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Western Carolina Rolls Up Furman 14-1 In SoCon Tournament First Round
May 24, 2006
CHARLESTON, SC - Sixth-seeded Western Carolina amassed 15 hits en route to a 14-1 victory over third-seeded Furman on Wednesday morning at the 2006 Southern Conference Baseball Championship at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.
The Catamount pitching also held the Paladis to only six hits in the contest.
Western Carolina moves on to face the winner of the #2 College of Charleston-#7 UNC Greensboro game at 4 p.m. on Thursday. Furman will square off against the loser of that same contest at 10 a.m. on Thursday in an elimination game.
Western Carolina first team All-SoCon outfielder Steven Strausbaugh placed the Catamounts ahead early with a three-run shot to left field to give Western Carolina a 3-0 advantage.
The home run padded Strausbaugh's league-leading tally to 17.
In the top of the fourth inning the Catamounts plated two more runners.
Western Carolina started the inning by picking up singles from Blake Murphy and Scott Ward. Batting in the ninth position, the Catamounts' Jason Haynes then drove in the two runners by tripling to centerfield.
One inning later, Western Carolina continued its onslaught, beginning with Strausbaugh singling in Barrett Shaft to pick up his fourth RBI of the day and a 6-0 lead for the Catamounts.
One batter later with Jonathan Greene, who singled to tally his 10th consecutive contest with a hit, at second and Strausbaugh at first, the Catamounts' Trey McDaniel homered down the right field line to give the Catamounts a commanding 9-0 advantage.
Western Carolina scored its fifth and final run of the top of the fifth inning when Scott Ward made his way to the dish on a single by Tim Hallam.
The Catamounts scored their eighth run in three innings in the top of the sixth inning when Shaft scored on single by McDaniel to put the Catamounts ahead at 11-0.
Western Carolina chalked up three more runs in the top of the seventh inning to go up 14-0. Two of the runs came through a double to left centerfield from Strausbaugh.
The two RBIs were the fifth and the sixth of the game for Strausbaugh.
Furman was able to procure its first run of the game in the bottom of the eighth inning when SoCon Player of the Year A.J. Davidiuk singled to third base to score Joey Rodgers and set the game at the final score of 14-1.
Story Courtesy of SoCon Office
