February 18, 2001
FURMAN DOWNS INDIANA 13-6
GREENVILLE -- Ryan Presnell went
1-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, and two runs scored to pace Furman to a
13-6 win over visiting Indiana in baseball action Sunday afternoon at Furman
Stadium.
With the win Furman improved to 7-2 for its best start since 1978. Indiana, meanwhile, dropped to 1-2 with the loss. "We played very solid defensively, got some key hits and an early lead, and got good pitching from Toby David," said Furman head coach Ron Smith. "That's a good combination."
The Paladins struck for three runs in the bottom of the first when Clint Hill walked, Derek Norman singled, and Brian Presnell belted a three-run home run to left field off Hoosier starter and loser Matt Rice (0-1).
Furman upped its lead to 5-0 in the second on a two-run single by Norman, and added two more runs in the third for a 7-0 advantage following freshman Dominic Frankey's first career home run, a two-run blast to left that chased Rice, who exited after giving up six earned runs, five hits, and three walks.
Indiana made it a 7-3 game in the top of fourth with an RBI groundout by Josh Romero, a run scoring single by Dan Haegele, and a bases loaded walk by Vasilli Spanos, but Furman starter Toby David (2-0) halted the Hoosier rally by getting Blake St. Clair on a groundout to end the inning.
Chris Valdes's RBI single in the fourth upped Furman's lead to 8-3, and the Paladins made it 9-3 in sixth on Clint Hill's sacrifice fly.
After Indiana cut it to 9-5 with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh, the Paladins put the game out of reach in the bottom of the inning, taking advantage of two walks, a hit batsman, two hits, and a Hoosier error to plate four runs for a 13-5 lead.
David gave up seven hits and three earned runs in five innings of work to gain the win.
In addition to Presnell, other contributors to Furman's 10-hit attack included Dominic Frankey (2-for-4, 2 RBI), Chris Valdes (3-for-5, 2 RBI), Derek Norman (2-for-5, 2 RBI), and Adam Etherington (2-for-3, 4 runs scored).
Furman returns to action on Tuesday when it takes on Georgia State in Atlanta in a 4:00 p.m. The contest with the Panthers is a makup of last Tuesday's game, which was postponed due to rain.