Baseball 4/6/2008 8:00:00 PM UNCGSpartans.com

UNCG splits Sunday doubleheader with Furman

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

GREENSBORO, NC Similar scores came out of both games in Sunday's doubleheader between UNC Greensboro and Furman, but the winning team did not follow suit. The afternoon's Southern Conference games were split as the Spartans took game one, 5-3 and the Paladins slipped by in game two with a 5-4 victory at UNCG Baseball Stadium.

After scoring two in the bottom of the fourth, UNCG led Furman 3-1 in the first game of the afternoon. The Paladins knotted the game at 3-3 in the top of the seventh, but two runs in the home half of the inning gave UNCG the lead once again and the eventual 5-3, game one victory.

In similar fashion, the Paladins tallied three in the second inning to take a 4-1 lead over the Spartans in game two. The blue and gold notched three of their own between the fourth and the fifth inning to tie the game at 4-4, but a sacrifice fly in the eighth put Furman back ahead with a 5-4 lead. UNCG had a chance to knot the game once again, but as centerfielder Corey Overholtzer tried to make the run home he was caught in a pickle and eventually picked off with a 5-2-5-1 play. Both teams were held silent in the ninth as Furman slipped away with the 5-4, game two win.

Following the split, UNCG is 19-10 on the season with a 5-4 conference mark. Furman moves to 15-12 overall, 3-6 SoCon.

In the first game of the afternoon, the Spartans took a 1-0 lead in the bottom half of the first inning as first baseman Ricky Orton's ground out to second allowed second baseman Tim Carrier to cross the plate. Catcher Adam Deleo nearly made it a 2-0 game in the following inning, but his long ball out to left field was caught in the warning track just inside the foul line.

In inning three, pitcher Matt Gibbs took a shot off of the leg, but was still able to make the play to first and tab out number one. Two at-bats later, Furman made it a 1-1 game as a Connor Lind ground out to second base rounded Rob Fondu home.

UNCG took the lead in the home half of the fourth inning as right fielder Sean Snell walked in due to Carrier being stuck by a pitch. The Spartan lead was extended to 4-2 as a sacrifice fly by Matt Gaski allowed Deleo to come home.

Furman tied the game in the top of the seventh inning scoring two off of a UNCG fielding error.

The blue and gold claimed back their two-run lead in the bottom half of the inning. After reaching on a base on balls, Orton was plated by a bases loaded walk to Snell. Greg Feltes was then brought in by a Deleo single through the left side.

The Paladins began the ninth inning with a double to left center by Nick Karow, but unable to tally anything more, UNCG came away with the 5-3, game one victory.

The Spartan sticks were led by Adam Deleo who was 2-for-4 with am RBI and a run. Furman was led by Connor Lind who went 2-for-4 with an RBI.

James White (5-0) nabbed his fifth win of the season after one inning of work on the mound; starter Matt Gibbs led the team with 6.0 innings on the rubber and six strikeouts. Furman's Chris Newell (0-3) took the loss after allowing two runs.

To start game two, Furman took a 1-0 lead in the opening inning as Marcus Rose crossed the plate following a sacrifice fly to right field by Bobby Hubbard. In the following inning, the Paladins increased their lead to 4-0. A ground out to short brought in Reece Wade for the first run. Later, as an attempt was being made to catch Rob Fondu stealing second, Joey Rodgers ran in from third and beat the throw heading back to the plate. Fondu was then plated for the final run of the inning off of a left field double by Lind.

The Spartans cut the lead down by one in the bottom half of the inning as Snell round home off of a right field single by third baseman Ray Quinones. They chipped away by one again in the fourth as Drew Gehringer came in off of a sacrifice fly to left field.

UNCG knotted the game at 4-4 in the home half of the fifth inning. Feltes took advantage of a wild pitch to bring the score to 3-4 and then Snell plated Orton with a sacrifice fly to center to knot the two teams.

Four batters into inning eight, Furman broke the tie as a popup to right field allowed Jay Jackson to cross the plate.

With the Spartans unable to put together a scoring drive in the next two innings, the Paladins slipped away with the 5-4, game two victory.

UNCG's Drew Gehringer was 2-for-4 with a run; Matt Gaski and Corey Overholtzer both went 2-for-4. Furman's Matt Hemingway went 1-for-3 with two RBI.

The Paladin's Chris Newell (1-2) was credited with his first win of the season after 2.1 innings on the mound. Reliever Nick Karow recorded his fifth save of the season. After 5.2 innings on the rubber, UNCG's Wes McCall took the loss. He led the team with three strikeouts.

The Spartans head to Durham, NC on Wednesday for a mid-week game with the Blue Devils. First pitch is set for 7pm. On April 11, UNCG and Wofford will kick off a three game conference series at UNCG Baseball Stadium. Game times are set for 7pm on Friday, 2pm on Saturday, and 1pm on Sunday.