Sunday, March 13
Cajuns Surge to 8-3 Win over Troy to Claim Series
TROY, Ala. – The 16th-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team surged to an 8-3 win over Troy to take its first Sun Belt series of the year on Sunday at Riddle-Pace Field. Louisiana has won all three of its series this season and its fifth straight Sun Belt opening series.
The Cajuns (10-6, 2-1 Sun Belt) outhit the Trojans (10-8, 1-2 Sun Belt) 13-4 in the contest led by junior Alex Pinero who went 4-for-5 with a home run, two RBI and scored twice. Nick Thuman and Derek Herrington also had big days at the plate posting three hits apiece.
"We had some good at bats throughout the ball game and got some critical hits at some critical points in the ballgame," head coach Tony Robichaux said. "Nick (Lee) got punched early but was able to bounce back. That's a good sign when you have a freshman who can do that. He didn't get scared. He stood up and fought back."
Lee improved to 3-0 on the year holding Troy to three runs on three hits in 5.1 innings of work. The freshman struck out two and walked three in the start retiring 14 straight batters in the contest after giving up two early runs.
Sophomore Dylan Moore picked up his fourth save of the season and 17th of his career in the game to set a new program career record. Moore tossed a perfect two innings to close out he contest striking out five of the six batters he faced. The right-hander had two saves on the weekend while striking out eight in three innings.
"He's got some great stuff," Robichaux said. "He's got some unorthodox stuff, and if you just see him one time through the lineup its hard for you to pick it up."
Senior Eric Carter was good in relief for the Ragin' Cajuns tossing 1.2 scoreless innings with two strikeouts.
Troy took an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly to left by Austin Hulsey and an RBI single to center by Peyton Fuller.
Herrington cut the lead to 2-1 in the top of the second inning scoring Ishmael Edwards on an infield single to first base. Edwards drew a one-out walk and moved to third on a Thurman single and a wild pitch by Hebert.
The Cajuns tied the contest at 2-all in the top of the third on an RBI single up the middle by Steven Sensley plating Joe Robbins. Robbins walked to lead off the inning, moved to second on a Hebert balk and then advanced to third on a ball hit to first by Stefan Trosclair.
Louisiana would take the lead for good in the top of the fourth on a solo home run down the left field line by Pinero. The home run was the first of the year for the Miami, Fla., native.
Following a Thurman double in the next at bat, Herrington drove a triple into the gap in right center to score Thurman and extend the Ragin' Cajuns edge to 5-2. Brian Mills plated the final run of the fourth for the Cajuns bringing Herrington home on a ball hit to second base to make the score 6-2.
The Trojans cut the lead to 6-3 in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI double by Fuller that slid just inside the third base bag with two outs.
Mills singled home a run with two outs in the top of the eighth to extend the Louisiana advantage back to three runs.
The Ragin' Cajuns plated the final two runs of the game in the top of the ninth on a safety squeeze by Hunter Kasuls and an RBI single up the middle by Pinero to make the final 8-3.
The Cajuns return to action on Wednesday at 6 p.m. as the team closes out its five-game road swing in Natchitoches, La. against Northwestern State. Following the matchup with the Demons, Louisiana will host Little Rock from March 18-20 at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field in the Sun Belt home opener.
For updates and info on Ragin' Cajuns baseball, follow the squad on twitter @CajunsBaseball or check RaginCajuns.com.
Jags Sweep Little Rock to Open SBC Play
MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama baseball team swept a Sunday doubleheader at Stanky Field to secure a three-game series sweep over Little Rock to open Sun Belt Conference play.
USA (12-4, 3-0 SBC) clinched the series with a 7-5 victory in the first game of Sunday's twinbill, and locked up the sweep with a 10-6 win in the series finale.
"We're thrilled with the weekend, especially with the sweep," head coach Mark Calvi said. "Our guys fought hard and Little Rock fought hard, and we were fortunate enough to come out on top this weekend. We had guys fighting to get on and had some two-out and two-strike hits; there were some guys who fought through at-bats and found a way to get on base. I was proud of the way the guys handled two nine-inning ballgames. The first one was a tight game, and our guys came out and played really hard. We're fortunate and thankful to have won all three."
Game 1 – South Alabama 7, Little Rock 5
South Alabama clinched the series in the first game of Sunday's doubleheader with a 7-5 win over the Trojans.
USA pushed across the game's first run in the top of the first inning. Travis Swaggerty led off the game with an infield single to first base, and then stole second with one out before Drew LaBounty drew a walk. A passed ball by Trojan catcher Cameron Knight moved both runners into scoring position, and Danny Martinez followed with an RBI groundout to first base to score Swaggerty with the game's first run.
The Jaguars doubled their lead an inning later. Matt Bolger drew a one-out walk, and moved to second on a two-out walk by Jalen Haskin. Swaggerty followed with a two-out RBI single to right field to score Bolger for a 2-0 USA advantage.
South Alabama then increased its lead to five runs in the top of the third. LaBounty led off the inning with a single, and Martinez followed with a walk. Ben Gann then delivered a three-run home run to left field – his second of the season – on a 2-2 pitch that chased Little Rock left-handed starter Will Hazen from the game and gave the Jaguars a 5-0 lead.
USA threatened to add to its lead in the top of the fourth. Billingsley doubled to right field with two outs, and moved to third on an infield single to shortstop by LaBounty. Martinez drew a walk to load the bases for Jared Barnes, but Trojan left-hander Dylan Slayton induced an inning-ending flyout to right-center field to end the threat.
Little Rock answered with its first run of the contest in the bottom of the fourth. Nik Gifford led off the inning with a single, stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch from USA starter Austin Bembnowski. Ty Gunter drew a walk then moved to second on a wild pitch. Zach Baker followed with a sacrifice fly to center field to plate Gifford and cut the Trojan deficit to four runs.
The Trojans added three runs in the bottom of the fifth to cut the Jaguar lead to one run. Hunter Owens and Ryan Scott drew consecutive one-out walks from Bembnowski before Dalton Thomas delivered an RBI double to left-center field to score Owens. Gifford followed with a sacrifice fly to left field to plate Scott and cut the Little Rock deficit to two runs. Gunter then singled back up the middle with two outs to plate Thomas and cut the Jaguar led to 5-4.
USA responded with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh. Barnes and Gann drew consecutive walks to start the top of the seventh. Bolger then reached on a hit by pitch to load the bases with no outs for pinch-hitter Carter Perkins, who reached on a fielder's choice to second base that allowed Barnes to score and push the Jaguar lead to 6-4. Swaggerty reached on a hit by pitch with two outs later in the inning before Billingsley drew a bases-loaded walk to score Gann and extend the USA lead to 7-4.
Little Rock answered with the game's final run in the bottom of the seventh on a sacrifice fly to left field off the bat of Gunter.
Jaguar right-hander Ryne Long (2-0) allowed two hits and issued one walk in one relief inning to earn his second win of the season. Left-hander Shane McKinley struck out two and allowed one hit in two innings to earn his third save of the year. Hazen (1-2) allowed five runs on four hits with two strikeouts and four walks in 2 1/3 innings in the loss.
Swaggerty went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored to lead the Jaguars at the plate. LaBounty finished with two hits and a run scored, and Gann added a home run, three RBI and two runs scored.
Game 2 – South Alabama 10, Little Rock 6
South Alabama scored eight runs over its final three frames to secure a three-game series sweep of Little Rock.
Left-hander James Traylor (2-0) allowed one run on two hits with three strikeouts and two walks in five relief innings to earn his second win of the season. Little Rock right-hander Keenan Wingfield (1-2) allowed two runs on one hit in two-thirds of an inning in the loss.
USA scored the game's first run in the top of the first. LaBounty reached on a two-out triple to center field, and scored one batter later on an RBI single to center field by Martinez for a 1-0 lead.
But Little Rock answered with three runs in the bottom of the third on an RBI single to center field by Ryan Scott that tied the game 1-1, and a two-run double to center field by Gifford to take a 3-1 lead.
The Jags responded with a run in the top of the fourth on a two-out RBI double to left-center field by Brendan Donovan that scored Gann, who led off the inning with a double to right-center field, and cut the Little Rock lead to one run.
Little Rock doubled its lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single to right field by Thomas, and added its fifth run of the game later in the inning when Scott scored from third when Thomas was caught stealing at second.
USA answered with three runs in the top of the seventh to tie the game. A one-out RBI single back up the middle by Billingsley scored Donovan, who reached on a hit by pitch to lead off the inning, and cut the Little Rock lead to 5-3. LaBounty followed with an infield single to second that scored Raspino, who reached on a walk earlier in the inning, to cut the Jaguar deficit to one run. USA then tied the game on a sacrifice fly to right field off the bat of Martinez to score Billingsley.
USA rallied for three runs in the top of the eighth to take the lead. Perkins reached on a leadoff single to first base, and was lifted for pinch-runner Dylan Hardy who advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Barnes. Donovan reached on a fielding error by Gifford at first base which allowed Hardy to move to third to put runners at the corners with one out. Hardy then scored on a sacrifice bunt from Raspino for a 6-5 Jaguar lead. Adam Wolfe followed with a two-run home run – his team-leading third of the season – to left field for an 8-5 USA advantage.
Little Rock scored its final run of the game on a fielder's choice RBI to shortstop off the bat of Baker in the bottom of the eighth. South Alabama added its final runs of the contest on solo home runs to left field by Gann and Barnes in the top of the ninth.
Billingsley went 4-for-5 with a double, one RBI and one run scored to lead the Jags at the plate. LaBounty added two hits, including a triple, one RBI and one run scored, and Gann finished with two hits – including a home run – one RBI and two runs scored. Wolfe added a home run, two RBI and one run scored.
South Alabama will return to action Tue., March 15, when it travels to Hammond, La., for a 6 p.m. contest with Southeastern Louisiana.
Bobcats Sweep UL Monroe
SAN MARCOS, Texas – After taking two in Saturday's doubleheader, Texas State completed the sweep with a 7-5 victory over UL Monroe on Sunday. With the win, Texas State improves to 12-4 overall and holds a 3-0 record in the Sun Belt Conference.
3/13/2016 Baseball vs. UL Monroe (3/13) Baseball vs. UL Monroe (3/13)
On Sunday, the bats popped as they've had a tendency to do for Texas State. With 14 hits on Sunday, the Bobcats have 170 on the season for an average of 10.6 hits per game so far this year. Jonathan Ortega continues to lead the way with a 5-for-6 day to give him 25 hits on the season and a .379 batting average … as a freshman. He scored three runs with an RBI on his impressive day while Luke Sherley, Granger Studdard, Jaylen Hubbard and Jared Huber each added two hits apiece. Studdard, however, was 2-for-3 with two walks and the go-ahead RBI in the eighth inning. Hubbard was 2-for-4.
In his second pitching appearance of the season, Cory Geisler did solid work in 3.1 innings. He only allowed two hits and two walks while striking out four and not giving up a run. Pasquale Mazzoccoli finished off the game's final two innings and did not allow a hit to claim his third save of the year.
The game was back-and-forth throughout the first seven innings, but the Bobcat bats and defense made the plays they needed in the final two innings to close out the game. With it tied up, Ortega ran out an infield single and went to second on his fourth steal of the season. He would take third on a fly out.
With two outs and Ortega in danger of being stranded, Studdard rifled a base hit to left field to plate the go-ahead run and put the Bobcats up, 6-5. They would go on to add an insurance run in the ninth inning after holding ULM scoreless in the eighth.
Derek Scheible took a hit by pitch to put the inning's leadoff man on base in the ninth, and he went all the way to third on a perfectly executed hit-and-run from Huber. Scheible would score on a sacrifice fly from Hubbard to give the Bobcats a bit of breathing room, 7-5.
Mazzoccoli and the team's defense shut down UL Monroe in the bottom of the inning to clinch the game. After a groundout and a walk, Sherley charged a slow roller and had the presence of mind and athletic ability to get the ball to Ortega at second base. Ortega rifled it to Tanner Hill at first to complete the double play, the win and the sweep.
Texas State continued the team's trend of scoring in the first inning with two more runs on Sunday to make it six consecutive games with at least one run in the first inning. The Bobcats knocked three consecutive singles to load the bases and scored the first run on a bases-loaded groundout. After that, Sherley was able to score on a wild pitch to help the Bobcats claim an early 2-0 lead.
In the second inning, the Bobcats were able to push the score up to 3-0 after Hubbard led off with a double. He went to third on a Sherley single and scored a moment later on a UL Monroe balk.
The Warhawks tied it up with three runs, all coming with two outs, in the bottom of the second inning. UL Monroe led off with a single, then the Bobcats picked up two quick outs on a fly out and a Jonathan Hennigan strikeout. After that, a single and a walk loaded the bases for ULM. A bases-loaded walk, hit by pitch and an error helped the Warhawks score three runs to tie it at 3-3.
In the top of the fourth, the Bobcats started with back-to-back singles from Huber and Hubbard. After a ULM pitching change, Ortega kept it going with a base hit to centerfield to plate Huber and regain a Bobcat lead, 4-3.
The Warhawks answered back to take a lead in the bottom of the fourth. After two quick outs on a strikeout and a groundout, ULM's leadoff man Cade Stone drew a two-out walk. He stole second and was driven in on a Nathan Reynolds double down the right field line. Another double scored Reynolds to put the Warhawks up, 5-4.
Texas State continued the back-and-forth battle with a tying run in the sixth inning. After two outs, Ortega gave the Bobcats life with a double down the first-base line. Sherley and Studdard followed with back-to-back walks, and Ryan Newman kept the streak going with a bases-loaded walk to tie the game, 5-5. He led the team in RBIs Sunday with two.
Texas State takes to the road to face I-35 Rival UTSA at 6 p.m. Tuesday. After that, the Bobcats will host Appalachian State in a three-game home stand next weekend.
A-State Blanks UT Arlington in Series Finale
ARLINGTON, Texas. (3/13/16) – The Arkansas State baseball team got six strong innings from starter Bryan Ayers before Coulton Lee and Tanner Ring combined for the final three innings as the trio pitched a shutout and made sure three, first-inning runs were more than enough to defeat UT Arlington by a score of 4-0 at Clay Gould Ballpark in Arlington, Texas for the team’s first conference win.
Ayers allowed six hits with one walk and five strikeouts to improve to 2-1 on the year. Lee tossed two scoreless innings with a walk and a strikeout to get the game to the ninth. A-State (8-7, 1-2 SBC) put Ring on the mound to begin the ninth and the Mavericks (10-7, 2-1 SBC) put two runners on with one out, but Ring induced a fly out to left and a fly out to center field that Austin Baker made a diving catch on to preserve the 4-0 win for the Red Wolves.
Garrett Rucker and Matt Burgess led the team with two hits, while Joe Schrimpf drove in two runs. Burgess and Jake Bakamus also had one RBI apiece.
UTA’s Austin Gardner didn’t last long as he went one inning and gave up three runs (all earned) on two hits with three walks and no strikeouts. Brad Vassar threw 5.2 solid innings out of the bullpen for the home team to keep the game within reach. Matt McLean had three hits to lead UT Arlington.
A-State started quickly with a hit-by-pitch, single, and walk loading the bases with one out in the top of the first for Burgess and he delivered a sacrifice fly to right field for a 1-0 edge. A walk by Baker loaded the bases again with two outs and set up a two-run Schrimpf single through the left side for a 3-0 advantage for the Red Wolves over UT Arlington.
Arkansas State increased its lead to 4-0 after Baker led off the sixth inning with a triple down the right-field line and scored a couple of batters later on a safety squeeze bunt by Bakamus.
UT Arlington led off the fifth inning with a double and a walk against Ayers to set up a scoring situation, but the Vilonia, Ark., native got a fly out and ground out sandwiched around a strikeout to keep the Mavericks off the scoreboard. UTA advanced runners to third in each of the seventh and eighth innings, but Lee kept them from scoring any runs both times.
Arkansas State returns to action March 15 at Tomlinson Stadium/Kell Field for midweek matchup with Southern Illinois-Carbondale. First pitch against the Salukis is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Panthers Rally Late Before Falling to Jackson State
ATLANTA -- Georgia State used a seven-run seventh inning to turn an 11-5 deficit into a 12-11 lead before falling 13-12 to Jackson State Sunday at the GSU Baseball Complex. James Clements led the Panthers (8-7) with three hits and four RBI, tying his career highs.
Jackson State (7-6) regained the lead in the top of the eighth on a run-scoring double by Lamar Briggs and then a sacrifice fly by Jesus Santana. Those two each drove in four runs for the Tigers.
GSU led 2-1 through four before the Tigers scored six runs run in the fifth to take a 7-2 lead, helped by an error and two walks along with Santana's three-run homer.
The Panthers managed one run in the fifth and two in the sixth on Clements' two-run single, but Jackson State added two runs in the sixth and one in the seventh to lead 11-5.
That's when the Georgia State bats came alive as the Panthers sent 12 men to the plate in the seven-run inning.
Jarrett Hood, Jack Thompson and Sam Few all singled to load the bases with no outs. Luke Leonard began the scoring with a one-out, RBI-single to left, followed by Justin Jones with a run-scoring single and Ryan Blanton with a bases loaded walk to pull the Panthers within 11-8 with the bases loaded and one out.
Clements singled through the right side to bring home a Leonard, and Jones scampered home when the right fielders' throw got away from the cutoff man, making it 11-10. Then Joey Roach delivered an opposite field single to the tie the game at 11, and the go ahead run came home on a balk.
JSU reliever Jonathan Aponte (1-0) got the final two outs in the seventh and finished the game with 2.2 innings of scoreless relief to earn the victory.
"It was really good to see our offense come to life and get some confidence and some momentum," head coach Greg Frady said. "We had the big sixth and seventh where we scored nine runs, but we just didn't have enough at the end. We're dealing with injuries and adversity, and I'm glad to see them fight, but we're going to have to find a way to win these games at the end."
In addition to Clements, Roach, Hood, Few and Leonard each had two hits for the Panthers.
The two teams will play will complete their two-game series tomorrow at 2 p.m. in a rare Monday game. Georgia State's schedule was altered late last week when its scheduled opponent, Lafayette, was unable to travel for the weekend series due to a virus outbreak on campus.