Elon 8, Furman 7
ELON, N.C. -- The Elon Phoenix secured a share of its fourth Southern Conference regular-season title, and third in four years, by rallying for four runs in the bottom of the eight for an 8-7 win over the visiting Furman Paladins on Thursday night. The win was the 11th for Elon in its final at bat this season.
Down 7-4, the Elon (35-19, 22-7 SoCon) rally in the bottom of the eighth began with Matt Kirchner lining a single into center before Niko Fraser doubled down the left field line to put two on for Harry Austin. Austin ripped the first pitch he saw up the middle for a single that scored both runners as the Phoenix made it a 7-6 game. Sebastian Gomez battled during an eight-pitch at bat and looped a single to right that put runners on the corners. Neal Pritchard knotted the game up a seven with a line drive single to left that drove Austin in with Elon's seventh run of the night. After a double play sent Gomez to third, a wild pitch let the speedy infielder race home with the winning run.
The Phoenix threatened in the first as it loaded the bases with an Austin double and walks to both Gomez and Pritchard. Furman escaped unharmed, however, when Alex Swim grounded into a double play on a sharply hit ball to second.
The Paladins (23-30, 13-15) rode the momentum into the second as Reese Wade and Paul Nitto hit back-to-back homers to left. Will Muzika drove the next pitch to left and ended up at second as the ball went off the wall for a double. Will Miller's single to left made it four straight hits and put Furman runners on the corners before Alex Abrams walked to fill the bags. Elon erased Muzika at the plate on a grounder to third, but the bases remained full for Will Owens who singled through the left side to plate Miller to make it a 3-0 game. After Abrams was caught too far off of third on a ball in the dirt, Rob Fondu struck out looking to end the inning.
With one out in bottom of the second, Grant McCoury drew a walk and then went to second on a Ben Scott single to left. A two-out single to center off the bat of Fraser drove home McCoury as the catcher dropped the throw.
Aaron Thompkins led off the top of the third with a single and moved to second on an errant throw on a pick-off attempt. After a ground out sent Thompkins to third, Nitto lined a single to left to drive home the fourth Paladin run.
Pritchard cut into the Furman lead by belting his seventh homer of the year over the wall in left-center with one away in the last of the third. The solo shot cut the Elon deficit to two runs at 4-2. Swim followed by ripping a double down the right field line before Garrett Koster drew a walk to put two aboard. After a two-out walk to Scott loaded the bases, Kirchner lined a 1-2 pitch into right to drive home both Swim and Koster as the Phoenix knotted the game at four. Fraser drew a five-pitch walk to reload the bases for Austin who flew out to right-center.
The game did not remain tied for long as Furman turnded Miller's lead-off double in the fourth into a run as he moved to third on a fly out and scored on a J.B. Jenkins single to right. Back-to-back two-out walks then loaded the bases for Wade who lined a single to center to drive in two more to make it a 7-4 contest.
Furman loaded the bases with a bunt single from Owens, a fielder's choice bunt by Rob Fondu and a walk. With two down, Nitto grounded to short to end the inning as the Phoenix kept its deficit at just three runs.
Jared Kernodle picked up his seventh victory of the season as the senior is now 7-1 on the year. He tossed 4.1 shutout innings in relief, scattering four hits. Mitch Conner gave up one hit in the ninth, but kept Furman off the board to secure his eighth save of the campaign.
Nate Smith (3-5) was charged with the loss after he surrendered two runs on three hits in one inning.
Kirchner's 3-for-5, one-run, two-RBI performance marked a career-high in hits for the outfielder. Fraser (2-for-3, one run, one RBI), Austin (2-for-5, one run, two RBI) and Pritchard (2-for-4, one run, two RBI) all had multi-hit outings for the Phoenix.
Six Paladins recorded at least two hits. The charge was led by Wade (2-for-5, one run, three RBI), Nitto (2-for-5, one run, two RBI) and Jenkins (3-for-4, one run, one RBI). Miller went 2-for-5 and scored twice.
The two squads will face off again at 1:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon at Elon's Latham Park in the rubber match of the series.
Appalachian State 11, Georgia Southern 1
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University baseball clinched its fifth-straight 30-win season and Chris Pollard got his 200th victory as ASU's head coach in Thursday evening's 11-1 rout over Georgia Southern at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
Behind seven strong innings from starting pitcher Ryan Arrowood (Rutherfordton, N.C./Central) and a blistering 14-hit attack, Appalachian (30-24, 14-14 SoCon) posted its largest margin of victory in 65 all-time meetings with Georgia Southern.
Arrowood strengthened his case as the Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year by limiting GSU (31-22, 17-11 SoCon), which came into the series ranked 19th nationally in scoring at 7.2 runs per game, to just one run on four hits over seven innings of work. He struck out six while moving to 8-2 on the season and dropping his ERA to 2.87.
The right-hander's only mistake of the evening came in the first inning when he left a 2-0 fastball to GSU's Victor Roache over the heart of the plate. Roache, the nation's leader in home runs, pounded the offering to straightaway center field for his 28th homer of the season that gave the Eagles an early 1-0 lead.
Georgia Southern's only advantage of the evening was short-lived, however, as ASU jumped all over GSU starter Chris Beck in the bottom of the first. After the Mountaineers loaded the bases with nobody out, Will Callaway's (Greenville, S.C./Eastside) two-run single to right field gave Appalachian a lead it would never relinquish. Preston Troutman (Rockwell, N.C./East Rowan) and Zack Briggs (Lexington, N.C./Central Davidson) followed with a run-scoring groundout and an RBI single, respectively, to give ASU a commanding 4-1 lead after just one frame.
ASU pulled away with four-run fourth inning, highlighted by a three-run double from Tyler Zupcic (Charlotte, N.C./Providence), and added a single run in the fifth and two more in the eighth to complete the romp.
Zupcic led Appalachian's biggest scoring explosion since a 12-3 win over Gardner-Webb on April 13 by going 3-for-4 with a double, two runs and three RBI, raising his batting average to a team-leading .332 in the process. Briggs went 4-for-4 with a run and a pair of RBI while Callaway and Daniel Kassouf (Lexington, N.C./North Davidson) chipped in with two hits apiece.
Beck, who came into the evening with a 7-3 record and 3.24 ERA, was chased from the game during the Mountaineers' four-run fourth. He was charged with six runs on six hits in just 3.1 innings and suffered the loss to fall to 7-4 on the campaign.
Arthur Owens (2-for-3) accounted for two of GSU's seven hits.
With the triumph, Pollard became only the second head coach in Appalachian's 108-year baseball history to win 200 games. His five-consecutive 30-win seasons are the most at ASU since 1982-86.
The victory also ensured that the Mountaineers will remain in no worse than a tie for sixth place in the SoCon standings with only two regular-season games to play.
The clubs continue their three-game conference series on Friday with the final night game of the season at Smith Stadium. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
Western Carolina 7, The Citadel 5
Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina seniors Matt Johns and Stephen Notaro drove in the go-ahead and insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, and the Catamounts survived a bases-loaded scare from the visiting Bulldogs in the ninth to hold on for a 7-5 series-opening victory over The Citadel Thursday night at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
Game two of the three-game series is scheduled for 6 pm on Friday evening with a pair of freshman right-handers scheduled to start. WCU's Jordan Smith (5-6, 5.83 ERA) will face Bulldog rookie Justin Russell (1-6, 6.14 ERA) on the mound.
Coverage of all three games of the series will be available online with live GameTracker, with a live game chat blog also available online at CatamountSports.com.
After surrendering a one-run lead in the top of the eighth inning, WCU (20-29-1, 10-18 SoCon) pushed across two runs in the bottom of the frame as Johns singled home freshman Macon Smith who reached on a one-out single to left center and was moved to third by a double by another senior, Austin Schultz. Johns drove a 1-0 pitch through the right side to break the 5-5 deadlock, advancing Schultz to third. With the bases loaded, Notaro worked a full count before delivering the sacrifice fly to right to plate the second run, stretching the Catamount advantage to two.
Sandwiching three base hits around a force play at second base for the first out of the inning, The Citadel (20-34, 8-20 SoCon) managed to load the bases in the top of the ninth against WCU senior reliever Brandon Johnson. The Morehead City, N.C., native was able to record the second out on a tap back to the mound by Justin Mackert that Johnson threw home for the force play.
The Bulldog's next batter, Drew DeKerlegand, worked a full count before popping into foul territory down the third base line where Schultz twisted, turned and fell, cradling the ball with a basket catch for the final out, sealing the victory.
Five Catamounts recorded multi-hit games as the two-through-five hitters all tallied two hits apiece with Smith in the nine-hole also legging out a pair of singles. Heffley and Notaro both finished 2-for-3 with three runs driven in with Heffley also drawing a pair of walks, one intentionally. Johns and Smith were 2-for-4 while Tyler White posted a 2-for-5 showing at the plate to compliment another strong defensive effort at first base for WCU.
Johnson walked and struck out one in scoring the victory out of the WCU bullpen, tossing the final inning and a third in relief of classmates Andrew Chilcoat and starter Matt Benedict. Making the final home start of his career, Benedict scattered five runs - only four of which were earned - on eight hits through seven and a third innings. The St. Petersburg, Fla., native struck out five against three walks in factoring in the no-decision.
Benedict, who made two starts against the Bulldogs a season ago including taking the mound in the conference title game, was touched up in the opening frame for two runs on three hits. Nick Orvin, who recorded a game-high four hits in the contest, opened the game with an infield single to short ahead of Brad Felder who tripled to left center to plate the first run. WCU's defense turned a double-play along the middle, but allowed the second run to cross making it a 2-0 lead for the Bulldogs.
The lead was short-lived, though, as Johns was aboard after reaching on a two-base error when Ross Heffley belted his team-leading ninth home run of the season to left center to knot the game at two.
The Citadel again pulled ahead by a run in the fourth as DeKerlegand drove home William Ladd with a one-out single through the right side to take a 3-2 lead. But the Catamounts responded in the fifth as consecutive walks to Schultz and Johns allowed Heffley to drive in his third run of the game on a single to left field, tying the game at three. WCU loaded the bases during the frame, but could only manage the one marker.
A solo homer by Orvin in the top of the seventh inning again handed the Bulldogs a one-run edge in the see-saw affair. But a one-out rally in the bottom of the frame gave the Catamounts the upper hand. Johns singled through the left side before swiping second - one of a career-high four stolen bases on the game for the Stafford, Va., native and one of two in the frame. After Heffley drew a free pass, the duo executed a perfect double-steal to put runners at second and third with one out. Notaro then laced a single up the middle to plate both runs, giving Western Carolina the 5-4 edge after seven.
The Citadel manufactured the game-tying run in the top of the eighth inning Ladd was plunked by Benedict before matriculating to third on a stolen base and wild pitch before scoring on a tough error up the middle on a would-be, inning-ending out.
Ladd finished with three hits in a 3-for-4 performance to accompany Orvin's four-hit night. Matt Simonelli finished 2-for-5 to cap the Bulldogs' multi-hit performers.
For the Bulldogs, reliever T.J. Clarkson (1-4) took the loss after allowing two runs on three hits with a pair of strikeouts against a walk in an inning and two thirds. Starter Matt Talley, a preseason All-SoCon selection alongside Benedict at starting pitcher, worked six and a third before being retired, surrendering five runs on eight hits, fanning six while walking four.
College of Charleston 11, Samford 8
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.- The Samford baseball team's late rally fell just short as the Bulldogs dropped an 11-8 decision to the College of Charleston in the first game of a three-game Southern Conference series Thursday evening at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
Samford trailed, 11-4 after the top of the eighth inning. The Bulldogs, however, plated four runs in the bottom of the eighth to cut the lead to 11-8. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Samford had runners on first and second base, bringing the tying run to the plate with one out, but the Bulldogs were unable to plate any runs, dropping the three-run decision.
With the loss, Samford drops to 32-22 overall and 16-12 in SoCon play. Charleston is now 36-18 overall and 18-10 in league play. With two games remaining in the regular season, Charleston now stands in third place in the SoCon standings, while Samford is currently fifth in the league.
Samford was led at the plate by Michael Johnson, going 3-for-4. Phillip Ervin went 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Tommy Corbin went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Samford's Joseph Burns (0-1) pitched 2.1 innings in relief, giving up four runs on three hits to take the loss for the Bulldogs. Charles Basford started the game on the mound, tossing 3.2 innings, giving up three runs on five hits. Gil Walker, Michael Gunter and Ervin each saw time on the mound for Samford as well.
For Charleston, Matt Leeds went 2-for-4 with two home runs, one being a grand slam, and five RBI. Daniel Aldrich went 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBI. Cole Rakar went 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Jose Rodriguez went 2-for-5 for the Cougars. Rob Kral also homered for Charleston, driving in two runs in a 1-for-3 performance.
Josh Renfro (9-2) pitched 7.0 innings, giving up four runs on six hits to pick up the win. Casey Lucchese came on in the ninth to get the final two outs and earn his seventh save of the season.
Both teams plated a run in the first inning. Charleston's run came on a solo home run by Leeds to center field. In the bottom of the first, Johnson walked to lead off the inning and then stole second base and advanced to third on a Charleston error. Johnson later scored from third when Saxon Butler grounded into a double play to tie the score at 1-1.
Samford took the lead with two runs in the second inning. Brandon Powell doubled down the left-field line to drive in Ervin to give Samford a 2-1 lead. Corbin then doubled to drive in Powell to make the score 3-1.
Charleston tied the score with two runs in the fourth inning. Both runs were scored on bases-loaded walks to make the score 3-3.
Samford took the lead again with a run in the bottom of the fifth inning. Corbin scored from third base when Brad Moss reached base on a sacrifice bunt to give Samford a 4-3 lead.
Charleston came back with four runs in the sixth inning to take a 7-4 lead. Leeds hit a grand slam to left field with Kral, Marty Gantt and Jamie Holler on base to give the Cougars a three-run lead.
The Cougars added four more runs in the top of the eighth inning to push their lead to 11-4. Kral hit a solo home run to left field and Aldrich hit a two-run shot to center field for the first three runs of the inning. Rakar later singled to drive in Rodriguez for a seven-run Charleston lead.
Samford answered with four runs of its own in the bottom of the eighth. Ervin and Kevin Putkonen drove in a run each in the inning. Johnson and Ervin both scored on Charleston errors in the inning as well, to cut the Cougar lead to 11-8.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, with one out, Johnson singled. Moss then reached base on a fielder's choice and Johnson went to second base on an error. The Bulldogs, however, were unable to drive either runner in, as they fell to the Cougars, 11-8.
The teams will continue their SoCon series with a game Friday night at 6 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.