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STATESBORO, Ga. – The Wofford College baseball team was defeated 16-8 on Sunday morning by Georgia Southern at Clements Stadium. The game was halted in the bottom of the eighth due to rain and completed on Sunday. The Terriers had an 8-4 lead in the game, but seven runs in the bottom of the sixth by the Eagles proved the difference.
Wofford is 17-31 on the season and 7-21 in the Southern Conference. Georgia Southern is 37-15 overall and 19-8 in the conference to secure second place. The Terriers were led by Mac Doyle, who was four-of-four from the plate with a home run and two RBI. Will Southwell led the Eagles with four hits and two RBI, while A.J. Wirnsberger and Ty Wright each had three RBI.
The Terriers opened the game with James Foster reaching base and moving to third on an error. Josh McKinney was hit by a pitch and a single from Michael Gilmartin drove in Foster. A sacrifice fly by Konstantine Diamaduros brought in McKinney for a 2-0 lead.
In the top of the second, Mac Doyle led off with a home run to go up 3-0. In the bottom of the second, Phillip Porter reached on an error and a home run by A.J. Wirnsberger made it a 3-2 game.
The Eagles tied the game in the bottom of the third when back-to-back errors with two outs allowed one run to score. Wofford was able to regain the lead in the top of the fourth when Kyle Behrendt had a double to lead things off and a single by Mac Doyle drove in the run for a 4-3 lead.
Georgia Southern was able to tie the game at 4-4 when Will Southwell hit a single up the middle and advanced to second, third and home plate on wild pitches. Neither team scored in the fifth inning.
Wofford had singles from Kyle Behrendt and Mac Doyle in the top of the sixth. Both players advanced on stolen bases and a double to left center by Landon Bennett scored both runners for a 6-4 lead. James Foster walked and Josh McKinney added a double to center to score two runs and give the Terriers an 8-4 lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Eagles opened with back-to-back singles and a single from Brian Pierce brought in one run. With the bases loaded, a sacrifice fly by Eric Phillips scored a run to make it an 8-6 game. A single from Phillip Porter brought in two more runs, while a single from Kyle Blackburn scored a run to give the Eagles their first lead of the game at 9-8. A double by Will Southwell drove in two more runs and Georgia Southern had an 11-8 lead.
The Eagles added a run on an RBI single from Phillip Porter in the bottom of the seventh to increase the lead to 12-8. In the bottom of the eighth, Brian Pierce had an RBI single and then Ty Wright hit a three-run homer to center field for a 16-8 lead. Following the home run, the rains began to fall in Statesboro and the game was halted until Sunday morning.
The game continued at 11:00 am on Sunday morning, but Wofford only had one runner reach base in the top of the ninth and the game ended with the 16-8 final score.
Wofford starter Gus White went 2.2 innings and allowed three hits, three runs (one earned) and had one strikeout. Bobby Streisel threw 2.1 innings with four runs scored on five hits with a strikeout. J.D. Osborne worked a third of an inning without a hit. John Cornely went 1.2 innings and allowed five runs on five hits with two strikeouts. Drew Sheridan went a third of an inning and gave up five hits and four runs. Reid McElveen entered the game just prior to the rain delay, but did not pitch as he returned to Spartanburg for graduation Sunday morning. Mason Bradley recorded the final two outs for the Terriers.
Georgia Southern starter Jake Brown threw 5.2 innings with eight hits and eight runs allowed and five strikeouts. Colin Snow went 2.1 innings with two hits allowed and three strikeouts. Andy Moye threw the ninth with one strikeout.
Wofford and Georgia Southern will complete the series Sunday at 1:30 pm, with the game airing on CSS. The contest will be the final game of the 2009 season for the Terriers.
