Friday, April 22
Inside the Park Home Run Lifts Troy Baseball Past UT Arlington
TROY, Alabama – Joey Denison’s inside the park home run gave Troy baseball a 5-2 victory over UT Arlington in the first game of the series on Friday night at Riddle-Pace Field.
The inside the park home run was Troy’s (23-16, 9-7 Sun Belt) first inside the park home run in at least five years and came in the seventh inning with two runners on and two outs.
“What a big hit in a big moment,” head coach Mark Smartt said. “We had a great rally going there with two outs and what a way to win a baseball game. Our team did a lot of winning things tonight, and that’s what I’m proud of the most.”
Cameron Sanders reached with a two-out walk in the seventh and Trevor Davis was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second base. Denison took the first pitch he saw to straight away center for the inside the park home run.
UT Arlington (20-19, 6-10 Sun Belt) scored one run each in the second and third innings. The first came on an infield single to shortstop and the other came with a one-out double to right center field.
Troy answered back with a run in each of the bottom halves of those innings. Chase Smartt singled home the Trojans first run with an RBI single to right field and tied the game at one in the second. He finished with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate and one RBI.
The Trojans tied the game at two when Brandon Lockridge scored from first on a two-out throwing error by the UT Arlington third baseman in the third inning.
Grant Bennett (6-2) picked up the win for the Trojans. He pitched seven innings and only allowed two runs – one earned – while striking out three. Corey Childress moved into a tie for fourth place in single-season saves by a Trojan as he picked up his eighth save of the season. He fanned four and only allowed two hits through two innings of work.
The reigning Sun Belt pitcher of the week, Kadon Simmons (7-3), suffered the loss for UT Arlington. He threw seven innings, but gave up five runs on four hits and only struck out four.
Chase Smartt led the way offensively for the Trojans. He went 3-for-4 with one RBI. TJ Binder went 2-for-3 with one walk and was the only other Trojan to have a multi-hit night.
Troy and UT Arlington will resume play on Saturday at 3 p.m. Houston Mabray will toe the rubber for the Trojans, while Joel Kuhnel will pitch for the Mavericks.
Wages Near Perfect in Georgia State's 10-0 Win over Mountaineers
ATLANTA -- Georgia State starter Wayne Wages took a perfect game into the ninth inning before allowing a one-out single to finish with a one-hitter in Georgia State's 10-0 victory over Appalachian State Friday at the GSU Baseball Complex.
Wages' gem gave head coach Greg Frady his 300th victory at Georgia State (17-20, 6-10 Sun Belt).
The senior left-hander just missed throwing what would have been the first no-hitter in Georgia State history. His is the fourth one-hitter in Panther annals and first since 2012. He struck out a career-high nine and walked none.
Wages (4-3) retired the first 25 batters in order, including a strikeout of pinch hitter Drake Zupcic to lead off the ninth inning before Appalachian State (10-28, 5-14 Sun Belt) pinch hitter Jason Curtis hit a solid single up the middle. Wages then ended the game with a strikeout and a popup.
He threw 104 pitches, going to a three-ball count just three times.
In addition to catching the one-hitter, Joey Roach hit his 11th homer of the season and drove in three runs to lead the GSU offense.
"This is one of the best-pitched games in the history of our program," head coach Greg Frady said. "Not only did he have a no-hitter, he had a perfect game. They did not have a base runner until one out in the ninth inning. But giving up that hit does not diminish what Wayne did one bit."
Wages has won three straight starts and thrown 16 consecutive scoreless inning after holding ULM without a run in seven innings last Friday.
Roach started the scoring with an RBI-double in the Panthers' four-run first inning. In the fourth, he belted a solo homer to right field for his 25th career home run, and he added a run-scoring single in the eighth.
Freshman Darius Sewell had two hits and two RBI on the night, Will Kilgore drove in a pair of runs with a single and a sacrifice fly, and James Clements had three hits.
The series continues with a 2 p.m. game Saturday.
Jackson Tosses Complete Game in A-State Baseball Victory Over ULM
JONESBORO, Ark. (4/22/16) – Cody Jackson tossed a complete-game and Ty White had four hits including a home run as Arkansas State defeated Louisiana-Monroe 8-1 at Tomlinson Stadium on Friday night.
Jackson fired the first complete-game by an A-State pitcher since April 25, 2015 when David Owen won the first game of a double-header against Appalachian State at Kell Field. Jackson, whose previous career-high in innings pitched was 5 2/3, needed 98 pitches to navigate nine innings. He struck out two, including the final batter of the game, and 61 of his career-high 98 pitches were for strikes.
White went 4-for-4 on the night with a pair of RBIs and three runs scored. He led off the game with a solo home run over the fence in right-centerfield and then scored one of the four runs in the third inning that helped Arkansas State build a five-run advantage.
A-State took advantage of a Warhawks’ miscue in the third inning when White put down a bunt in an attempt sacrifice Tony Ortiz to second, but White beat out the throw. Joe Schrimpf followed with a single up the middle to score Ortiz and Garrett Rucker put down a perfect bunt on the edge of the grass on the third base line to load the bases.
Tanner Ring drove in a run on a sacrifice fly, and two more runs scored when the ULM shortstop miss-played a ball. White drove in his second run of night in the fourth inning with a single to right that plated Dalton Lovell.
ULM committed two more errors in the sixth inning when Schrimpf popup to the third base was not caught, which allowed Ortiz and White to score.
Schrimpf had two hits on the night with an RBI and scored a run, while Ring drove in a run as well.
Arkansas State will host Louisiana-Monroe in game two of the series Saturday evening at 6 p.m. at Tomlinson Stadium. Bryan Ayers is scheduled to take the mound for the Red Wolves.
NO. 23 JAGS DROP SERIES OPENER TO SOUTHERN
MOBILE, Ala. – Southern rallied for four runs in the top of the ninth inning to defeat the 23rd-ranked University of South Alabama baseball team 5-4 Friday at Stanky Field.
John Pope led off the top of the ninth with a walk, and Anthony Valdes followed with a hit by pitch. An RBI single by Franky Montesino cut the Jaguar lead in half at 4-2. Marcus Hodge's sacrifice bunt moved two runners into scoring position before Troy Lewis tied the game one batter later on a two-run single to right-center field. Lewis advanced to third on the play after Jaguar right fielder Travis Swaggerty's throw sailed high at home plate, and then scored the eventual game-winning run on a sacrifice fly to center field by Robinson Mateo.
USA (28-11) put the tying run in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth. Carter Perkins reached on a one-out double to left-center field, but SU right-hander Justin Freeman induced a flyout to left field off the bat of Brendan Donvoan and a game-ending groundout to third by Jared Barnes to seal the victory, which snapped South Alabama's home winning streak at 14 games.
"They (Southern) played better than we did when it mattered, and we got beat," USA head coach Mark Calvi said. "They played better and deserved to win. We didn't do enough to deserve to win the baseball game tonight. It's disappointing. I give credit to their pitchers. We didn't do enough offensively to win, but tomorrow is a new day and we'll be ready to go."
Freeman (2-2) allowed one run on three hits in 2 2/3 relief innings to earn his second win of the season. Jaguar right-hander Cody Van Aken (0-1) allowed one run on one hit in one-third of an inning in the loss. USA right-hander Kevin Hill allowed two runs on five hits and tied a season high with 12 strikeouts against five walks in eight innings, but did not factor in the decision.
South Alabama jumped out to a two-run lead in the top of the first. Cole Billingsley singled with one out, stole second and scored on an RBI double to left-center field by Drew LaBounty for a 1-0 Jaguar lead. A sacrifice fly to right field by Danny Martinez scored LaBounty later in the inning to double the USA lead to 2-0.
USA added a run to its lead in the bottom of the third. LaBounty drew a leadoff walk to start the inning, stole second and advanced to third on a groundout to second by Carter Perkins. Brendan Donovan drew a two-out walk to put runners at the corners before a wild pitch by SU right-hander Joseph Sanchez scored LaBounty to push the Jag lead to 3-0.
Southern (12-22) answered with a solo home run by Mateo to lead off the top of the fourth to cut the USA lead to 3-1.
The Jags added their final run of the game in the bottom of the eighth. Ben Gann singled to lead off the inning, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Adam Wolfe. Swaggerty followed with a one-out RBI single to left field to extend his hitting streak to 11 games and plate Gann for a 4-1 USA advantage.
Billingsley went 2-for-4 with one run scored and one stolen base to lead the Jaguars at the plate. Perkins also went 2-for-4 with a double, and Swaggerty added a hit and one RBI. Dondrayas Harris went 2-for-3 to lead Southern offensively.
The series will continue with game two Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Stanky Field.
Walk-Off Single Secures 3-2 Eagles Win Over Little Rock
STATESBORO, Ga. – C.J. Ballard hit a walk-off single with two outs in the ninth to give Georgia Southern a 3-2 victory over Little Rock Friday night. The Eagles (24-15, 10-9 Sun Belt) will face Little Rock (18-15, 11-8 Sun Belt) once again in the friendly confines on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. Saturday's game is Superheroes Day with all fans encouraged to wear costumes to the game.
The Eagles held the Trojans scoreless over five innings, but a two-run double in the sixth gave Little Rock the lead. Georgia Southern leveled the game in the seventh, but a leadoff walk to Will Hudgins in the ninth proved costly for the visitors. Ballard hit a perfectly placed roller in front of the second baseman which he beat out as Hudgins crossed to win the game and give the Eagles their fifth-straight win.
QUOTABLES
HEAD COACH RODNEY HENNON
"I thought it was a good ballgame tonight. Both teams really competed with good pitching on both sides. (Evan) Challenger gave us a strong effort and Landon Hughes was outstanding tonight coming in behind him. I'm just proud of the guys for hanging in there and continuing to fight. I thought we had some really good bats early in the game and hits some balls on the nose. We just didn't have anything to show for it, but we kept plugging. We talked about it a lot – in a Friday night game there is very little room for error, so we were fortunate to play well and come out on top."
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Landon Hughes // RHP // Jr. // Marietta, Ga.
3.1 IP // 0H // 0R // 4Ks // WIN
Landon Hughes threw three and a third innings of perfect relief to stymie the Little Rock offense. He struck out four batters and picked up his first Division I victory, improving to 1-1 on the year. Hughes entered the game with a runner aboard after a two-run double gave Little Rock the 2-1 lead. He got the out in the sixth on one pitch and only tossed 39 total pitches on the night.
CRUCIAL MOMENTS
BOTTOM 2ND – Leadoff batter Ryan Cleveland opened the door for the Eagles' first run with a double to left center. An RBI single by Jordan Wren followed, bringing Cleveland around to score.
TOP 6TH – The Eagles held Little Rock scoreless over five innings, but a double to center field plated two runs for the Trojans, giving them a 2-1 lead at the top of the sixth.
BOTTOM 7TH – A one-out walk to C.J. Brazil in the seventh kicked off Georgia Southern's bid to tie the game. Another walk to Drew Kelley put two runners on, but heads up baserunning from Brazil on a wild pitch got him over to third. Evan McDonald dropped a sacrifice bunt to the right side, allowing Brazil to score with nobody covering the dish.
BOTTOM 9TH – The dreaded leadoff walk came back to bite Little Rock in the ninth. Will Hudgins reached on the free pass and moved up thanks to a sacrifice bunt. A ground out to third would have likely left him at second, but Hudgins was alert, swiping the bag on the throw. With two outs, CJ Ballard hit a soft chopper to the perfect spot in front of the second baseman. He was forced to barehand the ball to get the speedy Ballard. The second baseman missed the ball, but the throw would have been late as the Eagles got the single to win the game, 3-2.
NOTES
- Georgia Southern's five-game win streak matches a season-high win streak which ran five games between February 27th and March 5th. The Eagles are also nine games above the .500 mark, a new season-high.
- Georgia Southern was cut down by four Little Rock double plays, a new season-high for both teams.
- Ryan Cleveland and Jordan Wren each had two hits in the game. It was the fifth-straight multi-hit game for Cleveland who also owns a 10 game hit streak on which he is hitting .388 (14-for-36).
- First pitch was delayed 16 minutes due to rain during batting practice. The field was tarped while the Eagles hit on the field, forcing both teams to take their pregame cuts in the batting cage. Once the tarp was removed, both teams took standard fielding warmup before first pitch at 7:16.
- The walk-off single was the first walk-off base hit for the Eagles this season and the third walk-off play, joining the walk-off Balk on March 8th against Kennesaw State and the walk-off fielder's choice against Radford on February 27th.
NEXT GAME
The Eagles continue the series against Little Rock on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. Fans can watch the game on GS All-Access on GSEagles.com or listen live on Georgia Southern Sports Network.
Cajuns Baseball Takes Down Texas State 5-1 To Open Series
LAFAYETTE, La. – Freshman Dylon Poncho provided a deciding three-run double in the fourth inning as the 20th-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team defeated Texas State 5-1 in the series opener Friday night at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field.
The win is the third straight for the Cajuns who improve to 26-12 overall and 11-5 in Sun Belt play. Louisiana has now won 14 of its last 17 contests and is 16-2 at The Tigue this season.
Head coach Tony Robichaux picked up his 800th win at Louisiana in the contest as he now has an 800-504-1 record in 22 season with the Ragin' Cajuns.
"Their guy had good tempo and tempo tonight, but we pecked away and pecked away, and a freshman got us a big lick," Robichaux said. "You can't say enough about that.
Leger (5-2) picked up his fifth win of the season limiting the Bobcats (21-18, 9-7 Sun Belt) to one run on four hits in 6.2 innings of work. The sophomore tied a career-high with nine strikeouts on the night and allowed just one free pass. Leger retired 12 straight batters from the second through the fifth inning in his seventh quality start of the year.
Texas State starter Lucas Humpal was handed just his third loss of the year giving up a season-high five runs on nine hits in seven innings. Humpal had eight strikeouts with on walks in the effort.
Offensively, Louisiana outhit Texas State 11-5 with Kyle Clement, Stefan Trosclair, Nick Thurman and Brad Antchak each posting a pair of hits.
Poncho had a game-high three RBI on the night, while Steven Senley scored twice.
Jaylen Hubbard put the Bobcats in front 1-0 in the top of the second on a solo home run to left field.
The Cajuns answered in the bottom half of the second as Sensley crushed an 0-1 pitch from Humpal for an opposite field solo home run off of the scoreboard in left center to tie the contest at 1-all. The home run was the third of the season for Sensley.
With the bases loaded and one out in the fourth inning, Poncho drove a double into the gap in left center to clear the bases and give the Ragin' Cajuns a 4-1 advantage.
Louisiana added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single up the middle by Brenn Conrad scoring Antchak from second. Antchak doubled to right center to lead off the inning.
Relievers Eric Carter and Dylan Moore combined to throw 2.1 scoreless innings to close out the contest.
The Cajuns and Bobcats return to action tomorrow night at 6 p.m. at The Tigue. Sophomore right-hander Wyatt Marks (3-4, 5.20 ERA) will make the start for Louisiana, while senior right-hander Jeremy Hallonquist will take the mound for Texas State.
The game can be heard live on News Talk 96.5 KPEL-FM with Jay Walker making the call.