Sunday, February 28

Panthers Complete Four-Game Sweep with 13-0 Win
ATLANTA -- Bryce Conley tossed six scoreless innings in Georgia State's 13-0 (7) win over Coppin State, completing a four-game sweep that included three straight shutouts.

Conley (1-0), the junior right-hander, allowed three hits and struck out seven while issuing just one walk to earn his first victory for Georgia State. Wayne Wages pitched a scoreless seventh in the seven-inning game, giving the Panther staff 24 straight scoreless innings.

Jaylen Woullard, Rhett Harper and Sam Few drove in two runs each for the Panthers (5-2), who scored two runs in the second, six in the third and five in the fifth.

In the four-game series, GSU pounded out 55 hits and scored 64 runs. The pitching staff allowed just four runs, all coming in the eighth inning of Game 1, and struck out 41 with just four walks. They were supported by excellent defense as the Panthers committed only one error in the four games.

Senior catcher Joey Roach had two homers, two doubles and seven RBI in the series, while third baseman Jarrett Hood led the tam with eight RBI on the weekend. Woullard also drove in seven.

"Today was more of a culmination of the entire weekend, and I really liked how we played," head coach Greg Frady said. "Our offense was on point, our defense was on point and our pitching was on point, so definitely a good weekend.

"I think the team did a good job of not worrying about the game score or the other team and just doing the job. Everybody stayed committed to what we're trying to do as a team."

The Panthers play at Georgia Tech Tuesday at 4 p.m. and then return home for a three-game weekend series vs. Minnesota, beginning Friday at 4 p.m. at the GSU Baseball Complex.

Jags Defeat Cincinnati Behind Bembnowski
ATHENS, Ga. – Austin Bembnowski struck out six in seven innings to lead the University of South Alabama baseball team to a 3-2 win over Cincinnati Sunday in the Bulldog Invitational at Foley Field.

Bembnowski (1-0) allowed two runs on four hits and issued one walk to go along with his six strikeouts to earn his first win of the season. Jaguar left-hander Shane McKinley recorded the final two outs of the game in the two batters he faced to earn his first save of the year. UC left-hander A.J. Olasz (0-1) allowed one run on four hits with three strikeouts and a pair of walks in 4 1/3 innings in the loss.

"Austin was really good today," head coach Mark Calvi said. "It was very reminiscent of last year. One of the things I told him is the thing he needs to correct moving forward is that he will let his guard down and get to feeling good about the game, and that's when he gets hurt. It happened again today, but he responded. He is toughing it out. He had a bad high ankle sprain, and it's not an easy thing to come back from so I give him a lot of credit. I loved the way he responded. I didn't like the fact that he kind of backed off and gave up the home run, but he came right back and looked like a real guy out there before and after that. I was super proud of the way he responded. Overall, I'm very proud of his day and the team as well."

USA (6-1) threatened in the top of the first inning when Cole Billingsley singled to center field with one out, moved to second on a wild pitch from UC right-hander David Orndorff and advanced to third on a flyout to right-center off the bat of Jared Barnes. But Orndorff left him stranded at third with an inning-ending strikeout of Danny Martinez.

South Alabama broke a scoreless tie when it pushed across a pair of runs in the second inning. Drew LaBounty drew a leadoff walk, and scored one batter later when Adam Wolfe lifted a 1-2 pitch from Orndorff over the left field wall for a two-run home run – the first of his Jaguar career – and a 2-0 lead.

Cincinnati (0-6) answered to tie the game in the bottom-half of the third. R.J. Thompson led off the inning with a single to center field, and scored one batter later on a two-run home to center field by A.J. Bumpass.

USA scored the decisive run of the game in the top of the seventh inning. Jason Cryar pinch-hit for Travis Swaggerty and reached on a leadoff walk before moving to second on a groundout to first by Billingsley. Martinez drew a two-out walk before a hit by pitch from Olasz to Carter Perkins loaded the bases. The Bearcats then called on right-hander Jarod Yoakam to pitch to Ben Gann, who delivered an RBI single to right field to score Cryar for a 3-2 Jaguar lead.

However, UC did not go quietly in the ninth inning. Devin Wenzel led off the inning with a single into shallow right-center field off of Jaguar right-hander John Barr, and Connor McVey followed with a single to center field. Barr induced a popup into foul territory off the bat of Woody Wallace that Barnes caught near the backstop for the first out of the inning before McKinley entered in relief and recorded a flyout to center field for the second out of the frame on the first batter he faced. The southpaw then closed out the game with a grounder to shortstop, which LaBounty fielded and stepped on second for the final out of the contest.

Billingsley went 3-for-3 to lead the Jaguars at the plate. Wolfe added a home run, two RBI and a run scored, and Gann finished with one hit – extending his hitting streak to 10 games dating back to last season – and one RBI. Bumpass homered, drove in two runs and scored once to lead the Bearcats offensively.

"All in all, I look at it and we won two out of three (games) and we could have very easily swept this weekend," Calvi said. "We made some mistakes yesterday as a program, but if it causes us to win a ballgame down the line after what we did then I am all for losing a game early if it helps us win a bunch down the line. And I think that will be the case."

South Alabama will return to action Tue., March 1, when it hosts Southern Mississippi in a 6:30 p.m. contest at Stanky Field.

Warhawks Outlast Catamounts, 16-10
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The ULM baseball team rallied from a 6-3 deficit and claimed a 16-10 win over Western Carolina on Sunday afternoon at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium. The finale win gave the Warhawks a 2-1 series victory.

After Western Carolina (1-5) scored six runs between the second and third inning, ULM (3-3) roared back with a five-run fourth inning to regain the lead at 8-6. All five of the runs scored by the Warhawks in the frame came with two outs. With Reynolds standing on first, Cade Stone pulled the visiting squad within one as he connected on his first homer as a Warhawk. After back-to-back walks by Herrera and Pugh, Spencer Hemphill smacked his third homer of the weekend to catapult the Warhawks back into the lead.

Western Carolina’s Nobu Suzuki singled and moved to second on a throwing error to start the bottom of the fourth. Later in the inning, he came around to score (unearned) on a RBI groundout by J.D. Long as the Catamounts cut the deficit in half.

With runners on the corners and one out in the top of the fifth, Cade Stone laid down a sacrifice bunt that allowed Barefoot to race home and push ULM’s lead back to two runs at 9-7.

In the seventh inning, the Warhawks were able to load the bases with one out. Barefoot reached base via an error at shortstop and then with one out, Cade Stone and Herrera picked up back-to-back singles. Pugh followed with a RBI single to right as Barefoot was able to trot home. ULM’s next two runs came from Hemphill and Jacob Stockton as each player picked up a RBI via a bases loaded walk, extending the Warhawks’ lead to 12-7.

Western Carolina climbed back within two runs (12-10) after pushing across a trio of runs in the home half of the seventh. The Catamounts three runs came on a sacrifice fly, fielder’s choice/error and a RBI single.

Barefoot was hit by a pitch to start the Warhawk eighth and Reynolds followed with a bunt single. Cade Stone laid down a bunt single and thanks to a throwing error he was able to move all the way to third base while Barefoot and Reynolds both scored to double ULM’s lead from two runs to four runs (14-10).

Josh Faciane scored on a wild pitch and Dalton Todd scored on a Springer RBI single in the ninth to set the final tally at 16-10.

ULM jumped on Western Carolina starter Korey Anderson with three consecutive hits to start the game. Cade Stone led off with a double and moved to third on an Anthony Herrera single. Nathan Pugh then drove in both Stone and Herrera with a double to the gap in left center.

In the top of the second inning, Danny Springer got things going with a double to right field and then moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Brian Barefoot. Springer was able to trot home on a Nathan Reynolds RBI single up the middle.

Western Carolina plated four runs in the bottom of the second to take a 4-3 lead. Garrett Brown highlighted the frame as he delivered a two-RBI double and thanks to an error he ended up clearing the bases.

The Catamounts pushed the lead to three (6-3) as Danny Bermudez connected on a solo homer to center to lead off the bottom of the third and Kramer Ferrell scored on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third.

ULM’s five run fourth inning gave the Warhawks a lead they did not relinquish.

Eagle Bats Come Alive in 10-2 Win over Radford on Sunday
STATESBORO, GA. – Georgia Southern Baseball scored early and often en route to a 10-2 win over Radford to close the weekend's four-game set. The Eagles (4-4) took three of four in the weekend series win over the Highlanders (1-6) to set-up a midweek showdown with former SoCon foe College of Charleston. The game on Tuesday night starts at 6 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN3.

QUOTEABLES
HEAD COACH RODNEY HENNON
"Eichhorn did a really nice job out of the gate – we got a strong effort from him. We were able to get some lead off men on base today and when we did, the guys did a nice job of executing. It was good to see some guys step up. Cal Baker had a big triple today and we played solid defense the last three games. It was overall a good effort."

PLAYER OF THE GAME
Brian Eichhorn // RHP // Fr. // Richmond Hill, Ga.
After taking a no-decision in his first outing at Georgia, Brian Eichhorn responded with six innings of four-hit ball on Sunday to claim his first collegiate win. The freshman from Richmond Hill fanned four and walked two while allowing just one run on the afternoon. After an inauspicious leadoff walk to start the game, Eichhorn settled down and picked off a runner while striking out two to work a clean first frame.

SCORING RECAPS
BOT 1ST – The Eagles looked to play small ball in the first, but had the inning blown open with back-to-back singles by Ryan Cleveland and Jordan Wren. The first run scored on Wren's RBI single while a second crossed on Logan Baldwin's sacrifice fly.
BOT 2ND – Georgia Southern got two more runs in the second thanks to an RBI triple by Cal Baker. A single through the left side by CJ Ballard later in the inning made it 4-0.
BOT 5TH – The lead grew to 6-0 thanks to two more runs in the fifth. A double by CJ Brazil opened the inning. He reached third by stealing third on a ball that got away from the catcher. He rounded third and steamed for home, but looked a likely out, but an error by the Radford pitcher allowed Brazil to score. More ball handling issues ensued when Jordan Wren scored on a passed ball later in the frame.
TOP 6TH – The Highlanders cashed in a Johnsonbaugh double for a run in the sixth for their first run of the game with a fielder's choice to the left side of the infield as the visitors ruined Eichhorn's shutout bid.
TOP 7TH – Radford scored again an inning later, this time touching relief pitcher Anthony Paesano for a run on a flared bunt into no-man's land on the right side. The attempt found the grass over the pitcher's head, but between the first and second basemen to cut the lead to 6-2.
BOT 7TH – Ryan Cleveland's leadoff walk came back to haunt the Highlanders in the seventh as Kent Rollins laced a single through the left side to plate Cleveland from third and make the lead 7-2 entering the home stretch.
BOT 8TH – Georgia Southern tacked on three more unearned insurance runs in the eighth inning when a throwing error opened the door to start the frame. Cleveland doubled to right and reached third as two runs scored. Another run came across when Jordan Wren's ground ball to second was booted, allowing Cleveland to scamper home and make the final score 10-2.

NOTES
- The Eagles went 3-2 over five games this week which spanned a total of 50 innings. Georgia Southern's starting pitching went 26.1 innings and allowed a 2.73 ERA. The bullpen posted a microscopic 0.38 ERA in 23.2 innings.
- Cal Baker made his first start of the season at shortstop, replacing Evan McDonald who was a medical scratch and was not at the park on Sunday.
- CJ Brazil made his case for the All-Pain team this weekend when he was hit by three pitches. He now leads the team standings over Kent Rollins and Will Hudgins with two each.
- Sunday's game clocked in at 2:48 which made it the longest regulation game of the year for the Eagles. Each of the other four nine-inning games finished in less than two and a half hours. The weekend finale was well under the 4:45 played in Wednesday's marathon 16-inning loss to Georgia Tech.
- After an 0-for-10 start, Jordan Wren has become one of the Eagles' most productive hitters. He has eight hits over the last six games including a triple and two RBIs. He has scored four runs of his own in that span and stolen a couple of bases.

NEXT GAME
Georgia Southern is back home on Tuesday night as a familiar foe comes to town. The Eagles will face former SoCon foe College of Charleston in a midweek game on ESPN3. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at J.I. Clements Stadium with tickets available at the gate.

Bobcats Close Out Weekend with 11-0 Win
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Texas State put on the team's most impressive performance of the season in the Kleberg College Classic finale against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Committing no errors, piling up 13 hits and 11 runs, and tallying 11 strikeouts with no runs allowed, the Bobcats dominated TAMUCC in an 11-0 run-ruled victory to improve to 5-3 on the season.

Jonathan Hennigan put on such an impressive performance that he was able to stake a spot on the All-Tournament Team in the final game of the tournament. He struck out nine batters and only allowed two walks and four hits with no runs in six innings of work. He made it two pitchers on the All-Tournament Team for the Bobcats as Jeremy Hallonquist also made it for his impressive performance against UCF on Saturday.

While the pitchers were outstanding on Sunday, the Bobcat bats popped. Luke Sherley cemented his spot on the All-Tournament Team and nearly stole the MVP award with a 3-for-4 day with two RBIs and two runs scored. The completed a tournament performance of 7-for-12 with five RBIs, a home run and three runs scored.

He wasn't the only offense for the Bobcats on Sunday though. Jonathan Ortega, Granger Studdard and Tanner Hill all tallied two hits apiece in the game, combining for five runs and two RBI. The big RBI-hitter on the day was Ryan Newman. He hit his first career home run to score two runs and tallied his third RBI later in the game. Meanwhile, Hill struck a home run for the 100th hit of his Texas State career.

The Bobcats wasted no time before piling up runs on the scoreboard. Sherley continued to show off his hot bat when he shot a single through the left side and looked to start a trend. Studdard and Theodore Hoffman followed with consecutive singles to the same spot with Hoffman plating Sherley for the early 1-0 lead. Studdard was able to score a batter later, scoring on a groundout for a quick 2-0 lead for the Bobcats.

After a quick bottom of the first that saw two strikeouts from Hennigan, the Bobcats struck again in the second inning. Hill knocked his solo home run to left field to lead off the inning.

In the bottom of the inning, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi threatened with a two-out triple from Justin Perales, but it would be to no avail thanks to Hennigan on the mound. With two outs and TAMUCC at third base, Hennigan struck out his fourth batter of the day to close out the inning and hold on to the 3-0 Texas State lead. He would strike out an Islander for the third out of the inning with a runner at third base three more times throughout the day, culminating with his ninth strikeout of the day with runners at second and third in the sixth inning.

The Bobcats were able to carry the momentum into the third inning. Hoffman worked the count for a walk and his Brenham, Texas counterpart, Newman, brought him home with his first career home run. Newman struck the ball to the opposite side of the field to add two more runs to the Texas State total.

Texas State continued to pour it on in the fourth inning. Cody Lovejoy showed off impressive speed to stretch a routine single into a double. Behind him, Ortega knocked his first hit of the tournament to move Lovejoy to third and advanced to second himself on the throw. With runners at second and third, Sherley continued his hot streak with a base hit to the shortstop to plate Lovejoy.

The Bobcats weren't done there. Studdard earned a walk to put runners at the corners after they were caught stealing. With that setup, Texas State pulled off the double steal with Studdard heading to second and Ortega scoring to push the Bobcat lead to 7-0.

In the sixth inning, the Bobcats added another run to the tally when Jared Huber crossed home plate. He reached on an error and went to second when Lovejoy earned a walk. At second base, Huber moved to third and scored on consecutive groundouts to improve the Texas State lead to 8-0.

The Bobcat offense stayed on fire into the eighth inning. With the top of the lineup up to bat, Ortega, Sherley and Studdard hit three consecutive singles to plate Ortega and increase the Bobcat lead to 9-0. A batter later, Nick Perez knocked a two-RBI single up the middle to score Sherley and Studdard for an 11-0 Texas State lead.

With that, Texas State was in play for the run-ruled victory. Calvin Bush finished the Islanders off with two strikeouts in the eighth inning, including the game-clinching strikeout to end the game. He was the second freshman to pitch on the day with Brayden Theriot throwing the seventh, only allowing one hit and getting the needed three outs in just eight pitches.

The Bobcats return home to host Texas on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in a game that will be televised on Time Warner Cable Sports Channel. After that, Texas State will welcome Incarnate Word to San Marcos for a weekend home stand.

Mavericks Salvage Final Game of Series with Louisiana Tech
RUSTON, La. -- Brady Cox tied a career high with four hits and the UT Arlington Mavericks worked out of a jam in the ninth to salvage the final game of a three-game series over Louisiana Tech, 5-4, on Sunday afternoon at J.C. Love Field.

The Mavs (4-4) left 16 runners on base on the day, but took advantage of their opportunities in a four-run sixth inning that saw them turn a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 advantage. Louisiana Tech (5-2) got a run back in the bottom of the sixth before the UTA bullpen was able to keep them off the board the remainder of the way.

Tech made things interesting in the ninth, loading the bases with just one out for Sean Ullrich; but Maverick closer Daniel James got Ullrich to ground to Josh Minjarez at shortstop for a game-ending double play.

"It was a good win today," coach Darin Thomas said after the game. "It was a good ball game and had some tight situations we were able to get out of, but I thought they got out a lot of tight situations too. We needed the win. Hopefully we can learn from some of the mistakes we made. That was a good club we played."

Adam Meyer was one of five UTA arms to see the mound on the day, and earned his first UTA win with 1.1 innings of relief of starter Austin Gardner who went 4.1 innings with three strikeouts and three runs allowed. James allowed a pair of hits and an intentional walk, but still managed to get the game's final three outs in a scoreless ninth to earn his second save of the year.

Nate Harris took the loss for the `Dogs, allowing the go-ahead run in the decisive sixth inning.

The Mavs out-hit the Bulldogs for the second time in the series, 14-10, and were able to capitalize on seven walks by the Tech pitching staff. Four of those free passes were issued to Matt McLean, who reached base in five of his six plate appearances with a pair of runs scored and an RBI. Sophomore RJ Williams added three hits and a run scored out of the nine-hole, while Colton Turner, Noah Vaughan and Christian Hollie all picked up an RBI.

UTA took advantage of a pair of walks and a wild pitch to score first for the second straight game in the top of the first inning. McLean started the inning with a leadoff walk and moved to third on a single by Hollie. Two batters later Tech starter Cameron Linck uncorked a wild pitch to Quintin Rohrbaugh, who reached base three times on the day, allowing McLean to scamper home for the game's first run.

But for the second straight day the Bulldogs answered with multiple runs in the bottom half of the inning, getting an RBI double from Ullrich and an RBI ground out from Taylor Love to go in front 2-1 after one frame.

UTA left a runner on base in the third and had a great chance to even things up in the fourth when they got runners on second and third with nobody out. But Louisiana Tech reliever Graham Ahlrich got Williams to line out to second for the first out, and after an intentional walk to McLean, got Caleb Koedyker to ground into a double play to end the inning unscathed.

The Mavs couldn't do anything with a one-out double from Turner in the top of the fifth and the `Dogs took advantage one batter into their half of the inning when Marshall Boggs parked the first pitch he saw from Gardner over the left-field fence for a solo home run that pushed the lead to 3-1.

But an inning later the Mavs' offense finally broke through, taking a 5-3 lead with a four-run inning against three Bulldog arms. Singles from Cox, Darien McLemore and Williams to open the inning began the rally and McLean cut the lead to 3-2 on a bases-loaded walk. Run-scoring ground outs from Vaughan and Hollie upped the lead to 4-3 and Turner capped the inning with his second hit of the day, an RBI single to left with two outs.

Tech got a pair of hits to open its half of the inning, but Meyer followed by getting a pair of ground outs -- the second scoring a run -- before handing the ball off to Jacob Moreland who got Boggs to pop out to first base to end the inning with the tying run standing on third base.

The Mavs left the bases loaded in the top half of the eighth and the Bulldogs threatened to tie things up in the bottom half after consecutive one-out singles from Cody Daigle and Love. Darin Thomas then went to the bullpen for freshman lefty Ryan Van Leeuwen who needed just two pitches to get Jonathan Washam to ground into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning and keep the Mavs out in front.

The Mavs will stay on the road for a midweek clash at Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. in Nacogdoches before returning home on Friday to open a four-game series against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

App Drops Two on Sunday to Quinnipiac
BOONE, N.C. — Despite getting 15 strikeouts from its starting pitchers, Appalachian State University baseball dropped both ends of a doubleheader against Quinnipiac on Sunday at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium. Appalachian State lost the opener, 7-2, and fell in the nightcap, 3-2.

Appalachian State starting pitcher Colin Schmid struck out seven over six innings in the opener and Sean Mason fanned eight of the 18 batters he faced in a spot start in the nightcap.

Schmid was outdueled in the opener by Quinnipiac’s Justin Thomas. Although he only struck out three, QU’s crafty senior southpaw did not allow a hit until the sixth and surrendered just two runs (one earned) over seven innings of work. In all, Appalachian managed only three hits in the ballgame — two against Thomas and one against reliever Wyatt Hamilton, who tossed two scoreless innings to close out the win.

Quinnipiac’s strong showing on the mound was complemented by its 13-hit offensive outburst in the opener. Matthew Batten led the way, going 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored.

Thanks in large part to Mason’s four shutout innings, Appalachian State (1-7) took a 2-0 lead into the sixth inning of the nightcap. However, Quinnipiac (3-1) knotted the score at 2-2 when App State senior reliever Caleb McCann walked the only two batters he faced with the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth. An inning later, QU’s Ryan Nelson scored what proved to be the winning run on a squeeze bunt by Brian Moskey.

The Mountaineers had opportunities to tie it in each of the final three innings but went 0-for-5 with runners on base over the last three stanzas. Appalachian was just 2-for-16 with runners on base for the ballgame.

Freshmen Tanner Mann-Fix and Beau Myers led App State with two hits apiece in the nightcap. Myers and Tyler Stroup drove in the Mountaineers’ only runs in the first inning.

Mann-Fix went 3-for-8 with two triples over the course of the doubleheader and continues to lead the club with a .444 batting average.

Appalachian State returns to action on Tuesday at North Carolina Central. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. in Durham, N.C.

A-State Falls to Omaha, 4-3, in 11 Innings
EMERSON, Ga. (2/28/16) – The Arkansas State baseball team used seven different pitchers and rallied from a 3-2 deficit in the bottom of the ninth, but fell to Nebraska Omaha 4-3 in 11 innings Sunday at the Perfect Game Complex in Emerson, Ga.

The Red Wolves (4-4) found themselves down to the Mavericks (5-3) in the bottom of the ninth inning and down to their last strike with pinch-runner Tim Seldomridge on second base, Neil Lambert on first, and Ty White at the plate. White proceeded to hit a 1-2 pitch through the middle to score Seldomridge and tie the game 4-4. Joe Schrimpf walked to load the bases for Austin Baker, but the A-State centerfielder popped up to end the inning.

Both teams put runners on in the 10th inning, but couldn’t push across a run. Omaha led off the top of the 11th with a single off reliever J.D. Miller, but the Sherwood, Ark., native retired the next two hitters on a fly ball and strikeout to give A-State two outs. Adam Caniglia, who led off the inning with a hit, stole second base on the strikeout to get into scoring position, which proved to be huge as Collin Leif lined a pitch into center field to score him and give the Mavericks the 4-3 edge.

White singled with two outs in the bottom of the 11th and Schrimpf was hit by a pitch, A-State’s 10th of the weekend, as the team threatened, but Baker grounded out to end the game. Arkansas State dropped to 4-4 on the season, while Omaha improved to 5-3. A-State went 2-2 during the weekend, while the Mavericks and Morehead State both went 3-1 and Saint Louis was 0-4.

Ryan Cate earned the win for Omaha with two scoreless innings on the mound, while Miller fell to 1-2 on the year for A-State with the loss. Caniglia was the only Mavericks’ player with multiple hits, while White had four hits for the Red Wolves and Matt Burgess had two.

A-State got on the board early in the game with two unearned runs in the bottom of the first. White reached on an error and came around on a Tanner Ring fielder’s choice before Garrett Rucker plated Baker with a single to left-center.

Arkansas State starter Peyton Culbertson, making his first career start, was excellent through five innings with no runs allowed, but gave up three runs in the sixth, one of which was unearned. He walked the leadoff batter of the inning before serving up a two-run homer to Clayton Taylor. He got two outs before walking Caniglia and being relieved by Collin Nord. Nord gave up an infield single and saw Caniglia advance to third on an error on the throw. Caniglia came around to score after Nord made an errant pickoff attempt to first base to give the Mavericks a 3-2 lead.

Bradey Welsh pitched 2.2 innings for A-State after Culbertson and Nord, while Tony Ortiz, Coulton Lee, and Tanner Kirby all made appearances on the bump before Miller took the mound in the 11th inning.

Arkansas State plays Milwaukee in its 2016 home opener Friday, March 4, at 6 p.m. at Tomlinson Stadium/Kell Field in Jonesboro. Tickets for the 2016 campaign are on sale and be purchased online at AStateRedWolves.com/tickets or by calling the A-State Ticket Office at 1-888-ASUFANS.

Little Rock falls to IPFW in Series Finale
LITTLE ROCK – Hoping to split a four-game series with IPFW (6-2), Little Rock baseball (3-4) fell 9-6 in the series finale at Gary Hogan Field on Sunday.

The Trojans got great at-bats from Ryan Scott and Nik Gifford as each had a solo home run. Scott finished the day 3 for 5 with three runs and an RBI, and Gifford ended up 2 for 5 with three RBIs and a run.

Although the Trojans had 12 hits offensively, Little Rock had a rough day on the hill as seven pitchers were used throughout the game with 11 total walks.

"I'm proud of the way they fought," head coach Chris Curry said. "The team plays hard and doesn't give up, but so will everyone else we play. Execution has to start happening, and that's mainly on the mound. When we score, we need to get shutdown innings and put up zeroes. That's what winning pitching is about, and that's not what we're doing right now."

Little Rock started the game on a strong note, putting up a run in each of the first three innings. Scott singled and stole second before coming home on an RBI single by Gifford in the first. The second inning saw Zach Baker get on base and advance to second on an error by the IPFW third baseman. Keegan Meyn doubled down the left field line for his first collegiate hit to score Baker from second.

Before Scott homered in the bottom of the third inning to make it a 3-2 game, IPFW scored a couple in the top frame. With two outs, Kendall Whitman was struck by a pitch before a two-run blast by Shane Trevino tied the game at 2-2.

IPFW started to take over the game in the top of the fourth inning as the Mastodons scored three runs to take a 5-3 lead. Shannon Baker got on with a leadoff walk and advanced to second with a single through the right side by Zak Kellogg. With back-to-back strikeouts by reliever Jacob Boggess, it looked like the inning was all but over, but Evan VanSumeran was able to reach base on a Trojan throwing error to first as Baker scored. Whitman walked on four pitches, and Trevino got the bases loaded two-run double to right.

Back-to-back walks with one out in the fifth brought on the Trojans' third pitching change of the day as Jarrid Garcia came on for Preston Oberling. Jackson Boyce welcomed Garcia to the game with a single to first to load the bases. Brandon Soat hit a sacrifice fly to left and Baker scored once more. Garcia was able to strike out VanSumeran on a 1-2 count to end the inning.

After a two-out solo home run by Gifford in the fifth, things remained quiet until the Mastodons came calling again in the top of the eighth inning. With two outs, Trevino singled to right for a team-leading third time. Keenan Wingfield came on for Jacob Rateliff, but a two-run homer to left by Greg Kaiser put IPFW up 8-4. With a 1-0 count, lightning struck again as Brock Logan hit a solo homer to right to put the Mastodons up 9-4.

Cody McGill had a successful ninth inning on the mound for Little Rock with two strikeouts before the Trojans started a rally in the bottom of the inning. Hayden Martin got a leadoff walk on five pitches prior to Little Rock earning its first out with a strikeout. Brandon Phelps came on for reliever Jordan Martin, but it wouldn't be short work for him. Scott earned his third hit of the day with a single to right, putting runners on the corners. Thomas then doubled down the left field line to score Martin and put runners in scoring position. Nik Gifford grounded out to first as Scott scored to cut IPFW's lead to 9-6. That would be all for the Trojans as a ground out to first ended things.

Starter Cole Townsend had a game-high five strikeouts in 2.2 innings, but he gave up four walks, two runs and a hit.

"We struck out IPFW 13 times and walked them 11," Curry added. "That tells me the focus and concentration to throw the ball over the plate was not there. That's what we're going to get corrected."

Little Rock returns to action on Tuesday as it hosts Mississippi Valley State at 3 p.m., at Gary Hogan Field.

Troy Baseball Drops Series Finale at Southeastern Louisiana
HAMMOND, Louisiana – The Troy baseball team suffered its first loss of the season and dropped the series finale to Southeastern Louisiana, 7-2, on Sunday at Pat Kennelly Diamond at Alumni Field.

Troy (7-1) committed four errors throughout the game and only three of the runs the Trojans allowed were earned runs.

Southeastern Louisiana (4-3) scored in four consecutive innings, but none bigger than the go-ahead run scored in the fifth inning on an RBI single from Jacob Seward that scored Taylor Schwaner, who reached on an error. The run scored gave the Lions a 3-2 lead.

The Trojans scored two runs to begin the game in the top of the first. Reid Long drove in Matt Sanders, who reached on a single, for the first run of the game and Chase Smartt hit an RBI single to center field that gave Troy an early 2-0 lead.

The Lions scored two of their own in the second inning with back-to-back base hits followed by an RBI single and a groundout by Chris Eades that scored Julian Service.

Troy had a chance in the eighth inning, down three runs as Sanders started off with a leadoff single. Trevor Davis singled to left field and the tying run came at the plate. After a fly out and a diving lineout by the Lion center fielder, Smartt walked and loaded the bases with two outs. Three straight breaking balls called for strikes ended the scoring threat for the Trojans.

Two Trojans had multi-hit performances in Smartt and Sanders. Smartt went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk, while Sanders went 2-for-4 with a run scored. Long drove in the other run and went 1-for-4. Davis and Shaw Pinnell also had a base hit each for the Trojans.

Evan Hebert (1-1) suffered his first loss. He pitched 5.2 innings and struck out one.

Troy will return to Riddle-Pace Field on Tuesday and host in-state rival Alabama, before traveling to UAB on Wednesday. First pitch against Alabama is set for 6 p.m.