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No. 5 Appalachian State, No. 3 Elon Advance
No. 5 Appalachian State 15, No. 1 Western Carolina 4
GREENVILLE, S.C. – No. 5 seed Appalachian State pounded out 14 hits and scored multiple runs in five innings to oust top-seeded Western Carolina 15-4 on Friday at the Southern Conference Baseball Championship at Fluor Field.
Appalachian State (30-23) will face No. 4 seed The Citadel on Saturday at 10 a.m. and needs to beat the Bulldogs twice to advance to Sunday’s championship game. Western Carolina (39-20) saw its tournament run come to an end.
After the Catamounts took a 2-0 lead on Cody Jones’ two-run single in the second, the Mountaineers ripped off 13 runs over the next four innings to grab control.
Appalachian State tied it with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second, then scored four in the third to go ahead. William Head had a two-run single in the third frame.
The Mountaineer onslaught continued in the fourth, as Appalachian State batted around to score five more runs. WCU used three pitchers in the frame, including senior All-American closer Preston Hatcher. Michael Pierson got the scoring started with an RBI single to right, and Jaylin Davis greeted Hatcher with an RBI fielder’s choice to make it 8-1. Dillon Dobson and Head followed with consecutive RBI singles before Preston Troutman laid down a sacrifice bunt to score the fifth run of the inning.
Appalachian State added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth on Davis’ sacrifice fly and Dobson’s sac fly, making it 13-4. The Mountaineers tacked on two more runs in the eighth for the final margin.
Western scored single runs in the fourth on sixth, each time on Aaron Attaway RBI singles.
Dobson, a freshman, went 4-for-4 with four runs scored to lead the Mountaineers at the plate. Head was 3-for-4 with three RBIs, while Troutman and Davis had three RBIs each. Senior Will Callaway went 0-for-4 to see his 27-game hitting streak – tied for the school record – come to an end in his hometown.
Attaway was 3-for-5 with two RBIs to pace Western Carolina, and Tyler White and Jones had two hits each.
Appalachian State reliever Tyler Moore (4-3) picked up the win with seven innings out of the bullpen. He surrendered two runs (one earned) on seven hits in relief of starter Chad Farmer, who allowed a pair of runs in two-plus innings.
WCU starter Morgan McKinney was charged with nine runs (seven earned) on six hits and four walks in three-plus innings.
No. 3 Elon 8, No. 6 Furman 1
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Andrew McDonald turned in his first career complete game and No. 3 seed Elon scored five times in the seventh inning to open up a close game as the Phoenix knocked No. 6 seed Furman out of the Southern Conference Baseball Championship at Fluor Field on Friday, 8-1.
Elon (29-28) advances to face No. 7 seed Georgia Southern on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. The Phoenix would have to beat GSU twice Saturday to reach Sunday’s championship game. Furman sees its season end at 32-25 overall.
McDonald (4-1), whose previous career-long outing was 5 2/3 innings, scattered seven hits and two walks with seven strikeouts over nine innings, allowing just the one run.
After Hunter Burton’s leadoff single in the third inning, McDonald didn’t allow another hit until Taylor Johnson led off the ninth with a single up the middle. The Paladins scored their lone run in the top of the first, with Burton leading off with a double down the left-field line and later coming in on a double-play groundout.
Elon took a lead it would not relinquish in the bottom of the second inning, getting a bases-loaded walk from Chris King and a sacrifice fly from Chris Bresnahan to take a 2-1 lead.
The Phoenix added an insurance run in the sixth, with Sebastian Gomez, who led off with a double, scoring on a passed ball.
Elon blew the game open in the seventh, rapping out four hits to plate five runs. After consecutive walks to open the inning, a sacrifice bunt advanced both runners. Furman elected to intentionally walk SoCon Player of the Year Ryan Kinsella to load the bases, but Gomez made the Paladins pay with a single to center to drive in Bresnahan. Gomez’s hit was the first of four straight run-scoring singles for the Phoenix, with Antonio Alvarez’s drive up the middle plating a pair.
Furman started to get to McDonald in the ninth, with Johnson singling up the middle to lead off and moving to third on Alex Abrams’ single to left. McDonald recovered, however, inducing a pair of groundouts to end the game.
Gomez finished 3-for-4 at the plate to pace the Phoenix, while Burton had Furman’s lone multi-hit game with a 2-for-4 performance.
Furman starter Tyler Wood (2-2) took the loss, surrendering two runs on just one hit but three walks in two innings. The Paladins used five pitchers in the contest, including four in the seventh.
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 12, #1 Western Carolina 11
Game 8: #7 Georgia Southern 3, #6 Furman 2
(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: #5 Appalachian State 15, #1 Western Carolina 4
Game 10: #3 Elon 8, #6 Furman 1
Saturday, May 25
(Fluor Field, Greenville, S.C.)
Game 11: #4 The Citadel vs. #5 Appalachian State, 10 a.m.
Game 12: #7 Georgia Southern vs. Elon, 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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