth on a RBI triple to the gap in right center by Troutman that scored Kassouf, who doubled to lead off the frame. Nathan Hyatt (6-5) picked up the win for ASU, allowing four runs on nine hits in five innings with five walks and no strikeouts. David Port earned his third save of the season, scattering three hits and allowing one run in 3-1/3 innings.
Harding led the Cougars' offense with a perfect 4-for-4 performance at the plate, tying a career-high in hits. Peterson took the loss for the Cougars, allowing seven runs - four earned - on nine hits in 5-2/3 innings with four walks and four strikeouts. Sophomore RHP Matt Pegler (Greenville, S.C.) gave up one run on four hits with five strikeouts in 3-1/3 innings of relief.
Charleston hosts Appalachian for the rubber game of the three-game series tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. and can be heard on ESPN Radio 910-AM with Jeff McCarragher calling the play-by-play. The Cougars will host Senior Day before the game at 12:45 p.m., honoring 12 members of the 2011 squad.
Wofford 2, Samford 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.- The Samford baseball team dropped a 2-1 decision to the Wofford Terriers in the second game of a three-game Southern Conference series Saturday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
With the loss, Samford falls to 31-20 overall and 15-11 in Southern Conference play. Wofford improves to 22-29 overall and 9-17 in league play.
Samford was led at the plate by Stephen Ballard, going 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Kevin Putkonen had a triple in a 1-for-4 performance at the plate. Michael Johnson and Brad Moss had one hit each for the Bulldogs as well.
Samford's Josh Martin (4-2) pitched 6.2 innings giving up just two runs on seven hits and striking out four batters to take the loss. Tyler Vanderheiden, Joseph Burns and Arthur Strauss also saw time on the mound for Samford.
For Wofford, Landon Bennett went 2-for-4 with two RBI to lead the Terriers at the plate. Konstantine Diamaduros and Josh McKinney also had two hits each for Wofford.
Wofford's Tom Dolinak (4-6) pitched 7.0 innings, allowing just one run on four hits to earn the win for the Terriers. John Cornely pitched the final 2.0 innings to earn his ninth save of the season.
Samford had a chance to take an early lead, as the Bulldogs had runners on second and third with no outs in the bottom of the first inning. However, a ground out by Saxon Butler that failed to move the runners, a strike out by Brandon Miller and a fly out by Phillip Ervin ended the threat.
Wofford put the first run on the scoreboard in the top of the second inning. With one out in the inning, McKinney doubled down the left-field line. With two outs, McKinney advanced to third base on a wild pitch. Bennett then singled to left field to drive in McKinney for a 1-0 Wofford lead.
Samford answered with a run of its own in the bottom of the second inning. Putkonen tripled to lead off the inning. With one out in the inning, Ballard grounded out to second base to drive in Putkonen to tie the score at 1-1.
Wofford plated the game-winning run in the top of the fourth inning. With one out, McKinney reached base on an infield single. After McKinney advanced to second base on a ground out by David Roney, McKinney scored on a single to left field by Bennett for a 2-1 Wofford lead.
Neither team could score over the final five and a half innings as Wofford walked away with the 2-1 win. The Terriers' win evens the series, following Samford's 7-1 win on Friday night.
Samford and Wofford will wrap up the series with a game Sunday at 1 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field. The game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu.
Furman 9, Western Carolina 8
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- A night after playing the second longest baseball game in school history, Will Muzika made sure Furman wouldn't be involved in another extra inning affair when he delivered a bases loaded RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning to score Aaron Thompkins and give the Paladins a 9-8 victory over Western Carolina on Saturday evening at Latham Stadium.
After Friday evening's marathon 16-inning game that consumed five-hours and 54 minutes before ending well into Saturday morning with a 14-13 Western Carolina victory, Muzika bounced an 0-2 offering from pitcher Brandon Johnson into left field for the game winner, capping a three-run game winning rally in the Paladins' final at bat.
The victory evened the Southern Conference series at one game apiece for the Paladins (21-29, 11-14 SoCon) and Catamounts (19-28-1, 9-17 SoCon) and allowed the Paladins to maintain seventh place in the league standings, two and a half games ahead of Western Carolina and Wofford, who are tied for eighth.
Eight teams qualify for SoCon Tournament play, slated for May 25-29 at Charleston's Joseph P. Riley Park.
Johnson, who came on in the ninth for Western Carolina with an 8-6 lead, walked Will Owens to lead off the frame and then yielded back-to-back singles to Rob Fondu and Thompkins, which scored Owens to make it 8-7. Reese Wade followed with a double into the left center field gap to drive home Fondu and tie the game.
At that point Johnson intentionally walked Paul Nitto to load the bases, after which the Catamounts moved center fielder Matt Johns into the infield for an extra defender. It didn't help, however, as Muzika rapped a two-strike pitch hard into the ground and over the defense into left field.
Furman grabbed a 3-0 lead in the second on a Will Miller RBI double, sacrifice fly, and two-out run scoring single by Owens.
The Catamounts answered with two runs in the third and took a 4-3 lead in the sixth on pinch hitter Bryant Noteboom's two-out, two-run double down the left field line.
Western Carolina stretched its advantage to 6-3 an inning later with another two-out hit, a Tyler White single to left field that scored Johns and Luke Gragg.
Furman tied the game in the bottom of the seventh, bunching three hits with an error to plate three runs, two of which were unearned. Owens' single through the middle drove home Abrams to make it 6-4, and with outs Wade drilled a two-run double into the right center field gap to tie knot the game at 6-6.
Macon Smith's RBI single in the eighth put WCU up 7-6, and the Catamounts extended the margin to two runs in the ninth on a sacrifice fly.
Robert Landers (1-0), making only his fourth appearance of the season, earned his first collegiate victory after entering the game with one on in the ninth. The freshman left-hander surrendered a hit and a walk but helped his own cause with a pickoff at first base.
The loss was charged to Johnson (4-4), who also entered the game in the ninth with one on. He failed to record an out and yielded two runs on four hits and a walk.
Furman, which managed 11 hits, was paced at the plate by Wade's 2-for-5 performance that included two doubles and three RBI. Owens went 2-for-4, drove in two runs, and scored twice. Fondu and Thompkins also had two hits for the Paladins.
White led Western Carolina's 13-hit attack, going 2-for-4 with three RBI. Gragg and Ross Heffley also had two hits apiece for the Catamounts.
The two teams wrap up the three-game series with a Sunday 1:00 p.m. contest that will be preceded by recognition of Furman seniors.