Elon 2, Campbell 1
ELON, N.C. – Elon’s pitching scattered four hits and the Phoenix scraped across just enough runs to pull out a 2-1 victory over the visiting Campbell Fighting Camels in the final contest of a 14-game home stint on Wednesday night.
With the win, Elon head coach Mike Kennedy moved within four victories of career win No. 600.
In the last of the second, Elon (19-10) had runners on second and third with two outs when Ryan Cooper singled through the right side of the infield to score Blaine Bower as the maroon and gold took a 1-0 lead.
The Phoenix tacked on another in the fifth on Danny Lynch's infield single that plated Casey Jones.
It remained a 2-0 game until the eighth, when, with a runner on second, Elijah Trail doubled to center to get Campbell (19-11) on the board.
Jones had two hits to move his hitting streak to 15 games and give him 16 total multi-hit outings on the year. Lynch picked up three of Elon's 10 hits.
Tyler Manez (1-3) did not allow a run on just two hits in 5 1/3 innings of work. The lefty only threw 48 pitches. Ryan Pennell got the final three outs for his eighth save of the year.
The loss went to Matt Nadolski (0-2), who gave up one run on four hits in 2 1/3 innings.
The Phoenix will hit the road for a three-game Southern Conference series at Samford this weekend. Friday's first pitch is set for 7 p.m. Eastern.
UNCG 13, North Carolina A&T 8
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Every batter in the UNCG lineup recorded a hit Wednesday as the Spartans swept the season series from North Carolina A&T with a 13-8 victory at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
The Spartans improved to 14-13 overall, while the Aggies dropped to 11-18.
The triumph was the seventh straight for the Blue and Gold over its crosstown rival and upped UNCG’s advantage in the all-time series to 40-6.
The Spartans reached double figures in hits for the 18th time this season with 18 base knocks and produced their eighth double-digit run performance of the campaign – improving to a flawless 8-0 in such contests. A total of seven UNCG batters notched multi-hit efforts during the evening. The Spartans committed four errors in the game, three on Aggie stolen-base attempts, while North Carolina A&T committed two defensive miscues.
Redshirt junior Zac MacAneney and sophomore Jake Hall led the way with three hits apiece as MacAneney also chipped in with two RBIs and Hall scored a team-high three runs. Junior L.J. Kalawaia extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a 2-for-3 performance while also crossing the plate twice. Additionally, junior Hunter King was 2-for-6 with three RBIs and two runs scored – stretching his own hitting streak to 10 games in the process.
Junior Brennen James picked up his first win and decision of the season, throwing 1 1/3 innings and allowing just one unearned run on one hit with no walks and two strikeouts. Justin Godette was charged with the loss for A&T and dropped to 0-4 on the year. He gave up nine runs (all earned) on 12 hits with two walks and no strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings pitched.
A pair of hits and errors helped the Aggies to a 2-0 advantage after the top of the first, but the Spartans were quick to respond in the bottom of the second. King singled on the infield to lead off the frame before Kalawaia doubled to center field and advanced to third on a throwing error at short. King would score on the play to make the score 2-1. Junior Jordan McDonald followed with a sacrifice fly that plated Kalawaia and knotted the score. Redshirt freshman Julian Abreu then doubled down the left-field line and Hall kept the line moving with a single to score Abreu. Junior Tyler Long singled for UNCG’s fifth hit of the inning before MacAneney reached on a fielding error at short to load the bases. Senior Sean Guite came through with a sac fly to plate Hall and leave the Blue and Gold with a 4-2 advantage after two complete innings.
Spartan starter and freshman Andrew George ran into trouble in the top of the third and was lifted in favor of senior Dylan Thompson. North Carolina A&T would go on to score five runs, four of which were charged to George, on three hits and a UNCG error in the inning to jump back on top 7-4. The Spartans would pull a run back in the bottom of the stanza thanks to an RBI double by McDonald.
After the Aggies stretched their lead back to 8-5 in the sixth via a sac fly by Micah Carmony, the UNCG offense went to work in the bottom of the inning. Hall singled and Long was hit by a pitch to begin the proceedings before MacAneney moved the runners up a base with a sacrifice bunt. Guite then drew a walk to load the bases before junior Eric Kalbfleisch lined out sharply to short for the second out. King battled in his at-bat and came through with a huge bases-clearing, three-run triple to right-center that deadlocked the score at 8. Kalawaia and McDonald drew walks in their at-bats, loading the bases once more for Abreu. He would also work a walk to put the Spartans ahead 9-8 and close the scoring in the frame.
North Carolina A&T threatened in the top of the seventh. The visitors managed to load the bases thanks to a pair of singles off redshirt junior Blair Betts and a walk by junior Tyler Frazier with two outs. However, Frazier worked out of the jam brilliantly – getting Brandon Mitchell to fly out to shallow left field and leave the bags full of Aggies.
The Blue and Gold cruised from that point, notching a run in the seventh and three in the eighth to seal the five-run win.
UNCG remains at home for a weekend league series with Southern Conference leader Western Carolina. The Spartans and Catamounts will start things off Friday at 6 p.m. inside the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Wofford 7, UNC Asheville 3
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Wofford College baseball team picked up a 7-3 win over UNC Asheville on Wednesday evening at Greenwood Field. The score was tied after five innings, but the Terriers scored twice in the seventh and twice in the eighth to earn the victory.
Wofford is 17-12 on the season and UNC Asheville is 9-19 overall. The Terriers were led by Derek Hirsch with three hits and Eric Brenk had five RBIs. Pete Guy led the Bulldogs with a hit and two RBIs.
The Terriers opened the game with Josh Hyman reaching second base on an error. He scored from third on a double-steal attempt to make it a 1-0 score. In the bottom of the first the Bulldogs tied the game with an unearned run.
In the top of the third, a walk and catcher’s interference followed by a sacrifice bunt gave the Terriers runners at second and third with one out. A ground out by Brenk scored a run for a 2-1 game.
Wofford led off the fifth with walks to Alec Paradowski and Seth Neely. A sacrifice bunt moved the runners into scoring position and a groundout by Brenk drove in a run for a 3-1 lead. In the bottom of the fifth, the Bulldogs had two runners reach on walks when a two-out double down the left line by Pete Guy drove in both to tie the game at 3-3.
Wofford had a two-out single by Hirsch in the sixth inning. Josh Hyman hit a double to left field, but Hirsch was thrown out at home to end the top half.
Alec Paradowski led off the top of the seventh with a single and Neely was hit by a pitch. A fielder’s choice on a bunt by Conor Clancey loaded the bases. A fielder’s choice by Brenk scored Paradowski to give Wofford the lead at 4-3. A bunt by James Plaisted scored Neely as he was safe on the play at home for a 5-3 score at the seventh-inning stretch.
Wofford loaded the bases with one out in the top of the eighth on two walks and a hit batter. A two-out single by Brenk to center field drove in two runs to make it a 7-3 lead.
The Bulldogs had a single and a walk in the bottom of the ninth, but a strikeout looking ended the game.
Wofford pitcher Connell Anderson threw 4.2 innings and allowed three runs on one hit, as he walked six and struck out three. Jordan Accetta (3-1) went 1.1 innings and did not allow a hit with two strikeouts. Will Stillman worked two innings and allowed one hit with four strikeouts. Eric Eck pitched the ninth and gave up one hit with two strikeouts.
UNC Asheville starter Lucas Clarke went four innings and allowed three runs, only one earned, on three hits. He walked five batters without a strikeout. Evan Joura (0-1) threw two innings with three hits and allowed two runs. Nick Schavone went 1 1/3 innings with two runs allowed on two walks. Spencer Orr threw the final 1 2/3 innings and allowed one hit with two strikeouts.
The Terriers will begin a home Southern Conference series against Appalachian State on Friday at 6 p.m.
Appalachian State 7, East Tennessee State 6
BOONE, N.C. – True freshman Matt Brill’s two-out RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning gave Appalachian State a 7-6 walk-off win over East Tennessee State on Wednesday evening at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
With the score tied at 6-6, the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Brill lifted the first pitch he saw from ETSU’s Will Chesney well over the Buccaneers’ drawn-in outfield. The ball one-hopped the wall in right-center field and Jaylin Davis scored easily from third base to set off a wild scrum in celebration of Appalachian State’s first walk-off victory of the season.
Davis sparked Appalachian’s ninth-inning rally with a one-out single to left field on an 0-2 pitch from Chesney (2-2). Michael Pierson followed with a bloop double into right-center that landed just out of reach for ETSU’s diving center fielder, Jeremy Taylor. With runners on second and third, the Bucs elected to intentionally walk Tyler Zupcic, who was 2-for-4 with two RBIs, including a game-tying RBI single in the seventh. Chesney struck out Bradley Morton for the second out of the inning but the strikeout only served as a setup for Brill’s heroics one pitch later.
Appalachian State (9-17) jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the first on back-to-back homers from Davis, who blasted a no-doubt three-run bomb to left-center field, and Pierson, whose solo shot cleared the wall in right.
ETSU (14-14) drew even with a run in the third and two in the fourth, but Appalachian regained a 5-4 advantage on Zupcic’s RBI double in the fifth.
The Bucs took their first lead of the ballgame on a two-run homer to left by Chris Riopedre in the top of the seventh, but Zupcic answered with his game-tying RBI single in bottom of the frame that knotted the score at 6-6 and paved the way for the Mountaineers’ walk-off win.
Appalachian State matched a season high with 14 hits in the victory but stranded 10 base-runners. Pierson paced the 14-hit attack by going 3-for-4 with two doubles, a home run, a walk, an RBI and two runs scored. Brill, Davis, Zupcic and Preston Troutman added two hits apiece. Troutman became the first Mountaineer with two triples in a game since current San Francisco Giants’ farmhand Will Callaway tripled twice against LaSalle in 2011.
Robert Whaley, Appalachian’s seventh pitcher of the evening, picked up the win with two innings of flawless relief. Whaley (1-1) retired six of the seven batters he faced, with the only base-runner getting aboard on an error.
Chris Cook and Dylan Tritsch led ETSU with two hits each.
Appalachian State returns to Southern Conference action with a three-game weekend series at Wofford. Game times are set for 6 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at Russell C. King Field in Spartanburg, S.C.
Alabama A&M 5, Samford 3
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The Samford baseball team dropped a 5-3 decision at Alabama A&M on Wednesday afternoon at Bulldog Field.
With the loss, Samford dropped to 17-12 overall. Alabama A&M improved to 11-19.
Samford was led at the plate by Tyler Filliben, who went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Filliben’s performance extended his current hit streak to 13 games. Jared Watson and Hunter Swilling also drove in one run each. Cody Pugh (2-3) pitched 4 1/3 innings, giving up four runs, just three earned, on three hits to take the loss on the mound for Samford.
For Alabama A&M, Ramon Nelson went 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Caleb Waddell homered in a 1-for-4 performance. Ryan Ahrens (2-3) pitched five innings in relief, giving up one run on four hits to earn the win for Alabama A&M.
Samford jumped on top first with a run in the top of the third inning. With one out in the inning, Jared Watson walked and then advanced to second base on a balk. Filliben then singled to drive in Watson for a 1-0 Samford lead.
Alabama A&M tied the score with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning. With one out, Austin Hulsey doubled. Andrew Utterback then singled to drive in Hulsey to make the score 1-1.
Alabama A&M took the lead with three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. With one out in the inning and the bases loaded, Nelson doubled to drive in Keyonta Welch, Dylan Johnson and Waddell for a 4-1 A&M lead.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Alabama A&M added to its lead with a run to make the score 5-1. With two outs in the inning, Waddell hit a solo home run for a four-run A&M lead.
Samford came back with a run in the eighth inning and another in the ninth to make the final score 5-3. Filliben scored the run in the eighth inning when Heath Quinn reached base on a fielder’s choice. In the ninth inning, Caleb Bryson scored when Watson grounded out to shortstop. Samford had runners on first and second base with two outs in the ninth, trailing by two runs, but the Bulldogs were unable to push any more runs across, and the game ended in a 5-3 Alabama A&M win.
Samford will return to action on Friday, when the Bulldogs open a three-game home Southern Conference series with Elon. The first pitch for Friday’s series opener is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
Kennesaw State 3, Georgia Southern 0
STATESBORO, Ga. – The Georgia Southern Eagles tallied just two hits as Kennesaw State Owls won 3-0 behind starter Chris Erwin.
Erwin limited Georgia Southern (21-10) to five base-runners and stranded a pair in the first and third frames. The only other Eagle to reach base against the lefty starter, Dalton Busby, was erased in a run down after being picked off at first base.
Erwin (2-1) allowed two hits and no runs in five innings, walked three batters and struck out six, on 87 pitches.
Kennesaw State (14-18) tallied seven hits and took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Max Pentecost's double off of GSU starter Will Middour.
Middour (1-1) got out of the first without any further damage after coaxing a ground out but took the loss in the shutout. The junior right-hander stranded a pair of runners in the fourth inning and allowed just two hits. Middour walked five batters and struck out three, on 76 pitches.
Justin McCalvin threw a perfect ninth inning for his fourth save and struck out a pair to end the game.
KSU extended its one-run lead to 3-0 after scoring two unearned runs in the seventh inning. Eric Alonzo, working in his second inning, struck out Dylan Ivey and got Kal Simmons to ground out to shortstop before two errors by the Eagle defense led to two runs.
Jacob Bruce reached second base after Busby's throw sailed high and hit off the roof of the first-base dugout. Bruce later scored on Pentecost's single. Ryan Cleveland attempted to throw Bruce out on the play, but his throw sailed wide of the plate, allowing Pentecost an extra bag. Bo Way drove in the second run of the inning on a single to right field before being thrown out at second base to end the frame.
Back-to-back errors by the Owls' infield allowed two base-runners to reach safely in the seventh inning. The Eagles were unable to get either run in after Will Solomon recorded a strikeout, a ground out and a fly out to end the threat. Solomon also struck out the side in the eighth inning.
GSU travels to Charleston, S.C., on Friday to open a three-game Southern Conference series against The Citadel Bulldogs. First pitch in the series opener is set for 6 p.m.