The Citadel 5, Furman 4
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Calvin Orth scored on a single down the first-base line by Mason Davis with two outs in the eighth inning, giving The Citadel a 5-4 victory over Furman in the opening game of a Southern Conference series Friday at Riley Park.
The series continues with games Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
Orth led off the winning rally with an infield single and moved to second on a sacrifice by Ryan Kilgallen. Bret Hines launched a fly ball to center, and Orth just beat the throw to third, putting him in position to score when Davis' smash bounced away from Furman first baseman Greg Harrison.
The run made a winner of Zach Lavery (2-0), the second time in as many games that the redshirt freshman picked up a victory out of the bullpen. He came in with two Paladins on and one out in the top of eighth and escaped the jam, keeping the game tied at 4.
After the Bulldogs (17-25, 3-15 SoCon) took the lead, closer Skylar Hunter worked a 1-2-3 ninth for his ninth save of the year. The sophomore increased his career save total to 22, tying Tom Martin for fifth place in school history.
Logan Cribb started for The Citadel and worked six solid innings, allowing six hits and two runs while striking out three. He left with a 4-2 lead before Furman scored twice in the seventh, including a game-tying single by Chris Ohmstede off David Rivera.
Elliott Warford gave up the winning run and took the loss, dropping to 2-3 on the season. Matt Solter started for the Paladins (16-24, 6-9) and scattered 10 hits while fanning eight in seven innings on the hill.
The Citadel jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second when Hines doubled to bring in Orth and then scored on a two-out bunt single by Hughston Armstrong.
Furman tied it with two runs in the third, getting an RBI single from Harrison and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ohmstede, before the Bulldogs retook the lead the following frame. With two on, Tyler Griffin drove a shot into the left-field corner, where Carter Grote got a glove on the ball but was unable to hold on after crashing into the wall.
Both runners scored on the play to give the Bulldogs a 4-2 edge that stood until the Paladin rally in the seventh.
Hines added to his double in the second with another two-base hit in the fourth and tied his career high with three hits with a single in the sixth. Grote had three hits for Furman.
Wofford 8, Georgia Southern 3
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford Terriers scored seven runs over the first three innings and defeated the Georgia Southern Eagles 8-3 in the Southern Conference series opener on Friday.
Jesse Morris allowed three home runs but tossed a quality start to earn his seventh win of the season. Morris (7-5) allowed three runs on six hits and struck out nine batters on 93 pitches. The right-hander pitched into the seventh inning and walked just two batters over 6 1/3 innings.
Sam Howard allowed seven runs over just two innings and was tagged with his third straight loss. Howard (4-6) allowed seven hits and walked one batter on 60 pitches.
Ryan Frederick replaced Howard in the third inning and threw five scoreless innings before allowing a run in the eighth inning. Frederick allowed just four hits and struck out three batters on 73 pitches. Frederick was just one of three GSU pitchers used on the day.
Georgia Southern (27-17, 9-10 SoCon) got home runs from Aaron Mizell, Stryker Brown and Hunter Thomas in the loss. All three were solo home runs off of Wofford starter Morris.
Mizell homered in the first inning to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead, a lead that the Terriers (22-20, 4-11) would quickly overcome in the bottom half of the first inning.
Matt Ramsey drove in two runs with a home run of his own, and James Plaisted scored on a sacrifice fly to put Wofford up 3-1 after the first inning, a lead the Terriers would never relinquish.
The Eagles quickly answered the three-run inning after Hunter Thomas hit his first career home run over the high wall in right field in the second inning. The Eagles' final run of the day came on Brown's second home run in as many games. Brown hit a ball into the trees in left field in the fourth inning.
Wofford expanded a one-run lead in the third inning, scoring four runs on a Seth Neely double and a Conor Clancey home run.
The series continues Saturday with a 3 p.m. first pitch. Josh Wirsu will look to get the Eagles back in the win column and will square off with the Terriers’ Matthew Milburn.
Appalachian State 14, Davidson 6
BOONE, N.C. – Dillon Dobson homered twice to lead Appalachian State past Davidson, 14-6, in Southern Conference baseball action on a windy Friday night in Smith Stadium.
Davidson (23-12, 13-4 SoCon) right fielder Nathan Becker hit his 10th home run of the season for the first score of the game in the second inning, but Appalachian State (16-24, 9-6 SoCon) scored the next 12 runs as the Wildcats yielded a season-high 20 hits.
Dobson (2-for-4) finished with four RBIs, while centerfielder Jaylin Davis went 2-for-4 with a triple and three RBIs for App. First baseman Tyler Zupcic, third baseman Michael Pierson and right fielder Preston Troutman had three hits each.
RHP Jamie Nunn (4-6) and LHP Dallas DeVrieze (1) combined to hold the Wildcats to six runs on seven hits and four walks with six strikeouts. Nunn went five-plus innings, while DeVrieze pitched the final four.
Becker reached in all four plate appearances as he was walked and hit by a pitch twice. Shortstop Sam Foy and third baseman Ben Arkin also led the Wildcats offensively, as Foy went 3-for-4 with an RBI and Arkin went 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Both doubled.
The Mountaineers took the lead in the bottom half of the second, as Dobson and designated hitter Matt Brill (1-for-5) hit back-to-back home runs. They then added five runs in the third, keyed by a two-RBI triple by Davis and an RBI triple by shortstop William Head (2-for-5, 2 RBIs), and three more runs in the fourth, led by Dobson’s second home run, which came with one on.
Appalachian added another two in the fifth for a 12-1 advantage before Davidson scored three in the sixth on an RBI single by Foy and a two-RBI double off the left-field wall by Arkin.
The Mountaineers scored two more runs in the bottom half of the sixth. Foy then drove in another run in the eighth inning, while left fielder Lee Miller (0-for-3) added a sacrifice fly for the final margin.
LHP Rob Bain (3-2) suffered the loss, pitching 3 1/3 innings for Davidson.
Davidson and Appalachian State will continue the three-game series Saturday at 3 p.m. RHP Danny Mooney (3-3, 2.74 ERA) is slated to start for the Wildcats, while RHP Tyler Moore is expected to start for the Mountaineers.
Samford 10, Western Carolina 4
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Samford junior pitcher Alex Ledford pitched the complete game, giving up four runs, just three earned, to give the Bulldog baseball team a 10-4 win in the first game of a three-game Southern Conference series against Western Carolina on Friday evening at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
The Bulldogs turned in a strong overall performance in earning the win. In addition to Ledford’s impressive outing on the mound, Samford pounded out 11 hits, including two home runs, and turned three double plays.
Ledford (5-2) struck out six batters while allowing just two walks in earning the win. The performance marked the first complete game for a Samford pitcher since C.K. Irby tossed a complete game at Furman on March 22, 2013.
Offensively for Samford, Tripp Martin went 3-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs. Drew McWhorter went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Jared Watson hit a two-run home run, going 1-for-4 at the plate.
For Western Carolina, Matt Smith went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Luke Gragg went 2-for-4 at the plate for the Catamounts. Jeremy Null (7-2) pitched seven innings, giving up eight runs, six earned, on nine hits to take the loss.
The Catamounts jumped on top first with two runs in the top of the second inning. Samford, however, answered with five runs in the bottom of the second inning to take the lead for good at 5-2. Heath Quinn doubled to lead off the inning for Samford. With one out, Brandon Powell doubled to drive in Quinn for Samford’s first run of the game. Powell then scored on a WCU error to tie the score at 2-2.
Martin then singled to drive in Hunter Swilling, who had reached base on the error, for a 3-2 Samford lead. T.J. Dixon later reached base on an infield single to drive in Martin to make the score 4-2. McWhorter then singled up the middle to drive in Frankie Navarrete for a 5-2 Samford lead.
Samford added two runs in the fourth inning to make the score 7-2. Martin walked to lead off the inning. With two outs in the inning, Watson homered to left field for a five-run Samford lead.
The Bulldogs plated another run in the sixth inning to push their lead to 8-2. With one out, Martin hit a home run to left field for Samford’s eighth run of the contest. The home run was Martin’s eighth of the season.
Western Carolina came back with two runs in the top of the eighth inning to cut the Samford lead to 8-4. Aaron Attaway singled to drive in Gragg for the first run of the inning. Cody Jones later singled to drive in Smith to bring the Catamounts to within four runs.
Samford added two final runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to make the final score 10-4. With two outs in the inning, Martin singled and Navarrete doubled, moving Martin to third base. Both runners scored when Dixon reached base on a WCU error for the final two runs of the contest.
With the win, Samford improved to 26-16 overall and 10-6 in Southern Conference play. Western Carolina fell to 26-14 overall and 11-4 in league play. The win, coupled with Elon’s loss to UNCG, moves Samford into third place in the SoCon standings. Western Carolina is currently in second place in the league.
The teams will continue their three-game series with a game Saturday at 2 p.m. CT at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
UNCG 5, Elon 1
GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG received a stellar start from sophomore RHP Ryan Clark on Friday evening and the offense scored four runs in the sixth and seventh innings to propel the Spartans to a 5-1 victory over Elon at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
The Blue and Gold handed the Phoenix its first Friday loss of the campaign, while UNCG (18-19, 5-8 SoCon) also snapped a six-game losing streak against Elon (25-17, 11-8 SoCon).
Clark (3-4) worked 7 2/3 innings and allowed just one run while scattering six hits and striking out seven batters. Lucas Bakker (5-2) was charged with the loss for the Phoenix, as he gave up three runs on seven hits with a walk and five strikeouts. Junior RHP Tyler Frazier threw the final 1 1/3 innings for UNCG and notched a strikeout.
Juniors Hunter King and Jordan McDonald tallied two hits apiece in the contest, with McDonald also driving in a pair of runs. Classmate Eric Kalbfleisch scored a run and drove in two in a 1-for-3 effort at the plate.
The Spartans struck first in the bottom of the second. King drew a leadoff walk and junior L.J. Kalawaia followed with a single through the left side. McDonald followed with a base hit to center that scored King from second and gave UNCG a 1-0 advantage.
Clark settled in and cruised through the middle innings, receiving some more run support in the bottom of the sixth. Senior Sean Guite found the gap in left-center for a leadoff double and scored a batter later when Kalbfleisch singled to right field. King recorded a single in his next at bat, putting himself on second base when Elon tried to nab Kalbfleisch going to third base. Both runners would be safe on the play. McDonald drove in his second run of the contest when he hit a sharp single off the shin of Bakker. The ball rolled all the way into foul territory past the third-base line, allowing Kalbfleisch to easily cross home. Bakker would have to leave the game with UNCG owning a 3-0 edge.
The Spartans added to their cushion in the seventh on a Kalbfleisch sacrifice fly and a RBI single by King, making the score 5-0 after seven complete innings. The Phoenix would avoid the shutout in the top of the eighth thanks to a RBI single by Casey Jones, but Frazier set Elon down in order in the top of the ninth to preserve the win.
The teams will continue the series Saturday at 2 p.m.