Samford 13, UAB 5
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford baseball team plated 13 runs on 16 hits on its way to a 13-5 win over crosstown rival UAB Wednesday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
For the game, the Samford offense produced three home runs, five doubles and a triple. Individually, Tyler Filliben went 3-for-5 with a double, a triple and three RBIs. Hunter Swilling went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs. Drew McWhorter was 3-for-4 with a home run, a double and one RBI. Tripp Martin drove in four runs, going 1-for-2 with a home run. Heath Quinn also homered in a 1-for-4 performance. Jared Watson went 2-for-5 with an RBI.
Samford freshman pitcher Cody Pugh (1-0), in his first collegiate start, earned the win on the mound for the Bulldogs. He pitched five innings, allowing just one run on three hits. Pugh struck out six batters while allowing just two walks.
For UAB, Matthew Furuto went 3-for-3 at the plate. Matt Morse went 2-for-2 with an RBI for the Blazers. Sam Kelley (1-1) pitched 2/3 of an inning, allowing six runs, five earned, on seven hits.
Samford jumped on top early with six runs in the bottom of the first inning. Watson and Filliben hit back-to-back singles to get things started. Martin then homered to left field for a 3-0 Samford lead. With one out in the inning, McWhorter singled and Brandon Powell doubled, moving McWhorter to third base. Swilling then doubled to drive in Powell and McWhorter to make the score 5-0. With two outs, Watson singled to drive in Swilling for a 6-0 Samford lead.
The Bulldogs added seven runs in the third inning to push their lead to 13-0. Swilling led the inning off with a double, and Caleb Bryson then singled to drive in Swilling for the inning’s first run. T.J. Dixon then singled and Watson reached base on an error to load the bases. Filliben then hit a bases-clearing triple to make the score 10-0. Martin hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Filliben for an 11-0 lead. Quinn then hit a solo homer to make the score 12-0. McWhorter followed with a solo home run of his own for a 13-0 Samford lead.
UAB put its first run on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth inning. Adam Smith singled to center field to drive in Mitch Williams to make the score 13-1.
The Blazers plated four runs in the top of the sixth inning to make the score 13-5. Jeff Schalk, Jacob Armstrong, Williams and Morse drove in a run each in the inning for UAB.
The win was Samford’s ninth straight over UAB. Samford improved its season record to 3-4 with the win. UAB fell to 8-1 with the loss.
Samford will return to action on Friday, when the Bulldogs play host to Butler. The first pitch for Friday’s game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. CT at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
The Citadel 8, Charlotte 4
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel scored three times on bases-loaded walks and Mason Davis doubled in two runs to highlight a six-run rally in the eighth, giving The Citadel an 8-4 win over Charlotte on Wednesday evening at Riley Park.
The Bulldogs (4-5) have won the opening two games of their eight-game homestand, which continues this weekend when Nebraska visits Charleston for three contests beginning Friday at 5 p.m.
The win was the 750th for Bulldog head coach Fred Jordan, who has a 23-year record of 750-573, all at The Citadel.
Charlotte (2-4) led 4-2 heading into the bottom of the eighth and the pitching of starter Jason Harris and reliever Nate Traugh had limited The Citadel to only four hits and none since the fourth. Hughston Armstrong singled and was at second with two outs when 49er pitchers began struggling with their control.
Bo Thompson and Tyler Griffin walked to load the bases and another free pass issued to Drew DeKerlegand forced in the first run of the inning. Johnathan Stokes grounded a single into the hole at short to tie the game, and two more walks to Ryan Kilgallen and Bailey Rush gave the Bulldogs a 6-4 lead.
Davis put the finishing touches on the comeback with his two-base hit into the left-field corner, chasing home Stokes and Kilgallen to make it a four-run margin. Skylar Hunter closed out the win by making quick work of the 49ers in the ninth, retiring the side in order on only five pitches.
Zach Sherrill, the sixth of seven Bulldog pitchers, needed only six pitches in a 1-2-3 eighth and earned the win, improving to 2-0 on the season. Jordan Hudson walked the only two batters he faced and was charged with the loss.
The Citadel took a 2-0 lead in the fourth on the strength of a double by Griffin, a triple by DeKerlegand and a single by Stokes, all with two outs. It could have been a bigger inning had Charlotte left fielder Zach Jarrett not made a running catch on a line drive by Thompson to the warning track in left center.
The three-base hit for DeKerlegand was the 11th of his career, moving him into a tie for sixth in school history. The senior left fielder is also the active career leader among Southern Conference players in that category.
Austin Mason made his first appearance of the season after recovering from offseason shoulder surgery and threw 22 pitches in his one inning of work, allowing two infield hits and striking out a pair. Kevin Connell was the first Bulldog out of the bullpen and was very sharp, going three shutout innings and surrendering only a pair of hits while fanning two.
The 49ers reached Austin Livingston for two runs in the fifth and another in the sixth to take a 3-2 lead. Charlotte made it a two-run game with a single tally in the seventh before The Citadel staged its comeback.
Davis and Stokes both finished with two hits, and Davis stole his eighth base in as many attempts. Armstrong added two thefts, giving the Bulldogs eight steals over the past two games.
North Carolina A&T 5, Elon 3
GREENSBORO, N.C. – After falling behind early, the Elon Phoenix baseball team tried to rally but fell short of North Carolina A&T by a 5-3 score on Wednesday afternoon at War Memorial Stadium.
The Aggies (4-2) pushed across three first-inning runs thanks to two hits and an Elon error to claim an early lead. A&T's edge increased to 4-0 with an unearned run in the third before a Luke Tendler double in the fifth scored another to make it 5-0.
Elon (6-2) loaded the bases with a walk and two singles to begin the seventh inning. An RBI ground out by Casey Jones got the Phoenix on the board before an Aggie error allowed a second Phoenix run to score. Ryan Cooper picked up an RBI when he reached on a fielder's choice as the maroon and gold cut its deficit to just two runs, 5-3.
With one out in the eighth, Elon put two on before two ground outs ended the Phoenix's attempt to tie the score. The Phoenix also got the tying run to the plate in the ninth but could not push any runs across.
Tyler Manez (0-2) suffered the loss after giving up five runs (two earned) on four hits in 4 1/3 innings.
The win went to DarAmani Swift (1-0), who kept the Phoenix at bay for six innings despite allowing six hits and walking six hitters. He was charged with one run. Brian Poag tossed 1 2/3 scoreless innings to earn his first save of the year.
The Phoenix will return home to Latham Park this weekend when it hosts the Elon Invitational. Elon will face Saint Joseph's at 4 p.m. on Friday. The first game of the day will pit High Point against Gardner-Webb at noon.
High Point 7, UNCG 4
GREENSBORO, N.C. – High Point scored three runs in the first inning and never relinquished the lead in a 7-4 nonconference victory over the UNCG baseball team Wednesday evening inside the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
The Panthers improved to 5-4 overall, while the Spartans dropped to 4-5.
Freshman LHP Andrew George earned the first start of his collegiate career but also took his first loss, throwing 4 2/3 innings and allowing four runs on five hits with five walks and four strikeouts. Cas Siber was credited with the win for High Point as he pitched two innings of relief and gave up one run on no hits with three walks and two strikeouts.
UNCG junior outfielder Zac MacAneney had another great day at the dish, going 3-for-5 and scoring two runs. He was 5-for-6 Tuesday against Wake Forest and reached base in all six at-bats. Junior infielder Hunter King added three runs batted in to his week’s total, which is now six after he plated three runs in Tuesday’s walk-off victory.
Chris Clare paced the Panthers with three hits in five at-bats with one RBI.
High Point out-hit UNCG 13-8, while both teams made one error. The teams combined to issue 13 walks and tallied 17 strikeouts as both squads used five pitchers.
HPU’s Tim Mansfield led off the contest with a triple to right center and scored two batters later on an RBI ground out by Spencer Angelis. Then, with two away, Cody Manzella hit a ball to shallow right field that was just out of the reach of Spartan outfielder Tyler Long and allowed runners from second and third to score, extending the High Point lead to 3-0.
George settled down after the first inning and pitched two perfect frames before UNCG broke onto the scoreboard in the bottom of the third. A trio of singles loaded the bases for King, who hit a sacrifice fly to left to score MacAneney.
The Panthers answered right back, however, on an RBI single by Clare in the top of the fourth. After King drew a walk to load the bases in the bottom of the fifth, redshirt freshman Julian Abreu scored on a fielder’s choice play to leave the score at 5-2 after six complete.
With High Point leading 6-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning, freshman catcher Jake Kusz doubled to lead off before MacAneney reached on an error to put runners on the corners. MacAneney then reached second on a ground out and King came through with a two-out, two-RBI single through the left side to cut UNCG’s deficit to 6-4.
The Panthers added another run in the top of the ninth inning to provide the final margin, as the Spartans went down in order in the home half of the inning.
UNCG continues its seven-game homestand this weekend, welcoming Georgetown to the UNCG Baseball Stadium for a three-game series. Game one is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 28 at 4 p.m.
Georgia Southern at Mercer, canc.
STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern's baseball game at Mercer has been canceled after light to moderate rain swept through the Macon, Ga., area overnight and persisted until midday.
No makeup date for the contest has been announced at this time.