VMI 2, North Florida 1
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Freshman Brandon Barbery shut out the North Florida Ospreys over six innings in his collegiate debut, and Ray Lopez continued his sizzling opening weekend by driving in the eventual winning run as the VMI Keydets defeated UNF, 2-1, in the finale of the three-game, season-opening series Sunday.
With VMI (2-1) already leading 1-0, the Keydets put together a two-out rally in the fourth. Thomas Stallings doubled, and Lopez followed with a single up the middle on the first pitch he saw, plating Stallings and giving the Keydets a 2-0 lead.
That was all Barbery (1-0) needed, as the freshman allowed just two runners to reach third base in winning his first collegiate game. He scattered five hits and a walk over his six frames, striking out two. No Keydet freshman starting pitcher had earned a victory on opening weekend since at least the 2000 season.
Evan Incinelli (0-1) was the hard-luck loser for UNF (1-2), as he allowed just two runs on six hits over five innings. He struck out seven.
With the victory, VMI won its season-opening series for the first time since 2010.
The Keydets jumped ahead in the first inning, when Jordan Tarsovich singled with one out. He then stole second and, after a walk to Brandon Angus, scored on an RBI single by Matt Winn to put VMI up, 1-0.
The home team threatened in the third, after a single, walk and wild pitch put runners at second and third. Barbery retired Donnie Dewees on a groundout, however, to end the threat, and the Keydets added on in the fourth.
After Lopez had doubled VMI's edge to 2-0, Ryan Roberson led off the bottom of the fourth with an infield hit, but Barbery promptly threw a 6-4-3 double play to help erase any hope of a rally. The Keydets could not get Tarsovich home after a one-out triple in the fifth, and again, UNF threatened in the bottom half.
Alex Merritt reached on a Barbery error with one out, and Garrick Ferguson singled. An infield out moved the runners up, but again, Barbery retired Dewees with the tying run in scoring position and it stayed 2-0, Keydets.
The Keydets nearly tacked on an insurance run in the ninth, but pinch-runner Drew Bryan was thrown out at home trying to score on a ground ball. That sent the game to the bottom of the ninth still at 2-0, and Trent Higginbothem led off with a home run off Micah Gorman to cut that lead in half. Gorman, however, set down the next three hitters in order to earn his first career save and preserve VMI's victory.
Offensively, Higginbothem had the day's lone three-hit game for UNF, less than 24 hours after a game that saw it collect 21 hits. Tarsovich and Winn had two hits apiece to lead VMI, while Lopez went 1-for-2 and is now 6-for-10 so far this season.
VMI is scheduled to return to action Tuesday, as the Keydets travel to Williamsburg, Va., to face the Tribe of William & Mary. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m.
Wofford 9, Dayton 7
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford College baseball team picked up a 9-7 win over Dayton on a crisp Sunday afternoon at Russell C. King Field. The Terriers were down 7-4 but scored twice in the sixth and tied the game in the seventh. In the bottom of the eight, Wofford plated a pair of runs to secure the victory.
Wofford is 3-0 on the season, while Dayton is 0-3 overall. The Terriers had 12 hits in the game, eight of which went for extra bases. Alec Paradowski led the way with three hits and three RBIs, while Mack Nathanson added a pair of doubles and Carson Waln had two hits. The pitching staff combined for 10 strikeouts. The Flyers were led by Zach Schira with two hits and three RBIs.
The Flyers opened the game with solo home run by Glenn Jones. With one out, three straight singles added one run before a double play ended the top of the first.
In the second, Wofford had a one-out single by Waln and he was driven home on a double to left-center by Kody Ruedisili for a 2-1 game. With two outs, Paradowski hit a single to deep right field that allowed Ruedisili to score to tie the game. Matt Ramsay then hit a ball to the wall in left-center to give Wofford a 3-2 lead.
In the top of the third, the Flyers loaded the bases with one out. A single by Schira drove in two runs to regain the lead at 4-3. With the bases still loaded, a walk plated a run for a 5-3 game. A great catch by first baseman James Plaisted in shallow right field ended the inning with three runners stranded.
Wofford’s Ruedisili was hit by a pitch to open the bottom of the fourth. A double down the right-field line by Paradowski scored Ruedisili to cut the lead to 5-4.
In the top of the sixth, the Flyers had runners at second and third with two outs when an error allowed two runs to score for a 7-4 lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, Wofford led off with a double by Waln. Walks to Ruedisili and Derek Hirsch loaded the bases and a single by Paradowski drove in one run for a 7-5 game. Ramsay drew a walk that plated a run. A pair of strikeouts and a pop-up left the bases loaded at the end of six innings.
The Terriers began the bottom of the seventh with a double by Conor Clancey and a walk to Waln. A sacrifice bunt by Ruedisili advanced the runners into scoring position. A ground out by Hirsch scored a run to tie the game at 7-7, but two runners were left on base at the end of the inning.
Wofford had a single by Plaisted and a double by Demetrius Jennings to lead off the bottom of the eighth. With one out, McClain Bradley was intentionally walked to load the bases. A walk to Waln plated a run for an 8-7 lead. Hirsch reached first on a fielding error by the shortstop, which allowed Jennings to score and make it a 9-7 advantage. A strikeout ended the inning with the bases still loaded.
Will Stillman entered the game in the top of the ninth. He struck out the side on 13 pitches to end the game.
In his first career start, Wofford pitcher Adam Scott went three innings and allowed five runs on seven hits with a strikeout. Connell Anderson worked 2 1/3 innings with one run allowed and four strikeouts. Connor Foltyn faced one batter and allowed one run, while Elliot Lance recorded an out. Spencer Kulman (1-0) threw two innings and did not allow a hit with a pair of strikeouts for his first career win. Stillman recorded his second save of the season with three strikeouts.
Bradley Horn started for Dayton and went five innings. He allowed six runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts. Ben Polansky faced two batters. Sam Brunner (0-1) threw 2 1/3 innings with three runs allowed on three hits and four strikeouts. Tyson Schnitkey went the final 2/3 of an inning with a pair of strikeouts.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Terriers will travel to Presbyterian College. Next weekend Wofford will host Pittsburgh, Miami (Ohio) and UNC Asheville at Russell C. King Field.
Akron 11, Furman 3
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Pat Dyer pitched six solid innings and Chris Simonton collected three hits to power Akron to an 11-3 victory over Furman in Sunday afternoon baseball action at Latham Stadium.
The win earned Akron (2-1) the series victory in the first weekend of the 2015 season.
Dyer (1-0) allowed only three hits and two runs over his six frames, striking out six and issuing just one walk in earning the victory. The senior left-hander threw 80 pitches, 52 for strikes.
The loss was charged to Ryan Morse (0-1), who yielded five runs on seven hits over 4 1/3 innings. The Paladin left-hander walked three and recorded eight strikeouts.
Akron combined nine hits with five walks and three hit batsmen to tally its 11 runs. Simonton led the way at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Anthony Bova also had two hits, and Daulton Mosbarger homered, drove in two and scored three runs for the Zips.
Furman (1-2) managed just four hits, with Chris Ohmstede’s two-run home run, his 31st career clout, highlighting an otherwise light day at the plate by the Paladins.
Akron struck for three runs in the second against Morse, getting an RBI double from Lees, a James Meeker ground out that scored Dom Iero and bunt single by Bova that plated Lees.
The Zips made it 4-0 in the third after Joey Havrilak drew a one-out walk, stole second and scored on a Simonton single through the right side.
Furman cut the lead to 4-2 in the fourth on Ohmstede’s two-run blast to left field that also scored Cameron Whitehead.
Akron took control of the contest with a three-run fifth without the benefit of a hit. Feasting on a hit batsman, two walks, two errors, a pair of stolen bases and a wild pitch, the Zips stretched their advantage to 7-2 and added two more runs in the sixth to make it 9-2.
Furman is scheduled to play at South Carolina on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.
Virginia Tech 5, Mercer 4
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer University baseball team came up 90 feet short in its late-game rally, falling to Virginia Tech, 5-4, in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at Claude Smith Field.
Trailing by three runs heading into the bottom of the eighth, the Mercer (1-2) offense came to life. Nate Moorhouse started the rally with an RBI double down the right-field line before Charlie Madden plated Kyle Lewis to trim the deficit to one, 5-4.
After Dimitri Kourtis pitched a scoreless ninth for the Bears’ defense, the team looked poised to complete the comeback thanks to Danny Edgeworth’s leadoff double to right field. Matt Meeder’s sacrifice bunt moved Edgeworth to third with one out, but Mercer was unable to push across the tying run as the Hokies (2-1) claimed the series.
The Bears’ pitching staff settled in after giving up four runs in the first two innings, surrendering just one score over the final seven frames. Kourtis tossed four scoreless innings in his season debut, allowing just two hits while striking out four on the day. Morgan Pittman allowed just one run on one hit in two innings of work, while D.J. Johnson was tagged with the loss after giving up four runs in three innings.
Mercer’s offense struggled in the series finale, managing just five hits with three of those coming in the final two innings. Lewis led the team with his second multi-hit performance of the year, while Edgeworth, Howard Joe and Moorhouse each had one on the day.
The Hokies came out swinging in the first inning with hits in each of their first four at-bats, including Erik Payne’s three-run blast to left field for an early 3-0 advantage. Virginia Tech added another run in the second on Saige Jenco’s solo shot for a 4-0 lead.
Mercer got on the board in the bottom of the third, as Lewis smacked the 0-2 pitch over the wall in left field to trim the deficit to three, 4-1. The Bears made it a two-run game in the fourth on Joe’s score, as the sophomore took advantage of three wild pitches in the inning to work his way around the bases.
Virginia Tech scored what proved to be the decisive run in the top of the fifth, as Kyle Wernicki’s blooper to left field turned into an RBI triple after the Bears’ diving attempt came up short.
Mercer returns to action on Tuesday, when it hosts Georgia State for a 5 p.m. contest at Claude Smith Field.
Radford 8, Samford 4
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford baseball team dropped the third game of its weekend series with Radford, falling by a score of 8-4 Sunday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
In the loss, Samford was led at the plate by Austin Edens, who went 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and two RBIs. Heath Quinn went 2-for-4 with a home run and one RBI. Damon Waller also homered for Samford in a 1-for-4 performance at the plate.
Parker Curry (0-1) pitched 3 2/3 innings of relief, giving up two runs on three hits to take the loss on the mound for Samford. Curry struck out six batters while allowing no walks. Cole Limbaugh, Mark Donham, Mikel Belcher and Tristan Widra also pitched in the game for Samford.
For Radford, Josh Gardiner went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Shane Johnsonbaugh went 2-for-4 with a triple and three RBIs. Trevor Riggs went 2-for-5 with a home run and one RBI. Daniel Bridgeman (1-0) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief to earn the win for the Highlanders. Ryan Meisinger pitched the final two innings to earn his second save of the season.
Radford jumped out to an early lead with three runs in the top of the second inning. After Samford came back with two runs in the bottom of the second inning, the Highlanders added a run in the third inning to push its lead to 4-2.
Samford answered with two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to tie the score at 4-4. Quinn hit a solo home run, and Edens doubled to drive in Hunter Swilling to knot the score.
Radford, however, plated two runs in the seventh inning and two more in the ninth inning to pull away for the 8-4 win.
With the win, Radford won the series, two games to one. Samford fell to 1-2 on the season, while Radford improved to 2-1.
Samford will return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 17, when the Bulldogs play host to Alabama A&M. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. CST start from Joe Lee Griffin Field.
UNCG vs. High Point canceled
GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNCG’s game against High Point, scheduled for Monday at 4 p.m., has been canceled due to the threat of inclement weather and will not be made up.
The Spartans (1-1) return to action Tuesday when they host UNC Asheville at 4 p.m.