DAVIDSON DOUBLES UP FURMAN 14-7 IN SOCON BASEBALL ACTION
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Andrew Musashe went 3-for-5 and belted a pair of home runs to help propel Davidson to an 14-7 win over Furman in Southern Conference baseball action Thursday evening at Furman Baseball Stadium.
Musashe, a junior center fielder from Winter Park, Fla., who entered the game with only one career home run, hit his first roundtripper in the seventh inning and added a three-run clout in the ninth to highlight a 17-hit attack that included four home runs.
Davidson (17-27, 11-14 SoCon) erased an early 4-0 deficit with an eight-run second inning on the way to halting a five-game conference losing streak and recording only its second victory in the last 11 games.
Furman (17-31, 8-17 SoCon) lost its ninth straight game.
Eli Benefield paced Davidson's hit parade by going 4-for-5, and three other Wildcats - Taylor Shoop, Alex Entrekin, and Sam Navarro - added two hits each.
Furman erupted for four runs on five hits in the first inning, including RBI doubles by Case Cassedy and Will Stembridge.
Davidson tallied a season high eight runs in the second. After retiring the lead off hitter, Funk yielded three straight hits, including an RBI double by Brett Peiffer to plate the Wildcats' first run. With two outs and runners of second and third, Ronnie Shore delivered a two-run single to right field and advanced to second on the throw. Benefield then singled to center to drive home Shore, and Jay Heafner followed with a two-run home run to left to make it 6-4. The Wildcats continued the onslaught with a single to left off Shoop's bat and the frame's second clout, a two-run job to left center by Entrekin.
The Paladins answered with three in the bottom of the second to make it 8-7 on A.J. Davidiuk's two-run home run to left and a solo blast by Sam McLain to left center.
After a scoreless third and fourth, Navarro walked to lead off the Davidson fifth inning and later executed a delayed steal of home after Furman catcher Derek Norman's throw went through to second behind a stealing Musashe.
The Wildcats made it 10-7 in the seventh when Musashe delivered the Wildcats' third home run of the game, a solo shot inside the left field foul pole, and upped their advantage to 11-7 in the eighth after Benefield tripled to center to lead off and came home on a sacrifice fly by Shoop.
Musashe closed out the contest with a three-run blast in the ninth off Paladin reliever David Mitchell.
After a shaky first two innings that saw him allow seven runs on eight hits, Davidson starting pitcher Brian Akin (7-2) recovered and surrendered only one hit over his final five innings of work to gain the victory.
Furman starting pitcher Kyle Funk (1-8) absorbed the loss after yielding nine runs on 12 hits over five innings of work.
The two teams wrap up the league series tomorrow with a doubleheader beginning
at 4:00 p.m.