Sunday, May 3
Mavericks Complete Sweep over UALR
ARLINGTON, Texas - UT Arlington relied on an impactful pitching performance and 12 hits to close out its series sweep with a 7-2 victory over UALR on Sunday afternoon.
"That was obviously a good weekend for us," UT Arlington coach Darin Thomas said. "We needed it and we talked about it Wednesday at practice for a long time about how we needed to get going and play better. The guys responded and I'm really proud of how we played. We played well when we needed to and we need to keep it up for the rest of the year and see what happens."
The win pushes the Mavericks to 20-26 on the season with an 11-13 mark in conference play, while the Trojans fall to 14-28 overall with a Sun Belt record of 10-13. UTA outscored UALR by 21 runs over the three-game series which is the Mavs largest margin of victory in a series sweep since 2005 when UTA outscored UT Pan American by 24 runs.
A weighty reason for the Mavericks victory was Joel Kuhnel (3-2) who kept the Trojan batters in check. The sophomore right-handed pitcher allowed five hits and no earned runs in his eight innings on the mound, while also striking out seven. Kuhnel retired the first seven batters of the game before allowing a UALR batter to reach base. The Peoria, Ariz. native headlined a UTA pitching staff that walked no batters over the three-game series.
"We've done a good job of throwing strikes," Thomas said. "We came in with the least amount of walks in the Sun Belt and we didn't walk a guy all weekend. When you don't walk somebody in this park it's tough to score. When you're not walking people your defense plays better behind you because they're ready for the ball to be put in play. To go 27 innings without walking a guy is kind of unheard of and I'm very proud of them."
UTA was led offensively by Darien McLemore who went 3-for-5 with two runs and one RBI. Christian Hollie also made his presence known with a 2-for-4 outing that included a pair of RBI.
For the third straight game, UTA jumped out to an early lead with a three-run first inning. The Mavs were able to reach base in five straight plate appearances after coming up empty in their first two at-bats. With a Levi Scott walk and McLemore single putting two on, Eric Tate delivered with a two-RBI double to left field. Jackson Morris' single in the next at bat brought in the final run of the inning to give UTA a three-run advantage.
Singles by Scott and McLemore put two runners on with no outs in the third, but a line out and a foul out made it look as though the Mavericks would come up empty. Hollie removed any doubt with his two-out, two-RBI double to left-center field that put UT Arlington up by five runs.
The Mavs extended their lead by two runs in the sixth with an RBI single by Travis Sibley and an RBI ground out by McLemore.
UALR made a late push in the ninth inning, bringing a pair of runs across, but it was too little too late as the Mavericks held on for a 7-2 victory.
The sweep pushes UT Arlington into seventh place, just one game behind sixth-place Texas State. The top eight teams in the Sun Belt will quailfy for the Sun Belt Conference Championship held in Troy, Ala. on May 20-24.
"Your job is to get in and this more than any other year, from last to first place, there's not a big gap," Thomas added. "Last year Lafayette was head and shoulders above everybody else and we finished second. This year an 11-18 team is not going to get in because everybody is winning. Anybody can beat anybody. It's one of those years where you just get in and see what happens."
The Mavericks will return to action on Tuesday night when they travel to take on No. 15 Dallas Baptist. First pitch at Horner Ballpark is slated for 6:30 p.m.
Jags Complete Sweep of Eagles
STATESBORO, Ga. – The University of South Alabama baseball team scored multiple runs in four different innings to defeat Georgia Southern 11-4 and complete a three-game sweep of the Eagles.
USA (32-17, 17-7 SBC) recorded 13 hits in the game, led by Cole Billingsley who went 3-for-4 with a double, two RBI, four runs scored and a stolen base. Bud Collura finished 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored, and Ryan Raspino added a career-high three hits and three runs scored, and Adam Ballew and Matt Bolger had one hit and two RBI apiece.
South Alabama jumped out to an early three-run lead in the top of the first inning. Billingsley reached on a hit by pitch to lead off the game, and advanced to second on a single to right-center field by Ben Gann. Collura followed with an RBI single back up the middle to score Billingsley for a 1-0 USA lead. Ballew advanced both runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt for the first out of the frame. A balk by Eagle left-hander Connor Simmons scored Gann and doubled the Jaguar lead. Bolger followed with a sacrifice fly to plate Collura and extend the South Alabama lead to 3-0.
Georgia Southern (27-21, 16-11 SBC) answered with its first run of the game in the bottom of the third. The Eagles put the first two batters on base on a leadoff single from Cody Lanford and a walk by USA starter Jared Gates to Cal Baker. Gates induced a popup into foul territory at third off the bat of Kent Rollins on a sacrifice bunt attempt for the first out of the inning. Lanford advanced to third on a wild pitch to put runners at the corners with one out before Kody Adams singled back up the middle to plate Lanford and cut the Jaguar lead to 3-1.
Gates issued a leadoff walk to Hunter Thomas to start the bottom of the fourth, and Dalton Busby followed with a single to right field. Baker delivered a two-out RBI single to left field later in the inning to score Thomas and cut the USA lead to one run.
USA loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the fifth on singles from Raspino, Billingsley and Collura, and extended its lead to 5-2 on a two-run single to right field by Ballew. Bolger then delivered an RBI single to center field to push the Jag lead to four runs.
A pair of walks issued by USA right-hander Cody Van Aken resulted in two GSU runs in the bottom of the fifth on a two-out, two-run double to left field by Busby to cut the Eagle deficit to two runs. Consecutive walks issued by southpaw Shane McKinley loaded the bases for GSU later in the inning. Ben Taylor entered in relief and worked the Jags out of the jam with an inning-ending strikeout of Baker.
Garrett DeGallier reached on a one-out walk, and moved to third on a single to left field by Raspino to set up runners at the corners in the top of the sixth. Billingsley followed with a one-out double off the right field wall to plate DeGallier and give the Jags a 7-4 lead. A wild pitch allowed Raspino to score for a 8-4 USA lead. Gann then singled back up the middle to score Billingsley for a 9-4 Jag advantage.
Raspino reached on a one-out single to left field in the top of the eighth, stole second and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Billingsley followed with an RBI single to right field to push the USA lead to 10-4, stole second and moved to third on a deep flyout to right field by Gann before scoring on a wild pitch with the final run of the game.
Van Aken (3-1) allowed two runs on two hits with a strikeout and a pair of walks in one relief inning to earn the win. Taylor struck out six and allowed one hit in a season-high 4 1/3 innings pitched to earn his seventh save of the year.
The win extended South Alabama's Sun Belt Conference winning streak to seven games, and marked its second straight sweep of a league opponent after taking three games from Georgia State last weekend at Stanky Field.
"It was a huge to come on the road and get three wins against a good Georgia Southern team," head coach Mark Calvi said. "Our guys played fantastic. We pitched well when we needed to – there were a few too many walks – and our guys just played well together. We played very good defense and got some timely hits. Our kids just played hard. They enjoy playing together, and they feed off of each other. They did a really nice job this weekend. I couldn't be more proud of this group."
USA will return to action next weekend when it travels to Lafayette, La., for a three-game SBC series with Louisiana-Lafayette.
Texas State Wins Big Series over Georgia State
ATLANTA – Texas State won an important series Sunday over Georgia State, the Sun Belt Conference leader at the start of the weekend. The Bobcats clinched the series with an 8-5 victory over the Panthers behind the work of Blake Whitter on the mound and timely hitting. With the win, Texas State improves to .500 at 12-12 in the Sun Belt Conference and 20-26-1 on the season.
After three scoreless innings, Texas State exploded for five runs in the fourth for what would prove to be an overwhelming lead over Georgia State. Granger Studdard led off with a walk and showed his wheels with his first stolen base of the season. He was able to score from second base when Tanner Hill knocked a rocket through the right side.
Hill's hit started a streak of four consecutive singles from the Bobcats. Ben McElroy, David Paiz and Colby Targun all followed with their hits. For the inning, the Bobcats benefitted from four hits, a walk and an error to score five runs.
In the fifth inning, Texas State kept bringing the pressure. Studdard reached base on an error, one of four for Georgia State on the day. Hill and Paiz would knock a single and a walk respectively behind Studdard. With bases loaded, a groundout from Targun plated Studdard to put the Bobcats up, 6-0.
Georgia State, though, showed why it is one of the better offensive teams in the Sun Belt Conference with five runs in the next two innings. The Panthers used a walk, a single and a sacrifice fly to score one in the bottom of the fifth. Then, after giving up just a hit by pitch in the top of the sixth, Georgia State scored four runs to pull within one in the sixth.
They started with a single and a double, and followed that with a walk. Two more singles completed a four-run inning for the Panthers to get within striking distance of the Bobcats.
Texas State freshman Luke Sherley gave the Bobcats some breathing room in the seventh. After going the entire series without a hit, he knocked his first hit against Georgia State with two runners in scoring position. Both McElroy and Targun got on base with walks, and Sherley knocked a double to left centerfield to plate them both. The Panther outfielders collided on the play for the second time on the weekend, and the Bobcats gained some insurance runs to go up, 8-5.
Nobody else would score from that point. Blake Whitter made an impressive outing, going four innings in relief. He only gave up one run on four hits against the powerful GSU offense to keep Texas State in the lead.
Targun and Hill led the Bobcats with two hits apiece while Studdard, McElroy, Paiz and Sherley all tallied a hit in the game. Studdard, McElroy and Targun each scored twice while Targun and Sherley led the team in RBI with two each.
Next up for the Bobcats is a game at Texas at 6 p.m. Tuesday. After that, Texas State will host the final two series of the regular season against Arkansas State and UT Arlington to close out the season before the Sun Belt Conference Championship Tournament in Troy, Ala., on May 20-24.
Troy Takes Series Finale from UL Monroe
MONROE, Louisiana – The Troy University baseball team jumped out to a 6-0 lead and held on late to win the series finale over ULM 8-5 on Sunday at Warhawk Field.
The Trojans (26-22, 14-10 Sun Belt) nearly saw a six-run lead slip away as ULM scored three runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh to pull to within a run. However, Logan Hill launched his eighth home run of the season, a two-run blast to left, to help Troy pull away.
Austin Crook (4-0) was phenomenal through five innings, taking a two-hit shutout into the sixth. With a runner on base, Keelin Rasch drove a ball over the wall in left for a two-run home run. One pitch later, Justin Stawychny crushed a solo homer off the light pole in straightaway left to cut the Trojans lead to 6-3.
The Warhawks (23-25, 10-14) scored twice of reliever Corey Childress to pull within one. Hill's home run in the eighth helped seal the game for the Trojans. Ben Tidwell tossed the final 2 1/3 innings to earn his second career save.
Troy opened the scoring in the first inning on and RBI single by David Hall. In the second, Tripp Calhoun singled home Nick Masonia and Reid Long legged out an infield single to score Shaw Pinnell. Hall would strike again in the fifth when he doubled to left-center, Logan Hill, who led off the inning with a single, scored on the base hit. TJ Binder followed with an RBI single. Long collected his second RBI of the game with a single in the sixth.
David Hall finished the game 3-for-5 with two doubles and is now 8-for-10 with eight RBIs for his career against ULM in series finales. He also extended his hitting streak to 15 games. Hill also finished with three hits, he has reached base safely in 21 straight games.
Troy collected six extra base hits in the game as Calhoun, Binder and Masonia all contributed doubles. The team has also recorded double-digit hits in eight of its last 10 games.
The Trojans will play its final regular season midweek contest on Wednesday as Florida A&M visits Riddle-Pace Field. First pitch is set for 5 p.m.
Mountaineers Take Series from UL Lafayette with Sunday Win
BOONE, N.C. — On Appalachian State University baseball’s Senior Day, senior Jeffrey Springs pitched into the ninth inning to lead the Mountaineers to a 7-4 victory over UL Lafayette in the rubber match of a three-game Sun Belt Conference series on Sunday afternoon at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
Making the final home start of his Appalachian State career, Springs took a no-hitter into the fifth inning and kept UL Lafayette’s high-powered offense at bay for much of the afternoon.
Despite throwing 116 pitches through eight innings, Springs went back out to the mound with a 7-3 lead in the top of the ninth. However, after a walk, a single and a sacrifice fly cut the deficit to 7-4 and inflated Springs’ pitch count to 131, the left-hander exited the game to a standing ovation from the Senior Day crowd.
Robert Whaley, another one of the nine Appalachian State seniors honored during a pregame ceremony, replaced Springs and easily retired the only two batters he faced to seal the win and earn his first save of the season.
After UL Lafayette blasted six home runs, recorded 12 extra-base hits and plated 20 runs on Saturday, Springs limited the Ragin’ Cajuns to four runs on five hits over 8.1 innings on Sunday. The Cajuns managed only two extra-base hits against the senior southpaw.
While Springs kept UL Lafayette’s offense in check, it was Appalachian State (15-34, 7-19 Sun Belt) that provided the fireworks at the plate with 12 hits, including five for extra-bases.
The Mountaineers scored one run in the second inning and two in the third to grab an early 3-0 lead but broke the game wide open with homers by Dillon Dobson and Conner Leonard in a three-run fifth.
Dobson opened the three-run frame with a solo shot to right-center field, his team-leading 11th homer of the season. Two batters later, Leonard followed with a towering two-run blast to left that gave App State a commanding 6-0 advantage.
That would be more than enough for Springs, who surrendered the Cajuns’ only runs on a three-run homer by Greg Davis in the sixth and Nick Thurman’s sacrifice fly in the ninth. Springs struck out five en route to moving to 4-1 on the season.
The first four hitters in Appalachian State’s batting order — Brandon Burris, Dobson, Michael Pierson and Leonard — had two hits apiece and combined to go 8-for-15 with a double, triple, two home runs, five RBI and six runs scored. Brian Bauk also had two hits for App State.
The Mountaineers torched UL Lafayette freshman starter Wyatt Marks for three runs on seven hits in just 3.2 innings to hand Marks (5-1) the first loss of his career.
No batter recorded multiple hits for UL Lafayette (30-17, 14-9 Sun Belt).
With final exams scheduled for this week, Appalachian State does not return to action until it closes Sun Belt play with a three-game series at UT Arlington next weekend. Game times are set for 7:30 p.m. ET Friday, 3 p.m. ET Saturday and 2 p.m. ET Sunday in Arlington, Texas.
A-State Doomed by Six-Run Inning in Loss to Kansas State
MANHATTAN, Kan. (5/3/15) – The Arkansas State baseball team took a short-lived 5-4 edge into the bottom of the sixth inning, but allowed six K-State runs in the frame as the Red Wolves lost the rubber game to the Wildcats by a score of 12-6 Sunday afternoon at Tointon Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kan.
The game was tied 4-4 before Lucas Feddersen singled to right field and stole second base with two outs in the top of the sixth. Zach George followed with a double to right field to plate Feddersen for the 5-4 edge. However, K-State (23-24) led off the bottom of the inning with three straight singles, the third of which tied the game off A-State (19-26) reliever Colton Kibler. A bunt single and sacrifice fly later the Wildcats had a 6-5 lead.
Carter Yagi tripled to right-center field to score two more runs and chase Kibler from the game. Chandler Hawkins came in to pitch in relief and gave up a sacrifice fly to make the score 9-5 before Tyler Moore hit his second home run of the series to put the score at 10-5. K-State added another run in the bottom of the seventh off Hawkins before Jeremy Brown drove in Stuart Levy in the top of the eighth to bring A-State within 11-6.
The Wildcats added an unearned run off of reliever Collin Nord to make the score 12-6 and the score would hold as the Red Wolves were retired in order in the top of the ninth. Kibler took the loss for A-State as he allowed five runs (all earned) on five hits in 1.1 innings. Starter Tyler Zuber tossed four innings and gave up four runs (all earned) on five hits with two walks and a strikeout.
K-State’s Brandon Erickson took the win as he pitched 2.2 innings and allowed two runs (both earned) on four hits with no walks and two strikeouts. Kansas State starter Bryce Ward only lasted 3.1 inning as he gave up three runs (all earned) on five hits with one walk and one strikeout.
Offensively, George led A-State with a 3-for-5 effort with one RBI, while Austin Baker, Matt Burgess, Tanner Ring, and Feddersen all had two hits each. Baker knocked in two runs, while Jeremy Brown and Ring also had one RBI. The Wildcats were led by Max Brown and Tyler Moore as both led the home team with three hits each.
The Red Wolves got on the scoreboard first for the third straight game against the Wildcats when Baker hit a two-run shot to right-center field to score George and give the visitors a 2-0 edge in the top of the first. George led off the game with a single to extend his nation-best on-base streak to 62 games.
The Wildcats responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first with the first run coming on a balk by Zuber. Max Brown singled home Tyler Wolfe to tie the score at 2-2, but the Red Wolves got out of the inning when Levy picked a runner off of second base.
Arkansas State threatened in the top of the third when Baker led off with a double to right field. Burgess moved Baker to third with a ground ball to second base and Ring drove him home with a ground out to second base for a 3-2 Red Wolves’ advantage. K-State tied things up on another Max Brown single in the fourth inning and later took the lead on a RBI ground out by Clayton Dalrymple.
The Red Wolves travel to Conway, Ark., in its next action for a nonconference contest with UCA.