Sunday, April 10
Jags Sweep A-State, Improve SBC Winning Streak to 15 Games
MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama baseball team defeated Arkansas State 3-2 Sunday at Stanky Field to secure its fifth consecutive Sun Belt Conference series sweep.
USA (25-8, 15-0 SBC) also extended its home winning streak to 13 games with the victory. Jaguar right-hander Austin Bembnowski (4-0) allowed two runs on four hits with five strikeouts and four walk in 5 1/3 innings to earn his fourth win of the season. ASU left-hander Coulton Lee (3-3) allowed three runs on five hits with two strikeouts and three walks in five innings in the loss. USA southpaw Shane McKinley struck out two and issued one walk in two scoreless relief innings to earn his sixth save of the season.
"We walked way too many, and the game wasn't pretty," USA head coach Mark Calvi said. "In fact, I didn't like the game at all; the only part of the game that I like is that we won. It was ugly, but I would rather win ugly than lose pretty. Sometimes you have to win when you're not at your best, and that was one of those games. I'm proud of the guys for the result today and super happy with the results over the weekend, but we need to pitch better in the last half of the season than we have the last two games to be where we want to be at the end of the season."
ASU (13-18, 4-11 SBC) jumped out to a two-run lead in the top of the first inning. Ty White and Tanner Ring reached on consecutive singles to start the game, and scored on a one-out, two-run double down the left field line by Joe Schrimpf for a 2-0 lead.
USA answered with a pair of runs to tie the game in the bottom of the third. Ben Gann led off the inning with a single to right-center field, and Wolfe followed with a walk. Travis Swaggerty reached on a single back to the pitcher to load the bases for Cole Billingsley, who delivered a sacrifice fly to right field to plate Gann and cut the ASU lead in half at 2-1. Drew LaBounty then reached on a fielding error by Ring at third base that allowed Wolfe to score and tie the game 2-2.
South Alabama pushed across the game's decisive run in the bottom of the fifth. Swaggerty reached on a fielding error by ASU second baseman Jake Bakamus, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Cole Billingsley. Danny Martinez delivered a two-out RBI single back up the middle later in the inning to score Swaggerty for a 3-2 USA lead.
Arkansas State threatened in the top of the eighth when it put two runners in scoring position with one out. Jeremy Brown led off the inning with a single to center field, and Jake Bakamus followed with a walk. A sacrifice bunt by Tony Ortiz moved both runners into scoring position with one out. But USA left-hander Shane McKinley struck out the next two batters he faced to escape the jam and preserve a one-run Jaguar lead.
Donovan went 2-for-4 to lead the Jags at the plate. Martinez finished 1-for-2 with one RBI, and Billingsley drove in one run. Brown finished 2-for-3 to lead the Red Wolves offensively.
USA will return to action Tue., April 12, when it hosts Southeastern Louisiana in a 6:30 p.m. contest at Stanky Field.
Mills Carries Cajuns to Series Win over Eagles
STATESBORO, Ga. – Senior Brian Mills' grand slam in the eighth inning lifted the 26th-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team to a 13-9 win over Georgia Southern to clinch the series on Sunday at J.I. Clements Stadium.
Mills had two home runs in the contest and became the first Ragin' Cajuns hitter to drive in six runs in a game since Jace Conrad accomplished the feat on June 1, 2014 against Jackson State.
With the victory, the Cajuns improve to 21-11 on the season and 10-5 in Sun Belt play, while the Eagles fall to 18-14 overall and 7-8 in league action. Louisiana has now won six series on the season and four of five in conference play with three of the four coming on the road. Louisiana has also won nine of its last 11 contests with the victory.
"You don't want to always get in firefights, but its nice when your hitters can backup your pitchers and defense when they aren't at their best," head coach Tony Robichaux said. We said 'so what' and kept fighting when things weren't going our way. We didn't let one thing turn us, and didn't quit fighting. I thought Brian did a good job of staying back on a changeup and took the ball down the line where the ball really carries."
Offensively, Louisiana pounded out 12 hits in the contest led by Kyle Clement who was 3-for-5 and scored a run. Brad Antchak drew three walks on the day scoring three times for the Cajuns.
Dylan Moore (4-1) earned his fourth victory of the season tossing 3.2 scoreless innings to close out the game. Moore allowed just one hit in the outing with a career-high six strikeouts.
Starter Nick Lee was chased in the fourth inning after giving up five runs (one earned) on four hits with two walks and a strikeout in 3.2 innings of work.
Georgia Southern starter Brian Eichhorn was also run from the game early as he gave up six runs (five earned) on seven hits in 2.1 innings. Reliever Byron Yelverton was handed the loss after giving up four runs on three hits in two innings.
The Cajuns jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first loading the bases with no outs. Stefan Trosclair brought home the first run of the inning on a sacrifice fly to deep left field. In the next at bat, Steven Sensley gave Louisiana a two-run edge on an RBI ground out to second base.
Georgia Southern cut into the lead in the bottom half of the first as Cal Baker doubled to left field and then scored on an Alex Pinero error with two outs to make the score 2-1.
Mills gave the Ragin' Cajuns a three-run edge in the top of the second as he hammered a 2-1 pitch from Eichhorn over the fence in left for a two-out, two-run homer.
Louisiana tacked on two more runs in the top of the third on a ball hit to second by Antchak that was misplayed by Eric Furphy to increase the advantage to 6-1.
In the bottom half of the third, the Eagles picked up a run on a ball hit to third base by Baker to cut the Louisiana lead to 6-2.
Georgia Southern pulled within a run in the bottom of the fourth plating three runs on two hits and an error to make the score 6-5. An RBI triple by Jordan Wren highlighted the scoring in the inning.
The Cajuns got a run back in the top of the sixth on an RBI ground out by Nick Thurman to take a two-run edge.
The Eagles took the lead in the bottom half of the sixth scoring four runs on two hits, an error and four free passes. Ryan Cleveland tied the game at 7-all on a two-run single to left field. After an intentional walk to Will Hudgins, Hunter Thomas singled home two more runs to put Georgia Southern up 9-7.
Mills gave the Ragin' Cajuns the lead back in the top of the eighth driving an 0-1 pitch from Yelverton down the left field line for his first career grand slam and second home run of the game.
Brenn Conrad added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the ninth doubling home Trosclair and Antchak to make the score 13-9.
Louisiana returns to action with a five-game week including two midweek games as the Cajuns host Tulane on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field before face New Orleans on the road Wednesday.
Mavericks Salvage Sunday's Game with Warhawks
ARLINGTON, Texas - Jake Wilcox crafted six complete innings and Darien McLemore was a triple shy of the cycle as UT Arlington beat ULM in the series finale Sunday at Clay Gould Ballpark.
UTA (18-15, 5-7 SBC) avoided the series sweep after dropping the first two games of the Sun Belt series. ULM moved to 13-19 and 4-8 in conference play. The Warhawks' series win was the first in Arlington since 2001.
"We got the early lead and that's the second time in a row I thought Jake [Wilcox] was really good and Darien [McLemore] obviously had a good game," UT Arlington coach Darin Thomas said.
"We scored early and threw strikes. It was a good win after a couple of disappointing losses."
McLemore was 3-for-4 with two runs with a career-high four RBI in his first game as a two-hole hitter this season. His home run in the first inning was both his second of the season and of the weekend. Four Mavericks had multi-hit games while UTA fashioned 11 hits with five recorded in a five-run fourth inning.
ULM tabbed seven hits and was 2-9 with runners in scoring position. The Warhawks matched their four errors from Game 2.
Wilcox (3-2) bested his career high with six strikeouts, and was responsible for two earned runs on five hits and a walk through six frames. The sophomore retired 11 of the next 15 batters after ULM's two-run second inning.
"Against any team, you keep the ball low and it'll work," Wilcox said. "I had my slider on today so I had another pitch I could throw in there for a strike and it kept them off balance."
Adam Meyer threw the next 1.2 innings out of the pen and was credited for two runs on a hit, two punch outs and a walk. Daniel James protected the win with one hit allowed in 1.1 innings.
All six hitters were retired in the third inning before UTA's 10-batter fourth manufactured five runs. Noah Vaughan opened the inning with a double and scored on Jerame Littell's RBI single up the middle. Matt McLean padded the rally with a double to extend his career-high hit streak to 15 games.
McLemore did his job with bases loaded and smoked a double to left-center, scoring a batter later on a wild pitch to up UTA's advantage 8-2.
The Mavericks worked their first multi-run lead of the weekend in the first inning with McLemore's homer to right field and Quintin Rohrbaugh's sac fly.
The lead was short-lived as the Warhawks answered with a pair of runs in the second inning with an RBI-double and a groundout to the left side.
Littell singled to lead off UTA's second and took advantage of two free passes to third on a failed pickoff attempt and wild pitch. He later scored on McLean's sac fly to give the Mavs the upper hand again, 3-2.
ULM placed a pair of runners for the first time since the second inning with a base knock and a Maverick throwing error. Wilcox had other plans and sat Nathan Reynolds down looking. Wilcox allowed a leadoff double in the sixth and settled down to strike out the side.
ULM's Brandon Bell (2-4) was finished after 3.1 innings after allowing eight runs, six earned on nine hits, three strikeouts and a wild pitch.
The Warhawks cut UTA's lead in half in the top of the eighth and took advantage of two UTA arms in Meyer and James. Nathan Pugh reached on a fielding error at third base, which opened the door for two runs on two hits.
The Mavericks have a break in conference play Tuesday against Houston Baptist with a 6:30 p.m. start at Clay Gould Ballpark. The meeting is the fourth of an eight-game homestand.
"The first two games were a letdown," McLemore said. "We can't come out and perform like that. You have to be able to be a consistent team, especially after beating TCU the way we did. Being able to get that win at the end was a big one."
Little Rock Claims Third SBC Series Win with 9-7 Triumph over Georgia State
LITTLE ROCK – Looking to clinch its third Sun Belt series of the season, Little Rock baseball (15-16, 8-7 Sun Belt) succeeded with a 9-7 win over Georgia State (15-16, 8-7) on Sunday afternoon at Gary Hogan Field.
Ryan Scott led the way for the Trojans as he went 2 for 5 with four RBIs and a double.
Zach Baker and Kyle Kirk scored multiple runs for Little Rock with three and two, respectively.
Scoreless heading into the bottom of the fourth, Nik Gifford changed that with a two-out solo home run to left, his third of the season.
The Panthers punched back hard in the top of the fifth with five runs on eight hits. After the Trojans gave up two doubles and a single, Justin Jones hit a two-run double to left center to give Georgia State the lead. After a balk advanced Jones to third, Joey Roach hit an RBI single to right. A single and a wild pitch later, John Thompson hit an RBI single to left to score Roach from third. That RBI single would be all for Trojan starter Joe Corbett as Cody Daylor (3-0) came on in relief. After giving up an RBI single for the Panthers' fifth run of the inning, Daylor went into cruise control as he eventually picked up the win in 3.2 innings with three strikeouts while only allowing three hits.
Down 5-1 entering the bottom half of the fifth, Little Rock's offense cranked up the bats and put runs on the board in three of the remaining four innings. With three runners on due to walks and two outs, Scott cleared the bases with a three-run double off the wall in center.
The sixth inning was more of the same for the Trojans. After Cameron Knight was hit by a pitch and Kirk walked, Baker put down a beautiful bunt single to load the bases. Matt McDowell hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Knight and tie the game at 5-5. With conditions ripe for a safety squeeze, Hayden Martin laid down a sacrifice bunt to score Kirk. Hunter Owens hit an RBI single up the middle to plate Baker and give Little Rock a two-run lead at 7-5.
The Trojans added some insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth. After Baker was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a balk, Ty Gunter came through with an RBI single to right. Georgia State made the call to the bullpen for the third time before Gunter stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. After Owens walked, Ryan Scott earned his fourth RBI of the day with an infield single to short as Gunter scored to put Little Rock up 9-5.
Cody McGill came on for Daylor to begin the ninth, but things went awry as he gave up a single and a two-run homer to Joey Roach. After walking the next batter, Keenan Wingfield made his way into the game for McGill to try and protect the Trojans' two-run lead. A fly out and a strikeout put the Panthers on their final leg before a walk put runners on first and second. A foul out to Gifford at first put the game and series to rest as Wingfield earned his third save of the year.
"We're starting to come together," head coach Chris Curry said. "Last night was one of the most complete and pretty wins we've seen. Today was an ugly win, but there's no bad win. Makeup and character are going to be what decide it at the end of the year, and we've got that."
Little Rock will return to non-conference action on Wednesday as it makes the 30-mile trip to Conway to face Central Arkansas in the second game of the Rock 'n' Roar Rivalry.
Walk-Off Wild Pitch Gives Troy Series Sweep over Appalachian State
TROY, Alabama – The Troy baseball team completed the sweep over Appalachian State as Trevor Davis scored the winning-run via wild pitch and gave the Trojans a 3-2 win on Sunday at Riddle-Pace Field.
"We did a good job taking advantage of their struggles throwing strikes late in the contest," head coach Mark Smartt said. "I thought our competition level at the end raised up again. To get the win like we did, I think it says a lot about our team and our ability to stay after it and keep playing.
Troy (20-13, 6-6 Sun Belt) tied the game in the ninth inning as Austin Hulsey walked with the bases loaded and drove in the Trojans' first run. The next batter, Brandon Lockridge drove in the tying run as the very next pitch hit him and tied the game at two. A force out at home and a lineout to left field took the game into extra innings.
Trevor Davis scored the walk-off run in the 12th as he led off the inning with a double through the left side. He advanced to third on a fly out to right field by Joey Denison. He scored on a wild pitch thrown by Luke Watts that gave Troy the 3-2 victory.
Lucas Brown and Cory Gill were stellar on the mound. Gill earned the win (2-1) pitching three innings of relief. He only allowed one hit, two walks and struck out four. Brown went nine innings and tied a career-high nine strikeouts. He only allowed two runs to score and gave up eight hits.
Matt Schaeffer (0-1) suffered the loss for the Mountaineers (8-24, 3-12). He pitched three innings, gave up three hits and one costly run that ended the game.
The Trojans were outhit by the Mountaineers 9-5, but five different Trojans had hits on the day and Davis had the lone RBI and extra base hit, his seventh double of the year.
The win on Saturday improved Troy's win streak to six games. They will look to make it seven in a row when they face Jacksonville State on Tuesday night at Riddle-Pace Field. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. and the first 500 fans will receive a free t-shirt.
Bobcats Take Final Game of Series, Defeat Nevada, 3-2
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State's Cory Geisler pitched a gem of a game and closer Pasquale Mazzoccoli came in to close it out with his ninth save of the season. Granger Studdard ruined the pitcher's duel with a leadoff double in the seventh and Dylan Paul knocked him in to spark a three-run inning. Those three runs proved to be enough for the Bobcats to pull out a 3-2 victory to salvage the series against Nevada and improve to 21-12.
Geisler threw 7.1 innings and struck seven batters out on 112 pitches. The senior didn't give up a hit until the fourth inning and was working on a two-hit shutout after seven innings. Nevada struck in the eighth with a two-run homer, but Mazzoccoli shut the Wolf Pack down the rest of the way to clinch the win for the Bobcats.
In addition to Studdard and Paul, Derek Scheible laid down an excellent push bunt for a hit in the seventh while Nick Perez and Luke Sherley knocked hits in the inning. Paul scored on an error while Perez drove in Scheible to complete the three spot in the seventh.
WHO STOOD OUT
Cory Geisler / LHP/OF / Senior / Spring, Texas
The senior struck seven batters out on a season-high 112 pitches. His seven strikeouts matched his season high from South Alabama on March 26. He was working on a two-hit shutout after seven innings and put on the performance the Bobcats needed on the mound, according to Head Coach Ty Harrington.
Pasquale Mazzoccoli / RHP / Senior / Katy, Texas
Mazzoccoli earned his ninth save of the season as he pitched two/thirds of the eighth inning and the ninth. With his ninth save, he improves to tied for second for most saves in a season at Texas State and just two away from Hunter Lemke's school best of 11 saves.
Dylan Paul / IF/OF/C / Sophomore / Katy, Texas
Paul started his first game ever at first base for Texas State Sunday, registering 11 putouts and an assist, including the first putout of the game as well as an outstanding sliding catch on a foul ball later in the game. He also knocked in the go-ahead RBI to break a 0-0 tie in the seventh inning with a single up the middle.
SCORING RECAP
Bottom 7th – Granger Studdard led off with a double to right field, and two batters later Dylan Paul drove him in with a single up the middle. After that, Derek Scheible legged out a well-placed push bunt. Both Paul and Scheible pulled off a double steal and took an extra base on an errant throw with Paul scoring. Next, Nick Perez singled to right centerfield to plate Scheible and complete the three-run inning. (3 runs, 5 hits, 2 errors, 2 left on base)
Top 8th – Nevada hit a one-out single, and Trenton Brooks followed with a two-run homer. (2 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 2 left on base).