Bobcats sweep Mountaineers with 2 wins Saturday
BOONE, N.C. – The Texas State baseball team won both games of a doubleheader to secure a series sweep over Appalachian State Saturday at Smith Stadium.
The Bobcats (16-8, 5-1 SBC) won the first game by a 7-4 margin before blanking the Mountaineers (10-14, 1-5 SBC) 2-0 in the nightcap. The two teams played twice due to potential rain in the Sunday forecast.
TXST is now on a season high five-game win streak and improved its record to 13-2 in March. The Bobcats also lead the Sun Belt Conference in victories both overall and in league play, while improving to 9-0 all-time against Appalachian State.
Texas State returns home for a midweek tilt with SEC foe Texas A&M. The Bobcats and Aggies will meet at 6:05 p.m. March 28 at Bobcat Ballpark in a game that will be broadcast regionally on Spectrum Sports Channel 323.
TEXAS STATE 7, APPALACHIAN STATE 4
Texas State fended off multiple bases-loaded situations and scored three runs across the final two frames to break a 4-4 tie and clinch the series victory.
The Bobcats initially used a three-run fourth to take a 4-1 advantage, but the Mountaineers scored once in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to tie the contest. App loaded the bases in the third, fourth and fifth, but could only muster one run across those three frames.
Junior Mickey Scott and true freshman Zachary Leigh both scored in the eighth on RBI singles from junior Derek Scheible and sophomore Jonathan Ortega. That allowed Texas State to take a 6-4 lead, and the maroon and gold tacked on an insurance marker in the top of the ninth to earn the three-run triumph.
Junior Theodore Hoffman went 3-for-5 to pace the Bobcats. He scored twice and drove in one run. Ortega and sophomore Felipe Rodriguez both registered two hits and two RBIs, and Rodriguez also scored once.
Sophomore Wes Engle pitched the first 5.0 innings and conceded three runs (two earned) on five hits to collect the no-decision. He struck out three and walked six. Classmate Anthony Pagano (2-1) tossed the last 4.0 frames to earn the second victory of his career. He only gave up one run on just four this, while striking out one and not allowing a free pass.
Texas State outhit Appalachian State 14-9 and had two errors to zero for the home club.
Chandler Seagle and Brian Bauk both finished with two hits and were the only Mountaineers with multiple base knocks.
Colin Schmid (3-3) was tagged with the loss after giving up six runs on nine hits in the first 7.1 innings. Schmid entered the game ranked fifth in the conference in ERA at 1.91. He had allowed just seven earned runs before the Bobcats nearly doubled that mark. His new ERA is just less than 3.00.
Matt Schaeffer logged 1.2 frames of relief and finished with one run allowed on five hits.
TEXAS STATE 2, APPALACHIAN STATE 0
Texas State had just three hits in the series finale with zero coming after the second frame, but the Mountaineers were unable to take advantage and were shutout for the fourth time this season.
The first run came in the top of the first, when junior Luke Sherley smartly advanced home during a rundown by Ortega between first and second. Sherley initially reached base on an infield single and advanced to third on a single through the right side from Ortega.
The only other tally of the day came from Scheible, who scored on three-straight wild pitches in the sixth. He was hit by a pitch to leadoff the frame and used three wild pitches to move around the base paths. He leads the SBC with 28 runs scored this season.
True freshman Cole Coffey was the only other Bobcat with a hit in the contest, as the Mountaineers outhit TXST 6-3.
True freshman Nicholas Fraze (3-1) earned the win on the mound after shutting down the home club through 6.2 innings of work. He allowed six hits, struck out two and only walked one. Junior Blake Walden – the nation's leader in victories – earned Texas State's first save of the campaign after tossing 2.1 frames of relief. He did not give up a hit.
Avery Jackson went 2-for-3 to pace Appalachian State at the plate.
Luke Watts (1-2) was saddled with the loss after conceding both runs on three hits. He struck out six and walked just one. Both Tristan Helms (0.1) and Sean Mason (2.2) saw time on the mound and combined for no hits allowed and four K's.
TEXAS STATE TO HELP RAISE COLON CANCER AWARENESS TUESDAY
The Texas State and Texas A&M baseball programs will wear blue laces in their matchup at 6 p.m. March 28 at Bobcat Ballpark to help raise awareness for colon cancer and to help benefit Kiel Colon Cancer.
The mission of the organization is to decrease the number of preventable deaths caused by colon cancer through education and awareness initiative, encouraging healthy lifestyle choices and supporting colon cancer research. The founder of the organization, George Kiel III, is a Texas State graduate.
For more information, visit kielcoloncancer.org.
TEXAS STATE PITCHING COACH JEREMY FIKAC
Opening statement…
"We were competitive all weekend. Wes Engle had six walks. That's something he was beating himself up over at the end of the first game. Our guys are in the right frame of mind right now. They're competitive, and it hurts them when they don't do well. That shows that we have a bunch of players that care. That's probably one of the most important things. What I'm starting to realize about this group is when the offense is going and the pitchers aren't, they pick each other up. In the second game today, we got three hits and scored two runs. Our pitching picked the offense up. The offense has been fantastic for us all year long, and that's the sign of a good team."
On finding a way to win despite three hits in the series finale…
"Hopefully that gives our pitchers a lot of confidence. Within our first eight or so games I'd probably tell you that our pitchers were walking around searching for it. But now we're throwing the ball so much better. To have a freshman throw his second shutout of the year is big. (Nicholas Fraze) competed and threw the ball really well today. There's a lot of confidence as a team right now. We hope to get better and continue to build on what we've done so far this season."
On winning 13 of the last 15 games and leading the SBC with 16 wins this season…
"They're playing with confidence right now. You look back at all the comeback wins that we've had and you see a group that never quits. That's the best thing I can tell you about it. Over the last 15 games, our practices have gotten better. The intensity level is there. We're led by some key players. We're 13-2 since Luke Sherley has been back. Between him, (Jonathan) Ortega and a couple of other players, there's just always energy in our dugout. Our team has players that are always engaged in what's going on, and that's infectious. This whole group believes they're good enough to win a conference championship and get into postseason play. They won't take no for an answer right now. It's fun to be a part of."
JAGS CLINCH GSU SERIES BEHIND HUSTON, EXTEND WIN STREAK TO FIVE
MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama baseball team used an eight-run sixth inning and career performance from left-hander Thomas Huston for a series-clinching 16-6 win over Georgia State Saturday at Stanky Field.
Huston (2-1) struck out a career-high eight batters without issuing a walk, and allowed four runs on eight hits to earn his second win of the season. GSU right-hander Hunter Gaddis (3-1) allowed eight runs on five hits with three strikeouts and four walks in four innings pitched in the loss.
"Thomas (Huston) was really good," USA head coach Mark Calvi said. "He didn't walk anybody and got most of his leadoff outs. It's hard to score when you only have two outs to score and you need two-out hits. That's what he has forced teams to do, and that's try to get a couple of hits after the first out. He makes you earn it. He was really good today, and we played good defense behind him."
South Alabama jumped out to a three-run lead in the bottom of the first inning. Consecutive two-out singles by Travis Swaggerty and Eddie Paparella put runners at the corners with two outs. Wells Davis followed with a three-run home run to left field, his fourth of the season, for a 3-0 Jaguar lead.
USA added five runs in the bottom of the second for an eight-run advantage. Jared Barnes drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the second, and advanced to second on a walk by Hunter Stokes. A sacrifice bunt by Dylan Hardy moved both runners into scoring position with one out. Drew LaBounty drew a walk to load the bases for Brendan Donovan, who reached on a walk to force home Stokes and extend the Jaguar lead to 4-0. Swaggerty followed with a grand slam to left field, his fourth home run of the year, to push the USA lead to 8-0.
Georgia State answered with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth inning on a one-out, two-run single to left field by Jarrett Hood to cut the Jaguar lead to 8-2.
South Alabama responded with eight runs in the bottom of the sixth after sending 12 batters to the plate in the inning. The Jags loaded the bases with no outs on a leadoff single by Donovan, a fielder's choice off the bat of Swaggerty and a walk from Paparella. Swaggerty scored on a wild pitch from Panther right-hander Bryan White later in the inning for a 9-2 USA lead. Will Luft drew a walk to load the bases with one out before Jared Barnes delivered a two-run single through the left side of the infield to extend the Jaguar advantage to 11-2. Carter Perkins followed with a two-run double down the right field line for a 13-2 lead. LaBounty then delivered a two-run double down the left field line to push the USA advantage to 15-2. Donovan followed with an RBI single back up the middle to plate LaBounty for a 16-2 lead.
The Panthers answered with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh on a two-out, two-run single to right-center field by Justin Jones to cut the USA lead to 16-4. Georgia State added the final runs of the game in the top of the eighth inning on a two-run double to right-center field by Payton Mann.
Swaggerty went 3-for-5 with a home run, four RBI and three runs scored to lead the Jaguars at the plate. Donovan finished 2-for-3 with two RBI and one run scored, and Davis added a home run, three RBI and two runs scored.
"Wells (Davis) had the big three-run home run, and (Travis) Swaggerty got in to one, but it's really our guys who are willing to take close 2-1 pitches and get the count to 3-1," Calvi said. "We don't give away many at-bats. It seemed like in the middle innings that we gave some at-bats away, but when the moments have really mattered our guys have really been locked in at the plate. I was proud of the guys up and down the lineup."
USA will go for the series sweep in game three Sunday at 1 p.m.
Crook Strikes Out 14; Troy Downs #15 UL Lafayette
TROY, Alabama – Austin Crook struck out a career-high 14 batters to lead Troy to a 7-5 victory over No. 15 UL Lafayette to even the series Saturday in Sun Belt Conference action at Riddle-Pace Field. The teams will play the rubber game of the series Sunday at 1 p.m.
After allowing two runs on two hits in the first inning, Crook (4-0) settled in and dealt the most impressive pitching performance of the season for the Trojans (13-9, 3-2) – scattering four runs – two earned – on four hits in a career-high 8.2 innings of work. Marc Skinner struck out the potential go-ahead run to end the game and earn his sixth save of the season.
The Trojans used two three-run innings to support Crook led by Brandon Lockridge's 3-for-5 day that included a double and two RBIs. Joey Denison also drove in a run and is now 3-for-5 in the series with three RBIs and a run scored.
Drew Frederic, Mack Hathcock and Steven Whitaker each brought home a runner and all but two Trojans picked up a base hit in the ball game.
UL Lafayette (12-9, 3-2) refused to go away quietly – scoring three in the ninth inning despite being down five runs. Joe Robbins led the Cajuns offensively batting 2-for-5 with three RBIs and a double.
Nick Lee (4-2) allowed four runs on four hits and four walks in 2.1 innings of work and suffered the loss for the Ragin' Cajuns.
QUOTABLE
"I don't know if (Crook) has pitched a better game in his life," Troy head coach Mark Smartt said. "I hate he couldn't finish, but he was sensational today. As a team, we took advantage of anything they gave us. I'm proud we got the series even, but we're going to have to come out and play our best baseball tomorrow to win.
"We brought our energy today and Crook established the focus that we needed," Brandon Lockridge said. "Any time a pitcher is that great on the mound, the pressure is on the batters to help him out and score some runs and we did that today."
"I felt good, settled down and the offense got us some runs and got us ahead," winning pitcher Austin Crook said. "We have a lot of momentum going into Sunday."
SOUND "SMARTT" WITH YOUR FRIENDS
• Brandon Lockridge extended his on-base streak to a career-high 22 games with a pair of hits; he has now hit safely in 20-of-22 games this season.
• Brandon Lockridge recorded his team-leading 12th multi-hit game of the season; the sophomore second baseman now has 27 career multi-hit games.
• Drew Frederic's RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning extended his on-base streak to 14 games; he has also hit safely 13 of the last 14 games.
• Austin Crook struck out a career-high 14 batters over his 8.2 innings of work – his previous high was five against Hofstra on March 11, 2017. It was the most strikeouts by a Troy pitcher since Grant Bennett also struck out 14 Georgia Southern batters on March 14, 2015. Crook entered the game with 12 strikeouts over 20.2 innings.
• Austin Crook improved to 4-0 on the season with the victory and more impressively 8-0 in his career overall and 4-0 against Sun Belt foes.
• Troy improved to 11-5 this season when its starting pitcher went at least five innings; Austin Crook tossed 8.2 innings for the Trojans on Saturday. The Trojans also improved to 6-0 on the year when scoring 6-9 runs.
• Marc Skinner earned his sixth save of the season making his 94th career appearance for the Trojans. The save was also his 14th career save which leaves him four shy of the all-time Troy record of 18 held by Josh Storm.
WHAT'S UP NEXT?
The Trojans will send another senior lefty to the mound as they aim to take the series on "Championship Sunday". Evan Hebert (1-0, 3.28) will toe the rubber against the Cajuns with first pitch set for 1 p.m.
Coastal Takes Game 2, 11-6, Versus Arkansas State
CONWAY - Matt Beaird had a career-high five RBI to lead Coastal Carolina to an 11-6 victory over Arkansas State Saturday afternoon at Springs Brooks Stadium. The Chanticleers (14-9, 3-2) and Red Wolves (11-11, 2-3) will complete the three-game series on Sunday with first pitch set for 1 pm.
Beaird entered Saturday's game with just eight RBI for the season, including two Friday thanks to his first career home run. In today's win, the junior was 3-for-5 with a three-run home run and two RBI singles. Billy Cooke was a home run shy of the cycle, going 4-for-4. Seth Lancaster added three hits and two RBI while Dalton Ewing and Cory Wood each contributed two hits.
The Red Wolves got on the scoreboard first with a run in the top of the third inning when Alex Howard drove a leadoff home run over the left-center field wall. Howard was 4-for-5 with an RBI and three runs scored.
Coastal exploded for seven runs in the fourth inning to take a 7-1 lead. The Chants not only sent 11 men to the plate, but they hit for the cycle in the frame thanks to four singles, a double, a triple and a home run. Kevin Woodall Jr., drew a leadoff walk and moved to third on Wood Myers' double down the third base line. Lancaster followed with an RBI single to right-center field that scored Woodall. With runners on the corners, Ewing delivered an RBI single to left field that plated Myers. Wood laid down a perfect bunt for a single, but a throwing error on the play allowed Lancaster to score from second and put Ewing on third. Then, for the second time in as many days, Beaird hit a home run, this time a three-run shot for his second career round-tripper. Cooke followed with a triple and scored on a Jordan Gore single up the middle.
Arkansas State bounced back with four runs in the fifth to make the score 7-5. With one out, Howard singled and Drew Tipton was hit by a pitch. Grant Hawkins loaded the bases with an infield single to shortstop. Joe Schrimpf walked to force home Howard. Garrett Rucker plated Tipton with an RBI ground out and Justin Felix capped the scoring with a two-run double.
The Chants answered with two runs in the home half of the fifth. With one out, Ewing and Wood had back-to-back singles. Beaird followed with an RBI single, bringing home Ewing and moving Wood to third. Cooke then plated Wood with a sacrifice fly to left field for the 9-5 lead.
Coastal tacked on another run in the sixth. Peyton Isaacson singled, took second on a balk, advanced to third on a ground out and scored when Lancaster hit a line drive off the pitcher's glove for an infield single.
In the seventh, Beaird had his third hit and drove in his fifth run of the game to give the Chants an 11-5 cushion.
Arkansas State used a leadoff double by Howard and a one-out single by Hawkins, who was 3-for-5, to provide the final 11-6 score.
However, the Red Wolves made it interesting in the ninth innings as they loaded the bases with no outs. Will Latcham came out the CCU bullpen to induce a game-ending double play to pick up his second save of the season.
Andrew Beckwith (2-1) recorded his second-straight win as he allowed eight hits and five runs in 5.2 innings.
Eagles Down UT Arlington 4-3 For Hennon's 700th Win
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - Georgia Southern Baseball delivered Coach Rodney Hennon's 700th career win on Saturday with a 4-3 victory over UT Arlington. Steven Curry beat out a double play in the ninth inning, allowing the go-ahead run to score. That proved to be enough as the Eagles evened the series at one-game each. The rubber match is set for 12:30 p.m. (CT) / 1:30 pm. (ET)
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Rodney Hennon
"I was proud of our team, that was a hard-fought win. It was just a great team effort. (Jacob) Condra-Bogan picked us up out the bullpen. (Connor) Simmons and (Landon) Hughes did a nice job to close it out. We had a couple of big at bats from Steven Curry and I was proud of the guys that came in off the bench. Tyler Martin had a big at bat there in a pinch hit situation. It was a good team win and gives us some momentum going into tomorrow."
SCORING PLAYS
Bot 2nd - GS 0 - UTA 1 - UT Arlington loaded the bases against starting pitcher Brian Eichhorn in the second. The sophomore issued a walk to Easton Johnson to push the game's first run across.
Bot 3rd - GS 0 - UTA 2 - The Mavs took a 2-0 lead thanks to a two out single from Noah Vaughn with runners on the corners.
Top 4th - GS 2 - UTA 2 - The Eagles made UTA pay for a one out walk to Ryan Cleveland as Jordan Wren doubled down the left field line, scoring Cleveland from first. A single to left from Mason McWhorter allowed Wren to score as the UTA catcher misplayed the relay throw at the plate.
Bot 6th - GS 2 - UTA 3 - Noah Vaugh opened the sixth with a solo home run to right, as UTA re-took the lead, 3-2.
Top 7th - GS 3 - UTA 3 - The Eagles punished UTA for a leadoff walk to designated hitter Cameron Hankins. He scored from third base on Steven Curry's RBI single to left, leveling the game again at 3-3.
Top 9th - GS 4 - UTA 3 - With one out in the ninth, Steven Curry beat out a potential double play, allowing C.J. Ballard to score with the bases loaded, giving the Eagles a 4-3 lead.
GAME NOTES
- The Mavs neutralized No. 3 hitter Ryan Cleveland on Saturday, walking him in all four trips to the plate, matching his career high. He came around to score in the Eagles' first run of the game.
- Steven Curry went 1-for-4 on Saturday to extend his team-best hit streak to 10-straight games.
- Connor Simmons took his second win of the year, pitching an inning plus, allowing one hit and one walk.
- Senior Landon Hughes came in with a runner on first in the ninth and got the final three outs to post his third save of the season.
- Sophomore Brian Eichhorn allowed three hits in his three innings of work, but left the game with three strikeouts and three walks on his ledger.
- Graduate student Jacob Condra-Bogan was the first Eagle out of the bullpen, working four innings to get the Eagle bullpen to the eighth inning in a tie game. He fanned six batters on the night.
- The win was No. 700 for Georgia Southern Head Coach Rodney Hennon. In his 20th overall season, he is 700-464-1 and 619-425 in his 18th year at Georgia Southern.
NEXT UP
Georgia Southern and UT Arlington close out the three game series on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. (CT) / 1:30 p.m. (ET). Chase Cohen returns to the mound at Clay Gold Ballpark where he threw a two-hit shutout last season.
Big Inning Helps ULM to Saturday Victory
MONROE, La. – The ULM baseball team used a four-run third inning as the key frame on Saturday afternoon as the Warhawks defeated visiting Little Rock 6-4 to even up the teams’ Sun Belt Conference weekend series.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: ULM 6, Little Rock 4
LOCATION: Warhawk Field / Monroe, Louisiana
RECORDS: ULM (7-17, 2-3 SBC)
Little Rock (9-14, 2-3 SBC)
TURNING POINT
-The ULM defense stranded eight Little Rock runners on the base paths throughout the afternoon, none bigger than when Anthony Herrera worked out of a bases loaded, one out jam in the top of the eighth when he struck out Bryce Dimitroff and then got Jonathan Davis to line out to end the frame.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-ULM struck first in the bottom of the opening inning, getting on the board via Blake Buckman’s RBI single back up the middle before Little Rock took a momentary lead with two runs in the top of the second. The Warhawks then posted the four-run third inning, retaking the lead on RBI singles by Nate Reynolds and Johnny DeLaCruz before Chad Bell’s two-out, two run double to push the lead out.
-Little Rock added single runs in both the fourth and seventh innings on a pair of solo home runs, each coming on the first pitch of the inning, before ULM used a Blake Buckman solo homer to left field in the bottom of the seventh inning for final breathing room.
-Buckman and Herrera each finished with two hits to lead ULM, who finished with nine hits as a team in the win. Herrera and Bell each notched doubles, while Buckman and Bell each had two RBI, with one run driven in by Reynolds and DeLaCruz.
-Warhawk starter Chase Beal (2-2) earned the win, tossing seven innings and allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits and one walk while striking out five Little Rock batters. Herrera come on in relief for the final two innings, striking out two batters as he picked up his third save of the season.
UP NEXT
-The Warhawks wrap up the series with Little Rock on Sunday with a 1:00 p.m. in the series finale before hitting the road for their next four games, beginning with a short trip down I-20 to take on Louisiana Tech on Tuesday night.