Georgia Southern 5, No. 11 Georgia Tech 4

ATLANTA – The Georgia Southern Eagles never surrendered an early 2-0 lead and knocked off No. 11 Georgia Tech 5-4 at Russ Chandler Stadium on Tuesday night.

Georgia Southern (13-7) loaded the bases in the first inning and scored two runs off of a single by Arthur Owens and a walk from Brent Pugh. Ben Morgan and Chase Griffin both walked before Robbie Dodds recorded a two-out infield single to load the bases. Owens followed with a base hit to right field before Pugh walked to knock in the second run.

Matt McCall (2-0) earned his second win of the season in relief of starter Evan Challenger, who allowed one run over two innings. McCall allowed one run over four innings and struck out two batters. The junior right-hander retired the first six batters he faced before allowing a single to Georgia Tech's (17-3) Dyle Dore in the fifth inning. Dore later scored on a bases-loaded walk by Zane Evans.

Justin Hess (2) struck out three batters over the final 1 2/3 innings to earn the save. Hess recorded the final two outs in the eighth inning and struck out the first two batters he faced in the ninth. He allowed a run on back-to-back hits but struck out Daniel Palka to end the contest.

Jared Jillison (0-1) was handed his first decision of the season after surrendering the first two runs of the contest. Jillison allowed five hits and walked three over two innings.

The Yellow Jackets cut into GSU's 2-0 lead with a single run in the second inning. Dore doubled down the left-field line to score Mott Hyde, who singled with one out.

The Eagles extended their lead to two runs after a leadoff walk by Cole Watson came around to score. Chase Griffin dropped a ball into the left-field corner with two outs for an RBI triple.

Georgia Southern scored what would prove to be the game-winning run on a two-run homer by T.D. Davis in the seventh inning. Griffin walked with one out before Davis lifted a 1-2 pitch over the left-field fence for his sixth home run of the season.

The Eagles return home for a weekend Southern Conference series against Davison. The three-game series opens on Friday night. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.

 

UNCG 8, No. 16 NC State 5 (11 inn.)

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG baseball team scored three runs in the top of the 11th inning Tuesday, upending No. 16 NC State in a nonconference contest at Doak Field at Dail Park.

The win snapped a five-game losing streak and also marked the second straight campaign in which the Spartans have defeated a ranked team on the road. UNCG beat North Carolina in Chapel Hill 8-4 last April.

Senior infielder TJ Spina tallied two hits in the game, including a two-run home run in the eighth to give the Spartans a brief lead. He also scored two runs and drew two walks. Senior Trevor Edwards was the other UNCG player to rack up a pair of base knocks.

Sophomore Blair Betts earned his first win of the season and his career, throwing two thirds of an inning allowing no runs, no hits and striking out one batter. Earning his first save of the year was junior Dylan Hathcock, as he hurled a perfect 11th with a strikeout.

The Spartans put some good at-bats together right at the start as UNCG stayed patient and worked four walks in the top of the first inning. The last with Cambric Moye at the plate came with the bases loaded and a 3-2 count as the Blue and Gold jumped on top 1-0. The Spartans got a one-out infield single from Nin Marrero in the bottom of the second, but Crawford grounded into a double play to erase the threat.

NC State loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the second, but Taylor came up big – getting John Mangum to chase a pitch and strike out to eliminate any damage.

The Wolfpack struck in the bottom of the third, scoring three runs on three hits to jump in front 3-1. Bryan Adametz tripled to center to lead off the frame and NC State would add an RBI bunt single and an RBI groundout to account for the other two runs. The home team threatened again in the bottom of the fourth, but Caleb Henley struck out Brett Austin with runners at second and third to keep the Wolfpack off the board.

Zach Leach smashed his first home run of the campaign over the left-field wall with two outs in the top of the fifth to pull the Spartans to within a run at 3-2. NC State loaded the bases without a hit in the bottom of the frame, but sophomore Brennen James was able to get Grant Clyde to foul out to end the inning.

In the top of the sixth, Eric Kalbfleisch singled through the right side with one out before Spina walked. Junior infielder Shawn Hendon came up as a pinch hitter with two away, but he struck out looking to leave the Spartans down a run.

A pair of errors to begin the bottom of the sixth proved costly as NCSU ended up scoring a run with two outs on a bloop single to shallow left field. However, with two outs in the top of the eighth, Moye hit a single to left field that scored Edwards before Spina got a hold of one and destroyed it high over the left-field wall to put the Spartans in front 5-4. The Wolfpack responded in its half of the eighth with two outs as UNCG botched an inning-ending double-play opportunity, allowing Logan Ratledge to score from third and tie the game at 5. He had doubled to lead off the half inning.

After the Spartans came up empty in the top of the ninth, NCSU was able to get a runner to third with two away. However, sophomore Tyler Frazier struck out Ratledge to keep the game-winning run from scoring and send the contest to extra innings.

Both squads were held scoreless in the 10th before the Spartans racked up three runs in the top of the 11th on three walks and a key throwing error by the NC State shortstop. The miscue allowed Spina and Marrero to cross home and make the score 8-5. Pinch runner Cole Harrison also scored on a wild pitch prior to the error.

Hathcock set the Wolfpack down in order in the bottom of the frame to seal the win.

The Blue and Gold has a quick turnaround, returning to the UNCG Baseball Stadium on Wednesday for a game against Ivy League outfit Princeton. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.

 

Furman 9, Georgia 5

ATHENS, Ga. – Alex Abrams went for 4-for-5 and Will Muzika reached base five times and scored twice to help Furman defeat Georgia, 7-5, in baseball action Tuesday evening at Foley Field.

The victory was Furman’s third straight triumph over Georgia and the Paladins’ fourth win in the last five clashes with the Bulldogs.

The Paladins banged out 10 hits in the contest and benefited from seven walks and three wild pitches by Georgia pitching.

Furman (15-6) struck for three runs in the first inning and never trailed.

Muzika walked to lead off the game and scored on a Taylor Johnson single to left field.  A wild pitch by Bulldog starting pitcher David Gonzalez allowed Hunter Burton to sprint home, and Johnson made it 3-0 on an Abrams RBI single to left field.

Hunter Cole’s two-run home run in the bottom of the first off of Furman starting pitcher Tyler Wood sliced the lead to 3-2, but that was as close as the Bulldogs would get.

Muzika was hit by a pitch to start the second and later scored on a Johnson groundout.

The Paladins stretched their advantage to 7-2 with a three-run fifth, combining three hits with a walk, an error and a wild pitch. A Chris Ohmstede double to left-center field put runners at second and third, and they came home an RBI grounder by Griffin Davis and a Jarrod Rickman single up the middle against a drawn-in Bulldog infield.

Georgia cut it to 7-4 in the seventh with a Kyle Farmer RBI triple and sacrifice fly by Cole.

The Bulldogs made it 7-5 with a run in the eighth and threatened for more, but Paladin left fielder Griffin Davis’ charging, diving catch on a Nelson Ward pop fly ended the inning and stranded a runner at third base.

In the Georgia ninth, Furman closer Matt Solter allowed a two-out single but rallied to strike out Zack Bowers to end the game and notch his fifth save of the campaign.

Abrams’ singled four times in his five at bats to continue a recent stretch that has seen him go 13-for-22 (.590) over the last six games.

Muzika, who registered five plate appearances, walked four times — one shy of the Furman single game record — and was hit by a pitch, scored two runs and stole a base — his 10th in the last eight games.

Ohmstede went 2-for-5 with a double and run scored.

The win was credited to Drake Browne (1-0), who came on to start the fourth and worked 1 2/3 innings of shutout ball.  He struck out two and retired the first two batters he faced in the fifth before yielding back-to-back walks.

Elliott Warford relieved Browne and got out of a bases-loaded jam by retiring Zack Bowers on a fly ball.

Gonzalez (0-2) was charged with the loss after giving up four runs on three hits, three walks, a hit batsman and a wild pitch in one-plus innings.

Furman opens a three-game Southern Conference series this Friday when it entertains Samford in a 6 p.m. contest.

 

Appalachian State 10, North Carolina A&T 2

GREENSBORO, N.C. – After junior starting pitcher Chad Farmer pitched seven strong innings, Appalachian State plated five in the eighth inning to ensure the 10-2 victory over North Carolina A&T on Tuesday night at War Memorial Stadium.

Farmer struck out seven and settled down after giving up two runs in the bottom of the first. The victory marked his first decision in his last 12 starts and the first since March 14, 2012.

Appalachian began quickly as senior Hector Crespo singled through the right side. With outfielder Preston Troutman up, Crespo took off from first and recorded his 92nd stolen base of his career and 10th against N.C. A&T. With a Troutman single and a wild pitch, Crespo scored the opening run of the game. Troutman eventually scored as the Mountaineers carried a 2-0 lead into the bottom half of the inning.

The Aggies bounced back quickly in the first as Luke Tendler was hit by Farmer's first pitch of the game. Tendler was followed by a bunt single by Dylan Hipp. Tendler and Hipp eventually scored, but the two runs would be all the Aggies would plate in the contest.

After a walk by William Head and a fielder's choice by Brandon Burris, Crespo doubled in the left center gap, scoring Head and Burris. Crespo eventually stole third, and scored on an error by A&T's Jevoanny Tolentino.

Despite the scoring spree in the first two innings, neither team could not find the scoreboard again until the top of the eighth, when outfielder Jaylin Davis led off the inning with a triple off the center field wall. Davis' triple woke up the Mountaineer bats, as they recorded six hits and five runs in the inning.

Right-hander Josh Wilson relieved Farmer in the eighth inning and retired five straight batters, striking out one. Rob Marcello clinched the victory as he recorded the final out of the game.

Crespo and catcher Josh Zumbrook led Appalachian with three hits, highlighted by Zumbrook's fourth double of the season.

Aggie Andre McKoy paced A&T with three hits and one RBI. McKoy was the only Aggie hitter to have multiple hits in the game.

Starter Tim Jones lasted last just two innings and gave up five earned runs. Jamal Clark came in relief in the third and struck out five Mountaineer hitters, eventually pitching five innings.

Appalachian State returns to its Southern Conference slate on Friday as the Mountaineers head to Patriots Point in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., to face College of Charleston. The first contest of the three-game set is scheduled for 6 p.m.

 

No. 5 South Carolina 9, The Citadel 5

CHARLESTON, S.C. – South Carolina hit three home runs, including a two-run shot by Joey Pankake in the ninth that put the finishing touches on a 9-5 victory over The Citadel before a crowd of 5,838 on Tuesday night at Riley Park.

The Gamecocks, ranked fifth in the nation by both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball, improved to 18-3 on the season. The Bulldogs lost for just the third time in their past 12 games and dropped to 14-8. The Citadel will look to even the home-and-home series when the teams meet again on April 9 in Columbia.

The Citadel trailed 6-2 in the bottom of the seventh when pinch-hitter Brett Bullard doubled to left and Hughston Armstrong reached on a bunt single to put runners at the corners with nobody out.

Drew DeKerlegand followed with a shot to the alley in left-center for a triple, which drove in both runners, and DeKerlegand raced home when the relay throw from Pankake eluded third baseman Chase Vergason to pull the Bulldogs within a run.

But South Carolina responded with a run in the eighth and two in the ninth on Pankake's fifth home run of the season, off Skylar Hunter. The round-tripper was the first allowed this season by the Bulldogs' freshman closer.

The Citadel struck first in the opening inning against Gamecock starter Jack Wynkoop when Mason Davis tripled to center and scored on a sacrifice fly to left by Joe Jackson, who picked up his team-leading 26th RBI of the season.

Bulldog starter Logan Cribb allowed only one walk over the first two innings before giving up a two-run homer to Grayson Greiner in the third. LB Dantzler also went deep against Cribb to lead off the fourth and give South Carolina a 3-1 lead. Dantzler leads the Gamecocks with seven homers on the year.

Cribb was hoping to replicate his performance from his freshman season when he blanked South Carolina on eight hits over eight innings in a 2-0 Citadel victory at Riley Park. But Cribb (1-2) was lifted with two outs in the fourth after giving up four hits, walking three and striking out two.

The Gamecocks added to their lead in the fifth with a pair of errors opening the door. TJ Costen reached on an error by third baseman Bret Hines and Shon Carson was safe at first when reliever Zach Sherrill threw wildly to first on a sacrifice attempt. A groundout and a single by Pankake produced two runs to make it 5-1.

The Bulldogs benefited from an error to score a run in the sixth, but Costen doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Carson the following inning to give the Gamecocks a 6-2 lead heading into latter part of the contest.

Wynkoop went the first 5 1/3 innings, surrendering five hits and two runs with one walk and five strikeouts and remained perfect on the year at 4-0. Tyler Webb threw two perfect frames with a pair of whiffs to earn his eighth save.

Davis and Armstrong both had two hits and The Citadel had nine as a team, snapping a streak of six consecutive games with double figures in that department. The Bulldogs were also held without a home run for the first time in five contests after entering the game tied for third in the nation with 21.

Sherrill and David Rivera each threw 1 1/3 innings out of The Citadel bullpen. Sherrill was making his 17th appearance of the season and Rivera worked in his 16th game, ranking the right-handers first and second, respectively, in Division I in most games pitched.

Rivalry week continues for The Citadel on Wednesday when the Bulldogs travel up the road to Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant to take on College of Charleston in a nonconference game beginning at 6 p.m. The Bulldogs then play a three-game set against Charleston Southern, with the teams meeting at Riley Park on Friday and Sunday and at CSU on Saturday.

 

Connecticut 9, College of Charleston 4

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – Connecticut scored five runs in the top of the first inning and never trailed en route to a 9-4 win over College of Charleston on Tuesday night at Patriots Point.

College of Charleston (11-8) managed just three hits, while the Huskies (11-7) scored nine runs on 13 hits, the second-most by any CofC opponent this season.

Connecticut’s Connor David hit a three-run homer for UConn while Bobby Melley had a single, double and two RBI. College of Charleston’s Ben Boykin hit an RBI double, while Bradley Goodson and Jimmy Holton had hits and scored runs.

Pat Butler (1-0) picked up the win for the visitors, relieving starter Christian Colletti in the third inning. Blake Ross (1-1) suffered the loss for CofC, allowing seven earned runs on six hits in the first two innings. The Cougar bullpen only allowed two runs for the seven innings, but CofC could not draw even.

Melley plated two runs with an RBI single with two out in the first inning. After a single from Jon Testani, David hit a three-run home run to right field to put the Huskies up 5-0. UConn added two more runs in the top of the second after an RBI triple from L.J. Mazzilli. Mazilli trotted home on an RBI single from Vinny Siena.

The Cougars responded with a run in the bottom of the second after loading the bases with none out after three walks. Alex Pastorius hit a sacrifice fly to score Brandon Murray, but Morgan Phillips grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Charleston loaded the bases again in the third inning, and Gunnar Heidt drew a walk to score Jimmy Holton. Murray hit a sacrifice fly and Boykin doubled to right-center to score Bradley Goodson and cut the margin to 7-4.

UConn added a run in the fourth after Siena came in from third on a wild pitch from Taylor Alvarez. The Huskies scored another run in the top of the seventh inning with an RBI groundout from Billy Ferriter.

The Cougars were unable to tally a hit after the third inning despite eight walks on the game.

College of Charleston will host The Citadel on Wednesday evening in a nonconference game at Patriots Point. The first pitch is slated for 6 p.m.

 

Alabama 15, Samford 7

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford baseball team fell behind early and never could catch up as the Bulldogs fell to Alabama, 15-7, Tuesday evening at Joe Lee Griffin Field.

With the loss, Samford fell to 12-10 on the season. Alabama improved to 12-9 with the win.

Samford used 17 position players and nine pitchers in the loss. The Bulldogs were led at the plate by Caleb Bryson, who went 2-for-4 with two RBI. Frankie Navarrete also went 2-for-4 at the plate for Samford. C.K. Irby hit his fourth home run of the season in a 1-for-3 performance.

Patrick McGavin (0-3) pitched one inning, giving up five runs, only two earned, on five hits to take the loss on the mound for Samford. Charles Terry, Sean Handlan, Phillip Flach, Mark Donham, Luke Leeth, Patrick Maronde, Parker Curry and Devyn Traglia also saw time on the mound for Samford.

For Alabama at the plate, Austen Smith went 3-for-5 with a home run, a double and three RBI. Kyle Overstreet went 3-for-3 with an RBI, while Ben Moore went 2-for-3 with two RBI and Mikey White went 2-for-5 with an RBI.

Tucker Hawley (4-1) pitched three innings, allowing one run on two hits, to earn the win for the Crimson Tide. Keaton Haack, Trey Pilkington and Mike Oczypok also pitched in the game for Alabama.

Alabama grabbed control of the game early with five runs in the top of the first inning. Moore doubled to drive in Kenny Roberts for the game’s first run. Moore later scored when Brett Booth reached base on a Samford error. Booth advanced to second base on the play and later stole third base. Smith then singled to drive in Booth. Smith later scored from third base when Overstreet was caught stealing second base. White later doubled to drive in Cameron Carlisle for a 5-0 Alabama lead.

Samford plated its first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning. With two outs in the inning, Irby homered to left field to cut the Alabama lead to 5-1.

The Crimson Tide plated eight more runs in the top of the third inning to make the score 13-1. Booth drove in three runs in the inning, Smith drove in two with a home run, and Andrew Miller, Georgie Salem and Moore drove in a run each in the inning.

Samford came back with three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to cut the lead to 13-4. Bryson singled to drive in Christiaan Durdaller, and Phillip Ervin scored on an error for the first two runs in the inning. Drew McWhorter later hit a sacrifice fly to right field to drive in Bryson for Samford’s fourth run of the game.

Alabama plated a run in the top of the fifth inning to make the score 14-4. Overstreet doubled to right-center field to drive in Moore for a 10-run Alabama lead.

The Crimson Tide plated its 15th run of the game in the top of the seventh inning. Booth hit a sacrifice fly to right field to drive in Roberts to make the score 15-4.

Samford added three final runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to make the final score 15-7. Anthony Gonzalez doubled and later scored the first run of the inning on a single by Brandon Powell. Sam Few, who had earlier singled, scored when Bryson grounded out to first base. Powell later scored when Jared Watson doubled to left-center field for the game’s final run.

Samford will return to action on Friday when the Bulldogs open a Southern Conference series at Furman. Friday’s series-opener is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. (CT) in Greenville, S.C.

 

Cornell 10, Davidson 9

DAVIDSON, N.C. – Kevin Tatum went 2-for-3 with two home runs and five RBI to lead the Cornell Big Red to a 10-9, come-from-behind win over the Davidson Wildcats in nonconference baseball action Tuesday evening at Wilson Field.

Tatum’s first home run was a solo shot in the sixth to cut Davidson’s lead to 8-6. His second, a three-run blast in his next at-bat, put Cornell (7-5) up for good in the seventh. Davidson (8-10) got a run back in the eighth on a leadoff single from Forrest Brandt and a couple of miscues but stranded a pair of base-runners in the home half of the ninth to suffer the loss.

Michael Zeblo (4-for-4, RBI) and Brandt (4-for-5, two RBI) paced the ‘Cats, who had 14 hits on the night. Tatum, Brenton Peters (3-for-4, RBI) and Ben Swinford (2-for-4, two RBI) had multi-hit games for Cornell, which finished with 10.

Reliever Bryan DaCanal (1-1) took the loss for Davidson, allowing four runs (three earned) on three hits in 2/3 of an inning. Matt Horton (1-0) earned the win, tossing 1 2/3 scoreless innings.

In the third inning, Swinford singled up the middle with the bases loaded to drive in two runs and cut Davidson’s 6-3 lead to one, but the ‘Cats added two more runs in the bottom half. Ryan Lowe, Zeblo and Nathan Becker each singled to start the frame and load the bases, and Daniel Gerow and Foy drove in a run each for an 8-5 Davidson advantage.

After allowing three runs in the first inning, the Wildcats batted around in the second inning to reverse the deficit. Andrew Barna walked to lead the frame off and scored on a double by Lowe. Lowe scored on a base hit by Zeblo, and Sam Foy tied the game later in the inning with a bases-loaded walk. Following the first out of the inning, Brandt drove in two with a single down the right-field line to put Davidson in the lead, and Miller followed with a sacrifice bunt to drive in Foy for a 6-3 lead.

Davidson and Cornell will finish the two-game series Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Wilson Field.