Saturday, April 9
Little Rock Dominates Georgia State, Knots Series
LITTLE ROCK – An offensive onslaught and solid work on the mound by Little Rock baseball (14-16, 7-7 Sun Belt) earned it a 15-2 win over Georgia State (15-16, 4-7) and knotted the weekend series at 1-1 on Saturday afternoon at Gary Hogan Field.
Sunday's series finale has now been moved up to 11:30 a.m., to accommodate Georgia State's travel schedule.
Zach Baker led the way offensively with six RBIs and two doubles as he went 2 for 3 and walked once. Dalton Thomas shook things up as well with four RBIs and a three-home run as he went 2 for 5. Nik Gifford had three RBIs as he went 1 for 4 while walking twice.
The Sun Belt's leading hitter, Ryan Scott, went 3 for 6 with a double and three runs.
Cory Malcom (2-3) earned his second win of the year as he went 5.0 innings with six strikeouts while giving up just three hits and a walk on 113 pitches.
After getting the opening run on the board in the second inning with a sacrifice fly by Baker, Little Rock punched in two more runs in the third. With runners on the corners, Nik Gifford knocked a two-run single to left center to plate Hunter Owens and Scott.
Down 3-0 heading into the sixth, Georgia State finally got on the board with a leadoff home run by Darius Sewell.
Up 3-1, the flood gates opened for Little Rock in the bottom of the sixth. With a runner on, Dalton Thomas singled through the right side to score Hayden Martin from second. After two walks loaded the bases for the Trojans, Kyle Kirk walked on five pitches to bring another run home. Baker then cleared the bases with a three-run double, giving Little Rock an 8-1 lead.
It was more of the same in the seventh as Little Rock put up another five runs on the scoreboard. With runners on the corners, Thomas hit a three-run blast to dead center, earning his fifth home run of the season. After a Georgia State pitching change, a single by Jonathan Davis and another Kirk walk laid the foundation for a two-run double by Baker to give Little Rock a 13-1 lead.
With a 12-run lead, the Trojans weren't going to stop there. After a slew of defensive changes by Georgia State, Owens singled and Scott doubled to get the inning started. With one out, Gifford reached on a throwing error as Owens scored. With runners on the corners, Davis hit an RBI single as Scott scored Little Rock's 15th and final run of the game.
Down 15-1, Georgia State put a drop in the bucket as it scored one last time. With runners on the corners and two outs, Nick Gatewood grounded out to Trojan pitcher Dylan Slayton as Will Johnson scored. Slayton then put the Panthers away with his third strikeout of the game to clinch his second save and give Little Rock the win.
"I couldn't be more proud of the team for responding after last night," head coach Chris Curry said. "It's a good club when we do what we're supposed to do and play ball. Pitching, timely hitting and defense is the boring, old formula because it works."
Little Rock will look to win its third Sun Belt series of the season tomorrow at 11:30 a.m., at Gary Hogan Field.
"It's the biggest game of the year tomorrow because it's the next one, and we need to win this series very badly," Curry added.
Late Rally Gives Troy Baseball Walk-off Win Against Appalachian State
TROY, Alabama – With one out and the bases loaded in the ninth inning, Trevor Davis singled through the left side and scored the game-tying and winning run that gave Troy a 4-3 walk-off victory over Appalachian State on Saturday at Riddle-Pace Field.
"It was a great win for our team," head coach Mark Smartt said. "We got a couple of clutch strikeouts when they had runners at first and third and no outs, which was amazing. Then, somehow we rallied and got the win and took the series. I was really pleased with the manner we competed late in the game."
After falling behind 2-0 via a two-run home run, Troy (19-13, 5-6 Sun Belt) scored one run in the fourth and eighth inning that tied the game at two. Cameron Sanders drove in both runs in each inning.
Appalachian State (8-23, 3-11 Sun Belt) was in good position to take the lead after a single and a hit by pitch put runners at first and second. Marc Skinner came in to pitch in relief, before Tyler Stroup stole third and put runners at the corners for the Mountaineers.
Skinner got back-to-back swinging strikeouts for the first two outs of the inning, but a pinch-hit single from lone senior Grayson Atwood scored the go-ahead run and put Appalachian State up 3-2.
Steven Whitaker started off the ninth with an infield single up the middle that was gloved by the shortstop, which had no chance of throwing out Whitaker. Peyton Fuller hit a one out single to the pitcher that put runners at the corners for Troy.
The Mountaineers loaded the bases by intentionally walking Chase Smartt with one out. The next batter was Davis, who hit the walk-off single on a 1-2 count.
Sanders and Davis had multi-RBI performances on the day. The duo had a hit each with two RBIs. Joey Denison had a multi-hit day, his 11th of the season and hit his first career triple as a Trojan. Smartt also had his first collegiate triple in a 1-for-4 day at the dish.
Skinner (1-1) picked up his first win of the season pitching one inning, only allowing one hit with two clutch strikeouts. Houston Mabray, who started the game pitched 6.1 innings and only allowed two unearned runs on four hits while striking out four.
Trey Johns made his 17th appearance out of the bullpen – a team-high – and pitched 1.2 innings. He gave up one run on one hit, walked one and struck out one.
The Trojans and Mountaineers will return to Riddle-Pace Field as Troy will go for the sweep on Championship Sunday. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.
Texas State's Studdard Homers Twice in Saturday Loss to Nevada
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Nevada started with early offense, scoring five runs in the first inning, and added runs in the third and each of the final three innings to beat Texas state, 17-6, on Saturday. The loss drops the Bobcats to 20-12 on the season.
Nevada's 17 runs were the most scored on Texas State and the most since April 12, 2014 against the Bobcats. However, Granger Studdard showed he still has power with two home runs in the game, boosting his season total to four and his career total to 21 as he finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs, two runs and a walk.
Studdard's work wouldn't be enough, nor would a late rally as the Bobcats scored four runs in the ninth inning to close the gap. Jacob Almendarez, Felipe Rodriguez, Derek Scheible and Wes Engle all tallied hits in the inning with an RBI double for Rodriguez and a two-RBI triple for Engle. Jaylen Hubbard helped the scoring when he scored after a hit by pitch.
Sunday, Cory Geisler will take the mound as the Bobcats look to salvage the series at 1 p.m.
WHO STOOD OUT
Granger Studdard / OF / Junior / Buda, Texas
Studdard busted up a Nevada no-hitter with a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth, and sent another one out in the bottom of the seventh inning. They are his third and fourth homers of the season and the 20th and 21st of his career to move him into a tie for 10th all-time at Texas State in career home runs.
Georgia Southern Holds off Cajuns to Even Series
Eagle Baseball Defeats UL Lafayette, 3-2
STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern Baseball defeated UL Lafayette by a 3-2 margin on Saturday night to even the series at one game each. Freshman pitcher Chase Cohen picked up his third win of the season, with sophomore Connor Simmons coming in to earn his first career save. The Eagles will go for the series win against the Ragin' Cajuns Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
The Eagles had some out of the ordinary fans show up to Saturday night's game for "Bark in the Bark" night at the stadium. Fifty-three dogs were in attendance, along with 1,017 human fans, to witness the Eagle win.
QUOTABLES
HEAD COACH RODNEY HENNON
"I'm proud of the way our guys responded after a tough one last night. I thought Chase Cohen really competed well for us and gave us a good effort. Connor (Simmons), came in late and was able to make a big pitch and a big play in a key situation there in the ninth when they had a chance to tie it. We got a big hit from Cal Baker earlier in the game. It was a good win to even it up and we have to carry this momentum and come out and try to be at our best tomorrow."
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Cal Baker // JR // INF // Clyo, Ga.
Cal Baker had an outstanding night, with a two-RBI single that proved to be the game's winning run. In the ninth inning he fielded a ground ball at second and threw out the tying run at the plate to help preserve the win.
CRUCIAL MOMENTS
Top 1st – A leadoff single to shortstop opened the door for UL Lafayette to score a run in the first. A stolen base, followed by a throwing error by CJ Brazil moved the runner along to third. A wild pitch allowed the run to score as the Ragin' Cajuns tallied their first run of the night.
Bottom 1st – Logan Baldwin's walk and stolen base on two outs put the Eagles in scoring position, with an opportunity to level the score. Ryan Cleveland didn't disappoint as he singled up the middle, scoring Baldwin from second to tie the game at 1-1.
Top 2nd – The Ragin' Cajuns got runners on the corners with two outs in the second. They got their run with a delayed steal. The runner from first broke to draw the throw to second. On the throw, ULL sent their runner home from third. He scored before the tag was made at second, plating a run before the end of the frame.
Bottom 5th – With two in scoring position, Cal Baker shot one over shortstop's head for a two-run single, giving the Eagles their first lead of the series, a 3-2 advantage that ultimately gave Georgia Southern the win.
NOTES
- With the win, Georgia Southern snaps a four-game Sun Belt Conference losing streak and improves to 7-7 in league play.
- Chase Cohen went six strong innings, working around five hits and allowing two runs, one earned to claim his third win of the season. He fanned five, bouncing back from early runs.
- Connor Simmons went three innings to take his first collegiate save. He gave up just one hit while striking out four of the 10 batters he faced.
NEXT GAME
The Eagles go for the series win against the Ragin' Cajuns Sunday at 1 p.m. Fans can watch the game on GS All-Access on GSEagles.com or listen live on Georgia Southern Sports Network.
NO. 28 JAGS CLINCH ASU SERIES, EXTEND SBC WINNING STREAK TO 14
MOBILE, Ala. – The 28th-ranked University of South Alabama baseball team scored seven unanswered runs for a 12-7 series-clinching win over Arkansas State Saturday at Stanky Field.
USA extended its Sun Belt Conference winning streak to 14 games and extended its home winning streak to 12 with the victory, while clinching its fifth consecutive SBC series. Eight Jaguar starters hit safely in the game, led by Brendan Donovan who went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Cole Billingsley finished 1-for-3 with three RBI, Drew LaBounty had one hit and two RBI and Jared Barnes homered, drove in two runs and scored three times.
"We got some big hits and got it done," USA head coach Mark Calvi said. "We strung some really good at-bats together. Hunter Soleymani wasn't great, but he didn't break. And the bullpen came in behind him and did a really nice job. We need everybody to win that ballgame; it didn't look good early."
Arkansas State (13-17, 4-10 SBC) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on a two-out, two-run home run to left field by Joe Schrimpf.
South Alabama (24-8, 14-0 SBC) answered with a pair of runs to tie the game in the bottom of the second when Jared Barnes lifted a 2-2 pitch from ASU right-hander Adam Grantham over the left field wall for a two-run home run – his team-leading sixth of the season – to knot the score at 2-2.
USA took a one-run lead in the bottom of the third. Danny Martinez led off the inning with a walk, and Carter Perkins followed with single through the right side of the infield. A balk by Grantham moved both runners into scoring position with no outs. Brendan Donovan drew a walk to load the bases for Barnes, who grounded into a 6-4-3 double play that allowed Martinez to score to give the Jaguars a 3-2 lead.
ASU responded with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth to take a one-run lead. Rucker drew a leadoff walk, later reached third on a wild pitch and scored when Barnes' throw to third sailed into left field. A two-out RBI single by Daltan Lovell later in the inning gave the Red Wolves a 4-3 lead. Tanner Ring followed with a two-run double to the left-center gap to double the ASU lead to 6-3.
The Jags answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth to cut their deficit to one run. Adam Wolfe reached on a hit by pitch to lead off the inning, and Travis Swaggerty followed with a walk. A sacrifice bunt by Cole Billingsley moved both runners into scoring position with one out. Drew LaBounty then delivered a two-run single into right-center field to score Wolfe and Swaggerty and cut the ASU lead to 6-5.
ASU pushed its lead back to two runs in the top of the fifth on a one-out RBI single by Jeremy Brown for a 7-5 advantage.
The Jags answered with a run in the bottom of the fifth when Ben Gann doubled down the right field line, and scored on a two-out RBI single back up the middle by Wolfe to cut the ASU lead to 7-6.
USA took a one-run lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh. Barnes drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the seventh, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Gann. Wolfe followed with a walk before a wild pitch from ASU left-hander Tony Ortiz advanced both runners into scoring position with one out. A walk by Swaggerty loaded the bases for Billingsley, who delivered a two-run single back up the middle to extend his hitting streak to 15 games and give the Jags an 8-7 lead.
South Alabama pushed across the game's final run in the bottom of the eighth. Donovan singled back up the middle with one out, and moved to second on a wild pitch. Barnes drew a walk, and Donovan advanced to third on the play on a second wild pitch from ASU right-hander Zachary Patterson to put runners at the corners with one out. A balk by Patterson moved Barnes to second and plated Donovan for a 9-7 USA lead. A two-run single with one out by Swaggerty later in the inning extended the Jaguar advantage to 11-7. Billingsley drove in the game's final run with an RBI sacrifice bunt on a squeeze play one batter later.
USA will go for the series sweep in Sunday's series finale at 1 p.m. at Stanky Field.
ULM Upends UT Arlington, 3-2, for Third Consecutive Win
Story to Follow