Elon 8, North Carolina A&T 5
ELON, N.C. -- The Elon Phoenix baseball team built an early lead and never trailed as it moved to 4-0 on the season with an 8-5 victory over visiting North Carolina A&T on Tuesday afternoon. The Aggies dropped to 1-3.
Phoenix starter Jim Stokes (1-0) was awarded the victory in his first appearance since June 5, 2010. Stokes, who was on a limited pitch count, did not allow a run or hit in three innings.
Both Jake Luce (1-for-3, two runs) and Alex Swim (1-for-3) drove in three runs to lead the Phoenix. Chris Bresnahan (1-for-1) scored three runs.
Already up 2-0 entering the last of the fifth inning, Bresnahan got things started for the Phoenix with a bunt single and went to second on a throwing error. A two-out walk to Luce, who then swiped second, put two in scoring position for Swim who delivered a two-RBI single to left-center to up the lead to 4-0.
Elon carried its 4-0 edge into the seventh inning when three straight one-out walks loaded the bases for Luce who ripped a triple to the gap in right-center. He would then score the maroon and gold's final run on a Swim sacrifice fly.
The Aggies made things interesting in the ninth. A single, hit batter and walk loaded the bases before the first out was recorded. An Elon error extended the frame and allowed the first A&T run to come across the plate. With the bags full and two away, Dylan Hipp singled home a run before Marquis Riley doubled to right-center to clear the bases and make it an 8-5 game.
A&T starter Ruben Torrellas (0-1) allowed four runs on three hits in five innings.
Up next for Elon is a trip to two-time defending national champion South Carolina. The teams are set to begin a three-game series on Friday at 3 p.m. The games on Friday and Sunday can both be heard on WPCM 920 AM or at elonphoenix.com.
Furman 7, Presbyterian 5
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Taylor Johnson's two-run seventh inning double broke open a close ball game and helped Furman defeat Presbyterian, 7-5, in baseball action Tuesday afternoon at Latham Stadium.
The win evened Furman's record at 2-2 on the year while the loss dropped PC to 0-4 on the young campaign.
With the Paladins ahead 4-3 with two outs and the bases empty in the seventh, Paul Nitto and Alex Abrams drew back-to-back walks from Blue Hose reliever Buck Mosteller, and Johnson followed with a line drive, two-run double into the left center field gap to stretch the lead to 6-3. Freshman Jarrod Rickman then greeted Mosteller's replacement, Chad Sanders, with a solid single through the left side to drive home Johnson to make it 7-3.
The Blue Hose answered with a run in the eighth to cut Furman's advantage to 7-4, and Cam McRae's pinch-hit solo home run off Abrams in the ninth made it 7-5. Abrams, however, rallied in his collegiate pitching debut to retire Andrew Williams on a fly and Jay Lizanich on a game ending strikeout to secure the save and decision for Furman.
Paladin freshman Elliott Warford (1-0) earned his first collegiate victory after working four innings and allowing five hits and three runs, all earned, before departing with a 4-3 lead. He struck out one and walked one.
The loss was charged to Michael Ricchi (0-1), who surrendered four runs on eight hits while fanning one.
Furman banged out 14 hits in the contest, including three each by Will Owens and Hunter Burton, who double twice and scored a pair of runs. Twin brother Heath Burton went 2-for-4, including a triple that scored Hunter in the fourth to give the Paladins a 4-3 lead.
PC, which collected eight hits, was paced at the plate by Brandon Paul, who went 2-for-4.
Furman grabbed a 2-0 lead in first on a Nitto RBI single and balk on Ricchi that plated Will Muzika.
The Paladins made it 3-0 an inning later when Muzika was hit by a Ricchi pitch with the bases loaded.
The Blue tied it with three runs in the third before Furman took the lead for good in the fourth on Heath Burton's RBI triple down the left field line.
Furman plays at USC Upstate at 4:00 p.m. Wednesday.
Western Carolina 13, Winthrop 3
Rock Hill, S.C. - Western Carolina scored 10 runs through the first four innings and led by as many as 11, cruising to a 13-3 road victory over Winthrop on Tuesday evening at the Winthrop Ball Park. Seven Catamount pitchers combined for six strikeouts while holding the Eagles to just three runs on only three hits.
The Catamounts improved to 4-0 on the season while Winthrop remained winless through its first four games of the season.
Aaron Attaway opened the game with a double to right field on the game's first pitch to set the tone on the afternoon. The Morganton, N.C., native finished 4-for-6 with three RBI to lead WCU offensively. Freshman Jacob Holye and sophomore Adam Martin both homered, finishing 3-for-9 combined with Hoyle driving in three including a two-run, round-tripper.
Senior Ross Heffley also recorded three hits - all singles - in a 3-for-4 performance.
While the offense set the tone in the top of the frames, the Catamount pitchers followed suit. Junior left-hander Adam Curtis shut down the Eagles early, tossing five innings of one-hit, scoreless baseball in the starting role. The Arden, N.C., native struck out three against just one walk in picking up his first victory of the season. Six Catamount relievers toed the rubber on the day, matching Curtis' three strikeouts on the day.
Winthrop's Patrick Gamblin recorded two of the Eagles three hits including a two-RBI double and a solo home run, driving in all three runs. Mitchell Knox took the loss for Winthrop after being chased after two innings, surrendering seven runs - six of which were earned - on six hits with two walks.
Western Carolina travels to the Ninth-Annual Keith LeClair Classic, hosted by East Carolina in Greenville, N.C., this weekend. WCU faces Maryland on Friday, the host Pirates on Saturday and Purdue on Sunday in tournament play.
UNCG 13, UNC Asheville 5
GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNCG jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning and used a six-run fourth inning to easily defeat visiting UNC Asheville, 13-5, on Tuesday evening at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Reliever Zach Furl (1-0) picked up the win for UNCG (4-0) after pitching a third of an inning. UNC Asheville's Elliot Criss was credited with the loss after allowing seven runs in 3 1/3 innings of work.
Thomas Troelstrup led the Spartans at the plate as he went 2-5 with three RBI and a run scored. Bobby Martin also had three RBI and Trevor Edwards added a two-run home run in the first inning.
UNC Asheville (3-1) was led by Jordan Lurie who went 3-5 with two RBI and Todd Joyner who went 2-4 with two RBI and two runs scored.
UNCG appeared to carry its momentum from this past weekend into the game as it took the early lead in the bottom of the first. After a leadoff fly out, Christian Wolfe singled and then scored when Lloyd Enzor followed with a double to the wall in center field. Edwards came up next and took a 2-1 pitch out to right center to give the Spartans a 3-0 lead.
The Spartan lead didn't last long as the Bulldogs responded with three runs of their own in the top half of the second inning. After a leadoff out, Patrick Koontz walked and Cody Buch doubled to put two runners in scoring position. Joyner then hit a two-run single up the middle and then later score on a Lurie single to tie the game at 3-3.
UNCG had an immediate answer in the bottom of the second as Kris Richards hit an RBI single to give the Spartans the lead for good.
The game was blown open in the fourth inning as the Spartans pushed six runs across the plate to go ahead 10-3. Bobby Martin had a two-run double into the left-field corner and Troelstrup capped off the inning with a three-run home run to left field.
UNCG would add a run on a throwing error and another on a bunt in the fifth inning and another in the seventh inning to make it 13-3.
UNC Asheville would go on to add two more runs in the top of the ninth on RBI singles by Lurie and Billy Creighton to make the final score 13-5.
The Spartans return to action this weekend as they host Penn State for a three game series beginning on Friday at 4 p.m.
Samford 19, Alabama A&M 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.-The Samford baseball team hit five home runs, and three pitchers combined to allow just one hit in a 19-0, seven-inning win over Alabama A&M Tuesday evening at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
Samford starting pitcher Cole Limbaugh (1-0) earned his first collegiate win on the mound, pitching 3.0 innings, giving up one hit, striking out six batters and allowing just one walk. Charles Terry tossed 3.0 innings, while Sean Handlan pitched the final inning of the contest.
"It was a good night," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "I thought the best thing about it was that Cole was able to throw three innings and Charles was able to throw three innings, because those two guys needed some work. Unfortunately, Sean was only able to get the one inning in. It would have been nice to get him another inning or two. But it was good to get those three guys some work, since they hadn't really seen the mound yet."
The 19 runs were the most a Samford team has scored since defeating College of Charleston, 20-13, on Mar. 12, 2010. The 19-run win marked the largest margin of victory by a Samford team in the Casey Dunn era (since 2005).
"Obviously, we swung the bats well," Dunn said. "We showed some power and had some guys get their numbers up a little bit, so it was a good night."
Samford was led at the plate by Brandon Powell, going 3-for-4 with two home runs and five RBI. Brandon Miller went 2-for-4 with two home runs and two RBI. C.K. Irby went 1-for-2 with a grand slam and four RBI. Saxon Butler was also 2-for-4 with two RBI. Kevin Putkonen went 2-for-3 at the plate, while Austin Allison was 3-for-4 with two RBI.
For Alabama A&M, Joshua Blocker (0-1) pitched two-thirds of an inning, allowing seven runs on five hits to take the loss. Brandyn Crutcher had Alabama A&M's lone hit of the night, going 1-for-3 at the plate.
Samford plated seven runs in the first inning to take control of the game early. Butler, Powell, Christiaan Durdaller, Tyler Filliben, Allison and Phillip Ervin drove in a run each in the inning as Samford built the early 7-0 lead.
Samford added another run in the second inning when Miller led the inning off with his first home run of the game. In the fourth inning, Samford plated three more runs to make the score 11-0. Powell hit a three-run homer to left field, his first of the season.
In the fifth inning, Samford added seven more runs to make the score 18-0. Irby did the majority of the damage in the inning with his grand slam. Powell also hit his second homer of the game in the inning. Butler and Allison also drove in the runs in the fifth inning for Samford.
Samford put the game's final run on the scoreboard in the sixth inning. Miller hit his second home run of the game and his fourth of the season to make the final score 19-0.
Samford will return to action on Wednesday, when the Bulldogs play at Jacksonville State. The game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start from JSU's Rudy Abbott Field.