UNCG 10, Penn State 7

GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNCG got five strong innings from Tyler Hollstegge and used a four-run seventh inning to propel the Spartans past Penn State, 10-7, on Friday evening at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.

The win marked the first time that the Spartans have begun the season 5-0 since the 2004 squad that went 6-0 before suffering its first defeat.

Hollstegge (2-0) picked up his second win in as many starts as he went five innings and allowed two runs on three hits, while striking out four. Penn State (1-3) starter Cody Lewis (0-2) was credited with the loss after lasting just 3 2/3 innings and allowing six runs on nine hits.

Thomas Troelstrup went 3-5 with three RBI and Trevor Edwards added a 2-4 performance with a pair of RBI to lead the Spartans at the plate.

Penn State was led by Zach Ell who went 2-4 with three RBI and Joey DeBernardis also went 2-4 with two RBI and two runs scored.

The Nittany Lions took control early in the contest as they got a pair of runs in the top of the first. With a runner on first, DeBernardis hit a two-run shot over the left field wall to make it 2-0.

The Spartans wouldn't have an answer until the bottom of the third inning. With one out, Bobby Martin and Christian Wolfe hit back-to-back singles before Troelstrup doubled to the left center alley to tie the game at 2-2. Edwards then followed with a triple into the right field corner to score Troelstrup and give UNCG a lead it would never relinquish.

UNCG would come right back in the fourth inning to add three more runs to take a 6-2 lead. Kris Richards, Troelstrup and Edwards all had RBI singles in the inning to take the four-run advantage.

Penn State nearly came back to tie the game in the top of the sixth inning on a two-out rally. With two down, Ell hit a two-run bases-loaded single to cut the Spartan lead down to 6-4. After a pitching change, a throwing error allowed another Nittany Lion to score to make UNCG's lead just 6-5.

The score would stay that way until the bottom of the seventh when UNCG took advantage of four Penn State errors and two passed balls to take a commanding 10-4 lead. Two Nittany Lion errors and a walk loaded the bases to begin the inning before Cole Harrison slapped a single to right field to make it 7-5 and keep the bases loaded.

UNCG then grounded into a fielder's choice and was able to score two runs when a throw by the second baseman sailed over the first baseman's head. The Spartans would add another run on a passed ball to take a six-run lead.

Penn State would get a run in the eighth on an Ell single and another in the ninth on an RBI single, but UNCG was able to hold on for the 10-7 victory.

The Spartans and Nittany Lions will meet again on Saturday at 1 p.m.

 

No. 7 LSU 4, Appalachian State 0

BATON ROUGE, La. - LSU right-handers Kevin Gausman and Aaron Nola outdueled four Appalachian State University pitchers to lead the seventh-ranked Tigers to a 4-0 victory over visiting ASU on Friday evening at Alex Box Stadium.

Appalachian (2-2) limited LSU (5-0) to single runs in the second, third, fourth and sixth innings but Gausman and Nola made the scarce scoring hold up for Bayou Bengals. The duo combined to surrender just four hits while striking out 11 Mountaineers and walking none. With its third shutout of the young season, LSU lowered its team ERA to a miniscule 1.20.

As magnificent as Gausman and Nola were, ASU's four pitchers were nearly as good against an LSU club that was averaging 11 runs per game and hitting .333 as a team coming in to the contest. Mountaineer starter Seth Grant (Henderson, N.C./Etowah) kept the Tigers off-balance for much of his 5.2 innings of work but, buoyed by a couple of botched defensive plays and a pair of two-out RBI, LSU managed to scratch out four runs against the ASU righty.

Fielding miscues led directly to two of the Tigers' four runs. In the second inning, Grant seemingly had LSU's Mason Katz picked off second base but an apparent miscommunication between Grant and second baseman Hector Crespo (Miami, Fla./Florida Christian) allowed Katz to scamper back to the bag. Three batters later, Katz scored the first run of the game on a looping two-out RBI single by No. 8 hitter Ty Ross that landed just inside the right-field line.

The second costly defensive flub came in the fourth. With Appalachian trailing just 2-0 and LSU runners on the corners with one out, Grant fielded a routine comebacker to the mound. However, the senior did not look the runner back to third before firing to second base in an attempt to turn an inning-ending double play. Unfortunately for the Mountaineers, Grant's throw was slightly off-target and ASU got only one out on the play while the runner easily scored from third to stretch the LSU lead to 3-0.

After the three-consecutive one-run frames, Grant settled in to retire the next five batters he faced and was one strike away from getting out of the sixth inning before allowing a two-out single to Austin Nola. Sophomore Chad Farmer (Evans, Ga./Greenbrier) relieved Grant but walked Ross to move Nola into scoring position. Pinch-hitter Jared Foster followed the two-out walk with an RBI single that expanded the LSU advantage to 4-0.

Appalachian put runners in scoring position in the fifth, sixth and eighth innings but ASU, which was 9-for-31 (.290) with two outs in its first three games of the season, went 2-for-12 (.167) with two outs on Friday night. Three of the five runners that the Mountaineers left on base were stranded in scoring position.

Despite suffering the loss, Grant (0-1) was impressive in scattering seven hits and striking out three over 5.2 innings of work. ASU's bullpen trio of Farmer, Tyler Moore (Banner Elk, N.C./Watauga) and Jamie Nunn (Winston-Salem, N.C./Mt. Tabor) worked 2.1 innings of scoreless relief.

Despite ASU's overall effectiveness on the mound, the story of the night was the efforts of Gausman and Nola. Gausman (2-0) allowed just four hits, struck out seven and walked none in seven shutout innings before Nola closed it out with two innings of no-hit relief.

Katz and Ross had two hits apiece to pace LSU offensively. Preston Troutman (Rockwell, N.C./East Rowan), Will Callaway (Greenville, S.C./Eastside), Jeremy Dowdy (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) and Tyler Zupcic (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) each had a hit to account for Appalachian's offense.

The two teams meet again on Saturday at 3 p.m. (ET) in the middle game of their three-game weekend series.

 

Michigan State 4, Furman 2

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Andrew Waszak pitched six strong innings and Michigan State made three early runs hold up on the way to a 4-2 victory over Furman in baseball action Saturday afternoon at the First Pitch Invitational at Fluor Field.

The victory gave Michigan State (3-2) the Saturday doubleheader sweep following a 13-4 win over Miami University earlier in the day.

Waszak (1-0) surrendered three hits, two runs, and a walk while striking out four in earning the victory.

The loss was charged to Bobby Lyne (1-1), who was touched up for three runs in the first inning before settling down to record a solid outing, working six frames and allowing five hits and a walk while fanning three.

The Spartans' Ryan Jones opened the game with a home run to deep right center field. Justin Scanlon followed with a single and Torsten Boss doubled to left field to put runners at second and third. Michigan State got both runners home on a sacrifice fly by Jordan Keur and RBI grounder off the bat of Jared Hook to take a 3-0 lead.

Furman (2-4) answered in its first at bat when Will Miller drilled a Waszak one-out pitch over the left field wall for a solo home run, his third clout of the year.

From that point Waszak and Lyne tossed shutout ball until the Paladins pushed across a run in the sixth, combining a hit with two hit batsmen to load the bases with one out. Alex Abrams' sharp grounder to first drove home Will Miller, but Spartan first baseman Ryan Krill's diving stop on the play helped MSU limit the damage and Waszak rallied to strike out Taylor Johnson to end the inning, stranding two base runners.

Michigan State pushed across an unearned run in the ninth to make it 4-2 and then held off the Paladins in their final at bat. Abrams and Johnson delivered back-to-back, one-out singles off Spartan reliever Tony Wieber, who regrouped to strike out Heath Burton on three pitches and retire Abrams on a force play at third base to end the game.

Both teams finished with six hits with Jones and Scanlon registered two hits apiece for MSU. Miller scored both Furman runs.

The Paladins play a Saturday twinbill at Fluor Field, facing Miami University at noon before meeting Michigan State again at 5:00 p.m.

 

Rhode Island 9, College of Charleston 5

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Rhode Island scored seven runs in the first two innings to take a 9-5 win over No. 29 College of Charleston in the Cougars' home opener at Patriots Point on Friday night.

The Rams took advantage of three Cougar errors on the game, including two in the first inning, to score five unearned runs. The win evened URI's season record at 2-2, while the Cougars moved to 3-1.

The College of Charleston showed power in the home opener, belting three home runs, including two in the first inning. Senior Marty Gantt blasted his first home run of the season, a two-run shot in the first inning, and classmate Rob Harding also went yard to right center with a solo shot. Gantt finished with a 2-for-3 performance with two runs and two RBIs, while Harding went 1-of-4.

Junior Bradley Goodson also had a good game, hitting his first home run of the season and finishing 2-for-4 with two runs. Sophomore Daniel Aldrich went 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI.

The Rams were led by a strong hitting performance from Mike LeBel who hit a home run and went 3-for-5 with three runs and three RBIs.

Rhode Island's Chris Pickering (1-1) earned the win after going for five innings and striking out seven, although allowing all five Cougar runs.

College of Charleston's Josh Renfro (0-1) picked up the loss as he lasted just two innings and allowed seven runs, only three earned. The Cougars saw strong relief innings from junior Griffin Jones and junior Drew Freie, who combined for nine strikeouts and only one earned run through the final seven innings.

The Cougars will host Connecticut tomorrow at 5 p.m. in the Cougar Invitational. URI faces off against Xavier in the first game at 1 p.m.

 

South Alabama 9, Samford 4

MOBILE, Ala.-The Samford baseball team dropped the first game of its weekend series at South Alabama, 9-4, Friday evening at Stanky Field.

With the loss, Samford drops to 4-2 on the season. South Alabama improves to 2-3 with the win.

Samford was led at the plate by first baseman Saxon Butler, going 2-for-4 with three RBI. Second baseman Zeth Stone was 2-for-5 at the plate Friday evening.

Kyle Putkonen (0-1) took the loss on the mound for the Bulldogs. Putkonen pitched 5.0 innings and gave up six runs, five earned, while striking out five batters and allowing no walks.

For South Alabama, Nick Zaharion went 3-for-5 with four RBI. Nolan Earley went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Logan Kirkland and Drew Cofield had two hits each for the Jaguars. Jarron Cito (1-0) pitched 5.0 innings, giving up four runs on six hits to earn the win on the mound.

Samford jumped on top first with a run in the top of the first inning. Stone singled up the middle to lead off the inning. Stone then moved to third base on a single by Phillip Ervin. Butler then singled through the left side of the infield to drive in Stone for a 1-0 Samford lead.

The Bulldogs added two more runs in the top of the third inning to push its lead to 3-0. Austin Allison walked, Stone singled and Ervin walked to load the bases. Butler then singled to left field to drive in Allison for the inning's first run. With one out in the inning, Kevin Putkonen reached base on a fielder's choice to drive in Stone for a three-run Samford lead.

South Alabama came back with five runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a 5-3 lead. The majority of the damage came on a three-run double by Zaharion, tying the score. Cofield and Jordan Patterson also drove in a run each in the inning to give the Jaguars a two-run lead.

Samford plated another run in the top of the fourth inning to cut the South Alabama lead to 5-4. Brad Moss walked, Allison was hit by a pitch and Ervin walked to load the bases. Butler then walked with the bases loaded to drive Moss in to bring Samford to within one run of the Jaguars.

The Jaguars plated another run in the bottom of the fourth inning to make the score 6-4. Earley singled to right field to drive in Trey Cockrell, who earlier reached base on a Samford error.

The score remained 6-4 until the bottom of the eighth inning when South Alabama plated three runs to push its lead to 9-4. Zaharion singled to drive in Cockrell for the first run of the inning. Earley and Kirkland later scored on a Samford error to give USA a five-run lead.

The same two teams will continue the series with a game Saturday at 2 p.m. The series will wrap up with a game Sunday at 1 p.m.

 

Lehigh 3, Davidson 1

DAVIDSON, N.C. - Starter RHP Nick Cassell and the Lehigh bullpen held Davidson to four hits en route to a 3-1 victory in non-conference baseball action Friday night at Wilson Field.

Davidson (1-2) was unable to generate enough offense as Cassell (1-0) allowed just an unearned run, three hits, two walks and struck out four in six innings of work for the win in the Mountain Hawks' (1-0) season opener. RHP Cory Kent earned the save striking out five in the final two innings.

Lehigh took advantage of a pair of Davidson errors in the first inning to take a 2-0 lead. With runners on first and second with one out, a single to shallow center field by first baseman Joe Conaway was mishandled by senior Drew Gadaire, allowing the runner from second base to score and left fielder Casey Turner to move from first to third. A slight bobble by junior third baseman Andrew Barna on a grounder by right fielder Brandon Witt allowed Turner to score.

Barna put Davidson on the board in the bottom of the second inning, hitting a ball to the right field corner that was dropped by Witt, which allowed Barna to advance to third. Barna then scored on a balk by Cassell.

An RBI-double down the right field line by shortstop Ryan Gajdos in the fourthinning gave Lehigh a 3-1 lead. The game was scoreless over the final five innings.

Gadaire (1-for-4) and sophomore left fielder Forrest Brandt (1-for-3) had doubles in the third and sixth innings, respectively, but the ‘Cats were unable to drive them in. Senior first baseman Matt Ray moved into scoring position with one out in the seventh inning after drawing a walk and moving to second on a single by senior second baseman James Cerbie, but RHP Thomas O'Malley earned his second and third strikeouts of the inning to end the threat.

Senior RHP Ryan Overcash (0-2) allowed seven hits and no walks, surrendering the threeruns (one earned), while striking out five in seven innings. Junior RHP Bryan DaCanal pitched a scoreless 1.2 innings with a pair of strikeouts in his second career appearance, while freshman RHP Ryan Lowe earned a strikeout in his first career appearance for Lehigh's final out.

Senior RHP Brian Russell (3.60, 0-0) is slated to start Saturday for the Wildcats against Lehigh sophomore RHP Colin Gotzon (0.00, 0-0) in a 3:30 p.m. game. RHP Danny Mooney (0.00, 0-0) is expected to get his first start of the season Sunday at 1 p.m. against Fairleigh Dickinson. The Knights are slated to send out senior RHP Mike Eliasen (0.00, 0-0).

Pittsburgh 22, Wofford 12

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - On Friday afternoon, the Wofford baseball team fell behind early and was defeated 22-12 by Pittsburgh at Russell C. King Field. After two innings the Panthers had a ten-run lead and were able to hold onto the advantage.

Wofford is 2-2 and Pittsburgh is 2-3. The Terriers were led by Josh Hyman with three hits and Mac Doyle with three RBIs. The Panthers were led by Stephen Vranka with four hits, Casey Roche with five RBIs and Elvin Soto with three hits, two of which were home runs.

The Panthers got on the board in the top of the first with an RBI single up the middle by Sam Parente. Additional singles by Casey Roche and Derik Wilson drove in two more runs to make it a 3-0 score.

After the Terriers were retired in order in the bottom of the first, Pittsburgh loaded the bases with two singles and a hit by pitch in the second. A ground out by Sam Parente drove in a run to make it 4-0. With the bases still loaded, a Casey Roche hit a double to left center that cleared the bases for a 7-0 lead. Derik Wilson, Kevin Johnson, and Stephen Vranka added RBI singles to push the lead to 10-0.

Pittsburgh added a run on a solo shot by Rick Devereaux to center field in the top of the third inning. In the bottom of the third, Matthew Kaskow had a single and Josh Hyman hit a double. Mac Doyle hit a hard single up the middle to score both runners. Eric Brenk added an RBI single through the left side to make it an 11-3 game after three innings.

In the top of the fourth, Elvin Soto hit a solo home run to right center. With the bases loaded, a hit by pitch scored a run for a 13-3 score. In the top of the fifth, the Panthers added seven runs on three hits and two Wofford errors to take a 20-3 lead. Wofford got one run back in the bottom of the sixth on a balk. With the bases loaded, two walks made it a 20-6 contest after six complete.

Wofford added a run in the bottom of the seventh on a RBI single up the middle by Luke Feisal. Matthew Kaskow had a single through the right side to score a run and a double by Matt Pelt drove in a run for a 20-9 score. Josh Hyman singled to right and with the help of an error, two runs scored and the score was 20-11 after seven innings.

Pittsburgh added a two-run homer in the top of the eighth by Elvin Soto. In the bottom of the ninth, Matthew Pelt doubled and scored on a ground out by Bradley Evsich to provide the 22-12 final margin.

Wofford starter Cash Collins (0-2) gave up ten runs on nine hits in 1.2 innings. Ryan went 2.1 innings and allowed three runs on five hits. Thomas Schellhardt threw a third of an inning and allowed seven runs on three hits. Connell Anderson went 3.2 innings and allowed two runs on two hits. Dominick Del Monte threw the ninth and struck out two without allowing a hit.

Pittsburgh starter Matt Iannazzo (1-0) threw 5.2 innings and allowed six runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts. Joe Harvey gave up three runs in a third of an inning. J.R. Leonardi went an inning and allowed two runs on three hits. Alex Caravella threw the final two innings and allowed only one run with two strikeouts.

The Terriers will continue the three-game series with Pittsburgh on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and play the third game on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

 

#2 South Carolina 8, Elon 1

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Mistakes can be costly - especially when you are facing the second-ranked team in the nation as the Elon Phoenix baseball team was on Friday night. The South Carolina Gamecocks took advantage of five Phoenix errors and received a stellar pitching performance from starter Michael Roth to earn an 8-1 win over visiting Elon in game one of a three-game set.

The loss was the first of the year for Elon which dropped to 4-1 on the campaign. No. 2 South Carolina is now 4-0.

The Phoenix was befuddled by South Carolina pitching for 8.2 innings before Garrett Koster, a South Carolina native, belted a ball into the Elon bullpen in left-center field to erase both a no-hitter and shutout attempt by the Gamecocks.

Joey Pankake got things going in the bottom of the third with a triple off the top of the wall down the left field line. With runners on the corners and one out, Tanner English grounded a ball to third where Chris Bresnahan attempted to tag Pankake, but was ruled to have missed the tag and the Gamecocks loaded the bases. A 1-1 pitch to Christian Walker came in a little too far and hit him to force home the first run. The second run scored on a sacrifice fly before a single from Grayson Greiner made it 3-0.

South Carolina took advantage of two Elon errors in the fourth to add on two more runs before a two-run homer in the sixth made it a 7-0 contest. The final marker scored on an eighth-inning sacrifice fly.

Roth (1-0) hurled seven shutout and no-hit frames before he was replaced for the eighth inning. Roth walked three and struck out seven.

Elon starter Kyle Webb (1-1) allowed five runs (three earned) on five hits in four innings of work. He struck out four. Of the eight South Carolina runs, only three were earned.

The Phoenix and Gamecocks will square off in game two of this series at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon from Carolina Stadium. Elon will send lefty Dylan Clark (1-0) to the mound while South Carolina will counter with righty Matt Price (0-0).

 

Delaware 5, The Citadel 0

Charleston, S.C. - Delaware's Eric Young tossed eight shutout innings, allowing only three base hits, as the Blue Hens defeated The Citadel 5-0 Friday afternoon at Riley Park. The two teams play game three of their four-game series Saturday afternoon at 12:00 p.m.

The Blue Hens plated a pair of runs in the opening inning for an early 2-0 lead. Nick Ferdinand reached on a fielder's choice to third to put a runner on with two outs. Ferdinand stole second and scored on a RBI double down the left-field line by Alex Maruri. Tyler Powell followed with a RBI single up the middle to score Maruri from second and give Delaware a 2-0 lead.

Delaware doubled up its lead in the second with another pair of runs, using a pair of walks, a single and a wild pitch to create the runs. With one out, EJ Stoltzfus drew a full-count walk, stole second and advanced to third on a fielding error by Bulldog shortstop Bailey Rush. After starter Kevin Connell struck out Brock Niggebrugge, Cameron Travalini walked on four straight pitches to put runners at the corners. A wild pitch by Connell advanced the runners, scoring Stoltzfus, and a RBI single up the middle by Ferdinand brought home Travalini.

The Blue Hens plated the final run in the top of the ninth as Travalini reached first after being hit by a 1-1 pitch from Citadel reliever Zach Brownlee. After Travalini stole second, back-to-back singles by Ferdinand and Maruri combined to plate the fifth run.

Young struck out six and walked two, allowing only three singles on the afternoon. Maruri led Delaware with two hits and two RBI. Connell took the loss for the Bulldogs, allowing four runs on four hits in four innings. Connell struck out five and walked three.

 

Day One of Ninth-Annual Keith LeClair Classic Postponed
All four teams scheduled to play games on Saturday

Greenville, N.C. - With heavy rains scheduled for Eastern North Carolina Friday evening, officials at East Carolina University announced that day one of the Ninth Annual Keith LeClair Classic has been postponed. All four teams in the tournament field will play twice on Saturday, Feb. 25.

Individuals that purchased Friday and Saturday game ticket(s) will be able to use those for entry into all four games on Saturday. Tickets can be purchased in advance on line at ECUPirates.com or at the Clark-LeClair Ticket Office starting at 8:00 am Saturday.

Western Carolina (4-0) will face the Univ. of Maryland (2-1) beginning at 9:00 am on Saturday morning and is slated to face the host Pirates at approximately 4:00 pm. The Catamounts will conclude tournament play on Sunday morning by facing Purdue at 10:00 am.

Please stay tuned to ECUPirates.com for further information - any update to Western Carolina's schedule will be made on CatamountSports.com.

Saturday's Revised Schedule:
Game 1: Maryland vs. Western Carolina (9:00 am)
** Game 2: Purude vs. East Carolina (12:30 pm)
** Game 3: Western Carolina vs. East Carolina (4:00 pm)
** Game 4: Purdue vs. Maryland (7:30 pm)

** Games 2, 3, and 4 are approximate times and will start roughly 45 minutes after the conclusion of the preceding game.

 

Radford Series Opener Delayed, Doubleheader Tomorrow

STATESBORO, Ga. - The first game of a three-game series between the Georgia Southern Baseball team and Radford has been delayed due to rain in the area. The game will be played as a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1:30 p.m.

The games can be heard on Boomer 103.7 FM and inside the stadium on 88.1 FM. Audio for all games is also available on the web and subscription video is available for all home games at GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/Eaglevision.