April 28, 2002

Final Stats

Statesboro, Ga. - Alan Beck and Brian Sigmon combined for nine RBIs to lead Western Carolina to a 14-11 win over Georgia Southern Sunday afternoon at J.I. Clements Stadium. With the win, the Catamounts (27-16, 16-8 SoCon) win the series over the Eagles (28-20, 14-10 SoCon) and remain in sole possession of second place in the league.

Beck went 3-for-5 with a home run to tie his season-high RBI output, while Sigmon was3-for-4 with two doubles in tying his RBI career total. Rod Goldston and Ryan Schade also had three hits for the Cats, while Donovan Minero and Doug Myers each added two safeties.

Western took an early 1-0 lead in the top of first. Goldston had a leadoff double, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a sacrifice fly by Beck.

Georgia Southern answered with three runs in the bottom half to make the score 3-1. After back-to-back singles by Chad Hall and Brendan Gilligan to start the inning, Rusty Herring singled home Hall and Matt Hammond doubled home Gilligan and Herring.

The Catamounts cut their deficit to 3-2 in the third and an RBI single by Beck, plating Clint Ramsey. In the top of the fourth, WCU took a 5-3 lead. Chris Davis and Myers had consecutive singles and scored on the first of Sigmon's doubles. Two batters later, Schade drove in Sigmon with a single through the left side.

Georgia Southern answered with two runs in the bottom half, tying the game at 5-5. With two outs, Hall singled, Gilligan walked and Jemel Spearman walked to load the bases. Herring followed with a two-run single to right.

WCU took a brief 6-5 lead in the top of the fifth when Myers drove in Todd Buchanan. However, the Eagles tacked on two runs in the bottom half to make the score 7-6.

In the sixth, Western bounced back on top, 9-7, with a three-run home run by Beck, who now has eight on the season. With two outs, Goldston walked and Schade singled to set-up Beck's blast to right-center field.

Following the game script, Georgia Southern tied the game at 9-9 on Herring RBI double.

Western sent nine men to the plate and scored five runs to make the score 14-9 in the top seventh. Minero welcomed relief pitcher Kevin Culpepper to the game with a leadoff homer to right. With the blast, the senior now has 14 on the season and regains sole possession of the home run lead in the conference, going ahead of GSU's Herring.

The Eagles made a final charge, scoring two in the bottom of the seventh. A single by Gilligan and a double by Spearman put runners on second and third. Herring drove in his fifth run of the game with a sacrifice fly and Carlos Love followed with an infield RBI single.

Ryan Foster pitched a scoreless eight, striking out one, and Joe Camac retired the Eagles in order in the ninth to record his fourth save of the season. WCU relief pitcher Rob Hoover was credited with the win, improving to 3-0 on the season. He struck out two in one inning, allowing three hits and two runs (one unearned).

Western Carolina will return to action on Wednesday (May 1), playing at Tennessee Tech. Game time in Cookeville, Tenn., is set for 6 pm (CT). Western rallied to beat Tennessee Tech, who played in the last year's NCAA Regional, 11-7 on Apr. 17 in Cullowhee.