No. 6 seed Furman knocks off No. 3 Elon

No. 6 Furman 10, No. 3 Elon 1

Box Score - PDF
Photo Gallery

GREENVILLE, S.C. – No. 6 seed Furman pulled the day’s first upset, knocking off No. 3 seed Elon 10-1 at the Southern Conference Baseball Championship at Fluor Field on Wednesday.

Furman (32-23) will take on the winner of College of Charleston-Georgia Southern on Thursday at 5 p.m. Elon (27-28) will face the loser of the CofC-GSU game in an elimination contest at 1:30 p.m.

Furman scored runs in each of the first three innings to quickly take control. Designated hitter Greg Harrison hit an RBI triple in the top of the first for the game’s first run, and the Paladins doubled their lead on Chris Ohmstede’s solo home run in the top of the second.

Furman made it a 3-0 game on Taylor Johnson’s RBI single in the top of the third, but Elon starter Kyle Webb settled down after that, retiring the side in order in two of the next three innings.

The Paladins’ offense came roaring back to life in the top of the seventh to chase Webb. Ohmstede led off with a double down the left-field line, and Griffin Davis followed with a bunt single. Webb got a popup for the first out and induced a fielder’s choice off the bat of Hunter Burton, but Davis was safe at second on an error and Ohmstede scored to make it 4-0.

After a Will Muzika walk to load the bases, Elon went to the bullpen, bringing in Ryan Pennell. Pennell got a strikeout for the second out of the inning, but Harrison drew a walk to knock in a run. Alex Abrams then followed with the biggest hit of the game, clearing the bases with a double to right-center to make it 8-0.

Elon scored its lone run of the game in the bottom half of the frame, putting together a two-out rally to break up the shutout. Antonio Alvarez got things going with a single to right, going to third on a two-base error. Chris Schaedel followed with a single up the middle to bring in Alvarez and knock Furman starter Nate Smith from the contest. Paladin reliever Drake Browne allowed a Tyler McVicar single and a Quinn Bower walk to load the bases before striking out Sebastian Gomez to escape further damage.

Jordan Simpson drilled a two-run homer with two outs in the eighth for the final margin.

Smith improved to 7-4 on the season, scattering six hits over 6 2/3 innings, allowing one run and striking out eight. He walked just one.

Webb, whose only other losses on the season were to No. 1 North Carolina and No. 10 Louisville, fell to 6-3 on the year. He allowed seven runs (four earned) on seven hits and two walks in 6 1/3 innings. With his six strikeouts, he moved over 200 in his career, finishing the game with 205.

Five Paladins enjoyed multi-hit games on the day, with Muzika scoring three runs and Abrams driving in three.

Elon’s Ryan Kinsella, the SoCon Player of the Year, had a two-out, first-inning triple among his two hits to extend his streak of consecutive games reaching base to 32, but Schaedel had the only other multi-hit game for the Phoenix.

No. 2 College of Charleston vs. No. 7 Georgia Southern, ppd.

Wednesday, May 22
(Fluor Field, Greenville, S.C.)
Game 1: #4 The Citadel 6, #5 Appalachian State 5
Game 2: #1 Western Carolina 13, #8 Samford 7
Game 3: #6 Furman 10, #3 Elon 1
Game 4: #2 College of Charleston vs. #7 Georgia Southern, ppd.

Thursday, May 23
(Fluor Field, Greenville, S.C.)
Game 5: #5 Appalachian State vs. #8 Samford, 10 a.m.
Game 6: #3 Elon vs. Loser Game 4, 1:30 p.m.
Game 7: #6 Furman vs. Winner Game 4, 5 p.m.
Game 8: #4 The Citadel vs. #1 Western Carolina, 8:30 p.m.

Friday, May 24
(Fluor Field, Greenville, S.C.)
Game 9: Loser Game 8 vs. Winner Game 5, 3 p.m.
Game 10: Loser Game 7 vs. Winner Game 6, 7 p.m.

Saturday, May 25
(Fluor Field, Greenville, S.C.)
Game 11: Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 9, 10 a.m.
Game 12: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 10, 1:30 p.m.
^Game 13: Loser Game 11 vs. Winner Game 11, 5 p.m.
^Game 14: Loser Game 12 vs. Winner Game 12, 8:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 26
(Fluor Field, Greenville, S.C.)
Game 15: Championship game (ESPN3), 2 p.m.

All times Eastern
^ If necessary. If Game 13 is not necessary, Game 14 will begin approximately 40 minutes after the conclusion of Game 12.