Tuesday, March 15
Eagle Baseball Powers Past Mercer, 11-10
MACON, GA. – Georgia Southern won its fifth-straight game on Tuesday night, withstanding a late charge to defeat Mercer 11-10. Evan McDonald and Ryan Cleveland both hit home runs to post an 11-6 lead through six. Mercer tallied four in the seventh and stranded 13 runners in the game. Next up is a weekend series against Troy starting on Friday at 7 p.m. in Statesboro
QUOTABLES
HEAD COACH RODNEY HENNON
"I was happy that we got the win today, but neither team played clean today. It was one of those games where you've got to hang in there and we were fortunate to hang in there and score one more than them. We've been playing with some confidence recently but we've got a lot of work to do, we've got to clean some things up so we can get back to playing good baseball."
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Evan McDonald – Jr. – SS – Platte City, Mo.
3-for-4 | 2 Runs | 1 RBI | 1 Walk
Evan McDonald continued his tear by extending his hit streak to eight games. He is hitting .462 over that span going 12-for-26. He clubbed his first home run as a member of the Eagles in the second to give the visitors a lead which wouldn't be relinquished.
CRUCIAL MOMENTS
TOP 1st – Two hits, two walks and a balk in the first gave the Eagles a 2-0 lead in the opening moments of the game. Will Hudgins drove in the opening run with two outs on a single to right. Later in the inning, Jordan Wren walked for the second tally.
BOTTOM 1st – A leadoff walk came back to haunt the Eagles in the bottom of the first when Trey Truitt came around to score thanks to a fielding error and Kyle Lewis' single to third base. A sacrifice fly later in the frame tied the game at 2-2.
TOP 2nd – Evan McDonald atoned for his error in the field by skying a solo home run to left. It was the first home run for McDonald in a Georgia Southern uniform.
TOP 3rd – Georgia Southern tacked on two more in the third with RBIs from Wren and Kent Rollins to make it a 5-2 advantage.
BOTTOM 3rd – Danny Edgeworth hit a solo job to right center to bring the Georgia Southern lead to 5-3.
TOP 4th – McDonald opened the fourth with a single and the Eagles looked to play small-ball with the sac bunt by CJ Ballard. CJ Brazil worked a walk, but it was Ryan Cleveland that did the damage by crushing a three-run home run to right which landed beyond a Georgia Southern tailgate tent in the parking lot. Cleveland's third long ball of the year made it an 8-3 game.
BOTTOM 4th – Mercer cobbled together a run with a walk and a single in the fourth to get a pair of runners aboard. A two-out wild pitch moved the runners up 90 feet, but a throwing error by relief pitcher Ryan Frederick sent the run home as he tried to cut down the runner at third.
BOTTOM 5th – The Bears loaded the bases with a hit batter and two walks, but a single up the middle that took a wicked hop over Kent Rollins allowed two runs to score and denied a potential double play. The runs made it an 8-6 game.
TOP 6th – A single and two walks loaded the bases with just one out. A wild pitch allowed the first run to score, but a single through the right side by Logan Baldwin extended the lead to 11-8.
BOTTOM 7th – Adam Kelly came on for the Eagles to start the seventh and gave up a single and two walks to load the bases. A single to center was misplayed by Baldwin, allowing each runner to move up a base and slice the lead to 11-8 with two runners aboard. Kelly got a pair of outs, but a single up the middle cut the lead to 11-10.
BOTTOM 9th – Chris Brown came on in the ninth and picked up his third save of the season despite some late drama. He hit the leadoff batter, but struck out two of the final three batters to leave the tying run at third.
Notes
- A total of 16 pitches between both teams threw a combined 396 pitches in a game that lasted 3:45. Only two pitches (Lawson Humphries and Connor Simmons) lasted two full innings. The Bears had two pitchers who lasted more than an inning, but nine hurlers took part for Mercer.
- Over the Eagles current win streak, Georgia Southern has outscored opponents 47-29 while hitting .315 as a team.
Next Game
Georgia Southern opens a three-game set against Troy on Friday night at 7 p.m. Evan Challenger will get the ball to start the season's second Sun Belt series. Saturday's game is set for 7 p.m. with the Sunday finale starting at 1 p.m. Danny Reed and Kris Draper will call the action live on the Georgia Southern Sports Network.
Moutaineers Hits Four Homers, Downs N.C. A&T
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Appalachian State University baseball hit four home runs on Tuesday night en route to a 7-6 victory over N.C. A&T at historic War Memorial Stadium.
The Mountaineers (4-13, 0-3 Sun Belt) hit three home runs in the sixth inning and one in the seventh. First, Matt Vernon hit a three-run blast over the left-field wall. Colin Schmid made it back-to-back homers when he launched a ball to center field. It was the first time that the Mountaineers have hit back-to-back home runs since former Mountaineer Michael Pierson and Conner Leonard accomplished the feat on April 1, 2015 in a 12-10 win over N.C. A&T.
Later in the sixth inning, Leonard added the third home run with his solo shot to right-center field. The home run was the first of the season for Leonard. App State had not hit three home runs in one inning since Feb. 18, 2013 in a win over Canisius.
Freshman right-hander Breydan Gorham pitched very well for the first five innings of the game. Through five innings, Gorham fanned nine batters, gave up two hits, no runs, and no walks.
The Aggies (3-14) would quickly answer the Mountaineers run with six runs of their own. Jarett Norman hit a lead-off home run. After a pair of singles and a wild pitch, N.C. A&T plated a run on a ground out. Another RBI single brought the Aggie back within two runs. With two men on base, Keenan Herring it a high-flying home run to left field to take a 6-5 lead.
Tanner Mann-Fix leveled the score at 6-6 with one swing of the bat that crushed a ball over the right-center field wall. The homer was Mann-Fix’s second of the year. The fourth home run of the game marked the first time that the Mountaineers hit four longballs in one game since last season at N.C. A&T.
After a scoreless eighth inning, Leonard hit a lead-off single and advanced second on the throw. Henry Davis then attempted to lay down a sacrifice bunt to move Drake Zupcic, who came in to pinch run, into scoring position. Davis’ bunt was fielded by the pitcher who committed a throwing error that allowed Zupcic to score the winning run.
Brian Bauk moved in from right field to the pitchers mound to close out the ninth inning. Bauk struck out two of the final three batters for his second save of the season.
The Mountaineers will be back in action this weekend for their first Sun Belt road series of the year in San Marcos, Texas against the Texas State Bobcats.
A-State Defeats SIU on Walk-Off Wild Pitch
JONESBORO, Ark. (3/15/16) – The Arkansas State baseball team defeated Southern Illinois-Carbondale by a score of 1-0 Tuesday night at Tomlinson Stadium/Kell Field when Jake Bakamus crossed the plate on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning.
Bakamus, who entered the game to play defense after a pitching change, led off the inning with a hit-by-pitch. He advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Austin Baker, who also reached on the play due to an error by the pitcher. Joe Schrimpf sacrifice-bunted both runners and also reached on an error to load the bases. Tony Ortiz struck out, but Seth Hackett uncorked a wild pitch with pinch-hitter Garrett Huff at the plate to score Bakamus and give A-State (9-7) the win.
Hackett took the loss for Southern Illinois (9-6-1), while Tanner Ring earned the win for the Red Wolves. Ring entered the game in the top of the 10th with runners on first and second and one out. He walked the first batter he faced on four pitches, but struck out Ryan Smith and got Jake Hand to fly out to right field to end the threat.
There were only nine total hits in the contest with A-State only collecting three, all of which came in the first three innings. Ty White, Garrett Rucker, and Matt Burgess had one hit apiece. Dyllin Mucha and Taylor Martin both had two hits each to lead the Salukis.
J.D. Miller started the game for A-State and didn’t give up a run in three innings, while Tanner Kirby and Coulton Lee also pitched three scoreless innings. Bradey Welsh recorded one out in the top of the 10th before giving way to Ring. Bryce Sablotny tossed five shutout innings for SIU, before Colten Selvey and Jacob Williams threw two scoreless innings each for Southern Illinois-Carbondale.
The Salukis loaded the bases in the first inning with two outs after a bunt single, error, and walk earlier in the frame, but didn’t score when Hand grounded into a 6-5 fielder’s choice. Southern Illinois found itself in a scoring situation in the second inning after a single and wild pitch put runners at first and second with two outs. Mucha singled up-the-middle, but Jeremy Brown made a diving stop and threw out Ryan Sabo at the plate trying to score on the play.
A-State saw Burgess advance to third base in the bottom of the second inning after a passed ball with two outs. Schrimpf walked to put runners on the corners, but Ortiz flew out to center field to end the threat.
Arkansas State hits the road again March 18-20 in a three-game league set at Georgia State. First pitch from Atlanta Friday night is scheduled for 5 p.m. (CT). Saturday’s game will begin at 1 p.m. (CT), while Sunday’s series finale is slated for a noon (CT) first pitch.
Panthers Lead Late Before Falling 10-6
ATLANTA -- With Jack Thompson driving in a career-high four runs, Georgia State led 6-4 lead after seven innings before Savannah scored four in the eighth and went on to win 10-6 Tuesday at the GSU Baseball Complex.
Georgia State (9-8) took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on run-scoring singles by Joey Roach and Thompson, but Savannah State (5-13) tied the game with two unearned runs in the third.
GSU moved ahead again with single runs in the fourth (on Thompson's sacrifice fly) and sixth (on Justin Jones' RBI-single), but each time, the Tigers answered to tie game.
With the score tied at 4-4 in the seventh, Thompson came to the plate with runners and second and third and two outs, and the sophomore first baseman dropped a single into shallow left center to score two and give the Panthers a 6-4 advantage. But Savannah State put up four runs in the eighth to take the lead for good and then added two insurance runs in the top of the ninth.
Georgia State tried to mount a ninth inning rally, loading the bases with two outs, but Ryan McCranie moved from behind the plate to the mound and got Will Kilgore to ground out for the final out.
Savannah State reliever Gregory Smith (1-3) earned the win with 3.1 innings of work, and McCranie picked up his first save. Devin Vainer (0-2) took the loss in relief. GSU starter Garrett Ford pitched into the sixth inning and allowed just one earned run on six hits while striking out six.
Jarrett Hood had his Sun Belt-leading 11th double in the first inning for the Panthers.
Georgia State opens Sun Belt play this weekend, hosting Arkansas State for a three-game series that begins Friday at 6 p.m. at the GSU Baseball Complex.
Jags Fall at Southeastern Louisiana
HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana scored seven unanswered runs en route to a 9-2 win over the University of South Alabama baseball team Tuesday at Alumni Field.
SLU (11-6) broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the sixth inning with four runs, followed by a three-run seventh to end the game's scoring.
USA (12-5) pushed across the game's first runs in the top of the second. The Jags loaded the bases with one out in the inning on a double to the right-center gap by Ben Gann, a walk by Carter Perkins and single to right field by Brendan Donovan. Tanner Halstead then lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to plate Gann with the game's first run. A wild pitch from SLU right-hander Pat Cashman allowed Perkins to score one batter later and double the USA lead to 2-0.
SLU answered with a pair of runs to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth. Consecutive singles from Brennan Breaud and Jameson Fisher put runners at the corners for the Lions with no outs. Breaud then scored on a wild pitch from Jaguar right-hander Randy Bell with the Lions' first run of the game. Webb Bobo delivered a one-out RBI single to center field later in the inning to score Fisher and tie the game 2-2.
Southeastern Louisiana then pushed across four runs in the bottom of the sixth to take a four-run lead. Jacob Seward reached on a leadoff single to second, and moved to second on the play when Drew LaBounty's throw sailed wide at first base. Breaud followed with a one-out RBI single back up the middle to score Seward for a 3-2 Lion lead. Daniel Midyett then delivered a two-run home run to right field to extend the SLU lead to 5-2. Bobo followed with a solo home run to center field to push the Lion lead to 6-2.
SLU added the game's final runs in the bottom of the seventh on a two-out RBI single to right field by Midyett, a bases-loaded hit by pitch to Julian Service from Jaguar right-hander Jordan Schmits and a steal of home by Midyett.
SLU left-hander Drew Avans (1-1) tossed four scoreless relief innings, and allowed four hits with four strikeouts to earn his first win of the season. Bell (0-1) allowed three runs on six hits with a career-high four strikeouts and one walk in 5 1/3 innings in the loss.
Gann went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored to lead the Jaguars at the plate. Midyett finished 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBI and two runs scored to lead the Lions offensively.
"We led off the top of the sixth with back-to-back base hits, but didn't get a bunt down and went quietly from there," head coach Mark Calvi said. "When you get the first two hitters on with no outs, you expect to score at least two runs. When you score less than two, it's a letdown. When you don't score any then that hurts your momentum. They (Southeastern Louisiana) were obviously thrilled to get out of that jam, and they went and put up seven runs over the next two innings. But Randy Bell did a fantastic job and competed his tail off for us tonight."
South Alabama will return to action this weekend when it hosts Texas-Arlington in a three-game Sun Belt Conference series at Stanky Field, with game one set for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch Friday.
Big Bats Not Enough in Bobcats Loss to UTSA
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Texas State's streak of seven consecutive wins came to an end in San Antonio Tuesday night as I-35 Rival UTSA beat the Bobcats, 14-7. Texas State walked 10, hit three batsmen, threw two wild pitches and committed two errors to drop to 12-5 on the season.
There were offensive highlights for the Bobcats though with Theodore Hoffman finding his swing for the fences, Granger Studdard boosting his batting average and Jonathan Ortega continuing his takeover of college baseball. .
Hoffman sent out two home runs on a 3-for-4 night, racking up four RBIs and bringing his batting average up to .317. After hitting his first home run of the season on Saturday, Studdard knocked his second of the year Tuesday night. It was one of two hits for his 2-for-4 night, adding a walk and boosting his batting average to .311. Meanwhile, Ortega went 4-for-5, knocking hit after hit to boast a .408 batting average.
In addition to that trio, Jared Huber was 2-for-3 while Tanner Hill, Jaylen Hubbard and Cody Lovejoy each added a hit apiece. In total, the Bobcats struck 14 hits, two more than the Roadrunners. Unfortunately, the defense and pitching faltered, allowing 14 runs on 12 hits for UTSA. Seven pitchers threw for the Bobcats with none of them going longer than the 2.2 innings from starter Brandon Lewis.
For the first time in seven games, the Bobcats did not score in the first inning. Instead, UTSA put a run up on the board, but Texas State struck back in the top of the third. Lovejoy drew a two-out walk to set up Ortega. With two strikes, he nailed a double to left centerfield, and Lovejoy used his speed to score all the way from first base, tying it up, 1-1.
The Roadrunners answered in the bottom of the third with their second run of the day. Two walks and two singles put UTSA up, 2-1. With two outs and the bases loaded, Hubbard made a nice snag on a line drive to third base to close the inning out and limit UTSA to just one run in the inning.
Studdard would ensure the lead was short-lived with his homer in the top of the fourth to tie it up, 2-2. Studdard sent a straight shot to right centerfield.
The bottom of the fifth inning started with two walks and a single to load the bases for UTSA. The Roadrunners drew a bases-loaded walk to go ahead, and then added two more runs on a bases-loaded hit up the middle for a 5-2 UTSA lead. The Roadrunners kept the pressure on and would score four more runs before the inning was over to claim a 9-2 lead for UTSA.
In the top of the seventh, the Bobcats were able to close the gap with a solo home run from Hoffman, his first of the season. After that, Huber knocked a single up the middle and Lovejoy sent a single to the outfield. Next, Ortega legged out an infield single to load the bases and set up the Bobcats to score another run on a groundout. Huber crossed the plate to pull the Bobcats within five, 9-4.
After the strong offensive inning for the Bobcats, the Roadrunners countered with three more runs. Texas State, though, bounced back in the eighth inning. Hill and Hubbard hit back-to-back singles to start the inning. With two on base, Hoffman launched his second home run of the day to close the UTSA lead to 12-7. The Roadrunners, though, scored two more runs in the bottom of the eighth to cap the game.
Texas State returns to the friendly confines of Bobcat Ballpark to host Appalachian State for a three-game series this weekend with games at 6 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday.
UTA Comeback Falls Short at No. 25 Texas Tech
ARLINGTON, Texas - The No. 25 Texas Tech Red Raiders put up six runs in the top of the second inning and held off a steady UT Arlington comeback in picking up a 6-4 win in front of 4,033 fans at Globe Life Park on Tuesday night.
Tyler Neslony's grand slam in the second frame did the majority of the damage in the big inning for the Red Raiders (10-6), who were only able to muster five hits on the night against the UTA (10-8) pitching staff. The Maverick bullpen was exceptionally stellar as Dylan Schneider, Jacob Moreland and Daniel James combined to throw 7.1 shutout innings, allowing just two hits on the night.
"Anytime they score like that on you it hurts a little bit," Brady Cox said following the game. "But we have the guys and the offense that can easily claw our way back into it. We definitely have the bullpen to throw up zeros like you saw. So the fact that we dad and we were slowly getting there we just didn't have enough ball game to get there."
Meanwhile, the Mavs bats continued to produce, totaling 11 hits against a trio of Texas Tech arms, including typical Sunday starter Ty Damron, who allowed eight in a 4.1-inning start. Reliever Ryan Moseley picked up his second win of the season, allowing a run on three hits in 2.2 frames before Robert Dugger retired all six of the batters he faced to earn his second save of the year.
Matt Michalski took his first loss of the season, striking out two of his three hitters on the night in a scoreless first inning before allowing all six runs in the bottom half of the frame.
Five UTA hitters picked up a pair of hits on the night, with Cox leading the way with a 2-for-4 night that included an RBI double in the seventh with two outs that scored Quintin Rohrbaugh and cut the Red Raider lead to 6-4. RJ Williams, Christian Hollie, Jerame Littell and Rohrbaugh all finished with two hits apiece on the night.
"That's two games in a row we've gotten behind early. It's tough. They had a little more rested pitching staff then we did but that's no excuse," coach Darin Thomas said. "We've got to try and get the lead early. But I'll give our bullpen a ton of credit. They hung zeros for seven innings and kept us in the game. We got the tying run up there a couple of times and that's all you can ask when your behind. I thought all of the guys that came in relief did a great job of keeping us in it."
The Mavs threatened to take the early lead in the first when Williams and Hollie delivered one-out singles, but Damrom responded with a big strikeout of Rohrbaugh before Ryan Long made a nice play behind the third-base bag to rob Cox of a run-producing extra-base hit to end the inning.
Texas Tech then wasted little time putting together a rally in the top of the second, loading the bases with one out before a walk to Kholeton Sanchez put them up 1-0. A sacrifice fly from Stephan Smith upped the lead to 2-0 and two batters later, after a four-pitch walk to Trey Ochoa, Neslony delivered his only hit of the night when he lifted a 1-2 pitch into the right-field seats for a grand slam that broke the game open.
But the UTA bullpen did its job the rest of the way, keeping Texas Tech where they were and allowing the Maverick offense to mount a comeback. The Mavs finally got on the board when Cox delivered a RBI single in the bottom of the third, scoring Rohrbaugh who had doubled with two outs.
Two innings later UTA plated two more, getting an RBI triple from Hollie off the center-field wall before Rohrbaugh picked up an RBI with a grounder that scored Hollie from third.
The Mavs couldn't anything with a leadoff single from pinch hitter Noah Vaughan in the sixth, but UTA cashed in once again on Cox's double in the seventh and found itself down just 6-4. From there Dugger took over for the Red Raiders, punching out three in 2.0 innings while James did the same for the Mavs in tossing the final two frames.
UTA will head to defending Sun Belt Conference champion South Alabama for a three-game series in Mobile, Ala., beginning Friday evening at Stankey Field.
McNeese Knocks off ULM in Midweek Opener
LAKE CHARLES, La. – The McNeese State Cowboys pulled away late for an 11-2 win over ULM in the two-game series opener on Tuesday night.
ULM struck first after a double-play grounder brought in a run. Cade Stone’s infield single led off the game and was followed by Josh Faciane’s base hit to right field that put runners on the corners.
The Cowboys tied it in the bottom half of the frame on Joe Provenzano’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly. They extended their lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the second when Ricky Ramirez’s double to right field followed a pair of two-out walks.
ULM got within 3-2 in its ensuing at-bat. Will Daniels lined a base hit to left field, his first of the season, and moved over 90 feet after Garrett Walters’ first career sacrifice bunt. Faciane drove Daniels in one another knock to right field.
McNeese State went ahead 6-2 after loading the bases via a walk and two hit batsmen. An RBI groundout and two-run single by Ramirez added to the lead. Matt Gallier also added a three-run homer to left center.