UNCG 5, No. 17 North Carolina 3
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The UNCG baseball team jumped out to a 5-0 lead and held on for a 5-3 victory over No. 17 North Carolina on Tuesday evening at Boshamer Stadium.
The victory is the second this season for the Spartans over a team ranked in the top 25 and their second straight triumph in Chapel Hill. The Blue and Gold now has five wins over ranked foes in head coach Link Jarrett’s tenure, but it was the first to occur in a true road game.
UNCG (20-20) out-hit the Tar Heels (29-16) 14-7 in the contest and have now racked up double figures in the hit column in three straight outings.
Sophomore catcher Jake Kusz led the way offensively with three hits, two runs scored, two RBIs and a home run. Senior outfielder Eric Kalbfleisch also turned in three hits to go along with a run scored. Senior outfielder Tyler Long extended his hitting streak to 12 games following a 2-for-3 performance. He would also drive in a pair of runs. Alex Raburn paced North Carolina offensively with three hits, two runs scored and an RBI.
Freshman RHP Michael Bates (1-3) earned his first collegiate victory in perhaps his strongest start of the season. He tossed 5 1/3 innings allowing just one run on five hits with a walk and two strikeouts. He fell just one out short of the longest outing of his career. Hunter Williams (4-2) was tagged with the loss after surrendering two runs (both unearned) on five hits with a walk and a strikeout in 2 1/3 innings of work.
UNCG threatened first in the top of the second. Kalbfleisch drew a leadoff walk in the top of the second before Long laid down a bunt single up the third-base line with one down. Ruiz then flew out to shallow left field and Shelton sent a ball to the warning track in left-center for the third out, leaving the Spartans scoreless.
Bates ran into some two-out trouble in the bottom of the frame, allowing a single to Skye Bolt and a ground-rule double to Alex Raburn. He would escape the inning by inducing a fly ball out to center off the bat of Zack Gahagan.
The Blue and Gold struck first in a big way in the top of the third, throwing up four runs on five hits and a Tar Heel error. The big blow was a Long two-run single with the bases loaded. UNCG also benefitted from a two-out catcher’s interference call that extended the inning.
After a scoreless fourth inning by both teams, Kusz extended UNCG’s lead to 5-0 in the top of the fifth with his fourth home run of the season. Raburn responded in the bottom of the inning with a leadoff long ball of his own to trim the Spartan cushion back to four runs.
UNCG threatened to build on its lead in the top of the seventh, loading the bases with two outs. However, Ruiz struck out swinging to send the game to the stretch. North Carolina also loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh but did it with no outs. The Tar Heels capitalized with a pair of runs but Abreu come on in relief and fanned Tyler Ramirez as well as inducing a 6-4-3 double play to wriggle out of the jam with no further damage.
Abreu worked a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the eighth and gave way to junior infielder Collin Woody in the bottom of the ninth as Woody attempted to record his first save of the season. Despite walking the leadoff batter, he was able to induce a fielder’s-choice play for the first out and let the defense do the rest as Adam Pate grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the contest.
The Spartans return home this weekend for a three-game Southern Conference series against Wofford at the UNCG Baseball Stadium. The teams will kick off the set Friday at 6 p.m.
Furman 12, Winthrop 0
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Matthew Quarles, the reigning SoCon Pitcher of the Week, hurled six shutout innings and Furman put on a power display, banging out four home runs en route to a 12-0 shutout victory over Winthrop in Tuesday-afternoon baseball action at Winthrop Ballpark.
The win snapped Furman’s four-game losing skid and also put the brakes on Winthrop’s 10-game winning streak. It also gave the Paladins (20-24) the season split with the Eagles (32-15).
Quarles (5-1), who a week ago allowed only two hits and a run in Furman’s 2-1 win over South Carolina, followed up the performance against the Gamecocks by surrendering only three singles to the Eagles over six innings in winning his third consecutive decision. The right-hander from Greenwood, S.C., walked three and struck out three while throwing 76 pitches.
The shutout was third recorded by Paladin pitching this season, all of which have come on the road.
Winthrop was limited to just four hits.
Quarles received plenty of offensive support as the Paladins ripped four long balls, including two by Carter Grote, who joined Brandon Elmy and Chris Ohmstede in registering three-run home runs. Grote went 3-for-5 with four RBIs and scored four runs to pace Furman’s 13-hit attack.
Grote led off the game with home run for the second time in the last three games, clearing the left-field fence on a pitch from Winthrop starter Freddie Sultan.
The next inning, Grote found another Sultan offering to his liking and deposited a two-out, three-run home run over the left-field fence to stretch Furman’s lead to 4-0.
Griffin Davis’ RBI single in the fifth made it 5-0, and the Paladins blew the game open in the sixth with four more, the big blow coming on Elmy’s three-run blast, his third clout of the season, that made it 9-0.
Ohmstede finished off the scoring in the ninth, extending his Furman career home-run record with his 40th round-tripper, a three-run shot and 10th home run of the season.
The Paladins open a three-game SoCon series on Friday when they play host to ETSU in a 7 p.m. game at Latham Stadium.
Charleston Southern 7, The Citadel 2
LADSON, S.C. – Charleston Southern scored twice in the sixth to snap a 2-2 tie, and the Buccaneers went on to gain a season split with a 7-2 victory over The Citadel on Tuesday at CSU Ballpark.
The Bulldogs (18-25) won the earlier meeting 3-2 at Riley Park last week. The Citadel returns to Southern Conference play this weekend with a three-game series at Samford beginning Friday at 7 p.m. Eastern time.
Nate Blanchard dropped an RBI single into left-center off Jacob Watcher to plate Kevin Hickey and give the Bucs the lead for good in the sixth, and Sam Redick followed with a double that deflected off the bag at first to make it a two-run inning.
The Citadel got a single from Austin Mapes and a walk to Connor Walsh to put the tying runs on base with one out in the seventh. But Mapes was thrown out trying to swipe third on a double steal attempt, and CSU (21-21) went on to seal the win with two runs in the seventh and one in the eighth.
Mapes had three singles to give him half of The Citadel's total of six hits. The Bucs banged out 13 hits against seven Bulldog pitchers, including three hits and three RBIs by Blanchard.
CSU left the bases loaded in the first before breaking through against starter Kevin Connell in the second on four hits, three of the infield variety. The Bulldogs evened it on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Kilgallen in the fourth and a bases-loaded walk to Stephen Windham the following inning.
Andrew Tomasovich, the third of six Buc hurlers, struck out four in 1 2/3 perfect innings and was credited with his seventh win of the season. He came in with the bases loaded and one out in the fifth in a tie game and struck out Jason Smith and got Kilgallen to fly out to right.
Watcher allowed three hits and the two sixth-inning runs in 2 2/3 frames and took the loss.
Radford 6, VMI 3
RADFORD, Va. – The Radford Highlanders scored three times in the seventh inning to break a 3-3 tie en route to a 6-3 victory over the VMI Keydets in nonconference baseball action Tuesday night.
With the game tied at 3, Shane Johnsonbaugh led off with a walk against Jonathan Kelley (0-2). Patrick Marshall then followed with a double and Hunter Higgerson doubled home two runs, giving RU (29-14) the lead for good. The Highlanders would tack on another run on a bunt by Aaron Scoville later in the inning to account for the final margin.
Kelley took the loss for the Keydets (15-23) as he was charged with three runs and allowed all four hitters he faced to reach. Kyle Palmer (1-0) pitched two innings and gave up two hits to get the victory.
For the fourth straight game, the Keydets scored in the first inning. David Geary singled with two outs, and Matt Winn followed with a walk. Tyler Tharp then drilled a line-drive single to center to put the Keydets in front, 1-0.
Radford took the lead in the second against Micah Gorman. Trevor Riggs had a sacrifice fly and Brad Keen had a two-out RBI single, putting the Highlanders out in front, 2-1.
VMI went back in front in the fourth, as after tying the game on a passed ball, the Keydets took a 3-2 lead on an RBI single by Jordan Tarsovich. That, however, was the last time VMI would score.
The home team tied the game in the fifth, when Josh Gardiner led off with a single and Johnsonbaugh followed with a double. Patrick Marshall walked and Jack Gomersall relieved Kyle Staats to face Higgerson, who lofted a sacrifice fly to left to tie the game, 3-3. Gomersall then induced a 4-6-3 double play, with Thomas Stallings making a tough pick to start the twin-killing that ended the inning and preserved the tie.
That tie was short-lived, however, as RU took the lead in the seventh. After Johnsonbaugh's walk, Marshall's double and Higgerson's two-bagger made it 5-3, Stallings was charged with an error on a ground ball by Danny Hrbek that prolonged the inning. Josh Worthley relieved and gave up an RBI bunt single that accounted for the final margin.
Neither starter figured in the decision, as Gorman gave up two runs on four hits in four innings, striking out three, while Tyler Swarmer left the game after giving up three runs on seven hits over five frames.
Offensively, Geary and Tarsovich had two hits apiece for the Keydets, while Higgerson went 2-for-3 with three RBIs to pace the Highlanders.
VMI will return to action Friday, as the Keydets play host to Mercer at Gray-Minor Stadium. Game time is set for 6 p.m.
Samford vs. UAB canceled
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Samford baseball team’s game at UAB Tuesday night was canceled in the second inning due to heavy rain. Samford was leading the Blazers 10-0 at the time of the cancellation.
The game will not be made up, but the two teams will play Wednesday night at 6 p.m. at Samford’s Joe Lee Griffin Field.