 |  |
Furman Wins Fifth Straight With 5-3 Triumph Over UNC Asheville
April 29, 2005
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Sam Perry won his third straight decision and Case Cassedy went 3-for-3 with two RBI to lead Furman past UNC Asheville 5-3 in baseball action Friday evening at Furman Stadium.
Perry (5-3), pitched eight innings, allowing nine hits and three earned runs while striking out nine. After yielding seven hits and three runs in the first three innings, the senior right hander limited the Bulldogs to only two hits over his final five innings of work. The victory gave him a perfect 4-0 record in April.
The victory marked the fifth straight for Furman (19-20) and eighth triumph in the last nine games.
UNC Asheville (11-30) got a solid pitching performance from Tim Johnson (0-6), who also went eight innings, allowing only seven hits and five earned runs while striking out five.
Cassedy's three-hit performance included two singles and a RBI double in the sixth that tied the game at 3-3. Matthew Betsill delivered a two-run double, and Andrew Greene scored two of Furman's five runs, including the go-ahead run a fielder's choice grounder in the eighth.
Tony Campana and Tony Wall paced UNC-Asheville's nine-hit attack with two hits each.
UNC Asheville grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Campana singled to right field on the game's second pitch and stole second before coming home on a Johnny Martinez single.
The Bulldogs tacked on two more runs in the second. Wall and John Whited produced back-to-back singles to lead off, and Evan Johnson singled with one out to drive in Wall. After a Campana base knock loaded the bases, Ben Kerr delivered a sacrifice fly to plate Whited for a 3-0 advantage.
Furman got on the board with two runs in third inning. After consecutive one-out singles by Nick Wajda and Greene, Betsill laced a double into the right center field gap to score Wajda and Greene to make it 3-2.
The Paladins tied the game with a run in the sixth on Cassedy's two-out double to right center field that scored Sean McDonnough.
Furman took the lead in the eighth without the benefit of a hit. Greene led off with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice by A.J. Davidiuk. Betsill followed with a walk, and the Paladins pulled off a double steal to put Greene and Betsill both in scoring position with one out. McDonnough followed with a grounder to first baseman Tony Wall, whose throw home failed to get Greene. Cassedy followed with a sacrifice fly to right field to score Betsill to make it 5-3.
Ryan Hodinka, Sunday's projected starting pitcher, came on in relief of Perry in the ninth and struck out Elliott Arington. David Mitchell relieved Hodkina and walked Wall on five pitches. Calvin Hurst, Furman's third pitcher of the frame, then came on and induced pinch-hitter Nathan Durham to hit into a double play to end the game.
Saturday's game between the Paladins and Bulldogs has been moved back to 3:00 p.m. at Asheville's Greenwood Field. Furman and UNC Asheville will wrap up the three-game series at Furman Stadium Sunday beginning at 1:00 p.m.
