GATEWOOD HAS 2 HR, 6 RBI TO BACK GADDIS' COMPLETE GAME
ATLANTA -- Nick Gatewood homered twice and drove in six runs to back a complete game performance by Hunter Gaddis and lead Georgia State to a 7-2 victory over South Alabama in the opening game of their Sun Belt Conference series Friday at the GSU Baseball Complex.
Gatewood, the junior catcher, hit a solo homer in the first inning, a three-run homer in the third and a two-run single in the fourth. His six RBIs are the most by a Panther since Joey Roach drove in six vs. Mercer in 2015.
Gaddis allowed two runs on just four hits and struck out eight in his second complete game of the season to improve to 5-1 on the season and help the Panthers (12-10, 1-3 Sun Belt) snap a six-game losing streak.
The sophomore right-hander blanked the Jaguars for seven innings before allowing two runs in the eighth. He retired the first eight batters of the game before allowing a two-out hit in the third inning to Will Luft. Then he struck out South Alabama (12-10, 2-2 Sun Belt) standout Travis Swaggerty to end the inning and begin a string of seven straight batters retired. A leadoff walk by Hunter Stokes in the sixth was the Jaguars next baserunner, but he was erased on Georgia State's NCAA-leading 29th double play of the season.
South Alabama managed two runs in the eighth, aided by a fly ball that became a double when it was misjudged by the right fielder. Swaggerty brought home one run on a groundout, and then Dylan Hardy drove in another with a single through the left side, but shortstop Justin Jones caught a soft liner to end the inning.
Gatewood got the scoring started for Georgia State with his solo blast to right center in the first inning. In the third inning, after Romero Greer reached on third-strike wild pitch and Jones walked, Gatewood smashed another one to right center for the first two-homer game of his career. He now has a team-leading seven home runs on the season.
In the fourth, Georgia State loaded the bases on two hit batters and a walk to bring up Gatewood with two outs, and he singled up the middle just out of reach of the second baseman to bring home two more runs and put GSU up 6-0.
The Panthers added to their lead in the fifth as Jake Corso led off with a double down the right field line, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored when Andrew Keene's blooper dropped into shallow center.
Game 2 of the series is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m.
Eagles Blank Mountaineers Behind 10 Strikeouts by Brian Eichhorn
STATESBORO - Georgia Southern Baseball took a 2-0 win over Appalachian State on Friday night to open a three game series with the Mountaineers. Brian Eichhorn tossed eight innings with 10 strikeouts to improve to 2-0 on the season. The Eagles and Mountaineers close the series with a Saturday twi-night doubleheader starting at 4 p.m.
Fans who show their ticket stub from Saturday's softball doubleheader against ULM will get free admission to both games at J.I. Clements Stadium. Please go to GSEagles.com/Tickets for additional information, as well as to purchase tickets.
The Eagles posted their first shutout of the season as they opened a series that was moved to Statesboro due to a showy forecast in Boone. Chase Cohen earned his fifth save of the season by working an 11 pitch ninth inning that saw two strikeouts.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Rodney Hennon
"We got outstanding pitching tonight from Brian Eichhorn. He gave us a tremendous effort, but it was a well-pitched game on both sides. Brian did everything that you want your Friday night guy to do, and Chase (Cohen) did a nice job closing it out. I thought we made a couple of big plays defensively, the diving play at third and the double play, and we were very fortunate to come out on top."
SCORING INNINGS
Bottom 2nd - Georgia Southern took an early 1-0 lead thanks to aggressive baserunning in the second frame. Mitchell Golden singled with two outs and stole second base. A wide throw allowed him to reach third, while a walk to Avant put runners on the corners. Avant broke for second before the pitch and drew a throw, he was hung up for long enough that Golden scored to make it a 1-0 lead for the good guys.
Bottom 6th - A leadoff walk in the sixth inning set the table for the Eagles to double the advantage. Steven Curry moved up to second on a wild pitch, allowing Mason McWhorter to double to the gap in left, plating Curry and extending the lead to 2-0.
NOTES
- Brian Eichhorn improved to 2-0 with his fifth quality start in six Friday night outings. The junior scattered three hits while fanning a season-high 10 batters. He tossed a season-high 119 pitches and walked just one batter.
- Chase Cohen converted his fifth save of the season with a clean ninth inning. He struck out two batters and threw 11 pitches to close out Georgia Southern's first shutout of the season.
- The shutout is Georgia Southern's first since May 10, 2017 when the Eagles blanked Kennesaw State. Brian Eichhorn went the distance that day for the Eagles in the win.
NEXT GAME
Georgia Southern will wrap-up the weekend series with a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles and Mountaineers will face-off at 4 p.m. due to a poor forecast on Sunday. All seats are general admission for Saturday and fans can get in to the doubleheader by showing their ticket stub from Eagle Softball's doubleheader against ULM.
Coastal Wins, 8-0, Over Texas State; Teams to Play DH Saturday
CONWAY - Cory Wood and Matt Beaird each had three hits while Jason Bilous and Matt Eardensohn only allowed four hits to lead #27 Coastal Carolina to a shutout win, 8-0, over #30 Texas State in the Sun Belt series opener Friday evening. The Chanticleers win their fifth straight and improve to 17-7 overall, 4-0 in the Sun Belt. The Bobcats fall to 14-6-1, 3-1.
Due to inclement weather in the forecast for Sunday, the teams will now play a doubleheader Saturday (Mar. 24) with game one set for 1 pm. Game two will be played approximately 30-45 minutes after the completion of game one. Tickets for both Saturday's originally scheduled game as well as Sunday's game will be honored to gain admittance to the doubleheader.
Wood (3-for-5 with two runs scored) was a home run shy of the cycle and Beaird (3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored) hit his second home run of the season. Kevin Woodall Jr., added to his Sun Belt-leading RBI total, driving in two on two hits, to give the senior 31 runs driven in in 24 games played this season.
Bilous only allowed two hits in 4.1 scoreless innings, but issued seven walks to accompany his six strikeouts. Eardensohn (3-0) entered with two runners on in the fifth and left them both stranded. He would only surrender one hit -- a leadoff single in the ninth -- with no walks and two strikeouts.
Both teams left the bases loaded in consecutive at bats -- Coastal in the bottom of the second and Texas State in the top of the third. However, Coastal broke through in the bottom of the third. Wood hit a leadoff single, stole second, moved to third on a throwing error and scored on Lee Sponseller's RBI single to left field.
The Chants took a 2-0 lead in the fourth on the strength of Beaird's second home run of the year.
In the fifth, Wood got his third hit in as many at bats, hitting a leadoff triple, to start a four-run inning. Woodall followed with a single past the drawn-in infield to score Wood for the 3-0 lead. Sponseller drew a four-pitch walk and Kyle Skeels put runners on second and third with a sacrifice bunt. Parker Chavers walked to load the bases. Woodall scored on a Kieton Rivers' sac fly, Sponseller scored on a the back end of a double steal with Chavers and Chavers scored on Beaird's RBI single to right to give the Chants a 6-0 cushion.
For the fourth consecutive inning, CCU got on the scoreboard. Seth Lancaster hit a leadoff single, moved to second on a ground out and stole third. For the second time in as many innings, Woodall lined a single past the drawn-in infield for an RBI and 7-0 advantage.
Coastal kept the pedal down in the seventh, scoring once to grab an 8-0 lead. With two outs, Beaird hit a seeing-eye single past the Bobcat second baseman. Keaton Weisz followed with a double to the right-center field wall to drive in Beaird from first base.
Connor Reich (3-1) suffered the loss as he allowed seven hits, five runs (four earned) and two walks with four strikeouts.
Crane’s Complete Game Lifts Troy Over Louisiana
LAFAYETTE – Andrew Crane allowed just five hits and went the distance to lead Troy past the Ragin' Cajuns, 6-2, in the Sun Belt series opener Friday night at Russo Park.
Crane (3-2) gave up a run on a single in the second and another on a solo shot in the fourth, but retired the final 13 batters to record Troy's (15-7, 2-2) first complete game since Lucas Brown against the Cajuns in 2016. The senior struck out five and allowed two runs on five hits in his nine innings of work.
On the offensive side, Cole Prestegard drove in half of the Trojans' runs in a 2-for-4 game. Matt Sanders finished 4-for-4 to tie a career-high and came around to score three times.
Joey Denison drove in two runs to eclipse the 30-RBI mark in just 22 games this season – he entered the series ranked 15th nationally in the category. He has driven in at least a run in 13 of the last 15 games for Troy.
Louisiana (9-12, 1-3) tied the game on a Kennon Fontenot homer in the fourth but failed to string anything together after that. Nick Lee (1-2) was saddled with the loss after giving up four runs – three earned – on four hits in 4.1 innings on the mound.
Quotable – Troy head coach Mark Smartt
"Crane was terrific. He threw maybe three bad pitches all night, he only allowed one base runner after the fourth inning. It was good to give him some run support thanks to Cole (Prestegard) driving in three. I'm just proud of our team for coming out and getting this win on Friday night in this environment."
Sound "Smartt" with Your Friends
With the win, Troy was victorious on Friday night in Lafayette for the first time in school history. Overall, the Trojans had just one weekend-opening win over the Cajuns before tonight – Troy won 7-1 at Riddle-Pace Field in 2011.
Noteworthy
• Cole Prestegard drove in three runs for his fifth multi-RBI game this season and was just one shy of his career-high set in the second game of the season against UT Martin.
• Senior Matt Sanders finished 4-for-4 to tie a career-high for hits in a game. He scored three runs to move his season total to 31 – he entered ranked 12th nationally.
• Speedster Brandon Lockridge swiped his 12th base of the season (12-for-12 on attempts) – he leads the team and came into the weekend at 17th in the country.
• Even more impressive than his 30 RBIs this season, Joey Denison has driven in at least one run in 13 of the last 15 games – 23 RBIs over that span.
On Deck
The Trojans will go for the series win over the Cajuns in game two at 2 p.m. tomorrow. RHP Daren Osby (2-0, 3.30) is scheduled to start on the mound for Troy.
Trojans Shut Down Mavericks, Taking Series Opener 5-1
LITTLE ROCK - Little Rock earned a big 5-1 win against UT Arlington Friday evening, claim the first game of the weekend series at Gary Hogan Field. The win improves Little Rock to 12-9 on the year and 3-1 in Sun Belt Conference play as the Trojans have now won six of their last seven games.
Timely hitting and strong pitching was the story of the game for Little Rock, led by starter Chandler Fidel earning the win and improving to 3-2 on the year. Fidel was a force on the mound, going seven innings with nine strikeouts, allowing just one run on six hits on 102 pitches.
The middle of the order of Troy Alexander, Kale Emshoff and Chase Coker gave UT Arlington pitching headaches all evening, registering a combined 10 hits, including three extra base hits.
Emshoff led the way going 4-for-5 at the plate with two doubles and an RBI. Alexander went 3-for-5 and scored three times himself while Coker also went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored.
The lone blemish on Fidel's stat line came in the second when he allowed a solo home run to UT Arlington's Omar Salinas as the Trojans fell in a 1-0 hole early.
That deficit was quickly squelched with a three-run second as Alexander and Emshoff hit back-to-back doubles to lead off the inning. Coker then singled to drive in Alexander, followed by another single from Nick Perez to load the bases.
James Gann delivered a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Emshoff, followed by an RBI bunt single by Christian Reyes as Little Rock scored three runs off five hits, forcing Maverick starter Brad Vassar out of the game after just 2.1 innings pitched.
An RBI single by Coker in the bottom of the third scored Alexander once again following back-to-back-to-back singles from Alexander, Emshoff and Coker. Little Rock would take the 4-1 lead into the eighth when an Emshoff double scored Alexander once again, adding an insurance run for the Trojans.
Donavin Buck took over for Fidel in the eight, setting up Justin Garcia in the ninth. The duo retired all six Maverick batters they faced, striking out a pair.
Little Rock continues to be tough defensively as the Trojans have allowed two or fewer runs in each of the last six games, limiting their opponents to just seven runs during that span. Little Rock held UT Arlington to just six hits Friday, striking out 11 Mavericks.
Play resumes tomorrow for game two of the series as Cole Townsend is scheduled to throw for Little Rock. First pitch will be at 2 p.m. at Gary Hogan Field.
ULM Blanks Arkansas State, 2-0
No Recap