Box Score |   

Charleston, S.C. - Sixth-seeded Furman jumped out to a six-run lead over the first three frames and capped the night with a five-run eighth to eliminate No. 7 Western Carolina with a 12-4 victory in Thursday's night cap at the 2015 Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Mountain Shore Properties at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.

Furman's Jake Jones went 4-for-5 to pace a 19-hit attack for the Paladins (25-32), who will take on the loser of Friday morning's Samford-Wofford game at 5:00 pm Friday evening. Western Carolina's season comes to a close at 21-30.

Jones finished with two RBIs and two runs scored, while Carter Grote and Jordan Simpson added three hits each. Chris Ohmstede, Cameron Whitehead, Brandon Elmy and Ryan Morse finished with two hits apiece as seven of Furman's nine starting hitters finished with multiple hits.

In a game that featured a combined 28 hits and fell just two minutes shy of four hours, the Paladins scored in bunches to keep their season alive.

Furman jumped out to a 6-0 lead after three innings and never looked back. In the bottom of the first, Whitehead hit a two-out, three-run home to give the Paladins a lead they would not relinquish at 3-0.

Furman added two more runs in the second on a Griffin Davis sacrifice fly and an Ohmstede RBI single. Morse added a solo shot to right-center in the third to make it 6-0 before Western Carolina scratched the scoreboard on Brett Pope's RBI single in the fourth.

The Paladins got the run back in the fifth, as Elmy scored on Jones' infield single, but the Catamounts countered with a Jacob Hoyle solo homer in the sixth to make it 7-2.

Western Carolina made things interesting in the seventh with two more runs, courtesy of the Brothers Strong. Reece Strong got the scoring starting by scorching an RBI double down the left-field line, and Bradley Strong later knocked him in with an infield single. With runners at the corners, WCU got its slugger, Hoyle, to the plate representing the game-tying run. However, a strikeout ended the threat and the margin remained at three.

The Catamounts threatened for more in the eighth, getting their first two runners on with a Kramer Ferrell walk and an infield bunt single by Pope. However, Furman reliever Elliott Warford induced a 6-4-3 double play and struck out Pierce Suttles to snuff the rally.

The momentum shifted back in Furman's favor after that, though, as the Paladins tacked on five runs in the eighth for the knock-out blow. Morse's RBI single made it 8-4 before Grote, Jones and Sky Overton notched two-out run-scoring hits of their own to blow it open.

Pope bookended his freshman season with multi-hit games. He opened his Catamount career with a 5-for-5 showing and led Western Carolina with a 3-for-4 showing at the plate on Thursday. Matt Smith and Reece Strong had two hits each. Hoyle collected his fourth home run and 15th seasonal RBI after missing most of the regular season due to injury.

Matthew Quarles (6-2) earned the win for Furman, allowing two runs on six hits in six innings. Warford earned his seventh save of the season with two and a third innings of scoreless relief.

Catamount starter Korey Anderson (3-5) took the loss after allowing five runs (three earned) on six hits in an inning and two-thirds of work. Reliever B.J. Nobles struck out four against four walks in three and a third innings of relief work with freshman Dylan Biumi striking out one in two frames of work on the hill. Senior closer Tyler Powell went to the mound one last time for WCU in the ninth inning, moving into a tie for second in school history with his 97th career appearance.