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Elon Blows Past Furman, 15-4
April 13, 2007
ELON, N.C. -- Steven Hensley pitched seven dominating innings and Elon struck for eight runs in the first frame en route to an easy 15-4 victory over Furman in Southern Conference baseball action Friday night at Latham Park.
Hensley, a sophomore righthander, became the latest in a line of opposing hurlers to fashion a solid outing against offensively challenged Furman (9-24, 5-8 SoCon), which lost for the 10th time in the last 11 games. The Asheville, N.C., product improved to 7-1 on the season after surrendering only five hits and a walk while striking out 11 Paladins in helping Elon (21-15, 10-3 SoCon) to its seventh win in its last eight games.
Furman trailed 15-0 before scoring three times in the eighth inning and once in the ninth against the Phoenix bullpen to avoid the shutout.
The Paladins, who entered the contest hitting a SoCon low .265, the team's lowest batting average since 1994, collected five of their eight hits in the eighth and ninth frames. A year ago Furman batted .324 as a team. The Paladins have hit just .223 and scored only 33 runs over the last 11 games.
Elon, meanwhile, pounded Furman pitching for 19 hits, including four by Chase Austin, who went 4-for-5 with two RBI. Ryan Addison went 3-for-5 with a home run, a double, and four RBI, and Jordy Snyder drove in four runs, highlighted by a three-run home run that keyed Elon's eight-run first inning.
Elon's big first frame came at the expense of Paladin staring and losing pitcher Matt Klinker (3-4), who yielded eight runs on seven hits in his only inning of work.
One of the lone bright spots for Furman was the pitching of freshman Marc DeDecker, who came on in the second inning and allowed only one run on four hits over four innings.
In a scheduling change announced Friday evening, Furman and Elon will now play a Saturday doubleheader at Elon's Latham Park beginning at noon due to expected inclement weather on Sunday.
