Furman 6, Wofford 5
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Andrew MacLatchie homered and drove in four runs and Matt Solter pitched seven solid innings to power Furman past Wofford, 6-5, in the opening game of a three-game Southern Conference baseball series Thursday evening at Latham Stadium.
MacLatchie, a sophomore catcher from Charlotte, N.C., belted a two-run home run – his third of the season – in the fifth inning to give Furman (14-23, 5-8 SoCon) a 2-1 lead and stroked a two-run double in a four-run sixth inning to help the Paladins build a 6-1 lead.
Wofford cut it to 6-5 with a pair of eighth-inning home runs by Seth Neely and James Plaisted, but Furman’s Alex Abrams got the final out of the eighth and pitched around a leadoff walk in the ninth to secure the win and his first save of the season.
Solter (1-4) was credited with the win, recording a career-high nine strikeouts over seven innings. He surrendered two runs on six hits and walked one.
Solter yielded three straight singles to start the second inning but escaped major damage with a force play at third, a fly ball out and failed double-steal attempt that saw Wofford’s Josh Hyman thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
The final two outs in the second inning started a string of 13 consecutive outs for Solter, who struck out eight in the stretch, including the side in the fifth.
Trailing 1-0, the Paladins got to Wofford starter Luke Leftwich (3-4) in the fifth. With one out, Jake Jones singled to right field and later trotted home after MacLatchie scorched a Leftwich offering over the fence in deep left-center field to give Furman a 2-1 lead.
An inning later, Chris Ohmstede’s single started a four-run rally that featured an RBI double to center field by Carter Grote, run-scoring single by Jordan Simpson and MacLatchie’s two-run double down the left-field line that plated Jones and Simpson for a 6-1 lead.
Furman recorded an 11-8 advantage in hits. MacLatchie led the attack with a 2-for-3, four-RBI performance. Simpson also had two hits, as did Grote and Jones, who recorded two of Furman’s four stolen bases in the contest.
Plaisted led Wofford at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Neely and Hyman also had two hits for the Terriers.
Leftwich was tagged for six runs on 11 hits over 5 1/3 innings. He struck out three.
The Paladins and Terriers are scheduled to play Friday at 6 p.m.
Davidson 7, UNCG 6 (11 innings)
DAVIDSON, N.C. – A two-out base hit by Forrest Brandt drove in the game winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning as Davidson defeated UNCG, 7-6, in Southern Conference baseball action Thursday night at Wilson Field.
After facing the minimum in the ninth and 10th innings, LHP Dylan Hathcock (0-1) struck out the first two Davidson (23-10, 13-3 SoCon) batters in the 11th but walked first baseman David Daniels (1-for-4, 3 RBIs) and designated hitter Ryan Lowe (2-for-5, RBI). UNCG (17-18, 4-8 SoCon) then brought in RHP Alex Swim to face Brandt (2-for-4), but Brandt was able to lift a single past the second baseman into center field, allowing Daniels to score from second base.
Lowe (2-1) earned the win on the mound, facing the minimum in the 10th and 11th innings.
With 13 wins in SoCon games this season, the Wildcats have already tallied their most league wins since 2005.
UNCG had rallied from a 6-1 deficit, scoring three runs in the fifth inning and then two in the top of the ninth to force extras.
The Spartans led the ninth off with three straight singles, and the third by third baseman Sean Guite (3-for-5) drove in the first run of the frame. A sacrifice fly to deep center by first baseman Eric Kalbfleisch (1-for-5) tied the game at 6-6.
It was the first extra-inning game for Davidson in SoCon play this season and its first since falling in the 12th inning at Wake Forest in the season opener.
Davidson had led since scoring the first runs of the game on a two-RBI double by left fielder Lee Miller (1-for-4) in the bottom of the second inning. The Spartans halved the advantage in the fourth, as second baseman Hunter King (3-for-5, 2 RBI) doubled, was sacrificed to third and then scored on a bunt by catcher Jake Hall (0-for-5).
However, the Wildcats scored four in the bottom half of the fourth for a five-run lead. With the bases loaded, Daniels doubled down the left-field line with two outs to clear them, and then Lowe drove him home with a double to the left gap.
Led by a two-RBI double by King, the Spartans made it a 6-4 game in the fifth. Joining King and Guite with three-hit games for UNCG was center fielder Zac MacAneney (3-for-6, R).
LHP Rob Bain was the pitcher of record for Davidson until the ninth, as he went six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks with five strikeouts.
Three of his strikeouts came in the first inning. MacAneney singled and Guite doubled to lead off the game, but Bain answered by striking out the next three batters swinging.
RHP Durin O’Linger pitched two scoreless innings of relief for the ‘Cats, giving up just one hit and striking out one. UNCG also received scoreless innings from LHP Blair Betts and RHP Brennen James.
Davidson and UNCG will continue the three-game series Friday night at 6 p.m. RHP Danny Mooney (3-3, 2.74 ERA) is slated to start for the ‘Cats, while RHP Max Povse (4-3, 5.89) is expected for UNCG.