May 24, 2007

Box Score

Charleston, S.C. - Leading 5-2 with two out in the bottom of the eighth inning, second-seeded Western Carolina (40-18) surrendered three runs in the frame to stand tied entering the ninth. In the home portion of the final inning, No. 6 Georgia Southern received a walk-off, one-out RBI single up the middle by catcher Griffin Benedict to score Jeremiah Parker from second base to end the game, eliminating the Catamounts from the 2007 Southern Conference Baseball Championship.

The loss, Western's third-straight, overshadowed a masterful pitching job by sophomore Drew Saberhagen who wound up not factoring into the decision. The crafty left-handed hurler worked seven and two-thirds innings, scattering six base hits and was credited with allowing four earned runs with two crossing the plate after he had been lifted. All-SoCon relief pitcher Greg Holland (4-3) suffered the defeat in relief for WCU, only officially working two-thirds of an inning while allowing two earned runs on three hits with a lead-off walk to Parker in the ninth.

Trailing 1-0 in the top of the third after a solo home run by Parker in the home portion of the second, Western answered in the top of the third, scoring a run on three-doubles in the frame. Junior Steven Strausbaugh snapped a 0-for-20 slump with a double off the wall in right center field on the first pitch he saw to open the inning. Two batters later, number nine hitter Donnie Wilson rifled an RBI double down the left field line to score Strausbaugh and tie the game at one.

An inning later, the Catamounts claimed their first lead of the tournament with back-to-back homers off the bats of juniors Jonathan Greene and Strausbaugh, staking WCU to a 3-1 advantage. GSU responded with a long ball of its own in the bottom of the frame to pull within one, 3-2.

Still clinging to the one-run advantage going into the seventh inning, Western pushed across two insurance runs to lead by three, 5-2, entering the latter stages of the game. Wilson lined a one-out single to center field in front of freshman Brent Greer, filling in at the lead-off spot for the injured Barrett Shaft, to put two aboard. Freshman Nick Liles, who led WCU with a 3-for-4 showing on Wednesday night, laced an RBI single to right center to score Wilson from second. With runners at the corners, junior Blake Murphy concluded WCU's scoring with a single through the left side to plate Greer for the fifth run.

Saberhagen pitched around a one-out single in the eighth inning with his third strikeout of the game to put two away, but his first walk - just the 18th free pass allowed in nearly 99 innings pitched - chased the Calabasas, Calif., native in favor of Holland. With two on and two gone, the Marion, N.C., native allowed an RBI double down the right field line and a two RBI single through the left side which erased the lead and handed Saberhagen the no-decision.

In the top of the ninth, Greer singled with one out and was moved into scoring position by a ground out by his classmate, Liles. However, the freshman was picked off at second with Murphy facing a full count to end the threat.

Georgia Southern (34-27) took advantage with a walk, sacrifice bunt and a one-out bouncing ball up the middle to complete the come-back win.

Greer led WCU at the plate with a 3-for-5 outing with Strausbaugh highlighting four Catamounts with a 2-for-4 performances with a double and a home run with two runs scored. Joining the Venice, Fla., native with two hits were Murphy, Greene and Wilson, with Liles also recording a pair of hits in the loss.

The Catamounts will now have to await word from the NCAA Selection Committee for a possible at-large bid into the post-season tournament. Western is the only team from the SoCon with 40 victories, earning the milestone win and with it a share of the conference regular season title last weekend at home against Georgia Southern.

Western's resume includes wins over nationally Clemson, N.C. State and Georgia Tech, with the latter two coming away from Cullowhee. Despite dropping three-straight to conclude the year, the Catamounts won 26 of their last 31 contests overall, including eight of their last 11 in early May. WCU boasts a top 40 RPI with 17 total wins over top 100 RPI teams, including three currently in the top 23 in the ratings.

Finally, WCU's 19 road wins this season rank among the most of any school in the nation, entering the SoCon tournament one back of Wichita State with 20 road victories.