Saturday, March 21
Georgia Southern Sweeps Arkansas State on Saturday
STATESBORO, Ga. – The Georgia Southern baseball team swept a doubleheader against the Arkansas State Red Wolves on Saturday at J.I. Clements Stadium. The Eagles won game one 3-2 and took game two 6-3.
Ryan Cleveland hit a walk-off single in the 11th inning to help Georgia Southern (14-11, 6-3) win game one of the doubleheader, and had two hits and drove in a run in game two.
Arkansas State (9-11, 2-6) squandered late leads in both contests. The Red Wolves led 1-0 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning in game one and led 2-1 before a lead off home run by Aaron Mizell in the sixth inning of game two.
Game One Recap
Ryan Cleveland hit a walk-off single in the 11th inning to lift the Georgia Southern Eagles to a 3-2 win over the Arkansas State Red Wolves in game two of the series and the first of a doubleheader at J.I. Clements Stadium.
Cleveland flew out with the go ahead run at second base to end the ninth inning, but delivered the game-winning hit in his second at-bat in the second-straight extra inning game in the series. The back-to-back extra inning games were the first since 2004.
Cleveland drove a ball off the wall in straightaway center field and scored Kent Rollins, who led off the 11th inning with a single. The walk-off was the first of his career.
Byron Yelverton picked up the win after tossing two scoreless frames in extra innings. Yelverton (1-0) faced the minimum, allowed a hit and struck out a batter.
Chandler Hawkins suffered his fifth loss of the season. Hawkins (1-5) walked five batters and allowed a run on two hits over 2.1 innings.
Arkansas State led 1-0 on a sac bunt by Jeremy Brown in the second inning.
Georgia Southern took a 2-1 lead in the eighth inning on a solo home run by Aaron Mizell and a Dalton Busby single.
Mizell's fifth home run of the season was just the fifth hit of the game for the Eagles. GS finished the game with 10 hits.
Busby led the squad with three singles and was intentionally walked in the 10th inning. Hunter Thomas doubled in the sixth inning and singled in the eighth inning for his fourth multi-hit game of the season.
Game Two Recap
Hunter Thomas broke open a 2-2 tie in the eighth inning with a two RBI double as the Georgia Southern Eagles completed the doubleheader sweep of Arkansas State with a 6-3 win in game two.
Chase Griffin moved two runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt before Thomas laced a ball down the first base line that hit off the glove of the first baseman Matt Burgess and trickled out into right field to score the go ahead runs.
The Eagles tacked on two more runs in the eighth inning on RBI singles by Ryan Cleveland and Spencer Duffie. Duffie hit his first home run as an Eagle in the third inning and finished with three hits on the day.
Matt Geiger threw five perfect frames out of the bullpen to shut down the Red Wolves, who jumped out to a 2-1 lead after three innings. Geiger (1-2) earned his first career win and struck out four batters over 5.2 innings.
Jason Richman entered in the ninth inning after ASU scored a run off of Geiger on a single through the left side from Joe Schrimpf. Richman (1) retired pinch hitter Daltan Lovell to end the game and record his first save of the season.
Derek Birginske was tagged with the loss after allowing all four runs in the eighth inning. Birginske (0-1) allowed three hits and walked a batter over 0.2 innings.
The Eagles will be back in action Tuesday at Kennesaw State and will return home to host Jacksonville on Wednesday at J.I. Clements Stadium.
Troy Splits Doubleheader Saturday with UALR
TROY, Alabama – Troy (11-12, 3-4 Sun Belt) split a doubleheader with UALR (7-11, 4-4) to take the series at Riddle-Pace Field on Saturday. It was the second straight Sun Belt Conference series win for Troy and fourth victory in five games.
UALR 14, Troy 4
UALR used 11 two-out RBIs and 19 hits to rout Troy, 14-4, in game one of Saturday's doubleheader.
Troy starter Corey Childress (2-2) labored through six innings on the mound. The freshman allowed six runs – four earned – on nine hits.
Trailing 2-0, Trevin Hall singled to lead off the home half of the second inning. One batter later, Nick Masonia tripled home Hall and later scored to tie the game when Peyton Fuller reached on an infield single.
With one out in the third, Clay Holcomb walked and Reid Long followed with a single. After a fielder's choice put runners on the corners, Holcomb and Logan Hill executed a textbook double steal to give Troy the lead. The stolen base was the 58th of Holcomb's career moving him into a tie with Tracy Lee for sixth-most all-time in Troy history.
UALR would reclaim the lead in the fourth on a two-out, three-run home run from Drew Merten off Childress. UALR added a run in the fifth and two in the seventh. Troy was able to carve out a run in the seventh on a balk.
Holcomb, Masonia and Tripp Calhoun finished with two hits each for Troy.
Troy 6, UALR 1
Troy claimed the series win with a 6-1 win in game two. Lucas Brown (2-0) earned his second victory on the mound in as many starts.
Brown tossed seven innings allowing one run on three hits. The junior retired six of seven lead off batters he faced and surrendered just one hit after the first inning.
UALR opened the scoring in the first inning on a pair of singles, but Troy responded in the bottom half. Clay Holcomb led off the frame with a seven-pitch walk, Reid Long followed with a double. Logan Hill drove in Holcomb on a fielder's choice and, one batter later, Nick Masonia doubled to right field to plate Trevin Hall.
Both offenses remained quiet until the seventh when Trevin Hall and Masonia singled with two outs. David Hall, in his only at bat of the weekend, doubled to left field to score both runners and extend Troy's lead to 4-1. For Hall, it was his second pinch-hit double in as many attempts this season. On Feb. 28 against Southern Miss, he doubled off the wall in right to tie the game in the ninth inning.
Hill put the game away in the eighth with a two-RBI double scoring Long and Holcomb. Marc Skinner tossed the final six outs to earn his second save of the season and seventh of his career, moving him into a tie for seventh-most all-time at Troy.
Masonia and Trevin Hall finished the game with two hits each, both batted over .400 for the series.
With the win, Troy head coach Bobby Pierce is now just four wins from passing Chase Riddle as the school's winningest coach.
Troy will host Jacksonville State on Tuesday before traveling to Tallahassee to face Florida A&M on Wednesday.
Cajuns Take Two from Panthers on Saturday
ATLANTA – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team got a pair of strong pitching performances from Gunner Leger and Greg Milhorn on Saturday as the Cajuns swept Georgia State in a doubleheader to win the series at the GSU Baseball Complex.
The Ragin' Cajuns (12-8, 5-3 Sun Belt) defeated the Panthers (14-9, 3-2 Sun Belt) 10-1 in the first day of the game before winning 3-2 in the nightcap.
"You have to give our pitchers a lot of credit for coming out and setting a good tempo," head coach Tony Robichaux said. "When you play good defense and pitch, you don't need to score a lot of runs. I think this team did a lot of growing up this weekend. You go from losing both games of a doubleheader last weekend to winning both today. Sometimes things happen for a reason, and its good to come away with a couple of wins."
Leger was lights out in game one holding GSU to one run on four singles in seven innings to earn his third victory of the year. The freshman left-hander struck out five in the outing while walking two.
Milhorn backed up the strong performance by Leger with an equally impressive start limiting the Panthers to one run on four hits with three strikeouts in seven innings to improve to 1-0 on the year.
Offensively, the Cajuns outhit Georgia State by a combined 23-11. Greg Davis and Nick Thurman each had four hits on the day for Louisiana. Davis was 4-for-8 with a pair of doubles, a home run and two RBI, while Thurman had a team-best three RBI.
Junior shortstop Blake Trahan recorded a pair of hits on the day to extend his hit streak to 11 games.
Tyler Girouard gave the Cajuns an early 1-0 lead in game one of the doubleheader on a sac fly to left in the top of the third. Davis tacked on a run in the next at bat with his second home run of the season sending a ball deep over the fence in left.
The Panthers notched their only run of the game in the bottom half of the third when Caiden Bailey hit into a double play with no outs to score David Levy from third.
Louisiana added four runs in the top of the fourth on two hits and two GSU errors. A two-run single by Trahan to right highlighted the scoring in the inning.
The Cajuns capped the scoring in the game with four more runs in the sixth coming on a two-run single by Thurman, an RBI ground out by Brian Mills and an RBI double by Brenn Conrad.
In game two of the doubleheader, Davis delivered a run in the top of the first singling in Girouard to make the score 1-0 Ragin' Cajuns.
Mills extended the lead to 2-0 in the top of the fourth on an RBI single through the left side of the infield.
Georgia State answered in the bottom half of the fourth on a solo home run by Joey Roach to cut the advantage to 2-1.
In the bottom of the seventh, Girouard came up with the first of two outstanding defensive plays as he fielded a ground ball hit to third and tagged out a wandering Jack Thompson with one out in the inning.
The Cajuns would get an insurance run in the top of the eighth on an RBI single up the middle by Stefan Trosclair scoring Davis from third.
Girouard made the second big defensive play in the bottom of the eighth cutting down Ryan Blanton at the plate for the second out of the inning.
"That was a huge play by the senior, and that's what you expect from an experienced player," Robichaux said. "The two runs he prevented turned out to be the difference in the ballgame."
James Clements added a two-out, solo home run in the ninth to cut the lead to 3-2, but it wouldn't be enough as freshman right-hander Dylan Moore settled down to get the final out and pick up his second save of the season. Moore struck out two while allowing one run on two hits in two innings of work.
The Ragin' Cajuns return to action on Tuesday at 6 p.m. as they head to Lake Charles, La. To face in-state foe McNeese State. Following the contest with the Cowboys, Louisiana will play four straight at home with a Wednesday night contest against Nicholls State at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field.
Dobson, Springs Lead Mountaineers Past Warhawks, 7-5
BOONE, N.C. — Dillon Dobson went 5-for-5 with three RBI and three runs scored and Jeffrey Springs threw a 139-pitch complete game to lead Appalachian State University baseball to a 7-5 win over UL Monroe on Saturday afternoon at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
Combined with Friday night’s 7-0 shutout win, Appalachian State (7-15, 2-6 Sun Belt) clinched its first-ever Sun Belt Conference series victory. The Mountaineers go for the three-game sweep over ULM (11-9, 1-4 Sun Belt) on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Smith Stadium.
Dobson’s five-hit game was the first by a Mountaineer since Daniel Kassouf also went 5-for-5 against Elon on March 23, 2012. Three of Dobson’s first four hits drove in runs, including RBI doubles in the fifth and sixth innings that helped Appalachian State grab a commanding 6-1 lead.
Making the 36th start of his career, Springs tossed his first complete game. The senior southpaw kept ULM at bay for much of the afternoon, allowing just one run on four hits through six innings to help the Mountaineers stake the 6-1 lead.
ULM broke through for single runs in the seventh and eighth innings to cut the deficit to 6-3 but Appalachian State added a big insurance run in the bottom of the eighth on Conner Leonard’s two-out RBI double down the left-field line.
With over 100 pitches already under his belt, Springs surrendered three-straight hits to begin the ninth inning and ULM cut the Mountaineers’ advantage to 7-5. However, after a visit to the mound, head coach Billy Jones elected to leave Springs in the ballgame and the senior rewarded his skipper’s faith in him by retiring the Warhawks’ final three batters to cap the gutsy effort.
Springs scattered 10 hits and recorded a career-high-tying 11 strikeouts to earn his first win of the season and even his record at 1-1. The victory was his first since a 10-6 triumph over The Citadel on April 13 of last season.
In addition to Dobson’s five-hit performance, Bradley Morton went 2-for-4 with a double to help lead the Mountaineers’ 11-hit attack.
Anthony Herrera, Dalton Todd and Robbie Podorsky had two hits apiece for ULM.
Gann's Walk-off Single Clinches Series for Jaguars over Texas State
MOBILE, Ala. – Ben Gann's bases-loaded walk-off single in the bottom of the 11th inning lifted the University of South Alabama baseball team to a 2-1 series-clinching win over Texas State Saturday at Stanky Field.
USA (15-8, 5-3 SBC) loaded the bases with one out in the 11th on consecutive singles from Danny Martinez and Cole Gleason, and a walk by Jason Cryar. Gann then lifted the first pitch he saw from TSU right-hander Blake Whitter into shallow right field to score Martinez with the game-winning run.
Jaguar right-hander Ben Taylor (3-0) earned the win with 1 2/3 scoreless relief innings, and struck out four while issuing one walk. Whitter (2-1) took the loss in two innings, allowing one run on four hits with a pair of walks.
Texas State (9-12-1, 5-3 SBC) scored the game's first run in the top of the sixth on a leadoff solo home run to right field by Granger Studdard.
South Alabama answered to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth on a one-out RBI double down the right-field line by Martinez that scored Adam Ballew, who reached on a one-out single to center field earlier in the inning, to force extra innings.
Seven Jaguar starters recorded hits in the game, led by Martinez who finished 2-for-5 with a double, one RBI and a run scored. Collura added two hits, including a double, and Gleason and Matt Bolger also finished with a pair of hits. Gann finished with a hit and one RBI.
Studdard went 2-for-5 with a home run, one RBI and a run scored to lead the Bobcats at the plate.
Jaguar right-hander Ryne Long allowed just one run on four hits with a strikeout and a walk in 5 1/3 innings, but did not factor in the decision. Likewise, TSU right-hander Scott Grist allowed just one run on six hits with five strikeouts and one walk in 8 1/3 innings without factoring in the decision.
South Alabama will go for the series sweep in Sunday's finale, which is scheduled for an 11 a.m. first pitch at Stanky Field.
Mavericks Fall to No. 16 Gauchos in Extras
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Pitching reigned supreme Saturday as UT Arlington fell to No. 16 UC Santa Barbara 2-1 walk-off fashion at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.
"That was a well-played game, a real pitcher's duel," UT Arlington coach Darin Thomas said. "We knew we were going to have our hands full with their guy and I'll give our pitchers credit. We threw three freshmen out there to start the thing off and got it into extra innings and lost in eleven. We had our chances, not many, but we did have our chances and their guy just made big pitches to get out of jams."
The Mavericks (11-9) held the Gauchos (14-6) to a .243 batting average and one earned run. Despite the strong performance on the mound, the Mavs were unable to capitalize offensively.
Freshman Brad Vassar was impressive in his sixth start of the season, allowing six hits and one earned run while fanning a pair in his 5.2 innings on the mound.
The relief pitchers for the Mavs held their own. They allowed three hits combined and one run in 4.2 innings. Reid Petty brought his A-game, as the freshman right hander went three innings with no earned runs while striking out a trio of Gauchos.
UCSB struck first in the third inning with a bases loaded ground out that brought one run across.
The Mavericks answered in the eighth inning to knot the game back up. Matt McLean's lead off single to center field was followed up with a Travis Sibley single up the middle. Levi Scott came to the plate and hit a deep ball that stayed just inside the right-field line to load the bases with no outs. McLean ended the day 3-of-5 with one run, while Sibley came away with a 2-of-4 performance.
Jackson Morris drove in UTA's first run of the day with his sacrifice fly to right to plate McLean. While the Mavs looked to extend their lead with a pair of runners on and one out, back-to-back ground outs ended the inning tied.
UTA looked to be in trouble in the bottom of the ninth with runners on second and third, but the relief efforts of freshman lefty Jake Wilcox paid off with a fly out to McLean.
The difference in the game came in the 11th inning. The Gauchos got two on with none out via a hit and an error by UTA. A single through the right side later in the inning brought home the winning run.
UTA finished with eight hits and one error, while UCSB had nine hits and an error.
The Mavericks will wrap up its weekend road trip on Sunday with a 1 p.m. (CT) game against Dartmouth.
"It's going to be a bounce-back day for us after a disappointing loss," Thomas added. "I think we had a chance to sweep (UCSB), but we've got a young team and we've got to learn that when you lose a tough one you have to be able to come back. We'll treat it like a conference series and try to win the series."