GREENVILLE, S.C. – The No. 5 Wofford baseball team leaped in front quickly with an eight-run first inning Thursday afternoon at Fluor Field en route to a 12-1 triumph in seven innings over No. 4 Western Carolina. The Terriers improve to 37-17 as the Catamounts drop to 28-25.
 
Camden Wicker (3-3) earned the win for Wofford in a starting role after hurling 6.0 innings with just one run allowed on four hits and one walk. He tallied four punchouts, all looking. Champ Davis tossed the final frame, allowing only a hit while retiring the other three batters he faced.
 
"I think it just made me go out there and pitch really free," said Wicker on getting eight runs of support before even toeing the rubber. "My team's got my back always, and they just went out there and put a huge eight-run spot on the board. It helped me pitch a little more loose and free, and it gave me a lot of confidence."
 
Catamount starter Gavin Mortenson (4-6) suffered the loss after pitching just two-thirds of an inning and allowing eight runs on five hits and three walks.
 
With 10 hits, the Terriers reached double-digit base knocks for a 10^th-straight contest. Dixon Black and Jack Renwick led the way with two apiece as both drove home a run. Black tallied one of the three Wofford extra-base hits with a double. Marshall Toole added one of them himself with a triple, his 10^th of the season, as he tallied a pair of RBI. He is now one triple away from matching the SoCon record for a season. Toole also swiped his 39^th base of the season, tying the program's single-season mark set back in 1981 by Tim Renfrow. Daniel Jackson clubbed his 11^th home run of the season for the third extra-base hit, driving in three runs with that one swing of the bat. Jackson has stretched his on-base streak to 43 games, topping the previous mark of 42 by Toole earlier this season for the program's longest such streak. Adam Haber added two runs driven in with a base hit, and Brice Martinez, Tyler Hare and Lucas Manning each picked up one RBI.
 
Ever patient at the dish, the Terriers drew nine walks as a squad. Martinez and David Wiley each worked two walks with the remaining seven spread evenly among seven players.
 
The Wofford offense was firing on all cylinders out of the gates, spotting eight runs in the top of the first. Despite two quick outs to begin the game, a pair of walks set up Tyler Hare, who ripped a single to right that scored the game's first run. Another walk loaded the bases for Lucas Manning, who wore a pitch to bring in another. The floodgates opened from there, as Adam Haber singled home two more before Jack Renwick's bunt single pushed across another. With the lineup flipping around, Marshall Toole made up for his first out by lining a triple into right field that scored two more runs. Dixon Black then doubled Toole in, giving Wofford a quick 8-0 advantage.
 
The Catamounts secured their first run with a solo homer in the bottom of the second, but Western Carolina still trailed 8-1.
 
Wofford stretched its lead with three more runs in the top of the sixth. After a walk and infield single, Daniel Jackson delivered an opposite field three-run big fly to push the lead to 11-1.
 
The Terriers tacked on one more run in the top of the seventh. After a walk to Toole, he swiped second and reached third on a groundout. A fielding error then allowed him to reach home and make the lead 12-1.
 
Champ Davis came on to pitch the bottom of the frame hoping to shave two innings off the contest. After getting two quick flyouts, Western Carolina notched a single to keep the game going. But the next batter also flied out to conclude the 12-1 run-rule victory for the Terriers.
 
With the win, Wofford advances to play No. 1 UNCG tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. The winner of that game will advance to Saturday's semifinals with the loser having to play an elimination game later that same day at 4:00 p.m.