May 20, 2005

Final Stats

Spartanburg, S.C. - Trey McDaniel had three RBI while Brandon Zollman plated a pair of Catamounts to lead Western Carolina to a 7-2 victory over Wofford Friday night at Russell C. King Field. Western, who has totaled 30 wins for the 19th time in school history, improve to 30-21 overall and 16-12 in the Southern Conference, while the Terriers fall to 17-35, 7-21.

Western Carolina jumped out to an early 1-0 when leadoff hitter Chris Davis tripled to left-center field and scored two pitched later on a wild pitch.

Wofford tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the third. Scott Holloway, who was down in the count 1-2, started the frame by being hit with a pitch. After a sacrifice bunt and a ground ball, John Brandt lined an RBI single to right field to bring home Holloway.

The Cats regained the advantage in the top of the sixth. Jared Greenwood came through with a one-out double and Wofford starter Jesse Cole gave up back-to-back walks to load the bases. McDaniel broke the tie with an RBI ground out to second and Cole avoided further damage with a ground out to third to record the third out.

Blake Murphy extended his hitting streak to seven games in the top of the seventh with a monster home run to left field, giving Western a 3-1 lead and giving Murphy his third blast of the season.

The Terriers responded with back-to-back doubles to open the home half of the seventh, cutting their deficit to 3-2. Brandon Waring hit the first one off the right-center field fence and Bradford Eaves followed with an RBI double off the left field fence. Luke Miller then got three straight ground outs to keep WCU on top by one.

In the eighth, Greenwood started the frame with a walk and, after Steven Strausbaugh extended his hitting streak to 19 games with a single, Western put runners on the corners on a Nate Hall fly ball to right. McDaniel would walk to load the bases with one out, setting up a two-out, two-run single to right by Zollman, putting Western up 5-2.

Western added two runs in the ninth to take a 7-2 advantage. With the bases loaded and two outs, McDaniel hit a bloop single to center field, just beyond the reach of the Terrier shortstop, allowing Davis and Greenwood to score.

Brian McCullen was credited with the win, improving to 603 on the year. The junior pitched 6.0 innings, allowing four hits and one run with a walk and a strikeout. Miller was solid in middle relief, allowing three hits and one run in 2.0 innings. Cole suffered the loss for Wofford, falling to 2-7 on the season, allowing six hits and five runs with seven walks in 7.2 innings.

Western Carolina and Wofford will close the 2005 regular season with a doubleheader Saturday, starting at Noon.