Samford 12, Radford 2 (7 inn.)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.-Samford's Saxon Butler, Brandon Miller and Austin Allison all hit home runs as the Bulldog baseball team defeated Radford, 12-2 in seven innings Sunday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
With the victory, Samford wins the series with Radford, two games to one. The Bulldogs are now 2-1 on the season, while the Highlanders are 1-2.
Radford jumped on top early with a run in the first inning, but Samford came back with nine runs in the first four innings to take control of the game.
"It was not the kind of start we wanted to the game, but our guys answered back," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "Yesterday, every inning that they scored, we failed to score behind it, so it was good to come back and get two in the first and answer their run."
Samford was led at the plate by Butler, going 3-for-3 with a home run, a double and two RBI. For the thee-game weekend series, Butler went 9-for-10 with two home runs, two doubles and four RBI.
Miller went 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBI. The home run was his second homer of the weekend as well. Allison was 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI in the game. Zeth Stone also went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI in the game for the Bulldogs.
Josh Martin (1-0) pitched 5.1 innings, giving up one run on seven hits to earn his first win of the season. Martin struck out four batters while allowing no walks.
"I thought Josh threw the ball well for his first time out this season." Dunn said. "It was good to see him get into the sixth. That was kind of the goal for our starters this week. We were going to give them around 75 pitches and we told them their goal was to finish five innings and try to get us into the sixth."
For Radford, Jeff Kemp led the way at the plate, going 3-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI. Ryan Burgess went 2-for-4 at the plate, and Matt Mack drove in a run in a 1-for-4 performance at the plate.
Keith Fritz (0-1) pitched 2.2 innings, giving up seven runs on eight hits to take the loss on the mound for the Highlanders.
Radford grabbed the early lead with a run in the top of the first inning. Kemp doubled with one out to get things going for the Highlanders. Kemp then went to third base when Matt Hillsinger reached base on a Samford error. Mack then singled to left field to drive in Kemp for a 1-0 Radford lead.
Samford came back to take the lead for good with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Stone doubled to lead off the inning. With one out, Butler hit a home run to left field to make the score 2-1.
The Bulldogs added three runs in the second inning, two runs in the third and two more in the fourth to push their lead to 9-1. In the second inning, Stone and Miller drove in a run each, and Allison scored on a wild pitch. In the third inning, Brad Moss and Stone drove in a run each. Miller hit his two-run homer with Butler on base for the two runs in the fourth inning.
Radford added a run in the top of the seventh inning to cut the Samford lead to 9-2. Kemp singled with the bases loaded to drive in Carl Travers for the Highlanders' final run of the game.
The game was called after Samford plated three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to make the final score 12-2. Tyler Filliben walked to lead off the inning. With one out, Allison hit his first homer of the season to make the score 11-2. Tommy Corbin walked, Phillip Ervin singled and Butler walked to load the bases. Miller then walked to bring in Corbin for the game's final run.
For the game, Samford pounded out 15 hits, compared to nine hits for Radford. As a team, Samford had six extra-base hits in the win.
Samford will return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 21, when the Bulldogs play host to Alabama A&M. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start from Joe Lee Griffin Field.
College of Charleston 6, South Alabama 3
College of Charleston 3, South Alabama 0 (7 inn.)
MOBILE, Ala. - College of Charleston took both games of the double-header on Sunday to earn a series sweep over South Alabama on opening weekend. The Cougars won the first game, 6-3, and pitched a shutout in the seven-inning finale, 3-0.
The Cougar pitching staff was impressive as the Cougars gave up only three runs, two earned, in the double-header. CofC also allowed just six hits on the day and combined for 10 strikeouts in the two games. Junior Matt Pegler picked up the win in the first game with senior David Peterson earning the save, while junior Christian Powell pitched an impressive six innings of two-hit, shutout ball to earn the win in the second game.
The Cougars were led offensively by Marty Gantt who went 5-of-7 with three runs, two RBIs and two stolen bases. Gantt's double in the first game drove in the eventual game-winning runs as the Cougars scored four runs in the sixth inning.
Freshman Gunnar Heidt went 4-of-8 with one run, while Daniel Aldrich hit his first home run of the season, a solo shot in the fourth inning of the second game.
"I was very proud of our pitching," said head coach Monte Lee. "We only gave up two earned runs and our bullpen was outstanding. We need to be a little better in RBI situations, and our infield defense played well but still has room to improve. If we pitch the way we did this weekend, we can win a lot of baseball games. It's always great to open the season with a sweep on the road."
Game 1
College of Charleston tallied 12 hits, scoring six runs to knock off the Jaguars, 6-3, in the first game of the double-header.
After giving up three runs, two earned, in the first inning, junior starter Matt Pegler allowed only one more hit to shut out the Jaguars in the next four innings, putting him in line for the win after College of Charleston scored four in the top of the sixth inning.
Junior Drew Freie teamed with seniors Nick Osterman and David Peterson to shut down USA over the last four innings and Peterson picked up his second save in his first two games.
Senior Marty Gantt led the way offensively with a perfect 4-of-4 performance, reaching base on all five plate appearances. He scored three runs drove in two runs, including the eventual game-winner, in the sixth inning. Gantt also swiped two bases. Freshman Gunnar Heidt went 4-of-5 and scored a run.
The Jaguars opened the scoring at the bottom of the first inning with a two-out walk and double, setting up Dustin Dalken's two-run single. The Jaguars tacked on another run after an error from Glazer on a grounder to third.
The Cougars got on the board in the third inning after leadoff single from Gantt and a walk from Aldrich put two runners on with no out. A grounder to the pitcher advanced Gantt to third before a sacrifice fly to left field by Glazer scored Gantt from third.
Martin continued his strong weekend with a two-out single to right in the fifth inning that scored Gantt from third to make it 3-2. CofC had kept the inning alive after Glazer reached first on a wild pitch swinging third strike with two out.
College of Charleston took its first lead in the top of the sixth on a double from Gantt that scored Heidt and Goodson to put the Cougars up 4-3. Three batters later, Rob Harding pinch hit for Glazer and roped a double to left that scored Gantt and Aldrich to extend it to 6-3.
Game 2
Powell dealt six innings of two-hit ball to earn the win and a partial shutout for the Cougars in the second game. Powell did not give up a hit until the fifth inning when a loop single dropped into right field. Powell struck out four and walked four to earn his first win of the season. Junior Dre Watts came on in relief to get the save with a no-run seventh inning.
The Cougars scored first, reaching home in the bottom of the first after redshirt-sophomore Jimmy Holton singled home Brandon Murray who led off the inning with a double.
On the first pitch of the fourth inning, Aldrich connected on a pitch inside and drove the ball over the right-field fence for his first home run of the 2012 season.
College of Charleston scored an insurance run in the sixth inning as Harding and Martin singled and advanced to second and third. Harding came home on a wild pitch by Jaime Dennis to put the Cougars up 3-0.
College of Charleston will host the Cougar Invitational next weekend as Rhode Island, Xavier and Connecticut come to Patriots Point.
Georgia Southern 11, UT Martin 2
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Eagles picked up the series sweep of the UT Martin Skyhawks behind five strong innings from Kyle Rowe (Valdosta, Ga.) and two homers from Michael Burruss (Marietta, Ga.). The Eagles bounced back from an early deficit for the second time in three games and pulled away with an 11-2 victory on Sunday.
Making his Georgia Southern (3-0) debut, Rowe (1-0) allowed just one hit and two runs over five innings in his first start of the season. The junior transfer struck out five batters but was hurt by two walks in the second inning. Rowe bounced back after giving up the runs to retire nine-straight batters before leaving after the fifth inning. Drew Johnson (Peachtree City, Ga.) followed with two innings of scoreless relief and helped the pitching staff hold UT Martin (0-3) to just three hits.
Burruss provided a majority of the offense with six RBIs and connected on two home runs in his final three at-bats. He finished the day with three hits and three runs scored. Three other Eagles, who tallied 12 hits and three long balls on the day, joined the junior outfielder with multi-hit games. T.D. Davis (Evans, Ga.), who finished the series with five hits in 11 at-bats, went two-for-four with a walk on the day.
"It is real fun hitting in front of Victor, Eric and T.D," stated Burruss about the heart of the batting order. "My job is just to get on base."
The Skyhawks got solid early pitching from starter Danny Kelley (0-1), who did not allow an earned run until the fourth inning, but back-to-back home runs sent him home early. Kelley allowed four earned runs on seven hits over 3.2 innings and struck out just one of the 21 batters he faced.
UT Martin took advantage of the wet outfield early in the game and scored two runs in the second inning. Scooter Williams (Detroit, Mich.) slipped tracking a ball in center field, and Nico Zych's two-out cleared the bases. Two walks and a fielder's choice started the two-out rally and put GSU in an early jam. Georgia Southern got the runs right back though, scoring two runs in in the bottom half of the inning. An errant throw during Williams' at-bat allowed two runs to score after it sailed wide of first base.
The Eagles took their first lead of the game in the fourth inning on back-to-back home runs. Burruss drove in three runs with his first home run of the new season, and Victor Roache (Tpsilanti, Mich.) followed with a solo shot over the Jack Stallings Field sign in right. Stryker Brown (Dalton, Ga.) walked to keep the inning alive after two outs followed a lead off single and set up the four-run inning.
"The at-bat before the first home run, I had trouble staying back," said Burruss. "I was looking to take the ball away with the runner on third, and I took advantage of a mistake pitch."
Burruss added his second three-run homer in the eighth inning to help cap the victory. A pair of lead off walks of Williams and pinch-hitter Hunter Thomas (Eastman, Ga.) proceeded the junior's second home run of the day and put the Eagles ahead by nine runs.
Georgia Southern plays host to highly ranked Georgia Tech Wednesday at 6 p.m. The game can also be heard on the Boomer 103.7 FM and inside the stadium on 88.1 FM.
Liberty 11, The Citadel 9
Charleston, S.C. - Dalton Sype's three-run triple in the top of the ninth sparked a seven-run outburst as Liberty University rallied from a 9-4 deficit to defeat The Citadel Sunday afternoon at Riley Park in The Citadel Memorial Challenge. The Bulldogs fall to 1-2 on the season and host Delaware in a four-game series beginning Thursday night at 6 p.m.
With the Bulldogs up 9-4 entering the final frame, Liberty used five hits and three hit-batsmen to pushed across seven runs and upend The Citadel. Zack Haley led off with a double to left off reliever TJ Clarkson and with one out, Andy Smith lined a RBI single to left, cutting the Bulldogs' lead to 9-5. Clarkson would hit the next two Liberty batters with picthes to load the bases for Bryan Aanderud. Aandderud lifted a 1-0 pitch to deep right for a sacrifice fly and cut the Liberty deficit to three runs with two outs.
Clarkson re-loaded the bases for Liberty when he hit Ryan Cordell with a 1-2 pitch and Alex Close's RBI single to the gap between short and third made the score 9-7, bringing on freshman Zach Sherrill in relief. Sype lined Sherrill's 0-1 offering down the left-field line to clear the bases and give Liberty a 10-9 lead. Haley's RBI single plated Sype and completed the Flames' comeback.
The team traded runs in the first two innings as Liberty jumped on the board in the first with a sacrifice fly by Tyler Cox and The Citadel answered with a solo home run to left by senior Justin Mackert to lead off the second frame.
Liberty pulled ahead 2-1 in the fourth on a RBI single by Cordell before the Bulldogs exploded for six runs in the bottom of the fifth for a 7-2 lead. With one out, three straight singles by Bo Thompson, Calvin Orth and Bailey Rush loaded the bases. Freshman Mason Davis drilled a RBI single through the left side and sophomore Joe Jackson lined a two-run single to center to make the score 4-2 and chase Liberty starter Ian Parmley from the mound. After senior Nick Orvin struck out, Mackert knocked a RBI single to center and sophomore Drew DeKerlegand was hit by a 3-2 pitch from reliever Patrick Bankemper to load the bases for fellow soph Tyler Griffin. Griffin roped a 1-0 pitch up the middle to plate a pair of runs for a 7-2 Bulldog lead after five complete.
The Flames cut into the lead with a two-run homer by Trey Wimmer in the sixth, but The Citadel recouped the runs in the seventh on a RBI single by Hughston Armstrong and a sacrifice fly by Rush. The teams did not mount any offense in the eighth before Liberty's offensive barrage in the final stanza.
Clarkson took the loss for the Bulldogs, allowing six runs on four hits in 2-1/3 innings with three hit-batsmen. Logan Cribb started the game for The Citadel, scattering six hits over five innings and allowing two runs. Mackert finished the game with three hits and two RBI to lead the Bulldogs at the plate.
Brooks Roy was the good-fortune winner for Liberty, giving up one hit while pitching the eighth. Five Flames recorded two hits apiece on the afternoon, with Sype's three RBI leading the pack.
Rain Forces Cancellation of Elon-Akron Game
ELON, N.C. -- With rains already falling at Elon and the forecast projection the rain to continue all day, the Elon Phoenix baseball game scheduled for noon against Akron has been cancelled. The game will not be rescheduled.
Elon will next be in action on Tuesday afternoon when the Phoenix makes the short trip to Greensboro, N.C., to face the North Carolina A&T Aggies in a 3 p.m. contest.
Wofford Baseball Rained Out
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Due to rain, the Wofford College baseball game against Ball State that was scheduled for Sunday, February 19 at 1:00 p.m. has been canceled.
The Terriers will take the field next on Wednesday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. at Gardner-Webb.