Furman 9, Gardner-Webb 0
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Matthew Quarles pitched five innings of shutout ball and Furman pounded out 15 hits to blank Gardner-Webb, 9-0, in Wednesday baseball action at John Henry Moss Stadium.
The shutout was the first by Furman (18-25) since blanking Elon, 2-0, on May 18, 2011, and marked the seventh win in the last nine games for the Paladins, who return home to open a three-game Southern Conference series against Georgia Southern beginning on Friday at 7 p.m.
Quarles (2-2), a freshman right-hander from Greenwood, S.C., allowed a pair of singles in both the first and second innings but settled down to retire the final 11 batters he faced before giving way to the Paladin bullpen to start the sixth. The win was the first for Quarles since March 4, when he tossed six innings of shutout ball in an eventual 13-1 triumph over USC Upstate at Fluor Field.
Paladin relievers Ryan Morse, Jake Wolff and Anthony Buonopane combined to keep Gardner-Webb (19-24) scoreless over the final four innings, allowing one hit while notching seven strikeouts.
Furman’s excellent pitching was supported by solid work at the plate, as six players registered two-hit performances.
Griffin Davis (2-for-3) drove in a pair of runs and Jake Jones (2-for-4) scored twice to lead the way. Greg Harrison (2-for-3), Chris Ohmstede (2-for-3), Jordan Simpson (2-for-4) and Jake Kinsley (2-for-5), making his first start in more than two years, contributed to the Paladins’ attack, as did Alex Abrams, who drove in three runs on a two-run single and sacrifice fly.
Quarles and Furman would get all the runs they would need in the third, when the Paladins scored four times against Bulldogs starter Jeremy Walker (3-1).
Walks by Davis and Hunter Burton and a Kinsley single loaded the bases for Jones, whose base hit through the right side scored Davis to give Furman a 1-0 lead. A Harrison sacrifice fly made it 2-0, and an Ohmstede double drove home Burton for a 3-0 advantage. Abrams closed out the frame with a sacrifice fly that plated Ohmstede.
Furman led 5-0 after six innings before tacking on four more in the seventh on a pair of two-run singles by Davis and Abrams.
Gardner-Webb managed just five hits, including just one over the final seven innings.
Western Carolina 3, Wake Forest 2 (12 innings)
SHELBY, N.C. – Bradley Strong bounced an RBI single up the middle in the top of the 12th inning to score Danny Bermudez as Western Carolina upended Wake Forest, 3-2, Wednesday night in midweek, nonconference action at Veterans Field / Keeter Stadium, site of the American Legion World Series.
Bermudez drew a leadoff walk to open the top of the decisive 12th inning with senior Aaron Attaway – a defensive substitution in the seventh inning – advancing the second-year catcher into scoring position with a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt. Two batters later, Strong chopped one up the middle that took a fortuitous bounce over the head of second baseman Nate Mondou, allowing Bermudez to cross the plate from second base.
In the bottom of the 12, Tyler Powell (2-0) struck out two batters looking as the Catamounts sat the Demon Deacons down in order to secure the win, their second against an ACC foe this season.
Powell was the eighth WCU pitcher that combined to keep Wednesday’s game close, striking out two with a run allowed on one hit and a walk. Sophomore Colton Davis struck out three in a two-inning start with southpaw classmate Alex Barr fanning three in 2 2/3 innings, surrendering Wake’s first run on two hits and two runs. Freshman Korey Anderson struck out two in an inning of work, with Nate Williams inducing an inning-ending fly ball out on one relief pitch, entering the game on a 1-2 count.
Jonathan Waszak faced one batter, with left-hander Bryan Sammons striking out two in an inning and a third of hitless, scoreless relief. Senior T.J. Fussell was poised to earn the victory, striking out a team-high four in 2 2/3 innings out of the bullpen, scattering two hits.
Western Carolina (29-14) had a chance to end the game in the 11th inning. With the game tied at 1, junior Jacob Hoyle collected his second RBI of the day with a towering solo home run over the fence in right field to make it 2-1. The round-tripper was a SoCon-leading 13th this season – his second in extra innings – while the two RBIs gave him 41 on the season.
The Deacs would rally, though, fighting back with a run in the bottom of the frame to continue the game. Mondou drew a leadoff walk before moving to third on a check-swing single down the first-base line by Will Craig to put runners at the corners. The game-tying marker scored on an infield single, but WCU stemmed the tide with an inning-ending double play turned by Strong, Attaway and Hoyle.
Craig finished with a game-high four singles, finishing 4-for-5 with a strikeout.
Wake Forest (26-22) grabbed the lead in the home half of the third inning as Mondou delivered a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to center field to score Evan Stephens to make it 1-0.
The margin stayed at just one until the sixth inning, when Cody Jones led off with a double to right field. Adam Martin drew his second of two walks to extend his safely reached streak to 14 straight games, putting two aboard. An error on a failed pickoff attempt at second base advanced the runners to second and third, respectively, before Hoyle drove a deep shot to center, allowing Jones to score the tying run on the sacrifice fly.
Jones and Strong led WCU with 2-for-6 outings at the plate, both with a single and double.
Wake Forest reliever Garrett Kelly (1-3) suffered the loss, facing just one batter and issuing the walk to Bermudez in the 12th. Starter Jack Fischer struck out five against three walks, surrendering one unearned run on four hits in six innings.
Western Carolina returns to Southern Conference action this weekend as it hosts archrival Appalachian State for a three-game set at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 5 p.m. with Saturday to start at 2 p.m. The series concludes on Sunday with a 1 p.m. first pitch.
No. 12 Alabama 9, Samford 5
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford baseball team dropped a 9-5 decision to Alabama on Wednesday evening at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
The two teams combined to hit six home runs in the game. Samford’s Drew McWhorter and Heath Quinn hit one homer each. For Alabama, Mikey White hit two homers, while Ben Moore and Wade Wass hit one home run each.
Samford’s McWhorter and Quinn each went 2-for-5 with a home run and one RBI. Jared Watson went 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Danny Rodriguez also went 2-for-4 for the Bulldogs.
Samford pitcher Cody Pugh (3-4) pitched three innings, giving up four runs on five hits to take the loss on the mound for the Bulldogs. Mark Donham, Mikel Belcher, Charles Terry, Parker Curry, Patrick McGavin, Phillip Flach and Gage Pregno also saw time on the mound for Samford.
For Alabama, White went 5-for-5, tying a school record for hits in a game, with two home runs and four RBIs. Moore was 1-for-4 with his home run and two RBIs. Wass also went 1-for-4 with a homer and one RBI. Geoffrey Bramblett (4-1) pitched 3 2/3 innings, giving up two runs on two hits to earn the win on the mound for Alabama.
Alabama jumped on top first with two runs in the top of the first inning. White led the game off with a solo home run to left field for the game’s first run. With two outs in the inning, Wass hit another homer to left field for a 2-0 Alabama lead.
The Crimson Tide added a run in the top of the second inning to push their lead to 3-0. With two outs in the inning, White singled. Georgie Salem then doubled to drive in White for a three-run Alabama lead.
Alabama pushed its lead to 5-0 with two runs in the top of the fourth inning. Will Haynie singled to lead off the inning. With one out, White homered to left-center field for Alabama’s fourth and fifth runs of the contest.
Samford got on the scoreboard with two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. With two outs in the inning, Caleb Bryson singled through the left side of the infield. Brandon Powell then walked and Rodriguez reached base on an infield single to load the bases. Tripp Martin then walked to score Bryson to make the score 5-1. Watson then reached base on another infield single to drive in Powell to cut the Alabama lead to 5-2.
Samford added two more runs in the fifth inning to make the score 5-4. With one out in the inning, McWhorter hit a home run to left field. Quinn then homered to left field, as well, to close Samford to within one run.
Samford had a chance to tie the score in the bottom of the seventh inning. Frankie Navarrete singled up the middle to lead off the inning and then moved to second base on a wild pitch with one out. Quinn then singled to left field, and Navarrete advanced to third base but was thrown out at home, and the score remained 5-4.
Alabama took control of the game with four runs in the top of the eighth inning. Moore hit a two-run home run in the inning, and Chance Vincent and White drove in a run each in the inning to push Alabama’s lead to 9-4.
Samford added one final run in the bottom of the ninth inning to make the final score 9-5. Damon Waller led the inning off with a pinch-hit double. With one out, McWhorter singled, moving Waller to third base. With two outs in the inning, Waller scored on a wild pitch for the game’s final run.
With the loss, Samford dropped to 26-19. Alabama improved to 30-15 with the win.
Samford will return to action Friday, when the Bulldogs open a three-game Southern Conference series at UNCG. Friday’s series opener is scheduled for 5 p.m. (CT). The teams will also play Saturday at 1 p.m. (CT) and Sunday at 12 p.m. (CT).
Charleston Southern 7, Wofford 4
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – On Wednesday night, the Wofford College baseball team was defeated 7-4 by Charleston Southern at Russell C. King Field. The Terriers had a 4-3 lead after eight innings, but the Bucs came back with four runs in the top of the ninth to secure the win.
Wofford is 23-22 on the season and Charleston Southern is 23-20 overall. The Bucs had 16 hits to only six for the Terriers, but Charleston Southern left 17 runners on base in the contest. Conor Clancey led Wofford with an RBI double in the fourth inning. The Bucs were led by Chase Shelton and Sam Remick with three hits each.
After the Terriers were retired in order in the bottom of the second, the Bucs led off the third with an error. With two outs, a single drove in the runner for a 1-0 lead. Wofford opened the bottom of the third with a walk by Derek Hirsch. He moved to second on a ground out and to third on a balk. A double to the wall by Alec Paradowski scored Hirsch to tie the game at 1-1.
The Buccaneers loaded the bases in the top of the fourth inning, but a ground out stranded all three runners. In the bottom half, Josh Hyman walked and a double down the left line by Clancey gave the Terriers a 2-1 lead. After Carson Waln walked, a ground out by Hirsch added a run. With two outs, Demetrius Jennings reached on an error and a run crossed the plate for a 4-1 advantage.
With two outs in the top of the fifth, Charleston Southern loaded the bases. A walk brought in one run for a 4-2 score, but the bases were loaded at the end of the top half. Wofford added a hit in the bottom of the fifth. In the top of the sixth, the Bucs led off with a double. A ground out plated the runner for a 4-3 game.
The Terriers were retired in order in the bottom of the sixth. The Bucs led off the top of the seventh with a single, but the runner was left on third base. In the bottom of the seventh, Jennings singled with one out but was stranded at second base to end the inning. To open the eighth inning, Alex Tomasovich walked. He stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch, but three straight strikeouts ended the scoring chance.
With one out in the top of the ninth, a Buccaneer reached on an error. After a walk, a single by Bobby Ison singled to score the tying run. A passed ball moved runners to second and third and a wild pitch with two outs made it a 5-4 game. Chase Shelton and Zack Hagaman added RBI singles to push the lead to 7-4. The Terriers had two singles in the bottom of the ninth inning but failed to score.
Wofford starting pitcher Connell Anderson went five innings and allowed two runs on 11 hits with three strikeouts. Will Stillman (2-2) went 2/3 of an inning and allowed four unearned runs on two hits. Jacob Condra-Bogan recorded the final out.
Denis Buckley started for Charleston Southern and worked two innings without allowing a hit. Will Hartsell (4-3) threw an inning and did not allow a hit. Austin Weekley earned his ninth save of the season by not allowing a run on two hits in the ninth.
The Terriers begin a weekend series at The Citadel on Friday at 4 p.m.
Kennesaw State 9, Georgia Southern 3
KENNESAW, Ga. – A five-run third inning lifted the Kennesaw State Owls over the Georgia Southern Eagles at Stillwell Stadium on Wednesday.
Four Kennesaw State hits and three Georgia Southern errors led to KSU (26-20) taking an early 6-0 lead after the third inning.
Max Pentecost scored the first run of the third inning on an error by shortstop Cal Baker. Alex Liquori followed with a double before a second error by Baker led to two more runs scoring. Chris Erwin laced a triple down the first-base line to score the fifth run of the inning.
Kendall Hawkins held the Eagles (28-19) to two runs on five hits for his first win of the season. Hawkins (1-1) walked four batters and struck out a batter over four innings.
Will Jackson allowed four hits, two walks and struck out two batters over 2 1/3 innings. Jackson (2-2) was tagged with his second loss of the season after allowing four runs, three earned, on 64 pitches.
GSU finished with eight hits, with two each coming from Ben Morgan and Garrett Chapman.
Baker drove in the Eagles' first two runs of the game with a base hit to center field in the fourth inning. Morgan tripled and scored a run in the ninth inning on a throwing error by shortstop Kal Simmons.
The Owls tallied 13 hits on the day. Pentecost went 4-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Pentecost hit his seventh home run of the season in the eighth inning.
KSU struck first in the game and scored a run on an Erwin infield hit, one of four on the day for the Owls.
GSU remains on the road this weekend and will open a three-game Southern Conference series against the Furman Paladins at 6 p.m. on Friday.