The Citadel 6, Furman 0
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Austin Pritcher turned in the best performance by a Citadel hurler this season, tossing a complete-game five-hitter to lead the Bulldogs to a 6-0 win over Furman for their ninth consecutive victory and seventh straight in the Southern Conference.
Pritcher (5-2) did not issue a walk and struck out six for his second career shutout and the first complete game by a Bulldog in 2013. He retired the first 11 batters, set down the side in order five times and lowered his ERA this season from 2.74 to 2.40.
The senior right-hander has allowed only two runs in his last 24 innings and has 19 wins in his career, the most by any active SoCon pitcher. Pritcher's previous shutout came in a 3-0 victory over UNCG on April 13, 2012, and he has not allowed a run to Furman in 16 innings over the past two seasons.
The winning streak is tied for the fifth-longest in 22 seasons under head coach Fred Jordan, and on Saturday, the Bulldogs will go for their first double-figure streak since ripping off 13 in a row near the end of the 2013 season. The Citadel is 13-4 against its biggest rival over the past six seasons.
Johnathan Stokes provided most of the offensive punch for the Bulldogs with three hits, including a two-run homer and an RBI single. The sophomore shortstop raised his average 12 points to .292 and has driven in at least one run in 11 of the last 14 games with a total of 20 over that span. Stokes has three RBIs in each of the last two games and is now second on the team with 36.
The first five innings were a duel between two of the top pitchers in the SoCon, with Furman left-hander Nate Smith matching Pritcher zero for zero. Smith was aided by an outstanding diving catch in center by Will Muzika on a drive off the bat of Drew DeKerlegand in the second, as well as double plays in two of the first three innings.
Pritcher allowed his first two base-runners in the fourth on a two-out double by Muzika and an error by Stokes but got a groundout to escape the jam. The following inning, Paul Nitto and Greg Harrison led off with singles but a pop out and strikeout again kept the Paladins off the scoreboard.
The Bulldogs finally broke the scoreless tie in the sixth. Bret Hines reached on an error and eventually scored on a two-out infield single up the third-base line by Hughston Armstrong. Joe Jackson followed with a double just inside the bag at third to easily plate Armstrong and give The Citadel a 2-0 lead.
Armstrong extended his hitting streak to seven games and is batting .481 (13-for-27) over that stretch. The center fielder has also driven in 10 runs in a six-game streak with at least one RBI, more than half of his season total of 19.
Stokes made it 4-0 in the sixth with his two-run homer over the short fence in left-center, and his single in the ninth followed base hits by DeKerlegand and Calvin Orth to make it a five-run game. The single by Orth matched Armstrong's seven-game hitting streak.
A fielder's choice grounder by Hines provided the final run of the contest.
Pritcher, meanwhile, cruised through the final three innings, allowing harmless two-out singles in the seventh and ninth around a 1-2-3 eighth. He fanned Muzika and Taylor Johnson before inducing a foul out to right by Nitto to finish off the shutout.
In 83 innings during the nine-game winning streak, the Bulldog pitching staff has surrendered 60 hits with just 16 for extra bases; 16 earned runs for an ERA of 1.73; and 71 strikeouts compared to only 18 walks.
Bo Thompson singled and walked twice to extend his streak of consecutive games reaching base to 42. Mason Davis, however, went 0-for-4 to see his career-long 12-game hitting streak come to an end.
The Citadel will go for the series win on Saturday with junior left-hander Logan Cribb (3-2, 3.20) on the mound against Furman junior righty Alex Abrams (3-0, 1.71). Abrams played first base for the Paladins on Friday.
The game time for the middle game of the series has been moved up two hours from the original 4 p.m. to 2 p.m. due to the threat of inclement weather in the Greenville area later in the day. The finale is still set for 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Davidson 3, Wofford 2 (game one)
Wofford 10, Davidson 8 (game two)
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Lee Miller’s three-run triple in the second inning and right-hander Ryan Lowe’s first career complete game led Davidson past Wofford, 3-2, in the first game of a Southern Conference doubleheader Friday evening at Russell C. King Field. In game two, Wofford scored 10 unanswered runs to erase a six-run deficit for the 10-8 win.
The game-one win was Davidson’s first on the road this season and halted a skid of 22 straight road defeats dating back to the 2012 season. It was also the eighth straight one-run game between Davidson (13-28, 8-15 SoCon) and Wofford (17-28, 8-15 SoCon) dating back to the 2010 season.
Miller (2-for-4) cleared the bases with a triple down the right-field line to give Davidson a 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning. Center fielder Forrest Brandt (2-for-4) and second baseman Sam Foy (1-for-3) had reached on base hits, and right fielder Nathan Becker (0-for-2) was hit by a pitch to set the table for Miller.
It was all the scoring Davidson would do despite 12 hits, as the Wildcats stranded a total of 10 runners on base. Lowe (4-6), however, went the distance on the mound, surrendering just two runs on seven hits and a walk with five strikeouts.
First baseman James Plaisted doubled to lead off the bottom half of the second for the Terriers and eventually scored to pull Wofford within two. Lowe kept Wofford scoreless until the eighth inning, but right fielder Josh Hyman (1-for-4) singled through the left side to drive in a run from second to pull the Terriers within one. The ‘Cats later turned their third 6-4-3 double play of the game though to end the inning.
RHP Tanner Hawley (0-3) allowed three runs on nine hits with no walks and three strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings to take the loss. Becker was the only Wildcat not to get a hit in the game, but he reached base twice (HBP, BB) to extend his reached-base streak to 13 games.
Trailing 6-2 entering the bottom of the sixth in game two, the Terriers scored eight runs on six hits, three of which stayed in the infield, sending 12 batters to the plate. Wofford was aided by a pair of walks, a batter reaching first on a passed ball on a strikeout, a wild pitch, a pair of stolen bases and a sacrifice fly. Designated hitter Matt Ramsay (1-for-3) cleared the bases with a double to left to drive in the first three runs.
Davidson had built a 6-0 lead after three innings, led by a grand slam by second baseman Sam Foy (2-for-5), which was the freshman’s first career home run.
RHP Jesse Morris (7-3) earned all six outs in the first two innings for Wofford with strikeouts but surrendered three hits in the second, the last of which was a single in the hole at short by left fielder Miller (2-for-5) to drive in a run from third for an early 1-0 Davidson lead. Powered by Foy’s grand slam, the Wildcats scored five runs on two hits and four walks in the third inning. Morris walked the first two batters before earning his seventh strikeout but walked designated hitter Lowe (2-for-4, BB) and center fielder Brandt to force in the first run of the inning. Foy then sent the first pitch he saw over the right-field fence for Davidson’s first grand slam since Brandt’s in the season opener against George Washington (Feb. 15).
In the bottom of the third, Wofford made LHP Rob Bain pay for a leadoff hit-by-pitch, as shortstop Alec Paradowski (1-for-5, 2 RBI) tripled to drive in the Terriers’ first run. He later scored on an RBI groundout by Hyman to cut the deficit to four.
Bain was charged with four runs on two hits and three walks with five strikeouts. He pitched five innings and faced the first two batters of the sixth. He was relieved by RHP Bryan DaCanal (1-3), who allowed six runs (five earned) on five hits and struck out one without earning an out in the sixth. RHP Jip Richards pitched the final three innings for Davidson, surrendering only a walk and striking out two.
Morris finished with 10 strikeouts in six innings, allowing the six runs on seven hits and four walks.
RHP Eric Eck (9) pitched the final three innings to earn the save. He walked in a run with one out in the eighth inning but was able retire the next two batters and strand three runners. Right fielder Nathan Becker drove in another run for Davidson in the ninth on a groundout, but Eck was able to get a strikeout to end the game.
In addition to playing the Friday doubleheader due to inclement weather in the weekend’s forecast, Saturday’s game has been moved to a 12 p.m. start.
Georgia Southern 15, Elon 4
STATESBORO, Ga. – The Georgia Southern Eagles scored 15 runs and got a strong outing from Justin Hess to snap an eight-game losing streak with a 15-4 win over the Elon Phoenix at J.I. Clements Stadium on Friday.
Georgia Southern (22-19, 11-11 SoCon), which had been held to four runs or fewer in eight of its previous nine games, posted its second-highest run total of the season. The Eagles scored runs in the first five innings of the contest and plated four runs in the second and six more in the fifth inning.
Hess (4-4) backed the offense outburst with a strong outing to earn his fourth win of the season. The senior right-hander allowed just two runs – one earned – on six hits and two walks. Hess posted a season-high 10 strikeouts for the second straight start and pitched into the seventh inning.
Elon (22-22, 14-8 SoCon) struck for single runs in the first and second innings off of Hess but was held scoreless for the next five frames until it struck for a run in the eighth inning. The Phoenix, which entered the weekend in second place in the conference, fell for the ninth time in its last 11 games.
Dylan Clark (5-3) was unable to get an out in the second inning and suffered the loss after allowing six runs. Clark allowed seven hits over an inning-plus. Jacob Baker allowed six more runs over the next three innings. Jordan Darnell allowed three runs over an inning before Brandon Kacer tossed three shutout frames.
GSU tallied its 15 runs on 15 hits and nine walks. Every starter except for T.D. Davis recorded a hit. Davis walked twice and scored a run in the fifth inning. Stryker Brown led off and tallied three hits in the eighth different lineup in as many games. Tyler Avera drove in three runs on a pair of hits, and Ben Morgan finished with three hits and two RBIs.
Elon tallied 11 hits but no more than two in any inning before recording three in the eighth inning. Quinn Bower and Chris Bresnahan posted a pair of two-hit games and every spot in the batting order tallied at least one hit.
Robbie Dodds plated a pair of runs with a second-inning double and finished with two hits. The Eagles scored their first six runs on two-RBI doubles. Kyle Streicher had the other double that inning, while Tyler Avera doubled in two runs in the first inning.
Georgia Southern sent 11 batters to the plate in the fifth inning and scored six runs off of three hits and five walks. The first three batters reached base and scored a run before Chase Griffin was thrown out at the plate for the first out of the inning. The next five hitters all reached safely and three more runs scored before a fielder's choice and a groundout ended the inning.
The series continues Saturday with a 2:30 p.m. first pitch. The Eagles will send Jason Richman to the mound to face Spencer Medick.
Western Carolina 7, UNCG 3
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Southern Conference leader Western Carolina got a grand slam by Tyler White in the fifth inning to the Catamounts pick up a 7-3 victory over UNCG at the UNCG Baseball Stadium on Friday.
The Spartans fell to 18-24 overall and 6-13 in league play while Western improved to 28-17 and 16-6. The Catamounts have now emerged victorious in nine straight SoCon games.
UNCG senior outfielder Christian Wolfe extended his hitting streak to 19 games, going 2-for-4 at the dish. It is the longest streak by a UNCG player since Ricky Orton strung together 20 straight games with a base knock in 2007.
A trio of Spartans tallied multiple hits in the contest, while senior infielder TJ Spina and sophomore outfielder Eric Kalbfleisch drove in a run each.
Despite giving up six runs, sophomore RHP Max Povse (3-3) limited Western Carolina to just four hits and struck out eight batters as four of those runs came on one swing. The Catamounts came into the evening batting .299 as a team.
Povse worked around a leadoff walk to retire three consecutive batters in the top of the first, keeping the visitors scoreless. Senior infielder Trevor Edwards and junior catcher Cambric Moye reached on a two-out walk and single in the bottom of the frame, but Moye was picked off at first to end the threat.
UNCG struck first in the bottom of the second as Kalbfleisch led off with a triple to center field. An RBI groundout by Spina made the score 1-0 after two complete innings, but the Catamounts responded with a run in the fourth thanks to a one-out home run by Jacob Hoyle.
The big blow for Western occurred in the fifth, as, with one out and a man on second, a walk and a single loaded the bases for Julian Ridings. Povse struck out Ridings but could not stop White as he drove a ball just over the glove of Kalbfleisch and out of the park for a grand slam – making the score 5-1.
The next two innings were played quickly before a long eighth inning saw the Catamounts plate a run in the top of the frame before the Spartans answered with two in the bottom to push the score to 6-3.
Wolfe singled through the right side for UNCG before he reached second on a sacrifice bunt by senior outfielder Zach Leach. Edwards poked a single through the right side to put runners on the corners before Kalbfleisch tagged a ball to left field for an RBI single. Spina then singled on the infield and an errant throw by the shortstop allowed Edwards to score from second base. Spina would subsequently reach second on a wild pitch, but sophomore outfielder Zac MacAneney struck out to end the inning.
An RBI single by Ridings in the top of the ninth provided the final margin, as UNCG could not push across a run in its half of the inning.
The teams will play a doubleheader Saturday to complete the series. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 1 p.m. The UNCG baseball players will be shaving their heads as part of the UNCG Baseball vs. Cancer initiative. This will take place at 11:20 a.m. and fans will have the opportunity to participate beginning at 1 p.m.
Appalachian State 10, Samford 5
BOONE, N.C. – Jamie Nunn threw an effective eight innings and Preston Troutman went 3-for-4 with a home run and an RBI as Appalachian State beat Samford 10-5 in the first game of a three-game Southern Conference series Friday night at Smith Stadium.
Appalachian State improved to 23-15 overall and 11-10 in league play. With the loss, Samford dropped to 22-21 overall and 8-11 in Southern Conference play.
For Appalachian State, William Head went 2-for-4 with a double and four RBIs, while Hector Crespo went 2-for-5 with two RBIs. Nunn (8-3) allowed three runs on nine hits to earn the win for the Mountaineers.
Samford was led at the plate by C.K. Irby, who went 5-for-5 with two RBIs. Caleb Bryson went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs. Zeth Stone went 3-for-5 with two doubles, while Phillip Ervin drove in a run in a 1-for-5 performance.
Alex Milazzo (6-1) pitched four innings, giving up seven runs, just five earned, on six hits to take the loss on the mound for Samford. Parker Curry, Charles Terry and Patrick Maronde also saw time on the mound for the Bulldogs.
Appalachian State jumped on top with five runs in the bottom of the third inning. A walk by Michael Pierson and singles by Josh Zumbrook and Troutman loaded the bases with no outs. Crespo then singled to drive in Pierson and Zumbrook for a 2-0 Appalachian State lead. Head then doubled to drive in Troutman and Crespo to make the score 4-0. With one out in the inning, Noah Holmes tripled to drive in Head for a 5-0 Mountaineer lead.
Samford came back with two runs in the top of the fourth inning to cut the Appalachian State lead to 5-2. Irby reached base on an infield single to lead off the inning. With one out, Bryson hit a home run to left field for Samford’s first two runs of the game.
Appalachian State plated two unearned runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to push its lead to 7-2. Pierson and Troutman both reached base on Samford errors. Head later singled to drive in Pierson and Troutman for a five-run Appalachian State lead.
Samford added a run in the top of the fifth inning to make the score 7-3. With two outs in the inning, Stone doubled and Ervin singled. Irby then reached base on an infield single to drive in Stone to pull Samford to within four runs.
The Mountaineers added two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to make the score 9-3. Will Callaway singled to drive in Troutman and Crespo for a six-run lead.
Appalachian State plated one final run in the bottom of the eighth inning. Troutman led the inning off with a solo home run to make the score 10-3.
Samford added two runs in the top of the ninth inning to make the final score 10-5. With one out in the inning, Danny Rodriguez singled and Stone doubled, moving Rodriguez to third base. Ervin then grounded out to second base, driving in Rodriguez. Irby then singled to drive in Stone for the game’s final run.
Samford and Appalachian State will continue their series with a game Saturday at 3 p.m.