Photo by: Tim Cowie - DavidsonPhotos.com
Davidson Opens Final Home SoCon Series against Georgia Southern Thursday
5/12/2010 5:47:12 PM | Baseball
DAVIDSON, N.C. -- The Davidson Wildcats will open their final home SoCon series of the season against the Georgia Southern Eagles Thursday at 6 p.m. at Wilson Field. On graduation weekend, the Wildcats and Eagles will play Friday at 4 p.m. and finish the series a day earlier than usual with a noon first pitch on Saturday.
Davidson (19-26, 5-19 SoCon), which has not played a game in eight days, returns to the field after a 14-10 defeat of the then-ranked No.16 Virginia Tech Hokies at English Field May 4 in Blacksburg, Va. Freshman third baseman Andrew Barna batted 4-for-5 with a home run and five RBI and junior right-hander Andy Bass held the Hokies hitless over the final 2 2/3 innings as the Wildcats earned their first defeat over a ranked team since 2006. The Wildcats enter the weekend in 10th place with a 5-19 league mark and, with six league games remaining, will have to fight their way into the eight-team SoCon tournament.
Georgia Southern (21-10, 16-8 SoCon) is currently in third in the league standings, after sweeping Furman in Greenville the first weekend of May. The Eagles, who enter the weekend on an eight-game winning streak, are batting .304 as a team (fifth in the league) and have a team ERA of 6.01 (seventh). They are led at the plate by senior infielder Kyle Blackburn, who has driven in 64 runs, third best in the league, to go along with a team-high 13 home runs. Eric Phillips leads the club with a .345 batting average, and junior infielder Shawn Payne leads the SoCon with 36 stolen bases. No.1 starter senior LHP Jake Brown sports a 3.74 ERA and has recorded 68 strikeouts, ranked fourth in the SoCon in both categories.
Probable Starters
Senior LHP Thomas Middour (4-2, 4.83) will get the Thursday night start for the Wildcats against Brown (7-4, 3.74). Sophomore LHP Chris Lamb (2-7, 7.63) will toss the Friday afternoon game against the Eagles' junior RHP Andy Moye (7-3, 5.68), and sophomore RHP Ryan Overcash (5-2, 4.82) will work the finale against Georgia Southern's sophomore RHP Matt Murray (5-2, 6.39).
About the Series
Georgia Southern leads the overall series 71-18, dating back to March 22, 1954. The Eagles have won the last four straight meetings, including a series sweep last year in Statesboro and a 4-3, 11-inning win in the first round of the SoCon tournament in Greenville, S.C. The Wildcats last win in the series was a 7-6 triumph in the 2008 series finale, April 20 at Wilson Field. Prior to that, the Eagles have won the last seven meetings.
Last Meeting: Wildcats' Upset Bid Falls Short, 4-3, in 11-inning Loss to Eagles
The seventh-seeded Davidson Wildcats nearly upset the second-seeded Georgia Southern Eagles in the opening game of the 2009 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament, but could not hold onto an early lead, eventually falling 4-3 in 11 innings Wednesday morning at Fluor Field.
Davidson led for most of the game, until Georgia Southern tied it with a pair of runs in the seventh inning.
Thomas Middour pitched three innings of one-hit relief and worked both into and out of some jams, but Georgia Southern got a bases-loaded walk-off single from Brian Pierce in the 11th to advance in the winner's bracket.
With the score tied, Middour pitched to just three batters in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extras, but the Wildcats would strand a pair in the 10th. The Eagles loaded the bases with one out courtesy of a fielding error, a walk and a hit batsmen. Middour worked out of the jam by fielding a swinging bunt for a force out at the plate and striking out Griffin Benedict.
The 'Cats couldn't get out of the jam in the 11th, though, once again getting the bases loaded with one out. Matt Webb took over in relief of Middour, but Pierce dropped a base hit into no-man's land in shallow right field to lift the Eagles to the 4-3 win.
Kyle Kamppi became the winner after throwing the final 2 2/3 of shutout ball. Chris Lamb was efficient for Davidson in the start, allowing just three runs on nine hits in 6 2/3, but Chris Mederos was equal, surrendering three runs on seven hits and striking out a season-high 12 batters in 7 1/3. Tommy Piacenza led the Wildcats at the plate batting 3-for-3, as Davidson collected eight hits. The Eagles had 12 hits, with a pair each by Roman Grimaldi, Phillip Porter, A.J. Wirnsberger, Kyle Blackburn and Eric Phillips.
Next Up
For its fourth straight home game, Davidson hosts the Hokies in a return game for the final non-conference game of the season, Tuesday May 18 at 4 p.m. before concluding the regular season with a three-game trip to SoCon foe Western Carolina.
Davidson (19-26, 5-19 SoCon), which has not played a game in eight days, returns to the field after a 14-10 defeat of the then-ranked No.16 Virginia Tech Hokies at English Field May 4 in Blacksburg, Va. Freshman third baseman Andrew Barna batted 4-for-5 with a home run and five RBI and junior right-hander Andy Bass held the Hokies hitless over the final 2 2/3 innings as the Wildcats earned their first defeat over a ranked team since 2006. The Wildcats enter the weekend in 10th place with a 5-19 league mark and, with six league games remaining, will have to fight their way into the eight-team SoCon tournament.
Georgia Southern (21-10, 16-8 SoCon) is currently in third in the league standings, after sweeping Furman in Greenville the first weekend of May. The Eagles, who enter the weekend on an eight-game winning streak, are batting .304 as a team (fifth in the league) and have a team ERA of 6.01 (seventh). They are led at the plate by senior infielder Kyle Blackburn, who has driven in 64 runs, third best in the league, to go along with a team-high 13 home runs. Eric Phillips leads the club with a .345 batting average, and junior infielder Shawn Payne leads the SoCon with 36 stolen bases. No.1 starter senior LHP Jake Brown sports a 3.74 ERA and has recorded 68 strikeouts, ranked fourth in the SoCon in both categories.
Probable Starters
Senior LHP Thomas Middour (4-2, 4.83) will get the Thursday night start for the Wildcats against Brown (7-4, 3.74). Sophomore LHP Chris Lamb (2-7, 7.63) will toss the Friday afternoon game against the Eagles' junior RHP Andy Moye (7-3, 5.68), and sophomore RHP Ryan Overcash (5-2, 4.82) will work the finale against Georgia Southern's sophomore RHP Matt Murray (5-2, 6.39).
About the Series
Georgia Southern leads the overall series 71-18, dating back to March 22, 1954. The Eagles have won the last four straight meetings, including a series sweep last year in Statesboro and a 4-3, 11-inning win in the first round of the SoCon tournament in Greenville, S.C. The Wildcats last win in the series was a 7-6 triumph in the 2008 series finale, April 20 at Wilson Field. Prior to that, the Eagles have won the last seven meetings.
Last Meeting: Wildcats' Upset Bid Falls Short, 4-3, in 11-inning Loss to Eagles
The seventh-seeded Davidson Wildcats nearly upset the second-seeded Georgia Southern Eagles in the opening game of the 2009 Southern Conference Baseball Tournament, but could not hold onto an early lead, eventually falling 4-3 in 11 innings Wednesday morning at Fluor Field.
Davidson led for most of the game, until Georgia Southern tied it with a pair of runs in the seventh inning.
Thomas Middour pitched three innings of one-hit relief and worked both into and out of some jams, but Georgia Southern got a bases-loaded walk-off single from Brian Pierce in the 11th to advance in the winner's bracket.
With the score tied, Middour pitched to just three batters in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extras, but the Wildcats would strand a pair in the 10th. The Eagles loaded the bases with one out courtesy of a fielding error, a walk and a hit batsmen. Middour worked out of the jam by fielding a swinging bunt for a force out at the plate and striking out Griffin Benedict.
The 'Cats couldn't get out of the jam in the 11th, though, once again getting the bases loaded with one out. Matt Webb took over in relief of Middour, but Pierce dropped a base hit into no-man's land in shallow right field to lift the Eagles to the 4-3 win.
Kyle Kamppi became the winner after throwing the final 2 2/3 of shutout ball. Chris Lamb was efficient for Davidson in the start, allowing just three runs on nine hits in 6 2/3, but Chris Mederos was equal, surrendering three runs on seven hits and striking out a season-high 12 batters in 7 1/3. Tommy Piacenza led the Wildcats at the plate batting 3-for-3, as Davidson collected eight hits. The Eagles had 12 hits, with a pair each by Roman Grimaldi, Phillip Porter, A.J. Wirnsberger, Kyle Blackburn and Eric Phillips.
Next Up
For its fourth straight home game, Davidson hosts the Hokies in a return game for the final non-conference game of the season, Tuesday May 18 at 4 p.m. before concluding the regular season with a three-game trip to SoCon foe Western Carolina.
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