Appalachian State 6, Duke 4
BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University baseball scored all six of its runs with two outs and matched school and Southern Conference records by turning five double plays in a 6-4 win over visiting Duke on Wednesday evening at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
A boisterous crowd of 812 - the largest mid-week attendance in Smith Stadium history - saw Appalachian (10-2) extend its winning streak to eight games and beat Duke for the first time in 37 years.
The Mountaineers, which came into the contest hitting .315 with two outs, was a spectacular 9-for-18 with two away on Wednesday evening to raise its already lofty average with two outs to .338 on the season.
The two-out fireworks began in the first inning when Will Callaway (Greenville, S.C./Eastside) singled, stole second and scored on Daniel Kassouf's (Lexington, N.C./North Davidson) opposite-field RBI single to give ASU an early 1-0 lead.
The Mountaineers did the majority of their damage an inning later when Tyler Zupcic (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) hit a two-out, two-strike, two-run home run to left field to stretch the advantage to 3-0. The two-out rally was far from over, however, as the Apps strung together three more hits, capped by Tyler Tewell's (Charlotte, N.C./Butler) bases-clearing triple to right field that gave Appalachian a commanding 5-0 lead.
Duke (7-8) chipped away at the five-run deficit with two runs in the fourth, one in the sixth and one in the seventh but the Mountaineers mustered yet another two-out rally to add an all-important insurance run in the eighth. With it looking like ASU would take a slim 5-4 advantage into the ninth inning, Tewell and Jeremy Dowdy (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) put together back-to-back doubles, the latter of which brought Tewell home from second to give the Apps a much more comfortable 6-4 lead.
The insurance run ultimately proved to be unnecessary in the ninth when, after a leadoff infield single, closer Nathan Hyatt (Brevard, N.C./Brevard) induced the Blue Devils to hit into their fifth double play of the night to end the ballgame. The Mountaineers' five double plays, all of which were started by Callaway at shortstop, marked just the 13th time in SoCon history that a team turned five twin-killings in one game. Appalachian had only accomplished the feat once before, during a 9-5 SoCon Tournament win over Western Carolina on April 24, 1984.
In addition to the record-setting performance in the middle of the infield, the middle of Appalachian's batting order also came up big in Wednesday's victory. ASU's No. 3-7 hitters (Callaway, Kassouf, Tewell, Dowdy and Noah Holmes (Rockwell, N.C./East Rowan)) all had multiple hits, combining for 12 of the Mountaineers' 14 hits on the evening. Tewell led the way, falling just a home run shy of hitting for the cycle in a 3-for-5, two-RBI performance. Kassouf also went 3-for-5 with an RBI while Zupcic matched Tewell's two runs driven in.
Backed by the spectacular defense, true freshman Jeffrey Springs (Belmont, N.C./South Point) pitched five solid innings (7 H, 2 ER, 2 K) to earn his first collegiate win. Thanks to the fifth and final double play of the evening, Hyatt faced the minimum in the ninth to earn his fifth save.
Jeff Kremer, Grant McCabe, Jordan Betts and Anthony D'Alessandro had two hits apiece to lead Duke.
Appalachian opens SoCon play this weekend with a three-game series versus Davidson. The three-game set begins on Friday at 3 p.m. at Smith Stadium.
NOTES: The previous record crowd for a mid-week game at Smith Stadium was 474 for a 10-3 loss to Gardner-Webb on April 9, 2008 ... Appalachian's eight-game winning streak is its longest since it won nine in a row from April 6-17, 2010 ... ASU moved to 2-4 all-time versus Duke ... the Mountaineers' only previous win in the series came in 1975, a 9-1 triumph in Durham ... the teams meet again next Tuesday at 3 p.m. at Durham Bulls Athletic Park ... Appalachian has allowed four runs or less in each of its first 12 games - prior to this season, the longest an ASU team had ever gone into a campaign before an opponent scored at least five runs in a contest was six games, a feat achieved just last year ... Dowdy has reached base in all 11 games he has played this season.
Western Carolina 7, East Tennessee State 3
Cullowhee, N.C. - Four Catamount batters recorded two-hit outings as Western Carolina pounded out 11 hits en route to claiming its sixth-straight victory, defeating East Tennessee State 7-3 Wednesday afternoon in nonconference action at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
Starting pitcher Jon Nadale (1-1) scored his first win for the Catamounts, scattering six hits over six innings while striking out six in his first start. The Petaloma, Calif., native limited the Buccaneers to just two runs without issuing a walk. Freshman Tyler Powell worked two and a third innings of relief with a strikeout while Preston Hatcher picked up his fourth save of the season by working the final two thirds of the ninth, recording a strikeout.
Senior Ross Heffley, junior Bryant Noteboom and sophomores Cody Jones and Adam Martin all finished with two hits apiece in the win. Noteboom legged out a pair of doubles in the win while Martin homered for WCU's three extra base hits. Martin and Jones both scored twice on the afternoon.
Western Carolina (10-3) opened scoring in the second inning as Martin belted his team-leading third home run of the season. His towering two-run shot over the left field fence came on the first pitch of his at bat and scored Jones who reached on a single.
The Catamounts stretched the advantage to three with a solo run in the fifth as Luke Gragg drove home Jones to give WCU a 3-0 lead.
In the top of the sixth inning, East Tennessee State (6-4) trimmed the Catamount advantage to one with a two-spot. With Clinton Freeman and Dylan Pratt aboard with back-to-back one out singles, leftfielder John Long delivered an RBI single to score Freeman from second base. An error on a ground ball to third allowed Pratt to scamper home from third to make it 3-2, but a ground out to second ended the threat.
WCU answered in the bottom of the frame, matching the Bucs' two runs. Bryant Noteboom opened the inning with a pinch hit double to left field and was moved to third on a single by Heffley. Hoyle lifted a sacrifice fly to center to allow Noteboom to score. Two batters later, Tyler White induced a run-down between first and second base that allowed Heffley to race home to put the Catamounts back ahead to three, 5-2.
The next inning, the Catamounts added two insurance runs Noteboom scored pinch runner Garrett Brown, who was running for Dale Urqhart, and Martin to make it 7-2
East Tennessee scored once in the top of the ninth and threatened with two on with just one out, but Hatcher came on to shut down the rally and score the save.
Western Carolina travels to Charleston, S.C., to open Southern Conference play against The Citadel with a three-game series at Joe Riley Park. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6:00 pm with Saturday scheduled for 2:00 pm and 1:00 pm on Sunday afternoon.
All three games will be broadcast on the Catamount Sports Network and can be heard online at www.CatamountSports.com.
College of Charleston 6, Winthrop 3
ROCK HILL, S.C. - College of Charleston used 10 hits and manufactured several runs to score a 6-3 victory over Winthrop on the road on Wednesday night.
College of Charleston (9-3) won its second straight game and third mid-week game this season, while Winthrop (1-12) lost its fourth straight.
Senior Ryan West (2-0) earned his second win of the season, recording a career-high eight strikeouts and allowing three runs through 7.0 innings. Junior Dre Watts pitched a hitless eighth inning, and senior David Peterson closed out the ninth inning for his fourth save of the season and second this week.
Senior Marty Gantt led the way offensively with a 3-for-5 day at the plate with two runs and two stolen bases. The game was his seventh multiple-hit performance of the season and extended his hitting streak to eight games.
Brandon Murray scored three runs and hit his second home run of the season, going 2-for-4. Cody Martin recorded two RBIs on a 2-for-3 performance, while Daniel Aldrich scored a run and tallied two RBIs on a double and two walks.
Winthrop's Preston Johnson (0-3) earned the loss by allowing four runs and six hits through 4.1 innings.
The Cougars did not take long to get on the scoreboard as Brandon Murray hit a solo home run to right field as just the second batter of the game.
College of Charleston manufactured a run in the top of the third as Gantt singled to left and stole second and third base. A double from Martin dropped in on the left field line to score Gantt and the Cougars went up 2-0.
Winthrop scored their first run in the bottom half of the third after a walk and an infield single. Patrick Gamblin advanced the Eagles to second and third, and a pickoff attempt from catcher Jimmy Holton hit Winthrop's Leighton Daniels at third. Daniels scored on the play to make the margin just 2-1.
The Cougars executed small ball to perfection in the fifth inning when Gantt scored from first on a hit and run double from Daniel Aldrich. Aldrich advanced to third on a groundout and scored on a sacrifice fly from Martin to right field, putting College of Charleston ahead 4-1.
The Eagles put together a big inning in the bottom of the fifth, scoring two runs on two hits. Matt Lobacz tallied two RBIs with a double. After Lobacz advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt, the Cougars' Gunnar Heidt made an important play to field a ground ball, look back the base runner and record the second out of the inning. West struck out pinch hitter Jace Whitley to end the inning.
The Cougars were able to score insurance runs in the seventh and ninth innings off of a sacrifice fly from Aldrich and an RBI single from Rob Harding.
College of Charleston remains on the road for a three-game conference set at Furman, beginning on Friday. The first game is slated to start at 6 p.m.
Samford 5, Jacksonville State 2
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.-Samford right fielder Brandon Miller went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI to lead the Bulldog baseball team to a 5-2 win over in-state rival Jacksonville State Wednesday evening at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
Samford improves to 9-4 with the win, while Jacksonville State drops to 2-8. The Bulldogs sweep the two-game season series with the Gamecocks.
"I was really pleased with the way we swung the bats tonight," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "It was kind of a crazy game. You look up and we had 12 hits and a lot of hard-hit outs. They played their outfield really deep and it was successful for them because we had four or five balls that normally would be in the gap or at least down for hits that were caught."
As a team, Samford pounded out 12 hits in the win, while holding Jacksonville State to five hits.
Behind Miller for Samford, Saxon Butler went 2-for-4 at the plate. C.K. Irby, Austin Allison and Matt Frederick drove in one run each for the Bulldogs.
Tyler Vanderheiden (1-0) pitched one hitless inning of relief to earn his first win of the season. Irby came in for the last inning and retired the Gamecocks in order to earn his second save of the season.
For Jacksonville State, Sam Eberle went 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI. Ben Waldrip also homered in a 1-for-2 performance for JSU. Travis Stout (0-1) pitched three innings in relief, giving up one run on two hits to take the loss for the Gamecocks.
Samford jumped on top first with two runs in the bottom of the second inning. Irby singled to left-center field to drive in Miller, who had singled to lead off the inning, for the first run of the game. With the bases loaded, Allison singled to left field to drive in Christiaan Durdaller, who had singled earlier in the inning, for a 2-0 Samford lead.
Jacksonville State came back to tie the score with two runs in the top of the fourth inning. Eberle and Waldrip led the inning off with back-to-back home runs to tie the game at 2-2.
Samford took the lead for good with a run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Butler singled with one out to get things going. Miller then doubled to left-center field to drive in Frederick, who came in as a pinch runner for Butler, to give Samford a 3-2 lead.
The Bulldogs added two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to make the final score 5-2. With two outs and no one on base, Kevin Putkonen and Brad Moss drew back-to-back walks. Frederick then singled down the left-field line to drive in Putkonen to give Samford a two-run lead. Miller then singled to center field to drive in Moss with the game's final run.
Samford will return to action on Friday when the Bulldogs open their first Southern Conference series of the season with a game at UNC Greensboro. The Bulldogs and the Spartans will play Friday at 5 p.m. (CT), Saturday at 12 p.m. (CT) and Sunday again at 12 p.m. (CT).
Gardner-Webb 3, Wofford 2
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - On Wednesday night, the Wofford College baseball team was defeated 3-2 by Gardner-Webb at Russell C. King Field. The Runnin' Bulldogs scored three runs on six hits, while limiting the Terriers to only four hits on the night.
Wofford is 6-6 overall and Gardner-Webb is 9-3 overall. The Terriers were led by Mac Doyle with two hits and Taylor Rozier with a home run. Gardner-Webb was led by John Harris with two hits and an RBI.
The Runnin' Bulldogs scored in the top of the first inning with an RBI single by John Harris. Wofford loaded the bases on two walks and a single by Mac Doyle in the bottom of the first. A wild pitch allowed one run to score and tie the game.
Both teams left one runner on base in the second inning and the Terriers stranded two in the third. Wofford led off the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run by Taylor Rozier to left field for a 2-1 lead.
In the top of the fifth, an RBI single by Scott Johnson tied the game at 2-2. Dusty Quattlebaum gave Gardner-Webb a 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh with a sacrifice fly to score Ryan Allen from third base. In the bottom of the eighth, Wofford had two runners on base when Benji Jackson made a great grab in centerfield to end inning.
Wofford starter Mason Bradley went a career-long 5.2 innings and allowed two runs on four hits with three strikeouts. Ryan Traylor (0-1) allowed a run and had one strikeout in a third of an inning. Dominick Del Monte went an inning and gave up two hits. Alex Wilson went the final two innings with four strikeouts and no hits allowed.
Gardner-Webb starter Andrew Barnett threw five innings and gave up two runs on three hits with five strikeouts. Matt Liedberg (1-0) went 1.2 innings and did not allow a hit with three strikeouts. Jeff Howell worked two-thirds of an inning with one hit allowed and a strikeout. Adam Izokovic closed the game with 1.2 innings for his third save of the season.
The Terriers will play Presbyterian College at Fluor Field in Greenville on Thursday night at 6:00 p.m. On Friday, Wofford will host Eastern Kentucky for the first in a three-game series.
#6 North Carolina 3, Elon 0
ELON, N.C. -- The Elon pitching staff allowed just two earned runs, but the Phoenix bats could not deliver in a 3-0 loss to sixth-ranked North Carolina at Latham Park on Wednesday.
The Tar Heels (10-2) plated single runs in the third, fourth and seventh to take the victory. An Elon (7-5) fielding error allowed the first run to score. A Mike Zolk single drove home the second and the final tally crossed the plate on Colin Moran's sacrifice fly.
Elon's Jim Stokes (1-1) was saddled with the loss after he gave up two runs (one earned) on four hits in five innings. He also struck out three. Four Phoenix relievers combined to allow one run on just two hits over the final four frames.
Benton Moss (1-0) picked up the victory by tossing 8.1 shutout innings. He struck out eight. Michael Morin retired the final two hitters to pick up his fourth save of the season.
The Phoenix mustered just three hits on the night, two from Alex Swim and a bunt single by Jake Luce.
UNC's six hits matched a season-low by the Tar Heel hitters.
Southern Conference action comes to Latham Park this weekend as the Phoenix plays host to Georgia Southern in a three-game series that gets underway at 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon.
Eastern Kentucky 6, UNCG 5 (10 inn.)
GREENSBORO, N.C. - UNCG fought back from a 5-1 deficit to tie the game in the seventh inning, but Eastern Kentucky got an RBI single from Jacob Daniel in the top of the 10th as the Spartans fell, 6-5, on Tuesday evening at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
With the two sides deadlocked at 5 after nine innings, A.J. Jamison led off the 10th inning with a double down the first base line. After a fly out and ground out, Daniel took the first pitch he saw into shallow center field to easily score Jamison and give the Colonels a 6-5 lead.
Anthony Bazzini came in for Eastern Kentucky (4-8) and retired UNCG in order in the bottom of the 10th to pick up his second save of the season. Matt Fyffe (3-0) was credited with the win after pitching 2 2/3 innings and allowing just one hit, while striking out three.
Eastern Kentucky was first on the board as Justin Trent led off the third inning with a double to left field. After a sacrifice bunt moved him to third, Jamison hit a sacrifice fly to center field to give the Colonels the early 1-0 lead.
UNCG (9-3) answered immediately in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game at 1 apiece. Nick Chapman started things with a single through the right side and moved over to second on a sac bunt by Christian Wolfe. After moving to third on a wild pitch, Chapman came home when Zach Leach hit a grounder to the shortstop.
Richie Rodriguez led off the top of the fourth for Eastern Kentucky with his seventh home run of the season as part of a four-run fourth inning. Trent added an RBI single later in the inning and Steve Ferraro had a two-run double to make it a 5-1 game.
Lloyd Enzor began his impressive day in the fourth inning as he led off the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run to left center to make it a 5-2 contest.
An inning later, Enzor was back at the plate, this time with a man on third, and hit a towering home run to left field to pull UNCG within 5-4.
In the seventh inning, it was Enzor once again who provided the timely hit for UNCG. Leach led off with a walk and Thomas Troelstrup followed with a walk two batters later. Enzor then slapped an opposite field single to score Leach and tie the game at 5-5.
The Spartans will kick off SoCon action on Friday as they host Samford at 6 p.m.
North Carolina State 11, Davidson 0
RALEIGH, N.C. - Five NC State pitchers threw a combined shutout as the Wolfpack earned an 11-0 victory over Davidson in non-conference baseball action Wednesday at Doak Field.
Davidson (4-6) had runners in scoring position in each of the first three innings, but was unable to drive them home. Senior centerfielder Drew Gadaire (1-for-4) extended his on-base streak to 16 games with a hit in the first inning. Junior third baseman Andrew Barna went 2-for-4, including a leadoff double in the seventh inning.
Six Wildcat pitchers allowed just two earned runs, but NC State (9-2) hitters took advantage of eight errors to generate nine unearned runs.
After scoring a run in each of the first two innings, three Davidson miscues in the third inning resulted in a six-run inning for the Wolfpack, giving them an 8-0 lead. NC State then scored a run each in the fourth, sixth and eighth innings for the final margin.
RHP Danny Healy (2-0) earned the win for NC State, allowing just one hit and striking out one in three innings of work. Centerfielder Logan Ratledge led the Wolfpack at the plate, going 3-for-5 with three RBI.
LHP Rob Bain (0-1) took the loss in his first career start, surrendering seven hits and eight runs (one earned), while striking out two in 2.2 innings.
Davidson begins conference play Friday at 3 p.m. at Appalachian State.