Appalachian State, Furman Advance in Winners' Bracket

#5 Appalachian State 3, #4 Georgia Southern 2 (11 innings)

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Michael Pierson’s towering home run off the foul pole in right field snapped a 2-all tie and lifted fifth-seeded Appalachian State to a 3-2, 11-inning win over No. 4 seed Georgia Southern in Wednesday’s first contest at the Southern Conference Baseball Championship at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.

Appalachian State (21-32) advances to face the winner of Wednesday afternoon's Western Carolina/Furman game in a winners’ bracket contest on Thursday at either 5 or 8 p.m. The Eagles (34-21) drop to the losers’ bracket and will take on the loser of the WCU/Furman game Thursday at 10 a.m.

Appalachian State forced extras with Dillon Dobson’s two-out RBI single in the top of the ninth, setting the stage for Pierson’s heroics two innings later. Pierson gave the Apps their first and only lead of the day when he crushed Ryan Frederick’s 1-1 offering off the pole to lead off the decisive 11th frame.

The Eagles put two on via a pair of walks – one intentional – in the bottom half, but Robert Whaley induced a popup to shortstop to end the contest.

Pierson’s big hit wouldn’t have been possible without a ninth-inning rally. With the Mountaineers down to their last three outs and trailing 2-1, Preston Troutman reached and went to second on a throwing error to lead off the inning. A ground out moved him to third, and after another ground out, Dobson poked a ball into left field to score Troutman and draw the Mountaineers level at 2.

The Apps’ rally spoiled a solid effort by SoCon Pitcher of the Year Josh Wirsu, who was in line for the win for the Eagles after allowing just one run on four hits and a walk in 6 2/3 innings of work.

Wirsu’s counterpart, Tyler Moore, also turned in a gem, allowing two runs on five hits in eight innings. Moore carried a no-hitter into the fourth before allowing Stryker Brown’s solo home run to right.

Georgia Southern tacked on another run in the sixth, getting a one-out double from Kody Adams and an RBI single from Ben Morgan to go up 2-0.

Appalachian State halved its deficit in the top of the seventh. Pierson singled to lead off the inning and, after a pair of outfield outs, took second on a wild pitch. Jason Richman then relieved Wirsu, allowing Jaylin Davis’ RBI single up the middle before getting a popup to end the frame.

After App sent the game to extras, GSU had a chance to win it in the bottom of the 10th but could not take advantage of getting its first two runners on base. Garrett Chapman singled to lead off the frame, and Hunter Thomas was hit by pitch as the Eagles seemed to have a rally going. After GSU fouled out on a sacrifice bunt attempt, Whaley took the mound for the Mountaineers and got Dalton Busby to fly into a double play to center, with Chapman unable to retreat to second in time on the play.

Davis was 3-for-5 with an RBI to lead the Mountaineers at the plate, while Pierson had two hits and scored twice.

Kody Adams had the lone multi-hit game for the Eagles, going 2-for-5 with a run scored.

Whaley (3-1) worked 1 2/3 scoreless innings to pick up the win, walking two and not allowing a hit. Frederick (4-1) suffered his first loss of the season, allowing a run on one hit in 1 2/3 innings.

 

#8 Furman 3, #1 Western Carolina 2

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Matt Solter pitched eighth-seeded Furman, which won a single-elimination play-in game on Tuesday, past No. 1 seed Western Carolina 3-2 in the first round of the Southern Conference Baseball Championship at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park on Wednesday. The Paladins led 3-0 after seven innings and withstood a late Catamount rally to advance in the winners’ bracket.

The Paladins (25-31) advance to face No. 5 seed Appalachian State (21-32) on Thursday at either 5 or 8 p.m. Western Carolina (37-17) will take on No. 4 seed Georgia Southern (34-21) in an elimination contest Thursday at 10 a.m.

Furman took advantage of some sloppy WCU defense in the first inning to score its first run of game. After Hunter Burton reached on pitcher Jordan Smith’s fielding error, he advanced to second on another Smith error on a failed pickoff attempt. After a strikeout, Greg Harrison doubled down the right-field line to knock in Burton. A pair of walks loaded the bases, but Western Carolina escaped without further damage when Harrison unsuccessfully tried to score from third on a fly out to right.

The Paladins stretched their lead to 3-0 in the seventh, getting RBI singles from Jake Jones and Harrison with one out.

Solter, meanwhile, was cruising, keeping the Catamounts at bay until the eighth inning. He surrendered just five hits through the first seven innings, retiring the side in order in the third and fifth. He escaped a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning, getting a Luke Gragg popup to short to keep WCU off the scoreboard.

Western Carolina finally got to Solter in the eighth, as Cody Jones and Adam Martin led off with consecutive singles to knock him from the game. Jacob Hoyle followed with a sacrifice fly to left field to score Jones with the Catamounts’ first run of the game.

The Catamounts made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth, getting a two-out RBI single from Bradley Strong to make it a one-run game. Brant Masters recovered to get a Jones ground out to end the contest, securing his fourth save of the season.

The Paladins had several chances to put the game out of reach early but had two runners gunned down at the plate, both by WCU right fielder Matt Smith. Furman also made the first out of the seventh inning at third when a fielder’s choice bunt erased Andrew MacLatchie, who had led off the frame with a double.

Dating back to the regular season, Furman has allowed just three runs to WCU in the last 20 innings, spanning three games. The Paladins took two of three from the Catamounts from April 11-13, handing Western Carolina its first home conference series loss since 2012.

Jones, Harrison and MacLatchie had two hits each to pace the Paladins, while Strong was 3-for-5 to lead Western Carolina.

Solter (3-5) struck out five and allowed a run on seven hits in seven-plus innings, while Master picked up the save with one inning of work, allowing a run on one hit.

Smith (8-5) took the loss, allowing three runs (two earned) on nine hits in 6 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out two.

-www.SoConSports.com-