Tuesday, March 22
Hood's Walk-off Blast in Tenth Lifts Panthers
ATLANTA -- Jarrett Hood blasted a three-run homer in the 10th inning to give Georgia State a 4-1 walkoff win over Savannah State Tuesday at the GSU Baseball Complex, the Panthers' (12-9) third straight victory.
With one out in the bottom of the 10th, Jaylen Woullard tripled to the left field corner in an at-bat in which he could have fouled out but the third baseman overran the ball near the dugout.
Savannah State (6-16) intentionally walked Joey Roach to bring Hood to the plate. The junior third baseman is hitting over .400 with 12 doubles but had yet to hit a homer for the Panthers. But he deposited the first pitch from Gregory Smith (1-4) over the left field fence for the victory.
That made a winner of Rhett Harper, a converted outfielder who made just his third mound appearance. The sophomore right-hander struck out two in a scoreless top of the 10th to earn his first collegiate victory.
Harper was one of four Georgia State pitchers who were outstanding on the night.
Starter Devin Vainer allowed just two hits in five innings, with the Tigers scoring their lone run on a solo homer down the left field line by Brian Miller. Vainer struck out six and walked three.
"What a great job by Devin," Frady said. "He gave us five really good innings, and we needed that."
Alex Hegner followed with 2.1 scoreless innings. After he allowed a single and a hitter batter in the eighth, Bryce Conley came on to strike out the final two batters. Conley also worked out of a jam in the ninth after Savannah State loaded the bases with one out; the junior righty got a popup and then a strikeout to end the threat.
"It was just a crazy game, and we did just enough to win it," head coach Greg Frady said. "The game was really about the start Devin Vainer gave us, the relief work of Alex Hegner and Bryce Conley, and then Rhett Harper coming in to seal it at the end.
"That's Jarrett Hood first homer at Georgia State, and I was very happy to have him at the plate in that situation."
Hood also had two singles in the game as he extended his hitting streak to 13 games.
Georgia State's win was its fourth walk-off of the season, including two of the last three games.
"We're playing a lot of close games, but we're finding ways to grind out wins in close games," Frady said. "I'm very proud of the team."
The Panthers now travel to nationally-ranked UL Lafayette for a Sun Belt series that will be played Thursday, Friday and Saturday because of the Easter weekend.
Warhawks Fall to Bulldogs Tuesday Night
MONROE, La. – Louisiana Tech scored four runs in the top of the ninth to pull away for a 7-1 win over ULM on Tuesday night.
The Bulldogs struck first as Sean Ullrich led off with a single and Garrett Dodd doubled to right center. Raphael Gladu’s groundout to second on the next pitch made it a 1-0 contest.
Louisiana Tech added to its lead when Jonathan Washam led the fourth inning off with a base hit off of Payton Coddou’s body. The next batter, Chase Lunceford sent a deep fly over the right field wall for a 3-0 margin.
Jacob Stockton’s home run on the bottom of the fifth’s first pitch was ULM’s first hit of the night.
Cody Daigle hit a three-run homer in the final stanza.
Cameron Linck picked up the win in his five-inning start. Ethan Daily got the loss in two frames on the hill.
Walks, Errors Too Much to Overcome for Mountaineers in 8-3 Loss
BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University baseball matched its third-highest hits total of the season with 10 but issued eight walks and committed two costly errors in an 8-3 loss to UNC Asheville on Tuesday afternoon at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
Brian Bauk went 3-for-5 and Matt Vernon went 2-for-5 with two RBI to pace Appalachian State’s 10-hit attack. However, the 10 hits only translated into three runs — two on Vernon’s two-run double in the first inning and one on true freshman Zach Santoro’s RBI triple in the sixth.
UNC Asheville only scored in two innings but they were both big frames — a five-run third that erased the Mountaineers’ 2-0 lead and a three-run seventh that broke open what was a 5-3 ballgame. Four walks and a two-out, two-run error by Santoro in left field were the biggest elements of the five-run third while a leadoff walk and an error by shortstop Henry Davis contributed to the three-run seventh.
Appalachian State (4-17) outhit UNC Asheville (5-15), 10-7.
Six Mountaineer pitchers combined to strike out 10 and surrender only seven hits but the eight walks, including six in 2.1 innings by starter Caleb McCann, proved to be the difference in the ballgame.
App State went with a staff day on the mound to allow freshman Breydan Gorham to skip his regular mid-week start and join the weekend rotation. Gorham (1-2, 3.09 ERA) will take the ball on Thursday when the Mountaineers open a three-game Sun Belt Conference series at UL Monroe. Game times for the Easter weekend set are slated for 7 p.m. ET Thursday, 7 p.m. ET Friday and 2 p.m. ET Saturday at ULM’s Warhawk Field.
Jags Fall to Privateers, 8-2
NEW ORLEANS – New Orleans left-hander Bryan Warzek tossed seven scoreless innings to lead the Privateers to an 8-2 win over University of South Alabama baseball Tuesday at Maestri Field.
Warzek (1-1) allowed five hits with five strikeouts and five walks in seven innings pitched to earn his first win of the season. Jaguar right-hander Harrison Spruiell (1-1) allowed three runs on three hits with one strikeout and two walks in 1 1/3 innings in the loss.
UNO (16-5) loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the first on a leadoff single by Ryan Calloway, and consecutive walks by Aaron Palmer and Dakota Dean, and took a one-run lead on a sacrifice fly to left field by Hezekiah Randolph that scored Calloway with the first run of the contest.
The Privateers doubled their lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the second on a one-out single to left field by Jay Robinson that scored Chaz Boyer, who reached ahead of Robinson on a double to left field. A two-out RBI single by Palmer later in the inning extended the UNO lead to three runs.
USA (15-6) threatened in the top of the fourth, which started with consecutive singles from Ben Gann and Danny Martinez. A flyout to center field by Matt Bolger allowed Gann to tag from second and advance to third to put runners at the corners with one out. But Warzek escaped the inning with a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play off the bat of Tanner Halstead.
UNO pushed its lead to 4-0 in the top of the seventh on a sacrifice fly to right-center field off the bat of Randolph to score Dean, who tripled to right field ahead of Randolph. The Privateers added the game's final runs in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI single to left-center field by Robinson, a fielder's choice RBI off the bat of Calloway, an RBI single to right field by Dean and a wild pitch by USA right-hander John Barr.
USA scored both of its runs in the top of the ninth on a two-out pinch-hit RBI triple off the center field wall by Adam Wolfe, and a pinch-hit RBI double to left-center field by Eddie Paparella.
Travis Swaggerty went 2-for-3 to lead the Jaguars at the plate, while Wolfe and Paparella added a hit and one RBI apiece. Robinson finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored to lead UNO offensively.
"Their starter had a sneaky fastball," USA head coach Mark Calvi said. "He walked some guys, but he was effectively wild and we didn't cash in on some opportunities. We had two double plays that killed some innings where if we could have scratched two or three (runs) in the first five innings, then you're looking at a different ballgame in terms of momentum. But it didn't happen and their kid gutted it out, really competed hard and they played good defense behind him.
"They are the best hitting team we have faced all year. I can see why they are hitting .320 as a team. They are tough at-bats up and down the lineup; there isn't an out in the lineup. You have to work to get them out, and we didn't do a good enough job tonight."
South Alabama will return to action Thu., March 24, when it opens a three-game Sun Belt Conference series with Texas State at 6 p.m. in San Marcos, Texas.
Hometown Products Shine as Troy Baseball Blanks Alabama A&M
TROY, Alabama – Three Troy, Ala., natives were key contributors in Troy baseball's 8-0 shutout victory over Alabama A&M on Tuesday night at Riddle-Pace Field.
Joey Denison had a 4-for-5 night at the dish and accounted for three RBIs. His four hits were the most by any Trojan this year and his three RBIs ties the most in a game by any Troy player this season. Chase Smartt chipped in with a two-run single down the left field line in the third inning. The final Troy, Ala., native, Houston Mabray (2-0), picked up the win as he pitched 2.1 innings in relief and only allowed one hit and struck out one.
Troy (13-9) scored the first run of the game as Peyton Fuller was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and no outs in the third inning. Denison hit an RBI single through the left side to put the Trojans on top 2-0. Two batters later, Smartt singled down the left field line and brought in two more runs for a 4-0 Trojan lead.
In the fourth inning, a run scored on a passed ball with no outs. Peyton Fuller drove in Shaw Pinnell, who reached on a bunt single, as Troy took a 6-0 lead. Denison drove in the final two runs of the game with a single up the middle.
Troy had five pitchers make an appearance in the shutout win. Cory Gill, the starter, pitched a game-high 2.2 innings, allowed two hits and struck out one. Robert Harris and Perez Knowles combined for seven strikeouts in three innings. Harris pitched two innings and struck out four, while Knowles pitched one and struck out three. Corey Childress closed the game with a three up, three down ninth inning.
Fuller and Pinnell, along with Denison, had multi-hit games. Fuller went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored, while Pinnell had two hits – both bunt singles – and scored two runs. Smartt and Brandon Lockridge contributed with the other hits.
Parker Hill (0-4) suffered the loss for Alabama A&M (5-17), as five pitchers also made appearances for the Bulldogs. Nolan Ramsey had a 3-for-3 night for Alabama A&M with a double and two singles.
The Trojans will hit the road to take on Little Rock for a three-game Sun Belt series. Due to Easter Sunday, games will be on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
UTA Completes Season Sweep of Baylor
ARLINGTON, Texas - UT Arlington snapped a five-game losing streak and completed the season sweep against Baylor with a 6-3 midweek win Tuesday night at Clay Gould Ballpark.
UTA (11-11) clinched its first back-to-back wins over Baylor (8-12) since taking three in a row across the 2004 and 2005 seasons. Baylor still leads the all-time series 85-33, but dropped to 33-20 in Arlington. The Mavericks improved to 8-5 at home for the 2016 season.
"The games we've lost lately, we've given up a big inning early and we couldn't get behind tonight," coach Darin Thomas said. "Tonight was a perfect example. We got the lead and just hung on. It was hard to score tonight. That wind was howling and if the wind is blowing, throw strikes and play defense."
The Mavs registered eight hits and were quick to score all six runs in the first three innings. Leadoff Matt McLean and freshman Noah Vaughan were catalysts for UTA's offense with two hits apiece at the top of the lineup. The Mavs are 8-4 this season when scoring in the first inning.
McLean finished 2-for-3 with two doubles, a run scored and a walk.
Vaughan proved to be just as effective in his first game as the two-hole hitter as he went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. The left fielder extended his hit streak to five games and has notched eight hits and three RBI during that stretch.
"I'm just getting in a groove," Vaughan said. "I'm trying to keep it simple, not do too much, stay within myself and hit the ball middle-away. I like to stay humble, but I knew the ball could play today and whenever you're rolling in this game, you've got to stick with what you're doing and build off of it."
Baylor tabbed just four hits on the night, half coming from first baseman Kameron Esthay who was 2-for-4 with a run and RBI for the Bears.
On the mound freshman Dylan Schneider evened his record at 1-1 after allowing just two earned run on three hits and a walk in 3.2 innings of middle relief. He also tied his season high with four strikeouts.
Jacob Moreland did his job in the following 2.2, allowing just one walk before Daniel James closed out the ninth, despite handing out a run on one hit and a strikeout.
Reid Petty was relieved in 1.2 innings after allowing a pair of walks and a HBP in his first start of the season.
The Mavs wasted no time getting the early lead as McLean walked to start things, followed by a double to left field by Vaughan. One batter later RJ Williams picked up his first RBI of the night with a grounder to second base, scoring McLean.
UTA gave itself some breathing room an inning later with a three-run second inning, aided by Josh Minjarez's two-run triple to the left-center gap. That came after Darien McLemore drew a walk to lead off the bottom half of the frame and Caleb Koedyker reached on a fielding error at third. Then, two batters following Minjarez's hit, Vaughan laced his second base hit of the night for a two-out RBI single through to the right side to score Minjarez.
One frame later Jerame Littell provided the big hit, singling with two outs and the bases loaded to extend UTA's advantage to 6-0.
Baylor finally got its first hit of the game in the top of the fourth with a single up the middle, but Schneider retired the next three and kept cruising.
The Bears wouldn't scratch the scoreboard until the top of the sixth with a one-out, RBI single from Esthay. A sacrifice fly on a nice defensively play by Vaughan plated the second Baylor run, closing the gap to 6-2.
Baylor added a run in the top of the ninth, but James still retired three of the four hitters he faced to close things out.
"There's plenty of season left. We have to stay positive and hang together. We needed that win. Winning helps a lot of things," Thomas said.
The Mavericks continue their five-game homestand with three games against Incarnate Word on Thursday. Game one of the series begins at 6:30 p.m. at Clay Gould Ballpark.