Wofford 7, UNCG 4
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Wofford's Josh Hyman two-out two-strike grand slam highlighted a five-run third inning and Brandon Yarusi struck out a career-high 10 batters as Wofford took the Southern Conference series opener, 7-4, over UNCG on Friday evening at UNCG Baseball Stadium in Greensboro, N.C.
Wofford and UNCG came into the contest looking up at Furman for the eighth and final seed for the Southern Conference Baseball Tournament that starts in 12 days as UNCG trailed the Paladins by two games and the Terriers trailed UNCG by one game and the Paladins by three. The Citadel helped out both teams by blanking Furman, 7-0, but only one team would be the benefactor.
Wofford (20-29, 7-18 SoCon) used a gutsy performance by Yarusi (5-6) and patience at the plate to score a run against UNCG for the first time since 2010. Yarusi went seven strong innings while allowing four runs (three earned) on eight hits while throwing 126 pitches.
UNCG (22-24, 7-18 SoCon) was unable to climb out of a four-run hole as starter Max Povse (2-5) had an odd line as he allowed five earned runs on one hit in 2 2/3 innings of work.
UNCG jumped out to an early 1-0 after Lloyd Enzor drove in Christian Wolfe, who singled, on an RBI single to left.
Trailing 1-0 in the top of the third, the Terrier's Eric Brenk drew a four-pitch walk to start the rally. Two batters later, James Foster earned a free pass after Povse issued a five-pitch walk. Matthew Pelt dropped down a perfect bunt for an RBI single to plate Wofford's first run of the evening and to tie the game at one. Following a strike out and another walk, Hyman dug in with the bases juiced and launched the ninth pitch of the at-bat over the left field fence for his second homer of the season and to give the Terriers a lead they'd never relinquish, 5-1.
The Spartans Trevor Edwards followed suit as he hit a solo shot, his 14th dinger of the year, to make it a 5-2 game in Wofford's favor after three innings of play. In the fourth, UNCG plated another run as TJ Spina collected an RBI via groundout to plate Nick Chapman.
The Terriers would plate a single run in the fifth after Konstantine Diamadurous roped an RBI double to left center to extend the lead to three, 6-3.
Both teams would plate a single run in the seventh inning as Wofford's Hyman continued to pester the Spartans by scoring on wild pitch from Corey Taylor. Senior Kris Richards drove in the games' final run as he hit an RBI single to left and to make the score 7-4.
Alex Wilson pitched two perfect innings to collect his first save on the year for Wofford. The Terriers pitching staff struck out 13 batters compared to UNCG's four.
Wolfe and Richards enjoyed multi-hit games as both went 2-for-4 on the evening. Diamadurous, Hyman, James Plaisted and David Roney all went 2-for-4 for Wofford. The Terriers' Mac Doyle saw his batting average drop from .354 to .335 after a 0-for-5 performance.
The Spartans' Cambric Moye extended his hitting streak to six games after collecting a single in the second inning.
The Spartans will look to even up the series on Saturday at 1 p.m. at UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Western Carolina 4, Georgia Southern 0
STATESBORO, Ga. - Behind a complete game effort from starter Jordan Smith, the Western Carolina Catamounts shut out the Georgia Southern Baseball team in the opener of the three-game Southern Conference series at J.I. Clements Stadium on Friday night.
Smith (4-4) allowed just five hits over 9 innings and walked his lone batter in the eighth inning. The sophomore right-hander allowed seven base runners and faced just five batters over the minimum. The Eagles did get two back-to-back hits in the seventh inning but came up scoreless after Zac Lenns (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) was caught stealing for the second out of the frame and T.D. Davis (Evans, Ga.) was left stranded at first base.
Georgia Southern (26-24, 12-13) found themselves behind early after starter Chris Beck (Jefferson, Ga.) allowed two runs in the first inning and a slow start offensively did not help matters. The Eagles went hitless until a Hunter Thomas (Johns Creek, Ga.) two-out single in the third inning.
The first five batters reached base to start the first frame for Western Carolina (30-18, 14-11) following a full-count lead off single from Aaron Attaway. After a fielder's choice cut down a runner at third base, Tyler White struck for the first run of the game on a single through the left side of the defense. White was later thrown out by Michael Burruss (Marietta, Ga.) after trying to advance to third base on Jacob Hoyle's RBI single.
Beck (4-7) was unable to bounce back from the two-run second inning but allowed just one more run despite giving up 10 hits on the day. The junior right-hander lasted just 4.1 innings, his shortest outing since May 19th at Appalachian State, after his pitch count quickly piled up. Beck tossed 91 pitches on the day after walking three batters to just three strikeouts.
The Eagles had two runs on the scoreboard for a moment in the sixth inning after a ball off the bat of Scooter Williams (Detroit, Mich.) was originally ruled by the home plate umpire to be a home run. After a huddle by the umpires the call was overturned and changed to a foul ball. Williams would eventually strikeout and a lead-off single by Thomas was left stranded.
Smith allowed a lead off single to Eric Phillips (Carrollton, Ga.) start the ninth inning but coaxed a double play from Lenns to end the game.
Western Carolina added to their early two-run lead with single runs in the fourth and sixth innings. Lead off base hits from Bryant Noteboom in the fourth and Cody Jones both turned into insurance runs. Jones provided the RBI in the top of the fourth with a two-out single and scored in the sixth on a two-out double from Hoyle.
The three-game series continues tomorrow at J.I. Clements Stadium following spring commencement at 2:30 p.m. Justin Hess (3-3, 4.82) will look to bounce back from a loss to Samford last Saturday and will square off with Morgan McKinney (6-2, 3.50).
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.
The Citadel 7, Furman 0
CHARLESTON, S.C. - Tyler Griffin hit a fourth-inning grand slam and Austin Pritcher struck out seven over seven shutout innings as The Citadel blanked Furman 7-0 Friday evening in Southern Conference action at Riley Park. The Bulldogs improve to 23-27 overall and 12-13 in the SoCon, while Furman falls to 22-27, 9-16 in the league.
Griffin went 2-for-4 on the evening, with a triple and his second career grand slam, while Pritcher improved to 6-4 on the season, scattering five hits and walking two, lowering his ERA to 3.24. Zach Sherrill tossed two shutout innings of relief, giving up one hits and striking out one. Bo Thompson and Bailey Rush also had two hits for the Bulldogs.
Bobby Lyne took the loss for Furman, allowing six runs on six hits in four innings with three strikeouts and one walk. Will Owens had two hits for the Paladins.
The Bulldogs plated two runs in the third to get things going offensively on the evening. Griffin led off the frame with a triple down the right-field line. Rush followed up with a RBI single up the middle on a 0-1 pitch from Lyne. A sacrifice bunt by Johnathan Stokes moved Rush to second and Nick Orvin lined a RBI single to left to plate Rush for the 2-0 Citadel lead.
Griffin's grand slam down the right-field line highlighted a four-run fourth that put the Bulldogs up 6-0. The first three batters reached base in the frame as Joe Jackson drew a four-pitch walk, Thompson singled to left and Drew DeKerlegand was hit by a pitch for his team-best 13th time of the season to load the bases with no outs. Griffin battled from an 0-2 count to even the count at 2-2, fouling off several balls before crushing an offering from Lyne over the wall in right for his fourth round-tripper of the season and second career grand slam.
The Citadel added an insurance run in the fifth for a 7-0 lead. With Jacques de Gruy on in relief for Furman, Justin Mackert walked, stole second and third and scored on a RBI single by Thompson to seal the final score for the Bulldogs.
Saturday's first pitch is set for 2:00 p.m. and can be heard on Sports Radio 1450 AM with Danny Reed handling the play-by-play.
UNC Asheville 4, College of Charleston 2
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - The College of Charleston Cougars scored two runs in the eighth and brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth, but could not overcome a solid pitching performance from UNC Asheville starter Dean Roland as the Bulldogs took a 4-2 win in the series opener.
The loss snapped College of Charleston's (33-16) five-game home winning streak while UNC Asheville improved to 23-24 on the season.
Roland (5-4) picked up his fifth win of the season as he took a one-hit shutout into the eighth inning. He finished the game with 8.0 innings pitched, three hits allowed and one earned run while striking out nine. Dillon Tabar came on for the ninth inning and picked up his first save of the season.
CofC starter Christian Powell (8-3) suffered just his third loss of the season as he pitched 5.0 innings, allowing six hits and giving up four runs, one earned, and striking out five. Reliever Drew Freie pitched an impressive four innings of relief, allowing just one hit and striking out five to keep the Cougars in striking distance.
Down by four runs in the eighth inning, the Cougars mounted a two-out rally starting with a walk from Marty Gantt. Bradley Goodson knocked his second hit of the game, a single to center that moved Gantt to third base. Daniel Aldrich followed with another single that scored Gantt and put the Cougars on the board. Roland then threw a pitch inside that made it to the backstop for a passed ball, allowing Goodson to score and cut the margin to 4-2.
Despite a leadoff single by Brandon Glazer in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Cougars were unable to move him around after a flyout and two strikeouts.
The Bulldogs got on the scoreboard in the second inning with a solo home run from Patrick Koontz.
UNC Asheville added to that lead in the fourth with a leadoff double from Billy Creighton and a walk from Hunter Bryant. Powell was able to record the next two outs without runners advancing, but a hard hit ball to second from Todd Joyner forced a tough throw from Gunnar Heidt that got away from Rob Harding at first, allowing Creighton to score. A double from Ian Graham scored two more unearned runs and the Bulldogs held a 4-0 lead.
The two teams will play the second game of the series on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. The game time was changed from the original schedule to accommodate College of Charleston graduation.