THE CITADEL RALLIES PAST FURMAN 6-4
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Andy Phillips
went 3-for-4 and singled home the go-ahead run in the ninth to lift The Citadel
to a 6-4 win over Furman in Southern Conference baseball action Friday night
at Furman Baseball Stadium.
Phillips, a junior from Mauldin, doubled twice to pace the Bulldogs’ 12-hit
attack, but it was his sharp two-out single to left field off Paladin releiver
Patrick Griffin that allowed Matt Matulia to score from second to give The Citadel
a 5-4 lead. Brook Dantzler followed with an RBI double down the left field line
to score Andy Phillips and make it 6-4.
Shannon Sprouse retired Furman in order in the ninth to record his fifth save
of the year and make a winner of Matt Hamer (4-0), who pitched 1-2/3 innings
of relief.
Calvin Hurst (0-1) took the loss for Furman (21-17, 11-11 SoCon), which saw
senior righthander Tom Mastny’s streak of six consecutive winning decisions
halted. Mastny, the Southern Conference’s leading hurler who entered the
game with an 8-2 record and 1.10 ERA, pitched eight innings and gave up nine
hits and four runs while striking out nine.
In addition to Phillips, the Bulldogs got three hits each from Chip Cannon and
Matulia. Derek Norman paced the Paladins, going 3-for-4 with two RBI.
The Citadel (24-17, 13-6 SoCon) touched Mastny for a run in the first. With
one out, Phillips doubled to left center and advanced to third on a ground out.
Cannon then blooped a single into short left field to plate Phillips.
The Bulldogs made it 2-0 in the third on an groundout by Dantzler that plated
Matulia, who opened the frame with a single before advancing to third on a one-out
double by Phillips.
Furman answered with a run in the bottom of the inning off Bulldog starter John
Ellis. With two out Clint Hill singled to center and stole second. After Craig
Caudill walked, Norman lined a single to left field to plate Hill to make it
2-1. A walk to Dominic Frankey loaded the bases, but Ellis ended the Paladin
threat by getting Sam McLain on a groundout to first base.
The Paladins tied the game at 2-2 in the fifth. Reaching on a fielder’s
choice with one out, Hill stole second and moved to third on a groundout before
coming home an Norman’s single to center. Frankey then followed with a
double to put runners and second and third. Bulldog reliever Andy Phillips quelled
the uprising by getting Drew Latora on a groundout to short.
The Citadel took a 4-2 lead in the sixth when Jason Randall’s two-out single
up the middle drove in Cannon and Ard, but Furman tied it up at 4-4 with two
runs in the seventh on back-to-back one-out bases loaded singles by Cole Hubka
and Matthew Betsill off Bulldog reliever Matt Hamer. Hamer choked off the Paladin
rally by inducing an inning ending double play off the bat of Andrew Greene.
Furman and The Citadel play the second game of the three-game series on Saturday
beginning at 6:00 p.m.