VMI 10, The Citadel 6 (game one)
VMI 3, The Citadel 2 (game two)
CHARLESTON, S.C. – VMI pounded out 14 hits in a 10-6 win over The Citadel in the opening game of Sunday's doubleheader and then got clutch relief pitching from Taylor Edens to complete the sweep with a 3-2 victory in the nightcap.
The Keydets (15-22, 8-7 SoCon) took all three games in the weekend series in the first matchup between the military rivals since 2010. The Bulldogs dropped to 18-24 overall and 3-12 in the league.
VMI built an 8-1 lead in the top of the sixth of the first game before Connor Walsh hit his fourth homer of the season, a three-run shot in the bottom of the inning to bring the Bulldogs within four. The Keydets added two in the seventh on an RBI single by Collin Fleischer and a sacrifice fly and withstood a two-run double by pinch-hitter Jason Smith in the eighth.
Andrew Woods went the first seven innings and struck out eight to earn the win and improve to 5-1 before Edens worked a perfect ninth. JP Sears (4-4) went the first 5 2/3 innings for The Citadel and allowed nine hits and six runs (five earned) with seven strikeouts in taking the loss.
The Keydets bunched together four hits and scored twice in the top of the first, and the Bulldogs answered with one in their half of the frame on a double by Mike Deese and an RBI groundout by Walsh.
VMI added to its lead with a solo homer by Jordan Tarsovich in the third and a two-run shot by Ray Lopez in the fourth and made it 8-1 with a three-run sixth including a two-run base hit by David Geary.
Deese had two hits and scored two runs for The Citadel. Tarsovich and Tyler Tharp both had three hits for the Keydets.
VMI scored single runs in the first, third and fourth to take an early 3-0 lead in the second game, all off Bulldog starter Thomas Byelick, who fanned five in four innings. The bullpen then limited the Keydets to one hit over the next five innings, including two shutout frames each by Austin Mason and Skylar Hunter.
The Citadel broke through against Keydet starter Brandon Barbery with a run in the fourth on an RBI single by Stephen Windham and a run-scoring single by Steven Hansen in the sixth. Edens came in with one on and one out in the seventh and allowed only one hit and struck out three the rest of the way for his 11th save of the season.
Barbery gave up only four hits in 6 1/3 innings and upped his record to 5-2, with Byelick falling to 1-3.
The Bulldogs are back in action Tuesday with a 6 p.m. game at Charleston Southern and return to SoCon play next weekend at Samford.
VMI takes on Radford on the road Tuesday at 6 p.m.
UNCG 9, Mercer 3 (game one)
UNCG 8, Mercer 7 (game two)
MACON, Ga. – The UNCG baseball team scored a pair of victories at Mercer on Sunday to clinch a big road series win as the Spartans downed the Bears 9-3 and 8-7 at Claude Smith Field. The Blue and Gold piled up 28 hits during the day in handing Mercer just its second and third losses at home in conference play this season.
The wins keep UNCG in a virtual deadlock for third place with next weekend’s opponent, Wofford, setting up a big series at the UNCG Baseball Stadium.
The Spartans will step away from league play Tuesday, traveling to Chapel Hill, N.C., for a 6 p.m. nonconference contest against North Carolina at Boshamer Stadium.
In Sunday’s first game, UNCG took the lead in the third inning and did not surrender it on the way to evening the series.
Senior outfielder Tyler Long paced the offense with three hits in five at-bats, while junior infielder Collin Woody recorded two hits as well as tallying a run scored a four RBIs. Senior infielder Aaron Wright drove in three runs, scored a pair and walked three times. Kyle Lewis had a flawless day at the dish for the Bears as he was 5-for-5 with a pair of RBIs.
Senior Tyler Frazier improved to 3-0 on the season after tossing the final five innings and allowing just one run on five hits. He struck out three and walked one. Freshman RHP Andrew Wantz did not factor into the decision but gave the Spartans four strong innings. He surrendered two runs on seven hits with two walks and a strikeout. Grant Papelian was saddled with the loss after giving up four runs on eight hits with three walks and two strikeouts.
Mercer jumped ahead with a run in the bottom of the second. In the top of the third, freshman infielder Tripp Shelton drew a leadoff walk and senior outfielder Zac MacAneney recorded a single to put runners on first and second. After a Hunter King lineout, Wright deposited a ball over the fence in right-center to give the Spartans a 3-1 advantage. The Bears would scratch a run across in the bottom of the third to trim UNCG’s lead to one.
A Danny Edgeworth sacrifice bunt put two Mercer runners into scoring position in the bottom of the fifth. However, Frazier induced a fly out to center to escape the threat.
The Blue and Gold added to its lead with a two-out rally in the top of the sixth. Kalbfleisch kickstarted it with a double to right-center and scored when senior outfielder Nick Chapman singled to center as UNCG pulled in front 4-2.
The Spartans put the game away in the top of the ninth, loading the bases with no outs. Following singles by MacAneney and King, as well as a Wright walk, Woody got into a 2-2 pitch and sent it over the left-field fence just inside the left-field foul pole for UNCG’s second grand slam of the season. With the score at 8-2, sophomore catcher Jake Kusz added an RBI single for good measure. The Bears scored a run in the bottom of the ninth to account for the final margin.
The teams traded the lead back and forth in the nightcap before UNCG took the lead for good in the top of the eighth. The Spartans ripped four home runs in the contest to bring their season total to 44. UNCG out-hit Mercer 12-10 in the game.
King went 4-for-5 with three runs scored, while MacAneney was 2-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBIs. Kalbfleisch also turned in a two-hit performance to go along with two runs scored and two RBIs.
Junior LHP Bryant Stafford picked up the win to improve to 4-2 after not allowing a run or hit over the final 2 and 2/3 innings. Morgan Pittman suffered the loss to drop to 2-1 after surrendering three runs (two earned) on five hits with three strikeouts.
MacAneney led off the nightcap with a walk and King followed with a single to left field. With two away later in the frame, Long flared a double to left scoring both runners and giving the Spartans an early 2-0 advantage.
After getting two quick outs in the bottom of the second, UNCG starter Chad Sykes gave up four consecutive base hits as the Bears claimed the lead at 3-2.
MacAneney quickly tied it up in the top of the third with a solo home run to center, and King stole second, third and home base in succession to make it 4-3 Spartans but a two-run shot by Jackson Ware in the bottom of the frame tilted the scales in Mercer’s favor once more. The home-run parade continued in the top of the fourth as Kalbfleisch took one deep off of the scoreboard in left field to knot the score at 5.
The scoring settled down for a bit after that until the Blue and Gold put up a 2-spot in the top of the seventh to pull ahead 7-5. MacAneney’s second home run of the game accounted for the first run and Woody added an RBI single with two away.
The Bears rallied once more in the bottom of the seventh, scoring two runs on four hits and tying things at 7. Stafford was able to come on with two runners on base and only one out to put out the fire as he induced a pair of fly ball outs to end the seventh.
Kalbfleisch provided the winning tally in the top of the eighth as he ripped a two-out solo homer, his second of the game, to right-center, giving UNCG an 8-7 advantage. Stafford worked out of a jam in the bottom of the eighth, recording a huge strikeout of the dangerous Lewis to keep the Bears off of the scoreboard.
Despite a leadoff walk in the bottom of the ninth, Stafford was able to get to two outs with runners at second and third. With Trey Truitt at the dish, Stafford got him to fly out to center on a full count to seal the victory.
The Bears will get several days of rest before traveling to Lexington, Va., for a three-game series at VMI. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. on May 1 at Gray-Minor Stadium.
ETSU 10, Western Carolina 7
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Seniors Jordan Sanford and Zach Thompson combined for six RBIs, while sophomores Connor Bartow and Chris Cook registered 2 2/3 scoreless innings out of the pen as ETSU rallied for a 10-7 series-clinching win over Western Carolina on Sunday afternoon at Thomas Stadium.
The Buccaneers fell behind by five runs early, but Thompson’s bases-clearing triple ignited a four-run sixth and Sanford’s three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh put the Blue and Gold ahead for good. Bartow earned his first collegiate win (1-0) as tossed 1 1/3 innings of three-hit ball, and, after suffering the loss on Saturday, Cook bounced back to get his first save as a Buccaneer. The Kingsport, Tenn., native struck out all four hitters he faced to seal the conference victory.
After being held to six runs on eight hits in the first two games of the series, ETSU pounded out 11 in the rubber match, marking the 21st time this season the Bucs have recorded double-digit hits. All nine starters finished with a hit as Sanford, Thompson and Christian Bailey accounted for five hits, four runs and seven RBIs. Sanford, who belted his first home run since Feb. 14, went 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs and drove in a career-high three runs, while Thompson went 2-for-4 with a run and totaled three RBIs for the third time in his career. Thompson ripped his third triple of the season and finished with three RBIs for the first time since March 29, 2013, against North Florida. Bailey ended with two hits in four at-bats for his second multi-hit game of the week and tied the game at 6 when his RBI single in the sixth capped off the four-run inning.
Freshman right-hander Ryan Simpler made his first weekend start in a Buccaneer uniform and earned a no-decision, while junior southpaw Josh Jacques allowed two runs on two hits in 3 1/3 innings of relief.
Following the series win, ETSU improved to 16-27, 5-10 in SoCon, while Western Carolina dipped to 18-22, 9-9.
The Catamounts scored runs in the first three innings to a build a five-run cushion for starter Korey Anderson, but the Bucs slowly chipped away at their deficit by plating two in the bottom of the third to make it a 5-2 score. The first three ETSU hitters ripped singles to start the inning as Bailey led off with a hit to right-center and moved to third on Aaron Maher’s single to right. Bailey then came home on Jeremy Taylor’s RBI single to right, while Maher touched the plate when Cook hit into a 5-4-3 double play.
Western Carolina tacked on a run in the top of the fifth on a sacrifice fly RBI by Reece Strong, but after Jacques worked his second 1-2-3 inning in the sixth, ETSU’s offense came alive in the bottom of the frame.
Trey York got things rolling with a leadoff single and moved to third on a single by Hagen Owenby, while Sanford was walked for the second time of the afternoon to set things up for Thompson’s heroics. Thompson took a 1-0 pitch down the line in right for his three-run triple and scored on Bailey’s RBI single to left en route to tying the game at 6.
The game didn’t stay tied for long as Bradley Strong took the first pitch he saw off Jacques over the wall in right-center for his fourth home run of the season in the seventh, putting the Catamounts back ahead, 7-6. Bartow then entered with one out in the inning and got a huge pick-me-up from his defense as he issued a two-out single to Kramer Ferrell, but after he stole second, he was gunned down at the plate when Reece Strong reached on an infield single. Strong hit a slow chopper to third, and with Bailey’s throw to first being slightly off the mark, Ferrell tried to score on the play but Kevin Phillips threw a strike to Owenby at the plate for the final out of the inning.
ETSU carried the momentum into the bottom half of the frame as Phillips led off with a double and Owenby walked, setting up the big swing by Sanford. Freshman Seth Cunningham entered as a pinch-runner for Owenby and was able to trot home when Sanford cleared the wall in left for the eventual game-winning homer as the Bucs took their first lead of the afternoon, 9-7.
The Catamounts threatened in the eighth as they had runners on first and third with two outs, but Bartow handed the ball over to Cook and the right-hander got out of the jam by striking out Bradley Strong swinging on a 3-2 pitch.
Cook helped his cause in the bottom of the inning as he scored Robby McCabe with an RBI bloop single to right-center, while he made quick work in the top of the ninth by striking out the side to secure the three-run victory.
Freshman right-hander Dylan Biumi was dealt the loss (1-1) after surrendering the home run to Sanford in the seventh, while Anderson allowed six runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings in the start.
Five Catamount hitters each totaled two hits in defeat as Western Carolina out-hit the Blue and Gold, 12-11.
ETSU wraps up its four-game homestand Wednesday when the Bucs host Appalachian State at 6:05 p.m.
Western Carolina returns to action at UNC Asheville on Friday.
Wofford 12, Samford 9
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Samford baseball fought back from an 11-run deficit but eventually fell, 12-9, at Wofford in the final game of a three-game Southern Conference series Sunday afternoon at Russell C. King Field.
Saturday’s win for Wofford gives the Terriers the series win, two games to one. With the loss, Samford falls to 23-19 overall and 10-5 in Southern Conference play. Wofford improves to 30-15 overall and 8-6 in SoCon games.
For Samford in the loss, Austin Edens went 2-for-5 with a home run, a double and five RBIs. Heath Quinn went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. Richard Greene contributed three hits, while Frankie Navarrete had two hits for the Bulldogs.
Parker Curry (6-4) pitched 4 1/3 innings, giving up five runs, four earned, on seven hits to take the loss on the mound for Samford. Mark Donham, Caleb Maggio, Tristan Widra and Andres Gracia also pitched in the game for Samford.
Wofford was led at the plate by Matt Ramsay, who went 3-for-5 with an RBI. James Plaisted went 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI. Conor Clancey went 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs. Derek Hirsch and Mack Nathanson had two hits each for Wofford.
Adam Scott (6-2) pitched six innings, giving up four runs on six hits to earn the win on the mound for the Terriers. Will Stillman tossed the final 1 1/3 innings to pick up his 13th save of the season.
For the second straight game, Wofford jumped on top early with a run in the bottom of the first inning. Plaisted doubled to left field to drive in Ramsay to give the Terriers the early 1-0 lead.
Wofford added two runs in the third inning to push its lead to 3-0. Clancey doubled to right-center field to drive in Plaisted and Hirsch for a three-run Wofford lead.
The Terriers plated another run in the fourth inning to make the score 4-0. Nathanson reached base on an infield single and later scored on a Samford error for Wofford’s fourth run of the contest.
Wofford broke the game open with seven runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Nathanson drove in two runs, while Max McDougald, Hirsch and Ramsay drove in a run each, and two runs were scored on errors as the Terriers built an 11-0 lead over Samford.
Samford put its first runs on the scoreboard in the top of the sixth inning. Edens hit a grand slam with Quinn, T.J. Dixon and Greene on base to cut Wofford’s lead to 11-4.
The Bulldogs added four more runs in the top of the seventh inning to make the score 11-8. Quinn drove in three runs with a double to left-center field for the first three runs of the inning. Edens then double to drive in Quinn to bring Samford to within three runs of Wofford.
Samford plated another run in the top of the eighth inning to cut the Wofford lead to 11-9. Greene scored on a ground out by Dixon for Samford’s ninth run of the contest.
Wofford added a run in the bottom of the eighth inning to push its lead to 12-9. Ramsay singled with one out. Demetrius Jennings, who pinch ran for Ramsay, later scored on a wild pitch for a three-run Wofford lead.
The Terriers will travel to UNCG for a weekend series beginning on Friday, May 1.
Samford will return to action on Tuesday, April 28, when the Bulldogs play at crosstown rival UAB. The game is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. CDT start from Regions Field. Samford and UAB will also play Wednesday night at 6 p.m. at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
No. 20 College of Charleston 7, Furman 6
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – The College of Charleston took advantage of weak defense and poor base-running by Furman to claim to a 7-6 victory and complete a three-game series sweep of the Paladins in Sunday-afternoon baseball action at Patriots Point.
The 20th-ranked Cougars (32-9) spotted the Paladins (19-24) a 2-0 first-inning lead following a Griffin Davis two-run home run before tying it with a pair of runs in the second inning.
With two outs and runners at second and third base, Erven Roper hit a ground ball that second baseman Jordan Simpson appeared to be in position to field, but first baseman Brandon Elmy, ranging far to his right, had the ball deflect off his glove and into right field, allowing two runs to score.
Chris Ohmstede’s home run off College of Charleston starting pitcher Wade Arduini to start the fourth inning gave Furman a 3-2 lead, but the Cougars’ Nick Pappas answered in the same fashion with a long ball off Paladin starter Will Gaddis to open the bottom of the fourth.
Pappas’ clout was followed by two more runs set up by a pair of Paladin errors. A wild throw by shortstop Sims Griffith on Morgan Phillips’ ground ball set the stage, and after the Paladins failed to turn a double play, the Cougars executed a double steal, with Phillips racing home on a slow return throw from second base. The inning continued with a walk, a wild pitch and another Furman throwing error that allowed CofC to take a 5-3 lead.
The Cougars made it 6-3 in seventh, scoring another unearned run on a Paladin throwing error.
Furman cut it 6-5 in the eighth after Davis led off with a single and came around to score on Simpson’s two-run home run to left field, his team-leading 11th round-tripper of the season.
The College of Charleston manufactured what proved to be the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth, getting a leadoff single from Roper, who advanced to second on a wild pitch and on to third on a sacrifice before scoring on a sacrifice fly.
The Paladins battled back in their last at-bat against Cougar reliever Nathan Helvey with pinch-hitter Landon Kay reaching on a one-out throwing error and moving to second on a walk to Carter Grote. Sims Griffith singled home Kay to make it 7-6 but was thrown out after taking a wide turn at first base. With two outs and a Kay at third, Cameron Whitehead was retired on a fly ball to end the game.
In addition to the three errors that led to three unearned runs by CofC and the key base-running mistake in the ninth inning, the Paladins suffered a pickoff in the third and had a player thrown out at the plate following a leadoff double in the seventh.
Simpson led Furman offensively, going 3-for-5 with a home run, two RBIs and a run. Griffith also had three hits, and Davis finished with a 2-for-4 outing that included his third home run of the season, two RBIs and two runs. Ohmstede’s home run extended his school career standard to 39, and Brandon Elmy doubled twice for the Paladins, who out-hit College of Charleston, 13-11.
Roper went 2-for-3 and drove in two runs to pace the Cougars.
Arduini (1-1) was credited win despite working just four innings and allowing three runs on six hits. He struck out two. Helvey was credited with the save, his third of the season.
The loss was charged to Gaddis (3-4), who worked six innings and allowed nine hits, five runs, only three of which were earned. He walked three and struck out four.
Furman plays at Winthrop on Tuesday.