CASSEDY LIFTS FURMAN PAST UNC ASHEVILLE 4-3
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Case Cassedy’s two-out RBI single in the eighth inning lifted Furman to a 4-3 win over UNC Asheville in baseball action Tuesday night at Furman Stadium.
Cassedy, a sophomore first baseman from Tallahassee, Fla., broke a 3-3 tie when he drove home Derek Norman from second base with a line drive single to right field off Bulldog reliever Ryan Haushalter (0-1).
Norman reached first base after getting hit by Haushalter and advancing to second on a wild pitch. After two Paladins failed to advance him, Cassedy delivered the game winning hit, allowing Furman (11-20) to snap a five-game losing streak and complete the season sweep of UNC Asheville (15-18), who the Paladins defeated 9-3 on March 17.
Ryan Hodinka (3-1) collected the victory after surrendering only one hit in 3 1/3 innings of solid relief. Calvin Hurst worked a perfect ninth to earn his seventh save of the season and, in the process, tie the Furman season saves record first set by Rob Purvis in 2000 and matched by David Mitchell last year.
Furman starting pitcher Matt Klinker yielded three earned runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings of work, but the Paladin freshman recorded a season high seven strikeouts. Furman pitchers combined to fan a season high 11 Bulldogs.
Both teams managed only six hits apiece, and half of UNC Asheville’s offense came off the bat of David Williams, who went 3-for-4 with two RBI. Dominic Franchini went 2-for-4 with an RBI for Furman.
UNC Asheville grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Williams scored on a double down the left field by Steve Sherman.
Furman knotted the game in the bottom of the inning on Franchini’s RBI single.
The Paladins took a 2-1 lead in the when Franchini singled to lead off, stole second, and advanced to third on a throwing error by UNC Asheville catcher Justin Wilkins. He later scored on a Cassedy groundout.
The Bulldogs struck for two runs on three hits in the fifth to regain the advantage. After Wilkins and Charles Pippitt reached on singles, Williams plated both with a two-out single to centerfield.
Furman rallied to tie the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the fifth on Andrew Greene’s ground out, which allowed Will Stembridge to score from third.
Furman returns to action on Friday when it entertains Wofford in the first of a three-game Southern Conference weekend series beginning at 7:00 p.m. UNC Asheville will play host to VMI at 3:00 p.m. Friday in a Big South Conference contest.