FURMAN SWEEPS TWINBILL AGAINST NIAGARA
Greenville, S.C.-- The Furman baseball team swept Niagara in a doubleheader 8-6, 9-7 Sunday afternoon at Furman Baseball Stadium.
With the sweep, the Paladins improve to 5-1 on the year, while the Purple Eagles fall to 0-3.
Clint Hill started the scoring for the Paladins in the first game as he led-off with a home run to left field to give Furman a 1-0 lead. The Paladins tacked on another run in the third inning after Nick Wajda singled off Purple Eagle starter Matt Fuller (0-1), scoring A.J. Davidiuk to extend Furmanšs lead to 2-0.
Niagara tied the game at 2-2 in the fourth inning after scoring two runs off two singles. Greg Leham knocked in the Purple Eagles' first run after he singled off Paladin starter Patrick Griffin (2-0), scoring Josh McCurdy. Mark Bomar followed with a base hit, plating Lehman.
Furman responded in the bottom half of the inning, plating four runs off two hits and an error to take a 6-2 lead. Matthew Betsill began the scoring for the Paladins as he drove in two runs with a single to first base. Richie Dean then reached on an error by the third baseman, allowing Cole Hubka and Betsill to score.
The Paladins later added two more runs in the sixth inning to extend their lead to 8-2.
In the seventh inning, Niagara tried to rally off Furman reliever Coogie Freedman. Josh McCury scored on a balk to cut the Paladins' lead to 8-3. Jeffrey Vincent followed with a two-run single, scoring Lehman and Mike Alati, slicing Furmanšs lead to 8-5. Alati later scored on a Bomar sacrfice fly to make the score 8-6, but Freedman then forced Daniel Parsons to fly out to end the game.
In game two, the Paladins jumped on starter Mike Radanovic (0-1) in the first inning, scoring two runs off four hits. Dominic Frankey singled to score Derek Norman, giving Furman a 1-0 lead. Drew Latora later singled to left field, plating Frankey to extend the Paladins' lead to 2-0.
Niagara scored their first run in the third inning after Andrew Macnevin singled in Michael Medici, but Furman responded in the bottom half of the inning, scoring one run off a Cole Hubka sacrifice fly to make the score 3-1.
The Purple Eagles took their first lead of the series in the sixth inning, when Tim Fitzgerald drove in Medici to give Niagara a 4-3 advantage.
Furman, however, exploded for six runs in the bottom half of the inning. Hubka began the inning with a double down the left field line. Matthew Betsill and Craig Caudill followed with bunt singles to third to load the bases. A.J. Davidiuk then brought in Hubka and Betsill with a double to left field, giving the Paladins a 5-4 lead. Radnanovic then walked Clint Hill, and Nick Wajda followed with a three-run triple off reliever Kyle Nicolleta, extending the Paladins' lead to 8-4. Later Norman drove in Wajda, making the score 9-4.
Niagara tried to rally, scoring three runs off four hits and two errors, but closer David Mitchell induced a game inning double play to secure his first career save.
Ryan Hodinka (1-0) pitched two-thirds of an inning of relief to pick-up the win.
The Purple Eagles return to South Carolina next weekend to take on College of Charleston. The four-game series begins on Friday at 5:00 p.m. Furman returns to action on Tuesday when they travel to N.C. State. Game time is set for 3:00 p.m.