Dominant Dunlavey shuts out Kansas

Furman's David Dunlavey fired a two-hit shutout as the Paladins
defeated Kansas 3-0 Saturday. Photo courtesy of Furman

Latham Stadium was filled with energy Saturday afternoon. On perhaps the most perfect day of the year for baseball, there were plenty of families who watched as the Furman baseball team hosted Kansas for the second game of its weekend series. Under a cloudless blue sky, Northwest Little Leaguers stood with the Paladins in the pregame while a group from Welcome Elementary School sang the national anthem.

While many of those youngsters spent the next two hours in their own little world in the stands, they also got a first-hand look as to why baseball is simply the best.

One day after Kansas piled up 11 runs on 17 hits, nine walks and three hit batters, Furman's David Dunlavey silenced those Big XII bats. The Spartanburg native carried a no-hitter into the seventh before settling for a two-hit shutout as the Paladins defeated the Jayhawks, 3-0, in a game that lasted all of one hour and 54 minutes. It's Furman's first complete game shutout since Will Gaddis blanked ETSU at the 2016 Southern Conference Tournament.

"This is the first time all year that all the pitches that I've told everybody he has, he had them all," Furman coach Brett Harker said. "The only kid I've had that has his talent is Will Gaddis. He's got the fastball and two different breaking balls, the slider - which is devastating - and changeup. When he throws that changeup right, it's a knee-buckling pitch."

Dunlavey (3-7) fired a pair of strikes to start the game before his 1-2 pitch hit Kansas leadoff man Rudy Karre. After the Jayhawks' first batter reached base in six of Friday's nine innings, there had to be some trepidation that Furman might be in for another long day.

But there was no trepidation for Dunlavey - even after a passed ball and a sac bunt put Karre on third for Kansas slugger Jaxx Groshans, who entered batting .348 with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs. Dunlavey struck him out then got a groundout to leave Karre stranded on first.

"You've got literally one of the best hitters in the country up and he figures out a way to strike him out and strand that runner," Harker said. "All of a sudden we get the momentum in our dugout there and he just refused to ever give it back."

All the support needed for Dunlavey came in the bottom of the first. After Jabari Richards walked, stole second and went to third on an errant throw by the catcher, he came home on Sterling Turmon's two-out single to right.

Meanwhile, Kansas (21-20) didn't have another baserunner until two out in the fourth on an error. The next Jayhawk reached with two out in the sixth on Dunlavey's lone walk of the game. With two out in the seventh, Kansas' Benjamin Sems hit a hard grounder under the glove of diving second baseman Banks Griffith to end Dunlavey's bid for Furman's first no-hitter since 1979. Undaunted, Dunlavey didn't even have to make another pitch in the seventh as he picked Sems off to end the inning.

"My pickoff move is something I work on a lot. It's bailed me out a couple of times this year and right there got the momentum right back in our dugout," Dunlavey said. "I've been waiting a long time to pitch like this this year. It just seemed like everything was going my way today."

Furman (18-25) picked up a big insurance run in the bottom of the seventh when Jordan Starkes tripled to right and came home on Bret Huebner's bunt single on the next pitch.

Dunlavey was one out away from becoming the first Paladin to throw a one-hit shutout in 19 years before Kansas pinch-hitter Tom Lichty lined a single off the glove of Griffith. Three pitches later, Dunlavey got a fly ball to center to end the game before getting mobbed by teammates in celebration.

Dunlavey, who threw 125 pitches, finished with nine strikeouts - one shy of his season-high. Other than the one error, a Furman defense that has struggled in April was brilliant Saturday. Dunlavey's no-hit bid was preserved when Dax Roper hopped on a swinging bunt and made a perfect throw to first in the third. On the next play, third baseman Logan Taplett made a diving stop of a line drive and fired to first to end the inning. Later, David Webel ran down a ball along the rightfield line that not many other rightfielders would've reached.

"Webel back in right (field), that's where he changes games," Webel said. "I don't know if there's a ball he's not going to catch. That's the way he patrols right field."

The rubber game of the series is scheduled for Sunday at noon.

Kinda, sorta hot Paladins set to host Kansas

Furman reliever Hank Nichols collected the win in each of the Paladins'
extra-inning victories this week. Photo courtesy of Furman

The good news for the Furman baseball team is that it has won five of its last six games entering its non-conference home series against Kansas this weekend.

The better news - in a really odd sort of way - is that the Paladins haven't played all that well lately. Over those last six games, Furman has scored 26 runs - with nine of those in one win - and committed 12 errors. Two of those errors came in the ninth inning in each of the Paladins' midweek games this week and both led to game-tying runs that forced extra innings.

Yet Furman (17-24) somehow found a way to answer each time and improve to 4-1 in extra inning games this season. Finding ways to win often mean getting clutch performances from unlikely sources. On Tuesday, eighth-place hitter Bret Huebner (.231/2/13) delivered a walk-off RBI-single. The next night, in just his 24th at-bat this season, M.J. Sasapan (.208) chopped a single up the middle to end the Paladins' fifth walk-off win this season.

"We've lost as a team and stayed united and now we're learning to win as a team. It's not pretty right now, but we're figuring out what we need to do to win," Furman coach Brett Harker said. "That was a big problem early in the year.
"It's frustrating because you want to play clean baseball. That's why we do everything we do. But the bottom line is having to learn how to win whether you play your best or not."

It's no coincidence that Furman's offensive woes lately have coincided with the absence of John Michael Boswell from the lineup. Boswell (.323/5/30), who leads the team in RBIs, has missed each of the last six games due to injury and he remains out indefinitely. Fellow first baseman Anthony Fontana (.296/0/13), who's made eight starts and batted .357 since March 27, has also missed the last five games. On Wednesday, Sasapan got his shot after Trent Alley left with a minor injury.

Injuries are not, Furman's offensive struggles of late have been perplexing. After the Paladins were swept at Samford on March 24, the team batting average was .232. While that average has gone up to .263 currently, clutch hits have been hard to come by.

Furman has not had a hit in its last 14 at-bats with the bases loaded and has left at least 10 runners on base in 10 of its last 18 games. In two of those eight that Furman didn't reach double digits in runners stranded, the Paladins didn't have 10 reach base in the first place. This trend comes after leaving at least 10 men on base only twice over the Paladins' first 23 games. Those two games were a 16-11 win over Morehead State and a 12-7 loss to South Carolina, so it wasn't like the offense was absent in either of those.

A flaw last season that hasn't gotten better this season in strikeouts. Furman has struck out 378 times over 41 games (9.2 per game) this season. This comes after striking out 8.3 times per game last year. Two years ago, the Paladins averaged only 6.1 strikeouts per game.

"We have some power numbers that are coming at the expense of an alarming rate of strikeouts," Harker said. "For however frustrated anybody is in the stands, I can promise you that the kids in that locker room are working at it and doing everything they can. We just have to continue to prepare and find ways to make adjustments to get better."

Defensively, Furman has committed 29 errors in April and made at least one in 13 of 15 games this month. Ironically, the only two error-free games this month were a 2-1 loss at UNCG and a 5-1 loss at Western Carolina.

With all that covered of what's going not so well at the moment, the thing that is going well currently for the Paladins is pitching. Back to the Samford series, where after game two on March 23 Furman had a team ERA of 6.59. One month later, that ERA has been shaved to 5.35. Knocking more than a run off a team ERA over one month in the middle of the season is nothing to sneeze at.

Former midweek starter John Michael Bertrand (3-2, 3.74 ERA) has gone 2-0 with a 2.34 ERA over his last three starts to solidify his spot leading the weekend rotation. Others have stepped up. That was exhibited this week when Furman needed just five different pitchers to work the 21 innings of the two extra-inning games. That would've been unheard of for this staff in back-to-back midweek games earlier this season.

Sophomore Jordan Beatson, who's primarily worked in relief in his Furman career, allowed one earned run in a career-long 6 2/3-inning outing against USC Upstate on Tuesday. Freshman Mason Kenney made just one mistake - a two-run home run - in five innings in his first collegiate start Wednesday against Georgia State. Former weekend starter Nik Verbeke allowed just one unearned run in five innings of relief Wednesday before Hank Nichols came on to work a scoreless 11th and earn his second win in as many nights. Verbeke has an 0.73 ERA in his last five appearances, while Nichols hasn't allowed a run in his last four appearances.

"Our midweek pitching has just been lights out. We've really thrown the ball well, at a time when honestly I didn't know how we were going to get nine innings and then we needed to get 11," Harker said Wednesday. "Our front end guys are good and we think they can keep us in every game. Now we've got guys coming out here and giving us depth that honestly, in the past, we haven't had."

Furman will look to keep up the momentum as Kansas (20-19) comes to Greenville for the teams' first ever meetings in baseball. This series came about as a result of both teams having the weekend off in their respective nine-team conferences. This weekend series is part of a stretch of five games in six days and of an eight-game homestand. That will be capped by a visit from VMI as the Paladins resume Southern Conference play next weekend.

If pitching can remain steady - if not continue to improve - and proven run producers turn things around at the plate, that could leave Furman right where it wants to be heading into next month's SoCon Tournament.

"When you start seeing our depth (develop), that's when you say, 'this is a team that's fourth place in the SoCon and can make a run at this tournament.' " Harker said. "You're using guys in this five-game stretch that you're not typically going to use to find out who can handle it.
"Opportunity is what life is all about. It doesn't matter what circumstances happened for you to get that opportunity. Take advantage of it."

Roper's blast lifts Paladins to improbable win

Dax Roper watches his game-winning home run in the ninth inning
of Furman's 5-4 win over Citadel Friday. Photo courtesy of Furman

Furman entered Friday's opening game of a series against rival The Citadel coming off a pair of lopsided wins this week. For the first seven innings Friday, all that momentum appeared to be out the window. Bulldogs' starter Jordan Merritt piled up nine strikeouts throwing seemingly nothing but sliders over those seven innings.

But with a 4-1 lead going to the bottom of the eighth, Citadel relievers began throwing straight pitches. That is, straight at Furman batters in the eighth and straight down the middle in the ninth. Only four pitches were thrown in the ninth though. That's how many it took for Dax Roper to launch one deep into the night for a walkoff home run in Furman's 5-4 win.

"That's a huge win. We showed some serious resilience there," Furman coach Brett Harker said. "Tip your cap to Citadel's starter and the way they played early on that game. They came ready to play and honestly put us on our heels. I felt like we were in a boxing match and ducking the whole time because they were taking all the swings."

One inning before his game-ending heroics, Roper started the eighth inning rally. The junior catcher, who had three strikeouts in his first three at-bats, belted an 0-1 pitch from Citadel reliever Zach Taglieri over the centerfielder's head for a double leading off the eighth. Furman, which stranded 11 baserunners, appeared for another wasted opportunity when the next two batters struck out. However, Anthony Fontana delivered an RBI-double down the right field line to cut the lead to 4-2.

Then things got downright weird and stayed that way for awhile. Jared Mihalik, a 6-2, 219-pound sophomore, pinch hit for 5-10, 154-pound Bret Huebner and was hit by a pitch. Trent Alley, a 6-4, 200-pound junior, pinch hit for 6-1, 170-pound Banks Griffith and he was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

"You send up all these pinch-hitters, playing for the long ball and they both get hit," Harker said. "I guess I was sending up bigger targets."

Ian Foggo came on in relief of Taglieri and promptly hit David Webel to force in one run. Jabari Richards became the fourth consecutive Paladin to get plunked with a pitch to tie the game 4-4.

In the top of the ninth, Citadel had a man on first with nobody out when Furman reliever Eric Taylor was called for a balk. Before the balk was recognized, Taylor delivered a pitch that the Bulldogs' Tyler Corbitt grounded to third baseman Logan Taplett. Recognizing that a balk had been called and seeing the umpire's hands raised for time, Taplett held onto the ball. The Bulldogs took advantage of a rule that allows teams to take the result of a play when a balk has been called and had runners on first and second.

"I've been around a lot of baseball and I knew that was the rule, but I've never actually seen it play out," Harker said. "We played it as if it was a dead ball, but we learned from it. So hopefully that never happens again."

Jordan Beatson came on in relief and got a ground ball to second that appeared to start a double play, but the throw to first got away. That allowed Citadel's Ryan McCarthy to come around from second to score what appeared to be the go-ahead run. However, Citadel's Tyler Corbitt was ruled to have interfered at second. That sent McCarthy back to second and gave the Paladins a second out. Beatson then picked off McCarthy to end the inning.

Roper just missed a double down the left field line on the first pitch of the ninth. He then jacked a 2-1 pitch into the trees beyond the left field fence for his team-leading sixth homer to end the game.

"What a roller coaster. ... We were able to hold tight long enough. I thought (Furman starter John Michael) Bertrand did a really good job of pitching around some jams. Then all the madness starts happening and you've just got to hold on to the bull," Harker said. "We held on just a little bit longer to give Dax an at-bat. I don't even know how far it went but the second he hit it, I knew it was gone."

Furman (8-16, 1-3 Southern Conference) and Citadel (9-17, 2-2) play game two of the series Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Red-hot Richards hits for cycle in Paladins' win

After two home runs Tuesday, Jabari Richards hit for the cycle Wednesday
in Furman's 18-3 win at Gardner Webb. Photo courtesy of Furman

Jabari, ja kidding me?

One night after posting four hits, including two home runs, and five RBIs, Furman's Jabari Richards had quite an encore Wednesday. Richards hit for the cycle with the home run being of the grand slam variety as the Paladins hammered Gardner Webb, 18-3, in Boiling Springs, N.C.

The most remarkable part of Richards' night was that he only had one part of the cycle in his first three trips to the plate. The senior doubled in the first, walked in the second, and had a sac bunt in the fourth. He followed with a triple in the sixth, a homer to right on a 1-2 pitch in the seventh, then led off the ninth with a single.

The long ball pushed Richards into a tie for eighth on Furman's all-time home run leader board. Richards is tied with Dominic Franchini and Jordan Simpson with 26 career dingers.

While it was Furman's first cycle since Case Cassedy did it against Appalachian State in 2006, it wasn't the most rare thing pulled off Wednesday. In the bottom of the third, Gardner Webb had runners on second and third with nobody out when the Paladins turned a 4-3-2 triple play. It was the first triple play by Furman since 2001 when it turned three against UNC Asheville.

Richards finished with four runs and five RBIs, but he wasn't alone. Dax Roper didn't hit for the cycle, but did have an equal number of total bases as he went 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles and his fifth home run. John Michael Boswell also blasted his fifth homer and also had five RBIs. While every starter had a hit for the Paladins, the No. 2-6 batters combined to go 18-for-25 with 12 runs and 14 RBIs.

It's the second consecutive convincing win for Furman (7-16), which snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 14-5 win at Winthrop on Tuesday. The Paladins have scored more runs over their last two games (32) than they did over their previous eight (27).

Chandler Redmond hit his seventh home run and drove in all three runs for the Runnin' Bulldogs (10-11).

Matt Lazzaro allowed one run on one hit over three innings of relief for the win. Lazzaro (1-3) had two walks and four strikeouts. Starter Nik Verbeke allowed two unearned runs on four hits in four innings for Furman.

John Michael Bertrand, who's been very solid as the midweek starter this season, didn't appear either Wednesday or Tuesday. The sophomore left-hander has earned a shot at a weekend start which he will get this weekend when Furman hosts rival The Citadel. The three-game series begins Friday at 6 p.m. and will be the Paladins first game at Latham Stadium since March 11.

Links to NIT, football stories

Just wanted to drop a quick note here at the Furman Sports Report to provide links for a couple of Furman stories I've written for the Spartanburg Herald this week.

First, an NIT preview ahead of tonight's opening round game against Wichita State: https://www.goupstate.com/news/20190318/snubbed-furman-excited-about-nit-no-3-seed

Next, is a feature story on did on Byrnes High senior Jalen Miller, who's one of three incoming freshman football players who enrolled early and participated in spring practice for the Paladins: https://www.goupstate.com/news/20190318/byrnes-jalen-miller-gets-head-start-on-furman-career

I'll be covering tonight's basketball game also for the Herald. I'll post the link here, but I should have a follow-up piece on here tomorrow.

Thanks as always to Tommy's Country Ham House for sponsoring the FSR, and thanks to all of you for reading. This athletic program is an absolute joy to cover and I'm so appreciative of the support to help me do it!

Furman baseball looks to build momentum

Furman freshman Rob Hughes (2-0, 1 save; 0.00 ERA) is scheduled to make
his first collegiate start Saturday at Charleston. Photo courtesy of Furman

Weather has wreaked havoc on the schedules of college baseball teams this season, especially those in the Southeast. Furman is no exception. Of the 14 games the Paladins have played, only six of them went on as originally scheduled.

Among the misadventures this year were a series with LaSalle getting completely replaced by a series against Gardner-Webb, traveling to Wake Forest for a Friday game that was rained out then traveling back to Wake Forest two days later for a doubleheader that was originally supposed to be a single game against the Demon Deacons at Fluor Field. That was one of three games at the home of the Greenville Drive that Furman has had wiped out.

"It's been the strangest season. You never know when your playing or how much water you're going to have to squeegee off the field," Furman coach Brett Harker said. "It's been very hard to get in any kind of groove."

Along with the weather, the Paladins (5-9) have dealt with injuries to Jabari Richards, Deon Sanders and Dax Roper. Weather and injuries are things all teams have to deal with, but it certainly hasn't helped this young Furman team develop consistency.

Winning helps and Furman is coming off its first consecutive victories of the season. The first of those two wins came Monday in improbable fashion. The Paladins trailed 10-8 going into the ninth, then were down to their last out still trailing by one. David Webel hit a grounder to short and beat the throw to first allowing M.J. Sasapan to come home with the tying run. An inning later, John Michael Boswell cranked a walk-off home run.

John Michael Bertrand continued to be solid in his role as Furman's midweek starter as the Paladins won at USC Upstate, 7-4, on Wednesday. Two bright spots from that victory for Furman were the confidence boosts it undoubtedly gave reliever Jordan Beatson and outfielder David Webel. In his first game in the leadoff spot this year, Webel went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and two runs scored. Beatson gave up one run on three hits over the final three innings for his first save.

"We started four freshman on the road and won a game. I don't know the last time Furman has done something like that," Harker said following Wednesday's win. "We're taking baby steps to get better.
Of course, I'd love us firing on cylinders from day one. That was the game plan, but obviously we weren't there yet. We're getting better and we're getting healthier though.
"We can't grow and get better unless we're playing. That's why we've gone to such extents to make sure we get games in."

So far this young season, the Paladins appear to have more power at the plate and on the mound. While not the end-all, be-all for offense or pitching, respectively, home runs and strikeouts certainly don't hurt either category. After hitting 40 homers in 52 games last season - including a stretch of 82 2/3 consecutive innings without one, Furman has 13 long balls in 14 games this year. After last year's pitching staff posted 328 strikeouts in 450 innings, Paladin pitchers have 110 in 123 innings this year.

Freshman Rob Hughes (2-0, 1 save, 0.00 ERA) has led the way for Furman pitching this season. He's allowed one unearned run on four hits in 15 innings out of the bullpen, to go along with five walks and 22 strikeouts. Those performances have earned Hughes his first collegiate start, set for Saturday at Charleston.

"He's thrived every time we've given him the ball in what was a great challenge for him. He's been a starter his whole life," Harker said. "I was very handcuffed early on, because I felt like Rob was the one who could handle that pressure on the back end (of games). Now that we have other guys like Beatson and Eric Taylor stepping up, it opens up this chance."

Boswell (.358/3/10; .566 slugging) and Logan Taplett (.286/3/10; .595 slugging) have led Furman's power surge, along with Spartanburg Methodist transfer Sterling Turmon. The injury to Richards opened a door for Turmon, and he has blasted through. Turmon, who played high school ball at St. Joseph's then Eastside, is hitting .344 with three doubles, a homer and five RBIs.

"We really weren't sure what we were going to do when Jabari Richards went down. Sterling got the nod and has taken advantage of it," Harker said. "What's been impressive about him is if he has a bad night, he seems to bounce back really well the next day."

After winning three of its last four, the Paladins will look to keep building momentum this weekend at College of Charleston. It's the final series before Southern Conference play begins next weekend at Samford. It will be a special road trip for Harker, who played on some incredible Charleston teams and holds the school record for career saves (29).

"It's a little weird being in the third base dugout and there's a completely different coaching staff. Heck, it's a different logo that the one I played with. So there's a lot of changes there, but obviously that place means a great deal to me," Harker said. "I have so many memories there. ... I'd love to go down there and play our best baseball for sure."

Paladins fall to UNCG in SoCon semifinal

Matt Rafferty had 17 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three blocks
in Furman's 66-62 loss to UNCG Sunday. Photo courtesy of Furman

ASHEVILLE, N.C. - The number seven brought no good luck to the Furman basketball team Sunday night in the Southern Conference Tournament semifinals. The third-seeded Paladins saw a seven-point lead turn into a seven-point deficit over a seven-minute stretch late in the second half as second-seeded UNCG rallied for a 66-62 win.

The Spartans (28-5) advance to play top-seeded Wofford in Monday night's championship game at 7 p.m. Meanwhile, the Paladins (25-7) will have to wait and see where their next game will be. Furman entered Sunday ranked No. 41 in the NET rankings that will be used to seed the NCAA Tournament. At worst, it seems the Paladins will be NIT bound.

"Credit UNC Greensboro. They put up a great fight, especially down the stretch," Furman coach Bob Richey said. "I thought both teams competed really hard and played tremendous defense both ways. They swung and we swung, and they got the last one in and unfortunately the clock ran out.
"The ultimate goal for all of us is to somehow play in the NCAA Tournament. In the world of mid-major and low-major athletics, you've got to win this (conference tournament). ... That's just how it's always been, but this year is unique. Whether it's us or Greensboro, I don't know. But if you're going to sit here and tell me this is a one-bid league, that's nuts."

Following Saturday night's win over Mercer in the quarterfinals, the Paladins had a major concern regarding the health of star Matt Rafferty. Rafferty injured his right thumb after falling to the court late and didn't return. The thumb wasn't broken, but Rafferty did play with a splint on it Sunday. The splint had to be altered when excommunicated ACC official official Karl Hess deemed that the original soft-wrap wasn't legal to play with. This meeting took place about eight minutes before tip-off Sunday and Rafferty had to have it re-wrapped. 

Rafferty fought through the pain to lead the Paladins with 17 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, three blocks and a steal. While Rafferty will never be one looking for excuses, the SoCon's leader in field goal percentage was just 6-of-15 from the floor Sunday and a few of those made buckets came on left-handed layups.

"I don't think (the splint) affected my game too much. I missed some shots that I should've made, but all you can do is go out and play as hard as you can," Rafferty said. "I was going to play no matter what."

One night after compiling a season-high 25 assists in a win over Mercer, the Paladins had one in the first half Sunday to go along with seven turnovers. Yet Furman trailed only 26-24 at the break after limiting UNCG to 36.7 percent shooting.

Things got more Furman-like on offense after halftime as the Paladins opened the second half on a 7-0 run. Furman's lead stretched to nine on four different occasions, the last coming on a pair of free throws by Jordan Lyons that made it 45-36 with 12 minutes left. The Paladins took a 52-45 lead after a steal by Andrew Brown led to a layup by Lyons with 8:43 left.

Things went downhill quickly for Furman from there. UNCG went on a 20-6 run over the next 7:04 as Isaiah Miller's dunk gave the Spartans a 65-58 lead with 1:21 left. After Rafferty hit a pair of free throws, Alex Hunter came up with a steal with 31 seconds left. Trailing 65-60, Furman's possession took way too long and ended on Clay Mounce's putback with 11 seconds left. Miller hit 1-of-2 free throws with nine seconds left to wrap up the win.

"That's a broken floor play. You get the steal and you'd love for guys to run wide where you can either attack the rim or hit somebody that's running wide for a three," Richey said. "Unfortunately, the ball got bent to the sideline more than you want right there. If you pause right there to try to run a play, that's going to take too long. You've got to try to attack in the open court and keep the ball in the middle of the floor and unfortunately we didn't."

Lyons was the only other Paladin in double figures with 15 points. Brown and Hunter had nine and eights points, respectively, while Mike Bothwell added seven.

Francis Alonso had a game-high 19 points to lead UNCG. While he only had four points, James Dickey was also a force for the Spartans as he pulled down 15 rebounds, including eight offensive. UNCG had a 39-28 edge on the boards, including 16 offensive rebounds. Somehow, Furman had an 8-1 advantage in second-chance points.