Sunday, March 1
Eagles Complete Sweep of No. 18 Georgia
STATESBORO, Ga. – The Georgia Southern baseball team won games two and three on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep of #18 Georgia at J.I. Clements Stadium.
The Eagles improved to 8-4 on the year, while the Bulldogs fell to 6-4.
GS won the weekend series for the third-straight time and the season series for the fourth-straight time. The Eagles also swept the season series for the first time since 1993.
Game Two Recap
Jason Richman tossed four scoreless innings as the Georgia Southern Eagles shut out the Georgia Bulldogs 1-0 to win the resumption of Saturday's game.
Following a Kent Rollins lead off single in the second inning, rain forced the suspension of game two in the series on Saturday. C.J. Brazil started play on Sunday with a sac bunt, and Logan Baldwin drove in the only run of the game with a single back up the middle a batter later.
The run would be all the Georgia Southern pitching staff needed as four pitchers combined for the Eagles' second shutout of the season.
Richman (3-0) tossed four scoreless frames and held the Bulldogs to one hit. The junior struck out four batters and allowed one walk in his third win of the season.
Ryan Lawlor did not return to the mound on Sunday but was tagged with the loss. Lawlor (2-1) allowed one run on two hits and two walks.
Chris Brown picked up his fourth save of the season after pitching a scoreless ninth inning. Brown (4) faced the minimum and struck out one in his inning of work.
The Eagles return to J.I. Clements Stadium Tuesday to face the Mercer Bears. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
Game Three Recap
Chase Griffin delivered a two-run single in the seventh inning to rally the Georgia Southern Eagles to a 4-3 win over the Georgia Bulldogs in game three of the series.
Georgia Southern trailed 2-0 on a Mitchell Webb double in the first inning and was behind 3-2 entering the seventh inning.
Kent Rollins started the bottom of the seventh with a single and back-to-back two-out walks loaded the bases for Griffin. The senior catcher sent a pitch right back up the middle to put the Eagles on top for the first time in the game.
The third hit of the day for Griffin, handed Ryan Frederick his first win of the season. Frederick (1-0) tossed two thirds of an inning and struck out a batter.
Chris Brown worked a perfect ninth inning to record his third save of the series. Brown (5) struck out two batters for his fifth save of the season.
Connor Jones was tagged with the loss after surrendering the go-ahead run in the seventh. Jones (0-1) allowed a hit and two walks over a third of inning.
Hunter Thomas put the Eagles on the scoreboard in the fifth inning with his third home run of the season.
The Bulldogs got the run back in the top of the sixth on a Mitchell Webb single.
Ryan Cleveland kept it a one-run game with a sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the sixth inning.
Jaguars Secure Series Sweep with 21-1 Rout of Brown
MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama baseball team used an eight-run fifth inning en route to a 21-1 win over Brown Sunday at Stanky Field.
USA (9-3) secured its second series sweep of the season with the win, which marked the most runs in a single game by a Jaguar team since the 2013 squad scored a single-game record 29 runs against New Orleans.
Eight Jaguar starters recorded at least one hit in the game, led by freshman Jason Cryar who went 5-for-6 with four RBI and two runs scored in his first collegiate start. Matt Bolger finished 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI, while Drew LaBounty tied a career high with three hits to go along with two RBI and three runs scored.
South Alabama jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the second when Daniel Martinez reached on a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI double off the right-field wall by Garrett DeGallier. Cryar followed with an RBI single through the right side of the infield to double the Jaguar lead at 2-0. LaBounty later delivered a one-out RBI single to center field to plate Cryar and extend the USA lead to 3-0. A wild pitch by Brown right-hander Kevin Guthrie scored LaBounty and extended the Jag advantage to four runs.
USA increased its lead to 5-0 on a two-out RBI single to right field by Ballew that scored LaBounty, who reached on a leadoff single earlier in the inning, before erupting for eight runs in the bottom of the fifth.
South Alabama sent 14 batters to the plate in the eight-run fifth, highlighted by two-run singles from Martinez and Cryar and RBI singles by LaBounty, Cameron Cummings and Bolger. The Jags ended the inning with a 13-0 lead.
The Jags added four runs in the sixth, and scored the game's final four runs in the bottom of the seventh. USA had nine batters reach base on hit by pitches in the game, which broke the school's single-game record and fell one short of tying the NCAA record of 10.
Jaguar left-hander Jared Gates (1-0) struck out six and issued just one walk while allowing only three hits in six innings pitched to earn his first win of the season. Guthrie (0-1) took the loss for Brown (0-4), allowing five runs on eight hits with a pair of strikeouts and three walks in three innings pitched.
South Alabama will return to action Tue., March 3, when it hosts Southern Mississippi at 6:30 p.m. at Stanky Field.
Warhawks Complete Series Sweep of Sam Houston State
MONROE, La. -- ULM trailed 1-0 after three complete innings, but the Warhawks scored the final nine runs of Sunday’s contest en route to the three-game sweep of visiting Sam Houston State.
After trading zeros through the first two frames, the Bearkats (5-7) plated its lone run of the game at Travis Lee doubled home Miles Manning with one out in the third.
ULM (6-3) took the lead and never relinquished it with a pair of runs in the home half of the fourth. Both of the runs by ULM were unearned as Nathan Pugh scored when Josh Faciane struck out swinging on a passed ball by Bearkat starter Logan Boyd. Later in the inning, Kodie Tidwell drew a bases loaded walk as Danny Springer scored to put ULM in front, 2-1.
An inning later, the Warhawks scratched one run across when Springer drove home Stockton with a sacrifice fly to center. ULM broke the game open with four runs in the bottom of the sixth to push the lead to 7-1. Tidwell, Rasch, Jacob Stockton and Justin Stawychy all scored for ULM in the big inning that saw ULM’s lead expand to six runs.
ULM added a pair of runs in the eighth to set the final tally at 9-1. Justin Crouch drove in Vincent Dellocono with a RBI double and he later came in to score thanks to a single and error when Will Daniels entered as a pinch hitter in the bottom of the eighth.
Starting pitcher Trey Setzer (1-0) earned his first win as a Warhawk after logging six strong innings in the series finale. The left-hander allowed just one earned run on three hits and one walk while fanning a career-high nine batters. Earlier this season, against Indiana State, Setzer struck out a then career-best eight batters.
After allowing the RBI double in the third inning, Setzer retired 11 of the final 12 batters he faced. A lead-off walk in the sixth ended his streak of eight straight retired batters. Anthony Herrera and Josh Leone closed out the game, pitching the final three innings, allowing just three hits while striking out five.
Rasch led the Warhawks at the plate as he tallied three hits (two doubles) with one run. Pugh also tallied a mult-hit effort with two hits (one double) and one run scored.
Sam Houston State’s Boyd dropped to 1-1 on the season after allowing two unearned runs on four hits and three walks with five strikeouts in four innings on the hill.
Cajuns Roll Tide in Series Finale, 14-2
HOOVER, Ala. – Freshman left-hander Gunner Leger was brilliant on the mound as the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team rolled No. 25 Alabama 14-2 in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at the Hoover Met.
Leger held the Crimson Tide (7-4) to one run on three hits in eight innings with five strikeouts and did not allow a free pass. The Lake Charles, La., native retired 14 straight batters at one point and faced only two more than the minimum over the final seven frames to improve to 2-0 on the year.
"Our team is continuing to press forward to try and become a good ball club," head coach Tony Robichaux said, "Gunner came out today and pitched well and our hitters came alive and did their job. We had a complete effort from our team, and that's what we need to be a good team."
Louisiana (6-5) outhit Alabama 14-4 in the contest led by junior Blake Trahan who tied a career high with four hits and had a career-best four RBI while scoring three runs with two doubles. Brenn Conrad, Greg Davis, Nick Thurman and Kyle Clement each had two hits for the Cajuns. Davis had three RBI and a home run on the day scoring twice.
"This series was huge for us," Robichaux said. "We knew we had a young team and we scheduled a series like this because we needed to get weathered. Win, lose or draw today, we were going to come back a better baseball team, but I am glad to get a series win against a very good program in Alabama."
Geoffrey Bramblett was handed his first loss of the year after starting the season 2-0 for Bama. Bramblett was run from the game after four innings of work giving up six runs (five earned) on six hits with six strikeouts and two walks.
Davis gave the Cajuns an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first as he launched his first home run of the year over the wall in left center.
The Crimson Tide answered in the bottom half of the first when Casey Hughston tripled in Mikey White to even the contest at 1-all.
In the top of the second, Robbins gave Louisiana the lead back sending a 1-2 pitch through the left side of the infield to score Derek Herrington to make the score 2-1. Herrington drew a walk with two outs in the inning and then moved to third on a Clement single to right center.
With the bases loaded and one out in the top of the fourth, Robbins was hit by a pitch to extend the Ragin' Cajuns lead to 3-1. In the next at bat, Trahan cleared the bases sending a double down the left field line to put Louisiana up 6-1.
The Cajuns exploded for four more runs on four hits and an Alabama error in the top of the sixth to take a 10-1 advantage. A Trahan RBI single up the middle and a Thurman RBI double highlighted the scoring in the inning.
Louisiana added two more runs in the top of the seventh as Robbins scored on a wild pitch and Conrad plated Trahan on a ball hit back up the middle.
Davis tallied the final two runs of the game for the Ragin' Cajuns in the top of the ninth on a single down the right field line scoring Conrad and Trahan.
Mikey White recorded the final run of the game in the bottom half of the ninth on a solo home run to left to make the final 14-2.
Louisiana returns to action on Wednesday at 6 p.m. as the Cajuns face in-state opponent Northwestern State at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field to open a five-game home stand.
Following the game with the Demons, the Ragin' Cajuns host Troy in the Sun Belt Conference opener at 6 p.m. on Friday at the "Tigue" to start a three-game series.
Panthers Sweep Ohio with 3-1 Win on Sunday
ATLANTA -- Four Georgia State pitchers allowed just one run on four hits, and Matt Rose's two-run double provided the go-ahead runs as the Panthers downed Ohio 3-1 Sunday at the GSU Baseball Complex to complete a sweep of the previously unbeaten Bobcats.
Offense was at a premium on a cold, wet day as the two teams combined for just seven hits.
Entering the sixth inning, the Panthers trailed 1-0 and had yet to get a hit off Ohio starter Evan Geist (0-1), an Atlanta native and Florida State transfer. Ryan Blanton led off the frame with a sharply hit ball through the right side and James Clements walked. After the runners moved up on a wild pitch, Joey Roach walked to load the bases and bring up Rose, the nation's leading home run hitter. Rose just missed another homer, doubling off the top of the wall in left field to bring home two runs and put the Panthers ahead 2-1.
Caden Bailey's grounder to the right side scored Roach from third to extend the lead to 3-1.
Georgia State's bullpen took it from there, retiring 11 of the final 12 batters to seal the win.
Senior right-hander Connor Stanley (1-0) earned the victory with 1.2 innings of scoreless relief. He came on in the top of the sixth after Ohio's Jake Madsen doubled with one out and recorded back-to-back strikeouts, both on called third strikes. Stanley then retired the Bobcats in order in the seventh.
Lefty Wayne Wages pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning and then got the first out of the ninth before giving way to Kevin Burgee. The senior right-hander allowed a single up the middle to Tyler Wells before rolling a ground ball double play to end the game and earn his second save.
"I'm really proud of our team for the way they battled today through tough conditions to fight for this sweep. We always talk that Sunday is about the will to win, and we showed that today," GSU head coach Greg Frady said.
GSU starter Cole Uvila started the game by retiring the first nine hitters he faced through three innings. He surrendured a run in the fourth on a walk, an error, a single and a sacrifice fly. In 5.1 innings, Uvila allowed one run on three hits with three walks and three strikeouts.
Geist gave up three runs on two hits with six strikeouts and five walks in 5.2 innings.
After a midweek game at Georgia on Wednesday at 4 p.m., the Panthers return home next weekend to host a three-game series with Eastern Michigan, beginning Friday at 6 p.m. at the GSU Baseball Complex.
CMU Defeats Bobcats on Sunday
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State and Central Michigan played the best defensive game of the series on Sunday with the Chippewas surviving the Bobcats by a score of 2-0. Texas State drops to 3-8-1 on the season with the loss.
David Paiz continues to hit well for Texas State, finishing Sunday as the only Bobcat with multiple hits and one of just two players for either team. He went 2-for-4 while Cody Lovejoy, Granger Studdard and Tanner Hill each tallied a hit apiece. Hill's hit came on a two-out bunt.
In his first start of the season, Montana Parsons did well for himself. He went 6.2 innings and only gave up one earned run. He finished with one strikeout, two walks and six hits allowed. Central Michigan scored their only run off Parsons in the first inning. After the only two walks from Parsons and a single, CMU's Pat MacKenzie scored on a fielder's choice.
The Bobcats almost answered in the bottom of the opening inning after Lovejoy led off with a single. Paiz knocked a double down the left line and Lovejoy tried to score from first. Central Michigan recovered quickly and made the throw home in time to thwart the scoring opportunity.
Texas State had another chance in the seventh after Ben McElroy earned his 10th walk of the season. Studdard sent a rocket of a double to deep left field. McElroy almost tried to go all the way home on the play, but reversed course to head back to third. The Chippewas were able to make the tag.
The Bobcats weren't able to get many more opportunities, leaving four runners stranded on the day compared to Central Michigan's eight. The Chippewas were able to add an insurance run in the ninth on an RBI-single from Alex Borglin to scored Colton Bradley.
Texas State will look to bounce back in a midweek meeting with UT-Pan American at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
No. 12 Maryland Slips by Mountaineers in Rubber Game
EMERSON, Ga. — Despite a big day by senior Brandon Burris, Appalachian State University baseball couldn’t overcome two big innings by Maryland and lost Sunday’s series finale to the 16th-ranked Terrapins, 8-2, at the Perfect Game LakePoint Complex.
With the loss, Appalachian State (4-5) dropped its three-game weekend series to No. 16 Maryland (7-2), two games to one. Maryland edged the Mountaineers, 4-2, in Friday’s series opener before App State won Saturday’s second contest, 9-7.
In Sunday’s rubber match, the Terps scored five runs in the third inning and three more in the fifth to jump out to a commanding 8-0 lead.
Appalachian’s only runs came on a two-run homer by Burris in the top of the sixth. In addition to his second home run in as many days, Burris also doubled in the third inning and finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored.
Freshman Conner Leonard also had two hits for the Mountaineers while senior Michael Pierson doubled in first inning to extend his hitting streak to 12 games and reach base for the 39th-straight contest.
Sophomore Matt Brill started on the mound for Appalachian State and allowed five runs in 2.2 innings to suffer the loss and fall to 0-1 on the season. However, four Mountaineer relievers combined to limit Maryland to two earned runs over the final 5.1 innings of the ballgame. Sophomore southpaw Dallas DeVrieze headlined the relief effort by allowing just one hit in 2.2 innings out of the bullpen.
Appalachian State returns to action on Tuesday when it makes the short trip to High Point for a non-conference contest. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. at HPU’s Williard Stadium.