Appalachian State 7, Samford 4
Samford 4, Appalachian State 2
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.-The Samford baseball team split its Southern Conference doubleheader with league-leading Appalachian State Saturday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field. Samford dropped the first game, 7-4, but came back to win the second contest by a score of 4-2.
In the second game, Samford starting pitcher Josh Martin pitched his first complete game of the season, tossing 9.0 innings, allowing two unearned runs on five hits. Martin struck out six batters while allowing just one walk. Martin improves to 10-1 on the season, leading the SoCon in wins.
"It was just a great job by Josh and finally a good job by our hitters in the eighth inning," Samford head coach Casey Dun said. "Thankfully Josh did a phenomenal job and gave us a chance."
Samford trailed 2-0, heading into the eighth inning of game two. The Bulldogs, however plated four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take the 4-2 lead. Phillip Ervin walked with one out to start the rally. With two outs in the inning, C.K. Irby doubled to left-center field, moving Ervin to third base. Christiaan Durdaller then doubled down the left-field line to drive in Ervin and Irby to tie the score.
Austin Allison then singled to drive in Durdaller to give Samford a 3-2 lead. Tyler Filliben then singled up the middle, moving Allison to second base. Zeth Stone then singled up the middle to drive in Allison to make the score 4-2.
In the ninth inning, Martin, who had already thrown over 100 pitches, retired the Mountaineers in order to finish the complete game. The win was Martin's Samford-record 22nd of his career.
For Samford at the plate in game two, Allison went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Irby and Saxon Butler had two hits each. Durdaller drove in two runs in a 1-for-3 performance.
Appalachian State's David Port (2-1), one of six pitchers used by the Mountaineers, tossed one third of an inning, giving up four runs on three hits to take the loss. Tyler Zupcic led ASU at the plate in game two, going 2-for-4.
In the first game of the day, Appalachian State scored four runs in the top of the ninth to come from behind for the 7-4 win.
Samford had scored a run in the bottom of the eighth inning to take a 4-3 lead. With two outs in the inning, Stone doubled down the right field line. Brad Moss then singled to right-center field to drive in Stone to break the 3-3 tie.
In the top of the ninth inning, Hector Crespo walked with one out in the inning. After Crespo stole second base, Zupcic walked and Crespo stole third base. Will Callaway then reached base on a fielder's choice to drive in Crespo to tie the score at 4-4. With two outs in the inning, Tyler Tewell singled to right field to drive in Zupcic for a 5-4 ASU lead.
Callaway then scored from third base on a balk to make the score 6-4. Jeremy Dowdy then singled to left field to drive in Tewell to give Appalachian State a 7-4 lead.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, ASU closer Nathan Hyatt came in to pitch for the Mountaineers. Hyatt retired the Bulldogs in order to earn his 12th save of the season. Ryne Frankoff (1-1) pitched a third of an inning in relief to earn the win for ASU.
For Samford at the plate in game one, Moss and Brandon Miller had two hits and an RBI each. Stone also went 2-for-4 in the game for the Bulldogs. Arthur Strauss (0-1) pitched a third of inning, giving up two runs to take the loss for Samford.
ASU was led at the plate in the first game by Tewell, going 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBI. Crespo and Zupcic both went 2-for-4 for the Mountaineers.
With the split, Samford is now 33-18 overall and 19-10 in Southern Conference play. Appalachian State is now 35-12 overall and 19-7 in league play.
Samford and Appalachian State will conclude their three-game series with a single game Sunday at 1 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field. Prior to the game, Samford's 12 seniors will be honored for Senior Day.
Sunday's game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/wvsu. The game can also be viewed online on the Bulldog Big Screen at www.samfordsports.com. Fans can also follow the game online via GameTracker at www.samfordsports.com.
The Citadel 3, Furman 1
CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Citadel scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth to break a tie game and earn a 3-1 victory over Furman Saturday afternoon in Southern Conference action at Riley Park. The win is the fourth straight in SoCon play for the Bulldogs, who improved to 24-27 overall and 13-13 in the league. The two teams will take the field for game three of the series Sunday afternoon for a Senior Day matchup at 1:00 p.m.
TJ Clarkson picked up the victory for the Bulldogs, scattering two hits over 2.1 innings of work with one walk and one strikeout. Ryan Hines earned his seventh save of the season, allowing one hit in the ninth, while starter Kevin Connell went tossed 5.2 solid innings, giving up one run on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
Nate Smith took the loss for Furman (22-28, 9-17), despite striking out 10 Citadel batters in seven innings. Smith allowed two runs - one earned - on four hits and two walks. Three errors plagued the Paladins, who outhit the Bulldogs eight to five.
Two runs in the bottom of the eighth proved to be the difference in the ballgame. Mason Davis opened the frame with a double down the left-field line and advanced to third on a deep fly out to center by Justin Mackert. Joe Jackson ripped a RBI double down the right-field line on a 0-1 pitch from Furman reliever Stephen Gary to plate Davis for a 2-1 lead. Back-to-back walks by Bo Thompson and Tyler Griffin loaded the bases and Grant Richards drove a sacrifice fly to center to plate Jackson for the 3-1 lead and clinched the series for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead in the third when Johnathan Stokes led off the frame with a double to the wall in right center. Nick Orvin reached on a fielding error by Hunter Burton at short that allowed Stokes to move to third and the freshman shortstop scored on a wild pickoff play at first. Orvin was caught in a rundown between first and second, but an errant throw by Smith allowed Stokes to score from third for an unearned run.
Furman knotted the game in the sixth on a RBI double by Chris Ohmstede. With two outs, Andy Abrams singled through the right side off Connell and after Clarkson relieved the freshman southpaw, Ohmstede lined a 1-0 pitch from Clarkson down the left-field line to tie the game.
Sunday's first pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. and can be heard on Sports Radio 1450 AM with Danny Reed handling the play-by-play. The Citadel will honor its five seniors, Damon Ardis, TJ Clarkson, Justin Mackert, Nick Orvin and Grant Richards before the game.
UNCG 10, Wofford 5
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Five UNCG players enjoyed a multi-hit performance as six players cashed in at least one RBI and sophomore Dylan Hathcock tossed six strong innings as UNCG doubled up Wofford, 10-5, on Saturday afternoon in Southern Conference action at UNCG Baseball Stadium.
UNCG (23-24, 8-18 SoCon) kept its postseason hopes alive by bashing out 13 hits and received help from Wofford, who committed three errors, to take game two of a vital three-game set as the Southern Conference Championship Baseball Tournament starts in 11 days. Senior Thomas Troelstrup led the Spartans with three RBI and Cole Harrison collected a pair of RBI himself.
Wofford (20-30, 7-19 SoCon) found itself in a 4-0 hole after four innings of play and was unable to counter as UNCG delivered the knockout blow in the eighth inning by scoring four unearned runs.
Repeating itself from Friday's game, UNCG plated a single run in the bottom of the first frame as Troelstrup collected his first RBI on the day after grounding out to third to plate leadoff hitter Bobby Martin, who reached on an error, to give the Spartans the 1-0 lead.
In the third, Troelstrup duplicated his own act by plating Harrison on an RBI groundout, this time to the shortstop, to extend the Spartan lead to two, 2-0. The next batter, Lloyd Enzor smoked an RBI single to center to put the Spartans up by three, 3-0.
UNCG would plate a single run in the fourth as Harrison plated senior Kris Richards, who led the inning off with a single, with an RBI groundout to make it a 4-0 game.
Wofford wouldn't roll over as it scored a single run in the fifth and sixth inning to cut the deficit in half. In the fifth, Matt Moore lofted a sacrifice fly to left field to plate David Roney. The Terriers looked as if they were going to plate another run, but Harrison had other ideas as he nailed Eric Brenk at the plate to end the threat. In the sixth inning, Josh Hyman followed suit as he gathered an RBI via sacrifice fly to make it a 4-2 after 5 ½ innings of play.
UNCG would continue to apply pressure as it plated a pair of runs in the back-end of the sixth inning. Harrison continued to shine as he smashed an RBI triple to left center to plate TJ Spina, who singled, to make it a 5-2 game. Martin followed up with an RBI single to extend the lead back to four, 6-2.
Once again, the Terriers fought back as they plated two runs in the top of the eighth inning off of UNCG reliever Zach Furl to make it a 6-4 game. The Terriers' Mac Doyle crushed a no-doubt two-run homer to left field to continue his impressive 2012 campaign.
However, in the bottom of the eighth, UNCG put the game out of reach by plating four runs, all with two outs and all unearned, to make it a 10-4 game. Troelstrup continued his solid day by plating his third RBI with a single up the middle. Christian Wolfe would tap home during the next at-bat as he was able to score thanks to a fielding error. Pinch-hitter Tino Leite earned a spot in the box score as he roped an RBI single on the first pitch he saw to end the scoring for the Spartans.
Wofford would plate a single run in the ninth as Roney connected on a solo blast to right to make it a 10-5 game.
UNCG starter Hathcock (4-4) went six innings and scattered five hits while allowing two runs (one earned) on a modest 75 pitches. Wofford's Pete Noorsdy (2-3) took the loss as he went 5 2/3 innings on nine hits while allowing six runs (five earned) and walked two batters on 87 pitches.
Matthew Pelt and Doyle paced the Terrier offense as both went 2-for-4 and scored a combined three runs.
UNCG's Martin, Wolfe, Troelstrup, Enzor and Richards collected two hits apiece. Harrison and Martin scored three runs each and Cambric Moye went 0-for-2 to snap a six-game hitting streak.
UNCG will look for the series victory in the rubber match on Sunday afternoon starting at 1 p.m. at UNCG Baseball Stadium in Greensboro, N.C.
Georgia Southern 16, Western Carolina 4
STATESBORO, Ga. - After a five-hit scoreless night in the series opener, the Georgia Southern offense came alive to score 16 runs on 18 hits. The Eagles evened the three-game Southern Conference series with Western Carolina after recording a 16-4 win in the 100th all-time meeting between the two programs on Saturday afternoon at J.I. Clements Stadium. The win also secured the Eagles' spot in the 2012 Southern Conference Tournament at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C.
After Garren Palmer (Dalton, Ga.) sparked the offense with a lead off homer in the second inning, Georgia Southern (27-24, 13-13) added three runs in the fourth inning before exploding for 10 runs on six hits and a pair of Catamount errors in the fifth inning.
Justin Hess (Panama City, Fla.) took advantage of the offensive production and tossed six scoreless frames before giving up a run in the seventh inning on a two-out RBI single from Aaron Attaway. Hess (4-3) left after seven quality innings and allowed just the one run on eight hits and two walks.
Western Carolina (30-19, 14-12) was able to score three runs off of the Eagles' bullpen in the final two innings. A lead off double in the eighth inning came around to score on a RBI ground out by Julian Ridings. In a much similar fashion in the ninth inning, Dale Urquhart Jr.'s lead off single scored the first of two runs on a Ross Heffley base hit.
After a lead off walk of Eric Phillips (Carrollton, Ga.) scored the first run in the 10-run fifth, Brent Pugh(Atlanta, Ga.) broke open the inning with a two-RBI double that dropped in near the foul line in left field.Hunter Thomas (Johns Creek, Ga.), who had two-hits for a second-straight day, plated two more runs with a single to center field. Thomas also drove in runs with a ground out in the second inning and a single later in the fifth.
Morgan McKinney was unable to find an out in the bottom of the fifth and gave up eight runs - four earned - on nine hits over four frames. McKinney (6-3) was the first of four pitchers to throw in the frame. The third pitcher of the inning, Tyler Powell, finally recorded the first out of the frame on a fly out.
Georgia Southern responded to the Catamounts' seventh inning run off of Hess with a run of their own in the bottom half of the frame. Scooter Williams (Detroit, Mich.) plated a lead off single in T.D. Davis (Evans, Ga.) with a base hit to center field.
Davis had four of the Eagles' 18 hits and went a career-high four-for-five with four runs scored, a walk and a RBI. Palmer, who had never had more than one hit in a game, went a perfect three-for-three with three runs and two RBIs. The sophomore designated hitter finished just a triple shy of the cycle. One of six Eagles in total with multi-hit days, Tyler Avera (Baxley, Ga.) tied a career-best with three hits in four at-bats.
The three-game series concludes tomorrow at J.I. Clements Stadium at 1:30 p.m. Will Middour (2-3, 4.11) will square off with freshman Jeremy Null (4-3, 5.11) in the rubber match.
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.
UNC Asheville 8, College of Charleston 4
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - UNC Asheville scored four runs in the second inning and went on to win 8-4 on Saturday evening at Patriots Point.
Bulldog starter Ryan Dull (5-4) went 7.0 innings, allowing just four hits and three runs, two earned, while striking out seven batters to earn the victory. Elliot Criss came on in relief to pitch the final two innings, allowing one run.
College of Charleston starter Josh Renfro (6-6) allowed six runs, only two earned, in 3.2 innings pitched. Senior Nick Osterman pitched 1.2 innings and allowed two runs, while Ryan West, Jake Zokan and David Peterson finished the final 3.2 innings with only one hit allowed.
Cougar slugger Daniel Aldrich was the bright spot offensively, tallying a home run, triple and a single. Aldrich's home run and triple were his eighth and seventh of the season, respectively. Cody Martin scored two runs on two walks while Marty Gantt notched an RBI late in the game.
UNC Asheville was led by Jordan Lurie's 3-for-4 day at the plate. Cody Buch went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI and Grant Gajdosz hit a solo home run in the third inning.
The Bulldogs took a 4-0 lead in the second inning after a Cougar error on a potential double play allowed the inning to continue. With two outs and the bases loaded, Lurie reached first as he was hit by a pitch and then Thomas Bess singled up the middle to score two more runs. Later in the inning, Hunter Bryant reached on an infield single to third that scored another run and made the score, 4-0.
Gajdosz led off the third inning with a solo home to left, and then Buch knocked in a two-out RBI in the fourth inning with put the Bulldogs ahead 6-0.
Asheville added two more runs in the sixth inning with leadoff walks, a wild pitch and another Cougar error that allowed two runs to score. West came on in relief to get out of the jam, but not before the Bulldogs had taken an 8-0 lead.
College of Charleston scored its first run in the bottom of the sixth inning when Aldrich lifted his eight home run of the season over the wall in right center field.
The Cougars added two more runs in the seventh inning when Dre Watts and Cody Martin drew leadoff walks and advanced on a groundout from Tyler Jackson. Gunnar Heidt notched an RBI with a groundout, and the inning continued with a poor throw from Asheville's third baseman that would have scored another run.
CofC's final run came in the bottom of the ninth inning as Gantt drove in Martin with an RBI single.
The Cougars will celebrate Senior Day prior to Sunday's 2 p.m. series finale against UNC Asheville. CofC will honor Marty Gantt, Rob Harding, Nick Osterman, Kyle Owings, David Peterson and Josh Renfro.