Saturday, April 16
Little Rock Completes Sweep of Texas State
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Little Rock baseball (18-17, 11-7 Sun Belt) broke out the brooms on Saturday afternoon as it completed the three-game sweep of Texas State (21-16, 9-6) by a score of 7-6.
Little Rock's 11-7 Sun Belt start is now the best in program history. Saturday's win also moved the Trojans into sole possession of third place in the Sun Belt Conference standings.
The Trojans' sweep of the Bobcats is their first on the road against a conference opponent since taking all three games against Arkansas State in Jonesboro in 2008.
Keegan Meyn had a great day at the plate as he went 2 for 4 with four RBIs and a home run. Dalton Thomas earned his sixth three-hit game of the season with a 3 for 5 day. The third Trojan with multiple hits was Zach Baker as he went 2 for 4 with two runs.
After a scoreless first inning, Little Rock came out swinging in the second. Cameron Knight doubled to lead off the inning and advanced to third on a single to left by Baker. A four-pitch walk by Kirk then loaded the bases. Meyn broke the tie with an RBI single through the left side. Hayden Martin reached on a fielder's choice as Baker scored the Trojans' second run. Hunter Owens then hit a two-run single as Kirk and Martin scored to give the Trojans a 4-0 lead.
The Trojans continued the offensive assault in the third inning. With runners on first and second, Meyn earned his first-career home run with a three-run shot to left to up Little Rock's lead to 7-0 over Texas State.
Texas State finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth inning. With runners on the corners, Jonathan Ortega hit an RBI single to score the Bobcats' first run. With runners in scoring position, Ryan Newman hit a sacrifice fly to left to plate Texas State's second run.
Trojan starter Cory Malcom (3-3) went 5.0 innings with four strikeouts while allowing two runs on six hits. He was relieved by Joe Corbett to begin the bottom of the sixth inning.
With bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth, Corbett was relieved by Keenan Wingfield. Texas State's Luke Sherley walked to make it a 7-3 game. A bases-loaded passed ball brought the runner home from third for the Bobcat's fourth run of the game. A wild pitch to the backstop then brought home another run and made it a two-run game. Cody Daylor then came on to stop the bleeding and got a fly to right.
With a 7-5 lead entering the bottom of the ninth, Little Rock got off to a rocky start as it allowed a walk and a single to center. With runners on the corners, Tanner Hill hit an RBI single to bring Texas State within a run. A sacrifice bunt moved runners into scoring position with one out. The play of the inning occurred on a fielder's choice play at the plate. Baker fielded a grounder at short and threw it home in time as Knight made the out in a collision play at the plate. A fly out to center ended the Bobcats' chances and gave Little Rock the series sweep as Daylor earned his second save.
"We're not a blue chip, high draft pick team," head coach Chris Curry said. "We're just a bunch of dirt bags who try to play really hard. I believe that culture is starting to set in, but we have a lot to learn. These guys are tough. They fight, and that tells me we're going to have a chance."
Little Rock returns home for a midweek game with Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday night at 6 p.m., at Gary Hogan Field.
Big Innings Lead ULM Past Georgia State
MONROE, La. – ULM tallied 17 hits on Saturday night at Warhawk Field as the team claimed a 14-0 win over Georgia State to even the weekend series at 1-1.
After two and a half innings of scoreless baseball, the Warhawks (14-21, 5-9 Sun Belt) got going in a big way as Dalton Todd kick started a seven run inning with a solo homer over the wall in left field. After ULM pushed the lead to 3-0 later in the frame, the inning was extended thanks to a drop foul ball. The Warhawks capitalized as they added four more runs and it was highlighted by a two-RBI single by Dalton Todd.
ULM pushed its lead to double digits (11-0) after a four-run fifth inning. Brian Barefoot highlighted the inning as he drove in a pair with a bases loaded single to right field. In the next inning, the Warhawks again scored multiple runs as the advantage grew to 14-0. Nathan Pugh scored on a passed ball and Jacob Stockton drove in a pair in the bottom of the sixth.
Brayden Bouchey (4-2) tossed seven shutout innings as the right-hander surrendered just three hits during his 96 pitch outing. Josh Leone closed out the game as he tossed two scoreless frames.
Georgia State (16-18, 5-9 SBC) starter Marc-Andre Habeck was tagged with the loss after surrendering seven runs (three earned) on eight hits and three walks in 2.2 innings of work.
Jacob Stockton, Nathan Pugh and Dalton Todd all tallied three hits in the game and the trio combined for seven RBI and seven runs scored.
Eagles Sweep Saturday Doubleheader over UT Arlington
ARLINGTON, TEXAS – Georgia Southern Baseball circled the wagons and took a doubleheader sweep over UT Arlington on Saturday to win the three-game series. Chase Cohen tossed a complete game shutout while Ryan Cleveland hit two home runs in the 6-0 win to open the day. In game two, the Eagles rallied from an early 5-0 deficit to tie the game twice and eventually win the series with a 10-6 victory. Next up is a pair of games against The Citadel on Tuesday and Wednesday.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Rodney Hennon
"I'm proud of our team, they competed all day long. Chase Cohen gave us a great effort in game one which allowed us to save some arms in the bullpen. Ryan Cleveland stepped up big for us offensively for us in that game. Our batters hung around in the second game and we got some things going once we got into the bullpen. It was probably the best competitive effort that we have had as a team this year. We need to build on this as a club beginning next week with two games against The Citadel."
GAME ONE
Chase Cohen delivered the best outing for an Eagle pitcher this season, going the distance in a 6-0 Georgia Southern win over UT Arlington. The freshman righty allowed just two hits and matched a career-high with seven strikeouts. His complete game shutout was the first since Sam Howard blanked Florida State in the 2014 Tallahassee Regional, 7-0.
Ryan Cleveland single-handedly put the Eagles ahead with a solo home run in the fourth. He followed that an inning later with his ninth home run of the season, this time blasting a three-run job to make it 4-0.
An Evan McDonald sacrifice fly in the seventh made it 5-0 while CJ Brazil doubled in the eighth to make it 6-0.
Cohen improved to 4-2 on the year while UT Arlington's Jake Wilcox took the loss to fall to 3-3 on the year. The victory also took the Eagles to the 20-win plateau through 34 games in the 2016 campaign, one game earlier than 2015.
GAME TWO
UT Arlington got to Georgia Southern's starting pitcher, Brian Eichhorn, early in game two, tagging him for five runs in the second as he made his earliest exit from a game this season.
Georgia Southern struggled against starting pitcher Joel Kuhnel who held the Eagles to no runs off four hits over the first five innings. An error by UT Arlington to start the sixth opened the door for two runs in the inning. Cal Baker drove in the first run with a single to right, while a fielder's choice by Jordan Wren allowed Logan Baldwin to scamper home and make it a 5-2 game.
In the seventh, Hunter Thomas and CJ Brazil combined to open the inning with back-to-back solo home runs. After a double from Baker, a Baldwin single and Cleveland's hit by pitch, Georgia Southern had a golden chance with the bases loaded and one out. A fielder's choice by Ballard erased Cleveland, but Baker scored to tie the game at 5-5.
UT Arlington re-took the lead, taking advantage of a leadoff double in the home half of the seventh. An RBI single by Darien McLemore ultimately plated Jerame Littell to give the home side a 6-5 lead. It didn't last long as the Eagles evened the score yet again in the top of the eighth. With runners on second and third, Evan McDonald hit a ground ball to second base to send Kent Rollins home following his leadoff single. That tied the game again at 6-6.
The Eagles got themselves into trouble in the eighth, loading the bases full of Mavericks, but relief pitcher Chris Brown got the final out to quell the threat and take the game to the 9th.
Logan Baldwin kicked things off in the ninth by wearing a pitch and moved over to second on Cleveland's ground out. Ballard laced one up the middle to score Baldwin, but it was a big fly by Jordan Wren, his first as a member of the Eagles, followed by Evan McDonald's RBI single to score Tarez Miller and make it a 10-6 game heading into the final half inning.
The Mavericks mounted a late charge, getting a pair of hits, but Chris Brown cemented the win with two strikeouts in the final frame. He earned the win to go to 3-2 on the season while UT Arlington's Daniel James fell to 0-4.
NEXT GAME
Georgia Southern is back home on Tuesday to open a midweek series against The Citadel. The Eagles welcome the Bulldogs to Statesboro on Tuesday at 6 p.m. before traveling to the Holy City on Wednesday evening at 6 p.m.
Southeastern Louisiana Powers Past Cajuns Baseball To Even Series
HAMMOND, La. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team gave up a season-high runs Saturday night as the Cajuns fell 16-5 to Southeastern Louisiana to even the series at Alumni Field.
The loss ends a three-game win streak and drops the Ragin' Cajuns to 23-12 overall, while the Lions improve to 26-10 on the year.
Wyatt Marks (3-4) took his fourth loss of the season after giving up six runs on six hits in 2.1 innings. Marks struck out one and walked two.
SLU starter Mac Sceroler (6-2) limited the Cajuns to three runs (two earned) scattering nine hits in 5.2 innings. Sceroler walked four and struck out six in the outing.
Both teams had 12 hits in the contest with Brennan Breaud and Carson Crites posting three hits each for the Lions. Ryan Byers had a game-high five RBI on two home runs, while Crites drove in four.
Brenn Conrad had a team-best three hits for Louisiana with a double and an RBI. Joe Robbins and Stefan Trosclair each had a pair of hits on the night.
SLU took its first lead of the series in the bottom of the first on a two-run double to centerfield by Carson Crites to make the score 2-0.
The Lions extended their advantage to 3-0 in the bottom of the second on a two-out RBI single through the right side of the infield by Daniel Midyett.
In the bottom of the third, Ryan Byers drove a 3-2 pitch from Marks over the fence in left field for a three-run homer to give Southeastern Louisiana a six-run lead.
Louisiana got on the board in the fourth inning on a leadoff solo home run by Trosclair over the scoreboard in left field. The home run was the fourth of the season for Trosclair.
The Lions got a run back in the bottom of the fifth on a leadoff solo homer by Jameson Fisher to make the score 7-1.
Conrad cut into the SLU advantage to four runs in the top of the sixth doubling to left center to score Derek Herrington and Brian Mills.
Southeastern Louisiana tacked on three more runs in the bottom half of the sixth highlighted by a two-run single by Crites to take a 10-3 lead.
After the Cajuns plated a run in the seventh, SLU put the game out of reach with three more runs in the bottom half of the seventh to make the score 13-4.
Trosclair brought home the Ragin' Cajuns final run of the game on an RBI single up the middle in the top of the eighth. The Lions added three runs in the eighth to make the final 16-5.
The two teams return to action tomorrow at 1 p.m. in the rubber match at Alumni Field. Louisiana will start freshman right-hander Nick Lee (5-1, 2.68 ERA), while the Lions will send out senior left-hander Domenick Carlini (4-1, 1.40 ERA).
The game can be seen live on Cox Sports Television (CST), Cox channel 37 and LUS channel 35, with Lyn Rollins making the call and Ronnie Rantz providing color. The broadcast will also be simulcast on ESPN3.com outside of the Cox viewing area.
SOLEYMANI GOES THE DISTANCE, NO. 21 JAGS EVEN SERIES WITH APP STATE
BOONE, N.C. – Hunter Soleymani tossed his first career complete game to lead the 21st-ranked University of South Alabama baseball team to an 8-1 win over Appalachian State Saturday at Smith Stadium.
Soleymani (3-1) allowed one run on four hits with three strikeouts and two walks in nine innings to earn his third win of the season. The right-hander did not allow a run until the eighth inning, and retired the final six batters he faced in the game to even the series at one game apiece.
"I had four pitches going so it was easier to keep them off-balance," Soleymani said. "When you don't have all of your pitches, then they can start to sit on them so it was good to keep mixing it up. The defense was outstanding, and it is always fun pitching with the lead. It helps you to keep going out there; they are working for you so you want to work for them and keep putting up zeros. After last night, we had to do everything we could to come out and win today. The biggest thing about that is I like how our guys didn't let last night's game affect them today. They came out here with the right mentality and ready to play."
App State right-hander Breydan Gorham (1-4) allowed five runs on nine hits with two strikeouts and two walks in 5 2/3 innings in the loss.
USA (27-9, 16-1 SBC) spotted Soleymani a one-run lead in the top of the fourth. Drew LaBounty reached on a fielding error by App State third baseman Grayson Atwood to lead off the inning, and scored one batter later on a double to the right-center gap by Danny Martinez.
The Jags increased their lead with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth. Adam Wolfe led off the inning with a ground-rule double to left field, and moved to third on a groundout to second by Travis Swaggerty. Cole Billingsley followed with a one-out RBI single back up the middle to plate Wolfe and double the Jaguar lead to 2-0. LaBounty then delivered an RBI double down the right-field line to score Billingsley and extend the lead to 3-0.
App State (9-26, 4-13 SBC) threatened when it loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth. Tyler Stroup led off the inning with a single back up the middle, and moved to second on an infield single to first base by Colin Schmid. A hit by pitch from Soleymani to Chandler Seagle loaded the bases with two outs, but the right-hander induced an inning-ending groundout to shortstop off the bat of Tanner Mann-Fix to escape the jam.
USA then added two more runs to its advantage in the top of the sixth. Jared Barnes doubled to left-center field with one out in the inning, and Wolfe followed with a two-run home run to left field – his fourth of the season – for a 5-0 Jaguar lead.
The Jags added their final runs of the contest in the top of the seventh. Martinez led off the inning with a walk, and advanced to second when Carter Perkins reached on a fielding error by Myers at second base. A sacrifice bunt by Brendan Donovan moved both runners into scoring position with one out. Barnes followed with a walk to load the bases for Ben Gann, who reached on a fielder's choice to score Martinez and push the USA lead to 6-0. A double steal of second by Gann and home by Perkins extended the Jaguar advantage to 7-0. Wolfe followed with an RBI single to left field to plate Gann for an 8-0 USA lead.
The Mountaineers scored their lone run of the game on a leadoff home run to left field by Grayson Atwood in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Wolfe recorded a career-high three hits, finishing 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, three RBI and two runs scored to lead the Jaguars offensively. Billingsley went 2-for-4 with a double, one RBI and one run scored while LaBounty added a double, one RBI and one run scored and Gann finished with one hit, one RBI and scored once.
"Hunter Soleymani was great," USA head coach Mark Calvi said. "After an emotional loss last night, it's good to have such a steady person on the mound. Soleymani is that steady guy who is never too up and never too down. He has been fantastic for us this year. Almost every start he has this season has been a quality start. He was really good, and their (App State) guy (Gorham) was good. But our guys hung in there, battled and got his pitches up. They saw a lot of his pitches; we weren't getting first- or second-pitch outs. We might have looked bad the first time around on some changeups, but it paid dividends in the later innings when we got to him. I am super proud of Soleymani and the team for the way they responded."
South Alabama will attempt to clinch its sixth consecutive Sun Belt Conference series in game three Sunday at 11 a.m. (CT).