HARTANOV'S WALK-OFF HOMER IN THE TWELFTH GIVES DAVIDSON A 6-5 WIN
DAVIDSON, N.C. - Sophomore Justin Hartanov nailed a two-out pitch off the light pole in right-center field for a walk-off home run in the 12th inning to give host Davidson a 6-5 victory over Furman Sunday afternoon at Wildcat Park.
The win enabled Davidson (16-24, 10-16 SoCon) to salvage a game out of the three-game set with Furman (24-20, 14-13).
Down 5-4 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, Furman closer David Mitchell came on to try and record his second save of the series. Mitchell quickly retired the first two batters he faced, but senior D.J. Dailey blooped a single into right field to keep the Wildcats alive. Sophomore Eli Benefield followed with a roller to third that could have ended the game. However, Matthew Betsill's throw to first missed the mark and ended up near the Davidson bullpen. Hustling on the play, Dailey scored all the way from first to knot the contest at 5-5.
Neither team mustered much of a scoring threat in the extra frames until Hartanov blasted the solo shot in the 12th to end the game.Hartanov finished the day 3-for-6 with three RBIs.
The Wildcats jumped on top of Furman early with a run in the first. Benefield led off the frame with a double to left and Hartanov followed with an RBI single to right center.
Davidson extended its lead to 4-0 with three two-out runs in the fifth. Dailey got the rally going with a single to center to plate freshman Jay Heafner. A Benefield walk then put runners on first and second. From there, Hartanov singled to right center, pushing Dailey across home. Sophomore Sam Navarro continued the inning with a double to deep right center allowing Benefield to score.
Furman finally got to Wildcat starter Matt Hood in the seventh. Sam McLain hit an opposite field homer to left, cutting the deficit to 4-1.
The next inning, back-to-back doubles by Craig Caudill and Derek Norman chased Hood from the game. Furman tallied two more runs highlighted by a McLain double to level the game at 4-4. With two outs, McLain tried to score the go-ahead run on a single through the right side by pinch hitter Drew Latora, but a strong throw by Navarro got McLain out at the plate.
Furman notched a run in the ninth to take the lead for the first time on the day. Andrew Greene's squibber down the third-base line allowed Clint Hill to score from third.
Junior Brian Akin (4-2) earned the win by tossing one-hit ball in the last 3.2 innings of the game. Mitchell falls to 2-3 for the Paladins after giving up the homer to Hartanov.
The victory was also Dick Cooke's 250th win as coach of the Wildcats. He is 250-400-1 in 13 years at Davidson.
The Wildcats return to action this Tuesday, May 6, at UNC Asheville. Game time
is slated for 3 p.m. Meanwhile, Furman returns home to face the Bulldogs on
Wednesday in a 7:00 p.m.