Furman 10, Gardner-Webb 0
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Furman freshman left-hander Grant Schuermann hurled a complete game, two-hit shutout in beating Gardner-Webb, 10-0, in baseball action at John Henry Moss Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Schuermann (1-0), from Cincinnati, Ohio, and a product of Lakota West High School, was brilliant in his first collegiate start, retiring 24 consecutive batters in a span beginning with two outs in the first inning until two outs in the ninth. He struck out seven and did not walk a batter, yielding only a pair of singles. No Bulldog reached second base in the contest.
He threw 92 pitches, including 70 for strikes, in posting the first complete game shutout by a Furman pitcher since Tom Mastny blanked ETSU, 8-0, in 2003.
Jordan Simpson went 4-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs to pace Furman's 15-hit attack, its seventh double-digit hit performance in the last eight games, and Griffin Davis notched a 2-for-3 game at the plate with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored.
Chris Ohmstede continued his strong work following his recent move to leadoff, going 2-for-3 with two walks and two runs scored, and Cameron Whitehead belted his first home run of the campaign for the Paladins, who registered hits in every slot in the batting order.
As it turned out, Furman (10-9), wearing its green St. Patrick's Day uniforms, got the only run it would need in support of Schuermann in the fourth inning when a pair of doubles by Griffin Davis and Jordan Simpson off Gardner-Webb starting and losing pitcher Jeremy Walker (0-1) gave the Paladins a 1-0 lead.
A Davis RBI single in the fifth drove home Ohmstede to make it 2-0, and the Paladins increased it to 4-0 an inning later on a Whitehead blast over the left center field fence.
The Paladins tacked on a run in the seventh and finished it off with five more in the ninth, capped by a pinch-hit two-run single by Sky Overton.
Collin Thacker's two-out single to left field in the top of the first inning marked the game's first hit, but Gardner-Webb (12-9) could do nothing with Schuermann until two outs in the ninth, when Evan Hyett legged out an infield single to halt Schuermann's streak of 24 consecutive retired batters. He recovered by striking out Ryan Hodge to end the game.
Schuermann faced only 29 batters, two over the minimum.
The shutout was the second straight by the Paladins in Boiling Springs following last year's 9-0 win at John Henry Moss Stadium.
The Paladins open Southern Conference play at Samford on Friday.
The Citadel 4, Georgia Southern 3
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Drew Ellis slammed a long home run to break a tie in the sixth inning, and Citadel pitching blanked Georgia Southern over the final eight frames in a 4-3 victory over the Eagles on Tuesday evening at Riley Park.
The Bulldogs won their sixth in a row to improve to 11-7 while completing a sweep of the home-and-home series against their former Southern Conference rival. The winning streak is the longest since a 10-game run from April 12-27, 2013. Georgia Southern fell to 12-10.
The Bulldogs battled back from an early three-run deficit to create a 3-3 tie in the fifth on consecutive two-out singles by Johnathan Stokes, Austin Mapes and Connor Walsh, with Walsh driving home his team-leading 19th run of the year.
Ellis led off the following inning and crushed a 2-0 pitch well over the wall in right for his third home run of the season and first since hitting two on opening weekend against Air Force. Jacob Watcher struck out three in 1 1/3 innings and Kevin Connell got the final two outs of the eighth on strikeouts.
Closer Skylar Hunter made things interesting in the ninth, allowing a leadoff double to Chase Griffin, who moved to third on a ground out by Hunter Thomas. Hunter was able to strand Griffin right there by fanning Brandon Sharpe and Cal Baker to secure his eighth save and move into a tie for the national lead in that category.
Hunter also increased his career save total to 36 and is just one shy of tying Elon's Thomas Girdwood for the most in SoCon history. Hunter has saves in five of The Citadel's six victories during its current winning streak.
Ross White, the second of five Bulldog pitchers, allowed one hit in a scoreless sixth inning and earned the win, moving to 2-0 on the year. Avery Fagan allowed the Ellis homer and dropped to 0-2.
Austin Mason started for The Citadel and fell behind 3-0 just three batters into the game. He walked Kody Adams and Logan Baldwin followed with a double before Aaron Mizell homered over the batter's eye in straightaway center.
Mason did not allow a hit after the Mizell round-tripper and faced the minimum 12 batters over his final four innings. The junior right-hander walked three and struck out three in the no-decision.
The Bulldogs struck back with two in the bottom of the first on RBI singles by Mapes and Stephen Windham, and the game stayed 3-2 until The Citadel scored its single runs in the fifth and sixth.
The Citadel continues its 14-game homestand when it hosts Winthrop on Wednesday at 5 p.m. before taking on UMBC in a three-game series beginning Friday. All four of those games can be seen free of charge on the SoCon Digital Network.
Mercer 16, Georgia 4
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer University baseball team eclipsed its season marks for hits and runs while scoring in each of the first five innings during a dominating 16-4 victory over Georgia on Tuesday night at Claude Smith Field.
Mercer (12-11) had 10 players find the hit column amidst its offensive fireworks, racking up 17 hits, including a season-high nine of the extra-base variety. Howard Joe paced six Bears with multiple hits, finishing 3-for-5 at the plate with two doubles. Mercer, which came into the game ranked third in the nation with 23 home runs, added two to that tally with long balls from Charlie Madden and Danny Edgeworth.
Lost in the dominant effort at the plate for Mercer was an impressive performance by the Bears’ pitching staff. Grant Papelian gave up one unearned run in 5 2/3 innings on the mound on the way to his second win of the year. Austin Lord and Ben Lumsden tossed back-to-back scoreless innings before the Bulldogs scored three of their four runs on one swing in the ninth.
Mercer jumped out to an early lead thanks to a trio of two-out hits in the opening inning of play. Kyle Lewis started the rally with a two-out double before scoring on back-to-back wild pitches from Georgia starter Ryan Avidano. After a double by Joe and a Nate Moorhouse walk, Madden pushed the lead to four with a three-run blast to left field.
Georgia (12-9) took advantage of an error in the second to cut the deficit to three, 4-1, but Mercer would respond with two runs in the home half before opening the flood gates in the third.
The Bears pushed five runs across in the inning to grow their lead to double digits. Edgeworth started the surge with an RBI single before Trey Truitt drew a bases-loaded walk. Matt Meeder continued the run with a run-scoring single, followed by Lewis’ sacrifice fly and an RBI hit by Joe put Mercer out in front, 11-1.
Edgeworth hit his fourth home run of the year in the fourth before Moorhouse plated Joe with a single down the right line for a 13-1 advantage after five frames. Mercer tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the eighth behind RBI hits from Conrad Cornell and Daniel Tefft.
The Bulldogs stopped the bleeding after 12 unanswered runs with three runs in the ninth, as Brandon Stephens’ fourth hit of the night went over the fence in left field for a three-run shot to close out the scoring.
Mercer will open up Southern Conference this weekend, March 20-22, when it hosts ETSU for a three-game series at Claude Smith Field. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. Friday.
ETSU 17, Morehead State 14
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Kevin Phillips and Chris Cook both belted three-run home runs, while Andrew Lasure put ETSU ahead for good with a two-run single in the ninth inning, as ETSU rallied from a seven-run deficit to defeat Morehead State, 17-14, on Tuesday at Allen Field.
In a game that featured 31 total runs on 41 hits, ETSU (11-7) survived the slugfest en route to extending its win streak to four games. Overall, the Bucs, who have totaled 41 hits in their last two contests, finished with a season-high 23, marking their most hits since registering 24 in a 22-4 win over Stetson on May 21, 2010.
Cook, Phillips and Lasure combined to drive in 12 of ETSU’s 17 runs, while eight Buccaneers finished with multi-hit games.
Cook, who gave the Bucs their first lead of the game (12-11) with his homer in the seventh, went 3-for-6 with a career-high five RBIs – the most by an ETSU player since Clinton Freeman had six RBIs back on April 6, 2013, in a 12-9 win at Northern Kentucky. Lasure tied a career best with three hits and drove in a career-high four runs, while Phillips went 4-for-6 with three runs and three RBIs. Phillips’ four hits marked a new career high for the St. Louis, Mo., native, while he moved past Trey York for the team lead in home runs with six. York extended his streak of reaching base safely to 18 straight games by going 2-for-5 with two doubles, two runs and two RBIs, and Danny Carrier reached base five times in the comeback win. Carrier totaled a career-high three hits, scored three runs and walked twice, while Daniel Tucker also ended with a career-high three hits (two doubles). Freshman Hagen Owenby had two hits and scored a run, while junior Jeremy Taylor was the fourth Buccaneer to notch three hits. Taylor also walked, scored twice and drove in two runs.
Redshirt freshman Dillon Cate, who picked up two saves and a win in the weekend sweep over Miami (Ohio), earned his second straight winning decision (2-1) as he tossed the final 1 2/3 innings. The Buccaneer right-hander didn’t allow a hit and struck out two. Cate was one of seven pitchers used by the Blue and Gold in a game that lasted three hours and 50 minutes.
The Bucs, who put their first two hitters on to start the game, were held scoreless in the top of the first and Morehead State grabbed a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the inning – highlighted by Kain Sweeney’s three-run home run to right-center.
ETSU plated a run in the second as Tucker ripped a two-out double to right-center and scored on Lasure’s single to center, but the Eagles scratched across a pair of runs in the bottom half and led, 6-1.
The offense continued in the third as the Blue and Gold pushed across three runs on four hits in the top of the inning, making it a 6-4 game. York got things rolling as he was hit by a pitch with one out and later scored when Owenby reached on an infield single to first and Sweeney’s throw to pitcher Tyler Keele was high, resulting in York coming home. With one out and runners on corners, Zach Thompson drove in Phillips, who reached earlier on a single to center, with a sacrifice fly, while the duo of Tucker and Lasure capped off the scoring. Tucker put down a bunt single to third and sprinted home on Lasure’s single up the middle.
Morehead State got a pair of two-out RBIs in the fourth and added three more in the fifth, pushing its lead to, 11-4.
However, the Blue and Gold continued to hack away and used the long ball to rally back from their largest deficit of the campaign.
The Bucs combined for eight runs on seven hits between the sixth and seventh innings – highlighted by Phillips’ blast to left in the sixth and Cook’s homer to center in the seventh – en route to giving ETSU its first lead of the game, 12-11.
The Blue and Gold were unable to keep a grip on their one-run lead as the Eagles scored a run in the bottom of the seventh to pull even at 12. Ryan Kent was hit by a pitch to start the inning and he scored on Sweeney’s one-out double to left-center, but ETSU did a solid job getting out of the jam. Following a single to Brandon Rawe, Sweeney was tagged out at the plate as he tried to score on a wild pitch, while Josh Jacques induced Nick Newell into an inning-ending groundout to short.
The defensive plays continued an inning later; however, this time it favored Morehead State. Tucker led off with a double to left, but he was gunned down at third as he tried to tag up after Lasure was robbed of a hit in center for the second out of the frame. ETSU responded following the blunder, as Carrier ripped a two-out single to left and Taylor walked, while Cook delivered with a two-out, two-run scoring double to left, putting the Bucs back ahead, 14-12.
Again, the Eagles answered with two runs in the bottom of the eighth to tie it at 14. Kent doubled home a run and Chris Robinson’s sac fly to deep right-center plated the tying run in Braxton Morris.
The Blue and Gold had more gas in the tank, as ETSU roughed up the Eagles for three ninth-inning runs and never relinquished its lead. With one out and the bases loaded, Lasure sent a 1-2 pitch to left, allowing Phillips and Aaron Maher to score. For added measure, Taylor drove in his second run as Tucker came in on his fielder’s choice grounder to short.
Cate silenced Morehead State’s bats in the ninth as he held the Eagles scoreless to wrap up the game. Cate’s scoreless inning was just the third time Morehead State was held without a run on the night.
Cable Wright took the loss (0-1) as he was charged with four runs on three hits and three walks in 2/3 of an inning.
Morehead State’s nine starters all posted hits as the Eagles finished with 18 for the game. Robinson, Sweeney and Rawe all totaled three hits in the losing effort.
The Eagles dropped to 10-7 following the three-run setback.
The Bucs begin Southern Conference play this weekend as ETSU opens a three-game series at Mercer Friday at 6 p.m.
Wofford 13, Coppin State 4
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Back-to-back bombs in the bottom of the first inning set the tone, as the Wofford College baseball team rolled to a 13-4 win over the Coppin State Eagles on Tuesday evening at Russell C. King Field.
The Terriers were hitting on all cylinders in the opening inning. In the bottom of the first, Coppin State’s Myles Taylor walked Alec Paradowski before Matt Ramsay flied out. With a man on base, James Plaisted blasted his fifth homer of the season over the left field wall to put up the first two runs of the game. Not to be shown up, right fielder Matt Pelt did his best Plaisted impression, sending the ball soaring out of the park to the exact same location.
The back-to-back homers were the first for the Terriers in nearly a month, as Pelt was followed up by Kody Ruedisilli on Feb. 18 at Presbyterian.
The big hits didn’t stop there. After letting in two runs in the second from a Jacquez Hunn single and an error at shortstop, Wofford (17-5) doubled up on its runs in the third. After Ramsay flied out, Plaisted was walked by the Eagles. This set up Pelt to single to shortstop, putting two runners on base. Conor Clancey then started a dominant string of hitting on the night. The senior smashed a double down the right-field line to score the two Terriers on base. A line out from Max McDougald advanced Clancey to third before a triple from freshman Cody Miller sent him safely home.
Center fielder Jack Kraft hit a two-run bomb in the fourth to bring Coppin State within two runs, but the Terriers’ night on offense was far from over.
Clancey opened the bottom off the fifth with a bang, cracking a solo bomb dead center to begin the five-run inning. McDougald was up next in the batter’s box. He was patient and earned a walk before Cody Miller hit his first career home run to bring both home.
With no outs on the board, Coppin State made a pitching change, but Wofford still found ways to score. After singling, Ruedilisi was aggressive running the bases, stealing both second and third before an errant throw brought him home safely. After being walked, Paradowski stole second with ease. Ramsay was hit by a pitch, and then both he and Paradowski earned additional bases, beating the catcher’s arm. Plaisted hit a sac fly to bring home Paradowski, but Ramsay was stranded before the end of the inning.
Clancey opened up the bottom of the sixth in the same fashion. The ball smashed into the left-field foul pole as Clancey hit his second consecutive homer, bringing the Terriers to a total of five homers on the game. In the next at-bat, Miller was hit by a pitch and proceeded to steal both second and third base before a Pete Carrier pinch-hit for Derek Hirsch brought Miller home.
Coppin State had four more hits over the final three innings but failed to score on any.
Elliot Lance earned his first win of the season, pitching three innings with two hits and two strikeouts. Myles Taylor dropped to 0-1 on the season after letting in six runs on six hits and three walks.
Wofford faces the Eagles again Wednesday at King Field with first pitch set for 4 p.m.
UNCG 7, NC State 3
GREENSBORO, N.C. – A two-run home run by senior outfielder Eric Kalbfleisch highlighted a five-run second inning as the Spartans rolled to a 7-3 midweek victory over NC State on Tuesday evening inside the UNCG Baseball Stadium. The contest was played before a huge crowd of 977 – a season-high attendance number for the Blue and Gold.
The win marked the sixth against an opponent from the Atlantic Coast Conference in head coach Link Jarrett’s two-plus-season tenure in Greensboro. He also improved to 2-1 against NCSU with the other victory an extra-inning 8-5 triumph in Raleigh back in March 2013.
UNCG (7-10) improved to 5-1 at home this season and is hitting .345 with a slugging mark of .624 in those games. The Spartans also out-hit the Wolfpack 11-7, racking up double-digit hits for the sixth time in the last nine outings.
Kalbfleisch had a solid day at the dish, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBIs. Junior infielder Collin Woody and senior outfielder Tyler Long chipped in with two hits apiece, while Long also scored two runs. Logan Ratledge and Preston Palmeiro led the Wolfpack (10-8) with respective 2-for-4 and 2-for-5 performances.
Freshman RHP Andrew Wantz threw four strong innings and was credited with the victory – improving his record to 3-0. He allowed just one run on four hits with four walks and the first two strikeouts of his collegiate career. Ryan Williamson took the loss for NC State and fell to 0-1 after tossing two innings and giving up five runs (all earned) on seven hits with a walk and three strikeouts.
With one away in the top of the first, Ratledge tripled then scored on an RBI single by Palmeiro. Wantz recovered by picking off Palmeiro at first before fanning Jake Armstrong to end the half inning. The Spartans tied it up quickly in the bottom of the frame when, after consecutive singles by Woody and senior infielder Hunter King, senior infielder Aaron Wright grounded out to second base to plate King.
Wantz stranded an NC State runner at third in the top of the second, opening the door for the Blue and Gold to take the lead in the bottom of the inning. Long singled on a bunt back to the pitcher and came home on an RBI triple by freshman outfielder (playing as the DH) Devin Ruiz to make the score 2-1. Kalbfleisch then stepped up and belted a two-run home run over the scoreboard in right-center field to extend the advantage to 4-1. UNCG looked for more and received it in the form of a Woody RBI double that scored senior outfielder Nick Chapman, who had drawn a walk earlier in the inning. When the dust settled, the Spartans had scored four runs on four hits to assume a 5-1 lead after two complete.
Both pitching staffs settled in from there and started to put up scoreless innings. NC State put leadoff men on base in the third through fifth frames but some nice work by Wantz and the defense behind him kept the Wolfpack at bay and off the scoreboard. Senior LHP Blair Betts came on in the fifth inning and worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam with two strikeouts as NC State once again came up empty in the scoring column.
The Wolfpack defense turned two double plays, one in the fourth and one in the fifth, to keep UNCG within shouting distance but the Spartans twirled a twin killing of its own in the seventh to protect the lead. The Blue and Gold finally dented the scoreboard again in the bottom of the eighth, plating two runs on two hits and a costly NCSU error to extend its cushion to six runs at 7-1. Long manufactured a run by singling to right center, stealing second and coming home on a Kalbfleisch RBI single. Kalbfleisch accounted for the second run by scoring on an RBI groundout by King.
Palmeiro provided the final four-run margin with a two-run home run before senior RHP Tyler Frazier shut the door with a strikeout, groundout and fly out.
UNCG and NC State will close the midweek home-and-home series with a 6 p.m. contest Wednesday evening at Doak Field in Raleigh, N.C.
Old Dominion 8, VMI 5
NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion Monarchs scored two runs in the seventh inning to pull away in a one-run game and went on to defeat the VMI Keydets, 8-5, in nonconference baseball action Tuesday night.
The Keydets (4-7) had rallied from a 6-2 deficit to pull within 6-5 in the fourth, but ODU (9-7) relievers Michael Rienerth and Jake Josephs did not allow the Keydets a hit over the next three innings. An RBI single by Josh Eldridge and an infield out off the bat of Nick Walker then drove home the two insurance runs in the seventh, and the Keydets could not draw any closer the rest of the way.
Rienerth (1-0) picked up the win via scorer's decision, as he pitched two innings and allowed just two walks. Sam Sinnen pitched 1 1/3 innings and picked up his third save.
Ryan Bennett (0-1) took the loss, as he lasted just 2/3 of an inning and was charged with six runs, all earned. The VMI bullpen, however, led by true freshman Matthew Eagle, pitched its team back into the game by allowing just two baserunners over the middle 5 1/3 innings. In fact, ODU went 19 consecutive hitters without recording a base hit against VMI relievers before Eldridge's single off Jonathan Kelley in the seventh.
The Keydets struck first when Ray Lopez drilled a hard ground ball just fair down the third-base line for a two-out, two-run double in the first inning, putting the visitors up, 2-0.
The lead was short lived, as ODU plated six runs in the home half of the inning, helped by two walks, two wild pitches and a pair of run-scoring double steals. Eagle relieved Bennett with two outs in the inning and gave up the second of those plays, as well as an RBI single to Jason McMurray to make it a 6-2 game.
That would be the last ODU hit until the seventh inning, a stretch that included 4 2/3 innings of one-hit, one-walk and five-strikeout baseball from Eagle, pitching in his hometown and making his collegiate debut.
The Keydets got a run back in the second inning on a Will Malbon RBI single and cut the deficit to one in the fourth on a Thomas Stallings RBI double and a Drew Bryan sacrifice fly.
The Monarchs threatened in the sixth, but Jack Gomersall struck out McMurray to end the inning and eventually set the stage for the ODU rally in the seventh. The Keydets did bring the tying run to the plate in the eighth, but Drew Bryan struck out on checked swing to end the inning.
Offensively, the Keydets were paced by Will Connerley's two-hit night and David Geary's three-walk effort, while Eldridge, Connor Myers and Taylor Ostrich had a pair of hits for ODU.
VMI will return to action Wednesday, when the Keydets and Monarchs conclude their two-game midweek series in Norfolk. Action will get underway at 6 p.m.
Alabama 8, Samford 6
HOOVER, Ala. – The Samford baseball team nearly overcame a six-run deficit, but the Bulldogs eventually fell to Alabama, 8-6 Tuesday night at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
Samford fell behind, 6-0, but the Bulldogs were trailing just 8-5 heading into the ninth inning. Samford plated one run in the top of the ninth and had runners at the corners with no outs, but Alabama closer Thomas Burrows retired the next three batters to secure the 8-6 win for Alabama.
Samford was led at the plate in the loss by Hunter Swilling, who went 2-for-5 with a triple and two RBIs. Austin Edens went 3-for-3 at the plate, while Jared Watson also had two hits for the Bulldogs.
Samford pitcher Tristan Widra (0-1) pitched 4 1/3 innings, giving up five runs on six hits to take the loss on the mound. Widra struck out five batters, while walking just two. Robert Perteet, Philip Flach, Mark Donham, Eric Wright and Andres Gracia also saw time on the mound for Samford.
For Alabama, Jake Walters (2-0) tossed five innings, giving up no runs on two hits and striking out nine batters to earn the win. Burrows tossed the final inning to pick up his fourth save of the season.
Alabama was led at the plate by Casey Hughston, who went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs. Mikey White went 3-for-4 with a triple and four RBIs. Chandler Avant also had three hits for the Crimson Tide.
Alabama put the first run on the scoreboard in the second inning when Hughston led the inning off with a home run. The Crimson Tide added five runs in the fifth inning to make the score 6-0. White drove in three runs in the fifth inning, while Hughston and Chase Vincent drove in a run each for a six-run Alabama lead.
Samford came back with four runs in the top of the sixth inning. Swilling, Heath Quinn and Richard Greene drove in a run each, and Quinn scored on a wild pitch as Samford cut the Alabama lead to 6-4.
Alabama came back with a run in the bottom of the sixth to make the score 7-4. White singled to drive in Avant for Alabama’s seventh run of the game. Each team plated a run in the eighth inning and the teams headed to the ninth inning with Alabama leading, 8-5.
In the ninth inning, Danny Rodriguez singled to lead off the inning. Watson then singled, moving Rodriguez to second base. Rodriguez and Watson then moved up a base each on a wild pitch. Swilling then singled to drive in Rodriguez to make the score 8-6. Burrows, however, retired the next three batters to end the Samford threat.
With the loss, Samford fell to 6-11 on the season. Alabama improved to 12-7 with the win.
Samford will return to action on Friday, March 20, when the Bulldogs open a home Southern Conference series with Furman. The teams are scheduled to play Friday at 6 p.m. CDT, Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field.