FURMAN RUNS BY GEORGIA SOUTHERN 7-6
Derek Norman scored on a Dennis Dove wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth inning to score the winning run, as Furman rallied past Georgia Southern to take the final game of the series 7-6 in baseball action Sunday afternoon at Furman Baseball Stadium.
Furman (9-15, 3-6 SoCon) started the scoring in the bottom of the first inning when Dominic Frankey drove in Clint Hill on a sacrifice fly, giving the Paladins a 1-0 lead. The Eagles responded in the second inning as Carlos Love led-off with a home run down the left field line to tie the game at 1-1. Chris Walker followed with a single to plate Brendan Gilligan, giving Georgia Southern a 2-1 lead.
In the bottom half of the second, Furman centerfielder Clint Hill singled in Craig Caudill to knot the score at 2-2.
Georgia Southern (18-8, 8-1 SoCon) answered in the fourth inning, plating four runs off three hits and three Paladin mistakes to take a commanding 6-2 lead.
However, Furman started to rally in the sixth inning, driving three runs to trim the Eaglešs lead to 6-5. Dominic Frankey began the scoring for the Paladins after Jared Comstock balked him in. Craig Caudill followed with a single to right field to plate Brandon Barrett and Nick Wajda.
The Paladins continued to rally in the eighth as Hill singled to right field. Derek Norman and Drew Latora both followed by reaching on errors by the shortstop Jemel Spearmen, allowing Hill to score the tying run. After relief pitcher Dennis Dove (1-2) struckout Frankey, he threw a wild pitch while facing Richie Dean, which brought home Derek Norman, giving Furman a 7-6 advantage.
Jeff Stovall (2-1), who relieved Paladin starter Danny Rueckel, pitched a perfect ninth inning to pick up the win.
On the day, both teams combined for a total of 13 errors, accounting for seven unearned runs.
The Eagles return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Atlanta to face Georgia State in a 6:00 p.m. game. The Paladins next face Dayton on Tuesday at Furman Baseball Stadium. The first pitch is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.