Saturday, May 14
Clement Lifts Cajuns To Extra Innings Victory At South Alabama
MOBILE, Ala. – Senior Kyle Clement's solo home run in the 11th inning lifted the 21st-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team to a 5-4 win over 23rd-ranked South Alabama in extra innings Saturday night at Eddie Stanky Field.
"This was just another Jags and Cajuns game," head coach Tony Robichaux said. "Tonight we were able to answer back. Hopefully this will be a spark for us after having a night like we did the night before. We could have packed up our tent a couple times along the way but we didn't. This team has battled back all year long, and give them credit for doing the same thing tonight."
With the victory, the Cajuns (32-19, 17-9 Sun Belt) remain in the hunt for Sun Belt Conference regular season championship as the squad moved to three games back of the Jaguars (37-15, 20-6 Sun Belt) for first place in the league.
Offensively, Clement, Brenn Conrad, Joe Robbins and Kennon Fontenot each had a pair of hits in the game as the Ragin' Cajuns outhit the Jags 9-8.
Freshman right-hander Nick Lee posted his sixth quality start of the season in a no decision. Lee limited South Alabama to two runs on five hits in 6.1 innings of work with six strikeouts and a walk.
Sophomore Dylan Moore (6-1) picked up his sixth win of the year in the contest tossing a career high 4.2 innings in relief. Moore gave up two runs on three hits with five strikeouts and a walk.
Jaguars' starter Randy Bell also did not factor into the decision giving up three runs (one earned) on five hits in 7.2 innings.
Reliever Hunter Soleymani (4-3) was handed his third loss of the season after giving up one run on two hits in an inning of work.
Louisiana broke into the scoring column in the first inning for the second straight game on a two-out, two-run double down the right field line by Conrad to give the Cajuns a 2-0 edge.
South Alabama threatened in the bottom of the fifth as the Jags loaded the bases on a Ben Gann single and two errors by shortstop Hunter Kasuls. With Cole Billingsley at the plate, Lee got another ground ball to Kasuls who turned a double play to end the inning unscathed.
The Jaguars got on the board in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI double to left center by Gann to cut the lead to 2-1. In the next at-bat, Adam Wolfe sent a two-run, pinch-hit home run over the scoreboard in left to put South Alabama up 3-2.
The Cajuns responded in the top of the eighth as Fontenot scored on a wild pitch by Bell to tie the game at 1-all. Fontenot doubled to left with one out in the inning and then moved to third on a ground ball to second by Kasuls.
In the top of the tenth, Fontenot delivered an RBI single to center scoring pinch runner Ishmael Edwards from second to put Louisiana back in front 4-3.
The Jags tied the game for the second time in the game in the bottom of the tenth on a solo homer to right center by Travis Swaggerty.
Clement provided the heroics in the top of the 11th as he drove a 2-0 pitch from Soleymani over the fence in right center to give the Cajuns the victory. The home run is the second of the season for Clement.
The Ragin' Cajuns and Jaguars will play the rubber match tomorrow at 1 p.m. Louisiana will start sophomore right-hander Evan Guillory (4-5, 3.55 ERA), while South Alabama will send right-hander Austin Bembnowski (6-1, 3.16 ERA) to the bump.
Fans can listen to the game on News Talk 96.5 KPEL-FM with Jay Walker and Jeff Schneider making the call.
LR Clinches Tournament Spot as Malcom Throws Shutout
MONROE, La. – A 17-0 shutout by Little Rock baseball (24-23, 15-11 Sun Belt) over ULM (20-31, 10-16 Sun Belt) clinched the Trojans a spot in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament for the first time since 2013 on Saturday night at Warhawk Field in Monroe.
"That was no doubt our best-played game of the year, and it could not have come at a better time," head coach Chris Curry said. "We met with the team before the game and challenged them to get back to being who we are, which is playing with an edge and playing angry. It's so rewarding as a coach to see your team respond."
Along with the tournament-clinching win, Little Rock starting pitcher Cory Malcom (5-4) threw a complete-game shutout as he tied a career-high nine strikeouts. Malcom allowed just three hits and two walks as he threw exactly 100 pitches. He became the first Trojan pitcher to throw a complete-game shutout since Calvin Drinnen threw one against Oklahoma in 2011.
"When a guy is throwing like that on a Saturday, he can put the series away for you or turn it around, and that's what we asked him to do," Curry said.
At the plate, Dalton Thomas had huge game as he went 3 for 6 with four RBIs, a home run, two doubles and two runs scored.
Kyle Kirk went 3 for 5 with two RBIs and two runs while Ty Gunter had the other three-hit game as he went 3 for 4 with two walks and two runs. Zach Baker went 2 for 6 with a home run, a double, two RBIs and three runs while Jonathan Davis went 2 for 5 with an RBI, a walk and a run. Hunter Owens was a perfect 2 for 2 as he doubled, walked twice and scored twice.
The game went scoreless through three innings, but Little Rock was sure to change that in the fourth as the Trojans scored six runs on four hits. After Ty Gunter walked and Jonathan Davis singled through the left side, Zach Baker hit an RBI double to left to score Gunter. Kyle Kirk followed that up with an RBI single to left center, scoring Davis. After Hunter Owens walked to load the bases, Hayden Martin cleared the bases with his first-career triple. An RBI ground out by Ryan Scott scored Martin and gave Little Rock a 6-0 lead.
The Trojans had an even better inning in the fifth. Nik Gifford got on with a leadoff walk before advancing to third on a single by Gunter. A wild pitch scored Gifford and allowed Gunter to move to second. After Davis walked, Baker reached on a fielder's choice to put runners on the corners. Kirk once again hit an RBI single and scored Gunter. Owens was then hit by pitch to load the bases for Little Rock. With two outs, a runner scored on a fielding error and allowed Scott to reach safely at first, but that wouldn't be all as a throwing error to first allowed another run to score as Scott reached second. Dalton Thomas capped the inning off with a three-run bomb to left to give Little Rock a 13-0 lead.
With two outs in the sixth, Baker hit his first homer as a Trojan on a solo shot to left. Even with a massive 14-0 lead, Little Rock kept up the momentum in the seventh. After Scott reached on a muffed throw at first, Thomas hit his second double of the game and 16th of the season to score Scott. With one out and a runner on, Davis hit an RBI single through the left side to score Thomas and give Little Rock a 16-0 lead.
After the Trojans were held scoreless for the first time since the third inning in the eighth, Little Rock topped the game off with one more run. Gifford singled through the left side to begin the inning and advanced to second on a single through the right side by Gunter. Gifford advanced to third as the Trojans grounded into their first double play of the night. With Baker at the plate, a wild pitch hit the dirt and bounced to the backstop, allowing Gifford to score Little Rock's 17th run.
Malcom stayed on the mound to begin the bottom of the ninth inning. After he struck out the first batter, Malcom set a new career-high for innings pitched at 8.1, but he wasn't finished yet. Malcom finished off the Warhawks with a ground out to first and foul out behind the plate to end the game.
"To earn a spot in the conference tournament and do something that hasn't been done in three years means we're getting this program back to where we expect it to be," Curry said. "That accomplished our first goal, and we just feel like we're not done yet. We have some things in the regular season that we can do. Getting to the postseason is something we've talked about since the beginning, and it's all about the players. It reaffirms the way we're building this program and where we're headed. It's a step towards being a contender at the top of the league every year."
Little Rock can clinch its sixth Sun Belt series of the season and tie the program record for conference wins in tomorrow's 1 p.m., series finale at ULM.
Wren’s Walk-Off Bests No. 23 Clemson to Even the Series
STATESBORO, GA. – Georgia Southern Baseball evened the weekend series with No. 23 Clemson by taking Saturday's game 7-6 on Jordan Wren's walk-off single in the ninth. The Eagles trailed three separate times in the game, but rallied with two in the first, three in the third and two in the ninth to take their 31st win of the year. Georgia Southern and Clemson close out the three game series on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
QUOTEABLES
HEAD COACH RODNEY HENNON
"I was really proud of our guys for hanging in there, they really kept battling. It was a good ballgame, Clemson really didn't make any mistakes and we got a break there to tie it up late. Jordan Wren stepped up and got a big hit for us. I thought Landon Hughes did an outstanding job for us, giving us a chance and being able to set up the comeback. It was a good effort and now we've got to come out ready to compete and battle all day tomorrow."
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Jordan Wren – JR – OF – Peachtree City, Ga.
2-for-4 // 3 RBI // 1 SAC
Jordan Wren drove in Georgia Southern's game-winning run, but the junior drove in two more runs in the third as a part of the Eagles' second comeback of the night.
CRUCIAL MOMENTS
TOP 1ST – A leadoff error put a runner on for Clemson in the first, but a Seth Beer two-run home run down the line in right gave the visitors an early 2-0 lead.
BOTTOM 1ST – Logan Baldwin stroked a one out single to set the table for Ryan Cleveland. The junior first baseman crushed a game-tying home run to left center, levelling the game at 2-2.
TOP 3RD – Clemson re-took the lead with three runs off four hits in the third. Two singles with one out got things started, but a sacrifice fly, a double and a single to left did the damage for the visitors.
BOTTOM 3RD – Georgia Southern answered the Clemson runs with two hits early in the third inning. An RBI single from Ryan Cleveland plated one run with the junior moving up to second on the throw back in. Jordan Wren sent two more runs home with a single to center.
TOP 6TH – A leadoff walk came back to bite the Eagles in the sixth as Andrew Cox singled up the middle to score the runner from second with two outs.
BOTTOM 8TH – Georgia Southern got a leadoff single from Baldwin and a walk to Cleveland to put runners on with no outs. Jordan Wren bunted the runners over, but a strikeout and an infield ground out erased the Eagles in the inning and quelled a late rally bid.
BOTTOM 9TH – The Eagles needed a run to tie the game and got it when Logan Baldwin struck out for what would have been the third out. The ball got past Clemson's catcher and CJ Ballard scored. With runners on first and second, the Tigers walked Ryan Cleveland to get to Jordan Wren. The junior right fielder made the Tigers pay, stroking then 0-2 pitch through the right side for the game-winning hit.
NOTES
- Ryan Cleveland's first inning home run was the first conceded by Clemson's Pat Krall in his career with the Tigers. Krall entered the series with five earned runs allowed, he doubled that total in the first three innings by giving up three runs.
- Landon Hughes got his fourth win of the season on the mound by going 3.2 innings in relief and allowing just one hit. He fanned three and retired the last 10 batters he faced. In the month of May, Hughes is 3-0 with a save in five appearances.
- The top four hitters in the Eagle lineup combined for eight of Georgia Southern's 10 hits in the game.
- Georgia Southern is now 4-4 against teams ranked in the Top-25 and 5-6 against all ranked opponents.
NEXT GAME
Georgia Southern and Clemson will close out the series with the rubber match of the series on Sunday. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. at J.I. Clements Stadium on a Chamber of Commerce Day. Sunday's high temperature will be 84 degrees under sunny skies.
Offensive Showcase Gives Troy Series-Clinching Victory Over Georgia State
ATLANTA, Georgia – The Troy baseball team scored at least one run in six of nine innings en route to a 9-3 series-clinching victory over Georgia State on Saturday at the GSU Baseball Complex.
Troy (29-23, 14-12 Sun Belt) poured on nine runs and 15 hits. The Trojans had two players who hit a home run in Peyton Fuller and Justin Friend, while Chase Smartt contributed with three RBIs.
Lucas Brown (7-4) pitched a gem in a winning effort. He went seven innings and only allowed two unearned runs, while picking up seven strikeouts.
Troy gave Brown a 1-0 lead right from the start as Brandon Lockridge reached on an error in the first inning and later scored on a TJ Binder groundout to second. In the third inning, Davis singled home a run and gave the Trojans a 2-0 advantage.
The first home run of the game came from Fuller in the fourth inning when he hit a two-out solo blast to left field. In the fifth with the bases loaded, Smartt hit a two-run double to center field and Whitaker drove in another that extended the Troy lead to 6-1.
Smartt singled again in the seventh inning and scored Denison, who reached after getting hit by a pitch. Troy scored its final two runs in the ninth inning on a Justin Friend solo knock to right field and on a Cameron Sanders sacrifice fly that made the score 9-2.
Georgia State (23-28, 9-17 Sun Belt) scored a run in the ninth inning on a Darius Sewell single to left field, but the game ended on a Brandon Gonzalez fly out to center field.
Denison had a team-high three hits in a 3-for-4 day at the dish. Friend, Davis, Smartt and Fuller had two hits each and one RBI. The only exception was Smartt, who had three RBIs on the day.
The Trojans only struck out one time in Saturday's game, the least amount of strikeouts the team has had all season.
Marc-Andre Habeck (1-5) suffered the loss pitching four innings and giving up six runs – five earned – on seven hits. He walked three and struck out one.
Houston Mabray will toe the rubber for the Trojans on Sunday as they go for the sweep on Sunday. First pitch is set for noon CT.
A-State Baseball Rallies From Six Runs Down for Victory
JONESBORO, Ark. (5/14/16) – Arkansas State rallied from six runs down to defeat Texas State 9-6 Saturday afternoon at Tomlinson Stadium to the weekend series from the Bobcats.
The Red Wolves (24-25, 11-15 SBC) scored three runs each the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to complete the comeback after a pair of defensive errors allowed Texas State (26-25, 13-13) to put up six runs in the fourth inning and put A-State behind early in the game.
Jake Bakamus started the rally with a three-run blast in the sixth inning to cut the deficit in half. It was the first home run of his collegiate career and came with a full count and two outs in the inning after Austin Baker and Matt Burgess singled and walk to start the frame.
Bakamus finished the game 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a home run.
A-State tied the game in the seventh after Matt Burgess tripled to left centerfield to score Tanner Ring, who had reached on an error earlier in the inning. The inning started with a Joe Schrimpf and he scored when Garrett Rucker tripled to get within 6-4. Rucker then scored when Ring reached on an error by the Bobcats’ shortstop to put the tying run on base.
Schrimpf put the Red Wolves’ ahead with an RBI double in the eighth inning and Austin Baker provided some insurance with a double down the right field line that plated two runs.
Baker finished the afternoon 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two doubles, while Schrimpf had three hits and an RBI.
Tyler Zuber (5-3) earned the win in relief after giving up just two runs in 5.1 innings of work. Zuber entered the game in the fourth inning after Culbertson loaded the bases and walked in the first run of the game.
Zuber then gave up a single that scored two runs, but an error by Ty White in right field and another error by Jeremy Brown allowed the all the runners to score. He gave up another run later in the inning but settled down for the remainder of the game.
Arkansas State will host Texas State in a three-game Sun Belt Conference series that is set to begin Friday evening at 6 p.m. at Tomlinson Stadium.
Mavs go to extras to take down App State
BOONE, N.C. – The UT Arlington Mavericks gave up a two-run lead in the ninth, but responded with a five-run 10th to clinch the series against Appalachian State with an 8-3 win on Saturday at Smith Stadium.
The Mavs (27-24, 13-13 SBC) scored three in the fifth and held a 3-1 lead over the Mountaineers (15-35, 9-20 SBC) going into the ninth. But App State scored twice to force extra frames in their final at-bat of regulation before the Mavs’ bats came to life in the top of the 10th for UTA’s third extra-inning win of the season.
"App State has some really good young players and we knew it was going to be a battle this weekend," coach Darin Thomas said after the game. "Luckily we got the double-play ball in the ninth to force extras and then was able to bust it loose."
Darien McLemore drove in three runs on the day with a pair of hits, including a two-run double in the 10th that was the 200th hit of his career and broke the 3-3 tie. Noah Vaughan added an RBI triple in the inning, with RJ Williams adding an RBI single to cap a 2-for-5 game with a pair of RBI.
Jacob Moreland moved to 5-0 after picking up the win, striking out two in 4.0 innings of relief. He was in position to pick up his fifth save of the season before surrendering the lead in the ninth, but threw up a scoreless extra frame for the win. That came in relief of starter Joel Kuhnel who struck out six in 6.0 innings with just a single run allowed.
The loss fell on App State reliever Luke Watts who had thrown 4.1 hitless innings of relief before giving up a leadoff double, one of six on the night for the Mavs, to Brady Cox to open up the 10th.
App State’s starter kept the Mavs off balance through the first four frames and got a 1-0 lead to work with after Conner Leonard connected on a solo home run with two outs in the bottom of the second. However, after leaving five runners on base in the first four frames, the UTA offense got something going in the top of the fifth.
A leadoff double from Josh Minjarez was followed by a walk to Matt McLean and a ground-rule RBI double from RJ Williams to tie things up. Quintin Rohrbaugh then put UTA ahead 2-1 with a sac fly and Darien McLemore plated Williams one batter later with a hard RBI single to right field.
Kuhnel responded with a shutdown fifth and then worked around a two-out double from Matt Vernon in the sixth, getting Grayson Atwood for his sixth and final strikeout of the game to end the Mountaineer scoring threat.
UTA then turned to Moreland, who shut App State down in both the seventh and eighth before surrendering a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings. Singles from Atwood and Colin Schmid started the inning, with an infield single from Tanner Mann-Fix scoring the first run from third. One batter later Chandler Seagle lined an RBI single to left field to score Schmid and knot things up.
Moreland then had some work to do with the winning run in scoring position, but got pinch hitter Parker Henderson to ground to McLemore for a double play to keep things tied up.
Cox then started things off for the Mavs in the 10th with a rocket double to left-center, followed by a single from Quintin Rohrbaugh. That set up McLemore who doubled to left-center off of reliever Reed Howell to score both runners and then came home to score on Vaughan’s triple.
UTA would add two more in the inning, giving Moreland a comfortable five-run cushion in the bottom fo the inning. The senior allowed one hit in the inning, but nothing else in securing the Mavs’ fourth straight road series win.
The Mavs and Mountaineers will close out their weekend tilt on Sunday with sophomore Jake Wilcox scheduled to get the start for UTA. First pitch is set for 12 p.m. CT from Smith Stadium.