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Wofford, Mercer Advance at SoCon Baseball Championship
Terriers, Bears Move on to Double-Elimination Portion of Bracket
No. 5 Wofford 8, No. 8 The Citadel 3
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Junior David Wiley drove in three runs as part of a four-run third inning and No. 5 seed Wofford downed No. 8 seed VMI, 8-3, in the opening game of the 2024 Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases at Fluor Field on Wednesday.
Each team entered the contest having won two straight and three of its four outings, with The Citadel seeking its third consecutive tournament-opening upset as the No. 8 seed. With the win, the Terriers (36-17) advance to the double-elimination portion of the bracket and will face No. 4 seed Western Carolina on Thursday at 3 p.m. The Citadel sees its season come to an end at 21-32.
Neither team had a baserunner until Wofford’s Daniel Jackson, the SoCon Freshman of the Year, led off the bottom of the second inning with a single. One out later, Wiley singled through the left side and both runners moved into scoring position when designated Lucas Manning grounded out to first base, but The Citadel hurler Ben Hutchins ended the Terriers’ threat with a strikeout.
Matthew Lively notched The Citadel’s first hit with a one-out single to center field in the top of the third, but was erased attempting to steal second base, while Wofford sent eight batters to the plate in the bottom of the inning and used a pair of doubles to erupt for four runs.
The ninth hitter in the lineup for the Terriers, Jack Renwick, led off bottom of the frame with a double to the gap in left-center
field and following a pitching change by the Bulldogs, Marshall Toole laid down a bunt single, moving Renwick to
third. After senior Dixon Black walked to load the bases with no outs, Brice Martinez hit an RBI groundout
to second to score Renwick, giving Wofford its first run of the game. Jackson then reached base for the second time in as many at-bats after getting hit by a pitch and the bases were loaded again for Wiley, who followed by clearing the bases with a clutch two-out, three-RBI double that put Wofford ahead, 4-0.
The Citadel threatened in the top of the fourth when Sawyer Reeves and Travis Elliott posted back-to-back two-out singles and Travis Lott was hit by a pitch on a 1-2 count to load the bases, but Wofford starter Zac Cowan forced a ground out to end the threat. Wofford added a run in the bottom of the sixth after Wiley drew a one-out walk and eventually crossed the plate on a Bulldog error.
The Bulldogs got on the scoreboard when Lott led off the seventh inning with his sixth home run of the season, while Wofford countered by posting a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame to gain a 7-1 advantage after Toole and Black hit back-to-back doubles to lead off the bottom of the seventh. Two batters later Black scored when Jackson grounded out to the left side of the infield.
Right fielder Thomas Rollauer scored The Citadel’s second run of the afternoon after notching a double to open the eighth inning. He moved to third when Wells Sykes grounded out to the right side and crossed the plate on a Reeves groundout to the shortstop. Again, the Terriers answered when Adam Haber notched a one-out double to right and scored on Toole’s sacrifice bunt.
Bulldog first baseman Anthony Hausner wrapped up the scoring by belting a one-out solo home run beyond the centerfield fence in top of the ninth.
Wiley (2-for-3), Toole (2-for-4) and Renwick (2-for-4) each had two-hit days for the Terriers, with Renwick adding a walk.
Reeves and Elliott notched two hits apiece to pace the Bulldogs.
Wofford right-hander Zac Cowan improved to 8-2 after scattering five hits over 6.2 innings, marking the 12th time in 15 appearances this season the first-team all-conference selection has gone at least six innings on the mound. He struck out six and walked just one.
The Citadel starter Ben Hutchins (3-6), the first of five Bulldog hurlers, suffered the loss after going two innings, while allowing three hits and striking out two.
No. 7 Mercer 19, No. 6 VMI 14
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Early offense propelled No. 7 seed Mercer to a quick lead and the Bears outlasted No. 6 seed VMI, 19-14, in Wednesday's second game of the 2024 Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases at Fluor Field.
The Bears (27-27) advance to the double-elimination portion of the bracket and will face No. 3 seed ETSU on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Keydets see their season come to an end at 27-29.
The two squads combined to set a SoCon Tournament record with 40 combined hits, while recording 15 extra-base hits. The 33 combined runs were the most scored since Elon and Georgia Southern also posted 33 runs during the 2008 SoCon Tournament.
The Black and Orange posted their highest hit total of the season (22) and their second-highest run total of the campaign (19), while recording five home runs for the third time this season. Mercer scored in each of the first five innings, including four runs in both the second and fourth frames and notched six runs in the fifth inning. VMI notched a season-high 18 hits.
Mercer’s Parker Lester led off the game with a walk and Bradley Frye followed with his seventh home run of the season to left center field to give Mercer a quick 2-0 lead before the first out was recorded. Ty Dalley followed with a single to right center and moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Noah Best singled to put runners on the corners with just one out and Dalley scored when Carter Sanford flied out to left and Best was doubled up at first for the third out, but not before the Bears had plated three runs.
VMI manufactured a two-out run when Justin Starke drew a walk and moved to third on Trey Morgan’s single. He scored by stealing home while Morgan swiped second.
The Bears’ Brandon Prince opened the second inning with a walk and two batters later Conner Todaro singled to center, with both runners moving up on a wild pitch and crossing the plate on a single up the middle by Frye. Dalley followed with his 18th homer of the season to give the Bears a 7-1 cushion with two outs. Jackson Cherry then walked, Noah Best reached on a single and Sanford drew a walk to load the bases, but Mercer was unable to extend the lead.
The Bears’ Ely Brown began the bottom of the third with a walk, as Mercer’s first two runners reached base, with Brown eventually scoring on Dalley’s sacrifice fly to center field, boosting Mercer’s advantage to seven.
VMI answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame, with Jed Barrett leading off by beating out an infield single and crossing home on Ty Swaim’s double down the left-field line. Swaim went to third on a fly out to right-center and scored when Starke singled up the middle.
Best was hit by a pitch to start the fourth inning and the Bears loaded the bases with no outs after Sanford and Prince posted back-to-back singles. Following a pitching change, Brown came through with a two-RBI single through the right side to give the Bears a 10-3 lead. With runners on first and third and no one out, Todaro lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to plate Prince and Lester drove in the Bears’ fourth run of the inning with a single to left field.
VMI threatened to cut into the deficit by loading the bases with two outs in the bottom of the fourth, but came away empty-handed, while the Bears’ Sanford tripled to right field with one out in the top of the fifth inning and scored on Prince’s single to center. Two batters later, Todaro blasted his third home run of the season and Lester added a solo shot – his 14th homer of the season – to give the Bears a 16-3 lead. After Frye singled, Dalley homered for the second time to boost Mercer’s cushion to 18-3.
The Keydets capitalized on a leadoff single by Grayson Fitzwater, a triple by Starke, a double off the bat of Morgan and a run-scoring balk to score three runs in the fifth, and VMI continued to chip away and scored five runs with no outs in its half of the sixth to close the gap to 18-11.
Frye opened the seventh frame for the Bears with a double and scored when junior Zach Thomas singled to left center, before VMI added an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth and climbed within six on Cole Raile’s seventh home run of the season with one out. After Mercer went down in order in the top of the ninth, Fitzwater finished the scoring by clubbing a solo home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth.
Dalley was 3-for-6 with five RBIs and a pair of home runs for the Bears, with Frye going 4-for-6 at the plate, with a double, a home run and four RBIs. Dalley and Frye also combined to score seven runs. Prince finished the night with three hits, a walk and three runs scored, while Todaro added three hits, three RBIs and a home run. He also crossed the plate twice. Lester (2-for-6), Thomas (2-for-3), Best (2-for-4) and Sanford (2-for-4) also posted multi-hit nights.
Starke was 3-for-4 on the night, with a double a triple and two walks, while Fitzwater added three hits in five at-bats, including a home run. He scored three runs and recorded a pair of RBIs. Morgan was 3-for-6, with a pair of RBIs and Barrett finished with three hits in four at-bats.
Mercer hurler Colton Cosper improved to 7-3 on the season after allowing six runs on eight hits over five innings. The left-hander struck out three and walked one. VMI right-hander Will Riley fell to 5-6 on the season after surrendering seven runs on six hits in 1.2 innings of work on the mound. He walked three and struck out three.
2024 SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
May 22 (Wednesday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 1: #5 Wofford 8, #8 The Citadel 3
Game 2: #7 Mercer 19, #6 VMI 14
May 23 (Thursday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 3: #5 Wofford vs. #4 Western Carolina, 3 p.m.
Game 4: #7 Mercer vs. #3 ETSU, 7 p.m.
May 24 (Friday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. #1 UNCG, 9 a.m.
Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. #2 Samford, 12:30 p.m.
Game 7: Loser Game 4 vs. Loser Game 5, 4 p.m.
Game 8: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 6, 7:30 p.m.
May 25 (Saturday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 12 p.m.
Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 3:30 p.m.
Game 11: Winner Game 10 vs. Loser Game 9, 7 p.m.
May 26 (Sunday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (SDN)
Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 12: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 11, 12 p.m.
Game 13: Game 12 winner vs. Game 12 loser^, 40 minutes after Game 12
^ if necessary
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Junior David Wiley drove in three runs as part of a four-run third inning and No. 5 seed Wofford downed No. 8 seed VMI, 8-3, in the opening game of the 2024 Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases at Fluor Field on Wednesday.
Each team entered the contest having won two straight and three of its four outings, with The Citadel seeking its third consecutive tournament-opening upset as the No. 8 seed. With the win, the Terriers (36-17) advance to the double-elimination portion of the bracket and will face No. 4 seed Western Carolina on Thursday at 3 p.m. The Citadel sees its season come to an end at 21-32.
Neither team had a baserunner until Wofford’s Daniel Jackson, the SoCon Freshman of the Year, led off the bottom of the second inning with a single. One out later, Wiley singled through the left side and both runners moved into scoring position when designated Lucas Manning grounded out to first base, but The Citadel hurler Ben Hutchins ended the Terriers’ threat with a strikeout.
Matthew Lively notched The Citadel’s first hit with a one-out single to center field in the top of the third, but was erased attempting to steal second base, while Wofford sent eight batters to the plate in the bottom of the inning and used a pair of doubles to erupt for four runs.
The ninth hitter in the lineup for the Terriers, Jack Renwick, led off bottom of the frame with a double to the gap in left-center
field and following a pitching change by the Bulldogs, Marshall Toole laid down a bunt single, moving Renwick to
third. After senior Dixon Black walked to load the bases with no outs, Brice Martinez hit an RBI groundout
to second to score Renwick, giving Wofford its first run of the game. Jackson then reached base for the second time in as many at-bats after getting hit by a pitch and the bases were loaded again for Wiley, who followed by clearing the bases with a clutch two-out, three-RBI double that put Wofford ahead, 4-0.
The Citadel threatened in the top of the fourth when Sawyer Reeves and Travis Elliott posted back-to-back two-out singles and Travis Lott was hit by a pitch on a 1-2 count to load the bases, but Wofford starter Zac Cowan forced a ground out to end the threat. Wofford added a run in the bottom of the sixth after Wiley drew a one-out walk and eventually crossed the plate on a Bulldog error.
The Bulldogs got on the scoreboard when Lott led off the seventh inning with his sixth home run of the season, while Wofford countered by posting a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame to gain a 7-1 advantage after Toole and Black hit back-to-back doubles to lead off the bottom of the seventh. Two batters later Black scored when Jackson grounded out to the left side of the infield.
Right fielder Thomas Rollauer scored The Citadel’s second run of the afternoon after notching a double to open the eighth inning. He moved to third when Wells Sykes grounded out to the right side and crossed the plate on a Reeves groundout to the shortstop. Again, the Terriers answered when Adam Haber notched a one-out double to right and scored on Toole’s sacrifice bunt.
Bulldog first baseman Anthony Hausner wrapped up the scoring by belting a one-out solo home run beyond the centerfield fence in top of the ninth.
Wiley (2-for-3), Toole (2-for-4) and Renwick (2-for-4) each had two-hit days for the Terriers, with Renwick adding a walk.
Reeves and Elliott notched two hits apiece to pace the Bulldogs.
Wofford right-hander Zac Cowan improved to 8-2 after scattering five hits over 6.2 innings, marking the 12th time in 15 appearances this season the first-team all-conference selection has gone at least six innings on the mound. He struck out six and walked just one.
The Citadel starter Ben Hutchins (3-6), the first of five Bulldog hurlers, suffered the loss after going two innings, while allowing three hits and striking out two.
No. 7 Mercer 19, No. 6 VMI 14
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Early offense propelled No. 7 seed Mercer to a quick lead and the Bears outlasted No. 6 seed VMI, 19-14, in Wednesday's second game of the 2024 Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases at Fluor Field.
The Bears (27-27) advance to the double-elimination portion of the bracket and will face No. 3 seed ETSU on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Keydets see their season come to an end at 27-29.
The two squads combined to set a SoCon Tournament record with 40 combined hits, while recording 15 extra-base hits. The 33 combined runs were the most scored since Elon and Georgia Southern also posted 33 runs during the 2008 SoCon Tournament.
The Black and Orange posted their highest hit total of the season (22) and their second-highest run total of the campaign (19), while recording five home runs for the third time this season. Mercer scored in each of the first five innings, including four runs in both the second and fourth frames and notched six runs in the fifth inning. VMI notched a season-high 18 hits.
Mercer’s Parker Lester led off the game with a walk and Bradley Frye followed with his seventh home run of the season to left center field to give Mercer a quick 2-0 lead before the first out was recorded. Ty Dalley followed with a single to right center and moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Noah Best singled to put runners on the corners with just one out and Dalley scored when Carter Sanford flied out to left and Best was doubled up at first for the third out, but not before the Bears had plated three runs.
VMI manufactured a two-out run when Justin Starke drew a walk and moved to third on Trey Morgan’s single. He scored by stealing home while Morgan swiped second.
The Bears’ Brandon Prince opened the second inning with a walk and two batters later Conner Todaro singled to center, with both runners moving up on a wild pitch and crossing the plate on a single up the middle by Frye. Dalley followed with his 18th homer of the season to give the Bears a 7-1 cushion with two outs. Jackson Cherry then walked, Noah Best reached on a single and Sanford drew a walk to load the bases, but Mercer was unable to extend the lead.
The Bears’ Ely Brown began the bottom of the third with a walk, as Mercer’s first two runners reached base, with Brown eventually scoring on Dalley’s sacrifice fly to center field, boosting Mercer’s advantage to seven.
VMI answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame, with Jed Barrett leading off by beating out an infield single and crossing home on Ty Swaim’s double down the left-field line. Swaim went to third on a fly out to right-center and scored when Starke singled up the middle.
Best was hit by a pitch to start the fourth inning and the Bears loaded the bases with no outs after Sanford and Prince posted back-to-back singles. Following a pitching change, Brown came through with a two-RBI single through the right side to give the Bears a 10-3 lead. With runners on first and third and no one out, Todaro lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to plate Prince and Lester drove in the Bears’ fourth run of the inning with a single to left field.
VMI threatened to cut into the deficit by loading the bases with two outs in the bottom of the fourth, but came away empty-handed, while the Bears’ Sanford tripled to right field with one out in the top of the fifth inning and scored on Prince’s single to center. Two batters later, Todaro blasted his third home run of the season and Lester added a solo shot – his 14th homer of the season – to give the Bears a 16-3 lead. After Frye singled, Dalley homered for the second time to boost Mercer’s cushion to 18-3.
The Keydets capitalized on a leadoff single by Grayson Fitzwater, a triple by Starke, a double off the bat of Morgan and a run-scoring balk to score three runs in the fifth, and VMI continued to chip away and scored five runs with no outs in its half of the sixth to close the gap to 18-11.
Frye opened the seventh frame for the Bears with a double and scored when junior Zach Thomas singled to left center, before VMI added an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth and climbed within six on Cole Raile’s seventh home run of the season with one out. After Mercer went down in order in the top of the ninth, Fitzwater finished the scoring by clubbing a solo home run with one out in the bottom of the ninth.
Dalley was 3-for-6 with five RBIs and a pair of home runs for the Bears, with Frye going 4-for-6 at the plate, with a double, a home run and four RBIs. Dalley and Frye also combined to score seven runs. Prince finished the night with three hits, a walk and three runs scored, while Todaro added three hits, three RBIs and a home run. He also crossed the plate twice. Lester (2-for-6), Thomas (2-for-3), Best (2-for-4) and Sanford (2-for-4) also posted multi-hit nights.
Starke was 3-for-4 on the night, with a double a triple and two walks, while Fitzwater added three hits in five at-bats, including a home run. He scored three runs and recorded a pair of RBIs. Morgan was 3-for-6, with a pair of RBIs and Barrett finished with three hits in four at-bats.
Mercer hurler Colton Cosper improved to 7-3 on the season after allowing six runs on eight hits over five innings. The left-hander struck out three and walked one. VMI right-hander Will Riley fell to 5-6 on the season after surrendering seven runs on six hits in 1.2 innings of work on the mound. He walked three and struck out three.
2024 SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
May 22 (Wednesday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 1: #5 Wofford 8, #8 The Citadel 3
Game 2: #7 Mercer 19, #6 VMI 14
May 23 (Thursday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 3: #5 Wofford vs. #4 Western Carolina, 3 p.m.
Game 4: #7 Mercer vs. #3 ETSU, 7 p.m.
May 24 (Friday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. #1 UNCG, 9 a.m.
Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. #2 Samford, 12:30 p.m.
Game 7: Loser Game 4 vs. Loser Game 5, 4 p.m.
Game 8: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 6, 7:30 p.m.
May 25 (Saturday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (ESPN+)
(Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 9: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 12 p.m.
Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 3:30 p.m.
Game 11: Winner Game 10 vs. Loser Game 9, 7 p.m.
May 26 (Sunday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (SDN)
Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 12: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 11, 12 p.m.
Game 13: Game 12 winner vs. Game 12 loser^, 40 minutes after Game 12
^ if necessary