Sunday, March 20
Little Rock Shocks UL Lafayette to Win Series
LAFAYETTE, La. – For the second straight season, Little Rock baseball (8-11, 2-4 Sun Belt) won the season series against No. 16 Louisiana (12-8, 3-3) as it picked up a 7-1 victory on Sunday at M.L. Tigue Moore Field.
Sunday's series win marked the first back-to-back series victory against Louisiana since the 2000 and 2001 seasons. This was also the Cajuns' first series loss of the season.
"I can't say enough about how proud I am," head coach Chris Curry said. "This was probably our most complete game of the year. I'm a broken record, but it starts on the mound. When this club gets a good start and we're in the game, we feel like we can battle."
Freshman Riley Pittman entered Sunday hitless for the year, but he made sure he didn't go another game without one as he went 3 for 4 with two RBIs and two runs.
"I'm so proud of Riley Pittman," Curry said. "Coach Fanning and Raley have been working with him, and the talent is starting to ooze out of him. He broke out in a big way on the road."
Cameron Knight and Kyle Kirk each went 2 for 3 with Knight scoring two runs and Kirk scoring one.
Ryan Scott was 1 for 3 with two RBIs, two intentional walks and a double. He ended the weekend 6 for 12 with 9 RBIs, two home runs, two doubles, four runs and 14 total bases.
The game was a pitchers' duel up until the top of the fifth inning. Trojan starter Joe Corbett (3-0) and Cajun starter Nick Lee (3-1) kept hitters honest with limited hits and no runs through the first four innings. But Lee began having trouble with the Trojan hitters in the top of the fifth as he gave up four runs on three hits, a walk and a hit-by-pitch. Cameron Knight was hit by a pitch to begin the inning and advanced to second as Kyle Kirk singled through the left side. Zach Baker put down a sacrifice bunt to advance runners into scoring position. Riley Pittman earned his first-career hit with an RBI single up the middle as Knight scored the first run of the game. With runners on the corners, Hayden Martin laid down a sac bunt on the safety squeeze as Kirk scored the Trojans' second run. After Hunter Owens walked on five pitches, Ryan Scott earned his ninth RBI of the weekend with a two-run double to the left-center gap, putting Little Rock up 4-0.
The Cajuns had no answers for Corbett in the bottom of the fifth as he earned his sixth strikeout, the most by a Trojan pitcher this season.
After a fly out and a double by Knight, Lee was relieved by lefty Hogan Harris. Harris was effective for the Cajuns as he struck out the next two Trojan batters to end the inning.
With one out, Corbett gave up a single and a walk to force the Trojans' first pitching change of the afternoon. Reliever Matt McDowell gave up a single to right to put runners on the corners. Joe Robbins scored on a wild pitch for what would be the Cajuns' only run of the game.
Little Rock went on to score a run in each of the final three innings. In the seventh, Riley Pittman singled for the second time and was followed by a single to the pitcher. A throwing error allowed Owens to advance to second and Pittman to score. Preston Oberling came on for McDowell in the bottom of the inning and got three quick outs.
With two outs and runners in scoring position in the eighth, Pittman connected on his third hit of the day with an RBI single up the middle. Oberling got the Cajuns to go down in order for a second straight inning as the Trojans took a 6-1 lead into the ninth.
With bases loaded, Dalton Thomas earned his first hit of the day with an RBI single to right center, extending his hitting streak to 15 games. Cody McGill came on for Oberling in the bottom of the ninth. After getting a ground out, McGill gave up a walk and a single through the left side. With a 2-1 count, Cajun hitter Hunter Kasuls grounded into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play.
The last time Little Rock won back-to-back games against a ranked opponent was in 2013 against No. 10 Oklahoma.
"Once we get the starting pitching figured out and get three guys on the weekend who can throw strikes and give our defense a chance, I like our club," Curry said.
Little Rock returns to midweek action on Tuesday as it faces UAPB at 6 p.m., at Gary Hogan Field.
Troy Baseball Defeats Georgia Southern in Come From Behind Victory
STATESBORO, Georgia – The Troy baseball team scored all its runs in two innings and defeated Georgia Southern, 8-4, in a come from behind victory that clinched the series on Championship Sunday at J.I. Clements Stadium.
Troy (12-9, 3-3 Sun Belt) fell behind early in the first inning, but scored three runs in the fifth to tie the game at three. With two outs in the fifth, Chase Smartt doubled the 11th pitch of the at bat down the left field line for his first collegiate extra base hit.
After a Justin Friend walk, Steven Whitaker stepped to the plate as the tying run. He singled to right field and scored Smartt from second to cut the deficit to 3-1. Two more runs scored and tied the game at three as the Georgia Southern (13-7, 4-2 Sun Belt) second baseman committed a fielding error.
In the next inning, Smartt delivered a single through the right side that put the Trojans on top 4-3. Next up, Friend hit an RBI single to center field that scored Windham Jackson. Back-to-back singles from Brandon Lockridge and Peyton Fuller scored three more runs in the inning and put Troy ahead 8-3.
Georgia Southern took a 3-0 lead in the first inning when two-runs scored on a Will Hudgins single. The other run in the inning came on a sacrifice fly to center field, before a groundout to first brought the inning to an end.
Evan Hebert (2-2) settled down after he allowed three runs early. He pitched a career-high seven innings, only allowed four runs – three earned – on six hits, struck out three and picked up the win. Trey Johns and Marc Skinner closed the door on the Eagles and pitched the final two innings. Both pitched one inning and allowed one hit, while Johns struck out two in the eighth.
Six different pitchers saw action for Georgia Southern. Chad Simmons (2-1) suffered the loss. He pitched 0.2 innings allowed one run on one hit.
Troy had 12 total hits on the day and five different Trojans had two-hit performances. Fuller had two RBIs in the game, while Lockridge, Friend, Smartt and Whitaker each had one.
The Trojans return to Riddle-Pace Field for a Tuesday night matchup with Alabama A&M. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
JAGS SECURE SWEEP OF UT-ARLINGTON BEHIND BEMBNOWSKI
MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama baseball team used a six-run first inning and quality start from Austin Bembnowski to secure a three-game Sun Belt Conference series sweep of Texas-Arlington Sunday at Stanky Field.
Bembnowski (2-0) allowed two runs on five hits with four strikeouts and a pair of walks to earn his second win of the season. UTA left-hander Adam Meyer (1-1) allowed six runs on five hits with one walk in one-third of an inning in the loss. Jaguar southpaw Shane McKinley tossed 1 2/3 scoreless relief innings to earn his fourth save of the year.
USA (15-5, 6-0 SBC) jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Travis Swaggerty led off the inning with a walk, and moved to third on a single to right field by Cole Billingsley. A double steal advanced Billingsley to second and scored Swaggerty with the game's first run. Drew LaBounty followed with a single to put runners at the corners with no outs. Jared Barnes then delivered a sacrifice fly to left field to plate Billingsley and double the Jaguar lead. Danny Martinez, Matt Bolger and Ryan Raspino each delivered RBI singles later in the inning, and a wild pitch by UTA left-hander Brad Vassar allowed Raspino to score the sixth run of the frame.
"We had some windows of opportunity in the first (inning), and we took advantage of them," USA head coach Mark Calvi said. "We had some good at-bats; we took some walks, stole some bases to get into scoring position and the guys did a nice job of fighting their way on base and capitalizing on some of their (UT-Arlington) pitching mistakes early on in the game."
The Mavericks answered with a run in the top of the fourth on an RBI single by Brady Cox to cut the Jaguar lead to 6-1. UTA (10-11, 2-4 SBC) added its second run of the game in the top of the seventh on a leadoff solo home run by Noah Vaughan, and scored the game's final two runs in the top of the eighth on an RBI double down the left field line by Quintin Rohrbaugh and an RBI groundout by Vaughan.
Bolger went 2-for-4 with one RBI to lead South Alabama at the plate. LaBounty added two hits and one run scored, and Martinez, Raspino and Billingsley recorded one hit and one RBI apiece. R.J. Williams finished 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored to lead UTA offensively.
"They (UT-Arlington) are a very good team," Calvi said. "I'm obviously pleased with the weekend. Winning baseball starts on the mound and with good defense, and Austin Bembnowski gave us a good performance today. His fastball is hard to square up, and on a day where the wind is really blowing in you need some free passes to score some runs. It was a tough day to hit, but Austin did a really nice job and (Shane) McKinley was good for us at the end."
South Alabama will return to action Tue., March 22, when it travels to New Orleans for a 6:30 p.m. contest with New Orleans.
Bobcats Complete Third Consecutive Sweep
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State used a dominating team performance from the mound to secure a 4-0 victory over Appalachian State on Sunday to complete the team's third consecutive weekend sweep and second in Sun Belt Conference action for a 6-0 conference record. With the win, the Bobcats set up a meeting of teams undefeated in SBC play when they host South Alabama (15-5, 6-0 SBC) on Thursday through Saturday this week.
In Cory Geisler's first start on the mound since May 23, 2015 in last season's Sun Belt Conference Championship Tournament he struck out four batters and only gave up four hits in five innings of work in which he walked none and did not allow a run.
Brayden Theriot, Braden Pearson and Pasquale Mazzoccoli came in to clean up the game. Theriot struck out three and only allowed one hit in 2.1 innings. Mazzoccoli entered the game in the eighth inning and struck out four batters without giving up a hit to earn his fourth save of the season.
In the series against Appalachian State, the Bobcat pitching staff and defense put together 25 consecutive scoreless innings since giving up two runs in the second inning of Friday's game.
While the offense didn't quite light up the scoreboard like Saturday's game, the Bobcat bats scored two runs in the first inning and added a run in the sixth and eighth innings for the 4-0 win. The team piled up eight hits with two from Jaylen Hubbard. Tanner Hill finished with two RBIs, one coming on his team-leading fifth home run and the other on an eighth-inning sacrifice fly. Both Theodore Hoffman and Dylan Paul added RBIs in the game.
The Bobcats jumped on board with two runs in the first inning. Jonathan Ortega drew a walk and Luke Sherley reached base next on a hit by pitch. With runners at first and second base, Hoffman continued his outstanding week with an RBI double. After that, Paul brought in Sherley with a sacrifice fly for the early 2-0 lead.
After five scoreless innings, Hill broke the silence with his solo homer to left field, pushing the Bobcat lead to 3-0. He would pick up the next RBI in the eighth inning when he drove in Mickey Scott on a sacrifice fly.
Texas State heads to Edinburg, Texas, for a midweek matchup at UT Rio Grande Valley. After that, the Bobcats will return to Bobcat Ballpark to host a big conference series against South Alabama to be played Thursday through Saturday with games at 6 p.m. Thursday, 4 p.m. Friday and 12 p.m. Saturday.
Clements, Hood Lead Win No. 294 for GSU's Frady
ATLANTA -- Head coach Greg Frady became Georgia State's career leader in victories as his Panthers downed Arkansas State 14-6 Sunday to win the Sun Belt Conference series. James Clements drove in a career-high five runs on three hits, and Jarrett Hood added four hits and three RBI for the Panthers (11-9, 2-1 Sun Belt.)
Frady now has 294 victories in his 10th season at GSU as he surpassed his former boss, Mike Hurst, who won 293 games from 1993-2006.
"This is really about our first conference weekend playing Arkansas State, and the emphasis should be on our players, who absolutely played their butts off today. Our seniors really took charge," Frady said.
"I think Coach Hurst deserves a heck of a lot of credit for being the greatest coach to coach here and for all that he went through," he continued. "I'm very proud to say that he is a friend of mine and I was able to coach on his staff, but that's all completely secondary to what our players are doing right now. The focus should be on them, and they have handled the business in weekend number one in our conference and we're off to a great start."
The Panthers used a seven-run third inning to break open the game, turning a 3-3 tie into a 10-3 advantage, and Garrett Ford's outstanding relief effort kept the Red Wolves (10-9, 2-4 Sun Belt) at bay.
"The seven-run inning was really the decider," Frady said. "That changed the game entirely."
For the third straight game, the Panthers fell behind in the top of the first inning, this time allowing Arkansas State to take a 1-0 lead.
But Clements, who had the walk-off single in Saturday's 5-4, 10-inning victory, quickly tied the game with a run-scoring single to bring home Ryan Blanton, who led off with a triple.
After Joey Roach was hit by a pitch, Hood followed with an RBI-single to extend his hitting streak to 12 games. Brandon Gonzalez put GSU ahead 3-1 with a sacrifice fly.
But Arkansas State answered with two unearned runs in the second to tie the game at 3-3.
Hood led off the third by legging out a bloop double to right field, and he came around to score on an error. After Will Kilgore delivered a run-scoring single and Blanton drew a bases-loaded walk, Clements doubled over the left fielder's head to put the Panthers up 8-3. Then Hood made it 10-3 with a two-run single to right field.
After GSU starter Bryan White walked two in the fourth, Ford came on in relief. Arkansas State managed three runs that inning to pull within 10-6, but then Ford shut the door and earned the victory. He pitched five innings and allowed just one run on five hits with two strikeouts.
"We thought Garrett Ford would be a good matchup today, and he certainly was," Frady said.
Roach extended the Panthers' lead to 11-6 with an inside-the-park homer--his fourth of the season--in the fifth when left fielder Garrett Rucker collided with the wall.
GSU put the game out of reach with three runs in the sixth on a bunt single by Andy Burnett and a two-run single to right center by Clements.
"It was a great day to win the first conference series at home against Arkansas State, a good team and a good program," Frady said. "It's a good start for us. With our injuries, every game is going to be a monster right now, and we've got find a win to win every one of them. Today a lot went our way in the way we swung the bat and the way we pitched, so it was a good day."
Georgia State concludes its season-opening homestand by hosting Savannah State Tuesday at 5 p.m.
ULM Downs No. 26 Dallas Baptist in Series Finale
DALLAS – ULM scored the first five runs of the contest and held off No. 26 Dallas Baptist late to claim a 6-3 victory on Sunday afternoon at Horner Ballpark.
ULM (8-11) starting pitcher Brandon Bell shined on the bump as he notched a quality start, allowing just one run on six hits and two walks. The right-hander struck out three Patriots as he tied a career-best with seven innings of work.
The Warhawks got things going in the top of the first as Cade Stone drew a walk and Anthony Herrera followed with a single through the left side. After a Nathan Pugh sacrifice bunt, Spencer Hemphill drove in both Stone and Herrera with his two-RBI single up the middle to give the Warhawks the early 2-0 lead.
ULM extended the lead to five runs as the visitors struck for a trio of runs in the top half of the fourth inning. With one out in the frame, ULM picked up three straight infield hits as Danny Springer had a bunt single to the pitcher, Cade Stone singled to first and Josh Faciane had a bunt single that stayed fair and hit the bag at first base. Faciane’s bunt single allowed Springer to score to put ULM ahead 3-0. With two outs and the bases loaded, Pugh singled to center field and picked up two RBI as Stone and Faciane were able to race home to push the lead to 5-0.
After being held scoreless through the first three innings, the Patriots (13-6) broke through with a single run in the home half of the fourth. Daniel Sweet drove home Austin Listi with a two-out RBI single through the left side.
The Warhawks pushed the lead back to five runs, at 6-1, as on a delayed double steal in the seventh. Pugh was able to race home and beat a throw to the plate after Hemphill got caught in a rundown. Later in the frame the Warhawks loaded the bases but were unable to manufacture any more runs.
Dallas Baptist trimmed the deficit to three runs as the Patriots scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth. Darick Hall delivered a RBI groundout that plated Justin Wall and Austin Listi crossed home plate on a RBI single to right center by Trooper Reynolds.
Anthony Herrera closed the book on the Patriots in the ninth as the junior recorded the final three outs of the contest.
Dallas Baptist starter Dalton Higgins was tagged with the loss after ULM scored five runs (three earned) on eight hits and one walk during his 3.2 innings.