For eight full innings, the Elon University baseball team was battling Furman University in a pitchers duel. The final score wouldn’t show that though as the Paladins left Latham Park on Friday, March 1 with a 10-4 win over the Phoenix in game one of a three game weekend set.
Making his seventh start of the season, junior shortstop Antonio Alvarez put the Phoenix on top by a score of 2-1 with a solo home run over the left field fence. The solo shot put senior starter Dylan Clark in position to pick up his second win of the season after throwing seven innings of one-run baseball.
“I knew I just had to throw strikes like I always do,” Clark said. “I had to stick to my game plan and it went well for seven.”
In 2012, the Phoenix didn’t lose a game when leading after eight innings. Senior reliever Andrew MacDonald came on for Clark for the eighth inning to bridge the gap to senior closer Nate Young and did just that, fanning two while throwing just 10 pitches.
With three outs to get and Young entering from the bullpen, Elon seemed to have all but locked up it’s fifth win of the season and it’s first conference victory in its first try. The closer gave up a leadoff single to senior right fielder Taylor Johnson that put him in trouble with the Paladins cleanup hitter on deck.
Senior catcher Paul Nitto seemingly took Clark deep in the fourth inning with a towering drive to left field that ended up three-fourths of the way up the pine trees beyond the left field fence, but it was ruled foul by third base umpire Mac Stokes. Furman manager Ron Smith argued his case, but to no avail. Nitto made good though in the ninth inning when he sent a laser over the left field wall, this time undoubtedly in fair territory to give the Paladins a 3-2 lead.
Having questioned the mental toughness of the Phoenix pertaining to opening weekend when the Phoenix fell behind and would seemingly give up on the game, Elon coach Mike Kennedy saw something different this time around in the bottom of the ninth when his team battled back to tie the game and send it to extras.
“We did good things in that situation,” he said.
While the Phoenix scrapped their way to a tie in the ninth on just two hits, a walk and a slowly turned double play ball that ended up being the difference in three extra innings or none, they were forced to do it all over again in the bottom of the eleventh inning.
Young had location issues for most of his 38 pitches thrown. At no point was it more evident than the first pitch of the eleventh inning when he served up a fastball to Johnson. The Furman right fielder took the pitch deep over the left field fence to give the Paladins a 4-3 lead.
Like Kennedy, Smith left his closer in after he had blown the save to pitch multiple innings. Sophomore Matt Solder had thrown 44 pitches. On his 45th, Elon right fielder Niko Fraser roped a double down the left field line to score Alvarez from first who had reached on a throwing error to leadoff the inning.
Junior Sebastian Gomez followed with a one out walk to put men on first and second base with one out. With the heart of the lineup due up and one out, an Elon win seemed all but imminent.
“We had opportunity after opportunity,” Kennedy said. “We had chances to win it and we didn’t have good at-bats and left guys in scoring position. Swim was up once, Kinsella twice. We had the right guys up, just unfortunately tonight they didn’t get it done. If you tell me those guys are going to be up in those situations though then I’ll take my chances. It just didn’t happen tonight.”
Swim flew out to left center. He was followed by a strikeout from Kinsella to end the threat and send the game to the twelfth inning.
“We tried to do a little too much with those at bats,” Kennedy said. “Instead of just staying relaxed and hitting a single, we’re trying to hit a ball to the fence and we didn’t need that at the time. Our swings got big and that’s something we have to learn and adjust from.”
Having come back twice already, Elon was looking for a smooth top of the twelfth inning to get back in the dugout and bat again. That didn’t happen. In fact, it was anything but a smooth inning.
Freshman Tyler Manez came out of the bullpen for his second career appearance. After getting the first two outs of the inning, nerves got to the freshman lefty as Furman got back to back doubles to score the go-ahead run. Three batters later with the bases loaded, sophomore third baseman Chris Ohmstede hit a moon shot that went nearly straight up into the chilly Elon night. The breeze that blew played games with the ball on the way down and caused the ball to fall to the side of Gomez’s glove. With the runners moving with two outs on the board, Furman picked up two more runs to take the rest of the wind out of the Elon sails.
Furman struck for three more runs before the Phoenix and junior reliever Jacob Baker could get out of the disaster frame.
Down by six with three outs to go, the Phoenix seemingly mailed it in as senior right hander Ben Carlson struck out the first two Elon batters of the inning before getting the final out via groundout.
Both Clark and Furman starter Nate Smith took no decisions on a night when the two matched each other nearly pitch for pitch. Clark went seven innings giving up the one run while striking out four. He walked two batters, which were his first two walks in three starts this season. Smith went 7.1 innings giving up seven hits and two runs while fanning five.
“Dylan’s not the typical Friday guy that goes out there and throws 100 mph and has a nasty curve,” Kennedy said. “The kid can really pitch and he competes. He wants to win and he has a will to win and he puts that effort forward. We have to get more of that.”
Junior lefty Ryan Dittmar picks up the win in relief for the Paladins. He went 0.2 innings and fanned one. Manez drops to 0-1 after getting knocked around in just his second career collegiate appearance.
The two teams return to the floor Saturday, March 2 for the middle game of the series. Senior Kyle Webb will take the ball for the Phoenix looking for his first win of the year. He will be opposed by Paladins right-hander Elliott Warford. The sophomore is 0-1 in two appearances this season. First pitch at Latham Park is set for 2 p.m.