FURMAN FALLS TO WINTHROP 11-6
Jacob Dempsey went 4-for-5 with two triples to tie a 25-year old school record
as Winthrop won its seventh straight game, 11-6 over Furman on Wednesday evening
at The Winthrop Ballpark.
Dempsey, who also drove in three runs in the game, tied Tommy Nagel’s school
record with two triples in the game. Nagel set the record on Apr. 20, 1980 against
South Carolina-Aiken.
With the game tied at 2-2 in the fourth, the Eagles scored four unearned runs
to take the lead. Matt Repec and Matt Matkovich had back to back singles to
lead off the inning. First baseman Grant Neidenfeuhr moved the duo over on a
sacrifice bunt for the first out of the inning. Tommy Lentz grounded to Furman
third baseman Matthew Betsill, who’s errant throw to home allowed Repec
to score as Winthrop took a 3-2 lead.
Chris Carrara’s two-out single plated Matkovich before Dempsey tripled
to left, his first of the game, and cleared the bases to give the Eagles a 6-2
lead.
Furman added a run in the fifth to make it a three-run game before Winthrop
got the run back in the sixth on Dempsey’s second triple of the game to
give the Eagles a 7-3 lead.
Winthrop added four in the seventh and Furman responded with three in the eighth
as the Eagles led 11-6.
Jon Wilson shut down the Paladins in the ninth as the Eagles held on to the
five-run victory.
Thomas Olejniczak (3-0) gave up one run in three and two-thirds relief innings
to pick up the win for the Eagles. He struck out one and gave up just one hit.
Ryan Hudson (2-3) gave up four unearned runs on five hits in one and two-thirds
innings of relief to take the loss for the Paladins. He walked two batters.
David Scoggin’s fifth-inning single extended his hitting streak to 13
games. It is the second-longest hitting streak on the team this season.
Winthrop swept the season series from Furman, winning both games by an 11-6
score. The Eagles took the first game on Apr. 7 in Greenville, SC.
Winthrop improved to 30-16 with the win, while Furman fell to 17-26 with the
loss. The Paladins have lost four straight games.
Furman travels to Charleston this weekend to open up a three-game Southern Conference series against The Citadel. The first game is slated for 5:00 p.m. on Friday. The Eagles return to action on Friday at 7:30 p.m. when they host league-leading Birmingham-Southern in the first game of a three-game Big South Conference series at The Winthrop Ballpark.