May 24, 2006

Final Stats

Charleston, S.C. - Western Carolina got an impressive pitching performance from senior Caleb McConnell, who pitched a season-long seven innings, and sophomore Steven Strausbaugh was 3-for-4 with a career-high six RBI as the Catamounts handed Furman a 14-1 loss Wednesday morning in the first round of the 2006 Southern Conference Baseball Championship, played at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park. Western (32-25) will play the winner of the College of Charleston/UNC Greensboro winner on Thursday at 4 pm.

McConnell, who pitched six scoreless innings with just three hits last Friday against the Paladins (32-22), improved to 2-5 and kept his scoreless streak against Furman alive today, tossing seven scoreless frames and allowing just three hits. (He actually has a streak of 14 consecutive scoreless innings dating back to last season when he left the game in the second inning at Furman on April 15 with an injury, which resulted in "Tommy John" surgery and causing him to miss the remainder of the season.)

Strausbaugh, who was named first team All-SoCon, was a triple shy of the cycle, having an RBI single, a two-run double and a three-run home run. Trey McDaniel was also 3-for-4, adding four RBI thanks to a three-run home run, while Tim Hallam had three hits as well.

In the first, Hallam hit the first pitch of the game for a single. Western tried to move him to second, but he was erased on a Donnie Wilson fielder's choice. Wilson moved to second on an error, which could have been an inning-ending double play. Strausbaugh made Furman pay for the miscue with a three-run home run to left. The blast was the 17th of the year for the 2006 SoCon home run champion and his first since April 29 in a win over Davidson. (Western has now had the SoCon individual home run champion 16 times since 1987 and five times in the seven-year tenure of WCU head coach Todd Raleigh.)

Western was kept quiet in the second and third innings before second team All-SoCon pick Blake Murphy and Scott Ward had back-to-back, one-out singles in the fourth. Number nine hitter Jason Haynes followed with a two-run triple to center field, his first career three-bagger to make the score 5-0.

The Catamounts took advantage of another error in the fifth, eventually scoring five runs for a 10-0 cushion. Barrett Shaft started the frame reaching on a error. Jonathan Greene, also a first team All-SoCon pick, followed with a single to left, giving the sophomore a 10-game hitting streak. Strausbaugh drove in his fourth run of the game with an RBI single to left-center field. Then, McDaniel cleared the bases with a towering three-run, home run down the right field line. That marked the 12th round tripper of the season and chased Furman starter Mason Smith. Scott Ward welcomed new pitcher Will Feemster with a double and scored two batters later on Hallam's single to right.

Western extended its lead to 11-0 in the sixth. Shaft had a leadoff single, giving the sophomore a career-high, 16-game hit streak. After Strausbaugh was hit by a pitch, McDaniel had his fourth RBI of the game with a single up the middle. The in the seventh, the Cats tacked on three more runs. Hallam scored on a sac fly by Shaft. With Wilson and Greene on base, Strausbaugh had a two-run double for a 14-0 lead.

Furman pushed across a run in the eighth. With two out and one on, Will Stembridge reached on an error and A.J. Davidiuk followed with an infield single.

Smith suffered the loss for Furman, falling to 3-4 on the season. He allowed nine hits and nine runs (five earned).

NOTE: Jason Haynes was hit by a pitch in the seventh. It marked his 12th time to get hit this season to rank tied for sixth on the WCU single-season list. Hallam has been hit 19 times this season to rank first on the WCU list.