Appalachian State 11, #7 LSU 1
BATON ROUGE, La. - Appalachian State University sent shockwaves through the college-baseball world on Sunday with a series-clinching 11-1 rout over No. 7 LSU at Alex Box Stadium.
With the blowout victory, Appalachian (4-2) took 2-of-3 games from the seventh-ranked Tigers, marking the program's first-ever three-game series win over an opponent from a Bowl Championship Series conference. ASU's only other series victory over a BCS opponent came in 1985 when it swept a two-game set from Connecticut.
Making only his second start in the Black and Gold, junior-college transfer Rob Marcello (Royal Palm Beach, Fla./Royal Palm Beach) became the third-straight Mountaineer pitcher to baffle LSU (5-2). The southpaw needed only 108 pitches to work 8.1 innings and limited the Bayou Bengals to three hits while striking out four. He retired 25 of the 30 batters he faced, including 11-straight during one stretch of the scintillating performance.
Marcello (2-0) was just two outs away from a complete-game shutout when he walked the second batter of the ninth inning, forcing head coach Chris Pollard to take him out of the game. As he walked off the field, Marcello received a standing ovation from the several thousand LSU fans still in attendance at The Box.
LSU, which avoided a second-straight shutout when pinch-hitter Arby Fields roped reliever David Port's (Dunwoody, Ga./Duwoody) first pitch into the right-field corner for an RBI triple. Although the Tigers snapped a 20.2-inning scoreless streak, their lone run came far too late to make a difference, as Port retired the final two batters with ease to seal the monumental victory.
Offensively, ASU pounded an LSU pitching staff that brought a minuscule 1.17 ERA and .179 opponents' batting average into the series finale. The Mountaineers banged out 14 hits and scored in seven different innings during the 11-run outburst. The Mountaineers got the only runs they would need with single tallies in the first and second innings then added two more in the third and one in the fourth to jump out to a commanding 5-0 lead. The Apps then poured it on late, scoring two runs in each of the final three frames to cap the offensive explosion. LSU sophomore starter Kurt McCune (1-1) lasted just three innings and surrendered four runs (three earned) on seven hits in the shortest outing of his career.
Designated hitter Daniel Kassouf (Lexington, N.C./North Davidson) put an exclamation mark on his terrific weekend by leading ASU with three hits, including a double. Will Callaway (Greenville, S.C./Eastside) and Tyler Zupcic (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) drove in three runs apiece and Callaway, Zupcic, Hector Crespo (Miami, Fla./Florida Christian), Tyler Tewell (Charlotte, N.C./Butler) and Trey Holmes (Rockwell, N.C./East Rowan) rounded out six Mountaineers with multiple hits.
Appalachian closes a season-opening seven-game road stint on Tuesday with a 3 p.m. contest at North Carolina A&T. ASU opens the home portion of its schedule next weekend with a three-game series versus Rider and Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
UNCG 6, Penn State 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Four UNCG pitchers combined to pitch a two-hit shutout and Trevor Edwards hit a three-run home run to propel the Spartans past Penn State, 6-0, in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
The win moved UNCG's record to 7-0, which marks the best start by a Spartan team since the 2003 team began the year 12-0.
Max Povse (1-0) got the win for UNCG (7-0) after going six innings and striking out five batters, while giving up just two hits and no walks. Brennen James, Tyler Frazier and Adam Boghosian each pitched a hitless inning of relief and James and Frazier each struck out two.
It appeared as if Penn State (1-5) would get on the board first as they threatened in the top of the first inning. With one out, Luis Montesinos reached on an error and then moved over to third on a single by Jordan Steranka to put runners on the corners. Povse would settle down and get the next two batters to strike out to end the threat.
The Spartans would finally get on the board in the bottom of the third. Nick Chapman led off with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Bobby Martin. Christian Wolfe then singled through the right side of the infield to score Chapman and put UNCG ahead, 1-0.
UNCG wasn't done in the inning as Thomas Troelstrup followed with a single to the hole in the left side of the infield. Edwards then stepped up to the plate and took a 1-1 pitch over the wall in right center to make it 4-0.
Steranke led off the fourth inning for Penn State with a single to right field, but that was the last base runner the Nittany Lions would have the rest of the game as the Spartans retired the final 18 batters in order.
UNCG took advantage of a Penn State error in the fifth inning to tack on the final two runs of the afternoon. Troelstrup led off by reaching on an error and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Edwards.
Troelstrup then scored when Lloyd Enzor doubled off the left-field wall to push the Spartan lead to 5-0. After a fly out, Eric Kalbfleisch singled to left center to score Enzor and make the final score 6-0.
The Spartans will return to action on Friday as they host Radford for a three-game series.
The Citadel 3, Delaware 2
Charleston, S.C. - Logan Cribb tossed six scoreless innings with five strikeouts to lead The Citadel to a 3-2 victory over visiting Delaware Sunday afternoon at Riley Park. The Bulldogs won the final two games of the four-game series and take a 3-4 record into another four-game set with Columbia starting Thursday at 5:00 p.m.
The Bulldogs jumped on the scoreboard with a single run in the third for a 1-0 lead. With two outs, Joe Jackson doubled to center and advanced to third on a wild pitch during ball four to Nick Orvin, putting runners at the corners. Delaware starter Chad Kuhl balked on a 2-1 pitch to Justin Mackert to bring in Jackson for the 1-0 Bulldog lead.
The Citadel added a pair of runs in the fifth to extend its lead to 3-0. Mason Davis lined a one-out single through the right side and advanced to second on a wild pitch by Kuhl. One batter later, Orvin laced a RBI single to left center and Mackert followed with a RBI double that painted the left-field line, scoring Orvin from first.
Delaware got back into the game with a pair of runs in the eighth, but the Bulldogs held on for the win. With Ryan Hines on in relief of Cribb and two away, Hines walked Nick Ferdinand and Alex Maruri singled to right to put runners at first and second. Zach Sherrill replaced Hines on the mound and promptly threw a wild pitch on his first delivery, moving the runners up 90 feet. Tyler Powell stroked a two-run double down the right-field line on a 2-0 pitch to cut the Bulldogs' lead to one. Sherrill settled down to get the final out of the inning and TJ Clarkson tossed a perfect ninth for his first save of the season.
Jackson had a pair of hits to lead the Bulldogs, who recorded four doubles on eight hits of the Blue Hens' staff. Cribb scattered four hits and walked three on the way to his first win of the season.
Kuhl took the loss for Delaware, allowing three runs on six hits in 4-2/3 innings. Powell collected three hits for the Blue Hens. Both teams left seven runners on base each.
Davidson 7, Farleigh Dickinson 3
DAVIDSON, N.C. - A three-run fourth inning capped by a two-out, two-run home run by senior designated hitter Jake Berman powered Davidson to a 7-3 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson in non-conference baseball action Sunday afternoon at Wilson Field.
Fairleigh Dickinson (1-2) had 11 hits to the Wildcats' six, but Davidson's (3-2) pitchers were able to work out of trouble and strand 16 Knights on the bases. The ‘Cats' bullpen extended its scoreless streak, which began in the second game of the season against LaSalle, to 12 innings.
With Fairleigh Dickinson holding a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. RHP Mike Eliasen (0-1) retired the first two batters he faced, but surrendered hits to the next three. Senior second baseman James Cerbie (2-for-4, 2 RBI) reached base on a single up the middle, stole second base to move into scoring position, and junior shortstop Michael Zeblo drove him home with a double down the right field line. Berman then sent a 3-0 pitch over the left field fence to score Zeblo and put the Wildcats up 4-3.
Sophomore catcher Daniel Gerow (1-for-3) drove in senior first baseman Matt Ray (0-for-2) from second with a double to left field in the seventh inning, and Cerbie hit a double to left field to score senior centerfielder Drew Gadaire (1-for-3) and sophomore left fielder Forrest Brandt (0-for-2, RBI) in the eighth inning for the final 7-3 advantage. Sophomore starter RHP Danny Mooney (1-0), freshman LHP Henry Sisson and Zeblo, who moved from shortstop to the mound in the ninth, held the Knights scoreless over the last five innings.
The lone earned run Mooney surrendered came on a bases-loaded, RBI-single with one out in the first inning by designated hitter Pat McClure, but Mooney settled in and retired the next two batters to limit the damage.
A sacrifice fly by Brandt in the bottom half of the inning tied the game at 1-1 until the Knights went ahead again in the top of the fourth inning with a pair of unearned runs.
A fielding error and a throwing error allowed two Fairleigh Dickinson runners to reach base with no outs, and after retiring the next two batters, Mooney surrendered an RBI-single to left fielder Jordan Ritz (1-for-6). With runners on the corners, Mooney tried to pick off Ritz, and Ritz got caught in a run-down, but he reached second base safely as the ‘Cats tried to throw catcher JT Sherba (1-for-2) out as he stole home from third.
Sherba beat the throw and scored to give FDU a 3-1 lead, and the Knights had an opportunity to add more in the inning as Mooney surrendered a walk and a single to load the bases. Mooney battled back though and induced an inning-ending fly out to end the inning.
He pitched through the fifth inning, surrendering three runs (one earned) on seven hits and three walks while striking out two. Sisson pitched the next three innings and allowed just three hits and a walk with one strikeout. Zeblo pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
Eliasen went six innings for FDU, allowing four runs on four hits and two walks with eight strikeouts. Third baseman Ryan Kresky (3-for-3), shortstop Brett Bittiger (2-for-5) and right fielder Shane Siebler (2-for-5) all had stellar days at the plate for the Knights, but none of them were able to score a run or drive a run in.
Davidson will return to action Wednesday at 6 p.m., hosting Charleston Southern at Wilson Field.
Samford 8, South Alabama 7
MOBILE, Ala.-The Samford baseball team earned an 8-7 win over the South Alabama Jaguars Sunday afternoon at USA's Stanky Field. With the win, Samford takes the series over South Alabama, two games to one.
With the win, Samford improves to 6-2. South Alabama falls to 2-5 with the loss.
Samford was led in the game by Brad Moss with a three-run home run and four RBI in a 1-for-4 performance. Brandon Miller drove in three runs, going 1-for-3 with a double. Phillip Ervin went 2-for-4 for the Bulldogs.
Josh Martin (2-0) pitched 5.0 innings, giving up six runs, five earned, on seven hits to earn the win. Martin struck out eight batters and allowed three walks. Taylor Hammond got the final out of the game to earn his first save of the season. Samford used seven pitchers in the game.
For South Alabama, Nolan Earley went 3-for-5 with an RBI. Jordan Patterson went 2-for-4, while Kevin Knapp drove in two runs in a 1-for-4 performance at the plate. Dillon Buhrkuhl (0-2) pitched 3.0 innings, giving up seven runs on six hits to take the loss for the Jaguars.
Samford jumped on top first with a run in the top of the first inning to take an early 1-0 lead. Zeth Stone walked to lead off the inning, and then moved to second base on a single by Ervin and third base on a ground out by Saxon Butler. Miller then hit a sacrifice fly to left field to drive in Stone for the game's first run.
South Alabama came back to take the lead with two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Earley doubled and Nick Zaharion walked, and both runners later scored on a wild pitch to give the Jaguars a 2-1 lead.
The Bulldogs tied the game with a run in the top of the second inning. Christiaan Durdaller led the inning off with a double, and then moved to third base on a sacrifice bunt by Tommy Corbin. Durdaller then scored when Moss grounded out to second base to make the score 2-2.
Samford took control of the game with five runs in the top of the third inning. Ervin reached base on an infield single to lead off the inning. Butler then doubled to right-center field and Ervin moved to third base. A wild pitch brought Ervin home for the first run of the inning, while Butler advanced to third base.
Miller then hit another sacrifice fly to drive in Butler for a 4-2 Samford lead. With one out in the inning, Durdaller walked and Corbin singled to right field. Moss then homered to left field, his first of the season, to give Samford a 7-2 lead.
The Jaguars came back with two runs in the third inning and another in the fourth to cut the Samford lead to 7-5. Brent Mitchell and Knapp drove in a run each in the third inning. In the fourth inning, after Taylor Nichols reached base on an error, Earley doubled to drive in Nichols to bring the Jaguars to within two runs.
Each team plated a run in the sixth inning to make the score 8-6. In the top of the inning, Stone singled to lead off the inning. Stone later scored on a double by Miller. South Alabama's sixth-inning run was scored by Earley when Zaharion reached base on a Samford error.
The Jaguars plated a run in the bottom of the ninth to cut the lead to 8-7, but Samford was able to hold on for the one-run win.
Brad Hook and Patterson both walked to start the inning. Drew Cofield then singled to load the bases with no outs. Knapp then singled to right-center field to drive in Hook to cut the Samford lead to one run. Michael Gunter then came into the game for Samford and struck out Hunt Griffith and Nichols. Hammond then relieved Gunter and got Earley to ground out to shortstop to end the game.
Samford will next be in action on Tuesday, when the Bulldogs play at Troy. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start from Riddle-Pace Field.
#29 College of Charleston 4, Xavier 1
CHARLESTON, S.C. - No. 29 College of Charleston won the final game of the Cougar Invitational, 4-1, over Xavier after a strong pitching outing from junior Matt Pegler.
The Cougars finished the Cougar Invitational with a 2-1 record after wins over UConn and Xavier. College of Charleston is now 5-1 on the season, while Xavier fell to 1-5.
Pegler (2-0) did not allow a hit until the seventh inning and finished with 7.0 innings pitched, one hit, no runs and five strikeouts to earn his second victory in his second start. Junior Dre Watts and senior Nick Osterman each pitched an inning of relief, respectively, to preserve the victory.
"I was really pleased that we were able to close out the weekend with a win over Xavier," said head coach Monte Lee. "We had an outstanding performance from Matt Pegler who gave up just one hit in seven innings. We had a number of two-out RBIs to get some insurance runs late. I was definitely pleased with our performance all weekend."
Senior Marty Gantt led the way offensively with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate as he scored three runs and notched an RBI. Sophomore Daniel Aldrich and junior Cody Martin also tallied two hits and one RBI apiece.
The Cougars got on the board first in the bottom of the fourth inning after Gantt led off with a double. After advancing to third on a wild pitch, Gantt scored on a single to right field from Martin, his fourth RBI of the season.
Gantt's second run came in the sixth inning after he reached on a leadoff walk, stole second base and advanced to third on a balk. A walk from Aldrich and a hit by pitch on junior Tyler Jackson loaded the bases and Watts earned his first RBI of the season with a sacrifice fly to left.
The third run from Gantt came in the seventh inning after he hit a two-out single to score senior Rob Harding. Aldrich then tripled in Gantt in the next at-bat to make the score 4-0. The triple was the second for Aldrich in the weekend.
Xavier put one run on the board in the ninth inning after a walk from Tres Eberhardt and an RBI hit from Vinny Nittoli. The Musketeers' Tyler Koors lasted five innings as he gave up two runs and took the loss.
College of Charleston will hit the road on Tuesday for a non-conference game at Jacksonville. Game time is slated for 4 p.m.
#2 South Carolina 6, Elon 0
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- LB Dantzler homered and drove in three runs as the second-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks defeated the visiting Elon Phoenix 6-0 on Sunday afternoon. The loss dropped Elon to 4-3 on the season while South Carolina moved to 6-0.
After a one-out walk and a single in the bottom of the first, Dantzler delivered the big blast when his fly ball to left-center was carried into the Phoenix bullpen by the wind.
Tanner English's two-run triple in the second pushed the South Carolina lead to 5-0 before an Evan Marzilli single in the fourth scored the final run of the game.
The Elon bullpen continued to shine as Spencer Medick, Andrew MacDonald and Jordan Darnell combined to strike out six hitters and allow one run in six innings of work.
David Whitehead (0-1) took the loss after allowing five runs on four hits in two innings.
The Phoenix offense recorded just three hits - two from Ryan Kinsella and another off the bat of Niko Fraser.
South Carolina's Colby Holmes moved to 2-0 as he scattered three hits and fanned six in 5.2 innings.
Elon will be back in action on Wednesday afternoon with a 4 p.m. game at Triad rival High Point.
Pittsburgh 8, Wofford 4
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - In the final contest of a three-game series, the Wofford baseball team was defeated 8-4 by Pittsburgh at Russell C. King Field on Sunday afternoon. The Panthers took advantage of nine walks and three Wofford errors in the game to take the series 2-1.
Wofford is 3-3 and Pittsburgh is 3-4. The Terriers were led by Mac Doyle, Konstantine Diamaduros, and David Roney with two hits each, while Josh Hyman had two RBIs. The Panthers were led by Casey Roche with two hits and two RBIs.
Through the first four innings, each team had three hits and four runners left on base. David Roney had two hits and Konstantine Diamaduros had one for the Terriers.
In the bottom of the fifth, Stephen Cantrell led off with a walk and Clark Wise singled. A triple with one out by Josh Hyman to right center game Wofford a 2-0 lead. A single byMac Doyle scored Hyman. Doyle moved to third on a throwing error and came home on a wild pitch to take a 4-0 lead. Konstantine Diamaduros doubled and David Roney walked, but both were left on base.
Pittsburgh led off the sixth with back-to-back doubles to score one run. A hit by pitch and walk loaded the bases for the Panthers. Two walks scored runs to cut the lead to 4-3 and an error added a run to tie the game at four with one out and the bases still loaded. A sacrifice fly by Stephen Vranka and a single by Anthony Defabio gave the Panthers a 6-4 lead.
The Terriers left two on base in the bottom of the sixth and the Panthers left two on base in the top of the seventh. Pittsburgh loaded the bases in the top of the eighth and one run scored on a wild pitch for a 7-4 score. A bases loaded walk added another run to make it 8-4 in the middle of the eighth.
In the top of the ninth, the Panthers left two on base. Wofford had Josh Hyman reach on a walk and Mac Doyle singled, however both runners were stranded to end the game at 8-4.
Wofford starter Jesse Morris (0-1) went five innings and allowed four runs on five hits. Anthony Rowland went a third of an inning and allowed two runs with a strikeout. Ryan Traylor added a third of an inning and allowed one hit. Dominick Del Monte faced one batter and recorded an out. Pete Noordsy worked 1.2 innings and allowed two runs on two hits with a strikeout. Alex Wilson walked two batters. Eric Eck closed the game with 1.1 innings on the mound and he allowed only one hit with a strikeout.
Pittsburgh starter Matt Wotherspoon (1-0) went seven innings and allowed four runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts. Luke Novosel threw the final two innings and allowed only one hit with three strikeouts.
The Terriers will travel to Presbyterian College on Wednesday, February 29 for a 2:00 p.m. game before returning home next weekend against Albany, Air Force and Valparaiso.
Radford 5, #30 Georgia Southern 4
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Baseball team was unable to come from behind for a third straight time and fell 5-4 to the Radford Highlanders. The Eagles, who had won the previous two games in the series, dropped just their second contest of the year in the conclusion of the three-game series at J.I. Clements Stadium Sunday.
Radford (2-5) got ahead early, as they have done in all but one game this year, and picked up their second win against a Southern Conference team behind a seven-inning outing from Keith Fritz (1-1). The Highlanders took advantage of four walks from Georgia Southern starter Kyle Rowe (Valdosta, Ga.) (1-1) and converted three to runs in the first four innings.
The Eagles got a run on the board in the fourth inning on a walk of Eric Phillips (Carrollton, Ga.) and a ground out by Chase Griffin (Leesburg, Ga.) and would score again in the seventh. GSU went to the ninth trailing 5-4 after a two-run homer from T.D. Davis (Evans, Ga.) in the eighth inning, but a run by Radford in the top half of the inning proved to be decisive. A walk of Matt Hillsinger, who finished the series with seven hits in 11 at-bats, came around to score on a base hit up the middle from Ryan Burgess.
Fritz provided a lift to the Highlanders' pitching staff, who suffered back-to-back blown saves in the doubleheader on Saturday, and gave up just two runs on five hits. The bullpen was shaky at times, but never surrendered the lead in the third one-run game of the series. Jeff Maxwell (S, 1), who allowed a two-out double to Phillips, stranded two runners in the ninth inning to earn his first save of the season.
Justin Hess (Panama City, Fla.) helped save the Eagles' bullpen, who had already used seven pitchers in the series, with four strong innings in relief of Rowe. Hess held Radford to just one hit, struck out three and walked one. His one walk came around to score, the only run he allowed in 58 pitches.
Georgia Southern did out hit Radford for the first time in the series but left 10 runners stranded on the bases. Davis, who had just one hit in eight at-bats in the previous two games, went three-for-four in the contest and notched his first Georgia Southern homer off the batters' eye in center field. Stryker Brown (Dalton, Ga.) also had multiple hits on the day and picked up singles in his two at-bats after pinch hitting in the seventh inning.
Georgia Southern returns to Clements Stadium Tuesday for a 6 p.m. contest against Mercer. The contest is the first of five the Eagles will play next week.
All 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.
Purdue 14, Western Carolina 7
Greenville, N.C. - Western Carolina erased a five-run deficit with seven runs between the fourth and sixth innings on Sunday afternoon, but a seven-spot in the home half of the sixth propelled Purdue to a 14-7 win over the Catamounts in both squad's finale at the Ninth-Annual Keith LeClair Classic at East Carolina's Clark-LeClair Stadium.
WCU (4-3) fell behind by five runs after two innings as the Boilermakers got a solo run in the bottom of the first on back-to-back hits including an RBI double and four in the bottom of the second frame, chasing starting pitcher Jeremy Null. The Catamounts rallied, though, with three runs in the third and a four in the top of the sixth to knot the game at seven entering the bottom of the sixth.
Purdue, however, rapped out six base hits and capitalized on three walks and a hit batsman to push seven runs across in the bottom of the inning to take the 14-7 win.
Sophomore Aaron Attaway and freshman Jacob Hoyle both finished with three hits apiece to account for the bulk of the Catamount offense on Sunday afternoon. Hoyle drove in three with Attaway adding an RBI. Sophomore Adam Martin ignited WCU's sixth-run rally with a solo home run, his second of the season, finishing 1-for-3 with two RBI.
Trailing 5-0 entering the top of the fourth inning, Western Carolina got its first hit of the game as Attaway singled up the middle to start a three-run rally. Ross Heffley drew a five-pitch walk before Hoyle drove in the Catamounts' first run on an RBI single to right center. Tyler White then delivered a RBI single up the middle to plate the second run with Martin's sacrifice fly to left capping the Catamount scoring and closing the margin to two, 5-3.
Purdue (5-1) added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to stretch its lead back to four, 7-3.
In the top of the sixth, Martin sparked a four-run rally by driving a 2-0 pitch over the fence in left center to pull the Catamounts back within three, 7-4. Freshman Bradley Strong reached on a one-out error on a bunt attempt with Bryant Noteboom drawing a walk to put two aboard. Attaway then laced a two-out single up the middle to score Strong. Following a walk to Heffley to put two on again, Hoyle delivered a full-count single to center to score two and tie the game at seven.
The deadlock was short-lived, though, as Purdue used three-consecutive singles to load the bases in the bottom of the frame with a hit batsman driving in the go-ahead run. The Boilermakers tallied seven runs in all in the sixth to score the win over WCU as the Catamounts only managed three base runners in the seventh through ninth innings.
Junior transfer reliever Jon Nadale (0-1) was saddled with the loss, tossing two and a third innings out of the bullpen. He surrendered two earned runs on five hits with a pair of strikeouts in relief of Null who was chased after an inning and two thirds, allowing five runs on six hits with one strikeout. All told, the Catamounts used nine pitchers in the loss, striking out eight combined including two apiece for relievers Darron Dotson and William Frazier.
Reliever Brett Andrezjewski (1-0) picked up the victory after tossing a third of an inning in the top of the sixth inning. The Boilermakers had five players record multiple-hit games led by centerfielder Tyler Spillner who finished 4-for-4 with four runs and two RBI on the day. Eric Charles and Kevin Plawecki both had three hits and three RBI while Cameron Perkins also drove in three runs.
Western Carolina returns to the diamond on Wednesday as it travels to Athens, Ga., to face the Univ. of Georgia Bulldogs in the road portion a home-and-home. First pitch is scheduled for 5:00 pm.