Elon 12, Princeton 11

ELON, N.C. – Ryan Kinsella's one-out single to center with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the Elon Phoenix to its fifth consecutive victory, a 12-11 win over the visiting Princeton Tigers, on Wednesday afternoon at Latham Park.

After Princeton (1-12) scored three runs in the first, including two unearned markers, Elon (12-8) answered with a four-run second. Kinsella and Joey Tomko started things with back-to-back walks before Wil Leathers ripped a single down the left-field line to drive home Kinsella. A fielder's choice left runners on the corners before Chris Schaedel made it 3-2 with a double into the left-field corner. Blaine Bower then put the Phoenix on top, 4-3, with a two-RBI single up the middle.

Elon added single runs to its total in both the third and fourth to extend its lead to 6-3 before a three-run outburst in the fifth. Leathers smoked a one-out double down the left-field line, went to third on a Tyler McVicar single and scored on a wild pitch. A Schaedel single put men on the corners before Sebastian Gomez singled up the middle to drive home two as the Maroon and Gold lead reached 9-3.

The Phoenix carried a 10-3 advantage into the eighth inning before Princeton got hot. Three one-out walks loaded the bases with Tigers for Mike Ford. Ford connected on the first pitch he saw for what looked like it would be a grand slam. However, Ford passed Jonathan York at first base and was credited with a three-RBI single that made it a 10-6 contest.

Kinsella scored on a dropped fly ball in the last of the eighth to give Elon an 11-6 lead heading into the ninth. Princeton loaded the bases with its first three runners before Will Davis singled to center to score the first Tiger run of the frame. Mat Denunzio's one-out single up the middle drove home another run before a fielder's choice and throwing error allowed two more to score. Princeton knotted the game up at 11 on a Ford double before the inning came to a close.

The Elon ninth began with a Bower bunt single, sacrifice bunt from Gomez and back-to-back walks to Alex Swim and Antonio Alvarez before Kinsella delivered his game-winning hit.

Nate Young (1-0) was the winning pitcher. He gave up one run on two hits in an inning of work. Elon starter Jacob Baker allowed three runs (one earned) on three hits in five innings. Baker struck out four.

Luke Strieber (0-2) took the loss after giving up two runs (one earned) on three hits in an inning and a third.

Gomez, Kinsella, Leathers and Bower all had three-hit afternoons for the Phoenix, while Schaedel had a two-hit outing.

Elon will be back to Southern Conference play this weekend with a crucial series at Western Carolina. Friday's first pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. in Cullowhee, N.C.

 

Wofford 8, Presbyterian 6

CLINTON, S.C. – The Wofford College baseball team won 8-6 over Presbyterian College on Wednesday afternoon at the PC Baseball Complex. The Terriers scored six runs in the first inning and were able add two additional runs in the seventh inning for the victory.

Wofford is now 9-13 on the season and Presbyterian is 13-9 overall. The Terriers were led by Demetrius Jennings with three RBI and James Plaisted with two RBI, while Matthew Kaskow scored two runs. The Blue Hose were led by Cam McRae and Ryan Hagan with two hits each.

The Terriers struck first when Josh Hyman singled to score Kaskow from second base. A single by Seth Neely and a squeeze bunt by Plaisted pushed the lead to 2-0. A bunt with two outs by Clark Wise scored Neely for a 3-0 advantage. With the bases loaded, a double by Jennings cleared the bases and Wofford had a 6-0 lead after the top of the first inning.

In the bottom of the second, the Blue Hose got on the board with an RBI double by Jay Lizanich. A single to center field by Derek Long drove in two runs for a 6-3 score. After Wofford was retired in order in the top of the third, Presbyterian left two runners on base in the bottom of the third.

The Blue Hose had a runner at third in the bottom of the fourth with two outs when Nathan Chong hit a home run over the left-center fence to cut the lead to 6-5. Neither team scored in the fifth or sixth innings.

In the top of the seventh, Wofford loaded the bases with a walk, error and single by Josh Hyman. A single by Neely drove in one run and a sacrifice fly by Plaisted made it an 8-5 game.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Blue Hose scored one run on a groundout by Lizanich to cut the lead to 8-6. Wofford left one runner on base in the top of the ninth inning. The Blue Hose were retired in order in the bottom of the ninth, with the final out on a sliding catch by Wise in the outfield.

Wofford starter Dominick Del Monte (1-2) threw three innings and gave up three runs on five hits. Tanner Hawley went an inning and allowed two runs on two hits with one strikeout. Will Stillman threw an inning and did not allow a hit with two strikeouts. Luke Leftwich and Matthew Milburn each worked an inning without allowing a hit. J.D. Osborne gave up one run on one hit with one strikeout in the eighth inning. Eric Eck picked up his fourth save of the season by retiring the side in order in the ninth.

Presbyterian College starter Brett Byrum (1-3) went 2/3 of an inning and allowed five runs on three hits. Michael Ricchi worked 4 1/3 innings and gave up one run on two hits with one strikeout. Ryan Morris threw an inning with two hits allowed. Tim Corbin added an inning and gave up two runs on one hit. Chandler Knox had one strikeout and did not allow a hit in an inning. Michael Trebendis did not allow a hit with one strikeout in the ninth.

Wofford will return home on Friday night for the beginning of a three-game Southern Conference series against UNCG.

 

Tennessee 10, Western Carolina 5

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Big innings were the order of the day as the Tennessee Volunteers rallied past the Western Carolina Catamounts, 10-5, in midweek nonconference action Wednesday evening at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

WCU grabbed an early 5-0 lead with five runs in the top half of the second inning before the Vols rallied in the decisive third inning, scoring nine runs on eight hits – all coming with two out – to claim a lead they would never relinquish. Tennessee (11-9) saw nine straight hitters reach, including seven on consecutive hits before a hit batter was followed by the inning’s eighth hit.

Julian Ridings paced the Catamounts with a 3-for-5 showing at the dish with two singles and a two-RBI triple in the second inning. Jacob Hoyle also tripled in a 2-for-2 showing while also drawing two walks, with Bradley Strong (2-for-5) and Cody Jones (2-for-5) also collecting two hits in the road loss.

Western Carolina (12-9) broke open a scoreless tie in the top of the second as Hoyle opened the frame with a triple to right-center field. Following a walk to Luke Gragg to put runners at the corners with one out, Adam Martin lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to put the Catamounts in front 1-0, scoring Hoyle. A single through the right side by Strong put runners at the corners with a double steal moving Strong to second and seeing Gragg swipe home plate for the 2-0 lead.

A second walk in the frame to Aaron Attaway put two aboard before Jones singled up the middle to drive home the third run, scoring Strong. The next batter, Ridings, tripled to left-center field, scoring two to hand WCU the 5-0 lead.

Tennessee’s Parker Wormsley was plunked by a pitch for an auspicious start to the Vols’ third inning but a sacrifice bunt retired leading hitter Will Maddox, moving Wormsley to second with one out. Jeff Moberg then flied out to left field for the second out. However, an RBI double to left-center by Scott Price was the first of seven straight base hits for the Vols, with Tennessee capitalizing on one WCU error to surge in front, 9-5.

In the seventh, Wormsley reached on a bunt single on a squeeze play with Pierce Biley scoring an insurance run to provide the final tally, 10-5.

WCU reliever Danny Schneider (1-1) was saddled with the loss, surrendering three runs – two of which were unearned – in the Vols’ big third inning. Schneider was the first of six pitchers out of the bullpen for the Catamounts in relief of starter Jon Nadale, who struck out two in 2 2/3 of an inning. The Petaloma, Calif., native allowed three runs on three hits before coming out with two gone in the third inning.

Freshman reliever Colton Davis went a team-long 3 1/3 innings out of the pen, matching his career long outing, holding the Vols to one run on two hits. His classmate Alex Barr recorded a strikeout in 2/3 of an inning, while sophomore Tyler Powell struck out the only batter he faced in his team-leading 14th appearance.

Tennessee relief pitcher Trevor Charpie (2-0) settled things down for the Volunteers after starter Aaron Quillen surrendered five runs on five hits in the second inning. Charpie held WCU scoreless through six innings, only allowing five hits with two walks against two strikeouts. Drake Owenby struck out three in the ninth, stranding two Catamount base runners.

Western Carolina returns home to Childress Field / Hennon Stadium for a three-game Southern Conference series against the Elon Phoenix beginning Friday at 5 p.m. and continuing with a 2 p.m. first pitch on Saturday and a 1 p.m. start on Sunday.

Elon comes to Cullowhee riding a five-game winning streak including midweek wins over Virginia Tech and Princeton and a sweep of UNCG in league play last weekend. WCU has won eight of its last 11 overall, winning back-to-back SoCon series on the road over Davidson and the College of Charleston.

 

Cornell 3, Davidson 2

DAVIDSON, N.C. – Cornell scored all three of its runs in the top of the sixth inning Wednesday night to earn a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over Davidson in nonconference baseball action at Wilson Field.

RBI doubles from Matt Hall and Ryan Plantier highlighted the three-run sixth for Cornell (8-5), and Plantier eventually scored when Ben Swinford reached on an error with two outs. Davidson (8-11) had held a 2-0 lead since the second inning, when David Daniels drove in both runs for Davidson on the night with a single up the middle with the base loaded.

Center fielder Forrest Brandt was the only player to enjoy a multi-hit game, going 3-for-4 to account for half of Davidson’s six hits.

LHP Zach McCulley (1-0) went five innings, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out four. LHP Michael Byrne worked four innings in relief to notch his first save of the year and struck out five on the night, while allowing just one hit and one walk.

Davidson employed six pitchers, as Michael Goldberg (two innings), Nick Neitzel (two innings), Andrew Pope (1 2/3 innings), Jip Richards (2/3 innings) and Matt Saeta (one innings) held Cornell scoreless, but Chad Moss (0-1) was tagged with the loss after allowing three runs (two earned) in 1 2/3 innings of work.

The Wildcats will hit the road for their next eight games, starting with three at Southern Conference foe Georgia Southern on Friday at 6 p.m.

 

College of Charleston 11, The Citadel 7

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – College of Charleston snapped its two-game skid with an 11-7 win over crosstown rival The Citadel in a nonconference game on Wednesday night at Patriots Point.

The Cougars (12-9) tied a season high with 12 walks and faced eight different Bulldog (14-9) pitchers as they tallied double digits in runs for the sixth time this season.

Ben Boykin led the CofC offensive effort with three hits, including his team-best eighth double of the season, and drove in two runs. Blake Butler extended his reached-base streak to 10 games with a double and a walk, scoring two runs. Tyler Jackson knocked two singles and scored two runs, while Brandon Murray drew two walks to move into first place in the SoCon with 20 walks this season.

Cougar starter Griffin Jones pitched three innings and allowed one run on three hits. Ryan West (2-0) picked up the win as he allowed five runs in 2 1/3 innings but was in the game in the fourth when CofC took the lead for good.

Layton Meacham (0-1) suffered the loss for The Citadel as he allowed the go-ahead run in the three-run CofC fourth inning.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning with a leadoff double from Mason Davis, a single from Drew DeKerlegand and then a double-play grounder that scored Davis from third.

College of Charleston responded with a four-run third inning, sparked by Butler’s leadoff double. He scored on a wild pitch and the Cougars loaded the bases with three walks for Boykin, who singled in a run. Bradley Goodson had a sacrifice fly and Alex Pastorius hit a grounder that scored Murray and made it 4-1 CofC.

The Bulldogs responded with five runs in the fourth to retake the lead. Ben Bullard had a bases-loaded single to score a run and Johnathan Stokes hit a two-RBI single to tie it at 4-all. Hughston Armstrong continued the inning with an RBI single and Davis had a groundout RBI to put the visitors up 6-4.

College of Charleston didn’t take long to respond, drawing four walks in the fourth inning with RBI from Heidt and Boykin and a bases-loaded walk from Goodson to take a 7-6 lead.

The Cougar pitching staff settled down after the fourth inning with a scoreless fifth inning, and a big play from Heidt in the sixth inning got the third out at home plate and preserved the lead.

Charleston added four insurance runs in the sixth inning, loading the bases with none out before Pastorius picked up the second bases-loaded walk of the game. A subsequent wild pitch scored Boykin from third, pinch-hitter Carl Wise hit a groundout RBI and Morgan Phillips tallied his fifth double of the season to score classmate Pastorius.

The Citadel’s Bo Thompson hit a solo home run in the seventh inning, but that was all the scoring for the rest of the game as Dre Watts finished the last 1 1/3 innings, striking out two.

The CofC win did not count in the Southern Conference standings as the teams were playing their annual midweek nonconference game.

College of Charleston continues its homestand with a three-game series against Appalachian State this weekend at Patriots Point.

The Bulldogs continue their week of games against traditional rivals this weekend when they play a three-game set against Charleston Southern. The teams meet at Riley Park Friday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. with a game at CSU in between on Saturday at 2 p.m.

 

UNCG 9, Princeton 7

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG baseball team touched up Princeton’s bullpen for seven runs in the seventh and eighth innings Wednesday as the Spartans captured a 9-7 nonconference victory at the UNCG Baseball Stadium. The Blue and Gold evened its record at 10-10 with the victory while Princeton fell to 1-13.

Tigers starter Cameron Mingo was effective in six innings of work, allowing two runs (one earned) on nine hits while striking out three, but the Spartans roughed up reliever Nick Donatiello for seven runs on seven hits in just one and 2/3 of an inning.

Conversely, UNCG starter and sophomore RHP Brennen James was nearly perfect in three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit. Classmate Caleb Henley picked up his first win of the season despite just throwing 1/3 of an inning. He held the Tigers off the board and recorded the final out of the eighth to become the pitcher of record as the Spartans took the lead in the bottom of the inning.

Sophomore outfielder Eric Kalbfleisch continued his hot streak at the plate, extending his hitting streak to seven while recording three hits in five at-bats with a double and a RBI. He is hitting .545 in his last five games with three doubles and three RBI. Senior infielder Trevor Edwards tallied three RBI and scored a run, while sophomore utility player Ray Crawford and freshman infielder Nin Marrero crossed the plate twice.

The Spartans struck in the third, taking a 1-0 lead when Marrero doubled down the right-field line and scored when Crawford singled to short and the shortstop overthrew first trying to nab Crawford.

Princeton was able to net four runs in the top of the fifth, thanks in part to a leadoff home run by Will Davis, and moved in front 4-1 before a sacrifice fly by Edwards scored senior outfielder Zach Leach in the bottom of the inning to make the score 4-2.

Looking to put the game away, the Tigers tacked on three more runs in the sixth on just one hit as they produced a sacrifice fly, scored on a passed ball and tallied an RBI double.

UNCG began its rally in the seventh as Donatiello took his turn on the bump. The Spartans greeted him rudely as Crawford tripled to right-center and Leach brought him in with a sacrifice fly. Edwards then took him deep with a home run to right field before Enzor doubled to left and plated Cambric Moye, who drew a walk on a 3-2 count.

The score stood at 7-5 until the bottom of the eighth, when freshman catcher Jake Hall and Marrero led off with consecutive singles. With one away, Hall was able to score on a wild pitch and Edwards flew out to center to score Marrero and tie the game at 7. Moye and Kalbfleisch followed with an RBI single and RBI double, respectively, to push the home side in front 9-7.

With Princeton down to its last at-bats in the top of the ninth, Hathcock tallied a strikeout and induced two fly outs to end the game.

UNCG returns to the diamond this weekend, traveling to Spartanburg, S.C., for a Southern Conference series with Wofford. The Spartans and Terriers will begin the set Friday at 6 p.m. at Russell C. King Field.

 

Samford vs. Troy rescheduled for April 10

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford baseball team’s home game against in-state rival Troy, originally scheduled for March 5, has been rescheduled for April 10 at 6 p.m. (CT) at Joe Lee Griffin Field.

The game was postponed due to inclement weather in the Birmingham area on March 5.

Samford is currently 12-10 overall and 2-4 in Southern Conference play. The Bulldogs will play at Furman this weekend, playing Friday at 5 p.m. (CT), Saturday at 3 p.m. (CT) and Sunday at 12 p.m. (CT).