May 9, 2010

Box Score

Cullowhee, N.C. - Matt Johns belted a solo home run in the opening frame to lead five Catamounts with multi-hit games as Western Carolina led from start to finish and held off a late innings rally by the Paladins to take the second game of the three-game series, 8-7, over Furman Sunday afternoon at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.

The win gives WCU (28-16-1, 11-11-1 SoCon) the series victory over Furman, which scored four runs in the final two innings to pull to within one in the ninth. The two squads will complete the three-game SoCon set on Monday afternoon with first pitch at 3:00 pm in Cullowhee.

Matt Benedict (7-1) picked up his team-leading seventh win of the season after tossing six solid innings, scattering three runs on four base hits. The St. Petersburg, Fla., native countered three walks with four strikeouts in the winning effort. Kyle Stewart struck out two in an inning of work, picking up his first career save after coming on in a two-on, two-out jam in the ninth inning.

Johns finished 3-for-5 with the solo homer that handed Western Carolina and early, 1-0, lead. He was joined with multiple hits by sophomore Ross Heffley who was also 3-for-5 with a double, while senior Dylan de Graaf finished 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring three runs. The Cumming, Ga., native also swiped two bags to give him a team-leading 26 stolen bases on the season.

Junior Austin Schultz drove in three on a 2-for-4 performance with freshman Bryant Noteboom legging out his first career double as a part of a 2-for-4 outing.

Following Johns' go-head home run, the Catamounts added another solo run in the home portion of the second inning as de Graaf drew a two-out walk and then promptly stole second to put him into scoring position. Schultz singled through the left side to plate his first RBI of the day.

Back-to-back doubles by Noteboom and de Graaf opened a three-run fourth inning for the Catamounts as WCU stretched its lead to 5-0. A hit batsman and bunt single by Johns loaded the bases ahead of Tyler Kirkpatrick who drove in a run with a walk. The third run crossed the plate as Furman turned a double-play along the infield, conceding the run to get the two outs.

The Paladins (13-31, 5-18 SoCon) answered in the top of the fifth with two runs to trim the deficit to three. With runners at second and third, Will Owens drew a two-out walk with the fourth ball getting away from catcher Ollie Goulder allowing Will Miller to scamper home on the wild pitch. The next batter, Aaron Thompkins, drove in the second run on an RBI single up the middle to make it 5-2.

Furman would close the gap to two, 5-3, with a run in the top of the sixth that was answered by the Catamounts in the home half of the frame on a RBI triple to right center by Trevor Collias.

Western Carolina added a pair of insurance runs in the home half of the seventh as Schultz singled to left center to drive in both pinch runner Cameron Dullnig and de Graaf, handing the Catamounts an 8-3 advantage. However, Furman rallied with three runs in the eighth and one in the ninth but stranding a pair of runners in each frame.

In the eighth, J.B. Jenkins belted a two-run home run to left center as a part of three-consecutive extra base hits by the Paladins to open the frame. Will Muzika also singled home a run to close the gap to two, 8-6, before Andrew Chilcoat summonsed from the bullpen to record the final out and stranding a pair of Furman runners.

An inning later, the Paladins pulled to within one after Reese Wade reached on an infield throwing error and scored on a single to deep left by Jenkins, who finished with a game-high four RBI, on the second pitch from Stewart who was called on from the pen. Stewart then settled down, fanning back-to-back hitters - one swinging, the second looking - before getting Owens to fly out to right to end the threat.

Furman starter Ian Parry (3-6) was tagged with the loss after allowing six earned runs on 11 hits in six innings of work, walking four against four strikeouts. Kevin Gottlieb held WCU to two runs, only one of which was earned, on just three hits in two innings in relief.

In addition to Jenkins' 2-for-5 showing, Cameron Allmendinger posted a 2-for-3 day while Brian Harrison had a double as a part of a 2-for-4 performance.

Fans can follow the third game of the series on live GameTracker online at CatamountSports.com.