UNCG 10, UNCW 4
WILMINGTON, N.C. – UNCG scored three runs in the top of the first inning Friday and did not relent, recording a 10-4 nonconference baseball victory over UNCW at Brooks Field.
The win was the first road triumph for the team this season and only the second home loss for the Seahawks. UNCW received votes in many of the national top-25 polls this week.
UNCG (6-9) played with a number of underclassmen in the contest as several regular starters were suspended for the game due to a violation of team rules. The Spartans out-hit the Seahawks (10-5) 12-6, while the teams combined for three errors. The Blue and Gold scored double-digit runs for the fourth time this season while producing double figures in hits for the fifth time in the last seven games. Additionally, Clark and junior LHP Bryant Stafford combined for 12 strikeouts, marking the fifth time this campaign the staff has compiled 10 or more strikeouts – including four of the last seven outings.
Junior RHP Ryan Clark was stellar, improving to 3-1 on the season. He allowed just one run on two hits in seven innings pitched while striking out eight batters and walking three. Nick Monroe (1-1) took the loss for UNCW as he gave up five runs on five hits with four walks and two strikeouts in just three innings pitched.
Freshman outfielder Devin Ruiz had a big day at the dish, going 3-for-5 with three RBIs. Freshman infielder Austin Embler, sophomore outfielder Ryne Sigmon and junior catcher (playing as the DH) Jake Hall also racked up multiple-hit efforts. A total of seven Spartans tallied hits in the game while the top three in the lineup accounted for six runs scored. Steven Linkous was 2-for-5 with an RBI to pace the Seahawks.
UNCG drew two walks and produced three hits in the top of the first to jump ahead by a 3-0 score. Sigmon drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs before Ruiz smoked a two-run double to center. Sigmon was thrown out at the plate to end the half inning and keep the Spartan lead at three. Embler picked up his first career hit in the inning with a leadoff single through the left side.
The Blue and Gold added to its lead in the top of the third. Redshirt junior infielder Ricky Guile looped a single to right field before moving to third on a passed ball and a wild pitch. Junior infielder Collin Woody then drew a walk and Guile would race home on a ball-four wild pitch to make it 4-0. Sigmon added another run, tattooing a single up the middle that scored Woody and left the Spartans with a 5-0 lead headed to the bottom of the inning.
UNCW broke onto the scoreboard in the bottom of the third as a Steven Linkous triple scored Robbie Thorburn to cut UNCG’s advantage to 5-1. Clark limited the Seahawks to just one run, however, as he notched a strikeout and induced a pop up to escape further damage.
The Spartans continued to score in the top of the fourth, taking advantage of a couple of UNCW errors. Those miscues led to two runs for the Blue and Gold as UNCG stretched its lead to 7-1. Hall just missed a grand slam in the inning but settled for a sac fly to account for the seventh run. The scoring settled down from there, as Clark worked through the middle innings, keeping the Seahawks off of the scoreboard.
After barely missing the grand slam earlier, Hall got his homer in the seventh – a leadoff shot over the fence in left-center to extend the Spartan cushion to 8-1. UNCG worked the bases loaded with no outs later and cashed when Sigmon drew a walk to leave the Blue and Gold with a 9-1 lead at the stretch.
An RBI double by Ruiz stretched the Spartan advantage to nine runs in the top of the eighth before a two-run double from Corey Dick cut the lead to 10-3 in the bottom of the inning.
Ruiz kept the hit parade going in the top of the eighth with an RBI double to make the score 10-1 before UNCW responded with two runs in the bottom of the frame to slice the Spartan advantage to seven runs. The Seahawks would add an unearned run in the bottom of the ninth before junior LHP Bryan Stafford fanned Casey Golden looking to end the contest.
UNCG continues its weekend with two games Saturday at Brooks Field. The Spartans will face Columbia at noon before facing off with UNCW at 4 p.m.
The Citadel 3, Lafayette 1
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Freshman left-hander JP Sears tossed six innings of four-hit ball and struck out a season-high eight to give The Citadel a 3-1 win over Lafayette in the opener of a three-game series on Friday at Riley Park.
Game two has been rescheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m. due to the threat of rain later in the day and can be seen live on the SoCon Digital Network. The series finale is still set for Sunday at 1 p.m.
Sears walked only one, picked up his team-leading third win of the year while lowering his ERA to 2.74 and in the process eclipsed his previous high of seven strikeouts which came against Elon last week. The Leopards reached him for their only run in the fourth on a single and two wild pitches to tie the game at 1.
The Bulldogs, winners of three in a row to move back over .500 at 8-7, snapped the deadlock in the fifth when Stephen Windham walked with two outs and scored on a perfectly placed opposite field double down the left field line by Drew Ellis.
Zach Lavery worked the seventh before Skylar Hunter went the final two innings for his sixth save of the year and 34th of his career, just three away from matching the Southern Conference record. Hunter walked the first batter he faced, but Drew Aherne was caught stealing and two strikeouts ended the inning.
Hunter issued another walk with two outs in the ninth but did not allow the runner to advance past first base to close out the Leopards (1-4).
The Citadel wasted opportunities to build an early lead against Lafayette starter David Bednar. Bednar walked three but did not allow a run in the first. Philip Watcher singled and Bailey Rush doubled to lead off the second, but only one run crossed on a ground out by Johnathan Stokes.
Watcher had two of The Citadel's eight hits, and Windham's seventh-inning infield single upped his batting average to a team-leading .405 and gave him hits in six of his last seven games.
Samford 6, Jacksonville 1
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Samford baseball team plated six runs in the top of the ninth inning to come from behind for a 6-1 win at Jacksonville in the first game of a three-game series Friday night at John Sessions Stadium.
Samford trailed 1-0 entering the ninth inning. Alex Lee led the inning off with a single to right field. Hunter Swilling then singled to center field, and Robert Perteet, who pinch-ran for Lee, advanced to second base. Swilling and Perteet each advanced a base on a sacrifice bunt by Frankie Navarrete. Austin Edens then walked to load the bases with one out.
Richard Greene then singled to left field to drive in Swilling and Perteet for the eventual game-winning runs, giving Samford a 2-1 lead. Danny Rodriguez then singled to load the bases again. T.J. Dixon then reached base on a fielder’s choice, and Edens was thrown out at home. Greene then scored when Jared Watson reached base on an error to make the score 3-1.
Heath Quinn walked with the bases loaded to drive in Rodriguez for a 4-1 Bulldog lead. Perteet then walked to score Dixon to make the score 5-1. Watson then scored on an error for a 6-1 Samford lead.
Mark Donham (2-0) pitched the final two hitless innings of relief to earn the win on the mound for Samford. Alex Ledford started the game on the mound for Samford and pitched seven strong innings, giving up just one run on five hits.
Lee led Samford with two hits in the game, going 2-for-4 at the plate. Greene drove in two runs, going 1-for-4 for the Bulldogs. Watson, Quinn and Perteet had an RBI each for Samford.
Jacksonville’s Drew Luther drove in the Dolphins’ lone run, going 1-for-3 at the plate. Nathan Disch (0-1) tossed 2/3 of an inning, giving up six runs on four hits to take the loss for Jacksonville.
The teams were scoreless until the bottom of the seventh inning, when Jacksonville took a 1-0 lead. Austin Hays walked to lead off the inning. After moving to second base on a sacrifice bunt and third base on a groundout, Hayes scored on a single by Luther to give the Dolphins a 1-0 lead.
With the win, Samford improved to 6-8 on the season. Jacksonville fell to 7-10 with the loss.
Samford and Jacksonville will continue their three-game series with a game Saturday at 1 p.m. (CDT).
ETSU 7, Miami (Ohio) 5
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Senior Jimmy Nesselt struck out a career-high 12 in seven innings, while junior Kevin Phillips drove in four runs – including a two-run home run in the third – as ETSU snapped its five-game losing streak with a 7-5 series-opening win over Miami on Friday night at Thomas Stadium.
Nesselt, who registered a then-career-best 10 strikeouts against Asheville last month, is now 7-0 with a 3.10 ERA (17 ER/49.1 IP) with 52 strikeouts in his last eight starts at Thomas Stadium. The senior leader also improved his mark to 3-0 on the campaign after holding the Redhawks to three runs on eight hits and has now struck out 42 in 32 innings work this season. Nesselt’s 12 strikeouts were three shy of tying the program-record, which was set by former ETSU pitching coach Reid Casey on Feb. 23, 2001, against Xavier.
As Nesselt was mowing down Miami’s hitters, Phillips came through with clutch hits as his two-out double in the first put the Bucs ahead, 1-0, while his two-out, two-run home run in the third gave ETSU another one-run lead, 3-2. The Redhaws pulled even with a run in the fourth, but the Blue and Gold took the lead for good when Trey York and Phillips registered consecutive sacrifice flies in the fifth.
Despite being out-hit 13-6, the Bucs executed when they needed to as Jeremy Taylor reached base three times and scored three runs, while York extended his streak of reaching base safely to 15 straight games following a walk in the seventh.
Nesselt received a huge pick-me-up in the eighth. After Kain Hewitt allowed the first four hitters to reach, Josh Jacques entered into a bases-loaded jam, but the junior southpaw induced Steve Sada into an infield fly while following that up with consecutive strikeouts – keeping ETSU’s lead intact, 6-4.
The Blue and Gold added an insurance run in the bottom of the inning as Hagen Owenby led off the inning with his third walk of the night and scored on Daniel Tucker’s two-out single to center.
Miami pushed a run across in the ninth, but with the tying run at the plate, redshirt freshman right-hander Dillon Cate got an outstanding diving catch by Taylor in center to end the game, resulting in his second save of the season.
Miami starter Ryan Powers – a 22nd round draft pick by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2014 – suffered the loss (1-4) as he allowed six runs on five hits and walked five in 6 2/3 innings.
Max Andresen, Jake Romano and Scott Slappey combined for eight of the Redhawks’ 13 hits. Andresen and Romano finished with three hits and Slappey posted a two-hit night.
Following the win, ETSU moved to 8-7 on the season, while Miami – the reigning Mid-American East champion – dipped to 2-10.
Saturday’s game time has been moved up to 1:05 p.m. as right-hander Lee Haeberle gets the ball for ETSU and righty Jacob Banks goes for Miami.
Western Carolina 4, Penn State 2
Liberty 5, Western Carolina 1
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Western Carolina split its Friday doubleheader at the Liberty Baseball Invitational, claiming the opener, 4-2, over Penn State before falling in the second game, 5-1, to the host Flames at the Liberty Baseball Stadium. The Catamounts were the only team to play two games on the opening day of play.
Three Catamounts recorded two hits apiece between the doubleheader, though the WCU offense was limited to just a combined 10 hits in the two games. Virginia natives Bradley Strong (2-for-7) and Reece Strong (2-for-6), as well as junior catcher Danny Bermudez (2-for-8) all tallied two hits with Bermudez collecting one of two extra-base hits for the Purple & Gold.
Sophomore Matt Smith, playing as the designated hitter in both games, reached base six times with a double, three walks and was twice hit by a pitch. Both Smith and Bradley Strong tallied two stolen bases as the Catamounts swiped five collectively.
No Catamount had more than one RBI with WCU recording five total on the day.
On the mound, WCU’s pitching staff combined to limit both Penn State and Liberty to a .222 batting average against, surrendering seven runs on 14 hits. The Catamount hurlers were impressive with 23 total strikeouts – 12 against Liberty and 11 against the Nittany Lions.
Sophomore Bryan Sammons limited Penn State to one run on three hits through six innings. The Catamounts used a two-run top of the fourth inning to break a 1-1 tie, holding off the Nittany Lions for the victory in the first-ever meeting on the diamond.
Sammons (2-2) recorded five strikeouts with just two walks and one hit batter to even his seasonal record. After a lead-off double in the seventh inning, he handed the ball off to sophomore B.J. Nobles, who stranded the base-runner with a pair of strikeouts and a fly ball out. All told, Nobles fanned four in two innings of hitless, scoreless relief, with senior Tyler Powell claiming his third save of the year, striking out two in the ninth.
Juniors Danny Bermudez (2-for-4) and Reece Strong (2-for-3) collected two hits apiece in the Catamount victory.
WCU grabbed an early lead with a solo run in the top of the first inning as Matt Smith was plunked by a pitch before promptly stealing second base. Bradley Strong was hit by a pitch before Bermudez singled to load the bases with one out. Junior Kramer Ferrell then lifted a sacrifice fly to right field, allowing Smith to scamper home for the lead.
Penn State (1-12) responded two innings later, plating a run in the bottom of the third inning as Tyler Kendall doubled to left-center before scoring on an RBI single by James Coates to tie the game, 1-1.
The next half inning, WCU scratched the scoreboard twice to take a lead it would never relinquish. Bermudez opened the rally with a leadoff double to center field, with Ferrell walking to put two aboard. Freshman Brett Pope sacrificed the runners into scoring position with a bunt before J.D. Long delivered an RBI single into right-center, scoring Bermudez to give the Catamounts the lead, 2-1. Austin Atwell then handed WCU a two-run lead with a sacrifice fly to center making it 3-1 through four innings.
WCU added an insurance runs in the top of the ninth as Reece Strong lifted a one-out single to left field before scoring on a Smith RBI double that dropped between a trio of Penn State defenders down the left-field line to make it 4-1. The Nittany Lions got back-to-back two-out base hits, including a double by Greg Guers, to provide the final tally, 4-2.
Penn State starter Nick Hedge took the loss after surrendering three earned runs on five hits with six strikeouts to counter a pair of walks through 6 1/3 innings. He also plunked four batters including Smith twice in his first two plate appearances. Hard-throwing freshman Sal Biasi struck out two in 2 2/3 innings, allowing the final run on two hits with one walk.
In game two, Liberty starter Parker Bean limited the potent Catamount offense to just three hits in tossing a complete game as the Flames downed Western Carolina, 5-1, in the nightcap of the twin bill. Bean held the Catamounts hitless until the seventh inning before WCU was able to break through in the hit column.
Overall, Bean worked around three walks with a pair of strikeouts in pitching all nine innings. The Flames used back-to-back two-run innings to secure the 5-1 win.
Sophomore Matt Smith drew a pair of walks and was WCU’s only base runner until Bradley Strong led off the seventh inning with a single through the right side for the first base hit. Two batters later, Kramer Ferrell pushed runners to the corners with a second Catamount single into right field. WCU ended the shutout on a sacrifice fly by Reece Strong to trim Liberty’s lead back to four – and providing the final tally, 5-1.
Junior Colton Davis (0-2) pitched the first four innings in the start as one of four Catamount hurlers to toe the rubber. The Commerce, Ga., native struck out five against five walks, allowing three runs on five hits through four innings in suffering the loss. His classmate, reliever Taylor Durand, fanned two in surrendering two runs on three hits in an inning and a third.
Jonathan Waszak struck out one against one hit in a third of a frame, while freshman Corey Sikes struck out a career-best four in pitching the final 2 1/3 innings of hitless, scoreless relief out of the bullpen.
Five different Liberty players combined to score the Flames’ five runs. Nick Paxton and Alex Close both tripled, with the latter plating two runs on his three-base hit. Nick Salisbury and Andrew Yacyk collected two hits apiece for Liberty.
Western Carolina is scheduled to wrap up play in the Liberty Baseball Invitational against the host Flames with first pitch at 4 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Catamount Sports Network and can be heard online at CatamountSports.com. It will also be televised by Liberty online on ESPN3.
Bradley 8, Mercer 2
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer University baseball team saw an early lead slip away, as Bradley rallied for an 8-2 victory on Friday evening at Claude Smith Field.
Mercer (10-10) found the scoring column in the opening inning of play, as Charlie Madden’s sacrifice fly plated Kyle Lewis for an early lead. The Bears added another score in the second on Matt Meeder’s RBI single, grabbing a 2-0 advantage after two frames.
Bradley (12-2) would take over the game, however, scoring eight unanswered runs to pull away with the victory and hand Mercer its first loss this season when plating the game’s first run.
Tyler Leffler’s sacrifice fly in the third inning opened up the scoring for the Braves before Drew Carlile’s two-run home run in the sixth handed them their first lead, 3-2. Bradley put the game out of reach with five runs over the final three frames en route to their sixth straight win.
The Bears got a strong performance from starter Eric Nyquist, as the senior fell one out shy of his second straight quality start. Nyquist limited Bradley to two hits and struck out eight while surrendering three runs in 5 2/3 innings in his first losing effort of the year.
Mercer’s lineup outhit the Braves 11-9 in the contest, including four hits in the first two frames alone, but managed just two runs after leaving 14 runners on base and striking out 11 times.
The Bears had four players record multiple-hit performances on Friday, including Lewis’ 12th of the season.
Mercer continues its weekend series with Bradley on Saturday, as the two teams are scheduled to square off at 2 p.m. at Claude Smith Field.
Central Connecticut State 3, VMI 1
LEXINGTON, Va. – The Central Connecticut State Blue Devils scored twice in the first inning and made it stand up behind a complete-game six-hitter by Matt Blandino as they defeated the VMI Keydets, 3-1, in nonconference baseball action Friday afternoon.
CCSU (2-4) scored twice in the first inning, thanks to an RBI single by Ian Glassman and a run-scoring groundout by Ryan Costello. That was all Blandino would need, as he gave up only an RBI groundout to freshman Matt Dunlevy and permitted just four Keydets (4-4) to reach scoring position in the complete-game victory.
With the win, Blandino moved to 1-0 on the season after allowing just one walk and striking out seven in his 124-pitch effort. Andrew Woods (2-1) took the loss after giving up two runs in three innings of work.
After CCSU took the early lead, the Keydets responded in the second. Will Connerley blasted a leadoff triple and scored on a Dunlevy groundout, cutting the Blue Devil lead to 2-1.
In the top of the third, however, Connor Fitzsimmons led off with a groundout to shortstop Jacob Jaye on a play up the middle. Woods fell down delivering the pitch and was removed following the inning for precautionary reasons.
The Keydets could not score in the fifth, when David Geary led off with a single and was at second with two down, and CCSU failed to add on in the sixth with runners at the corners and two out.
VMI then threatened in the seventh, when Geary reached on an error and moved to third after Blandino threw wildly on a pickoff attempt. Pinch-hitter Colin Fleischer walked, but Will Malbon grounded out to retire the side.
CCSU added on in the ninth against the Keydet bullpen. Bryan Rivera singled off Micah Gorman to start the inning and was bunted to second base. Fitzsimons struck out, but Glassman walked and Dominic Severino doubled in Rivera to make it a 3-1 contest and account for the final margin.
Geary went 2-for-3 to lead the VMI offense, while three players posted two-hit games for the Blue Devils.
VMI will return to action Saturday, when the Keydets play host to Central Connecticut State at 6 p.m.
Furman vs. Connecticut postponed
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Friday rains have led to changes in Furman's three-game weekend baseball schedule at Fluor Field, it has been announced.
Furman will now play a Saturday doubleheader, facing Michigan State at 3 p.m. followed by Connecticut at 7 p.m. The Paladins will face USC Upstate on Sunday at 7 p.m.
Wofford vs. Iona postponed
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Due to rain, the Friday night baseball series opener between Wofford College and Iona College has been postponed.
The two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. and another doubleheader on Sunday at noon. The first game of each doubleheader will be a seven-inning contest, followed by a nine-inning game.