Saturday, March 5
Bobcat Offensive Explosion Too Much for UIW
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State matched the team's highest offensive output from 2015 with 22 runs in Saturday's game against Incarnate Word. Every spot in the lineup registered at least one hit in the game as the Bobcats stacked up 22 hits to beat UIW, 22-5, and improve to 7-4 on the season.
Freshman Jonathan Ortega continues to put together a stellar freshman campaign with a 3-for-4, four-RBI day, scoring once and walking once. He wasn't the only one to pull four RBIs though as Cory Geisler and Jaylen Hubbard each tallied four RBIs while Derek Scheible knocked in three RBIs with a three-run homer. Another standout for Texas State was Tanner Hill, who improved his season batting average to .302 with a 4-for-5 day at the plate, scoring a career-high five runs. After Hill's four hits, Ortega, Theodore Hoffman and Hubbard each contributed three apiece while Geisler struck two hits. In all, of the 14 Bobcats who swung a bat Saturday, 13 of them crossed home plate at least once.
The Bobcat offense was able to get hot pretty quick with four runs in the first and nine combined runs in the first three innings. In the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, Texas State combined for 13 more runs with the only scoreless innings being the fourth and fifth.
Saturday starter Jeremy Hallonquist helped the Bobcats get a strong start defensively with no runs or walks allowed through the first three innings. Unfortunately, a come-backer caught him right on the wrist to end his day. On the play, he still had the presence of mind to get the ball to first base for the final out of the top of the third inning. After Hallonquist, Justin Dellinger, Brayden Theriot, Braden Pearson and Quinn Atwood closed out the game, combining for three strikeouts and just one walk. Theriot, the freshman picked up the first win of his career.
Other firsts happened for the Bobcats with Jacob Almendarez and Felipe Rodriguez notching their first career hits and Scheible sending out his first home of the season.
Granger Studdard made a great defensive play to keep the game scoreless in the top of the first. Incarnate Word knocked a base hit to left field with runners at first and second base, and Studdard threw the ball on a frozen rope to Hill, covering home plate, for the final out of the top of the inning.
The Bobcats were able to take that defensive momentum to the bottom of the inning to score four runs in their first at-bat. Texas State's upperclassmen came up big in the inning with a two-out walk from Studdard to keep the Bobcats alive and RBIs from Hill, Geisler and Cody Lovejoy.
Studdard and Ryan Newman drew back-to-back walks with two outs to set up Hill for the first RBI of the game. He sent a base hit through the right side to plate Studdard. Geisler followed with a single up the middle to plate both Newman and Hill for a quick 3-0 Bobcat lead, and Lovejoy kept it going. He knocked a double down the third-base line to bring in Geisler and put Texas State up, 4-0.
In the top of the second, Hubbard closed the UIW at-bat out with a 5-4-3 double play. Like Studdard, he was able to take that momentum to the bottom of the inning, leading off with a double down the third-base line. Next, Ortega sent a hit through the right side to put runners at the corners. Hubbard would score on a groundout for a 5-0 Texas State lead.
Hill kept his strong day going with a leadoff hit through the left side to start the third inning. Lovejoy followed with a walk and Hoffman loaded the bases with a base hit. Next, Hubbard brought in Hill on a fielder's choice to put the Bobcats up, 6-0. After that, Ortega blasted a triple to right centerfield for two more runs. It was the first of two triples on the day for Ortega. Last season, the Bobcat leaders in triples had two for the year. Luke Sherley kept the scoring going with a base hit to left field to bring in Ortega and claim a 9-0 lead.
In the top of the fourth, Incarnate Word was able to bring a run in after a leadoff double and a single to left field. The Cardinals were able to add another in the sixth inning. With one out, UIW drew a walk and hit back-to-back singles to load the bases. An error allowed one run in, but Theriot struck out the next batter and forced a fly out after that to limit the damage and preserve a 9-2 Texas State lead.
Texas State answered in the bottom of the sixth inning. Studdard started the Bobcats with a leadoff single to left field. Newman followed with a walk and Hill knocked his third hit of the day after that. With bases loaded and facing a new pitcher, Geisler sent a double to left centerfield to plate two runners. Hubbard brought in another run with his second hit of the day, a single to right field. After that, Ortega kept the runs coming in with a big triple to left centerfield for two more runs and a 14-2 Bobcat lead.
The Bobcats would score eight more runs combined in the seventh and eighth innings, three coming in on Scheible's homer. Incarnate Word would add two runs in a last effort in the top of the ninth, but Texas State would hold on to the team's commanding lead for the win.
The Cardinals and Texas State play the series finale at 1 p.m. Sunday with Jonathan Hennigan on the mound for the Bobcats.
Eagles Blank Memphis, 5-0
STATESBORO, Ga. – The Eagles held the Tigers scoreless 5-0 in the second contest against Memphis Saturday night at J.I. Clements Stadium to lock in the series win. Cohen improved to 1-1 on the year after carrying a no-hitter through six innings, it was the longest an Eagle pitcher has taken a no-no this season. Georgia Southern concludes the series against Memphis Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
QUOTABLES
HEAD COACH RODNEY HENNON
"Chase Cohen was on top of his game tonight. We had one lead-off man on all night and when you can do that it's a lot less pressure on your defense. The bottom of the order stepped up. We had some production down there tonight and we played pretty clean defensively and was able to put together a solid game. Cal Baker put a pretty good swing on the ball to drive in that first run early and guys five through nine did a good job of executing and giving us some good at-bats."
STARTING PITCHER CHASE COHEN
"I was just trying to let them hit the ball and put it in play for my team to make plays. I know they're backing me up, making plays, and I'm confident with them back there. In high school my biggest component was throwing strikes and being able to bring that into college really helped me get outs the same way I did in high school."
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Chase Cohen // RHP //Fr. // Alpharetta, Ga.
Chase Cohen won his first game of the year, taking an outstanding no-hitter into the seventh inning, putting him 1-1 on the year. The freshman finished the game giving up only one hit in his 6.1 innings on the mound. He fanned seven and walked just one.
CRUCIAL MOMENTS
BOT 2ND – Georgia Southern scored a pair in the second inning to post an early 2-0 lead. Eric Furphy grounded out to advance Logan Baldwin to third and score Will Hudgins. Cal Baker followed with an RBI single to plate Baldwin.
BOT 6TH – Cal Baker brought in another Eagle run in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI single to left. A single to second by Evan McDonald later in the inning plated Baldwin. A wild pitch sent Baker across, scoring the third run of the innings and the final score of the game.
NOTES
- Chase Cohen's six innings of no-hit ball is the longest an Eagle pitcher has taken a no-no this year. That surpasses Evan Challenger's 5.0 innings last night.
- The last time Georgia Southern shut out an opponent was last season (2/28/15) against Georgia.
- The last time the Tigers were shut out on the road was in 2013.
- Georgia Southern has won its last five games to improve to 7-4 on the year, a new high-water mark for the year.
NEXT GAME
Georgia Southern goes for the series sweep over Memphis on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. Fans can watch the game on GS All-Access at GSEagles.com or listen live on Georgia Southern Sports Network.
Jags Even Series with Middle Tennessee
MOBILE, Ala. – Ryne Long tossed four scoreless relief innings, and the University of South Alabama baseball team pushed across a pair of runs in the sixth inning to defeat Middle Tennessee 3-2 Saturday at Stanky Field.
Long (1-0) allowed just one hit and struck out two Blue Raiders in four innings to earn the win. Right-hander Austin Bembnowski allowed two runs on eight hits with a pair of strikeouts in five innings without factoring in the decision.
"I thought (Austin) Bembnowski did a really nice job," head coach Mark Calvi said. "They (Middle Tennessee) have a lot of tough outs. Bembnowski hung in there; he had some traffic and he pitched his way through it. And Ryne Long was fantastic today out of the bullpen. He got his leadoff out every time, and I couldn't be prouder of those two kids today. They both did a fantastic job."
Middle Tennessee (5-5) broke a scoreless tie with the game's first run in the top of the fourth. Brad Jarreau singled to center field to lead off the top of the fourth, and moved to second on a one-out single to left-center by Kevin Dupree. Austin Dennis later delivered a two-out RBI single to right field to score Jarreau for a one-run Blue Raider lead.
The Blue Raiders doubled their lead an inning later. Sullivan led off the top of the fifth with a single to right field, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Chaz Vesser. Riley Delgado followed with a one-out RBI single to left field to score Sullivan and push the Middle Tennessee lead to two runs.
USA (9-2) answered with its first run of the game in the bottom of the fifth. The Jags loaded the bases with no outs on three consecutive walks from Blue Raider left-hander Tyler Troutt to Danny Martinez, Adam Wolfe and Eddie Paparella drew consecutive walks to lead off the bottom of the fifth. Cole Billingsley then drove in the first Jaguar of the game later in the inning with a sacrifice fly to center field to score Martinez and cut the MT lead to one run.
South Alabama plated the decisive runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Jared Barnes drew a leadoff walk, and Ben Gann followed with a single down to left field. A sacrifice bunt by Matt Bolger moved both runners into scoring position with one out. Martinez followed with a two-run single to right-center field to score Barnes and Gann for a 3-2 Jaguar lead.
"For whatever reason, we're not clicking offensively right now," Calvi said. "We haven't swung the bats well for the last week. We have gotten our share of hits, but we weren't clicking offensively again today. Our guys worked hard at the plate. We gave away some at-bats, but our guys pitched well and played defense and that's how we won the ball game."
Troutt (1-1) allowed three runs on four hits with four strikeouts and five walks in 5 1/3 innings in the loss.
Barnes went 2-for-2 with a double and a run scored to lead the Jaguars at the plate. Martinez added a hit, two RBI and one run scored, and Billingsley drove in one run.
The series will conclude with the rubber match at 1 p.m. Sunday at Stanky Field.
Little Rock Splits Doubleheader with Oral Roberts
TULSA, Okla. – After losing the first game of today's doubleheader by a score of 3-2 to Oral Roberts (5-5), Little Rock baseball (5-6) was able to pull out a win in the second game with 9-8 victory.
For the entire day, Ryan Scott continued to stay on fire as he went 4 for 7 with two RBIs, two runs, a double and three walks. Nik Gifford and Dalton Thomas each went 4 for 10 with two runs each. Gifford now has six consecutive games with multiple hits and has reached base in all 11 games this season.
"Even though it was an ugly win, we'll take it," head coach Chris Curry said. "We needed it in the worst way because this team's makeup and character is still intact. We tell them over and over that we believe in them."
The game marked the sixth straight game in which Little Rock had double-digit hit totals.
"We're hitting against very good clubs that can pitch. What that tells me is the coaching staff isn't panicked about our up and down play right now, and we're going to be in every game."
GAME 2 RECAP
Little Rock got off to a hot start, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning. Hunter Owens got on with a leadoff single up the middle before Ryan Scott walked on four pitches. Dalton Thomas singled to right to load the bases. With one out, Matt McDowell walked as Owens trotted home for the Trojans' first run. Ty Gunter came up with a clutch two-run double down the right field line as Scott and Thomas scored to put Little Rock up 3-0.
The Trojans went up 4-0 in the top of the second. Hayden Martin walked to begin the inning, and then a double off the right center wall by Scott scored him.
Oral Roberts got into the game in the bottom of the third. Trevor McCutchin reached on an error and advanced to third on a Chase Stafford double to center. With one out, Nick Roark hit a sacrifice fly to center to score McCutchin and cut into Little Rock's lead at 4-1.
Jarrid Garcia came on to begin the bottom of the sixth inning as starter Joe Corbett (2-0) exited the game after a solid five-inning performance. Corbett struck out one and gave up two runs on four hits and a walk. Garcia made his presence felt immediately as he got through the inning on just 10 pitches.
Korbin Polly came on for starter Logan Michaels (0-1) to begin the seventh, but Little Rock greeted him with four runs before being pulled. The inning started with Zach Baker singling to short and advancing to second as Martin reached on an error by Polly. Owens flied out to right, but Baker tagged up at second to runners on the corners. Scott earned his second hit of the game with an RBI single to right as Baker scored. Thomas singled up the middle to load the bases for Little Rock. Nik Gifford hit an RBI single to right as Martin came home, and Scott scored on fielding error. With two outs, Gunter singled to center as Thomas scored the fourth run of the inning. That was all she wrote for Polly as Jake Morrison took over. Morrison walked Cameron Knight to begin his tenure on the mound and load the bases. Baker came up for the second time in the inning and earned an RBI with a walk as Gifford scored the fifth and final run of the inning.
With Little Rock up 9-2, Oral Roberts didn't stay down as it came out punching with three runs in the bottom half of the inning. With one out, Noah Cummings singled through the right side. Stafford doubled to right field to put runners in scoring position with one out. Garcia threw a wild pitch as Cummings sprinted home to score. After Garcia got Rotola swinging for the second out, Roark singled to through the right side to score Stafford. After Roark advanced to second on a wild pitch, Whatley singled to left as Roark scored to cut the Golden Eagles' deficit to 9-5.
The game got a little tighter in the bottom of the eighth. Dylan Slayton came on for Garcia to begin the inning, but it wouldn't be smooth sailing for left-hander. Brent Williams singled through the right side to get the inning started. Michael Hungate reached on a fielder's choice as Williams was called out at second. Trevin Sonnier singled to short before he and Hungate moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Cummings doubled to score Sonnier and Hungate, but was thrown out at third trying to stretch it into a triple.
Cody McGill came on for Slayton to begin the ninth, but was welcomed with a Rotola Single and a Roark walk. Whatley struck out looking, and Rolando Martinez flew out to right for the second out. Williams singled to center as Rotola scored to put the Golden Eagles within one. With a 2-2 count, McGill was able to get Hungate swinging as he picked his first save with the 9-8 Trojan win.
"I'm proud of them for the way they fought, and we're excited for the opportunity to split the series tomorrow," Curry said.
GAME 1 RECAP
The Trojans took a narrow 3-2 loss to start the day after yesterday's nine-run loss to the Golden Eagles.
"Overall, I thought our approach was a lot better as a team," Curry said. "In a one-run game, it's about execution."
After a strong nine-pitch first inning, Trojan starter Will Hazen got himself into a bit of trouble in the second. After a ground out, Hazen walked Michael Hungate to put on the Golden Eagles' first base runner of the day. With two outs, Noah Cummings walked, and an infield single from Trevin Sonnier loaded the bases. With a 3-1 count, Chase Stafford walked as Hungate scored ORU's first run. That would all for the Golden Eagles as a force out at second ended the inning.
Oral Roberts repeated their second-inning success in the third with another run crossing the plate. Nick Roark hit a single to center to lead off the inning. With one out, Brent Williams singled through the right side to put runners on first and second. Hugate doubled down the left field line as Roark scored to put ORU up 2-0.
The Golden Eagles plated another run in the fourth to take a 3-0 lead. Sonnier hit a leadoff single to center and advanced to second on a ground out to third. Before Nick Rotola walked, Sonnier stole third. Sonnier scored on an RBI single up the middle by Matt Whatley. With two on and two outs, a ground out to third by Willams prevented Oral Roberts from putting any other runners across.
It took eight innings, but Little Rock finally put some runs on the board to cut into Oral Roberts lead. Nik Gifford led things off with a single through the right side. With one out, Ty Gunter singled to left to put runners on first and second. Cameron Knight put an RBI single up the middle as Gifford scored the Trojans' first run. Reyes came on to run for Knight as Oral Roberts went to the bullpen for the third time. Zach Baker then loaded the bases for the Trojans with a seven-pitch walk. Hayden Martin reached on a fielder's choice as Gunter crossed the plate to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Dylan Slayton entered the game for reliever Cody Daylor in the bottom of the eighth after Daylor pitched 2.0 innings, earned four strikeouts and only allowed two hits and two walks. Slayton pitched effectively as six pitches were enough to get through the Golden Eagles' batters.
With one out in the ninth, Dalton Thomas singled through the left side, but a fly out and a strikeout ended it.
Little Rock will try to split the four-game series with Oral Roberts tomorrow at 1 p.m.
Kilgore's Walk-off Home Run Gives Panthers a 4-3 Win in 10
ATLANTA -- Will Kilgore led off the bottom of the 10th inning with a home run to give Georgia State a 4-3 victory over Minnesota Saturday at the GSU Baseball Complex.
Kilgore drove in all four runs for the Panthers (6-4), who also got strong pitching from starter Marc-Andre Habeck and relievers Wayne Wages and Bryce Conley to even the series with Minnesota (6-3).
Conley (2-0) came on in the seventh inning and pitched the final four frames, allowing just one run on one hit with four strikeouts. After he fanned two in the top of the 10th, Kilgore led off for GSU and smashed the 1-1 pitch over the left field fence for his first home run of the season.
The sophomore second baseman from Columbus, Ga., gave the Panthers their first lead in the series with a bases-loaded, three-run double over the center fielder's head in the second inning.
Kilgore survived a collision with a Minnesota baserunner to stay in the game and be the hero at the end.
"That was my first walk-off home run," Kilgore said. "It's a great feeling, and we got the win and that's all that matters."
Habeck started for GSU and allowed just two runs in five innings.
With Georgia State holding a 3-1 lead, the Gophers led off the six with a single by Austin Athman and then a double by Micah Coffey to chase Habeck. A sacrifice fly pulled Minnesota within 3-2, but Wages worked out of the jam.
The Gophers tied the game in the seventh off Conley as leadoff hitter Dan Motl was hit by a pitch, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch and then scored on Athmann's single to left.
The GSU defense turned three double plays on the day, giving them five in the series, catcher Joey Roach cut down a runner attempting to steal, and left fielder Will Johnson threw out a runner at second base.
The series finale is 1 p.m. Sunday. Listen live on GeorgiaStateSports.com and GSU mobile apps.
UTA Splits Day 2 of A&M-Corpus Christi Series
ARLINGTON, Texas – UT Arlington baseball split a doubleheader against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday at Clay Gould Ballpark, taking the final game 7-1 and falling 8-6 in 11 innings in the opener.
UTA moved to 7-5 on the season while the Islanders fell to 5-6. The Mavs have won 17 of the last 24 matchups since Darin Thomas took over the program in 2008.
"We're talented enough to be good, but we have to be coached every pitch right now. We'll eventually get there," Thomas said. "We had more than one chance to win that first game. We swung the bat all day long. The good thing is we bounced back and played well."
The Mavericks and Islanders wrap up the series 1 p.m. Sunday at Clay Gould Ballpark.
Game 1: A&M-Corpus Christi 8, UT Arlington 6 (11)
Brady Cox singled up the middle with two runners on in the bottom of the ninth to send game one into extra innings, but a two-run double from Zacarias Hardy in the top of the 11th sealed A&M-Corpus Christi's first win of the weekend 8-6.
Five Mavs had multi-hit games to out-slug the Islanders 15-13, giving UTA at least 10 hits for the sixth time in seven games. Cox tied a career high with four RBI on the day, knocking in half of the Maverick runs in a 3-for-5 performance that included a double.
Quintin Rohrbaugh, Darien McLemore and Josh Minjarez all went 3-for-5 at the plate. Rohrbaugh recorded an RBI and two runs and will enter Sunday's finale with a 10-game hit streak and as the only Mav having reached base in each of the team's first 12 games of the year.
"If I could keep it rolling, that's great," Rohrbaugh said. "Right now, I'm just trying to find some holes, hit them there and keep my eye on it."
Daniel James (0-1) received his first loss of the season, allowing two earned runs on two hits, a pair of strikeouts and a walk in two innings.
A&M-Corpus Christi broke through in the top of the fifth for five runs on five hits to take its first lead of the series 5-2. A leadoff double paved the way for an Islander rally that included a pair of doubles and a triple.
Adam Meyer was relieved after 4.2 innings and four runs allowed, all unearned. He allowed six hits in his first start as a Mav, including four strikeouts and a walk.
Jacob Moreland tossed the next 4.1 innings and allowed two runs on five hits, a walk and a trio of strikeouts.
Game 2: UT Arlington 7, A&M-Corpus Christi 1
Kadon Simmons (3-1) retired 18 batters in a row after a leadoff double to open the game, and threw eight shutout innings, holding the Islanders to just five hits with four strikeouts.
"I kept with the game plan, which was throw strikes, attack the zone and work the bottom half," Simmons said. "Throughout the game, we added more breaking balls and changeups. We executed well and our defense made the plays."
His lone difficult inning came in the eighth with the Mavs holding a narrow 3-0 lead. After having been quiet all night, the Islanders loaded the bases with just one out for the top of the lineup; however, after having struck out just two batters through 7.1 frames, managed to pick up consecutive punchouts of Nick Anderson and Casey Thomas when it mattered most.
Offensively, UTA held up its end and notched 14 hits, with five Mavericks recording two or more hits.
McLemore went 3-for-4 with two RBI, a walk and a run. Rohrbaugh was 3-for-5 with a pair of RBI, a run and a stolen base.
The Mavs put the game out of reach for the Islanders in the bottom of the eighth with a four-run inning that stretched the lead to 7-0. Williams tacked on the fourth run with an RBI single before scoring on a Rohrbaugh base hit. With two outs, McLemore came through with a two-run single to the left side.
Matt Michalski pitched the final inning, allowing one run, a walk and a strikeout.
Cajuns Clinch Series Win with 9-3 Victory
LAFAYETTE, La. – The 16th-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team surged to a 9-3 win over Sacred Heart to clinch the series in front of 4,285 at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field on Saturday.
"We have to learn all kinds of ways to win," head coach Tony Robichaux said. "Today we played pretty much a sound baseball game. That's what you want to do. Now we have to learn to come out and do the same thing over again. You want to try to be the same team every day. You might not win every game, but you try to be the same team every time out."
The Ragin' Cajuns (7-4) outhit the Pioneers (0-5) 12-6 in the contest led by a three-hit performance by Joe Robbins. Robbins had a double and a triple and drove in two runs. The junior extended his hit streak to 10 game with a leadoff double in the first inning.
Stefan Trosclair, Ishmael Edwards and Alex Pinero each collected a pair of hits in the game. Trosclair extended his hit streak to seven games, while Nick Thurman has reached in all 11 games this year.
Sophomore Wyatt Marks improved to 2-0 on the year in the contest limiting SHU to two runs on five hits with eight strikeouts in six innings.
Jason Foley was tabbed with the loss for the Pioneers giving up three runs on three hits with four walks in two innings.
Sacred Heart grabbed its first lead of the series in the top of the first on a two-run single to left by Zack Short.
The Cajuns got to Foley in the top of the third scoring three runs on a hit, three walks and a hit by pitch. After the Cajuns loaded the bases without the benefit of a hit, Robbins scored on a Foley wild pitch to pull Louisiana within a run. Two batters later, Poncho drew a bases-loaded walk to even the contest at 2-all.
Edwards gave the Cajuns a 3-2 advantage in the third on an infield single to third base with no outs. SHU turned to reliever Brent Teller who got Hunter Kasuls swinging and Pinero to ground into a double play to end the threat.
In the bottom of the fifth, Poncho singled down the right field line with one out to score Trosclair to extend the Ragin' Cajuns edge to 4-2.
Robbins tallied his third hit of the day in the sixth when he tripled to right center scoring two runs to give Louisiana a four-run lead.
The Cajuns tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI single by Pinero and a sac fly to center by Brian Mills to make the score 8-2.
The two teams would trade runs in the eighth as Trosclair would hit his second home run of the season off of the scoreboard in left field.
The Ragin' Cajuns and Pioneers close out the series tomorrow at 1 p.m. at The Tigue as the Cajuns go for their second sweep of the season. Freshman right-hander Nick Lee (1-0) is slated to make his third start of the season.
Fans can catch the game live on New Talk 96.5 KPEL-FM with Jay Walker making the call. Live stats are available on RaginCajuns.com.
A-State Sweeps Milwaukee in Saturday Twin Bill
JONESBORO, Ark. (3/5/16) – The Arkansas State baseball team used a strong offensive performance from Ty White in game one and a solid pitching outing from Adam Grantham in game two to sweep Milwaukee in a doubleheader Saturday at Tomlinson Stadium/Kell Field in Jonesboro by scores of 7-4 and 8-1.
Game one began well for the Red Wolves (7-4) as the home team scored a run in the second inning on a RBI double by Jeremy Brown and added another in the fourth on a Tony Ortiz RBI single for a 2-0 advantage. Starter Cody Jackson was perfect through four innings, but ran into trouble in the fifth when Milwaukee (2-9) plated three runs on two RBI singles and a fielder’s choice. Jackson was lifted with just one out in the inning, but the Panthers took a 3-2 edge into the sixth inning.
The bottom of the sixth inning was kid to Arkansas State when Matt Burgess walked to lead off the inning before a Brown double put both men in scoring position at second and third. Milwaukee struck out pinch-hitter Jake Bakamus, but Burgess came home on a wild pitch to tie the game 3-3 before RBI singles from Tanner Ring and Joe Schrimpf stretched the A-State lead to 5-3.
Milwaukee cut the home team’s lead to 5-4 on a sacrifice fly in the top of the eighth inning, but White hit his first career home run, a two-run shot over the right field fence just under the scoreboard, to put the score at 7-4. Ring, who had come in to register the final two outs of the eighth inning on the mound, tossed a perfect ninth with two straight strikeouts to end the game to pick up his second save of the season and preserve the A-State win.
Peyton Culbertson earned his first career win for the Red Wolves with two scoreless innings out of the bullpen. The Collierville, Tenn., native only allowed one hit during the two frames. Offensively, White led the way with three hits and three RBIs, while also stealing his fifth bag in as many tries this season. Ortiz picked up two hits and a RBI in the game, while Schrimpf and Brown also knocked in one run each.
Ian Ross and Billy Quirke led the Panthers with two hits apiece, while Brian Keller took the loss on the mound despite a solid effort. Keller allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits with 10 strikeouts against just one walk.
Grantham was the story in game two for Arkansas State as the Kennett, Mo., native tied a career high with six innings pitched and allowed just one run (earned) on four hits with five punch outs and two walks. He also fielded his position exceptionally well as he earned his first win on the mound since his freshman season in 2013. The right-handed pitcher set a career high with four assists and started two double plays with the first being a lineout to him and throw over to first to double the runner off, while the other was of the 1-6-3 variety.
The Red Wolves began the scoring in the bottom of the second inning on a Bakamus run-scoring single and a sacrifice fly by White for a 2-0 edge. A-State tacked on another run in the bottom of the third when Burgess crossed the plate on a passed ball.
Arkansas State blew the game open with a four-run, fourth inning which saw RBI singles from Schrimpf and Ring before a two-run single by Garrett Rucker capped the scoring and gave the home team a 7-0 advantage.
Milwaukee’s Daulton Varsho doubled down the right-field line with two outs in the top of the sixth and came around to score on a RBI single from Luke Meeteer for the Panthers’ only run of the contest. A-State scored another run on a Frankie Alvarez single in the bottom of the frame to set the final at 8-1.
Tanner Kirby tossed two scoreless innings in relief of Grantham, while Zachary Patterson threw a shutout inning in his first career action at Arkansas State to end the game. Offensively, Burgess and Rucker led the team with two hits each, while Rucker’s two RBIs were the most on the team. White, Schrimpf, Bakamus, Ring, and Alvarez all had one RBI apiece.
Austin Schulfer took the loss for Milwaukee after allowing seven runs (five earned) in four innings on eight hits. Meeteer led the Panthers at the plate with a 3-for-3 effort and the team’s only RBI, while John Boidanis and Matt Quartel had two hits apiece.
The 2016 home-opening series against Milwaukee at Tomlinson Stadium/Kell Field in Jonesboro concludes Sunday afternoon with a 1:00 p.m. matchup against the Panthers. Tickets for the 2016 campaign are on sale and be purchased online at AStateRedWolves.com/tickets or by calling the A-State Ticket Office at 1-888-ASUFANS.