Furman 6, No. 11 South Carolina 5
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Griffin Davis’ pinch-hit RBI double in the eighth inning scored Alex Abrams from first base to break a 5-5 tie and lift Furman to a 6-5 victory over 11th-ranked South Carolina in baseball action Wednesday evening at Fluor Field.
The win gave Furman (17-11) a season split with South Carolina (23-7) and marked the Paladins’ second win over the Gamecocks in the last three clashes at Fluor Field.
Paladin senior outfielder Taylor Johnson, a Greer, S.C., product, drove in three runs on three hits, including a two-run single in the third and solo home run in the seventh that tied the game at 5-5.
Chris Ohmstede also homered for the Paladins, part of a 3-for-4 performance that raised his batting average to .415 (27-of-65) over the last 16 games. Ohmstede’s route job, which came in the fourth to give Furman a 3-1 lead, was his team-leading seventh round-tripper of the season and third in the last two games at Fluor Field.
Mauldin, S.C., native Ben Carlson (3-1), who came on in relief in the seventh, surrendered three hits but no runs over 1 2/3 innings, to earn the victory.
He gave way to Matt Solter, who got the first two Gamecocks in the ninth before issuing back-to-back walks to Brison Celek and Dante Rosenberg. Solter recovered, however, by inducing a fielder’s choice grounder off the bat of Grayson Greiner to end the game and notch his sixth save.
The loss was charged to Jack Wynkoop (4-1), who yielded Davis’ RBI double into the left-center field gap in the eighth inning that scored Abrams, who reached on an infield error to start the inning.
South Carolina took a 1-0 lead in the first on a George Iskenderian RBI double off of Paladin starting pitcher Jake Wolff.
Furman answered in the third with a two-out, two-run single by Johnson, who stroked an offering by Gamecock starter Forrest Koumas into right field to drive home Jordan Simpson and Will Muzika.
Ohmstede’s solo home run over the green monster in left field in the fourth made it 3-1, and the Paladins extended their advantage to 4-1 in the fifth on a fielder’s choice groundout by Paul Nitto, a product of Greenville’s J.L. Mann High School.
South Carolina cut it to 4-2 in the sixth on a Rosenberg single to right field that scored LB Dantzler.
The Gamecocks combined four hits with a walk in the seventh to take a 5-4 lead. Max Schrock’s RBI single through left side plated the first run, and Celek followed with a two-run double high off the left-center field wall to drive home Connor Bright and Dantzler.
Furman responded in the bottom of the seventh behind Johnson, who hammered a two-out pitch by Joel Seddon over the left-field wall to tie the game at 5-5.
In the decisive eighth, Abrams reached when his top roller to first base was misplayed by Dantzler. After Ohmsted lined out sharply to left field, Heath Burton was lifted for pinch-hitter Griffin Davis, who drilled a 1-1 Wynkoop pitch into the left-center field gap, allowing Abrams to score from first base.
Celek led USC’s 10-hit attack, going 2-for-2 with three walks and two RBIs. The Gamecocks stranded 13 runners, leaving the bases loaded in both the fifth and sixth innings.
Furman finished with nine hits.
The Paladins return to Southern Conference play this Friday when they open a three-game home series against Western Carolina beginning at 6 p.m. at Latham Stadium.
Coastal Carolina 10, The Citadel 2
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – Six Coastal Carolina pitchers limited The Citadel to seven hits as the Chanticleers completed a sweep of a home-and-home series with a 10-2 victory over the Bulldogs on Wednesday night at TicketReturn.com Field.
The Chanticleers (17-12) continued to have The Citadel's number, registering their 11th win in the past 12 meetings. The Bulldogs (16-14) have dropped seven of their last nine games after reaching a season-high seven games over .500 on March 17.
Coastal led all the way after jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first against Bulldog starter Brett Tompkins, including a run-scoring double by Jacob May and an RBI single by Jake Kane.
The Citadel trimmed its deficit to 3-2 in the fourth. Tyler Griffin walked, Bailey Rush singled for his second hit of the game and the duo moved to second and third on a wild pitch. Johnathan Stokes got Griffin home with a groundout, and Rush came across when Jason Smith's grounder to short was misplayed by Nick Oberg.
Mason Davis was robbed of a game-tying hit when his line drive headed for right was snagged by first baseman Will Remillard. The Bulldogs threatened for the final time in the fifth with three walks, but a Rush groundout to shortstop left the bases loaded.
The Chanticleers rebuilt their lead to three in their half of the fourth on a two-run homer to right by Ted Blackman. The designated hitter added two more RBIs with a bases-loaded single as part of a four-run seventh as Coastal blew the game open.
Tompkins (1-1) went the first four innings in his second start of the season and allowed six hits and five runs (four earned) with two walks and two strikeouts. Nate Brecklin, the last of five Bulldog hurlers, turned in 1 1/3 innings of one-hit shutout relief with one strikeout.
Tyler Poole gave up four hits and two runs (one earned) in four innings and was credited with the win for Coastal to improve to 4-1 on the year. The Citadel only had one hit over the next four innings before Bo Thompson and Griffin singled with two outs in the ninth.
Thompson's hit in his final at-bat extended his streak of consecutive games reaching base to 26 this season and 29 dating back to the end of the 2012 campaign. Smith got the call in center field and contributed a base hit as Hughston Armstrong was given the night off after starting the first 29 games of the year.
The Bulldogs return to Southern Conference play this weekend with a three-game series against Elon at Riley Park. The set gets underway Friday at 6 p.m. followed by games at 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.
No. 25 NC State 8, Elon 6
RALEIGH, N.C. – The Elon Phoenix baseball team headed down I-40 looking to complete the season series sweep of 25th-ranked NC State on Wednesday evening but saw the Wolfpack rally twice to claim an 8-6 win over the Maroon and Gold.
Elon (18-12) got things going right away. In the first inning, Blaine Bower reached on an infield single, stole second and moved to third on another infield single, this one from Niko Fraser. Alex Swim followed with a sacrifice fly to left to put the Phoenix in front 1-0. With runners on the corners and two outs, Sebastian Gomez made it a 2-0 game with a soft liner to center for a RBI single.
NC State (21-10) got one back in the last of the first when Tarran Senay's groundout allowed Jake Fincher to score from third.
After the Wolfpack tied it in the bottom of the fourth on a sacrifice fly, NC State took advantage of an Elon error to kick-start a four-run sixth. Brett Austin started the inning with a grounder to second that was misplayed before a Senay single and wild pitch put runners on second and third. Jake Armstrong followed with a single to right-center to drive home both runners and put the Wolfpack on top 4-2. With runners on second and third and one out, Grant Clyde singled home two more and NC State led 6-2.
The Phoenix stormed right back in the top of the seventh, tying the game at 6. Chris King started the rally with a double down the right-field line and later scored on a double down the left-field line off the bat of Quinn Bower. Elon loaded the bases as Chris Bresnahan was hit by a pitch and Wil Leathers walked before Swim hit a grounder to short that could not be fielded cleanly, allowing both Quinn Bower and Bresnahan to come home. A fielder's choice that erased Swim plated Leathers to knot the game at 6.
With runners at first and second with one away, Senay lifted a fly ball to left that dropped for an error, loading the bags for NC State. Armstrong hit one back toward the mound, the ball deflecting off the pitcher's glove for an infield single to drive in the go-ahead tally two pitches later. A sac fly would account for the final run of the game.
Jordan Darnell (0-1) took the loss for Elon. He was charged with two runs (one earned) on two hits in an inning of work. Starter Jacob Baker allowed five runs (four earned) on six hits in five innings.
The win went to Grant Sasser (2-0). Sasser threw the final 2 2/3 innings and allowed just one unearned run.
Elon will get back to Southern Conference play this weekend as the Phoenix heads to Charleston, S.C., to face The Citadel Bulldogs in a three-game series beginning at 6 p.m. Friday.
Auburn 7, Wofford 4
AUBURN, Ala. – The Wofford baseball team was defeated 7-4 by Auburn at Plainsman Park on Wednesday night. The Terriers had a 4-3 lead after the top of the fifth inning, but the Tigers scored the next four runs for a 7-4 advantage after six innings that would prove to be the final score.
Wofford is now 13-18 on the season and Auburn is 17-12 overall. The Terriers were led by Seth Neely with two hits and two RBIs, while Matthew Kaskow added two hits. The Tigers had three hits and two RBIs by Damek Tomscha to lead the team.
The Terriers opened the game with a single by Kaskow and he moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. With two outs, a single by Neely to right field scored Kaskow for a 1-0 lead.
In the second inning, Clark Wise singled and moved to second on a groundout. Wise stole third and a throwing error on the play allowed him to score for a 2-0 lead. Matthew Pelt walked and stole second. A single to right field by Kaskow scored Pelt for a 3-0 advantage.
The Tigers had a double to open the bottom of the second and scored a run on a fielder’s choice and error to make it 3-1. An RBI single from Dan Glevenyak cut the lead to 3-2 after two innings.
With one out in the bottom of the fourth, the Tigers had a single from Jackson Burgreen and a double by Blake Austin. A sacrifice fly by Sam Gillikin tied the game at 3-3. Wofford opened the fifth with a double down the right-field line by Alec Paradowski, and he scored from third on a groundout by Neely for a 4-3 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Tigers loaded the bases with a single, double, and hit by pitch. A single by Tomscha drove in one run to tie the game at 4-4.
Auburn took the lead in the bottom of the sixth when Glenvenyak singled and an error allowed Gilliken to score. RBI singles from Ryan Tella and Tomscha gave the Tigers a 7-4 advantage.
Wofford pitcher Matthew Milburn went 1 2/3 innings in his first career start. He gave up two unearned runs on three hits before reaching his pitch-count limit. Dominick Del Monte worked 3 1/3 innings and gave up five runs on seven hits with two strikeouts. DooJoon Park threw an inning and gave up one hit with one strikeout. Luke Leftwich threw the seventh and allowed one hit with two strikeouts. J.D. Osborne went the eighth inning and gave up one hit with two strikeouts.
Auburn starter Trey Wingenter threw two innings and allowed three runs on four hits with two strikeouts. Justin Camp (3-0) went five innings and gave up one run on four hits. Reid Carter recorded the save after two innings without allowing a hit and recording three strikeouts.
The nine-game road trip for the Terriers will continue with a three-game series at Samford beginning on Friday night.
UNC Asheville 15, Western Carolina 0
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Western Carolina was limited to a season-low three base hits on Wednesday night as UNC Asheville blanked the Catamounts, 15-0, in midweek, nonconference action at historic McCormick Field. The Bulldogs pounded out a season-high 20 hits in splitting the two series meetings this week.
WCU was shut out for the first time this season and the first time since falling to fourth-seeded – and eventual tournament champion – Samford in the first round of last year’s SoCon Baseball Championship. Wednesday marked UNCA’s first-ever shutout victory over WCU in a series that dates back to 1985 and spans 73 all-time meetings.
The Bulldogs broke open a scoreless affair with three runs in the home half of the third before seizing control with five consecutive base hits – and seven all told – as a part of a seven-run fifth inning to pull ahead by double digits, 10-0. UNCA tacked on five runs in the home portion of the seventh inning to provide the final tally.
Western Carolina (17-14) only managed six base runners in the game, three reaching on base hits, two on walks and one a hit batsman. Tyler White led the Catamounts by reaching base three times in the loss, collecting one of the trio of hits while also drawing a walk and being hit by a pitch in the first inning. Junior Aaron Attaway and sophomore Bradley Strong had the other two hits, all three of which were singles.
The Catamounts’ best threat on the night came in the ninth inning as Attaway led off with a single, stretching his streak of reaching base safely to 21 straight games. A one-out walk to White put two aboard with both moving up a base as Jacob Hoyle grounded out to the right side of the infield. However, a strikeout ended WCU’s threat and the ball game.
WCU starter Jon Nadale (0-1) struck out four in 3 2/3 innings on the hill, surrendering three runs on four hits in taking the loss for WCU. Jonathan Waszak struck out one in his 2/3 inning of work, while freshman Thomas Young made his collegiate debut, fanning three in two innings of work.
UNCA (9-21) had seven hitters post multiple-hit games, including a 4-for-5, two-RBI day for Tommy Houmard. Ian Graham drove in five on a 3-for-4 showing despite being retired twice in UNCA’s seven-run fifth inning.
Bulldog starting pitcher Corey Randall (2-3) held WCU to just two hits through six innings of his start, walking one against two strikeouts. Reliever Dean Roland recorded two strikeouts in a perfect two innings, while Dillon Tabar worked around a walk and single with two strikeouts in the ninth.
Western Carolina returns to Southern Conference play this weekend with a three-game set against the Furman Paladins at Latham Park in Greenville, S.C. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m. with Saturday’s game set for 4 p.m. and Sunday’s for 1 p.m.