Appalachian State 8, High Point 5
HIGH POINT, N.C. – A six-run fourth inning was just enough for Appalachian State despite a late rally by High Point, as the Mountaineers defeated HPU 8-5 Tuesday night at Williard Stadium.
Despite the run explosion in the fourth inning, the night belonged to left-hander Chad Farmer, who was just short of his first career complete-game victory. Famer ran into some trouble in the ninth but still recorded the longest outing of his career (8 1/3 innings) while striking out seven High Point batters.
After the teams went scoreless through two innings, Dillon Dobson led off the third inning with a double down the left-field line. Moving over to a third on a groundout, Dobson eventually scored the first run of the game on Hector Crespo’s single to left field.
In the next inning, Appalachian’s scoring spree began with two outs in the inning. Jaylin Davis and Will Callaway began the inning with back-to-back singles but saw two back-to-back outs in what looked to be a quick inning. With Dobson up, the first baseman skied a ball into left field. HPU’s Stephen Wytiaz got under the ball but was unable to secure it in his glove, allowing two runs to score.
With the error, the floodgates opened for the Mountaineer offense, as they got three straight singles from Crespo, Brandon Burris and Davis to score six runs in the inning.
The Panthers got on the scoreboard next in the sixth inning when Farmer hit a bump in the road. Dane McDermott led off the inning with a single and eventually rounded the bases and scored on a fielder’s choice by Ryan Retz.
Appalachian State tacked on an insurance run in the top of ninth, as Farmer looked to earn the complete game in the bottom of the ninth. With back-to-back singles and a double by Willie Media, HPU started its late rally.
Josh Wilson entered the game with one out in the final inning but gave up a single to McDermott for his team-leading third hit of the game. Media and Dominic Fazio scored on the play to bring the score to 8-5. Wilson settled in and got the next two batters to ground out to shut the door on the Panthers.
Davis paced the Mountaineer lineup with a 3-for-5 day with one RBI and a run. Crespo finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs and Callaway was one of the three Appalachian hitters to have a multi-hit game as the shortstop claimed two hits and two runs.
The Mountaineers will be off for less than 24 hours before heading to Thomasville, N.C., for their second straight matchup with a Big South Conference opponent, as they face off with Campbell in a neutral site game on Wednesday. First pitch from Finch Field is set for 6 p.m.
Auburn 6, Samford 2
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford baseball team dropped a 6-2 decision at home to the Auburn Tigers in front of a Joe Lee Griffin Field crowd of 1,906 Tuesday night.
The game was tight throughout, with Samford trailing 3-2 heading into the ninth inning. Auburn, however, plated three runs in the top of the ninth inning to pull away for the 6-2 win.
Samford’s Brandon Haarer and Christiaan Durdaller hit a solo home run each to account for the Bulldogs’ two runs. Both Haarer and Durdaller went 1-for-4 on the night. C.K. Irby went 2-for-3 at the plate for Samford.
Eric Wright (3-2) pitched six innings, allowing three runs on eight hits to take the loss on the mound for the Bulldogs. Patrick McGavin, Andres Gracia, Phillip Ervin, Charles Terry and Patrick Maronde also saw time on the mound for Samford.
For Auburn at the plate, Blake Austin went 4-for-5 with a double and an RBI. Cullen Wacker went 3-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs. Damek Tomscha homered for the Tigers, going 1-for-5 with an RBI.
Dillon Ortman (2-1) earned the win on the mound for Auburn. Ortman pitched two innings in relief, giving up one run on one hit for the Tigers. Justin Camp pitched the final three innings, holding the Bulldogs hitless to earn his second save of the season.
Samford got on the scoreboard first with a run in the bottom of the third inning. Haarer led the inning off with his first home run of the season to left field to put Samford ahead, 1-0.
Auburn tied the score with a run in the top of the fifth inning. Hunter Kelley doubled down the left-field line to lead off the inning. Kelley then moved to third base on a sacrifice bunt by Mitchell Self. Kelley then scored when Ryan Tella grounded out to first base to tie the score at 1-1.
Samford took the lead again with a run in the bottom of the fifth inning. With two outs in the inning, Durdaller hit his eighth homer of the season to put Samford back on top at 2-1.
Auburn took the lead for good with two runs in the top of the seventh inning. Tomscha led the inning off with a solo home run to tie score at 2-2. Kelley then walked and stole second base. Self then singled, moving Kelley to third base. Kelley then scored on a single by Tella to give Auburn a 3-2 lead.
The Tigers plated three final runs in the top of the ninth inning to make the final score 6-2. Wacker doubled to drive in Tella and Jordan Ebert for the first two runs in the inning. Wacker scored the game’s final run when Austin reached base on an infield single.
Samford dropped to 19-19 with the loss. Auburn improved to 23-14 with the win. The loss was the fifth straight for the Bulldogs.
Samford will return to action on Friday when the Bulldogs open a three-game series against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The first pitch for Friday’s series opener is scheduled for 6 p.m. from Joe Lee Griffin Field.
No. 14 South Carolina 10, College of Charleston 6
COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 14 South Carolina hit three home runs and tallied 14 hits in a 10-6 win over College of Charleston on Tuesday night at Carolina Stadium.
The Gamecocks (28-10) won the season series with Charleston (20-16), who has now lost the last four midweek games to talented competition.
CofC’s pitching staff was short-handed in the midweek effort, as the Cougars threw six different pitchers, including weekend starters Matt Pegler and Ryan West. Freshman Player Loving (1-2) picked up the loss as he made his first career start, lasting into the second inning but allowing five runs on five hits.
South Carolina starter Forrest Koumas only lasted 2 1/3 innings and gave up four CofC runs. Reliever Vince Fiori (1-0) picked up the win with his own 2 1/3 innings, allowing one run and striking out two.
Sophomore Gunnar Heidt led the CofC offense with a three-hit performance, scoring two runs and tallying an RBI. Brandon Murray notched two RBIs, including a double, while freshman Carl Wise continued his hitting streak with a two-hit game, driving home a run and scoring a run. Sophomore Devon Reed set a new season high with two runs scored.
South Carolina’s Graham Saiko, Connor Bright and Joey Pankake all hit home runs for the Gamecocks. Saiko finished with four hits, while Bright tallied three RBIs in the game. Pankake also notched three RBIs to go with his three hits.
The Gamecocks jumped on Loving in the second inning with four runs on three hits. Bright hit a two-run homer to left field, and Tanner English and Saiko followed with two singles. With the bases loaded, Pankake and LB Dantzler hit sacrifice flies to push South Carolina’s lead to 5-0.
Charleston rallied back in the top of the third inning with four big hits to score four runs. After a hit-by-pitch from Reed and single from Wise, Heidt launched a single to left to score CofC’s first run. Murray followed with an RBI double, and Ben Boykin hit a sacrifice fly to the outfield to score another run. With two outs, pinch-hitter Cody Martin kept the rally going with a big double to right-center, scoring Murray and cutting the lead to 5-4.
The back-and-forth continued in the bottom half of the inning when South Carolina’s Bright knocked an RBI double and Saiko hit a two-out single over the outstretched glove of Blake Butler to score another run, pushing the lead back to 7-4.
Charleston scored an unearned run in the fourth inning with an RBI groundout from Wise, but the Cougars offense became stagnant from there.
South Carolina added three big insurance runs late in the game, with a two-run homer from Pankake in the sixth inning and a solo shot from Saiko in the eighth.
Heidt hit a two-out double in the ninth inning and Murray singled him in to put the final score at 10-6.
College of Charleston will host Furman this weekend in yet another important Southern Conference series with the Cougars currently just a half-game out of first place in the league standings.
Wake Forest 11, UNCG 4
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG baseball team battled Wake Forest toe-to-toe for much of Tuesday’s nonconference game, but the Demon Deacons tallied seven runs in the seventh inning and picked up an 11-4 victory inside the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
The Spartans are now 17-20 overall, while WFU improved to 20-20.
Senior outfielder Zach Leach led the Blue and Gold at the dish, going 3-for-4, while classmate and outfielder Christian Wolfe turned in a 2-for-3 performance to extend his hitting streak to 14 games. Additionally, redshirt sophomore infielder Ray Crawford and junior outfielder Cole Harrison each drove in two runs to account for the Spartans’ four RBIs.
Sophomore RHP Adam Boghosian (0-1) took the loss in what was a staff day for the UNCG pitchers. He allowed one run in an inning pitched while striking out two. The Spartans used nine pitchers in all as freshman RHP Ryan Clark pitched his fifth consecutive scoreless inning in the ninth.
The game was scoreless through two innings before Wake Forest jumped in front 1-0 in the top of the third thanks to a two-out bases-loaded walk by Boghosian. He would strike out Matt Conway looking to escape further damage.
The Demon Deacons plated another pair of runs in the top of the fifth, as, with two outs, Crawford committed an error at third, which allowed two runners to cross home safely. Wake Forest walked three times in the frame.
The home side drew within two in the bottom of the inning. Redshirt freshman infielder Nin Marrero reached on a throwing error by the WFU shortstop before Wolfe singled down the right-field line. Crawford then came through with a RBI single up the middle that plated Wolfe from second and made the score 3-1.
A pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases for the Deacs with no outs in the seventh. Brett Armour brought two runs home with a RBI single through the left side before Mark Rhine stepped up with the bases still full of Wake Forest runners and drove a pitch deep over the left-field wall for a grand slam. Pat Blair completed the seven-run inning for the visitors with a two-out RBI double to right-center to leave the Demon Deacons leading 10-1 at the stretch.
Wake Forest added another run in the eighth due to another error at third base to extend its advantage to 11-1.
Junior infielder Sean Guite walked to lead off the bottom of the ninth and sophomore outfielder Zac MacAneney singled on the infield before Marrero advanced Guite to third and reached on a fielder’s choice play. Harrison then crushed a ball to left that bounced off the top of the wall and back into the outfield for a RBI triple, which plated both runners. Crawford would add an RBI groundout to account for the final score.
UNCG returns to the diamond this weekend for a Southern Conference series at Davidson. The Spartans and Wildcats will open the three-game set Friday at Wilson Field in a 7 p.m. first pitch.
No. 28 Mercer 5, Georgia Southern 3
STATESBORO, Ga. – The 28th-ranked Mercer Bears scored four runs over the first two innings and held on for a 5-3 midweek win over the Georgia Southern Eagles at J.I. Clements Stadium.
GSU’s Josh Stevenson (1-3) settled down after allowing the early runs and combined with the bullpen to allow one run over the final seven frames. Stevenson was tagged with the loss after allowing five runs on nine hits. He walked one and struck out six over five innings.
Georgia Southern (21-15) struck for three runs in the fourth inning but left two on base. The Eagles drew a pair of one-out walks to start a one-out rally against Mercer starter Ben Lumsden. Robbie Dodds, Michael McClellan and Tyler Avera all drove in runs with singles in the inning.
Stephen Glaze struck out Arthur Owens for the second out of the fourth inning, and left fielder Logan Gaines threw out Stryker Brown at third base for the final out of the frame. Glaze (3-0) threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings and struck out four batters to earn the win.
Dimitri Kourtis left a leadoff base-runner stranded at second base after getting Avera to fly out to center field to end the game. Kourtis earned his fifth save after retiring the only batter he faced. McClellan drew a walk and pinch-runner Garren Palmer stole second base, but David Teasley recorded a pair of strikeouts before Kourtis came on for the final out.
The Bears (30-10) scored two runs in the first inning on a two-run homer from Chesny Young. Sasha Lagarde, who scored on Young's long ball, homered down the left-field line to score two more runs in the second inning.
After Georgia Southern pulled within a run, Mercer added a run in the sixth inning to take a 5-3 lead. Evan Boyd singled to lead off the inning and later scored from third base on a Gaines single to center field.
The Eagles recorded a pair of two-out base hits in the seventh inning. Avera and Scooter Williams both singled in the frame before Teasley coaxed a pop up for the third out.
Georgia Southern returns to action Wednesday against Kennesaw State. First pitch against the Owls is set for 6 p.m.
Winthrop 5, Davidson 3
DAVIDSON, N.C. – A three-run sixth inning powered Winthrop past Davidson, 5-3, in nonconference baseball action Tuesday evening at Wilson Field.
All three Davidson runs came on solo home runs by shortstop Michael Zeblo (1-for-4), designated hitter Ryan Lowe (2-for-4) and third baseman Andrew Barna (2-for-4), respectively. Zeblo and Lowe’s homers were back-to-back in the third inning, marking the first time the Wildcats had hit back-to-back homers since Danny Weiss and Drew Gadaire did so on March 28, 2009, versus Appalachian State.
Trailing 2-1, Winthrop (12-25) went back on top in the sixth inning as left fielder Chris Dolan (1-for-3, BB) slugged a two-run home run and designated hitter Stephen Wallace drove in another run later in the frame with a double down the left-field line. In the bottom half of the inning, Barna hit his career-best eighth home run of the season to pull Davidson (10-25) within one, but Barna was the only Wildcat to reach base in the final three innings, doing so on an error in the eighth.
LHP Josh Strong (2-0) earned the win in relief after entering at the start of the fourth inning and working four innings. He yielded just the home run to Barna and a walk while striking out five. RHP Eric Ruth (7) worked the final two innings for the save.
Wallace drove in the first run of the game, as well, for Winthrop with a sacrifice fly in the top of the second inning. He finished the day with two RBIs, and second baseman Leighton Daniels went 3-for-5 and drove in Wallace with a single to center for an insurance run in the top of the ninth inning.
RHP Jip Richards (0-2) took the loss, working three innings and allowing three runs on five hits and a walk with three strikeouts.
Davidson will return to Southern Conference action Friday at 7 p.m. against UNCG to begin a three-game series.
Notes: There was a moment of silence before the game in honor of those lost and injured in the Boston Marathon bombing, including recognition of former Davidson catcher J.P. Craven, who was injured … brothers David (Davidson) and Leighton (Winthrop) Daniels both led off for their respective teams.