Appalachian State 4, Michigan 1

CARY, N.C. – Behind fantastic pitching and timely hitting, Appalachian State ended its nine-game losing streak with a 4-1 victory over Michigan on Saturday at the USA Baseball-Irish Classic in Cary, N.C.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Appalachian State senior right-hander Tyler Moore appeared to be on his way to the Southern Conference’s first complete-game shutout of the season, skipping over the third-base line and taking the mound with a 4-0 lead. After Michigan’s Harrison Wenson led off the ninth with a single to center field, Kendall Patrick followed with another single to center. However, Patrick’s single skipped past Appalachian true freshman center fielder Brian Bauk, who was filling in for usual starter Jaylin Davis, and allowed Wenson to come all the way home from first to break up the shutout.

With the shutout chance scuttled, head coach Billy Jones lifted Moore from the game in favor of closer Robert Whaley. Whaley easily retired the three batters he faced on two pop outs and a strikeout to seal the win and his first save as a Mountaineer.

Moore set career highs with eight innings pitched and six strikeouts. The eight innings topped his previous career high of seven, which he set when came out of the bullpen to throw in a 15-4 win over No. 29 Western Carolina at the 2013 Southern Conference tournament. His six strikeouts doubled his previous career high of three, which he accomplished three times, including two weeks ago at No. 25 Arkansas.

Despite a nine-game skid to open the season, a confident Appalachian squad had a big first inning. After a leadoff ground out, sophomore Dillon Dobson reached on a fielding error, senior Tyler Zupcic singled and junior Michael Pierson walked to load the bases with only one out. Senior William Head followed with the inning’s big hit, a double down the right-field line that brought both Dobson and Zupcic home to give the Apps the 2-0 early lead.

Sophomore Alex Leach followed with a ground out to second base but that brought Pierson home for the Mountaineers’ third run. Leach’s first RBI of the season came exactly one year after he recorded his last RBI in a 4-1 win over Davidson on March 1, 2013. Leach missed the final 41 games of last season due to a severe head injury.

App State got an insurance run in the top of the ninth by way of two hits, a one-out single through the left side of the infield by Ozzy Gonzalez and an RBI single to right center by senior Preston Troutman that brought Gonzalez home with the Mountaineers’ fourth and final run.

Head led the Moutaineers with two RBIs and Zupcic accounted for two of Appalachian’s seven hits.

Senior LHP Logan McAnallen suffered the loss for Michigan (2-7-1), despite allowing just one earned run over six innings of work and striking out eight. Wenson went 2-for-3 with a run scored to pace the Wolverines offensively.

The Mountaineers play their final game of the USA Baseball-Irish Classic on Sunday against the host team, Notre Dame. First pitch is set for 11 a.m. at the USA Baseball Training Complex in Cary.

 

Georgia Southern 14, SIUE 5

STATESBORO, Ga. – Josh Wirsu struck out a career-high seven batters and helped the Georgia Southern Eagles get back in the win column with a 14-5 win over the SIUE Cougars on Saturday.

A night after the offense tallied a season-low five hits, Georgia Southern recorded 15 hits and posted double-digit runs for the fourth time this season to help the Eagles improve to 8-2 on the year. All nine starters recorded a hit and five had multi-hit outings. Stryker Brown went 2-for-4 at the plate and drove in a pair of runs and scored three runs.

Wirsu allowed two runs in the first inning on a Keaton Wright single and a dropped pop fly by first baseman Ryan Cleveland but settled in to earn his second win of the season. Wirsu (2-1) held SIUE (2-7) scoreless over the next five innings and allowed just five hits and two walks on 92 pitches.

GSU rallied from the two-run deficit and tied the game in the second inning. Garrett Chapman drove in the first run and later in the inning scored on a wild pitch. Chapman's single extended his hitting streak to 10 games.

GSU took the lead on a two-out single off the bat of Ben Morgan in the fourth inning. The Eagles exploded for 11 runs over the next three innings. GSU took advantage of three combined errors and tallied 11 hits in those three innings.

Evan Martens allowed just two runs through the first three innings but left in the fifth inning after allowing a two-run double to Brown. Martens (0-2) allowed six runs – two earned – on five hits in his second start of the season.

Eric Alonzo tossed two perfect frames in relief of Wirsu and struck out two batters.

GSU concludes the four-game weekend Sunday against SIUE and Ohio. The Eagles will face SIUE again at 1:30 p.m. and Ohio at 5 p.m.

 

Furman 3, Stetson 1

DeLAND, Fla. – Chris Ohmstede’s two-run single in the top of the ninth inning broke a tie game and lifted Furman to a 3-1 victory over host Stetson in Saturday baseball action at Melching Field.

The Paladins (5-5), who opened the three-game trip to DeLand with a 4-2 win over Maine on Friday, will play Iowa on Sunday at 10 a.m. before heading back to Greenville, S.C.

Ohmstede’s decisive hit through the left side came off Stetson reliever Tyler Warmoth (0-1) after Hunter Burton and Greg Harrison led off the ninth with infield hits and advanced on a wild pitch.

Harrison moved from first base to the mound in the bottom of the ninth and overcame a leadoff walk to get the next three Hatters and nail down the victory and his second save of the campaign.

The ninth-inning runs by Furman made a winner of Billy Greenfield (1-0), who came on in relief of Jacques de Gruy in the eighth with runners on first and third and one out and the Paladins up 1-0. Greenfield’s second pitch to Josh Powers went to the backstop, allowing Kevin Fagan to sprint home from third to tie the game at 1-1, but the freshman left-hander recovered to retire the next two batters to leave it tied.

Stetson’s run in the eighth ensured a no-decision for Paladin starting pitcher Matt Solter, who turned in a stellar performance, working seven shutout innings and allowing just three hits and one walk with three strikeouts.

Solter’s teammates provided him with the game’s first run in the top of the eighth, when Alex Abrams singled with one out, advanced to second on an error and on to third on a Griffin Davis single before scoring on the Hatters’ second error of the frame.

Furman stranded 10 runners through the first seven innings, and for the game, the Paladins left 15 on base, including three in the ninth following Ohmstede’s two-run single.

The Paladins’ three runs came on 13 hits, including three apiece by Harrison and Abrams. Jordan Simpson and Hunter Burton had two hits each.

Stetson managed six hits in the contest.

The loss went to Warmoth (0-1), who allowed three hits and both ninth inning runs in 1 2/3 innings of work. He walked one and fanned two.

 

Western Carolina 7, La Salle 6

CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Senior catcher Adam Martin drove in the game-winning run on an RBI single to the gap in left-center field in the bottom of the ninth inning as Western Carolina walked off with a 7-6 victory over La Salle on Saturday afternoon at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.

Game three of the series is scheduled for Sunday with a 1 p.m. first pitch.

With two aboard in the form of Aaron Attaway and Jacob Hoyle, Martin worked a full count before belting the eighth pitch he saw from La Salle reliever Adam Cherry into the gap in left-center to allow Attaway to scamper home for the game-winning run.

Saturday’s win represented the second one-run victory for the Catamounts so far this season and the first in walk-off fashion.

For a second straight day, Western Carolina (6-2) had to rally to knock off the upset-minded Explorers. The Catamounts trailed by as many as four runs after falling behind 3-0 after a Joey Ravert three-run home run in the top of the first inning. La Salle tacked on an insurance run in the top of the fifth as Ravert scored from second on an RBI single by Mark Williams.

WCU, which had been limited to one hit through the first four frames, got on track in the bottom of the fifth inning. Senior Luke Gragg opened things with a single through the left side ahead of classmate Dykota Spiess, who belted his team-leading fourth double of the season to bring home Gragg and put the Catamounts on the board. A third senior, Taylor Sandefur, put two aboard after drawing a walk before Reece Strong, looking to lay down a sacrifice bunt, reached on an error to load the bases with no outs.

Three batters and two outs later, Attaway turned the carousel one notch, drawing an RBI on a four-pitch walk, with Jacob Hoyle walking after a seven-pitch at-bat to drive in the third run of the frame, trimming La Salle’s lead to one, 4-3.

Still trailing by a run in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Catamounts rallied to take their first lead of the afternoon. Junior Bradley Strong sharply singled to first base to represent the game-tying run. He then promptly stole second to move into scoring position, where Cody Jones sacrificed him over to third. Then, with the infield drawn in, Attaway scorched an infield single that was simply knocked down by the third baseman. Friday night’s hero, Hoyle, then delivered another big hit, driving in two runs on a double off the center-field fence to push WCU ahead, 5-4. The next batter, Martin, singled to right center to allow Hoyle to rumble home for an insurance run at 6-4.

However, La Salle rallied in the top of the ninth inning, loading the bases with a single, error and walk, with two runs coming home on a pair of wild pitches to tie the game at 6, setting up Martin’s heroics in the bottom of the frame.

Sandefur led three Catamounts with two-hit games. The Mechanicsville, Va., product finished the day 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored to lead WCU, while Hoyle (2-for-4) and Martin (2-for-5) both added two-hit performances. Attaway finished 1-for-2 with a team-high two runs scored, drawing three walks.

Catamount starter Jordan Smith factored in the no-decision, surrendering four runs on 12 hits through 5 2/3 innings. The Liberty, N.C., product struck out six batters, including four looking. The seventh different WCU reliever to toe the rubber, freshman Bryan Sammons (2-0) scored the victory, tossing the final 2/3 of an inning in the top of the ninth. Sammons recorded his lone strikeout to strand what represented the go-ahead run for La Salle at third base.

Explorer shortstop Kevin Baron finished 4-for-5 with a walk to pace La Salle, while Cameron Johnson matched his four hits on a 4-for-6 showing. Ravert drove in three on a 2-for-3 showing at the plate, with Mark Williams also collecting two hits in the loss.

Cherry (0-1) was saddled with the loss, officially tossing a third of an inning while facing four Catamount batters out of the bullpen. Starter Shane Hollman kept the Catamounts at bay through 4 2/3 innings, striking out four before walks started to pile up, issuing five in the start. Hollman limited the potent WCU lineup to three runs – only one of which was earned – on just three base hits.

La Salle out-hit WCU 15-10 on Saturday but stranded 15 runners while WCU left nine on the base paths.

 

Wofford 4, Longwood 3

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford baseball team defeated Longwood 4-3 on Saturday afternoon at Russell C. King Field. The Terriers were up 3-1 after seven innings, but the Lancers tied it in the top of the eighth. A solo home run by Eric Brenk in the bottom of the eighth was the game-winner for Wofford.

Wofford moved to 6-4 on the season and Longwood fell to 5-6. The Terriers were led by Seth Neely with two hits and an RBI, while Brenk had two hits and two RBIs. Pitcher Luke Leftwich struck out nine batters without a walk. The Lancers were led by Alex Owens with an RBI single.

In the bottom of the third, Neely singled and James Plaisted reached on an error. A single by Brenk, coupled with a fielding error, allowed both runners to score and Wofford had a 2-0 lead.

In the top of the sixth, the Lancers had a single for their first hit of the game. A single by Alex Owens drove in a run for a 2-1 score.

After Longwood was retired in order in the top of the seventh, Demetrius Jennings reached on an error and stole second. A single to left field by Neely drove in Jennings for a 3-1 lead after seven innings.

In the top of the eighth, Longwood led off with an infield single. Two walks loaded the bases with two outs. Another walk brought in a run to make it 3-2 and a hit batter tied the game at 3-3. The Lancers left the bases loaded in the eighth.

Brenk led off with a solo home run over the left-field fence to regain the lead at 4-3. In the top of the ninth, the Lancers were retired in order to end the game.

Leftwich pitched seven innings and allowed two hits and one run. He struck out nine and did not issue a walk. Eric Eck went 2/3 of an inning and allowed two runs on one hit with one strikeout. Will Stillman (1-0) threw the final 1 1/3 innings without allowing a base-runner and recorded two strikeouts.

Longwood starter Brandon Vick went 6 2/3 innings with six hits allowed and three unearned runs along with four strikeouts. Mitchell Kuebbing (1-1) went 1 1/3 innings and allowed one run on one hit.

The Terriers will complete the three-game series against Longwood on Sunday at 1 p.m. Wofford will host Winthrop on Wednesday at 5 p.m.

 

The Citadel 12, Nebraska 8

CHARLESTON, S.C. – For the second straight day, The Citadel took advantage of a big first inning against Nebraska, scoring four times en route to a 10-0 lead and an eventual 12-8 victory over the Huskers to clinch the weekend series.

The Bulldogs inched back over the .500 mark at 6-5 with their fourth straight win and will go for the sweep on Sunday at noon. The Huskers are below the break-even mark for the first time this season at 4-5.

The Citadel improved to 3-0 all-time against Nebraska and is 4-4 against opponents from power conferences this season with one more game remaining against the Huskers and two with South Carolina.

James Reeves (2-0) blanked Nebraska on two hits through the first five innings and earned the win. He left with two outs in the sixth after the Huskers scored four runs, including a two-run homer by Tanner Lubach, but by that time The Citadel had built him a sizeable cushion.

Five Bulldog relievers finished off the win, with Ross White working out of a two-on, one-out jam in the seventh and Nate Brecklin getting a key strikeout against the only batter he faced in the eighth. After Nebraska cut the Bulldog lead to 12-8 in the eighth, David Rivera settled things down with a scoreless ninth to secure the win.

The Citadel tallied four runs in the first Friday night on its way to a 6-3 win in the series opener and duplicated that total Saturday. With runners at first and third, Tyler Griffin lofted a fly ball to deep left that appeared ticketed for a home run. It didn't leave the park but did fall safely on the warning track to bring in Hughston Armstrong for the first run of the game.

Drew DeKerlegand followed with a base hit that turned into a triple when Husker left fielder Michael Pritchard lost his footing on the wet outfield grass that was a result of a pregame rain shower. Bo Thompson and Griffin crossed the plate, and Johnathan Stokes followed with an RBI ground out that made it 4-0 after one.

The triple was DeKerlegand's second of the season and moved him into sole possession of sixth place in school history with 12 in his career.

The Bulldogs added two more in the second on a single by Mason Davis and sacrifice fly by Thompson, his 11th RBI of the season in as many games. The Citadel took advantage of two Nebraska errors to score four times on only one hit in the fifth, a run-scoring single by Stokes, to open up a 10-0 advantage.

After the Huskers put up their four-spot against Reeves in the top of the sixth, the Bulldogs answered right back when another Griffin deep fly to left found its way over the scoreboard to make it a 12-4 lead. Griffin's homer was his second of the series after being shut out the first nine games of the year, and the senior right fielder scored three runs and drove in three.

Davis had three hits and drove in two runs while running his streak of stolen bases to 10 on the year with a theft of second in the second. He was finally caught for the first time when Aaron Bummer picked him off as he broke for second and was thrown out by first baseman Austin Christensen.

Bummer (1-2) went the first four-plus innings, leaving after walking Thompson to start the fifth. He allowed seven hits and seven runs (six earned) with four walks and was charged with the loss.

 

Samford 4, Purdue 3

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford baseball team used three strong pitching performances to earn a 4-3 win over Purdue on Saturday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.

Starting pitcher Alex Milazzo (1-0) pitched six innings, giving up just one run on three hits to earn the win for the Bulldogs. Parker Curry tossed the next two innings, giving up two runs on four hits, and Andres Gracia retired the Boilermakers in order in the ninth inning to pick up his third save of the season.

Offensively, Samford was led by Damon Waller, who went 2-for-3. Drew McWhorter drove in two runs, going 1-for-3. Caleb Bryson hit a solo home run in a 1-for-3 performance at the plate.

For Purdue, Sean McHugh went 2-for-4 with a home run and one RBI. Kyle Wood went 2-for-3, while Kyle Upp drove in two runs, going 1-for-3 at the plate. Jordan Minch (0-3) pitched six innings, allowing three runs on five hits to take the loss on the mound for Purdue.

The teams played through the first 4 1/2 innings in a scoreless tie. Samford broke the tie by plating two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Jared Watson was hit by a pitch to start the inning. With one out, Tripp Martin walked. Both runners then moved up a base on a passed ball. Heath Quinn then walked to load the bases. McWhorter then singled to center field to drive in Watson and Martin for a 2-0 Samford lead.

Purdue cut the Samford lead to 2-1 with a run in the top of the sixth inning. McHugh singled to lead off the inning. With one out, Conner Hudnall doubled, moving McHugh to third base. McHugh then scored when Upp grounded out to shortstop to bring Purdue to within one run.

Samford added to its lead with a run in the sixth inning and another run in the seventh. In the sixth inning, Bryson led the inning off with a solo home run to make the score 3-1. In the seventh inning, with one out, Quinn doubled down the left-field line. McWhorter then walked, and both runners advanced a base on a wild pitch. Hunter Swilling then singled to drive in Quinn to give Samford a 4-1 lead.

Purdue plated two runs in the top of the eighth inning to cut the lead to 4-3. McHugh led the inning off with a solo home run. Upp later singled to drive in Wood to cut Samford’s lead to one run.

Gracia came in to pitch the ninth inning. He got Jeff Evak to ground out to shortstop, and then he struck out Steve Maniago for the first two outs of the inning. Cody Strong then hit a long fly ball to left field, but Samford left fielder Watson caught the ball up against the wall to seal the 4-3 Samford win.

With the win, Samford improved to 5-4 so far this season. Purdue dropped to 1-7 with the loss.

Samford will play host to Butler on Sunday. The game is scheduled for a 12 p.m. CT start from Joe Lee Griffin Field.

 

UNCG 14, Georgetown 3

GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG tallied a season-high 18 hits Saturday afternoon to cruise to a 14-3 victory over Georgetown at the UNCG Baseball Stadium. With the win, the Spartans captured the series from the Hoyas and improved to 4-5 overall. GU dropped to 3-5 on its campaign.

A total of eight UNCG players tallied hits in the contest, with a trio of Spartans rapping out three each. Redshirt sophomore outfielder Nin Marrero was 3-for-4 at the dish with three RBIs and a run scored, while junior infielder Hunter King was 3-for-5 with three runs scored and a RBI. Additionally, junior outfielder Nick Chapman rapped out three hits in five at bats while scoring two runs and driving one in.

Junior infielder Jordan McDonald hit his first home run of the season while also adding a triple, as he ended up with two hits, three runs scored and a pair of RBIs. Another impressive offensive outing was put forth by junior outfielder Tyler Long, who recorded two hits and three RBIs and scored three runs.

On the mound, junior RHP Max Povse (1-1) earned his first victory of the season. He threw 7 1/3 innings and allowed three runs on nine hits with one walk and seven strikeouts. Junior LHP Blair Betts finished the contest and held Georgetown hitless while striking out three.

UNCG out-hit GU 18-9, while both teams made one error. The Spartans have now recorded double-digit hits in four of their last five contests.

A solo home run by the Hoyas’ Nick Collins with two away in the top of the first opened the scoring, but the Blue and Gold answered quickly in the bottom of the inning. With two outs and Marrero on second base, King singled to left field to plate Marrero, and sophomore catcher Jake Hall followed with a double to score King and make the score 2-1 after one complete.

The Spartans began to pull away in the bottom of the second as RBI singles by freshman infielder Dillon Stewart and Marrero stretched the UNCG advantage to 4-1.

After a leadoff double to right-center by King in the third, McDonald got hold of a pitch and drove it over the wall in left field to make the score 6-1. Georgetown would pull back a run in the top of the fourth on an RBI single by AC Carter, and the Hoyas kept the Spartans off the board in the bottom of the frame to leave UNCG with a 6-2 cushion.

Both squads went down in order in the fifth, but McDonald tripled to right-center to start the bottom of the sixth. He would score when Long struck out swinging but reached base on a passed ball. An error with two outs by the Hoya right fielder led to two more runs for the Blue and Gold as UNCG took a stranglehold of the contest and led 9-2 after six complete.

UNCG posted a big five-run inning after the stretch. The big blow came off the bat of Long, who hit a bases-clearing, three-run double with one away. Chapman added an RBI single and Marrero recorded a sacrifice fly to account for the final 14-3 Spartan margin of victory.

UNCG looks for the series sweep of Georgetown as the teams meet for the final time Sunday at the UNCG Baseball Stadium. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.

 

Miami (Ohio) 14, Davidson 11

DAVIDSON, N.C. – Davidson pounded out 21 hits and had three individuals with four-hit games, but seven unearned runs allowed Miami University to defeat the Wildcats, 14-11, in nonconference baseball action Saturday afternoon at Wilson Field.

Davidson (2-5) held an 8-6 lead over Miami (3-5) after four innings but allowed three unearned runs in the sixth inning to fall behind. The ‘Cats tied the game at 9-9 in the bottom half on back-to-back doubles by right fielder Nathan Becker and shortstop Sam Foy, but two hits and two Wildcat errors in the top of the eighth inning resulted in the decisive three unearned runs for the Redhawks.

Becker paced the ‘Cats offensively with four RBIs and three runs in a 4-for-6 day that included a two-run home run and a double, leaving him a triple shy of the cycle. He nearly tied the game in the bottom of the ninth inning with another home run, but his fly ball with two runners on and one out was caught against the wall in center field by Jake Romano (2-for-6).

Joining Becker with four-hit games were the top two batters in the lineup, second baseman Andrew Pope (4-for-6) and third baseman David Daniels (4-for-5). They scored two runs each, while Daniels, who walked once, also drove home Pope on an RBI double in the bottom of the ninth after Pope’s second double of the game. Foy (3-for-6) and left fielder Lee Miller (3-for-6) both had three-hit games and drove in two runs each.

The teams combined for just eight hits in the series opener Friday, with Davidson getting only one, but they combined for 37 hits Saturday, with Davidson holding a 21-16 advantage. However, the ‘Cats stranded 13 on base to Miami’s nine and totaled five errors to the Redhawks’ two. Just one of Davidson’s 11 runs was unearned.

For Miami, catcher Max Andreson went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, and first baseman Scott Slappey (2-for-5) led five Redhawks with two-hit games with two doubles and three RBIs.

Miami scored one run in the second inning and added three runs in the top of the third to chase Davidson starting LHP Ryan Lowe and build an early 4-0 lead. However, Davidson answered with three runs in the bottom half on an RBI single by center fielder Forrest Brandt (2-for-5) and Becker’s two-run homer. After allowing two runs (one unearned) in the top of the fourth, the ‘Cats scored five runs on five hits for an 8-6 advantage.

RHP Westin Whitmire (0-1) suffered the loss after getting charged with two runs, of which one was earned to him, but both were unearned for the team. RHP Ryan Marske (1-0) recorded just two outs for Miami but was the pitcher of record when the Redhawks went ahead for good. RHP Wynston McMartin earned the save after recording the final five outs.

The teams will conclude the series Sunday at 1 p.m. (one hour earlier than originally scheduled) on Wilson Field. RHP Nick Neitzel (1.29, 1-0) is slated to take the mound for Davidson, and he is expected to face RHP Ryan Powers (6.52, 1-1).

 

High Point 6, Elon 2

ELON, N.C. – Missed opportunities plagued the Elon baseball team for much of the day as the Phoenix, which stranded nine runners, dropped a 6-2 contest to the visiting High Point Panthers on Saturday at Latham Park.

After keeping High Point (7-4) off the board in the top of the first, Elon (7-3) got runners on second and third but could not find a way to score.

The Panthers struck for two in the third on an RBI single from Brenden Rivera and a ground out by Cody Manzella.

Trailing 3-0 in the last of the fourth, Elon put together a solid scoring chance. The maroon and gold loaded the bases with two walks and a single, but the Panthers once again escaped damage.

Riding that momentum, High Point upped its lead to 6-0 in the fifth by scoring three runs on three hits.

Elon attempted to claw its way back in to the contest in the seventh, as the first two hitters walked. After a ground out advanced both runners, Casey Jones picked up an RBI on a grounder that was misplayed. A bunt by Sebastian Gomez would score a second run, but the Phoenix again left a man on base.

Lucas Bakker (1-1) took the loss after he gave up five runs (three earned) on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings.

The win went to Mike Krumm (2-1), who kept the Phoenix scoreless for five innings. He gave up two hits.

Elon will finish play at the Elon Invitational at 4 p.m. on Sunday by hosting Gardner-Webb.