Friday, April 8
Jags Win 13th Consecutive Sun Belt Game
MOBILE, Ala. – Kevin Hill tossed his third complete game of the season to lead the No. 28 University of South Alabama baseball team to an 8-2 series-opening win over Arkansas State Friday at Stanky Field.
Hill (7-1) allowed two runs and scattered eight hits, and struck out nine batters without issuing a walk to earn his seventh win of the season. The win also extended USA's Sun Belt Conference winning streak to 13 games.
"We have gotten used to that out of Kevin," USA head coach Mark Calvi said. "He sets the tone on Friday, and he was really good again; he was a really good version of himself and that's what we needed to start the series off. He gives us that effort every single time."
"I just got ahead (in the count) and got the leadoff guy out," Hill said. "I just threw as many strikes early on as I could. We feed off of each other. The pitchers have confidence in the defense, and when the hitters are rolling then we're rolling as well."
Cole Billingsley gave the Jaguars a one-run lead in the bottom of the first when he lifted a 3-1 pitch from ASU right-hander Tyler Zuber over the right field wall for a solo home run while also extending his hitting streak to 14 games.
South Alabama (23-8, 13-0 SBC) added five runs to its lead in the bottom of the second. Brendan Donovan and Jared Barnes reached on consecutive one-out singles, and Ben Gann followed with an RBI single to left field to score Donovan and double the Jaguar lead at 2-0. A single to center field by Adam Wolfe loaded the bases for Travis Swaggerty, who reached on an RBI infield single to first base that scored Barnes and extended the USA lead to 3-0. Billingsley followed with a sacrifice fly to center field to plate Gann and push the Jag lead to four runs. LaBounty then singled to right field to score Wolfe and Swaggerty for a 6-0 USA advantage.
USA added its final run of the game in the bottom of the fourth. Wolfe reached on a two-base throwing error by ASU third baseman Joe Schrimpf to lead off the inning, and moved to third on a throwing error by Zuber on a failed pickoff attempt at second base. Swaggerty followed with an RBI double to the left-center gap to score Wolfe and push the Jaguar lead to 7-0. A groundout to second by Billingsley moved Swaggerty to third with one out. LaBounty followed with a sacrifice fly to center field to plate Swaggerty for an 8-0 USA lead.
ASU (13-16, 4-9 SBC) answered with its only runs of the game in the top of the seventh on a one-out RBI double down the left field line by Jeremy Brown to cut the Jaguar lead to 8-1. Garrett Rucker followed with an RBI single to center field to cut the ASU deficit to 8-2.
Barnes went 3-for-4 with one run scored to lead the Jaguars at the plate. Swaggerty finished 2-for-5 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored, LaBounty added a hit and three RBI and Billingsley finished with one home run, two RBI and one run scored. Brown and Schrimpf went 2-for-4 with a double and one RBI apiece to lead the Red Wolves offensively.
"The game's that scare me the most are the ones where you jump ahead early," Calvi said. "There is a lot of time left and there are swings within the game. I knew they (Arkansas State) were going to have their shot, because they don't quit. It was good to see Cole Billingsley come up and hit one deep. It was really good to see the top-third of our lineup produce today."
The series will continue with game two Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Stanky Field.
Panthers Open Little Rock Series with 7-5 Win
LITTLE ROCK, ARK. -- Joey Roach drove in two key runs, including his eighth home run of the season and third in the last two games as Georgia State opened its series at Little Rock with a 7-5 victory Friday night at Gary Hogan Field.
Georgia State (15-15, 4-6 Sun Belt) shortstop Justin Jones was 2-for-2 with two RBI, but more importantly, he made a game-saving catch in the bottom of the ninth inning. Down by two runs, Little Rock (13-16, 6-7 Sun Belt) had the bases loaded with two outs, but Jones made a diving stab on a line drive to end the game.
"Road baseball is difficult to win, and a lot of guys really stepped up in the clutch tonight," head coach Greg Frady said. "It was a very hard-fought game, and we beat a really good team at their place. But it is just Game 1, and we'll get ready for tomorrow."
The Trojans took the lead first with two runs in the fourth, but GSU answered immediately with three in the fifth. Jaylen Woullard and Will Kilgore led off with back-to-back singles, and Jones was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Ryan Blanton brought home the first run with a sacrifice fly, and with two outs, Roach and Jarrett Hood delivered back-to-back run-scoring singles to put the Panthers ahead 3-2.
After Little Rock tied the game in the sixth on Dalton Thomas' solo homer, GSU again responded right away by manufacturing a run in the seventh. Jones led off with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice, to third on a fly ball and came home on a wild pitch for a 4-3 lead.
Jones brought home an insurance run one inning later with a run-scoring single that made it 5-3.
The Trojans pulled within 5-4 with a run in the eighth, but Roach blasted the first pitch of the ninth inning over the right field fence for a 6-4 advantage. After two outs, the Panthers loaded the bases as Luke Leonard and Woullard drew walks and Will Kilgore was hit by a pitch. Then Jones drew a walk for his second RBI of the game to send the Panthers to the bottom of the ninth with a three-run lead.
"We pushed two more across in the ninth inning, and as it turned out, we needed them," Frady said.
GSU starter Wayne Wages (2-3) had a strong outing as he pitched 6.2 innings and allowed three run on seven hits with six strikeouts. Two of his strikeouts came against the Sun Belt's leading hitter, Ryan Scott, who entered the game second in the nation with a .486 average.
After Wages struck out Scott with a runner in scoring position in the seventh for his final out of the night, Bryce Conley came on and pitched the final 2.1 innings to earn his second save.
The series continues with a 3 p.m. ET game Saturday.
ULM Drops UTA Behind Clutch Hitting, Pitching
ARLINGTON, Texas – ULM spotted Trey Auger a four-spot in the first inning of his first career start, and the Warhawks defeated UT Arlington 8-3 in Friday night’s series opener.
Auger allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings. He had thrown just 10 innings in as many appearances coming into the game. Keller Bradford also earned his first save after going a career-high 3 1/3 innings and giving up just one hit.
Cade Stone singled and Nathan Reynolds took a pitch off the shoulder to give ULM its first two baserunners. Two batters later, Nathan Pugh got his team on the board with a sacrifice fly to deep right center. Spencer Hemphill’s single and Cody Stone’s double followed, and then Danny Springer joined the hit parade with a line drive over the center fielder’s head that gave ULM a 4-0 lead.
UTA (17-14, 4-6 SBC) got one of the runs back when Colton Turner’s sacrifice fly was just deep enough for Jacob Stockton’s in-the-air throw to be late.
The Warhawks went up 6-2 in the sixth inning. Springer drew a nine-pitch walk and moved to third when Kyle Schimpf’s hit-and-run single found the hole at second base. He hustled to second and was called out, but the throw allowed Springer to touch home.
The Mavs got their first two runners on in the bottom of the sixth and made it a 6-2 game before Bradford relieved Auger. Men were at first and third before Bradford forced an easy first-pitch, two-hopper to Schimpf at third base that ended the threat.
ULM (12-18, 3-7 SBC) had runners on second and third in the top of the eighth when Schimpf’s sinking line drive evaded a diving catch in right field, making it a 7-2 contest.
Darien McLemore’s leadoff homer in the eighth inning off of Bradford got the run back for the Mavs.
The Warhawks got more of the same in the ninth inning, adding an insurance run on Jacob Stockton’s sacrifice fly to deep center. Reynolds earlier in the inning continued a night-long trend for ULM with a hit-and-run single.
Troy Baseball Holds Off Appalachian State, Takes Game One
TROY, Alabama – The Troy baseball team held off a pesky Appalachian State club, who had the bases loaded down two runs in the ninth, when a Cory Gill strikeout sealed the victory for the Trojans, 9-7, on Friday night at Riddle-Pace Field.
"It was a hard fought win," head coach Mark Smartt said. "I'm proud of our team. Anytime you can get a win on Friday night you've got to be pleased with that. We had to go to the bullpen early, but I'm proud of the win for sure."
Troy (18-13, 4-6 Sun Belt) took a 6-0 lead after five innings and scored one run in the second, two in the fourth and three in the fifth; but Appalachian State (8-22, 3-10) answered with three of their own in the top of the sixth to cut the lead in half.
Bert Givens doubled home the first run of the game in the second, while the two runs in the fourth came on an error and a wild pitch.
Justin Friend doubled to center field with the bases loaded and no outs in the fifth that gave the Trojans the 6-0 lead.
Tyler Stroup cut the Trojan lead to one run with a two-run home run to right field in the eighth that made the game 6-5.
Troy answered the Mountaineers in the bottom of the eighth with three runs of their own. Brandon Lockridge singled home a run to extend the lead to 7-5 and TJ Binder continued his hot hitting with an RBI double to right field. Friend doubled to right center for his fourth RBI of the game.
However, Appalachian State battled back with two runs in the ninth, but Gill got the clutch strikeout he was looking for with the bases loaded to seal the deal for Troy.
Four Trojans had multi-hit nights, with three of them having three hits. Binder had a 3-for-3 night with a double and an RBI. Cameron Sanders and Lockridge had three hits each on the night. Lockridge scored three runs with one RBI, while Sanders scored one run with one double. Friend had the other multi-hit game going 2-for-3 with a career-high two doubles and a four RBIs.
The two teams will return to the diamond on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Trojans feature Houston Mabray while the Mountaineers will start Breydan Gorham.
Cajuns Rally For Four Runs In Extras To Take Series Opener At Georgia Southern, 6-2
STATESBORO, Ga. – The 26th-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team exploded for four runs in the tenth inning to defeat Georgia Southern 6-2 in extra innings on Friday night to take the opening game of the series at J.I. Clements Stadium.
The win is the eighth in nine games for the Cajuns and the third straight in conference play as the team improves to 20-10 overall and 9-4 in the Sun Belt.
"We stayed in the game, the hitters did a good job of running up Challenger's pitch count early," head coach Tony Robichaux said "I told the guys that our starters were going to have to match theirs and we would have to beat their bullpen. I thought Gunner (Leger) did a good job and we played good defense for the most part. We hung in there till we could break it open, and we were able to win a run away."
Leger posted his fifth quality start in a no decision limiting the Eagles (17-13, 6-7) to two runs on six hits in seven innings with three strikeouts and no walks.
Hogan Harris, Jevin Huval and Dylan Moore combined to throw three shutout innings to close out the game with Moore picking up his third win of the season. Moore tossed the final 1.2 innings with a pair of strikeouts.
Georgia Southern starter Evan Challenger also didn't factor into the decision allowing two runs on five hits in six innings with seven strikeouts and three walks. Landon Hughes was tagged with the loss for the Eagles after giving up four runs on four hits in 2.2 innings of work.
Offensively, the Ragin' Cajuns outhit Georgia Southern 9-7 led by Brad Antchak and Kyle Clement who each posted a pair of hits. Antchak had two doubles and two RBI in the contest.
Louisiana grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a two-out double down the left field line by Antchak scoring Clement. Clement led off the inning with an infield single and moved to second when Stefan Trosclair was hit by a pitch.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Cajuns extended their lead to 2-0 on an RBI single up the middle by Ishmael Edwards scoring Nick Thurman from second base. Thurman led off the inning on an infield single and then moved to second on a Derek Herrington sac bunt.
The lead would be erased in the bottom half of the fifth as the Eagles scored two runs on an RBI groundout by Will Hudgins and a Leger wild pitch.
Georgia Southern threatened in the seventh as Logan Ballard singled to lead off the inning and then moved to second on a Drew Kelley sac bunt. In the next at bat, Ballard was gunned down at the plate by Herrington trying to score on a sharply hit single to right field by Evan McDonald.
The Eagles threatened again in the ninth inning putting two on with one out, but Moore got McDonald to line into a double play to end the inning.
Louisiana regained the lead in the tenth inning on a safety squeeze by Trosclair to give the Cajuns a 3-2 edge. In the next at bat, Antchak hammered a double into the gap in left center to extend the advantage to 4-2. Alex Pinero singled home the final two runs of the inning driving a ball through the left side of the infield.
Moore retired the side in the tenth getting Georgia Southern slugger Ryan Cleveland to strike out to end the game.
The Cajuns and Eagles meet again tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET with sophomore right-hander Wyatt Marks to make the start for Louisiana. Right-hander Chase Cohen is slated to make the start for Georgia Southern.
Bobcats Suffer 6-3 Loss to Nevada
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Texas State started strong with seven hits in the second inning, including the 11th home run of the year from Tanner Hill, to gain an early 3-0 lead, but Nevada would strike back with four runs in the seventh and two more in the ninth for a 6-3 win for the Wolf Pack. The loss drops Texas State to 20-11 on the season.
In addition to Hill's solo homer in the second inning, the Bobcats followed with six consecutive singles from Dylan Paul, Luke Sherley, Derek Scheible, Jared Huber, Jonathan Ortega and Cory Geisler to plate two more runs. Unfortunately, Texas State left three stranded in the inning, missing out on the opportunity for more.
After giving up two more hits in the third, Nevada pitcher Christian Stolo, the defending Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Year, and the Wolf Pack defense settled in to retire 15 consecutive batters leading into the eighth inning. The Bobcats only managed a single and a walk in the final two innings.
Meanwhile, despite seven strikeouts and a near complete game for Lucas Humpal, the Wolf Pack scored four runs, three unearned, in the seventh inning, and added two more in the ninth for insurance to secure the win.
Jeremy Hallonquist and Nevada's Trevor Charpie will be on the mound for Saturday's game at 3 p.m.
WHO STOOD OUT
Lucas Humpal / RHP / Senior / Corpus Christi, Texas
Humpal put on a strong performance, only allowing two earned runs in 8.2 innings of work. The senior struck seven batters out without a walk and left the game one out shy of his third complete game of the season.
Luke Sherley / IF / Sophomore / The Woodlands, Texas
Sherley led the Bobcats offense on a 2-for-3 showing with a walk. He scored a run for Texas State and was one of two Bobcats to finish with two hits in the game.
Tanner Hill / 1B/C / Senior / San Marcos, Texas
Hill knocked his 11th home run of the season to start the scoring for the Bobcats in the second inning. In the third, he nearly knocked out another one.
Jared Huber / C / Sophomore / Spring, Texas
Huber took advantage of a bases-loaded situation, sending a single through the right side to plate two runs and push the early Bobcat lead up to 3-0. In the fourth inning, he caught the base runner at first napping and picked him off with a throw to first after the pitch.
SCORING RECAP
Bottom 2nd – Tanner Hill hits a leadoff home run to put the Bobcats up, 1-0. After Hill, Dylan Paul, Luke Sherley and Derek Scheible hit consecutive base hits to load the bases for Jared Huber. He hit a single through the right side to plate Paul and Sherley, pushing the lead to 3-0. (3 runs, 7 hits, 0 errors, 3 left on base)
Top 7th – Nevada started with a bunt single and a double to left centerfield. After that, back-to-back Texas State errors on bunts allowed the Wolf Pack to score two runs. A groundout plated another run, and Nevada followed that with a sacrifice fly to go ahead, 4-3. (4 runs, 3 hits, 2 errors, 1 left on base)
Top 9th – Nevada hit a two-out double. After that, the Wolf Pack drew back-to-back walks to load the bases, and Nevada scored on a bases-loaded wild pitch to push the lead to 5-3 for the visitors. Next, a bases-loaded walk put Nevada up, 6-3. (2 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 3 left on base)