Box Score Game Box (pdf)
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – On Friday night, the Wofford baseball team jumped out to an early lead and held on for a 10-8 win over Furman at Russell C. King Field. The Terriers built a 7-0 advantage through five innings and never trailed, but the Paladins battled back with four runs in the sixth and three in the eighth to make it a one run game. Wofford added two runs in the bottom of the eighth to provide the winning margin.
Wofford is now 14-22 on the season and 5-11 in the Southern Conference. Furman is 18-15 overall and 6-10 in conference play. The Terriers were led by Matt Ramsay with a three-run homer, along with three hits each by Josh Hyman and Clark Wise. Paul Nitto led the Paladins with two hits and four RBIs.
Each team had one hit in the first inning. After Furman left one on base in the top of the second inning, Wofford led off the bottom of the second with a walk to James Plaisted. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and advanced to third when Matthew Pelt reached on an error. A sacrifice bunt by Luke Feisal scored Plaisted for a 1-0 lead. Matthew Kaskow also reached on an error, which moved Pelt to third base. Pelt scored on a throwing error to give Wofford a 2-0 lead after two innings.
Furman left one runner on base in the top of the third. Wofford opened the bottom of the third with a double by Alec Paradowski and walk to Josh Hyman. With two outs, Matt Ramsay belted a shot over the left field wall to clear the bases and give the Terriers a 5-0 lead. The Paladins were retired in order in the top of the fourth inning.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Matthew Kaskow singled and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. With two outs, Josh Hyman put a ball over the trees in left center for a 7-0 lead. Both teams left one runner on base in the fifth inning.
The Paladins opened the sixth inning with two walks. Paul Nitto then hit a home run to left field, cutting the lead to 7-3. Alex Abrams added a solo home run to right field to make it a 7-4 game. Two Paladins were left on base to end the inning. In the Wofford half of the sixth, two runners were on base when James Plaisted doubled to drive in one run for an 8-4 score. Furman went down in order in the top of the seventh.
The Terriers led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk and single by Luke Feisal. A hit by pitch loaded the bases, but a double play ended the scoring chance for Wofford. In the top of the eighth, the Paladins loaded the bases on three walks. A wild pitch scored one run, while a single by Will Muzika along with an error allowed two runs to score and it was an 8-7 game.
The bottom of the eighth began with a single by Josh Hyman. Matt Ramsay walked with two outs and Clark Wise had an infield single to score Hyman from third. A double steal play gave the Terriers another run when Ramsay crossed the plate due to a throwing error by the Paladins to push the lead to 10-7. Furman added one run in the top of the ninth on an RBI single from Paul Nitto before three straight strikeouts ended the game.
Wofford starter Jesse Morris (5-3) threw 5.1 innings with four runs scored on five hits along with nine strikeouts. Matt Milburn went two-thirds of an inning and gave up one hit with one strikeout. J.D. Osborne threw 1.1 innings with two strikeouts and three runs allowed. Eric Eck earned the save (8) by going 1.2 innings with one run allowed on two hits and four strikeouts.
Furman starter Nate Smith (4-2) went four innings and gave up seven runs on seven hits with five strikeouts. Jacques de Gruy threw two innings with one run allowed on four hits and three strikeouts. Drake Brown worked an inning without allowing a hit. Ben Carlson gave up two runs on two hits with one strikeout in one inning on the mound.
The Terriers continue the three-game Southern Conference series against Furman on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m., with the final game on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
