The Citadel 4, Wofford 3
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Connor Walsh singled in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth, and Clay Martin provided late-game defensive and offensive heroics in The Citadel's 4-3 victory over Wofford, evening the Southern Conference series at a game apiece.
The Bulldogs improved to 16-17 and 2-6 in the SoCon while the Terriers dropped to 26-12 and 4-4 in the league. The rubber game of the series at Riley Park is Sunday at 1 p.m. and can be seen on the SoCon Digital Network. It is also a Spike's KIDet Club game, with all members receiving free admission.
With the game tied at 3, Martin singled to lead off the bottom of the ninth off Spencer Kulman (5-2), and Terrier closer Will Stillman hit Johnathan Stokes and walked Drew Ellis to load the bases with one out. Walsh followed by grounding a single to right through a drawn-in infield to bring home Martin with the decisive run.
Wofford tied the game with a run in the top of the ninth against eventual winning pitcher Skylar Hunter (2-4), but Martin prevented it from being an even bigger inning. With runners at second and third and one out, Alec Paradowski hit a drive into the gap in right-center that appeared ticketed for extra bases.
But Martin made a sensational diving catch on the warning track and had the presence of mind to flip the ball to right fielder Walsh. Walsh fired it in to Bret Hines, whose relay to Ryan Kilgallen nailed Derek Hirsch at the plate trying to score all the way from second and hold the play to just a dramatic sacrifice fly.
William Kinney tied the game at 2 in the seventh with his second home run of the week, a shot to left-center that bounced off the glove of James Plaisted and snuck over the wall. One out later, Martin chopped a double down the right-field line and scored on an RBI single by Stokes to put The Citadel in front 3-2.
JP Sears worked the first 5 1/3 innings for the Bulldogs and allowed six hits and two runs while tying his season high with eight strikeouts. Zach Sherrill relieved Sears in the sixth and worked out of a second-and-third, one-out jam before Hunter went the final three innings.
The appearance for Sherrill was the 131st of his career, just four shy of The Citadel school record held by Raymond Copenhaver. Sherrill also ranks second among active Division I pitchers in that category, trailing only UCLA's David Berg.
Luke Leftwich started for the Terriers and gave up eight hits and three runs with eight punch outs in 6 2/3 innings.
Mack Nathanson slugged his fourth home run of the year to give Wofford a 1-0 lead in the second, and Stokes had his first RBI of the game with a single in the third. It stayed a 1-1 contest until the sixth, when Wofford went ahead on a leadoff double by Matt Ramsay and a single by Plaisted.
ETSU 9, VMI 6
LEXINGTON, Va. – For the second straight night, the Keydets loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth, but redshirt freshman right-hander Dillon Cate worked out of another jam as ETSU held on for a 9-6 series-clinching win over VMI on Saturday at Gray-Minor Stadium.
The Bucs, who led 9-3 after 6 1/2 innings, saw the Keydets plate a run in each of the final three frames, but when the Blue and Gold needed a stop, they called upon their closer and Cate worked his magic to close out the game. Cate entered the game with one out and runners on first and second in the bottom of the ninth and quickly loaded the bases as he walked the first hitter he saw on four straight pitches. But, like he did in Friday’s opener, Cate held the Keydets scoreless as he retired Will Connerley and Brandon Angus en route to registering his fourth save of the season.
Prior to VMI’s late-inning rally, the Buccaneers got a healthy dose of strong hitting and pitching to build their six-run advantage as senior right-hander Jimmy Nesselt struck out 11 and walked none to earn the win (4-3), while nine ETSU batters registered hits at the plate. Nesselt, who was one strikeout shy of tying his career high, allowed four runs (three earned) on 11 hits in 6 2/3 innings. The Plantation, Fla., native posted a stretch where he struck out seven of the 10 hitters he faced between the fourth and seventh innings.
At the plate, Trey York, Aaron Maher and Danny Carrier all recorded two hits, while Kevin Phillips and Zach Thompson drove in a pair of runs to secure ETSU’s first winning series since March 13-15, when the Bucs swept Miami (Ohio). To go with his two RBIs, Phillips reached base three times as he walked twice and drove in the two runs with a single in the fifth, while Thompson’s two-run scoring double in the seventh plated the eventual game-winning runs. Chris Cook extended his streak of reaching base to 16 straight games after going 1-for-4 with two runs and a walk.
ETSU has now won its last three conference games and improved to 14-19, 3-5 in SoCon play, while VMI has dropped three straight and dipped to 9-19, 4-7.
VMI struck first as the Keydets scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning – an RBI double by Jordan Tarsovich and an RBI single from Tyler Tharp – but the Bucs rallied by plating runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings, while adding three more in the seventh to go ahead, 9-3.
The first six ETSU batters reached to begin a wild third inning as Thompson benefited from a two-base fielding error by Thomas Stallings at first to lead off the frame, and the senior outfielder scored on Jeremy Taylor’s RBI single, but Carrier – who reached on a single earlier in the inning – was thrown out on the play as he tried to advance from first to third on the single to center. Taylor moved up to second on the throw, advanced to third on a failed pickoff attempt by Brandon Barbery and the Buccaneer speedster later scored the second run of the inning on a wild pitch. York capped off the scoring when his RBI single to left-center scored Cook, putting ETSU ahead for good, 3-2.
Both teams scratched across a run in the fourth as Thompson reached on a two-out fielding error by Barbery and sprinted home on Carrier’s double to left-center, while Connerley pulled VMI back within a run (4-3) as he led off the bottom of the inning with a home run to right-center.
ETSU’s offense kept its bats alive in the top of the fifth as the Blue and Gold scored two runs on five hits to extend their lead to three. Cook led off the frame with a single up the middle and moved to third on York’s double down the line right, while both Buccaneers scored on Phillips’ single to left; however, Phillips was gunned out at second as he tried to extend his hit into a double. Following the play, Hagen Owenby and Maher both reached via singles and ETSU loaded the bases after Jordan Sanford worked a five-pitch walk. The Bucs were unable to do further damage as VMI reliever Andrew Woods struck out Thompson and Carrier to end the threat.
The Bucs made up from their minor hiccup in a big way as ETSU recorded its three-run seventh inning to go up six, 9-3. Phillips and Owenby both led off the inning with walks and the Blue and Gold loaded the bases when Sanford was hit by a pitch. With one out and nowhere to put Thompson, the Buccaneer senior came through with a clutch two-run double and he later came home on Andrew Lasure’s sacrifice-fly RBI to left.
The insurance runs were key as the Keydets scored solo runs in the final three innings to pull within three, but Cate stopped any VMI comeback to wrap up the series win. The Keydets picked up an RBI double by Tarsovich in the seventh, but Josh Jacques entered into a two-out situation with runners on second and third and got out of the jam by getting an inning-ending pop up. From there, Connerley belted his second solo home run of the game in the eighth, while Tharp’s infield RBI single in the ninth made it a three-run contest, forcing Cate to take over for Kain Hewitt to finish things off. Cate got Connerley to pop up to second and induced Angus into a game-ending fly out to right.
Barbery, who entered the day with an ERA below 3.00, took the loss (3-2) as he surrendered five runs (three earned) on six hits in four innings, while Woods tossed the final five innings out of the pen.
Tharp posted four of VMI’s 16 hits, while Tarsovich (three), Connerley (two), Ray Lopez (two) and Matt Winn (two) all finished with multi-hit efforts.
The Bucs look to finish the series sweep on Sunday as junior right-hander Griffin Krieg goes to the hill for ETSU. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
Western Carolina 3, Mercer 0
MACON, Ga. – Sophomore starter Bryan Sammons led a quartet of Catamount pitchers that combined to toss a five-hit shutout on Saturday as Western Carolina blanked the league-leading Mercer Bears, 3-0, to even the best-of three Southern Conference series at Claude Smith Field.
The series rubber match is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Sammons (3-3) scattered four hits through six scoreless innings, striking out five to work around seven walks to pick-up the victory for WCU. He was relieved by junior Jonathan Waszak, who gave way to freshman Corey Sikes, who allowed just one hit in two innings of work to set-up senior closer Tyler Powell.
Powell, a product of Charlotte, N.C., fanned two, including one looking, to end the game in collecting his sixth save of the year. It was the 21st save of his career moved him into sole possession of third all-time in the WCU career record books.
Sophomore Matt Smith again paced the Catamount offensive attack with multiple hits in his second consecutive game, tallying a game-high three, including two singles and an RBI double in a 3-for-4 performance. Smith has four multi-hit games in his last five outings and 13 total on the season. He has seven hits in nine plate appearances entering Sunday’s finale.
Senior Bradley Strong finished 2-for-4 with a run-scoring double, tallying his team-best 14th multi-hit game. Freshman shortstop Brett Pope tallied his third RBI single in the last two days with a first-inning run-scoring offering into left field.
Seven Catamount hitters combined for WCU’s 10 hits in the victory.
Western Carolina (15-15, 7-4 SoCon) got all the runs it would need in the opening frame, lighting the scoreboard twice for the second straight day. Smith led off with a single up the middle before moving to second on a Kramer Ferrell ground out. Strong then drove home Smith from second base as the left-hander pushed a double down the left-field line for the 1-0 lead. Two batters later, Pope dropped a run-scoring single into left field to provide the 2-0 start.
The Catamounts would eventually cap scoring in the seventh as Austin Atwell bounced a one-out single down the third-base line. Two batters later – and with Atwell moving with the pitch – Smith doubled into left field to plate the insurance marker, providing the final tally at 3-0.
Saturday’s game wasn’t without drama, though, as Mercer found ways aboard. The Bears twice loaded the bases in the second and seventh innings but were held off the scoreboard. After a 1-2-3 first inning, Mercer put three runners on with two outs in the second as Danny Edgeworth singled before consecutive walks to Charlie Madden and Nate Moorhouse. However, Sammons got out of the jam by striking out the No. 9 hitter, Trey Truitt, to end the threat.
Sammons again worked out of a jam in the third, stranding runners at the corners with another strikeout, fanning Edgeworth.
Mercer’s best chance to get a run came in the seventh inning as the home squad loaded the bases with nobody out. Truitt doubled before back-to-back walks – one attributed to Sammons and the second to Waszak – filled the bases with Bears. Sikes managed to get the first out on a pop-fly to shallow center by Kyle Lewis before inducing a bouncing ball to left-hand side that Reece Strong fielded, dotted the bag at third and threw across for the double play, ending the inning.
All told, the Catamount pitching staff managed to strand 11 Mercer baserunners in the win with WCU’s defense turning a pair of double plays.
Mercer starter Grant Papelian (4-2) took the loss, surrendering all three runs on eight hits through seven innings. After allowing two runs in the opening frame, Papelian settled to retire nine straight Catamounts as a part of limiting WCU to just two hits between the second and sixth innings. Connor Herd pitched an inning of scoreless relief, allowing two singles in the eighth before Austin Lord and Carter Varga combined to toss a hitless, scoreless ninth.
Five Bears combined for the team’s five hits on the day. Leadoff man Matt Meeder reached three times with a pair of walks and a 1-for-3 showing at the plate, while catcher Charlie Madden was also on the base paths three times with a 1-for-2 performance with a pair of walks. Truitt doubled to start the seventh-inning threat for Mercer, finishing 1-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts.
Furman 10, UNCG 0
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Grant Schuermann pitched seven shutout innings and enjoyed solid run support from his teammates in helping Furman blank UNCG, 10-0, and win its first Southern Conference baseball series of the season Saturday afternoon at UNCG Stadium.
The Paladins (15-18, 5-6 SoCon), who beat the Spartans (14-17, 5-6 SoCon) 9-4 in Friday’s opener, will go for the series sweep in Sunday’s 1 p.m. finale.
Schuermann (3-1), a freshman left-hander from Cincinnati, Ohio, scattered seven hits over seven frames, struck out four and did not walk a batter, in earning the victory. He combined with relievers Stephen Fondu and Brandon Casas in crafting Furman’s third shutout of the season and his second since posting a 10-0, complete-game blanking of Gardner-Webb on Mar. 17.
Ryan Morse continued to torch UNCG pitching by belting his third home run of the series, part of a 2-for-5, three-RBI performance that highlighted Furman’s 13-hit attack. Blake Chisolm went 3-for-4 for his team-leading 18th multi-hit game and drove in two runs, and Carter Grote had a pair of hits, scored twice, stole a base and drove in a run.
Furman scored all the runs it would need in the third inning, using RBI singles by Grote and Griffin Davis to take a 2-0 lead against UNCG starting pitcher Andrew Wantz (5-1).
The Paladins combined two hits with an error to score three more in the third. A Cameron Whitehead sacrifice fly plated the first run, and Morse followed with a two-run blast over the right-center field fence to up Furman’s lead to 5-0.
Furman used a pair of sacrifice flies by Davis and Ohmstede in the fifth to up the advantage to 7-0 and tacked on two more in the seventh when Chisolm stroked a two-run double to left field to drive in Jordan Simpson and Chris Ohmstede.
Fondu worked a scoreless eighth and Casas retired the Spartans in the ninth to complete the shutout.
Schuermann stranded runners in each inning, including two in the first when he pitched around a one-out error. The Spartans left 12 runners on base in the contest.
Collin Woody had two of UNCG’s seven hits.
Wantz was tagged for nine of the Paladins’ 10 runs, though only six were earned. He surrendered 12 hits, struck out eight and issued no walks in taking the loss.
Samford 10, Murray State 3
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford baseball team plated five runs in the seventh inning to break open a close game on its way to a 10-3 win in the second game of a three-game series against Murray State Saturday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
With the win, Samford secures the series win over the Racers. Samford improved to 16-17 on the season, while Murray State fell to 14-21.
Jared Brasher (2-2) pitched six innings, giving up three runs on five hits to earn the win on the mound for Samford. He struck out six batters, while walking just one. Philip Flach, Mark Donham and Mikel Belcher split the final three innings to close the game out for Samford.
For Samford offensively, Austin Edens, Alex Lee and Richard Greene had a home run each in the win. Lee and Greene had two hits each for Samford. Frankie Navarrete also went 2-for-4 with a double for the Bulldogs.
Murray State's Brad Boegel (1-3) pitched five innings, giving up five runs, just three earned, on seven hits to take the loss for the Racers. Brock Downey and Andrew Bramley also saw time on the mound for Murray State.
The Racers were led at the plate by Matthew Johnson, who went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Tyler Lawrence was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI for the Racers.
Murray State jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with a run in the first inning and another run in the third inning. In the first inning, Lawrence singled center field to drive in Johnson for the game's first run. In the third inning, Johnson singled up the middle to drive in Derek Yoder for a two-run MSU lead.
Samford put its first run on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third inning when T.J. Dixon reached base on an infield single and later scored on a balk. MSU, however, added a run in the top of the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Taylor Mathews to make the score 3-1.
The Bulldogs tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Heath Quinn singled to left field to lead off the inning. With one out, Lee homered to right field to knot the score at 3-3.
Samford took the lead for good with two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Greene singled to lead off the inning and later scored on a wild pitch for a 4-3 Samford lead. Hunter Swilling later singled to drive in Navarrete for a 5-3 Bulldog advantage.
The Bulldogs pulled away with five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to make the score 10-3. With one out, Greene homered to left-center field for the inning's first run. Navarrete then doubled and later scored on an error. Edens then hit a three-run home run to right field for a seven-run Samford lead.
The teams will conclude their series with a game Sunday at 1 p.m. CDT.