FURMAN SPLITS DOUBLEHEADER WITH HIGH POINT
Greenville, S.C.--Dominic Franchini and Matthew Betsill both drove in two runs
in the first game of a doubleheader against High Point to help the Paladins
defeat the Panthers 9-8. In the second game, Josh Cotton drove in the go ahead
run in the seventh inning and Travis Motsinger held off Furman in the bottom
half of the frame to even the series one game apiece with a 5-4 victory.
High Point (2-3) got on the board first when Corey Stang’s ground out
off starter Kyle Funk drove in Rey Rojas in the first inning to give the Panthers
a 1-0 lead.
The Paladins responded with a two-run home run by Dominic Franchini in the
bottom half of the frame to grab a 2-1 advantage. Furman extended its lead to
3-1 in the second after A.J. Davidiuk belted a home run to center field. Nick
Wajda continued the scoring for the Paladins as he reached home plate on an
error by the shortstop, pushing the score to 4-1.
The Panthers answered in the third and fourth innings, chipping away at Furman’s
lead by scoring one run in each of the frames. Rojas blasted a solo home run
to cut the Paladin lead to 4-2. Josh Doane followed with a fielder’s choice,
which scored Matt Gorman to make it a 4-3 contest in favor of Furman.
In the fifth inning, Derek Norman gave the Paladins a two-run cushion again
as he singled in Andrew Greene to make the score 5-3.
High Point then reclaimed the lead in the sixth inning as Stang doubled to
center field driving in three runs. The Panthers extended their lead further
in the seventh as Gorman scored on a wild pitch to make it 7-5. Rojas then had
a bunt single, which scored catcher Justin Pinyan, giving High Point a 8-5 advantage.
Furman (1-1), however, came roaring back in the bottom half of the seventh,
scoring four runs off three hits and three walks. Craig Caudill led off the
inning with a walk and advanced to second on a Norman single. Betsill then drove
in Caudill and Norman to cut the High Point lead to 8-7. Next Sam McLain tied
the game after a Matt Christie wild pitch. Freshman Steven Hildreth finally
put the game away for the Paladins when his single to left-field drove in Betsill
to give Furman a 9-8 lead.
Ryan Hodinka (1-1) and Calvin Hurst (1) combined to pitch the final two and
two-thirds innings to pick up the win and save respectively.
In the second game of the series, the Paladins jumped out to a 4-0 lead over
the first two innings of play. Norman’s sacrifice fly got the scoring going
for Furman, driving in Greene. Betsill then reached on a fielding error, which
scored Wajda from third to give the Paladins a 2-0 lead. In the second frame,
Wajda came through again for the Paladins as his single scored Caudill. Norman
followed with a double in the gap, scoring Wajda.
Over the next five innings, High Point slowly chipped away at Furman’s
lead, while starter Mark Shorey (1-0) kept the Paladins’ bat in check.
The Panthers entered the final frame down 4-3 after scoring a single run in
the fourth inning on a Piyan sacrifice fly and a Cotten two-run home run in
the fifth inning. Hodinka allowed Rojas and Chris Ramirez to reach base with
one out to start the inning. Then back-to-back errors by Betsill and Greene
scored both runners, giving the Panthers a 5-4 lead.
Motsinger (1) came in to close the game for High Point in the bottom half of
the frame and allowed one hit before retiring the side to give the Panthers
the victory.
The two teams conclude the three game series tomorrow with a 1:00 pm contest
at Furman Baseball Stadium.