WESTERN CAROLINA SQUEAKS BY FURMAN 3-2
Greenville, S.C.--Wayne Kilmer hit a two-out triple in the bottom of the eighth
to plate the go ahead run as Western Carolina defeated Furman 3-2 in baseball
action Friday night at Furman Baseball Stadium.
With the win, the Catamounts improve to 19-8, 9-1 in the Southern Conference
and take over first place due to the College of Charleston’s 9-2 loss to
The Citadel. The Paladins fall to 11-12 on the year and 3-7 in the conference.
Starters Jon Stallsmith (0-3) and Ryan Basner both dominated from the mound
early in the game as the two teams only combined for one hit over the first
three innnings.
In the top of the fourth, Western Carolina plated the first run of the game
after Alan Beck’s sacrifice fly scored Todd Ropper, giving the Catamounts
a 1-0 lead.
The Paladins tried to plate their first run of the game in the bottom of the fifth when back-to-back singles by Dominic Frankey and Sam McClain put runners on first and second. Matthew Betsill then advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt. Cole Hubka followed with a sharp fly out to right field, prompting Frankey to try to score from third, but right-fielder Rod Golston gunned out Frankey at the plate to end the inning.
Western Carolina tacked on another run in the top of the sixth, when Beck’s two-out double scored Kilmer, pushing the Catamounts’ lead to 2-0.
Furman responded in the bottom of the inning as Craig Caudill streched a single into a double to lead off the inning. Frankey followed with a home run to left field to tie the game at 2-2. McClain kept the rally by following Frankey with a single, chasing Basner from the game. However, reliever Derrick Hawk (4-0) struckout Cole Hubka and Betsill to end the inning.
In the eighth inning, Stallsmith retired the first two batters before giving up a single to Roper. Kilmer then tripled to right field, allowing Roper to score and giving the Catamounts a 3-2 lead.
The Paladins tried to rally in the ninth as Derek Norman reached on an error to lead off the inning. Frankey then moved Norman over to second on a sacrifice bunt, but Ryan Foster struck out McClain and forced Bestill to ground-out to end the game, recording his fourth save of the year.
Stallsmith struck out a career-high eight batters over eight innings of work in the loss.
The Catamounts were led by Roper’s 3-for-4 performance. Frankey led the Paladins at the plate, going 2-for-2 with two RBI.
The two teams meet again tomorrow at Furman Baseball Stadium in a 6:00 p.m. game.