ETSU 12, Butler 6
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Freshman Kain Hewitt tossed five scoreless innings out the bullpen and junior Trey York belted a three-run home run in the seventh, which ignited ETSU’s late rally as the Buccaneers scored 12 unanswered runs en route to claiming the series with a 12-6 win over Butler on Sunday afternoon at Thomas Stadium.
Despite falling behind 6-2 after 2 1/2 innings play, the Blue and Gold buckled down and slowly chipped away at their deficit. ETSU plated one run in the third and fourth innings, and after Hewitt shut down Butler’s offensive attack, the Bucs rewarded the rookie right-hander with the late surge to secure his first collegiate win on the mound.
The game shifted in the bottom of the seventh as York’s two-out, three-run bomb to left-center pulled ETSU within a run, and the Bucs opened the flood gates an inning later as the Blue and Gold struck for seven runs on eight hits while sending 13 hitters to plate. Freshman Hagen Owenby led off the eighth inning with a double and scored the tying on Robby McCabe’s one-out double to left, while redshirt senior Daniel Tucker executed a squeeze play to perfection as his bunt single back to the pitcher plated McCabe, resulting in the game-winning run. For good measure, the Bucs added five more runs in the inning to build the six-run cushion.
As a team, ETSU pounded out a season-high 17 hits, marking its most since posting 21 against UNC Asheville on March 13, 2013. Every Buccaneer starter recorded a hit as Owenby and senior Zach Thompson led the way with three-hit games. Owenby finished with a double and two RBIs. York, who registered two hits, belted his fourth homer of the year and drove in four runs, while sophomore Chris Cook went 2-for-5 with one triple, two runs and two RBIs. York also extended his hit streak to eight straight games. McCabe and Tucker also totaled two hits and junior Kevin Phillips reached base three times – one double, two walks and a run scored.
Hewitt (1-0) ended with three strikeouts and allowed one hit in five innings, while junior right-hander Griffin Krieg picked up a no-decision. Krieg was tagged for six runs on five hits and struck out four in three innings, while redshirt freshman Dillon Cate pitched the ninth.
Following its third straight weekend series win, ETSU improved to 6-2, while Butler has now dropped nine of its first 10 to start the season.
The Bulldogs used the long ball to build their early lead as Chris Marras belted a two-run home run to right field in the top of the first and Ryan Wojciechowski capped off a four-run third with a three-run homer to left field, putting Butler ahead, 6-0.
With its back against the wall, ETSU kept its composure and stayed within striking thanks to Hewitt’s dominance on the mound.
Owenby put the Blue and Gold on the board with two-out RBI single up the middle in the third, while McCabe – who led off the fourth inning with a single – scored on Tucker’s double-play groundout, making it a 6-2 game.
After both teams were held without a run in the fifth and sixth innings, ETSU inched closer as York’s three-run, two-out blast in the seventh made it a 6-5 score.
York’s round-tripper fueled the comeback win as the Bucs tortured Butler’s pitching an inning later and grabbed their first lead of the afternoon thanks to the seven-run frame. Owenby and McCabe began the rally with key doubles, while with one out and runners on the corners, Tucker’s bunt hit rolled in front of the plate and Butler pitcher Peter Nyznyk had trouble fielding the roller as McCabe slid home for the go-ahead run. The Blue and Gold continued to pile it on after the eventual game-winning play as Jeremy Taylor followed with an RBI double and scored on Cook’s two-run scoring triple to left-center. From there, York drove in his fourth run of the day as his sac fly to deep right brought in Cook, while Owenby capped off the scoring when his single plated Phillips, who reached via a double to left.
Cate loaded the bases in the ninth but worked out of the jam as Taylor made a spectacular diving catch in center to end the game.
Kyle Allen took the loss (0-2) for the Bulldogs as he allowed two runs on two hits in 2/3 of an inning, while starter Nick Morton issued five runs on nine hits in 6 2/3 innings of work.
Wojciechowski and Marras provided the homers for Butler, while Drew Small recorded two of the seven hits for the Bulldogs. Small went 2-for-3 with two walks and scored two runs.
The Bucs wrap up their four-game homestand Tuesday afternoon as ETSU hosts Radford at 3:05 p.m.
Mercer 5, Belmont 4 (11 inn.)
MACON, Ga. – Kyle Lewis’ walk-off double in the bottom of the 11th inning lifted the Mercer University baseball team to a thrilling 5-4 victory over Belmont on Sunday afternoon at Claude Smith Field.
Following Jackson Ware’s leadoff double to start the 11th frame, Lewis blasted the first pitch of his at-bat to the right-field wall to plate the game’s winning run and complete another comeback for the Bears.
Mercer (7-5) rallied for the second time this weekend, erasing a three-run deficit in the eighth inning to win for the sixth time in its last seven games.
Dimitri Kourtis keyed the comeback for the Bears after stifling Belmont (2-5) over much of the final six innings. The senior pitcher was nearly flawless, tossing 5 2/3 hitless innings for his second win of the weekend. Kourtis struck out seven in the contest and retired the final 10 batters he faced.
The Bears finished the day with nine hits, with three of those coming in extra innings. Charlie Madden and Matt Meeder led the way with two hits apiece, while Devin Bonin pushed his hitting streak to eight games with a fifth-inning single.
DJ Johnson had a solid showing on the mound as the team’s starter, giving up four runs, two earned, in 5 1/3 innings to fall two outs shy of a quality start.
Belmont scored the game’s first three runs of the game, striking in the first inning before adding two more on Tyler Fullerton’s single in the gap in the third.
The Bears used small ball in the fifth inning to cut into the lead with their first run of the game. Danny Edgeworth’s sacrifice bunt moved Nate Moorhouse and Meeder into scoring position before Conrad Cornell’s sacrifice fly plated Moorhouse to trim the deficit to two, 3-1.
A Mercer error in the sixth helped the Bruins push their lead to back to three, 4-1, but the Bears would tie the game with a three-run eighth. Charlie Madden started the outburst with a two-run shot to left center before Edgeworth plated Howard Joe to knot the game at 4-4.
Mercer will be back in action on Tuesday, March 3, as it travels to Statesboro, Ga., to take on Georgia Southern. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Wofford 7, Harvard 0
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – On a cold and wet Sunday afternoon, the Wofford College baseball team defeated Harvard 7-0 at Russell C. King Field. Freshman pitcher Adam Scott threw a complete-game shutout for the Terriers and the offense scored seven runs on nine hits.
Wofford is 9-3 on the season, while Harvard is 2-2 overall. The two teams split the weekend series 2-2. The Terriers were led by Matt Ramsay with three hits and Carson Waln with two hits, three RBIs and two runs scored. Harvard only had three hits on the day and they left six runners on base.
With two outs in the bottom of the third, Kody Ruedisili walked and Ramsay hit a single. A walk to James Plaisted loaded the bases and a single to right field by Waln drove in a pair of runs for a 2-0 lead. Wofford had runners on the corners when a double steal allowed Plaisted to score from third for a 3-0 advantage before the end of the inning.
Plaisted opened the bottom of the sixth with a triple to right-center field. A double to right field by Waln scored Plaisted for a 4-0 lead. Demetrius Jennings walked and both runners advanced on a wild pitch. A sacrifice fly by Trace Witt scored Waln to make it a 5-0 game.
Waln led off the bottom of the eighth with a walk. A single by Matt Pelt and an advance on the throw gave Wofford runners at second and third. A ground out by Jennings allowed Waln to score to make it 6-0. Derek Hirsch reached base on a strikeout and passed ball that scored Pelt for a 7-0 lead. In the top of the ninth, Harvard had a single with two outs, but a fielder’s choice ended the game.
Scott (1-0) threw the complete game to earn his first career win. In nine innings, he gave up three hits, walked two, and recorded four strikeouts. It is the first complete game shutout for an individual Wofford pitcher since Brandon Yarusi on April 14, 2013 (5-0 vs. Furman).
Nick Scahill (0-1) started for Harvard and went 2 2/3 innings with three runs allowed on five hits. He had five strikeouts and walked two.
On Wednesday, the Terriers will host Presbyterian College before a weekend series against Gardner-Webb.
Arizona 12, Samford 5
No. 13 Mississippi State 6, Samford 2
STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Samford baseball team wrapped up play in the Diamond Classic by falling to Arizona, 12-5, and 13th-ranked Mississippi State by a score of 6-2 Sunday at Dudy Noble Field.
In the Arizona game, Samford was led by Austin Edens, who went 3-for-4 at the plate. Damon Waller had two hits and two RBIs, while Hunter Swilling and Heath Quinn had two hits and an RBI each. Anthony Gonzalez drove in two runs in a 1-for-3 performance. Richard Greene also had two hits for Samford.
Parker Curry (0-2) took the loss on the mound for Samford. He pitched 3 1/3 innings in relief, giving up seven runs, six earned, on nine hits. Cole Limbaugh, Philip Flach and Devan Traglia also saw time on the mound in game one for Samford.
For Arizona, Scott Kingery went 5-for-5 with a double and two RBIs. Tyler Krause and Zach Gibbons each homered in the game for the Wildcats. Matt Hartman (1-0) pitched 1 1/3 innings in relief, allowing no runs on four hits to earn the win on the mound for Arizona.
Arizona took the early lead with a run in the top of the first inning. Samford, however, came back with four runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 4-1 lead. The Wildcats answered with three runs in the top of the second inning to knot the score at 4-4.
Arizona took the lead again with two runs in the top of the fourth inning. Samford plated a run of its own in the bottom of the fourth inning to cut the Arizona lead to 6-5. The Wildcats then plated three runs in the fifth inning, two runs in the sixth and one more in the ninth to make the final score 12-5.
For Samford in the Mississippi State game, Waller went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Eric Wright (0-2) took the loss on the mound for Samford, tossing 3 2/3 innings, giving up three runs on five hits and striking out four batters.
Mississippi State was led by Seth Heck, who went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Jacob Robson also had two hits for MSU. Vance Tatum (2-0) earned the win for Mississippi State, pitching eight innings, giving up two runs on two hits and striking out 12 batters.
Mississippi State scored a run in the bottom of the first inning to take an early 1-0 lead. Samford came back with a run in the top of the fourth inning to tie the game at 1-1.
MSU took the lead for good with two runs in the fourth inning and two more in the fifth to take a 5-1 lead. Mississippi State pushed its lead to 6-1 with a run in the bottom of the eighth inning, and Samford plated one final run in the top of the ninth inning to make the final score 6-2.
With the losses Samford, fell to 3-8 on the young season. Arizona improved to 10-4, while Mississippi State is now 13-0.
Samford will return to action on Tuesday, March 3, when the Bulldogs host crosstown rival UAB. The first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. CST at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
The Citadel vs. Alabama State canceled
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Sunday's baseball game between The Citadel and Alabama State was rained out in the bottom of the second and will not be rescheduled.
The Bulldogs are back in action Wednesday at 5 p.m. against Coastal Carolina at Riley Park.
Alabama State took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second on a solo home run by Joseph Estrada. The first two Bulldogs walked in the bottom of the inning before the game was called.
The teams split the abbreviated series with The Citadel winning 9-8 on Friday and the Hornets taking a 15-14 victory yesterday.
UNCG vs. NC State canceled
SAVANNAH, Ga. – Due to heavy rainfall in the Savannah area Sunday, the UNCG baseball team’s nonconference contest against NC State has been canceled. It will not be made up. The teams are scheduled to play a home and home series later in the month.
The Spartans are next scheduled to host Wake Forest on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Furman at Campbell, canc.