GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Wofford College baseball team was defeated 4-3 by Furman on Friday at Latham Stadium to open a Southern Conference series. The Paladins scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a tied game for a 4-1 lead. Wofford got two runs back in the top of the eighth, but left two runners on base and the Paladins held on for the 4-3 win.
 
Wofford is now 23-12 on the season and 4-3 in the Southern Conference. Furman is 17-17 overall and 3-4 in league play. The Terriers had 13 hits in the game and were led by McClain Bradley with three hits, while Colin Davis, Max McDougald and Alex Malsch had RBIs. Furman was led by Logan Taplett with two hits of the Paladins' seven hits, including a two-run homer in the sixth inning.
 
Both teams were retired in order in the first inning. After Wofford went in order in the top of the second, the Paladins had a pair of singles in the bottom half and stranded both runners. With one out in the top of the third inning, Lawson Hill had a double down the right field line. Alex Malsch followed with a single up the middle that scored Hill for a 1-0 lead. McClain Bradley had a hit-and-run with two outs to put runners on the corners, but they were stranded.
 
The Paladins left one runner on base in the bottom of the third after a fielding error. Andrew Orzel led off the fourth with a single and moved to third base on a failed pick off. Brett Rodriguez was hit by a pitch and stole second base. Lawson Hill walked with two outs to load the bases before a strikeout left three runners stranded. Furman had two singles in the bottom of the fourth and then with two outs an RBI single tied the game at 1-1.
 
McClain Bradley singled up the middle with one out in the top of the fifth inning, but was caught stealing second. Mack Nathanson was left on first base at the end of the top half after reaching on a walk. The Paladins left one on base after a hit by pitch. In the top of the sixth, Cody Miller singled with one out. A fielder's choice and ground out ended the top half. Furman had a runner reach on an error in the bottom of the sixth and he stole second. A single up the middle by Logan Taplett scored the runner for a 2-1 lead. Sims Griffith hit a home run with two outs as the Paladins took a 4-1 advantage.
 
Wofford had a single by Colin Davis with one out in the top of the seventh. McClain Bradley and Mack Nathanson followed with singles to load the bases. A foul out and a throw home on the play ended the top half with two runners stranded. Furman left one runner on base to end the seventh inning. Brett Rodriguez doubled to lead off the eighth inning for the Terriers. Cody Miller had a single for runners on the corners. A fielder's choice by Max McDougald scored Rodriguez for a 4-2 game. Lawson Hill singled and moved to second on a throw. A fielder's choice had McDougald out at home for the second out. A single up the middle by Colin Davis scored Hill to cut the lead to 4-3, but a strikeout ended the top half with two runners left in scoring position.
 
The Paladins were retired in order in the bottom of the eighth inning. Andrew Orzel was hit by a pitch with one out in the top of the ninth. A double play ended the game with a 4-3 final score.  
 
Adam Scott (5-3) started for the Terriers and went eight innings with four runs (three unearned) allowed on seven hits. He had 11 strikeouts in the game and only one walk. He increased his career total to 332 strikeouts and moved to a tie for sixth all-time in SoCon history. It was his seventh career game with 10 or more strikeouts.
 
Furman starting pitcher Nik Verbeke (4-2) threw 6.0 innings with one run allowed on six hits while striking out five. Tyler Kimbrell went 1.1 innings with one run allowed on five hits. Jake Crawford earned his second save of the season by going 1.2 innings with one run allowed on two hits and a pair of strikeouts.
 
Wofford will conclude the series against Furman on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m. The first game will be broadcast on WMYA-40.