April 1, 2006

Box Score

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- A.J. Davidiuk went 3-for-5 and drove in five runs to propel Furman to a 17-4 win over Wofford in Southern Conference baseball action Saturday evening at Furman Stadium.

Davidiuk, a senior All-SoCon shortstop from Indian Trail, N.C., doubled in a pair of runs in the first inning, added a two-run single in the third, and blasted a solo home run in the fifth frame to highlight a 20-hit attack for Furman (16-8, 5-0 SoCon), which claimed its fifth straight game and seventh decision in the last eight outings.

Wofford (15-16, 2-6 SoCon) managed only six hits in the contest but three left the park, including two clouts by John Brandt.

The victory marked Furman's 12th consecutive triumph over SoCon opponents dating back to last season. The Paladins have outscored their last five opponents 69-10 and outhit those same five foes 82-44. Furman is now batting .342 on the campaign.

Tony Maccani belted a two-run home run, scored three runs, and drove in four runs as part of a 3-for-5 performance to improve his SoCon leading batting average to .457, and Andrew Greene collected three hits to extend his hitting streak to 19 games. Jay Jackson also had three base hits in the contest.

Furman's heavy hitting made a winner of Mason Smith (3-1), who tossed five innings, allowing five hits, three runs, and walk while striking out four.

Dawson Smith (2-1) took the loss after lasting just 2 1/3 innings and yielding seven hits, eight runs, and two walks.

Wofford grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first inning on Brandt's high arching two-run shot over the left centerfield fence.

The Terriers' lead was short-lived, however, as the Paladins tied the game in the bottom of frame on Davidiuk's two-run double down the left field line and scored three times in the second on RBI singles by Greene and Case Cassedy, and a run scoring double by Jackson.

Furman blew the game open in the third by sending 11 batters to the plate and scoring eight runs on seven hits to take a 13-2 lead. The big blows include Ben Terry's two-run triple down the right field line and a two-run single to left by Davidiuk.

The Paladins went on to tally a pair of runs in the fifth, including a solo home run by Davidiuk, and two runs in the seventh on a Maccani two-run roundtripper.

Furman will take aim for its second consecutive series sweep in Sunday's finale, which gets underway at 1:00 p.m.