FURMAN NIPS UNC GREENSBORO 9-8
GREENVILLE -- Ryan Presnell's one-out RBI single in the eighth inning lifted Furman to a 9-8 win over UNC Greensboro in Southern Conference baseball action Sunday afternoon at Furman Stadium.
With the victory, Furman (21-18, 11-9 SoCo) snapped a three-game losing skid and avoided a series sweep by UNC Greensboro (20-17, 11-6 SoCon), which won Friday's and Saturday's games.
With the scored tied 8-8, Presnell, who went 3-for-3 with three RBI in the contest, delivered his game winning single to right field off Spartans reliever Ted Toler after Derek Norman reached on a fielding error and advanced to second on a sacrifice by Chris Valdes. Richard Hopp (0-1), who opened the inning on the mound for UNCG before giving way to Toler, was charged with the loss.
Furman's Rob Purvis (2-0) earned the victory after pitching the ninth and striking out Jesse Lavender to end the game with runners on first and third.
Trailing 8-5 after six innings, UNC Greensboro rallied to tie the game with an RBI double from Jesse Martin in the seventh and two runs in the eighth on a bad hop single down the first base line by Doug Schutt and a solid single to left by Chad Hayes off Paladin reliever Rusty Putnam.
Furman, which fell behind 3-0 in the first after an hour and a half rain delay, struck for five runs in the bottom of the inning, taking advantage of five hits, an error, and a wild pitch to grab a 5-3 lead while chasing Spartans starter Scooter Michael after only two outs.
Paladins starter Toby David surrendered eight hits and a walk while striking out five in six innings of work, but the Paladin senior lefthander was hurt by poor defense as only two of his five runs were earned. Furman committed five errors in the game.
Despite making two errors in the field, Paladin shortstop Danny Rueckel contributed at the plate, going 3-for-3 with three RBI. Derek Norman, meanwhile, went 2-for-4 and scored three runs.
Chad Hayes paced UNC Greensboro's 14-hit attack, going 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored, and Jesse Martin went 2-for-4 with three RBI.
Furman returns to action on Tuesday when it takes on Elon in Elon College, N.C. in a 3:00 p.m. game. UNC Greensboro, meanwhile, will host Wake Forest on Tuesday beginning at 6:00 p.m.