Appalachian State 6, Wofford 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - On Sunday afternoon the Wofford baseball team was defeated 6-0 by Appalachian State at Russell C. King Field. The Mountaineers out-hit the Terriers twelve to three in the contest to earn the Southern Conference series sweep.
Wofford is 17-26 overall and 5-16 in the Southern Conference. Appalachian State is 32-9 overall and 16-5 in conference play. The Terriers had hits from James Foster, Luke Feisal, and David Roney and left six runners on base. The Mountaineers were led by Brandon Burris with two hits and four RBIs.
The Mountaineers opened the game with a lead-off single, but the runner was stranded at third. Wofford stranded one runner in the bottom of the first after Mac Doyle reached on an error. Both teams were retired in order in the second inning.
In the top of the third, the Mountaineers got on the board on a sacrifice fly by Brandon Burris for a 1-0 lead. James Foster had the first hit of the day for the Terriers in the bottom of the third, but he was left on base. Both sides went in order in the fourth inning.
Appalachian State added a hit in the top of the fifth. In the bottom of the fifth, David Roney walked and stole second, but was left on base. The Mountaineers had two singles in the top of the sixth and a single by Jeremy Dowdy scored one for a 2-0 lead.
After Wofford was retired in order in the bottom of the sixth, the Mountaineers opened the seventh with three straight singles, with Brandon Burris driving in two runs for a 4-0 advantage. Appalachian State left two runners on base entering the seventh inning stretch.
The Terriers had two runners on base in the bottom of the seventh on a walk to James Plaisted and a single by David Roney, but both were stranded. In the top of the eighth, Noah Holmes walked and then was driven in on a two-out double by Hector Crespo to take a 5-0 lead. An RBI single by Brandon Burris scored Crespo for a 6-0 advantage. Appalachian State left two runners on base in the top of the ninth. Luke Feisal had a single for Wofford in the bottom of the ninth, but was left on base to end the game.
Wofford starter Cash Collins (4-6) worked six innings and allowed four runs on eight hits with three strikeouts. Alex Wilson threw 1.2 innings and gave up two runs on two hits with two strikeouts. Eric Eck went a third of an inning and allowed one hit. Ryan Traylor added two-thirds of an inning with one hit allowed and Connell Anderson recorded the final out in the top of the ninth.
Appalachian State starter Rob Marcello (6-3) threw seven innings and gave up only two runs with eight strikeouts. Jamie Nunn went the final two innings and allowed one hit with three strikeouts.
The Terriers will host USC Upstate on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m. in a contest that was originally rained out on April 19. On Friday night Wofford will begin a Southern Conference series at Furman.
The Citadel 8, Georgia Southern 7
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Joe Jackson collected three hits and The Citadel took advantage of four costly errors by Georgia Southern to defeat the Eagles 8-7 Sunday afternoon at Riley Park and take the Southern Conference series two games to one. The Bulldogs improve to 19-25 overall, 9-12 in the conference and host North Florida for a two-game midweek series starting Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Jackson's three hit outing was his 15th multi-hit game of the season and his two RBI effort led the Bulldogs as well. Hughston Armstrong also collected two base hits for The Citadel, which was out-hit 15-9 in the game. James Reeves picked up his team-best sixth win in relief, allowing three runs on five hits in 3.1 innings of work. Ryan Hines earned his fifth save, giving up one run on two hits in two frames.
Scooter Williams had a career day in a losing effort for the Eagles, going 5-for-5 with a double and three RBI and three runs scored. Brent Pugh added three hits, while Will Middour took the loss. Middour was tagged for six runs - three earned - on five hits in 2.2 innings. The Eagles left 12 runners on base in the game, including at least one runner in each of the first eight innings.
Georgia Southern (24-21, 11-10 SoCon) scored first for the first time in the series, plating a single run in the first and two in the second for an early 3-0 lead. Scooter Williams lined a one-out single to left center in the first and stole second. One out later, Chase Griffin knocked a RBI single to right to score Williams. In the second frame, a hit by pitch and three straight singles manufactured the two runs, with Eric Phillips and Williams collecting the RBI base hits.
The Bulldogs broke the floodgates open in the third, scoring six runs on five hits and used three Georgia Southern errors to send 11 batters to the plate in the frame. Hughston Armstrong got things going with a bunt single and advanced to second on a throwing error by Griffin, the Eagles catcher. Nick Orvin attempted to drop a sacrifice bunt, but reached on throwing error by Tyler Avera at third, taking second on the error as Armstrong scored the Bulldogs' first run. Mason Davis reached on an infield single and both Davis and Orvin advanced to scoring position on a passed ball. Justin Mackert loaded the bases on a five-pitch walk and Joe Jackson delivered a two-run double down the right-field line to knot the game at 3-3 and put Mackert at third. Bo Thompson gave The Citadel the 4-3 lead with a sacrifice fly to deep center to score Mackert.
The Citadel wasn't finished in the third however, as Jackson moved to third on a groundout and scored on a fielding error by Phillips at short that allowed Bailey Rush to reach base. A single by Johnathan Stokes moved Rush to second and a RBI single to right by Armstrong completed the six-run inning by plating Rush for a 6-3 Citadel lead.
Back-to-back singles by Mackert and Jackson in the fourth inning gave the Bulldogs runners at the corners and four straight balls to Thompson by reliever Josh Stevenson loaded the bases. Georgia Southern brought in Taylor Burke to face Rush and Burke plunked him with a 2-2 pitch to force in a run. The Eagles then replaced Burke with Kyle Rowe who walked Stokes to force in another run and give the Bulldogs an 8-3 lead. Stokes battled back from a 0-2 count to draw the count full and force Rowe into a breaking ball that missed for ball four.
Georgia Southern chipped away at the Bulldogs' lead in the sixth, scoring three runs for an 8-6 Citadel advantage. Brent Pugh singled to center and Phillips drew a full-count walk to put a pair of runners on with one out. Williams drove a two-run double down the left-field line for his fourth hit of the game and a RBI single to center by Avera plated the third run of the frame.
The Eagles came within one run in the eighth with a RBI groundout by T.D. Davis, for an 8-7 score, but Hines struck out Morgan with runners at second and third to end the frame. Hines then induced three fly outs in the ninth to close the door on the Eagles.
Tuesday's first pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. and Wednesday game is the beginning of a Citadel-Charleston RiverDogs doubleheader starting at 3:00 p.m.
Elon 3, UNCG 1 (10 inn.)
ELON, N.C. -- Spencer Medick hurled a gem and Ryan Kinsella drilled a 2-2 fastball over the left field walk for a walk-off homer in the bottom of the 10th as the Elon Phoenix completed a three-game Southern Conference baseball sweep of Triad rival UNCG on Sunday afternoon. Elon now sits at 26-20 overall and 16-8 in SoCon action. The Spartans fell to 21-21, 6-15.
Remarkably, Medick did not earn a decision after he struck out a career-high 13 hitters in 9.1 innings. It was his second 10-plus strikeout performance of the season. Medick faced just four hitters over the minimum in that span and threw 85 of his 118 pitches for strikes on the day. He allowed five hits and one run while not walking a hitter. Jordan Darnell came on and retired the final two hitters of the 10th to get the win and move to 1-1 on the year.
With the game knotted at one in the last of the 10th, Sebastian Gomez was hit by a 1-0 pitch from Tyler Hollstegge. After a wild pitch sent him to second, Kinsella sent the crowd home happy by turning around the fastball for his sixth homer of the season. It was the second walk-off homer for Kinsella in his Elon career.
UNCG took a 1-0 lead in the fifth, its only lead of the series, when a Christian Wolfe single to left-center drove home Thomas Troelstrup.
Elon loaded the bases in the sixth on an Alex Swim double and walks to Kinsella and Blaine Bower before a wild pitch allowed Swim to score the tying run.
Hollstegge (4-5) took the loss as he allowed two runs on three hits in 4.1 innings of relief work.
Both Swim and Gomez had two-hit performances for the Phoenix. All five of UNCG's hits came from the bottom four hitters in its order.
At the completion of the game, members of the Elon team along with coaches from multiple teams, had their heads shaved to help raise funds for the St. Baldrick's Foundation which raises money to fight pediatric cancer.
Elon will be back in action with two mid-week contests. The Phoenix will visit Wake Forest on Tuesday before returning to Latham Park to host the Demon Deacons on Wednesday. Both games begin at 6 p.m.
Samford 15, Davidson 6
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Philip Ervin's two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning erased a one-run Davidson lead, as the Bulldogs went on to win 15-6 over the Wildcats in Southern Conference baseball action Sunday afternoon at Wilson Field.
Samford (29-16, 16-8 SoCon) took advantage of five Davidson errors to score seven unearned runs and totaled 16 hits. Davidson (16-25, 7-17 SoCon) appeared on its way to a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh, but an error on the potential inning-ending play allowed first baseman Saxson Butler (3-for-5, 3 RBI, 3 R, BB) to reach base and brought Ervin up to bat. Ervin sent the ball over the left field fence just inside the foul poll to erase Davidson's 5-4 lead. After junior RHP Bryan DaCanal relieved sophomore RHP Danny Mooney (1-4), the Bulldogs drove in another run on back-to-back hits and finished the inning with a 7-5 lead.
Samford scored three more runs in the eighth inning, aided by another Wildcat error and a two-run home run by Butler, and added five more runs in the ninth inning. LHP Joseph Burns (3-0) took the mound for the Bulldogs in the top of the sixth inning and struck out seven of the 10 batters he faced over the next three innings, allowing just one hit, to keep Davidson from getting back into the game.
Junior third baseman Andrew Barna and senior centerfielder Drew Gadaire led the ‘Cats with two hits and two RBI each.
A sacrifice fly by Ervin in the top of the fifth inning gave Samford a 4-1 lead, but the ‘Cats answered with four runs in the bottom half of the frame with two outs. Junior shortstop Michael Zeblo led the inning off with a single and moved to third base on a double by freshman designated hitter Ryan Lowe (2-for-4), but Lowe was tagged out in a rundown after tagging up on a fly-out and then realizing Zeblo had not left third base. Senior first baseman Calvin Sigelbaum and Berman drew back-to-back walks though and Barna came through with a single to centerfield to drive in two runs. Ervin mishandled the ball on the play, allowing Berman and Barna to move into scoring position, and senior centerfielder Drew Gadaire followed with another single to center to drive in two more runs.
The Bulldogs were first on the scoreboard as right fielder Brandon Miller hit a solo home run to left field in the second inning, and then Samford went ahead 3-0 in the third after scoring two runs on one hit and three Davidson errors.
The Wildcats first scored in the fourth inning by taking advantage of a pair of Bulldog errors. Senior right fielder Jake Berman reached base on a fielding error and then used savvy base running later in the inning to induce an errant pick-off attempt following a routine groundout to score from third base.
Davidson will hit the road to face No. 5 South Carolina on Wednesday. The game will be televised on Fox Sports South and Fox Sports Carolinas.
The Wildcats will return home Friday to begin a three-game series with The Citadel. First pitch on Friday has been moved up to 5 p.m., and the teams will play a doubleheader Sunday beginning at 1 p.m. to allow The Citadel seniors to attend graduation ceremonies Saturday.
College of Charleston 6, Western Carolina 2
Cullowhee, N.C. - College of Charleston's pitching staff slowed the potent Western Carolina offense on Sunday afternoon as the Cougars claimed the series rubber match with a 6-2 victory over the Catamounts at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium. WCU surrendered three runs in the top of the ninth inning as the Cougars expanded its 3-1 lead entering the final frame to claim its third-straight SoCon series victory.
All told, the Catamounts were limited to just two runs on seven singles, stranding a combined 11 base runners in dropping the series finale.
History was matched on Sunday, though, as senior Ross Heffley reached on an infield single up the middle in the sixth inning to move into a tie with former Catamount Barrett Shaft (2005-08) with 336 career base hits. He also moved into a tie for fifth-place in the SoCon record books with Shaft for career hits.
Heffley finished 1-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout, finishing a team-best 6-of-13 on the weekend.
CofC (31-13, 19-8 SoCon) remained in second place in the conference standings behind Appalachian State, while the Catamounts (27-17, 11-10 SoCon) remained in a two-way tie with Georgia Southern for fifth in the standings as both squads dropped their weekend league series, two games to one.
Sunday's series finale had the makings of a pitcher's duel for most of the afternoon. Catamount freshman starter Jeremy Null (4-2), who took the loss, matched his career-high with eight strikeouts through six innings. The Claremont, N.C., native worked around two walks while allowing three runs on six hits. Cougar starter Matt Pegler (7-2) limited WCU to one run on just three hits through five and a third innings to pick up the victory. CofC's bullpen was equally as impressive, holding off any thought of a Catamount rally in the latter innings.
Null recorded at least one strikeout in each of the first four frames, posting all eight K's before the end of the fourth inning.
Pegler struck out six while walking two, giving way to reliever Jake Zokan in the sixth inning. Zokan and reliever Kyle Owings held the Catamounts off the board while allowing three hits through two and two thirds innings with closer David Peterson giving up an unearned run on one hit with a pair of walks and two strikeouts in an inning of work in the ninth.
WCU closer Preston Hatcher also threw three innings, giving up three unearned runs in three innings with a pair of strikeouts.
After a 0-for-2 start to the day, sophomore Cody Jones finished with three singles for a game-best 3-for-5 showing at the plate. Pinch hitters Bryant Noteboom and Dale Urquhart Jr., both collected singles, with the remaining two hits coming from Heffley and Tyler White.
Charleston took the early advantage with two solo runs in the top of the first and second innings. The Cougar DH, Tyler Jackson - who homered in a pinch hit role on Saturday afternoon - belted his second long ball of the series on a solo round-tripper that hugged the right field foul line in the top of the first for the 1-0 lead.
In the second, Brandon Glazer reached on a single to centerfield where the ball was misplayed allowing him to arrive into second safely. Two batters later, catcher Jimmy Holton collected his first hit of the series with a two-out, RBI single to left to push the Cougars ahead, 2-0.
Having registered just four base runners through the first five frames, Western Carolina began to show life in the sixth. Heffley bounced one up the middle for his record-tying hit, with Jones driving a single to center to put two aboard. White sacrificed the runners into scoring position, chasing the starter Pegler. The next batter, Jacob Hoyle, bounced one to first base that drove in Heffley from third for the first run, but also put the second out on the board. Julian Ridings then grounded out to third base to end the inning.
Charleston got the run back half an inning later by scoring one in the top of the seventh to regain its two-run cushion heading into the top of the ninth. There, the Cougars managed three runs on just one hit with a costly throwing error adding to the struggles for WCU. A single and an HBP put two on with no outs before the error on a would-be force play at third on an attempted sacrifice bunt scored two runs. A sacrifice fly by Gunnar Heidt plated the third run, handing CofC a 6-1 lead.
Down to its final three outs, pinch hitter Luke Gragg drew a lead-off walk to put a man aboard. Following back-to-back strikeouts, Aaron Attaway reached on a fielding error up the middle to bring Heffley to the dish with two aboard. The senior from Snellville, Ga., drew a six-pitch walk to load the bases where Jones hit a grounder up the middle to plate one, 6-2. Peterson then got White to bounce out to first base unassisted to end the game.
Western Carolina hits the road for six-straight games in league play over the next two weeks. The Catamounts visit Elon for a Saturday through Monday, three-game SoCon series May 5-7, before traveling to Statesboro, Ga., for a three-game set against the Eagles, May 11-13.