May 21, 2005

Final Stats

Spartanburg, S.C. - In the final game of the 2005 regular season, Chris Davis had three hits and two RBI to lead Western Carolina to a 10-7 victory over Wofford in game two of a Saturday doubleheader at Russell C. King Field. With the win, Western improves to 32-21 overall and moves up one spot to third in the final Southern Conference standings with an 18-12 record.

In addition to Davis, Trey McDaniel had three hits as Steven Strausbaugh and Nate Hall each drove in a pair of Catamounts. In a back-and-forth game, WCU freshman Greg Holland (2-2) came out of the bullpen to pitch 3.1 scoreless innings to get the win.

Wofford (17-37, 7-23) took its first lead of the series with a run in the bottom of the second. After a leadoff double, Brent Pearce moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a wild pitch.

After having his 19-game hit streak snapped in game one of the doubleheader today, Strausbaugh rebounded in game two to tie the game at 1-1 in the top of the fourth as the freshman hit his 12th home run of the season.

The Terriers answered back with a run in the home half of the fourth, taking a 2-1 lead. With the bases loaded and one out, Pearce singled through the left side of the infield to drive in Shane Kirkley. However, WCU relief pitcher Luke Miller induced an inning-ending double play to limit the damage.

As they did in the fourth, Western responded to Wofford's run in the bottom of an inning score in the top of the next inning, taking a 4-2 lead in the top of the fifth. Blake Murphy had a leadoff double off the left-center field fence and scored on an RBI single by Davis. A double by Hallam put runners on second and third and Jared Greenwood plated Davis with an RBI ground out. Hallam, who advanced on the ground out, scored on a sacrifice fly by Strausbaugh.

However, a three singles and an error allowed Wofford to tie the game once again and eventually take the lead in the bottom of the fifth. A leadoff single by Anthony DiNardo and a one-out single by John Brandt put two runners on. A single by Adam Wood and subsequent error allowed two runs to score, tying the game and put Wood on third. Brandon Waring then gave the Terriers a 5-4 advantage with an RBI double.

The Cats bounced back in the sixth, scoring six runs and taking a 10-5 lead. A leadoff double by McDaniel and a single by Jonathan Greene put runners on the corners. A balk brought home McDaniel and moved Greene to second. After a sacrifice bunt and a walk, WCU had runners on the corners once again. Davis gave the Cats a one-run lead with an RBI single to left. Hallam followed with a perfectly executed hit-and-run driving in Murphy and pushing Davis to third. Davis would score on a wild pitch and, after a walk to Greenwood, Hallam and Greenwood moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch. Hall capped the inning with a two-run single.

In the ninth, Wofford once again attempted a rally, scoring two runs. After a one out single by Brandt, Wood made it a three-run game with a two-run home run to left, his second round tripper of the season. However, Western's Clint Ramsey struck out the last two batters of the game to give the Cats a 10-7 victory.

Western Carolina's opponent and time of game for Wednesday's first round of the 2005 Southern Conference Championship will not be determined until late Sunday, pending other games. However, Western will be the number three seed and face the sixth seed.