Wofford 7, The Citadel 6
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel nearly pulled off a dramatic ninth-inning comeback before stranding the tying run on first in a 7-6 loss to Wofford on Sunday at Riley Park, clinching the Southern Conference series for the visiting Terriers.
Connor Walsh hit a two-run homer off Jacob Condra-Bogan with two outs in the ninth, and Stephen Windham followed with a walk. Wofford (27-12, 5-4 SoCon) then turned to closer Will Stillman, who got Jason Smith to ground out to second to wrap up his league-leading 11th save of the season.
The Bulldogs dropped to 16-18 and 2-7 in the SoCon.
Walsh and Windham both had three of The Citadel's 10 hits, with Walsh's homer his second of the season. He also increased his team-leading RBI total to 33, while Windham joined him by driving in a pair of runs. Johnathan Stokes continued his recent hot hitting with two singles and scored two runs.
The Terriers built a 7-3 lead in the seventh before the Bulldogs rallied late. Wofford took advantage of a pair of errors to score three times in the fourth to tie the game at 3, with Conor Clancey providing the big hit of the inning with a two-run double.
Clancey doubled again in the sixth and crossed the plate along with James Plaisted on a single by Carson Waln off losing pitcher Zach Lavery that put the Terriers ahead 5-3. Waln had three hits for Wofford and moved into a tie for the team lead with his 13th stolen base of the year.
Wofford made it a four-run game an inning later on a two-run homer off the right field foul pole by Alec Paradowski. The Citadel began its comeback attempt in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI single by Windham before Condra-Bogan got the final out of the inning and retired the side in order in the eighth.
Kevin Connell made his first start of the year for the Bulldogs and was sharp through the first three innings, allowing only one hit and two baserunners over that span. He finished with 4 1/3 innings on the mound, surrendering six hits and three runs (two earned) with two strikeouts. Zach Sherrill worked the eighth for his 132nd career appearance, only three shy of Raymond Copenhaver's school record.
Adam Scott overcame a shaky start to go four innings for the Terriers. He walked a batter and allowed three straight hits with two outs in the first, including RBI singles by Windham and Smith, that put the Bulldogs up early. The Citadel made it 3-0 in the second on a walk to Austin Mapes, two wild pitches and a groundout by Drew Ellis.
Elliot Lance relieved Scott in the fifth and worked out of a two-on, nobody out jam and set the Bulldogs down 1-2-3 in the sixth to pick up the victory, his fourth of the season in five decisions.
The Citadel hosts Liberty on Wednesday at 3 p.m. before traveling to UNCG for their next conference series beginning on Friday.
The Terriers’ nine-game road trip ended with a 4-5 record. Wofford will return home on Wednesday to face USC Upstate at 6 p.m. for the first of seven consecutive games at Russell C. King Field.
UNCG 9, Furman 8
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Trailing 6-0 after the top of the first inning Sunday, UNCG scored eight unanswered runs and captured its second walk-off victory of the week as the Spartans topped Furman 9-8 in a Southern Conference series finale at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
Senior LHP Blair Betts was phenomenal in the contest as he was called upon to relieve freshman RHP Michael Bates in the top of the first with no outs on the board. Betts recorded career highs in innings pitched (four) and strikeouts (five) as he limited to Paladins to just one unearned run and did not give up a hit. Junior LHP Bryant Stafford was credited with the win as he improved to 2-1. Stafford gave up one run on two hits with a walk and a strikeout in 2 1/3 innings of work.
Elliott Warford was saddled with the loss as he dropped to 3-2 after throwing the final 2 1/3 innings. Warford surrendered the winning tally and walked four batters while striking out a pair.
The Spartans (15-17, 6-6) out-hit Furman (15-19, 5-7) by a 12-6 margin and received multi-hit efforts from four players. Infielders Hunter King and Collin Woody each had two hits and scored two runs, while King recorded an RBI on his team-leading seventh home run of the season. UNCG has now notched a long ball in 13 of its last 14 games. Senior outfielder Eric Kalbfleisch also contributed two hits and drove in a pair.
The Paladins got the offense going early in the contest as three consecutive walks loaded the bases with no outs on the board. Chris Ohmstede and Jordan Simpson followed with two straight base hits to put Furman in front 3-0. The visitors tacked on another run on a fielding error before capping the half inning with two sacrifice flies to extend the cushion to 6-0.
Senior infielder Aaron Wright put the Blue and Gold on the board with a sac fly in the bottom of the first before senior outfielder Tyler Long doubled and scored on an RBI groundout by freshman infielder Tripp Shelton in the second inning to trim Furman’s lead to 6-2.
Kalbfleisch led off the bottom of the fourth with a single and moved to third on a single by Long. Sophomore Ryne Sigmon followed with his second triple of the season, which plated Kalbfleisch and made it a three-run contest. Shelton then came through with his second RBI of the day – a single down the right-field line that brought Sigmon home and pulled UNCG to within 6-4. The Paladins would escape further damage with an inning-ending double play.
A leadoff double by King to begin the bottom of the fifth led to a bases-loaded no-out situation as Woody and Wright drew consecutive walks. With one down, Kalbfleisch took the second pitch he saw and flared a two-run single into shallow left field that tied the game. Sigmon drew another walk to load the bases once more and a Furman throwing error would bring home the go-ahead run.
King plated an important insurance run in the bottom of the sixth with one out as he lined a 3-0 pitch over the wall in left field to give the Blue and Gold an 8-6 advantage. Ohmstede responded with an RBI single in the top of the seventh before Simpson delivered a sac fly to knot the score in the top of the ninth.
In the bottom of the ninth, Woody slapped a single up the middle and Wright drew a full-count walk to put the Spartans in business. Sophomore catcher Jake Kusz then laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position. The Paladins decided to intentionally walk Kalbfleisch and Long stepped to the plate with the bases full of his teammates. He would not have to leave the batter’s box, as a four-pitch walk by Warford plated Woody for the game-winning tally.
UNCG returns to action Tuesday, heading over to Durham, N.C., for its lone meeting of the season with in-state foe Duke. First pitch at Jack Coombs Field is scheduled for 6 p.m.
VMI 5, ETSU 4
LEXINGTON, Va. – David Geary and Collin Fleischer hit the first home runs of their careers, but a spectacular catch by Will Malbon with one out in the ninth was the key play of the game, as the VMI Keydets held off the ETSU Buccaneers, 5-4, in the finale of a three-game SoCon series Sunday at Gray-Minor Stadium.
The Keydets (10-19, 5-7 SoCon) took a 5-2 lead into the ninth, but ETSU (14-20, 3-6) rallied against Taylor Edens. Jeremy Taylor doubled with one out and Chris Cook followed with an RBI double, cutting the Keydet lead to 5-3. Trey York then doubled, as well, and ETSU home-run leader Kevin Phillips came up as the go-ahead run. Phillips looped a 2-2 pitch to shallow center field, but Malbon, who had entered the game as a pinch-runner in the eighth, made a diving, tumbling catch to record the out. Edens then induced a groundout from Aaron Maher to end the game and give VMI the dramatic win.
Offensively, York led ETSU with three hits on a day that saw the Bucs post 10 hits but leave the same number on board. Jordan Tarsovich went 2-for-3 with two doubles while making his first career start at shortstop, and Drew Bryan added two hits for the home team.
Jack Gomersall (1-0) picked up the win for the Keydets, adding to the day of firsts by earning his first collegiate victory. He retired the final batter of the fifth inning with the go-ahead run at third base. Edens threw the final three innings of the game and gave up two runs on four hits, three of which came in the ninth. He recorded his seventh save, third-most in the SoCon.
Griffin Krieg (1-4), the ETSU starter, allowed three runs in seven innings and took the loss, striking out a career-high 10 batters.
For the second straight day, the Keydets jumped ahead in the first. A Tyler Tharp RBI single scored Jordan Tarsovich to put VMI up, 1-0.
The Keydets tacked on a run in the second, when Matt Winn launched his seventh home run of the year, a shot to right field that bounced off the roof of the batting cages for a 2-0 Keydet lead.
ETSU rallied in the fifth against Jonathan Kelley, when Taylor led off with a walk and Cook was hit by a pitch. A hard ground ball to third base resulted in a fielder's choice with no outs recorded, loading the bases for Phillips. A wild pitch and a groundout scored two runs and, one out later, Gomersall relieved with a runner on third and two outs. After a walk, Gomersall struck out Danny Carrier on a 1-2 pitch to end the threat.
The Keydets got the lead back in the bottom of the inning, when Fleischer launched his first career home run, a shot to straightaway center field that made it 3-2.
That remained the score until the Keydets pushed across two crucial insurance runs in the eighth. Tarsovich led off with a sun-aided double and Tharp bunted him to third. Geary then followed with a blast over the batting cages in right field, his first home run in 259 career at-bats, for a 5-2 Keydet lead. That set the stage for the drama in the ninth inning.
VMI will return to action Tuesday, when the Keydets play host to the VCU Rams at 6 p.m.
The Bucs now return home, where they will play nine of their next 10 at Thomas Stadium, beginning Tuesday when ETSU hosts Appalachian State at 6:05 p.m.
Mercer 5, Western Carolina 3
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer University baseball team won its fourth straight Southern Conference series, hanging on to defeat Western Carolina, 5-3, in Sunday afternoon’s series finale at Claude Smith Field.
Mercer (22-15, 9-3 SoCon) moved into the driver’s seat in the SoCon standings, extending its lead to 1 1/2 games over Samford and two games over Western Carolina (15-16, 7-5 SoCon) with another strong Sunday performance. The Bears are now 3-1 in conference series finales this season, after rolling past The Citadel, 17-0, a week ago.
The Bears used another strong pitching performance, utilizing six pitchers to hold WCU well below its season average of over seven runs per contest. Eric Nyquist threw a scoreless first frame in a planned short start before giving way to Ryan Askew in the second. The sophomore right-hander took over from there, giving up just one unearned run on three hits over 4 2/3 frames.
Mitchell Wade retired both batters he faced in the contest to get the victory, improving to 2-1 on the season. Austin Lord and Ben Lumsden combined to give up two runs over 2 1/3 innings before Johnson picked up the final out for his fourth career save.
The Bears scored the game’s opening run for the first time in the series, pushing a run across in the first inning for an early 1-0 lead. Matt Meeder reached base for the 19th straight game with a single up the middle before crossing the plate on Kyle Lewis’ RBI single through the left side of the infield.
Western Carolina tied the game in the top of the sixth, taking advantage of an error to plate a run on Danny Bermudez’s double in the right-center field gap.
However, Mercer answered in the home half of the frame. Howard Joe put the Bears on top for good, driving in Jackson Ware with a single past the shortstop for a 2-1 advantage.
Devin Bonin hit his sixth home run of the season in the seventh, pushing Mercer’s lead to 4-1 with a two-run shot to right center. The Bears kept the momentum going later in the inning, as Ware’s double to right field scored Danny Edgeworth for a 5-1 advantage.
The Catamounts made it interesting in the final two innings. WCU scored a run in the eighth on Reece Strong’s RBI single to center field before making it a two-run game following Matt Smith’s solo shot to right field. Back-to-back hits put the tying run aboard with two outs in the ninth, but Johnson would retire the only batter he faced to close out the win.
Mercer’s lineup came up with timely hits to produce just offense for the victory, despite being held to six hits on the afternoon. Meeder led the way with two hits and two hits, while Bonin and Ware’s run-scoring hits in the seventh provided the team’s only extra-base hits of the game. Edgeworth finished with an interesting line, reaching base four times (two walks, two HBP) despite not recording an official at-bat in the contest.
The Bears travel to Atlanta to face Georgia State at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, before welcoming Georgia Southern for a 6 p.m. first pitch at Claude Smith Field to wrap up the pair of in-state battles this week.
Western Carolina opens a busy week on the diamond Tuesday with a trip to Doug Kingsmore Stadium to face the Clemson Tigers with first pitch at 6:30 pm. On Wednesday, the Catamounts open a five-game homestand, hosting Tennessee Tech in Cullowhee, N.C., before welcoming Furman to Childress Field / Hennon Stadium next weekend in league play.
Samford 14, Murray State 6
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford baseball team completed its sweep of the Murray State Racers with a 14-6 win Sunday afternoon at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
For Samford offensively, Richard Greene went 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBIs. Frankie Navarrete went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. Heath Quinn went 2-for-5 with two RBIs. Hunter Swilling and T.J. Dixon had two hits and an RBI each. Robert Perteet drove in two runs in a 1-for-2 performance.
Parker Curry (5-3) pitched five innings, giving up three runs, all unearned, on nine hits to earn the win on the mound for Samford. Curry struck out four batters and allowed no walks. Philip Flach, Mark Donham and Andres Gracia also saw time on the mound for Samford.
Murray State was led at the plate by Anthony Bayus, who went 3-for-4 with an RBI. Derek Yoder, Matthew Johnson and Nick Moore had two hits each for the Racers. Brandon Hicks (2-2) pitched one inning, giving up four runs on three hits to take the loss on the mound for the Racers.
Murray State jumped on top first with two runs in the top of the third inning. Tyler Lawrence and Moore drove in a run each in the inning to give the Racers a 2-0 lead.
Samford came back to tie the score with two runs in the bottom of the third inning. Swilling doubled to drive in Navarrete for the first run of the inning. Swilling later scored on a Murray State error to knot the score at 2-2.
The Racers took the lead again with a run in the top of the fourth inning. Bayus singled to drive in Rick Linton for a 3-2 Murray State lead.
Samford took the lead for good with four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Danny Rodriguez walked with the bases loaded to drive in Austin Edens for the game-tying run. Greene singled to drive in Alex Lee with the go-ahead run. Navarrete later singled to drive in Rodriguez and Damon Waller for a 6-3 Samford lead.
The Bulldogs broke the game open with seven runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Greene hit a three-run home run, Perteet had a two-run double, and Quinn hit a two-run single in the inning as Samford pushed its lead to 13-3.
Murray State cut the Samford lead to 13-5 with two runs in the top of the seventh inning. Kipp Moore and Taylor Mathews each scored on a Samford error to bring Murray State to within eight runs of Samford.
Samford added a run in the bottom of the eighth inning, and Murray State plated one final run in the top of the ninth to make the final score 14-6. In the bottom of the eighth, Dixon singled to drive in Grant Colton for Samford's final run of the game. In the top of the ninth, Matthew Johnson scored on a wild pitch for the game's final run.
With the sweep, Samford improved to 17-17 on the season. Murray State dropped to 14-22 with the loss.
Samford will return to action Tuesday evening when the Bulldogs play host to in-state rival Troy. The game is scheduled for a 6 p.m. CDT start from Joe Lee Griffin Field.