Baseball Splits at Furman
5/16/2008 4:23:00 AM | Baseball
The Paladins (30-22, 16-10) threatened in the second inning of game two. Drew Murray (LaGrange/LaGrange) gave up a walk and single to start the frame. Brian Pierce (Roswell/Roswell) teamed with Jeremy Beckham (Griffin/Griffin) to start a 6-4-3 double play.
Reese Wade delivered a two-out, RBI single in the third. Matt Hemingway lined a leadoff single in the fourth. He eventually scored on Brian Harrison's sacrifice fly.
To start the sixth, Chris Shehan (Strasburg, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) became the second Eagle ever to join the 20 home run/20 stolen base club. Shehan hammered his 20th round-tripper to make it 2-1. Shehan also moved with one run scored (78) of tying the season record.
Jeremiah Parker (Carrollton/Carrollton) reached on a one-out error. He scored on Wirnsberger's RBI triple to tie the game. David Richardson (Dahlonega/Lumpkin County) walked and stole second, but Mason Smith recorded back-to-back strikeouts on a called third strike to end the threat.
Blake Nation (Brooks/Starr's Mill) ran into trouble in the eighth after giving up consecutive singles and a wild pitch put both runners in scoring position. Consecutive groundouts to Wirnsberger at third base kept runners in check. Nation walked
Parker hammered a solo shot in the ninth. His 12th home run of the year made it 6-3. Nation, on his 21st birthday, gave up a two-out walk but got a groundout to end the game.
“I felt pretty good out there. My fast ball was lively and I thought my slider came back. It wasn't there against UNC Greensboro but I felt it was working tonight,” said Nation. “Tonight Drew did a good job of keeping us in game two and Tony (Chisman) came through tonight as well.”
Wirnsberger matched a career-high of four hits, the fourth time of his career reaching that total. He drove in two runs. Pierce finished with two hits as the Eagles held an 11-8 edge in game two.
During game one, the Eagles were held without an extra-base hit for the first time this year. The Eagles threatened in the first when Porter walked and Dick Howser Award finalist Shehan singled up the middle. Porter advanced on a fly ball but GS could not push a run across.
Furman manufactured a run in its half when Marcus Rose doubled to start, went to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a groundout. In the third Brian Harrison hit a leadoff double. He went to third on a sacrifice bunt then Kyle Kamppi (Savannah/Benedictine) walked Rose. Bobby Hubbard hit a grounder down the first base line. Parker threw home in time to nail
Pierce singled to start the fifth. Beckham executed a sacrifice bunt moving Pierce into scoring position. Porter worked the count full with two outs before lining a RBI single up the middle to score Pierce.
Campbell Lewis hit a leadoff single in the seventh, then advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt. A fielding error by Porter allowed the Paladins to put two runners in scoring position. Connor Lind bounced a 2-run single through the drawn-in infield. Bobby Hubbard lined a 2-run double just out of Porter's reach then Reese Wade lined a RBI single up the middle to make it 7-2. The Paladins scored three more runs in the eighth for the final margin.
For the first time this year
Kamppi (5-4) pitched six solid innings but ran into problems in the seventh. He was officially charged for six runs (five earned) on six hits in 6.1 innings, striking out three to one walk.
The Eagles will go for the series win on Saturday (May 17), first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m.
