Cullowhee, N.C. – One day removed from collecting his first collegiate base hit, Western Carolina sophomore outfielder
Elijah Smith made some of the biggest plays of his young career to help the Catamounts to the series rubber match victory on Sunday afternoon.
Behind 9-8 in the bottom of the 10th inning with two on and two gone – and down to his final strike in a 2-2 count – Smith belted his first career home run on a 438-foot blast with two runners in-tow as the Catamounts rallied to win the game and the series over Big Ten foe Maryland, 11-9, at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
Pressed into Saturday's one-sided affair as a reserve, Smith seemingly benefited from the extra plate appearances as he squashed a 0-for-20 start at the dish over the past two seasons with a double and a walk in game two. He carried that momentum into his first trip on Sunday, singling and scoring in the second inning as part of his 2-for-5 performance
On the wrong side of the scoreboard much of the day after WCU again overcame first-inning runs by the Terrapins, Maryland (3-3) faced a similar situation to the eventual game-winning scenario in the top of the ninth inning that set the proverbial stage for Smith's heroics. Trailing by three and down to the final out in regulation, veteran shortstop Chris Hacopian resuscitated his squad with a go-ahead, grand-slam home run to left-center field as the Terps shook off an offensive hangover from Saturday's historic day to rally back in front and force the Catamounts to bat in the home half of the final frame.
Just moments after watching their three-run lead evaporate off the elder Hacopian brother's bat with Maryland's fourth grand-slam home run of the weekend, the Catamounts wasted little time in threatening in the home half.
Jack Spyke singled and
Wyatt Stanley doubled to put two one and the tying-run 90-feet away. Maryland pulled its infield in and got consecutive groundball outs to leave WCU hanging on its final thread.
The Terrapins elected to intentionally walk
Hayden Friese, who had two homers on the weekend, to face
Brayden Corn. However, the move backfired when Corn was plunked that scored Spyke with the game-tying marker, pushing pinch-runner
Josh Ossiander into the scoring sweet spot. Maryland was able to force extra innings, though, on a running grab in left field by Jacob Orr, who like Smith earned the start on Sunday after his Saturday evening performance.
In the top of the 10th, Maryland again quickly put a pair of runners on with a single and a walk with both pushed into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt for the first out. Maryland scored the go-ahead marker without a ball being put into play on a pitch that ended up at the backstop that allowed Alex Calarco to score and put Michael Iannazzo at third base.
Orr looked like he may have delivered some insurance on a flyball out to right field on the ensuing at-bat. After the flair to right was caught, Iannazzo tagged and rushed towards home where he was cut down by the outfield throw by
Elijah Smith to the plate that kept it a one-run game, adding to Smith's heroics on the outfield assist.
In WCU's portion of the 10th,
Trent Turner, who drove in a pair of runs in the winning effort, led-off with a single where he was promptly sacrificed into scoring position by Corn. Things started to look bleak, though, as the second out was recorded on a strikeout.
Josh Ossiander, who pinch ran for
Wyatt Stanley in the ninth, strolled to the plate and calmly drew a walk to put two aboard ahead of Smith.
Smith came through for his squad with the 2-2 home run to centerfield that set off a mob scene at home plate as the Warner Robins, Ga., product was swarmed by his teammates in the postgame celebration.
Smith led five Catamounts with multi-hit games as he finished 2-for-5 with four RBI, adding one on a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning. Redshirt freshman
Wyatt Stanley led the team with a 3-for-4 effort including a pair of singles and an RBI double, reaching a fourth time on a walk.
Brayden Corn (2-for-4),
Hayden Friese (2-for-5), and
Trent Turner (2-for-4) were each aboard three times. Corn doubled and was hit by a pitch, driving home two while Turner and Friese both singled twice and walked.
Jack Spyke (1-for-3) singled and walked twice to likewise occupy the base paths three times.
Cole Jones singled and scored, while
Mason Holton plated a run on a sacrifice fly, adding a late single.
The late-inning offensive heroics overshadowed perhaps the best collective pitching performance by the Catamount staff this season.
Davis Wright gave the Catamounts a quality start, striking out seven over a season-long five innings, scattering three runs on three hits with a trio of walks. Hard-throwing right-hander Canon Pickell recorded all six of his outs over two relief innings on strikeouts with one unearned run allowed.
The bullpen quartet of
Spenser Hamblen,
Griffin Guinther,
Brandon Langley, and
Carter Burnette (1-0) – who benefited from Smith's homer by earning his first collegiate victory – helped finish-off the Terps. Hamblen pitched around a leadoff walk to retire three in a row in his inning of work, while Guinther was just a couple of pitches away from scoring his second save of the weekend before the Hacopian hit. Burnette worked around a walk to get WCU out of the top of the 10th inning with just one run scored.
Out hit by the Catamounts 16-to-8 on Sunday, Maryland was led by Chris Hacopian with a 3-for-3, six RBI performance that included two home runs. He added a single and a pair of walks to reach base five times in the losing effort. Jacob Orr (2-for-5) shook off a 0-for-2 start with a pair of strikeouts to collect two hits with a double and a pair of runs scored. Orr also played solid defense in left field, taking away a couple would-be base hits for the Catamounts including one off the bat of Jones that ended the ninth inning with the game tied.
Reliever Andrew Koshy (0-1) suffered the loss in his second appearance of the weekend, surrendering three runs on two hits with a pair of walks – one intentional – and a strikeout. Left-handed starter Omar Melendez struck out four against two walks in a four-inning effort.
Gallery: (2-23-2025) Baseball Wins Series over Maryland
Western Carolina (3-4) returns the trip to USC Upstate in the midweek after last Tuesday's home win over the Spartans, traveling to Spartanburg, S.C., on Wednesday, Feb. 26, for a 3 p.m. start at Harley Park. Live stats for the midweek game are available through a link at CatamountSports.com. WCU returns home next weekend, Feb. 28 through March 2, for a four-game nonconference series against Rider at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium.
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