College of Charleston Edges Appalachian State in 11 Innings

CHARLESTON, S.C. ? Rob Kral’s single in the bottom of the 11^th inning scored Baker Knox and gave No. 2 seed College of Charleston a 12-11 victory over No. 7 seed Appalachian State in game one of the 2010 Bennett Hofford Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Carolina Ford Dealers.

The Cougars advanced in the winner’s bracket and will take on the winner of Georgia Southern and Western Carolina Thursday. The Mountaineers will face the loser of that game Thursday at 9 a.m.

Outfielder Jose Rodriguez went 4-for-5 with a run and a walk. Shortstop Jamie Holler tallied four hits, while second baseman Joey Bergman and outfielder Cole Rakar each added two.

Holler, Bergman and Rakar also had three RBIs apiece. Knox scored three times and first baseman Greg Blake accounted for two runs.

Third baseman Hector Crespo went 4-for-7 to lead the Mountaineers. Second baseman Wes Hobson notched three hits. Catcher Jeremy Dowdy along with outfielders Tyler Zupcic and Chris Alessandria each had two.  Alessandria plated four runs, while Crespo brought in three. Zupcic scored three runs.  

Owen Brittle (1-1) earned the win. He pitched 3.2 innings, allowing one earned run on three hits, while striking out four. Chris Patterson (3-3) suffered the loss, going 3.1 innings. He surrendered four runs, three of which were earned and tallied four strikeouts.

The Mountaineers got on the board early as Crespo hit a solo home run to left center in the first at bat of the game. Second baseman Joey Bergman evened the score for the Cougars sending a shot beyond the wall in left center.

CofC would score runs in the second, third and fifth, taking a 7-1 lead before ASU mounted a comeback. The Mountaineers put runs on the board in the sixth, seventh and eighth to pull ahead 10-8.

Charleston tied it in the bottom of the seventh as shortstop Jamie Holler singled, scoring first baseman Greg Blake.

ASU responded in the top of the eighth with two runs. First baseman David Towarnicky singled to right field and advanced to second on the throw while plating second baseman Wes Hobson. Catcher Jeremy Dowdy then singled to bring in Towarnicky and give the Mountaineers a two-run advantage.

The Cougars rallied in the bottom of the ninth as pinch hitter Justin Brewer homered to right center. With two outs on the board, Rakar singled through the left side scoring Knox and knotting the score at 10. Rakar was tagged out at second, ending the inning and sending the game to extras.

Both teams went scoreless in the 10^th, but ASU took an 11-10 lead in the top of the 11^th. A double down the left field line by Crespo brought in Jason Wallace.

CofC made another run in the bottom of the 11^th. Bergman singled through the right side bringing in Thomas Brittle, tying the game and setting the stage for Kral.

The Cougars left 11 runners on base, while the Mountaineers stranded 13.