Tuesday, March 31
UT Arlington Knocks Off No. 2 TCU
ARLINGTON, Texas - A seven-run offensive outburst in the seventh propelled UT Arlington past No. 2 TCU in an 8-1 victory at Clay Gould Ballpark on Tuesday night.
"When you have a good atmosphere and a good crowd like we had tonight, kind of like the Texas game at Globe Life, you want to play well," UT Arlington coach Darin Thomas said. "I'll give our guys credit. We played better baseball tonight than we played at the ballpark and we needed win."
The Mavericks (13-14, 4-5 Sun Belt) were propelled by a 10-of-18 performance with two outs on the board which included each of their seven runs in the seventh inning. The game marked the highest run total allowed by the Horned Frogs (21-5, 4-2 Big 12) this season. The win also gave UTA its first win over a second-ranked team since April 20, 2014 when they took down No. 2 Louisiana 5-4.
The UTA offense was brought back to life by Levi Scott who finished the day 2-of-4 at the plate with three RBI and two runs scored. The senior infielder's solo shot in the bottom of the first gave the Mavs their first lead of the day, while his two-out double brought in a pair of runs that helped solidify the victory.
Darien McLemore did his part, going 2-of-3 with one run scored and one walk. Matt McLean also helped out with his 2-of-5 performance with one run and one RBI.
The Maverick pitching efforts were led by freshman right-handed pitcher Daniel James who came away with the victory after allowing three hits and no earned runs in his three innings on the hill. James was part of the Maverick pitching staff that allowed one earned run, while walking one against the Horned Frogs.
Scott put the Mavericks on top early as he went yard on a 3-1 count when he sent the ball deep over the right field wall. The shot, Scott's third home run of the year, put UTA on top 1-0 heading into the second inning.
The equalizer came across for the Horned Frogs in the fifth inning when a triple to the right field wall brought in the tying run.
UTA regained control of the lead with an offensive outpouring in the seventh inning as the Mavs brought in seven runs to take an 8-1 lead into the eighth inning. RJ Williams and Darien McLemore got things started off as they hit back-to-back two-out singles. Brady Cox was able to bring in the go-ahead run as he hit a deep shot to right field that landed between the two outfielders for a two-run double.
The offensive rhythm was contagious as a wild pitch and a walk put runners on the corners with two outs. Matt McLean then continued the trend as his hit took a hard bounce over the first-basemen for an RBI single.
Travis Sibley stepped into the box and sent a bullet up the middle of the field that brought in a run and put UTA up 5-1. The Mavericks continued to go full throttle at the plate as Scott recorded an RBI double followed up with a RBI single by Jerame Littell.
"It's been a while since we've had a little bit of a gap where we can breath a little bit," Thomas said of the Mavericks seven-run inning. "It felt good to do that tonight. It was just a good team win. We pitched it well, played good defense and scored when we needed to against a really good club who we'll be playing in a couple of weeks."
The Mavericks will return to the field this weekend as they travel to Monroe, La. to take on ULM in a three-game series.
A-State Holds on Late to Defeat SEMO
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (3/31/15) – The Arkansas State baseball rallied from a six-run deficit and held on late behind strong relief outings by Chandler Hawkins and Adam Grantham to defeat Southeast Missouri 12-10 Tuesday night at Capaha Field.
Grantham earned his first save of the season after striking out a career-high eight in the final four innings of the game after entering the game with a bases loaded, no out jam in the sixth inning. Grantham struck out the first seven batters he faced and got Garrett Gandolfo, who represented the winning run, to fly out to end the game.
Hawkins (2-5) allowed just two runs on five in three innings of work after entering the game for Bo Ritter who gave up three solo home runs to the RedHawks in two innings of work.
A-State took the lead in the fifth inning when Joe Schrimpf belted his second home run of the run of the year with a 3-run blast to left centerfield to put A-State ahead 7-6. The inning started with Tanner Ring drawing a leadoff walk and Massanelli was hit by a pitch to put two runners on ahead of Scrhimpf.
The inning continued with a pair of singles by Ty White and Jeremy Brown and the Red Wolves’ loaded the bases when Lovell was hit by a pitch to bring up Zach George. A wild pitch allowed White to score to make a two-run lead for Arkansas State.
Following the wild pitch, the RedHawks attempted to give George an intentional pass to first, but the next pitch by Wesley Pyles sailed high and Brown attempted to score from third but was thrown out at home for the second out of the inning. George walked and Burgess grounded out to end the inning but not before A-State plated four runs on three hits to take its first lead of the night.
SEMO scored a run a in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut the A-State lead to 8-7, but the Red Wolves posted three runs in the top of the sixth to push its advantage to 11-7. White drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to make it a 2-run game and Lovell followed with a 2-run single to make it a four-run advantage.
The RedHawks plated a run in the bottom half of the sixth inning to get within three, but Burgess led off the seventh inning with a solo home run off the scoreboard in leftfield to extend his hitting to a team-high 12 games and put A-State up 12-10.
SEMO scored two runs in the eighth inning, the first two allowed by Grantham, and had runners on first and second with two outs in the bottom of the ninth before Grantham got the final out of the to secure the victory.
The RedHawks jumped out in front in the second inning with a pair of solo home runs by Dalton Hewitt and Branden Boggetto and a 2-out RBI double by Trevor Ezell. Hewitt led off the inning with a solo blast to right field, while Boggetto’s blast sailed over the wall in leftfield. Ezell followed with his RBI hit to plate Clayton Evans and give SEMO an early three run lead.
SEMO added to its lead with three more runs in the third inning thanks to a solo home run by Garrett Gandolfo to start the inning. Scott Mitchell drove in another run on an RBI double that chased Bo Ritter from the game after just 2-plus innings of work. Chandler Hawkins entered the game with runners on second and third with no out and allowed just one to run to cross home plate on a groundball out to limit the damage to just three runs in the inning.
Arkansas State responded with a four-run rally in the top half of the fourth inning that spurred with a 1-out solo home run by Collin Massanelli. The Red Wolves scored the final three runs of the inning with two outs, two which scored when Daltan Lovell ripped an RBI single to right field that got by Hewitt and allowed another run to score. Lovell, who made the first start of his career behind the plate, scored on a base by Austin Baker to cut the deficit 6-4 after 3 ½ innings.
Massanelli’s home run was the fifth of his career and his first since 2012 when he had three in a game against UALR.
George extended the nation’s longest on-base streak to 43 games with a 1-out double in the top of the first inning, but the senior third baseman was left stranded as the Red Wolves failed to capitalize on the scoring opportunity.
Schrimpf finished the night 2-for-4 with three RBIs, while Lovell went 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Ring, Massanelli and White also finished with two hits each.
A-State returns to the diamond Wednesday afternoon at Tomlinson Stadium for a non-conference clash with Tennessee. First-pitch is set for 5 p.m.
Mountaineers Complete Season Sweep of High Point
BOONE, N.C. — Six different players drove in runs and four pitchers combined to allow just two earned runs in Appalachian State University baseball’s 8-3 win over High Point on Tuesday evening at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
With the victory, Appalachian State (8-21) snapped an agonizing six-game losing streak and completed a season sweep of High Point (14-13). The Mountaineers beat the Panthers, 4-0, on March 3 in High Point, N.C.
Fifth-year senior Noah Holmes opened the scoring with a solo home run in the second inning and Appalachian State never trailed en route to its 14th win in the last 17 meetings with High Point.
Freshman Conner Leonard provided perhaps the biggest hit of the game with a two-out, two-run single in the fifth inning that turned a slim 3-1 lead into a more comfortable 5-1 margin.
The Mountaineers went on to stretch the advantage to 8-1 before the Panthers plated two runs in the bottom of the eighth to cut it to 8-3. HPU threatened to pull even closer with two runners on base and two outs in the eighth but freshman Ryan Ross got App State out of the jam by coming out of the bullpen and inducing an inning-ending groundout.
Ross retired the side in order in the ninth to seal the victory.
Holmes led the Apps offensively by going 2-for-4 with a double to go along with his third homer of the season in the second. Grayson Atwood also homered and had two hits while Brandon Burris finished 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored to help pace Appalachian’s nine-hit attack.
In addition to Leonard, Holmes and Atwood combining to drive in four runs, Dillon Dobson, Michael Pierson and Chandler Seagle each had an RBI for the Mountaineers.
On the mound, freshman starter Reed Howell struck out seven and did not allow an earned run over 4.2 solid innings before giving way to Dallas DeVrieze, who earned the win with 2.1 innings of scoreless relief. DeVrieze, a sophomore southpaw, evened his record at 2-2 on the season.
Josh Greene had three hits for High Point, which lost for only the fifth time in its last 17 games.
Appalachian State returns to action on Wednesday when it makes the short trip to Greensboro, N.C. to face North Carolina A&T. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Greensboro’s historic War Memorial Stadium.
Gann's Walk-Off Lifts Jags Past Mississippi State
MOBILE, Ala. – Ben Gann delivered a walk-off double in the bottom of the 11th inning to lead the University of South Alabama baseball team to an 8-7 win over Mississippi State Tuesday at Stanky Field.
With the score tied 7-7, Cameron Cummings and Adam Ballew drew consecutive one-out walks off of MSU rigtht-hander Zac Houston. Gann then drilled an 0-1 pitch from Houston into the left-center gap to plate Cummings with the game-winning run.
Cody Van Aken (2-1) tossed two scoreless innings in relief, and struck out two while issuing one walk to earn the win. Houston allowed one run on one hit with four walks and a strikeout in 1 1/3 innings in the loss.
MSU (19-12) jumped out to a five-run lead after the first half-inning. Cody Brown doubled to left field on the first pitch of the game from Jaguar right-hander Matt Peacock. Jake Vickerson followed with an RBI single back up the middle to plate Brown with the game's first run. A single by Gavin Collins put Bulldog runners at the corners with no outs in the inning. Reid Humphreys then delivered an RBI single to center field to score Vickerson and double the MSU lead to 2-0. A throwing error by USA third baseman Bud Collura on a grounder to third off the bat of Jacob Robson loaded the bases with no outs. Consecutive walks to Wes Rea and Ryan Gridley from Peacock forced home two additional runs. Peacock induced a 4-6-3 double play off the bat of John Holland to produce the first two outs of the inning, but also allowed the fifth Bulldog run to score.
USA (19-10) answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. Cole Billingsley reached on an infield bunt single to first base, stole second and later scored on a two-out, RBI single to right field by Danny Martinez to cut the MSU lead to 5-1. A fielding error by Bulldog second baseman John Holland on a ball hit back up the box by Cole Gleason allowed Jared Barnes, who reached on a two-out walk, to score from second and cut the Jaguar deficit to three runs. Adam Ballew drew a two-out walk from MSU southpaw Daniel Brown to load the bases with two outs for Gann, but Brown recorded a strikeout to escape the inning without any further damage.
South Alabama tied the game in the bottom of the second with three runs. Ryan Raspino reached on a leadoff single to extend his hitting streak to eight games. Later in the inning, Matt Bolger delivered a two-run triple to right-center field to cut the MSU lead to one run. Barnes followed with an RBI groundout to second to plate Bolger and tie the game 5-5.
The Bulldogs took a 7-5 lead in the top of the fourth on a two-out, two-run home run to left field by Humphreys. But the Jags answered to tie the game 7-7 in the bottom of the fifth on a one-out, two-run home run to left-center field by Benn Gann – the first of his Jaguar career.
MSU loaded the bases on three consecutive one-out singles in the bottom of the ninth. USA right-hander Ben Taylor struck out Holland for the second out of the frame, and induced an inning-ending groundout to shortstop off the bat of Seth Heck to end the threat and preserve a 7-7 tie.
The Bulldogs threatened again in the top of the 10th. Brown reached on a leadoff single, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Michael Smith. USA intentionally walked Gavin Collins to pitch to Humphreys, who grounded into a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play.
Gann went 2-for-6 with a double, a home run, a career-high three RBI and one run scored to lead the Jaguars at the plate. Bolger finished 2-for-6 with a double, one triple, two RBI, one run and a stolen base. Barnes added a double, one RBI and a run scored, while Billingsley finished with a pair of hits, one run and a stolen base. Brown went 4-for-5 with a double and two runs scored to lead the Bulldogs offensively.
USA will return to action Wednesday when it hosts Jackson State at 6:30 p.m. at Stanky Field.
Cajuns Fall to No. 5 LSU, 8-6
METAIRIE, La. – After falling behind early in the contest, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team saw its upset bid come up short Tuesday night as the Cajuns fell 8-6 to third-ranked LSU in the Wally Pontiff Jr. Foundation Classic at Zephyr Field.
"Our team did a good job coming in here and not letting the door get blown off. We really didn't make good enough pitches early, but we stopped the bleeding and our hitters did a good job of fighting throughout the night," head coach Tony Robichaux said. "Their team reminds me a lot of our team last year. They are big physical hitters and we left the ball up on them early, but other than us not making pitches early I thought this was a winnable game for us.
"This was a great chance for us to show our young players what a regional is like. This game will do nothing but make us better for down the road. Even till the end we continued to fight, but they made the plays when they needed to."
Louisiana (15-11) was outhit 10-8 by the Tigers (24-5). Junior shortstop Alex Bregman had a game-high three hits for LSU finishing a single short of the cycle while driving in four runs.
Brian Mills and Nick Thurman each had two hits to pace the Cajuns offense. Junior shortstop Blake Trahan extended his hit streak to 17 games with a single in the first inning. Stefan Trosclair also kept his streak alive at nine games after recording a single in the seventh inning.
Starter Connor Toups was handed his second loss of the season after giving up three runs on four hits in one inning of work.
Russell Reynolds was the winning pitcher of record for the Tigers to move to 2-0 on the year. Reynolds was very effective in relief holding the Cajuns to two runs on two hits in 4.2 innings with three strikeouts and two walks. Jesse Stallings earned his 11th save of the year facing the minimum in the ninth.
LSU jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first after a sac fly to right by Bregman and an RBI single by Kade Scivicque.
The Cajuns answered in the top of the second as Joe Robbins and Trosclair drew a pair of bases loaded walks to even the contest at 2-all. Louisiana had a chance to push across more runs, but Bregman made a nice play to double up the Ragin' Cajuns on a line drive back up the middle by Mills.
Chris Chinea regained the lead for the Tigers in bottom of the second as he launched a leadoff solo home run over the fence in left.
LSU added three runs in the bottom of the third on a RBI triple by Bregman and a two-run homer by Kade Scivicque. One more crossed for the Tigers an inning later when Bregman followed a Mark Laird double with an RBI double of his own to up the lead to 7-2.
Bregman struck once again with his seventh home run of the year, a solo shot to left with one out in the sixth off of Cajun reliever Wyatt Marks.
But the Cajuns offense came to life in the top of the seventh, cutting the lead to 8-6 with a four-run inning. Robbins started it off with a bunt singe on the third pitch of the inning and Trosclair followed with a single to left field. The Tigers then turned to Collin Strall out of the bullpen, and Mills delivered a hard single up the middle to bring Robbins in for the third Cajun run.
Greg Davis brought in Trosclair with a sacrifice fly two batters later, forcing LSU to go to their third pitcher of the inning. Nick Thurman then greeted Doug Norman with an RBI single through the right side and a fielder's choice by Dylan Butler made it an 8-6 game as Trahan crossed the plate. But Norman ended the rally one batter later by retiring Tyler Girouard on strikes.
Louisiana got a leadoff single from Mills in the top of the ninth, but Bregman turned another double play on ball hit to left side of the infield by his counterpart Trahan and Davis grounded out to end the contest.
The Cajuns return to action this weekend as they host Georgia Southern in a three-game conference series at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field starting Friday at 6 p.m.
Troy Falls to Alabama State
TROY, Alabama – The Troy University baseball team couldn't protect a ninth inning lead as Alabama State scored seven runs in the final frame to top the Trojans 9-3 at Riddle-Pace Field on Tuesday.
Troy (15-15) led 3-2 heading to the ninth when Alabama State (16-11) exploded. With the bases loaded and one out, PJ Biocic doubled down the line in left field, clearing the bases and handing the Hornets a 5-3 advantage. Two batters later, Hunter Allen drove in a run on a sacrifice bunt and a Troy throwing error. Sebastian Rivera later singled home a pair of runs on a single to left.
Troy starter Ben Tidwell was outstanding through seven innings. The senior allowed two runs on eight hits while striking out three. Marc Skinner (1-3) was saddled with the loss after allowing three runs in the relief appearance.
The Hornets opened the scoring in the first inning on an RBI double from Yamil Pagan. Troy responded in the bottom of the second. Trevin Hall led off the inning with a single followed by a single from Nick Masonia. Two batters later, TJ Binder walked to lead the bases and Adam Tewksbury drove home a pair with a single down the right field line.
Logan Hill gave the Trojans a 3-1 lead in the third with his fifth home run of the season – a solo shot to deep center. Gustavo Rios hit a solo blast of his own in the fourth for ASU.
The Trojans stranded nine runners on base in the game as Alabama State out-hit Troy 13-9. The loss was just the eight in 12-plus seasons under Bobby Pierce when Troy entered the ninth inning with the lead. It was also the first blown save by the Trojan pitching staff this season.
Troy will hit the road for a three-game series against Appalachian State over the weekend. It will be the first-ever meeting between the schools.
UALR Drops Midweek Contest to SFA
LITTLE ROCK – UALR baseball (10-14) hit another bump in the road on Tuesday night, taking an 8-0 loss to Stephen F. Austin (10-19) at Gary Hogan Field.
SFA built a quick lead in the top of the first, scoring three runs on three hits and three UALR errors. Matthew Dickey and Hunter Wilson began the frame with singles to give the Lumberjacks runners at first and second base. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, and an error later in the frame allowed both to score. Kyle Thornell reached base on an error and came home later in the inning on a RBI single by Cameron Salvaggio to put the ‘Jacks up 3-0 after one inning of play.
Starter Reed Willenborg pitched 5.0 innings, striking out six and allowed three runs (none earned) on eight hits.
The ‘Jacks tacked on three more runs in the top of the sixth. With Preston Oberling on in relief, SFA followed a pair of two-out walks with a triple to right field by Wilson. Wilson scored later in the frame on an infield single, pushing the ‘Jacks lead to 6-0.
SFA added two runs on three hits in the top of the ninth to bring the game to its 8-0 final score.
“I told the team that we cannot continue to live like this,” head coach Chris Curry said. “We can’t live on the razor’s edge where we get behind, and we think we’re going to battle back. That’s not the way you play the game.”
The UALR offense was quiet for the majority of the night, only getting six hits compared to Stephen F. Austin’s 15. Ryan Scott, Sam Vogel, Kyle Kirk, Mitchell Scheuler, Kyle Barret and Joseph Paulino accounted for each of UALR’s hits.
“We have to keep pushing,” Curry said. “Yes, we had a wonderful weekend, but that’s in the history books. If we want to be a championship level team, we cannot be this inconsistent during midweek games. We’re going to continue working, get better and push these guys to be as good as they can be.”
UALR will return to action in Atlanta on Friday as it takes on Sun Belt foe Georgia State in a three-game series.
Four Home Runs Not Enough for Bobcats as they Fall to Roadrunners
SAN ANTONIO – Cedric Vallieres opened the scoring in the first inning with a solo home run for Texas State, but the Bobcats went quiet until the sixth inning after that. After giving up two runs to UTSA in the bottom of the first and three more in the fourth and fifth innings, Texas State scored struck a home run in the sixth and belted two homers in the eight to come up just short against UTSA, 5-4.
Vallieres and Granger Studdard were impressive from the plate for the Bobcats, both going 2-for-3 with a home run and a walk. Vallieres finished with two RBI and two runs scored while Studdard tallied an RBI and a run. The third home for the Bobcats came from Cory Geisler, who was one of three other Bobcats to tally a hit in the game.
On the mound, Pasquale Mazzoccoli took over in the sixth inning and only gave up one hit with four strikeouts the rest of the way for the Bobcats. His work from the mound settled the team down, and they began their comeback, down 5-2, after solo homers from Vallieres and Studdard.
Studdard gave the Bobcats their second run of the night after Vallieres's first-inning home run. It was Studdard's fourth roundtripper of the season, and his fourth in the past seven games, to make it 5-2 in the sixth inning.
Sticking with the home run theme of the night for Texas State, the Bobcats knocked back-to-back bombs in the eighth inning. Geisler led off with his second of the season and Vallieres followed with his second of the night and his team-leading sixth of the year to close the gap to just 5-4 in favor of UTSA.
Unfortunately, after holding the Roadrunners without a run in the bottom of the eighth, the Bobcats could not close the gap to stay alive in the game in the ninth inning.
Texas State is set to meet Baylor next in a three-game series this weekend. The Bobcats will host the Bears Thursday night at 6 p.m. at Bobcat Ballpark before traveling to Waco for the final two games of the series at 6:30 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday.