Wofford, The Citadel win elimination games Friday

No. 3 Wofford 1, No. 6 Furman 0

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Freshman left-hander Adam Scott threw a four-hit shutout to lead No. 3 seed Wofford to a 1-0 win over No. 6 seed Furman in an elimination game Friday in the Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Mountain Shore Properties at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.

The Terriers (38-21) must beat Samford twice on Saturday to advance to Sunday’s title game. The teams will square off at 9 a.m. and again at 5 p.m. if Wofford wins the first meeting.

Furman sees its season end at 25-33.

Scott (8-4) was masterful in posting his second shutout of the season, retiring the first seven batters of the game, 12 straight batters from the fifth through eighth innings and not issuing a walk. He struck out nine Furman batters on the day, recording at least one in each inning but the second and eighth.

The Terriers gave Scott the only run support he would need in the second inning, getting a Derek Hirsch single to drive in Max McDougald, who doubled with two outs. Wofford missed a chance for more in the inning, as Kody Ruedisili was caught stealing second for the first out and Hirsch was gunned down trying to take second on his single for the final out of the inning.

One of Furman’s best scoring chances came in the fourth inning, but the Paladins left a pair of runners on base. Jake Jones singled to lead off before Scott struck out the next two batters. Cameron Whitehead then singled to left to put runners on the corners, but Scott got a fielder’s-choice grounder to escape the inning.

The Paladins had one last gasp at tying it up, but Scott was again up to the challenge. Carter Grote singled up the middle to lead off the ninth, and Jones sacrificed him over to second. A groundout moved Grote to third, bringing up active SoCon career home runs leader Chris Ohmstede, but Scott struck him out to end the game.

Wofford stranded runners in the fifth and seventh innings and saw Furman’s outfield make a couple of nice plays to rob Terriers of extra-base hits. Jones tracked down James Plaisted’s long drive at the wall in right in the seventh and Griffin Davis snagged a ball off the bat of Matt Ramsay at the wall in left in the eighth.

Paladin starter Ryan Griffith (1-2) was saddled with the loss despite turning in a quality start in which he allowed just the one run on five hits and three walks in six innings. Elliott Warford, who was the only substitute for either team to see action, worked the final two innings, striking out three and allowing just one hit.

No. 8 The Citadel 10, No. 4 VMI 5

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel scored eight consecutive runs in its final three frames, rallying from a three-run deficit to top No. 4 seed VMI 10-5 in an elimination game Friday at the Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Mountain Shore Properties at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.

The eighth-seeded Bulldogs (28-29) advance to face No. 1 seed Mercer (33-21) on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. The Citadel must beat the Bears twice to advance to Sunday’s championship tilt against either Samford or Wofford.

Trailing 5-2 going into the bottom of the sixth, The Citadel hung a 4-spot to reclaim the lead for good. After Stephen Windham reached on an error to start the inning, freshman designated hitter Drew Ellis crushed a home run out to right to draw the Bulldogs within a run.

Steven Hansen tied it three pitches later, hitting a massive home run to left-center to make it a 5-5 affair. After a bunt single and a sacrifice, William Kinney singled through the right side to score Ryan Kilgallen with the go-ahead run.

Hansen came through again with an RBI double in the seventh, and The Citadel tacked on three insurance runs in the eighth on a Connor Walsh RBI single, Windham sacrifice fly and Ellis RBI double.

VMI (21-30) had built its 5-2 lead on the strength of a four-run fifth inning. The Keydets trailed 2-1 entering the frame but strung together six straight hits to open the inning and knock starter Jacob Watcher from the game. Tyler Tharp tied it at 2 with an RBI single, and Jacob Jaye followed with an RBI double to give the Keydets the lead. Ray Lopez then greeted reliever Zach Lavery with a two-run single to make it 5-2.

Lavery allowed one more hit but escaped further damage with a pickoff, groundout and strikeout.

Walsh and Ellis each finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored, with Ellis driving in three runs and Walsh two. Hansen had two hits and two RBIs for the Bulldogs.

Brandon Angus had three hits to pace the Keydets.

Reliever Austin Mason (3-2) picked up the win with a scoreless sixth inning of relief, allowing a hit and two walks but striking out Lopez to leave the bases loaded.

Skylar Hunter notched his 13 save of the season, working the final two frames and allowing one hit and two walks, striking out four. Hunter extended his SoCon record to 41 career saves.

VMI starter Austin Heenan (1-7) was tagged with the loss after allowing six runs (four earned) on nine hits and a walk in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out eight.

The tournament resumes Saturday with No. 2 seed Samford taking on No. 3 seed Wofford at 9 a.m. Samford needs just one win to advance to Sunday’s title game, while the Terriers would need to beat the Bulldogs twice to advance.

Every game of the SoCon tournament will be streamed live and free on the SoCon Digital Network with the exception of Sunday’s championship tilt, which will air on ESPN3.

May 19 (Tuesday)
SoCon Championship presented by Mountain Shore Properties (all games on SDN)
(Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park; Charleston, S.C.)
Game 1: #8 The Citadel 8, #9 ETSU 2

May 20 (Wednesday)
SoCon Championship presented by Mountain Shore Properties (all games on SDN)
(Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park; Charleston, S.C.)
Game 2: #2 Samford 8, #7 Western Carolina 7 (10 inn.)
Game 3: #3 Wofford vs. #6 Furman, susp.

May 21 (Thursday)
SoCon Championship presented by Mountain Shore Properties (all games on SDN)
(Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park; Charleston, S.C.)
Game 4: #1 Mercer 3, #8 The Citadel 2
Game 5: #4 VMI 6, #5 UNCG 5
Game 3: #3 Wofford 16, #6 Furman 7
Game 6: #8 The Citadel 8, #5 UNCG 4
Game 7: #6 Furman 12, #7 Western Carolina 4

May 22 (Friday)
SoCon Championship presented by Mountain Shore Properties (all games on SDN)
(Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park; Charleston, S.C.)
Game 8: #2 Samford 4, #3 Wofford 3
Game 9: #1 Mercer 19, #4 VMI 7
Game 10: #3 Wofford 1, #6 Furman 0
Game 11: #8 The Citadel 10, #4 VMI 5

May 23 (Saturday)
SoCon Championship presented by Mountain Shore Properties (all games on SDN)
(Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park; Charleston, S.C.)
Game 12: #2 Samford vs. #3 Wofford    9 a.m.
Game 13: #1 Mercer vs. #8 The Citadel    12:30 p.m.
Game 14: Winner Game 12 vs. Loser Game 12^    5 p.m.
Game 15: Winner Game 13 vs. Loser Game 13^    8:30 p.m.
^ if necessary

May 24 (Sunday)
SoCon Championship presented by Mountain Shore Properties (ESPN3)
(Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park; Charleston, S.C.)
Championship game    2 p.m.