Western Carolina 3, Wofford 0 (game one)
Western Carolina 10, Wofford 7 (game two)
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina clinched the Southern Conference regular-season title with a doubleheader sweep of Wofford on Sunday.
The Catamounts took the first game 3-0 after plating two runs in the third inning. The teams combined for 28 hits in the second game, but four home runs by Western Carolina were the difference in a 10-7 victory.
Wofford is now 20-34 on the season and 10-20 in the Southern Conference. Western Carolina is 36-17 overall and 21-6 in league play to clinch the regular-season SoCon title. The Catamounts have won 14 straight SoCon games.
The Catamounts opened the bottom of the third with their first hit of the day by Bradley Strong. Strong stole second and scored on an error for a 1-0 lead. With runners on the corners, a double steal allowed another run to cross the plate for a 2-0 advantage.
The Catamounts increased the lead to 3-0 on a solo home run by Julian Ridings in the bottom of the sixth.
Wofford starter Jesse Morris (7-5) threw seven innings and allowed three runs on eight hits. Morris recorded nine strikeouts to give him 99 for the season, fourth-most in a single season at Wofford, and only walked one. Will Stillman did not allow a hit in one inning on the mound.
Western Carolina starter Morgan McKinney (4-2) went six innings and did not allow a run on four hits. He walked seven with six strikeouts. Jonathan Waszak threw an inning with one hit and two strikeouts. Tyler Powell added an inning on the mound with one strikeout. Preston Hatcher recorded his 14th save by going an inning without allowing a hit.
In game two, Clark Wise opened the game will a lead-off single. Josh Hyman was hit by a pitch and a fly ball moved Wise to third base. A wild pitch allowed Wise to score for a 1-0 lead.
Wofford had singles from Alec Paradowski and Josh Hyman in the top of the third and a wild pitch moved the runners into scoring position with one out. A sacrifice fly by Seth Neely scored Paradowski for a 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the third, Attaway singled and a home run by Tyler White tied the game at 2-2. With two outs, Jacob Hoyle hit a home run over the batter’s eye in center field for a 3-2 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Catamounts had a triple by Bradley Strong. He scored on a double by Luke Gragg for a 4-2 advantage before a double play ended the inning. Western Carolina had two runners on base in the bottom of the fifth inning when Adam Martin hit a three-run homer to left center for a 7-2 lead. A solo home run by Bradley Strong to right-center pushed the score to 8-2.
The Catamounts added two more runs on an RBI double by Adam Martin for a 10-2 advantage after six complete innings.
In the top of the eighth, Wofford’s James Plaisted singled and made his way to third base. With two outs, Matthew Kaskow struck out but the ball got way from the catcher, allowing Plaisted to score for a 10-3 contest. Derek Hirsch added a single, and a triple by Wise drove in two runs for a 10-5 game.
After the Catamounts were retired in order in the bottom of the eighth, Seth Neely walked with one out. A double by James Plaisted put runners in scoring position and a ground out by Matt Ramsay drove in one run. A double by Matthew Pelt scored Plaisted for a 10-7 score before a fly ball ended the game.
Wofford starter Matthew Milburn (3-3) went 3 1/3 innings and allowed four runs on eight hits with two strikeouts. Eric Eck threw 2 2/3 innings with six runs allowed on seven hits along with two strikeouts. Connor Foltyn went 2/3 of an inning with a strikeout and a hit allowed. Bradley Evsich worked an inning with one strikeout. Josh Simpson recorded the third out in the eighth inning.
Western Carolina starter Jordan Smith (6-3) threw 5 2/3 innings with two runs allowed on six hits with seven strikeouts. Waszak went 2/3 of an inning without allowing a base runner. Jon Nadale and Colton Davis each worked a third of an inning, with Nadale allowing one hit. Tyler Powell went 2/3 of an inning and allowed three runs on two hits with two strikeouts. Alex Barr allowed one hit. Hatcher went the final 1 1/3 innings and gave up two runs on two hits.
Wofford will take the week off for exams. The final two games of the season will be on May 17 and 18 against Old Dominion at Russell C. King Field.
Western Carolina begins a three-game SoCon set Thursday at Appalachian State.
College of Charleston 7, The Citadel 5
CHARLESTON, S.C. – College of Charleston scored six of its seven runs with two outs and the Cougars took a 7-5 win over The Citadel on Sunday at Joseph P. Riley Park.
Charleston (27-24, 15-11) snapped its four-game losing streak and avoided a Citadel sweep after the Bulldogs (30-22, 17-10) won the first two games by scores of 7-1. CofC is now 8-1 in the final games of SoCon series, as the Cougars have not been swept in a SoCon series since 2009.
Matt Pegler (4-2) picked up his third straight win despite snapping his streak of quality starts in the third games of series. He allowed five runs, four earned, in 6 1/3 IP with two walks and three strikeouts. He only allowed five hits and held the Bulldogs hitless through the first 3 2/3 innings.
Dre Watts (6) earned a two-inning save to hold a two-run lead through the eighth and ninth innings. He had two strikeouts and did not allow a hit.
Austin Mason (3-4) allowed five runs, three earned, in just a 2 1/3-inning start. The Citadel used seven pitchers in the loss, allowing 12 CofC hits and the Cougars’ highest run output in seven games.
Blake Butler led the Cougar offensive effort, tallying three hits and drawing a walk with a run and an RBI. Cody Martin, Carl Wise, Morgan Phillips and Gunnar Heidt all hit two-out doubles, combining for four RBIs.
The Citadel’s Bailey Rush hit a solo home run, and Hughston Armstrong had a two-run single in The Citadel’s three-run fourth inning.
College of Charleston jumped on the Bulldogs early, breaking two double play attempts in the first inning and using two-run hits from Brandon Murray, Wise and Martin. Wise and Martin both hit RBI doubles to left field and the Cougars built a 3-0 lead.
The Cougars manufactured a run in the second inning when Butler singled, stole second, advanced to third on a grounder and came home on a two-out wild pitch. CofC used two Bulldog errors in the third inning, including a failed pickoff, and Wise came home to score to push the lead to 5-0.
The Citadel broke up Pegler’s no-hitter with two outs in the third inning on an RBI single from Bo Thompson. The Bulldogs then rallied for three runs in the fifth inning, using a sacrifice fly from Mason Davis and Armstrong’s two-run single.
Rush then slammed a solo home run to right field to cut the CofC lead to 6-5 in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Charleston responded with a two-out rally yet again in the eighth inning, as Devon Reed reached on an infield single, stole second and then came home on an RBI single from Butler.
The two runs were enough of a cushion for Watts in the eighth and ninth innings as he did not allow a hit and salted away the win.
College of Charleston returns home on Tuesday for a mid-week game against Jacksonville at 6 p.m. The Citadel closes its regular season at UNCG for a three-game set starting Thursday.
Furman 6, UNCG 4
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Alex Abrams pitched six effective innings and used early run support to help Furman defeat UNCG, 6-4, in the finale of a Southern Conference baseball series Sunday afternoon at Latham Stadium.
The victory gave Furman (28-23, 14-16 SoCon) the series victory over UNCG (22-29, 9-18 SoCon) two games to one and secured a spot for the Paladins in this year’s SoCon Championship, which will be contested among the league’s top eight teams from May 22-26 at Greenville’s Fluor Field. Furman could finish anywhere from fifth to eighth in the standings depending on next week’s conference series results.
Sunday’s win over UNCG marked the Paladins’ final SoCon game of the season. The 14 league victories topped last year’s conference tally (13-17) and represented the most by a Paladin squad since 2008. Furman’s current 28 wins match last season’s total (28-31).
Abrams (4-1), who began the season as a member of the bullpen before moving into the weekend rotation in mid-April, continued his strong late-season performance by allowing four runs on six hits over six innings before departing with a 6-4 lead. He struck out five and did not walk a batter. The junior right-hander made only one costly mistake, yielding a three-run sixth-inning home run to Tervor Edwards that pulled UNCG to within two runs, but the Charleston, S.C., native recovered by retiring the next three Spartans to get out of the inning.
Ben Carlson came on in relief of Abrams to start the seventh and mowed down the first eight batters he faced until Cambric Moye singled with two outs in the ninth. Carlson notched his fourth save by getting Zac MacAneney to fly out to end the game.
As was the case in Saturday’s 13-7 victory, Furman jumped on UNCG pitching for early runs, striking for two in the first inning with a Greg Harrison two-run home run off of Spartan starting and losing pitcher Brennen James (1-1).
After UNCG scratched for a run in the top of the second, Furman tacked on three more in its second at bat via a Hunter Burton sacrifice fly and a two-run double to right-center field by Will Muzika for a 5-1 lead.
Paul Nitto made it 6-1 in the third when his high fly ball to left field cleared the fence for the 23rd home run of his career.
It remained 6-1 until the sixth, when Christian Wolfe and TJ Spina stroked consecutive singles to lead off, and Edwards followed with a three-run home run that just cleared the glove of Paladin center fielder Muzika at the fence.
That would do it for the scoring as Abrams and Carlson combined get the next 12 outs without allowing a run. UNCG’s bullpen, meanwhile, gave the Spartans a chance as three relievers combined to limit Furman to just one run on five hits over the final six innings.
Taylor Johnson, who went 5-for-5 in Saturday’s win, continued his hot streak by going 3-for-4 and scoring a run in Sunday’s victory. Muzika, whose two-run second-inning double marked the 250th hit of his Paladin career, went 2-for-4 with two RBIs, and Nitto and Chris Ohmstede both registered 2-for-4 performances at the plate, with Ohmstede doubling twice.
The Paladins finished with 11 hits.
Lloyd Enzor had two of UNCG’s seven safeties.
Furman will play at Gardner-Webb on Tuesday at 6 p.m. before returning home to open a three-game series versus Dayton starting on Thursday.
UNCG closes the season next week with four home games. The Blue and Gold will first end nonconference play Tuesday with a contest against Duke at the UNCG Baseball Stadium before hosting The Citadel in its final SoCon series. First pitch against the Blue Devils is slated for 6 p.m.
Samford 6, Elon 4
ELON, N.C. – Samford senior outfielder Christiaan Durdaller went 3-for-4 with two home runs and five RBIs to lead the Bulldog baseball team to a 6-4 win at Elon in the final game of a Southern Conference series Sunday afternoon at Latham Park.
Durdaller hit two two-run home runs in the game, giving him a team-best 14 homers for the season. He also had an RBI single in the ninth inning for an insurance run for the Bulldogs.
Behind Durdaller at the plate for Samford, C.K. Irby went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Zeth Stone, Phillip Ervin, Patrick McGavin and Tommy Corbin added one hit each for Samford in the win.
Cole Limbaugh (4-3) pitched 5 1/3 innings in relief, giving up one run on four hits to earn the win on the mound for Samford. McGavin started the game, pitching 3 1/3 innings, allowing three runs, just one earned, on one hit. Andres Gracia came in to get the final out in the ninth inning, picking up his third save of the season.
For Elon, Wil Leathers and Chris King had a hit and an RBI each. Alex Swim also drove in a run for the Phoenix. Spencer Medick (6-6) pitched 6 2/3 innings, giving up five runs on seven hits to take the loss on the mound for Elon.
Samford grabbed the lead early with two runs in the top of the first inning. With two outs in the inning, Irby singled up the middle. Durdaller then hit a home run to center field for a 2-0 Samford lead.
Elon took the lead with three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Ryan Kinsella walked, Joey Tomko reached base on an error and Tyler McVicar walked to load the bases with no outs. Swim then hit a sacrifice fly to left field to drive in Kinsella, and Tomko scored on the play on a Samford error to tie the score at 2-2. Leathers then doubled to drive in McVicar for a 3-2 Elon lead.
The Bulldogs came back to tie the score with a run in the top of the fifth inning. With one out, Austin Allison was hit by a pitch and then moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Stone. After Ervin walked, Irby singled to left field to drive in Allison to knot the score at 3-3.
Samford took the lead again with two runs in the top of the seventh inning. With one out in the inning, Ervin singled to left field. With two outs, Durdaller homered to left field, his second home run of the game, to give Samford a 5-3 lead.
The Bulldogs added a run in the top of the ninth inning to push their lead to 6-3. With one out in the inning, Stone singled and Ervin walked. With two outs, Durdaller singled to left field to drive in Stone for a three-run Samford lead.
Elon came back with a run in the bottom of the ninth inning to make the final score 6-4. Danny Lynch led off the inning with a pinch-hit single. With two outs, Casey Jones singled, moving Lynch to second base. King then doubled to drive in Lynch for the game’s final run.
With the win, Samford improved to 26-26 overall and 11-15 in Southern Conference play. The Bulldogs need just one win in their final series of the season against Davidson to secure a spot in the upcoming Southern Conference Championship. Elon dropped to 27-27 overall and 18-11 in SoCon play with the loss.
Samford will return to action on Thursday, when the Bulldogs open a home Southern Conference series against Davidson. The teams will open the series with a doubleheader Thursday at 4 p.m. (CT) at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
The Phoenix will now be off until the 2013 Southern Conference tournament in Greenville, S.C., which gets under way on Wednesday, May 22. Elon is assured of a top-four seed in the upcoming league showcase.
No. 15 Clemson 11, Georgia Southern 6
CLEMSON, S.C. – The 15th-ranked Clemson Tigers struck for seven runs over the first three innings Sunday en route to an 11-6 win to complete a three-game sweep of the Georgia Southern Eagles at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
The Eagles tallied a series-high 12 hits with Chase Griffin and Robbie Dodds posting three hits each. Dodds also plated a pair of runs, while Kyle Streicher drove in two runs with a hit. The Tigers recorded 14 hits and had five players record multi-hit games. Maleeke Gibson and Tyler Krieger both posted two hits and drove in two runs.
Zach Erwin allowed three runs over five innings to help Clemson (37-15) to their seventh straight victory. Erwin (5-0) picked up the win in his third start on the mound this season and worked around six hits and three walks.
Georgia Southern (25-26) took its first lead in the series with a run in the top of the second inning before Josh Stevenson allowed five runs in the bottom half of the frame. Stevenson (1-4) took the loss after allowing seven runs over 2 1/3 innings.
Kyle Streicher plated a two-out run in the second inning to start the scoring for GSU. Streicher drove in a leadoff walk with a well-placed ball in the gap in left center field.
Clemson tallied five hits in that second inning and jumped out to a four-run lead. The first two batters reached base with base hits before a sacrifice bunt by Krieger moved two runners into scoring position. Thomas Brittle drove in the first run with a single to left field before Gibson provided a two-run double.
After Clemson scored five runs in the bottom of the second, the Eagles got one of the runs back in the third inning. Dodds plated another two-out run with a single, scoring Brent Pugh from second base.
The Tigers answered back with two runs in the bottom of the third inning and both teams traded single runs in the fourth inning. Scooter Williams drove in a leadoff walk with a sacrifice fly in the fourth, while Shane Kennedy plated a walk in the bottom half of the frame with a groundout.
Clemson scored two more runs in the sixth inning and a single run in the seventh inning before going down in order in the eighth inning. The Eagles added three runs over their final two innings.
Stryker Brown and Streicher both drove in runs for GSU in the eighth inning. Dodds led off the frame with a single and scored on Brown's base hit before Streicher plated Zac Lenns with a sacrifice fly.
The Eagles added their final run on a two-out double by Dodds in the ninth inning. Pugh singled and reached second base on an error. He later scored from third base after Dodds doubled to right-center.
Georgia Southern returns to J.I. Clements Stadium for its final home game of the 2013 season Tuesday. The Eagles will complete the two-game season series with North Florida at 6 p.m.
Appalachian State 13, Gonzaga 3
SPOKANE, Wash. – With 19 hits and a key pitching performance from right-hander Taylor Thurber, Appalachian State claimed a key nonconference series from West Coast Conference regular-season champion Gonzaga with a 13-3 victory on Sunday at Patterson Baseball Complex and Washington Trust Field.
Five different Mountaineers recorded multi-base hits and every starter recorded a hit, highlighted by Noah Holmes’ eighth-inning opposite-field two-run home run, putting the game out of reach. Appalachian put runs on the scoreboard in all but three innings, as eight of the nine Mountaineer starters crossed home to combine for 13 runs.
Chad Farmer got his ninth start of the season and made just one mistake in the third inning, giving up a home run to Marco Gonzales. Thurber entered the game immediately following the home run and pitched six strong, striking out five Gonzaga batters. Thurber earns his third victory of the season, all of which have now come in relief. Tyler Moore entered in the ninth and gave up a single hit.
The Mountaineers began their hitting spree in the second inning, as the Apps plated five runs on six hits. Holmes and Dillon Dobson each recorded doubles for the inning, while Hector Crespo singled through the left side, scoring Jaylin Davis and Josh Zumbrook, who also recorded hits for the inning.
After not recording a hit in the first two games of the series, the freshmen duo of Dobson and Davis combined for a 6-for-10 day with an RBI and four runs scored.
Michael Pierson, who came on in the middle of the second game on Saturday and blasted a grand slam to propel the Apps to the 6-2 win, finished the series 3-for-7 with a grand slam, seven RBIs, four runs scored and solid play at both first base and left field. The sophomore entered the Gonzaga series with a .200 average and left Spokane with a .259 average (7-for-27).
The middle of the infield, Crespo and Will Callaway, combined for five hits, three runs score and an RBI on the day. Callaway recorded his 12th double of the season in the fifth inning.
Alex Bonczyk paced the Gonzaga lineup with three hits, while Gonzales finished with two hits, including his third-inning home run.
Appalachian State returns to the diamond to begin a strenuous four-game stretch with a visit to top-ranked North Carolina on Tuesday. Game time is set for 6 p.m.