No. 7 Georgia Southern 2, No. 2 College of Charleston 0
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GREENVILLE, S.C. – Justin Hess threw a four-hit shutout to make T.D. Davis’ first-inning home run stand as No. 7 seed Georgia Southern downed No. 2 seed College of Charleston 2-0 on Thursday at the Southern Conference Baseball Championship at Fluor Field.
Georgia Southern (26-30) advances to face No. 6 seed Furman at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, while College of Charleston (31-25) will take on No. 3 seed Elon in an elimination game at 1:45 p.m.
After Robbie Dodds’ one-out single in the top of the first, Davis drilled CofC starter Jake Zokan’s 2-1 offering off of a fourth-floor window on the building beyond the Green Monster in left field.
That was all the offense Hess (5-6) would need, as the senior right-hander turned in his first complete game and first shutout of the season. He struck out 10 batters on the day, fittingly finishing off the game by striking out CofC’s Ben Boykin looking.
Zokan (4-3) was also in good form, as he pitched into the seventh, allowing just the two first-inning runs. He also struck out 10, doing so in just 6 2/3 innings. Zokan and Hess each issued two walks.
Already up 2-0, GSU missed a chance to add some insurance runs in the fourth inning, leaving the bases loaded. After Tyler Avera singled with one out, a CofC error put runners at second and third. A walk to Brent Pugh loaded the bases, but Zokan recovered to strike out Scooter Williams and Ben Morgan to end the threat.
CofC, meanwhile, put a few runners in scoring position but could never get the timely hit it needed. The Cougars had runners on second and third with one out in the first but nothing came of it, as Hess struck out Brandon Murray and Morgan Phillips to end the inning.
The Cougars put another runner at third in the fourth when Gunnar Heidt singled, stole second and advanced on a groundout, but Hess again got a strikeout to escape unscathed.
CofC’s last solid scoring chance came in the seventh, as Alex Pastorius singled with two out and moved to third on a GSU error, but Ryan Welke flew out to center to keep the shutout intact.
GSU put a pair of runners in scoring position in its half of the seventh, with Morgan hitting a one-out double and Davis being intentionally walked to put runners on the corners. A wild pitch moved Davis up a base, but reliever Derrick Smith got a fly out to keep it a two-run game.
Davis finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs in the game, with his second hit a double off the top of the wall in left-center. Avera went 2-for-4 for the Eagles.
Heidt had half of CofC’s hits, going 2-for-3.
No. 3 Elon 18, No. 2 College of Charleston 8
GREENVILLE, S.C. – No. 3 seed Elon banged out 19 hits and used an eight-run fifth inning to blow open a one-run game en route to an 18-8 win over No. 2 seed College of Charleston in an elimination game Thursday at the Southern Conference Baseball Championship at Fluor Field.
Elon (28-28) advances to face the loser of the Furman-Georgia Southern game on Friday at 7 p.m. College of Charleston (31-26) saw its season come to an end and was the first team eliminated from the tournament.
Six of Elon’s starters recorded multiple-hit games, with Alex Swim going 4-for-5 to lead the way and move into a tie for Elon’s career hits lead with 284.
Quinn Bower, Sebastian Gomez and Casey Jones had three hits each, with Gomez driving in five runs on the day and Bower scoring five. Bower and SoCon Player of the Year Ryan Kinsella, who went 2-for-4 with his 20th home run, had four RBIs each. Bower, who was twice hit by pitches, also drew a walk and reached base six times.
College of Charleston’s Car Wise was perfect at the plate on the day, going 4-for-4 with two two-run homers and an intentional walk. Four other players had two-hit games as CofC’s 2-6 hitters combined to go 16-for-23.
With Elon up 5-4 heading to the fifth, the Phoenix used eight hits to score eight runs and take control. The big blow in the inning came off the bat of Gomez, who had a bases-clearing double down the left-field line. Swim had a two-run single in the frame, while Jones singled twice.
Elon would go on to add another three runs in the sixth on Bower’s three-run homer, then added single runs in the seventh and eighth.
CofC had all the momentum early, jumping out to a 4-1 lead after two innings. Elon scored first on Gomez’s RBI single, but the Cougars answered with two-run bombs from Wise in the bottom of the first and again in the second. College of Charleston had a run taken off the board in the bottom of the first, as Morgan Phillips singled to drive in a run but batted out of order, resulting in an out and the runners going back to their original bases.
Elon reclaimed the lead for good the following inning, with Kinsella bashing a three-run homer and Gomez following with a solo shot to make it 5-4.
With the score 17-4 in the seventh, CofC banged out two doubles and two triples, wearing out the wall in center field to plate three runs. The Cougars added one more run in the ninth for the final margin.
After Elon starter Nate Young was knocked out after 2/3 of an inning, Spencer Medick (7-6) picked up the win, throwing the final 8 1/3 innings.
CofC starter Ryan West (4-3) suffered the loss, allowing five runs on four hits in two innings. The Cougars used six pitchers in the contest.
All 26 runs in the game were earned, as neither team committed an error.
No. 5 Appalachian State 2, No. 8 Samford 1
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Will Callaway’s two-out RBI single in the sixth inning proved to be the difference as No. 5 seed Appalachian State downed No. 8 seed Samford 2-1 in an elimination game in the 2013 Southern Conference Baseball Championship. Due to Wednesday’s severe weather, the matchup was moved to Latham Stadium on the campus of Furman University.
Appalachian State (29-23) advances to face either Western Carolina or The Citadel on Friday at 3 p.m., while Samford ends its season at 27-30 overall.
Mountaineer starter Sam Agnew-Wieland (7-6) threw eight innings of one-run ball, giving up five hits and four walks with seven strikeouts. Despite the loss, Samford’s C.K. Irby (7-6) threw a complete game for the Bulldogs, allowing just two runs, neither earned, five hits and four strikeouts.
In the top of the sixth, Preston Troutman sent a leadoff single through the right side then advanced to third on a Josh Zumbrook sacrifice bunt and a Samford error. Troutman then scored on a sacrifice fly by Hector Crespo and Zumbrook advanced to third on another Samford error. Two batters later, Callaway extended his hitting streak to 27 games, tying a school record and scoring Zumbrook to give the Mountaineers a 2-1 lead in the middle of the sixth.
Samford made it interesting in the bottom of the ninth, as Christiaan Durdaller drew a leadoff walk and stole second, but Appalachian State relievers Rob Marcello and Josh Wilson got two strikeouts and a groundout to end the Samford threat and finish out the game for the Mountaineers. Wilson earned his third save of the season with 2/3 of an inning of perfect ball.
After pitching a quick top half of the first, Irby recorded the game’s first hit, a single up the middle. Durdaller then sent a single to right to put runners on first and second with two outs for Samford, but Agnew-Wieland was able to get a strikeout to end the Bulldog threat in the bottom half.
In the top of the second, Appalachian State’s Dillon Dobson sent a leadoff single through the right side and moved to second on a groundout by Michael Pierson. Dobson advanced to third when Jaylin Davis sent a hard-hit ball off the glove of Irby right to Samford shortstop Austin Allison, who made a great throw to first to retire the runner. Irby then got a groundout to short to strand the runner at third and keep the score knotted at 0.
After both pitchers worked scoreless half innings, Samford’s Phillip Ervin reached on a one-out fielder’s choice, stole second and third, then scored on a Durdaller two-out RBI, giving the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead heading into the fourth inning.
Five Mountaineers each tallied one hit, with Crespo and Callaway each picking up an RBI.
Durdaller lead the Bulldogs at the plate, going 2-for-3.
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 4: #7 Georgia Southern 2, #2 College of Charleston 0
Game 5: #3 Elon 18, #2 College of Charleston 8
Game 7: #4 The Citadel vs. #1 Western Carolina, 5 p.m.
Game 8: #6 Furman vs. #7 Georgia Southern, 8:30 p.m.
(Furman’s Latham Stadium, Greenville, S.C.)
Game 6: #5 Appalachian State 2, #8 Samford 1
Friday, May 24
(Fluor Field, Greenville, S.C.)
Game 9: Loser Game 7 vs. #5 Appalachian State, 3 p.m.
Game 10: Loser Game 8 vs. #3 Elon, 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 25
(Fluor Field, Greenville, S.C.)
Game 11: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9, 10 a.m.
Game 12: Winner Game 8 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.
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