Wednesday, March 30
Panthers Score Five in Ninth to Rally Past Mercer
MACON, GA. -- Joey Roach's game-tying single started a five-run ninth inning as Georgia State rallied for a 10-6 victory at Mercer Wednesday at Claude Smith Field, giving the Panthers (13-12) a sweep in the annual season series.
After Mercer (16-10) scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth to take a 6-5 lead, James Clements led off the top of the ninth with a single up the middle and the Jarrett Hood drew a walk off Austin Cox (1-1). That brought Roach to the plate, and the senior catcher delivered his third hit of the night with an opposite field single to left to score the tying run.
Jack Thompson was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and then Woullard drew a basees-loaded walk to bring home the go-ahead run. Luke Leonard followed with another walk for another run, and then Will Kilgore laced a two-run single through the right side to put the Panthers ahead 10-6.
Freshman reliever Chris Mejias (1-0), who struck out All-American Kyle Lewis with two runners on base to end the eighth inning, pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth to earn his first collegiate win.
"How spectacular was that last at-bat by Joey Roach?" head coach Greg Frady said. "Our senior captain really came through. I'm glad to see our team come back. This is something that we've needed offensively, and I'm glad to see us put that number of the board."
With the game tied at 1-1, Georgia State started a two-out rally with back-to-back singles by Hood and Roach. Then Thompson, the sophomore first baseman, worked the count full and then blasted a three-run home run to center field to put the Panthers ahead 4-1.
"It was my fifth curve ball of the at-bat so I had seen it a couple of times and I was really focused on staying on that back foot. I was able to get the hands out, and the ball carried out of here," Thompson said of the home run, his third of the season. "I was little nervous because I saw Kyle [Lewis] tracking it, and when he jumped, I thought he might have come down with it."
Mercer answered with two runs in the bottom of the sxith to pull within one. The Panthers scored an insurance run in the top of the eighth on Woullard's run-scoring groundout before allowing the Bears to take the lead in the bottom of the frame.
Roach finished 3-for-5 with one RBI and three runs scored. Hodd also scored three runs, and Thompson drove in three, while Woullard and Kilgore had two RBI each.
Mejias was the sixth Georgia State pitcher of the night. Starter Devin Vainer turned in strong outing, pitching 4.2 innings in which Trey Truitt's leadoff homer was the only hit and run he allowed. The lefty struck out five.
Truitt and Danny Edgeworth hit solo homers for Mercer, which leads the nation in home runs, but the GSU pitching staff held the Bears to six hits on the night.
Mountaineers Rout N.C. Central, 12-1
BOONE, N.C. — Matt Vernon and Tanner Mann-Fix had three hits apiece, Tyler Stroup drove in five runs and Seth Hardin turned in five strong innings on the mound to lead Appalachian State University baseball to a 12-1 romp over North Carolina Central on Wednesday evening at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
Appalachian State’s 12 runs were a season high and its 15 hits fell just two short of its season best. The Mountaineers did all of their damage in the first five innings, scoring two runs in the first, one in the second, one in the third, five in the fourth and three in the fifth to jump out to a commanding 12-0 lead.
Vernon was the primary catalyst of App State’s outburst at the plate. The junior drove in the Mountaineers’ first run with an RBI triple in the first inning, added a two-run double in the fourth and capped the impressive evening with another double in the fifth. He finished 3-for-4 with two doubles, a triple, three RBI and four runs scored.
Mann-Fix came around to score after each of his three singles while Stroup recorded his career-high five RBI on a run-scoring groundout in the first and two-run singles in the fourth and fifth innings.
Appalachian State, which came into the game hitting just .199 with runners on base and .180 with runners in scoring position, went 11-for-26 (.423) with runners on base and 8-for-16 (.500) with runners in scoring position on Wednesday night.
In all, the first five batters in the Mountaineers’ order (Mann-Fix, Vernon, Stroup, Grayson Atwood and Brian Bauk) combined to go 12-for-20 with 10 RBI and nine runs scored.
Not to be overshadowed by the offensive explosion was the effort turned in by four App State pitchers, who combined to limit hot-hitting N.C. Central to just one unearned run on seven hits.
Hardin led the way, as he needed only 61 pitches to toss five shutout innings and earn the first win of his collegiate career. The right-handed freshman pounded the strike zone all night and allowed just two hits over his five scoreless frames. He struck out two and didn’t issue a walk.
Right-handed relievers Travis Holden, Matt Schaeffer and Caleb McCann worked the final four innings of the gem. They surrendered just one unearned run and scattered five hits over their four innings.
Making the pitching performance even more impressive is the fact the N.C. Central (13-14) scored nine runs or more three times in the past eight days, including Tuesday’s 14-1 rout over High Point.
Appalachian State (6-19, 1-8 Sun Belt) continues its four-game homestand this weekend when it hosts red-hot Little Rock (12-12, 5-4 Sun Belt), the winner of six of its last seven games, for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series. Game times are set for 6 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday at Smith Stadium.
JAGS FALL IN NINTH INNING TO NICHOLLS
BILOXI, Miss. – Nicholls State scored two unearned runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to defeat the University of South Alabama baseball team 5-4 Wednesday at MGM Park.
Nicholls (11-15) loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the ninth after Juan Givan reached on a leadoff error by Ryan Raspino at shortstop and consecutive singles by Dylan Manichia and Ethan Valdez. Alex Tucker then grounded to second base with two outs, but Jaguar second baseman Drew LaBounty mishandled the ball and then threw wide of first base to allow the tying- and game-winning runs to score.
Colonel left-hander Zach Thiac (3-1) tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings, and allowed two hits with three strikeouts to earn the win. USA left-hander Shane McKinley (1-1) allowed two unearned runs on three hits with one strikeout in one relief inning in the loss. Jaguar starting pitcher Ryne Long allowed three runs on five hits, and struck out a career-high six batters with one walk without factoring in the decision.
"Ryne Long was great," USA head coach Mark Calvi said. "He deserved a much better fate. He competed all night and gave us a chance to win the ballgame. It's too bad that his guys behind him didn't play good enough defense, and that's what it was. Ryne Long did everything he could to help us win this ballgame; you couldn't ask any more of that kid. It's a disappointing loss."
The Colonels scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth to cut their deficit to one run. Nicholls loaded the bases with two outs on a one-out double by Valdez and consecutive two-out walks by Kyle Knauth and Alex Shermer. Brandon Harigel then delivered a pinch-hit two-run single to left field to score Valdez and Knauth and cut the Jaguar lead to 4-3.
South Alabama (18-7) pushed the game's first run across in the top of the first. Travis Swaggerty led off the game with a double to left field, and Cole Billingsley followed with a bunt single down the third-base line to put runners at the corners with no outs. Danny Martinez reached on a fielder's choice on a grounder to first base to score Swaggerty for a one-run Jaguar lead.
Nicholls State (11-15) answered with a run to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth. Shermer reached on a fielding error by Martinez to lead off the inning, and then stole second before moving to third with one out on a throwing error by Long on a failed pickoff attempt at second. Trevor Flynn followed with an RBI groundout to second to tie the game 1-1.
USA responded with a run in the top of the sixth to take a one-run lead. Brendan Donovan drew a one-out walk, and scored one batter later on an RBI double to left-center field by Jared Barnes for a 2-1 Jaguar lead.
The Jaguars added a pair of runs to their lead in the top of the seventh. Swaggerty led off the top of the seventh with a single back up the middle, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Billingsley. Drew LaBounty followed with an RBI single up the middle to plate Swaggerty and push the USA advantage to two runs. LaBounty advanced to second on a groundout to second by Martinez, and scored on a two-out RBI single back up the middle by Carter Perkins to push the USA lead to 4-1.
Billingsley went 3-for-4 to lead USA at the plate. Perkins finished 2-for-4 with one RBI, Swaggerty added two hits and two runs scored and Barnes had a double and one RBI. LaBounty recorded one hit, one RBI and one run scored and Martinez drove in one run. Justin Holt went 2-for-4 to lead the Colonels offensively.
South Alabama will return to action this weekend when it hosts Louisiana-Monroe in a three-game Sun Belt Conference series at Stanky Field, with game one scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch Friday.
ULM Drops Weather-Shortened Contest to Demons
MONROE, La. – ULM’s early lead was not enough on Wednesday night, as Northwestern State came back for a 6-2 win before the night was called in the top of the sixth after a 42-minute storm delay.
The Warhawks, just like on Tuesday, got on the board first. Cody Stone singled with one out in the second inning and Brian Barefoot roped a double down the right field line. Dalton Todd then did the exact same thing to the left side to plate both.
Northwestern State countered with a run of their own. Spencer Goodwin singled and then made it to third after the throw on the steal attempt caught him in the leg and went to the outfield. He eventually scored on a groundout to shortstop.
The Demons took the lead in the fifth inning when a wild pitch preceded a two-run homer by Daniel Garner to center field.
Two more runs in the sixth inning upped the NSU lead to 6-2. Two strikeouts followed a leadoff double, and Cade Jones recorded a pinch-hit single to plate a run. Goodwin’s base hit drove in another Demon before the storm delay.
Cole Hendrix struck out a career-high six in his first start of 2016 (4 2/3 innings).
Eagles Fall 6-1 at No. 18 Georgia Tech
ATLANTA – Georgia Southern Baseball dropped a 6-1 result at #18 Georgia Tech on Wednesday to close a four-game road swing. The Yellow Jackets massed a 5-0 lead before Georgia Southern got on the board in the fourth inning, but the Eagles tallied just four hits on the night to fall to 15-9 on the year Next up is a weekend series against Texas State at the friendly confines starting on Friday at 7 p.m.
QUOTABLES
HEAD COACH RODNEY HENNON
"Georgia Tech beat us in every phase of the game tonight. They swung the bats well, jumped out on us and we were unable to get a whole lot going offensively. I think we made a couple of mistakes and if we had played a little cleaner, who knows, we could have kept the game within reach. Bottom line is they beat us in all phases. Now we've got to pick ourselves up and get better beginning tomorrow at practice to get prepared for Texas State on Friday."
PITCHERS OF RECORD
WIN – Cole Pitts (2-1)
LOSS – Lawson Humphries (0-1)
SAVE – None
CRUCIAL MOMENTS
BOTTOM 1st – Back-to-back-to-back hits to start the bottom of the first gave the home side a 1-0 lead.
BOTTOM 2nd – A single and a walk with one out opened the door for Wade Bailey to drive in a run with a single to left and extend the GT advantage to 2-0.
BOTTOM 3rd – A leadoff error opened the door for Georgia Tech to score three runs in the third.
TOP 4th – The Eagles got three-straight hits to open the fourth frame to load the bases for Will Hudgins. The starter at the hot corner skied a sacrifice fly to the gap in right, sending Ryan Cleveland home from third to get the Eagles off the mark and cut the lead to 5-1.
BOTTOM 7th – Kel Johnson got his first hit of the game with a solo home run in the seventh to extend the lead to 6-1.
NOTES
- Ryan Cleveland's single in the fourth helped the junior extend his hit streak to 14-straight games. He is 18-for-54 during the streak.
- Georgia Southern's four-hit game was their fewest since February 27th when they scratched the same total in a 3-2 win over Radford to close the Saturday doubleheader. That game lasted just seven innings.
- Starting pitcher Lawson Humphries took his first collegiate loss, giving up eight hits and five run in 2.0+ innings. The Eagle bullpen was efficient, however, scattering five hits over six innings with one run scored and seven strikeouts. Ryan Frederick went a season-long three innings and fanned three.
NEXT GAME
Georgia Southern is back home this weekend for a three-game set against Texas State. Friday's game is Military Appreciation Day with free admission to active and veteran military personnel. Saturday's game is Report Card Night with free admission for children who show their report card with an A or B in at least one class. Sunday's game will be the Vs. Cancer Day with the team raising money for the Vs. Cancer Foundation and shaving their heads after the game.