Elon 10, Appalachian State 8
BOONE, N.C. – Kyle Webb tossed five perfect innings and Wil Leathers hit his second home run of the season as the Elon Phoenix picked up a 10-8 Southern Conference baseball victory over the Appalachian State Mountaineers to even the series at a game apiece on Saturday afternoon.
Webb (6-2), who allowed one earned run in a complete-game win a week ago, was dominant early. The senior set down the first 15 Appalachian State hitters, including striking out the side in both the first and the fourth, before a leadoff single rolled through the right side to start the sixth inning.
Webb finished the day allowing three earned runs (eight total runs) on seven hits in eight innings of work. He walked just one and fanned eight hitters. With his performance, Webb improved to 6-0 with a 2.60 ERA in Southern Conference play.
Elon (24-26, 16-10) gave Webb an early cushion. The Phoenix struck for four runs in the third to grab an early 4-0 edge. Antonio Alvarez got things started with a walk and was on second when Casey Jones singled to leave runners on the corners. After a walk loaded the bases, Quinn Bower picked up an RBI with a grounder that was misplayed by the Mountaineer defense. Niko Fraser then made it a 3-0 game with a single up the middle that plated both Jones and Leathers. Kinsella drove in the fourth run on a ball through the right side.
With one away in the fourth, Alvarez singled and stole second before scoring on a Jones single up the middle. Jones was then able to ride home when Leathers belted a 1-0 pitch down the left field line for his second homer of the year as the Maroon and Gold stretched its lead to 7-0.
Elon's lead reached 9-0 in the fifth as Bower put down a two-out, bases-loaded bunt for a single that scored Alvarez, and a wild pitch brought home Jones.
Appalachian State (25-18, 12-12 SoCon) began its comeback attempt in the sixth. Appalachian got its first runner of the game when Jaylin Davis grounded a ball through the right side to begin the frame. Preston Troutman followed with a single that also went through the right side before an Elon error loaded the bases. On Elon's second miscue of the inning, William Head picked up the RBI and the Mountaineers kept the bags full. Two more came in on a Will Callaway single before the third Phoenix error scored the fourth run of the inning. The Mountaineers would go on to score seven runs in the frame to make it a 9-7 contest.
Appalachian State pulled within one, 9-8, in the eighth inning when a Troutman groundout scored Noah Holmes.
The Phoenix tacked on an insurance run in the top of the ninth on back-to-back doubles from Danny Lynch and Chris King.
Andrew MacDonald came on for the last of the ninth and garnered his third save of the year. He allowed a single to start the inning before picking up his lone strikeout of the game on the next hitter. The game then ended when Holmes lined a ball back to MacDonald, who snared the shot and doubled off the runner at first.
The loss went to Appalachian State starter Sam Agnew-Wieland (5-5). He was charged with seven runs (six earned) on five hits in just 3 1/3 innings.
At the plate for Elon, both Jones and Leathers had two-hit performances. Kinsella drew a walk to run his streak of reaching base safely to a career-best 27 games.
The two teams are scheduled to play the rubber match of the series at 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.
College of Charleston 3, Wofford 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – College of Charleston won a 3-0 pitchers’ duel between one of the league’s strikeout leaders and the SoCon Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
Matt Pegler (3-2) outlasted Wofford’s Jesse Morris (7-4) as the CofC senior set a career high with 10 strikeouts.
College of Charleston (26-20, 14-9) won its seventh rubber game of the season and its fifth SoCon series of 2013. Wofford fell to 20-30 and 10-17 in conference play.
Pegler did not allow an earned run in his second consecutive outing at the back end of the rotation, going seven innings and allowing just two hits and one walk. Pegler made his team-high sixth quality start, as the weekend rotation has recorded seven quality starts in the last eight games.
Dre Watts (5) picked up a two-inning save by pitching the eighth and ninth innings and recording two strikeouts. However, he lived on the edge by loading the bases and allowing the game-winning run to come to the plate with two outs. Wofford’s James Plaisted couldn’t get the ball out of the infield and Watts preserved the shutout.
Morris had an outstanding start for the Terriers, pitching 8 1/3 innings and tying his season high with 15 strikeouts. He only allowed five hits and three runs, two earned, without giving up a walk.
The Cougars took the lead in the first inning when Gunnar Heidt reached on an error from the third baseman. Brandon Murray laced a single into right field that scored Heidt and gave the Cougars all the runs they would need.
The Terrier pitcher had eight strikeouts through three innings until Murray singled again in the fourth and Cody Martin ripped a home run to right field, his second of the season.
Neither team really threatened again until the eighth inning when Watts allowed a single to Wofford’s Matt Ramsay. The Cougars then turned a 6-4-3 double play, and Watts fielded a grounder to get out of the inning.
Wofford produced a ninth-inning walk from Clark Wise and single from Alex Paradowski to put two runners on with just one out. After Watts struck out leading hitter Josh Hyman, cleanup hitter Seth Neely singled to shortstop that loaded the bases with two outs. However, with an opportunity for a walk-off grand slam, Wofford’s Plaisted grounded out to short to end the game.
College of Charleston returns home for two midweek games against Campbell on Tuesday at 4 p.m. and Georgia on Wednesday at 6 p.m. this week before playing at The Citadel next weekend.
Wofford will face South Carolina on Wednesday before the final Southern Conference series of the season at Western Carolina.
Furman 5, Georgia Southern 3 (11 inn.)
STATESBORO, Ga. – Chris Ohmstede belted a two-run home run in the top of the 11th inning to power Furman to a 5-3 victory over Georgia Southern in Southern Conference baseball action Saturday at Clements Stadium.
Ohmstede’s shot to left field off of Eagle reliever Kyle Rowe, which broke a 3-3 tie, also scored Paul Nitto, who had singled to lead off the Paladin 11th.
Jacques de Gruy continued his recent rise to prominence by getting the Eagles out in the bottom of the 11th to preserve the victory and earn his first save of the season and second of his career.
The win was the fourth straight for Furman (26-19, 12-14 SoCon), which moved into a seventh-place tie in the league standings with Georgia Southern (24-23, 12-14 SoCon). The Paladins, who scored 10 runs in the eighth inning in Friday’s 13-5 pasting of the Eagles, will go for the series sweep on Sunday.
Furman has now won four of the last five meetings with Georgia Southern and is 8-6 in SoCon road games this year.
The Paladins took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning before the Eagles worked Furman reliever Matt Solter for three hits, a walk, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly for two runs to send the game into extra innings.
Furman narrowly avoided disaster in the GSU 10th after reliever Ryan Morse hit the leadoff batter, Stryker Brown, and then misplayed a sacrifice bunt off the bat of Ben Morgan into an error. Chase Griffin’s sharp line drive was speared by Paladin second baseman Jordan Simpson, who flipped the ball to a covering Hunter Burton at second base for a double play. After a pair of walks, including an intentional pass, loaded the bases, Morse gave way to Brant Masters, who induced Tyler Avera into a groundout to end the threat.
The Paladins fashioned a 14-6 advantage in hits, with Andrew MacLatchie and Greg Harrison leading the way with three hits apiece.
MacLatchie, a freshman catcher, went 3-for-5 with a two-out RBI double in the fourth inning to give Furman a 2-0 lead. He came back in the seventh with a leadoff home run over the left-field wall, his third clout of the campaign, to make it a 3-1 game.
Harrison, meanwhile, stayed red hot with doubles in his first two at-bats and a single in the sixth, part of a 3-for-5 performance that also saw him score a pair of runs. The junior designated hitter from Hilton Head, S.C., whose season is just over two weeks old, has hit .475 (19-for-40) with eight doubles, four home runs, and 15 RBIs while slugging .975 in 10 games since completing a comeback from a knee injury sustained in the squad’s final fall practice.
Ohmstede, who went 3-for-4 and drove in four runs in Friday’s win, fashioned a 2-for-5 worksheet on Saturday, with the home run, his ninth of the campaign, marking the first-round tripper in nearly a month for the sophomore third baseman.
Nitto and Burton also collected two hits apiece for the Paladins.
Furman starter Alex Abrams threw six strong innings, allowing only a run on two hits and a walk while striking out four. In making only the fourth start of his career, the junior from Charleston, S.C., retired 13 Eagles in a row during one stretch before yielding a two-out walk in the fifth. Scooter Williams’ pinch-hit solo home run in the sixth, only the second hit allowed by Abrams, was the only run surrendered by the Paladin right-hander.
Drake Browne worked a scoreless seventh and Elliott Warford pitched around a double in the eighth to preserve the Paladins’ 3-1 lead before the Eagles rallied to tie it in the ninth.
Contested mostly under wet conditions, the game started at 10:30 a.m. to allow several Furman seniors to make a plane trip back to Greenville for 7 p.m. graduation ceremonies at Timmons Arena.
Sunday’s game between the squads has been moved to a 5 p.m. start. Georgia Southern will honor its seniors prior to the game.
UNCG 8, Samford 3
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Senior outfielder Christian Wolfe recorded all four of his RBIs in the final two innings and UNCG scored five runs in the ninth inning Saturday, lifting the Spartans to an 8-3 Southern Conference victory over Samford at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
The Spartans (20-27, 7-16 SoCon) picked up their 20th win of the season and snapped a six-game skid in league play. The Bulldogs fell to 25-22 overall and 10-12 in the SoCon.
Wolfe finished the day 3-for-5 with two runs scored and four driven in, while junior catcher Cambric Moye and redshirt freshman infielder Nin Marrero tallied two hits each. Freshman RHP Ryan Clark picked up the victory, improving to 4-1 on the season. He threw two innings, giving up one run on three hits with two strikeouts.
Senior infielder Trevor Edwards nearly gave UNCG a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but Christiaan Durdaller reached over the left-field wall and brought the potential home run ball back for the third out. Gilliam was able to escape trouble himself in the bottom of the frame, as with one away, he got Durdaller looking and Caleb Bryson to ground out to short with runners on second and third.
Enzor put UNCG in front in the top of the second, leading off with a home run to straightaway center to make the score 1-0. The Spartans were subsequently able to get runners on first and second with no outs, but a groundout and two fly outs terminated the threat.
Samford rallied with two outs in the second, as an error and hit through the right side put runners on first and second. However, Gilliam was able to pick off Richard Greene at second as the catcher was caught too far off the base.
The fourth inning saw the Bulldogs pick up their first run of the game as Patrick McGavin walked to lead off the bottom of the frame. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and moved to third on a fly out to center. Gilliam reached two strikes on Austin Allison, but he uncorked another wild pitch, which allowed McGavin to score from third.
The home side took the lead for the first time in the bottom of the fifth as Durdaller smashed a two-out solo home run to left center to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 advantage.
The pitchers settled in for the next two innings, keeping each team off the board. Marrero led off the eighth with a single to shallow right field, bringing up Wolfe, who crushed a ball well over the right-field fence to give UNCG the lead back at 3-2. The Spartans could not hold the advantage though, as Samford led off the inning with a double and a single to put runners on the corners. Clark got Bryson to strike out swinging, but McGavin flied out deep to center to bring home Irby from third to tie the contest. The UNCG rookie hurler was able to escape further damage, fanning Tommy Corbin swinging for the final out.
For the second time this weekend, the offense put up a big inning late as the Spartans loaded the bases to begin the ninth via a walk and two consecutive singles with one out. Wolfe continued his big day, driving a 2-2 pitch through the right side to score junior infielder Cole Harrison and sophomore outfielder Zac MacAneney for a 5-3 UNCG lead. Edwards piled on two more runs as his single through the right side plated Wolfe and Marrero – making it 7-3. Enzor followed with an RBI groundout to increase the advantage to 8-3 before Edwards was thrown out at home on a single by Kalbfleisch to end the half inning.
Clark sent the Bulldogs down quietly in the ninth to seal the win.
The teams will play the rubber game of the series Sunday with a first pitch scheduled for 11 a.m. (CT).
Davidson 6, The Citadel 4 (game one)
Davidson 12, The Citadel 8 (game two)
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Despite hitting six home runs, including three by Joe Jackson, The Citadel found itself on the wrong end of a doubleheader against Davidson, falling to the Wildcats by scores of 6-4 and 12-8 on Saturday at Riley Park.
The pair of losses, which came one day after a 22-7 victory in the opening game of the series, dropped the Bulldogs to 28-21 and 15-9 in the Southern Conference. The Citadel had won nine of its previous 10 league games before the sweep by Davidson (15-30, 10-17).
The Wildcats entered the game having won only one road game all season before posting 23 hits, including three homers of their own in the two contests. Davidson has won five of its past nine games at Riley Park and took the season series for the second time in the past three years.
Jackson homered twice in the first game and added another in the nightcap to give him 11 on the year after entering the 2013 campaign with only one round-tripper his first two seasons. The junior catcher went 8-for-13 with seven runs scored and nine RBIs in the series, raising his team-leading total to 50 in the latter category. He has homered in seven consecutive SoCon series.
Calvin Orth also homered in the first game and had two hits in both contests to run his hitting streak to a career-best 13, the longest for a Bulldog this season. Drew DeKerlegand had a grand slam and set a career high with five RBI, and Johnathan Stokes contributed a solo shot in the second game. Hughston Armstrong went 0-for-4 in the opener to see his 11-game hitting streak come to an end.
Andrew Barna had three hits, including a double and homer, in the first game and a single and triple in the nightcap to hit for the cycle during the twinbill for the Wildcats.
The Bulldogs do not play during the week and return to action when they wrap up their home schedule with a series against rival College of Charleston. The first game is Friday at 4 p.m. and is the first of three Riley Park doubleheaders over the weekend with the Charleston RiverDogs also in action at home.
Davidson will next host Duke in its home finale at Wilson Field Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Game One
Barna doubled and scored on a base hit by Nathan Becker to snap a 3-3 tie in the seventh and send Davidson on its way to the win. Barna and Ryan Lowe added RBI singles in the eighth to boost the margin to 6-3 before the Wildcats survived a ninth-inning threat by The Citadel.
Jackson hit a solo homer to bring the Bulldogs within two. Bo Thompson walked and pinch-runner Jason Smith moved to third on a single by DeKerlegand to put the tying runs on base, but Orth grounded out to the mound for the final out.
Jackson and Barna traded solo homers in the opening two innings, and Michael Zeblo gave Davidson a 3-2 lead when he went deep with a runner on in the third. Orth continued his offensive splurge with a homer to straightaway center, his seventh of the year, to tie it in the fourth.
The first baseman had a career-high five hits including two doubles and a triple on Friday and is batting .444 (28-for-63) over his last 15 games.
Bulldog starter Logan Cribb retired 11 straight Wildcats after the Zeblo homer before Barna doubled in the seventh. Cribb (3-3) worked 6 1/3 innings and allowed five hits and four runs (three earned), tied his career high with eight strikeouts and did not walk a batter.
Danny Mooney (5-4) also went 6 1/3 innings and gave up six hits and three runs with five strikeouts. Matt Saeta gave up the ninth-inning run before escaping with his second save of the year.
Game Two
Andrew Pope, inserted into the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh, robbed pinch-hitter Connor Walsh of extra bases with a leaping catch at the wall in center with two on in the eighth and then hit a two-run homer the following inning to put the finishing touches on the Davidson sweep.
The Wildcats led by as many as seven runs when they scored four times in the sixth, including a two-run double by Forrest Brandt to build a 9-2 margin. The Bulldogs got one back in their half of the inning on an RBI double by Jackson and made it 10-7 in the eighth when DeKerlegand hit his fourth home run of the year and first career grand slam.
The inning continued with singles by Orth and Bailey Rush before Walsh pinch hit for Smith. The left-handed batter, making just his fifth plate appearance of the season, hit a long drive to center that would have driven in both runners and put the tie run in scoring position. But Pope timed his jump perfectly and hauled in the long drive to keep it a three-run game.
Pope then reached Bulldog closer Skylar Hunter for a two-run homer in the ninth to make it 12-7. DeKerlegand singled in a run, and the Bulldogs had two on with two out when Saeta was able to slam the door shut.
Davidson led 4-0 after 3 1/2 with starter Rob Bain holding The Citadel without a base runner for the first three innings. Mason Davis singled to lead off the fourth but was picked off, costing the Bulldogs a run when Jackson homered two batters later. The teams traded runs in the fifth with Davidson scoring on a triple by Barna and a single by Sam Foy, and the Bulldogs answering on the Stokes home run.
Stokes hit two home runs and drove in five runs in the series to give him 45 RBIs on the year, second on the team only to Jackson.
Bain (2-4) went a season-long seven innings for Davidson and gave up eight hits and four runs, struck out four and did not walk a batter. Austin Mason (3-3) started for The Citadel but was lifted after two out in the fourth after giving up five hits and four runs (two earned) with four punch outs.
Western Carolina 6, Tennessee Tech 1
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Adam Martin keyed a three-run bottom of the first inning with a two-run home run as the Catamounts handed starting pitcher Jordan Smith an early advantage on Saturday morning. Smith struck out six in seven innings of work on the mound as the Catamounts completed the two-game series sweep of Tennessee Tech, 6-1, in nonconference action at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
Smith (5-3) scattered five base hits to score his fourth victory in his last four starts in a game that was bumped up three hours from its scheduled start time to avoid inclement weather. The Liberty, N.C., product limited the potent Golden Eagle lineup to one unearned run, issuing just two walks and stranding seven base-runners. Right-handers Tyler Powell and Preston Hatcher both tossed an inning to seal WCU’s sixth straight, with both striking out two in hitless, scoreless relief.
Martin finished 1-for-4 with the two-run homer – his fifth round-tripper of the season – to lead the Catamount attack with the two RBIs. Sophomore Jacob Hoyle remained hot at the plate, blasting a leadoff home run in the sixth inning as a part of a 2-for-4 performance while Julian Ridings singled sharply up the middle twice in a second 2-for-4 day at the plate.
Hoyle finished the two-game set against Tennessee Tech 5-for-8 (.625), including three doubles in Friday night’s win, to give him four extra-base hits and a total of three RBIs.
Aaron Attaway led off the home half of the first inning with a single to right, extending his current hitting streak to 11 straight games. After taking second on a wild pitch, the Morganton, N.C., native stole third before coming home on a sacrifice fly by WCU RBI leader Tyler White. After Hoyle drove a two-out single up the middle, Martin hammered a 2-0 pitch over the fence in left to give the Catamounts a 3-0 lead through one complete.
The Golden Eagles chipped at the WCU advantage in the top of the fifth with an unearned run to make it 3-1. However, the Catamounts responded in the bottom of the frame, capitalizing on the lone Tennessee Tech error on a dropped pop-up. Bradley Strong reached second on the miscue and was driven in by a single just over the shortstop’s reach into left field. Gragg was later plated by a two-out single by Ridings on his 37th RBI of the season.
Hoyle then capped the scoring with a solo homer in the top of the sixth inning to provide the final tally, 6-1.
Tennessee Tech (33-14) was led by the bottom half of its order on Saturday, as all five hits came from the bottom four of its lineup. James Abraham finished 2-for-4 with catcher Jordan Parris driving in the lone Golden Eagles run on a double down the left-field line in the top of the fifth inning in a 1-for-2 outing. Dylan Bosheers also doubled as a part of a 1-for-3 afternoon.
After going in order in the first two innings, the Golden Eagles threatened in the top of the third inning, loading the bases on a pair of singles and a two-out walk. However, Smith posted his second strikeout looking in the inning to end the threat, stranding the bases loaded.
TTU starter Ross Spurgeon (2-3) took the loss, surrendering six runs – four of which were earned – on six hits through 5 1/3 innings with three strikeouts. David Hess struck out one in 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief with Seth Lucio fanning a pair with one hit allowed in an inning of work.
Western Carolina (33-17, 18-6 SoCon) now breaks for its final exams this coming week, returning to action on Friday as it hosts its final Southern Conference series of the regular season. The Catamounts host Wofford for three games at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium on Senior Weekend. Prior to first pitch on Friday, the Catamount men’s and women’s golf seniors will be honored in a special pre-game ceremony with the seven WCU baseball seniors honored prior to Sunday’s first pitch.
Game times for the three-game series are 6 p.m. on Friday, a special post-graduation 6:30 p.m. first pitch on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.