GREENVILLE, S.C. (May 1, 2015) – Furman broke up ETSU’s shutout bid by scoring three unearned runs in the fifth and picked up a three-run home run from Blake Chisolm in the sixth as the Paladins rallied for an 8-4 series-opening win over the Buccaneers on Friday night at Latham Stadium. 

ETSU (17-28, 5-11 SoCon) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first and Buccaneer right-hander Griffin Krieg (Nashville, Tenn.) held Furman (21-24, 8-8) scoreless until the Paladins tied the game at one on a two-out fielding error by Trey York (Knoxville, Tenn.) in the fifth, while Jake Jones’ two-run single later in the inning put the hosts up for good. 

Krieg suffered the loss (2-6) after allowing seven runs (four earned) on eight hits with six strikeouts in 5.2 innings. Furman starter Matt Solter (3-4) limited the Blue and Gold to three runs (two earned) on four hits, while walking and striking out three in seven innings en route to picking up the win. 

Junior outfielder Jeremy Taylor (Fayetteville, Ga.), who scored on York’s RBI single in the first, extended his streak of reaching safely to 20 straight games. Taylor went 1-for-4, while freshman Christian Bailey (Kingsport, Tenn.) drove in two runs with a two-out single in the seventh. Senior Jordan Sanford (Powell, Tenn.) extended his streak of reaching safely to 18 straight games as he walked and scored in the seventh, while also registering a ninth-inning single.   

For the second straight game, ETSU scratched across a first-inning run as Taylor was hit by a pitch to start the game and later scored on an RBI single up the middle by York, but with no outs and runners on first and second the Bucs were unable to do further damage. Solter induced Kevin Phillips (St. Louis, Mo.) into a 6-4-3 double play, while getting Hagen Owenby (Knoxville, Tenn.) to ground out to short. 

ETSU’s one-run lead looked like it could’ve held up as both pitchers were dealing midway through, but Furman took advantage of a Buccaneer miscue by plating its three unearned runs in the bottom of the fifth and led, 3-1. With two outs and runners on first and second, York committed a fielding error on a grounder to second, allowing Ryan Morse – who reached on a two-out hit by pitch – to score from second. From there, Jones came through with his two-run scoring single to left-center, giving the Paladins their first lead of the night. 

Furman increased its lead an inning later by scoring four runs on five hits to go up, 7-1. Chisolm delivered the backbreaking hit by taking Krieg yard for his second home run of the season. 

Solter faced the minimum between the fourth and sixth innings until the Bucs loaded the bases in the seventh and Bailey came through with a two-out, two-run single to center, but with runners on the corners the senior right-hander forced Taylor to fly out to left, keeping it a 7-3 score. 

The Paladins got a run back in the bottom of the seventh when Chris Ohmstede belted a solo home run to left, while ETSU capped off the scoring as Chris Cook (Kingsport, Tenn.) led off the eighth with a single and later scored on a wild pitch, resulting in the 8-4 final. 

Furman’s offense totaled 12 hits as Jones paced the Paladins with three hits and drove in three. Ohmstede and Sims Griffith both recorded two hits and scored two runs. 

The Bucs will look to even the series on Saturday as game time is set for 4 p.m. Senior right-hander Jimmy Nesselt (Plantation, Fla.) will get the start on the hill for ETSU, while Furman counters with freshman left-hander Grant Schuermann. 

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