Friday, March 27
Walk-Off Pushes Trojans Past Mountaineers
LITTLE ROCK – UALR baseball (8-13, 5-4) pulled off its third walk-off hit of the season with a 2-1 win in its first-ever meeting with Appalachian State (7-19, 2-8) on Friday night.
Junior Kyle Kirk earned UALR the win with a one-out walk-off hit in the bottom of the ninth inning. Kirk went 2 for 4 with one RBI. Kirk was the only Trojan batter with multiple hits.
UALR and Appalachian State were silent on offense for most of the night. The Trojans managed to scrape up four hits compared to the Mountaineers’ three.
“It was a pitcher’s night,” head coach Chris Curry said. “There wasn’t much offense, just good pitching.”
Appalachian State got out to an early lead in the first inning with a solo home run with one out. Starter Jarrid Garcia picked up his first strikeout of the game to earn the second out. App State filed out to center to end the threat in the top of the first with two runners on base.
UALR responded in the bottom of the first with a run of its own. With one out, Jason Prevatt was hit by a pitch. Prevatt advanced to second with a UALR ground out to second. Tanner Rockwell then singled up the middle to score Prevatt from second to tie the game at 1-1.
Garcia pitched 5.1 innings before being relieved by Dyllon Brownmiller with one out in the top of the sixth. Garcia ended the night with six strikeouts and gave up one run, three hits and five walks on 107 pitches.
Brownmiller pitched 2.2 solid innings of relief without giving up a hit and striking out three. He was relieved by fellow senior Cameron Allen to begin the top of the ninth.
“Brownmiller did what he’s been doing all year long,” Curry said.
Allen kept the Mountaineers in check by only throwing eight pitches to end the top half of the frame.
Prevatt led off the bottom of the ninth with a single to right field. Without a hit for the night, Ryan Scott sacrificed the opportunity to extend his hitting streak to 18 games as he laid down a sac bunt down the third base line, advancing Prevatt to second.
“Ryan Scott showed his unselfishness with a hitting streak on the line, and we asked him to give it up to lay down a beautiful bunt,” Curry said.
Rockwell then grounded out to second, advancing Prevatt to third. With the winning run only 90 feet away and an 0-2 count, Kirk hit an opposite field single to left to bring home Prevatt.
Appalachian State’s Taylor Thurber came into tonight’s game as the reigning Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week. Thurber almost pitched a complete game with 8.2 innings on the mound, striking out six and giving up two runs on four hits. Thurber only walked one Trojan batter.
“We won the game because they are tough kids,” Curry said. “I’ve said it all year. I’ve told them I’m fired up to go through a season with you guys because of your toughness, resiliency and what you’ve been through, and they keep coming back.”
The Trojans will continue their three-game series with the Mountaineers on Saturday with the first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. at Gary Hogan Field.
Late Offense Pushes Texas State Atop the SBC
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Georgia Southern started strong against Texas State with two runs in the second inning and no-hit pitching into the fourth. However, the Bobcats broke through with three runs in the fifth and kept going with a run in the sixth and two in the seventh to secure a win in a battle of first place teams in the Sun Belt Conference and improve to a conference-leading 7-3.
Granger Studdard knocked the first hit of the game for Texas State with a double in the fourth. The Bobcats couldn't get much else going in the inning, but busted through in the fifth. Freshman Derek Scheible knocked a single up the middle and Luke Sherley followed with one through the right side. With two men on, junior Cory Geisler knocked a double down the left line to pull the Bobcats within one, 3-2.
Geisler would score two batters later when David Paiz brought him home with a line drive to shallow center field for his team-leading 16th RBI of the season, tying the game, 3-3, and completing a three-run inning for the Bobcats.
The Eagles would go ahead again in the sixth, but the Bobcats tied it with another run from Scheible. He reached base with a walk and moved to second on a single from Theodore Hoffman. Sherley knocked another single to plate Scheible and tie the game yet again.
In the seventh, the Bobcats would go up by two. Cedric Vallieres hit a double to left field and Paiz reached on an error. Studdard loaded the bases with a hit by pitch, and then Tanner Hill, a hometown product, laced a double down the left field line to score two and put the Bobcats up, 6-4.
The Bobcats would need the insurance run as Georgia Southern scored one in the eighth but could get nothing else against closer Blake Whitter, who earned his fifth save of the season. Lucas Humpal struck out nine batters and walked three in a seven-inning start.
Paiz and Sherley both finished the night with two hits and an RBI apiece. Hill had two RBI on his big hit while Geisler added two on his. Vallieres, Studdard, Scheible and Hoffman all tallied a hit in the game.
Texas State will look for the team's second win in the series behind Scott Grist on the mound at 3 p.m. Saturday and finish up with a 12 p.m. first pitch on Sunday.
Bates Pitches Panthers Past UTA, 5-2
Arlington, Texas -- Nathan Bates pitched seven shutout innings to lead Georgia State to a 5-2 win at UT Arlington Friday at Clay Gould Ballpark. With the win, Georgia State (15-12) improved to 4-2 in the Sun Belt to move into second place in the league standings.
Bates, the 6-7 junior right-hander, allowed six hits and struck out five with three walks to improve to 3-0 on the season.
"Nathan was just a very difficult guy to hit tonight. He had all his pitches going," head coach Greg Frady said. "We think he's one of the best in the business on Friday night, and we need him to pitch like that, and he absolutely did tonight."
Bates began the game with a 1-0 lead to work after Ryan Blanton led off with a double, moved to third on a sacrific bunt and then scored on Caden Bailey's groundout.
"Taking the lead gave us confidence, and we played really well all night long," Frady said.
The Panthers added a run in the third, when Justin Jones and Bailey led off with back-to-back singles, and Matt Rose, returning from injury, plated Jones with a sacrifice fly. Rhett Harper's RBI-single in the sixth pushed the lead to 3-0.
The score remained 3-0 into the eighth inning, when Cam Sperry delivered a pinch-hit single to bring home two insurance runs.
Those runs proved important when the Mavericks loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the eighth and then got run-scoring singles from Brady Cox and Christian Hollie to pull within 5-2 before Wayne Wages recorded the final two outs of the inning.
Kevin Burgee pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn his fourth save of the season and the 12th of his career, to move into second place in Georgia State history.
UTA starter Chad Nack (2-2) pitched seven innings, allowing five runs on 11 hits.
The Panthers earned their third Sun Belt road win, equalling their total for all of last season, their first in the league. Georgia State also snapped a four-game losing streak in which the Panthers were playing without Rose and his eight home runs (third in the nation).
"It made a major different," Frady said of having Rose back. "Matt Rose just brings a confidence, a calmness and a consistency to our lineup that lets everybody just be themselves."
Game 2 of the series is scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m. ET.
Hill Leads Jaguars Past Warhawks in Series Opener
MONROE, La. – Jaguar right-hander Kevin Hill tossed six scoreless innings to help lead the University of South Alabama baseball team to a 12-2 series-opening win over Louisiana-Monroe Friday at Warhawk Field.
Hill (3-0) scattered 10 hits and struck out six without issuing a walk to extend his consecutive scoreless streak to 15 innings and earn his third win of the season. Cody Van Aken tossed three innings, and allowed one earned run on three hits with a pair of strikeouts and one walk.
ULM (12-11, 2-5 SBC) threatened Hill just once. The Warhawks loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the first on three consecutive singles from Kodie Tidwell, Justin Stawychny and Nathan Pugh. But Hill escaped the jam with an inning-ending strikeout of Danny Springer to preserve a one-run Jaguar lead.
USA (17-9, 6-4 SBC) held an eight-run lead after the game's first four innings. Cole Billingsley led off the game with a double to right field, and moved to third on a groundout to shortstop off the bat of Jared Barnes. Bud Collura followed with a sacrifice fly to center field to score Billingsley with the game's first run.
South Alabama loaded the bases in the top of the second when Cole Gleason reached on a one-out error, and Matt Bolger and Garrett DeGallier reached on consecutive walks. Billingsley then delivered a two-out, two-run single to center field later in the inning to score Gleason and Bolger and extend the Jag lead to 3-0.
Collura reached on a leadoff single in the top of the third, and scored later in the inning on a two-out RBI single to right-center field by Gleason to increase the USA lead to 4-0.
USA added to its lead in the top of the fourth when DeGallier led off the inning with a single, and later scored on a two-out RBI triple off the left-field wall by Barnes for a 5-0 advantage. A Warhawk fielding error with two outs on a ball hit to first off the bat of Collura allowed Barnes to score and push the USA lead to 6-0. Adam Ballew followed with an RBI single to center field to score Collura and move the USA lead to 7-0. A second ULM error in the inning on a ball put in play off the bat of Danny Martinez to allow Ballew to score and extend the Jag lead to 8-0.
A two-out, two-run single to left field by Bolger in the top of the sixth pushed the USA lead to 10-0. DeGallier followed with an RBI single to center field to extend the South Alabama lead to 11 runs.
ULM scored its first runs of the game in the bottom of the seventh on a two-run single to center field by Stawychny to cut the Jaguar lead to 11-2.
The Jags added their final run in the top of the ninth, while the Warhawks scored their final two runs of the game in the bottom-half of the ninth.
Every Jaguar starter had at least one hit, led by DeGallier who finished 3-for-3 with an RBI and one run scored. Billingsley went 3-for-6 with two RBI and one run scored, and Bolger added two hits, two RBI and three runs scored. Tidwell finished 4-for-4 with one run scored to lead ULM offensively.
USA will attempt to clinch the series in game two Saturday at 6 p.m.
Long Leads Trojans Past Alabama A&M
TROY, Alabama – Troy freshman Reid Long came up a double shy of hitting for the cycle on Friday as the Trojans topped Alabama A&M 10-2 at Riddle-Pace Field.
Long was 3-for-3 in the game with three RBIs and four runs scored. The Marianna, Florida, native blasted a two-run home run in the first inning, singled in the third and tripled in the fifth. Long had two opportunities to collect a double but walked in his second plate appearance in the fifth innng and saw four consecutive balls in the eighth. Danny Collins recorded the last cycle in Troy history in 2013.
Troy (12-14) got things going in the first as Cameron Sanders walked to lead off the frame. Long then launched a 1-0 pitch over the wall in right field for his third home run of the season. Troy has now scored first in 13-of-26 games and is out-scoring opponents 24-15 in the first inning.
The Trojans struck again in the third inning. After loading the bases with two outs, Peyton Fuller singled home Long and Trevin Hall with a two-out double.
Grant Bennett (5-1) was again solid on the mound as the Sun Belt Conference strikeout leader fanned seven batters over seven innings of work en route to his fifth win of the season. Bennett is now 4-0 with a 1.72 ERA at Riddle-Pace Field.
The Trojans plated five runs in the fifth courtesy of a Logan Hill RBI double followed by a trio of Alabama A&M errors. Hill later added another RBI double in the eighth and collected three hits in the contest to record his third three-hit and sixth multi-hit game of the season. He also extended his reached base streak to nine games.
The Bulldogs (16-11) scored in the fourth on an RBI triple from Andrew Utterback and again in the ninth on a Boston Martinez-Neal RBI single.
Troy and Alabama A&M will play a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Two-Our Runs Carry A-State Past Cajuns
LAFAYETTE, La. (3/27/15) – The Arkansas State baseball team scored five of its first seven runs with two outs before pulling away from Louisiana-Lafayette late in a 10-4 victory over the Ragin’ Cajuns Friday night at M.L. Tigue Moore Field in Lafayette, La.
The Red Wolves (11-12, 3-6 SBC) and Ragin’ Cajuns (13-10, 5-4 SBC) were tied at 2-2 going into the fifth inning, but Jeremy Brown doubled down the right-field line to start the frame off and Austin Baker walked to put runners on first and second with nobody out. Zach George singled home the go-ahead run when he hit a one hopper that glanced off ULL’s starting pitcher Gunner Leger’s glove into the outfield. The Red Wolves added another run when the Ragin’ Cajuns booted a ground ball to take a 4-2 lead.
Louisiana-Lafayette appeared poised for a big inning of their own in the bottom of the fifth when back-to-back singles put runners on the corners with no outs. However, second baseman Joe Schrimpf made a spectacular back-handed play with a glove flip to the bag to start a 4-6-3 double play that prevented the big inning despite one run scoring on the play. A-State starter Tyler Zuber induced a ground out to end the inning to maintain the 4-3 advantage.
Arkansas State extended the lead to 5-3 when Matt Burgess homered to right field with two outs in the seventh inning for his second round-tripper of the season. The Red Wolves added two more two-out runs in the top of the eighth inning on a wild pitch and bases loaded walk to carry a 7-3 edge to the bottom of the inning.
The Ragin’ Cajuns scored a run in the eighth, but A-State put the game out of reach in the ninth inning when Ty White bunted a run home and Brown singled home two more to set the score at 10-4. Colton Kibler pitched a perfect ninth after coming on in the seventh inning to record his third save of the season. He gave up one run on one hit with one walk and two strikeouts in three innings of work.
Zuber improved to 3-2 with the win for the Red Wolves and tossed a career-high 116 pitches as he battled through some control problems early in the game. He gave up three runs (all earned) on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts. The sophomore right-hander also hit two batters as he allowed the lead-off hitter to reach base in the first five innings, but never let the Ragin’ Cajuns score more than one run in any inning.
Leger took the loss for Louisiana-Lafayette, his first of the season, after throwing five innings and allowing four runs (all earned) on five hits with one walk and three strikeouts. The ULL bullpen gave up against six runs (all earned).
Offensively, White led A-State with three hits and one RBI, while Schrimpf and Brown each had two hits and two RBIs apiece. The Ragin’ Cajuns only had six hits on the night with no player registering more than one.
ULL scored the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly in the third, but A-State quickly responded in the fourth when Collin Massanelli was hit by a pitch with two outs to spark a rally. Tanner Ring singled after the HBP and Schrimpf picked up two RBIs on a double down the left-field line that gave A-State a 2-1 edge. Louisiana-Lafayette left fielder Brian Mills quickly tied things up at 2-2 when he hit his first home run of the season to lead off the bottom of the fourth.
The Red Wolves and Ragin’ Cajuns square off again Saturday in Lafayette, La., with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. at M.L. Tigue Moore Field. Fans can watch tomorrow’s game on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.