GREENVILLE, S.C. – It was a tale of two halves offensively for the No. 1 seeded Wofford baseball team Friday morning at Fluor Field, as it plated all six runs after the fifth inning to down the No. 4 UNCG Spartans and advance in the Southern Conference Tournament. The Terriers improve to 41-14-1 on the season while the Spartans fall to 29-28.
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Wofford opens its SoCon Tournament run with a win for the first time since 2019 (12-7 over VMI).
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Matthew Marchal (7-2) earned the win for the Terriers after 6.0 innings with the starting nod. He allowed just one run on six hits with no walks and six punchouts.
Luke Stephens hurled a scoreless frame in relief, striking out the side.
Dalton Rhadans closed out the final 2.0 innings, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk with one strikeout.
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Spartan starter Jared Matthewson (5-6) suffered the loss after surrendering four runs on four hits and two walks in 6.0 innings of work.
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Despite being one-hit through the first five innings, the Wofford offense turned around late to deliver nine total hits on the day, eight of which came in the sixth inning or later.
Nolen Hester and
Lawson Hill led the way with two hits each, and Hill picked up an RBI.
Ryan Galanie and
Trey Yunger each also reached base twice by way of a hit and a walk. Galanie's lone knock was an RBI triple. Also driving home a run in the contest were
Brice Martinez,
John Dempsey and
Zeb Roos.
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The game opened as a pitchers' duel, with neither starter relenting much with the game deadlocked at 0-0 through the first four innings. The scoreless tie was finally broken in the top of the fifth. An RBI groundout put UNCG on the board, giving it the early 1-0 edge.
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Wofford broke through in the bottom of the sixth to jump ahead.
Nolen Hester opened the frame with a double to left center.
Lawson Hill then singled, and with two runners on,
John Dempsey lifted a sacrifice fly to center to score the tying run.
Ryan Galanie then roped a triple into right field, putting the Terriers on top. A wild pitch allowed Galanie to scurry home to cap the scoring, giving Wofford a 3-1 lead.
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The Terriers padded their lead a little more in the bottom of the seventh.
Trey Yunger drew a walk to begin the frame, and then he advanced to third with a steal of a second followed by a sacrifice bunt.
Brice Martinez brought him home with a single to right. After a Hester single placed two runners on, Hill singled to left to plate Martinez and give Wofford a 5-1 advantage.
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Wofford tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. With runners on the corners,
Zeb Roos laid down a well-placed sacrifice bunt to bring home a run, making the score 6-1.
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The Spartans put up a fight in the top of the ninth with a two-run homer to pull within three, but that was all they would get.
Dalton Rhadans locked it down on the mound from there, securing the 6-3 win for Wofford.
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The Terriers play again tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. against No. 3 Samford.
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