Sunday, February 21
Late Rally Lifts ULM Past Southeastern in Series Finale
HAMMOND, La. – Trailing 4-1 and down to its final three outs, ULM rallied to even Sunday’s game at 4-4 and the Warhawks went on to defeat Southeastern Louisiana, 6-5, in 10 innings at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
Pinch hitter Vincent Dellocono got things going in the ninth as he hit a blooper into no man’s land along the left field line. With one out in the frame, Anthony Herrera reached on a fielding error and Nathan Pugh drew a walk to load the bases. Spencer Hemphill drove in one and another run scored as he was able to reach base thanks to a fielding error. Dalton Todd was able to even the game at four apiece as he drove in Pugh with a sacrifice fly to left.
In the 10th, ULM (1-2) put a pair of runners in scoring position (Danny Springer and Cody Stone) with no outs. Later in the frame, with two outs, Cade Stone delivered a two-RBI single to put the Warhawks in front, 6-4.
Southeastern (2-1) closed the gap to one run on a homer by Jameson Fisher, but that would be all the Lions would get as ULM claimed victory in the series finale.
Warhawk reliever Anthony Herrera earned the win in relief after pitching the final two innings. He allowed one run on one hit with one walk and one strikeout.
Southeastern relief pitcher Derrick Mount was charged with the loss after surrendering five runs (one earned) on three hits and one walk with three strikeouts.
The Warhawks struck first as they plated a single run in the top of the first inning. Cade Stone led off the frame with a single to center and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Anthony Herrera. After a walk by Pugh, Hemphill drove in Stone with a single over the head of leaping shortstop Kennon Menard.
Southeastern took a 4-1 lead after the Lions scored four unearned runs in the home half of the third inning. Sam Roberson tied the game at 1-1 when he scored on a muffed throw by Hemphill. The Lions took the lead on a two-RBI triple by Daniel Midyett and he later scored on wild pitch to push Southeastern’s lead to three.
Following the four run inning by the Lions, neither team pushed any runs across until the Warhawks three-run burst in the top of the ninth.
Jags Earn Series Sweep over Evansville
MOBILE, Ala. – Drew LaBounty recorded four hits and drove in seven runs to lead the University of South Alabama baseball team to an 18-5 win and series sweep over Evansville Sunday at Stanky Field.
LaBounty went 4-for-4 with a home run, seven RBI and three runs scored to lead the Jaguar offense that tallied 16 hits. His four hits and seven RBI were both career highs, while his home run was the first of his career at USA.
South Alabama (3-0) jumped out to a seven-run lead in the bottom of the first inning, highlighted by an RBI double by Danny Martinez, an RBI single by Carter Perkins, a two-run single by LaBounty and a three-run home run by Ryan Raspino.
"We came out and swung the bats well again," head coach Mark Calvi said. "I thought we were super aggressive; we did a nice job. We had seven different guys with RBI, and four guys drove in multiple runs so it wasn't just one guy doing damage – it was across the board. We did a good job throwing the first punch today, which is what we talk about. I thought we did a nice job and were ready to play. I'm proud of the guys for that effort."
Evansville (0-3) answered in the top of the second with a three-run home run to left field by Shain Showers to cut the USA lead to 7-3.
Left-hander James Traylor (1-0) came on in relief of starter Austin Bembnowski in the second inning, and retired the first 10 batters he faced. The southpaw allowed one run on one hit with three strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings to earn the win.
"James was key in today's victory," Calvi said. "We put up a lot of runs, but he came in and settled the game down. (Austin) Bembnowski's first inning was good, but then things went a little bit south for him. James Traylor did an outstanding job, and we kept swinging the bats for him. It's huge to have him back this year with his leadership. He's a fifth-year senior and has been around the block a lot for us, and it's great to have him back this year and today."
USA added a pair of runs in the bottom of the third. Perkins led off the bottom of the inning with a double down the left field line and later scored on a throwing error by UE catcher Boomer Synek on a stolen base by Brendan Donovan for a five-run advantage. LaBounty followed with an RBI single to plate Donovan and push the Jag lead to 9-3.
The Jags pushed their lead to 11-3 in the bottom of the fifth on a one-out, two-run home run to left field by LaBounty, but UE answered with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth on solo home runs by by Synek and Jonathan Ramon to cut the UE deficit to six runs.
USA tacked on five runs in the bottom of sixth on a two-run single by Adam Wolfe, an RBI single from LaBounty and a two-out, two-run single by Cole Billingsley. An RBI triple by Donovan and RBI sacrifice fly from LaBounty accounted for the final runs of the game in the bottom of the seventh.
UE right-hander Brandon Gomer (0-1) allowed seven runs on five hits with one strikeout in one inning in the loss.
Perkins went 3-for-4 with two doubles, one RBI and three runs scored, Raspino finished 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI and two runs scored and Donovan finished 2-for-4 with a triple, one RBI and three runs scored for the Jaguars. Showers went 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI and a run scored to lead the Purple Aces at the plate.
South Alabama will return to action Tue., Feb. 23, when it hosts Alabama State at 6:30 p.m. at Stanky Field.
Clement Ties School Record as Cajuns Complete Sweep
LAFAYETTE, La. – Senior outfield Kyle Clement tied a school record with five hits as the sixth-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team exploded for 13 runs on 17 hits to complete the sweep of Sam Houston State with a 13-3 victory on Sunday at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field.
"Out hitters were a little tight I think opening night. We thought they would loosen up as weekend went on, and they really did," head coach Tony Robichaux said. "Over the weekend it was just a great total effort as we were able to pitch, play defense and get timely hitting."
Clement is now the 22nd player in program history to post five hits in a contest with his career-high five-hit effort. The senior drove in two runs and scored twice on the day as well.
Junior second baseman Brenn Conrad was also perfect on the day for the Cajuns (3-0) going 3-for-3 with two RBI and scored a run.
On the mound, freshman Nick Lee went 4.0 innings in his debut allowing two runs on three hits with two walks and three strikeouts in a no decision.
"For a freshman I didn't think he got overwhelmed," Robichaux said. "He's pitching in front of a big league crowd that he didn't have a South Beauregard. What you want in that situation is that you don't want to get overwhelmed first of all. The second thing you want is to stay away from the big inning. What he did a great job of today was to stay away from a big inning."
Senior Eric Carter picked up his second career victory after holding the Bearkats (0-3) to one run in 3.0 innings with three strikeouts.
Sam Houston starter Cody Brown was handed his first loss of the year after being chased in the third inning having given up three runs (two earned) on five hits.
The Ragin' Cajuns quickly jumped out to a 3-0 edge in the bottom of the first sparked by RBI singles by Conrad and Clement.
The Bearkats cut into the Louisiana lead in the top of the third inning on an RBI groundout by Riley McKnight following a double to left by Taylor Beene to make the score 3-1.
Sam Houston would pull within a run in the top of the fourth when Robie Rojas singled home Zach Smith with two outs.
The Cajuns got a run back in the bottom half of the fourth on a two-out double to left by Stefan Trosclair that scored Joe Robbins from second but saw Conrad get thrown out at the plate.
The Bearkats again cut the lead to one run, 4-3, in the fifth on an RBI single up the middle by outfielder Bryce Johnson.
Louisiana pulled away though in the bottom half of the fifth inning scoring five runs on four hits and an error to take a 9-3 advantage. Clement got the inning going with an infield single and then scored on a SHSU throwing error.
The Ragin' Cajuns would get RBI singles from Conrad and Clement in the fifth as well as an RBI double by shortstop Brad Antchak.
After tacking on a run in the sixth inning, The Cajuns added three more in the seventh on RBI singles by Ishmael Edwards, Jam Williams and Nick Thurman.
Chris Charpentier, Nick Zaunbrecher and Reagan Bazar combined to throw two shutout innings to close out the contest.
Louisiana returns to action on Wednesday at 6 p.m. as the Cajuns head to Ruston, La. to face Louisiana Tech for the first time since 2008. Following the matchup with the Bulldogs, the squad head to Houston, Texas next weekend for the Shriners College Classic.
Fans can purchase tickets for the Shriners College Classic by going to www.astros.com/collegeclassic.
For updates and info on Ragin' Cajuns baseball, follow the squad on twitter @CajunsBaseball or check RaginCajuns.com.
Troy Completes Opening Weekend Sweep
TROY, Alabama – The Troy baseball team completed the opening weekend sweep with a 4-2 victory over Northern Kentucky on Sunday at Riddle-Pace Field.
The last time the Trojans completed an opening series sweep was in 2013, when Troy defeated Florida A&M all four games. 2013 was also the last time Troy won 40 plus games and made an NCAA Regional appearance.
"I'm really excited about our teams performance this weekend," head coach Mark Smartt said. "Any team you can sweep a team doesn't matter when or where in the year it is, it's always great to go 4-0. I don't know if I could've asked for anything more and I'm really proud of the way we played."
With the game tied at 2-2 in the seventh inning, back-to-back walks put runners at first and second with one out. Matt Sanders delivered with a double to left center field that scored Bert Givens and gave the Trojans (4-0) a 3-2 lead. The next batter, Trevor Davis, flied out deep down the left field line but Steven Whitaker scored on the play.
Northern Kentucky (0-4) scored early in the second inning on a leadoff solo home run by Mike Moffatt. It was the first time Troy had fallen behind all season. Troy answered in the fourth inning when Davis scored on a sacrifice fly from Chase Smartt that tied the game at one.
Both teams scored in the sixth inning, the Norse scored in the top half on a Moffatt single to left field that put them ahead 2-1. He finished the day 2-for-4 and drove in both of Northern Kentucky's runs. Reid Long drove in the tying run in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI double off the wall in right field.
Trey Johns (1-0) picked up the win for Troy pitching 1.1 innings out of the bullpen. Corey Childress earned the Trojans first save of the season as he closed out the final two innings and struck out three.
Freshman Cory Gill got the start, but came away with a no decision. He pitched five innings, only allowed one earned run on three hits and struck eight Norse, the most of any starting pitcher this season.
Sanders went 2-for-4 at the plate today with a double and the go-ahead RBI. Four other Trojans picked a hit in Joey Denison, TJ Binder and Long, who had the only other extra base hit.
Troy gets back to the action on Wednesday, when they host in-state rival UAB at 6 p.m. at Riddle-Pace Field.
Resilient Bobcats Stay Undefeated
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State had to fight through an impressive freshman pitcher for Washington State and the Cougars' best offensive outing of the young season, but fight the Bobcats did on their way to a 7-6 victory Sunday.
Getting contributions from every part of the lineup, Texas State proved to have enough in the bats in an important sixth inning to score the needed runs paired with impressive defense to stay undefeated and improve to 3-0.
The Bobcats had answered Washington State's threats with a three-run sixth inning, and went to the ninth with a two-run lead, 7-5. After two walks and a bunt single, Texas State was facing loaded bases with no outs when Jaylen Hubbard, Jonathan Ortega and Tanner Hill teamed up for a big double play to limit the Cougars to just one run. Pasquale Mazzoccoli, on the way to his first save of the season, forced a line out to Hill in the next at-bat to clinch the game for Texas State.
The Texas State offense tallied eight hits on the day, one more than Washington State. Freshman Nick Perez led the squad, going 2-for-4 with the tying RBI in the sixth inning while Theodore Hoffman finished with a hit, an RBI and two runs scored. Granger Studdard was efficient (1-for-2 with two walks and a run) while Cody Lovejoy, Ryan Newman, Luke Sherley and Hubbard all went 1-for-3.
In addition to Mazzoccoli's big save on the mound, the Bobcats also saw impressive innings from Chase Hodson. He finished with four strikeouts, two walks and just one hit in 2.2 innings. Jonathan Hennigan tallied four strikeouts as well.
For the first time in the series, Washington State scored first with a two-run homer in the second inning after Studdard robbed the Cougars of a run in the first inning with a running catch at the left field wall.
Facing a 2-0 deficit, Texas State was able to answer in the bottom of the third. Sherley worked the count for a leadoff walk, and Hubbard followed with a well-placed double to the right field corner. With runners at second and third, Ortega plated Sherley on a groundout for the first Bobcat run of the day. The next batter, Lovejoy, tied the game, 2-2, with a sacrifice fly to score Hubbard.
In the top of the fourth, Hoffman brought the offensive momentum to the defensive side with an outstanding diving catch in right field for the first out. In the bottom of the inning, Hoffman kept it rolling with a score to put the Bobcats ahead, 3-2. He reached on an error and stole second. A groundout pushed him to third base before Sherley brought him in with a base knock to right field to put the Bobcats up.
Washington State was able to respond and take the lead with a two-run homer and an RBI single in the top of the fifth for a 5-3 Cougar lead, but the Bobcats would pull ahead for good in the sixth inning.
Studdard led off with a single to centerfield and went all the way to third on the next play when Hill ran out a WSU error. With runners at the corners, Hoffman pulled the Bobcats to within one run when he knocked a double to right centerfield to bring in Studdard. Perez tied it up with a base hit through the right side to score Hill, and Newman put the Bobcats up with an RBI single to right field to plate Hoffman.
Texas State scored another run in the seventh inning. Lovejoy led off with a single and went to second on a Studdard walk. Hill pushed him to third base on a ground out, and Lovejoy scored on a balk. The error for Washington State proved to be huge as Hubbard's double ninth-inning double play limited the Cougars to just one run despite having bases loaded with no outs.
The Bobcats and Washington State will meet for the series finale at 5 p.m. Monday with Justin Dellinger on the mound for Texas State and freshman righty Ryan Ward for the Cougars. After that, the Bobcats will travel to Houston to face Rice at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Little Rock Gets Walk-Off Win Over Indiana State
LITTLE ROCK – With bases loaded, a walk-off hit-by-pitch pushed Little Rock baseball (2-1) past Indiana State (3-1) by a score of 6-5 on Sunday at Gary Hogan Field.
Junior outfielder Hunter Owens had a very special day offensively as he went a perfect 5 for 5 at the plate with two doubles and three singles. His five hits tied the team record for hits in a single game, and he became just the 13th Trojan player to accomplish the feat.
The scoring began in the second inning as Indiana State put a run on the board. Tyler Friis singled to second before stealing second and third on separate plays. Andrew Gutierrez grounded out to Trojan starter Joe Corbett, but Friis was able to cross the plate for the Sycamores' first run.
Little Rock came out swinging in the bottom of the third inning with three runs on four hits. Owens earned his second hit of the game as he singled to short with one out. After, Ryan Scott did the same as Owens to put runners on first and second. Dalton Thomas came through with an RBI double to center field as Owens crossed the plate for the Trojans' first run. Matt McDowell was clutch with runners on second and third as he belted a two-run single into center to give Little Rock a 3-1 lead heading into the fourth.
After Little Rock's big inning, Indiana State stole the spotlight with three runs in the top of the fourth inning. With two outs and three runners on base with walks, Andy Young doubled and advanced to third on the throw home as the Sycamores once again took the lead at 4-3.
Not to be outdone, Little Rock got a rally going in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs and no runners on, Ty Gunter and Hayden Martin walked. With an 0-2 count, Owens earned his second double and third hit of the game as Gunter made his way from second to tie the game. Scott then hit an RBI single to center as Martin came around to push the Trojans in front at 5-4.
After a solid four-inning, four-strikeout performance by Dylan Slayton in relief, Little Rock went to the bullpen with one out in the top of the ninth inning. McDowell came on to pitch, but Indiana State wasn't going to go down quietly. Jeff Zahn hit for Gutierrez and singled to center. Tony Rosselli then came on to run for Zahn. After Young walked to put the tying run at second, Keenan Wingfield made his second appearance of the season out of the Trojan bullpen. Andy DeJesus walked to load the bases for Indiana State, and Hunter Owen singled to short as Rosselli came home to tie the game at 5-5. Little Rock worked itself out of a jam with a double play coming into effect after the runner slid high into second on a ground out, causing umpires to call the hitter out as well at first base.
The momentum suddenly shifted as Owens became the first player since former Trojan Tanner Rockwell to get a fifth hit with a single to left. Scott walked, forcing the Sycamores to go to the bullpen for the third time. The first pitch from reliever Ethan Larrison sailed all the way to the backstop, allowing Owens and Scott to move into scoring position with no outs. Dalton Thomas was then intentionally walked to load the bases. Triston Polley came on in relief for Indiana State, but his second pitch to pinch hitter Seth Jones struck Jones in his first Division I at-bat to end the game as Owens walked home for the 6-5 win.
"There's a lot of heart in that dugout," head coach Chris Curry said. "I'm proud of this club in the early going, but we have to stay humble and keep working. There are still a lot of good players that haven't played yet that we need to see."
Little Rock's win is just the second over Indiana State all-time as the first victory occurred in 2005.
The Trojans will now focus their efforts on the first road trip of the season as they visit Louisiana Tech on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Mavs Bats Come to Life in 13-7 Win over SFA
ARLINGTON, Texas – The UT Arlington bats came alive early and often in the finale of the Clay Gould Classic on Sunday evening as the Mavericks led wire-to-wire in a 13-7 win over Stephen F. Austin.
The 2-3-4 hitters in the Mavericks order drove in a combined nine runs, including four RBI on three hits by Caleb Koedyker. Darien McLemore reached base four times and was one of three Mavs to score three times on a night that saw UTA (2-2) deliver 15 hits and score nine times in the first three innings off of SFA starter Eric Polivka.
UTA starter Austin Gardner was solid in his Maverick debut, picking up the win after working into the sixth inning and allowing three runs – all in the third frame – on seven hits. That came against an SFA offense that was coming off a dramatic 5-4 win in 10 innings over No. 7 Oklahoma State in the first game of the day.
Colton Turner drove home the first run of the game in the bottom of the first with an RBI single, and one inning later the Mavs broke open with a four-run frame. McLemore and Brady Cox got things going in the inning with consecutive one-out hits in front of RJ Williams' RBI single, the first hit of his 2-for-4 night.
A wild pitch scored another run and Koedyker got his first RBI when he beat out an infield single with Williams scoring behind him to make it 4-0. Christian Hollie then plated the first of his three RBI with a single through the right side off of SFA reliever Seth Campbell.
SFA (2-2) got three of those runs back in the top of the third, but UTA answered with another four-run inning in the bottom half. Quintin Rohrbaugh got the rally going with a leadoff double and scored all the way from second one batter later on a sacrifice fly from Jerame Littell deep into the right-center field alley.
Koedyker struck again with a hard two-run single later in the inning and Hollie followed for the second straight at-bat with an RBI single of his own to give UTA a 9-3 lead after just three innings.
Gardner surrendered the ball to reliever Jacob Moreland in the sixth and the senior worked out of a mini jam in leaving two Lumberjacks on base. UTA would then add on to its lead in the bottom of the seventh with three more runs on RBI from Koedyker, Hollie and Turner.
SFA finally got some offense going again in the top of the eighth with Garrett McMullen hitting a leadoff home run, followed by three more scores before Adam Meyer came in and got the final two outs of the inning.
McLemore finished off the UTA scoring attack in the eighth when he scored on a wild pitch and Maverick stopper Daniel James retired three aof the five hitters he faced in a scoreless ninth.
The Mavs will get Monday off before traveling to Waco on Tuesday night to take on Baylor at 5:35 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark.
Mountaineers Drop Final Game of Myrtle Beach Tournament
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Appalachian State University baseball committed three errors and issued nine walks in a 12-3 loss to Old Dominion in the final game of the Caravelle Resort Tournament on Sunday at Pelicans Ballpark.
Appalachian State (0-3) and Old Dominion (3-0) both had nine hits and left seven men on base but ODU capitalized on Appalachian’s miscues to cruise to the victory.
Four of Appalachian State’s five pitchers walked at least one batter, including starter Colin Schmid, who issued five free passes in 3.1 innings of work. Despite allowing only four hits, the left-handed true freshman surrendered six runs and suffered the loss in his collegiate debut.
The Monarchs also benefitted from three Mountaineer errors that led to three unearned runs.
Despite the rough outing on the mound, Schmid was Appalachian’s top contributor at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Fellow true freshman Beau Myers also went 2-for-4 with a double and scored two runs. Another rookie, Tanner Mann-Fix, went 2-for-3 with a walk in his first-career start.
In all, freshmen combined for seven of Appalachian State’s nine hits. Sophomores were responsible for the other two.
Old Dominion’s Connor Myers led off the game with a home run and finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored. Cleanup hitter Kyle Beam also homered and finished 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored to help pace the undefeated Monarchs.
Appalachian State returns to action on Tuesday when it travels to face national power South Carolina. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. at USC’s Founders Park in Columbia, S.C.
Purdue Rallies Late to Defeat Panthers
story to follow
Eagles Drop Series Finale at Georgia
ATHENS, GA. – Georgia Southern dropped a 5-1 decision on Sunday afternoon to Georgia. The Eagles were held to just two hits to lose the opening series of the season. The series loss snaps a run of four-straight series wins over Georgia for the Eagles which dates back to 2005. Georgia Tech comes to J.I. Clements Stadium on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. midweek game that can be seen on ESPN3.
WORDS FROM THE SKIPPER
"Kevin Smith pitched really well for Georgia today," said Head Coach Rodney Hennon. "He did a good job getting ahead in the count and mixing his pitches. We weren't able to get a lot going offensively and that is an area we're going to improve on over the next week. Despite that, we really played good defense as a whole for the three-game series. We had a chance to finish a couple double plays today and they scored both times we didn't finish a double play. Unfortunately when you're struggling offensively, there is a small margin of error and that caught up with us today."
CRUCIAL MOMENTS
BOTTOM 4TH – A leadoff double for Keegan McGovern opened the door for the first run of the game. LJ Talley drove him in, reaching on a fielder's choice to the right side which allowed McGovern to scamper home.
TOP 5TH – A one-out walk to Cal Baker turned into a run after small ball got him to second base and a couple of miscues by UGA. A wild pitch allowed him to get to third, but a late and high throw by the catcher sailed into left as Baker scooted home to tie the game.
BOTTOM 5TH – UGA scored four runs, two earned in the fifth inning to blow the game open. Kegan McGovern drove in two with his double off the wall in center. Two more scored on Wren's fielding error when he dropped a fly ball for the potential third out.
NOTES
- Jordan Wren, who opened the season 0-for-10 got in the swing of things with a pair of hits in the fourth and sixth innings. He lashed a pair of balls to centerfield to open his hits account at Georgia Southern
- Starting pitcher Brian Eichhorn went 4.0 innings in his collegiate debut, allowing three hits and a run. He also walked one and struck out one but did not factor in the decision.
- Georgia Southern lost the series to the Bulldogs for the first time since 2004 after taking four-straight season series.
- After opening the season on the road, Georgia Southern is back home for their next 10 contests at J.I. Clements Stadium.
NEXT GAME
Georgia Southern returns home this week for the 2016 home opener on Wednesday evening at J.I. Clements Stadium. Georgia Tech comes to the friendly confines for their annual trip to Statesboro and a 6 p.m. first pitch. The game can be seen live on ESPN3 with radio coverage across the Georgia Southern Sports Network.