April 17, 2005

Final Stats

Greenville, S.C. - Ryan Hodinka pitched eight solid innings and Ben Terry went 3-for-5 to lead Furman to an 8-2 win Sunday over Western Carolina Sunday afternoon at Furman Baseball Stadium. With the win, the Paladins (14-19, 7-10 Southern Conference) sweep the Catamounts (21-14, 9-9 SoCon).

Hodinka (4-3) went eight complete, scattering seven hits with two runs, one walk and four strikeouts. In addition to getting three hits, Terry scored twice and drove in one, while Case Cassedy, Matthew Betsill and A.J. Davidiiuk each had two hits. In addition to pitching well and getting timely hits, Furman took advantage of two errors and one mental error by Western to complete the sweep.

For the first time in the series, the Catamounts led, scoring once in the top of the first. Tim Hallam was hit by a pitch and moved to second on an infield single by Jared Greenwood. Steven Strausbaugh executed a hit and run, driving in Hallam with a single to left. Western would load the bases, but Furman got a fly ball and a ground ball to limit the damage.

The Paladins tied the game at 1-1 in the second. Betsill doubled with one out and scored on batter later on Davidiuk's single up the middle.

Western regained the advantage, scoring a run without the benefit of a hit. Greenwood was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a ground out. The senior advanced to third on a wild pitch and later scored on a wild pitch. While some wild pitches allowed WCU to score in the top of the third, a mental error by the Catamounts in the home half allowed the Paladins to tie the game. Terry singled and got caught between first and second on a steal attempt. However, the throw was late to second and Terry was credited with a stolen base. After a ground out moved Terry to third. Cassedy knotted the game at 2-2 with an RBI single to right.

Furman took a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth. Betsill started the inning by reaching on an error. Davidiuk followed with a double down the right field line. Tony Maccani plated the two with a single to center. Another error in the fifth enabled Furman to expand its lead to three. Terry had a leadoff single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Cassedy then tried to bunt for a base hit, but a throwing error put Cassedy on second and allowed Terry to score.

Betsill put his Paladins up 7-2 in the bottom of the seventh. With two outs and a runner on, the third baseman hit a two-run homer with his second blast of the season and fifth of the season. In the eighth, Furman used a walk, a stolen base and an RBI single by Terry to go up 8-2 and cap the scoring.

Luke Miller (3-2) suffered the loss in relief. The junior pitched one inning, allowing two hits and two runs (one earned). Barrett Shaft, Strausbaugh and Trey McDaniel each had two hits for the Catamount offense.

Western will return to action Tuesday at Clemson. At 5 pm, the Catamounts and Tigers will resumed their halted game from last Tuesday with WCU trailing 4-2 and the Catamounts, who will be the home team, having runners on first and third with no outs in the bottom of the fifth. Thirty minutes after that game is completed, Western and Clemson will play their regularly-scheduled game.