College of Charleston 10, Samford 0
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – College of Charleston’s offense, pitching and defense came together for an outstanding performance as the Cougars shut out Samford, 10-0, to earn a Southern Conference road sweep, the first of the season for the Cougars.
College of Charleston (16-11, 7-4) swept the defending SoCon tournament champion Bulldogs (15-13, 5-7) behind 10 runs on 13 hits, including a season-best three home runs. The CofC pitching staff allowed just four hits in the first shutout of the season.
Freshman starter Nathan Helvey (3-2) went eight innings, scattering three hits and only walking two. Ryan West came in the ninth inning to close the door on the Bulldogs.
Sophomore Gunnar Heidt had a career day at the plate, tallying a career-high five RBIs on three hits, including a three-run homer in the first inning. Junior Brandon Murray was also impressive as he hit a solo home right after Heidt’s and finished with three hits and two RBIs. Ben Boykin hit his second homer of the year, and Blake Butler went 2-for-3 with an RBI and two walks.
Samford’s Cole Limbaugh (2-1) suffered the loss for the Bulldogs, lasting just four innings and giving up six runs on seven hits. Catcher Drew McWhorter tallied the only extra-base hit of the game for the home team, a double in the second inning. As a team, Samford stranded eight runners on base.
College of Charleston put two runners on in the first after a walk from Alex Pastorius and hit-by-pitch from Tyler Jackson. Heidt then launched his second homer of the season over the left-field wall to give CofC a 3-0 lead. Murray made it back-to-back home runs with a solo shot to right field and pushed the score to 4-0.
The Cougars scored two runs in the fourth inning after Jackson reached on a bases loaded-fielder’s choice that scored Butler. Heidt then hit a single over the shortstop to plate Ryan Welke and give CofC a 6-0 lead.
Ben Boykin hit a solo home run on the first pitch of the fifth inning to push the score to 7-0. The Cougars added three more runs in the eighth inning with RBI singles from Heidt and Murray and a bases-loaded walk from Butler.
College of Charleston will remain on the road for a nonconference game at UNCW on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. Samford will return to action on Tuesday when the Bulldogs play at Jacksonville State. The game is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. (CT) start from Rudy Abbott Field.
UNCG 10, No. 22 Georgia Southern 6
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG baseball team pounded out 14 hits Saturday afternoon on the way to a 10-6 Southern Conference victory over No. 22 Georgia Southern at the UNCG Baseball Stadium. The Blue and Gold captured the league series two games to one with the victory.
The Spartans improved to 14-13 overall and 3-6 in SoCon play as the Blue and Gold has won six of its last nine contests. Conversely, the nationally ranked Eagles fell to 18-9 and 9-3, having lost their first league series of the season. UNCG also recorded its third victory this season against a top-25 opponent while improving to 4-0 when scoring in double figures.
Senior outfielder Zach Leach had a huge day at the plate, going 3-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBIs. A total of five Spartans tallied at least two hits in the contest, while junior catcher Cambric Moye and senior infielder Lloyd Enzor each drove in a pair of runs.
Starter and sophomore RHP Lee Gilliam improved to 2-1 on the bump as he threw six innings, scattered five hits, allowed three runs (two earned) and struck out four. Freshman RHP Ryan Clark was strong for the second straight day, blanking the Eagles in the seventh and getting out of the inning on just nine pitches.
Gilliam retired the first eight Eagle batters he faced, while the Spartans managed just one hit through the first two frames. UNCG broke through in the bottom of the third, scoring two runs on three hits. Enzor singled up the middle to lead off the inning before senior outfielder Christian Wolfe doubled to put Spartan runners at second and third with just one away. Redshirt sophomore infielder Ray Crawford struck out looking before senior infielder Trevor Edwards walked to load the bases.
Friday night’s hero, Moye, came through again as he ripped a single through the right side, which scored Wolfe and Enzor to make the score 2-0.
The lead was short-lived, however, as the Eagles strung together four hits in the fourth and received an RBI single from T.D. Davis and RBI double from Garren Palmer to knot the score at 2 apiece.
UNCG responded right back in the bottom of the frame. Leach doubled down the left-field line before senior infielder TJ Spina singled to right field to put Leach at third. Spina then proceeded to steal second before Enzor grounded out to score Leach. With two outs, Wolfe came through with a double to left that plated Spina and made the score 4-2.
The fifth inning began innocently enough as Streicher Brown grounded out to short. However, things got interesting as Ben Morgan reached on a throwing error by Crawford before Chase Griffin hit a lazy fly ball to center. Leach could not handle it and the ball bounced off his leg and to the wall – allowing Griffin to come all the way home and cut the UNCG lead to 4-3.
The score stayed that way thanks to a fantastic play by Crawford in the sixth. With runners on first and second with one away, Crawford dove for a hard ground ball, came up and tagged third before throwing out Tyler Avera on a bang-bang play at first to complete the double play and get the Spartans out of the inning.
That effort by Crawford put life into the UNCG lineup as Leach began the bottom of the sixth with a single through the left side. Spina flied out to left before Leach advanced to second on a wild pitch. Enzor came up next and destroyed a ball to right-center that bounced off the wall for a triple. The GSU center fielder overthrew third base trying to nab Enzor, and he came across to score to put the Spartans in front 6-3.
The Blue and Gold put the game away in the seventh after Clark’s fine relief effort on the bump in the top of the frame. Moye was hit by a pitch with one down and sophomore outfielder Eric Kalbfleisch roped a single to left field. Leach followed with another solid hit – this one a triple down the right-field line that brought home the runners to extend the Spartan cushion to 8-3. Spina then produced a sacrifice fly that plated Leach and put UNCG in front 9-3.
The Eagles got a run back in the eighth inning off of Davis’ leadoff home run, his eighth of the season. Kalbfleisch would answer with an RBI double in the bottom of the frame before Georgia Southern plated two consolation runs in the ninth to provide the final score.
UNCG remains at home for its next contest as the Spartans host North Carolina Central on Monday at the UNCG Baseball Stadium. That game will get under way at 6 p.m.
Georgia Southern continues the eight-game road trip at Jacksonville on Tuesday. First pitch from John Sessions Stadium is set for 6 p.m.
Appalachian State 4, Wofford 0
BOONE, N.C. – Sam Agnew-Wieland threw a five-hit shutout to lead Appalachian State to a 4-0 win over Wofford on Saturday afternoon at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
Agnew-Wieland’s gem helped Appalachian State (13-9, 5-5 SoCon) even its three-game Southern Conference series with Wofford (13-15, 4-7 SoCon) at a win apiece. The teams play the rubber match of their three-game set on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Smith Stadium.
Agnew-Wieland’s complete-game shutout was the first by a Mountaineer since Seth Grant blanked Elon, 5-0, on March 24 of last season. It also marked the first time that Appalachian has blanked an opponent since a 6-0 win at Wofford on April 29 of last year.
The shutout came in dominant fashion, as Agnew-Wieland (4-2) struck out an Appalachian State season-high 10 and Wofford managed to hit the ball out of the infield only three times. All five of the Terriers’ hits were singles and four didn’t leave the infield.
Appalachian’s offense provided Agnew-Wieland all the support he needed when it scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Mountaineers got on the board when Will Callaway’s hard-hit ball scooted through the legs of Wofford third baseman Seth Neely and down the left-field line, allowing Hector Crespo to score on the error. One batter later, Noah Holmes doubled over the head of left fielder Clark Wise to drive in Callaway and give the Mountaineers what proved to be an insurmountable 2-0 lead.
The Mountaineers tacked on a couple of insurance runs in the sixth on an RBI triple by Preston Troutman and an RBI single by William Head.
That would be more than enough for Agnew-Wieland. Wofford managed to put just four runners in scoring position all afternoon and only one reached third base. When the Terriers got a runner to third for the first time with one out in the eighth inning, Agnew-Wieland induced back-to-back groundouts to get out of the jam and keep the whitewash intact.
Holmes, Head, Troutman and Jaylin Davis paced the Mountaineers’ 11-hit attack with two apiece.
Wofford starter Jesse Morris surrendered four runs (two earned) over six innings to fall to 4-2 on the season. Designated hitter Matthew Ramsay (2-for-2) was the only Terrier with multiple hits.
Western Carolina 5, The Citadel 4 (game one)The Citadel 5, Western Carolina 4 (game two)
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Calvin Orth singled in Johnathan Stokes in the top of the ninth, and Stokes made a game-saving play in the bottom of the frame to give The Citadel a 5-4 win over Western Carolina and a split of Saturday's doubleheader.
The Catamounts won the opener 5-4 on a walk-off double by Aaron Attaway and took the series 2-1. The Bulldogs (16-12, 5-4 SoCon) snapped a three-game losing streak in the nightcap, with all three defeats coming by one run, including two on the final at-bat. Western is 16-13 and 7-5 in the conference.
Second Game
The Bulldogs trailed 4-0 before staging a late rally, culminating in the Orth game-winning hit. Stokes walked to lead off the frame and was sacrificed to second by pinch-hitter Brett Bullard. Orth followed with a base hit to right-center off Catamount closer Preston Hatcher that chased home Stokes.
The Citadel survived a threat by Western in the bottom of the ninth. Danny Bermudez walked with one out and moved to second on a base hit by Attaway. Skylar Hunter came on and struck out Julian Ridings on three pitches before Tyler White stepped to the plate.
White hit a sharp grounder in the hole that Stokes fielded cleanly on the back hand. The Bulldog shortstop made a perfect throw to first to nip White by a step.
Hunter, who allowed two doubles and took the loss in the opener, picked up his seventh save of the season. David Rivera worked 1 2/3 innings of hitless ball in relief and gained his fourth win of the year without a loss.
The Citadel was held to one hit through six innings by Jordan Smith before the Western starter ran into a wild streak and walked Joe Jackson and Bo Thompson to start the seventh. Tyler Griffin followed with a three-run homer to right-center, his eighth of the season, to pull the Bulldogs within 4-3 and give him 30 RBIs on the year, one more than Jackson for the team lead.
Drew DeKerlegand doubled and scored on a two-out single by Thompson to tie the game in the eighth. Rivera set the Catamounts down in order in the bottom of the frame to set up the ninth-inning dramatics.
Austin Mason started for the Bulldogs and allowed three runs on five hits in the third, with four of the hits and all three runs coming with two out. Bermudez doubled in a run an inning later to boost the Western lead to 4-0.
James Reeves settled things down on the mound for The Citadel, working the next 2 2/3 innings and allowing only one hit while striking out four. Zach Sherrill followed Rivera on the mound for one batter, giving up a single to Attaway before giving way to Hunter.
Sherrill was appearing in his 10th straight game and 23rd on the year, the most of any pitcher in Division I baseball.
First Game
Attaway doubled in Dykota Spiess in the bottom of the ninth to give the Catamounts a 5-4 win in the opening game. With one out, Spiess doubled to right-center off Hunter, and Attaway followed with a drive off the fence in left-center to plate Spiess with the game-winning run.
The Citadel snapped a 3-3 tie in the seventh when Thompson slammed a mammoth solo home run to left, his ninth round-tripper of the season. It stayed a one-run game until Jacob Hoyle lined a two-out, pinch-hit single just in front of the diving Hughston Armstrong in center off Rivera to drive in White with the tying run.
The Bulldogs had a chance to take the lead in the top of the ninth. Mason Davis walked and stole second with one out, his 13th theft of the season. One out later, Jackson was intentionally walked to set up a righty-righty matchup between Thompson and Hatcher.
Thompson hit a smash right at second baseman Bradley Strong, who threw to Attaway for the force on Jackson to end the threat. Hatcher, who gained the save in Friday's win, evened his record at 2-2 while Hunter fell to 1-3 with the loss.
The game looked like it would be a shootout with both teams scoring three runs in the first three innings, but the pitching took over until Thompson homered in the seventh.
The Citadel took a 2-0 lead in the first on RBI singles by Jackson and Griffin, but the Catamounts cut their deficit in half in the bottom of the inning on a solo homer by Austin Neary. A two-run homer by Spiess in the second gave Western a 3-2 lead, but Jackson answered with a two-out opposite-field homer to left-center to bring the Bulldogs into a 3-3 tie.
Logan Cribb worked the first five innings for The Citadel and overcame the shaky start to blank Western over his final three frames. He allowed seven hits, walked one and struck out five. Sherrill came in to start the seventh and worked one perfect inning before Rivera allowed a couple of hits and the tie run in the eighth.
The Citadel returns to Riley Park on Tuesday at 6 p.m. when it opens a home-and-home series against Coastal Carolina. The teams will meet again the following night at TicketReturn.com Field in Myrtle Beach, also at 6 p.m.
Western Carolina will host UNC Asheville on Tuesday at 5 p.m. before taking on the Bulldogs in Asheville, N.C., the following day at 6 p.m.
Elon 8, Davidson 2 (game one)
Elon 8, Davidson 2 (game two)
ELON, N.C. – Ryan Kinsella went 5-for-9 with four doubles and a home run and Elon received two strong pitching performances as the Phoenix completed a three-game sweep of Davidson with a pair of 8-2 victories in a Saturday doubleheader at Latham Park.
Elon is now 17-11 overall and 10-5 in Southern Conference play, while Davidson currently sits at 8-18, 4-11.
GAME ONE
The day got off to a quick start for Elon. After starter Kyle Webb retired the Wildcats in order in the top of the first, the Elon offense put a runner on third with two outs before Kinsella doubled into the right-field corner to put the Phoenix on the board.
The Maroon and Gold upped its lead to 2-0 in the second. Casey Jones reached on an error to start the frame before going to third on a Sebastian Gomez double. Jones would later score on a one-out grounder to short by Blaine Bower.
With Elon still up 2-0 in the last of the fourth, Gomez belted his first homer of the year, a solo shot to left. With two outs, Bower and Niko Fraser both reached before an Alex Swim single drove home Bower to make it 4-0.
The Phoenix added two more in the sixth, the first on a Swim single and the second on a wild pitch.
Davidson trimmed its deficit to 6-1 in the seventh when Nathan Becker's infield single scored Michael Zeblo. Elon came right back with two more in the last of the seventh on an RBI single by Chris Bresnahan and an RBI double off of Bower's bat.
The Wildcats added one in the ninth to make it 8-2.
Webb (3-0) went 6 1/3 innings and allowed one run on four hits while striking out six to earn the win. He allowed just five base runners.
The loss went to Danny Mooney (3-3). Mooney was charged with six runs (five earned) on 11 hits in six innings.
Swim climbed into third place on Elon's all-time hits chart in game one with his 2-for-5 performance. He now has 253 career hits.
GAME TWO
Once again, Elon was the first to score in game two as the Phoenix took a 1-0 lead when a wild pitch scored Kinsella, who had led off with a double, in the last of the second.
The Phoenix then erupted for six runs in the third inning. Quinn Bower led off with an infield single and stole second before scoring on Niko Fraser's one-out triple. With two down, Kinsella doubled home Fraser. Elon then loaded the bases on a walk and error before Joey Tomko drove a 2-2 pitch from Matt Saeta over the left-field wall for his first career grand slam, which gave the Maroon and Gold a 7-0 lead.
Davidson got one back in the fifth when a fielder's choice by Daniel Gerow scored Zeblo.
Elon added a run in the seventh when Kinsella connected on his eighth homer of the year, a solo shot to right. The Wildcats would put their final run on the board in the ninth as Andrew Barna drove home David Daniels with a single to right-center.
For the second consecutive weekend, Elon's Spencer Medick allowed just one run. Medick went eight innings, scattering seven hits and striking out four to improve to 4-1 on the season.
Saeta (1-1) took the loss after giving up seven runs (three earned) on six hits in just 2 2/3 innings.
Elon will wrap up its five-game homestand on Tuesday night at 6:30 by hosting High Point. Davidson completes an eight-game road swing Tuesday against Duke at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, home of the Triple-A Durham Bulls. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
Presbyterian 6, Furman 2
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Presbyterian’s Bud Jeter got early run support and backed it up with a complete-game pitching performance to beat Furman, 6-2, in Saturday’s three-game series finale at Latham Stadium.
The victory gave PC (18-11) the series win over Furman (16-11) two games to one, with the visiting team winning all three contests.
Jeter (4-1), a junior right-hander, checked Furman’s bats for a much of the game, surrendering eight hits and throwing shutout ball through eight frames before allowing a pair of runs in the ninth. The Columbia, S.C., product threw 116 pitches, walked two and struck out five in earning the victory. He was aided by his defense, which turned a pair of double plays and registered an outfield assist.
Jeter got all the run support he would need in the first inning on a Cam McRae three-run home run to left field off Paladin starting and losing pitcher Tyler Wood (2-1). McRae’s clout followed one-out singles by Aaron Preston and Brad Zebedis.
Furman’s bid to answer in its first at-bat was throttled by Blue Hose center fielder Aaron Preston, who fielded a Paul Nitto single and threw a strike to home plate to nail Furman’s Hunter Burton by two steps for the third out.
The Blue Hose added two more runs in the fourth on an RBI single by Jay Lizanich and an RBI squeeze by Billy Montroni.
PC stretched its advantage to 6-0 with a run in the eighth after McRae walked with one out, advanced to third on a double by Brandon Paul and scored on a Robby Swab single.
Jeter’s bid for a shutout faltered in the ninth when Nitto and Abrams delivered back-to-back singles and moved up on an infield error. Nitto came home on a fielder’s choice, as did Abrams, but that would do it for the Paladins as Jeter rallied to strike out Jordan Simpson to end the game.
Both teams registered eight hits. For Furman, Nitto and Hunter Burton combined for three hits apiece, with Burton’s eighth-inning double representing the only extra-base hit for the Paladins.
Paul and Lizanich had two hits apiece for PC, but McRae’s three-run home run proved to be the game’s big blow for the Blue Hose.
Furman’s bullpen, which featured the work of four pitchers, performed well, allowing a run on just two hits over the final five innings.
The Paladins will play host to South Carolina on Wednesday at Fluor Field, with first pitch set for 7 p.m.