Box Score Game Box (pdf)
FOREST CITY, N.C. – The Wofford College baseball team was defeated 22-7 by Gardner-Webb at McNair Field on Wednesday night. The Runnin’ Bulldogs scored eleven runs in the first inning, only two of which were earned, and the Terriers never were able to recover.
Wofford is 13-27 on the season and 6-12 in the Southern Conference. Gardner-Webb evens their record to 20-20 overall. The Terriers were led by Konstantine Diamaduros with three RBIs and Kyle Behrendt with two RBIs. The Runnin’ Bulldogs were led by Aaron Miller with four hits and seven RBIs as thirteen players recorded hits.
In the top of the first, Wofford opened with a walk by James Foster and he moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Alex Lee. A single to right center by Kyle Behrendt scored Foster for a 1-0 lead. A single to right by Landon Bennett added a run, but the Terriers left the bases loaded at the end of the inning.
The Runnin’ Bulldogs answered in their half of the first with a single by Daniel Merck and a home run to left field by Aaron Miller to tie the game at 2-2. Josh Drewery added a three-run homer to right field to take a 5-2 lead.
Gardner-Webb continued to score at will in the first when a triple by Aaron Miller drove in two runs and Jake Watts added an RBI double. Adam McFarland added an RBI double to extend the lead. In the inning, the Runnin’ Bulldogs sent fifteen batters to the plate and scored eleven runs on ten hits and one Wofford error. Only two of the eleven runs were earned in the inning.
Wofford got one run back in the top of the second with an RBI single by Mac Doyle that scored Alex Lee, who had reached on a single. With the bases loaded, Konstantine Diamaduros walked to score a run and make it 11-4, but a fly ball ended the second for the Terriers. Gardner-Webb added two runs on back-to-back ground-outs in the bottom of the second for a 13-4 lead.
In the bottom of the third, Ty Boyles added a two-run homer over the left field wall to increase the lead to 15-4. A triple by Daniel Merck drove in two more runs as the Runnin’ Bulldogs built an 18-4 advantage.
The Terriers opened the fourth with a single from Mac Doyle and a double by Landon Bennett. A ground-out by Konstantine Diamaduros drove in one run. The Runnin’ Bulldogs added two runs in the bottom of the fourth with RBI singles from John Harris and Aaron Miller for a 20-5 lead.
After Wofford was retired in order in the top of the fifth, Gardner-Webb had one hit in the bottom of the fifth, but did not score for the first time in the game. Taylor Rozier added a double in the top of the sixth and was driven home by a single from Konstantine Diamaduros.
To open the seventh, Wofford had singles from Josh McKinney and Matt Moore and a walk to James Foster to load the bases. A sacrifice fly from Kyle Behrendt drove in one run to make it a 20-7 game.
Back-to-back doubles in the bottom of the seventh by O.J. McFarland and Aaron Haynes added two more runs for the Runnin’ Bulldogs. Neither team added a run in the eighth inning. Wofford’s Josh McKinney led off the ninth with a single, but was stranded at the end of the inning for a 22-7 final score.
For the Terriers, starter Gus White did not get out of the first inning, allowing seven runs on five hits in just two-thirds of the frame. Anthony Rowland closed the first and allowed five hits and four unearned runs with one strikeout. Alex Wilson went two innings and allowed seven runs on seven hits. Brandon Yarusi threw 3.1 innings and allowed eight hits and four runs with one strikeout. Pete Noordsy went the final 1.2 and gave up one hit with one strikeout.
Gardner-Webb starter Brandon Boling went 1.2 innings with four hits allowed and four runs scored. Kyle Paeplow threw 2.1 innings with two hits and one run allowed with two strikeouts. Michael Hanzlik went two innings and allowed only two hits and one run. Emilio Pagan threw the seventh and allowed one run on two hits. Brett Stackhouse pitched the eighth and had two strikeouts without allowing a hit. Jeff Howell went the ninth and recorded two strikeouts with one hit allowed.
The 26 hits allowed by Wofford were a season high and the 22 runs allowed tied the season high set by New Mexico State on March 28. Gardner-Webb swept the three-game series against Wofford this season. The Terriers return home for a three-game series against Elon beginning on Friday night at 7:00 p.m.
