UNCG 4, Duke 3
DURHAM, N.C. - Trailing 3-1 after five innings, UNCG scored three unanswered runs and saw its bullpen allow only one hit over the last 4 1/3 innings to defeat Duke, 4-3, in a nonconference game at Jack Coombs Field in Durham, N.C. on Tuesday evening.
For the second game in a row, UNCG (18-13) would rally back and prevail thanks to some shaky defense by Duke (13-21) and dominate work by the bullpen.
The Spartans took an early 1-0 lead in the second inning following a sacrifice fly from Christian Wolfe that scored Thomas Troelstrup, who tripled down the right field line to spark the offense.
Duke responded quickly by plating a run in the bottom of the third to tie it up at one. Identical to the way UNCG got on the board, Duke's Grant McCabe hit a triple to left past an outstretched Zach Leach to put a runner on third with no outs in the frame. Blue Devil's Angelo La Bruna lofted a sacrifice fly to right field to score McCabe.
Knotted up at one, Duke plated its final two runs of the evening in the bottom of the fifth inning as Jordan Betts singled to start off the inning against UNCG's Jonathan Jones. Following a Betts stolen base, McCabe reached on an error to put runners on the corners with no outs. Again, La Bruna delivered as he plated Betts on an RBI groundout to give the Blue Devils a 2-1 lead. Two batters later, Andy Perez hit an RBI single to extend the Duke lead to two, 3-1.
However, UNCG sliced the deficit in half in its next at bat as Kris Richards singled to center on the first pitch he saw from Dillon Haviland (1-1) and Cole Harrison smoked a triple down the right field line to bring the score to 3-2 in Duke's favor.
In the top of the seventh, TJ Spina walked to lead off the frame and Bobby Martin reached on the fourth error of the evening by the Blue Devils to put runners on first and second with no outs. Two batters later, Trevor Edwards roped an RBI single to center field. Lloyd Enzor followed with a sacrifice fly of his own to give the Spartans the lead for good, 4-3.
All but two starters recorded a hit for UNCG and four Spartans accumulated an RBI on evening.
Zach Furl (2-0) picked up the win for UNCG as he tossed 1 1/3 inning of no-hit relief while walking one batter and helped the Spartans escape a potential detrimental fifth inning.
UNCG starter freshman Lee Gilliam was sharp in his four innings of work as he struck out the side in the second inning and induced a double play groundball in the first. He finished the night with four strikeouts while allowing two hits and one run on 46 pitches.
Brennen James collected his third save of the year as he threw a 13 pitch scoreless ninth inning.
The Blue Devil's Haviland took the loss as he was rocked for three runs (two earned) and allowed three hits in 1 1/3 innings of work.
UNCG's pitching staff struck out 10 batters on the evening on the way to back-to-back victories for the first time since March 25-28. UNCG has won six of its last nine games and is in the midst of playing 10 of its next 15 games on the road after 25 of its first 30 games at home.
UNCG heads to Charleston, S.C. for a three-game set in a crucial Southern Conference against The Citadel on Friday. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
Georgia Southern 3, Kennesaw State 2
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern Baseball team began a five-game week, which includes four home games, with a 3-2 victory over the Kennesaw State Owls. The Eagles picked up their sixth-straight victory behind five solid innings from the bullpen.
Both starting pitchers threw well and provided the J.I. Clements Stadium crowd of 1,044 a rare mid-week pitcher's duel. Sam Howard (Cartersville, Ga.) made his second start of the season, and though he could not complete the fifth inning, left with a one-run lead. Howard did not allow a run on three hits and three walks after Josh Stevenson (Social Circle, Ga.) (2-2) left a pair of runner's stranded in the fifth inning.
Georgia Southern (19-15) tallied just one RBI but took advantage of two errors and a double play to pick up the one-run victory. Michael Burruss (Marietta, Ga.) and T.D. Davis (Evans, Ga.) combined for four of the Eagles' eight hits in the game but also accounted for half of the eight base runners left stranded.
Also making his second start of the season, Kevin McCoy went two innings further than Howard and posted a quality start of one earned run in 6.1 innings for Kennesaw State (19-15). However, McCoy (0-2) took the loss after allowing two unearned runs. The sophomore walked just one and struck out seven batters.
Georgia Southern added the pair of unearned runs in the fifth inning to extend their lead to 3-0. However, the Eagles had to hold on after the Owls rallied for two runs in the final four frames to make things interesting. Kyle Rowe (Valdosta, Ga.) came on in the eighth inning after Chirs McGowan knocked in Kennesaw State's second run of the game with a two-out infield single. Rowe (S, 3) retired pinch-hitter Jacob Bruce on a pop up and set down the top of the batting order in stride in the ninth inning to tally his third save of the season.
Tyler Avera (Baxley, Ga.) kept the fifth inning alive by reaching base on a two-out error and came around to score on a single by Eric Phillips (Carrollton, Ga.). The hit also moved Michael Burruss (Marietta, Ga.), who was hit by a pitch, to third base. Having already picked up the RBI; Phillips was not done driving in runners and drew a throw, while stealing second base, that skipped into center field and allowed Burruss to score the game-winning run.
The Georgia Southern bullpen put the game away by stranding six inherited runners with the help of a combined seven strikeouts. After Kennesaw State got a run back in the sixth inning on a Max Pentecost double, Taylor Burke (Statesboro, Ga.) struck out the two batters to end the frame and leave a pair of runners stranded in scoring position. Drew Johnson (Peachtree City, Ga.) added a scoreless seventh inning and struck out two of the three batters he faced.
Georgia Southern ended the scoreless tie with a run in the fourth inning. Chase Griffin (Leesburg, Ga.) reached base to lead off the frame after being hit by a pitch and scored the first run of the game on a double play. The freshman catcher went first-to-third on Stryker Brown's (Dalton, Ga.) single and came around to score after Davis grounded into the double play.
Georgia Southern travels to Jacksonville tomorrow night for a 6 p.m. before returning to Statesboro to host the Southern Conference leader. The Eagles will take on Appalachian State at 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday before concluding the series at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.
All baseball games this season can be heard on the Boomer 103.7 FM and inside J.I. Clements 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 16, Winthrop 3
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - College of Charleston's hitting came alive for the second-straight game as the Cougars knocked 18 hits in a 16-3 rout of Winthrop at Patriots Point.
College of Charleston (23-11) won its second straight game after a four-game losing streak by tying a season-high output of 16 runs with two homers, two triples and two doubles. Winthrop (11-23) managed just six hits and three runs, two of which were unearned.
Bradley Goodson led the Cougars charge with a 4-for-4 day at the plate with a three-run home run and five total RBIs. Daniel Aldrichnotched his second straight multi-hit game as he went 3-for-5 with three runs and an RBI triple, his fourth three-base knock of the season.
After hitting his first career home run on Sunday, Gunnar Heidt hit his second long ball in as many games, a three-run jack in the sixth inning.Tyler Jackson knocked a triple and finished with a run and three RBI, while Brandon Murray scored two runs on two hits with an RBI. Marty Gantt batted in the leadoff spot for the first time this season and notched three hits and two walks, scoring two runs and swiping two bags.
Playing at first base for the second straight game, Rob Harding did not record an at bat all game as he hit two sacrifices, was hit by a pitch and walked.
"I was really pleased with our approach at the plate," head coach Monte Lee said. "We've been very disciplined the last two games with our approach and it's paid off with run production. Our pitching staff continued to do a great job as well. We need to have a good week of practice to carry this momentum into an important weekend series with Samford."
The Cougar pitching staff was not outdone by the offensive outburst as CofC combined for 12 strikeouts and no walks while allowing just one earned run. Starter Ryan West (3-3) earned his third win of the season, pitching 6.0 innings and giving up just five hits and one earned run while striking out seven. Drew Freie, Dre Watts and David Peterson came on in relief and limited the Eagles to just one hit.
Winthrop starter Preston Johnson (1-5) was tagged with the loss. He lasted just 3.0 innings after allowing seven runs on six hits and walking four batters. Jason Driver was the lone bright spot for the Eagle offense as he went 3-for-4 with a solo home run in the sixth inning.
The Cougars scored runs in all but the second and fifth inning, as the second frame was the only inning where the Eagles set down CofC without a hit. 18 hits marked a season high for Charleston and the Cougars are now 18-4 when scoring first.
The two College of Charleston home runs raises the team total to 37 which ranks sixth in the nation and leads the Southern Conference.
Charleston will look to continue its momentum this weekend when the Cougars welcome conference foe Samford to Patriots Point. First pitch on Friday night is scheduled for 6 p.m.
No. 24 East Carolina 3, Elon 2 (10 inn.)
ELON, N.C. -- Returning home after a seven-game road swing, the Elon Phoenix came up just short as it dropped a 3-2 decision in 10 innings to the 24th-rated East Carolina Pirates on Tuesday night. It was the seventh extra inning game and 11th-one run game of the season for Elon.
The game remained scoreless into the ninth inning before East Carolina (23-8-1) put two aboard with two outs. The Pirates claimed a 2-0 lead when Jack Reinheimer doubled to left-center.
Elon (19-15) began its half of the ninth with an infield single by Alex Swim. After a ground out sent Swim to second, Joey Tomko hit a shallow fly ball to center with two outs. The ECU outfielder dropped the ball and Swim scored to make it a 2-1 game. After a Garrett Koster single put runners on the corners, the Phoenix pulled off a double steal as pinch-runner Blaine Bower raced in to even the score. The Phoenix looked like it might win the game when Casey Jones bounced a ball up the middle, but second baseman Tim Younger made a sliding stop and was able to throw Koster out at the plate to end the bottom of the ninth.
Younger then doubled to lead off the top of the 10th and moved to third on a sac bunt. After a walk and wild pitch put runners on second and third, John Wooten lifted a fly ball to center that allowed Younger to tag and score the winning run.
ECU threatened early, but saw scoring opportunities erased in the first, third, fourth and sixth by Elon double plays. The four double plays by the Phoenix marked the most in a game for the program since it turned four against UNCG in 2009.
Elon starter David Whitehead did not allow a run on six hits over six innings before giving way to Jordan Darnell. Darnell (0-1) took the loss after allowing all three runs on three hits in 3.1 innings.
Drew Reynolds (3-0) was the winner with two innings of relief work. He was charged with both Elon runs in the ninth and gave up three hits. Pirate starter Jeff Hoffman went eight scoreless innings and fanned 10.
The maroon and gold will be right back in action on Wednesday night as the Phoenix travels to Raleigh to take on the 17th-ranked Wolfpack of NC State.
Clemson 12, Furman 5
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Jon McGibbon went 3-for-4 and drove in five runs to lead Clemson to a 12-5 victory over Furman in baseball action Tuesday evening in front of 5,610 fans at Fluor Field.
McGibbon stroked a two-run single in the first inning, drew a bases loaded walk in the third, stroked a two-run home run in the fourth, and doubled and scored in the ninth to pace Clemson (19-14) to the win. Thomas Brittle also had three hits and scored four runs for the Tigers.
Furman (17-17) banged out 15 hits to Clemson's 11, but the Paladins stranded 12 runners in the contest and were victimized by ineffective pitching that issued five walks over the first four frames.
Will Miller led Furman at the plate with a 3-for-5 performance that included two doubles. Jake Jones, Will Muzika, Chris Ohmstede, and Alex Abrams collected two hits apiece for the Paladins. Muzika doubled and cracked his first home run of the season in the eighth inning.
David Haselden (2-1) earned the victory in relief of Tiger starter Jonathan Meyer, working 1 2/3 innings and allowing three hits and one runs. He walked one and fanned three.
Furman starting pitcher Jacques de Gruy (1-1) took the loss after lasting just 2 1/3 innings. The sophomore right-hander allowed only three hits but surrendered four walks, three of which scored. He ended up allowing six runs, five of which were earned.
de Gruy surrendered a pair of runs in the first after walking a pair and giving up two hits, including McGibbon's bases loaded single up the middle that plated Richie Shafer and Brittle.
The Tigers tallied four more runs in the third on the strength of a Brad Felder two-run single.
Clemson stretched its lead to 9-0 with a three-run fourth that included an RBI grounder by Phil Pohl and McGibbon's towering two-run home run to right center field off Paladin reliever Ben Carlson.
Furman got on the board in the bottom of the fourth, tallying four runs on six hits and a Clemson error. The Paladins had a chance for more, but with the bases loaded Haselden struck out Muzika looking with one out and then got Miller on a deep fly to center field to end the threat.
The Tigers tacked on two more runs in the eighth and one in the ninth.
Furman received excellent relief pitching from senior Stephen Gary, who threw three innings of no-hit ball while striking out three.
The Paladins open a three-game Southern Conference series at Western Carolina on Friday, with first pitch set for 5:00 p.m.
Auburn 7, Samford 5
AUBURN, Ala.-The Samford baseball team fell in a midweek contest at Auburn, 7-5, Tuesday evening at Plainsman Park.
Auburn scored four runs in the second inning to take an early lead, and Samford was never able to catch up the rest of the way.
"That big inning in the second got us beat," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "We made some defensive mistakes. Not things that will show up as errors, but situational stuff that we have to do a better job on, and they were able to capitalize on the mistakes we made."
Samford was led at the plate by Phillip Ervin, going 4-for-5. Zeth Stone was 3-for-5 for the Bulldogs. Brad Moss went 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Tommy Corbin was 2-for-5 with an RBI.
Lex Rutledge (0-3) pitched 3.0 innings, giving up five runs, four earned, on five hits to take the loss on the mound for Samford. Tyler Vanderheiden, Arthur Strauss, Michael Gunter, Joseph Burns and C.K. Irby also saw time on the mound for the Bulldogs.
Auburn was led at the plate by Zach Alvord, going 2-for-4 with two RBI. Dan Glevenyak went 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Creede Simpson was 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Tigers.
Trey Cochran-Gill (2-1) pitched 2.2 innings, allowing no runs on three hits to earn the win for Auburn. Justin Bryant pitched the final two-thirds of an inning to earn his fourth save of the season.
Auburn jumped on top first with four runs in the bottom of the second inning. Alvord, Jay Gonzalez and Glevenyak drove in a run each in the inning. Gonzalez also scored on a Samford error to give Auburn a 4-0 lead.
The Tigers added a run in the bottom of the third inning to make the score 5-0. Simpson doubled to right-center field to drive in Garrett Cooper for a five-run Auburn lead.
Samford got on the scoreboard with a run in the top of the fourth inning. Ervin singled to start the rally. Ervin later scored on a single by Corbin to cut the Auburn lead to 5-1.
The Bulldogs added three runs in the top of the seventh inning to pull to within one run at 5-4. Brandon Miller singled to left field to drive in Moss for the first run of the inning. Irby later tripled, driving in Miller and Ervin for the final two Samford runs in the seventh inning.
Auburn answered with two runs of its own in the bottom of the seventh inning to push its lead back to three runs at 7-4. Cullen Wacker doubled to drive in Justin Bryant for the first run of the inning. Wacker then scored on a single by Alvord for a three-run Auburn lead.
Samford added another run in the top of the eighth inning to make the score 7-5. Austin Allison reached base on an error and advanced to second base on the play. Allison then scored on a single by Moss to pull Samford to within two runs.
In the top of the ninth inning, Samford got runners to second and third base, but the Bulldogs were unable to plate any runs, as the Bulldogs fell to the Tigers by a final score of 7-5.
Samford will return to action on Friday when the Bulldogs open a three-game Southern Conference series at College of Charleston. The teams will play Friday at 5 p.m. (CT), Saturday at 2 p.m. (CT) and Sunday at 12 p.m. (CT).
No. 9 South Carolina 8, The Citadel 0
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Grayson Greiner's grand slam highlighted a six-run seventh inning as No. 9 South Carolina recorded 11 hits and blanked The Citadel 8-0 Tuesday evening at Carolina Stadium. The Bulldogs fall to 13-20 overall and face Coastal Carolina Wednesday evening in Conway at 6 p.m.
The Gamecocks (24-9) scored a pair of runs in the third to take a 2-0 lead. Back-to-back singles by Tanner English and Evan Marzilli to lead off the frame put runners at first and second. Citadel reliever TJ Clarkson was called for a balk with Adam Matthews at the plate, advancing both runners into scoring position. Matthews chopped a 2-2 pitch by Clarkson to short for the first out, but English scored on the groundout for a 1-0 Carolina lead. With a runner at third, Christian Walker hit into a fielder's choice as Drew DeKerlegand threw out Marzilli at the plate for the second out. Walker moved to second on a wild pitch by Clarkson and Joey Pankake lined a 3-2 pitch into the right-field corner for a RBI double and a 2-0 Gamecock lead.
South Carolina broke the game open with a five-spot in the seventh. Matthews reached on a throwing error by Calvin Orth, who moved from first to third in the frame defensively. Matthews stole second and scored on a RBI double to deep center by Walker for a 3-0 lead. Zach Sherrill replaced Ross White on the mound for the Bulldogs and gave up back-to-back walks to load the bases with no outs. Grayson Greiner drove a 2-1 pitch from Sherrill over the wall in left for a grand slam and extending the Gamecocks' lead to 7-0. After recording an out, LB Dantzler doubled down the right-field line and English singled to left, putting runners at the corners. Connor Walsh relieved Sherrill and gave up a sacrifice fly to Marzilli that plated Dantzler for the 8-0 final.
Nolan Belcher improved to 2-1 on the season, striking out seven over 5.2 shutout innings, scattering three hits and walking one. Walker and English finished with three hits apiece for the Gamecocks.
Clarkson suffered the loss for the Bulldogs, falling to 1-3 on the year. Clarkson allowed two runs on four hits in three innings with three walks and one strikeout. Kevin Connell started the game for The Citadel, allowing two hits in two shutout frames. Mason Davis had two of the Bulldogs' five hits on the evening.
Gardner-Webb 6, No. 27 Appalachian State 3
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - Appalachian State University baseball committed a season-high five errors and managed just seven hits in a 6-3 defeat at Gardner-Webb on Tuesday evening.
The setback gave Appalachian (24-7) back-to-back losses for the first time this season. Gardner-Webb (18-16) added to its impressive ledger of victories with the triumph over the 27th-ranked Mountaineers.
Despite struggling throughout the evening both in the field and at the plate, Appalachian managed to take a 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh inning on a two-run double by Trey Holmes (Rockwell, N.C./East Rowan).
The lead stood until the bottom of the eighth when Gardner-Webb strung together six-straight hits and the Mountaineers committed their fourth and fifth errors of the evening to allow the Bulldogs to score four runs and take a 6-3 lead.
ASU loaded the bases with one out in the top of the ninth but GWU closer Adam Izokovic induced a pair of fly balls to end the Apps' hopes of a comeback.
Besides Holmes' two-run double in the seventh inning, Appalachian's only other run came on a two-out RBI double by freshman Brandon Burris (Concord, N.C./Mount Pleasant) in the fifth. The Mountaineers' usually potent lineup produced just seven hits against three Gardner-Webb pitchers with the first three hitters in the lineup combining to go 0-for-11 with seven strikeouts. Will Callaway (Greenville, S.C./Eastside) had his 21-game hitting streak snapped with an 0-for-3 evening.
ASU freshman Jamie Nunn (Winston-Salem, N.C./Mount Tabor) surrendered just one earned run but issued three walks and lasted just 4.2 innings in his fourth-career start. Tyler Moore (Banner Elk, N.C./Watauga) was tagged for four earned runs in just one-third of an inning to suffer the first loss of his career and fall to 2-1 on the season.
The loss was Appalachian's first of the year to a team ranked outside the top 50 in this week's official NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) rankings. Despite being just two games above .500, Gardner-Webb now boasts impressive wins over ASU, North Carolina (23-9), Liberty (28-8), USC Upstate (22-11) and Coastal Carolina (20-11).
First-place Appalachian (9-3 in Southern Conference play) returns to action this weekend with a challenging three-game SoCon series at Georgia Southern (19-15, 8-7 SoCon). The three-game set begins on Friday at 6 p.m. at J.I. Clements Stadium in Statesboro, Ga.
Presbyterian 13, Davidson 5
CLINTON, S.C. - Presbyterian hitters hit three home runs, including a grand slam by first baseman Kenny Bryant, en route to a 13-5 victory over Davidson in non-conference baseball action Tuesday at PC Baseball Complex.
Designated hitter Brad Zebedis (2-for-4) hit a three-run home run in the first inning and left fielder Nate Chong (3-for-5) hit a solo shot before third baseman Jay Lizanich (3-for-5) drove in an unearned run in the second inning for an early 5-2 lead for Presbyterian (14-20).
Davidson (11-19) answered with two runs in the top of the third inning to close the deficit to one as junior shortstop Michael Zeblo (1-for-1, 4 BB) hit an RBI-double and designated hitterDavid Daniels hit into an RBI-groundout after RHP Matt Nodleman (1-0) entered the game, but Presbyterian added a run in the bottom half of the inning to restore the two-run margin.
Senior centerfielder Drew Gadaire drove in a run in the top of the sixth inning to pull the ‘Cats within one again, but the Blue Hose added six runs in the bottom half of the inning with Bryant's homer plating the final four runs of the inning. PC added another run in the eighth inning.
Davidson led 2-0 after the top of the first inning after senior second baseman James Cerbie and sophomore leftfielderForrest Brandt drew lead-off walks and eventually scored. Cerbie advanced to second base on a wild pitch and stole third during Brandt's at-bat, and scored on a wild pitch. With two outs, Brandt stole second and third and then scored on a double to left field by senior right fielder Jake Berman.
Davidson will begin a three-game Southern Conference series against Wofford Friday at 7 p.m.