FURMAN EDGES DAVIDSON 12-11 IN ELEVEN INNINGS
Greenville, S.C.--After giving up seven runs in the ninth inning and allowing Davidson to take a 10-7 lead, Furman rallied to win the game in the eleventh inning when Cole Hubka singled in Nick Wajda to give the Paladins a 12-11 victory in baseball action Sunday afternoon at Furman Baseball Stadium.
The Wildcats jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the top of the second inning after starter Danny Rueckel surrendered four hits and Paladin centerfield Clint Hill committed an error.
Davidson starter Mark Wells scattered three hits over the first five innings to keep the Paladins scoreless, but ran into trouble in the sixth inning when Furman pounded out five hits en route to a four run inning. Ryan Presnell, Brett Henninger, and Jon Stallsmith each had RBI singles and Drew Latora had a sacrifice fly to give the Paladins a 4-3 advantage.
In the seventh inning, Craig Caudill tripled down the right field line to score Clint Hill. Caudill later scored on a wild pitch by Wildcat reliever Andy Carter to push Furman's lead to 6-3.
The Paladins added a run in the eighth inning when Cole Hubka singled up the middle to plate Ryan Presnell, allowing Furman to take a 7-3 lead.
Closer Rob Purvis relieved Rueckel in the ninth and preceded to retire two of the first three batters. Eli Benefield then reached on a throwing error by third baseman Jon Stallsmith to give the Wildcats runners on the corners. Stephen Alrich followed with a single through the left side to plate Chris Emond, trimming the Paladin lead to 7-4. With the bases loaded, D.J. Dailey turned a fly ball into a triple when rightfielder Craig Caudill slipped while trying to field the ball, which knotted the game at 7-7. Tim Frend later reached on an error by the first baseman Dominic Frankey, allowing Dailey to score and chasing Purvis from the game. Chris Marino then blasted a two-run home run off reliever Patrick Griffin to give the Wildcats a 10-7 advantage. Brian Corcoran came on in relief of Griffin to get the Paladins out of the inning.
Reliever Matt Wood tried to seal the victory for Davidson in the ninth, but Furman knocked Wood out after a third of an inning, scoring three runs off three hits and one Wildcat error. Clint Hill led-off the inning with a walk and advanced to third on a triple by Caudill. Derek Norman then reached on an error by Eli Benefield, which allowed Hill to score. Drew Latora followed with a singlethrough the right side to drive in Caudill and slice the lead to 10-9. Pinch hitter Richie Dean capped the comeback when he beat out a ground ball with two outs, plating Norman to tie the game at 10-10.
In the eleventh inning, reliever Corey Etheridge (3-6) allowed Davidson to take the lead when Sam Navarro singled in Tim Frend.
The Wildcat bullpen tried again to seal the victory in the bottom of the eleventh, but a hit bats man and a walk along with an error by the third baseman tied the game at 11-11. Second baseman Cole Hubka followed with a single off Justin Hartanov to drive in Nick Wajda, giving the Paladins a 12-11 win.
Stephen Choate (1-1) suffered the loss for Davidson, pitching two innings as a reliever.
Furman was lead offensively by Senior Ryan Presnell, who went 4-for-5 with one RBI and three runs scored.
Davidson faces Duke on Wednesday in a 7:00 p.m. game. Furman hosts UNC Asheville on Wednesday at Furman Baseball Stadium. The first pitch is slated for 7:00 p.m.