Friday, May 13
Troy Baseball Takes Game One Over Georgia State in 11 Innings
ATLANTA, Georgia – A two-run 11th inning lifted Troy to a 4-2 series-opening win over Georgia State on Friday night at the GSU Baseball Complex in Atlanta.
Steven Whitaker, who entered the game as a defensive substitution at center field in the eighth inning, delivered a one-run double that scored Joey Denison from second and gave Troy (28-23, 13-12 Sun Belt) a 3-2 lead in the 11th inning. Two batters later, Peyton Fuller scored Whitaker from second with a single up the middle and gave Troy an insurance run.
Corey Childress (2-2) picked up three straight outs in the bottom half of the frame and earned his second win of the season. He pitched five innings and only gave up one hit, one walk and struck out three.
Georgia State (23-27, 9-16 Sun Belt) scored one run in the third inning when Ryan Blanton hit an RBI single to right center field and gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
Troy tied the game at one in the fourth inning when Denison singled up the middle and scored Matt Sanders. In the fifth inning, the Trojans took a 2-1 lead as Sanders had a two-out RBI single.
Sanders went 3-for-4 on the night with one double, one RBI, one run scored and one walk.
Grant Bennett had another quality start, but exited after six innings pitched and two runners on. He gave up two runs on 11 hits, but struck out seven Panthers.
Denison had the other multi-hit game, as he went 2-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI. Trevor Davis, Hoke Granger and Fuller also had hits on the night.
Troy will go for the series win on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT. Lucas Brown will toe the rubber for the Trojans.
SWAGGERTY’S WALK-OFF IN NINTH LIFTS NO. 23 JAGS OVER NO. 21 CAJUNS
MOBILE, Ala. – Travis Swaggerty delivered a walk-off single to right field in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift No. 23 University of South Alabama baseball to a 3-2 series-opening win over No. 21 Louisiana-Lafayette Friday at Stanky Field.
Ben Gann drew a two-out walk from ULL right-hander Eric Carter in the bottom of the ninth, and was lifted for pinch-runner Dylan Hardy who stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by Cajun catcher Nick Thurman on the play. Swaggerty then worked the count full against Carter before serving the 3-2 pitch into right field to plate Hardy with the game-winning run.
ULL jumped out to a one-run lead in the top of the first inning. Hunter Kasuls led off the game with a single to second, and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Brian Mills. Stefan Trosclair followed with a two-out RBI single through the left side of the infield to score Kasuls with the game's first run.
USA answered with a pair of runs with two outs in the bottom of the first to take a one-run lead. Drew LaBounty reached on a two-out single back up the middle, and advanced to second on a hit by pitch from ULL left-hander Gunner Leger to Brendan Donovan. Matt Bolger followed with an RBI double down the left field line to score LaBounty and tie the game 1-1. Jared Barnes then reached on an RBI infield single to second base to plate Donovan for a 2-1 Jaguar lead.
Trosclair singled through the right side of the infield to lead off the top of the sixth, and advanced to second on a hit by pitch from Hill to Brenn Conrad. A sacrifice bunt by Alex Pinero moved both runners into scoring position with one out. Joe Robbins followed with an RBI single to right field to score Trosclair and tie the game 2-2. Travis Swaggerty collected the ball in right field on the play, and fired to Barnes at the plate to cut down Conrad attempting to score the go-ahead run.
Jaguar right-hander Mike Dolloff (3-4) tossed one shutout inning in relief of Jaguar right-hander Kevin Hill, and allowed one hit while striking out two to earn his third win of the season. Carter (3-2) allowed one unearned run on one hit with one strikeout and a pair of walks in 1 2/3 innings in the loss. Hill struck out seven against two walks, and allowed two runs on eight hits in eight innings without factoring in the decision.
"The game lived up to the billing," USA head coach Mark Calvi said. "You had two very good college baseball teams and two of, if not the best, Friday night guys in the league. Kevin (Hill) gave us a chance to win the game; he found a way to keep making pitches and we played some good defense behind him. I am super proud of Kevin Hill, as I always am. Win or lose, his effort is always there and I am good with it."
Barnes went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Swaggerty finished 2-for-5 with one RBI to lead the Jaguars at the plate. Bolger added a double and one RBI. Trosclair went 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored to lead the Cajuns offensively.
The series will continue with game two Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Stanky Field.
Curtis’ Strong Start Keys ULM to 4-1 Win
MONROE, La. – Keegan Curtis allowed just two hits in seven innings, and the ULM offense took care of the rest with a 4-1 victory over Little Rock on Friday night at Warhawk Field. It was the squad’s third consecutive win.
Little Rock (23-23, 14-11 SBC) struck first. Kyle Kirk drew a leadoff walk in the top of the third and the Trojans eventually had two runners in scoring position before Ryan Scott grounded out to second and scored the run.
ULM (20-30, 10-15 SBC) scored three of its runs in the bottom of the third. Tyler Cox, making his fifth start of the season, lined a single to center field on his first pitch of the night. He ultimately came around to score on Josh Faciane’s one-out first pitch single that tied the game. With two runners on, Jacob Stockton roped a double into the left field corner that gave ULM its 3-1 advantage.
Danny Springer stayed hot in the sixth, as his leadoff double down the left field line came on the eighth pitch of the at-bat. Cade Stone then sacrificed him to third on a bunt before Spencer Hemphill flied out just shy of the left field wall, allowing Springer to trot home for a 4-1 Warhawk lead.
Keegan Curtis retired seven in a row before a leadoff Trojan double in the sixth. It was only their second hit of the game.
A-State Baseball Takes Series Opener Versus Texas State 6-1
JONESBORO, Ark. (5/13/16) – Cody Jackson allowed five hits in six-plus innings and two double plays helped Coulton Lee close out a 6-1 win for Arkansas State baseball team over Texas State Friday night at Tomlinson Stadium.
Jackson didn’t allow a hit until there were two outs in the third and held the Bobcats to three hits until the seventh inning. Jackson (2-3) allowed one run on five hits, tied his career high with three strikeouts and walked one. Lee earned his first save on the year, allowing no runs on two hits and two walks. Lucas Humpal (6-5) took the loss allowing four runs, two earned, on eight hits in 6.2 innings.
Matt Burgess ripped a RBI-double down the right-field line with one out in the fourth to break the deadlock. Tanner Ring reached on a leadoff single and moved to third on a single by Jeremy Brown but Brown was thrown out at second trying to stretch his single into a double. Burgess turned on the 1-2 offering and collected his third double in two games for his 30th RBI on the year.
Texas State (26-24, 13-12 SBC) answered with a tally of their own in the top half of the fifth. A leadoff double and sacrifice bunt put a runner on third with one out and a high fly ball down the rightfield line forced a play at the plate. A-State rightfielder Ty White put the throw on the money to the catcher Joe Schrimpf, but the runner appeared to get his foot in ahead of the tag to knot the score at 1-1.
Burgess helped the Red Wolves (23-25, 10-15 SBC) regain the lead in the sixth, hitting a one-out single to spark a rally. Brown was issued a walk to put runners on first and second with one away bring Tony Ortiz to the plate. The freshman singled up the middle and Burgess raced home to score the go-ahead run. The Bobcats thwarted the chances of a big inning for A-State with an inning-ending double play.
Jackson allowed three hits over the first six frames, but the Bobcats started the seventh with a double and single to put runners on the corners with no outs. A-State turned to Lee out of the pen, clinging to the 2-1 lead. Lee induced a soft comebacker and turned to throw to first for the out, but quickly spun and threw out the runner at the plate. A walk loaded the bases, but another ground ball led to an inning-ending double play to keep the Red Wolves ahead 2-1.
With the momentum back in the Red Wolves dugout, A-State scored four runs in the seventh with the help of an error and a big extra-base hit. Schrimpf was issued a one-out walk and moved to scoring position on a ground out and came around to score on an error by the Bobcats second baseman. The error opened the door for a big inning and a hit batter and walk loaded the bases for Brown. Brown roped a triple to leftfield to clear the bases and expand the A-State lead to 6-1.
The two teams meet for game two of the three-game series on Saturday. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. at Tomlinson Stadium.
UTA follows Simmons to comeback win over App State
BOONE, N.C. - Kadon Simmons allowed three runs in the first inning, but none the rest of the night in 8.1 innings of work as the UT Arlington Mavericks picked up a 4-3 win over Appalachian State on Friday at Smith Field.
Simmons retired 17 Mountaineers (15-34, 9-19 SBC) in a row after App State scratched three across in the first, and the Maverick (26-24, 12-13 SBC) offense finished with 13 hits on the night. Colton Turner collected three of them, including a go-ahead solo home run in the top of the fifth to put UTA ahead for good.
"This was a really good win after a really long travel day yesterday. It's a tough trip," coach Darin Thomas said. "Kadon (Simmons) was outstanding after the first inning, but that's what he always does. He keeps us in the game and gives us a chance to win. Offensively we got 13 hits on a Friday night and scored just enough."
The junior righty moved to 9-4 on the season, striking out four and not issuing a walk while surrendering only three hits after the opening frame in tossing at least 8.0 innings for the fifth time this season. Jacob Moreland picked up his fourth save of the season, going the final 0.2 innings and leaving two runners stranded in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth.
hree Mavs combined for nine of UTA's 13 hits, led by Turner's 3-for-4 night. Quintin Rohrbaugh and Matt McLean also finished 3-for-5.
The loss went to App State's Dallas DeVrieze, who fell to 1-1 after entering in the second inning and allowed just one run despite UTA getting to him for seven hits in his 4.1 innings of work. Reliever Reed Howell also tossed 3.0 scoreless innings for the Mountaineers, striking out four.
Appalachian State wasted no time getting to Simmons in the early going, striking for three runs in the bottom of the first. A solo homer from Matt Vernon two batters into the inning scored the first run, followed four batters later by a two-run double from Grayson Atwood before the UTA starter was able to get out of the frame.
The Maverick offense then got those runs immediately back with three runs of their own in the top of the second, driving the Mountaineer starter Bobby Hampton from the hill. UTA loaded the bases with just one out before Cody Farrell was hit by a pitch to score a run. Josh Minjarez followed with a sacrifice fly and McLean tied it up when he scored Christian Hollie with a single back up the middle.
Simmons then settled in, retiring the next 17 hitters he faced not allowing a hit until a one-out double by Atwood in the bottom of the seventh. Turner then put UTA up 4-3 with his third homer of the year, a one-out solo shot off of DeVrieze in the top of the 5th.
The junior had to work out of jams in both the seventh and the eighth when the Mountaineers managed to get runners into scoring position, but got around Atwood's seventh-inning double and struck out Brian Bauk with the tying runner on third to end the eighth.
The Mountaineers made one last push to go back in front in the ninth when Colin Schmid singled with one out. UTA then turned to Moreland, who allowed a single to Atwood before getting Tanner Mann-Fix and Chandler Seagle to ground out harmlessly to leave the go-ahead and winning runs stranded on base.
UTA will go for its second straight win over App State on Saturday at 2 p.m. CT in the second game of the series. Junior right-hander Joel Kuhnel is scheduled to get the start for the Mavs.