SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After falling behind early, the Wofford baseball team began to chip away and slowly comeback Sunday afternoon at Russell C. King Field, but the early deficit proved too much as the Xavier Musketeers held on to win 14-10 over the Terriers. Wofford moves to 14-5 on the season while Xavier improves to 10-9.
Terrier starter
Mike Eggert (1-1) suffered the loss in a starting role, pitching one-third of an inning and allowing seven runs (four earned). Wofford used seven pitchers in the contest, with
Ryder Moye and
Holden Wilder notably each tossing 2.0 scoreless innings.
Xavier starter Luke Bell (1-2) earned the win after tossing 5.0 innings with five runs (three earned) allowed on five hits. Justin Loer (1) notched a save for the Musketeers after pitching the final 2.1 innings.
Ben Schulte led the way for the Terriers with three hits and two RBI. Two of hits knocks went for extra bases, including a home run, his first as a Terrier.
Cameron Gill and
Andrew Mannelly each notched a pair of hits and drove in a run. Despite going hitless,
Jack Renwick recorded a pair of runs batted in.
Xavier wasted no time, jumping in front with seven runs in the top of the first. The Musketeers added another in the second to lead 8-0.
In the bottom of the second, the Terriers got on the board with four runs.
Cameron Gill singled in a run, and an error allowed another runner to score.
Jack Renwick's bunt plated another run later in the frame, and the defense was unable to get an out on the play to create runners on the corners. The Terriers then utilized the double steal to get Renwick to second and bring
Andrew Mannelly home to cut the deficit to 8-4.
In the bottom of the third, the Terriers ran another delayed double steal with runners on first and third, and though this time the Musketeers got the out at second,
Trey Yunger was able to scurry home to bring Wofford within three runs, 8-5.
But in the fourth, Xavier plated four more runs to extend its lead to 12-5.
Mannelly's single in the sixth brought in another run, sparking another Terrier rally. Renwick's sacrifice fly scored one more, and
David Wiley reached on an error to bring in Mannelly. The score stood at 12-8 after six.
Schulte lifted two-run homer to center in the seventh to make the score 12-10.
But the Musketeers scored two more in the top of the ninth, and Wofford was unable to get anything going in the bottom of the frame, sealing the 14-10 final score.
The Terriers will hit the road on Tuesday for midweek action, traveling to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech. First pitch is slated for 6:00 p.m. against the Yellow Jackets.
