Western Carolina Outlasts Elon in Epic, 20-Inning Affair

Game 3: #8 Western Carolina 10, #1 Elon 7 (20 inn.)
Box Score
SoCon Tournament Central

CHARLESTON, S.C. - A two-run homerun from Ross Heffley in the top of the 20th inning led the No. 8 seed Western Carolina Catamounts to an upset of the top-seeded Elon Phoenix 10-7 in the 2011 Bennett Hospitality Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Carolina Ford Dealers. The 20-inning game was the longest baseball game played in SoCon history.

The Catamounts started the 20th inning with a walk to Macon Smith followed by the two-run shot by Heffley. Western Carolina would add an insurance run later in the inning when Aaron Attaway had a bases-loaded single, plating Adam Martin before Tyler White was thrown out at home trying to extend the lead.

Taking a 10-7 lead in to the bottom half of the inning, pitcher Taylor Sandefur retired the side in order to secure the win for Western Carolina.

Heffley's home run was his 10th at-bat of the game, which set a new SoCon record along with Attaway. The Catamount second baseman knocked in three runs and scored twice in the win.

Western Carolina used five pitchers, two of whom threw over 100 pitches in the game. Starting pitcher Matt Benedict pitched 8.0 innings and threw 131 pitches. Benedict struck out three and allowed five runs, three earned, on six hits and five walks. Brandon Johnson threw 113 pitches for the Catamounts, fanning 10 batters and allowing only two runs on three hits in 5.2 innings of work. Sandefur picked up the win to improve to 2-3 on the season.

Elon rotated eight pitchers throughout the game, five of which went for at least three innings. David Whitehead picked up the loss for the Phoenix to fall to 6-2. Whitehead led all Elon pitchers with 5.0 innings on the mound and seven strikeouts.

Western Carolina (23-29-1) moves on to play the winner of the College of Charleston and Georgia Southern game tomorrow at 9 p.m. Elon (36-20) falls to the consolation bracket and will face the loser of the Cougars and Eagles tomorrow at 1 p.m. Live stats and video for both games will be available on SoConSports.com.

In the 19th inning, Attaway connected on a swinging bunt down the third base line to score the go-ahead run with Martin and give Western Carolina the 7-6 lead momentarily.

However, Elon would extend the game in the bottom of the inning when Grant McCoury grounded out to second base but knocked in the tying run as Cyle Rasmus crossed home.

Western Carolina first baseman Tyler White knocked his fifth hit of the game in the top of the 14th with a single that gave the Catamounts its first lead of the game, 6-5. White, who went 6-for-7 with two runs and one RBI, set a tournament record with six hits in a game.

With Elon down to its final two outs, Niko Fraser tied the game for the fifth time with a single to left field that brought home Matt Kirchner, who reached based on a hit by a pitch.

Elon scored single runs in the first three innings and Western Carolina responded with single runs in the second, third and fourth innings, as the game remained tied 3-3 until the sixth inning when the Phoenix score two runs to take the lead.

Western responded in the eighth inning with two more runs, one of which was unearned, to even the game 5-5 and send the game to extras.

 

GAME QUOTES

Elon Head Coach Mike Kennedy:

"That's a tough game even if you win it. We pitched our tails off for eighteen innings, but offensively we didn't do anything. We had three strikeouts in nine innings, then proceeded to strikeout seventeen times and we just didn't compete. We got defensive, we got apprehensive when we had several chances to win the game. It's very disappointing"

"We were just trying to win the game, pitch by pitch, each at bat at bat, not thinking about how late it is, just trying to win it. My thought process is we need to win this one, win tomorrow's and then we can get a day off, that's the only way to recover from something like this. It's going to be tough for us, but who knows, stranger things have happened."

Western Carolina Head Coach Bobby Moranda:

"That's the longest game I've ever been a part of as a coach or player. I've seen a lot of extra inning games but that way crazy. You just have to be happy we won the game, our guys battled, showed a lot of toughness and a lot of heart, and I am just really proud of our program and our guys, especially our seniors.

Western Carolina Second Baseman Ross Heffley:

"We did a great job, I can't say enough about our pitchers. They pitched their tails off and kept giving us chances."

"I was just trying to see the ball, I felt like I was letting the team down early and was finally able to barrel a ball late in the game."