Friday, March 20
UT Arlington Knocks off No. 16 Gauchos, 7-5
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - After five combined runs in the first six innings of the game, UT Arlington's offense exploded for a five-run seventh that propelled the Mavericks to a 7-5 win over No. 16 UC Santa Barbara on Friday.
"I thought that was a great win right there," UT Arlington coach Darin Thomas said. "After how we scuffled Wednesday against DBU we faced by far the best arm we've seen all year. We battled and got him out of there, and got a couple of big hits when we needed to, which was enough."
The Mavericks (11-8) hit .272 en route to their second win over a ranked opponent this week, while the Gauchos (13-6) hit .306. UTA left seven runners on-base compared to 13 for UCSB.
Zach Hobbs (1-1) picked up his first win this season as the senior went 2.2 innings with two earned runs and two hits allowed.
The Mavericks jumped out to an early lead in the opening inning when Matt McLean took the opening pitch of the game and sent it to left-center field for a single. After Travis Sibley pushed McLean to second on the bunt, Jackson Morris came to the plate and knocked one to right field for an RBI double. Morris' day ended going an impressive 4-of-4 at the plate with four RBI.
The Gauchos knotted the game back up at one run apiece in the second inning with a two-out single to center field.
The Mavs mimicked their score in the first inning in the sixth when Morris notched his second hit of the day to bring in McLean to score the go-ahead run. McLean reached base in three of his at-bats going 1-of-3 at the plate with three runs while also being walked twice.
UCSB took ahold of its first lead in the game thanks to a two-run inning in the bottom of the sixth. The Gauchos used a solo homer to tie the game before a bases-loaded walk made it 3-2.
Sibley came up big for the Mavs in the seventh inning as he stepped into the box with a pair of outs and the bases loaded. The Frisco native went ahead in the count 2-1 and sent the fourth pitch of the at-bat to deep left field to bring in a trio of runs to put UTA on top 5-3. Sibley ended the day 1-of-3 at the plate with three RBI and one run.
Any thoughts of UTA becoming content with the three-run inning fell by the wayside with Morris' two-run shot to left field for a 7-3 advantage heading into the bottom half of the inning.
The Gauchos closed the gap to two with a two-run eighth inning. Colin Tornberg shut down UCSB in the ninth, picking up his sixth save of the season and eighth of his career. Tornberg is tied for seventh in single-season saves at UTA and tied for sixth in career saves.
"It's a good club," Thomas added. "This was a little unexpected to score that many. I thought it would be a low-scoring deal and that's tough to win. We got enough cushion and we needed it at the end. That's a really good club with good arms and we're just fortunate to win, but we're happy about it."
The Mavericks return to action on Saturday with a 1 p.m. (CT) game against the Gauchos.
Troy Holds Off UALr, Wins Third Consecutive
TROY, Alabama – Grant Bennett earned his fourth win of the season as Troy held off UALR, 4-3, on Friday at Riddle-Pace Field to claim its third consecutive victory.
Due to impending weather on Sunday, Troy and UALR will play a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 1 p.m.
Bennett (4-1) struck out five while allowing three runs in 7 2/3 innings to earn his fifth quality start in six outings this season. The junior walked two but induced double plays to escape trouble in the first and again in the eighth inning.
Troy (10-11, 3-4 Sun Belt) struck for two runs in the first inning when Trevin Hall singled home Logan Hill and Reid Long. Hall upped his team-high average to .405 and finished the game 2-for-4, his 11th multi-hit game of the season. The senior is batting .476 with runners in scoring position and is tied for the team lead with 15 RBIs.
UALR (6-10, 3-3) answered with a solo home run from Ryan McSwain to lead off the second. Troy chipped away against UALR starter Jarrid Garcia, scoring a run in the home half of the second on an RBI single from Clay Holcomb and another courtesy of a pair of errors in the third.
UALR scratched runs off Bennett in the sixth and eight, but were never able to sustain a rally. Jeremy McGowan recorded the final four outs of the contest, earning his second save of the season. The appearance was the 64th of the senior's career, tying Jason Fawcett for 6th most in Troy history.
Troy had a couple of opportunities to build on its lead, but left two runners stranded in each the first, second, fifth and eighth innings.
Troy improved to 332-7 under head coach Bobby Pierce when leading after eighth inning. With the win, Pierce is now five victories shy of passing Chase Riddle as Troy's winningest coach.
Brown's Single Lifts A-State Past Eagles in Extras, 3-1
STATESBORO, Ga. (3/20/15) – Arkansas State freshman shortstop Jeremy Brown hit a two-out single to plate two runs in the top of the 13th inning to give the Red Wolves a 3-1 victory over Georgia Southern Friday night at JI Clements Stadium in Statesboro, Ga., in a game that also saw the A-State pitching staff set the school record for strikeouts in a single contest.
Arkansas State (9-9, 2-4 SBC) and Georgia Southern (12-11, 4-3 SBC) played each other to a 1-1 tie through the first 12 innings, but Austin Baker led the top of the 13th off with a double down the right-field line. Baker was bunted over to third by Eric Wilcoxson before Stuart Levy was walked to put runners on the corners with one out. Tanner Ring was hit by a pitch to load the bases, but Joe Schrimpf hit a ground ball to third that allowed the Eagles to force Baker out at the plate.
Brown stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs and ripped a 2-1 pitch into left field to score Levy and Ring to give A-State the 3-1 advantage. Ty Michelotti pinch-hit for Derek Birginske and laced an 0-1 pitch into center field but Georgia Southern’s Logan Baldwin made a diving catch to keep the score at 3-1.
Colton Kibler pitched the bottom of the 13th inning and pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts to clinch the win for the Red Wolves. The two strikeouts were the 20th and 21st of the game for A-State to set a new school record for strikeouts in a single game, breaking the record of 19 set back in 2013 against Bradley. He pitched 4.2 innings and allowed no runs, no hits, and struck out five batters to only one walk as the senior improved to 1-1 on the season.
Tyler Zuber pitched the first seven innings for the Red Wolves and only allowed one run on four hits with two walks and 13 strikeouts, shattering his previous career high of six. Coulton Lee pitched 1.1 innings and didn’t allow a run on one hit with no walks and three strikeouts.
Offensively, Brown and Baker each had two hits apiece to account for four of A-State’s 10 hits, while Zach George had a single and was hit by a pitch to extend his on-base streak to 35 games.
Georgia Southern only managed five hits on offense, but starting pitcher Evan Challenger was very solid as he allowed one unearned run on five hits with no walks and seven strikeouts in 7.2 innings. Reliever Chris Brown took the loss as he allowed two runs (both earned) on two hits with four walks and five strikeouts in 2.2 innings.
The Eagles were the first team to strike in the game as catcher Chase Griffin hit a home run over the left-field fence to start the bottom of the second inning for the team’s only run of the game. Georgia Southern was able to advance runners to third base in the third and fourth innings, but didn’t have a runner advance to third the rest of the game.
The Red Wolves threatened in the seventh inning when Baker and Matt Burgess reached on a single and hit-by-pitch to lead off the inning and both were bunted over to second and third by Levy. Baker scored on a passed ball to tie the game at 1-1 and Arkansas State seemed poised to take the lead, but two pop ups on the infield ended the inning.
A-State puts runners on base in each of the extra innings, but couldn’t cash in until Brown’s hit in the 13th, while Georgia Southern had a scoring chance in the 12th after Kibler hit Hunter Thomas to begin the inning. Thomas was bunted over to second and Baldwin was intentionally walked to put runners on first and second with one out. The plan came to fruition though as Kent Rollins grounded into a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play.
The Red Wolves and Eagles are playing a doubleheader Saturday because of the threat of inclement weather on Sunday. The first game will be played at Saturday’s original start time of 1 p.m. (CT), while the second game will begin approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one.
Rose Drives in Four as Panthers Top Cajuns
ATLANTA – Matt Rose homered, drove in four runs and drew a bases-loaded, walk-off walk in the 10th inning to give Georgia State a 7-6 victory over UL Lafayette Friday at the GSU Baseball Complex.
With the win, Georgia State (14-7, 3-0 SBC) remained the only unbeaten team in the Sun Belt Conference. UL Lafayette dropped to 10-8, 3-3 SBC.
Rose belted a two-run double down the left field line in the third inning to give Georgia State a 4-1 lead. In the sixth, he smashed his eighth homer of the season, a solo blast to left, to tie the game at 5-5. That is Rose’s eighth homer of the season, tying him for the NCAA lead.
The Panthers trailed 6-5 in the seventh when Will Johnson led off with single, and Ryan Blanton singled to put runners at first and second with one out. Then freshman Justin Jones delivered an opposite-field single to right field to score Johnson with the tying run.
The game remained tied at 6-6 when Blanton led off the 10th with a single and took second base when the right fielder misplayed the ball.
That brought Jones to the plate again, and he laid down a perfect bunt down the third base line. The pitcher fielded the ball and had no play at first, and he was unable to cut down Blanton at third.
UL reliever Colton Lee (0-2) intentionally walked Caden Bailey to load the bases for Rose, who worked the walk to bring home Blanton with the winning run.
Blanton, the current Sun Belt and National Player of the Week, had three hits on the night as well as a highlight-reel, diving catch in center field in the eighth inning.
Georgia State has won three extra-inning games in its last five contests, and in each, Blanton has led off the final inning with a hit and scored the winning run. He has 18 hits in his last 32 at-bats.
Reliever Kevin Burgee (2-0) recorded the final four outs, with two strikeouts, to earn the victory.
The series continues with a 2 p.m. game Saturday.
Hill Pitches Jags to Series Opening Win over Texas State
MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama baseball right-hander Kevin Hill tossed eight scoreless innings and struck out 10 batters to lead the Jaguars to a 7-1 series-opening win over Texas State Friday at Stanky Field.
Hill (2-0) issued four walks to go along with his 10 strikeouts, and allowed just two hits in eight innings pitched to earn his second win of the season. He allowed a one-out single in the top of the first, and didn't surrender another hit until the bottom of the eighth.
"I felt good at the beginning of the game," Hill said. "I started getting a little tired toward the end of the game; it was a little humid. As soon as I got into a rhythm, my changeup started working, I got the slider in there and got the fastball across when I needed to."
USA (14-8, 4-3 SBC) jumped out to a one-run lead in the bottom of the first inning. Cole Billingsley reached on a two-out bunt single down the third-base line, stole second then scored on an RBI single to right-center field by Adam Ballew for a 1-0 Jaguar advantage.
South Alabama added to its lead in the bottom of the third after it sent eight batters to the plate. Bud Collura led off the inning with a single to the left side of the infield, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jared Barnes before Billingsley drew a one-out walk from TSU starter Lucas Humpal. Ballew followed with an RBI single to right field to plate Collura and push the USA lead to 2-0. Danny Martinez singled to right field to load the bags for Cole Gleason, who singled to right field to score Billingsley and Ballew and extend the Jag lead to 4-0. Matt Bolger followed with a single to right field to load the bases for Ben Gann, but Humpal induced an inning-ending 1-2-3 double play to escape the jam without any further damage.
USA loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth after consecutive singles by Martinez and Gleason to start the inning, and a one-out single to left field from Gann. Ryan Raspino followed with an RBI groundout to third to score Martinez and extend the Jag lead to 5-0. A wild pitch from Humpal later in the inning allowed Gleason to score from third and push the USA lead to 6-0. Collura then delivered a two-out double to left-center field to score Gann with the final Jag run of the game.
Texas State (9-11-1, 5-2 SBC) scored its lone run of the game in the top of the ninth on a sacrifice fly from Dylan Paul.
Humpal (3-2) took the loss in 4 2/3 innings, allowing seven runs on 13 hits with three strikeouts and a pair of walks.
Eight Jaguar starters recorded at least one hit in the game, led by Ballew who finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and one run scored and Gleason who went 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run. Billingsley added two hits, two runs scored and three stolen bases, and Collura finished with two hits, an RBI and one run.
The series will continue with game two Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Stanky Field.
Mountaineers Blank Warhawks Behind Thurber's Four-Hit Complete Game
BOONE, N.C. — Making the first weekend start of his career, senior pitcher Taylor Thurber threw a four-hit shutout to lead Appalachian State University baseball to its first-ever Sun Belt Conference victory, a 7-0 triumph over UL Monroe on Friday night at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
Thurber (3-4) needed only 102 pitches to record the first complete game of his career. The right-hander, who had only three starts in 62 career appearances coming into the evening, struck out seven, walked none and shattered his previous career high of six innings pitched.
Freshman Conner Leonard provided the only runs Thurber would need in the bottom of the first inning when he drove in two with a double off the wall left-center field.
Appalachian State (6-15, 1-6 Sun Belt) stretched the lead to 4-0 in the third inning on Dillon Dobson’s team-leading fifth home run of the year and a two-out RBI triple by Noah Holmes.
A two-run double by Alex Leach highlighted a three-run seventh inning that gave the Mountaineers a commanding 7-0 advantage. Leach’s pinch-hit, two-out, two-run double came on the first pitch that he faced this season. The fourth-year junior missed the first 20 games of the campaign due to a hip injury.
The run support was more than enough for Thurber, who faced the minimum number of ULM batters through 3.2 innings and retired 13-straight hitters to close out the ballgame. The only two Warhawks that reached scoring position did so with two outs in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively.
With the shutout effort, Thurber lowered his season ERA to 1.71 and upped his incredible strikeout-to-walk ratio to 29-to-2.
Dobson and Leonard led the Mountaineers’ 11-hit offensive attack with three apiece. Dobson also scored three runs and Holmes matched Leonard with two RBI.
The victory snapped Appalachian State’s 10-game losing streak, a frustrating skid that included losing five of its first six Sun Belt games by two runs or less.
ULM (11-8, 1-3 Sun Belt) lost for only the second time in its last seven outings and saw its three-game winning streak come to an end.
Appalachian State looks to seal its first Sun Belt series victory on Saturday when it hosts ULM for the second game of the three-game weekend series. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. at Smith Stadium.