Furman 2, South Carolina 1
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Matthew Quarles pitched seven strong innings, and Cameron Whitehead homered in a three-hit performance to help Furman beat South Carolina, 2-1, in baseball action Tuesday evening at Fluor Field.
The win was the third for Furman (19-20) in its last five games versus South Carolina (25-17) in Greenville.
Quarles (4-1), a sophomore right-hander who was designated to only work two innings in the contest but proved to be effective and efficient early, allowing him to throw a career high seven frames. The Greenwood, S.C., native allowed only two hits, a run, and a walk while posting a career high seven strikeouts in improving to 3-0 at Fluor Field.
Elliott Warford, who took over for Quarles in the eighth, surrendered a leadoff single to DC Arendas in the ninth on a ball that was misplayed in left field, allowing Arendas to reach second base. The Paladin senior right-hander regrouped, however, by striking out Max Schrock, Kyle Martin, and Elliott Caldwell swinging to end the game and notch his fourth save of the season.
South Carolina took a 1-0 lead in the fourth after Gene Cone collected the Gamecocks’ first hit of the game, a triple into the right field corner, and scored on a Arendas sacrifice fly.
Furman tied it at 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth when Carter Grote was hit by a pitch to lead off, moved to second on a Landon Kay single, and scored on Chris Ohmstede’s one-out flare double down the right field line. The Paladins’ bid for more ended after South Carolina pitcher Reed Scott struck out Jordan Simpson and retired Blake Chisolm on a groundout.
The Paladins took the lead for good in the fifth on Whitehead’s leadoff solo home run over the Green Monster in left field, his fourth roundtripper of the season.
Furman failed to build on the 2-1 lead, stranding a pair of runners in both the fifth and sixth, but it didn’t faze Quarles, who worked around a baserunner in both the sixth and seventh before giving way in the eighth to Warford.
Quarles threw 86 pitches in the contest, including 55 strikes.
Whitehead went 3-for-3 with the home run to pace Furman’s eight-hit attack that included a 2-for-4 performance by Simpson.
Cone accounted for two of South Carolina’s four hits.
The Paladins play at Charleston Southern on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. before opening a three-game weekend series at College of Charleston at 6 p.m. Friday.
Western Carolina 18, Appalachian State 15
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina outslugged longtime rival Appalachian State on Tuesday evening, using a nine-run third inning to jumpstart the Catamounts to an 18-15 victory at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium in the front end of a midweek nonconference home-and-home.
The win was WCU’s fourth straight over the Mountaineers, which left for the Sun Belt conference after the 2014 season. Tuesday’s game was the first between the two in nonconference play since WCU joined ASU in the Southern Conference in 1976.
Senior infielder Bradley headlined five Catamounts with multi-hit games by going 3-for-6 with a pair of singles and a three-run home run. Strong matched his career high with six RBIs, tying his previous career best also set against Appalachian State in the 2014 season. Outfielder Kramer Ferrell matched Strong with a 3-for-6 performance, tallying a single and two doubles, driving in one run and scoring three.
Freshman Caleb Robinson and junior Garrett Brown both finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored in the home victory.
Sophomore Matt Smith reached three times, driving home two on a hit-streak-extending double, while freshman Brett Pope reached base four times on walks, scoring twice. Freshman catcher Spencer Holcomb finished 1-for-3 with a perfectly placed popped double that found grass down the left-field line. He drove home a pair of runs, one on a HBP and the second on a sacrifice fly.
Appalachian State grabbed an early 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning only to see the Catamounts answer in the home portion of the frame with four runs. The Mountaineers reclaimed the lead in the top of the third with a 3-spot to lead 5-4 after two and a half.
Western Carolina (17-19) took a lead it would never relinquish with nine runs in the home half of the third inning. The Catamounts pushed across the nine markers on six hits, capitalizing on a Mountaineer error to keep the rally going. Ferrell doubled twice – driving in in a run on his second two-base hit – with Bradley Strong and Smith driving in two apiece on a single and double, respectively. Reece Strong capped the rally with an RBI single.
The younger Strong brother finished 2-for-4 with a run scored and the RBI.
The Mountaineers responded with six runs in the top of the fourth inning to trim the margin back to two, 13-11, in the fourth with WCU getting three back on the three-run home run by Bradley Strong to make it 16-11 after four.
Appalachian State (11-29) scored four runs over the final five frames, including two in the ninth, with the Catamounts tacking on a pair of insurance runs in the seventh on an error and a sacrifice fly by Spencer Holcomb.
Freshman reliever Dylan Biumi (1-0) was WCU’s most effective reliever, scoring his first victory out of the bullpen. The Cumming, Ga., native tossed 3 1/3 in relief, surrendering just two runs – one earned – on three hits with a pair of strikeouts. Classmate Brendan Nail tossed 1 2/3 innings with three strikeouts against three walks, allowing five runs on six hits. Junior Taylor Durand tossed the final inning, allowing one run with a walk and a strikeout.
WCU redshirt sophomore Dillon Bray tossed a career-long three innings in the start, fanning a career-high five including the first three batters to start Tuesday’s game. Bray allowed seven runs – five earned – on just four hits, walking five with a pair of hit batters.
Appalachian State starter Reed Howell (1-3) took the loss, allowing nine runs, only four of which were earned, on seven hits with a walk. He was the first of five Mountaineers to pitch, recording the longest outing.
Five Mountaineers also finished with multi-hit games, with Drake Zupcic leading the way with a trio of singles in a 3-for-4 outing, both scoring and driving in three runs. Michael Pierson scored three times on a 2-for-5 day. Also collecting two hits for ASU were Brandon Burris (2-for-6), Dillon Dobson (2-for-5) and Brian Bauk (2-for-4).
Western Carolina and Appalachian State play the return game of the home-and-home on Wednesday night in Boone, N.C. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m.
Mercer 16, Savannah State 4 (5 inn., completion of suspended game from March 31)
Mercer 3, Savannah State 2
SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Mercer University baseball team swept a doubleheader with Savannah State on Tuesday at SSU’s Tiger Baseball Field. The Bears collected a 16-4 triumph in the opening game, which was resumed in the fifth after being suspended on March 31 in Macon, before posting a 3-2 win in the nightcap.
The sweep handed Mercer (25-16) its 25th victory of the season, helping the Bears reach the mark for the sixth straight season and the ninth time during head coach Craig Gibson’s tenure at his alma mater.
Mercer’s offense was efficient in the game-one rout, scoring 16 times despite tallying just eight hits in the five-inning contest. The Bears drew seven walks and earned four other free passes via hit batters, as freshmen Jackson Ware and Trey Truitt each reached base three times to lead the team.
Mitchell Wade earned the victory for the Bears, tossing two scoreless innings to improve to 4-1 on the season. Conrad Cornell got the final two outs of the game in his first collegiate appearance.
Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the third, Mercer exploded for a season-high 13 runs to blow the game open. The Bears reached double-figure runs in an inning for the first time since the 2013 campaign, when they scored 10 times during the sixth frame of the team’s 18-3 win over Florida A&M.
Matt Meeder scored the first run of the inning on a balk, before Howard Joe’s double to left-center plated Danny Edgeworth and Charlie Madden. The Bears would add four more runs on one swing as Truitt hit his third grand slam of the season for a 9-3 lead.
Madden continued the surge in his second at-bat of the inning, doubling down the left-field line to drive in Meeder. Two batters later, Nate Moorhouse would cross the plate thanks to Joe’s bases-loaded walk before Ware continued the fireworks. The freshman hit the team’s second grand slam of the inning to push the Bears’ lead to 15-3 and close out the scoring for the frame.
Mercer added another run in the fourth inning on Moorhouse’s sacrifice fly before thunderstorms halted play in the fifth.
The two teams resumed the game Tuesday afternoon at Savannah State’s Tiger Baseball Field, as SSU (16-25) closed out the scoring with a run in the fifth before the game was concluded.
The Bears continued their efficient offensive attack in the second game of the series, scoring three runs in the top of the first on just one hit. Meeder drew a walk to lead-off the game, before moving to second on a wild pitch. The sophomore would score moments later, crossing the plate on a throwing error after Bonin’s bunt single. Kyle Lewis’ sacrifice fly plated Bonin moments later for a 2-0 lead before Ware scored Mercer’s third run of the frame on another wild pitch.
The Tigers answered with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning, as RBI hits by Zac Brigham and Harrison Moore pulled SSU within a run, 3-2.
Both offenses would stall from that point on, however, as each pitching staff settled in over the final eight innings. The Bears’ bullpen held Savannah State scoreless over the final eight frames, limiting the Tigers to just five hits in that span.
Wade and Morgan Pittman were a big part of that success, combining for 7 1/3 scoreless innings to help Mercer maintain a one-run advantage. Wade was credited with his second win of the day, giving up just one hit in four frames of action to improve to 5-1.
DJ Johnson got the final three outs of the game for his second save of the year, snuffing out a suicide squeeze attempt to help escape a bases-loaded jam in the ninth.
Mercer tallied eight hits in the nightcap, led by a 3-for-5 performance from Bonin, who recorded two bunt singles in the contest. Lewis notched the team’s lone extra-base hit, belting a one-out double in the fifth inning.
The Bears return to action this weekend, as they welcome UNCG to Macon for a three-game series. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. on Friday, April 24, at Claude Smith Field.
Samford 6, Alabama State 2
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford baseball team built an early lead and pulled away late for a 6-2 win over Alabama State Tuesday night at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
Samford plated three runs in the first inning and held the 3-0 lead until Alabama State came back with two runs in the top of the sixth inning to cut the lead to 3-2. Samford put the game away with three more runs in the eighth inning, with two coming on solo home runs by Hunter Swilling and Heath Quinn, for the 6-2 win.
For Samford offensively, Swilling went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and two RBI. Quinn went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Alex Lee went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI, while Danny Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI as well.
Samford's Cole Limbaugh (1-1) pitched three innings, giving up no runs on one hit to earn the win on the mound for the Bulldogs. Devan Traglia, Eric Wright, Jesse Travis, Wyatt Burns, Mikel Belcher, Mark Donham and Andres Gracia also pitched in the game for Samford.
Alabama State was led at the plate by Waldyvan Estrada, going 3-for-4 on the night. Yamil Pagan went 2-for-3 for Alabama State, and P.J. Harris and Gustavo Rios had a hit and an RBI each.
Patrick Coffin (2-1) pitched a third of an inning, surrendering three runs on six hits to take the loss on the mound for Alabama State. Tyler Howe pitched 6 2/3 innings for Alabama State, allowing no hits, striking out 13 Samford batters and walking just one.
In Samford's big first inning, the Bulldogs plated three runs on six hits. T.J. Dixon led the inning off with a single to center field. Swilling then doubled to left-center field to drive in Dixon for the game's first run. Quinn then singled to center field to drive in Swilling for a 2-0 Samford lead. With one out in the inning, Lee singled up the middle to drive in Quinn to make the score 3-0.
Samford's pitchers held Alabama State scoreless until the top of the sixth inning, with the Hornets scoring two runs to cut the Samford lead to 3-2. With two outs in the inning, Etrada singled to center field to start the rally. Pagan then singled, moving Estrada to third base. Harris then singled to right field to drive in Estrada for ASU's first run. Rios then singled up the middle to drive in Pagan to bring Alabama State to within one run of Samford.
The Bulldogs pulled away with three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Swilling led the inning off with a home run to center field. Quinn then homered to left field for a 5-2 Samford lead. With one out in the inning, Lee doubled to left field, and Sam Teague pinch ran for Lee. Teague moved to third base on a fly out by Brandon Powell. Rodriguez then doubled to center field to drive in Teague to make the final score 6-2.
The win is the eighth straight for Samford. The Bulldogs improve to 22-17, while Alabama State falls to 27-12. The loss snaps a 12-game win streak for the Hornets.
Samford will return to action on Friday, when the Bulldogs open a three-game Southern Conference series at Wofford. The teams are scheduled to play Friday at 5 p.m. (CDT), Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 12 p.m.
The Citadel 3, Charleston Southern 2
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Four Citadel pitchers limited Charleston Southern to two only hits, and Skylar Hunter worked out of a jam in the ninth to post his Southern Conference-record 38th career save in a 3-2 victory over the Buccaneers Tuesday night at Riley Park.
The Bulldogs (18-20) earned their 11th straight win at home over their crosstown rivals when Hunter got a pair of groundouts with two on and one out in the ninth to break a tie with Elon's Thomas Girdwood (2008-11) for the most saves in SoCon history. It was Hunter's 10th save of the year and first in exactly a month.
Freshman Thomas Byelick allowed one hit and two unearned runs in five innings to earn his first collegiate victory. Zach Lavery was perfect in his two innings in relief, and Austin Mason did not allow a hit in the eighth to set the stage for Hunter's historic outing.
Dylan Lee scattered six hits and all three Citadel runs over seven innings in taking the loss for CSU (19-19). Lee struck out 11 and did not walk a batter.
After spotting the Bucs a run on a walk and error in the top of the first, the Bulldogs got singles from Jason Smith, Johnathan Stokes and Stephen Windham in the bottom of the inning to take a 2-1 lead. Two errors and a sacrifice fly by Brian Dye tied the game for CSU in the fourth although the visitors still had yet to record a hit.
Connor Walsh was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the fourth and eventually scored on a single by Barrett Charpia for what proved to be the game-winning run. The combination of Byelick, Lavery and Mason blanked the Bucs from the fifth through eighth, and Hunter survived a walk and single in the ninth.
The Citadel continues a busy week at Riley Park when it hosts North Florida on Wednesday at 6 and VMI in a three-game SoCon series beginning on Friday at 4. All five games can be seen on the SoCon Digital Network.
Tennessee 14, ETSU 7
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Christin Stewart belted a pair of two-run home runs and Andrew Lee connected on a grand slam as Tennessee completed the season sweep by doubling up ETSU, 14-7, in front of 1,534 fans on Tuesday night at Thomas Stadium.
Despite plating runs in each of the first three innings and holding a 3-2 lead after four complete frames, the Bucs couldn’t hold the Volunteers in check as Tennessee went on to outscore ETSU, 12-4, en route to snapping its six-game losing streak.
Tennessee (16-20) outhit the Blue and Gold, 18-12, as six went for extra bases, including a season-high four home runs.
ETSU (14-25) had five players finish with multi-hit games as Jeremy Taylor, Chris Cook, Kevin Phillips, Jordan Sanford, and Zach Thompson all registered two hits each. Senior Daniel Tucker drove in three of the Bucs’ seven runs.
Taylor, Sanford and Thompson all extended their respective streaks in the setback. Taylor, who has reached safely in 14 straight games, has also recorded a hit in his last eight contests, while Sanford has reached in 12 consecutive games and Thompson has accomplished the feat in his last 11.
Freshman right-hander Ryan Simpler suffered the loss (1-4) in the start as he allowed five runs on nine hits while striking out four in five innings. Jacob Westphal (1-1) tossed 3.2 innings out of the pen to earn the win. Westphal was charged with three runs on four hits and also struck out four.
Tennessee jumped out to a 2-0 lead when Stewart recorded the first of his two homers in the top of the first, but the Bucs rallied with solo runs in each of the first three innings to go ahead, 3-2. Phillips drove in the first-inning run when his RBI single up the middle scored Taylor, and Tucker plated the first of his three runs with an RBI ground out in the second. ETSU took its only lead in the third when Cook led off with a double and came home on York’s RBI single to center; however, the Bucs couldn’t increase the margin.
The Vols went ahead for good in the fifth when Stewart blasted his second round-tripper of the night and Lee recorded his grand slam an inning later, making it a 9-3 score.
The Bucs pulled within three, 9-6, courtesy of their three-run sixth as Tucker drove in two with an infield single and Taylor plated Nathan Millsap with a two-out single to right-center, but with two outs Steven Kane relieved Westphal and struck out Cook to end any comeback threat.
Tennessee tacked on two runs in the seventh and eighth innings and capped off its scoring with a run in the ninth, while Aaron Maher’s fielder’s choice RBI scored Phillips for ETSU’s final run in the seventh.
Chris Hall finished with a game-high four hits, while Nick Senzel and Stewart both notched three-hit games. Stewart (five RBIs) and Lee (four RBIs) accounted for nine of Tennessee’s 13 RBIs. Brodie Leftridge added the fourth Volunteer home run in the seventh.
The Bucs return to action Wednesday night as ETSU heads to Rock Hill, S.C., for a 6 p.m. first pitch at Winthrop.
William & Mary 8, VMI 2
LEXINGTON, Va. – The William & Mary Tribe scored the first seven runs of the game and never looked back en route to an 8-2 win over the VMI Keydets in nonconference baseball action Tuesday night. The win snapped VMI’s three-game win streak over the Tribe, which had been the Keydets’ longest in the series since 1996.
William & Mary (19-19) jumped out to the early 1-0 lead on Tim Hoehn's second home run of the season. The Tribe then scored twice in the third before notching single runs in the fourth and sixth, and capped things off with two more runs in the seventh. The Keydets (12-22) scored twice in the bottom of that inning, including a leadoff home run by Matt Winn, but could not overcome the early deficit.
Mitchell Aker (1-1) picked up the win for the visitors, as he pitched 6 2/3 innings and allowed two runs on four hits. He walked one and struck out six. Matthew Eagle dropped to 0-5 with the loss after giving up three runs in three innings of work.
After Hoehn went deep, W&M scored twice in the third. Cullen Large led off with an infield hit and stole second. One out later, Charley Gould singled and a fielder's choice with no runners retired scored Large for a 2-0 Tribe lead. Josh Smith had a sacrifice fly later in the inning to make it 3-0.
A home run by Large off Micah Gorman pushed the margin to four in the fourth, and Willie Shaw had a RBI single in the sixth for a 5-0 lead. Gould homered in the seventh and a fielding error allowed a seventh run to score in the frame.
Winn then led off the bottom of the inning with a home run, his ninth of the year, to cut the margin to 7-1, and a Brandon Angus two-out RBI single pulled the Keydets within five. The Tribe tacked on a run in the eighth to account for the final margin.
Offensively, Angus had VMI's lone two-hit game while four of the top five hitters in William & Mary's batting order had at least two hits, led by Gould's 3-for-5, two-RBI game.
VMI will return to action Friday, when the Keydets open a three-game SoCon series in Charleston, S.C., against The Citadel Bulldogs. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
Elon 11, UNCG 9
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Leading 8-4 entering the ninth inning, UNCG saw Elon score seven runs in the frame as the Phoenix walked away with an 11-9 victory Tuesday evening at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
The Spartans (17-19) racked up a season-high 19 hits and have now reached double figures in their last three games. UNCG also notched a home run for the 16th time in 17 contests. Senior outfielder Tyler Long and sophomore Ryne Sigmon tallied three hits each to lead the Spartans while senior outfielder Aaron Wright scored three runs. Junior infielder Collin Woody extended his hitting streak to eight games with a pair of base knocks and has now reached base safely in 15 straight outings. Andy Moore had three hits to pace Elon (19-19).
Sean Byrnes was credited with the win in relief and improved to 1-0 after tossing 2 2/3 innings and allowing a run on a hit with two strikeouts. Junior LHP Bryant Stafford was tagged with the loss and dropped to 3-2. He surrendered six runs on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
UNCG struck first in the bottom of the first. With two away, Wright doubled to left-center and scored from second when Woody followed with a single up the middle. The Spartans increased their lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the second thanks to an RBI infield single by senior outfielder Zac MacAneney.
The Blue and Gold put together some more two-out magic in the bottom of the third as Long doubled through the right side and scored on a Jake Kusz RBI single. Senior outfielder Eric Kalbfleisch then drew a walk before Sigmon sent a single through the right side that was good enough to score Kusz from second base and make it a 4-0 contest. A Woody RBI single and a Kusz sacrifice fly in the fourth inning left UNCG with a 6-0 advantage after four complete innings.
D.J. Paone helped the Phoenix break on to the scoreboard for the first time in the top of the fifth as a couple of walks put runners in scoring position. He would hit a high chopper on the infield that went for a single and plated James Venuto. Elon threatened more but a strikeout and foul out limited the visitors to just one run.
Venuto hit a three-run home run in the top of the sixth that pulled the Phoenix within 6-4 but the Spartans scored single runs in the sixth and seventh innings to re-establish a four run lead. Elon loaded the bases in the top of the eighth but did not score sending the game to the top of the ninth. A trio of consecutive singles to begin the inning scored a run for the Phoenix and ignited a big rally. Elon scored seven runs in the inning on seven hits to take an 11-8 advantage.
The Blue and Gold mounted a rally in the bottom of the frame as Kalbfleisch doubled with one out. Pinch-hitter Nick Chapman then singled up the middle before MacAneney singled with two outs and plated Kalbfleisch. With the tying run at first and senior infielder Hunter King at the dish, a groundout to short terminated the threat and ended the game.
UNCG returns to action this weekend, beginning a three-game Southern Conference series at Mercer Friday at 6 p.m.