UNCG 8, Georgia Southern 7
STATESBORO, Ga. – UNCG scored six runs in the top of the second inning Sunday and held on to beat Georgia Southern 8-7 in the teams’ SoCon series finale at J.I. Clements Stadium. The contest marked the last scheduled meeting between the schools as GSU is leaving the Southern Conference for the Sun Belt Conference next season.
The Spartans captured the series over the Eagles for the second straight season and handed Georgia Southern just its sixth home loss of the campaign. The win also clinched the first series victory in Statesboro for the Blue and Gold since the 1998 season.
UNCG wrapped up the week with three road wins against top-100 RPI opponents as Wake Forest checked in at 45th and the Eagles were 82nd in the latest release of the index.
Freshman RHP Adam Swim improved to 4-1 on the season, earning the win in relief as he threw three scoreless and hitless innings with three walks and two strikeouts. Junior RHP Tyler Frazier picked up his second save of the series and third of the season, pitching the final two innings and allowing no runs, just one hit and striking out three batters – including two in the ninth inning. Matt McCall took the loss for Georgia Southern after throwing an inning giving up two runs (one earned) on two hits.
Junior Hunter King led the Spartans at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a run scored and three RBIs. UNCG also received multi-hit efforts from senior Sean Guite, junior Tyler Long and sophomore Jake Kusz.
UNCG racked up double figures in hits for the second time in the series with 12 and produced double-digit base knocks for the 22nd time this season.
The Spartans jumped on top early in the first inning as a two-out RBI single by King plated Guite, who had doubled to right field with one away. The Eagles responded right back, though, plating four runs in the bottom of the frame. The big blow was a three-run home run off the scoreboard in left-center by Garren Palmer.
Unfazed, UNCG put together a huge inning in the top of the second – scoring six runs on five hits to take a 7-4 advantage. Junior Aaron Wright was hit by a pitch to begin the sequence and King ended it with a two-run double for his second and third RBIs of the contest.
Spartan starter Dylan Thompson recorded two quick outs in the bottom of the third, but King could not field a pop up on the infield and the Eagles took advantage – going on to score three runs to tie the score at 7. The Blue and Gold had a chance to get out of the inning on a grounder to short, but a Spartan error kept the rally alive.
King led off the fifth inning with a double off the left-center wall that just missed clearing it. He would move to third on a sacrifice bunt by junior L.J. Kalawaia before coming home to score on an RBI groundout by classmate Jordan McDonald.
That run would end up standing as Swim came on and pitched three scoreless innings to get the game to the eighth. Frazier took over from there, working brilliantly around a leadoff double in the eighth and setting the Eagles down in order in the ninth.
The Spartans return to action Tuesday when they go for a season series split with High Point at Williard Stadium. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
GSU returns to action Tuesday against the Mercer Bears. First pitch from J.I. Clements Stadium is set for 6 p.m.
Furman 6, Western Carolina 1
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Tyler Wood pitched eight strong innings and received solid early run support to lead Furman to a 6-1 victory over Western Carolina in Sunday’s Southern Conference series finale at Hennon Stadium.
The win gave Furman (13-23, 4-8 SoCon) the two-games-to-one series victory and handed SoCon frontrunner Western Carolina (23-11, 9-3 SoCon) its first home league series loss since 2012. Of the Catamounts’ five SoCon regular-season losses over the last 30 games, three have come to the Paladins.
Wood (3-1), a senior right-hander from St. Louis, Mo., scattered seven hits and allowed only one run in matching his longest career outing since 2011, his freshman season. He walked one and struck out four.
As it turned out, Wood got all the run support he would need in the first inning when Chris Ohmstede belted his third home run of the series, a two-run shot to left-center field off Catamount starting and losing pitcher Jordan Smith (5-3).
Jordan Simpson led off the Furman second with a solo home run to left field, his second of the season, to make it 3-0.
The Paladins stretched the advantage to 4-0 in the fifth after Greg Harrison singled with two outs and later scored on a fielding error by Catamount first baseman Jacob Hoyle.
Western Carolina got on the board in the bottom of the fifth when J.D. Long tripled down the right-field line and scored on a sacrifice fly.
Furman padded its lead with two runs in the eighth. Pinch-hitter Jarrod Rickman battled back from a no-ball, two-strike count to draw a bases-loaded walk and force in Jake Jones, and Heath Burton followed with an RBI single to drive home Carter Grote.
Alex Abrams took over for Wood and retired the Catamounts in order in the ninth to secure the win.
The Paladins banged out 12 hits, including two each by Ohmstede (2-for-4, HR, 2 RBIs), Simpson (2-for-4, HR), Jones (2-for-4, run), and Harrison (2-for-5, run).
Adam Martin had three of Western Carolina’s seven hits.
The loss was charged to Smith, who gave up four runs, three of which were earned, on 10 hits while walking two. He struck out five.
Furman plays at Presbyterian on Tuesday at 3 p.m.
Western Carolina is scheduled to visit Winthrop on Tuesday evening in the back end of a nonconference midweek home-and-home. First pitch from Rock Hill, S.C., is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Wofford 7, Elon 2
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford baseball team won 7-2 over Elon on Sunday afternoon at Russell C. King Field. The Terriers scored in each of the first five innings to build a lead and win the third game of the weekend series.
Wofford is 20-17 on the season and 3-9 in the Southern Conference. Elon is 23-13 overall and 9-6 in league play. The Terriers were led by James Plaisted with two home runs and four RBIs, while Eric Brenk added two hits. The Phoenix was held to just four hits on the game.
Brenk led off the bottom of the first with a single. After he moved to third on a failed pickoff attempt, a sacrifice fly by Seth Neely scored Brenk for a 1-0 lead at the end of the first.
The Phoenix had a runner on base in the top of the second, but he was caught stealing. In the bottom of the second, Wofford had runners at first and second with two outs when an infield single by Kody Ruedisili scored Demetrius Jennings for a 2-0 advantage.
Wofford led off the third with a walk and a single by Seth Neely. With one out, a homer by Plaisted to left-center cleared the bases and gave the Terriers a 5-0 lead. It was the fourth home run of the season for Plaisted. After Elon was retired in order in the top of the fourth, Derek Hirsch led off with a single. After moving to second, Hirsch took third on a wild pitch. A one-out single by Brenk scored Hirsch for a 6-0 lead before a double play ended the fourth inning.
In the top of the fifth, Elon had a single with one out, but a double play ended the half of the inning. With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Plaisted hit his second home run of the day to give Wofford a 7-0 advantage. Elon loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the sixth inning. A walk plated one run to make it a 7-1 game before a strikeout ended the top half with three runners stranded.
Elon led off the ninth with a walk. With two outs, an infield single by Danny Lynch plated a run to make it 7-2 before a fly ball ended the game.
Wofford pitcher Matt Milburn (3-4) threw six innings and gave up one run on three hits. He struck out four but also issued four walks. Will Stillman went two innings and did not allow a hit with one strikeout. Eric Eck allowed one run on one hit with one strikeout in the ninth inning.
Elon starting pitcher Dimitri Lettas (1-1) went 2 1/3 innings and gave up five runs on five hits with one strikeout.
The Terriers will be back on the field Thursday at 6 p.m. at Furman for the start of a three-game Southern Conference series.
Elon will remain on the road for a Wednesday game at North Carolina. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
Appalachian State 10, The Citadel 6
BOONE, N.C. – Highlighted by a three-run home run by Matt Brill, Appalachian State scored five runs in the first inning and cruised to a 10-6 victory over The Citadel on Sunday afternoon at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
With the victory, Appalachian State (13-20, 7-4 SoCon) took a three-game Southern Conference series from The Citadel (14-23, 2-13 SoCon), two games to one. Appalachian has won three straight SoCon series and trails first-place Davidson by just one game in the loss column.
The Citadel jumped out a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning of Sunday’s finale but App State responded with the five-spot in the bottom of the stanza to take an advantage that it would never relinquish. The Mountaineers opened the bottom of the first with three straight hits, including an RBI triple by Preston Troutman and a run-scoring single by Tyler Zupcic that gave the Apps a 2-1 lead.
Four batters later, Brill delivered the biggest hit of the day when he launched the first pitch he saw from The Citadel starter Brett Tompkins (1-3) over the right-field wall for a two-out, opposite-field, three-run homer that extended the Mountaineers’ advantage to 5-1.
A two-run blast by Jaylin Davis stretched Appalachian’s lead to 7-1 in the fourth and the Mountaineers maintained a six-run advantage at 8-2 going into the seventh. However, helped by two Appalachian State errors, The Citadel plated four unearned runs in the top of the seventh to cut the Mountaineers’ lead to 8-6.
The Bulldogs’ momentum was short-lived, though, as Dillon Dobson and Brill drove in runs in the bottom of the seventh to push Appalachian’s lead back to four runs at 10-6.
Taylor Thurber pitched a scoreless eighth and Robert Whaley faced just three batters in the ninth to close out the victory.
Red-hot Brill paced the Mountaineers’ 10-run, 10-hit attack by going 2-for-3 with a career-high four RBIs, a walk and a run. In the process, the true freshman extended Appalachian’s longest hitting streak of the season to 15 games and raised his team-best batting average to .412. Davis and Zupcic added two hits apiece for App State.
Starting pitcher Jeffrey Springs grinded his way through six innings, throwing 128 pitches but limiting The Citadel to just two runs to earn the win and move to 2-1 on the season.
Tyler Griffin went 3-for-4 with two RBIs to lead The Citadel.
Appalachian State begins a five-game road stint on Tuesday when it travels to face longtime Atlantic Coast Conference rival Wake Forest. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Wake Forest Baseball Park in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The Citadel hosts South Carolina on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the makeup of a game that was rained out in March. The Bulldogs play their next SoCon series at Western Carolina beginning on Friday at 5 p.m.
Davidson 7, Samford 2
DAVIDSON, N.C. – RHPs Nick Neitzel and Durin O’Linger held Samford to three hits and Nathan Becker and David Daniels both homered, as Davidson defeated the Bulldogs, 7-2, to claim the three-game Southern Conference baseball series Sunday afternoon at Wilson Field.
Neitzel (6-0) carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning for Davidson but surrendered a bloop double to shortstop Tyler Filliben and a two-run home run to catcher Drew McWhorter for Samford’s (21-15, 7-5 SoCon) only runs. Neitzel finished with a career-high seven strikeouts and allowed three walks in addition to the two hits. He was relieved by RHP Durin O’Linger (1) after facing the first batter in the seventh inning.
O’Linger pitched the final three innings to earn his first career save, which was also a team-record-tying (2004) 12th of the season for the Wildcats’ bullpen. O’Linger only allowed a double to center fielder T.J. Dixon, but ultimately faced the minimum as Dixon was thrown out at third base trying to stretch it into a triple. He also struck out three.
Davidson improved to 22-10 overall to match its best 32-game record since 1987. The ‘Cats also claimed their record seventh straight SoCon series, dating back to last season, and moved back into first place in the league at 12-3, as Western Carolina (9-3) went 1-2 over the weekend against Furman (4-8). Davidson’s 12 wins in league play are its most since 2005.
Becker led four Wildcats with two-hit games, as he went 2-for-3 with his team-best ninth home run of the season. First baseman Ben Arkin and designated hitter Ryan Lowe also had two hits, and both doubled and tallied an RBI. Second baseman Andrew Pope reached on a pair of infield singles and a walk and also drove in a run.
Davidson’s first run came across in the second inning on an RBI groundout by Arkin. The ‘Cats then took a commanding 4-0 lead in the third on an RBI single by Lowe, which scored Pope from first base, and Becker’s two-run blast to center field. An error with two outs on a fielder’s choice at second base in the fourth allowed another Wildcat run to score for a 5-0 advantage.
RHP Alex Milazzo (3-2) suffered the loss, allowing the five runs (four earned) on six hits and a walk in four innings, also striking out four.
Samford came within three on McWhorter’s home run in the top of the sixth, but Daniels lined a home run off the left-field foul pole to lead off the seventh, and then Pope drove in Arkin from third in the eighth for the final margin.
Davidson will complete a home-and-home series at Duke on Tuesday, starting at 6 p.m., before hosting its final SoCon series at Wilson Field, starting Thursday at 6 p.m. against UNCG.
Samford will return to action on Tuesday, April 15, when the Bulldogs play host to the Auburn Tigers. The first pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field.