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SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford College baseball team held on for an 11-10 win in the season opener on Friday evening over SIU-Edwardsville at Russell C. King Field. The Terriers had an 11-4 lead after six innings, but a five-run ninth inning by the Cougars made it close.
Wofford is now 1-0 on the season, while SIU-Edwardsville is 0-1 overall. The Terriers were led by Josh McKinney with three hits and three RBIs, while Konstantine Diamaduros and Mike McDonnell each had two hits. Scott Summers had the win with eight strikeouts in six innings. Michael Gilmartin picked up the save and also reached base all five times with a hit and four walks. SIU-E was led by Mike Hurt with three hits and three RBIs in the game.
The Terriers struck first when on the second pitch of the game Josh McKinney hit a solo-home run over the left field wall. In the second inning, Konstatine Diamaduros singled and was able to score several batters later on a balk to take a 2-0 lead.
In the top of the third, the Cougars closed the gap as three single hits led to two runs and a tie game. Wofford answered in the bottom half of the third. A double by Kyle Behrendt scored Gilmartin from first base. Jake Williams singled to score Behrendt. Williams eventually crossed home after an error to make it a 5-2 game. David Roney added a RBI on a fly ball. Two more runs scored for Wofford on a double by Josh McKinney to give the Terriers an 8-2 advantage.
Wofford added a run in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single from Mike McDonnell. SIU-Edwardsville chipped away at the Wofford lead with two runs in the top of the fifth, including an RBI double from Josh Street. The Terriers were able to get those two runs back in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run homer by Mike McDonnell to center field to give Wofford an 11-4 lead.
The Cougars picked up one run in the eighth for an 11-5 score. In the top of the ninth, the Cougars had runners at first and third when a double by Mike Hurt scored one run. A double by Adam Eggemeyer added two more runs. Another double, this time by Josh Street scored a run to make it a 11-9 lead for the Terriers. Michael Gilmartin got the first out on a strikeout, which was followed by a single by Brett Keeler to score another run for a one-run game. Gilmartin closed the door by striking out the final two batters of the night.
Wofford starter Scott Summers (1-0) threw six innings with a career-high eight strikeouts with four runs allowed. Anthony Rowland went two innings with two strikeouts and one run allowed. Jordan Mickleberry gave up four runs on three hits before Michael Gilmartin came in for the final three outs and his first save of the season.
For SIU-Edwardsville, Luke Vine (0-1) went 2.1 innings with three hits, four runs and three strikeouts. Aren Cummings threw 1.2 innings with seven hits and five runs allowed. Brian Lorenz went 2.1 innings with two runs, two hits and three strikeouts. Blaise Haxel went 0.2 with a strikeout and Dustin Quattrocchi closed the game with one strikeout in the complete eighth inning.
Mike McDonnell’s home run in the sixth was the first of his career. The games are a part of the Courtyard by Marriott Classic, which is being hosted by USC Upstate and Wofford College. SIUE will play Upstate tomorrow.
The Terriers will host Virginia Tech for a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1:00 pm. The weekend concludes with a home game against UNC Asheville on Sunday at 3:00 pm.
