May 30, 2010

Box Score |   

Charleston, S.C. - Western Carolina's Tyler White laced a bases loaded, one-out single to right field to score Ross Heffley from third base as the Catamounts scored one in the bottom of the ninth inning to rally past seventh-seeded Appalachian State, 7-6, in walk-off fashion at the 2010 Southern Conference Baseball Championship.

The walk-off win for sixth-seeded WCU capped a wild semifinal Saturday in the SoCon tournament with three games decided by walk-off hits. ASU forced the second semi with a walk-off double in the bottom of the ninth in the first meeting with the Catamounts on Saturday morning.

With the win, Western Carolina advances to the SoCon Baseball Championship game for the first-time since 2004 where it will face top-seed, The Citadel. The Bulldogs rallied past No. 4 Elon to win their way into the title contest. The two winningest programs in terms of championships in conference history - both with a combined 20 regular season and tournament titles - will meet to decide the 2010 champion and automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament with first pitch at 2:00 pm.

Audio coverage of the championship game will be available through the Catamount Sports Network with air time at 1:45 pm on CatamountSports.com. Fans can also follow the game with live GameTracker and a video stream (subscription required) through SoConSports.com.

Thanks to an RBI single by Heffley in the sixth, the Catamounts (37-20-1) held a 6-5 advantage over the arch-rival Mountaineers heading into the top of the ninth inning. However, back-to-back singles by Hector Crespo and Wes Hobson put two aboard before a fly out to right moved Crespo to third where David Towarnicky plated him with a single through the right side to tie the game at six.

WCU pitcher Brandon Johnson then struck out catcher Jeremy Dowdy and got outfielder Tyler Zupcic to pop up to second base to end the inning.

In the decisive home half of the frame, Heffley led off with a single to left field and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Tyler Kirkpatrick. The next batter, designated hitter Trevor Collias, was intentionally walked with Cameron Dullnig hit by a pitch for the school single-season record 25th time to load the bases and bring up White with one out. The Forest City, N.C., native then dropped a 1-0 pitch into right field to plate the game-winning run, propelling the Catamounts back into the conference title game.

"We talk about adversity as preparation for greatness, and we talked about that between games this afternoon," said WCU third-year head coach Bobby Moranda. "You want to get to championship Sunday in these tournaments. You just survive to get there, and once you get there, anything can happen. We're going to enjoy this one tonight, and we'll start getting after it in the morning tomorrow, getting ready for the championship game."

Johnson (9-1) earned the win for WCU in relief - his second victory of the SoCon tournament. The Morehead City, N.C., limited the Mountaineers to one earned run on just three hits in three innings of work, striking out four against three walks. Andrew Chilcoat tossed three and a third in relief of starter Preston Hatcher to keep the Catamounts in contention. Chilcoat and Hatcher both struck out two with the previous scattering five hits with just one run allowed.

Chris Patterson (4-4) suffered the loss for ASU, surrendering one run on two hits with one strike out in an inning and a third.

Ollie Goulder led the Catamounts, going 2-for-4 including a double and his 11th home run of the season, a two-run shot that gave him three RBIs. White and Matt Jones also went 2-for-4, with White registering the game-winning RBI. Heffley finished 2-for-5 in the winning effort.

For the Mountaineers - who finished the season 38-18-1 -- second baseman Wes Hobson was a perfect 3-for-3 with two walks and one run scored. Crespo tallied three hits in five plate appearances, scoring three times while Towarnicky hit 2-for-4 and drove in four runs including a three-run homer that handed Appalachian State a 4-1 lead after two and a half innings.

In the top of the first, Jerod Faggart flied out to right field, plating Crespo to give the Apps the early, 1-0 lead. WCU tied it at one in the bottom of the second as Goulder doubled down the left field line to score White.

Towarnicky's homer in the third pushed ASU ahead, 4-1, but the Catamounts responded in the bottom of the inning with two runs. Kirkpatrick doubled to left center, scoring Johns and Austin Schultz. WCU tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 5-4 lead as Goulder blasted his two-run homer to right field.

ASU tied it at five in the top of the fifth. Faggart grounded into a double play, but Crespo made it across the plate setting up Heffley's heroics in the sixth followed by the ninth inning fireworks from both sides.

The Catamounts left eight runners on base, while the Mountaineers stranded nine.