Western Carolina Walks-Off With 7-6 Victory

CHARLESTON, S.C. ? Tyler White hit a walk off single in the bottom of the ninth over the drawn-in infield scoring Ross Heffley and giving No. 6 seeded Western Carolina a 7-6 triumph over No. 7 seed Appalachian State in game 13 of the 2010 Bennett Hofford Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Carolina Ford Dealers.

With the win, Western Carolina (37-20-1) will face top-seeded The Citadel in the championship game. First pitch is scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m.   

The Catamounts held a 6-5 advantage heading into the top of the ninth. A single through the right side by first baseman David Towarnicky plated third baseman Hector Crespo to tie the game at six. WCU pitcher Brandon Johnson then struck out catcher Jeremy Dowdy and got outfielder Tyler Zupcic to pop up to second base, ending the inning.

Heffley led off the ninth with a single to left field and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by third baseman Tyler Kirkpatrick. The next batter, designated hitter Trevor Collias, was intentionally walked. Outfielder Cameron Dullnig was then hit by a pitch to load the bases and bring up White with one out.

Johnson (9-1) earned the win for WCU in relief. He allowed one earned run on three hits in three innings of work and struck out four.

Chris Patterson (4-4) suffered the loss for ASU. He gave up two hits and one earned run while striking out one.

Catcher Ollie Goulder led the Catamounts, going 2-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs. White and outfielder Matt Jones also both went 2-for-4, with White registering the game-winning RBI. Heffley finished 2-for-5. 

Second baseman Wes Hobson was a perfect 3-for-3 for the Mountaineers with one run scored. Crespo tallied three hits in five appearances and scored three times. First baseman David Towarnicky hit 2-for-4 and drove in four runs.

Hobson finished the tournament 12-for-20 (.600) with six walks and four runs scored. His 12 hits were two shy of the tournament record.

In the top of the first, designated hitter Jerod Faggart flied out to right field, plating Crespo.

WCU tied it at one all in the bottom of the second. Goulder hit a double down the left field line to score White.

The Mountaineers made it 4-1 in the top of the third. Towarnicky homered to right field, plating Faggart and Hobson.

The Catamounts responded in the bottom of the third with two runs. Kirkpatrick doubled to left center, scoring Matt Johns and Austin Schultz. WCU tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 5-4 lead as Goulder blasted a two-run homer to right field.

ASU tied it at five in the top of the fifth. Faggart grounded into a double play, but Crespo made it across the plate.

Heffley singled to right field, plating Schultz to give WCU a 6-5 lead in the bottom of the sixth, setting up the ninth-inning drama.

The Catamounts left eight runners on base, while the Mountaineers stranded nine.