FROM CBB NEWS SOURCES
UNC Wilmington 17 Delaware 7
WILMINGTON, N.C. – Senior Jason Appel tied his career-high with four hits and senior Daniel Hargrave knocked in four runs as No. 29 UNC Wilmington fought through three weather delays to win its Colonial Athletic Association baseball series against Delaware with a 17-7 win on Sunday at Bob Hannah Stadium.
UNCW, who scored 43 runs in the series, improved to 29-8-1 overall and 18-2-1 in the CAA. The Blue Hens, meanwhile, saw their record fall to 13-24 and 6-12.
Freshman reliever Cameron Roth (4-1) picked up the win for the Seahawks in his second appearance of the weekend for the Seahawks.
UD freshman righthander Michael Londino (1-4) was saddled with the loss after allowing seven runs, six earned, in one inning of work.
Appel finished 4-for-4 and scored four runs while lifting his batting average to .405 on the season. Senior Shane French went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs.
Sophomore Ryan Cuneo finished 3-for-4 to lead the UD lineup and drove in three runs.
A two-out rally started by an Appel double gave UNCW a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. Senior Mark Carver (2-for-4, 3 runs) plated Appel with a single and would later score on French’s single through the box.
Junior Kyle Davis, who doubled twice on the afternoon, opened the bottom of the inning with a double to right and one out later junior Alex Buchholz was hit to put runners at first and second for junior Scott Shockley who singled through the right side for the first run. Cuneo singled to right to tie the game for UD and put runners at first and third. A fielder’s choice by Reed knocked in the third run as the Blue Hens took the lead, 3-2.
UNCW rallied with five in the second to build a 7-3 lead. Hargrave doubled in two runs and two more scored later on a throwing error by Londino.
The Blue Hens moved to within 8-5 on Shockley’s lead off homer in the fifth. The game was then halted due to lightning.
UNCW sent 12 hitters to the plate in an 8-run sixth inning to take a commanding 16-5 lead. Freshman Cody Stanley had a pinch hit 2-run double, sophomore Bobby Leeper knocked in two with a single and Hargrave launched his 14th homer of the season to score two.
In the bottom of the inning, Cuneo doubled in two runs to narrow UD’s deficit to 16-7.
French connected on his seventh home run of the season to lead off the ninth and pushed UNCW’s lead to 17-7.
The Seahawks visit Greenville, N.C., on Tuesday for a 6 p.m. start against East Carolina.
Northeastern 2 Towson 1
The Northeastern University baseball team edged Towson 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at Friedman Diamond, taking two-of-three from the Tigers over the weekend. Both pitching staffs put forth superb efforsts in the game and Northeastern’s two runs in the first inning was all that it would need to top Towson.
Tony DiCesare led off the game for the Huskies with his third home run of the season. Mike Tamsin immediately followed with a single up the middle, and after Mike Lyon reached on a fielder’s choice and advanced to third on two wild pitches by Tiger starter Duane Herr, Frank Compagnone knocked him home with a single to center and the Huskies their second and final run of the game. After giving up the two runs to the Huskies, Herr was phenomenal, as he then retired the next 18 batters before hitting Josh Porter with a pitch in the seventh inning. The Huskies’ only other hit of the game came on an Alex Fox single through the right side to lead off the eighth inning.
Ryan Quigley started the game for the Huskies and picked up his first win of the season after throwing 5+ innings of seven-hit, one-run, one-walk, seven-strikeout ball. Kris Dabrowiecki relieved Quigley and was dominating in his first relief appearance of the season, as he went 3+ innings and allowed just one hit, one walk and struck out four. Sheldon McDonald recorded the final three outs to pick up his first save on the season.
The Huskies improved to 16-17-1 overall and 7-10-1 in the CAA, while Towson dropped to 21-19 overall and 8-10 in the conference. NU is back in action Friday night at 7 p.m. when the team opens a three-game set at Old Dominion.
Temple 9 Duquesne 7
AMBLER, PA (4/20/08) – Freshman Byron McKoy (Charlotte, NC / Independence) had a career-high four hits as Temple completed a series sweep of Duquesne on Sunday with a 9-7 win at Skip Wilson Field. The victory, combined with a Charlotte loss, moves the Owls into a first place tie with the 49ers with identical 11-4 league records. The Cherry and White (20-17 overall) have now reached the 20-win plateau faster than any team since 1996 squad did it in 35 games.
Temple managed to remain composed after a scary scene in the bottom of the first. Senior Mike Kelch (Annandale, VA / WT Woodson) fouled a pitch off his face and was carted off the field in an ambulance. The injury was season-ending, head coach Rob Valli said.
Now playing without three regular starters due to injury, the Owls continued to chip away against the Dukes, who entered the weekend in first place. TU scored in seven different innings, including five straight at one point, and scored its first three runs on outs.
Junior Sean Barksdale (Glenolden, PA / Cardinal O’Hara) gave the hosts a 1-0 lead in the first with a sacrifice fly after singles by McKoy and junior Jamie Abercrombie (Ambler, PA / Hatboro-Horsham) led off the inning. Sophomore Matt Heltz (Garyville, LA / St. Charles Catholic) then had a hit for the sixth straight at-bat over two days and junior Lenny DelGrippo (Collegeville, PA / Kennedy-Kenrick), pinch hitting for Kelch, had an RBI groundout to make it 2-0.
Barksdale again drove in McKoy in the third on a groundout and in the fourth, junior Mark Ortega (Palm Beach Gardens, FL / Palm Beach Gardens / Boston College) doubled, moved to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 4-2.
Duquesne got as close as 4-3 with a run in the fifth, but freshman Rafael Cordero (Colonia, NJ / JFK-Iselin) picked an opportune time for his first collegiate hit, lining a two-run double down the leftfield line to provide Temple with a 6-3 lead.
McKoy’s RBI single in the sixth and Ortega’s two-run home run in the seventh provided some insurance.
It proved to be needed as the Dukes rallied for three runs in the ninth. A two-out inning kept the rally alive and a seemingly benign fly-ball to right turned into an adventure when Barksdale lost his footing. He recovered in time to make the catch, albeit from his knees, to end the game and finish off the series sweep.
Freshman Ben White (Parkesburg, PA / Coatesville), making his first conference start, picked up the win to improve to 2-2. He threw a career high 6.1 innings, allowing four hits, four runs (three earned) and striking out five.
Senior Eric Fritz (Rocky Hill, CT / Rocky Hill) earned his second save of the week by pitching the final inning without allowing a run.
McKoy had his third four-hit game of the season and batted .563 (9-for-16) during the three game series. He now leads the team with a .341 batting average and nine doubles.
Abercrombie and Ortega each had two hits for Temple, which swept a series at home for the first time since 2005 (St. Bonaventure, May 13-14). It marked the first time since 2001 that the Owls have swept two series in a season and the first ever sweep of Duquesne.
Derek Mechling had two hits and knocked in three for Duquesne (15-20, 10-5), who moved into a tie for third with Xavier. Gary Pierpont (0-3) suffered the loss after allowing six earned runs in five innings.
Temple has now won four straight games and five of its last six. The Owls are 6-2 after eight games in a program-record 12-game homestand.
The Cherry and White return to the diamond on Tuesday when it hosts Villanova at 3 PM.
UMass 12 Charlotte 8
AMHERST, Mass. – The UMass bats came alive in the finale of the Minutemen’s (12-17, 5-10 A-10) Atlantic 10 series vs. Charlotte (29-9, 11-4 A-10), as they jumped out to an early 9-0 lead and went on to defeat the first-place 49ers, 12-8, on Sunday afternoon at Earl Lorden Field. Andy Tuetken (Smithfield, R.I.) hit two home runs and drove in four runs to lead the UMass offense which pounded out 17 hits. Ryan Franczek (Chicopee, Mass.) was 3-for-4 at the plate with a home run, a double, three RBI, and two runs scored and Jim Macdonald (Cheshire, Conn.) went 3-for-5 with two doubles. Mike Dicato (Winthrop, Mass.) (3-1) held the 49ers scoreless over the first five innings before allowing four runs in the sixth. The junior right-hander went 5 2/3 innings and struck out six to earn the victory. Mitchell Eilenberg (Brooklyn, Mass.) went the final 3 1/3 to earn his third save. The win is UMass’ first ever over Charlotte. The teams have met six times total.
Chris Taylor and Corey Shaylor led the Charlotte offense, which scored all eight runs in the last four innings, with three hits each. Taylor and Rob Lyerly each homered. Ryan Rivers (1-1) went 2 2/3 innings, allowing six runs on nine hits to take the loss for the 49ers. They would use five pitchers total in the game.
With one out in the second inning, three-straight singles loaded the bases for Kyle Multner (Peabody, Mass.) who walked to score the game’s first run. Brian Baudinet (Watertown, Conn.) then drove in a run on a single through the left side and Franczek followed with a single up the middle that scored two more to give UMass a 4-0 lead.
Macdonald led off the third inning with a double down the left field line and later scored on Cody Kauffman’s (Blue Bell, Pa.) two-out single through the right side. Multner singled in the next at-bat to score Bryan Garrity (Peabody, Mass.) with UMass’ sixth run.
The Minutemen used the long-ball to score their runs in the fourth inning. Franczek hit a solo blast to left-center, his third of the season, and Tuetken hit a two-run homer to left, his first of the year, with two outs.
Charlotte got on the board with four runs in the sixth. Taylor and Lyerly hit back-to-back round-trippers and O’Brien Taylor added an RBI single.
The Minutemen answered with three in the bottom half of the inning. Franczek and Adam Tempesta (Brockton, Mass.) led off the inning with back-to-back doubles and Tuetken hit a two-run home run for his second of the day.
The 49ers were able to squeeze out two runs in the seventh and one each in the eighth and ninth to make it 12-8.
The Minutemen remain at home to host Central Connecticut State on Tuesday at 3 p.m.
