UNCG 9, Duke 8 (12 innings)
GREENSBORO, N.C. – A marathon opening contest for the UNCG baseball team saw the Spartans score three runs in the bottom of the 12th inning to down Atlantic Coast Conference member Duke 9-8 Tuesday at the UNCG Baseball Stadium. The win marked the fifth straight season lid-lifting victory for the Spartans.
The contest lasted more than five hours and was the longest game for UNCG since a 12-inning, 8-7 loss to Princeton on March 15, 2010, at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Redshirt freshman outfielder Julian Abreu finished the contest 3-for-7 at the dish with three runs batted in – including the winning two-run single in the bottom of the 12th. Junior infielder Hunter King was also 3-for-7 at the plate with a pair of RBIs as eight Spartans recorded at least one hit in the ballgame.
Junior outfielder Zac MacAneney paced the Blue and Gold in runs scored with three to go along with a pair of hits. As for Duke, Chris Marconcini was 4-for-4 with two RBIs and three runs scored.
Andrew Istler (0-1) took the loss for the Blue Devils (2-2), throwing 2/3 of an inning and giving up three unearned runs in the 12th. Junior LHP Caleb Henley (1-0) picked up the win for UNCG (1-0) – going 1 2/3 innings and allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits with three strikeouts. Junior RHP Max Povse earned the start for the Spartans and went two innings, giving up two runs on three hits with three strikeouts.
The Spartans piled up the hits in the contest with 15 base knocks, including a double by MacAneney. UNCG out-hit the Blue Devils 15-12 and the teams combined for three errors in an otherwise well-played contest. The Blue and Gold pitching staff combined for 14 strikeouts, while three of the eight pitchers did not allow a run and no Spartan pitcher gave up more than two. All told, the teams combined to throw 15 pitchers in the game.
UNCG had a chance to end the game in the bottom of the ninth, but after Abreu and junior infielder Aaron Wright led off with back-to-back singles, sophomore catcher Jake Hall put down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners. Junior outfielder L.J. Kalawaia was walked intentionally, bringing up senior infielder Sean Guite. Guite would strike out looking before MacAneney put a nice at-bat together, including a flare to left that just fell in foul ground, but he eventually flew out to left-center to terminate the threat.
Duke put together a bases-loaded threat in the 10th, but junior RHP Adam Boghosian worked out of it with a popup and strikeout. The Blue Devils finally broke through with two runs on two hits and a Spartan error in the top of the 12th and looked to have put the game away.
Kalawaia struck out swinging to begin the bottom of the frame, but Guite reached on an error by the Blue Devil shortstop and MacAneney singled through the right side to put runners on first and second. Redshirt sophomore infielder Nin Marrero followed with a base knock through the left side to load the bags for junior outfielder Nick Chapman. Chapman would strike out looking, leaving it up to King to prolong the contest. He did just that, beating out a throw from second base that allowed Guite to score and slice the UNCG deficit to 8-7. Abreu then battled to his final strike but came through with a flare single to left-center that fell just in front of the left fielder and allowed MacAneney and Marrero to score from second and third – sealing the opening-day victory.
Duke struck first in the top of the second, plating two runs on two hits thanks to an RBI single by Jordan Betts and an RBI double by Mark Lumpa. After the Blue Devils tacked on another run in the top of the third, the Spartans answered with a tally in the bottom of the inning when Chapman produced a sacrifice fly that scored MacAneney, who had led off with a double.
UNCG enjoyed a big inning in the fifth, recording five runs on three hits. Hall singled to start things and advanced to third when he executed a perfect hit-and-run on Guite’s one-out single. With runners at first and third, MacAneney was subsequently hit by a pitch to load the bases. Hall would score on a wild pitch before Marrero and Chapman drew consecutive walks, resulting in the second run. King then came through with an RBI single, Abreu scored on a fielder’s choice and Wright tacked on a sacrifice fly to complete the scoring.
With the Spartans leading 6-4 after six innings, Duke scratched across a run in the seventh thanks to a wild pitch to cut its deficit to one. Andrew Perez would tie the contest in the top of the eighth with a one-out sacrifice fly – setting up the late-game drama.
The Blue and Gold faces a quick turnaround, returning to the diamond Wednesday with a home contest against UNC Asheville. First pitch at the UNCG Baseball Stadium is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Furman 5, East Tennessee State 3
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Ryan Morse pitched three solid innings of relief and got a pair of runs in support to help Furman beat East Tennessee State, 5-3, in baseball action Tuesday afternoon at Thomas Stadium.
The win improved Furman to 3-1 on the season, while East Tennessee State, which will rejoin the Southern Conference next year, fell to 2-2 on the young season.
Morse (1-0) entered the game in the fifth inning in relief of Paladin freshman starter Matthew Quarles with a 3-2 lead but watched as two two-out errors behind him allowed the Buccaneers to score an unearned run and tie the game.
The Paladins answered in their next at-bat, as Hunter Burton reached on a two-out bunt single and scored on a Greg Harrison double to center field to give Furman a 4-3 lead.
Furman added another run in the seventh after Jordan Simpson tripled to right-center field off East Tennessee State reliever Kameron Miller and came home on pinch-hitter Jake Jones’ groundout.
Morse retired the Buccaneers in order in the seventh and exited the contest after allowing just one unearned run, one hit and a walk over three frames. The junior left-hander struck out two.
Brant Masters pitched a scoreless eighth, and Harrison worked a perfect ninth to earn his first collegiate save and preserve the victory.
Furman banged out 13 hits in the contest, led by Burton, who went 3-for-5, scored two runs and stole three bases.
Chris Ohmstede also had three hits, and Griffin Davis registered two base knocks for the Paladins.
Furman navigated around four errors that led to only one unearned run and was assisted by three double plays. The Paladins stranded 12 runners in the contest.
Freshman starting pitcher Quarles allowed a pair of runs on six hits in four innings of work. He owned a 2-0 lead until the third when the Buccaneers’ Clinton Freeman stroked a two-out, two-run double to tie the contest.
East Tennessee registered eight hits, including two by Tyler Roach.
Jamin McCann (0-1) was charged with the loss after yielding Harrison’s RBI double in the sixth. He surrendered five hits in two innings of work.
Furman will open a three-game home series against VCU this Friday at Latham Stadium, with first pitch set for 4 p.m.
Western Carolina 8, Winthrop 0
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina broke a scoreless tie in the home half of the fifth inning, pushing across five runs on three hits en route to blanking the visiting Winthrop Eagles, 8-0, Tuesday afternoon in the 2014 home opener at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
Three Catamounts finished with multi-hit games, as junior Bradley Strong posted a 2-for-4 outing with a pair of doubles and two RBIs. Senior Luke Gragg finished 2-for-3 with a run scored, while classmate Dykota Spiess broke through for his first hits of the season, finishing 2-for-3 with a double and a sacrifice bunt that helped key WCU’s fifth-inning rally.
Just days after earning his first collegiate save out of the bullpen, Catamount freshman left-hander Bryan Sammons (1-0) scored the victory after tossing three innings of scoreless, one-hit relief on Tuesday. The Wilmington, N.C., native struck out three, facing nine batters in relief of starter Colton Davis, who scattered four hits with four Ks through the first three frames.
All told, Western Carolina’s seven pitchers combined for 11 strikeouts, with relievers Bryce Danielson and Jonathan Waszak posting one apiece and Alex Barr punching out two in the ninth inning. Sophomore transfer Taylor Durand and junior Danny Schneider also saw action on the mound in the first home game of the season.
Neither team was able to muster much offense through the first four frames in the 19th all-time meeting on the diamond between the two programs. Winthrop (2-1) threatened in the third by loading the bases with back-to-back singles by Leighton Daniels and Kyle Edwards and a one-out walk. However, Davis rallied to record two consecutive strikeouts to leave the bases loaded and the goose eggs on the scoreboard.
Combined, the two squads stranded just five base runners through four frames.
Momentum started to turn in the fifth inning, though, as Gragg led off with his second hit of the game, followed by a single to center by redshirt senior Taylor Sandefur. Spiess then perfectly executed a sacrifice bunt to put both runners in scoring position with just one out. Pinch-hitter Dale Urquhart Jr. drew a five pitch walk to load the bases, with the Catamounts lighting the scoreboard after Bradley Strong wore an inside pitch for an HBP from reliever Michael Gilroy on the first batter he faced.
Ahead 1-0, Jones drove a 2-1 pitch down the right-field line for a two-base hit, scoring both Sandefur and Urquhart for a three-run lead. Strong then scampered home on a wild pitch, with Aaron Attaway plating a run on a sacrifice fly ball to right field to cap the five-run frame.
In the sixth inning, the Catamounts scratched the board for two more runs to pull ahead by seven. Senior Adam Martin led off with a single to left on the first pitch of the inning before later scoring from second base on a RBI double to right center by Spiess. The next batter, Reece Strong, then sharply singled to right field to drive Spiess home for a 7-0 lead.
WCU capped scoring in the eighth as Bradley Strong laced his second double of the game to right field, plating freshman Dylan Private, who drew a one-out walk in his collegiate debut.
Winthrop starter Josh Strong (0-1) took the loss despite limiting the Catamounts to just two runs on three hits through 4 1/3 innings. Strong countered a walk with a strikeout, finishing with 61 pitches and 36 strikes. Four of the five Eagle relievers surrendered runs as the Catamounts scored the shutout victory – their first since a 3-0 home win over Wofford in game one of a doubleheader in the regular-season championship-clinching weekend.
Eagle centerfielder T.J. Olesczuk reached four times in the losing effort, finishing 3-for-3 with a walk to account for half of Winthrop’s base hits. Catcher Zac Goodno tallied the Eagles’ lone extra base hit with a double but was gunned out on the play trying to stretch it into a triple.
Western Carolina opens a four-game nonconference road swing across the country on Friday, returning last year’s trip to Cullowhee by visiting Washington State in Pullman, Wash. Game one is scheduled for 6 p.m. PT / 9 p.m. ET.
No. 6 NC State 12, Elon 7
ELON, N.C. – Finally able to return to its home field, the Elon Phoenix baseball team could not recover from an early deficit and fell by a 12-7 margin to sixth-ranked NC State on Tuesday night.
The Wolfpack (2-1) jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning thanks to a passed ball, a two-RBI single from Jake Armstrong and a Kyle Cavanaugh RBI double.
Elon (2-1) got one back on Ryan Cooper's RBI groundout in the last of the first.
After NC State upped its edge to 7-1 in the second, Elon chipped away with single runs in the second (Tyler McVicar solo homer) and fifth. Down 7-2 in the fifth, the Phoenix saw its first two runners reach and had second and third with one away but was only able to push across one run on an RBI groundout from Casey Jones.
NC State would score four more in the sixth and one in the seventh to complete its scoring. Elon plated one in the sixth before seeing three runners cross home plate in the ninth, including two on a Nick Zammarelli single.
Elon starter Tyler Manez (0-1) suffered the loss. He gave up four runs on three hits in one inning.
Picking up the victory for NC State was Brad Stone, who allowed four runs on six hits in 5 1/3 innings of work.
The Phoenix will be back in action this weekend as it plays host to Wagner. The series begins on Friday with a 2 p.m. start, a change from the originally scheduled start time of 4 p.m.
USC Upstate 6, The Citadel 2
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The USC Upstate bullpen limited The Citadel to only four hits over six shutout innings, leading the Spartans to a 6-2 victory over the Bulldogs on Tuesday at Harley Park in Spartanburg.
Hughston Armstrong went 4-for-4, including an RBI single in the third, to help pull The Citadel (2-2) within 3-2. Zac Manuppelli came in to relieve starter Austin Goss in the fourth and worked 5 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts before Daniel Seeba got the final out in the ninth to earn the save for Upstate (3-2).
The Spartans bunched together six hits and scored three times in the first two innings off Bulldog starter Kevin Connell. The Citadel wasted a scoring opportunity in the second after loading the bases with one out but was able to reach Goss for its only two runs in the third.
Mason Davis walked to lead off the frame and went to third on a stolen base and throwing error. Armstrong plated Davis with a single to left, and Tyler Griffin drove in Armstrong with a sharp base hit to right with still nobody out.
But, as in the second, the Bulldogs were unable to create a big inning. Two fly outs and a diving stop by Upstate first baseman Zach Krider on a smash off the bat of Johnathan Stokes kept the Spartans in front 3-2. The Citadel left five runners on base in the second and third innings and a total of 10 in the game.
The bullpens took over for the next several innings, as neither team was able to score until Upstate pushed three across in the seventh to break the game open. The Citadel had two hits in the fifth, and Manuppelli walked a pair with two outs in the ninth before Seeba moved over from third base to retire Bo Thompson on a liner to right to end the game.
Zach McKay worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the Upstate fifth, and Ross White tossed a perfect sixth with two strikeouts for the Bulldogs.
The Citadel now heads to Orlando, Fla., for the UCF Baseball Tournament, facing Oklahoma on Friday, Ohio State on Saturday and the host Knights on Sunday. The first two games begin at noon, while Sunday’s contest is at 2 p.m.
Wake Forest 4, Davidson 3 (12 innings)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wake Forest forced extra innings in the bottom of the ninth inning and scored the game-deciding run on a hit-by-pitch in the 12th to defeat Davidson, 4-3, in nonconference baseball action Tuesday evening at Wake Forest Baseball Park.
Davidson (0-1), playing its season opener, had led since the third inning, but Wake Forest (3-2) rallied from a 3-1 deficit, scoring a run in the sixth inning and taking advantage of Davidson’s third error of the game in the ninth inning. Right fielder Joey Rodriguez (2-for-5) led off the bottom of the ninth by reaching on the misplay, and he later scored an unearned from third base on a sacrifice fly to right by Nate Mondou (0-for-5).
With the bases loaded in the 12th, Rodriguez’s replacement, Kevin Conway, was hit by a pitch from RHP Michael Goldberg (0-1), bringing home the game-winning run.
It was Davidson’s first season opener to go to extra innings since 1930, and the longest ever, besting an 11-inning game in 1924.
Ben Arkin (2-for-5), making just his second career start and first at second base, had given Davidson a 2-1 lead in the third inning with his first career home run. Left fielder Lee Miller (2-for-3) was on base after leading the frame off with a double. Miller also scored Davidson’s third run of the game, as he led the fifth inning off with a single, stole second with one out during Forrest Brandt’s (2-for-6) at-bat, and then crossed home plate when Brandt delivered with a line-drive single to left field.
Designated hitter Ryan Lowe also had a two-hit game for the Wildcats, tripling in the 10th inning with two outs and a full count. However, Wake Forest’s bullpen shutout Davidson over the final seven innings of the game. RHP Nate Jones yielded just one hit and struck out three in two innings of work, and RHP Aaron Fossas (1-0) struck out six and allowed just a hit and a walk in five innings to earn the win.
Wake Forest only plated one run in the first inning despite loading the bases with no outs. RHP Nick Neitzel surrendered a leadoff double and walked the next two batters, but sharp Wildcat defense resulted in a double play on a sacrifice fly. Neitzel was able to strike out the fifth batter of the inning on three pitches to complete the escape from the jam.
Neitzel was relieved in the third inning by LHP Rob Bain, who was in line for the win after pitching three scoreless innings and allowing two hits and a walk with three strikeouts. The Wildcats used six pitchers total.
Wake Forest starter RHP Connor Kaden led all pitchers with eight strikeouts in five innings. Centerfielder Evan Stephens and shortstop Connor Keniry led the Demon Deacons offensively with three hits each, including a double each.