Wednesday, April 20
Bell Pitches Jags Past Alabama
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Right-hander Randy Bell tied a career-high with seven strikeouts to lead the 23rd-ranked University of South Alabama baseball team to an 8-2 win over Alabama Wednesday at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
Bell (3-1) allowed two runs and scattered eight hits in eight innings, while issuing two walks to go with his seven strikeouts to earn his third win of the season and his third in as many starts.
"Randy kept his fastball out of the middle for the most part, and he threw enough breaking balls for strikes," head coach Mark Calvi said. "He's been better the last two outings, and I was a little concerned early on. But I learned something about Randy. I haven't seen him have to pitch against a really good lineup when he was about 80 percent. He didn't have the 90 to 91 (mph) velocity; he topped out around 88 and may have hit 89 once. He wasn't quite as sharp with his stuff, but the mark of a real pitcher is a guy who goes out there and wins anyway and give his team a chance.
"Our guys have a lot of faith in him when he takes the mound, and I think they learned more about Randy tonight. He wasn't as sharp as he has been the last two weeks, but you would never know it with the way he carried himself on the mound. We're proud of the way Randy has competed, and certainly proud of his effort tonight."
Crimson Tide right-hander Kyle Cameron (2-2) allowed six runs on seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts in four innings in the loss.
Alabama (23-15) took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning on a two-out RBI single back up the middle by Chandler Avant.
South Alabama (28-10) answered with five runs in the top of the fourth to take a four-run lead. Drew LaBounty led off the inning with a single to right field, and Danny Martinez followed with a single through the right side of the infield. A sacrifice bunt by Carter Perkins moved both runners into scoring position with one out. Brendan Donovan followed with a walk to load the bases with one out for Jared Barnes, who delivered a two-run single into left field to score LaBounty and Martinez for a 2-1 Jaguar lead. A wild pitch one batter later from UA right-hander Kyle Cameron allowed Donovan to score for a 3-1 advantage, before Gann singled to center field with one out to plate Barnes for a 4-1 USA lead. Travis Swaggerty followed with a two-out RBI single to center field to extend his hitting streak to 10 games and score Gann to extend the Jaguar lead to 5-1.
USA pushed across a pair of runs in the top of the fifth for a six-run advantage. Cole Billingsley led off the top of the fifth with a triple off of the right field wall. LaBounty followed with a walk to put runners at the corners with no outs. A double steal allowed Billingsley to score for a 6-1 USA lead, and LaBounty to move to second. Martinez followed with a single to right field to put runners at the corners with no outs for the second time in the inning. Perkins then drew a walk to load the bases for Donovan, who reached on an RBI fielder's choice that scored Billingsley to push the USA lead to 7-1.
South Alabama added its final run in the top of the seventh when Martinez drew a walk with one out, and later scored on a two-out RBI double to left-center field by Donovan for an 8-1 Jag lead.
The Crimson Tide scored the game's final run on a two-out RBI single to center field by Chance Vincent in the bottom of the eighth.
Barnes went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI and one run scored to lead the Jaguars at the plate. Martinez finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored, and Donovan added a double, two RBI and one run scored. Gann finished with one hit, one RBI and one run scored, and Billingsley had a triple and three stolen bases. Avant went 3-for-4 with two doubles, one RBI and one run scored to lead Alabama offensively.
"Any time you can beat a good team like Alabama, it's a feather in your cap later on down the line if your body of work is enough at the end of the season," Calvi said. "I'm proud of our guys for the way they played tonight. They didn't play outside of themselves; they just tried to go out there and play a good game of baseball and that's what we did."
USA will return to action when it hosts Southern this weekend at Stanky Field, with the series opener scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday evening.
Two-Run Ninth Seals Game for Eagles over Citadel, 7-5
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Georgia Southern Baseball withstood a late charge and posted two runs in the ninth to defeat The Citadel 7-5 on Wednesday night in the Holy City. The Eagles led 5-1 early, but runs from The Citadel in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings tied it at 5-5. The visitors got RBIs from Ryan Cleveland and Hunter Thomas in the ninth to go ahead while Logan Baldwin made his first pitching appearance in more than a year to take the save.
Georgia Southern improves to 23-15, posting a new high-water mark entering a three-game weekend series against Little Rock. Friday's first pitch is set for 7 p.m. on Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night. All Georgia Southern faculty and staff will get free tickets and can purchase companion seats for just $5.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Rodney Hennon
"It was a hard-fought win on the road tonight. I was really proud of the guys for hanging in there. We led most of the game and hand chances to extend the lead, but we didn't get that done. The guys kept battling and kept competing. Logan Baldwin gave us a big lift there in the end finishing the game out."
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Logan Baldwin
2-for-5 // 1R // 1.0 IP // 0H // 0R // 1K // SAVE
Logan Baldwin got things done on two fronts for the Eagles in the 7-5 win. Offensively he went 2-for-5, lacing a ninth inning single up the middle to advance the go-ahead run to second. He later scored in the ninth to provide an insurance run. After Chris Brown got into some trouble in the bottom of the ninth, Baldwin was called in from centerfield to pitch. He fanned one to take his first collegiate save.
CRITICAL MOMENTS
TOP 1ST – Georgia Southern opened the night with a pair of runs. Evan McDonald worked a leadoff walk and came in to score with two outs when Ryan Cleveland doubled to left. Jordan Wren followed suit with an RBI single.
TOP 2ND – The Eagles got the bases loaded with no outs in the third and tacked on a run sacrifice fly by Evan McDonald. That, however, was all the Eagles would get in the frame, stranding two runners aboard to end the inning.
BOTTOM 3RD – The Bulldogs chased starting pitcher Adam Kelly from the game in the third, getting two runners aboard while a third walked to load the bases. A double play helped the situation, but it came with no outs and The Citadel's first run of the game scored to make it a 3-1 game.
TOP 4TH – Two walks and a single loaded the bases for Evan McDonald. The Eagle shortstop singled to right, scoring Kent Rollins. The next batter, Kent Rollins delivered a sacrifice fly to plate Matt Anderson and make it a 5-1 game.
BOTOM 6TH – Two walks to open the sixth opened the door for The Citadel to score a run and make it a 5-2 game. A double down the line by William Kinney plated the run for the home side.
BOTTOM 7TH – The Citadel got two runs in the seventh, taking advantage of a walk and a hit batter. A slow infield ground out scored the first run of the inning while a bleeder to center plated the second and made it a 5-4 game with seven innings in the books.
BOTTOM 8TH – The Citadel got back to even terms in the eighth with a sacrifice fly to short center. Logan Baldwin threw a strike to cut the runner down at the dish, but the slide eluded the tag by the narrowest of margins, evening the game at 5-5.
TOP 9TH – A leadoff walk to Cal Baker and a single by Logan Baldwin up the middle put ducks on the pond for Ryan Cleveland. The junior first baseman hit a single through the right side to drive in Baker. Hunter Thomas plated another run with a chopper to first, sending Baldwin home.
BOTTOM 9TH – Chris Brown hit the leadoff batter and threw a ball to his second batter before Logan Baldwin was called in to get the final three outs. A walk to Windham (which was charged against Brown's account due to the 1-0 count when the move was made) put runners at first and second. A fielder's choice put runners on the corners, but Baldwin struck out a pinch hitter to get the second out. A ground ball to second ended the game and cemented the Eagle victory.
NOTES
- Georgia Southern has won four-straight games and reaches a new high-water mark at eight games above the .500 mark.
- Nine pitchers combined in the effort on the designated staff day. Chris Brown earned his fourth win of the season to go to 4-2 while Logan Baldwin tossed his first collegiate save.
- Baldwin made his first appearance on the bump since March 25, 2015 when he went three innings in relief against Jacksonville. That was his only other appearance for the Eagles on the rubber, instead starting 74 games over the last two seasons in centerfield.
UP NEXT
Georgia Southern opens a three-game Sun Belt series this weekend against Little Rock. The Eagles and Trojans begin their series on Friday night at 7 p.m. with game two scheduled for 7 p.m. on Saturday. The series final is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Warhawks Drop Heartbreaker to Bulldogs
BILOXI, Miss. – ULM and No. 7 Mississippi State battled for nearly five hours in what wound up a 14-inning marathon contest on Wednesday night at MGM Park.
With two outs and runners at the corners in the bottom of the 14th inning, Bulldog center fielder Jake Mangum delivered the game-winning hit as his walkoff single to right plated Ryan Gridley to give Mississippi State (25-12-1) the 1-0 win.
ULM (15-22) reliever Tyler Schwaner (0-1) was tagged with the loss after allowing one run on one hit and one walk in 0.2 innings of work.
Mississippi State reliever Paul Young picked up the win in relief.
The two teams traded zeros throughout the game in what proved to be a pitcher’s duel. In all, the two teams pitching staffs combined to use 17 pitchers.
ULM’s Cade Stone doubled in the 11th and moved to third on a sac bunt but a pair of fly outs left the center fielder 90 feet away from scoring. In the bottom of the 11th, Mississippi State used a pair of stolen bases to move a man to third but a pop out to first base closed out the inning.
Up Next…
The Warhawks will continue their road swing with a three-game Sun Belt Conference series against Arkansas State. The series begins Friday night at 6 p.m., followed by game two on Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday’s finale at 1 p.m.
Panthers Fall to Georgia Tech
ATLANTA -- Georgia State fell to Georgia Tech 11-5 Wednesday at the GSU Baseball Complex.
Jarrett Hood, Justin Jones, Ryan Blanton and Darius Sewell drove in runs for the Panthers (16-20), and James Clements had two hits off the bench.
Georgia Tech (25-12) scored two in the top of the first, but Georgia State answered in the bottom of the inning. With two outs, Hood belted his Sun Belt Conference-leading 15th double to bring home Jaylen Woullard, who led off with a single.
After Georgia Tech added single runs in the second and third innings, Ryan Blanton pulled the Panthers within 4-2 with an RBI-single, scoring Woullard.
But the Yellow Jackets then put up four in the fourth, aided by two GSU errors, to move ahead 8-2.
Georgia State scored two in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Justin Jones and an error, and in the eighth, Sewell delivered a run-scoring double to right field.
Georgia Tech starter Jake Lee (2-0) allowed two runs on four hits in five innings to earn the victory. Devin Vainer (0-3) took the loss for the Panthers.
Senior catcher Joey Roach reached on a hit by pitch for the eighth time this season and the 26th time in his career, tying him for second place in GSU history.
GSU continues its 10-game homestand this weekend with a key Sun Belt Conference series against Appalachian State, beginning Friday at 6 p.m. at the GSU Baseball Complex.