March 21, 2007
Box Score
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Tony Maccani and Bobby Hubbard both homered and drove in four runs each, and Furman erupted for 11 first inning runs en route to a 14-9 win over Gardner-Webb in baseball action Wednesday night at Furman Stadium.
The victory snapped a four-game losing streak for Furman (5-14), which entered the contest having dropped 10 of its last 11 games. The loss was the fifth straight setback for Gardner-Webb ( 10-15).
After scoring only seven runs and combining for just 15 hits in a three-game sweep at the hands of Austin Peay over the weekend, Furman came out swinging in the first inning, tagging Gardner-Webb pitching for 11 runs on eight hits to grab an early 11-0 lead.
Bulldog pitcher Taylor Brooks got into immediate trouble after walking the first three batters, and Paladin clean up hitter Tony Maccani got the scoring started with a two-run single. Will Stembridge followed with an RBI single, and Paul Ortenzo added a run scoring double to left field to give the Paladins a 4-0 lead and chase Brooks. With one out, Cole Franklin delivered an infield single to plate Stembridge, and three batters later Marcus Rose drilled a three-run triple to centerfield of Bulldog reliever Jonathan Ban to stretch the Paladin advantage to 9-0. Hubbard kept the inning going with a two-out single, and Maccani collected his second hit of the frame with a two-run home run to left field to make it 11-0. The 11-run outburst was the most in an inning by the Paladins since the 2000 campaign when Furman scored 14 runs in the fourth inning of a 24-13 win over Western Carolina.
Josh Drewery's two-run single keyed a three-run Gardner-Webb second inning, and the Bulldogs added another run in the third to make it 11-4 before Furman's offense struck again in bottom of the third. After a Joey Rodgers single and Marcus Rose double, Hubbard belted his first home run of the campaign, a three-run shot to left field to extend the Paladins' lead to 14-4.
Gardner-Webb's Jay McConnell's three-run home roundtripper keyed a four-run fourth inning, and the Bulldogs added another run in the fifth before Furman's relief corps of Spencer Hale, Butch Pucetas, J.P Goldsberry, and Nick Hollstegge settled down to retire 11 of the final 13 batters over the final four innings.
Hubbard, Maccani, Rose, Rodgers, and Stembridge -- the first five hitters in Furman's lineup -- all collected two hits each and combined to account for 10 of the Paladins' 13 hits.
Gardner-Webb pounded out 15 hits in the game, including three each by Drewery, Jeremiah Lokken, and Daniel Cooke.
Furman starting pitcher Ian Parry (2-1) earned the win after working two designated innings. Brooks (0-1) took the loss after yielding six runs on three hits and three walks. He did not retire a batter.
Furman resumes Southern Conference play this Friday when it travels to Statesboro, Ga., to open a three-game series against Georgia Southern beginning at 7:00 p.m. Saturday's contest is set for 1:30 p.m., and Sunday's final game is a scheduled 1:00 p.m. start.
