Western Carolina 5, The Citadel 4
Western Carolina 8, The Citadel 2
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Dykota Spiess doubled in the winning run in the bottom of the eighth, giving Western Carolina a 5-4 win over The Citadel in the completion of a game suspended on Saturday evening. In game two of the pseudo-doubleheader, Jordan Smith tossed his second complete game of the season and second of his career against The Citadel, leading Western Carolina to an 8-2 victory and a sweep of an abbreviated two-game series at Hennon Stadium.
The Catamounts (26-12, 11-3 SoCon) trailed 2-0 when Saturday’s game was halted by rain in the bottom of the fourth but rallied against Logan Cribb and Skylar Hunter to take the opener of an abbreviated two-game set Sunday.
The game was tied at 4 when Hunter relieved Cribb to start the Western half of the eighth. Pinch-hitter Luke Gragg drew a one-out walk, and Spiess followed with a line drive that split Hughston Armstrong and Tyler Griffin in right-center to bring the running Gragg all the way home.
The game-winning hit was particularly poignant for Spiess, who was not in the original starting lineup after his father passed away on Thursday night. He drew a walk as a pinch hitter in the fourth his dramatic moment in the eighth.
Griffin drove in both runs prior to the suspension on an RBI single in the first and a solo homer on the first pitch of the third. The round-tripper was Griffin's 22nd of his career, moving him into a tie for 13th place in school history. Cribb had allowed only one hit over his first three innings.
Cribb returned to the hill when the game was resumed and gave up the tying runs in the fourth. The Bulldogs (15-25, 2-15) quickly retook the lead in the fifth when Armstrong was hit by a Bryan Sammons pitch and eventually scored on a wild pitch.
Sammons had taken over for Catamount ace Jeremy Null, who worked the first four innings of the game on Saturday.
Western took its first lead in the seventh with a two-out rally against Cribb. Cody Jones singled and Adam Martin homered to center to give the Catamounts a 4-3 edge. Calvin Orth briefly tied it with a solo homer, his second of the year, in the top of the eighth.
Tyler Powell finished in the ninth, retiring the Bulldogs in order, to secure his eighth save of the year. T.J. Fussell worked out of a second-and-third jam in the sixth and allowed only the Orth homer to pick up the win.
In Sunday’s second game, the Catamounts scored three times in the second off Bulldog starter Austin Mason and never looked back in claiming their seventh straight series win over The Citadel in Cullowhee.
Smith limited the Bulldogs to five hits and struck out 10 in winning for the sixth time this season and 23rd in his career. He allowed single runs in the fourth on an RBI base hit by Drew DeKerlegand and the seventh when DeKerlegand doubled and scored on a double-play grounder by Bailey Rush.
DeKerlegand increased his hitting streak to nine games, the longest by a Citadel player this season, but the remainder of the lineup managed only three singles off Smith. DeKerlegand has hit safely in 18 of his last 21 games, going 29-for-78 (.372) over that stretch.
Bradley Strong doubled in two runs in the second and Western added a third tally on an error. The Catamounts put up a run in the third and used two walks and a pair of hits to score twice more in the fourth and end Mason's day.
The sophomore right-hander worked 3 1/3 innings and allowed seven hits and six runs (five earned) in taking the loss. The Catamounts concluded their offensive output with two runs against reliever Zach Sherrill in the fifth.
Ross White threw two scoreless innings, and Paul Joseph Krouse set down the Catamounts in order in the ninth, including a strikeout.
The Bulldogs return to Riley Park for a seven-game homestand beginning with a rematch against Winthrop on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The Citadel won the earlier meeting 3-2 in Rock Hill, S.C., on March 19.
Western Carolina will take on Clemson in Clemson, S.C., on Wednesday.
Elon 4, Appalachian State 2
ELON, N.C. – On a gorgeous but windy Easter Sunday from Latham Park, Elon's Jake Stalzer controlled the game to pitch his Phoenix to a 4-2 victory in the rubber match of a three-game set at Latham Park.
Stalzer, who was making his second start of the week, went eight innings and scattered just four hits while allowing two runs. He struck out four, including the last two hitters he faced on the afternoon. The win improved the junior lefty to 5-2 on the season and lowered his ERA to 2.91.
Ryan Pennell tossed a scoreless ninth to collect his 11th save of the year. That mark is tied for the second-most saves in a season in program history and is sixth on Elon's career chart.
After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the fourth, Elon (25-15, 11-7 Southern Conference) came right back with a marker of its own in the bottom half when Tyler McVicar doubled home Casey Jones.
In the next inning, the Phoenix grabbed the lead for good. With two outs, Andy Moore doubled down the left-field line and scored on Quinn Bower's single up the middle. With his brother on second after an error, Blaine Bower singled home the third Elon run of the contest.
Appalachian (14-23, 8-6) got one back in the sixth on a wind-aided homer from Tyler Stroup, only to see the maroon and gold get that one right back in the bottom half when Ryan Cooper doubled home McVicar.
Jones was one of three Elon players with two hits (McVicar and Cooper were the others) as his hitting streak reached 26 games.
The loss went to App starter Jeffrey Springs (2-2), who was charged with all four runs on nine hits in six innings.
The Phoenix is scheduled to play its next four on the road, beginning with a 6 p.m. contest at UNCW on Tuesday evening.
Appalachian will continue with its road trip by traveling to Blacksburg, Va., to take on Virginia Tech on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
Georgia Southern 4, Samford 2
Samford 7, Georgia Southern 2
STATESBORO, Ga. – The Samford baseball team split a doubleheader at Georgia Southern on Sunday afternoon at J.I. Clements Stadium. The Bulldogs fell in the first game, 4-2, but came back to win the second game, 7-2. With the split, Samford wins the Southern Conference series, two games to one.
For Samford in game two, Heath Quinn went 3-for-3 with three doubles and three runs scored. Caleb Bryson went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Tripp Martin and Frankie Navarrete also had two hits each for the Bulldogs in the second game. Parker Curry (4-2) pitched 3 1/3 innings in relief, giving up no runs on two hits to earn the win on the mound for Samford.
GSU was led in game two by Chase Griffin, who went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Garrett Chapman also went 2-for-4 for the Eagles. Matt McCall (1-2) tossed three innings, giving up three runs on five hits to take the loss on the mound for the Eagles.
Samford struck first in game two of the doubleheader, plating one run in the top of the second inning. With one out in the inning, Quinn doubled to right field. After moving to third base on a ground out, Quinn scored on a wild pitch for a 1-0 Samford lead.
The Eagles tied the score with a run in the bottom of the second inning. Dalton Busby walked to lead off the inning. Busby moved to second base on a single and third on a wild pitch. Busby then scored on a ground out by C.J. Brazil to make the score 1-1.
Georgia Southern took the lead with a run in the bottom of the third inning. With one out in the inning, Garren Palmer and Aaron Mizell were both hit by pitches. Griffin then singled through the left side of the infield to drive in Palmer for a 2-1 GSU lead.
The Bulldogs took the lead again with five runs in the top of the fourth inning to make the score 6-2. Quinn doubled down the left-field line to lead off the inning. After stealing third base, Quinn scored on a wild pitch. Bryson then reached base on an infield single and later scored on an error. Navarrete singled and later scored on a sacrifice bunt by T.J. Dixon to make the score 4-2. Brandon Powell later scored on a sacrifice by Jared Watson for a 5-2 lead. Tyler Filliben then singled to drive in Dixon for a 6-2 Samford lead.
Samford plated another run in the top of the seventh inning to push its lead to 7-2. With two outs, Quinn doubled to right field. Bryson then singled to left field to drive in Quinn for a five-run Samford lead.
For Samford at the plate in game one, Jared Watson went 3-for-4. Bryson was 2-for-3 at the plate for the Bulldogs in the first game. Chase Traffica (0-2) pitched 1 2/3 innings, giving up three runs on four hits to take the loss on the mound in game one.
GSU was led in the first game by Stryker Brown, who went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Josh Wirsu (8-2) pitched eight innings, allowing two runs, just one earned, on five hits to earn the win for the Eagles. Jason Richman got the final two outs to pick up his second save of the season.
In game one, Samford jumped on top early with a run in the top of the first inning. Dixon walked to lead off the inning. Dixon moved to second base on a single by Watson. With one out, Dixon stole third base and then scored on a GSU error for a 1-0 Samford lead.
The Eagles came back to tie the game with a run in the bottom of the second inning. Chapman walked to lead off the inning. After moving to second base on a sacrifice bunt, Chapman scored on a single by Dalton Busby to knot the score at 1-1.
Georgia Southern took the lead for good with three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Chapman hit a sacrifice fly to score Mizell for the first run of the inning. Brown then singled to drive in Griffin and Ryan Cleveland for a 4-1 GSU lead.
Samford plated one final run in the top of the ninth inning to cut the lead to 4-2, but the Bulldogs could get no closer. Drew McWhorter was hit by a pitch, Quinn walked and Bryson singled to load the bases with no outs. After McWhorter was retired at home on a fielder’s choice, Danny Rodriguez walked to drive in Quinn to bring Samford to within one run. The next two batters, however, were retired, and the game ended in a 4-2 GSU win.
With the split, Samford moves to 24-16 overall and 9-6 in Southern Conference play. Georgia Southern is now 27-15 overall and 9-9 in SoCon play.
Samford will return to action on Tuesday, when the Bulldogs play host to in-state rival Troy. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. CT start from Joe Lee Griffin Field.
GSU remains at home in the midweek and will host Bethune-Cookman on Tuesday and the College of Charleston on Wednesday before traveling to Wofford for a three-game Southern Conference series.