Eagles Hold Off Western 13-12

STATESBORO, Ga. – Chris Shehan (Strasburg, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) recorded a career-high seven RBI, four coming off a grand slam in the fourth inning, as Georgia Southern held off Western Carolina 13-12 Saturday afternoon (March 22) at J.I. Clements Stadium. The Eagles (13-8 overall, 2-0 SoCon) won their fourth straight but had to rally from an early deficit to do so.

Andy Moye (Alpharetta/Alpharetta) quickly recorded the first two outs of the first inning. The redshirt-freshman walked Blake Murphy, who eventually scored on J.C. Lyons’ RBI single. Ryan Matthews lined a 2-run homer to spot the Catamounts a 3-0 lead.

Western used an error and more two-out hitting to score twice in the second inning. The Eagles got on the scoreboard in their half of the second on a two-out hit. David Richardson (Dahlonega/Lumpkin County) homered for the fifth straight game, a solo shot to cut the deficit to 5-1.

Ty Wright (Montrose/West Laurens) hit a one-out double in the third. Phillip Porter (Marietta/Sprayberry) dropped a single into centerfield, putting runners on the corners and in the process extended his hitting streak to 15 games. Shehan brought home a run on a groundout to make it 5-2.

Nick Liles lined a RBI double down the left field line in the fourth to make it a four-run game, but more clutch two-out hitting by GS turned the tables.

Jeremiah Parker (Carrollton/Carrollton) was hit by a pitch to start the fourth. A.J. Wirnsberger (Tuscaloosa, AL/Paul Bear Bryant) hit a grounder back to pitcher Drew Saberhagen. He tried turning a double play but second baseman Mitchell Hatley wasn’t on the bag so Western had to settle for a 1-4-3 putout for the first out of the inning.

Richardson lined a RBI double. After a groundout, Jeremy Beckham (Griffin/Griffin) was hit by a pitch. Wright delivered a RBI single then Porter followed with a single to load the bases. Shehan then hit his team-leading ninth home run, also his first grand slam of the season and second of his career. Benedict singled up the middle then Parker hammered a shot to right field, his second round-tripper this year gave the Eagles a 10-6 lead.

The Catamounts got two runs back in the fifth on Dylan de Graaf’s 2-run homer down the left field line. GS got those two back in its half. With the bases loaded and two outs, Shehan lined a 3-2 pitch into right field to plate two more runs. Those two RBI accounted for his new career-high and a 12-8 lead.

Murphy hit a 2-run homer in the sixth. Brian Pierce (Roswell/Roswell) hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the frame for a 13-10 lead, which proved to be the game-winner.

Kyle Kamppi (Savannah/Benedictine Academy) hit Liles and walked Brent Greer to start the eighth. The junior right-hander struck out Murphy for the first out. On an attempted double steal, Benedict nailed Greer down at second base, then Kamppi retired Lyons on a groundout to end the threat.

“The strikeout and then the caught stealing were big plays. If Griffin (Benedict) doesn’t throw out that runner that puts two runners in scoring position with one out,” said Kamppi. “When we fell behind early Coach (Hennon) told the hitters to stick with our approach at the plate. If we do then the runs will come.”

Western threatened in the ninth. Mathews hit a leadoff double but Kamppi retired the next batter on his third strikeout of the game. He walked de Graff, which prompted Hennon to bring in Blake Nation (Brooks/Starr’s Mill). Pinch-hitter Barrett Shaft lined a RBI single but then Jason Haynes hit an infield pop up for the second out. With runners at second and third Liles hit a single through the left side. It scored one but Western held the runner at third base instead of trying to tie up the game. During the next at-bat Greer hit into a fielder’s choice to end the game.

“Today is a big win for us. Western is one of our big rivals and they are usually at the top of the league, so to capture the first two in the series and have a chance to sweep is huge,” said Kamppi, who gave up two runs on one hit in three innings.

Aaron Eubanks (Moultrie/Colquitt County) earned the win in relief. The senior left-hander improved to 3-1 but was charged for five runs on six hits in 3.1 innings. Nation earned his second save.

Shehan finished 3-for-5, increasing his team-leading RBI total to 37. Richardson also had three hits, scored twice and drove in two runs. Wright scored three runs as did Parker. Porter and Wright added two hits apiece.

Saberhagen (0-3) allowed 12 runs on 11 hits in 4.2 innings. Chris Masters gave up one hit over the final three innings. Liles had three hits to lead Western (6-13, 0-2) and drove in two runs. Murphy finished with three RBI.

Relief pitcher Mike Tavernier pitched one-third of an inning but had to come out of the game when he was hit by a one-hop drive off the bat of Wirnsberger in the sixth. The game was delayed nearly 20 minutes as medical personnel attended to the junior right-hander. Tavernier, escorted by the trainers, would walk off the field on his own.

Category: Baseball

Published on Saturday, 22 March 2008 00:16