No. 22 Georgia Southern 11, Jacksonville 4
STATESBORO, Ga. – After falling behind 2-1 in the top of the third, the 22nd-ranked Georgia Southern Eagles scored five combined runs in the third and fourth innings to defeat the Jacksonville Dolphins 11-4 and extend their home winning streak to nine games in a midweek contest Tuesday evening at J.I. Clements Stadium.
Georgia Southern (17-7) got strong pitching from starter Matt McCall, who made his first start since April 30, 2011, and his first as an Eagle. McCall (3-0) earned the win after allowing just two runs – one earned – over four innings. The junior right-hander struck out a season-high seven batters and allowed just one walk and four hits.
Jacksonville (9-16) had a brief one-run lead in the top of the third but was held scoreless from the fourth inning until the eighth inning. The Dolphins struck for a pair of runs over the final two innings to close out the game.
Josh Baker (0-4) took the loss after giving up three runs – one earned – on four hits. Baker tossed 2 1/3 innings and struck out a batter. Corben Madden tossed two scoreless innings and struck out two batters.
The Eagles tallied 11 hits and took advantage of four errors to record 10 or more runs for the fifth time this season. Stryker Brown led the team with four hits and three RBIs. Tyler Avera recorded three hits and scored two runs. Alex McRae led Jacksonville with two hits.
Brown scored a run in the first inning after reaching base on an infield single. T.D. Davis plated the run with a groundout to second base.
An error by the shortstop helped Georgia Southern answer back from a two run top of the third. Brown led off the inning with a bunt single, and Ben Morgan was hit by a pitch before both moved into scoring position with a double steal. With the bases loaded, shortstop Ethan Loosen misplayed a ground ball, allowing both runners to score.
The Eagles batted around in the fourth inning and scored three runs on four hits and two errors. Morgan recorded the only RBI in the inning on a single to left field. Kyle Streicher scored the second run of the inning on an error by the third baseman. Morgan later scored on a second error by pitcher Jeff Tanner.
Georgia Southern extended its lead to 8-2 in the seventh inning on a single by Avera and a base hit from Brown. The Eagles added three more runs in the eighth inning on only one hit. Avera grounded into a fielder's choice to plate Robbie Dodds before Brown scored two more runs on the inning's only hit.
Georgia Southern starts a three-game road series at UNCG Thursday at 6 p.m. The series continues with a 6 p.m. contest on Friday and a 2 p.m. game on Saturday.
UNCG 10, North Carolina 4
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Junior catcher Cambric Moye was a flawless 4-for-4 at the plate and redshirt sophomore Zac MacAneney hit a grand slam as the UNCG baseball team dispatched North Carolina A&T 10-4 in a nonconference game Tuesday at NewBridge Bank Park.
With the victory, the Spartans improved to 12-12 overall and have won four of their last six contests.
Moye’s effort marked a career high in hits for the Goldsboro, N.C., native, as he also tallied an RBI to go along with two runs scored. The grand slam was the first home run for MacAneney in a UNCG uniform as he finished the evening 2-for-4 with a career-best five RBIs and a run scored. Additionally, senior infielder Trevor Edwards crushed a home run to right field in the third inning as he took over the team lead with six and increased his career total to 32 – the most of any active Southern Conference player.
The Spartans pounded out double figures in runs for the third time this season and second in their last four outings while tallying 12 hits in total.
Sophomore RHP Brennen James earned the start on the bump for the Blue and Gold, and he threw three innings to earn his first victory of the season. He allowed three runs while scattering four hits and striking out two batters. The Spartans used seven pitchers in the contest and each of them recorded at least one strikeout while the final six gave up just one run in a combined six frames.
The Aggies struck in the top of the first as Luke Tendler doubled down the right-field line to lead off the game. Jevoanny Tolentino was then hit by a pitch before Cameron Jergens doubled with two outs to bring home Tendler.
Quickly loading the bases in an attempt to answer, UNCG received singles from senior outfielders Christian Wolfe and Zach Leach before Edwards reached on an error. Senior infielder Lloyd Enzor grounded out in his first at-bat to score Wolfe, while sophomore outfielder Eric Kalbfleisch and Moye delivered an RBI groundout and a RBI double, respectively, to make the score 3-1 after an inning.
After a scoreless second, North Carolina A&T tied the game at 3 with two runs on two hits and a Spartan error in the third. However, the Blue and Gold erupted for five runs in the bottom of the frame to seize control. Edwards led off with his home run before Enzor, Moye and Kalbfleisch reached on two singles and an error. MacAneney stepped to the plate with the bases juiced and tagged a 3-2 pitch over the right-field fence for his first round-tripper in a UNCG uniform. The Spartans would lead 8-3 after three complete innings.
The scoring settled down from there until the Aggies scratched across a run in the top of the sixth with two outs to pull within 8-4. Bo McMillan accounted for the run with an RBI double that scored Eric Chiz from first base.
MacAneney added his fifth RBI in the seventh inning with a single to center, which plated Moye and made the score 9-4. Edwards produced the game’s final margin in the eighth stanza when he flied out to left field and scored Wolfe from third. Wolfe had drawn a leadoff walk to begin the inning and moved to third base on a single by Leach.
The Blue and Gold returns to action Thursday when the Spartans host No. 22 Georgia Southern for a SoCon series at the UNCG Baseball Stadium. The three-game set begins on Thursday due to the Easter holiday weekend. First pitch for the opening contest is set for 6 p.m.
No. 14 South Carolina 3, College of Charleston 1
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – South Carolina’s Colby Holmes had a quality start to lead the 14th-ranked Gamecocks over College of Charleston, 3-1, in front of a sellout crowd of 1,526 on Tuesday night at Patriots Point.
The Gamecocks (19-6) scored three runs on eight hits while limiting the host Cougars (13-11) to just one run on four hits. CofC stranded five runners.
Holmes (2-2) went 7 1/3 innings, allowing four hits and one run while striking out eight and only walking two. Charleston starter Nathan Helvey (2-2) took the loss as he gave up two runs in the first inning. He only went 2 2/3 innings and gave up six hits, working on a predetermined pitch count. Adam Westmoreland (2) pitched the ninth inning to earn his second save of the season.
Blake Ross, Drew Freie, Matt Pegler and Dre Watts all made appearances from the Cougar bullpen, and they combined to strike out five Gamecocks and only give up two hits, two walks and just one run.
College of Charleston’s bullpen and defense played very well after the first inning, giving up just one run and making a number of spectacular catches on defense.
South Carolina’s LB Dantzler tallied two doubles and drove in a run to lead the Gamecock offense. Joey Pankake also knocked two hits and scored a run.
Tyler Jackson recorded the only RBI for the Cougars, scoring Morgan Phillips on a double in the third inning. Bradley Goodson knocked a double for CofC but he was stranded on the base paths.
USC opened the game with a double from Tanner English to left field, but he was put out at third on a grounder from Chase Vergason on a good throw from Gunnar Heidt. A single from Pankake and an RBI double from Dantzler plated USC’s first run. Grayson Greiner then scored Pankake with an RBI groundout to give the Gamecocks a 2-0 lead.
Charleston cut the lead in half in the third inning after Phillips reached on a leadoff walk. He advanced to second on a groundout and came home to score on Jackson’s two-out double to right center field. However, Holmes induced a fly out from Heidt to get out of the inning.
The only other run of the game came in the sixth inning after two consecutive hit batters put two runners on with none out. A sacrifice bunt from Erik Payne advanced the runners over and Dante Rosenberg hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Max Schrock. Freie fielded a good bunt attempt by English to end the sixth with no further damage.
The Cougars threatened in the eighth inning with a leadoff walk from pinch-hitter Carl Wise. However, three different Gamecock pitchers recorded three consecutive strikeouts to end the inning. Westmoreland struck out one and induced two groundouts in the ninth inning to secure the 3-1 win for South Carolina.
College of Charleston will play at Samford this weekend. The Cougars will play on Friday night at 7 p.m. (ET), and then play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 3 p.m. (ET).
No. 16 Georgia Tech 5, The Citadel 4
ATLANTA – Daniel Spingola lofted a two-run homer just over the fence in right-center with one out in the bottom of the ninth to cap a late Georgia Tech comeback and give the Yellow Jackets a 5-4 victory over The Citadel on Tuesday at Russ Chandler Stadium.
The 16th-ranked Yellow Jackets (19-5) scored all five of their runs in the final three innings to deny the Bulldogs a signature victory over one of the elite programs in the country. The Citadel (15-10) was seeking its first win over an ACC team since a 7-2 win over Virginia Tech in the 2010 Columbia Regional and first in the regular season since defeating NC State in 2004.
The Bulldogs never trailed until Spingola hit his first career home run off closer Skylar Hunter. The Citadel took a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the eighth, when Daniel Palka homered off David Rivera to make it a one-run game.
After the Bulldogs went in order in the top of the ninth, Matt Gonzalez singled to lead off the bottom of the inning and was sacrificed to second. The left-handed hitting Spingola followed by taking advantage of the short power alley in right-center to send The Citadel home disappointed.
The trio of starter Austin Mason and relievers Logan Cribb and Zach Sherrill blanked the powerful Georgia Tech lineup through six shutout innings, allowing only four hits in the process.
The Yellow Jackets began the week leading the nation in hitting with a .351 average, while also ranking first in slugging percentage and second in scoring, averaging 9.3 runs per contest. Georgia Tech had scored in double figures 14 times this season and reached double figures in hits 18 times but could do neither against the Bulldog pitching staff on Tuesday.
The Citadel offense, meanwhile, was able to scratch across a pair of runs in the fourth when Bo Thompson and Johnathan Stokes walked around a single by Tyler Griffin. Calvin Orth drove in Thompson and Griffin to give The Citadel a 2-0 lead, and an RBI single by Joe Jackson in the seventh made it a three-run game.
Mason gained the start after his scheduled outing against Charleston Southern on Sunday was rained out, and the freshman right-hander allowed only one hit and struck out two in his two innings of work. Cribb also fanned two in his two shutout innings while Sherrill, making his nation-leading 20th relief appearance of the season, surrendered just one hit in two innings.
The Yellow Jackets broke up the shutout in the bottom of the seventh when Spingola got his first big hit of the game, a two-out double off Rivera that scored Gonzalez to make it 3-1. The earned run was the first allowed by Rivera in 21 innings this season.
Griffin quickly pushed the lead back up to three when he clobbered a long home run to right for his seventh round-tripper of the season, one behind team leader Thompson.
Stokes and Orth joined Griffin with two hits each for The Citadel. Mason Davis went 0-for-4 to see his career-long 11-game hitting streak come to an end. Thompson's walk extended his streak to 21 straight games reaching base this season and 24 in a row dating back to the end of the 2012 campaign.
Freshman left-hander Jonathan King made his first career start for Georgia Tech and surrendered five hits and two runs over five innings. Gonzalez led the Yellow Jacket attack with three hits.
The Bulldogs return to Southern Conference action this weekend with a three-game set against Western Carolina in Cullowhee, N.C.
Winthrop 8, Davidson 4
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Winthrop scored four runs in the first inning and added insurance runs late to defeat Davidson, 8-4, in nonconference baseball action Tuesday night in Winthrop Stadium.
First baseman Andrew Barna led Davidson (8-15) at the plate, going 2-for-4 with his team-best sixth home run of the season for two RBIs, while Michael Zeblo also went 2-for-4 and drove in one run. Third baseman David Daniels was 1-for-4 with an RBI.
For Winthrop (7-17), first baseman Clay Altman (2-for-4) drove in three runs, right fielder Max Vogel (3-for-4) drove in two runs, and second baseman Luke Maldonado went 3-for-5 and scored two runs.
Five singles and an error gave Winthrop a 4-0 lead in the first inning, with Altman, Jace Whitley (1-for-3), Vogel and Chad Smith (1-for-3) each driving in runs. RHP Bryan DaCanal (1-2) retired the side, though, in the next three innings to allow the Wildcats to get back into the game.
Following an infield single that center fielder Forrest Brandt (1-for-4) beat by a step in the fourth inning, Barna halved the Winthrop advantage by slugging a two-run home run over the left-field fence. In the fifth inning, Daniels drove in second baseman Sam Foy (1-for-4) from second base on an infield hit to the right side to pull Davidson within one.
The Eagles were able to restore a four-run cushion as Austen Barber (2-for-4) drove in a run with a bases-loaded groundout in the sixth inning and Altman and Vogel drove in a run each in the seventh for a 7-3 advantage.
Zeblo drove in Brandt with a single to center in the top of the eighth, but the Eagles added another run on a sacrifice fly by Altman in the bottom half and struck out the side in the ninth to secure the victory.
LHP Sam Kmiec (1-3) earned the win after pitching 2 2/3 innings and surrendering just one run on three hits. LHP Josh Strong and RHP Eric Ruth combined to hold Davidson to one unearned run over the final three innings.
The ‘Cats, halfway through a stretch of eight straight games on the road, will next play a three-game series at Elon beginning Friday at 6 p.m. The two teams will play a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 3 p.m.
High Point 8, Elon 0
HIGH POINT, N.C. – A shaky defensive effort by Elon led to an 8-0 setback at High Point in non-league baseball action on Tuesday night.
High Point (13-12) scored a single run in the last of the first on a two-out single to left by Spencer Angelis before plating four in the second on two hits and four Elon errors.
The score remained 5-0 until the last of the seventh when the Phoenix (14-10) committed two more errors that led to three Panther runs to provide the final margin.
Elon had six hits on the night but failed to come up with a hit in key situations as the Maroon and Gold stranded seven runners.
David Whitehead (1-4) took the loss after allowing eight runs (five earned) on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings of work.
Ryan Retz (3-1) picked up the win with five scoreless innings. Retz also went 2-for-4 with one RBI at the plate.
The Phoenix will be right back in action on Wednesday afternoon as Elon hosts East Carolina at 4 p.m. at Latham Park. Due to cold temperatures forecast for Wednesday night, the start time has been moved up from the originally scheduled 6 p.m.
Wake Forest 3, Western Carolina 1
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Western Carolina was limited to just four base hits by Wake Forest’s pitching staff as the Demon Deacons edged the Catamounts, 3-1, Tuesday night in midweek nonconference action on a cold evening at Gene Hooks Field.
Three of WCU’s four hits went for extra bases, with senior Tyler White providing WCU’s lone run on a solo home run he wrapped around the right-field foul pole in the fifth inning. Junior Julian Ridings stretched his current hitting streak to 11 straight games with a double down the first-base line. The other two Catamount hits came from Bradley Strong with an eighth-inning double and a single to right-center by Aaron Attaway in the ninth.
Catamount starter Jacob Hoyle (1-1) suffered the loss after surrendering two runs in two innings, walking two against two strikeouts. Freshman Colton Davis also walked two with a strikeout in 1 2/3 innings of relief work, while senior Jon Nadale fanned two in three innings of work, tagged for one run on three hits. Tyler Powell tossed the final inning and a third, striking out three.
Wake Forest (15-12) got all the runs it would need in the home half of the second inning. The Demon Deacons took advantage of a leadoff walk as Andrew Williams doubled home Jake Carey from second base for the early advantage. After Williams stole third base, catcher Brett Armour delivered a two-out single through the left side to plate what proved to be the game-winning run.
Williams finished 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored to lead Wake Forest.
White and the Catamounts cut the deficit in half in the top of the fifth as the senior from Forest City, N.C., hit an opposite-field home run, curling a long fly ball around the pole down the right-field line for his team-leading eighth home run and 25th RBI.
Wake added an insurance run in the seventh inning as Evan Stephens reached on an infield single to first base before advancing to second on a balk. Following a two-out walk, pinch-hitter Charlie Morgan drove an RBI single through the left side to make it 3-1. WCU managed to keep it a two-run deficit, though, as Powell fanned Jack Carey to end the frame.
Aside from White’s home run in the fifth, WCU only had runners on in three frames. Attaway drew a leadoff walk in the top of the fourth but was erased on a double play to prevent a Catamount threat. Ridings doubled with one out in the seventh inning but was later stranded at second base. In the eighth, Strong doubled to left field with two outs but was likewise left on base.
WCU’s final opportunity came in the top of the ninth as Attaway led off the frame with a single to right-center field. However, he was erased on a fielder’s choice with back-to-back strikeouts ending the game. All told, Attaway was on board twice for WCU, stretching his consecutive streak of reaching base safely to a team-high 15 straight games.
Deacon starter Matt Conway (1-0) held the potent Catamount lineup to two hits through seven innings, striking out six with just one walk to score the victory. Jack Fischer tallied his first save of the year by tossing the ninth with two strikeouts.
Western Carolina continues its midweek nonconference swing on Wednesday as it travels to Gardner-Webb. First pitch has been bumped up to 5 p.m. in Boiling Springs, N.C.
Appalachian State vs. UNC Asheville, ppd.
BOONE, N.C. – Tuesday's baseball game between Appalachian State and UNC Asheville has been postponed due to inclement weather in the High Country. No makeup date has been announced.
Appalachian State (12-8, 4-4 SoCon) opens the home portion of its Southern Conference slate this weekend with a three-game series versus Wofford (11-14, 3-6 SoCon). Game times are set for 6:30 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.