May 23, 2018

Box Score |   

Greenville, S.C. - Ninth-seeded Western Carolina scored early and in bunches on Wednesday afternoon, shocking top-seeded UNCG with a 10-2 upset victory in the opening round at the 2018 Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases at Fluor Field.

Paced by Justin Sparks and Bryson Parks with three hits apiece, six Catamounts finished the day with multi-hit games including five in the bottom half of the order as WCU collected 14 hits with a combined six going for extra bases. The No. 9 seed battered SoCon Pitcher of the Year Matt Frisbee for six runs on eight hits in the first four innings and was able to answer both of the Spartan markers in tallying the win.

WCU's 5-through-9 hitters went a combined 12-for-23 with seven RBIs and nine runs scored.

The Catamounts (9-45), who won Tuesday's play-in game over No. 8 seed The Citadel for the right to advance to the double-elimination portion of the bracket, advance to face No. 5 seed Mercer on Thursday at approximately 4:00 pm. Regular-season champion UNCG (37-14) falls into the loser's bracket and will take on No. 4 seed VMI in an elimination game Thursday at 9:00 am.

Ignited by a second-inning solo home run by Sparks, WCU got to Frisbee early. Matthew Koehler collected his first of two doubles before a wild pitch and a run-scoring single up the middle stroked by Caleb Robinson doubled the lead.

The Catamounts again struck in the fourth, taking advantage of three hits and a pair of Spartan errors to plate four runs, just two of which were earned. Robinson drove in the first two runs in the inning with a double off the wall in left center before Will Prater plated a run with grounder that was misplayed at first, and Spencer Holcomb capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly to right.

SoCon Player of the Year Andrew Moritz spoiled the Catamounts' shutout bid with one out in the bottom of the sixth, stroking a solo shot to right center. The Spartans added a run on Austin Embler's RBI single in the seventh. But as it did on Tuesday against The Citadel, WCU managed to limit the potent Spartans to single-run innings.

Catamount starter Taylor Purus was impressive, throwing seven innings and limiting the SoCon's top hitting squad to just two runs on five hits. The Hudson, N.C., native struck out seven with just two freebies on a walk and a HBP.

UNCG threatened to make it interesting in the eighth after Purus departed, loading the bases on a single, a hit batter and a walk. Western Carolina went back to the bullpen for left-hander Tristan Baker, who struck out pinch-hitter Devin Ruiz to end the threat.

Purus (3-12) got some help from his defense, with Koehler making a running catch against the Green Monster in left in the second and Bryson Parks making a pair of outstanding grabs, laying out for a catch in right center in the fifth and making a tumbling snag on the run in left center in the seventh. The Catamounts also turned a 6-4-3 double play to end the third inning.

Moritz had the lone multi-hit game for the Spartans, going 3-for-4 with a solo homer. Infielder Austin Embler also drove in a run in a 1-for-4 showing.

Frisbee suffered his first loss of the season, falling to 10-1 after allowing six runs (four earned) on eight hits in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out five and did not walk a batter. Reliever Jack Maynard surrendered three runs in 2 1/3 innings with three strikeouts.

Behind the three-hit outings of Sparks and Parks, Koehler finished 2-for-4, scoring three runs, while Caleb Robinson was 2-for-5 with the three RBI. Senior catcher Spencer Holcomb singled twice, stretching his reached base safely streak to 27. Holcomb also plated a run on a sacrifice fly. Freshman Justice Bigbie also reached twice with a double while Cameron Blaquiere tallied his fourth RBI of the tournament with a sac fly.

Western Carolina's win was the first for a No. 9 seed over the No. 1 since Wofford downed College of Charleston 19-6 in 2007 en route to winning the tournament. The SoCon took just eight teams to the tournament from 2009-13.

Thursday afternoon's first winner's bracket game is a rematch of the 2016 SoCon Championship as WCU squares-off against Mercer. WCU downed the Bears twice on Championship Sunday to claim the program's 10th title all-time. Mercer advanced on Wednesday with a seven-inning, 19-0, victory over No. 4 seed VMI.

Thursday's game will be broadcast on the Catamount Sports Network with live streaming audio available online through CatamountSports.com. Fans can also catch the game with streaming video on the SoCon Digital Network.

2018 Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases

May 22 (Tuesday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 1: #9 Western Carolina 6, #8 The Citadel 5

May 23 (Wednesday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 2: #5 Mercer 19, #4 VMI 0
Game 3: #9 Western Carolina 10, #1 UNCG 2
Game 4: #2 Samford 4, #7 Furman 0
Game 5: #3 Wofford 8, #6 ETSU 6 (10 inn.)

May 24 (Thursday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 6: #4 VMI vs. #1 UNCG - 9 a.m.
Game 7: #7 Furman vs. #6 ETSU - 12:30 p.m.
Game 8: #5 Mercer vs. #9 Western Carolina - 4 p.m.
Game 9:#2 Samford vs. #3 Wofford - 7:30 p.m.

May 25 (Friday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8 - 3:30 p.m.
Game 11: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 9 - 7 p.m.

May 26 (Saturday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 12: Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 9 - 12 p.m.
Game 13: Winner Game 10 vs. Winner Game 11 - 3:30 p.m.
Game 14: Winner Game 13 vs. Loser Game 12 - 7 p.m.

May 27 (Sunday)
SoCon Championship presented by Holston Gases (Fluor Field; Greenville, S.C.)
Game 15: Winner Game 12 vs. Winner Game 14 - 12 p.m.
^Game 16: Winner Game 15 vs. Loser Game 15 - 40 minutes after Game 15

^ if necessary