Elon 10, #29 Appalachian State 8
ELON, N.C. -- The Elon Phoenix snapped a four-game skid while battling the weather and its opponent as the maroon and gold claimed a 10-8 Southern Conference baseball victory over the 29th-ranked Appalachian State Mountaineers on Friday night at Latham Park. The Phoenix has now won the last nine in this series.
After falling behind 3-0 after three Appalachian State (17-4, 6-1 SoCon) at bats, Elon (13-10, 7-3) pushed across its first run in the last of the third when Jake Luce doubled home Chris Bresnahan.
With the score still sitting a 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth, the Phoenix rallied. Niko Fraser led things off with a double down the right field line and, after a ground out, scored on a wild pitch. Garrett Koster followed with a single and took second on a wild pitch before scoring on Ryan Kinsella's single to left. After that. lightning flashed and a 47 minute delay ensued. When play resumed with Kinsella on second Casey Jones delivered a two-out single that scored Kinsella as Elon moved in front, 4-3.
The lead was short-lived though as Daniel Kassouf belted his ninth homer of the year on the first pitch of the sixth inning.
Elon fought back in the last of the sixth, taking the lead for good on a two-RBI single by Alex Swim who extended his hitting streak to 16 games with his 2-for-3 night.
The Phoenix made it 9-4 with a three-run seventh only to see the Mountaineers answer with a three-run eighth. Elon tacked on its 10th run on ASU's third error of the night in the eighth before seeing its opponent score once in the ninth.
Andrew MacDonald (3-1) was the winning pitcher as he allowed three runs on three hits in 2.2 innings out of the pen. Nate Young earned his fourth save of the season. Elon starter Dylan Clark gave up four runs on seven hits while fanning five in five innings.
Will Helms (0-1) took the first loss of his career. He had been 11-0 before he was charged with two runs (one earned) on two hits in just a third of an inning.
Fraser had three of Elon's 11 hits.
Kassouf finished the night 5-for-5 with two runs and three RBI.
The two teams will play game two of this series at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Elon's Latham Park.
College of Charleston 16, Davidson 3
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - College of Charleston exploded for a season-best 16 runs on 17 hits to take a 16-3 win over Davidson on Friday night.
Six different players tallied multiple hits for the Cougars (16-6, 8-2) who won their seventh-straight SoCon contest. Davidson (8-11, 2-5) committed five errors and managed only six hits in the loss.
Brandon Murray led the way with a 3-for-5 performance with a two-run home run and five RBIs and three runs. Murray leads the team with five home runs this season as he became the third player to notch five or more RBIs in a single game this season.
Dre Watts scored four runs on a 2-for-3 day at the plate, while Gunnar Heidt went 2-of-4 with two RBIs. Marty Gantt logged three hits and Jimmy Holton hit a two-RBI single.
On the mound, Josh Renfro (4-1) continued with another outstanding performance, tying his career high with 11 strikeouts which he set last week. Renfro allowed just two runs and six hits in 7.2 innings without walking a single batter. In his last two starts, he has struck out 22 and allowed just three runs in 16.2 innings.
Brian Russell (1-3) picked up the loss for Davidson, allowing six earned runs in four innings. David Daniels went 1-3 with an RBI for the Wildcats.
The Cougars jumped on the Wildcats early in the first inning, as the first four batters all reached safely. Rob Harding earned an RBI on a sacrifice fly and Gantt scored on a stolen base and throwing error by the Davidson catcher. Murray picked up an RBI by scoring Watts on a ground ball to the shortstop.
Murray picked up his two-run home run in the third inning, and picked up another RBI with a single in the fourth inning. The Cougars led 8-0 after the fourth frame.
Holton tallied his two RBIs in the sixth inning and an error allowed a third run to score.
The Cougars scored five runs on five hits along with two errors in the seventh inning, including a two-RBI single from Heidt. The Cougars led 16-1 after the seventh frame, and Davidson picked up two runs in the eighth and ninth inning.
Blake Ross made his season debut on the mound, pitching 1.1 IP with an unearned run allowed and one strikeout.
The Cougars will continue the series with a 3 p.m. scheduled game against Davidson tomorrow afternoon.
Samford 5, Wofford 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - On Friday night, the Wofford baseball team was defeated 5-0 by Samford at Russell C. King Field. After the start of the game was delayed by over an hour due to rain, Bulldog pitcher Kyle Putkonen held the Terriers without a hit until the eighth inning.
Wofford is 9-13 overall and 0-4 in conference play. Samford is 14-8 overall and 5-2 in the SoCon. The Terriers were led by Mac Doyle and James Plaisted with hits. Brandon Yarusi sent seven innings with nine strikeouts on the mound. The Bulldogs had three hits each from Zeth Stone and Brad Moss, while Moss also had two RBIs.
The Bulldogs had two hits in the top of the first inning, but both runners were stranded. In the top of the third, Samford had two runners on base after a walk and a bunt single. A double by Brad Moss scored both runners for a 2-0 lead.
In the top of the fourth, the Bulldogs added a run on a solo homer by Kevin Putkonen for a 3-0 advantage. Wofford left one runner on base in the bottom of the fourth, as Mac Doyle reached on a walk.
Samford added a run in the top of the eighth on a double by Phillip Ervin. A single by C.K. Irby scored Ervin from second to take a 5-0 lead. The Bulldogs left two on base to end their half of the eighth.
The Terriers got their first hit of the night in the bottom of the eighth on a single up the middle by James Plaisted, but Wofford left two runners on base. In the top of the ninth, the Bulldogs stranded two runners. The Terriers added a hit in the bottom of the ninth, but left two on base at the end of the game.
Wofford starter Brandon Yarusi (2-2) went seven innings and allowed three runs on five hits. He tied a career-high with nine strikeouts and only issued two walks. Pete Noordsy worked an inning and gave up two runs on three hits with one strikeout. Ryan Traylor struck out the one batter he faced. Dominick Del Monte allowed one hit in a third of an inning. Connell Anderson picked up the final out for Wofford.
Samford starter Kyle Putkonen (1-3) went 7.1 innings before allowing a hit. On the night he struck out four and walked three. Arthur Strauss threw two-thirds of an inning without allowing a hit. Gil Walker went the ninth and allowed one hit with a strikeout.
Wofford will continue the three-game series with Samford on Saturday afternoon at Russell C. King Field at 3:00 p.m., with the final game on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
Suspended Game: Georgia Southern 3, Furman 2 (6 inn.)
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Furman's Friday evening Southern Conference series opening baseball game against Georgia Southern has been suspended after six innings due to heavy rain and will be resumed at noon Saturday with the Eagles leading 3-2.
The game was delayed at 7:49 p.m. and suspended at 8:35 p.m.
After the completion of Friday's suspended contests, the two teams will play a single game beginning approximately 30 minutes later. Sunday's series finale is set to begin at 1:00 p.m.
The pitchers of record are the starters, Chris Beck of Georgia Southern and Bobby Lyne of Furman.
Beck allowed two runs on seven hits through six innings. He fanned eight. Lyne, meanwhile, surrendered three runs on seven hits and struck out five.
Minnesota 2, The Citadel 1
Minneapolis, Minn. - David Bettenburg knocked a sacrifice fly with one out in the bottom of the ninth to score Kurt Schlangen, capping a two-run final frame and giving host Minnesota a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over The Citadel Friday evening at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. The two teams will meet in game two of the series Saturday afternoon at 3:05 p.m. EST.
Heading to the bottom of the ninth with a 1-0 lead, Dan Olinger was hit with a 2-0 pitch by Bulldog freshman reliever Kevin Connell. After a fly out to left by Bobby Juan, Olinger reached second on a throwing error by Joe Jackson on an attempted steal and as the ball rolled to the Minnesota dugout, Olinger took third. Schlangen drew a walk from Connell to put runners at the corners with one away.
Schlangen stole second and with Bettenburg at the plate, Connell was called for a balk as Olinger faked a run towards home. The balk brought home Olinger with the tying run and Bettenburg lifted a 2-2 pitch from Connell to deep right, but Hughston Armstrong's throw was not in time as the Gophers' pulled off the improbable victory.
The Bulldogs (9-12) scored their run in the top of the sixth on a RBI single by Nick Orvin. With one out, Mason Davis and Joe Jackson recorded back-to-back singles and Orvin lined a 2-2 pitch from Minnesota starter TJ Oakes into left to score Davis from second.
Drew Ghelfi picked up the win for Minnesota (10-13), tossing the top of the ninth and allowing just one walk. Oakes scattered five hits over eight innings for the Gophers, striking out six and walking two. Troy Larson recorded two hits for Minnesota.
Austin Pritcher was outstanding in his start for The Citadel, allowing only five hits and two walks in seven innings with five strikeouts. TJ Clarkson pitched a perfect eighth for the Bulldogs and Connell dropped to 0-2 on the season with the loss. Davis had a pair of hits on the evening to lead the offense.
Rain Postpones WCU-UNCG Series Opener on Friday
Teams will play Saturday double-header beginning at Noon
Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina's opening game of its three-game Southern Conference series against UNCG has been postponed due to inclement weather across Western North Carolina. Rain moved into the area on Friday morning and forecasts are for it to continue through the late afternoon hours and into the evening prompting officials to shift the schedule.
The Catamounts and Spartans will open the series with a double-header scheduled for Saturday at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium at the regular scheduled start time of Noon. Game two will follow approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the opener, with the series slated to conclude with a single game on Sunday afternoon with first pitch at 1:00 pm.
Fans can follow all three games of the series with live GameTracker, with Sunday's finale available through Catamount All-Access (subscription required) with live streaming audio and video.
Be sure to check back online at CatamountSports.com for any additional weather-related schedule changes throughout the remainder of the weekend.