CHARLESTON, S.C. – It took two days, but Wofford defeated Furman 16-7 in the first round of the 2015 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament presented by Mountain Shore Properties at Riley Park on Thursday afternoon. Wofford advances to play Samford at 9:00 a.m. on Friday morning.
 
The start of the game on Wednesday was delayed by over eight hours, as heavy thunderstorms hit the Charleston area ten minutes before the first pitch was scheduled to be thrown. At 8:30 p.m. the game finally got underway, but with Wofford leading 8-6 in the bottom of the third inning the game was suspended due to more rain. The game resumed at 3:45 p.m. on Thursday and the Terriers scored the next eight runs on the way to the victory.
 
Wofford is 37-20 overall, while Furman is 24-32 this season. The Terriers were led by Matt Ramsay with three hits and four RBIs, while Carson Waln had three hits and three RBIs. Wofford had a total of 17 hits in the game, seven of which went for extra bases. The Paladins were led by Chris Ohmstede with two of the team's eighth hits.
 
The Paladins led off the game with a triple by Carter Grote and a single by Jake Jones to take an early 1-0 advantage. A walk and a single loaded the bases, then a ground out added a run. A ground rule double by Brandon Elmy drove in two runs for a 4-0 lead. With two outs, a two-run homer by Ryan Morse pushed the lead to 6-0 before a strikeout ended the top half of the first.
 
With one out in the bottom of the first, the Terriers had back-to-back singles from Matt Ramsay and James Plaisted. Conor Clancey reached on an error and Ramsay scored for a 6-1 score. A sacrifice fly by Carson Waln drove in Plaisted to make it 6-2 before the end of the first inning. In the top of the second, the lead-off batter reached on an error but was stranded at third base.
 
In the bottom of the second, Demetrius Jennings had a single up the middle and Derek Hirsch doubled to right field. Alec Paradowski reached on a fielder's choice and Jennings was safe at home on an error to make it 6-3. A single by Matt Ramsay scored Hirsch and a fielder's choice by James Plaisted added a run for a 6-5 game. A single to right field by Conor Clancey drove in a run to tie the game at 6-6. A double steal attempt allowed Plaisted to score from third, but Clancey was caught stealing for a 7-6 lead.
 
Furman was retired in order in the top of the third inning. Kody Ruedisili and Max McDougald led off the bottom of the third inning with singles. A walk to Demetrius Jennings loaded the bases and a walk to Derek Hirsch allowed a run to cross the plate and make it an 8-6 game. After a double play, the game went into a rain delay and was suspended.
 
The contest resumed on Thursday afternoon at 3:45 p.m. with Matt Ramsay at the plate, two outs and runners on the corners. On the first pitch, Ramsay blasted a ball over the scoreboard in left field for an 11-6 advantage. It was his third home run of the season. Furman was then retired in order in the top of the fourth inning. The Terriers began the bottom of the fourth with a single by Conor Clancey and a double to left center field by Carson Waln. Kody Ruedisili then hit his fifth home run of the season and gave Wofford a 14-6 lead. Derek Hirsch added a two-out double, but Wofford left two runners on base at the end of the fourth inning.
 
After Furman was retired in order in the top of the fifth inning, James Plaisted led off the bottom half with a single. A double play was followed by Carson Waln's second double of the game, but a fly ball ended the fifth inning. With two outs in the top of the sixth, Cameron Whitehead singled for the Paladins to end a stretch of 14 batters retired in order. A ground ball ended the top half and Wofford was retired in order in the bottom of the sixth inning.
 
The Paladins were retired in order in the top of the seventh inning. With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Matt Ramsay walked and he stole second base. After a walk by Conor Clancey, Carson Waln hit a triple to right center field as Wofford took a 16-6 lead. Furman got one run back in the top of the eighth as Chris Ohmstede hit a solo home run to left field for a 16-7 score.
 
Max McDougald led off the bottom of the eighth with a single and Derek Hirsch walked with one out. Back-to-back strikeouts ended the scoring chance for the Terriers. The Paladins opened the top of the ninth with a single and a hit by pitch. A ground out advanced the runners, but a shallow fly ball and ground out ended the game.
 
Wofford starter Matt Milburn went three innings on Wednesday and gave up six runs on five hits with two strikeouts. Elliot Lance (5-2) took the mound at the resumption of the game and went a career-long 6.0 innings. He allowed just three hits and one run along with three strikeouts for the win.
 
Matt Solter (4-5) started for Furman and threw 2.2 innings with ten runs allowed on eight hits. Will Gaddis resumed the game and gave up four runs on five hits in one and a third innings. Harry Norman went 2.2 innings with two run allowed on three hits. Billy Greenfield worked an inning with one hit allowed. Blake Chisolm struck out the lone batter he faced.
 
Wofford will face #2 seed Samford at 9:00 a.m. on Friday morning in the winner's side of the bracket. The loser of the Wofford/Samford game will play at 5:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon, while the winner advances to play on Saturday at 9:00 a.m.