Elon 8, Samford 7
ELON, N.C. – Trailing 7-6 with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth, Chirs King delivered a two-RBI single down the left-field line to lift the Elon Phoenix to an 8-7, walk-off victory over the visiting Samford Bulldogs in game two of a three-game Southern Conference baseball series at Latham Park on Saturday.
The bottom of the ninth began with back-to-back walks to Ryan Kinsella and Joey Tomko. After a sacrifice bunt put both runners in scoring position, Samford (25-26, 10-15 SoCon) chose to issue an intentional walk to Alex Swim to load the bases. King came on as a pinch hitter and took the first pitch he saw from Bulldog closer Arthur Strauss for a ball. After fouling off the next pitch, King hit a hard ground ball just inside the third-base bag that scored both Kinsella and Tomko to close out the game-two victory for Elon (27-26, 18-10).
Samford had taken the lead thanks to three runs in the top of the ninth. The inning started with a Zeth Stone infield single before singles from Phillip Ervin and C.K. Irby loaded the bases with no outs. A Christiaan Durdaller single up the middle knotted the game at 6 as two runners scored. With the runners at second and third after a sac bunt, Drew McWhorter struck out on a ball in the dirt and had to be thrown out at first. On the throw to first, Irby raced for the plate and slid around the tag to give the Bulldogs their first lead since the top of the first inning.
Ryan Pennell (1-2) was the winning pitcher after he recorded the final three outs for the Elon pitching staff. Starter Kyle Webb battled through six innings, allowing four runs on eight singles while striking out five. Webb has not allowed an extra-base hit in his last 26 1/3 innings.
Strauss (0-1) took the loss and was charged with two runs on one hit in a third of an inning.
The Bulldogs took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first for the second day in a row. On Saturday, Patrick McGavin drove home both runs with a single up the middle.
Elon, as it did the day before, came right back and grabbed the lead in the bottom of the first. Quinn Bower started the first Phoenix at-bat with a walk and moved to third on a Sebastian Gomez single down the right-field line. After Kinsella was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Bulldog starter Eric Wright was called for a balk that scored Bower. A dropped throw at first cost Samford the chance at an out and allowed Tomko to reach as he picked up the RBI as Gomez scored to tie it at 2. Swim's single with runners on second and third gave the Maroon and Gold a 4-2 lead.
Samford got one back in the third on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch before evening the score at 4 in the top of the fourth on an Ervin single up the middle that drove home Austin Allison.
The Phoenix went back in front, 6-4, in the last of the fifth. Tyler McVicar got it started by leading off the frame with a homer off the batter's eye in center. It was his first home run of the season. Swim followed with a single to right-center and scored on a one-out double into the left-field corner off the bat of Wil Leathers.
For Elon, Swim went 3-for-4 with a run scored and two RBIs. McVicar posted a two-hit game. Kinsella had one hit and has now reached base safely in 30 consecutive games.
Irby tallied three of Samford's 13 hits, while Ervin, Durdaller and McGavin all had two-hit performances.
Elon will look to complete the sweep of Samford in Sunday's 1:30 p.m. finale. The Phoenix will recognize 11 senior members of the program prior to the game. Senior Day ceremonies are slated to begin at 1:10 p.m.
The Citadel 7, College of Charleston 1
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Logan Cribb allowed four hits over 6 2/3 innings and The Citadel took advantage of five College of Charleston errors in a 7-1 victory that clinched a series win in its final meeting with the Cougars as Southern Conference rivals.
The Citadel (30-21, 17-9 SoCon) earned its 18th season of at least 30 wins in 22 years under head coach Fred Jordan and stayed percentage points ahead of Elon (18-10) in the race for second place in the SoCon standings.
The Bulldogs have four regular-season conference games remaining, including Sunday at 1 p.m. against the Cougars and three at UNCG beginning on Thursday, while Elon finishes league play at home Sunday against Samford.
Western Carolina appears to have a solid hold on the SoCon regular-season title with a record of 19-6 heading into its doubleheader Sunday against Wofford.
Prior to the start of Sunday's final home game of the 2013 season, The Citadel will recognize seniors Austin Pritcher, Ryan Hines and Ryne Hardwick as well as senior team manager Bryce Amick and graduate student Brett Bullard, who is playing his lone season as a Bulldog.
In honor of Mother's Day, the first 200 mothers coming to the game will receive a carnation from The Citadel athletic department.
Cribb improved his record to 4-3 while lowering his ERA to 3.30, a mark that ranks him among the leaders in the SoCon. He struck out six and did not walk a batter for his second straight start and has walked only six batters and fanned 40 in 33 1/3 innings since rejoining the weekend rotation against Western Carolina on March 30.
The Cougars scored their only run against the junior left-hander on a solo homer by Blake Butler with one out in the third that trimmed The Citadel lead to 2-1. Cribb then retired the next 12 Cougars as Bulldogs pulled away with three runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth.
Joe Jackson singled in a run and later scored on an error in the first to stake the Bulldogs to a quick lead. The junior catcher has driven in 11 runs in the last five games and leads the team with 52 on the year.
College of Charleston committed two more miscues in a three-run Citadel fourth that made it 5-1. Calvin Orth reached on an error by third baseman Bradley Goodson and then scored when Johnathan Stokes' single to left was misplayed by Brandon Murray. Stokes wound up at third on the play and came across on a double by Bailey Rush, who eventually scored on a wild pitch by Cougar starter Ryan West.
Orth went 0-for-4 to see his career-long 14-game hitting streak, the longest by a Bulldog this season, come to an end. Hughston Armstrong had an infield single in the fifth and has reached base in 29 consecutive games.
Drew DeKerlegand put the finishing touches on the win with a two-run single in the fifth. West (4-2) went six innings and allowed all seven Bulldog hits and runs (only three earned) with no walks and three strikeouts.
Zach Sherrill relieved Cribb with two on and two out in the seventh and escaped the mini-jam. David Rivera and Skylar Hunter completed the win with one perfect inning each. The appearance for Sherrill was his 39th of the year, tying Randy Corn's 2002 single-season school record.
In addition to reaching the 30-win plateau, the Bulldogs also secured their 20th home victory of the year, marking the 14th time in 16 full seasons at Riley Park that The Citadel has accomplished that feat.
Furman 13, UNCG 7
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Taylor Johnson went 5-for-5, drove in three runs and scored three times to power Furman to a 13-7 victory over UNCG in Southern Conference baseball action Saturday afternoon at Latham Stadium.
With the win Furman (27-23, 13-16 SoCon) halted a four-game losing skid and moved closer to qualifying for SoCon tournament play, which gets under way May 22 at Fluor Field for the league’s top eight teams. The Paladins’ victory, coupled with Samford’s loss to Elon on Saturday, extended seventh-place Furman’s lead over eighth-place Samford (10-15 SoCon) to one game and to two games over idle ninth-place Davidson (10-17).
Furman and UNCG (22-28, 9-17 SoCon) will play the series finale Sunday beginning at 1 p.m.
Johnson’s career best five-hit performance included singles in his first three at-bats, a double in the fifth and a single in the seventh — highlighting an 18-hit hit attack by the Paladins.
Furman’s big offensive display provided more than enough support for starting pitcher Nate Smith (5-4), who allowed only two runs on nine hits over seven innings. The Paladin senior left-hander, who during one stretch retired 10 of 11 Spartan hitters, walked one and struck out six to become only the eighth pitcher in Furman history to record 200-plus (203) strikeouts.
The Paladins provided Smith with early run support, grabbing a 1-0 lead in the first and plating six more in the second off of UNCG starting pitcher Corey Taylor (1-7). In sending 10 batters to the plate in the second, Furman scored five of its six runs with two outs on the strength of six consecutive hits, including a two-run single by Johnson, an RBI double by Greg Harrison, a two-run single off the bat of Alex Abrams and a Chris Ohmstede RBI single.
Ohmstede blew the game open in his next at-bat in the fourth with his team leading 11th home run of the season — a three-run clout to left-center field off of Spartan reliever Dominique Vattuone — that gave the Paladins a 10-1 lead.
The Paladins tacked on single runs in the fifth, seventh and eighth to stretch their advantage to 13-2 before UNCG posted a five-spot in the ninth, helped by a two-out grand slam to right center field by Eric Kalbfleisch.
Ohmstede drove in four runs with a 2-for-4 performance. Harrison, meanwhile, continued his late-season hot streak with a 3-for-6 outing that featured two doubles, two RBIs and a run, and Will Muzika doubled and scored three runs. Jordan Simpson also had two hits for the Paladins, as every starter scratched in the hit column.
UNCG finished with 16 hits, led by Kalbfleisch, whose grand slam keyed his 3-for-5, four-RBI day.
Taylor suffered the brunt of Furman’s early game offensive assault, working just two innings and allowing seven runs on nine hits and three walks. He fanned one.
No. 15 Clemson 7, Georgia Southern 0
CLEMSON, S.C. – The Clemson Tigers got a strong outing from starting pitcher Matthew Crownover and took the nonconference series with a 7-0 win over Georgia Southern on Saturday night at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
The freshman Crownover (7-1) held Georgia Southern (25-25) scoreless over seven innings and helped Clemson (36-15) to its sixth straight win. The left-hander allowed just three hits and three walks while striking out eight.
The Tigers scored runs in the first three innings before pulling away late with a four-run seventh inning. Steven Duggar tallied three of Clemson's 12 hits and also scored a run. Kevin Boulware, Shane Kennedy and Tyler Krieger finished with two hits each.
Jason Richman (4-4) took the loss for the Eagles after allowing two runs over two innings. The bullpen of Sam Howard and Evan Challenger combined to throw seven innings and allowed four runs on seven hits. Challenger struck out two batters and did not allow a hit over 1 1/3 innings.
GSU's first two base-runners reached base with a walk and an infield single, but Crownover was able to get out of the first-inning jam without allowing a run. The pitcher threw out the lead runner at third base on a fielder's choice before recording a strikeout and a groundout to end the frame.
The Eagles also left leadoff batters stranded in the second, third and sixth innings. Zac Lenns reached base to start the second inning but was left standing on second base after a pop up and a groundout. Ben Morgan drew a leadoff walk in the sixth inning and stole second base before a pair of strikeouts and a fly out ended the frame.
The Tigers struck for a run in the bottom half of the first inning and scored on a double play. The first three batters all reached base with singles before Garrett Boulware grounded into a double play, scoring Maleeke Gibson from third base.
Gibson returned the favor in the second inning, driving in a run with a sacrifice fly. The Tigers scored for the third consecutive inning in the third inning to extend their lead to 3-0. Boulware led off the frame with a single and later scored from third base on a wild pitch.
The teams will conclude the three-game series Sunday at 1 p.m.
Gonzaga 4, Appalachian State 0 (game one)
Appalachian State at Gonzaga (game two, in progress)
SPOKANE, Wash. – After managing just six hits and no runs in a 4-0 loss in the opening game, Appalachian State stormed back with six runs on 10 hits in a 6-2 victory over Gonzaga in a the second game of a doubleheader at Patterson Baseball Complex and Washington Trust Field.
Michael Pierson highlighted the night with a seventh-inning grand slam of the second game to break the 1-1 deadlock. For Pierson, the base-clearer was his first career home run, as the sophomore entered the game in the third inning at first base, his first appearance at the corner.
Adding on the hits was Will Callaway and Noah Holmes with three apiece, headlined by Holmes’ home run in the eighth inning to get back the run Gonzaga scored in the bottom half of the seventh. Holmes also accounted for two runs scored, finishing the second game with a 3-for-4 evening. For the day, the duo combined for four hits.
As the hitters unleashed, starter Sam Agnew-Wieland controlled a Bulldog lineup that had nine hits in the opening game. The right-hander gave up just four hits, while striking out three for his sixth victory of the year.
Right-hander Josh Wilson came in to close out the game, tossing two shutout innings, giving up just a single walk.
In the earlier matchup, Appalachian struggled with left-hander Marco Gonzales, who went the distance, striking out 10 Mountaineer hitters. Gonzales out-dueled App State starter Jamie Nunn, who gave up seven hits in six innings, but gave up just two runs.
Preston Troutman was the lone Mountaineer to record a multi-hit game, pounding out two singles.
For Gonzaga in the first game, three Bulldogs recorded two hits for the game, but Billy Moon’s two-run home run in the eighth inning stole the show and clinched the 4-0 victory. Catcher Travis Forbes was the only other Bulldog to record multiple base hits.
Appalachian and Gonzaga play in the rubber match of their three-game weekend series on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET at Washington Trust Field.
Wofford at Western Carolina (ppd.)
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Due to the inclement weather that moved into the area late Saturday afternoon, officials at Western Carolina have postponed game two of the three-game Southern Conference series against Wofford. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Sunday beginning at 1 p.m. at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
WCU will honor the senior members of its baseball team in a special pregame ceremony prior to first pitch of game one of the twinbill on Sunday.