Western Carolina 12, Duke 4
Cullowhee, N.C. - Ross Heffley reached base five times including four singles that led to four runs scored while Jacob Hoyle drove in five as Western Carolina surged past the Duke Blue Devils, 12-4, Tuesday afternoon in midweek nonconference action at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
The win was the fifth-straight for the Catamounts and the first over a team from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) since upsetting No. 16 Clemson, 7-5, back on April 14, 2010.
Junior starter Adam Curtis (3-0) worked a career-long seven innings in the starting role to remain perfect on the season, scattering two runs on six hits with five strikeouts against only one walk. Jeremy Sluder tossed the final two innings in relief, surrendering two runs on two hits with a pair of walks, fanning one.
Western Carolina (9-3) manufactured two runs in the bottom of the first inning to take the early lead over the Blue Devils. Aaron Attaway scored the game's first run after leading off the inning with a first-pitch single to straight away center field. He scored on a throwing error as Duke tried to roll a double-play on the infield. Tyler White's ground ball out to first drove in the second run.
Two innings later, consecutive walks to Dykota Spiess and Heffley put two aboard for Hoyle who laced his first of two doubles to right center, scoring both runners for the four-run edge.
Duke (7-7) got on the board in the top half of the fifth inning as Mike Rosenfeld singled home David Perkins to end the shutout. Andrew Istler then plated Rosenfeld on a single up the middle to cut the WCU lead in half, 4-2.
However, in the bottom of the fifth inning, Western Carolina scored four runs to stretch its lead back to six. Three-consecutive singles by Spiess, Heffley and one of the RBI variety for Hoyle scored the first run. Hoyle later scored from third on a wild pitch before Cody Jones delivered two-run single to left center that brought both Adam Martin and White home.
The Catamounts added an insurance run in the sixth on a White RBI single up the middle.
Duke attempted an eighth-inning rally, scoring a pair of two-out runs on just one hit. The Blue Devils took advantage of a pair of walks with David Perkins delivering a two-RBI double. However, the Catamounts responded by tacking on three more in the bottom of the frame to provide the final tally. Hoyle belted his second double of the game to score one while White and Martin both hit sacrifice flies to plate the second run.
White finished 1-for-3 with two RBI while Cody Jones drove in a pair on a two-hit afternoon.
For Duke, Perkins finished 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI. Rosenfeld and Andrew Istler both plating a pair of runs in the loss. Starting pitcher Chase Debout (0-2) was saddled with the loss after allowing seven runs on eight hits through four and a third innings. He struck out two, but issued five walks in the losing effort.
Western Carolina hosts East Tennessee State at 4:00 pm at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
WCU to Honor Catamount Men's Basketball Team on Wednesday Afternoon Western Carolina will recognize and honor its men's basketball team on Wednesday afternoon prior to the first pitch against the Buccaneers of East Tennessee State. The Catamounts won three-games in three-days to advance to the SoCon title game on Monday night. Trailing by 13 points with 2:47 remaining, WCU rallied to knot the game and forced two overtime sessions before falling by two, 93-91.
Head coach Larry Hunter will toss out the first pitch on Wednesday afternoon at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
Furman 6, UNC Asheville 1
ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Tyler Wood pitched no-hit ball over six innings and Furman pounded out 12 hits on the way to a 6-1 victory over UNC Asheville in baseball action Tuesday afternoon at breezy Greenwood Field.
The win was the fifth straight for Furman (8-5), which will open Southern Conference play on Friday when it entertains College of Charleston at Latham Stadium in a 6:00 p.m. game.
Wood (2-1) faced the minimum over the first six innings before UNCA's Jordan Lurie led off the seventh with a double and later scored on a one-out single by Billy Creighton. The sophomore right-hander rallied to get the final two outs, including a strikeout to end the frame with Furman leading 4-1.
Wood needed only 78 pitches and recorded five strikeouts in his strongest outing as a Paladin since throwing a complete game, one-hit shutout against Ohio in his collegiate debut last season. He also rolled 12 ground outs in posting his second consecutive winning decision.
Paul Nitto paced Furman at the plate with a 3-for-4, two-RBI performance, and Will Muzika drove in three runs via two sacrifice flies and an RBI triple.
Will Owens, Will Miller, and Zack Greenwell also had two hits apiece for the Paladins.
Furman tallied all the runs it would need in the third off Bulldog starting and losing pitcher Brian Connolly (1-1). Hunter Burton led off with a triple to right center and scored on Greenwell's infield single. Following a Will Miller double, Muzika drove home Greenwell with a sacrifice fly, and Miller then came home on a Nitto single up the middle for a 3-0 lead.
Muzika's RBI triple in the fifth scored Owens to make it 4-0, and the Paladins answered the Bulldogs' tally in the seventh with runs in the eighth and ninth.
Matt Solter followed Wood with a perfect eighth, and in the ninth Elliott Warford yielded a couple of singles before inducing a double play ground ball and ground out to secure the win.
Lurie had two of UNCA's four hits.
Furman Notes
Furman's five-game winning streak is its longest since the 2008 season. Tyler Wood has gone 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA (11.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) in his last two starts (vs. Gardner-Webb & UNC Asheville). Opponents have hit just .158 against him in those two games. Furman has recorded a staff ERA of 3.28 over its last eight games (6-2), with opponents hitting just .224 during that stretch.
UNCG 7, Eastern Kentucky 5
GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNCG senior Thomas Troelstrup belted a two-run homer in the first inning as part of a 2-4 afternoon as the Spartans defeated Eastern Kentucky, 7-5, on Tuesday at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
With two outs in the first inning, Trevor Edwards hit a high fly ball to the edge of the grass in the infield, but the Colonel shortstop lost the ball in the sun and it dropped harmlessly for a single. Troelstrup then came up for UNCG (9-2) and belted his third home run of the season to left field to give the home side an early 2-0 advantage.
The Spartans built on that lead in the second inning as TJ Spina led off with an infield single before moving to second on a sacrifice bunt by Cambric Moye. Kris Richards followed with a double to left field to make it a three-run game. After a single by Nick Chapman, Christian Wolfe delivered a single through the right side of the infield to score Richards and make the score 4-0.
The Colonels (3-8) responded with three runs in the top of the third to cut it to a one-run game. Sean Hagen led off with a walk and A.J. Jamison followed by taking the first pitch he saw out to left field to make it a 4-2 contest. Austin Grisham then reached on a Spartan error and would score later in the inning on a groundout.
That was all the scoring Eastern Kentucky would have until the ninth inning as reliever Dylan Hathcock (2-0) shut down the Colonels over the next five innings. Hathcock picked up the win after going 5 1/3 innings and allowed two runs on just four hits, while striking out a pair.
The Spartans would add a pair of insurance runs in the fifth to make it a three-run game. After a leadoff walk to Zach Leach, Trevor Edwards laid down a sac bunt, but was able to reach on an error. Troelstrup then singled through the left side of the infield to score Leach. After a pair of outs, Moye singled to center field to score Edwards and give UNCG a 6-3 lead.
UNCG would take advantage of another Colonel error in the eighth as Cole Harrison led off the inning with a double to the wall in center field. After a groundout, Leach hit a grounder to the shortstop, but the shortstop's throw sailed over the first baseman to allow Harrison to score easily and make it 7-3.
The score would stay that way until the ninth inning when Michael Garcia hit a one-out two-run home run to left field to pull Eastern Kentucky within 7-5.
Zach Furl then came in and used just four pitches to record the final two outs of the game to pick up his first save of the season.
The Spartans and Colonels will meet again on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Georgia Southern 10, Charleston Southern 1
CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Georgia Southern Baseball team came back from an early deficit and scored seven unanswered runs for a 10-1 win at Charleston Southern on Tuesday afternoon. The Eagles tallied all 10 runs in the final five innings of the contest and finished with 13 hits. Eric Phillips (Carrollton, Ga.) led the team with three hits and drove in four runs in four at-bats.
Sam Howard (Cartersville, Ga.) (2-1) bounced back from a loss against Mercer a week ago and picked up the win out of the bullpen. Howard went 3.2 scoreless innings and struck out four batters to just one walk. Josh Stevenson (Social Circle, Ga.) threw a scoreless ninth inning to close out the ball game and hand GSU its second-straight win. Austin Weekley (1-1) pitched well early in the ball game but was tagged with the loss after allowing six runs in 5.2 innings.
Stryker Brown (Dalton, Ga.) and Michael Burruss (Marietta, Ga.) plated the first two Georgia Southern runs in the fifth inning after back-to-back hits by Tyler Avera (Baxley, Ga.) and Clint Clark (Newnan, Ga.) led off the frame. Phillips added a third run and extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a two-out RBI single to right field.
The Eagles batted around in the sixth inning and scored four runs on four hits to take a 7-1 lead. Two hit batsmen followed an infield hit by Ben Morgan (Evans, Ga.) to load the bases with one out. After a wild pitch scored Morgan from third base, Williams plated the second run on a sacrifice fly to right field. Brown and Burruss drove in two more runs with back-to-back base hits.
Georgia Southern took a 9-1 lead in the eighth inning on a RBI double off the bat of Phillips. The Eagles added a single run in the ninth inning after Garren Palmer (Dalton, Ga.) led off the frame with an infield single. Williams drove him in with his third sacrifice of the afternoon, scoring Palmer from third base on a sacrifice fly.
Charleston Southern opened the game with a first inning run and made it hold up until the fifth inning. Walt Quattlebaum drove in Alex Tomasovich, who singled with one out in the inning, with a sacrifice fly to center field before Josh Adams (Bath, S.C.) struck out a batter to end the inning. Adams allowed 10 base runners on seven hits but held the Buccaneers to just one run on seven hits in four innings.
Georgia Southern continues a five-game road trip at Elon this weekend. First pitch in the series is set for 4 p.m.
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.
College of Charleston 2, Toledo 0
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - College of Charleston shut out Toledo, 2-0, in the team's first midweek game at home on Tuesday night.
The Cougars (8-3) rebounded from a tough outing on Sunday by holding the Rockets (3-7) to just three hits and no runs scored. The game marked the third shutout for the CofC pitching staff this season.
Junior Griffin Jones earned his first start of his career with the Cougars and pitched well, allowing just two hits and striking out four batters in 5.2 innings of work.
Senior Kyle Owings (1-0) pitched 2.1 innings and picked up his first win of the season. He gave up just one hit and struck out three batters. Classmate David Peterson came in the ninth inning and tallied his third save of the season, striking out one in the ninth inning while not allowing a baserunner.
"I was really proud of Griffin Jones who came out here and threw the ball really well on his first start," head coach Monte Lee said. "Kyle Owings and David Peterson pitched well in relief to close it out. We advanced runners well in the sixth inning and Marty Gantt's triple came with two strikes. It was an excellent effort all around."
The only runs the Cougars needed came in the sixth inning after a leadoff single from freshman Gunnar Heidt. Leadoff batter Bradley Goodson legged out a bunt to third and reached for an infield single, and both runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt from senior Rob Harding. Gantt hit his second triple of the season to right and Heidt and Goodson came around to score for the only runs of the game.
Brandon Glazer earned his third start of the season and connected on several hard-hit balls, including a single to left field that marked CofC's first hit in the fifth inning.
With the strong defensive outing, College of Charleston improved its opponent batting average to .165 for the season, a mark that ranked second in the nation heading into Tuesday night's game.
College of Charleston will hit the road on Wednesday, March 7, for a game at Winthrop. Game time is scheduled for 6 p.m.
No. 6 North Carolina 5, Davidson 4
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Tom Zengel's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth inning stymied Davidson's upset bid, as No. 6 North Carolina defeated Davidson, 5-4, in non-conference baseball action Tuesday evening at Boshamer Stadium.
Junior third baseman Andrew Barna and senior first baseman CalvinSigelbaum led Davidson (4-5) at the plate, as both went 2-for-4 with a run and RBI. Davidson had seven hits to UNC's six.
Zengel entered the game as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning andcame through for North Carolina (9-2) in the eighth. Jacob Stallings (1-for-4) and Cody Stubbs (2-for-4) led the inning off with base hits and moved into scoring position on a balk by freshman RHP Clark Beeker (1-1). Zengel then hit a fly ball to centerfield to plate Stallings for the game-winning run.
RHP Michael Morin retired the side in the ninth inning to earn his third save of the season after LHP R.C. Orlan (3-0) pitched two scoreless innings of relief to earn the win.
Trailing 4-2 entering the sixth inning, Davidson pulled even with the Tar Heels on a sacrifice fly by junior shortstop Michael Zeblo (0-for-2) and an RBI-single with two outs by Sigelbaum. Barna led the inning off with a double to right field and moved to third base on a sacrifice bunt by senior secondbaseman James Cerbie (1-for-3), allowing Zeblo to drive him home. Freshman designated hitter Ryan Lowe and sophomore catcher Daniel Gerow both drew two-out walks before Sigelbaum blooped a base hit just over the shortstop to score Lowe.
Davidson got on the scoreboard first with a fast start in the first inning. Senior right fielder Jake Berman drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on a single by sophomore left fielder Forrest Brandt (1-for-4), and was driven in by Barna on a base hit to centerfield.
UNC took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second inning on a bases-clearing double by designated hitter Shell McCain. A sacrifice fly bysenior centerfielder Drew Gadaire (1-for-2) in the top of the third inning tied the game at 2-2, but the Tar Heels answered with two more runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 4-2 lead.
Freshman LHP Henry Sisson went five innings and struck out five in his first career start for the Wildcats, allowing four earned runs on four hits, two walks. Sophomore RHP Jip Richards earned three strikeouts in the sixth inning and faced one batter in the seventh inning.
All of Davidson's runs were charged to starter RHP Luis Paula, who worked 5.2 innings and surrendered four runs (three earned) on five hits and four walks while striking out five.
Davidson will return to action Wednesday in a 3:30 p.m. game at NC State.
Notes: Drew Gadaire reached base for the 15th consecutive game ... both teams had freshman pitchers making their first career starts ... Davidson has not won in Chapel Hill since 1972 ... Davidson has lost its last three games by one run.
USC Upstate 6, The Citadel 5
Charleston, S.C. - USC Upstate's Trey Richardson lined a RBI single to right in the top of the ninth to plate the winning run as the Spartans defeated The Citadel 6-5 Tuesday evening at Riley Park. The Bulldogs fall to 6-6 overall and host Western Carolina this weekend in their Southern Conference opener.
With two outs and Bulldog RHP Ryan Hines on the mound, Greg Guers lined a double to right and Richardson followed with his first hit of the season, a timely one that plated Guers for the go-ahead run.
Upstate (11-1) jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, scoring a single run in the first and two in the third to take command of the game in the first few innings. A RBI double by Luke Weber scored Tyler Cook in the opening frame and the Spartans added two more in the third on a fielding error by Nick Orvin after a single by Gaither Bumgardner and a another RBI single to left by Weber.
The Citadel cut into the three-run deficit with a run in the fifth. Bailey Rush reached on a fielder's choice and Mason Davis singled down the left-field line to put runners at first and second. Joe Jackson knocked a RBI double to the gap in left center to plate Rush and get the Bulldogs on the board.
The Spartans responded with two runs in the top of the sixth to open a 5-1 lead. Tyler Miller led off with a single and Austin Liput reached on a fielder error by Drew DeKerlegand at third. A sacrifice bunt by Brody Greer put both runners in scoring position and Jordan Stampler drove both in with a two-run single up the middle.
The Bulldogs rallied back in the sixth, scoring three runs and knocking Upstate starter David Palladino from the mound. DeKerlegand drew a one-out walk and Tyler Griffin followed with a two-run homer to right, his second of the season. After another out was recorded, Calvin Orth singled to right, sending Palladino to the bench. Upstate brought in Chris Cox to face pinch-hitter Hayden Hendry and Cox balked on his second pitch, moving Orth to second. Hendry responded with a RBI single to right, scoring Orth and bring in the Bulldogs with one run.
Despite stranding the bases loaded in seventh, the Bulldogs rallied to knot the game in the eighth on a RBI single by Jackson. Upstate went on to score the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth and Spartan closer Chad Sobotka, who blew the save in the eighth, set the Bulldogs down in order to end the game.
Jackson led the Bulldogs' offense with three hits, while four Spartans collected two hits apiece for Upstate. Hines (1-1) took the loss for The Citadel, allowing one run on two hits in one inning of work. Sobotka (1-0) picked up the win for Upstate, striking out four in 1-2/3 innings and allowing one hit.