Furman clinches first SoCon series win

A day after snapping a nine-game losing streak, it appeared that the Furman baseball team might suffer another inexplicable loss like quite a few that were part of the skid. But after seeing a six-run lead disappear, the Paladins came back for its first extra innings win of the season.
Sky Overton's RBI-double in the 10th inning put Furman ahead, and Jake Crawford needed just eight pitches to retire Western Carolina in order in the bottom of the inning as the Paladins won 8-7. The victory clinched Furman's first Southern Conference series win of the season.
Furman (13-20, 3-8) has now won 10 of its last 12 games against the Catamounts (16-17, 7-4).
The Paladins jumped on top in the first inning when Carter Grote tripled and came home on a two-out single by Jason Costa. After WCU tied it in their half of the first, Furman came back with a pair of runs in the second on a sac fly by Jabari Richards and a run-scoring single by Grote.
Furman pushed its lead to 7-1 with a four-run sixth. Bret Huebner had an RBI-double, Richards hit another sac fly and Grote capped the inning with a two-run homer.
Furman left-handed starter Grant Schuermann was cruising along until a rain delay stopped play with one out in the top of the seventh. After a one hour, seven minute delay, the Catamounts came roaring back. Cameron Blaquiere's three-run homer in the seventh cut the Paladins' lead to 7-4.
WCU scored three in the ninth, capped by Matt Smith's two-out RBI single, to force extra innings.
While WCU was rallying, Furman's offense failed to score despite having a runner on third base and less than two outs in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings.
Brandon Elmy led off the 10th with a hustle double, took third on a sacrifice by Dillon Love, and scored on Overton's drive into the right-centerfield gap.
Grote, Elmy, Overton and Sims Griffith each had three hits to power Furman's 19-hit output. Smith had three hits to lead the Catamounts, who collected 16 hits.
The Paladins will try to complete the sweep Saturday at 2 p.m.
*Video courtesy of Dan Scott.