HUSTON TOSSES COMPLETE GAME, LEADS JAGS TO SERIES-CLINCHING WIN AT ULM
MONROE, La. – Jaguar left-hander Thomas Huston tossed his second complete game of the season to lead the University of South Alabama baseball team to a 4-1 series-clinching win over Louisiana-Monroe Saturday at Warhawk Field.
Huston (4-1) allowed one run on seven hits and struck out a career-high nine batters against one walk in a career-high nine innings pitched to earn his fourth win of the season. ULM right-hander Chase Beal (3-3) allowed two runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and two walks in eight innings pitched in the loss.
"That's what Thomas (Huston) has been all year long," USA head coach Mark Calvi said. "You know what you're going to get out of him. The one thing I ask about players is I want to know what I'm going to get on a daily basis; I want a consistent effort and a consistent guy mentally. The results will fluctuate, but not that much when a guy is consistent and gives you the right mental approach.
"Thomas Huston is a guy who you know what you are going to get pretty much every single day. I'm not asking him to go out there and throw a complete game and not allow any runs or one run. All I am asking is for him to be consistent out there and be who he is. I know who he is every single day. So if he wins, loses or doesn't do well, you can deal with it because you knew who you had on the mound. I thought he was close to being scratched (from the start) today. He was feeling under the weather – you just give that kid tons of credit."
South Alabama (18-13, 8-3 SBC) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Drew LaBounty drew a two-out walk then stole second before scoring on an RBI single through the left side of the infield by Travis Swaggerty.
"(Drew) LaBounty took a bunch of marginal pitches and got on base with a walk, then Swaggerty drove him in," Calvi said of the Jaguars' first-inning run. "For a while there, I was thinking we might have to win this game 1-0. Their (ULM) guy (Beal) was really good. (Dylan) Hardy had some good at-bats today and a big double at the end. (Jared) Barnes hit the big home run at the end, and Will Luft had a single and double. (Brendan) Donovan hit the ball hard as did Swaggerty.
"Our guys worked like crazy and we got him (Beal) out of the game. He gave us troubles; a guy like that is hard to square up. He was throwing strikes and throwing hard, up to 92 (mph), from a tough angle. It was just a good game to get. I thought our kids played extremely well, competed really hard and competed in the box. The game starts and stops on that mound and defensively. Offense will come and go. Today we got nine hits and the win – you're not going to get 15 or 16 hits every day and score double-digit runs. We would like to, but that's just not a reality. Sometimes you have to win it like this, and that's what we did. We had the right guy on the mound today."
The Jaguars doubled their lead with a manufactured run in the top of the eighth. Dylan Hardy led off the inning with a double off the center field wall, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Brendan Donovan and scored on a sacrifice fly to right field by LaBounty.
USA added the game's final runs in the top of the ninth. Will Luft doubled down the left field line, and scored one batter later on a two-out, two-run home run by Jared Barnes.
ULM (9-24, 4-7 SBC) scored its lone run of the game in the bottom of the ninth when Turner Francis tripled to right-center field to lead off the inning, and scored one batter later on a sacrifice fly to left-center field by Spencer Hemphill.
Four Jaguars recorded multiple hits in the game, led by Barnes who went 2-for-3 with a home run, two RBI and one run scored. Swaggerty finished 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Luft went 2-for-4 with a double and one run scored. LaBounty added an RBI and one run scored. Francis finished 2-for-4 with a triple and one run scored to lead the Warhawks offensively.
USA will go for the series sweep in game three at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Georgia Southern Doubles-Up Troy, 6-3, to Take Series Win
TROY, ALA. - Georgia Southern Baseball secured its third series win of the season on Saturday with a 6-3 victory over Troy to take the opening two games of the series. The Eagles trailed 2-1 after an inning, but took the lead in the third and didn't look back. Ryan Cleveland went yard in the seventh inning while Steven Curry went 2-for-3 on the day with two walks. The Eagles go for the sweep on Sunday at 2 p.m. (ET) live on ESPN3.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Rodney Hennon
"It was definitely a hard-fought win, it was a great team win for us. I thought Brian Eichhorn was better for us. He was more aggressive on the mound, that was good to see. We got some big outs from (Evan) Challenger and (Ryan) Frederick while Landon Hughes did a good job to finish it off again. We got some good two out hits, C.J. Brazil made some big defensive plays for us behind the plate. We've got to put it together for a whole weekend. We've gone a good job the first two days, but it's going to be a battle tomorrow and we've got to bring another big effort tomorrow."
SCORING PLAYS
Top 1st - GS 1 - TROY 0 - A leadoff single from Steven Curry opened the door for the Eagles to take an early lead. Ryan Cleveland drove in the run to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead after a half inning.
Bot 1st - GS 1 - TROY 2 - Troy got three hits including a double in the home half of the first to take a 2-1 lead after an inning of play.
Top 3rd - GS 3 - TROY 2 - Tyler Martin did some two out damage in the third inning, doubling down the left field line to score Curry from third and Cleveland from first to regain the lead.
Top 6th - GS 5 - TROY 2 - The Eagles added two more runs with two outs in the sixth inning. C.J. Ballard drove in a run with a single to right. Mitchell Golden drove in another run with a single to right to push the lead to 5-2.
Top 7th - GS 6 - TROY 2 - Cleveland added another run in the seventh with a leadoff bomb. His seventh home run of the season was launched down the first base line and stayed fair, carrying over the 27-foot wall in right.
Bot 8th - GS 6 - TROY 3 - A walk and two singles allowed Troy to pull a run back in the eighth and cut the Eagle lead to 6-3.
GAME NOTES
- The Eagles out-hit the Trojans 13-11 with Curry, Golden, Cleveland and Evan McDonald tallying a pair of hits in the game.
- Brian Eichhorn went four and two thirds innings, allowing just two hits while scattering six hits. He fanned four and walked four. He left with the lead, but could not factor in the win because he did not complete the fifth inning.
- Evan Challenger improved to 1-4 on the season, working an inning and a third in relief. He gave up two hits and got two strikeouts to pick up his first win of the season.
- Landon Hughes earned his fifth save of the year and second of the weekend, working a one-hit ninth inning with two strikeouts.
NEXT UP
Georgia Southern goes for the series sweep on Sunday at 2 p.m. (ET). The Eagles and Trojans square-off for the third time this weekend at Riddle-Pace Field in a game that can be seen live on ESPN3.
Trojans Even Series With Five-Run Win Over Bobcats
LITTLE ROCK – Driven by three three-run innings, Little Rock baseball evened the series against Texas State with a 9-4 victory on Saturday afternoon at Gary Hogan Field.
The Trojans (11-20, 4-7 Sun Belt) tallied 13 hits while the Bobcats (20-12, 7-4) had seven. Little Rock was able to rack up 22 total bases for the day as six of its 13 hits were extra-base knocks.
Nik Gifford tallied four RBIs as he went 2 for 4 with a home run and a double. Hunter Owens extended his reached-base streak to 13 games as he ended up 3 for 4 with three runs, an RBI and a walk. Dalton Thomas recorded his fourth straight game with multiple hits as he went 2 for 5 with two doubles, two runs and an RBI. Cameron Knight also tallied multiple hits for the afternoon as he went 2 for 5 with a triple, an RBI and a run.
"Once again, the team stuck to the plan of being hooked up and engaged for nine innings," head coach Chris Curry said. "That's all we've been talking about. The middle of the order did what we know they're capable of doing. Those guys are who our offense has to go around."
Trojan starter Ryan LeMoine (1-3) earned his first Division I win. The junior right-hander went five innings, tallied a career-high six strikeouts and allowed four runs on six hits, two walks and a hit-by-pitch. Justin Garica earned his first save with a fantastic outing from the bullpen as he allowed nothing and struck out four in 3.2 innings. Texas State starter Wes Engle (2-1) was dealt his first loss of the year as he gave up nine runs on 11 hits, three walks and a hit-by-pitch while striking out eight in four innings.
Just like Friday, Texas State began the game with home run in the very first inning. With Jonathan Ortega on second after a walk and a failed pickoff attempt, Ryan Newman smashed one to left center to give the Bobcats a 2-0 lead.
Texas State's early lead was its only one of the day as Little Rock came out swinging in the bottom of the first with three runs on four hits. With Owens on second after a one-out single and a passed ball, Thomas smacked an RBI single back up the middle. After Knight singled and advanced to second on the throw home, Gifford ripped a two-run double down the right-field line to put the Trojans up 3-2.
After a three-run inning in the first, Little Rock repeated in the second inning with three runs on three hits. With Danny Mitchell Jr. and Zach Baker on with one away, Owens hit an RBI single to second to score Mitchell. Baker then scored from third on a wild pitch as Owens moved over to second. Knight then hit his first career triple with two outs to drive in Owens and put the Trojans up 6-2.
Little Rock earned the hat trick in the bottom of the fourth with its third three-run inning of the afternoon. Owens walked to begin the bottom frame before Thomas belted his second double of the day to right center. A wild pitch to the backstop scored Owens and advanced Thomas to third. The Trojans' biggest hit of the day was next as Gifford put his fourth home run of the season over the left field wall.
Trailing 9-2 entering the fifth, the Bobcats finally put some more runs on the board after nine unanswered runs by the Trojans. Newman hit a two-out double to right before scoring on a Theodore Hoffman single to left. After Hoffman stole second, Jaylen Hubbard hit an RBI single to left center to cut the deficit to five.
Garcia came on for Trojan reliever Dylan Slayton in the bottom of the sixth with bases loaded and one out. He left the bases full of Bobcats with a shallow fly out to center and a swinging strikeout. Garcia went the rest of the way and didn't allow a single baserunner over the final three innings.
Little Rock will go for its fourth consecutive series win against Texas State in tomorrow's noon finale at Gary Hogan Field. If the Trojans pick up the series victory, it would be the first time they've ever taken four straight series against a Sun Belt Conference opponent.
Mavs Clinch Series, Move Into First In Western Division
BOONE, N.C. -- Trae Patterson worked his fifth quality start of the year and Quintin Rohrbaugh collected three hits, leading UTA to a 5-2 win at Appalachian State to clinch the series, on a pleasant Saturday afternoon at Beaver Field at Smith Stadium.
UTA (16-16, 7-4 Sun Belt Conference) secured the series win over Appalachian State (12-19, 3-8 Sun Belt) in the Saturday result, after posting an 18-1 win in the series opener on a cold and windy Friday night. The Mavs are now in a three-way tie for first place with Texas State and Louisiana in the Sun Belt Conference Western Division.
The game opened as a pitching duel, with the teams trading single runs in the fourth before Rohrbaugh helped spark a two-run inning in the sixth and a two-run frame in the seventh for a 5-1 lead. The Mavs used a trio of relievers to escape an eighth inning jam, with Daniel James locking down the final four outs for his sixth save.
ON THE MOUND
Patterson (3-2) tossed a gem, his sixth quality start in eight outings. A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Patterson started 22 of the 31 hitters he faced with first-pitch strikes, working 6.2 innings, allowing just two runs on seven hits and two walks, fanning a career-best seven.
With the tying run in the on-deck circle and two outs in the seventh, Austin Gardner came on in relief of Patterson, ending the threat. After a leadoff single opened the eighth, Adam Meyer took over on the mound. Meyer allowed a single but induced a double play on the ground before Daniel James took over in the eighth.
A native of Lubbock, Texas, James allowed a hit but got the final four outs for his ninth career save.
Appalachian State starter Colin Schmid (4-4) worked a competitive start, allowing four runs over 6.1 innings, surrendering six hits and a walk, fanning seven over 92 pitches. Reed Howell came on in relief with a runner on and one out in the top of the seventh inning. Howell worked 1.1 innings, allowing a run on two hits and two walks. Tristan Helms also worked in the eighth.
AT THE DISH
UTA collected five runs on eight hits, getting a 3-for-5 game from Rohrbaugh. UTA also got hits from RJ Williams, Omar Salinas, Brady Cox, Noah Vaughan and Easton Johnson, with Christian Hollie driving in a run with a sacrifice fly, also adding a walk.
HOW THEY SCORED
The Mavs opened the scoring in the top of the fourth inning, with Salinas leading off with a single up the middle, motoring to third on a single to right-centerfield. Olson then beat out the back-end of a double play to score Salinas for a 1-0 lead.
The Mountaineers got on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning, getting a leadoff knock from Matt Vernon. He scored on Brian Bauk's two-out hit to centerfield.
In the top of the sixth inning in a 1-1 game, UTA rallied to load the bases without an out. Salinas led off with a full-count walk and Rohrbaugh followed with a single. Olson then was hit by a pitch to load the bags for Cox. Cox chopped a ball high in the infield, with the throw from shortstop drawing the first baseman off the bag, with Salinas scoring on the play. Hollie then hung a sac fly to centerfield to score Rohrbaugh from third for a 3-1 lead. '
ASU immediately answered in the bottom of the sixth inning, getting a leadoff walk from Matt Brill and a sacrifice fly from Conner Leonard to plate its second run.
In the top of the seventh, UTA chased Schmid and added on to its lead vs. the bullpen. Johnson led off with a single to leftfield and Williams pushed him to second with a full-count walk. After a hard-hit lineout from Salinas, Rohrbaugh ripped a two-out, two-run double into the gap to give UTA a 5-2 lead.
NEXT
The series will conclude on Sunday at 12 p.m. CT at Smith Stadium. The Mavs will start junior southpaw Jakob Hernandez (2-0, 2.72 ERA) on Sunday.
Coastal Gets 9-8 Walk-off Win Over No. 20 Louisiana
Conway, S.C. - After allowing three runs in the eighth and ninth innings to go down three, #26 Coastal Carolina got a two-run home run from Dalton Ewing and bases-loaded, two-run single by Cory Wood to pull out a 9-8, walk-off win over Louisiana Saturday afternoon at Springs Brooks Stadium.
The rubber match of the series, which has featured two, one-run wins, between the Chanticleers (20-11, 8-3) and Ragin' Cajuns (18-13, 7-4) will be Sunday with first pitch set for 11 am.
With one out in the ninth, Peyton Isaacson walked and Ewing hit a 3-2 pitch onto the City of Conway Boardwalk in left-center field to cut the CCU deficit to one, 8-7. Seth Lancaster followed with a sharp single back up the middle and stole second. Matt Beaird then struck out, but a wild pitch on strike three allowed the junior reach first base while Lancaster advanced to third. Billy Cooke drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases. Louisiana turned to Evan Guillory out of the bullpen and Wood, lined a 1-1 pitch to the left-center field gap to bring home both Lancaster and Beaird for the walk-off win.
This marked Coastal's third walk-off win of the season. Also, of Coastal's 20 wins, Wood, who was 3-for-5, has been involved in eight with three RBI that proved to be the game-winner and he has scored five runs that proved to be the game-winner.
Coastal won the game despite committing five errors, but the Chants out-hit the Ragin' Cajuns 10-9.
Andrew Beckwith (4-1) picked up the win in relief. The senior pitched the final 5.2 innings. He allowed seven hits and six runs -- only two were earned -- with a walk and two strikeouts.
For the second time in as many days, the Ragin' Cajuns used a second-inning home run to grab an early lead as Tyler Stover walked and scored on Alex Pinero's home run to centerfield.
Coastal used the long ball to get on the scoreboard in the fourth inning. Wood and Jordan Gore had back-to-back singles and Kevin Woodall Jr., followed with a home run to left field to put the Chants up 3-2. The blast Woodall's 11th of the season.
The Ragin' Cajuns got that run back, and two more, in the top of the fifth. Brad Antchak was hit by a pitch and moved to third on a single by Ishmael Edwards. Brenn Conrad followed with an RBI single, plating Antchak and keeping runners on the corners. Louisiana tried a squeeze bunt and a throwing error to the plate allowed Edwards to score. Kennon Fontenot lined a fly ball to centerfield, which was deep enough to Conrad for the 5-3 lead.
The Chanticleers answered in the home half of the fifth. Lancaster (2-for-4) hit a one-out single and, two pitches later, Kyle Skeels launched his second home run of the season over the left field wall to tie the game at 5-5.
Louisiana took advantage of two CCU errors to take a 6-5 lead in the eighth. Fontenot reached on a throwing error and was able to take second base on the play. A second error on a failed pickoff attempt moved Fontenot to third. Fontenot then avoided the tag at the plate on Tyler Stover's sacrifice fly to right field.
An error led to another UL run in the ninth. Antchak led off the frame with a ground ball but an error allowed him to reach. After an out, Conrad hit an RBI double down the left field line. Joe Robbins followed with an RBI single to give the Cajuns an 8-5 cushion before CCU's rally.
Dylan Moore (0-1) suffered the loss as he allowed two hits and four runs in one-third of an inning.
Late Rally Propels A-State Baseball to 4-2 Win Over Georgia State
JONESBORO, Ark. (4/8/17) – The Arkansas State baseball team got a fantastic performance on the mound from sophomore Peyton Culbertson and scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to defeat Georgia 4-2 Saturday night at Tomlinson Stadium in Jonesboro.
The Red Wolves (17-14, 6-5 SBC) trailed the Panthers (11-19, 1-10 SBC) 2-1 entering the bottom of the eighth inning, but Grant Hawkins led off the inning with a single to center field and was bunted over to second by Joe Schrimpf. Garrett Rucker hit a ground ball to second base, but it was booted and trickled far enough away to allow Hawkins to score the tying run.
Georgia State elected to go to the bullpen in relief of starter Hunter Gaddis, who was excellent in the game, to Logan Barnette. However, Barnette allowed a triple to Justin Felix to score Rucker before Jeremy Brown doubled to score Felix and put the score at 4-2 in favor of A-State. Liam Henry entered for the visitors and induced a ground out and pop up to send the game to the ninth.
Tyler Zuber entered to close the game and wasted no time by sandwiching two strikeouts around a ground to save the game for Culbertson. It was Zuber’s team-best fourth save of the year as Culbertson improved to 3-3 on the year after setting career highs in innings pitched with eight and strikeouts with 11. The Collierville, Tenn., native allowed two runs on three hits and walked two.
Rucker led the A-State offense with two hits on the night, while Rucker, Felix, and Brown all knocked in a run. Georgia State had hits by Nick Gatewood, Payton Mann, and Mike Huggins, while Mann and Romero Greer scored the team’s two runs on wild pitches in the fifth inning to take a 2-0 edge.
Gaddis went 7.1 and allowed three runs (one earned) on four hits with no walks and five punch outs. A-State got to him for an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth off a ground ball that Felix hit to third base after an errant throw to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Georgia State appeared poised to jump ahead in the top of the fourth, but a fantastic diving catch by Rucker in center field with his back to home plate on a ball hit by Darius Sewell prevented Gatewood from scoring and giving the Panthers an early edge.
Arkansas State and Georgia State will play the final game of the series Sunday at Tomlinson Stadium. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. A-State will send Tyler Mitzel to the mound as the Red Wolves try to complete a conference series sweep. Georgia State will counter with right-hander Tanner Thomson on the bump.