Saturday, March 12
Jags Open SBC Play with 13-3 Win over Little Rock
MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama baseball team scored multiple runs in five straight innings, including a five-run fourth, to defeat Little Rock 13-3 in Saturday's series opener at Stanky Field.
USA (10-4, 1-0 SBC) pounded out 15 hits in the game, and every Jaguar starter recorded at least one hit in the contest, led by Danny Martinez who went 2-for-5 with three RBI. Cole Billingsley finished 2-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored, and Carter Perkins added two hits, two RBI and one run scored.
"It's been a while since we have come out and swung the bats like that," head coach Mark Calvi said. "I know their (Little Rock) Friday night guy has been off a little bit, but give our guys credit; I thought we did a nice job. We were aggressive, but we weren't chasing the ball all over the place and we found some holes. We got our leadoff guy on a lot, and we took advantage of it. We got some hits, stole some bases and had seven different guys with RBI. I have a lot of faith in these guys and they have a lot of faith in each other. They did a good job tonight. But Little Rock is going to be here all day long tomorrow. We have two games left to play and they are not going away. Tomorrow is a new day, and we better be ready to play. But I was pretty pleased with our effort this evening."
Jaguar right-hander Kevin Hill (3-1) allowed three unearned runs on seven hits, and struck out seven – passing Clark Girardeau for seventh on the all-time strikeouts list with 238 – while issuing two walks to earn his third win of the season.
"I thought Little Rock did a nice job with Kevin," Calvi said. "I don't think he is in mid-season form yet. His velocity is pretty good, but it's not quite there yet. He made some pitches we he needed to, and threw some changeups in there; he got enough lead outs. It's hard to mount a rally on a guy like Kevin with one out. He did a good enough job of getting his leadoff out tonight, but I think the best Kevin Hill this year is yet to come. I'm proud of his effort tonight, and I thought (Jared) Barnes and (Tanner) Halstead did a really nice job catching him tonight."
South Alabama spotted Hill a two-run lead in the top of the second. Ben Gann led off the inning with a single to the six-hole at shortstop, and moved to third on a single to center field by Perkins to put runners at the corners with no outs. Jared Barnes followed with an RBI single through the left side of the infield to score Gann with the game's first run. Brendan Donovan drew a walk on four straight pitches from Trojan right-hander Cory Malcom to load the bases for Ryan Raspino, who grounded into a 4-6-3 double play that allowed Perkins to score from third and double the Jaguar lead to 2-0.
The Trojans looked to push their first run across in the bottom of the second, but had the runner thrown out at the plate. Ty Gunter drew a leadoff walk from Hill and moved to third on a single to right field from Cameron Knight, but was thrown out at the plate attempting to score by left fielder Donovan who chased down an errant throw to third from right fielder Travis Swaggerty.
South Alabama added a pair of runs to its lead in the top of the third. The Jags put runners at the corners with no outs in the inning on consecutive singles by Billingsley and Drew LaBounty. LaBounty moved into scoring position on a wild pitch from Malcom before Martinez delivered a two-run single through the right side of the infield to score both runners and push the USA lead to 4-0.
Little Rock (5-8, 0-1 SBC) threatened when it loaded the bases off of Hill in the bottom of the third. Hayden Martin led off the inning with a single to center field. A two-out single by Dalton Thomas followed by a walk by Nik Gifford loaded the bases with two outs. But Hill escaped the jam with an inning-ending strikeout of Gunter.
The Jaguars erupted for their biggest inning in the top of the fourth, sending five runs across the plate. Barnes and Donovan reached on consecutive singles to start the inning. Raspino then reached on a throwing error to first base by Malcom on a sacrifice bunt attempt to load the bases before Swaggerty singled to second base to score Barnes for a 5-0 USA advantage. Billingsley drew a bases-loaded walk to score Donovan for a 6-0 Jaguar lead, and LaBounty followed with a sacrifice fly to left field to plate Raspino to increase the South Alabama lead to 7-0. A walk by Martinez from Little Rock right-hander Jacob Boggess loaded the bases. Perkins delivered a two-out, two-run single to center field later in the inning for a 9-0 Jaguar advantage.
Little Rock answered with three runs in the bottom of the fourth, highlighted by a one-out RBI single to center field by Martin and a two-out RBI single by Ryan Scott to cut its deficit to 9-3.
USA responded with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth. Donovan drew a leadoff walk and then stole second with one out before scoring on a throwing error to first by Martin at second base on grounder off the bat of Swaggerty to push the Jaguar lead to 10-3. Martinez followed with an RBI single to right field with two outs to score Swaggerty for an 11-3 USA lead.
USA scored the game's final runs in the top of the sixth. Barnes and Donovan drew consecutive walks to start the inning. Ryan Raspino followed with an infield single to shortstop that allowed Barnes to score when Little Rock shortstop Zach Baker's throw sailed wide of first base. Swaggerty then drew a walk to load the bases with no outs for Billingsley, who lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to plate Donovan and push the Jaguar lead to 13-3.
Malcom (0-3) allowed eight runs on 11 hits with two strikeouts and one walk in three innings in the loss for Little Rock. Martin went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored to lead the Trojans at the plate.
The series will conclude Sunday with a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. at Stanky Field.
Eagles Complete Sweep of Appalachian State
BOONE, N.C. – Georgia Southern Baseball (11-5, 3-0 Sun Belt) took a pair of wins on Saturday afternoon to cement a series sweep over Appalachian State (3-13, 0-3 Sun Belt). The Eagles won the first game of the day 8-6 behind a big offensive output and a solid job by the bullpen. In game two the Eagles came from behind to take the 5-1 win after Brian Eichhorn delivered 7.1 innings of three-hit ball. Next up for the Eagles is a Tuesday night trip to Mercer for a 6 p.m. game.
QUOTABLES
HEAD COACH RODNEY HENNON
"I'm proud of our guys, they played well all weekend and we had a great effort today. I thought we got a good effort from the bullpen in game one. Connor Simmons had some great innings for us and Chris Brown threw some great pitches late to finish it off. Brian Eichhorn got better as the game went on in game two. Landon Hughes did a good job in relief and we had a lot of guys contribute over the weekend and it was a great team effort."
GAME ONE
Georgia Southern took game two of the series 8-6 with the Eagle offense providing plenty of firepower. The Eagles scratched out 11 hits and left 11 runners on base as they picked up their 10th win of the year. Logan Baldwin went 2-for-4 with three RBIs to pace the offense while Evan McDonald went 2-for-5 to raise his average to .250 for the year.
Georgia Southern jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first on Ryan Cleveland's RBI ground out. A second run scored off a throwing error on the same play. The Mountaineers got a run of their own in the second, but the Eagles stretched the lead to 5-1 in the third with a crooked number.
Starting pitcher Chase Cohen went 4.0 innings, but got into a jam in the fifth with no outs. He exited having allowed seven hits and four runs. Connor Simmons steadied the ship, working three innings and scattering two hits which both scored in the eighth inning after Simmons left the game. Those runs cut the Georgia Southern lead to 8-6 following Eagle scores in the fifth and sixth innings.
Chris Brown came in for the ninth in the save situation. He gave up a single and a walk to put the tying run aboard. A sacrifice bunt and a pair of strikeouts left the runs in scoring position as Brown picked up his second save of the season.
GAME TWO
The Eagles took the final game of the series with a come-from-behind effort to score the 5-1 win. Appalachian State scored a run in the second, but Brian Eichhorn stymied the Mountaineers from then on, retiring 13-straight batters in a spell to improve to 2-1 on the year. The freshman went a career-long 7.1 innings and scattered three hits while allowing just the one run. He fanned a career-high six batters on the night.
Georgia Southern's offense scored five unanswered runs with single scores in the third and fifth before posting three in the sixth. C.J. Brazil led the way by going 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Hunter Thomas, Ryan Cleveland and Kent Rollins each had multi-hit games while Lawson Humphries worked three walks.
Once Eichhorn reached his pitch count limit in the eighth, Landon Hughes came on in a non-save situation to nail-down the win. He struck out two of the five batters he retired in order to finish off the Eagles' 11th win of the year.
Notes
- Connor Simmons struck out five in his three innings of work in the opener. That tied his own mark for most Ks by an Eagle reliever.
- Brian Eichhorn retired 13-straight batters in the middle of Saturday's second game. It is the longest streak for an Eagle pitcher this season as the freshman went a career-long 7.1 innings with six strikeouts.
- Evan McDonald entered the weekend with five hits on the season and added five more in the three game series. He tallied four RBIs in the series and is now hitting .256 for the year.
- The weekend's schedule was altered on Friday due to expected rain in the High Country on Sunday. The teams played a doubleheader on Saturday which gives Georgia Southern a rare Sunday off while they return to Statebsoro.
Next Game
The Eagles visit Mercer for a midweek tilt in Macon on Tuesday evening. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. in Macon with live radio coverage available on the Georgia Southern Sports Network.
UTA Sweeps Arkansas State in SBC-Opening Twinbill
ARLINGTON, Texas - UT Arlington picked up a pair of wins on Saturday in two very different ways, sweeping a doubleheader from Arkansas State to open up Sun Belt Conference play at Clay Gould Ballpark.
UTA (10-6, 2-0 SBC)used an eight-run fifth inning to power itself to an 11-8 win in the opener, then got 8.0 shutout innings from starter Kadon Simmons for the second straight start to shut down the Red Wolves (7-7, 0-2 SBC) 2-0 in the nightcap.
"We got a great start from Kadon (Simmons) and Daniel James did his thing," UTA coach Darin Thomas said following the game. "We played great defense in the second game and Matt (McLean) made a couple of nice plays out in the outfield, Brady (Cox) made a nice throw to end an inning and those are the things that get overlooked. People look at at-bats and things like that, but tonight it was pitching and defense in Game 2 and in Game 1 we finally woke up and got that eight-spot."
The teams will square off in the series finale on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. with junior Austin Gardner getting the start off league play with three straight wins for the first time since 2006.
Game 1 Box Score
Game 1 - UT Arlington 11, Arkansas State 8
Joel Kuhnel moved to 3-1 on the season and tied a career high with six strikeouts, but it was Jerame Littell's second grand slam of the season that was the big blow in an eight-run fifth that put the Mavs ahead to stay.
"Joel is steady. We know what we are going to get from him, but it is nice to get wins like today when your Friday guy goes six and your Saturday guy picks you up with a near complete-game shutout," Thomas said. "There are different ways to win and we just had to outscore them in Game 1. We beat a good pitcher. He's been really good against us the last couple of years."
UTA trailed 4-0 going to the bottom of the fifth after four unearned runs were scored against Kuhnel's ledger, but the Mavs finally got to A-State starter Tyler Zuber in the bottom half of the inning. UTA sent 12 men to the plate in the frame, finally getting on the board on a two-run single from Matt McLean as part of a 2-for-4 day for him.
RJ Williams and Christian Hollie followed with walks to load the bases and Littell took advantage on the first pitch he saw from Zuber, launching it over the left-field wall to put the Mavs ahead 6-4.
"Jerame (Littell) didn't start, but he was ready to go right away," Thomas said. "That grand slam was a huge hit. We needed it."
Noah Vaughan finished the day just a home run shy of the cycle and drove in the first of his three RBI on the day four batters later with a two-run triple to center field to push the lead to 8-4 before the inning came to a close.
Kuhnel responded with a shutdown sixth to end his day and the Mavs added three more in the seventh on RBI hits from Darien McLemore, Vaughan and McLean. But that was after the Red Wolves had cut the lead to 8-6 with a pair of runs in the top half of the frame on a two-run single from Jeremy Brown. They then loaded the bases with two outs before UTA went to lefty Adam Meyer out of the pen who got Garrett Rucker to ground out to end the threat.
Meyer surrendered a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth, but still tossed the final 2.1 innings to earn his first career save.
Game 2 Box Score
Game 2 - UT Arlington 2, Arkansas State 0
The nightcap was all about UTA starter Kadon Simmons, who dazzled for the second straight Saturday in leading the Mavs to a 2-0 win. The junior right-hander picked up his SBC-best fourth win with 8.0 shutout innings, not allowing a run with three strikeouts and no free passes.
He allowed a two-out hit in the first, but proceeded to retire 10 of the next 11 hitters he faced and allowed just four hits on his night. Meanwhile, A-State starter Adam Grantham did not allow a hit until the fifth, but was hampered by five walks.
"Kadon has been really good. He doesn't get shook up and keeps his composure," Thomas said. "He picked us up big time and has done so on the back end of a doubleheader for two straight starts. Pitching gives your team energy and strength. He went out there tonight and pitched great the first three innings and all of a sudden our energy picked up as a team."
UTA finally broke through in the bottom of the fifth when McLean delivered a two-out RBI triple to score Vaughan who had drawn a one-out walk. Brady Cox picked up an RBI single in the next inning and that was more than enough for Simmons and closer Daniel James, who surrendered only a two-out single in the ninth on his way to his third save of the season.
Bobcats Sweep UL Monroe Saturday
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State used impressive pitching and timely hitting to sweep UL Monroe for a 2-0 start in Sun Belt Conference play and an 11-4 overall record. Lucas Humpal tallied five strikeouts to no walks in a complete game while the Bobcats rung up 12 hits for a 6-1 victory in the opener. After that, an 11th-inning home run from Granger Studdard and impressive pitching from reliever Chase Hodson led to a 3-2 Texas State victory.
3/12/2016 Baseball vs. UL Monroe 1 (3/12) Baseball vs. UL Monroe 1 (3/12)
Humpal tallied his second complete game of the season and boosted his strikeout-to-walk ratio to 27-2 for the season. He only gave up four hits in nine innings. Meanwhile, the team gave him plenty of run support in the first game of the day led by a 3-for-4 performance from Tanner Hill. Studdard, Ryan Newman and Nick Perez each added two hits apiece with Newman sending out his third home run of the season.
The second game was more of a grind-it-out affair. Jeremy Hallonquist struck out five with just one walk in six innings of work. In relief, Hodson tallied four strikeouts in four innings without allowing a hit or giving up a walk. In the 11th inning, Pasquale Mazzoccoli and Braden Pearson teamed up to close it out. Mazzoccoli picked up the first two outs of the inning while Pearson came in for the lefty/lefty matchup. He didn't get his out at the plate as everyone expected. Instead, he shocked UL Monroe and nearly everyone in the stands with an impressive pick-off move to first base for the final out of the game.
Cody Lovejoy was 3-for-4 in the second game while Jaylen Hubbard, Luke Sherley and Studdard both tallied two hits apiece, but the most impressive one was Studdard's first home run of the season. He put the Bobcats up for good in the top of the 11th inning with a solo shot to right field.
3/12/2016 Baseball vs. UL Monroe 2 (3/12) Baseball vs. UL Monroe 2 (3/12)
In addition to the hitting and pitching, Jonathan Ortega provided some highlight plays at second base for impressive outs. Fans also saw a diving catch from Lovejoy in centerfield.
The Bobcats wasted no time getting the scoring started for the day. Ortega led off with a double, his fifth of the season. Studdard was able to drive him in on a single up the middle for an early 1-0 Bobcat lead.
Texas State kept the pressure on in the second inning. Cory Geisler, making his first start of the season in the outfield, hit a double and would go to third on a Derek Scheible base knock. With runners at the corners, the Bobcats pulled off a successful double steal with Geisler taking home to go up 2-0.
In the fifth inning, Texas State's Ortega reached on a fielder's choice and went to second base on a groundout. From there he was able to score on a single to right field from Studdard for a 3-0 Texas State lead. After that, Hill kept it rolling with a single down the left field line to plate Studdard and claim a 4-0 lead.
After a seventh-inning run for ULM, Newman answered with his third home run of the season, a solo shot to right centerfield, to put the Bobcats up, 5-1. Texas State added one more run before the game was over. Perez legged out an infield single and went to second base on a throwing error. He advanced to third on a fly out and scored for a 6-1 Bobcat lead when Studdard reached on a UL Monroe error.
In the second game of the day, the Bobcats scored first in the first inning yet again. Ortega drew a leadoff walk and Sherley sacrifice bunted him to second base. Studdard next hit a single to left field to plate Ortega and go up, 1-0, early. The Warhawks were able to answer in the bottom of the inning with a solo home run from Nathan Reynolds.
Studdard picked up another RBI in the third inning when he helped put the Bobcats up, 2-1. Lovejoy led off the inning with a single and went to second on an Ortega sacrifice bunt. He was able to advance to third base on an infield single from Sherley, then Studdard knocked a sacrifice fly to plate Lovejoy and reclaim the Texas State lead.
The Warhawks were able to respond in the bottom of the fourth inning. They did it in much the same way with Ross Moore drawing a leadoff walk and going to second base on a sacrifice bunt. He advanced to third on a wild pitch then scored on a groundout to tie the game, 2-2.
Texas State and UL Monroe would go on to play six more scoreless innings before Studdard struck his fateful homer to put the Bobcats up, 3-2. Mazzoccoli, Pearson and the rest of the defense did the work to shut the Warhawks down in the bottom of the inning and start conference play 2-0.
The Bobcats will complete the series against UL Monroe with a 2 p.m. game on Sunday. After that, Texas State will travel to UTSA for a midweek before hosting Appalachian State next weekend.
Panthers Split with Fairmont State on Saturday
ATLANTA -- Jack Thompson smashed three doubles and drove in three runs to lead Georgia State to an 8-5 victory over Fairmont State in the second game of a doubleheader Saturday at the GSU Baseball Complex. The Panthers (8-6) dropped Game 1, 2-1 in 10 innings.
The doubleheader with Fairmont State (8-3) was a late addition to the schedule after the scheduled weekend series with Lafayette was cancelled at the last minute after a virus outbreak on the Lafayette campus left the Leopards unable to travel.
The altered schedule continues as Georgia State (8-6) hosts Jackson State Sunday and Monday, both days at 2 p.m.
GAME 1
Georgia State fell 2-1 in 10 innings as Adam Meeker drove in the go-ahead run for Fairmont State with a 10th inning single.
The game was scoreless until the bottom of the sixth inning, when the Panthers managed to push across the first run on an error. Luke Leonard entered the game as a pinch hitter when Jaylen Woullard was injured at the plate. Despite starting with a 1-2 count, Leonard singled through the left side, and with two outs, he scored from third on an errant pickoff throw.
With the game scheduled as a seven-inning contest, Fairmont State pinch hitter Fraser Brown doubled with one out in the top of the seventh and then came home on Maverick Keller's single to tie the game at 1-1.
The Panthers had scoring opportunities in the last four innings but stranded six runners. After the Falcons took the lead in the top of the 10th, Joey Roach doubled to put the tying run in scoring positon. Jack Thompson scorched a line drive that was snagged by the shortstop, who was able to double off pinch runner Israel Zackery for the final out.
GSU starter Marc-Andre Habeck pitched six scoreless innings before allowing the run in the seventh. He gave up seven hits and two walks with five strikeouts. Conley (2-1) pitched the final 3.2 innings and took the loss.
Mark McKee (2-0) earned the win for Fairmont State with 0.2 innings in relief, while Michael Stout picked up his third save.
GAME 2
Jack Thompson had three doubles and three RBI to lead the Panthers to an 8-5 win in Game 2.
The Panthers jumped in front early with three runs in the first, including an RBI-double by Jarrett Hood and a run-scoring single by Brandon Gonzalez, and then added three more in the second, when Thompson delivered the first of his three doubles, all to almost the same spot in left center. That hit scored two, and Zach Wingate added an RBI-single.
Thompson, the sophomore first baseman, doubled home another run in the fourth.
Starter Clayton Payne pitched 4.2 innings in the seven-inning game to earn his first victory, and Alex Hegner pitched a scoreless seventh for his second save.
Brown’s Complete Game Helps Troy Baseball Even Series with No. 16 UL Lafayette
TROY, Alabama – Lucas Brown's second career complete game helped the Troy baseball team to a 4-1 victory over No. 16 UL Lafayette on Saturday at Riddle-Pace Field that evened the series at a game a piece.
Brown (3-1) only allowed one unearned run on seven hits, struck out six in nine innings and picked up the win. Each of his strikeouts came in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings.
The Trojans (10-7) trailed 1-0 in the third inning when a leadoff walk and single put runners at first and second for Troy. Trevor Davis moved the runners overs with a sacrifice bunt. Austin Hulsey hit a ground ball to shortstop that scored one, but another run scored on an error and gave the Trojans a 2-1 lead.
Troy added two more insurance runs on a string of four hits in the fourth inning. Back-to-back singles by Brandon Lockridge and Cameron Sanders put runners at the corners with two outs. After Sanders stole second, Davis hit the ball back up the middle for a two-run single that extended the lead to 4-1.
Troy outhit UL Lafayette (9-6) 10-7, but all of the Trojans hits were singles. Sanders lead the way with a 3-for-4 performance and Davis went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
The rubber match between the two teams is set for Sunday. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. Junior left-hander Evan Hebert will get the start for the Trojans.