Furman 10, Elon 4 (12 inn.)

ELON, N.C. – Hunter Burton’s two-out, RBI double in the top of the 12th inning scored Will Muzika and ignited a six-run rally that propelled Furman to a 10-4 victory over Elon in the Southern Conference baseball season opener for both teams Friday afternoon at Latham Park.

The win marked the third for Furman (7-2, 1-0 SoCon) in its last four meetings with Elon (4-4, 0-1 SoCon), the SoCon coaches’ preseason No. 1 pick.

Burton, who had struggled in the field with two earlier errors, bounced back in a decisive way with the line-drive double to right-center field off of Phoenix reliever Tyler Manez, which easily scored Muzika, who had also doubled with two outs.  The Paladins extended their 5-4 advantage by plating two runs on a dropped fly error, a two-run double by Jake Jones and an RBI double by Griffin Davis.

Ben Carlson retired the Phoenix in order in the 12th to nail down the victory for the Paladins and make a winner of Ryan Dittmar (2-0), who came on in relief in the 11th to strand two runners and send the 4-4 game into the 12th inning.

The loss was charged to Manez, who was roughed up in the 12th, though only one of the three runs he surrendered was earned.

The Paladins’ took one-run leads in the ninth and in the 11th innings but could not hold either margin.

Furman went up 3-2 in the ninth after Taylor Johnson led off with a single and scored ahead of a Paul Nitto two-run home to left field.  The Paladins’ bid to extend their lead ended after Jones was thrown out at the plate following an Alex Abrams single to right field.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Phoenix staged its own rally.  Casey Jones got things going with a single through the right side.  Following a sacrifice bunt that moved pinch-runner Chris Bresnahan to second and a walk to Quinn Bower, Niko Fraser loaded the bags with an infield single.  Sebastian Gomez tied the game at 3 with a grounder to short that erased Fraser and left runners on the corners before a groundout ended Elon's chances of a walk-off win.

After Elon tied it, Johnson led off the 11th with a solo home run to left field to put Furman up 4-3.  The Paladins threatened to extend their advantage after Nitto walked and an Elon throwing error put runners at first and third with no outs, but a short fly ball and inning-ending double play kept it a one-run contest.

The Phoenix knotted it at 4-4 in their half of the 11th, taking advantage of a Paladin error to get Antonio Alvarez on base.  With one out, Fraser lined a pitch by Furman’s Matt Solter into the left-field corner for a double that scored Alvarez.  At that point, Dittmar was summoned to replace Solter and got the Paladins out of the inning with a fly ball and strikeout of Ryan Kinsella.

The extra-inning drama contrasted with the game’s first eight innings, as Furman starting pitcher Nate Smith and Elon starter Dylan Clark pitched effectively after both yielded single runs in the second.

Smith worked 7 1/3 innings, allowing seven hits, two runs, both earned, with a walk and five strikeouts.  Clark, meanwhile, exited after seven frames, allowing only four hits and an earned run.  He walked two and fanned four.

The Phoenix broke a 1-1 deadlock with an Alvarez solo home run off of Smith in the seventh.  It remained 2-1 until the ninth, when Nitto blasted an offering by Elon reliever Andrew MacDonald over the left-field wall to give Furman a short-lived 3-2 lead.

Alex Abrams went 3-for-6 at the plate to lead Furman’s 12-hit attack, but the Paladins’ two, three and four hitters of Burton, Johnson and Nitto did the most damage offensively, collecting two hits apiece and going 6-for-15 with four RBI and seven runs scored.

Nitto and Johnson’s home runs were their second of the season, respectively.

Elon had 10 hits, including two each by Fraser, Joey Tomko and Alvarez.

 

Appalachian State 4, Davidson 1

DAVIDSON, N.C. – Junior William Head went 2-for-4 with two RBI, two runs scored and stole two bases as Appalachian State captured its Southern Conference opener over Davidson, 4-1, Friday night at Wilson Field.

Appalachian State (6-1, 1-0 SoCon) claims its 11^th straight victory over the Wildcats in the series, while Davidson suffers its second straight loss on the season and moves to 4-2 overall (0-1 SoCon).

Sophomore Jamie Nunn added his third victory of the season, going seven innings and tallying eight strikeouts with three walks. Nunn limited Davidson’s hitters to just one run while pitching with the lead since the third inning.

Appalachian State got on the scoreboard first when senior Hector Crespo reached second on a throwing error by Davidson third baseman David Daniels. With Head up, the Mountaineers put on a hit-and-run and executed it to perfection with a grounder up the middle, scoring Crespo.

The Mountaineers added to their lead in the fifth as Head added his second RBI of the game, driving in freshman Dillon Dobson with an RBI single. Head eventually scored later in the inning on sophomore Alex Leach’s double, putting Appalachian State ahead 3-0. For Leach, it was his 13th RBI in seven games this season.

The Wildcats struck back in the bottom half with a one-out triple by Forrest Brand, which plated Michael Zeblo. Nunn eventually got out of trouble in the fifth, as the Mountaineers got an insurance run in the seventh as Head led off the inning reaching on an error. Two wild pitches by Davidson’s Jip Richards brought Head home for the final Mountaineer run.

After Nunn handled seven complete innings, the bullpen duo of sophomore Taylor Thurber and senior Rob Marcello shut the door for the Appalachian State win. Thuber faced four Wildcat hitters and allowed one hit. Marcello, who found some trouble in the ninth with back-to-back Davidson hits, struck out two of the final three to seal the victory.

The teams return to Wilson Field for the second game of the conference series on Saturday at 4 p.m.

 

College of Charleston 12, No. 30 South Alabama 2

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – College of Charleston posted two five-run innings and starter Matt Pegler posted seven shutout innings as the Cougars defeated No. 30 South Alabama, 12-2.

Charleston (5-4) scored 12 runs for the second straight game, while South Alabama’s only two runs came after two CofC errors in the eighth inning.

Bradley Goodson and Blake Butler each tallied three hits, while Gunnar Heidt and Alex Pastorius had three RBIs apiece. Ryan Welke hit his first home run of the season, while Heidt’s three RBI came on a bases-clearing triple, his third of the season.

Pegler (1-0) picked up his first win of the season with a seven-inning, two-hit performance. He did not allow a Jaguar run to improve his season ERA to 0.48 and also struck out seven batters while walking just one.

South Alabama starter James Traylor (1-1) gave up five earned runs on five hits through 3 1/3 innings to take his first loss of the season.

The Cougars jumped on the scoreboard in the second inning after two infield errors from the Jaguars (9-1). Butler and Goodson scored runs after a two-out throwing error from Bud Collura that would have ended the inning.

CofC extended the lead in the fourth inning with an RBI single from Butler and a bases-loaded walk from Pastorius. Heidt then unloaded the bases with a triple to the wall in right field, giving the home team a 5-0 lead. It was his third triple of the season, which leads the Southern Conference.

After a leadoff walk to Ben Boykin in the seventh inning, Welke hit a bomb to right field for his first home run of the season and just the second homer of his career. After three straight singles, Cody Martin grounded out to score Goodson and then Pastorius drove in two more with a single to center field, pushing the lead to 12-0.

South Alabama got on the scoreboard in the eighth inning after two CofC errors allowed the first two batters to reach. Cole Billingsley tallied an RBI on a fielder’s choice and Jeff DeBlieux registered a sacrifice fly to score Hayden Jones. CofC freshman Player Loving eventually got out of the inning with a bases-loaded strikeout.

The Cougars will go for the series win Saturday with a 2 p.m. start against South Alabama. LHP Jake Zokan will start for CofC against USA’s LHP Jacob Noble.

 

Samford 8, Purdue 0

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Samford’s C.K. Irby pitched a complete-game, three-hit shutout and Phillip Ervin drove in five runs to lead the Bulldog baseball team to an 8-0 win over Purdue on Friday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.

Irby struck out eight batters and walked just two in tossing his first complete game. He improved his season record to 2-1 with the victory.

Ervin went 2-for-3 with two home runs, including one grand slam, and five RBI. Ervin now has a team-high six home runs, and he is tied for the team lead in RBI with 12.

Behind Ervin for Samford, Christiaan Durdaller went 2-for-2 with a home run and two RBI. Patrick McGavin went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.

Purdue’s Brad Schreiber took the loss on the mound, pitching four innings, giving up five runs, just four earned, on four hits. Schreiber struck out two batters and allowed five walks. Joe Eichmann and Pat Gannon also saw time on the mound for the Boilermakers. Offensively, Brandon Krieg, Conner Hudnall and Jake Hansen had one hit each for Purdue.

After Purdue went down in order in the top of the first inning, Samford jumped on top with four runs in the bottom of the first. Austin Allison walked to lead off the inning. Tommy Corbin then walked, moving Allison to second base. Irby then singled to center field to load the bases. Ervin then hit his grand slam to left field to put Samford on top, 4-0.

Samford plated another run in the bottom of the third inning. Ervin walked with one out and then stole second base. McGavin then doubled down the left-field line to drive in Ervin for a 5-0 Samford lead.

The Bulldogs added two runs in the fifth inning to make the score 7-0. With one out in the inning, McGavin singled to center field. Durdaller then homered to center field for a seven-run Samford lead.

Samford tacked on one final run in the bottom of the seventh inning to make the final score 8-0. Ervin led off the inning with his second home run of the contest for the game’s final run.

Samford and Purdue will continue their three-game series with a game Saturday at 2 p.m. Central at Joe Lee Griffin Field.

 

The Citadel 8, Pittsburgh 0

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Austin Pritcher and two relievers combined on a shutout, and Drew DeKerlegand jump-started the offense with a first-inning home run to lead The Citadel to an 8-0 victory over Pittsburgh in the opening day of the Charleston Crab House Shootout presented by Homewood Suites.

The Bulldogs snapped a three-game losing streak to go back over the .500 mark at 5-4. The Panthers, who swept perennial national power Wichita State en route to a 5-1 start, lost for the second time this season.

The game was the first in the regular season between the two teams and evened the all-time series at one apiece. Pittsburgh won the only other meeting in the 1995 NCAA Mideast Regional Tournament.

Pritcher battled through five innings, allowing five hits and three walks with four strikeouts to increase his consecutive innings streak without allowing an earned run at Riley Park to 37 1/3. Ryan Hines worked 2 1/3 innings of three-hit ball before Ross White went a perfect 1 2/3 innings to close it out.

DeKerlegand went 3-for-3 and scored three times, and Joe Jackson also had three hits to lead a 12-hit Citadel attack. DeKerlegand gave the Bulldogs the only run they would need in the first when his slicing drive smacked the top of the left-field foul pole for his first home run of the season.

Pritcher (2-0) made the lead hold up as he worked out of several early jams. Pittsburgh stranded two men in both the first and second and had runners on second and third with one out in the fifth before Pritcher escaped by striking out Elvin Soto to leave the bases loaded.

In addition to his streak at Riley Park, the senior right hander has allowed only 12 earned runs in his past 10 starts covering 65 innings for an ERA of 1.66 over that span. Pritcher is the only starter in the Southern Conference who has not allowed a run so far in 2013.

It stayed a one-run game until The Citadel exploded for five runs in the fifth. Mason Davis, DeKerlegand and Jackson singled to lead off the frame, and Bo Thompson made it 2-0 with a sacrifice fly to left. Tyler Griffin snapped an 0-for-10 stretch since hitting his third home run of the game last Saturday at North Florida with a two-run single up the middle that doubled the Bulldogs' lead to 4-0.

Davis had two hits on the day and stole a base in the sixth to make him a perfect 7-for-7 on the year and the Bulldogs 12-for-12 as a team.

Bailey Rush singled in Griffin and Johnathan Stokes doubled to plate Rush to cap the uprising against Pittsburgh starter Ethan Mildred, who allowed 11 hits and six runs in five innings.

Groundouts by Jackson and Thompson in the eighth drove in the final two runs of the day for the Bulldogs, and White set the Panthers down in order in the ninth to secure The Citadel's first shutout since a 7-0 win over Furman on May 11 at Riley Park.

Day two of the tournament begins at noon on Saturday when UNC Asheville (3-5) takes on Pitt followed by The Citadel facing VCU at 4 p.m. VCU (6-0) opened Friday's action with a 12-1 victory over UNC Asheville.

 

Xavier 11, Georgia Southern 4

STATESBORO, Ga. – Xavier scored eight runs in the fourth inning to take the weekend series opener from Georgia Southern 11-4 Friday night at J.I. Clements Stadium.

Xavier (3-4) tallied a season-high 17 hits and posted nine extra base hits. Stephen Schoettmer finished a home run shy of the cycle and recorded three hits and scored two runs. Five other Musketeers finished with two-hit games.

Xavier starter Jon Richards (1-1) threw six solid innings and allowed three runs – one earned – on seven hits. Richards walked just one batter and struck out four on 99 pitches.

The senior left-hander worked around a two-out double in the second inning and a two-out error in the third inning before allowing a two-run homer to Ben Morgan, who made his first start at shortstop since April 11, 2012, in the fifth inning. Zach Johnson allowed one run over the final three innings for his first save of the season.

Georgia Southern (4-5) finished with nine hits, including two each from Morgan and Brent Pugh. The Eagles also got a pair of home runs from Morgan and Robbie Dodds, while Morgan and Pugh added a double each.

GSU's starter Sam Howard (2-1) suffered the loss after giving up seven runs on nine hits. Howard tied a career high with five strikeouts but allowed three walks. Senior Drew Johnson tossed three scoreless innings and struck out a batter.

The Eagles scored in the first inning for the eighth time in nine games this season and led 1-0 after Chase Griffin drove in Morgan, who reached base after centerfielder Mark Elwell dropped a long fly ball.

After Xavier tied the game in the second inning with back-to-back doubles, the Musketeers scored eight runs on eight hits in the fourth inning. Nine consecutive batters reached base and five straight hitters recorded an RBI before reliever Josh Stevenson was able to end the inning with a fly out.

Xavier added single runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Georgia Southern scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth on a Morgan home run and added another run in the eighth inning on Dodd's first career hit and home run.

The baseball team continues a three-game weekend series against Xavier on Saturday. First pitch at J.I. Clements Stadium is set for 2:30 p.m.

 

Dayton 5, Wofford 4 (10 inn.)

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – On Friday afternoon, the Wofford baseball team was defeated 5-4 in 10 innings by Dayton at Russell C. King Field. The Terriers had a 4-3 lead after six innings, but the Flyers scored once in the eighth to tie the game and plated the winning run in the 10th inning.

Wofford is now 4-5, while Dayton is 3-3-1. The Terriers were led by Josh Hyman with three hits and Brandon Yarusi with eight strikeouts. The Flyers had three hits from A.J. Ryan. Each team committed four errors in the contest.

Both teams were retired in order in the first inning. In the top of the second, Mark Podlas hit a triple off the wall in right center and scored on a throwing error for a 1-0 lead. Each team left one runner on base in the third inning.

After Dayton left one runner on base in the top of the fifth inning, Wofford led off the bottom of the fifth with a single by Matthew Ramsay. He stole second and moved to third on a single by Luke Feisal. Ramsay scored to tie the game on a groundout.

Dayton regained the lead in the top of the sixth when Robby Sunderman reached on an error that scored a run, and an RBI single from Jared Broughton made it a 3-1 contest. The Terriers responded in the bottom of the sixth when Matthew Kaskow and Hyman singled. Seth Neely reached on an error to score one run and a single by Ramsay drove in Hyman. A sacrifice fly by Feisal scored Neely to give Wofford a 4-3 lead.

In the top of the eighth, Dayton tied the game at 4 when a single by Ryan drove in a run. Wofford left two runners on base in the bottom of the eighth and the bottom of the ninth, sending the contest to extra innings. The Flyers had runners at second and third when a pinch-hit groundout by Ryan Berry scored a run for a 5-4 lead. Wofford was able to get the tying run to third base in the bottom of the 10th before a strikeout ended the game.

Wofford starter Yarusi worked six innings and allowed three runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts. Matthew Milburn went an inning and gave up one run on one hit with a strikeout. J.D. Osborne threw two-thirds of an inning with one hit allowed. Eric Eck (0-1) went the final 2 1/3 innings and gave up one run on two hits with two strikeouts.

Dayton starter Parker Schrage went six innings with four runs scored on seven hits with six strikeouts. Denton Sagerman (2-0) threw three innings and did not allow a run on three hits with one strikeout. Nick Weybright earned his first save of the season by striking out three in the 10th inning.

The Terriers host Marshall on Saturday for a doubleheader at 2 p.m. before wrapping up the weekend with another contest against Dayton at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

 

Albany 8, UNCG 5

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG baseball team surrendered a seven-run third inning on its way to an 8-5 loss Friday evening to visiting Albany in the first of a three-game series at the UNCG Baseball Stadium. Senior Lloyd Enzor drove in three runs in the loss, including his second home run of the season.

Albany (1-5) opened the scoring in the top of the third inning as it chased left-hander Dylan Hathcock from the game. The Great Danes sent 12 batters to the plate in the inning as they scored seven runs on five hits while taking advantage of two UNCG errors. Albany designated hitter Josh Nethaway had the big hit of the inning with a bases-loaded three-run double, while Nolan Gaige added a two-run double in the inning for a 7-0 lead.

The Spartans (4-3) came right back out in the bottom of the third inning and started to chip away at the deficit as they plated three runs off of right-hander Kasceim Graham to make it a 7-3 contest. UNCG put the first two batters on base and quickly loaded the bases with one out. Senior Zach Leach put the Spartans on the board as he lined a two-run single into center field before Enzor followed with a run-scoring single to make it a four-run contest.

The two teams starting to settle in on the mound as the offenses were held off the board until Albany tacked on a run in the sixth inning. UNCG started to make some noise in the bottom of the eighth inning against Albany reliever Ryan Stinar. Leach started the rally by battling for a one-out walk before Enzor crushed a 3-1 pitch high over the left-field wall for his second home run of the season to narrow the gap to 8-5.

The Spartans tried to mount a rally in the bottom of the ninth inning as Shawn Hendon ripped a pinch-hit one-out single through the left side for his third hit in three at-bats this season. Benigno Marrero followed with a line-drive shot that looked destined for the outfield but Albany shortstop Gordon Madej snared it and doubled off Hendon to end the game.

Hathcock (2-1) picked up his first loss of the season in his first start of the year as he lasted just 2 2/3 innings. He allowed seven runs, five of them earned, on seven hits while also walking five batters. Six Spartan relievers combined to limit the Great Danes to just one run over the final 6 1/3 innings.

Graham (1-1) earned the victory for Albany as he lasted six solid innings and limited UNCG to three runs on just three hits as he struck out five batters. Stinar picked up his first save of the season, working the final three innings and allowing two runs while striking out four batters.

The Spartans and Great Danes continue their three-game series Saturday afternoon. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. at the UNCG Baseball Stadium with sophomore right-hander Lee Gilliam set to take the mound for UNCG.