Wofford 5, The Citadel 1
CHARLESTON, S.C. – On Friday afternoon, the Wofford College baseball team defeated The Citadel 5-1 at Riley Park in the opening game of the weekend series. The Bulldogs scored once in the fifth inning, but the Terriers answered in the top of the sixth with four runs. The Citadel had the tying run at the plate in the eighth inning but failed to score.
Wofford is 26-11 overall, with a 4-3 record in the Southern Conference. The Citadel is 15-17 overall and 1-6 in the SoCon. The Bulldogs had a 10-8 lead in hits in the game, but Wofford was able to take advantage of four errors. The Terriers were led by Carson Waln with two hits and two RBIs, while Matt Pelt and Max McDougald added RBIs. Four Bulldogs had two hits each, with Johnathan Stokes coming up with the lone RBI.
Wofford's Alec Paradowski lined a single to left field in the first off of Citadel starter James Reeves, who tossed a no-hitter in his last start against Mercer on April 3. The Bulldogs’ defense allowed no runs in the first, with first baseman Conor Clancey tagging Paradowski as he doubled back, and Reeves stranding an additional runner on first.
The scoreboard remained silent through the fifth until an RBI single by Stokes sent Clay Martin home, giving the Bulldogs a 1-0 advantage.
Wofford's Carson Waln responded with a two-RBI triple in the sixth to claim the lead. An RBI by Pelt followed, extending the Terriers’ advantage to 3-1. Pelt rounded home on a throwing error by Citadel catcher Ryan Kilgallen, closing out Wofford's four-run inning.
Pelt scored his second run in the eighth, initially reaching on a fielder's choice and rounding home on an RBI double off the bat of McDougald, settling the score at 5-1.
Wofford starter Matthew Milburn and reliever Jacob Condra-Bogan foiled a Citadel comeback attempt, allowing Condra-Bogan to claim his second save of the season after working out of a bases-loaded situation in the eighth.
The Citadel's Drew Ellis was 2-for-5 on the day and was stranded on base following both hits. Connor Walsh also had a multi-hit outing, going 2-for-4.
Milburn was awarded the win, improving his overall record to 8-0. The righty threw seven innings in which he allowed one earned run, 10 hits, walked two and struck out four.
Reeves was charged with the loss, dropping his record to 5-2. The lefty tossed six innings, allowing four runs, three earned, five hits walked two batters and struck out five.
The series against Wofford continues Saturday at 2 p.m.
Furman 9, UNCG 4
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Ryan Morse homered twice and Matt Solter pitched seven solid innings to power Furman past UNCG, 9-4, in the opening game of a Southern Conference baseball series Friday evening at UNCG Stadium.
The Paladins (14-18, 4-6 SoCon) and Spartans (14-16, 5-5 SoCon) will meet for game two of the series on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Morse, a senior first baseman/designated hitter making only his eighth start of the season, belted his first career home run in the first inning, a two-run shot to highlight a six-run Paladin frame, and cracked his second round-tripper in the sixth to put a wrap on his 2-for-3, three-RBI, two-run performance.
Solter (2-2) used the solid run support to notch his second straight victory. The senior right-hander yielded 10 hits but only four runs while matching a career-high 10 strikeouts.
Chris Ohmstede went 3-for-5 and drove in three runs, collecting a two-run single in Furman's big first inning, and a solo home run – his fourth long ball in the last four games – to lead off the ninth.
Cameron Whitehead had two hits, including a two-run double, and scored twice, and Jake Jones and Blake Chisolm also banged out a pair of hits for the Paladins, who finished with 12 hits.
Furman gave Solter all the runs he would need in the first inning, roughing up UNCG starter Ryan Clark (5-3), the SoCon's Preseason Pitcher of the Year and March Pitcher of the Month, for six runs.
Ohmstede got Furman on the board with a two-run single through the left side of the Spartan infield to score Jones and Carter Grote. Whitehead made it 4-0 with a double into right-field, and Morse capped the inning with a two-run shot over the right-center field fence.
UNCG got on the board with a run in the second and cut Furman's advantage to 6-3 on a Hunter King two-run home run in the fifth.
After Morse bagged his second home run of the game in the sixth, Solter and the Paladins avoided big trouble in the bottom of the sixth. Three singles loaded the bases with no outs before Solter recovered by sandwiching a sacrifice fly between a pair strikeouts, allowing only one run to score.
The Paladins tacked on a pair of insurance runs with a Grote RBI single in the eighth and Ohmstede's route job to lead off the ninth.
Elliott Warford worked a perfect eighth and ninth to close out the victory.
ETSU 8, VMI 4
LEXINGTON, Va. – Kevin Phillips, Chris Cook and Hagen Owenby all belted home runs, while junior right-hander Lee Haeberle allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings as ETSU earned an 8-4 series-opening win over VMI on Friday night at Gray-Minor Stadium.
Phillips ripped a pair of home runs – a solo shot in the second and a two-run blast in the sixth – marking the first time in his career he has recorded two home runs in one game, while he and Trey York are two Buccaneer sluggers to accomplish the feat this season. Cook and Owenby registered their solo bombs in the seventh, and Haeberle (3-5) snapped a five-game losing skid after allowing one run on five hits and striking out five.
As a team, six Buccaneers accounted for their nine hits, while Cook, Phillips and Zach Thompson all finished with multi-hit games. Cook extended his streak of reaching base safely to 15 straight games after going 2-for-5 with two runs, while Phillips scored two runs and drove in three after pushing his home run total to a team-leading nine. Thompson went 2-for-4 and Owenby reached base four times – on two hit-by-pitches, one walk and the home run.
ETSU (13-19, 2-5 SoCon) snapped its five-game losing streak and the Buccaneers picked up their second straight conference win, while VMI (9-18, 4-6 SoCon) suffered its second straight setback.
The Buccaneers plated the first run of the game when Phillips belted a home run to lead off the second inning, and with Haeberle hanging goose eggs, ETSU added to its lead by pushing across an unearned run in the fourth to go ahead, 2-0. York, who was hit by a pitch to start the frame, moved into scoring position by stealing second and advanced to third on a throwing error by catcher Matt Winn on the play. From there, York sprinted home on Aaron Maher’s sacrifice fly RBI to center, giving Haeberle a two-run cushion.
Haeberle, who retired 15 of the first 19 VMI hitters he faced, received more offense in the sixth as ETSU scored four runs on four hits and extended its lead to 6-0. Phillips continued swinging his hot bat as he belted a two-run home run to left and Maher drove in Owenby with his first collegiate triple. Maher later scored when Jordan Sanford reached on a fielding error by third baseman David Geary, but VMI reliever Jack Gomersall worked out of a jam to keep it a six-run game.
VMI broke up the Bucs’ shutout bid when Jordan Tarsovich led off the bottom of the sixth with a double and scored on Geary’s one-out double to left, but Ryan Simpler came out of the pen to keep the Keydet runner stranded at second by inducing Brandon Angus into an inning-ending fly out to right.
The Blue and Gold responded in the top of the seventh when Cook and Owenby connected on solo home runs, but Winn led off the bottom half of the inning with a homer to left, making it an 8-2 game.
VMI tacked on two runs eighth-inning runs, and after redshirt freshman Dillon Cate loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth, the Buccaneer right-hander closed out the game as Jeremy Taylor made the game-winning catch on the warning track in center field.
VMI starter Austin Heenan (0-4) suffered his fourth straight losing decision as he was tagged for six runs (five earned) on six hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Will Connerley led the Keydets with three hits and Geary went 2-for-5 with one double, one run and an RBI.
The Bucs look to win their first SoCon series of the year on Saturday as game two of the three-game set is slated for 4 p.m.
Mercer 11, Western Carolina 8
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer University baseball team used a three-run eighth inning to claim an 11-8 victory over two-time defending SoCon regular-season champion Western Carolina in the series opener on Friday night at Claude Smith Field.
Mercer (21-14, 8-2 SoCon) scored five runs over its final two innings to rally for its SoCon-leading eighth conference victory of the year in a game that featured a combined 19 runs and six lead changes. The Bears’ lineup was able to answer each Western Carolina surge with timely hits, but it was senior reliever Morgan Pittman that stole the show in the win.
The left-hander struck out a career-high 11 batters in 5 2/3 innings of relief, limiting the Catamounts to two hits and one unearned run during that stretch to help Mercer climb out of an early hole. Behind Pittman’s efforts, the Bears’ bullpen gave up just two runs over the final 7 2/3 frames to aid the rally.
Ben Lumsden got the final four outs of the contest for his first victory of the season, fanning two batters in the ninth to help Mercer record a season-high 15 strikeouts.
The Bears’ offense reached double digits in the hits column for the seventh time in its 10 SoCon contests, finishing with 12 in the game. Matt Meeder matched a career high with three hits to pace Mercer, while Kyle Lewis and Jackson Ware each had two hits on the night.
Western Carolina (14-15, 6-4 SoCon) wasted no time putting a pair of runs on the scoreboard, taking advantage of a first-inning error to extend the frame and grab a 2-0 lead on RBI hits from Jacob Hoyle and Brett Pope.
Mercer rallied with two runs of its own in the home half, getting back-to-back hits by Meeder and Devin Bonin to lead off the frame. The two would score would moments later on a wild pitch and an ensuing throwing error to knot the contest at 2-2.
The Catamounts continued to roll in the second frame, though, putting their first three batters aboard to set up Preseason SoCon Player of the Year Jacob Hoyle’s grand slam that handed WCU a 6-2 advantage.
The Bears would pick away at the lead, using solo home runs from Trey Truitt and Charlie Madden to cut the deficit to two, 6-4, after four innings of play. Mercer continued the rally in the fifth, tying the game with a pair of runs. Ware drove in Lewis with a single through the right side before Nate Moorhouse plated Danny Edgeworth to knot the contest at 6-6.
Western Carolina jumped back out in front in the seventh thanks to a run-scoring infield single by Brett Pope. However, the Bears would grab their first lead of the game in the home half. Ware drove in his second run of the game to tie the contest before Howard Joe’s single to center field allowed Ware to cross the plate for an 8-7 advantage.
After the Catamounts tied the game in the eighth, Mercer turned to Lewis for more late-game heroics. The sophomore, who hit a walk-off home run against ETSU earlier this season, put the Bears on top for good with a run-scoring single up the middle.
Mercer added a pair of insurance runs later in the inning, as Edgeworth drove in Lewis with a triple to center field before scoring on a wild pitch moments later.
The Bears will continue their series with Western Carolina on Saturday, as the two teams will face off at 2 p.m. at Claude Smith Field.
Samford 17, Murray State 2
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford baseball team hit six home runs, including three by Hunter Swilling, to take a 17-2 victory over Murray State in the first game of a three-game series Friday night at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
Swilling went 3-for-4 and drove in six runs off of his three homers. The three home runs are the most in a single game in the 11-year Casey Dunn era. In addition to Swilling, T.J. Dixon, Alex Lee and Damon Waller had a home run each. Lee went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, Dixon went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Waller turned in a 1-for-3 performance with an RBI. Frankie Navarrete, Richard Greene and Gregory Mula also had two hits each.
Alex Ledford (4-3) pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on four hits to earn the win on the mound for Samford. Ledford struck out eight batters and allowed just one walk. Wyatt Burns pitched the final two innings, allowing no hits, striking out five batters and walking just one.
For Murray State, Pokey Harris drove in the Racers' two runs, going 1-for-3 at the plate. John Lollar (1-3) pitched three innings, giving up 10 runs on eight hits to take the loss on the mound.
Samford got off to a fast start, plating four runs in the first inning. Dixon led the inning off with a triple to right field. Swilling then homered to center field for a 2-0 Samford lead. Lee hit another two-run homer later in the inning to make the score 4-0.
The Bulldogs added three runs in the second inning and three more in the third to push their lead to 10-0. In the second inning, Swilling hit a three-run homer to left field. In the third inning, Waller hit a solo home run for the inning's first run. Navarrete and Heath Quinn later drove in a run each for a 10-run Samford advantage.
Samford plated a run in the fifth inning and three more in the sixth to make the score 14-0. The run in the fifth inning was scored on a solo home run by Dixon. In the sixth inning, Danny Rodriguez drove in two runs and Greene drove in one run.
Murray State put its two runs on the scoreboard in the top of the seventh inning. Harris doubled down the left-field line to drive in Nick Moore and Derek Yoder to cut the Samford lead to 14-2.
The Bulldogs plated three final runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to make the final score 17-2. Swilling homered to lead off the inning. Gonzalez and Grant Colton drove in a run each later in the inning for the game's final two runs.
With the win, Samford improved to 15-17 on the season. Murray State fell to 14-20 with the loss.
The teams will continue their series with a game Saturday at 2 p.m. CDT.