Samford 8, No. 24 Auburn 5
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.-Samford sophomore center fielder Phillip Ervin hit a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Bulldog baseball team to an 8-5 win over Auburn Tuesday night at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
The game was played in front of a Joe Lee Griffin Field record crowd of 2,397.
"That was an unbelievable game," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "What an exciting finish. What a night Phillip had. He is truly a guy who delivers on the big stage. He's a guy who, the bigger the game, the better he performs."
For the game, Ervin went 2-for-5 with two home runs and six RBI. The performance marked the first two-homer game of Ervin's Samford career. It was also the first walk-off win of the season for Samford.
Samford entered the bottom of the ninth inning trailing, 5-4. With one out in the inning, Brad Moss was hit by a pitch. Saxon Butler then singled to center field, moving Moss to second base. Brandon Miller then reached base on an infield single to load the bases. Ervin then hit an 0-2 pitch over the left-field wall for his second homer of the day, giving Samford the 8-5 win.
Behind Ervin for Samford at the plate, Zeth Stone went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Butler and Kevin Putkonen both went 2-for-3 on the night. Austin Allison also drove in a run for the Bulldogs in a 1-for-3 performance.
C.K. Irby (3-0) pitched the final inning, allowing no hits to earn the win on the mound for Samford. Joseph Burns, Andres Gracia, Lex Rutledge, Taylor Hammond and Arthur Strauss also saw time on the mound for the Bulldogs.
For Auburn at the plate, Garrett Cooper went 3-for-4, while Justin Bryant went 2-for-4. Zach Alvord hit a two-run home run in a 1-for-4 performance. Bryant (1-1) tossed the final inning, allowing four runs on three hits to take the loss on the mound for the Tigers.
Samford jumped on top first with two runs in the bottom of the second inning. Allison singled to right field to drive in Irby for the first run of the game. Stone later hit a sacrifice fly to right field to drive in Putkonen for a 2-0 Samford lead.
The Bulldogs pushed their lead to 4-0 with two runs in the bottom of the third inning. Butler singled up the middle to lead off the inning. With one out in the inning, Ervin homered to left field for a four-run Samford lead.
Auburn came back with three runs in the top of the fourth inning to cut the Samford lead to 4-3. Dan Glevenyak drove in two runs with a single to center field, and Alvord grounded out to drive in Cullen Wacker to bring Auburn to within one run.
The score remained 4-3 until the Tigers plated two runs in the top of the eighth inning. With one out in the inning, Cooper singled to right field. With two outs, Alvord homered to left field to give Auburn a 5-4 lead and set the stage for the Bulldogs' come-from-behind win.
The win gave Samford its third-straight win over Auburn. The Bulldogs have now defeated the Tigers in four of the last six meetings.
Samford improves to 17-8 with the win. Auburn drops to 15-10 with the loss.
Samford will return to action on Friday, March 30, when the Bulldogs open a three-game home Southern Conference series against Elon. The series-opener on Friday is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start from Joe Lee Griffin Field.
Georgia Southern 5, No. 21 Georgia Tech 3
ATLANTA - A four-run rally in the seventh inning propelled the Georgia Southern Baseball team to a 5-3 win over #21 Georgia Tech Tuesday night. The pitching staff struck out six batters in the final three innings to give the Eagles just their second win this season when trailing after the sixth inning.
Georgia Southern (12-13) held an early 1-0 lead but trailed by two runs before a bases clearing two-out double from Eric Phillips (Carrollton, Ga.) in the seventh inning put them on top 5-3. Jarret Leverett (Eatonton, Ga.) (2-1) got the Eagles out of a jam in the fifth inning with two of his four strikeouts and picked up the win after 2.2 scoreless innings of work. Chris Beck (Jefferson, Ga.) (S, 1) closed the door in the ninth inning with a perfect frame and tallied two strikeouts in his first career save.
Georgia Tech (15-10) got a great six innings from starter Josh Heddinger (1-2) before he loaded the bases with two walks in the seventh inning. Heddinger had allowed only one run on three hits in his first six frames before being tagged with the loss after allowing four runs in the seventh. Alex Cruz allowed the three-RBI double to Phillips in the inning, his only hit allowed in 2.1 inning of relief.
The Yellow Jackets offense tallied seven hits and scored three early runs to give Heddinger an early two-run lead; but left nine runners on base, including four in the final five innings, in their first loss at home in the all-time series since 2009.
Georgia Southern struck first with a run in the first inning on a two-out single from Stryker Brown (Dalton, Ga.). The Eagles put a runner into scoring position before the hit with a one-out single by Michael Burruss (Marietta, Ga.) and a wild pitch.
Georgia Tech took a 2-1 lead with a pair of runs in the second inning after the first four batters reached safely to start the inning. Mott Hyde and Paul Kronenfield both plated runs with base hits. Daniel Palka was hit by a pitch to open the inning and Jake Davies singled on a hit-and-run to put runners on the corners before the RBI singles.
The Yellow Jackets added another run in the fifth inning to take a two-run lead. Brandon Thomas led off the frame with a single to right field, and Daniel Palka drove him in with a single through the right side of the infield. Leverett came on in relief after the RBI base hit and got the Eagles out of the jam with a fielder's choice and a pair of strikeouts.
Georgia Southern and Georgia Tech meet for the final time in the 2012 regular season tomorrow at 6 p.m. Josh Adams (Bath, S.C.) (0-1, 6.95) will take the mound against Cole Pitts at Russ Chandler Stadium.
The game can also be heard on the 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.
Davidson 2, Duke 1
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Two seventh-inning runs were all Davidson needed as four Wildcat pitchers combined to hold Duke to four hits and one unearned run in a 2-1 win over the Blue Devils in non-conference baseball action Tuesday night at Wilson Field.
Freshman designated hitter Ryan Lowe scored the game-winning run for Davidson (9-13, 2-7 SoCon) from third base on a wild pitch in the seventh inning after freshman second baseman David Daniels tied the game with an RBI-single earlier in the frame.
Duke (11-15, 4-5 ACC) scored its lone run in the fourth inning on a double steal with runners on the corners. Starter RHP Nick Piscotty had held the ‘Cats to one hit and struck out seven through the first five innings, but the 'Cats were able to get on the scoreboard in the seventh with RHP Drew Van Orden (0-3) on the mound.
Senior shortstop James Cerbie started the seventh off with a lead-off triple down the right field line. Lowe followed with a walk and then Daniels singled through the left side with the infield in to tie the game. Van Orden struck out the next two batters, but walked senior right fielder Jake Berman to load the bases. Van Orden then threw a wild pitch during sophomore left fielder Forrest Brandt's at-bat to allow Lowe to score from third.
Freshman RHP Matt Saeta allowed just a hit and a walk and struck out two pitching the final two innings to earn his first career save.
Freshman RHP Clark Beeker was strong for Davidson in his first career start, striking out two with just one batter reaching base on a throwing error. RHP Bryan DaCanal took over in the fourth inning and worked 2.2 innings, surrendering three hits and three walks and the one unearned run.
Senior RHP Brian Russell (2-3) walked the first batter he faced to load the bases in the sixth inning with two outs, but he induced the inning-ending groundout and retired the side in the seventh inning to earn the win.
Davidson will play its next four games on the road starting with a three-game Southern Conference series at Western Carolina beginning Friday at 6 p.m.
Elon 5, UNC Wilmington 4
ELON, N.C. -- The Elon Phoenix found itself in a 3-0 hole, but scored the next five runs of the game and held off a UNC Wilmington squad that never gave up to claim a 5-4 victory on Tuesday night.
After surrendering three runs to UNCW (12-12) in the top of the fourth inning on RBI by Jake Koenig, Corey Dick and Michael Bass, the Phoenix rallied for three runs of its own in the bottom half. Niko Fraser started things off with a walk before a Sebastian Gomez single put two aboard. Alex Swim's single, which extended his hitting streak to 19 games, drove home the first Elon run. With the bases loaded, Jake Luce grounded out to first, but Gomez's slide at home knocked the ball away and both he and Swim scored as the maroon and gold knotted the game at three.
Elon (15-11) took the lead for good in the fifth when Chris Bresnahan scored from second on a Fraser single. The Phoenix tacked on its fifth run in the sixth on Garrett Koster's team-leading sixth homer of the year.
The Seahawks closed their deficit back to one in the seventh when Tyler Molinaro homered to right.
UNCW threatened in both the eighth and ninth innings, but failed to score. In the eighth, Thomas Pope led off with a double before John Antonelli made a diving catch on a popped up sacrifice bunt attempt. He then retired the next hitter on a pop-up to second before eventually ending the inning with a grounder to third. With one out in the ninth, Molinaro doubled to right and went to third on a ground out only to be stranded when Andrew MacDonald got Hunter Ridge to ground to first.
Sophomore lefty Ryan Pennell (1-0) earned the first win of his career after he allowed one run on one hit in three relief innings. MacDonald picked up his second save by recording the final out. Starter Jim Stokes gave up three runs on six hits in four innings.
UNCW's Tom Timoney (0-1) was the losing pitcher as he was charged with one run on two hits in 1.1 innings.
Both teams had nine hits. The lone Phoenix batter to have a multi-hit night was Bresnahan who went 2-for-3.
Elon will head to Birmingham, Ala., for another important Southern Conference series this weekend as the Phoenix will visit the Samford Bulldogs. The series gets underway at 7 p.m. Eastern on Friday.
Appalachian State 14, North Carolina A&T 0
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University baseball scored eight runs in the bottom of the first inning and never looked back en route to a 14-0 romp over visiting North Carolina A&T on Tuesday afternoon at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
Appalachian (19-5) followed up the eight-run first by scoring in four of the next five innings and cruised to its 11th-straight win over longtime in-state rival N.C. A&T (7-16).
The Mountaineers sent 11 batters to the plate in the first inning and banged out six hits. ASU also benefitted from two walks, two wild pitches and an error on its way to its biggest first-inning scoring output in four years. Designated hitter Daniel Kassouf (Lexington, N.C./North Davidson) and first baseman Trey Holmes (Rockwell, N.C./East Rowan) delivered the biggest hits of the eight-run frame with an RBI double and RBI triple, respectively.
Appalachian added single runs in the third and fourth innings, three in the fifth and another single tally in the sixth to close out the scoring. Twenty-one ASU players saw action in the rout and 10 of the Mountaineers' 16 batters notched at least one hit. True freshman Brandon Burris (Concord, N.C./Mount Pleasant) led the way in his fifth-career start, going 3-for-3 with a double. Hector Crespo (Miami, Fla./Florida Christian), Will Callaway (Greenville, S.C./Eastside) and Jeremy Dowdy (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) chipped in with two hits apiece and Callaway collected three of the Apps' nine RBI.
Not to be overshadowed by the 14-run explosive was the shutout performance turned in by ASU's pitching staff. Five Mountaineer pitchers combined on the five-hit shutout, Appalachian's second in three games and third of the season.
True freshman Jamie Nunn (Winston-Salem, N.C./Mount Tabor) continued to impress in his third-career start. The right-hander allowed just three hits in five shutout innings and struck out three along the way to move to 2-0 in his young career. Following Nunn, right-handed relievers Josh Wilson (Edgefield, S.C./Strom Thurmond), Jordan Jessup (Westfield, N.C./East Surry), David Port (Dunwoody, Ga./Dunwoody) and Nathan Hyatt (Brevard, N.C./Brevard) turned in a scoreless inning apiece to complete the whitewashing.
Southpaw Ruben Torrellas, who limited the Mountaineers to three runs over six innings in ASU's come-from-behind victory at A&T on Feb. 28, was torched for nine runs (eight earned) on eight hits over three innings to suffer the loss on Tuesday and fall to 0-3 on the season. First baseman Kelvin Freeman had two of the Aggies' five hits.
With the victory, Appalachian moved to 12-0 at Smith Stadium this season. The 12-consecutive home wins are tied for the fifth-longest active home winning streak in NCAA Division I and good for ASU's longest home winning streak since it won 19-straight games at Smith Stadium from March 22, 2009-March 20, 2010.
The Mountaineers look to add to the home winning streak this weekend when they host a three-game non-conference series versus Oakland. The set begins with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Smith Stadium.
College of Charleston 3, Charleston Southern 2 (10 inn.)
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Sophomore Brandon Murray hit a solo home run to tie the game in the ninth inning and Cody Martin scored a walk-off run in the 10th inning on a bang-bang double-play to win the game, 3-2, for College of Charleston over rival Charleston Southern.
The win snapped College of Charleston's (19-6, 10-2) three-game mid-week losing skid, while Charleston Southern fell to 8-18 on the season.
The extra inning drama marked just the second time the Cougars have played extras this season, and it was the first walk off win of the season.
"We didn't execute offensively very well and they competed extremely well," head coach Monte Lee said. "But we were able to get a big hit in the ninth inning to tie the ballgame. At the end, Daniel Aldrich hit a ball that was tough to turn two on, and we were able to get the winning run on some good base-running."
Nick Osterman (2-0) picked up his second win of the season by pitching the final three innings and striking out five batters. Ryan West started the game and pitched seven strong innings, allowing just one earned run.
CSU's Corey Deighan (1-2) picked up the loss after giving up the run in the 10th inning. Blake Hunt and John Faircloth both tallied RBIs for the Buccaneers, while Alex Tomasovich score two runs.
Charleston Southern got on the board first in the second inning as Tomasovich singled and advanced to third on two ground outs. Blake Hunt smacked a hard hit ball back up the middle that careened off of West and allowed Tomasovich to score and make it 1-0.
Tomasovich led off the seventh inning by reaching base on an error by shortstop Bradley Goodson. He advanced to second when Chase Shelton was hit by a pitch and stole third. Faircloth lifted a fly ball to center field for a sacrifice fly and the Bucs led 2-0.
College of Charleston got one run back in the seventh inning when Rob Harding was hit by a pitch and advanced to third on a single by Heidt and error by the CSU centerfielder. Bradley Goodson scored Harding from third on a ground ball fielder's choice to pull the score to 2-1.
Osterman kept the Buccaneers scoreless through the eighth and ninth inning to set up Murray's heroics in the Cougars' last half inning that tied the ballgame. The solo home run was Murray's team-leading seventh of the season.
In the bottom of the 10th inning, Martin walked and Gantt was hit by a pitch to put two runners on with no out for Aldrich. In the second pitch of the at-bat, Aldrich grounded up the middle and the Bucs tried to turn a double play. However, the throw from second forced the CSU first baseman to straddle the bag where Aldrich made incidental contact with him. Martin came around third to score on the play and the Cougars celebrated in walk-off fashion.
College of Charleston will return to the diamond on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. when CofC hosts Jacksonville.
No. 10 South Carolina 7, The Citadel 3
Charleston, S.C. - No. 10 South Carolina jumped out to a 3-1 lead and used four unearned runs in the fifth inning to pull away for a 7-3 victory over The Citadel in non-conference action Tuesday evening at Riley Park. The Bulldogs fall to 9-15 overall and return to Southern Conference action this weekend as they host Wofford beginning Friday at 6 p.m.
The Gamecocks (18-7) opened a 1-0 lead in the first inning and never trailed the rest of the way. Evan Marzilli led off the game with a bunt for a base hit and scored on Joey Pankake's double into the gap in right-center.
South Carolina's lead increased to 3-0 in the third inning. Tanner English reached with one out on an infield single and a hit and run with Marzilli put runners on the corners. Pankake's infield single plated English and Brison Celek's two-out RBI double down the left-field line scored Marzilli.
The Bulldogs scored a single run in the bottom of the fourth to break onto the scoreboard. Gamecock starter Jordan Montgomery had retired the first nine batters until Nick Orvin led off the frame with a base hit. With one out, Justin Mackert laced a RBI double over the head of English in left, plating Orvin and cutting Carolina's lead to 3-1.
South Carolina's lead extended to 7-1 in the top of the fifth inning. English led off the frame with a walk. With one out and English on second, the Gamecocks would again put runners on the corners as Pankake reached first base on a throwing error by third baseman Zach Sherrill. Christian Walker drove in English with a RBI single to left for a 4-1 lead. With the bases loaded and one out, LB Dantzler lined a RBI groundout to third. Erik Payne's second triple of the season was knocked to the gap in left-center and scored both Walker and Celek giving the Gamecocks the six-run cushion.
Tyler Griffin made it 7-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning with a pinch-hit solo homer, his third round-tripper of the season for the Bulldogs. The Citadel added one more run in the ninth inning as Joe Jackson led off with a single and scored on Bo Thompson's RBI double into right.
Montgomery picked up his first win of the season for the Gamecocks, scattering three hits and allowing one run in 5-2/3 innings with four strikeouts.
Citadel starter Brett Tompkins suffered his first loss, falling to 0-1 on the season. The freshman gave up three runs on six hits in three innings with one strikeout. Orvin's two hits led the Bulldogs.
Kennesaw State 11, Western Carolina 9
Cullowhee, N.C. - Kennesaw State rallied from an early seven-run deficit with 11 runs in the middle innings including crossing the plate seven times in the top half of the sixth inning to hand Western Carolina its second-straight home loss, 11-9, Tuesday night in the front-end of a mid-week, home-and-home.
WCU travels to Kennesaw State on Wednesday night with first pitch slated for 5:00 pm. The game will be broadcast on the Catamount Sports Network and can be heard online at www.CatamountSports.com with air time at 4:45 pm.
Within two runs in the home half of the ninth inning, the Catamounts moved runners to second and third base with just one out before eventually loading the bases, but were unable to pull any closer.
Senior Ross Heffley led the Catamounts with three hits, finishing 3-for-5 with his seventh double and third home run of the season, driving in two. Sophomore Adam Martin smashed his team-leading fourth round-tripper of the year, a two-run shot in the third inning that handed WCU a seven-run advantage.
Seven Catamounts recorded multiple hit games all told with junior Tyler White also drove in two runs on a 2-for-4 showing. Also posting two hits in the loss were Aaron Attaway (2-for-5), Dykota Spiess (2-for-4), Cody Jones (2-for-4) and Julian Ridings (2-for-4).
Freshman hurler Tyler Powell (0-2) suffered the loss after allowing five runs - only three of which were earned - on four well-placed Owl hits amidst the seven-run sixth inning.
Starter Adam Curtis tossed three and two thirds innings, allowing two runs on five hits with three walks and a pair of hit batters. He was chased in the fourth inning after surrendering a two-run home run followed by back-to-back singles and a six-pitch walk that loaded the bases. Jeremy Sluder came on in relief and picked off KSU's Aaron Dobbs from first base to end the threat.
Sluder tossed an inning of one-run, one-hit relief with a walk and a strikeout. Junior transfer, LHP Hunter Brister struck out two in two thirds of an inning, fanning one to end the fifth and the second in the top of the sixth inning before leaving with two men on base. Powell was touched up by three-consecutive RBI singles that simply found their way through the WCU defense. A costly fielding error loaded the bases before Andy Chriscaden drilled a three-run double to left center to hand the Owls the lead.
Chriscaden led the Owls with a 3-for-4 showing at the plate, driving in six runs including two on his home run and three on the double.
WCU senior Darron Dotson threw a career-long 2.1 innings, matching his career-best with three strikeouts against three walks with William Frazier recording the final out of the ninth in a third of an inning pitched.
All told, WCU used seven pitchers and combined to strand 12 Owl base runners on the night.
Entering the ninth inning down two, the Catamounts got back-to-back singles by Jacob Hoyle and Jones to put two on with nobody out. Martin laid down a near-perfect sacrifice bunt to put runners at second and third with just one out. Spiess drew a walk to load the bases, but neither Luke Gragg - a mid-game substitution who finished 0-for-1 with a walk - or ninth inning pinch hitter Bryant Noteboom were able to plate the two runners.
Kennesaw State reliever Zak Griffith picked up the victory out of the Owl bullpen, scattering seven hits while allowing four earned runs with three strikeouts. Justin McCalvin set up reliever Caden Ferguson (1) for the save. Ferguson walked and struck out one, allowing one base hit but maneuvered through the ninth inning jam.
Western Carolina (17-8) took the early lead as Hoyle drove in his team-leading 31st run of the season on a sacrifice fly to score White in the home portion of the first inning. An RBI single by Ridings in the second ignited a four-run frame that included a sacrifice fly by White and RBI doubles by both Attaway and Heffley.
Martin's two-run shot in the third made it 7-0 WCU through three complete.
Kennesaw State answered with two in the top of the fourth with one Catamount run in the bottom to answer before the Owls scored a single run in the fifth to trail, 8-3, entering what proved to be the decisive sixth inning. KSU scored seven runs on six hits with one WCU error in the sixth to lead 10-8.
The Catamounts clawed back within a run in the bottom of the sixth, but a base-running miscue and strong throw from KSU right fielder Chris McGowan erased what could have been a game-tying run at home.
WCU visits Kennesaw State on Wednesday before opening another four-game home stand this weekend against the Davidson Wildcats and a mid-week date with Georgia in Cullowhee. First pitch on Friday night is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.