Box Score Box Score
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Wofford College baseball team was defeated by Elon 21-12 in the opening round of the Southern Conference Tournament on Wednesday at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park in Charleston. Wofford will play UNC Greensboro at 1:00 pm on Thursday.
Wofford moves to 24-34 overall, while Elon is 40-16 overall. Elon was the SoCon regular season champions and the #1 seed in the tournament. Elon used 15 runs in the bottom of the sixth to open up the game, but Wofford added ten runs in the seventh and eighth. The Terriers were led by Shane Kirkley with two hits and four RBIs, while pitcher John Cornely went five innings with three strikeouts.
In the bottom of the first, Elon opened the game with a single by Chris Dove, but was out on a fielder’s choice by Cory Harrilchak. Bennett Davis was hit by a pitch, which was followed by a home run over the left field fence by Dallas Tarleton to take a 3-0 lead.
Elon added to the lead in the bottom of the second with a double by Mike Melillo and an RBI single from Mike Lobacz to go up 4-0. Neither team was able to score in the third inning.
Wofford led off the fourth with Kyle Behrendt reaching on an error. Michael Gilmartin hit a single to left field for two on with no outs. Shane Kirkley then hit a double to left center to drive in two runs. Keith Munns added a single to move Kirkley to third, but the Terriers left both runners on base for a 4-2 score after the top of the inning.
The Phoenix opened the bottom of the fifth with a single from Bennett Davis, followed by a single from Dallas Tarleton. A sacrifice fly from Chase Austin scored one run, while a double from Mike Lobacz added another run for a 6-2 lead after five innings.
The Terriers added a hit in the top of the sixth with a single by Jake Williams. In the bottom of the sixth, Donny Jobe reached on an error. Cory Harrilchak hit a home run over the right field fence to score two runs for an 8-2 lead. A single by Mike Melillo scored two more runs for the Phoenix. Mike Lobacz added another RBI single to take an 11-2 lead. A double by Chris Dove drove in two more runs and Donny Jobe added an RBI single. Bennett Davis hit a double down the left line for two more runs and a 16-2 lead. The Phoenix added five more runs for a 21-2 lead at the end of the sixth.
In the top of the seventh, Mo Seay and Emre Caglayan had back-to-back hits to open the inning. A double down to the left corner by Sterlin Dye scored one run. A single from Kyle Behrendt drove in another run, then Shane Kirkley reached on a two-base fielding error to score two more runs for a 21-6 score. Jake Williams added an RBI single and Keith Munns hit a sacrifice fly to bring in another run for a 21-8 score at the seventh inning stretch.
Wofford began the top of the eighth with Emre Caglayan, Alex Lee and Sterling Dye reaching base without an out. Sterling Dye hit a single to drive in one run, then a single from Michael Gilmartin scored two more runs. Shane Kirkley added an RBI single to make it a 21-12 game, which ended up as the final score.
Wofford starter John Cornely (0-8) threw five innings with seven hits, six runs and three strikeouts. Pete Noordsy went a third of an inning with four hits and six runs allowed. Drew Sheridan gave up five runs on four hits. Reid McElveen allowed one hit but four runs with a strikeout. Dawson Smith went 2.1 innings without a hit and two strikeouts to close the game.
For the Phoenix, Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year Steven Hensley (10-1) started Greg Jones went an inning and gave up five hits and six runs with two strikeouts. J.D. Reichenbach gave up two hits and four runs. Jimmy Reyes allowed two hits with two strikeouts in an inning of work. Jared Kernodle entered in the ninth and did not allow a hit.
With the loss, the Terriers will play UNC Greensboro at 1:00 pm on Thursday. The Spartans lost 21-9 to Georgia Southern in the final game of the day. In the other bracket, Furman advanced to play College of Charleston, while Appalachian State and Western Carolina will meet in an elimination game at 10:00 am on Thursday.
