No. 30 Appalachian State 8, College of Charleston 6
BOONE, N.C. - Daniel Kassouf (Lexington, N.C./North Davidson) and Trey Holmes (Rockwell, N.C./East Rowan) homered to spark a five-run seventh inning that lifted No. 30 Appalachian State University baseball to an 8-6 victory over visiting College of Charleston in the opener of a pivotal Southern Conference series on Friday evening at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
With the victory, first-place Appalachian (23-5, 8-2 SoCon) stretched its lead over second-place College of Charleston (21-10, 11-5 SoCon) in the SoCon standings (.800-.688). Elon, which came into the evening tied for second place with CofC, also lost on Friday night, 18-2 at Furman.
Thanks to a couple of key errors by the usually sure-handed Holmes at first base, Charleston scored two unearned runs in the second inning and two more in the third to take an early 4-0 lead.
The Mountaineers put single runs on the board in the third and fifth innings to draw within two at 4-2 before taking their first lead of the ballgame with the five-run seventh. Tyler Zupcic (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) got the seventh-inning rally started when he was hit by a pitch for the second of three times on the evening. Will Callaway (Greenville, S.C./Eastside) followed with his third hit of the night, a single to left field, to set the stage for Kassouf, who ripped the first pitch from CofC southpaw Josh Renfro (4-3) for a line-drive home run to nearly straight-away center field that gave the Apps their first lead of the evening at 5-4. The three-run blast was Kassouf's team-leading 11th of the season.
Jeremy Dowdy (Raleigh, N.C./Wakefield) kept the big inning alive for Appalachian with a two-out double down the left field line and Holmes followed by atoning for his early miscues in the field with a towering home run to right center field. Holmes' fourth bomb in his last three games capped ASU's five-run seventh and gave the Mountaineers a 7-4 cushion.
The clubs swapped runs in the eighth inning before closer Nathan Hyatt (Brevard, N.C./Brevard) shut the door in the ninth to seal the victory. Hyatt, who is a perfect 8-for-8 in save opportunities this season, made it interesting by walking two and allowing an RBI single. However, with the tying run on first base, got leadoff hitter Bradley Goodson to harmlessly tap back to the mound for the final out of the ballgame.
After battling through a mechanical issue for the better part of the last month, ASU right-hander Ryan Arrowood (Rutherfordton, N.C./R-S Central) turned in his best performance since he was named National Pitcher of the Week following a 1-0 win at No. 7 LSU on Feb. 25. The senior ace did not surrender an earned run over seven strong innings, allowing just four hits while striking out seven to move to 5-0 on the campaign. After College of Charleston plated the last of their four unearned runs in the third inning, Arrowood retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced, including 11 in a row to close out the impressive outing.
Besides Kassouf's and Holmes' big home runs, the story of the night for the Mountaineers at the plate was Callaway. The senior shortstop went 3-for-4 with a sacrifice fly and two RBI to extend his hitting streak to 19 games. He is hitting a gaudy .467 (35-for-75) during the 19-game hitting streak, which is tied for Appalachian's longest of the season and just eight games shy of the school record of 27, set by Rand Smith in 2009. Callaway also upped his season batting average to a team-best .418 with his 16th multi-hit performance of the campaign.
Appalachian, which has won five in a row and is 16-0 at home this season, looks to keep the momentum going on Saturday in the second game of the three-game weekend series versus Charleston. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. at Smith Stadium.
Wofford 2, Western Carolina 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Wofford baseball team rode a complete game shutout by pitcher Brandon Yarusi to take a 2-0 win over Western Carolina at Russell C. King Field on Friday night. Each team had nine hits in the contest, but the Terriers were able to score two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning in the victory.
Wofford is 12-18 overall and 2-8 in the Southern Conference. Western Carolina is 21-10 overall and 6-4 in conference play. The Terriers were led by Brandon Yarusi with seven strikeouts in the first nine inning complete game shutout for Wofford since 2001. Konstantine Diamaduros had two hits, while David Roney and Stephen Cantrell had RBIs. The Catamounts were led by Jacob Hoyle and Bradley Strong with two hits each.
In the first three innings, Wofford and Western Carolina each had four hits as Wofford left one on base and the Catamounts stranded three. In the bottom of the fourth, Konstantine Diamaduros led off with a double and he moved to third on a single by Eric Brenk. David Roney bunted safely to score Diamaduros for a 1-0 lead. A walk to Taylor Rozier loaded the bases and then an RBI single by Stephen Cantrell made it a 2-0 game.
After neither team scored in the fifth or sixth innings, the Catamounts had two singles in the top of the seventh with one out. A fielder's choice and strikeout ended the scoring threat by Western Carolina. Wofford and Western Carolina both left one runner on base in the eighth inning. In the top of the ninth, Jacob Hoyle singled with one out but a fly ball and ground out ended the contest.
Wofford starter Brandon Yarusi (3-3) went the complete nine innings and allowed nine hits with seven strikeouts and did not issue a walk. It was the first nine inning complete game shutout for a Terrier pitcher since Blake Timanus took a 2-0 win over Charleston Southern on May 8, 2001. The game marked the first complete nine inning shutout contest against a Southern Conference opponent since joining the league.
Western Carolina starter Jordan Smith (2-4) worked 6.2 innings and allowed two runs on nine hits with three strikeouts. Hunter Brister went two-thirds of an inning with one strikeout. Jeremy Sluder and Vance Chavis combined to work the final two-thirds of an inning without allowing a hit.
Wofford and Western Carolina will play a doubleheader on Saturday, with the first game starting at 2:00 p.m. Next Wednesday the Terriers will host USC Upstate at 6:00 p.m.
Furman 18, Elon 2
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Will Owens went 4-for-5, drove in three runs, and scored four times to help Furman blast Elon, 18-2, in the opening game of a Southern Conference baseball series Friday evening at Latham Stadium.
Owens' four hits, which included a leadoff home run in the first inning, headlined a season high 17-hit attack for Furman (16-15, 6-7 SoCon), which blew the game open with an 11-run fifth inning that saw the Paladins send 16 batters to the plate.
The 11-run frame was the highest tally by the Paladins since the 2007 campaign, and the 18 runs marked Furman's biggest offensive outburst since 2006 and most runs registered by the Paladins in the 37-game series with Elon (18-12, 11-5 SoCon).
The loss halted a four-game SoCon winning streak by the Phoenix.
The generous run support made an winner of Furman starting pitcher Bobby Lyne (5-2), who allowed two runs on nine hits over six innings. He walked one and struck out six in notching his third consecutive victory in league play.
Hunter Burton doubled, tripled, and scored four runs as part of a 3-for-5 performance, and Chris Ohmsteded belted a three-run home run to highlight a 2-for-4 evening.
Heath Burton, Taylor Johnson, and Paul Nitto also registered two hits apiece for the Paladins, who grabbed a 1-0 lead with Owens' leadoff home run, his first of the season, that cleared the 330' fence down the right field line.
In the second Nitto also collected his first home run of the campaign with a solo round tripper into the hedge beyond the left field fence that gave the Paladins a 2-0 lead.
After Elon cut it to 2-1 in the fourth, the Paladins exploded with 11 runs in the fifth, sending Phoenix starting and losing pitcher Dylan Clark (6-2) to an early shower.
An Owens RBI single got the Paladins' big frame going, and Heath Burton followed with a run scoring double. Nitto added an RBI single, and pinch hitter Jake Jones slapped a two-run double down the left field line to make it 8-1. Ohmstede then greeted Elon reliever Darren Lauer with a towering three-run home that bounded off the foul pole in left field, stretching the advantage to 11-1. Owens tallied his second hit and RBI of the inning with a double that plated Hunter Burton and capped the scoring for the Paladins by coming home on a Johnson single, giving the Paladins a 13-2 lead.
Furman added two more runs in the seventh and a three-spot in the eighth on a hit batsmen with the bases loaded and a dropped infield pop that allowed two unearned runs to score.
Jake Luce had three of Elon's nine hits, and Alex Swim extended his hitting streak to 24 games with a first inning single.
The two teams will play a Saturday doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m.
Samford 10, The Citadel 5
Samford 11, The Citadel 3
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.-The Samford baseball team swept its Southern Conference doubleheader with The Citadel Friday evening at Joe Lee Griffin Field. Samford won the first game, 10-5, and then took game two by a score of 11-3.
With the sweep, Samford improves to 20-11 overall and 9-5 in Southern Conference play. The Citadel drops to 12-19 overall and 3-8 in league play.
"It was a good night for us tonight," Samford head coach Casey Dunn said. "I thought our guys really approached the game well. We swung the bats really well tonight, and I thought Kyle (Putkonen) in game one and Charles (Basford) in game two really battled for us on the mound."
In game one, Samford was led by Saxon Butler, going 4-for-5 with a home run, a double and four RBI. Tommy Corbin went 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Zeth Stone went 2-for-5. C.K. Irby had a double and two RBI in a 1-for-5 performance.
Kyle Putkonen (2-4) pitched 5.2 innings, giving up four runs on 10 hits to earn the win. Putkonen struck out seven batters and allowed no walks. Irby came on to get the final two outs and earn his fifth save of the season.
The Citadel was led in the first game by Bo Thompson and Justin Mackert, both going 2-for-5 with an RBI. Nick Orvin and Mason Davis each went 2-for-5 for The Citadel. Calvin Orth hit a solo home run in his only at-bat of the game. Austin Pritcher (3-2) pitched 6.2 innings, allowing eight runs on 12 hits to take the loss on the mound.
After The Citadel took an early 1-0 lead with a run in the top of the first inning, Samford took control of the game with three runs in the third inning, two runs in the fourth inning and one run in the fifth inning to take a 6-1 lead.
Butler drove in two runs and Brandon Miller drove in one run in the third inning. In the fourth inning, Corbin scored on a double steal and Brad Moss singled to drive in the second run of the inning. In the fifth inning, Irby doubled to drive in the run for a five-run Samford lead.
The Citadel cut the Samford lead to 6-4 with three runs in the top of the sixth inning. Samford, however, plated two runs in the seventh inning to push its lead to 8-4. After The Citadel added a run in the top of the eighth inning, Samford plated two more runs in the bottom of the eighth to make the final score 10-5.
In the second game, Samford was led by Irby, going 4-for-4 with a double, a home run and three RBI. Stone went 3-for-5 at the plate in game two. Miller went 2-for-5 with his 11th home run of the season and an RBI. Moss and Christiaan Durdaller each had two hits in the win.
Charles Basford (5-0) pitched the complete 9.0 innings, allowing three runs, only two earned, on six hits to earn the win in the second game. Basford struck out seven batters, while allowing five walks.
For The Citadel in game two, Thompson went 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI. James Reeves (4-3) pitched 3.0 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits to take the loss.
Samford scored two runs in the first inning, one run each in the second and third innings and five runs in the fourth inning to jump out to a 9-2 lead. Samford plated two more runs in the sixth inning to make the score 11-2. The Citadel added one final run in the ninth inning to make the final score 11-3.
Georgia Southern 8, Davidson 3
Georgia Southern 6, Davidson 3
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Davidson was able to get eight innings from both of its starting pitchers, but Georgia Southern was able score late to secure an 8-3 victory in the first game and a come-from-behind 6-3 victory in the second game in Southern Conference baseball action Friday at Wilson Field.
Davidson (11-17, 3-11 SoCon) freshman LHP Henry Sisson left the second game with a 3-2 lead after eight innings of work, holding Georgia Southern (17-15, 7-7 SoCon) to two runs on three hits and four walks with nine strikeouts, but the Eagles rallied with four runs in the top of the ninth inning. The ‘Cats out-hit the Eagles 9-6, but left 12 runners on base to Georgia Southern's six.
RHP Chris Beck (4-2) held Davidson to three runs on eight hits and a walk with nine strikeouts for the complete game win in the first game. Senior RHP Ryan Overcash (2-5) went a career-high eight innings for Davidson, yielding six runs (four earned) on nine hits and two walks.
In the top of the ninth in the second game with a runner on second base and one out, second baseman Tyler Avera hit a single through the right side to drive in the game-tying run for Georgia Southern. Later in the frame with the bases loaded and two outs, left fielder Michael Burruss tripled to right field to clear the bases for the final 6-3 margin.
The Wildcats were led offensively in the game by senior centerfielder Drew Gadaire, who went 3-for-4 with an RBI.
Davidson had taken its first lead of the game in the seventh inning. Trailing 2-1 with one out and runners on first and second, freshman pinch-hitter Ben Arkin earned his first career RBI with a single to right-center field to score Gadaire. The Wildcats' go-ahead run came on a grounder by freshman second baseman David Daniels that was mishandled by the third baseman.
LHP Drew Johnson yielded the Davidson runs after starting the seventh inning. Eagles starter RHP Justin Hess left the game after six innings, striking out 12 and yielding just one unearned run on five hits and three walks.
Prior to the seventh inning, all of the scoring took place in the third inning. Georgia Southern scored two runs in the top half on a sacrifice fly by centerfielder Scooter Williams and an RBI-single by Burruss. The ‘Cats tallied an unearned run in the bottom half when Gadaire drove in sophomore left fielder Forrest Brandt, who reached on an error, with a double to the wall in the left-center field gap.
Just three different Eagles had hits in the game, but Burruss was 3-for-5 with four RBI, Avera went 2-for-3 with two RBI, and first baseman T.D. Davis (1-for-3) started the ninth inning rally.
RHP Kyle Rowe (4-1) earned the win, holding the ‘Cats scoreless over the final inning and a third. Freshman RHP Clark Beeker (2-2) took the loss, allowing four runs to score on three hits and a walk.
Right fielder Stryker Brown went 3-for-4 with two RBI in the first game to lead Georgia Southern, while senior right fielder Jake Berman went 2-for-4 with two RBI, including a solo home run, for the Wildcats.
A pair Davidson of errors led to the game-winning run scoring in the top of the sixth inning, breaking a 3-3 tie. Georgia Southern added a run in the eighth inning and three runs in the ninth inning, including a home run by Davis, for the final 8-3 score.
Georgia Southern scored two runs (one earned) in the first inning, but Davidson answered with an RBI-single by Berman in the third inning and a run scored on a double play. Burruss, who went 3-for-5 in the first game as well, drove in a run in the fourth inning to put the Eagles ahead 3-2, but Berman answered with a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth to even the game once again.
Sophomore RHP Danny Mooney will start for Davidson Saturday at 2 p.m. as the ‘Cats look to deny the Eagles the series sweep.
UNCG 7, Presbyterian 6 (10 inn.)
Presbyterian 5, UNCG 2
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Redshirt junior Trevor Edwards launched his 12th home run in dramatic fashion to help UNCG complete a come-from-behind rally in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extras. UNCG would win game one, 7-6, in walk-off fashion in the tenth inning thanks to a fielding error. However, Presbyterian would salvage a split with a 5-2 victory in game two of a nonconference doubleheader at UNCG Baseball Stadium on Saturday.
Heading into the bottom of the seventh inning of game one, UNCG (16-13) would rally from four runs down with five unanswered runs to win game one 7-6 in ten innings. Kris Richards and Edwards both connected on no-doubt blasts to ignite the Spartan offense in the late innings.
UNCG would strike first after Cambric Moye continued his recent hot streak with an RBI single down the left field line to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead after two innings of play.
Presbyterian (13-19) responded with single runs in the third and fourth inning to take a 2-1 lead, but, UNCG would tie it up at 2 in the bottom of the fourth thanks to an RBI single from Bobby Martin.
The Blue Hose offense would come to life in the sixth inning as they put up four runs. The rally started with back-to-back singles from Kenny Bryant and Brandon Paul. Two batters later, with the bases loaded, Presbyterian strung together three singles in a row to chase Spartan starter Max Povse and take a four run lead.
Povse would finish the day with a career-high six strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings of work while throwing 100 pitches.
However, UNCG would not go down without a fight as it would put up a three-spot in the bottom of the seventh highlighted by a towering two-run shot off the bat of Richards to bring the Spartans within one, 6-5.
In the bottom of the ninth, Edwards welcomed Blue Hose closer Gabe Grammer to the game by hitting his third pitch out of the ball park and knotting the game up at 6. UNCG would continue to apply pressure with two more hits in the inning, but Grammer was able to get out of the jam by forcing a fielder's choice to end the threat.
Spartans' Brennan James got the Blue Hose in order in the top of the tenth to set the table for the bottom of the frame. Martin stole second following a leadoff walk. Two batters later, Lloyd Enzor hit a sharp grounder to second, but a wild throw from Andrew Williams pulled Bryant off the bag as Martin touched home and secured the victory for UNCG.
Williams and Bryant paced the Blue Hose offense going a combined 8-for-16 on the evening as Williams had four hits in the first game. UNCG saw five players have multi-hit games in the front-end of the doubleheader and Richards enjoyed a five-hit day with three of them coming in game two.
James (1-1) picked up the victory for the Spartans tossing two no-hit innings in relief and striking out one in game one. Grammer (1-2) was tagged with a blown save and the loss as he gave up three hits and two runs in 1 2/3 innings of work.
Game two was a pitchers' duel as both starters pitched into the seventh inning. After allowing a leadoff single to Martin, Presbyterians' Chandler Knox (2-2) settled in by retiring 11 of the next 12 batters and allowing Bryant to work his magic.
Bryant collected four RBI in game two. In the fourth inning, he would drill a two-run triple to center field to give the Blue Hose a 2-0 lead. Bryant struck again by delivering a two-run double to left center in the Blue Hose three-run seventh inning.
UNCG would crack the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth as Enzor hit a solo home run to bring the score to 2-1 in Presbyterian's favor.
Trailing 5-1 in the bottom of the eighth, UNCG looked as if it was going to rally again as it put runners on the corners with no outs. However, Presbyterians' Chad Sanders got Edwards to hit into a double play as Martin scored the final run of the evening as Presbyterian would take game two, 5-2. Sanders pitched three innings in relief of two-hit ball as he secured his first save on the year.
Spartans' Tyler Hollstegge (3-3) pitched 6 2/3 innings while allowing six runs, but only two of them were earned runs due to a costly error by Richards that led to three unearned runs in the seventh.
The series finale will take place on Saturday at UNCG Baseball Stadium at 1 p.m.