May 21, 2008
Box Score
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Bobby Hubbard belted a two-out, walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 10th ining to give No. 3 seed Furman a 10-8 victory over No. 6 seed Appalachian State in Southern Conference Tournament first round action Wednesday afternoon at Joseph P. Riley Park.
Furman (32-22) will now face No. 2 seed College of Charleston in a second round game at 5:00 p.m. Thursday.
Furman had surrendered three runs in the top of the 10th inning to fall behind 8-5 before rallying for the victory, the program's 32nd of the season, which ties school record for most wins in a season set in 2003 and 2006. Hubbard's walk-off home run was the fourth of the season for the Paladins.
With one out in the Furman 10th, Brian Harrison and Campbell Lewis drew walks and advanced to second and third, respectively, on a wild pitch by Appalachian State reliever Garrett Sherrill. Jay Jackson was then walked intentionally to load the bases. After Jason Rook replaced Sherill, Connor Lind struck out swinging for the second out, but Marcus Rose worked the fourth walk of the inning to force in a run to make it 8-6. Hubbard then stepped in, and the left-hand hitting hitting senior lifted a pitch into a steady breeze blowing toward left field and over the wall for the game winner.
"I thought we showed a lot of resiliency today, especially after making a couple of base running mistakes early and then falling behind by three runs in the 10th," said Furman head coach Ron Smith, "but we hung in there and showed some patience. I couldn't be happier for Bobby Hubbard. He's a senior who works hard and is one of our leaders."
Reese Wade and Connor Lind paced Furman's 12-hit attack with two hits each. Hubbard went 1-for-4 in the contest but drove in five of the Paladins' 10 runs.
Appalachian State also had 12 hits, including a 3-for-5, three-RBI performance by Rand Smith.
Furman trailed 5-2 before rallying to tie the game with three runs in the seventh. A Hubbard sacrifice fly made it a 5-3 game and later in the inning Joey Rodgers cracked a two-run home run to left field, his 10th of the season to score Aaron Thompkins ahead to him to knot the contest at 5-5.
It remained that way until the top of the 10th when Isaac Harrow and Rook stroked back-to-back two-out doubles off Paladin closer Nick Karow to give the Mountaineers' a 6-5 lead. A throwing error led to another ASU run, and Rand Smith's RBI single stretched the Mountaineer advantage to 8-5 before the Paladins' dramatic 10th inning rally.
The five-run 10th made a winner of Nick Karow (5-0), while Rook (2-5) took the loss.
Furman first team All-Southern Conference pitcher Jay Jackson went 5 2/3 innings, allowing seven hits, five runs, and four walks while striking out six. The Paladins led 2-1 until Jackson walked the bases full in the sixth. After yielding a pinch-hit RBI single to Andrew Franco that tied the game, Jackson rallied by striking out the next two batters but then threw a wild pitch that allowed another run to score. Smith followed with a two-run single through the left side to chase Jackson and give the Mountaineers a 5-2 lead.
Appalachian State starter Matt Andress worked 6 1/3 innings, yielding nine hits, four runs, and a walk while fanning six.
Furman is expected to start Mason Smith (5-4, 4.09 ERA) against College of Charleston on Thursday. The Paladins swept the Cougars in a three-game series in Greenville (Apr. 11-13) and are 2-1 versus CofC in SoCon Tournament action. The last meeting came in 2005 first round action, when the eighth-seed Paladins downed the top-seed Cougars, 9-7, en route to the tournament championship.
Furman Notes: Bobby Hubbard's walk-off game winning home run is the second by a Paladin in SoCon Tournament play. Catcher Brent Williams connected on a walk-off, three-run home run that gave Furman an 11-9 win over Western Carolina in the 1991 championship game in Charleston's College Park.
