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No. 2 Samford, No. 4 WCU win opening games of SoCon championship
The Catamounts down top-seeded Wofford 16-5; Carlson hits two-run homer in bottom of ninth to give Samford the win
No. 4 Western Carolina 16, No. 1 Wofford 5
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Fourth-seeded Western Carolina defeated top-seeded Wofford 16-5 in the first game of the 2021 Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases on Thursday.
The Catamounts (27-19), who entered the tournament on a four-game winning streak, scored seven runs in the first three innings and scored seven more between the last two innings to secure the win. The squad will face the winner of the No. 2 Samford and No. 3 Mercer game on Friday, May 28, at 7 p.m. ET. Wofford (35-20) will the loser in an elimination game Friday at 3:30 p.m.
Western Carolina’s Pascanel Ferreras, who recorded a game-high six RBIs and two home runs, opened the game with a homer to the left field to place the Catamounts on the board early.
For the Terriers, Nolen Hester was the first to make a plate appearance and singled to center field. Western Carolina’s Jack Snyder struck out the next three batters headed into the second inning.
Daylan Nanny singled in the top of the second and was followed by Daniel Walsh, who sacrificed Nanny to second. Bryson Parks, a junior from Marietta, Georgia, then singled to left field as Nanny scored to increase the Catamount lead to 2-0. Western Carolina closed the top of the second inning as Ferreras cleared the bases with a double to center field for three RBIs, making it a 5-0 contest.
Snyder followed that up by retiring the side in order in the bottom half.
Catamount catcher Tom Brosnahan hit his second home run of the season in the top of the third for two RBIs, allowing Walsh to score his 30th run of the season.
Wofford left-handed pitcher Sam Stratton made an appearance on the mound in the fourth, handing the Catamounts their first scoreless inning of the day. Lawson Hill hit one deep into left center for a double before Snyder struck out his third batter of the day.
Wofford got on the board with back-to-back runs in the bottom of the fifth. Hester hit a single to plate Shane Lussier for the first run. Just a few moments later, Colin Davis, the SoCon Player of the Year, grounded out to second base for the Terriers’ second run, scoring junior shortstop Matty Brown.
Luke Robinson, a 2021 coaches and media all-conference first team selection, recorded his 65th hit of the season with a two-RBI single, restoring the Purple and Gold’s seven-run lead at 9-2.
John Dempsey scored Trey Yunger on a sacrifice fly and Lussier’s triple scored Jack Renwick as Wofford got the two runs right back in the bottom half.
The Catamounts scored three in the eighth inning, highlighted by Walsh’s two-run double, before Ferreras hit his second home run of the day for two RBIs in the top of the ninth. Justice Bigbie and Immanuel Wilder scored runs on wild pitches as part of a four-run ninth for the final margin.
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Fourth-seeded Western Carolina defeated top-seeded Wofford 16-5 in the first game of the 2021 Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases on Thursday.
The Catamounts (27-19), who entered the tournament on a four-game winning streak, scored seven runs in the first three innings and scored seven more between the last two innings to secure the win. The squad will face the winner of the No. 2 Samford and No. 3 Mercer game on Friday, May 28, at 7 p.m. ET. Wofford (35-20) will the loser in an elimination game Friday at 3:30 p.m.
Western Carolina’s Pascanel Ferreras, who recorded a game-high six RBIs and two home runs, opened the game with a homer to the left field to place the Catamounts on the board early.
For the Terriers, Nolen Hester was the first to make a plate appearance and singled to center field. Western Carolina’s Jack Snyder struck out the next three batters headed into the second inning.
Daylan Nanny singled in the top of the second and was followed by Daniel Walsh, who sacrificed Nanny to second. Bryson Parks, a junior from Marietta, Georgia, then singled to left field as Nanny scored to increase the Catamount lead to 2-0. Western Carolina closed the top of the second inning as Ferreras cleared the bases with a double to center field for three RBIs, making it a 5-0 contest.
Snyder followed that up by retiring the side in order in the bottom half.
Catamount catcher Tom Brosnahan hit his second home run of the season in the top of the third for two RBIs, allowing Walsh to score his 30th run of the season.
Wofford left-handed pitcher Sam Stratton made an appearance on the mound in the fourth, handing the Catamounts their first scoreless inning of the day. Lawson Hill hit one deep into left center for a double before Snyder struck out his third batter of the day.
Wofford got on the board with back-to-back runs in the bottom of the fifth. Hester hit a single to plate Shane Lussier for the first run. Just a few moments later, Colin Davis, the SoCon Player of the Year, grounded out to second base for the Terriers’ second run, scoring junior shortstop Matty Brown.
Luke Robinson, a 2021 coaches and media all-conference first team selection, recorded his 65th hit of the season with a two-RBI single, restoring the Purple and Gold’s seven-run lead at 9-2.
John Dempsey scored Trey Yunger on a sacrifice fly and Lussier’s triple scored Jack Renwick as Wofford got the two runs right back in the bottom half.
The Catamounts scored three in the eighth inning, highlighted by Walsh’s two-run double, before Ferreras hit his second home run of the day for two RBIs in the top of the ninth. Justice Bigbie and Immanuel Wilder scored runs on wild pitches as part of a four-run ninth for the final margin.
No. 2 Samford 10, No. 3 Mercer 8
May 27 (Thursday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 1: No. 4 Western Carolina 16, No. 1 Wofford 5
Game 2: No. 2 Samford 10, No. 3 Mercer 8
May 28 (Friday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 3: No. 1 Wofford vs. No. 3 Mercer, 3:30 p.m.
Game 4: No. 4 Western Carolina vs. No. 2 Samford, 7 p.m.
May 29 (Saturday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 5: Game 4 loser vs. Game 3 winner, 3:30 p.m.
Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m.
May 30 (Sunday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 7: Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser (If necessary), 12 p.m.
-www.SoConSports.com-
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Brooks Carlson stroked a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning Thursday as No. 2 seed Samford walked off with a 10-8 win over No. 3 seed Mercer in the second game of the 2021 Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases.
The Bulldogs (33-22) will face Western Carolina in a winners’ bracket game at 7 p.m. Friday. Mercer (35-21) will take on No. 1 seed Wofford in an elimination game at 3:30 p.m.
After Mercer left the bases loaded in the top half of the inning, Max Pinto reached on a one-out infield single to set the stage for Carlson, who punctuated a four-hit day with a 415-foot blast to left center to send the Bulldogs spilling out of the dugout in celebration.
The dramatic finish capped a wild final five innings that saw the teams combine for 16 runs after the score stood at 1-1 through four.
The Bulldogs, who scored twice each in the eighth and ninth innings, seemed to take control with a four-run sixth inning in which Tyler McManus hit a bases-clearing triple to center to make it 6-4. The Bears quickly regained the upper hand, however, tying the game on Garett Delano’s two-run double and getting the go-ahead run on a double play groundout in the top of the seventh.
Mercer added another run in the eighth on a passed ball to make it an 8-6 affair, and Tommy Green nearly worked out of a bases-loaded jam with a pair of strikeouts in the bottom half before Towns King smoked a two-run single to center to knot the game at 8.
The Bears loaded the bases in the top of the ninth on a hit batter and a pair of walks, but Chase Isbell (4-2) struck out pinch-hitter Jackson Cherry to end the threat, picking up the win after Carlson’s blast in the bottom half.
Samford starter Samuel Strickland allowed four runs on six hits and a pair of walks in five innings of work, while his counterpart, Jackson Kelley, departed with the lead after allowing two runs on nine hits and a walk with five innings, striking out nine. Six Bulldog relievers combined to pitch the final four innings, while three Mercer relievers saw action, with Green (4-4) taking the loss with three runs allowed in 1 1/3 innings of work.
Samford outhit Mercer 18-8 on the day, with Carlson going 4-for-6 with a pair of runs and two RBIs. Pinto was 3-for-6 with three runs scored, while Sonny DiChiara, McManus, King and Taylor Garris had two hits each. McManus and King shared game-high honors with three RBIs each.
Bill Knight, Delano and Trevor Austin had two hits apiece to lead Mercer, which got consecutive RBI singles from Austin and Knight in a two-run fifth.
The Bulldogs (33-22) will face Western Carolina in a winners’ bracket game at 7 p.m. Friday. Mercer (35-21) will take on No. 1 seed Wofford in an elimination game at 3:30 p.m.
After Mercer left the bases loaded in the top half of the inning, Max Pinto reached on a one-out infield single to set the stage for Carlson, who punctuated a four-hit day with a 415-foot blast to left center to send the Bulldogs spilling out of the dugout in celebration.
The dramatic finish capped a wild final five innings that saw the teams combine for 16 runs after the score stood at 1-1 through four.
The Bulldogs, who scored twice each in the eighth and ninth innings, seemed to take control with a four-run sixth inning in which Tyler McManus hit a bases-clearing triple to center to make it 6-4. The Bears quickly regained the upper hand, however, tying the game on Garett Delano’s two-run double and getting the go-ahead run on a double play groundout in the top of the seventh.
Mercer added another run in the eighth on a passed ball to make it an 8-6 affair, and Tommy Green nearly worked out of a bases-loaded jam with a pair of strikeouts in the bottom half before Towns King smoked a two-run single to center to knot the game at 8.
The Bears loaded the bases in the top of the ninth on a hit batter and a pair of walks, but Chase Isbell (4-2) struck out pinch-hitter Jackson Cherry to end the threat, picking up the win after Carlson’s blast in the bottom half.
Samford starter Samuel Strickland allowed four runs on six hits and a pair of walks in five innings of work, while his counterpart, Jackson Kelley, departed with the lead after allowing two runs on nine hits and a walk with five innings, striking out nine. Six Bulldog relievers combined to pitch the final four innings, while three Mercer relievers saw action, with Green (4-4) taking the loss with three runs allowed in 1 1/3 innings of work.
Samford outhit Mercer 18-8 on the day, with Carlson going 4-for-6 with a pair of runs and two RBIs. Pinto was 3-for-6 with three runs scored, while Sonny DiChiara, McManus, King and Taylor Garris had two hits each. McManus and King shared game-high honors with three RBIs each.
Bill Knight, Delano and Trevor Austin had two hits apiece to lead Mercer, which got consecutive RBI singles from Austin and Knight in a two-run fifth.
May 27 (Thursday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 1: No. 4 Western Carolina 16, No. 1 Wofford 5
Game 2: No. 2 Samford 10, No. 3 Mercer 8
May 28 (Friday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 3: No. 1 Wofford vs. No. 3 Mercer, 3:30 p.m.
Game 4: No. 4 Western Carolina vs. No. 2 Samford, 7 p.m.
May 29 (Saturday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 5: Game 4 loser vs. Game 3 winner, 3:30 p.m.
Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 7 p.m.
May 30 (Sunday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 7: Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser (If necessary), 12 p.m.
-www.SoConSports.com-
May 27 (Thursday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 1: No. 4 Western Carolina 16, No. 1 Wofford 5 3:30 p.m.
Game 2: No. 2 Samford 10, No. 3 Mercer 8 7 p.m.
May 28 (Friday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 3: No. 1 Wofford vs. No. 3 Mercer 3:30 p.m.
Game 4: No. 4 Western Carolina vs. No. 2 Samford 7 p.m.
May 29 (Saturday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 5: Game 4 loser vs. Game 3 winner 3:30 p.m.
Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner 7 p.m.
May 30 (Sunday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 7: Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser (If necessary) 12 p.m.
-www.SoConSports.com-