April 8, 2011

Box Score |   

Cullowhee, N.C. - Freshman Cody Jones delivered a walk-off, RBI single through the right side of the infield in the home half of the 12th inning to score classmate Adam Martin from second base as Western Carolina rallied from a 3-0 deficit to take the Southern Conference series opener over Samford, 4-3, Friday night at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.

WCU's bullpen held the Bulldogs scoreless over the final six and two-thirds innings, limiting Samford to one base hit - a lead-off double in the seventh inning by Saxon Butler - that enabled the Catamounts to battle back offensively for the extra inning victory.

Game two of the three-game series is set for 1:00 pm on Saturday afternoon. Fans can follow all of the action with live GameTracker online at www.CatamountSports.com.

Martin opened the third extra frame with a single to third base where he was sacrificed to second by senior Matt Johns. Samford intentionally walked Tyler White to put two aboard with one out when Jones drove an 0-1 pitch through the gap on the right side of the Samford infield with Martin rumbling home from second as right fielder Brandon Miller was unable to cleanly pick the rolling ball in right field for a play at home plate.

Senior Brandon Johnson (4-3) picked up the win in relief, tossing a season-long four innings of hitless, scoreless relief. The preseason All-SoCon reliever struck out two against a pair of walks while managing to strand three Bulldog base runners.

WCU starter Matt Benedict factored in a no-decision after tossing five and a third, allowing three runs on seven hits with a trio of strikeouts against three walks. Morgan McKinney tossed a third of an inning with Jeremy Sluder working one full frame with a walk and a strikeout. Vance Chavis walked one to set up Andrew Chilcoat who fanned two in an inning and a third of hitless, scoreless relief to extend the game for Johnson.

Samford (20-12, 8-5 SoCon) jumped out to a three-run lead through the first three frames, plating a pair of runs in the top of the first on three-consecutive base hits including RBI doubles by both Phillip Ervin and Butler. In the third inning, Miller homered over the fence in left centerfield as the Bulldogs jumped out, 3-0.

The Catamounts scratched the scoreboard for the first of its four-unanswered runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Johns drew a one-out walk and then stole both second and third base ahead of classmate Stephen Notaro who drove him in on a fielder's choice.

Two innings later, freshman Aaron Attaway drove home White to pull the Catamounts to within a run, 3-2, with Ross Heffley belting a two-out, game-tying home run to left center in the bottom of the seventh, setting up the extra inning heroics.

Samford had its best chance in extra innings in the top of the 12th inning as pinch hitter Gardner Richey drew a one-out walk. He promptly stole second base and advanced to third as the throw down skipped into center field, putting the potential go-ahead run 90 feet away. However, Johnson rallied to strikeout Tommy Corbin and inducing a fly-out to center field to end the inning by Tyler Filliben.

Heffley was joined by Martin and Cameron Dullnig with multi-hits, both tallying two base hits in the win while White was 1-for-3 with three walks including two extra-inning intentional free passes.

Samford relief pitcher Andrew Jones (0-2) took the loss, surrendering the game-winning run on four hits in three and a third innings. Jones also struck out two with two walks. Starter Lex Rutledge pitched the opening five and two thirds and was touched up for two runs on seven hits with four walks against four strikeouts in the no-decision.

The two teams combined to strand 26 base runners in the 12-inning affair as the Bulldogs left 14 on base and WCU was unable to plate a dozen runners including seven from the seventh-inning on. The Catamounts left a runner at second in the eighth inning and had runners at second and third in the 10th but were unable to score the go-ahead run. Both pitching staffs managed 20 combined strikeouts including 11 by the Bulldogs and nine by Catamount hurlers.