Mercer 7, VMI 2
LEXINGTON, Va. – The Mercer University baseball team improved to 10-2 on Friday nights this season with a 7-2 victory over VMI in the series opener at Gray-Minor Stadium.
Mercer (27-18, 12-6) scored five runs in the first two innings and never looked back, continuing its night-game dominance with the 13th win in its 14 games under the lights.
Starter Eric Nyquist was a big reason for the strong performance to open the series, settling in after a two-run first to toss six straight scoreless frames. The senior held VMI (15-24, 8-8 SoCon) to just three hits over his final six innings to record his team-leading sixth victory of the year.
The Bears’ offense reached double figures in the hits column for the fourth straight contest, finishing with 12 hits on the night. Devin Bonin matched a career high with three hits to pace the team, while Kyle Lewis, Charlie Madden and Jackson Ware each added two hits, as well.
Mercer jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, as Lewis blasted his 11th home run of the season over the center-field wall. The SoCon Player of the Year candidate pushed his league-leading batting average to .395 with a 2-for-4 performance at the plate.
The Keydets answered in the bottom half of the inning, as their first three batters reached base before scoring two runs for a 2-1 advantage. However, the Bears essentially put the game away in the second, plating four runs on the strength of three hits and four walks in the frame.
Nate Moorhouse started the second-inning fireworks, driving in Trey Truitt to knot the game at 2-2. Mercer kept the rally going with two outs, as a run-scoring single by Matt Meeder and an RBI double from Devin Bonin grew the lead to 4-2. Two batters later, Danny Edgeworth would draw a bases-loaded walk to push the Bears’ advantage to 5-2.
Mercer added an insurance run in the fifth, as Moorhouse plated his second run of the game with an RBI single to right field that scored Truitt for a 6-2 lead. The Bears pushed another run across in the sixth, taking advantage of a balk with the bases loaded to push their lead to 7-2.
Austin Lord and Ben Lumsden combined for three strikeouts in two scoreless innings to close out the win.
The Bears will continue their final SoCon road series of the season Saturday afternoon, as they take on VMI at Gray-Minor Stadium. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.
Furman 8, ETSU 4
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Furman broke up ETSU’s shutout bid by scoring three unearned runs in the fifth and picked up a three-run home run from Blake Chisolm in the sixth as the Paladins rallied for an 8-4 series-opening win over the Buccaneers on Friday night at Latham Stadium.
ETSU (17-28, 5-11 SoCon) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first and Buccaneer right-hander Griffin Krieg held Furman (21-24, 8-8) scoreless until the Paladins tied the game at 1 on a two-out fielding error by Trey York in the fifth, while Jake Jones’ two-run single later in the inning put the hosts up for good.
Krieg suffered the loss (2-6) after allowing seven runs (four earned) on eight hits with six strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. Furman starter Matt Solter (3-4) limited the Blue and Gold to three runs (two earned) on four hits, while walking and striking out three in seven innings en route to picking up the win.
ETSU junior outfielder Jeremy Taylor, who scored on York’s RBI single in the first, extended his streak of reaching safely to 20 straight games. Taylor went 1-for-4, while freshman Christian Bailey drove in two runs with a two-out single in the seventh. Senior Jordan Sanford extended his streak of reaching safely to 18 straight games as he walked and scored in the seventh, while also registering a ninth-inning single.
For the second straight game, ETSU scratched across a first-inning run as Taylor was hit by a pitch to start the game and later scored on an RBI single up the middle by York, but with no outs and runners on first and second, the Bucs were unable to do further damage. Solter induced Kevin Phillips into a 6-4-3 double play and got Hagen Owenby to ground out to short.
ETSU’s one-run lead looked like it could’ve held up as both pitchers were dealing midway through, but Furman took advantage of a Buccaneer miscue by plating its three unearned runs in the bottom of the fifth and led, 3-1. With two outs and runners on first and second, York committed a fielding error on a grounder to second, allowing Ryan Morse – who reached on a two-out hit-by-pitch – to score from second. From there, Jones came through with his two-run scoring single to left-center, giving the Paladins their first lead of the night.
Furman increased its lead an inning later by scoring four runs on five hits to go up, 7-1. Chisolm delivered the backbreaking hit by taking Krieg yard for his second home run of the season.
Solter faced the minimum between the fourth and sixth innings until the Bucs loaded the bases in the seventh and Bailey came through with a two-out, two-run single to center, but with runners on the corners, the senior right-hander forced Taylor to fly out to left, keeping it a 7-3 score.
The Paladins got a run back in the bottom of the seventh when Chris Ohmstede belted a solo home run to left, while ETSU capped off the scoring as Chris Cook led off the eighth with a single and later scored on a wild pitch, resulting in the 8-4 final.
Furman’s offense totaled 12 hits as Jones paced the Paladins with three hits and drove in three. Ohmstede and Sims Griffith both recorded two hits and scored two runs.
The Bucs will look to even the series on Saturday as game time is set for 4 p.m. Senior right-hander Jimmy Nesselt will get the start on the hill for ETSU, while Furman counters with freshman left-hander Grant Schuermann.
Wofford 8, UNCG 5
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Wofford scored in all but three innings Friday evening and took advantage of five UNCG errors to post an 8-5 victory in a Southern Conference series opener at the UNCG Baseball Stadium. The contest was played under damp and unseasonably chilly temperatures.
The Spartans (20-21, 10-9) out-hit the Terriers (31-15, 9-6) by an 8-7 margin but only three of Wofford’s eight runs were earned due to UNCG’s defensive miscues. The teams also combined to leave 20 runners on base (10 apiece).
Junior RHP Ryan Clark dropped to 6-5 after surrendering four runs (three earned) on six hits with three walks. He did, however, set a career high in the game by striking out 11 Terriers. Matt Milburn continued a spectacular season improving to 9-1 overall. He allowed just two runs on five hits while walking two and fanning four.
Junior infielder Collin Woody and freshman infielder Tripp Shelton recorded two hits apiece to lead the Blue and Gold’s offensive efforts, while Carson Waln and Max McDougald notched two hits each for Wofford. UNCG senior infielder Aaron Wright drove in a pair of runs and extended his hitting streak to eight games. Also keeping hitting streaks alive were a pair of senior outfielders in Tyler Long (13 games) and Eric Kalbfleisch (eight games).
Wofford’s Alec Paradowski drew a leadoff walk to begin the game before James Plaisted reached on an error to put two runners on with one out on the board. Conor Clancey then singled to left field and plated Waln to give the Terriers the early 1-0 advantage. Clark would recover with two strikeouts to limit the damage to just the single run.
Woody roped a double to right-center to begin the bottom of the second and scored later on an RBI single by Long. The Spartans then took the lead in the bottom of the third as freshman infielder Austin Embler worked a leadoff walk and moved to third on a Milburn throwing error before scoring on a Hunter King RBI single through the left side. UNCG looked to do further damage, but with the bases loaded and one out, Kalbfleisch’s liner was caught in by a leaping Derek Hirsch at short, who threw back to second to complete the inning-ending double play.
Wofford tied things up in the top of the fourth. With two outs and no runners on base, Demetrius Jennings singled up the middle and came all the way around to score on a fielding error at second base. The Terriers then took the lead for good in the top of the sixth with another two out run.
The visitors plated five runs over the final three innings but the Blue and Gold attempted to rally in the bottom of the ninth trailing by six. After pinch-hitter Nick Chapman struck out to begin the frame, sophomore Ryne Sigmon and senior outfielder Zac MacAneney drew consecutive walks. King was then nailed in the head by a pitch but was able to make it down to first to load the bases. Wright then roped a 2-1 pitch to right-center, scoring two runs, before a two-out ground-rule double by Kalbfleisch brought home a third run to pull UNCG within 8-5. Sophomore catcher Jake Kusz then walked up to the dish representing the tying run, but he struck out swinging to end the game.
The Spartans look to even the series Saturday at 2 p.m. UNCG will celebrate the accomplishments and careers of 11 seniors before the contest in an on-field ceremony.
The Citadel 6, Samford 4
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – James Reeves held Samford in check for six innings, Zach Lavery stranded the tying runs in the seventh and Skylar Hunter pitched two innings of one-hit ball to close it out, leading The Citadel to a 6-4 win at Samford in the opening game of a Southern Conference series.
The Citadel (19-25, 4-12 SoCon) built a 6-2 lead in the sixth and held on to give Reeves his first victory since no-hitting Mercer on April 2. The redshirt junior southpaw allowed only three hits and two runs while striking out seven to improve to 6-3 on the season.
Reeves and Samford starter Alex Ledford entered the game tied for the all-time lead among active SoCon pitchers with 17, but the Samford ace was touched up for 10 hits and all six runs in six innings in dropping to 6-4.
Lavery came in with the bases loaded in the seventh and The Citadel ahead 6-2 and allowed a two-run single to Jared Watson before stranding two runners on base. Hunter entered in the eighth and worked a 1-2-3 frame before running into a bit of difficulty in the ninth.
The Bulldog closer issued a leadoff walk that was erased when Heath Quinn grounded into a 5-4-3 double play. Austin Edens kept it alive with a double, but Hunter finished off his 11th save of the season and SoCon-record 39th of his career when he induced Alex Lee to pop out to second.
Samford (24-20, 10-6) took a 1-0 lead in the first, but The Citadel quickly answered in the second with a two-out rally. Ryan Kilgallen walked, Jacob Watcher singled and Bret Hines brought them both home with a double, one of four two-base hits on the night for the Bulldogs.
Both teams scored a run in the third with Samford tallying on a solo homer by Hunter Swilling. Watcher doubled to lead off the fourth and scored on a grounder by Austin Mapes to make it 4-2, and The Citadel scored twice in the sixth on an RBI single by Connor Walsh and a run-producing double by Stephen Windham.
The series resumes on Saturday at 3 p.m. (Eastern) with JP Sears on the mound for The Citadel and Parker Curry going for Samford. The game can be seen on the SoCon Digital Network.
UNC Asheville 20, Western Carolina 6
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – UNC Asheville scored in bunches, including a pair of four-run and two six-run innings, to hand Western Carolina a 20-6 road defeat on Friday night in nonconference action at Greenwood Field.
WCU fell to 18-23 overall on the year, while UNCA improved to 19-26. The Catamounts host the Bulldogs in the return match of the home-and-home on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium. Coverage of the game is available through the SoCon Digital Network with live streaming video.
Western Carolina senior Bradley Strong gave the Catamounts an early lead with his first of two solo home runs in the road loss, belting a full-count pitch over the fence in right field for the 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. It was short-lived, though, as the Bulldogs used consecutive four-run frames to take an 8-1 lead through two complete.
The Catamounts chipped away at the deficit, plating three runs in the third inning. Freshman Matthew Koehler scampered home from third base on a wild pitch before Matt Smith drove in a run on a sacrifice fly and Danny Bermudez plated one on an infield groundout to cut the deficit in half, 8-4.
Bermudez delivered an RBI single to plate Koehler in the fifth with Strong blasting his second round-tripper of the day in the top of the seventh to make it a two-run game, 8-6, at the stretch.
However, UNCA scored six runs in both the bottom of the seventh and eighth to reclaim full control and put the game away, halting both its two-game seasonal slide and two-game drought against WCU in the head-to-head series.
Strong finished with his team-best 20th multi-hit game of the season, finishing 3-for-5 with the two home runs and a single. He added to his team lead in RBIs with two, scoring three runs. Koehler collected his third straight two-hit game, finishing 2-for-3 with a pair of runs. The rookie outfielder also drew one of the team’s three walks to reach base a combined three times.
Four Bulldogs finished with multiple hits with seven collecting two or more RBIs. Eric Connolly led UNCA with three hits in a 3-for-4 outing with a pair of RBIs and two runs scored. Kyle Towles reached five times with three HBPs and a 2-for-2 performance with two singles. Tanner Bush drove home three for the Bulldogs.
In a relief role, Kyle Carruthers hit a bases-loaded triple for three RBIs.
Catamount starter B.J. Nobles (4-3) took the loss after allowing eight runs on six hits with two walks and a pair of strikeouts. Freshman Brendan Nail worked around five walks with three strikeouts through 4 1/3 out of the bullpen, while Colton Davis fanned two against three walks in 1 1/3 innings of relief action. Dillon Bray was the fifth Catamount hurler, tossing the final 2/3 of an inning with a strikeout.
UNCA’s Lucas Clarke (4-6) picked up the victory in relief of starter Joe Zayatz, who finished just 1/3 of an inning shy of qualifying for the win. Zayatz allowed five runs – three earned – on six hits with a walk and two strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings. Clarke limited WCU to a run on a hit, striking out two with a walk in two innings on the mound. The Bulldogs’ bullpen held the Catamounts without a hit over the final 2 1/3.