Game 1 Box Score

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- John Michael Bertrand pitched eight strong innings and Dax Roper cracked his eighth home run of the season to propel Furman past Wofford, 7-3, in the opening game of a Southern Conference baseball doubleheader Friday afternoon at Russell C. King Field.

In Friday's nightcap Jabari Richards went 3-for-5 and scored two runs, and the Paladins broke open a tight game with five unanswered runs en route to a 9-3 victory and twinbill sweep.

Winners of five straight, Furman (23-27, 11-9 SoCon) will go for the series sweep against Wofford (30-22, 11-8 SoCon) in Sunday's 1:00 p.m. finale.

Bertrand (4-4) allowed two runs on six hits, walked two, and struck out five en route to notching the game one victory. The sophomore left-hander retired the final 10 batters he faced before departing with a 7-2 lead.  Rob Hughes pitched the ninth to secure the fourth straight win for the Paladins.

After Furman took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a Logan Taplett RBI single, Roper deposited a two-ball, two-out offering from Terrier starting pitcher Hayes Heinecke (9-1) into the trees behind the left field fence for a two-run home run and a 3-0 advantage.

The junior catcher from Honea Path, S.C. later capped a three-run Paladin sixth with an RBI groundout that gave the Paladins a 7-2 lead.

Furman banged out 13 hits in the contest, getting a 3-for-4 performance from David Webel, who doubled, drove in a run, and scored three times.

Roper was joined in the two-hit registry by Taplett, Banks Griffith, and Jordan Starkes, who earned the start in center field and scored two runs.

The Paladins knocked around Heinecke for seven runs, five of which were earned, on 12 hits on the way to handing the freshman left-hander his first loss of the season.

In Friday's second game Trent Alley gave the Paladins a 1-0 lead in the second after he doubled and scored on a Griffith sacrifice bunt.

Wofford led 2-1 in the fourth when Furman combined two hits with three Terrier errors to plate three, two-out runs for a 4-2 advantage, the big blow coming on a Starkes two-run single to center field off Wofford starting pitcher David Yourke (1-4).

The Paladins took command in the seventh, getting a two-run double down the left field line by Griffith to highlight a three-run frame, and tacked on two more runs in the eighth on RBI singles by Richards and Alley to make it 9-2.

Furman starting pitcher David Dunlavey (5-8), who attended Wofford as a freshman and served as a team manager, earned his third straight victory pitching in his hometown.  He allowed three runs on seven hits over 5 1/3 innings.  The redshirt junior right-hander struggled with command, issuing five walks, but he managed to strand eight Terrier baserunners over the first four innings, leaving the bases loaded in the third.

His replacement, Jordan Beatson, induced an inning ending double play in the sixth, and Eric Taylor did the same for Beatson in the seventh with a twin killing.

Griffith drove in three of the Paladins' nine runs, and Starkes followed up his 2-for-4, two-run performance in game one by reaching base three times, scoring twice, and driving in a pair of runs in game two.

Yourke was charged with the loss after allowing four runs, only one earned, over 3 1/3 innings.