March 15, 2008
SPARTANBURG, S.C.--After getting Thursday off, the Yale baseball team continued its Spring Break trip on Friday. The Bulldogs looked to carry the momentum of their series split against No. 5 South Carolina into their four-game set against Wofford, but it was not to be in the opener. Yale (3-7) stranded nine runners on the base paths and committed three errors, while the Terriers (11-3) got the clutch hits when they needed them en route to a 4-2 victory at King Field.
The Bulldogs got off to a good start, taking a 1-0 lead right away. Josh Cox singled to left center leading off the game, then moved to third on Gant Elmore's double off the wall. Ryan Lavarnway knocked Cox in with a sacrifice fly, but that was all the Bulldogs would get, as Jake Doyle struck out and Andy Megee grounded to third to end the inning.
Alex Christ was cruising right along through two innings before giving up a single to Emre Caglayan leading off the third. After Caglayan stole second and Jake Williams was hit by a pitch, the runners moved up on a passed ball. The Terriers tied it when Sterling Dye singled off Christ's leg and Caglayan scored. Paul Gilmartin then grounded into a double play, but Wofford took a 2-1 lead, as Williams came around from third on the play.
Christ retired the first two batters in the bottom of the fourth before walking Ryan Tonilo. Kyle Behrendt followed with a triple down the left field line that gave the Terriers a 3-1 lead. Caglayan was up next and roped a single to left that made it 4-1.
Yale got a run back in the top of the fifth when Megee led off with a single, moved to second on an error, and scored on Cox's RBI single. Doyle flied to right with the bases loaded to end the rally. Wofford threatened again in the bottom half of the inning. After the Terriers loaded the bases on a pair of errors and a hit batsman, Chris Finneran was called upon to relieve Christ. Finneran induced an inning-ending double play when Gilmartin tried to score on an infield fly and was thrown out at the plate.
The Bulldogs loaded the bases on three successive one-out singles in the top of the sixth, but P.J. Gorynski popped up behind the plate and Cox flied to center to leave the bases full. Yale got a runner on in each of the final three innings, but each time failed to advance the runner past second base.
Christ (1-1) took a tough-luck loss for the Bulldogs. He surrendered four runs and four hits in 4.1 innings before giving way to Finneran. Christ struck out five and walked two. Finneran and Matthew Smith combined for 3.2 innings of hitless, shutout relief. The Bulldogs belted 10 hits, led by three from Cox and two each from Elmore and Megee, but stranded nine runners on base and struck out eight times.
Scott Summers (4-1) got the win for Wofford after yielding nine hits and two runs with five strikeouts and a walk in seven innings. Chip Hale surrendered a hit and struck out three over the final two innings to earn the save. The Terriers had just four hits, limited to their two scoring innings. Caglayan went 2-for-3 at the plate.
The Bulldogs and Terriers are scheduled to play a doubleheader starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday, but rain is in the forecast for the Spartanburg area. Any adjustments to the schedule will be posted on www.yalebulldogs.com.
Report filed by Joe Clifford, Yale Sports Publicity
