UNCG 11, Wake Forest 10 (10 innings)
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG baseball team earned its second walk-off victory over an opponent from the Atlantic Coast Conference this season Tuesday evening as junior infielder Hunter King clubbed a leadoff home run to left-center in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Spartans a wild 11-10 win over Wake Forest at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
While King may have been the eventual hero in the contest, junior outfielder Zac MacAneney had a career day at the dish, going 5-for-6 with three runs scored. King would finish the day with two hits in four at-bats to go along with two runs scored and three RBIs. Additionally, senior infielder Sean Guite tallied two hits, three runs scored and a RBI.
The teams combined for 21 runs on 27 hits, but the Demon Deacons were ultimately done in by seven wild pitches by their pitching staff and three defensive errors.
Junior RHP Tyler Frazier (0-1) picked up his first victory of the season, throwing a scoreless 10th inning, allowing no hits, walking one batter and striking out two. Aaron Fossas (2-1) was saddled with the loss for Wake Forest as he pitched one inning, giving up two runs on three hits and walking two.
Spartan starter and senior RHP Dylan Thompson pitched arguably his finest game in a UNCG uniform, hurling a career-high 5 1/3 innings while allowing four runs (two earned) on five hits and fanning three. He retired the first nine batters he faced in three perfect innings to start the contest.
The Spartans struck first in the bottom of the third inning. Guite was hit by a pitch before MacAneney laid down a great bunt that he beat out for an infield single. A pair of wild pitches would allow Guite to score before Marrero walked to keep the line moving. Redshirt freshman infielder Julian Abreu plated the second run of the inning on a sacrifice fly to left. Another wild pitch and a throwing error by the shortstop accounted for another pair of runs as UNCG would lead 4-0 after three complete.
The visitors had an answer, scoring two runs on four hits in the top of the fourth, but the Spartans responded in the bottom of the frame. Guite led off with a double down the right-field line and MacAneney laid down his second bunt single of the afternoon to put runners on the corners. Marrero reached on an error by the pitcher that allowed Guite to score the first run of the inning before Abreu was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs. MacAneney then scored on a wild pitch and King poked a RBI single through the left side to extend the UNCG lead to 7-2 after four innings.
Wake Forest kept the score close, netting two runs on a hit and a Spartan error in the top of the fifth, but an RBI single by Marrero in the bottom of the inning left the score at 8-4 entering the sixth.
The teams played scoreless baseball in the sixth and seventh innings as UNCG looked to put the game away. The Demon Deacons had other ideas, however, putting together a four-run eighth inning to knot the score at 8. A double and a single against Spartan junior LHP Caleb Henley resulted in the first run before redshirt junior LHP Blair Betts was called upon to put out the fire. He could not contain the Wake Forest offense, however, plunking the first batter he faced before giving up an RBI single and a two-RBI double to account for the visitors’ final three runs of the inning.
UNCG was able to edge back in front in the bottom of the eighth as MacAneney singled up the middle to start the half inning and advanced to second on a throwing error at short. Marrero moved him to third on a sacrifice bunt before Abreu was walked intentionally. King then poked a ball over the pitcher’s head that was deep enough to score MacAneney on the fielder’s choice play and give the Blue and Gold a 9-8 advantage.
Freshman RHP Adam Swim came on to pitch the top of the ninth in a potential save opportunity. Things started out well for the rookie hurler as he struck out leadoff batter Jack Carey looking. However, after Swim issued a walk to Ben Breazeale, the next two batters recorded singles to score the first run and Evan Stephens tallied a sacrifice fly to give WFU its first lead of the day at 10-9.
Down to its last three outs, UNCG received a leadoff single from junior designated hitter Aaron Wright before sophomore catcher Jake Hall walked and junior outfielder Tyler Long followed with a single through the right side to load the bases with no outs. Guite then worked a walk to score pinch-runner and junior outfielder Nick Chapman, tying the contest at 10 apiece. With the bases still loaded and no outs on the board, UNCG could not find the winning tally and the game went to extra innings.
Frazier quickly retired the first two Wake batters in the top of the 10th, but his error on Nate Mondou’s grounded to the mound allowed Mondou to reach third base. Carey drew a walk to put runners at the corners, but Frazier came through with a huge strikeout of Breazeale to keep the Demon Deacons off of the scoreboard.
King wasted little time in the bottom of the 10th as he took the first pitch he saw and drove it far over the wall in left-center to seal the walk-off victory.
UNCG continues its seven-game homestand Wednesday, welcoming local rival High Point to the UNCG Baseball Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Wofford 10, Charleston Southern 4
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – In the first road game of the season, the Wofford baseball team earned a 10-4 win over Charleston Southern at CSU Ballpark on Tuesday. The Terriers were down after three innings but came back with seven unanswered runs for a fifth straight win.
Wofford moved to 5-3 on the season and Charleston Southern is 6-2. The Terriers had three players with two hits each, while Carson Waln had three RBIs. Wofford had seven stolen bases on the night. The Bucs had four players with two hits each but left eight runners on base.
Wofford opened the second inning with a single by Demetrius Jennings and a walk to Conor Clancey. Derek Hirsch reached on an error that scored Jennings for a 1-0 lead. A double by Josh Hyman with one out gave the Terriers a 3-0 advantage.
In the bottom of the third with two outs, Charleston Southern got one run back on an RBI double. An RBI single and a two-run double by Nick Berry gave the Bucs a 4-3 lead at the end of three.
After a scoreless fourth inning, Seth Neely led off the top of the fifth with a double and Eric Brenk walked with one out. Neely was thrown out at home on a double steal, but the Terriers tied the game at 4-4 with a hit and run single up the middle by Jennings to score Brenk from second. Conor Clancey was hit by pitch and Hirsch walked to load the bases. Waln was hit by a pitch to bring in Jennings for a 5-4 lead. A strikeout ended the top of the fifth with the bases loaded.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Bucs had two runners reach on walks but a strikeout ended the scoring chance. Brenk opened the seventh inning with a single up the middle and then stole second. After Jennings was hit by a pitch, a double down the right-field line by Clancey drove in both runners for a 7-4 lead. Clancey moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Waln for an 8-4 score.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Bucs had two hits but left runners on the corners. Wofford led off the top of the ninth with a walk to Jennings. He moved to second on a stolen base and third on a wild pitch. Kody Ruedisili had a pinch-hit walk and he stole second. A ground out by Hirsch scored Jennings for a 9-4 lead. Ruedisili stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly by Waln to make it a 10-4 game.
Wofford starter Jesse Morris (2-1) went five innings with four runs allowed on seven hits, along with four strikeouts.
Charleston Southern starter Denis Buckley went 1 1/3 innings with three runs allowed on four hits and a strikeout. Kyle McDorman (0-1) threw 3 1/3 innings and gave up two runs on two hits with two strikeouts.
The Terriers return home to host Longwood for a three-game weekend series beginning on Friday at 5 p.m.
Elon 3, UNCW 2
ELON, N.C. – Three freshman Elon pitchers kept the UNCW Seahawks at bay and a senior came in to slam the door as the Phoenix scored one run in the last of the eighth to claim a 3-2 victory over its future CAA rival.
Elon won its fourth straight to improve to 6-1. UNCW fell to 4-4.
With the game even at 2 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Sebastian Gomez drew a leadoff walk and headed to second on a sacrifice bunt. Phoenix skipper Mike Kennedy then turned to his bench for pinch-hitter Wil Leathers, who promptly lined a 1-0 pitch to left. Gomez raced around third and the throw to the plate was perfect, but Gomez was able to get his hand under the tag to score the winning run.
Freshman Matt Harris got the start for the maroon and gold and allowed just five hits and two runs while fanning eight Seahawk hitters in five innings. He was replaced by freshman Graham Edwards (1-0), who picked up the victory with three scoreless frames. A third freshman, Dimitri Lettas came on the start the ninth and retired the one hitter he faced before giving way to senior Ryan Pennell. Pennell claimed his second save of the year by striking out both batters he faced.
Elon was the first to get on the board and scored single runs in the first and second. In the first, Danny Lynch plated one with a ground out. The second tally came on Quinn Bower's infield single.
UNCW battled back with two in the third to tie it. Drew Farber led off with a single and the Seahawks would eventually load the bases with nobody out. Robbie Thorburn would drive home two with a double to right before Harris struck out the next three hitters to snuff out the rally.
The loss went to Kelly Secrest (1-1). He was charged with one run on one hit in one inning of work.
Elon is back in action on Wednesday at 3 p.m. at North Carolina A&T.
The Citadel 4, Rhode Island 3
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Brett Tompkins turned in the best outing of his Bulldog career, allowing only two hits and one run in a career-long six innings to lift The Citadel to a 4-3 win over Rhode Island on Tuesday evening at Riley Park.
The Bulldogs (3-5) snapped a five-game losing streak in the opener of an eight-game homestand. The Citadel hosts Charlotte on Wednesday at 5 p.m. before Nebraska visits Riley Park for a three-game series beginning Friday.
In the eighth start and second victory of his career, Tompkins threw only 67 pitches with 48 strikes to get through his six innings. The Rams reached him for a pair of one-out singles in the second and scored their lone run against him on an RBI ground out by TJ Lynch.
Only three Rhode Island batters reached over Tompkins' final four innings, including a leadoff walk in the sixth. But the junior right-hander proceeded to get a pair of infield pop ups to second and a fly out to center to finish his night with The Citadel in front 4-1.
The six innings bettered by one his longest previous mound stint of five hurled against North Florida on May 1, 2012.
David Rivera worked a perfect seventh before the Rams scored a pair of runs off Zach Sherrill in the eighth on two walks and a two-run double to left center by Pat Quinn on which Hughston Armstrong just missed making a running catch on the warning track.
Closer Skylar Hunter ran into some trouble in the ninth, allowing a two-out double and a walk, before striking out pinch-hitter Chase Livingston to finish off his second save of the season and 15th of his career.
The Citadel stranded five runners in the first two innings against Rhode Island starter Milan Mantle before taking the lead with two runs in the third. After Calvin Orth doubled for his first extra-base hit of the season and Bo Thompson walked, Drew DeKerlegand drove in the tying run when his single plated Orth.
Johnathan Stokes followed with another hit to load the bases, and Bailey Rush gave the Bulldogs a lead they would never relinquish on a sacrifice fly to left. Mason Davis doubled and scored on a Griffin single in the fourth, and an inning later, Stokes doubled and came across on a single by Rush.
Davis, Stokes and DeKerlegand each had two hits, and Davis swiped three bases, one shy of his career high set against Davidson during his freshman season in 2012. The Bulldogs had a total of five stolen bases on the night, including one by Thompson, the third of his career.
No. 6 NC State 7, Davidson 5
DAVIDSON, N.C. – Davidson was unable to overcome a grand slam by Chance Shepard, as No. 6 NC State defeated the Wildcats, 7-5, in nonconference baseball action Tuesday evening on Doak Field at Dail Park.
The game was tied 1-1 entering the fourth inning, but with one run across, the bases loaded and none out, Shepard (1-for-4) slugged his first home run of the season over the fence in left field to give NC State (7-1) a 6-1 lead.
Davidson (2-3) did not fold, though, as freshman RHP Westin Whitmire came on to end the inning, and the Wildcats answered with four runs in the top of the fifth inning. The ‘Cats strung together back-to-back-to-back singles to load the bases, and then the fourth consecutive hit, by third baseman David Daniels (2-for-5), drove in two runs. Designated hitter Ryan Lowe (1-for-3, 2 BB) hit Davidson’s fifth straight single to load the bases again. Freshman first baseman Brian Fortier (1-for-4) then hit into a fielder’s choice to drive in a run, and a throwing error on the play allowed another run to score.
However, RHP Andrew Woeck (1-0) entered in the fifth for NC State and was able to keep the Wildcats’ bats in check. Over four innings, he struck out five, allowed three hits and two walks and worked out of a bases-loaded jam with one out in the seventh inning. RHP Jon Olczak (2) retired the side in the ninth inning for the save.
Center fielder Forrest Brandt led the ‘Cats at the plate, going 3-for-5, while Fortier joined Daniels with a team-best two RBIs.
LHP Rob Bain (0-1) allowed six runs (five earned) on six hits and two walks in three-plus innings of work. The ‘Cats’ bullpen was solid, with four pitchers combining to limit the Wolfpack to one run on five hits and a walk with four strikeouts over the final five innings. Whitmire led the effort pitching two innings, also getting in and out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning. RHP Matt Saeta was perfect with two strikeouts in 1 1/3 innings of work.
Four NC State batters had two-hit games, led by center fielder Jake Fincher. Fincher, the hero for NC State in last year’s meeting, also walked and had two RBIs, including an RBI single in sixth inning for the final margin.
The Wildcats will return to Wilson Field to host Miami (Ohio) for a three-game series beginning Friday at 6 p.m.
No. 22 North Carolina 12, Appalachian State 1
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Appalachian State University pitchers issued walks to five of North Carolina’s first six batters of the game and never recovered in a 12-1 loss to the 22nd-ranked Tar Heels on Tuesday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium.
The first two innings were disastrous for Appalachian State (0-8). The game began with the Mountaineers loading the bases in the top of the first only to not push any runs across, which proved to be an omen for what was to come in the next inning-and-a-half.
In the bottom of the first, Appalachian starter Blake Burkett missed the strike zone on 16 of the 23 pitches he threw and walked four of five batters he faced, with the only Tar Heel hitter that he didn’t walk reaching on an error. After Burkett exited the game, reliever Payton Smith walked his first batter on four pitches then allowed a sacrifice fly, a single and a double. Smith struck out two to get out of the inning but not before North Carolina (4-3) had taken a commanding 6-0 lead.
In the second inning, it was Appalachian’s defense that faltered, as the Mountaineers committed three more errors that led to three unearned runs and stretched UNC’s lead to 9-0.
Appalachian got on the board in the third on a two-out RBI single by Tyler Zupcic but North Carolina plated one run in the third and two in the eighth to close out the scoring.
Michael Pierson had two of Appalachian State’s five hits, while Dallas DeVrieze highlighted an overall strong showing by Appalachian’s bullpen with four innings of no-hit relief. The left-handed freshman struck out four and walked one.
No. 9 hitter Joe Dudek had two of North Carolina’s nine hits, while he, Parks Jordan, Tom Zengel and Korey Dunbar drove in two runs apiece. UNC starting pitcher Luis Paula (1-0) struck out five and allowed just three hits over 4 2/3 innings to earn the win.
Appalachian State returns to the Triangle for the third time in a week on Friday when it travels to Cary, N.C., to participate in Notre Dame’s Irish Baseball Classic at the USA Baseball Complex. Appalachian plays the first of its three games at the tournament versus Youngstown State on Friday at 2 p.m.
Georgia 6, Furman 4
ATHENS, Ga. – Robert Tyler pitched five innings of solid relief to lead Georgia past Furman, 6-4 in college baseball action Tuesday afternoon at Foley Field.
The win snapped Georgia’s three-game losing streak to Furman, which had also beaten the Bulldogs (2-5) in four of the last five meetings. The loss was the fourth straight for the Paladins (3-5), who will play three games this weekend in Florida beginning with a 1 p.m. Friday matchup against Maine at Stetson University in DeLand, Fla.
Tyler (1-0) came on in the fifth inning in relief of starter Patrick Boling with a 5-3 lead and kept Furman in check for all but one frame. The Paladins bunched a pair of hits with a walk to push across a run in the sixth to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 5-4, but Tyler bounced back to retire the Paladins in order in the seventh, eighth and ninth to earn the victory.
Georgia grabbed a 4-0 lead in the second off Paladin starting and losing pitcher Matthew Quarles (0-1), a freshman right-hander from Greenwood, S.C., making only his second collegiate start. After Zack Bowers and Daniel Nichols opened the inning with singles, Bowers came home on a fielder’s choice and throwing error. The Bulldogs loaded the bases on a walk, after which Nichols raced home on a passed ball to make it 2-0. Georgia tacked on two unearned runs before Quarles could get out of the inning.
Furman answered with a three-run fourth on Andrew MacLatchie’s two-out, two-run single and RBI double to left field by Overton that scored MacLatchie.
Georgia tallied single runs in the fourth and fifth off freshman reliever Billy Greenfield to make it 6-3, and that proved enough behind Tyler’s strong relief work.
Both teams registered seven hits.
Furman was paced at the plate by Jordan Simpson’s 2-for-4 performance. MacLatchie and Overton drove in two runs apiece for the Paladins.
Bowers had two hits to lead Georgia, and Nichols scored two of the Bulldogs’ six runs.
Tyler allowed only one run on two hits and walk while striking out six.