Appalachian State 10, Elon 4
ELON, N.C. – Two-out rallies in multiple innings were the downfall of the Elon baseball team in game two of a three-game Southern Conference baseball series as the Phoenix dropped a 10-4 decision to the Mountaineers of Appalachian State on Saturday night at Latham Park.
Appalachian State (14-22, 8-5 SoCon) pushed across nine of its 10 runs and tallied nine of its 14 hits with two outs on the evening.
Appalachian State got two runs in the first, third, fourth and ninth innings. The Mountaineers took a 1-0 lead in the first when Jaylin Davis hit the first of his two triples on the night down the line in right. He then scored on a passed ball to make it 2-0. Up 3-0 after two, App scored two on a Bradley Morton homer to left in the third.
The Phoenix (24-15, 10-7) got down 7-0 before plating its first marker in the last of the fourth when Chris King doubled home Sebastian Gomez.
Elon added two more in the sixthm when, after loading the bases, Quinn Bower singled home both Tyler McVicar and Nick Zammarelli.
Appalachian tacked on a single run in the eighth and two more in the ninth before the Phoenix scored one in the last of the ninth on a King single.
For Elon, Casey Jones had a 1-for-3 evening to keep his hitting streak alive. His streak is now at 25 games. King, Bower and Danny Lynch all had two-hit games.
Michael Elefante (6-2) took the loss, just his second on the year, after allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits in just 2 2/3 innings. John Antonelli went a career-long five innings and gave up two runs out of the pen.
Tyler Moore (8-2) was the winning pitcher. He threw his fourth complete game of the season and gave up four runs (three earned) on 11 hits.
The two sides will meet for the rubber match in the series at 2 p.m. on Sunday at Latham Park.
Samford 7, Georgia Southern 2
STATESBORO, Ga. – The Samford baseball team used a strong pitching performance and timely hitting to take a 7-2 win in the first game of a three-game Southern Conference series at Georgia Southern on Saturday afternoon at J.I. Clements Stadium.
Samford starting pitcher Alex Ledford (6-2) pitched 7 1/3 innings, giving up two runs on two hits to earn the win on the mound. Ledford struck out seven batters in the win. Parker Curry pitched the final 1 2/3 hitless innings to pick up his first save of the season.
At the plate for Samford, Jared Watson went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs. Tripp Martin went 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI, and Hunter Swilling hit a two-run home run in a 1-for-4 performance.
For Georgia Southern, Dalton Busby went 2-for-3 with a double and one RBI. Kody Adams also drove in a run for the Eagles, going 1-for-4. Sam Howard (4-5) pitched six innings, giving up three runs on five hits in taking the loss on the mound for GSU.
Samford struck first with a run in the top of the fifth inning. With one out in the inning, Caleb Bryson singled to right field. With two outs, Martin doubled to left-center field to drive in Bryson for a 1-0 Samford lead.
Georgia Southern answered with a run of its own in the bottom of the fifth inning. With one out in the inning, Stryker Brown walked. Busby then doubled to right field to drive in Brown to tie the score at 1-1.
The Bulldogs took the lead again with a run in the top of the sixth inning. Tyler Filliben walked with two outs in the inning. Drew McWhorter then singled up the middle, moving Filliben to second base. Heath Quinn then singled to right field, driving in Filliben to make the score 2-1.
Samford added two runs in the top of the seventh inning to push its lead to 4-1. Brandon Powell reached base on an error to start the inning. With one out in the inning, Swilling hit a home run to left-center field for a three-run Samford lead.
Georgia Southern added a run in the bottom of the eighth inning. Brown walked to lead off the inning. Brown moved to second base on a ground out and third base on an error. Adams then singled to drive in Brown to make the score 4-2.
The Bulldogs plated three runs in the top of the ninth inning to push their lead to 7-2. Martin singled and Swilling reached base on an error to start the inning. The runners moved to second and third, respectively, on a sacrifice bunt by T.J. Dixon. Watson then doubled to drive in Martin and Swilling for the first two runs of the inning. Filliben then singled to drive in Watson for a five-run Samford lead.
With the win, Samford improved to 23-15 overall and 8-5 in Southern Conference play. Georgia Southern fell to 26-14 overall and 8-8 in SoCon play.
The teams will wrap up their Southern Conference series with a doubleheader Sunday. The first game is scheduled for a 12 p.m. start.
The Citadel at Western Carolina suspended
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Game one of the Southern Conference series between Western Carolina and The Citadel being played at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium has been suspended due to rain with the Bulldogs leading the Catamounts, 2-0, going into the home half of the fourth inning.
The two teams will complete Saturday's suspended game beginning at 1 p.m. on Sunday, with a second, nine-inning game scheduled to begin approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion in the abbreviated Southern Conference series.
After being postponed on Friday night, the two squads opened the scheduled three-game series amidst sporadic rain showers at 4:33 p.m. on Saturday. Not long after first pitch, though, steady rain showers began peppering the playing surface over the first three and a third innings. Despite the best efforts of game officials at Western Carolina, the rain showers over the past two days ultimately forced the teams from the field due to unfavorable and unsafe playing conditions.
The Citadel took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning as leadoff hitter Mason Davis was hit by a pitch in an eight-pitch at bat before scoring on an RBI single by Tyler Griffin. Griffin collected his second RBI on the first pitch of the third inning as he homered over the fence in right to give the visitors the 2-0 edge.
WCU was limited to just one hit through its first time through the lineup, as Taylor Sandefur reached on a seeing-eye single up the middle. The Catamounts moved a man to third base in the bottom of the third inning as J.D. Long drew a leadoff walk but was stranded at third base.
Catamount starter Jeremy Null has surrendered two runs on two hits through four innings on the hill, issuing three walks against one strikeout on the soggy mound. He worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the second inning. Bulldog starter Logan Cribb has tossed three frames, walking and striking out one with the one single allowed.
UNCG at Davidson canceled
DAVIDSON, N.C. – The final two games of Davidson's Southern Conference baseball series against UNCG at Wilson Field have been canceled due to continuing rains, it was announced Saturday afternoon.
Davidson and UNCG attempted to play the second game of the three-game series Friday evening as scheduled, but it was suspended in the middle of the third inning. The rains in Davidson have not ceased since Friday evening.
Southern Conference rules require all three games of a series to be completed within the three days that they are scheduled, so the games will not be made up. Winning percentage determines the conference standings.
The Wildcats will play their next eight games on the road, starting Tuesday at 7 p.m. at nationally ranked South Carolina. The game will be televised live on Fox Sports South.
The Spartans return to action Tuesday at Duke. First pitch at Jack Coombs Field is slated for 6 p.m.
Wofford at Furman canceled
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Saturday’s Furman-Wofford Southern Conference baseball series finale has been canceled to rain and will not be rescheduled, Furman head coach Ron Smith has announced.
After a two-hour, 34-minute delay, the game was canceled at 6:34 ET.
Furman won the series’ first two games, claiming a 6-5 decision in Thursday’s opener and a 5-1 verdict on Friday.
Winners of four straight, the Paladins (15-23, 6-8 SoCon) return to action on Tuesday when they hit the road to face UNC Asheville in a 6 p.m. game.
The Terriers (20-19, 3-11 SoCon) will host USC Upstate on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in a contest that was originally scheduled for March 18 but postponed due to weather. On Wednesday afternoon, Wofford will travel to Presbyterian College before hosting Georgia Southern for a three-game weekend series beginning on Friday night.