SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford College baseball team began a weekend series against Lafayette with a 12-1 win on Friday night at Russell C. King Field. The Leopards scored in the top of the first, but the Terriers answered with the next twelve runs – including four in the sixth inning – for the victory.
Wofford opens the season 12-7, while Lafayette is 3-11 overall. The Terriers were led by
Lawson Hill with four hits and an RBI, while
Hudson Byorick had a three-run homer.
Matty Brown added two hits and three RBIs. Dan Leckie had two hits to lead the Leopards.
The Leopards led off the game with a double and with two outs an RBI single made it 1-0. Wofford was retired in the bottom of the first inning. With one runner on base and one out in the top of the second, the Terriers turned a double play. In the bottom of the second,
Lawson Hill had a single and he moved to second on a balk. With two outs,
Josh Congdon was hit by a pitch and the runners advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch. A single by
Matty Brown drove in both runners to give Wofford a 2-1 lead.
After Lafayette was retired in the top of the third inning,
Brett Rodriguez doubled with one out in the bottom of the third.
Lawson Hill followed with a single to score Rodriguez for a 3-1 advantage. The Leopards left one runner on base in the top of the fourth after a single. With two outs in the bottom of the fourth,
Mike Brown tripled down the right line. With
Andrew Orzel at bat, Brown stole home to give Wofford a 4-1 lead.
In the top of the fifth, the Leopards led off with a double but the runner was stranded at third base. Wofford added a single by
Lawson Hill in the fifth and Lafayette stranded two in the top of the sixth after a walk and hit by pitch. With one out in the bottom of the sixth,
Nolen Hester singled.
Matty Brown walked and on a fielder's choice by
Mike Brown a run scored for a 5-1 advantage. After a walk to
Andrew Orzel,
Hudson Byorick cleared the fence in left field to clear the bases. Wofford had an 8-1 lead after Byorick's first career home run.
The Leopards were retired in order in the top of the seventh inning.
Lawson Hill doubled to begin the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Hill scored on a single by
John Dempsey.
Matt Pagano reached on a fielder's choice and took second on a wild pitch. A single by
Matty Brown scored Pagano as the Terriers led 10-1 after seven complete. Lafayette went in order in the top of the eighth inning.
Wofford added two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning when
Andrew Orzel and
Brett Rodriguez walked and were driven home on a double by
Colin Davis. In the top of the ninth, the Leopards had two runners on base after a hit by pitch and walk before a strikeout ended the game.
Austin Higginbotham (4-1) started for the Terriers and in eight innings allowed one run on four hits. He struck out four batters and walked two.
Jake Dippold threw the ninth inning and did not allow a run with one hit allowed, along with a strikeout.
JP Woodward (0-4) started for Lafayette and went five innings with four runs allowed on six hits, along with three strikeouts. Ethan O'Connor worked two-thirds of an inning with three runs allowed on one hit. Tyler Faccenda threw 1.1 innings with four runs allowed on three hits. Michael Dunn went an inning with two runs allowed on one hit.
The Terriers will continue the series against Lafayette on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday at 1:00 p.m. at Russell C. King Field.
