Box Score Game Box (pdf)
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – On Saturday afternoon, the Wofford College baseball team pounded out 18 hits on the way to a 17-7 win over Samford at Russell C. King Field. The Terriers were up 9-6 when the team exploded for eight runs in the bottom of the eighth as thirteen batters went to the plate for Wofford.
Wofford is 16-30 on the season and 9-14 in the Southern Conference. Samford is 25-20 overall and 13-9 in the conference. The Terriers were led by Kyle Behrendt with four hits and four RBIs, while James Foster and Landon Bennett each added three hits. Konstantine Diamaduros also had four RBIs on two hits. The Bulldogs had five different players hit home runs in the game.
Samford opened the game with a walk and hit by pitch. Mason Meredeth hit a single to center field to score one run. With one out and the bases loaded, a double play ended the inning. Wofford was able to tie the game in the bottom of the first when James Foster walked, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and to third on a fly ball. A single by Mac Doyle scored Foster for a 1-1 score.
In the bottom of the second, Clark Wise singled and Matt Moore reached on an error. A single by James Foster drove in Wise for a 2-1 lead for the Terriers. The lead did not last, as Samford used two solo home runs and a two-run homer in the top of the third for a 5-2 advantage.
Wofford was able to get two runs back in the bottom of the fourth when Clark Wise led off with a single, Matt Moore added a single and an error on the play scored Wise. With Moore at second, a double by James Foster scored the run for a 5-4 score.
Another solo home run by the Bulldogs in the top of the fifth, this time by Bo Smith, made it a 6-4 game. The Terriers answered with a run in the bottom of the fifth as Landon Bennett doubled and Konstantine Diamaduros drove him in with a single to make it 6-5.
After Samford left two runners on base in the top of the sixth, Wofford opened their half of the inning with singles from James Foster and Alex Lee. A double to center by Kyle Behrendt scored both runner to give the Terriers a 7-6 lead. A single by Mac Doyle was followed by an RBI single from Landon Bennett. Still with no outs, Doyle was able to score despite a double play for a 9-6 lead before the end of the sixth.
Neither team scored in the seventh and the Bulldogs went quietly in the top of the eighth. Wofford broke the game wide open in the bottom of the eighth as the Terriers scored eight runs on five hits to take a 17-6 lead. The scoring began with a solo home run to right field by Kyle Behrendt. Two walks and a hit by pitch loaded the bases with no outs when a triple down the right line by Konstantine Diamaduros drove in three runs. Clark Wise walked and a double by Matt Moore to center scored two more runs. James Foster was hit by pitch and with one out Kyle Behrendt singled to drive in another run. Landon Bennett added an RBI single to close out the inning.
Samford got one run back in the top of the ninth on a solo home run to right center by Tripp Swann, but Bobby Streisel struck out two of the final three batters to end the game with a 17-7 final score.
For the Terriers, Gus White started and went five innings with seven hits and six runs allowed with four strikeouts. Anthony Rowland threw a third of an inning with one hit allowed. Bobby Streisel (2-2) picked up his second win of the weekend with 3.2 innings of work and only two hits and one run allowed with three strikeouts.
Samford starter Kyle Putkonen (3-5) went five innings and allowed nine runs on 14 hits with five strikeouts. Mark Lewallyn threw two innings without allowing a hit. Michael Gunter allowed three runs on one hit and Tyler Vanderheiden closed the final inning with four hits and five runs allowed with two strikeouts.
With the win, Wofford has nine conference wins which is the most since the 2002 season (14). The Terriers complete the series against Samford at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday.
