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Western Carolina claims two of three league games from Citadel
Westran Carolina had no trouble putting runs on the board in its three-game Southern Conference series with Citadel on Friday and Saturtday at Childress Field/Hennon Stadium.
The Catamounts (14-8, 5-4) rolled to an easy win Friday befoire splitting a Saturday doubleheader in a pair of high-scoring games.
Western took advantage of four walks and three hit batsmen to score nine second-inning runs en route to a 15-1 victory Friday.
While the Cats were scoring early and often, pitcher Caleb McConnell (4-2) was effective in keeping the Bulldogs in check. He allowed eight hits, one run and two walks with seven strikeouts in six innings.
Chris Davis had a two-run single in the second inning. Jared Greenwood and Steve Strausbaugh each walked with the bases loaded, and Jonathan Greene was hit by a pitch to force in a run. Another run scored on a wild pitch before Barrett Shaft completed the uprising with a three-run double.
The Bulldogs got on the board in the third on Zach Brown’s RBI single.
Strausbaugh’s two-run double and Nate Hall’s sacrifice fly made it 12-1 in the bottom of the third.
Strausbaugh singled to drive in a run in the fifth, and a two-run double by Grey Gregory accounted for the final margin in the eighth.
Strausbaugh was three of four at the plate, and Shaft went two of four.
Josh Stackley led the Bulldog offense with three hits, and Matt Matulia added two hits.
Citadel starter Ryan Owens was knocked out in the second inning and suffered the loss.
Both teams relied on late-inning heroics as they split Saturday’s doubleheader. The Bulldogs scored three runs in the ninth for an 8-7 win in the opener, while Western’s three runs in the seventh helped secure a 10-9 win in the nightcap.
Brown had an RBI single in the Bulldog first, and another run crossed the plate during a run down.
The Cats took a 4-2 lead in the second. Trey McDaniel had a leadoff home run, and Grey Gregory, Davis and Tim Hallam had consecutive RBI singles.
Josh Stackley’s RBI double cut the gap to 4-3 in the third.
An RBI single by McDaniel and a bases loaded walk to Gregory made it 6-3 in the fifth.
Chris Swauger’s run-scoring single in the sixth and Matulia’s RBI ground out in the eighth brought Citadel within 6-5.
The Bulldogs took an 8-6 lead with three runs in the ninth. Matt Covington’s RBI double tied the score, and Chris Ard’s run-scoring single put his team on top. Stackley added a sacrifice fly for what proved to be the game-winning run as Greenwood homered in the bottom of the ninth.
Reliever Link Saunders gave up one run in 4.2 inning for the win.
Western reliever Brian McCullen (3-2) took the loss.
Former Smoky Mountain standout Derrick Hawk started for the Cats. He yielded seven hits, four runs and two walks while striking out four in six innings.
Ard had three hits in four at-bats. Covington, Stackley and Brown all had two hits.
Greenwood paced WCU’s offense by going three of five, and McDaniel had two hits.
Brady Machak’s three-run homer put the Bulldogs up 3-0 in the second inning of game two.
Western answered with two runs in the bottom of the frame as Gregory delivered a sacrifice fly and Shaft walked with the bases loaded.
Brown’s RBI double made it 4-2 in the third.
After a 43-minute rain delay in the fifth, Brown had an RBI single and Aughey drove in a run with a ground out for a 6-2 advantage.
Greenwood had an RBI double, and another run scored on an error as WCU cut the gap to 6-4 in the bottom of the fifth.
Shaft’s two-run double and Greenwood’s RBI single gave Western a 7-6 edge in the sixth.
Aughey’s RBI single produced a 7-7 tie in the seventh.
WCU went ahead for good at 10-7 with three runs in the bottom of the seventh. Hallam doubled o drive in two, and Greenwood had an RBI single.
Citadel kept the pressure on as Stackley had an RBI single in the eighth and Matulia tripled in the ninth and scored on Swauger’s ground out.
Reliever Jeremy Ellenburg (2-0) pitched 4.2 innings for the win. Luke Miller got the final out for his first save.
Reliever Shannon Sprouse took the loss.
Greenwood went four of five at the plate, and Jason Haynes was three of four. Hallam had two hits.
Stackley led Citadel’s offense with three hits. Ard, Brown and Matulia all had two hits.
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