University of North Carolina Athletics
Elon Tops Mount To Stay Alive In Cary Regional
May 31, 2008 | Baseball
May 31, 2008
CARY, N.C. - Right-hander Kenneth Ferrer tossed 7 2/3 strong innings to lead Elon past Mount St. Mary's, 6-3, in an elimination game Saturday at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in the NCAA Cary Regional. The Phoenix (44-17) moves on to face either North Carolina or UNC Wilmington in a second straight loser-go-home contest at 1 p.m. Sunday. The Mountaineers (21-34) saw their first-ever postseason trip come to an end with the loss.
Ferrer (5-3) held Mount St. Mary's to three runs on seven hits and a walk, while striking out five. Brett Moore (4-8) went 6 1/3 for the Mount and allowed six runs on seven hits and two walks. Phoenix closer Thomas Girdwood worked a scoreless ninth inning to nail down his 10th save.
Mount St. Mary's first baseman Josh Vittek went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run, his team-record 20th of the season, to lead both teams at the plate. Eight different Elon players hit safely, including designated hitter Mike Melillo, who connected on a two-run homer and scored twice.
After the Mountaineers scratched in the first on a solo home run by Drew Counselman, Elon scored twice in the second to grab a lead that it would not relinquish. Mike Lobacz evened the game with a run-scoring triple to right and scored the go-ahead run on a single up the middle from Greg Annarummo.
The Phoenix added a single run in third on a Bennett Davis double and pushed its lead to 6-1 through seven innings. In the sixth, Melillo belted his fifth home run of the season - a two-run shot to right center. The third Mount St. Mary's error of the day gave Elon a five-run cushion in the seventh.
The Mountaineers bounced back to trim the lead to 6-3 in the eighth on Vittek's two-run homer but could not pull any closer.
