Cajuns Baseball Defeats McNeese To Complete Season Sweep
LAFAYETTE, La. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team defeated McNeese 4-1 on Wednesday night behind a strong performance by sophomore right-hander Nick Lee at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park to complete the season sweep of the Cowboys.
"I was glad for Nick Lee. He needed tonight," head coach Tony Robichaux said. "He kind of got pulled out of the starting rotation and then sometimes you wonder why am I going through what I am going through, and then all of the sudden it lines back up to a great RPI game. He made big pitches when he needed to make big pitches and looked good. The guys really played well tonight."
Lee (6-4) posted his fourth quality start of the year for the Ragin' Cajuns (30-19-1) limiting McNeese (31-16) to one run scattering six hits over seven innings with four walks and six strikeouts. The seven innings pitched matches a career-high for Lee who has gone seven innings twice this season.
"Nick went out there and did everything that we needed him to do," Robichaux added. "We played good defense behind him too. The defense has been there all year. Now we have some momentum with two good RPI wins. Now we have another good hitting ball club coming in this weekend."
Junior Dylan Moore notched a save in back-to-back appearances for the second time this year tossing two perfect innings with three strikeouts to pick up his tenth save of the season.
Cowboys starter Zach Rider (1-1) was handed his first loss of the year after surrendering three runs on two hits with two walks in an inning of work.
Louisiana outhit McNeese 8-6 in the contest with senior Alex Pinero posting a game-high three hits. Junior Steven Sensley matched his team-best on base streak reaching in 19 straight games after going 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBI.
The Cajuns jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first when Sensley drove a two-run triple into the gap in right centerfield to make the score 2-0. In the next at bat, Joe Robbins brought home Sensley on a RBI groundout to shortstop to extend the advantage to 3-0.
The Ragin' Cajuns added a run in the top of the fourth when Brad Antchak scored on a ball hit to shortstop by Handsome Monica. Antchak lead off the inning with a double off of the pitcher and then moved to third on a Pinero infield single.
McNeese cut the lead to 4-1 in the top of the fifth on a sacrifice fly to center by Ricky Ramirez with the bases loaded.
The Cowboys threated again in the sixth and seventh innings seeing the first two runners of both innings reach, but in both innings Lee got a big double play from his defense followed by an out to get out of the jams.
Moore came on in the eighth and shut the door over the final two frames getting Will Fox to ground out to second to end the contest.
Louisiana closes out its eight-game homestand and the 2017 home slate with three games against Texas State at Russo Park starting Friday at 6 p.m. The Ragin' Cajuns will honor their graduates on Friday night, while Saturday night's contest will be senior day.
Eichhorn's Complete Game Shutout Leads Eagles Past Owls, 6-0
KENNESAW, GA. - Behind Brian Eichhorn's first career complete game shutout, Georgia Southern Baseball powered past Kennesaw State, 6-0, on Wednesday night. The Eagles scored early and often to sweep the season series over the Owls. The Eagles are back home this weekend for a three game home series against Arkansas State. The series starts on Friday night at 6:30 pm on Jack Stallings Field at J.I. Clements Stadium.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Rodney Hennon
"It was good to get a lead on the road in the first inning. After that, Brian Eichhorn gave us a great performance. When you score early, you want to be able to hold onto the momentum, working ahead, throwing strikes and keeping the leadoff man off base. The home runs we got late in the game helped give us a cushion. Now we've got to get ready for the weekend."
SCORING PLAYS
Top 1st - GS 1 - KSU 0 - A leadoff double from Steven Curry set the tone for the Eagle offense in a game that saw 10 hits by the Eagles. Cal Baker lashed a two out single through the left side to score Curry and give the Eagles an early 1-0 lead.
Top 2nd - GS 2 - KSU 0 - A fielding error by the Kennesaw State shortstop opened the door in the second for the Eagles to scratch out another run. A single moved C.J. Ballard up to second while an RBI double from Ryan Cleveland plated Ballard from second.
Top 4th - GS 3 - KSU 0 - The Eagles manufactured a run in the fourth, getting Ballard on with a squibbed single in front of the plate. The sophomore stole second and scored on Steven Curry's RBI single to right.
Top 7th - GS 5 - KSU 0 - After Cal Baker walked with one out, Logan Baldwin squared up a fastball for his second career home run. The two-run blast pushed the lead to 5-0.
Top 8th - GS 6 - KSU 0 - Senior Ryan Cleveland destroyed a 2-1 pitch over the wall in right, pushing the lead to 6-0 with two outs in the frame. It was his 14th long ball of the season gives him home runs in three-straight contests as well as four in the last five games.
GAME NOTES
- Brian Eichhorn delivered his second-straight quality start by going the distance on Wednesday night. The sophomore scattered three hits with just two walks in the game. He struck out 10 batters on 123 pitches to post his second career complete game. It was the sixth time that a Georgia Southern pitcher went the distance this season.
- Steven Curry went 2-for-5 from his leadoff spot to kick-start the Eagle offense. He lashed a first inning double, then scored later in the frame. He also drove in a run in the fourth inning.
- Senior Ryan Cleveland added a pair of extra base hits in the game, slashing a double and a towering home run which hit a local restaurant across the street from the stadium. The bomb was his 14th of the season and the pair of RBIs lifted his total to 44 for the year.
- Logan Baldwin had a 2-for-4 day which including his second career home run. The Ringgold, Ga. native has hit home runs in consecutive road games in the Peach State, lifting a home run on April 25th at Mercer.
- The Eagles took the series sweep over Kennesaw State and have won four-straight over their in-state foe. Georgia Southern is 8-3 this season in the Peach State League with eight-straight wins over in-state teams.
NEXT UP
Arkansas State comes to town for three games at the friendly confines this weekend. The series gets underway on Friday night at 6:30 pm with Saturday's game scheduled for the same time. Sunday is Senior Day with 12 Eagles set to play their final regular season game in Statesboro. First pitch on Sunday is at 1 pm.
LEE, RELIEVERS COMBINE FOR 2-HITTER IN 3-0 WIN VS. SAVANNAH STATE
ATLANTA -- Georgia State blanked Savannah State 3-0 Wednesday at the GSU Baseball Complex as Jordan Lee and six relievers combined on a two-hitter. The Panthers (20-28) have won six of their last eight games.
Lee, the junior right-hander, started and pitched four innings. He was perfect with four strikeouts through three innings before allowing a leadoff single in the fourth. But he rolled a double play grounder to the next batter, so he faced the minimum in his four innings before giving way to a host of relievers.
Devin Vainer, Pearce Howell, Tyler Koch, Will White, Tyler Elwer and Rhett Harper all pitched in the Panthers' fourth shutout of the season. Koch (1-1) earned the victory with 1.2 innings, and Harper got the final out for his sixth save. The staff struck out 10 and walked just one.
Georgia State scored all three runs in the seventh inning. Ryan Blanton and Justin Jones drew walks and moved up on Nick Gatewood's sacrific fly. Then Jaylen Woullard ripped a line drive that appeared headed down the right field line, but the first baseman managed to knock it down. Woullard was retired but Blanton came home with the game's first run.
Cam Sperry and Luke Leonard followed with RBI-singles to give GSU the 3-0 lead.
Jones went 3-for-3 with two doubles, and Blanton and Jack Thompson had two hits each.
The Panthers pounded out 11 hits but hit into two double plays and left 13 on base.
Savannah State (12-36) starter Caleb Hill pitched allowed seven hits and three walks but pitched six scoreless innings. Colby Rhea (0-4) took the loss.
Georgia State now head to Little Rock for a key Sun Belt Conference series that begins Friday at 7 p.m. ET.
Troy Walks-Off Alabama State in the 11th
TROY, Alabama – Jackson Cofer ripped a ball through the infield to score Trevor Davis in the bottom of the 11th inning to give Troy a 4-3 victory over Alabama State at Riddle-Pace Field Wednesday night.
Cofer stepped to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded and dealt the game-ending blow for Troy (27-21).
Brandon Lockridge put the Trojans on the board early with two home runs in his first two plate appearances – he also hit a home run in his final at-bat in the series finale against Appalachian State Sunday.
Troy added another run in the fourth but was held scoreless until the walk-off base hit in the 11th. Lockridge, Trevor Davis and Mason Rogers each finished 2-for-4 to lead the Trojans offensively in the matchup.
Alabama State (28-24) responded with three runs in the fourth and fifth innings but Houston Mabray, Corey Childress, Cory Gill and Marc Skinner combined to shutout the Hornets in the final 6.2 innings of the game. Together, the four scattered only four hits around 11 strikeouts – Childress (4), Gill (5) and Skinner (2).
Skinner (4-5) earned the win after working a perfect 11th inning on the mound that included two strikeouts.
Hunter Allen led the Hornets at the plate, driving in two in a 2-for-4 performance. Chase Laney (2-2) was saddled with the loss – allowing only the game-ending run on three hits in three innings of work.
QUOTABLE
"It was a great night for us," Troy head coach Mark Smartt said. "Our relievers looked great out of the pen; Cory Gill looked as good tonight as he has all season. It was a really good ballgame and a really good win for us."
SOUND "SMARTT" WITH YOUR FRIENDS
• Brandon Lockridge blasted his fourth home run of the season in his first at-bat of the game; Lockridge also hit a home run in his final at-bat of Troy's last game on Sunday against Appalachian State. He became the first Trojan to hit a home run in consecutive at-bats since Jo-El Bennett in February 2014.
• Brandon Lockridge added his three consecutive home run in the third inning to put Troy in front 2-0; he became the first Trojan to homer in three consecutive at-bats since Trevor Tyre in 2009 (HR, HBP, HR, HR). He became the first Troy player to hit two home runs in a game since David Hall on April 26, 2015, against Texas State.
• Trevor Davis finished the game 2-for-4 for his 13th multi-hit game of the season and the 31st of his Troy career.
• Troy reliever Cory Gill struck out the first four batters he faced out of the bullpen, it marked the fourth time in his last five outings that he struck out four consecutive batters.
• Jackson Cofer's walk-off single in the bottom of the 11th was the first of his career and Troy's sixth victory in its last at-bat this season. The Trojans improve to 4-2 in extra inning games this season.
WHAT'S UP NEXT?
The Trojans will close their home schedule with a three game Sun Belt set against ULM this weekend; first pitch for the series opener is set for 6 p.m. Friday.