Western Carolina 7, The Citadel 2
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Sophomore right-hander B.J. Nobles fanned eight Bulldog batters Friday evening inside Hennon Stadium as Western Carolina picked up a 7-2 victory in the Southern Conference series opener against The Citadel.
Nobles, who was making just his second start of the season, pitched six solid innings as he scattered six hits and allowed just one run on a two-out solo shot in the third inning. The sophomore pitched his way out of three bases-loaded jams, including holding the Bulldogs scoreless in the sixth after The Citadel filled the bags with no outs.
Senior second baseman Bradley Strong and sophomore designated hitter Matt Smith led the Catamounts at the plate. Strong picked up a team-high three RBIs while also scoring a pair of runs as he went 2-for-3 at the plate. Smith was a perfect 2-for-2 with a pair of RBIs and a walk. Junior catcher Danny Bermudez and redshirt junior left fielder Austin Atwell each picked up RBIs as well.
The win improved WCU’s record to 10-12 overall and 2-2 in SoCon action, while the Bulldogs dropped to 14-10 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
After both teams went hitless in the first inning, The Citadel seemed to be poised to score in the second. A pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases for the Bulldogs with two outs but a groundout to the second baseman ended the Bulldog threat.
WCU responded in the bottom half of the inning as Bermudez and Smith led off with back-to-back walks. After a sacrifice bunt moved both runners up a base, junior third baseman Reece Strong reached on a hit by pitch. Atwell then stepped in a sent a deep fly ball to center field that pushed the Bulldog defender back to the warning track. Bermudez was able to score on the sacrifice fly to give WCU an early 1-0 lead. The Citadel ended the threat with a strikeout.
The Bulldogs responded in the top of the third as Austin Mapes launched his second home run of the season over the right-field fence.
The scoring continued in the bottom of the third after freshman shortstop Brett Pope doubled off the left-field fence. A fly out sent Pope to third and then Bradley Strong earned his first RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly to center field to score Pope.
The fourth was The Citadel’s second bases-loaded inning. The Bulldogs were able to load the bases with two outs on three walks but once again Nobles shut the door with his fifth strikeout of the game.
Nobles responded in the fifth with a five-pitch inning that featured a line out, a groundout and a strikeout. The next inning would be Nobles’ most pressure-packed affair.
The Citadel opened the sixth with a single, a walk and then a bunt single that found its way between Nobles and third baseman Reece Strong. After a visit by head coach Bobby Moranda, Nobles was able to entice the next Bulldog batter to line out to second base. Nobles would then collect his seventh and eighth strikeouts of the game. The performance fired up the Catamounts, who went out and plated three runs for their pitcher in the bottom half of the inning.
WCU opened the bottom half of the inning with four straight hits. Junior right fielder Kramer Ferrell began the streak with a single to right field. Bradley Strong came up next and duplicated Ferrell’s at bat with a single to right field, as well. The next batter was Bermudez, who hit a ball that streaked down the left-field line. Bermudez ended up with an RBI double as Ferrell scored what would eventually be the game-winning run and Bradley Strong moved to third. Smith stepped in a ripped a two-RBI single through the right side to give WCU a 5-1 lead.
Junior left-hander Taylor Durand pitched the next two innings for the Catamounts while striking out three, walking one and giving up one run. The Bulldogs’ second run of the game came in the seventh after a hit by pitch, a wild pitch and a single turned into a run for The Citadel.
WCU answered in the bottom half of the seventh as Bradley Strong took advantage of lone error in the game. A fielding error by The Citadel’s shortstop allowed Ferrell to reach with two outs. Bradley Strong was WCU’s next batter and he launched a ball deep over the right-field fence for his second long ball of the year.
After the first two Bulldog batters reached to open the ninth inning, Moranda called on Catamount closer Tyler Powell. Powell sent the next three Citadel batters back to the dugout as he closed out the game with a foul out, grounder and a strikeout.
The Catamounts and Bulldogs will be back in action Saturday at 2 p.m. for game two of the three-game series.
UNCG 8, ETSU 6
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – In the first meeting between UNCG and ETSU on the baseball diamond in 10 years, it was the Spartans who built an early lead on the way to an 8-6 victory over the Bucs in the teams’ series opener Saturday at Thomas Stadium.
UNCG improved to 11-12 overall and 3-1 in Southern Conference play, while ETSU dropped to 11-13 and 0-4.
The Blue and Gold pounded out a season-high 16 hits, of which seven went for extra bases, including three home runs. The three long balls upped the Spartans’ count to 23, matching last season’s total.
Senior outfielder Tyler Long turned in a career performance with four hits in five at bats. He also scored two runs. In fact, the top six batters in the UNCG lineup recorded at least two base knocks. Sophomore catcher Jake Kusz ended up with a personal-best three RBIs, while senior outfielder Eric Kalbfleisch drove in a pair of runs as well.
Junior RHP Ryan Clark out-dueled ETSU ace Jimmy Nesselt, tossing seven innings to earn his fifth win of the season. He allowed four runs on nine hits with two walks and six strikeouts. Clark kept the Bucs at bay for the first six innings, keeping them scoreless until the seventh. Nesselt fell to 3-2 with the loss as he surrendered six runs on 13 hits with three walks and four strikeouts. He had walked just six batters all season entering the game.
With a pair of hits in the contest, senior outfielder Zac MacAneney stretched his hitting streak to 13 contests.
MacAneney led off the game with a single and moved to second base on a passed ball with two outs. After Aaron Wright drew a walk, Kusz stepped up and laced a ball to the right-center gap that scored both MacAneney and Wright and gave the Spartans a 2-0 advantage. Long then dropped down a bunt single and stole second to bring up Devin Ruiz. The freshman put the ball in play and grounded out on a bang-bang play at first to end the half inning.
With one out in the bottom of the first, Chris Cook singled to move the lineup card to the league’s top hitter in terms of batting average, Trey York, who would ground into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.
UNCG kept the pressure on in the top of the third as Hunter King laced a leadoff home run over the wall in right-center to make it a 3-0 Spartan advantage. After Wright singled with one out, Long dropped down his second bunt single of the day and Ruiz walked to load the bases. Kalbfleisch would deliver with a two-out, two-run single just past the diving glove of Jordan Sanford at short to extend the UNCG lead to 5-0.
The Spartans threatened again in the top of the fourth as Wright roped a two-out double to right field to put UNCG runners at second and third, but Kusz popped up to shallow center for the third out. In the top of the fifth with two outs and no one on base, Kalbfleisch drew a walk, stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch but would be stranded there as a fly out to deep right kept the Spartans off of the scoreboard.
The Blue and Gold broke through again in the top of the seventh as Long smoked a one-out triple into the gap in right-center – his first three-bagger of the campaign. It would be a short stay at third as Ruiz followed with a double to right field that gave UNCG a 6-0 cushion.
ETSU mounted a rally in the bottom of the seventh, scoring four runs on four hits to pull within two runs. MacAneney restored order a little bit, however, leading off the top of the eighth with a moon-shot homer over the right-field wall to push the Spartans’ lead back to three runs at 7-4.
With a light snow falling in the top of the ninth, Kusz led off with UNCG’s third home run of the game as the Spartans pulled ahead by four runs. Stafford would finish the job in the bottom of the frame, allowing a two-run home run to York but inducing a ground ball back to mound from the bat of Kevin Phillips for the final out.
The Spartans and Bucs will continue the series Saturday at 2 p.m.
Samford 15, VMI 2
LEXINGTON, Va. – The Samford baseball team scored 15 runs and pounded out 18 hits on its way to a 15-2 win in the first game of a three-game Southern Conference series at VMI on Friday night at Gray-Minor Stadium.
Hunter Swilling led the Samford offense, going 4-for-4 with two home runs and five RBIs. Jared Watson went 4-for-5 with an RBI. Austin Edens went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run and four RBIs, while Danny Rodriguez went 3-for-5 with a double, a home run and three RBIs.
Alex Ledford (3-2) pitched seven innings, giving up one run on seven hits to earn the win on the mound for the Bulldogs. Ledford struck out seven batters and allowed just two walks. Eric Wright and Caleb Maggio also saw time on the mound for Samford.
For VMI, Thomas Stallings went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Jacob Jaye went 2-for-3 at the plate for the Keydets. Austin Heenan (0-2) pitched 5 2/3 innings, giving up eight runs on nine hits to take the loss on the mound for VMI.
Samford jumped out to an early lead with two runs in the first inning and two more in the third. In the first inning, Edens doubled to left-center field to drive in Swilling and Watson for the game's first two runs. In the third inning, Swilling homered to right field with Watson on base for a 4-0 Samford lead.
The Bulldogs plated two more runs in the top of the fifth inning and two additional runs in the sixth inning. In the fifth inning, Heath Quinn and Edens drove in a run each. The runs in the sixth inning were scored on RBIs by Richard Greene and Watson to make the score 8-0.
VMI put its first run on the scoreboard in the bottom of the sixth inning. Stallings singled to left field to drive in Brandon Angus to cut the Samford lead to 8-1.
Samford broke the game open with six runs in the top of the seventh inning. Rodriguez hit a three-run home run to make the score 11-1. Later in the inning, Swilling hit another three-run homer for a 14-1 Samford advantage.
The Bulldogs plated their final run in the top of the eighth inning to push their lead to 15-1. Edens led the inning off with a solo home run to right-center field for a 14-run Samford lead.
The Keydets added one final run in the bottom of the ninth inning to make the final score 15-2. Collin Fleischer singled to right-center field to drive in Jordan Tarsovich for the game's final run.
With the win, Samford improved to 10-13 overall and 3-1 in Southern Conference play. VMI fell to 5-13 overall and 1-3 in league games.
Samford and VMI will continue their series with a game Saturday at 3 p.m. (CST).
Mercer 9, Furman 5
GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Mercer University baseball team pushed its winning streak to six games, defeating Furman 9-5 in the opening game of its Southern Conference series at Latham Stadium on Friday night.
Mercer (17-11, 4-0 SoCon) eclipsed double-figure hits for the fifth time in its last six games, recording 11 in the series opener, with five Bears tallying a pair on the night. Kyle Lewis pushed his hitting streak to 10 games with a 2-for-3 performance, while Charlie Madden and Jackson Ware combined for five RBIs to pace the Bears.
Eric Nyquist went six innings to start the game for Mercer, giving up five runs on seven hits with six strikeouts to improve to 4-1 on the season. Relievers Morgan Pittman and Mitchell Wade combined for two scoreless frames before Ben Lumsden got the final three outs to hand head coach Craig Gibson his 375th career victory.
Furman (11-13, 1-3 SoCon) jumped out to an early lead, taking advantage of a pair of infield hits to score the game’s first run. The Paladins would tack on another score in the first inning on Ryan Morse’s RBI double. Chris Ohmstede pushed Furman’s lead to 4-0 in the second, driving in a pair of runs with a double in the left-center gap.
The Bears got on the board in the third inning, putting together four straight two-out hits to ignite a rally. Madden highlighted the surge with his fifth home run of the season, a three-run blast to left-center to trim the deficit to one, 4-3.
Mercer grabbed its first lead of the contest with a pair of runs in the fourth frame, as Ware scored the tying run on a wild pitch before Danny Edgeworth plated Matt Meeder to hand the Bears a 5-4 advantage. Howard Joe pushed the lead to 6-4 in the next inning, crushing a 2-1 pitch over the left-field wall for his third long ball of the year.
The Paladins pulled within one, 6-5, in the sixth thanks to back-to-back hits to start the inning; however, Nyquist stranded a runner 90 feet away to escape without further damage. Mercer carried that momentum to the seventh, taking advantage of a pair of walks to move out in front, 8-5, on Ware’s two-run double down the left-field line.
The Bears added another insurance run in the eighth on Devin Bonin’s RBI single to eighth to close out the scoring in their 9-5 victory.
Mercer continues its three-game series with Furman on Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m. at Latham Stadium.
Wofford 9, North Carolina Central 1
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – On Friday night, the Wofford College baseball team defeated North Carolina Central 9-1 in the opening game of the weekend series at Russell C. King Field. The Terriers had a 5-0 lead after five innings and added four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to earn the victory.
Wofford is 21-7 on the season, while N.C. Central is 11-13 overall. The Terriers had 13 hits in the contest, including three by James Plaisted. Matt Milburn went seven innings on the mound and allowed one run and struck out seven batters. The Eagles were held to four hits on the day.
After an hour delay to start the game due to rain, the Terriers had two outs in the first when singled and moved to second on a fielding error. Matt Pelt added a single that scored Plaisted for a 1-0 lead.
With one out in the bottom of the fourth, Kody Ruedisili hit a triple to left center. Conor Clancey singled through the right side to drive in a run for a 2-0 lead. A double play ended the fourth inning.
Derek Hirsch opened the bottom of the fifth with a single up the middle. The Terriers had runners at second and third with two outs when Matt Pelt was hit by a pitch to load the bases. A single by Carson Waln drove in a run and a single by Ruedisili plated two runs for a 5-0 advantage at the end of the fifth inning.
In the top of the fifth, back-to-back singles with one out gave the Eagles runners on the corners. A sacrifice fly by Ronald Thompson scored a run to make it a 5-1 game.
Wofford loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth on a double by Clancey and singles by Max McDougald and Hirsch. A sacrifice fly by Alec Paradowski gave Wofford a 6-1 lead. A walk to Matt Ramsay loaded the bases again and a wild pitch allowed a run to score. Plaisted hit a single that drove in two runs and Wofford had a 9-1 lead at the end of the eighth inning. The Eagles were retired in order in the top of the ninth to end the game.
Milburn (6-0) worked seven innings and allowed only one run on three hits. He walked one batter and struck out seven. Spencer Kulman threw the final two innings and allowed one hit and struck out three batters.
Jordan Quinn (2-4) started for N.C. Central and went five innings with five runs allowed on eight hits. He struck out two batters and walked two. Jamar Hinton worked three innings and allowed four runs on five hits with two strikeouts.
Wofford will continue the three-game weekend series with N.C. Central at 3 p.m. on Saturday at Russell C. King Field.