May 7, 2005

Final Stats

Cullowhee, N.C. - Freshman Steven Strausbaugh was a triple shy of the cycle, going 3-for-4 with four RBI, while pitcher Luke Miller shutdown the Phoenix over his 3.1 innings pitched to give Western Carolina a 7-2 victory over Elon Saturday night at Childress Field/Hennon Stadium.

Strausbaugh had hits in his first three at bats, getting a two-run double in the first, a single in the third and a two-run homer in the fifth. Miller, who retired the first seven batters he faced, only allowed one hit with a strikeout to earn his second save of the season.

Elon (28-20 overall, 15-10 Southern Conference) took advantage of a leadoff double, an error and a sacrifice fly to take an early 1-0 lead. Gary Morris, who hails from nearby Franklin, N.C., hit the third pitch of the game to the center field fence for a double and advanced to third on a error on the play. After a strikeout, Chris Price plated Morris with a sacrifice fly to right. However, The Catamounts (25-19, 13-12) answered with two runs in the home half of the first. Barrett Shaft had a leadoff single and Jared Greenwood drew a one-out walk to set up the two-run double by Strausbaugh.

Western padded its advantage in the fourth as Chris Davis had a leadoff home run to right, his second blast of the season. The Cats used the long ball once again in the fifth to go up 5-1. After Tim Hallam reached on an error, Strausbaugh delivered his ninth homer of the season.

The Phoenix cut its deficit to three in the top of the second as John Walker hit a leadoff home run, his first of the season and second of his career. Elon had runners on second and third with two outs when Miller, who received his B.S. in mathematics earlier in the day during WCU's graduation, got an out to end the inning.

Western strung together a couple of hits in the bottom of the seventh to regain its four-run lead. Jonathan Greene singled to left and, after a hit and run, scored on an RBI single up the middle by Hallam. Greenwood followed with a walk to chase Elon starter Matt Chastain. Justin Bors came out of the Elon bullpen to get two outs and limit the damage.

The Cats tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. Nate Hall, who doubled, would score on an RBI single by Shaft.

Elon tried to rally in the ninth as Paul Bennett doubled and Evan Erickson was hit by a pitch. However, Miller induced a ground ball which Davis turned into a game-inning double play. Davis dove to stop the ball from reaching centerfield, tagged second with his glove and threw to first base from his knees to complete the play.

WCU starter Brian McCullen had his second straight impressive outing, improving to 5-2 on the year. He allowed 12 hits over 5.2 innings, but only allowed two runs (one earned) with no walks and three strikeouts. Elon would strand 12 runners in the game, including back-to-back innings with the bases loaded. Elon starter Matt Chastain (3-3) suffered the loss, allowing eight hits and six runs (four earned) in 6.1 innings.

In addition to Strausbaugh's big day at the plate, Shaft, Hallam and Davis each had two hits. Bennett led Elon with three hits, while Morris, Matt Stocco and Adam Weaver each had two hits.

Western Carolina and Elon will play game two of their three-game series on Sunday. Start time for that game has been pushed up to 4:00 pm.