FURMAN HOLDS OFF APPALACHIAN STATE 13-9 IN TEN INNINGS TO EARN SERIES SWEEP
BOONE, N.C.-Appalachian State University baseball could not carry the momentum of a game-tying grand slam from senior Joe Norton in the bottom of the ninth inning into extra frames in a 13-9, 10-inning loss to Furman Sunday afternoon at Red Lackey Field.
Norton connected on his first-career grand slam with the Mountaineers trailing
9-5 with no one out in the bottom of the ninth off Furman closer
and Watauga County-native Calvin Hurst. Hurst, who leads the Southern Conference
in saves with nine on the season, had not allowed an earned run in 13-consecutive
outings before Norton blasted the first pitch from the right-hander well over
the center field wall to send the contest to extra frames.
However, Furman banged out four of their season high-tying 19 hits in the top of the 10th to claim the victory. Pinch hitter Craig Caudill drove in the winning run with a single through the left side, while catcher Derek Norman closed out a spectacular day at the plate with a two-run double off the left field wall to close out the scoring.
In all, Norman went 4-for-7 on the afternoon with two home runs, two doubles, five RBI and a pair of runs scored. With the seven at-bats, Norman passes Chris Valdes and Danny Rueckel to become Furman's career at-bats leader.
Despite banging out 14 hits, its third-most in a SoCon game this season, Appalachian never led in the wild affair. After freshman Brian Caudill allowed three runs in the top of the first inning in just his second-career start on the mound, right fielder Brett Pomykala responded with a two-run double in the bottom of the stanza to cut the deficit to 3-2.
After Furman notched a single tally in the second and the two teams swapped three-run outputs in the fifth, the Paladins posted runs in the sixth and eighth to grab the 9-5 lead and set up Norton¹s heroics.
In an ironic twist, Norton was saddled with the hard-luck loss after allowing four runs in 4.1 innings of relief, while Hurst tossed a perfect 10th to overcome Norton¹s blast and move to 2-2 on the season.
First baseman Justin Lee led five Mountaineers with multiple hits, going 2-for-5 with a homer and three RBI in the loss.
The setback completed a three-game sweep at the hands of Furman for Appalachian (6-33, 3-21 SoCon) and mathematically eliminated the Mountaineers from SoCon Tournament consideration. Furman, which has now won five games in a row, upped its record to 16-22 and 8-10 in league play.
Appalachian returns to action Wednesday when it hosts Tennessee Tech at 3 p.m. at Red Lackey Field. The Paladins return to action on Wednesday when the host Charleston Southern in a 7:00 p.m. contest.