The Citadel 5, No. 8 Louisville 3
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel made it two in a row over national powers on Saturday, rallying from a 3-1 deficit and getting clutch work from the bullpen in a 5-3 victory over eighth-ranked Louisville on day two of the Homewood Suites Tournament presented by Charleston Crab House.
The Bulldogs will look to complete a sweep of their season-opening weekend and move to 3-0 for the first time since 1983 when they face West Virginia on Sunday. That game will begin approximately 40 minutes following the 10 a.m. contest between Louisville and Delaware.
The Citadel began the tournament on Friday with a 6-2 win over a Virginia Tech team that won 40 games and hosted an NCAA Regional last year. Louisville, meanwhile, won 51 games in 2013 and advanced all the way to the College World Series.
The win was also the second in as meetings at Riley Park for The Citadel against Louisville, both with former Bulldog star and recent athletic hall of fame inductee Dan McDonnell in charge of the Cardinals. In 2008, The Citadel edged Louisville 1-0 in 10 innings behind the shutout pitching of Matt Crim and Matt Reifsnider.
This time, the Bulldogs rode 5 2/3 effective innings from starter Logan Cribb before Zach Sherrill and Skylar Hunter combined to hold the Cardinals hitless the rest of the way. The win was the first for The Citadel over a top-10 team since a 2-0 victory over No. 3 South Carolina at Riley Park in 2011.
Cribb was also on the mound in that win over Gamecocks in the first start of his Citadel career. On Saturday, the senior lefty did not allow a hit for the first three innings and finished with seven strikeouts, one shy of his career high, although he was touched up for all three Cardinal runs as Louisville took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth.
Bo Thompson, who led the Bulldogs with 14 home runs last season, hit the second pitch of the inning from Louisville starter Kyle Funkhouser well over the wall in left-center to kick start The Citadel rally. Tyler Griffin followed with a four-pitch walk, Calvin Orth was hit by a pitch and Drew DeKerlegand sacrificed, leading to a sacrifice fly by Johnathan Stokes that tied the game at 3.
Sherrill relieved Cribb to get the final out of the sixth and retired the Cardinals in order in the seventh, including his second strikeout. The sophomore right-hander, who appeared in 48 of 60 games last year and already the first two of 2014, was then put in position to earn the win when the Bulldogs took the lead in their half of the seventh.
Mason Davis led off with a ringing double to left-center and was sacrificed to third by Hughston Armstrong. Thompson recorded his third RBI of the game when he hit a grounder to a drawn-in Grant Kay at second, whose dive prevented him from making a play on the speedy Davis at the plate.
Thompson also drove in The Citadel's first run in the third on a single to center before Louisville scored twice in the fourth and another in the sixth to build its two-run margin.
The Citadel added an insurance run in the eighth when pinch-hitter Austin Mapes, in his first career at-bat, reached on an infield single with two outs to plate Stokes.
Hunter was outstanding in his first save opportunity of the season. The sophomore closer walked the first Cardinal he faced in the eighth but proceeded to strike out the next two batters before Ryan Kilgallen ended the inning by throwing out Cole Sturgeon trying to steal second. Hunter then gained his first save of the season and 14th of his brief career when he set down Louisville in order in the ninth.
In all, the three Bulldog pitchers combined to allow only six hits and two walks while striking out 12. Kyle McGrath took the loss in relief for Louisville.
Furman 5, Norfolk State 2
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Elliott Warford tossed four effective innings and four Paladin pitchers combined to record 14 strikeouts to help Furman beat Norfolk State, 5-2, in the 2014 baseball season opener for both teams Saturday afternoon in the First Pitch Invitational at Latham Stadium.
Warford (1-0) allowed two runs, only one of which was earned, on four hits over four frames. The junior right-hander walked two and fanned six in earning the victory.
Freshman Matthew Quarles followed Warford, working three scoreless innings and fanning three in his collegiate debut.
The Paladins turned to Ryan Morse, who struck out two in the eighth, and to Brant Masters, who struck out the side in the ninth to nail down the win and notch the save.
Furman scored all of its runs in the first two innings, taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on an Alex Abrams RBI single that drove in Jake Jones and getting four more in the second off Norfolk State starting pitcher Justin Bhatti (0-1).
A single by Hunter Burton plated Andrew MacLatchie to break a 1-1 tie, and the Paladins added three more on a Jake Jones RBI single and sacrifice fly by Greg Harrison that drove home Jones. Hunter Burton also scored on the sacrifice fly play, racing home from third base after Spartans catcher Omar Hotusing allowed the throw home to get past him to the backstop.
Norfolk State took advantage of a Furman error to push across a run in the fourth and make it 5-2.
From that point, however, the Paladin bullpen of Quarles, Morse and Masters combined to shut out the Spartans and surrender just two hits and no walks while notching eight strikeouts over the final five innings.
Abrams had two of Furman’s seven hits, and Jones scored twice. Norfolk State registered six hits in the contest, led by Tyon Ore, who homered and scored two runs for the Spartans.
Furman will play two games on Sunday, facing Xavier at 11 a.m. at Latham Stadium and Toledo in a 3 p.m. game at Fluor Field.
Georgia Southern 9, Georgia 3
Georgia 11, Georgia Southern 3
ATHENS, Ga. – The Georgia Southern baseball team split an opening-day doubleheader with the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday. The Eagles took game one 9-3 behind a strong start from Sam Howard before dropping game two 11-3.
Howard tossed five scoreless innings as the Georgia Southern Eagles rolled to the 9-3 win in game one the a doubleheader at Foley Field.
Georgia Southern (1-1) tallied 16 hits, its most since March 16, 2013, and got three hits from Chase Griffin and Stryker Brown.
Griffin tallied the first hit of the ball game and scored the season's first run off of a base hit by Brown. He later drove in three runs of his own with a bases-clearing double in the sixth inning to put the Eagles ahead 8-0. Brown also added an RBI in the ninth inning when he plated a run with a double.
Howard (1-0) kept Georgia (1-1) without a hit through the first two innings and allowed only one walk and struck out seven for his 10th career win. He improved to 2-0 all-time against the Bulldogs and 3-1 against teams from the state of Georgia.
The Eagles took an early lead in the second inning after Hunter Thomas drew a walk to load the bases. Brown drove in a run with a single, and Dalton Busby plated two more on a base hit through the right-side gap. Ben Morgan extended his hitting streak to six games and drove in the final run of the inning with a single.
Sean McLaughlin was unable to repeat the same performance from a year ago, when he earned the win against GSU after allowing three runs over four innings. This time around, GSU got to McLaughlin (0-1) early, and he allowed four runs on four hits over 1 2/3 innings.
The Bulldogs snapped the shutout with a pair of unearned runs in the sixth inning off of a throwing error by Busby.
Georgia evened the three-game series with an 11-3 victory in game two.
Ryan Lawlor held Georgia Southern to three runs on six hits. Lawlor (1-0) picked up the win after Georgia jumped out to a 7-0 lead after three innings. The Bulldogs added two more runs each in the fourth and sixth innings.
Josh Wirsu made his career debut but left after two innings. Wirsu (0-1) allowed seven runs – six earned – on four hits and three walks. He also struck out three batters.
The Eagles got on the scoreboard in the fourth inning and scored two more runs in the seventh. Ryan Cleveland recorded two of GSU's five hits and drove in a run.
Garrett Chapman and Stryker Brown both plated runs in the seventh inning with Chapman scoring Cleveland with a ground out and Brown plating Palmer with a sacrifice fly.
The three-game series concludes Sunday at 1 pm. Former SCAD pitcher Ryan Frederick is slated to face Georgia senior Patrick Boling on the mound.
No. 25 Arkansas 7, Appalachian State 6
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Appalachian State rallied from a pair of four-run deficits but fell just short in a 7-6 loss to No. 25 Arkansas on Saturday afternoon at Baum Stadium.
Appalachian State (0-2) trailed 6-2 after four innings and 7-3 after six but plated three runs in the top of the seventh to pull within a run.
Tyler Zupcic kick-started the seventh-inning rally by roping a 2-2 pitch down the left-field line for a double. Preston Troutman and William Head followed with back-to-back singles to push Zupcic across the plate and cut the deficit to 7-4.
After a double play, Dillon Dobson ripped a triple into the right-field corner to score Head. On the play, Arkansas second baseman Brian Anderson tried to gun down Dobson at third with a relay throw from right but the ball sailed into the stands and Dobson went home on the error to bring the Mountaineers within a run.
The score remained 7-6 going into the top of the ninth and Troutman was hit by a pitch to put the tying run on base with one out. However, Head was punched out on a 3-2 pitch for the second out and Jaylin Davis grounded back to the pitcher to end the game.
A day after managing only four hits (none for extra bases) against Arkansas’ top-notch pitching staff, Appalachian State banged out seven on Saturday, including three for extra bases. Dobson led the way, going 2-for-4 with an RBI double in the third to go along with his RBI triple in the seventh.
Making his first start in 61 career appearances for the Mountaineers, Tyler Moore struck out three in 3 1/3 innings but was saddled with four earned runs and suffered the loss.
Anderson led Arkansas’ 11-hit attack by going 3-for-5 with two runs scored. The Razorbacks’ 3-6 hitters combined for nine hits and five RBIs.
Right-hander Chris Oliver limited Appalachian to one hit over five innings to earn the win, while Michael Gunn worked the final 2 1/3 frames for the save.
Appalachian will look to salvage the final game of the season-opening three-game series on Sunday when it squares off with Arkansas (2-0) at 2 p.m. ET.
Valparaiso 11, Samford 8
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Valparaiso baseball team plated two runs in each of the last two innings to earn a come-from-behind, 11-8 win at Samford on Saturday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
With the loss, Samford fell to 0-2 on the young season. Valparaiso improved to 2-0.
Samford was led at the plate by Heath Quinn, who went 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs. Tripp Martin went 3-for-4 with an RBI, while Drew McWhorter, Tyler Filliben and Caleb Bryson drove in a run each for the Bulldogs.
Mark Donham (0-1) pitched one inning in relief, giving up two runs, just one earned, to take the loss on the mound for Samford.
For Valparaiso, Spencer Mahoney and Chris Manning had three hits and two RBIs each. Andrew Bynum had two hits and three RBI. Bryce Yoder (1-0) pitched 1 2/3 innings in relief to earn the win on the mound for the Crusaders.
Valparaiso jumped out to an early 3-0 lead with three runs in the top of the first inning. Bynum singled to drive in Mahoney for the game’s first run. Karch Kowalczyk later doubled to drive in Bynum and Manning for a three-run Valparaiso lead.
Samford came back with a run in the second inning and three runs in the third inning to take a 4-3 lead. In the second inning, Bryson doubled to right-center field to drive in McWhorter for Samford’s first run of the contest.
In the third inning, Martin singled down the left-field line to drive in T.J. Dixon to bring Samford to within one run. Quinn later doubled to drive in Martin to tie the score. Filliben later gave Samford the lead when he singled to center field to drive in Quinn.
The Crusaders took the lead again with three runs in the top of the fifth inning. Manning, Bynum and Andy Burns drove in a run each in the inning to give Valparaiso a 6-4 lead.
Samford cut the lead to 6-5 with a run in the bottom of the fifth inning. McWhorter singled to left field to drive in Jared Watson to cut the Valparaiso lead to one run.
Valparaiso added another run in the top of the sixth inning to make the score 7-5. Mahoney doubled to drive in Nate Palace for a two-run Crusader lead.
Samford plated three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to take an 8-7 lead. Quinn doubled to right-center field to drive in Martin and Watson to tie the score. Quinn later scored when McWhorter reached base on an error to give Samford the lead.
Valparaiso came back with two runs in the eighth inning and two more in the ninth to take an 11-8 lead. In the eighth inning, Bynum and Michael Morman drove in a run each to give Valpo a 9-8 lead. In the ninth inning, Mahoney and Manning had an RBI each for a three-run Crusader lead.
Samford and Valparaiso will conclude their series with a game Sunday at 1 p.m. CT at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
Dayton 14, Wofford 5
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – On Saturday evening, the Wofford baseball team was defeated 14-5 in its season opener by the Dayton Flyers at Russell C. King Field. The Flyers used a 10-run sixth inning to retake the lead and pull away from the Terriers.
Wofford is now 0-1 on the season and Dayton is 1-0 overall. The Terriers had two players with three hits each and two with two hits. Aaron Huesman led the Flyers with two home runs and seven RBIs on the night.
The Flyers took the first lead in the ball game in the top of the third inning, 2-0. A.J. Ryan hit an RBI single with one out, scoring Robby Sunderman from second. Then Huesman singled to center to score Alex Harris.
In the top of third, the Terriers responded with two runs of their own to tie the game back up, 2-2. Senior center fielder Josh Hyman led off with a single to center and then sophomore designated hitter Alec Paradowski singled down the right-field line. Both runners advanced an additional base on a throwing error by the right fielder. Senior second baseman Seth Neely would then record an RBI as he grounded out to the shortstop to score Hyman and advance Paradowski to third. Junior first baseman Conor Clancy would then knock in Wofford’s final run of the inning as his single down the right-field line scored Paradowski from third.
It wasn’t until the bottom of the fifth inning that the Terriers took their first lead of the game, 3-2. Demetrius Jennings led off the inning singling through the left side. After Jennings advanced to second on a ground out, Neely took advantage with a runner in scoring position, knocking in Jennings with an RBI single to left field.
Dayton would respond with a huge 10-run inning in the sixth to take a commanding 12-3 lead over Wofford. After the Flyers loaded the bases, Kuris Duggan tied the score at 3-3 when he singled to left, scoring the tying run. Dayton would then take the lead, 4-3, with one out in the inning as Sunderman was walked with the bases loaded. Dayton would highlight its 10-run inning with a grand slam from Huesman, his first home run of the game.
The Flyers would tack on two more runs in the seventh to make the score 14-3 after Huesman hit his second homer of the game with a man on base and two outs.
The Terriers scored their final runs of the ballgame in the eighth and ninth innings to make the final score 14-5. Junior right fielder James Plaisted flied out to center field, scoring Neely from third base with one out in the bottom of the eighth, and Paradowski scored Jennings from third with an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth.
Wofford starter Matthew Milburn went 4 2/3 innings and allowed two runs on four hits with five strikeouts. Jesse Morris (0-1) threw a third of an inning and took the loss, giving up four runs on one hit with one strikeout.
Dayton starter Noah Buettgen (1-0) threw six innings and allowed three runs on nine hits with five strikeouts. Nick Gobert went three innings with four hits allowed and gave up two runs.
Wofford will host Ball State on Sunday for a 2:30 p.m. contest. On Monday, the Terriers will take on Morehead State for a 5 p.m. matchup at Russell C. King Field.
No. 2 Mississippi State 6, Western Carolina 1
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Second-ranked Mississippi State used a pair of three-run innings on Saturday to pull even in the three-game series, downing Western Carolina, 6-1, at Dudy Noble Field. The Bulldogs pushed across a trio of runs in the home halves of both the fourth and eighth innings to even the season-opening series.
Sunday’s series rubber-match is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. CT. Transfer graduate student RHP T.J. Fussell is scheduled to get the starting nod for the Catamounts, while RHP Ben Bracewell will get the start for MSU.
In a role reversal from Friday night’s season opener, it was Mississippi State that got the strong pitching performance from a junior right-hander. One night after WCU’s Jeremy Null stymied one of the SEC’s preseason favorites, MSU’s Trevor Fitts returned the favor in game two. Fitts recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts while limiting the potent Catamount offense to one run on seven hits with just two walks over six innings to earn the victory.
Three relievers from Mississippi State’s bullpen held the Catamounts hitless over the final three frames, surrendering three walks to represent WCU’s lone base-runners in the final third of the game.
Western Carolina senior starter Jordan Smith (0-1) struck out seven Bulldog batters in 4 1/3 innings of work as the first of nine Catamount hurlers to toe the rubber. The Liberty, N.C., native was touched for three runs on four hits while allowing six walks, though just one runner that was issued a free pass scored.
In addition to Smith’s seven Ks, three Catamount relievers tallied strikeouts, including one apiece from Bryce Danielson and Alex Barr with transfer Taylor Durand fanning two in his WCU debut.
For a second straight day, Western Carolina (1-1) threatened in the top of the first inning against the Bulldogs. Bradley Strong belted a one-out single to right field, with Cody Jones moving him into scoring position with a single up the middle. However, WCU was unable to bring home a run.
Two frames later, the Catamounts again threatened to break the ice as Aaron Attaway singled on the second pitch of the frame, with Jones delivering his second base hit of the contest to put two aboard. Yet, back-to-back strikeouts as a part of four consecutive WCU punch outs ended the third inning.
Mississippi State (1-1) broke through in the fourth inning as Brett Pirtle singled through the right side ahead of Cody Brown, who drove home the game’s first run on a triple to right-center field. With Brown clinging to third base, a pair of walks to Derrick Armstrong and Gavin Collins loaded the bases for the Bulldogs. Outfielder Jake Vickerson then drove home two runs on a single to right field, handing the home squad a 3-0 advantage.
Half an inning later, the Catamounts trimmed the Bulldog lead back to two with a solo run. Bradley Strong struck out but reached on a wild pitch before swiping second base to move into scoring position. Two wild pitches later, Strong raced home to make light the scoreboard, making it 3-1.
The two-run margin stood as the Bulldogs continued to work around the Catamount offense, stranding five WCU base-runners between the sixth and eighth innings. Mississippi State then pulled away in the eighth with three runs on four hits with a hit batter and walk in the frame.
All told, WCU stranded 12 base runners in the loss, including six that were in scoring position.
Jones led the six Catamounts with base hits, finishing 2-for-5 on the day with Bradley Strong (hit, walk), Matt Smith (hit, walk), Dale Urquhart, Jr. (hit, walk) and junior Jacob Hoyle (two walks) each reaching twice on Saturday. Strong added a game-high two stolen bases for the Catamounts.
For Mississippi State, first baseman Wes Rea drove home two runs on a 1-for-3 outing with Brown delivering the lone extra-base hit of the contest with the RBI triple. Third baseman Alex Detz (2-for-5) and Brett Pirtle (2-for-3) paced the Bulldogs with four of the nine hits.