UNC Asheville 8, Wofford 5
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford baseball team returned home to Russell C. King Field after a nine-game road trip but was defeated 8-5 by UNC Asheville on Wednesday. After the Terriers led 3-1, the Bulldogs scored seven runs in the top of the sixth inning to secure the victory.
Wofford is now 13-22 on the season and UNC Asheville is 11-24 overall. The Terriers were led by Matthew Pelt with two RBIs. Robert McIntosh led the Bulldogs with two hits and two RBIs in the contest.
The Bulldogs had two doubles in the top of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. Wofford answered with three singles in the bottom of the first, with Josh Hyman scoring on an RBI single from Seth Neely to make it a 1-1 game. UNCA loaded the bases in the top of the second, but all three runners were stranded.
In the bottom of the second, Wofford had runners on the corners with one out. Demetrius Jennings bunted and reached on an error to score Matt Ramsay from third. A fielder’s choice by Clark Wise scored Matthew Kaskow to give the Terriers a 3-1 lead.
After neither team scored in the third inning, Wofford had runners at second and third with one out but was unable to add a run in the bottom of the fourth. Both teams were retired in order in the fifth.
The Bulldogs added a double in the top of the sixth inning and had runners on the corners with two outs. A double by Phillip Treadway drove in both runners to tie the game at 3-3. Treadway stole third and then crossed the plate on a wild pitch to take a 4-3 advantage. After two walks, three straight hits for the Bulldogs pushed the lead to 8-3.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Terriers had two runners on base after walks with one out. A double by Pelt scored both runners, and he moved to third on an error. At the end of six innings, the score was 8-5 in favor of UNCA. Both teams were retired in order in the seventh inning and each squad left one on base in the eighth inning.
The Bulldogs added a single in the top of the eighth, but the runner was stranded. Wofford left one runner on base in the bottom of the eighth. Both teams were retired in order in the ninth inning for an 8-5 final score.
Wofford starter Tanner Hawley went 5 2/3 innings and allowed three runs on five hits with two strikeouts. Will Stillman (0-1) gave up three runs on one hit. Matthew Milburn worked a third of an inning and gave up two runs on three hits. Connell Anderson did not allow a hit with one strikeout in one inning. J.D. Osborne had two strikeouts and one hit in an inning on the mound. Eric Eck retired the side in the ninth with one strikeout.
UNC Asheville starter Corey Randall (3-3) threw six innings and gave up five runs on five hits with three strikeouts. Nick Schavone went 1 1/3 innings and had one strikeout. Scott Robinson added 2/3 of an inning and had one strikeout. Dean Roland picked up his first save of the season by not allowing a hit in the ninth with one strikeout.
The Terriers remain at home this weekend as they open a three-game Southern Conference series against Furman on Friday at 6 p.m.
Winthrop 13, Furman 4
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Winthrop scored seven runs in the fourth inning and took advantage of poor defensive play by Furman to cruise to an easy 13-4 win Wednesday evening baseball action at Winthrop Ballpark.
The Eagles (12-22) banged out 14 hits in the contest and were aided by five Furman errors, which led to eight unearned runs.
Trailing 1-0 after three innings, Winthrop used a Matt Lobacz two-run home run in the fourth to ignite the seven-run outburst that was fueled by six hits and two Paladin errors. Leighton Daniels’ two-run single off of Furman starting pitcher Elliott Warford (0-5) capped the frame.
A Will Muzika RBI single in the fifth cut the lead to 7-2, but Winthrop responded with a run in the bottom of the fifth and four more in the sixth, aided by four hits and three more Paladin errors, to extend its advantage to 12-2.
Lobacz went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored to pace the Eagles, who also got a 3-for-5, two-run performance from Clay Altman.
Furman freshman catcher Andrew MacLathie registered the first two-hit performance of his career with two doubles and an RBI in four at bats. The Paladins finished with nine hits, including a two-run single by Harrison Farmer in the eighth.
Jared Keels (1-2) pitched four innings in relief of Eagle starter Mitchell Knox to earn the victory, allowing a run on four hits while striking out five.
Warford was charged with the loss after allowing seven runs on eight hits in just 3 1/3 innings. Only three of his seven runs, however, were earned, and he struck out two.
Furman’s five errors matched a season high.
UNCW 8, Elon 5
ELON, N.C. – A late-inning rally by the Elon offense did not produce quite enough runs as the Phoenix dropped an 8-5 decision to the visiting UNCW Seahawks from Latham Park on Wednesday night.
Elon (20-15) trailed 8-1 heading into the last of the eighth inning when Antonio Alvarez greeted Seahawk hurler Justin Livengood with a double to right. After a hit-by-pitch, Danny Lynch belted his first career home run over the wall in right-center to pull the Phoenix within four.
The Maroon and Gold kept up the pressure as Chris Bresnahan singled through the right side and Chris Schaedel was plunked. A wild pitch allowed both runners to advance, but as they did, the UNCW catcher threw the ball away at third and Bresnahan raced home to make it 8-5. The Phoenix was unable to claw any closer, however, as the next two Elon hitters were retired.
The Phoenix threatened again in the ninth as Alex Swim led off with a single to center that was followed by an infield single from Alvarez. From there, the final three batters were set down on an infield fly, a fly out to center and a strikeout to end the game.
UNCW (24-10) got on the board first with an unearned run in its first at-bat. With one out, Tyler Molinaro singled on a ball back to Elon pitcher Jacob Baker. Baker knocked the ball down but threw it away at first, allowing Molinaro to head to second. After a wild pitch sent him to third, Molinaro came home on a sacrifice fly.
Elon knotted the score at 1 in the last of the second when Alvarez, who led off with a triple, scored on Casey Jones' single to second.
The Seahawks moved back in front, 2-1, in the third when Molinaro picked up a RBI on a groundout.
UNCW stretched its lead to 5-1 in the fifth thanks to a Molinaro two-run homer and a Luis Renvill double. The Seahawks tacked on two in the seventh and another single marker in the eighth to complete their scoring.
Baker (0-1) took the defeat after he surrendered five runs (four earned) on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings. He fanned five.
The win went to William Shepley (1-0) who threw 2/3 of an inning in relief of starter Blaze Tart. Kelly Secrest earned his third save with 1 2/3 scoreless innings to close out the game.
Alvarez finished a homer shy of the cycle, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored for the Phoenix. Ryan Kinsella went 1-for-3 to run his hitting streak to a team-best 12 games.
Elon will hit the road for its next four games, starting with a three-game series at eighth-ranked Louisville this weekend. Friday's series opener is slated for a 6 p.m. start.
Troy 15, Samford 4
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford baseball team dropped a 15-4 decision to in-state rival Troy on Wednesday evening at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
Samford was led at the plate by Christiaan Durdaller and Zeth Stone, with each hitting a home run in the loss. Austin Allison also drove in one run for the Bulldogs.
Patrick Maronde (1-2) pitched one inning, giving up three runs on one hit to take the loss on the mound for Samford. Maronde was one of eight pitchers used by Samford in the game.
For Troy at the plate, Danny Collins went 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs. Logan Pierce went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Trae Santos went 3-for-5 with two RBIs. Josh McDorman went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs. Thomas Austin (2-0) pitched three innings in relief, giving up no runs on three hits to pick up the win for the Trojans.
Troy scored three runs in the top of the first inning on just one hit to grab the early lead. Samford came back in the bottom of the second inning when Durdaller led the inning off with a home run to cut the lead to 3-1.
The Trojans plated two more runs in the top of the third inning to make the score 5-1, but Stone led the bottom of the third off with another solo home run for Samford to pull the Bulldogs to within three runs at 5-2.
Troy broke the game open in the middle innings. The Trojans plated three runs in the fourth inning, four runs in the fifth inning and two runs in the sixth inning. In that same stretch, Samford scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, and Troy held a 14-4 lead after six innings.
The Trojans added one final run in the eighth inning to make the final score 15-4. As a team, Troy out-hit Samford, 14-8 in the contest.
With the loss, Samford fell to 19-15, while Troy improved to 23-9 with the win.
Samford will return to action on Friday, when the Bulldogs open a three-game Southern Conference series at Western Carolina. The teams will play Friday at 4 p.m. (CT), Saturday at 1 p.m. (CT) and Sunday at 12 p.m. (CT) in Cullowhee, N.C.
Coastal Carolina 2, College of Charleston 1 (14 inn.)
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Coastal Carolina hit a walk-off single to defeat College of Charleston, 2-1, in the bottom of the 14th inning to win a marathon pitching duel in nonconference baseball action on Wednesday. Alex Buccilli hit a bases-loaded single to score Nick Oberg for the game-winning run.
The teams battled with a 1-1 tie from the fourth to the 14th innings, with College of Charleston staving off several Coastal Carolina walk-off attempts in the extra-inning frames. Coastal Carolina finished with seven hits, with three coming in the final two innings, while CofC was held to six hits.
The game was the second straight extra-inning game for College of Charleston (18-14), while Coastal Carolina (21-12) set a new program record with 19 strikeouts from eight pitchers.
CofC’s Jimmy Revan (1-1) picked up the loss, pitching the 13th and 14th innings and allowing three hits and a walk and the game-winning run. CCU’s Ryan Connolly (2-3) pitched the final three innings, striking out five batters and allowing just one CofC hit.
The Chanticleers used eight pitchers, while College of Charleston used six pitchers in the contest. Jake Zokan made the start and went 3 1.3 innings, allowing one run on one hit. Blake Ross, Player Loving and Drew Freie held the Chanticleers scoreless into the extra innings, where Dre Watts worked around several situations with runners in scoring position to keep the game knotted at 1.
Carl Wise was the only Cougar with multiple hits, while Ben Boykin scored CofC’s only run, which came in the fourth inning on a CCU fielding error.
Jacob May notched the Chanticleers’ first RBI, grounding out with runners at second and third to score Zach Remillard in the third inning. Oberg and Luke Willis each had two hits for CCU.
Oberg singled to lead off the 14th inning and moved over to second on a walk from Ted Blackman. Both runners moved up a base after a ball was judged to have hit Trevor Chadwick, and Revan faced a dire bases-loaded situation with no outs. Buccilli ended it quickly with a base hit up the middle to score Oberg and win the game for the rival Chanticleers.
The game marked the longest CofC contest since the 2006 season, when the Cougars defeated Notre Dame in 16 innings in the NCAA Lexington Regional.
The game was the second straight contest in the Coastal Carolina-CofC series that has been decided in extra innings, and the second straight extra-inning game played at Pelican Ballpark between CofC and CCU, dating back to the 2010 NCAA Regionals.
College of Charleston will travel to face Davidson this weekend in SoCon play. The first game is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. on Friday from Wilson Field.