CHARLESTON, SC Wofford's Brandon Waring tallied two home runs and five RBI to lead the ninth-seeded Terriers to a 12-5 win over fifth-seeded UNC Greensboro in the second round of the Southern Conference Baseball Tournament on Thursday evening at Joe Riley Park.
Waring finished 3-for-5 on the evening and with his two homers, he tied the SoCon single season home run record of 26. Eric Sturkie went 2-for-5 for the Terriers, including a three-run home run.
Lance Player (3-2) picked up the win after scattering just one hit in 2-1/3 innings of relief. Charles Vartanian pitched 2-2/3 innings to earn his third save of the year
Starter Matt Gibbs (4-4) took the loss after allowing five runs on six hits in 2-2/3 innings of work.
UNCG (29-29) jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the visitor half of the first. Tim Carrier led off with a single through the left side to extend his hitting streak to seven games. He advanced to second on a Guy Welsh walk and was plated by Greg Feltes, who singled to right-center. Wofford (28-31) quickly responded in the same inning and tied the game at one a piece when John Brandt sent a double to leftfield to score Mike Gilmartin.
Waring gave the Terriers a 4-1 lead in the third when he hit a three-run homer over the leftfield wall. Adam Wood scored on a Keith Munns single and Sterling Dye came home on a Spartan error in the same inning to give the Terriers a five-run advantage.
Welsh cut the Wofford lead to two in the fourth when the senior smacked up his fifth homer of the season. Carrier and Matt Gaski both were hit by a pitch before Welsh blasted the three-run roundtripper to right, making it 6-4 in favor of the Terriers.
Wofford capitalized in the sixth and put another run on the board to take a 7-4 lead. After reaching on another Spartan, Eric Sturkie scored when Bradford Eaves singled up the middle. UNCG added a run in the top of the eighth when Sean Snell plated Feltes on an infield single, 7-5 Wofford.
The Terriers struck for five runs in the bottom of the eighth highlighted by Waring's second homer of the evening. Shane Kirkley doubled before Waring tallied his 26th home run of the season. Sturkie capped off the Terrier scoring with a three-run shot to center, leaving the score 12-5.
Welsh went 2-for-4 with three RBI to lead the Spartans from the plate. Feltes finished 2-for-2 with a run scored and a RBI.
The Spartans return to action when they face off with sixth-seeded
Georgia Southern on Friday at Joe Riley Park. First pitch set for 10 am.
AGATE
Score by Innings R H E
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UNC Greensboro...... 100 300 010 - 5 10 4
Wofford............. 105 001 05X - 12 15 0
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Pitchers: UNCG Gibbs; Judd (3); Gibson (6); Starnes (8)
Pitchers: Wofford Kearney; Player (5); Vartanian (7)
Win Lance Player (3-2) Save Charles Vartanian (3) Loss Matt Gibbs (4-4)
- UNCG -
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