Friday, May 20
Trosclair Provides Walk-Off Winner In 11th Against ULM
LAFAYETTE, La. – Senior Stefan Trosclair's RBI double in the 11th inning lifted the 19th-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team to a 6-5 victory over ULM in extra innings on Friday night at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field.
The win is the 18th straight for the Cajuns (36-19, 20-9 Sun Belt) over the Warhawks (20-34, 10-19 Sun Belt) in the series. Louisiana is now 4-1 in extra inning game this season, and the squad has now won nine consecutive series and 12 on the year.
"The guys stayed calm and grinding all the way throughout this one. So many people were involved in this win." head coach Tony Robichaux said. "The hitters did a good job of providing us with momentum in game one that we were able to carry over to this one. Nick Lee just couldn't find it today, but everyone else bridged the gap along the way and made big pitches and big plays. We finally got the big lick there at the end."
The Ragin' Cajuns moved one game back of league leader South Alabama going into the final day. Louisiana would need a win against ULM and a Troy victory over the Jags to claim a share of the Sun Belt Conference title and the No. 1 seed in the tournament next week.
Trosclair was one of three Cajuns to post three hits on the night despite being outhit 16-13 in the contest. The senior went 3-for-5 at the plate with a double, two triples and two RBI. Joe Robbins and Kennon Fontenot also had three hits in the game.
Jacob Stockton led the Warhawks offensively going 4-for-6 with two doubles and an RBI.
Jevin Huval (2-1) registered his second career victory tossing two scoreless innings to close out the contest with three strikeouts.
ULM's Anthony Herrera was tagged with the loss after giving up two runs on six hits in 5.2 innings of relief.
The Cajuns took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a solo home run to right field by Hunter Kasuls. The homer is the first of Kasuls career.
The lead was short lived though as ULM tied the game at 1-all in the top of the second on a solo homer to left by Josh Faciane. Later in the inning, Cade Stone scored on a Lee wild pitch to give the Warhawks a 2-1 lead.
Louisiana pulled even in the bottom half of the second when Fontenot tripled to centerfield and then scored on a Bouchey wild pitch.
ULM regained the lead 3-2 in the top of the fourth on a Stone RBI double down the left field line. Anthony Herrera added to the lead in the next at bat bringing home Faciane on a sacrifice fly to centerfield to make the score 4-2.
In the bottom of the fifth, Trosclair pulled the Ragin' Cajuns within a run an on RBI triple to left center. Trosclair then scored on a wild pitch by ULM reliever Payton Coddou to knot the game at 4-all.
Senior Kyle Clement came up with a big play in the top of the sixth as he gunned down Stone at the plate on a Stockton single to centerfield to keep the game level and end the inning.
Brenn Conrad gave the Cajuns the lead back in the bottom of the seventh on a two-out RBI single to left field scoring Robbins from second base.
Stockton tied the game for the third time on the night in the top of the eighth on an RBI double down the left field line to make the score 5-5.
After two scoreless innings, Louisiana put two on with one out in the bottom of the 11th on walks to Kasuls and Clement. Trosclair hammered an 0-1 pitch from Herrera into the gap in left center to bring home Kasuls to win the game.
The Cajuns go for the sweep tomorrow at 3 p.m. as it will be Senior Day at The Tigue. Sophomore right-hander Evan Guillory (4-5, 3.46 ERA) will make the start for Louisiana, while ULM has yet to name a starter.
The Ragin' Cajuns will also hold a special graduation ceremony on the field prior to the game as four players will be honored.
Brown and Davis Lead Troy to Victory; Evens Series with No. 23 South Alabama
TROY, Alabama – Trevor Davis' two-run home run and Lucas Brown's pitching performance helped lead Troy to a 4-2 victory over No. 23 South Alabama on Friday night at Riddle-Pace Field that evened the weekend series.
"I thought our team challenged and competed well," Mark Smartt said. "After the loss last night, I felt like our team would respond in the right way. We're made of the right stuff and they showed another example of that tonight. They showed a lot of courage with the win tonight."
In his final start on the mound at Riddle-Pace Field, Brown (8-4) was lights out. He went eight innings and only allowed two runs – none earned – on just four hits and struck out eight picking up the win. He enforced 12 groundouts and four fly outs.
With the game tied at two, Davis blasted a 2-0 pitch far over the wall in left field in the bottom of the eighth inning and gave Troy (31-24, 16-13 Sun Belt) a 4-2 advantage heading into the ninth.
Marc Skinner came in and closed the book on South Alabama (38-17, 21-8 Sun Belt) in the ninth inning and picked up his first save of the season. He walked two and struck out two, including a strikeout looking for the final out of the inning with the tying run at first.
The Trojans had a 2-0 lead through four innings. Brandon Lockridge drove in the first run with an RBI-single up the middle in the second inning. The second run scored on a two-out fielding error by the Jaguar second baseman in the fourth inning.
South Alabama tied the game in the fifth as the lead was cut in half on a dropped fly ball by Davis with two-outs and two runners on. The Jaguars tied the game as the next batter, Cole Billingsley, singled through the right side and plated Ben Gann.
Following the fifth inning, Brown pitched three straight perfect innings, until Davis did the damage in the eighth.
Davis had a big 2-for-4 night with two runs scored and two runs driven in. Lockridge went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Chase Smartt and Justin Friend had the other hits for the Trojans, with Smartt picking up his fifth double of the season.
Junior Houston Mabray will get the start on the mound as Troy looks to go for the series win on Senior Day Saturday. First pitch is set for 1 p.m., with the seniors being honored 30 minutes prior to first pitch.
Mav bats come alive to even series
ARLINGTON, Texas - The UT Arlington bats came alive to take Game 2, 9-4 and even the Sun Belt series against Texas State Friday night at Clay Gould Ballpark.
UTA (28-25, 15-14 SBC) more than tripled their offensive production from Thursday night, rounding up 16 hits to Texas State's (29-26, 15-14) nine. Five Mavs had multi-hit games, including a team-best three hits from Brady Cox and Josh Minjarez.
The win snapped a four-game skid against the Bobcats for UTA and positions them for a series win on Senior Day on Saturday. UTA now needs just one win to reach 30 for the season for the fifth time in nine years.
"Joel [Kuhnel] gave us a great start and Dylan [Schneider] did a great job in relief for us, and that's a good offensive club," Thomas said. "We finally took advantage of some opportunities that they gave us and extended the lead at the end."
Cox, who had the Mavericks' lone multi-hit game on Thursday, continued to swing a hot bat and went 3-for-5 with a run an RBI. RJ Williams was 1-for-3 with two runs and three RBI. Darien McLemore and Colton Turner each drove in two runs apiece.
Kuhnel (6-3) threw seven innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits with a pair of strikeouts to earn the win. Meanwhile, Schneider threw two scoreless frames with a career-best five strikeouts just a night after tossing a scoreless inning on Thursday to earn his first career save.
Williams drew a walk and Cox singled to get something brewing for UTA in the opening frame. Williams crossed the plate on a Quintin Rohrbaugh single up the middle and Turner drove in the Mavs' second run in Cox on a screaming double lined to the left field wall.
The Mavs got another run home when McLemore reached on his second triple of the season to open the third inning and Turner picked up his second RBI of the night on a groundout.
The Bobcats scratched the scoreboard with a run in the top of the fourth on an RBI single from Mickey Scott before UTA struck again in the bottom half of the frame.
Minjarez and Matt McLean connected on back-to-back singles before Williams doubled down the left field line to send both runners around.
Bobcat starter Jeremy Hallonquist was replaced by freshman Anthony Pagano after three frames as he allowed five earned runs on nine hits, two walks and two strikeouts. Hallonquist evened his record to 5-5 with the loss.
Pagano went on to retire his first nine batters, including three strikeouts, before back-to-back hits from Cox and Rohrbaugh, and a McLemore strikeout sent Texas State to the pen.
The Bobcats built on their one-run production to score in three consecutive innings, cutting into UTA's lead 5-4. A wild pitch and RBI single tacked on two runs in the fifth and another in the sixth brought the Bobcats within one.
UTA cushioned its lead comfortably in the bottom of the eighth with a four-run rally that was grounded on a bases loaded, no out situation.
Williams walked in the first run and Cox's sixth hit of the series plated another. McLemore closed out the Mavericks' scoring with an RBI double off the center field wall off of reliever Quinn Atwood.
Game three to decide the series will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday at Clay Gould Ballpark. The Mavericks will honor their five seniors at 1:45 p.m.
"The first game I played here my freshman year to now, I've always tried to leave it all on the field and it'll definitely be a different feeling," McLemore said. "But first and foremost, we have to win the series."
Eagles Split Doubleheader with Panthers
STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern split a doubleheader against Georgia State, winning game one 6-0 and losing game two 5-4.
A fantastic pitching performance by Georgia Southern starting pitcher Evan Challenger helped lead the Eagles to a game one victory. Challenger struck out four and allowed three hits in seven shutout innings on 91 pitches.
"I thought Challenger gave us a great effort," Coach Rodney Hennon said. "Overall I thought we played pretty solid baseball behind him."
Ryan Cleveland hit a home run in his third straight game with a solo shot to right field in the bottom of the eighth inning for his 15th homer of the season.
Evan McDonald got the Eagles started with a leadoff double in the bottom of the first. Logan Baldwin got hit by a pitch, and a Ryan Cleveland groundout to first advanced both runners. A Jordan Wren single scored the first runs of the game to put the Eagles in the lead 2-0.
A strong inning for the Eagles in the bottom of the fourth led to two more runs for the Eagles. Cal Baker walked and CJ Ballard reached on a throwing error to put runners on first and second. McDonald hit a sacrifice bunt to move the runners over for Baldwin to single up the middle to bring them in for a 4-0 lead.
The visitors got two runners on in the eight with the Eagles staked to a 4-0 lead as Landon Hughes came on to pitch. The junior righty came in for the save opportunity and got the final two outs of the inning on four pitches.
The home run from Cleveland was followed by a second solo home run off the bat of Jordan Wren. His second of the season was part of the Eagles' second back-to-back home runs sequence this season which pushed the lead to 6-0.
In the ninth, Hughes worked a 1-2-3 inning to earn his fourth save of the season. Challenger (6-4) earned the win as Georgia Southern posted its fifth shutout of the season.
Chase Cohen started game two for the Eagles, striking out four and allowing four hits in four and one-third innings on 72 pitches. Marc-Andre Habeck started for the Panthers, allowing just three hits in six strikeouts in 108 pitches in six innings.
Baldwin flashed the leather twice in the outfield for the Eagles in game two. A diving catch in the second inning set Twitter ablaze as he robbed a sure double from Jarrett Hood. Later in the game, Baldwin made a nice running catch at the wall to take another extra base hit. This time, his throw from center helped double off a Panthers runner who was too greedy on the play.
Ballard got the offense going for Georgia Southern in the third when Ballard hit a grounder to short, leading to a two base error. McDonald walked and Baldwin grounded out to second to advance the runners. Cleveland struck out leaving both runners in scoring position. An inning later, the Eagles loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth, but failed to bring any runners across the plate.
The Panthers moved runners into scoring position in the top of the fifth after a sacrifice bunt by Brandon Gonzalez, ending the day for Cohen. Left-handed pitcher Connor Simmons came in for relief. Jaylen Woullard knocked in the first Panther run of the day to give Georgia State a 1-0 lead. Will Kilgore then scored on a wild pitch to make it a 2-0 game.
Ryan Blanton started the sixth with a leadoff walk, scoring off a one out triple by Darius Sewell. Right-handed pitcher Adam Kelly came in for Simmons, allowing a single by Jack Thompson to score Sewell which pushed the lead out to 4-0.
The Panthers played small ball for their fifth run, executing a safety squeeze bunt to make the lead 5-0.
Georgia Southern opened the bottom of the eighth with back-to-back singles, putting runners on the corners. A ball four wild pitch walked Baker and scored Wren to cut into the Panther lead. Ballard walked to load the bases for the second time in game two. McDonald hit a bases-clearing double to make the score 5-4 with the Panthers still in front. McDonald finished the day 5-7 with three RBI in the doubleheader.
Wren got on base in the bottom of the ninth, but was caught stealing on a pickoff for the second out. That was all the Eagle offense would muster as Cohen was saddled with the loss to fall to 4-3 on the year.
"We just didn't really put any pressure on their starter," Coach Hennon said. "I mean, give (Marc-Andre Habeck) credit. He gave them a strong effort. We got a big hit from Evan McDonald late to get back in it, but didn't get it done."
The rubber match of the series Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at J.I. Clements Stadium. The game will decide the final regular season point of the 2016 Southern vs. State Rivalry Series.
Prior to the game, Georgia Southern Athletics will honor five seniors for their contributions to Eagle Baseball. Chris Brown, Ryan Frederick, Drew Kelley, Kent Rollins and Hunter Thomas will be recognized at approximately 12:40 p.m. Be in your seats early to join in the celebration of their careers.
Mountaineers Explode After Delay to Top Longwood
BOONE, N.C. — After a 19-and-a-half-hour fog delay, Appalachian State University baseball exploded for nine runs in three at-bats on Friday and defeated Longwood, 9-2, at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
The opener of the three-game weekend series began on Thursday evening at Smith Stadium and was suspended due to heavy fog with Longwood leading, 1-0, in the top of the sixth inning.
When play resumed on Friday, Appalachian State promptly turned the 1-0 deficit into a commanding 5-1 advantage when it scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Mountaineers went on to plate three more runs in the seventh and one in the eighth to cruise to the victory.
Matt Vernon hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning, singled and scored in the seventh and had an RBI single in the eighth to lead the Mountaineers’ late-inning outburst. He finished 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored.
Grayson Atwood added an RBI double in the sixth and launched a towering three-run homer in the seventh while Chandler Seagle had a two-out, two-run double in the sixth to account for the rest of the Mountaineers’ scoring. Atwood finished 2-for-4 with a career-high four RBI and Seagle went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
While Appalachian State’s offense erupted on Friday afternoon, right-handed sophomore Luke Watts made sure the scoring stood up by limiting Longwood to one unearned run on two hits over the final four innings of the ballgame. Watts (1-1) earned the first win of his career with his four stanzas of nearly flawless relief.
Game 2 of the series, which was scheduled to be played on Friday evening, was postponed due to rain. The Mountaineers and Lancers will wrap up their three-game series on Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. at Smith Stadium.
A-State Rallies for Six in Ninth to Defeat Little Rock
Story to follow