COUGARS DROP PALADINS 7-5 IN EXTRA INNINGS
Greenville, S.C.-- Rob Purvis gave up three hits and two runs in the bottom of the twelfth inning as College of Charleston rallied to beat Furman,7-5, in baseball action Friday evening at Furman Baseball Stadium.
Charleston (14-5, 1-0 SoCon) jumped on Paladin starter Tom Mastny in the first inning, scoring three runs on four hits and one error. The Cougars began the inning with singles by Jack Arroyo and Jasha Balcom. Lee Curtis followed with a ground ball to the mound, but Mastny overthrew first base to allow Balcom and Arroyo to score. Matt Launderdale drove in the final run of the frame when his single plated Curtis to give Charleston a 3-0 lead.
The Cougars later added a run in the second after Stanley Nix singled to drive in Balcom to extend the lead to 4-0.
Furman (8-10, 2-2 SoCon) responded in the third inning as Derek Norman hit a home run to left center off Charleston starter Ryan Johnson, scoring Clint Hill and Craig Caudill to cut the Cougaršs led to 4-3.
The Paladins contined to rally in the fifth inning when Ryan Presnell blasted a two-run home run down the left field line, giving Furman a 5-4 advantage.
In the top of the ninth, after recording the first two outs, Matt Lauderdale doubled to centerfield and later scored after Mickey Torello reached on an error by third baseman Brandon Barrett to force the game into extra innings.
After two scoreless innings, the Cougars loaded the bases in twelfth after Rob Purvis allowed two singles and a walk. Jasha Balcom followed with a base hit to center field to score Brett Spivey to put Charleston on top 6-5. Rob Purvis (0-2) then issued a walk to Lee Curtis, which scored Brett Anderson to give the Cougars a 7-5 advantage.
Jeremy Schmidt gave up one hit in the bottom of the twelfth before he shut down the Paladins to pick up his fourth save of the year.
Matthew Thompson (2-0) pitched 3 2/3 innings of effective relief, allowing two hits and no runs to earn the win.
The two teams take the field on Saturday in game two of the three-game series. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.