Saturday, March 14
Bennett Dominant as Trojans Split Doubleheader with Eagles
TROY, Alabama – Junior Grant Bennett took a perfect game into the eighth inning and struck out 14 batters as the Troy baseball team took game two of a Saturday doubleheader, 6-1, over Georgia Southern. The Trojans fell in game one, 15-1.
Bennett (3-1) retired 21 straight Eagle batters heading into the eighth inning, but Georgia Southern catcher Chase Griffin lined a double over the head of Troy left fielder Reid Long to lead off the frame. Georgia Southern would pick up a run on three hits in the ninth.
The right-hander from Hazel Green, Ala., didn't allow a walk in his nine innings of work and on 111 pitches, tossed the first complete game since Tanner Hicks shutout South Alabama exactly one year ago. He became the first Trojan to strike out 14 batters in a game since Mike Felix fanned 14 against New Orleans in 2006.
"When Grant took the mound, he knew what was on the line with this streak going in the wrong direction," Troy head coach Bobby Pierce said. "I thought he did a great job picking this team up and putting them on his back. That intensity, I thought, spread through the team."
The win snapped a nine-game losing streak for the team. Dave Sparks threw the last perfect game in Troy history against Georgia State in 1992. Dean Cordova threw the last no-hitter against C.W. Post in 1996.
Offensively, Troy finished with 12 hits including three from both Reid Long and Logan Hill. Jo-El Bennett slugged his first home run of the season in the fourth and drove in another run on a ground ball in the fifth.
The Trojans (8-11, 1-4 Sun Belt) scored twice in the first inning. Reid Long tripled home Clay Holcomb and three pitches later, Logan Hill picked up an RBI on a sacrifice fly. Hill earned two more RBIs in the seventh with a single to center, scoring Long and Holcomb.
Georgia Southern (12-8, 4-1) pounded out 20 hits in game one. Trevin Hall earned two of the Trojans three hits in the game.
Troy and Georgia Southern will play the series finale at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
UTA Claims Shutout Victory over Jaguars to Even Series
ARLINGTON, Texas - One day removed from a difficult day at the plate, the UT Arlington bats came alive on Saturday afternoon in a 7-0 victory over South Alabama at Clay Gould Ballpark.
"Obviously the grand slam got us off to a good start, but it was a tough day to pitch," UT Arlington coach Darin Thomas said. "With the wind blowing, you have to play the outfielders a little deeper than normal. It's kind of a rare day here. You don't get many days with the wind blowing out, but we got five runs early and that was enough."
The Mavericks (8-7, 3-2 Sun Belt) recorded ten hits in their thirty at bats while holding the Jaguars (12-7, 3-2 Sun Belt) to hitting just .156 in the box.
On the mound the Mavs relied on the pitching duo of freshmen Brad Vassar and Kyle Laberge to get through the day allowing just five hits and no earned runs while fanning five. Vassar (2-2) went five innings with three hits allowed and one strikeout in the win while Laberge went four innings in relief with two hits allowed while striking out four Jaguars in picking up his first career save.
"Our two freshmen did a good job of hanging zeros," Thomas added. "I thought it was going to be a very offensive day for both clubs and Brad [Vassar] did everything he could for five innings and then Kyle [Laberge] came in and was really good the last four innings. Hopefully this will give us a little momentum going into tomorrow."
The Mavericks shook off their offensive rust from Friday night early in the second game of the series as a pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases with Brady Cox at the plate. Cox came up big for UTA as he recorded his first career home run with a shot over the left field wall for the grand slam. Cox was 1-of-2 at the plate with four RBI and one run scored.
Jerame Littell then joined the home run club in the next at-bat notching his first homer of the season with a solo shot to left to give the Mavs a 5-0 lead in the first. Littell's day ended with him going 1-of-3 at the plate with one RBI and one run while also being walked once.
UTA extended its lead by one run in the third inning when Travis Sibley hit a single to left center field that made way for Jackson Morris to cross the plate and put the Mavs on top 6-0. The Mavs also added one run for good measure in the seventh inning when Levi Scott hit a single to left field that brought in Matt McLean.
Morris and McLean helped pace the UTA offense as the juniors both recorded two hits. Morris recorded one double and two runs scored in his five at-bats while McLean came away with one double and one run scored in four at-bats.
The Mavericks will wrap up their three-game series against the Jaguars at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Vallieres Home Propels Bobcats Past Mountaineers
BOONE, N.C. - Texas State kept rolling Saturday after an 8-3 victory over Appalachian State Friday night. Cedric Vallieres belted a two-run ninth-inning homer to break open a 4-4 tie and put the Bobcats ahead for good en route to a 6-4 victory Saturday, earning the series win for Texas State. The Bobcats improve to 4-1 in Sun Belt Conference action and 7-10-1 on the year.
The Bobcats built a 4-0 lead through the first four and a half innings of the game, but Appalachian State erased it with one swing of the bat in the bottom of the fifth. After two hit batters and a walk to load the bases, App State's Michael Pierson knocked out a grand slam to tie the game in a hurry, 4-4.
Nobody else could score through the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, but in the top of the ninth, Vallieres knocked the hit of the day. Cory Geisler led the inning off with a single, and the Bobcats were looking to sacrifice bunt him over to second base. However, after two failed bunt attempts by Vallieres, the call was off and the senior from Canada had the green light. He made it count with his team-leading third home run of the season to put the Bobcats up, 6-4. The entire dugout came out to greet him after the hit.
Vallieres finished the day with two runs scored and two RBI on his fateful hit. Meanwhile, David Paiz went 3-for-5 while both Geisler and Granger Studdard finished 2-for-5 on the day. The first four of the order combined for eight of Texas State's 11 hits and four RBI on the day. Tanner Hill, Derek Scheible and Ben McElroy also tallied hits in the game.
After Vallieres put the Bobcats up late, it was up to Blake Whitter to close the game out and get his second win of the season. He forced two groundouts and a fly out to end the game. In 2.1 innings of work, Whitter was on fire, striking out two battters and only giving up one hit.
Scott Grist started the day for the Bobcats and went 6.1 innings in the start. He gave up seven hits and three earned runs but struck out four. Outside of the fifth inning, the Mountaineers struggled against the senior all day.
Vallieres was the last Bobcat to cross home plate Saturday as well as the first. He reached base on an error in the first inning. A batter later, Studdard hit a deep triple to left center to plate Vallieres and give the Bobcats the early 1-0 lead.
In the fourth, Derek Scheible led off with a single and Theodore Hoffman followed with a walk. Later, Scheible made his way to third, forcing a throwing error from Appalachian State. He took advantage to score Texas State's second run of the day on the play. After that, Cory Geisler knocked a double to left centerfield to plate Hoffman and put the Bobcats up 3-0.
Texas State added the team's fifth run in the fifth inning. Paiz, Studdard and Hill knocked consecutive singles to start the inning with Paiz scoring on Hill's. It was after that, though, that Appalachian State was able to tie the game. The grand slam from the Mountaineers would not be enough Saturday as Vallieres came up with the big hit in the big moment.
The Bobcats will look for the sweep on Sunday. The teams are scheduled for a first pitch at 12 p.m. CST / 1 p.m. EST.
Warhawks Split Doubleheader with Mississippi Valley State
MONROE, La. – ULM (9-7) outscored Mississippi Valley State (4-9-1) over the course of two games, but the homestanding Warhawks were only able to come away with a split in Saturday’s doubleheader at Warhawk Field.
Mississippi Valley State 4, ULM 2 (DH Game 1)
ULM plated the first run of the game in the bottom of the second inning to take an early 1-0 lead. Nathan Pugh led off the frame with a triple to center field. Pugh came in to score on a RBI ground out by Spencer Hemphill.
Alex Hermeling kept the Delta Devils off of the scoreboard for seven straight innings, but ran into trouble in the eighth. Hermeling, who had struck out a career-best 10 batters, surrendered two earned runs (four total) in the eighth as Mississippi Valley State took the lead. The right-hander fell to 2-3 on the season with the loss.
The Warhawks were able to cut into the deficit with a solo homer to left center by Spencer Hemphill. ULM was able to bring the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth but the Warhawks were unable to even the contest in their final at-bat.
Hemphill led the Warhawks with one hit, two RBI and one run in the loss.
Mississippi Valley State starter Tyler Case earned the win and improved to 2-1.
ULM 7, Mississippi Valley State 0 (DH Game 2)
ULM jumped on Mississippi Valley State with a trio of runs in the home half of the third inning. Robbie Podorsky got things going with a triple with one-out in the frame. Later in the inning, Keelin Rasch scored on a throwing error by catcher Alex Bravo to give ULM a 2-0 lead. The big inning was concluded with a RBI triple by Danny Springer (Nathan Pugh scored).
An inning later, ULM added another run as Jacob Stockton scored on a fielder’s choice to push the lead to 4-0.
ULM again posted a three-run frame, this time in the bottom of the sixth as ULM increased its lead to 7-0. Spencer Hemphill scored on a RBI single by Kodie Tidwell and Keelin Rasch collected his fourth homer of the season with a two-run homer to left center.
Brandon Bell shined on the mound for the Warhawks and he retired 11 straight batters from the second inning until the end of the fifth. In the sixth, one Delta Devil reached on an error but a double play and a strikeout kept Mississippi Valley State off of the scoreboard.
Bell improved to 3-2 on the season as he allowed just one hit in six inning of work. During his 58-pitch outing, the right-hander did not issue a walk and struck out four batters. Relievers Matthew Reeves, Payton Coddou and Cody Connally combined to pitch the final three frames with each pitcher logging one complete inning.
Four different Warhawks tallied multiple hit efforts in the second game of the doubleheader. Podorsky, Tidwell, Rasch and Springer combined for eight hits, six RBI and four runs.
Connor Sheppeard (0-3) was tagged with the loss after allowing seven runs (three earned) on eight hits and two walks in six innings.
NOTE: UALR and UL Lafayette as well as Arkansas State and Georgia State had to cancel the opening games of their series this afternoon due to poor playing field conditions. The teams will play doubleheaders tomorrow and will not be able to make up the third game of each series.