Tuesday, March 29
Late Rally Lifts Cajuns Baseball Over Nicholls To Start Road Trip
THIBODAUX, La. – The 27th-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team rallied for three runs on a Nick Thurman single in the ninth to post a 5-4 comeback win over Nicholls on Tuesday night at Ray E. Didier Field.
The win is the fourth straight for the Cajuns and improves the squad to 16-9 on the year, while Nicholls falls to 10-15.
The Ragin' Cajuns outhit the Colonels 10-9 on the evening with Brian Mills, Joe Robbins and Stefan Trosclair posting a pair of hits in the contest.
Reliever Reagan Bazar picked up his first victory of the year throwing perfect eighth inning. Sophomore Dylan Moore tallied his sixth save of the season with a scoreless inning in the ninth.
The Cajuns used six pitchers in the contest, while Nicholls used seven with Robbie Petty taking his first loss of the year. Petty gave up three runs (two earned) on six hits with five strikeouts in three innings.
Louisiana took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second as Brad Antchak scored from first base on a throwing error by Nicholls reliever Hunter Speer on a Trosclair sac bunt attempt.
The Colonels tied the game at 1-all in the bottom of the third on an RBI groundout to second base by Quade Smith.
Nicholls went in front 3-1 in the bottom of the fourth plating two runs on three hits and two Ragin' Cajuns errors. After tripling to lead off the inning, Alex Shermer scored on a ball hit to first by Gavin Wehby to give the Colonels a 2-1 edge. Wehby reached second on a throwing error by first baseman Alex Pinero and then scored on a single up the middle by Trevor Flynn.
The Cajuns loaded the bases in the top of the fifth with two outs on a walk to Joe Robbins, but Alex Ernestine got pinch hitter Dylon Poncho to pop up to second to end the threat.
In the bottom of the fifth, Nicholls added an insurance run Kyle Knauth RBI single up the middle to make the score 4-1. The Ragin' Cajuns got a big double play from Mills to end the inning as he gunned down Knauth at the plate on a fly ball hit to left by Flynn.
Trosclair cut the Colonels advantage to 4-2 in the top of the sixth launching a solo blast over the fence in left for his third home run of the season. Louisiana would load the bases later in the inning with two outs, but Brenn Conrad would fly out to center on a 1-0 pitch from Petty to end the inning.
After two scoreless innings, the Ragin' Cajuns rallied for three runs on four hits and a Nicholls error to take a 5-4 lead. Louisiana loaded the bases on three consecutive one-out singles by Robbins, Mills and Antchak. Following a Trosclair strikeout, Thurman drove the first pitch he saw from Petty back up the middle to plate two runs, and a misplay by Smith in centerfield allowed Antchak to score from first to put the Ragin' Cajuns in front.
In the bottom of the ninth, the Colonels would get a one-out single from Alex Tucker to put the tying run on. Pinch runner Justin Holt stole second and then moved to third on a ground out to second by Dylan Manichia. In the next at bat, Pinero made a nice play on a ball hit to first by Ethan Valdez and flipped it to Moore who was covering first base to end the contest.
The Cajuns return to action this weekend as they head to Jonesboro, Ark. to face Arkansas State in a three-game Sun Belt series at Tomlinson Stadium. First pitch of the series is 6 p.m. on Friday. The two teams meet again on Saturday at 4 p.m. before closing out the series with a 1 p.m. contest on Sunday.
Troy Baseball Walks Through Alabama State in Shutout Victory
TROY, Alabama – Cory Gill pitched six innings and only allowed one hit, while the Troy hitters were walked a season-high 10 times en route to an 8-0 win over Alabama State at Riddle-Pace Field on Tuesday night.
Gill (1-1) picked up his first collegiate win and pitched a perfect 5.1 innings before allowing a hit. The freshman struck out three in six innings pitched, didn't allow any walks and only threw 64 total pitches.
"Cory (Gill) was fabulous tonight," Mark Smartt said. "He's halfway through his freshman year and he's pitched well. I was also proud tonight because our at-bats were solid. We had some good turns with people on base. It was a solid effort, even though we didn't pound out a bunch of hits, I thought our at-bats were really good."
The Trojan bats were explosive, as Troy has now scored at least eight runs in five out of the last six games. The first run of the game came in the second inning, on a bases loaded walked with Steven Whitaker at the plate. Brandon Lockridge drove in the final two runs of the inning with a double down the right field line.
Troy added to its tally in the third inning with three more runs. Peyton Fuller scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Joey Denison to put the Trojans on top 4-0. TJ Binder and Tripp Calhoun each drew a walk with the bases loaded and gave the Trojans a 6-0 lead.
Trevor Davis and Brody Binder drove in a run in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively. Davis singled to left field and scored Lockridge from second. Binder blasted an RBI pinch-hit double to center field for the Trojans final run of the game. Binder has hit back-to-back pinch-hit doubles in his last two plate appearances.
Houston Mabray and Robert Harris completed the shutout for the Trojans. Mabray pitched two innings, allowed one hit, one walk and struck out two. Harris tossed one inning, struck out two and only surrendered one hit.
Three Trojans had multi-hit nights, while one had a multi-RBI night. Lockridge went 2-for-5 at the plate with a double, one run scored and two runs driven in. He was one of few Troy players who didn't have a walk. Chase Smartt had three walks, while Fuller and Calhoun each had two. Davis, Whitaker and Cameron Sanders had one walk in the game.
Troy will be back in action on Friday, with the first of a three-game series against New Orleans. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. It will be 80's weekend at Riddle-Pace Field, tune in to TroyTrojans.com for more information regarding the weekend.
Warhawks Fall to Demons in Midweek Series Opener
NATCHITOCHES, La. – A five-run sixth inning allowed Northwestern State to pull away for an 11-2 win over ULM on Tuesday night.
Cort Brinson’s bases-clearing double preceded run-scoring hits by Matthew Alford and William Townsend in that Demon at-bat.
ULM (10-14) struck first in the top of the second. Danny Springer took a pitch off the hip and Cody Stone followed with a bunt single to third base. Nathan Reynolds then shot a grounder through the middle for the first run of the game.
Northwestern State (13-11) took a 3-1 lead in the bottom half of the frame. The first three batters loaded the bases before Ethan Daily struck out the next two. A hit-by-pitch led to Josh Leone coming on in relief, but a single and walk brought in a pair of runs.
ULM got one of the runs back when Josh Faciane lined a two-out, full-count single to center field that plated Nathan Pugh after he had reached on a base hit.
A single through the left side in the bottom of the third put Northwestern State back up 4-2, but Jacob Stockton kept the inning in check by gunning down a runner at home after a lineout to right field.
Oklahoma Snaps Trojans' Winning Streak
LITTLE ROCK – With a six-game winning streak entering the evening, Little Rock baseball (12-12) saw its streak snapped as Oklahoma (12-13-1) took a 5-2 win over the Trojans on Tuesday night at Gary Hogan Field.
The nation's leading hitter and reigning Sun Belt Student-Athlete of the Week, Ryan Scott, did plenty as he went 3 for 4 with a walk. Scott came into the game hitting .489, but his performance put him back up to .500 for the year.
Dalton Thomas saw his hitting streak jump to 20 games as he went 1 for 4 with a run and a walk.
Besides Scott, second baseman Hayden Martin was the only other Trojan to have multiple hits for the night as he went 2 for 4.
Despite outhitting Oklahoma 10-7 and committing two fewer errors, Little Rock could only muster two runs. This was due in part to leaving 11 runners on base, tied for the second-most this season.
The Trojans took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. Nik Gifford got the frame started with his eighth double of season to left center. After a pop up and ground out that moved Gifford to third, Keegan Meyn reached on a fielding error by Oklahoma's Cade Harris at third. Gifford took advantage and scored the opening run.
The Sooners came out swinging in the top of the third as Alex Wise hit a leadoff double to center. Kyle Mendenhall moved Wise to third on a sacrifice bunt before Wise scored on a wild pitch with one out. Back-to-back singles by Hunter Southerland and Harris forced Little Rock's first of five pitching changes for the evening as Dylan Slayton made his way out of the bullpen to relieve Will Hazen (1-3). Slayton gave up a walk to Sheldon Neuse to load the bases for Oklahoma. Jack Flansburg came up with the big hit for the Sooners as he knocked a two-run single to right, giving Oklahoma a 3-1 lead.
Oklahoma took a 4-1 lead in the top of the fourth. Austin O'Brien singled to get the inning going before a one-out double to left by Wise knocked him in on a Trojan fielding error. The Sooners didn't stop there as they pushed the lead to 5-1 in the fifth. Cody Daylor came on for Slayton, but was welcomed with a Southerland single up the middle. Southerland made his way over to second on a sacrifice bunt by Harris before taking third on a wild pitch. One walk and a hit-by-pitch later, Oklahoma had the bases loaded. With a full count, Steele Walked drew the walk to bring home Southerland.
Little Rock scored its final run of the game in the bottom of the fifth. Oklahoma's Kenny Saenz came on for starter Kyle Tyler (1-0) to begin the frame. Scott welcomed Saenz to the game with a leadoff single to center. After Thomas walked, Gifford bunted into a fielder's choice as Scott was forced out at third. Austin Hansen then came on to relieve Saenz, before Cameron Knight hit a single to right and earned Little Rock's only RBI of the night as Thomas scored.
Following Daylor, Matt McDowell, Preston Oberling and Cody McGill made appearances for the Trojans as they held the Sooners in check with no hits and four strikeouts while walking three. On the offensive side, Little Rock had four more hits after the fifth, but couldn't a big hit to put any runners across.
"Offensively, I thought we were tentative and not aggressive to the fast ball at the plate," head coach Chris Curry said. "On the mound, I thought we pitched away from their barrels, and maybe we were a little afraid of contact tonight. Overall, the mood in the dugout for me was a little down and flat, and we addressed that. We also didn't get the executed pitch or at-bat at the right time during the game."
Little Rock will look to win its third Sun Belt series in a row as it travels to Appalachian State for a three-game series beginning on Friday.
Burgess, White Lead @ASTATEBaseball to 11-5 Win Over Memphis
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (3/29/16) – Matt Burgess drove in three runs and Ty White reached base five times as Bo Ritter tossed five innings of one-run baseball as the Arkansas State baseball team topped Memphis 11-5 Tuesday night at FedExPark in Memphis, Tenn.
Burgess went 2-for-4 at the plate with a team-high three RBIs, including two on a monster home run in the top of the ninth that set the final score at 11-5. White was 4-for-5 with two RBIs, three runs scored, and a walk to help the Red Wolves (12-12) offense. Ritter allowed one run (earned) on two hits with no strikeouts, but only one walk as the Hot Springs, Ark., native picked up his first win of the season.
Memphis (9-15) used six pitchers on the night with Jonathan Bowlan taking the loss. Bowlan allowed three unearned runs on three hits, but walked four. A-State got to reliever Drew Crosby who allowed five runs (all earned) on three hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Zach Schritenthal led the Tigers at the plate with three hits.
The Red Wolves started early with a bunt single from White to leadoff the game and he advanced to second on a throwing error by the Memphis catcher on the play. Jake Bakamus sacrifice-bunted White over to third and White scored on a Tanner Ring sacrifice fly. A-State added two more in the top of the second on a RBI single by White and a wild pitch that scored Neil Lambert to give the team a 3-0 advantage over the Tigers.
Ritter gave up his only run in the bottom of the third when Jake Overbey hit a pitch that snuck over the wall in left field for a home run. However, Tony Ortiz walked with the bases loaded to score one run in the top of the fourth before a wild pitch plated Burgess for a 5-1 A-State lead.
Arkansas State blew the game open with a four-run fifth inning with White starting the scoring with a RBI single through the right side to score Jeremy Brown. Ring singled home another run and extended his hit streak to eight games in the process as the visitors jumped ahead 7-1. Burgess singled home another run through a drawn-in infield before Joe Schrimpf singled home the final run of the inning to give the Red Wolves a 9-1 advantage after five innings.
Memphis mounted a bit of a rally in the bottom of the sixth inning with a three-spot to cut the A-State lead to 9-4. The Tigers scored first on a wild pitch by reliever Coulton Lee and added two more runs on a RBI single and fielder’s choice.
Memphis scored another run in the bottom of the seventh on another wild pitch, this one by Tanner Kirby. It was Kirby’s only hiccup, as the sophomore from Maumelle, Ark., was solid with three innings out of the bullpen with no other runs allowed on three hits with no walks and two strikeouts. Ring pitched the ninth for the Red Wolves and gave up one hit, but it was quickly erased on a 6-3 double play that ended the game.
Arkansas State is scheduled to play Mississippi Valley State Wednesday at Tomlinson Stadium in Jonesboro at 6 p.m. However, there is rain in the forecast and any schedule alterations will be announced on AStateRedWolves.com.
No. 6 TCU upends UTA
ARLINGTON, Texas – No. 6 TCU pounded out 16 hits and took advantage of three UT Arlington errors in a 17-4 win over the Mavericks on Tuesday night at Clay Gould Ballpark.
TCU (19-5) erased a 2-0 UTA (14-12) lead with five runs in the top of the third and never looked back. In all, the Horned Frogs pushed across 13 unanswered runs between the third and fifth innings, with 15 of their 17 runs on the night coming with two outs.
The Mavs, who entered the night hitting .309 as a team struggled to muster much offense against four TCU arms, finishing with just four hits on the night while striking out a season-high 15 times.
"They (TCU) played very well and hit a lot of balls hard," coach Darin Thomas said. "That’s the most we've struck out in a game offensively. We walked a lot of people and didn't execute pitches. You play a good team and do those things, that’s going to be the result."
The meeting was the second of three this season and the only one in Arlington. The first came as a loss for the Mavericks at Lupton Stadium on March 8. UTA is now 3-4 against Big 12 members this season.
Matt McLean went 1-for-2 with a walk and a run. Josh Minjarez was 1-for-2 with a double and one run for UTA. Christian Hollie, Brady Cox and Jerame Littell were hitless, but each record RBIs for the Mavs.
UTA Starter Brad Vassar (1-1) put up a pair of zeros in the opening two frames, but finished the night responsible for five earned runs on seven hits. He punched out three, along with a walk in 2.2 innings.
The Horned Frogs got 4.1 innings from starter Rex Hill, who took a no-decision despite punching out eight hitters on the night. Reliever Jared Janczak moved to 3-1 with the win, retiring both of the hitters he faced in the bottom of the fifth.
Offensively, all but two of the 12 hitters who received an at-bat picked up at least one hit, led by Cam Warner's 4-for-6 night that included three runs scored and an RBI.
In all the Mavs threw six arms on the mound with Logan Austin finishing as the only UTA pitcher to not allow a run. The freshman retired seven of the eight batters he faced in just his third appearance of the year, finishing with three strikeouts in tossing the final two innings of the night
After having the first three batters retired, the Mavs put something together in the bottom of the second to plate the game's first two runs. Quintin Rohrbaugh and RJ Williams picked up back-to-back singles and a wild pitch advanced both into scoring position with one out. Another wild pitch brought Rohrbaugh across while Darien McLemore walked. Jerame Littell's RBI groundout scored Williams to make it 2-0.
The Horned Frogs wasted no time erasing UTA's lead and scored five runs on two outs in the next half inning. A trio of singles and a wild pitch tied the ballgame at two before Josh Watson's home run to left cleared the bases and put them up 4-2. The Frogs would tack on another run in the inning, along with two more in the fourth before plating six unearned runs in the top of the fifth to break things wide open with a 13-2 advantage.
Minjarez gave the Mavericks some life in the fifth with a leadoff double. McLean beat out a hit to second base and raced to second on a wild pitch before Hollie's knock to short brought Minjarez home. McLean plated UTA's fourth run on a chopper to third for what would be the Mavs' final run of the night.
The Mavs will next jump back into Sun Belt Conference this weekend when they hit the road for a three-game set at Georgia State beginning Friday night in Atlanta, Ga.