Furman 1, Xavier 0
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Blake Chisolm's two-out, bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the eighth inning broke a scoreless tie to give Furman a 1-0 victory over Xavier in baseball action at the First Pitch Invitational Friday afternoon at Latham Stadium.
Chisolm, a freshman designated hitter who had singled in his two previous at-bats, came to the plate in the eighth with the bases loaded and drew a five-pitch walk off Xavier pitcher Brad Kirschner to force Grote home for the game's only run. Grote had reached on a one-out bunt single before moving to second on a Chris Ohmstede single and on to third base on Jordan Simpson's infield base hit.
Chisolm's RBI proved to be enough as Elliott Warford (2-0) wrapped up the decision for Furman (2-3) by pitching a perfect ninth, striking out the final two Musketeer batters and fanning five in two innings of relief to collect the victory.
Warford's strong relief work followed an impressive performance by Paladin starting pitcher Matt Solter, who worked seven shutout innings and allowed only two hits and a walk while striking out five. After yielding a pair of singles over the first three innings, he went on to retire 12 consecutive Musketeers in one stretch before issuing a leadoff walk in the seventh.
All told, Solter and Warford combined to registered 10 strikeouts, holding Xavier (2-3) hitless after a leadoff single in the third inning.
The shutout was the first by Furman since beating Gardner-Webb, 9-0, last April 30 in Boiling Springs, N.C., and the first home shutout by the Paladins since a 4-0 blanking of USC Upstate on March 23, 2011.
Furman managed seven hits in the near freezing conditions, with Chisolm and junior second baseman Jordan Simpson registering two apiece.
Xavier starting pitcher Brad Kirschner went the distance but took the loss (1-1), allowing just one run on seven hits over eight frames. He walked three.
Furman will play Indiana on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Latham Stadium after icy conditions at Fluor Field in downtown Greenville forced a venue switch.
Samford 11, Austin Peay 3
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford baseball team plated seven runs over the final three innings to pull away from Austin Peay for an 11-3 win in game one of the teams’ three-game series Friday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
At the plate for Samford, Hunter Swilling went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs. T.J. Dixon went 3-for-5, while Alex Lee and Damon Waller had two hits each. Heath Quinn and Richard Greene also homered in the game for the Bulldogs.
Alex Ledford (1-1) pitched five innings, giving up just two earned runs on seven hits to earn the win for the Bulldogs. Ledford struck out eight batters, while walking just two. Parker Curry pitched three innings, allowing no runs on just one hit, and Tristan Widra tossed the final inning to finish the game for Samford.
For Austin Peay, Cayce Bredlau went 3-for-5 at the plate. Garrett Copeland went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Logan Gray also drove in a run for the Governors. Jared Carkuff (1-1) pitched five innings, giving up six runs, just four earned, on eight hits to take the loss on the mound.
After Austin Peay took an early lead with a run in the top of the first inning, Samford came back with two runs in the bottom of the second inning to take a 2-1 lead. Damon Waller and Austin Edens drove in a run each in the inning for Samford.
Austin Peay took the lead again with two runs in the top of the third inning. Bredlau and Gray led the inning off with back-to-back doubles to tie the game at 2-2. Copeland later drove in the go-ahead run for a 3-2 Austin Peay lead.
Samford took the lead for good with two runs in the bottom of the third inning. T.J Dixon led the inning off with a single and later scored on an error for the tying run. Swilling later singled to drive in Jared Watson for a 4-3 Samford lead.
The Bulldogs pulled away with two runs in the sixth inning, two runs in the seventh inning and three more runs in the eighth inning. In the sixth inning, Swilling hit a two-run home run to center field for a 6-3 Samford lead. In the seventh inning, Quinn hit a two-run homer to left-center field to push the lead to 8-3. In the eighth inning, Greene homered to left-center field for the game’s final three runs, making the final score 11-3.
In the win, Samford out-hit Austin Peay, 13-8. The game was played with temperatures in the high-20s and low-30s.
With the win, Samford improved to 2-2 on the young season. Austin Peay fell to 2-1 with the loss.
The two teams will continue their series with a game Saturday at 11 a.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
Wofford 5, Pittsburgh 3
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford College baseball team picked up a 5-3 win over Pittsburgh on Friday afternoon at Russell C. King Field. The Terriers were down 3-2 but scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth to secure the victory.
Wofford is 5-0 on the season, while Pittsburgh is 1-3 overall. The Terriers are now 2-0 against ACC teams this season and the 5-0 start is the best since the 2008 season. Wofford had five batters record hits, with James Plaisted and Mack Nathanson belting solo home runs.
With Wofford trailing 3-2, Matt Pelt led off the bottom of the eighth with a single and he moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. McClain Bradley pinch-hit and reached base on an error that advanced Pelt to third. An intentional walk to Alec Paradowski loaded the bases with one out. Matt Ramsay drew a walk that scored Pelt to tie the game at 3-3. With the bases still loaded, Plaisted walked to plate a run for a 4-3 lead. A walk to Nathanson pushed the lead to 5-3 before a fielder’s choice and fly ball ended the inning.
The Panthers had a runner reach on a walk with one out in the top of the ninth with Will Stillman on the mound. A strikeout and a fly ball ended the game.
Wofford pitcher Matthew Milburn went seven innings and gave up three runs, one of which was unearned, on five hits with two strikeouts. Connell Anderson (1-0) earned the win by going an inning with a hit and a strikeout. Stillman threw the ninth and recorded his fourth save of the season by not allowing a hit with one strikeout.
T.J. Zeuch (1-1) started for the Panthers and threw 7 1/3 innings. He gave up four runs on five hits and struck out eight batters.
Pitt had runners on the corners with one out after a walk and a single in the top of the third inning. A fielder’s choice by Jacob Wright plated a run for a 1-0 lead. With one out in the bottom of the fourth, Plaisted hit a shot over the fence in left field to tie the game at 1-1.
In the top of the fifth, the Panthers loaded the bases with the help of three Wofford errors. A sacrifice fly by Nick Yarnell drove in the runner from third for a 2-1 lead. A ground ball ended the inning with a pair of runners in scoring position.
The Panthers added a run on a solo home run by Jordan Frabasilio in the top of the sixth inning for a 3-1 advantage.
Wofford got a run back in the bottom of the seventh on a solo home run to left field by Nathanson to make it a 3-2 game.
Wofford will host Miami (Ohio) on Saturday at 4 p.m. and UNC Asheville on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Russell C. King Field.
Mercer 3, Bethune-Cookman 2
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Mercer University baseball team used strong pitching performances from Ryan Askew and Dimitri Kourtis and timely hitting to win its series opener with Bethune-Cookman, 3-2, on Friday night at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.
Askew, who opened the game with three perfect innings on the mound, surrendered just two unearned runs in 6 2/3 innings of work. The sophomore right-hander limited the Wildcats to two hits while striking out six on his way to his second victory in as many starts.
Mercer took advantage of the strong pitching performance, providing just enough offense to snap a four-game slide.
The Bears broke open a scoreless tie in the fifth on Charlie Madden's RBI single before erasing a 2-1 deficit with a pair of clutch runs in the top of the seventh.
Trey Truitt kicked off the inning with a double in the gap before moving to third on Kyle Lewis' single left field. Truitt would later score on Madden's groundout to tie the game, while Lewis made it home for what turned out to be the game-winning run off a wild pitch from Bethune-Cookman pitcher Clint Clymer.
Kourtis, who pitched four scoreless innings against Virginia Tech, picked up where he left off last weekend. The senior hurler worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh before tossing two more scoreless innings for his first save of the season. The Alpharetta, Ga., native is now three saves shy of tying Andrew Urena's career saves mark with the 17th save of his career.
Lewis paced the Bears' offense with four of the team's 10 hits on the night, recording his fourth multi-hit performance of the year. Danny Edgeworth added a season-best two hits, while Truitt finished with a team-best two runs scored.
Mercer will be back in action Saturday as it continues the three-game series with Bethune-Cookman. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.
College of Charleston 8, The Citadel 7 (11 inn.)
MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. – Bradley Jones slid home just ahead of Johnathan Stokes' throw in the bottom of the 11th, giving College of Charleston an 8-7 win over The Citadel in the opener of a three-game series Friday at Patriots Point.
The series continues with a 2 p.m. game Saturday at Riley Park, and the teams return to Patriots Point to wrap up the set Sunday at 1 p.m. The win enabled the Cougars to even the series at 41 apiece since Charleston reinstated its baseball program in 1991.
Jones dropped a pop fly single between Stokes and left fielder Barrett Charpia off Bulldog closer Skylar Hunter to lead off the inning. He advanced to third on a stolen base and wild pitch and broke for home when Champ Rowland hit a hard grounder up the middle with the infield in.
Stokes made a diving stop and quickly got to his feet, but Jones hit the plate before Stephen Windham could apply the tag. Hunter, who was in his third inning of relief, took the loss, while Brandon Glazer was the winning pitcher after retiring Drew Ellis with a runner at third and two outs in the top of the 11th.
The Citadel (3-2) tied the game with two runs in the top of the ninth on a leadoff walk, singles by Austin Mapes and Ellis and a sacrifice fly by Connor Walsh. Nick Pappas nearly won it for the Cougars (2-2) in the bottom of the frame, but his drive to the fence in right-center was hauled in by Jason Smith.
Hunter struck out three in his two-plus innings of work. Starter James Reeves went the first five innings and allowed seven hits and four runs with six strikeouts.
The Bulldogs fell behind 3-0 and 4-3 but rallied with single runs in the fifth and seventh, taking a 5-4 lead when Walsh drew a four-pitch bases loaded walk. It was a short-lived advantage, as Charleston's Carl Wise slammed a three-run homer off JP Sears with two outs in the bottom of the seventh.
Mapes had three hits for The Citadel, while Philip Watcher had two hits and drove in three runs, including two with a triple as part of a three-run third. Smith scored three runs out of the Bulldog leadoff spot.
Western Carolina vs. George Mason, canceled
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Forecasts for inclement weather along the North Carolina coast this weekend have prompted officials at UNCW to make schedule changes involving the Western Carolina Catamount baseball team at the Hughes Bros. Challenge to be played on-campus at Brooks Field.
Western Carolina (2-1) was scheduled to open play on Friday; however, due to weather, Friday's game has been canceled. WCU is slated to play two games on Saturday, squaring off against the host UNCW Seahawks (3-0) at 11 a.m. before facing the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (2-2) at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
At the present time, Sunday has two games penciled in at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., but both are currently TBA. WCU could face George Mason in one of the two time slots.