Box Score Game Box (pdf)
ELON, N.C. – The Wofford baseball team was defeated 4-3 by Elon in twelve innings on Friday night at Walter C. Latham Park. The game was tied at two after nine innings and each team added solo home runs in the tenth for a 3-3 game. After a rain delay of over an hour in the eleventh inning, the Phoenix had an RBI single in the twelfth for the victory.
Wofford is now 14-17 on the season and 2-8 in the SoCon. Elon is 20-12 overall and 10-3 in conference play. The Terriers were led by Josh McKinney with two hits and an RBI and Clark Wise with two hits. Elon was led by Neal Pritchard with three hits and two RBIs.
The Terriers left one on base in the top of the first and the Phoenix left one runner stranded in the bottom of the second and bottom of the third. In the top of the fourth, Mac Doyle walked and a single by Konstantine Diamaduros moved Doyle to third base. A bunt by Josh McKinney scored Doyle for a 1-0 lead, but two Terriers were left on base.
Elon was retired in order in the bottom of the fourth. Wofford added a single by Matt Moore in the top of the fifth, but a double-play erased the base runner. In the bottom of the fifth with two outs, Cyle Rasmus walked and a triple to right field by Harry Austin drove in Rasmus to tie the game at 1-1.
Wofford led off the sixth with Clark Wise beating out a play at first for a hit and he moved to second on a wild pitch. A ground out by Mac Doyle moved Wise to third base. Konstantine Diamaduros hit a ball deep to center field for a sacrifice fly that scored Wise for a 2-1 lead. Josh McKinney added a single with two outs, but he was left on base.
In the bottom of the sixth, Elon had a double to left field by Neal Pritchard and he moved to third on a ground out. A single through the left side by Sebastian Gomez with two outs drove in Pritchard to tie the game at 2-2.
The Terriers went down in order in the top of the seventh and the Phoenix left one on base in the bottom of the seventh. After Wofford was retired in order in the top of the eighth, Elon led off the bottom half of the inning with a single by Niko Fraser. A sacrifice bunt moved the runner and a single by Alex Swim gave the Phoenix runners on the corners with one out. Bobby Streisel came into the game and struck out back-to-back batters to end the eighth inning.
Both sides were retired in order in the ninth, sending to game to extra innings. To open the tenth inning, Landon Bennett hit a lead-off home run over the left field wall for a 3-2 lead. James Foster and Clark Wise both added singles with two outs, but both were left one base. With two outs and a 1-2 count in the bottom of the tenth, Neal Pritchard hit a home run to left field to tie the game at 3-3.
Rained moved into the area and after Wofford was retired in order in the top of the eleventh, a delay was called after lightning nearby. The delay lasted 1:23 before play resumed in the bottom of the eleventh. With one out, the Phoenix had two runners reach on a walk and an error. A pick-off and a strikeout ended the eleventh inning.
In the top of the twelfth, Wofford went 1-2-3. Elon opened their half of the inning with a single by Harry Austin and a sacrifice bunt moved him to second. A single by Neal Pritchard drove in the winning run for a 4-3 final score.
Wofford starter Cash Collins threw 7.1 innings and allowed two runs on five hits with five strikeouts. Bobby Streisel struck out four of five batters faced in 1.2 innings. John Cornely went one inning and allowed one run on one hit with two strikeouts. Ryan Traylor (2-1) threw 1.1 innings and allowed two hits and one run.
Elon starter Kyle Webb went five innings and allowed three hits and one run with three strikeouts. Dylan Clark threw 4.2 innings with two runs allowed on five hits along with two strikeouts. Mitch Conner added 1.1 innings with no hits allowed and two strikeouts. John Brebbia (6-0) threw an inning and had two strikeouts.
The contest was the third extra-inning game of the season for the Terriers. The three-game series at Elon will continue at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday and conclude at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. Wofford returns home on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. as the Terriers host UNC Asheville.
