College of Charleston powers past Furman

Landon Kay had three hits in Furman's 15-6 loss to the College
of Charleston Wednesday. Photo courtesy of Furman.

Latham Stadium has never been known as a pitchers' park. With a stiff, steady wind blowing to left field, Wednesday afternoon was no different. Furman and the College of Charleston combined for 28 hits, but the Cougars' knocks went much further as they won 15-6.

Five of Charleston's 15 hits left the yard, all flying out to left, and the Cougars (16-6) also drew seven walks. Meanwhile, all of Furman's 13 hits went for singles and the Paladins (13-8) had no walks.

Charleston opened the game with three straight hits, capped by Logan McRae's three-run home run. Furman came back with two runs in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to 3-2 before the Cougars took command with a five-run second. After McRae walked with the bases loaded, Danny Wondrack hit a grand slam to chase Furman starter Trent Alley.

Paladin reliever Jordan Beatson came on and worked the next 5 2/3 innings, giving Furman a chance to get back in it. After solo homers by Charleston's Tommy Richter in the fifth and Wondrack in the sixth, the Paladins scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth to cut the lead to 10-6.

The Cougars came back with a pair of unearned runs in the seventh. After Charleston's K.J. Bryant struck out but reached first on a passed ball, he later scored on Bradley Dixon's two-out homer. The Cougars tacked on two more runs in the eighth and one in the ninth to finish the scoring.

Wondrack finished with five RBIs, while McRae had four for Charleston. Luke Morgan and Dixon added three hits and three runs apiece.

Jason Costa and Landon Kay each had three hits to lead Furman. Sims Griffith went 2-for-3 with two RBIs also for the Paladins. Griffith left in the sixth inning after limping a bit following a single in the fourth, and Jabari Richards departed in the fourth after being hit on the knee by a pitch.

Wednesday's game began another tough stretch of games for Furman. Next up is a weekend series at Wichita State (14-4), which improved to 10-1 at home this season with a 2-1 win over Oklahoma Tuesday. First pitch of the three-game series is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday.