College of Charleston
Northeastern
No. 15 @CofCBaseball Falls 5-4 in Extras
5/14/2015 11:20:00 PM | Baseball
BOSTON, Mass. – No. 15 College of Charleston baseball was stunned with a 5-4 loss in extra innings in the first of a three-game Colonial Athletic Association series on Friedman Diamond on Thursday afternoon.
The game was a classic pitchers' duel, with the teams tied 2-2 on a combined nine hits through nine innings. After plating two runs for a 4-2 lead in the top of the tenth, Charleston (39-11, 19-3 CAA) was stunned by a walkoff three-run homer off the bat of Rob Fonseca.
“You have to give them credit for staying with it after falling behind in the tenth inning,” said head coach Monte Lee. “Their pitchers did a nice job against us all day, and they eventually found a way to get the winning run to the plate. Fonseca, one of the best hitters in their lineup, got a pitch up in the strike zone and he punished us. You have to give him credit for that.
“We have to find a way to get off to a better start offensively. We knew Northeastern had a good pitching staff when we came in, and they showed that. We couldn't get anything going offensively. That's the key to tomorrow: find a way to score early and play with the lead.”
CofC starter Nathan Helvey dealt a quality start to keep the Cougars in the game, allowing just one run on two hits in a 6.0-inning no decision. Helvey struck out four hitters and walked just one, and threw three-up, three-down frames in four of his six innings of work.
The Cougars outhit the Huskies, 8-7, led by Erven Roper (2-for-3, two runs scored) and Bradley Jones (3-for-4, two runs scored, two RBIs). Jones homered to give the Cougars a 2-1 lead in the seventh inning, and all Cougar runs scored and RBIs were from the 7-8-9 spots in the batting order.
After Helvey silenced the Huskies for the first three innings, Cam Hanley homered to right with one out in the fourth, marking NU's first hit of the game. The 1-0 NU lead held up through the middle innings, as Husky starter Nick Berger quietly retired seven straight Cougar hitters from the fifth to the seventh inning.
The Cougars grounded out and struck out for against reliever Dustin Hunt for an inauspicious start to the seventh, but Roper stretched the inning with a two-out single back up the middle. That extended the inning to Jones, who jacked his 10th homer of the year out to left despite falling in an 0-2 count.
Down 2-1, NU rallied to load the bases on a double, single and walk in the bottom half of the seventh, and groundball-specialist Chase Henry came out of the pen to engineer a double play. Henry successfully forced a bouncer back up the middle, and second baseman Blake Butler made an athletic play behind the bag on a would-be inning-ending 4-3 double play, but the umpire determined Butler did not step on second for the force out, allowing the game-tying run to score. With potential go-ahead runs still on second and third, Henry dealt a momentous strikeout to preserve the tie.
Henry allowed a leadoff walk in the eighth, but fielded his position sharply on a come-backer to prevent a threat with a 1-6-3 inning-ending double play.
NU looked to manufacture a winning run in the ninth, with a leadoff walk and a sacrifice bunt putting a runner in scoring position with one out. Hayden McCutcheon boldly dealt a strikeout for the second out of the inning, and a weak bouncer to Butler ended the threat.
The Cougar bats went to work in the top of the tenth, led off by Roper with a single back up the middle. Jones hammered a comebacker back to the mound which bounced off the pitcher's leg and back towards the plate. Jones beat an errant throw to first base for a single, and advanced all the way to third while Roper scored as the throw went down the line in right field. With the infield drawn in, Champ Rowland laced a single through the right side to score Jones and give the Cougars a 4-2 lead.
McCutcheon forced a groundout to start the tenth inning, but back-to-back singles by Michael Foster and Keith Kelly brought the winning run to the plate in the form of Fonseca, who ranks second in the CAA in homeruns. On a 1-0 pitch, Fonseca laced a low line drive out to left which carried out in a hurry, narrowly clearing the fence for the dramatic walkoff homer.
The Cougars will look to bounce back in game two, scheduled for Friday at 3 p.m., with ace Taylor Clarke scheduled to start on the mound.
POSTGAME NOTES
The Cougars are ranked in all five polls recognized by the NCAA, climbing as high as No. 15 according to the NCBWA. The Cougars are ranked No. 18 by both Baseball America and D1Baseball, No. 19 in the USA Today Coaches Poll, and No. 20 by Collegiate Baseball.
The Cougars suffered only their second loss in the opening game of a series this season. Since a game one loss to High Point (March 13), the Cougars have won eight straight series openers, and gone on to win all eight series.
The game was just the second extra-inning game for the Cougars this season, with CofC falling to 1-1.
The Cougars outhit the Huskies, 8-7, marking only the third loss despite amassing more hits than their opponent (29-3).
