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Samford, Wofford advance at SoCon Baseball Championship
Top-seeded Bulldogs win pitchers' duel, Terriers win slugfest
No. 1 seed Samford 2, No. 4 seed ETSU 1
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Andrew Bennett’s solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning proved to be the difference in a pitchers’ duel between Samford ace and SoCon Pitcher of the Year Jacob Cravey and ETSU’s Cade Carlson as the top-seeded Bulldogs edged the fourth-seeded Bucs, 2-1, on Thursday at the Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases at Fluor Field.
Samford (33-22) advances to face either No. 2 seed Mercer or No. 3 seed Wofford on Friday at 4 p.m., while ETSU (26-28) will face No. 6 seed UNCG on Friday at 9 a.m. in an elimination game.
With the score tied at 1 with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Bennett hit a towering 438-foot blast that landed on the roof of the building beyond the left-field wall. The no-doubter made a winner of Samford closer Ben Petschke, who relieved Cravey with one out in the top half of the frame.
The game was scoreless until the seventh, as Cravey and Carlson were both dealing. Through six innings, Carlson had held the regular-season champion Bulldogs to just two harmless singles, while Cravey had surrendered just three safeties to that point.
Samford finally broke through in the bottom of the seventh, with Lucas Steele, the coaches’ selection as SoCon Freshman of the Year, hitting a solo home run just over the wall in right with two outs.
ETSU scratched across a run in the top of the eighth, with Jackson Green leading off with a single to left center and moving to second on a sacrifice. Cody Miller then reached on an infield single to put runners on the corners and knock Cravey from the contest. The Bucs’ Cameron Sisneros greeted Petschke with a single to left, scoring pinch-runner Kain Collins with the tying run.
Bennett followed with the decisive blast in the bottom half of the inning to send the Bulldogs through to the winners’ bracket.
Petschke moved to 5-2 on the season after allowing three hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings. Cravey did not factor into the decision after surrendering one run on seven hits in 7 1/3 innings. He struck out six and did not walk a batter.
Carlson went the distance, falling to 5-2 despite allowing just two runs on four hits in eight innings. He struck out four and also did not issue a walk.
ETSU’s Skyler Cannady went 3-for-4, while Miler and Noah Webb had two hits apiece.
Samford won despite being outhit 10-4 on the day. Four different players recorded hits, while Jayden Davis, the media’s pick for SoCon Freshman of the Year, went 0-for-3 to see his SoCon- and program-record 37-game hitting streak come to an end. Davis was on deck when the bottom of the eighth came to an end.
No. 3 seed Wofford 16, No. 2 seed Mercer 14
GREENVILLE, S.C. – No. 3 seed Wofford and No. 2 seed Mercer combined for 30 runs on 39 hits in Thursday’s final game of the Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases at Fluor Field, with the Terriers hanging on for a 16-14 win to remain in the winners’ bracket.
Wofford (39-17) advances to play No. 1 seed Samford on Friday at 4 p.m., while Mercer (32-24) will take on No. 8 seed The Citadel in an elimination contest at 12:30 p.m. Friday.
Wofford and Mercer each scored in six of the nine innings, with the Terriers leading by as many as nine at 13-4 in the fourth inning. The Bears twice cut the deficit to two runs, at 15-13 and 16-14, but could not complete the comeback despite bringing the winning run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth.
Brice Martinez went 4-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs, while Marshall Toole and David Wiley had three hits apiece to pace Wofford’s 18-hit attack. Gunnar Johnson had a game-high four RBIs and Trey Yunger drove in three.
Mercer’s Treyson Hughes was 5-for-6 with an RBI and three runs scored, while Antonio Brown and Jackson Cherry had three hits each for the Bears. Jozsef Rohrbacher and Eric Toth had three RBIs each, with Toth hitting a home run for the sixth straight game.
All 18 non-pitching starters recorded at least one hit in the contest, with the teams matching the tournament record for combined hits and setting a record with 11 combined doubles. With 21 base knocks, Mercer also holds the dubious distinction of having the most hits in a losing effort in tournament history.
The offensive fireworks started early, with Wofford plating four runs in the first, highlighted by Cameron Gill’s two-run single. The Bears answered with three in the bottom half on Toth’s three-run home run, and the tone was set for the night.
Yunger and Martinez had RBI singles for Wofford in the second before Brown’s RBI double in the bottom half. The Terriers then scored seven straight runs over the next two innings to make it a 13-4 spread in the middle of the fourth. Among the highlights, Wiley led off the third with a solo home run and Johnson hit a bases-clearing double in the fourth.
The Bears answered with six straight runs over the next two innings, getting a two-run homer from Rohrbacher in the fourth and plating four runs in the fifth on five hits, including Brown’s second RBI double of the evening.
Wofford gave itself a little breathing room with two more runs in the sixth to make it 15-10 before Mercer made it interesting with three in the eighth on RBI singles from Bradley Frye, Ty Dalley and Hughes.
Wofford added some insurance on a Martinez RBI double in the ninth, but the Bears got the run back in the bottom half on pinch-hitter Blake Schmitt’s RBI single with two outs. Wofford’s Lucas Mahlstedt (6-2) induced a groundout to end the game, stranding a pair of Bears on the basepaths as the rally fell just short.
Mahlstedt, one of 25 national semifinalists for the College Baseball Foundation’s National Pitcher of the Year Award, was the third Wofford pitcher of the evening and earned the win after allowing one run on four hits in 1 2/3 innings.
Mercer starter Colton Cosper dropped to 4-5 on the season after allowing seven runs (six earned) on nine hits in two innings. He was the first of seven Bears hurlers to appear in the contest.
2023 SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
May 24 (Wednesday)
Game 1: #8 The Citadel 5, #5 VMI 2
Game 2: #6 UNCG 4, #7 Western Carolina 3
May 25 (Thursday)
Game 3: #4 ETSU 12, #8 The Citadel 0 (7 inn.)
Game 4: #3 Wofford 6, #6 UNCG 1
Game 5: #1 Samford 2, #4 ETSU 1
Game 6: #3 Wofford 16, #2 Mercer 14
May 26 (Friday)
Game 7: #6 UNCG vs. #4 ETSU, 9 a.m.
Game 8: #8 The Citadel vs. #2 Mercer, 12:30 p.m.
Game 9: #1 Samford vs. #3 Wofford, 4 p.m.
Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 7:30 p.m.
TBD
Game 11: Winner Game 10 vs. Loser Game 9, TBD
Game 12: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 11, TBD
Game 13: Game 12 winner vs. Game 12 loser^, 40 minutes after Game 12
^ if necessary
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Andrew Bennett’s solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning proved to be the difference in a pitchers’ duel between Samford ace and SoCon Pitcher of the Year Jacob Cravey and ETSU’s Cade Carlson as the top-seeded Bulldogs edged the fourth-seeded Bucs, 2-1, on Thursday at the Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases at Fluor Field.
Samford (33-22) advances to face either No. 2 seed Mercer or No. 3 seed Wofford on Friday at 4 p.m., while ETSU (26-28) will face No. 6 seed UNCG on Friday at 9 a.m. in an elimination game.
With the score tied at 1 with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Bennett hit a towering 438-foot blast that landed on the roof of the building beyond the left-field wall. The no-doubter made a winner of Samford closer Ben Petschke, who relieved Cravey with one out in the top half of the frame.
The game was scoreless until the seventh, as Cravey and Carlson were both dealing. Through six innings, Carlson had held the regular-season champion Bulldogs to just two harmless singles, while Cravey had surrendered just three safeties to that point.
Samford finally broke through in the bottom of the seventh, with Lucas Steele, the coaches’ selection as SoCon Freshman of the Year, hitting a solo home run just over the wall in right with two outs.
ETSU scratched across a run in the top of the eighth, with Jackson Green leading off with a single to left center and moving to second on a sacrifice. Cody Miller then reached on an infield single to put runners on the corners and knock Cravey from the contest. The Bucs’ Cameron Sisneros greeted Petschke with a single to left, scoring pinch-runner Kain Collins with the tying run.
Bennett followed with the decisive blast in the bottom half of the inning to send the Bulldogs through to the winners’ bracket.
Petschke moved to 5-2 on the season after allowing three hits and a walk in 1 2/3 innings. Cravey did not factor into the decision after surrendering one run on seven hits in 7 1/3 innings. He struck out six and did not walk a batter.
Carlson went the distance, falling to 5-2 despite allowing just two runs on four hits in eight innings. He struck out four and also did not issue a walk.
ETSU’s Skyler Cannady went 3-for-4, while Miler and Noah Webb had two hits apiece.
Samford won despite being outhit 10-4 on the day. Four different players recorded hits, while Jayden Davis, the media’s pick for SoCon Freshman of the Year, went 0-for-3 to see his SoCon- and program-record 37-game hitting streak come to an end. Davis was on deck when the bottom of the eighth came to an end.
No. 3 seed Wofford 16, No. 2 seed Mercer 14
GREENVILLE, S.C. – No. 3 seed Wofford and No. 2 seed Mercer combined for 30 runs on 39 hits in Thursday’s final game of the Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases at Fluor Field, with the Terriers hanging on for a 16-14 win to remain in the winners’ bracket.
Wofford (39-17) advances to play No. 1 seed Samford on Friday at 4 p.m., while Mercer (32-24) will take on No. 8 seed The Citadel in an elimination contest at 12:30 p.m. Friday.
Wofford and Mercer each scored in six of the nine innings, with the Terriers leading by as many as nine at 13-4 in the fourth inning. The Bears twice cut the deficit to two runs, at 15-13 and 16-14, but could not complete the comeback despite bringing the winning run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth.
Brice Martinez went 4-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs, while Marshall Toole and David Wiley had three hits apiece to pace Wofford’s 18-hit attack. Gunnar Johnson had a game-high four RBIs and Trey Yunger drove in three.
Mercer’s Treyson Hughes was 5-for-6 with an RBI and three runs scored, while Antonio Brown and Jackson Cherry had three hits each for the Bears. Jozsef Rohrbacher and Eric Toth had three RBIs each, with Toth hitting a home run for the sixth straight game.
All 18 non-pitching starters recorded at least one hit in the contest, with the teams matching the tournament record for combined hits and setting a record with 11 combined doubles. With 21 base knocks, Mercer also holds the dubious distinction of having the most hits in a losing effort in tournament history.
The offensive fireworks started early, with Wofford plating four runs in the first, highlighted by Cameron Gill’s two-run single. The Bears answered with three in the bottom half on Toth’s three-run home run, and the tone was set for the night.
Yunger and Martinez had RBI singles for Wofford in the second before Brown’s RBI double in the bottom half. The Terriers then scored seven straight runs over the next two innings to make it a 13-4 spread in the middle of the fourth. Among the highlights, Wiley led off the third with a solo home run and Johnson hit a bases-clearing double in the fourth.
The Bears answered with six straight runs over the next two innings, getting a two-run homer from Rohrbacher in the fourth and plating four runs in the fifth on five hits, including Brown’s second RBI double of the evening.
Wofford gave itself a little breathing room with two more runs in the sixth to make it 15-10 before Mercer made it interesting with three in the eighth on RBI singles from Bradley Frye, Ty Dalley and Hughes.
Wofford added some insurance on a Martinez RBI double in the ninth, but the Bears got the run back in the bottom half on pinch-hitter Blake Schmitt’s RBI single with two outs. Wofford’s Lucas Mahlstedt (6-2) induced a groundout to end the game, stranding a pair of Bears on the basepaths as the rally fell just short.
Mahlstedt, one of 25 national semifinalists for the College Baseball Foundation’s National Pitcher of the Year Award, was the third Wofford pitcher of the evening and earned the win after allowing one run on four hits in 1 2/3 innings.
Mercer starter Colton Cosper dropped to 4-5 on the season after allowing seven runs (six earned) on nine hits in two innings. He was the first of seven Bears hurlers to appear in the contest.
2023 SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
May 24 (Wednesday)
Game 1: #8 The Citadel 5, #5 VMI 2
Game 2: #6 UNCG 4, #7 Western Carolina 3
May 25 (Thursday)
Game 3: #4 ETSU 12, #8 The Citadel 0 (7 inn.)
Game 4: #3 Wofford 6, #6 UNCG 1
Game 5: #1 Samford 2, #4 ETSU 1
Game 6: #3 Wofford 16, #2 Mercer 14
May 26 (Friday)
Game 7: #6 UNCG vs. #4 ETSU, 9 a.m.
Game 8: #8 The Citadel vs. #2 Mercer, 12:30 p.m.
Game 9: #1 Samford vs. #3 Wofford, 4 p.m.
Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 7:30 p.m.
TBD
Game 11: Winner Game 10 vs. Loser Game 9, TBD
Game 12: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 11, TBD
Game 13: Game 12 winner vs. Game 12 loser^, 40 minutes after Game 12
^ if necessary
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