#29 Appalachian State 5, Elon 0

ELON, N.C. -- Seth Grant threw the second complete game of his career as he helped the visiting Appalachian State Mountaineers to a 5-0 victory over the Elon Phoenix to even a three-game Southern Conference baseball series at a game apiece.

The game was scoreless into the fifth inning when Noah Holmes drew a one-out walk. With two down and a runner on second, Trey Holmes singled to center to drive in the first run of the contest for the Mountaineers (18-4, 7-1).

Elon (13-11, 7-4) had a prime opportunity to tie the game in the last of the sixth after #Jake Luce# tripled to center with one out, but Grant retired the next two hitters and kept the Phoenix off the board.

Daniel Kassouf homered to lead off the eighth to make it a 2-0 game before ASU tallied three runs in the ninth inning to provide itself a cushion.

For the Phoenix, Alex Swim singled with two outs in the ninth inning to keep his hitting streak alive. Swim has now hit in 17 consecutive outings. Sebastian Gomez also had two hits.

Grant (4-1) scattered just five hits and walked only one to pick up the win.

Spencer Medick (0-1) had a solid outing for the Phoenix, but suffered the loss after he was charged with two runs on eight hits in 7.1 innings. He struck out six.

Tyler Tewell and Hector Crespo both had two hits for ASU.

The rubber match of this series is set for a 1:30 p.m. start at Latham Park on Sunday.

 

Samford 11, Wofford 10

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - In the second game of the weekend Southern Conference series, Wofford was defeated 11-10 by Samford at Russell C. King Field. Despite falling behind 8-2 after two innings, the Terriers rallied to pull within one run in the eighth inning and had the tying run on base in the bottom of the ninth.

Wofford is 9-14 overall and 0-5 in conference play. Samford is 15-8 overall and 6-2 in the SoCon. The Terriers were led by James Plaisted with three hits, while Konstantine Diamaduros, Luke Feisal, and Eric Brenk each had two RBIs. The Bulldogs were led by Phillip Ervin with three hits and five RBIs on the day.

The Bulldogs loaded the bases in the top of the first on a walk and two errors. Another walk plated the first run of the day for Samford. After a second bases loaded walk, C.K. Irby hit a double down the left field line that cleared the bases for a 5-0 lead.

Wofford answered in the bottom of the first when James Foster led off with a single and then Konstantine Diamaduros sent a ball over the left center fence to make it a 5-2 game. The Terriers left two on base to end the first inning.

In the top of the second, Samford loaded the bases on two walks and a single. A single up the middle by Phillip Ervin scored one run. A wild pitch allowed another run to score and then a sacrifice fly by Tommy Corbin made it an 8-2 contest.

The Terriers began the bottom of the third with back-to-back doubles by Mac Doyle and Josh Hyman to make it an 8-3 game. A sacrifice bunt by Eric Brenk scored Hyman from third to cut the lead to 8-4 at the end of three innings.

After a scoreless fourth inning, the Terriers loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth. A sacrifice fly by Eric Brenk scored a run and a single by Matt Moore drove in a second run to make it an 8-6 score. A hard hit single to the shortstop by Matthew Kaskow scored David Roney from second base to make it a one-run game at 8-7.

Samford responded in the top of the sixth with a single and a double, which was followed by a home run by Phillip Ervin to increase the lead to 11-7. The Bulldogs loaded the bases in the top of the seventh, but left all three runners on base. Wofford added two hits in the bottom of the seventh, but both were stranded.

In the bottom of the eighth, Josh Hyman walked and James Plaisted singled up the middle. With two outs, a double to center field by Luke Feisal scored both runners for an 11-9 score. Eric Brenk reached on a single and advanced on a throwing error that allowed Feisal to come home from second and it was a one-run game at 11-10.

The Bulldogs were retired in order in the top of the ninth. Wofford led off the bottom of the ninth with a walk by Matthew Kaskow. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by James Foster, but was stranded after the final out.

Wofford starter Cash Collins lasted only one and a third innings and allowed eight runs on three hits, with six of the runs earned. Connell Anderson went 3.2 innings and recorded the first three strikeouts of his career while not allowing a run on three hits. Alex Wilson threw the final four innings and allowed three runs on five hits with five strikeouts.

Samford starter Charles Basford worked four innings and allowed six runs on seven hits with three strikeouts. Andres Gracia threw a third of an inning and gave up one run on three hits. Joseph Burns (1-0) worked three innings and gave up two hits with three strikeouts. Tyler Vanderheiden went a third of an inning and allowed three runs on two hits. C.K. Kirby earned his fourth save of the season by going 1.1 innings and allowing only one hit with two strikeouts.

James Foster tied the school record for singles with a hit to lead off the game with his 183rd single. The home run for Konstantine Diamaduros was his third this season.

Wofford will complete the three-game series with Samford on Sunday afternoon at Russell C. King Field at 1:00 p.m. On Wednesday night, the Terriers will host UNC Asheville at 6:00 p.m.

 

Furman 6, Georgia Southern 2

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Nate Smith pitched 7 2/3 innings of solid ball, retiring 17 batters in a row in one stretch, to lead Furman to a 6-2 victory over Georgia Southern in Southern Conference baseball action Saturday afternoon at Latham Stadium.

The victory helped Furman (12-12, 2-6 SoCon) even the series with Georgia Southern (11-12, 3-5 SoCon), who earlier clipped the Paladins, 7-3, in 10 innings in the completion of Friday's suspended game.

Smith limited the Eagles to only two hits over the first seven frames and retired 17 consecutive batters from the second to the seventh before yielding four consecutive hits to start the eighth.

Casey Kicklighter's two-run home run to left field cut Furman's lead to 5-2. After surrendering a pair of singles, the Paladin junior left-hander rallied to get the next to Eagles before walking Eric Phillips to load the bases. At that point head coach Ron Smith brought on Elliott Warford, who ended the threat by striking out T.D. Davis with the bases loaded.

Will Miller's solo home run, part of a 4-for-4, 3-run performance that also included two stolen bases, in the Paladin eighth extended Furman's advantage to 6-2.

In the ninth Warford surrendered a leadoff walk before recording back-to-back strikeouts and a fly ball to end the game and notch his sixth save.

Smith (2-3) ended up yielding two runs on six hits and a one walk. He struck out six.

The loss was charged to Georgia Southern starter Josh Stevenson (0-2), who worked 3 2/3 innings, allowing three runs, only one of which was earned, on six hits.

Miller's four-hit performance headlined Furman's 12-hit attack. Taylor Johnson went 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and scored twice.

The Paladins took a 1-0 lead in the first on a Miller RBI single that scored Johnson, who doubled with two outs.

Furman stretched its lead to 3-0 in the third, combining a pair of hits with two Georgia Southern errors to push across a pair of runs.

In the fifth the Paladins tacked on two more runs via a wild pitch and a two-out, RBI single to left field by Zach Greenwell that scored Paul Nitto.

Sunday's series finale is set for 1:00 p.m.

 

Georgia Southern 7, Furman 3 (10 inn.; completion of suspended game)

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Stryker Brown's two-run bases loaded double in the top of the 10th inning broke a 3-3 tie and helped power Georgia Southern to an eventual 7-3 victory over Furman in the completion of Friday's suspended Southern Conference series opener at Latham Stadium.

Brown's double down the right-field line off Paladin reliever Elliott Warford scored Eric Phillips and Scooter Williams to make it a 5-3 game. Two batters later Chase Griffin delivered a two-run single to left center field to push the Eagles' lead to 7-3.

Georgia Southern reliever Kyle Rowe (3-1), who entered the game in the eighth, allowed a two-out single and a walk in the Furman 10th before getting a fly out to end the game and notch the victory. He allowed a run on four hits, walked three, and struck out one.

Furman, which trailed 3-2 when the game was resumed after seven innings, tied it in the eighth on Paul Nitto's two-run single through the right side that plated Alex Abrams.

The Paladins, however, seemingly stranded the world over the final four innings, leaving eight baserunners on the bags, including three in the ninth after putting runners at first and third with one out following a walk, sacrifice, and Georgia Southern throwing error. Will Muzika failed to get the winning run home with a pop to shortstop, after which Rowe rallied to strike out Alex Abrams to end the inning and extend the game into the 10th inning.

Griffin led Georgia Southern's nine-hit attack by going 2-for-5 with three RBI, including a solo home run in the third that tied the game at 1-1.

Brown went 2-for-3 with two-RBI and two runs scored, and Michael Burruss also had a pair of hits for Georgia Southern.

Furman had 11 hits in the contest but left 13 on base. Will Owens had two doubles in five at-bats to lead the Paladins, and Tyalor Johnson also had two hits, including a double.

Both starting pitchers were effective before rain halted the game after six innings on Friday. Georgia Southern's Chris Beck allowed two runs on seven hits through six innings. He fanned eight. Furman's Bobby Lyne surrendered three runs on seven hits and struck out five over six frames.

 

College of Charleston 6, Davidson 2

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - College of Charleston scored four runs in the first inning on home runs from Marty Gantt and Brandon Murray which proved to be all the Cougars needed to put away Davidson in a 6-2 win on Saturday.

The win marked the eighth straight conference victory for the Cougars (17-6, 9-2) and sealed the fifth weekend series victory of the season for CofC.

Cougar ace Christian Powell (4-1) earned his fourth win of the year and went five innings, allowing one unearned run and striking out four batters with one walk. Senior Nick Osterman came on in strong relief to pitch three innings and strike out five, allowing one run. David Peterson struck out two batters in a perfect non-save ninth inning.

The CofC defense played well behind the Cougar pitchers, getting out of several innings with a season-high three double plays.

Both Murray and Cody Martin tallied two hits while Gantt's three RBI gave him a team-best 22 for the season.

Despite a delayed start from a severe thunderstorm, the Cougars came alive in the bottom of the first inning with singles from Bradley Goodson and Tyler Jackson. Gantt fired a three-run home run over the left-field fence for his fourth bomb of the season, putting CofC up 3-0. Two outs later, Murray hit a line drive shot for an opposite field home run, notching his team-best sixth home run and giving the Cougars a 4-0 lead.

The Davidson pitching staff settled down after the first inning, allowing just two Cougar hits over the next six innings.

The Wildcats got on the board in the top of the fifth inning with a two-out rally. Jake Berman walked and advanced to third on a double by Forrest Brandt. A throwing error by Goodson allowed Berman to score on the next play and the Wildcats cut the score to 4-1.

Davidson pulled the margin even closer with a single from Andrew Barna and RBI double from Michael Zeblo, making the score 4-2.

College of Charleston came alive in the bottom of the eighth to add some insurance runs as a walk from Rob Harding, single from Murray and double from Martin made the score 5-3. Gunnar Heidt tallied a sacrifice fly RBI on the next pitch to plate Murray and make the margin 6-3.

Peterson's two-strikeout ninth inning sealed the win for College of Charleston.

CofC will go for the series sweep over Davidson tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Patriots Point.

 

Western Carolina 16, UNCG 2
Western Carolina 6, UNCG 5

Cullowhee, N.C. - Jordan Smith fanned a career-high 11 and Dykota Spiess homered three times including a walk-off blast over the fence in right field in the 11th inning of the night cap as Western Carolina claimed both ends of its Saturday double-header over UNC Greensboro.

The Catamounts pounded out a season-high 19 hits en route to winning game one, 16-2, before Spiess belted lead-off, walk-off homer to cap a come-from-behind victory in game two. The Morganton, N.C., sophomore tied the game with an RBI ground-out in the seventh inning before adding the finishing touches in the extra frame.

Between the two games, WCU amassed 34 base hits and 22 runs, batting .391 collectively as a team. The wins for WCU halted a five-game drought against UNCG, while also stretched the home winning streak to 11-straight in 2012 and 14-consecutive dating back to last year.

Smith (2-3) scattered seven hits through eight innings while holding UNCG to a single run in earning the victory in game one. The Liberty, N.C., native retired nine-consecutive Spartan hitters at one point Saturday afternoon, working around one bases loaded jam in the visitor's portion of the sixth inning. Senior Andrew Blackwell tossed a third of an inning in the ninth allowing one run while freshman William Frazier closed out the final two-thirds of an inning with a pair of strikeouts.

Offensively for the Catamounts, Spiess finished 4-for-6 - all coming as a substitution in both games of the double-header. He finished with three home runs including a three-run, two-run and a solo shot to account for seven RBI and scored five times. Freshman Bradley Strong and junior Tyler White finished with five hits apiece in the two wins as Strong went 5-for-9 with a double and White was 5-for-10 with a two-bagger.

WCU opened the scoring in the first game with three runs in the home half of the second inning, scoring all the runs with two out. Strong delivered a bases-loaded, two-run single to right field to put the Catamounts on the scoreboard with Aaron Attaway plating a third run on a single up the middle.

Both teams scored a solo run in the fourth inning with the Catamounts getting a double by Strong and an RBI single by White to pull ahead by three, 4-1. Strong drove in his third run of the day on a RBI single to the right side of the infield, reaching the pitcher but with no play at any base.

Western Carolina broke the game open with a six-run sixth inning that featured a RBI single by Cody Jones, the three-run homer by Spiess and runs crossing the plate on a double-play and wild pitch. The Catamounts led 11-1 through six innings, adding two runs in the seventh and three in the eighth. UNCG managed a second run in the ninth to provide the final tally, 16-2.

In the night cap, the Catamounts came back from a three-run deficit to take the series. UNCG pushed across four runs in the top of the sixth inning to take a 5-2 through six complete.

WCU started its rally in the home half of the seventh inning after back-to-back hits by White and Ross Heffley followed by freshman Jacob Hoyle walking to load the bases with nobody out. Martin then drove a single down the right field line, careening the drive off the first base bag to score two, moving Hoyle to third while pulling to within a run, 5-4. Spiess then grounded out to the right side as a pinch hitter, driving home the game-tying run.

Neither team was able to get a run over the final two frames despite WCU stranding two runners in the home half of the ninth inning. In the 10th, the Spartans drew consecutive walks to put two aboard with a sacrifice bunt moving both into scoring position at second and third with one out. An intentional walk loaded the bases to put a force at every base, which paid dividends immediately as reliever Preston Hatcher got Kris Richards to roll one up the first base line where White charged, bare-handed the ball and threw home for the force play and two outs. Hatcher then struck out Zach Leach to end the threat.

In the bottom of the 11th, Spiess drove a 1-0 pitch over the fence in right to end the game.

Hatcher (4-0) tossed the final two innings of regulation and both extra frames for the Catamounts to pick up the victory. The Atlanta, Ga., native only allowed two hits in four innings of relief work, pitching around three walks with five strikeouts.

Morgan McKinney earned the start, factoring in a no-decision after allowing four runs - only three of which were earned - on seven hits through five and a third innings pitched. He struck out six batters against two walks. Darron Dotson, Hunter Brister and Tyler Powell combined to toss an inning and two thirds, working the game to the seventh inning for Hatcher.

The finale of the three-game series is scheduled for 1:00 pm on Sunday afternoon. The game is scheduled to be broadcast on Catamount All-Access (subscription required) with live streaming audio and video, as well as GameTracker, available online at www.CatamountSports.com.

 

Minnesota 3, The Citadel 0

Minneapolis, Minn. - DJ Snelten struck out six over 7-2/3 innings and held The Citadel to four hits as Minnesota defeated the Bulldogs 3-0 Saturday afternoon at the H.H.H. Metrodome, clinching the weekend series. The two clubs close out the series with a 1:05 p.m. EST first pitch Sunday afternoon.

Minnesota (11-13) jumped on the scoreboard early, scoring three times in the bottom of the first for the only runs it would need. Troy Larson led off the frame with a full-count walk from Citadel starter Bryce Hines. After Larson stole second, Andy Henkemeyer plated the Gophers' lead-off man with a RBI triple down the right-field line. Dan Olinger followed with a RBI single to right for a 2-0 Minnesota lead. Bobby Juan hit into a fielder's choice, with Olinger retired at second for the first out of the inning. Matt Halloran brought home the third run of the opening frame with a RBI triple to right center, scoring Juan from first for a 3-0 Gophers' lead.

The Bulldogs (9-13) threatened in the seventh as Justin Mackert and Bo Thompson knocked back-to-back singles with one out, but Snelten retired Drew DeKerlegand and Hayden Hendry to end the frame with a pair of Bulldogs on base.

Thompson led the Bulldogs with a solid 3-for-3 effort at the plate, recording three of the four Citadel base hits in the game. Starter Bryce Hines was saddled with the loss, allowing three runs on four hits in 2-1/3 innings with three walks and three strikeouts. Four Bulldog relievers kept the Gophers off the scoreboard the rest of the way, with James Reeves' four strikeouts in 2-1/3 innings highlighting the effort.

Snelten kept the Bulldogs' offense on their heels for most of the afternoon, as the southpaw improved to 2-1 on the season. Kevin Kray tossed a perfect final 1-1/3 innings for his fourth save. Henkemeyer and Michael Handel led the Gophers' offensive attack with a pair of hits each.