Saturday, March 26
Jags Complete Sweep of Texas State
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Adam Wolfe's two-out RBI single in the top of the 11th inning lifted the University of South Alabama baseball team to a 3-2 win to secure a three-game Sun Belt Conference sweep over Texas State Saturday at Bobcat Baseball Stadium.
Ben Gann singled through the six-hole with one out in the 11th, and Jalen Haskin followed with a single into center field. Wolfe drilled a 2-1 pitch from Bobcat right-hander Pasquale Mazzoccoli through the left side of the infield later in the inning to score Gann with the game-winning run.
South Alabama left-hander Shane McKinley (1-0) tossed three scoreless innings with two strikeouts and two walks to earn his first win of the season. Mazzoccoli (0-2) allowed one run on four hits with two strikeouts and a pair of walks in 3 1/3 innings in the loss.
USA right-hander Hunter Soleymani allowed two runs on six hits with two strikeouts and one walk in 7 2/3 innings pitched without factoring in the decision. Bobcat left-hander Cory Geisler retired the first 12 batters he faced in the game, and did not surrender a hit until Travis Swaggerty reached on a two-out single to shortstop in the top of the sixth inning. Geisler allowed two runs on just three hits with seven strikeouts and two walks in 7 2/3 innings, but also did not factor in the decision.
"Hunter Soleymani was really good," USA head coach Mark Calvi said. "If he wasn't good then that game gets away from us because we did not come out and play the game, offensively, the right way behind him. He did a fantastic job keeping us within striking distance to win the ballgame later or at least tie it up; I am so proud of that guy and this team today. But Soleymani definitely set the tone."
Texas State (15-9, 6-3 SBC) pushed across the game's first runs on a two-out, two-run single to right field by Studdard.
South Alabama (18-6, 9-0 SBC) answered to tie the game with a pair of runs that came on two-out rally in the top of the eighth inning. Swaggerty reached on a two-out walk, and moved to second on a single to left field by Cole Billingsley. Jared Barnes followed with a two-run double to the left-center gap to score Swaggerty and Billingsley to knot the score at 2-2.
Texas State threatened when it loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the 10th on a leadoff walk by Mickey Scott, a fielder's choice by Jonathan Ortega in which Scott beat the throw to second for the force out and a fielding error by Jaguar left-hander Shane McKinley on a sacrifice bunt by Luke Sherley. McKinley struck out Studdard for the first out of the inning, induced a flyout to right field off the bat of Tanner Hill for the second out and recorded the final out of the frame when Drew LaBounty fielded a grounder off the bat of Teddy Hoffman and threw to Jason Cryar at third base to end the threat.
Barnes went 1-for-4 with a double and two RBI to lead the Jaguars at the plate, and Wolfe added a hit and one RBI. Studdard finished 2-for-5 with two RBI to lead the Bobcats offensively.
"I told the guys on Thursday that I felt we became more of a close-knit team, because competition, close games and adversity bring that out in you; you get to see what you and your teammates are made of. I think this team, the players and coaches, saw what it is made of as whole. I was proud of that. We had to scratch, fight and claw today and on Thursday. I think we became a more tighter-knit team this weekend then when we were before we came here."
USA will return to action Wed., March 30, when it travels to Biloxi, Miss., for a 6:30 p.m. contest with Nicholls State at MGM Park.
Mavs Run-Rule UIW in Series Finale, 13-0
ARLINGTON, Texas - UT Arlington completed the series sweep over Incarnate Word in run-rule fashion, 13-0, Saturday afternoon at Clay Gould Ballpark. The victory also marked the 250th career win for head coach Darin Thomas.
UTA (14-11) swept its first series of the season and racked up a season-high 18 hits, setting a new high-water mark in hits for the second time in three games. The Mavericks' first three hitters were a combined 9-for-10 with nine runs and five RBI, while five hitters finished with multi-hit games. The Mavs are riding a season-best four-game win streak and Incarnate Word moved to 5-19 on the year.
"We had a good week with four good games. We swung the bat all four and got some good pitching today," Thomas said. "We have TCU on Tuesday and a break here with Easter and we need it. It's just good to play good baseball, especially at home."
Matt McLean was a catalyst for UTA's offensive production once again, going 3-for-4 with three runs and two RBI, finishing with multiple hits for the eighth time in his last 11 games. RJ Williams went 3-for-3 with four runs and an RBI while Brady Cox picked up three hits with pairs of runs and RBI.
Kadon Simmons was relieved of any pressure on the mound and improved to 5-1 through five innings, allowing five hits and four strikeouts. Matt Michalski took over in the sixth and threw two perfect innings.
"It's nice knowing that we're going to score runs," Simmons said. "Sometimes as a pitcher you hope you have a quick inning here and there, but in the end you're always glad for that extra support and you pitch with that extra sense of confidence."
The Mavericks' pattern of scoring in the first inning continued through to the final game of the series. UTA scraped up two runs from a rally that began with its first three batters singling back up the middle.
McLean crossed the plate on Cox's base knock. Noah Vaughan reached on a fielding error at shortstop to load up the bases and Darien McLemore added the second run on a fielder's choice.
The Cardinals threatened in the top of the third as Hunter Kunc reached on McLemore's first fielding error of the season. A single advanced him into scoring position, but a 4-6-3 double play behind Simmons ended the effort.
UTA padded its lead in the bottom half of the frame with another three runs to up its lead to 5-0. Williams and Cox pushed another pair of base hits through and Vaughan sent Williams home on a single back up the middle.
Quintin Rohrbaugh doubled down the left field line to score Cox and set up two more in scoring position, still with no outs. McLemore lifted a sacrifice fly deep to left field to send Vaughan in and up the Maverick lead to five.
Hot bats swung back-to-back multi-run innings for UTA. In the fourth inning, Cox flied to right with bases loaded and Rohrbaugh later singled on the ground to left-center to pick up another two runs.
But the bleeding didn't stop for Incarnate Word in the fifth. Cody Farrell and Josh Minjarez' singles were converted into runs on a screaming triple from McLean that pierced the right field fence. Williams recorded his third single of the day to plate McLean and put the game out of reach 11-0.
Rohrbaugh notched his third hit of the day, an RBI single that came with two outs. McLemore followed with another base knock to close out the parade.
The Mavericks play the second of three games this season against metroplex rival TCU on Tuesday. The first pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. at Clay Gould Ballpark.
Freshman Lee Shines as Cajuns Sweep Panthers
LAFAYETTE, La. – Freshman right-hander Nick Lee was dominant on the mound guiding the 29th-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team to a sweep of Georgia State on Saturday with a 4-1 victory at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field.
The sweep is the third of the season for the Cajuns (15-9, 6-3 Sun Belt), with all three taking place at The Tigue.
Lee limited the Panthers (12-12, 2-4 Sun Belt) to one run on six hits in 6.2 innings to improve 4-1 on the year. The freshman struck out four and did not allow a free pass in his this quality start this season. Lee retired 12 of the 13 batters he faced from the second through the fifth inning.
"We have to pitch and play defense. We did a great job all weekend of staying true to that pattern," head coach Tony Robichaux said. "I think JT (Jeremy Talbot) and our hitters did a great job of making adjustments and we played lock down defense. Everyone did their duties and we got the sweep."
Eric Carter and Dylan Moore combined to throw 2.1 shutout innings to close out the contest with Moore earning his fifth save of the year. Moore retired four of the five batters he faced with two strikeouts.
GSU starter Bryan White was handed his first loss of 2016 after giving up four runs on seven hits with a walk and five strikeouts in 5.2 innings.
Offensively, the Ragin' Cajuns outhit Georgia State 8-6 led by a pair of two-hit performances by Dylon Poncho and Derek Herrington.
Joey Roach gave the Panthers an early lead in the top of the first inning as he sent a 1-1 pitch from Lee over the fence in right to make the score 1-0 GSU.
Brenn Conrad tied the game at 1-all in the bottom of the third doubling home Herrington on a ball hit to right center. Herrington led off the inning with a double down the left field line and then moved to third on a ground ball hit to the right side of the infield by Brian Mills.
Louisiana took a 2-1 advantage an inning later on an RBI single by Stefan Trosclair to left field. Like in the third inning, a lead off double down the left field line by Poncho led to the run.
The Ragin' Cajuns tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth on consecutive two-out RBI singles by Nick Thurman and Herrington.
Georgia State had three runners get into scoring position over the final four frames, but the Cajuns pitching staff tightened up and induced a ground out to end each threat.
The Cajuns return to action Tuesday at 6 p.m. as the squad opens a four-game road trip at Nicholls State. Following the contest with the Colonels, the Ragin' Cajuns will head to Jonesboro, Ark. for a three-game series at Arkansas State from April 1-3.
Eagles Hold on for Series Win at Arkansas State
JONESBORO, ARK. – The Georgia Southern offense gave starting pitcher Brian Eichhorn plenty of run support as the Eagles pounded Arkansas State 9-7 to win the series on Saturday afternoon. Eichhorn gave up three runs in the first inning, but settled down, retiring 20-straight batters to take his third win of the year. Georgia Southern visits Georgia Tech on Wednesday night with a chance to avenge the 16-inning defeat earlier this season.
QUOTABLES
HEAD COACH RODNEY HENNON
"I liked the way we responded after going down 3-1. We came back out and got four runs in the second. I'm really proud of Brian Eichhorn for the way he battled back after giving up three runs in the first. He really competed for us and gave us a great effort. To me that was the difference in the ballgame was his pitching. We've got to develop a killer instinct with this team. We got a lot of free bases and as many hits as we had, we had more chances to score. We've got a lot of room for improvement there as we move forward into the next week. We've got to do a better job of putting away teams, but it is good to get a series win on the road."
PITCHERS OF RECORD
WIN – Brian Eichhorn (3-1)
LOSS – Coulton Lee (3-2)
SAVE – Landon Hughes (1)
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Brian Eichhorn – FR – RHP – Richmond Hill, Ga.
7.0+ - 3H – 4R – 3ER – 1BB – 2K
Brian Eichhorn picked up his third win of the season with a dominant performance which got off to a shaky start. He gave up three hits and three runs in the first inning without getting an out, but he backed that up by dismissing 20-straight batters after giving up a home run. He exited the game fanning two while walking one in a solid outing that kept the high-powered A-State offense in check.
CRUCIAL MOMENTS
TOP 1st – Three walks in the first inning put the Eagles in an advantageous position with one out in the first, but only one run scored in the frame as the Eagles left the bases full in the opening frame.
BOTTOM 1st – A leadoff single by Ty White was backed up with small ball to move him along. The Red Wolves got a double which tied the game at 1-1, but a Matt Burgess two-run homer to right gave the home side a 3-1 lead.
TOP 2nd – The Eagles got a big inning in the second with a frame that got started with a leadoff walk. CJ Brazil singled to left to plate Lawson Humphries from third, but Ryan Cleveland did major damage two batters later with a three-run bomb to right. It was his second home run of the series and fifth of the season.
TOP 5th – Back-to-back hits in the fifth along with a wild pitch put runners on second and third for CJ Brazil. He struck out, but a wild pitch allowed him and the first inning of the frame to score. A sacrifice fly later in the inning by Hunter Thomas.
TOP 6th – A hit batter and a single up the middle put two more ducks on the pond for Humphries with no outs. He hit a bleeder over the infielders which dropped and died in front of the outfielder to score two more runs and make it a 9-3 game.
BOTTOM 8th – Arkansas State got back into the game with four runs off one hit and an error. Three walks and a hit batter featured in the inning which four different Eagle pitchers threw in.
NOTES
- With the win, Georgia Southern improves to 10-0 this season when scoring six or more runs.
- Brian Eichhorn's 20-straight outs was the most retired in order by an Eagle this year, surpassing his 13 in the App State finale.
- Cal Baker had a career-high three hits in the game to improve to 5-for-13 for the series.
- Logan Baldwin led the way for Georgia Southern in the three-game series, going 6-for-12 with two runs scored.
- Ryan Cleveland hit his fifth home run of the season and the second in as many games to extend his hit streak to 12-straight games. He also was .500 in the series, going 5-for-10.
- Landon Hughes earned his first Division I save in the game, going 1.1 innings with a strikeout.
NEXT GAME
The Eagles face Georgia Tech for the second time this season on Wednesday night with a game at Russ Chandler Stadium. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. in midtown.
Strong Pitching and Homers Leads ULM Past Appalachian State
MONROE, La. -- ULM starter Brandon Bell tossed seven strong innings and ULM got a trio of home runs en route to a 6-2 win over Appalachian State in Saturday’s series finale at Warhawk Field. With the victory, the Warhawks claimed the series, two games to one.
Brandon Bell (2-2) earned the win after seven innings of work in which he allowed just one run on three hits with three walks and seven punchouts.
Appalachian State (5-19, 1-8 Sun Belt) plated the game’s first run on a RBI single up the middle by Tanner Mann-Fix in the top of the third.
ULM (10-13, 2-4) answered right back with five runs in the bottom of the third. ULM’s five runs came on two swings of the bat as Jacob Stockton tallied a three-run homer and Tyler Cox hit a two-run homer as ULM catapulted into the lead.
The Warhawks added another run in the fifth as Will Daniels sent a solo shot over the wall in left.
Appalachian State set the final tally at 6-2 as it pushed one run across (via a wild pitch) in the top of the eighth inning.
Stockton led the Warhawks with two hits, three RBI and one run, while Spencer Hemphill tallied two hits and one run.
Mountaineer starter Colin Schmid (0-6) was charged with the loss after allowing five runs (four earned) on four hits and one walk in 2.1 innings of work.
Little Rock Sweeps Troy, Earns Sixth Straight Win
LITTLE ROCK – Little Rock baseball (12-11, 5-4 Sun Belt) broke out the brooms as it picked up the three-game sweep of Troy (13-12, 3-6) and won its sixth straight game with a narrow 10-9 win on Saturday afternoon at Gary Hogan Field.
Saturday marked the fourth straight game that Little Rock overcame a first-inning deficit to take the win. Little Rock's winning streak of six games is its most since 2012.
The nation's leading hitter, Ryan Scott, had a great day at the plate as he went 2 for 5 with four RBIs and run.
Dalton Thomas extended his hitting streak to 19 games, the longest for Little Rock since at least 1998, as he went 2 for 5 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs.
Also picking up two hits for the day were Hunter Owens, Cameron Knight and Hayden Martin. Knight picked up two RBIs and scored a run while Martin had an RBI and a run.
"This club is a blast to be in the dugout with right now," head coach Chris Curry said. "Offensively, I think we're very confident, and our guys really don't care what the score is. Our team believes that we're never out of it, and they're going to play hard until the end."
Little Rock fell into an early hole as it gave up three runs on five hits in the very first inning. Three of Troy's five hit were doubles.
Little Rock fired back in the bottom of the first. With Thomas and Gifford on base, Knight hit a two-run double down the left field line to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Troy had its biggest inning of the afternoon in the top of the second. With a runner on second, Joey Denison hit Troy's fourth double of the afternoon to plate another run. After starter Joe Corbett hit a batter, his day came to a very early end as Reed Willenborg came on to pitch. Cameron Sanders welcomed Willenborg with Troy's fifth double as it plated two more runs. Sanders continued to move around the bases as advanced to second on a passed ball and scored on a wild pitch to give Troy a big 7-2 lead.
However, Little Rock wasn't about to roll over. With two outs, Hayden Martin jumpstarted Little Rock with a single through the right side. After Owens walked, Scott doubled down the right field line to score Owens and Martin. Thomas then cleared the bases with a two-run blast to left to put Little Rock within a run at 7-6.
Little Rock finally broke through and went ahead in the bottom of the third. Knight singled to lead off the frame, then Matt McDowell doubled to right center to put runners in scoring position. After Kyle Kirk reached on a fielder's choice, Troy starter Evan Hebert's day came to an end as he was relieved by Corey Childress (1-2). Childress was able to get the first Little Rock batter he faced looking, but a sacrifice fly to left by Hayden Martin scored Knight to even the game at 7-7. Little Rock wasn't finished yet as Owens then singled to load the bases once more. A clutch two-RBI single by Scott pushed Little Rock out front at 9-7.
Troy tied the game in the top of the seventh after Cody Daylor had come on to pitch for Little Rock in the sixth inning with two outs. With one out, Troy's Trevor Davis doubled to left center. After the double, Sanders grounded out to Daylor for the second out. After Daylor issued a walk, Jarrid Garcia (1-1) entered the game. Brody Binder pinch hit for brother T.J. Binder and hit a two-run double to left center to knot the game at 9-9.
Little Rock responded with the go-ahead run in the bottom of the inning. Gifford got on with a leadoff double to center and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Knight. After McDowell struck out, Kirk walked to put runners on the corners with two outs. Zach Baker came through with the RBI single through the left side to put Little Rock up 10-9.
Keenan Wingfield entered the game in the top of the eighth and was lights out. 20 pitches in two innings with three strikeouts and nothing against earned him his second save of the season and gave Little Rock the sweep of Troy.
Little Rock returns to Gary Hogan Field on Tuesday as it faces the Oklahoma Sooners at 6 p.m.