May 26, 2006

Final Stats

Charleston, S.C. - Western Carolina sophomore catcher Blake Murphy had five hits to tie a Southern Conference Championship record and WCU missed a SoCon Tourney record by two hits, getting 22 en route to a 13-3 victory over Georgia Southern Friday morning in an elimination game at the 2006 SoCon Championship, played at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park. The Catamounts will now face the winner of the Citadel-UNC Greensboro game tonight with a scheduled start time of 7:30 pm. (Note, the 1:00 pm game Friday at the SoCon Tourney did not start until 2:00 pm, so the 7:30 game will more than likely start late.)

Murphy, who was 5-for-5 with three double, becomes the eighth player in SoCon history, and the third Catamount, to have five hits in a game. Also, the Waynesville, N.C., native tied a WCU and SoCon Tournament record with three doubles in a contest. In addition to Murphy's big day, Trey McDaniel was 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBI, while Barrett Shaft had three hits.

Western Carolina sent 12 men to the plate in the first, scoring seven runs on seven hits. Jason Haynes, who had two hits, got things started with a one-out, solo home run to left field, giving the sophomore two round trippers for the season and his career. Shaft followed by being hit by a pitch and Greene put runners on second and third with a double down the left field line. The hit gave Greene a 12-game hitting streak. Steven Strausbaugh plated Shaft with a sacrifice fly to center. There was an error on the play, allowing Strausbaugh to reach second and Greene to score. McDaniel drove in Strausbaugh with an RBI single. McDaniel moved to third and on to home thanks to a double by Blake Murphy and a throwing error on the GSU right fielder. Murphy would picked off second but Scott Ward kept the rally going after being hit by a pitch and moved to second on a Donnie Wilson, who had the first of his two hits. Tim Hallam brought home Ward with a single to right, moving Wilson to third. Haynes, who started the scoring, capped the scoring with an RBI, infield single.

After being held in check over the next three innings, McDaniel started the fourth with a home run into the wind over the right field wall, his 13th blast of the season.

In the fifth, Georgia Southern manufactured a run, making the score 8-1. Brett Pelfrey started the home half reaching on an error. Pinch hitter Will Southwell delivered a single and Pelfrey eventually would make it to third on a fielder's choice. Matt Miller plated Pelfrey with an RBI ground out.

The Eagles added another run in the sixth. Jeremiah Parker had a one-out single and moved to second on a Chris Shehan walk. David Richardson reached on an error to load the bases. Pelfrey nearly caused some damage, but WCU's Wilson made a diving catch in left, resulting in a sacrifice fly. Western got a ground ball after that to limit the damage.

Georgia Southern threatened again in the seventh, getting two on with one out. With a 2-2 count on Mike Economos, WCU relief pitcher Brian McCullen came out of the bullpen to get an inning-ending double play.

Western rode that momentum into the top of the eighth, scoring four runs to take a 12-2 lead. Greene had a leadoff walk, moved to third on Strausbaugh's single and scored on McDaniel's single. Western got back-to-back doubles from Murphy and Ward, a one-run double and a two-run double, respectively.

The Eagles pushed across a run in the bottom of the eighth. Chris Shehan had a one-out single and moved to second on a ground out. Pelfrey snuck a ball through the left side of the infield to bring home Shehan on the play. While WCU allowed three runs, just one was earned. In 27 innings, the Catamounts have allowed just two earned runs.

The Catamounts capped the scoring in the ninth. Shaft had a leadoff double and scored two batters later on a double by pinch hitter Andy John.

WCU starter Tyler Sexton got the win, improving to 8-6 on the season. He scattered seven hits, allowing two unearned runs with a walk and a strikeout. GSU starter Josh Lairisey suffered the loss, falling to 3-6. He allowed four hits and five runs (three earned) in 0.1 of an inning. Offensively, Miller, Mike Economos and Shehan had two hits with two RBI by Pelfrey.

WESTERN NOTES: Shaft had a single in the third, giving him an 18-game hitting streak. Haynes was hit by a pitch in the fifth, marking the 13th time this season that has happened and ranking fifth on the WCU single-season list.