Tuesday, May 3
Trojans Get Back in Win Column With Victory at SFA
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – A 7-2 victory over Stephen F. Austin (23-22) put Little Rock baseball (22-20) back in the win column on Tuesday night at Jaycees Field in Nacogdoches.
Junior outfielder Hunter Owens led the Trojans offensively as he went 3 for 4 with three RBIs, two runs and a double.
Dalton Thomas went 3 for 5 a run and a double while Jonathan Davis went 2 for 3 with an RBI.
On the mound, Dylan Slayton (3-1) picked up the win after throwing 4.0 innings in relief with a strikeout while giving up just four hits and a walk.
After a scoreless first inning, Zach Baker put Little Rock on board. Baker doubled to lead off the inning and proceeded to steal third to earn his team-leading seventh stolen base. A wild pitch to the backstop allowed him to score and put Little Rock up 1-0.
The Lumberjacks knotted it up in the bottom of the inning. After Connor Fikes singled to right with one out, he advanced to third on a failed pickoff attempt and then scored on a throwing error from first to third.
SFA took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth. With two on and one out, Fikes singled to left center to score a runner and put runners on the corners. After Trojan starter Joe Corbett allowed a walk to load the bases with one out, he recorded a strikeout and got a ground out to end the inning.
Little Rock's Dylan Slayton took over on the mound to begin the bottom of the fifth inning after Corbett threw 4.0 innings with three strikeouts while allowing two hits, two runs (one earned), three walks and one hit-by-pitch on 67 pitches. Slayton worked efficiently as he quickly earned got a ground out and a fly out. After Nick Ramos singled with two outs, he attempted to steal second, but a quick throw to second by catcher Jonathan Davis caught the runner and ended the inning.
Hunter Owens got the sixth inning started with a single to center. A successful sacrifice bunt by Davis moved Owens to second, who then proceeded to third on a wild pitch. A sacrifice fly to deep center by Keegan Meyn brought Owens home and knotted the game once again at 2-2.
With one out in the top of the seventh, Dalton Thomas earned his third hit of the game with a single up the middle, earning his seventh three-hit game of the season. After back-to-back walks to Baker and Ty Gunter loaded the bases, Owens cleared them on the first pitch he saw with a three-run double off the center field wall to put Little Rock up 5-2.
The Trojans added an insurance run in top of the eighth. With one out, Hayden Martin hit his third double of the year down the left field line. Ryan Scott brought Martin home with an RBI single to left and increased Little Rock's lead to 6-2.
The Trojans tacked on their seventh run of the game in the ninth. With two outs, Owens was hit by a pitch and stole second. Davis then hit an RBI single to right center to put Owens across the plate.
Preston Oberling came on to close things out in the bottom of the ninth. After getting a ground out, Oberling walked the SFA batter on four pitches. He quickly rebounded with a pop up and a strikeout to clinch Little Rock's 22nd win of the season.
"With the exception of the one play with two errors, I thought it was an outstanding effort all the way around," head coach Chris Curry said. "That was one of our more complete ballgames. What I really appreciated was the effort from the club after what happened on Sunday. We viewed that game as an outlier because that wasn't us, and those things happen. But I was very excited to see how we reacted on the road in a midweek game, and these guys answered like they have all year long. That's why I believe in them."
Little Rock will return to Sun Belt action beginning on Friday as it hosts UT Arlington in a three-game series at Gary Hogan Field.
BELL GOES THE DISTANCE, PITCHES NO. 22 JAGS PAST JSU
MOBILE, Ala. – Right-hander Randy Bell tossed his second straight complete game to lead the No. 22 University of South Alabama baseball team to a 4-2 win over Jacksonville State Tuesday at Stanky Field.
Bell (5-1) allowed one earned run on seven hits and struck out four while issuing one walk in nine innings to earn his fifth win of the season.
"Randy has been great for us," head coach Mark Calvi said. "He is a rotation pitcher who we are throwing on Tuesdays. We're super proud of Randy and his effort. He has been very consistent, but that's the kind of person he is off the field as well."
Gamecock left-hander Nate Sylvester (0-1) allowed three unearned runs on three hits with three strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings in the loss.
JSU (28-16) scored the game's first run in the top of the fifth. A.J. Reynolds doubled down the right field line with one out, and scored one batter later on an RBI double down the right field line by Peyton Williams for a 1-0 Gamecock lead.
USA (34-12) answered with four runs in the bottom of the seventh after three JSU errors to take a three-run lead. Jared Barnes led off the inning with a single through the left side of the infield, and moved to second when Adam Wolfe reached on a throwing error by JSU left-hander Nate Sylvester on a sacrifice bunt attempt. Jason Cryar also reached on a throwing error by Sylvester on a sacrifice bunt attempt to load the bases with no outs. Danny Martinez then followed with an RBI sacrifice bunt on a suicide squeeze, and also reached on a throwing error to first by Sylvester, to score Barnes and tie the game 1-1. Travis Swaggerty delivered a two-out RBI single to center field later in the inning to score Cryar for a 2-1 Jaguar lead. After Swaggerty stole second, Cole Billingsley singled to shallow right-center field to plate Martinez and Swaggerty and extend the USA lead to 4-1.
"We knew how good Jacksonville State was," Calvi said. "Their offense speaks for itself. Their pitcher tonight had a good fastball and curveball, and it didn't look good for us early. But we managed to get a leadoff guy on against their top reliever – the grass was a little wet after the rain – and we forced them to make a few mistakes."
The Gamecocks pushed the game's final run across in the top of the eighth on a throwing error by Wolfe on what looked to be an inning-ending double play off the bat of Clayton Daniel. Wolfe's throw sailed wide of Martinez at first to allow Nicholas Gaddis, who reached on a fielding error by Drew LaBounty earlier in the inning, to score from second.
Billingsley went 2-for-4 with two RBI and one stolen base to lead the Jaguars at the plate. Barnes finished 2-for-4 with one run scored, and Swaggerty added two hits, one RBI, one run scored and a stolen base. Gavin Golsan went 2-for-4 to lead the Gamecocks offensively.
The two-game series will conclude Wednesday at Stanky Field with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m.
Warhawks Bullpen Shuts Down Nicholls in 3-1 Win
MONROE, La. – Four relievers combined to toss 5 1/3 scoreless innings as the ULM Warhawks defeated Nicholls 3-1 on Tuesday night at Warhawk Field.
ULM (17-28) made its big push in the bottom of the sixth, scoring all three of its runs. Cade Stone crushed a triple off the top of the right field wall and Anthony Herrera followed with a clean single through the right side that tied the game. Nathan Pugh’s single with two on and one out gave the Warhawks a 2-1 advantage, and Jacob Stockton ultimately scored on a wild pitch that padded the margin.
Nicholls (20-25) had taken a 1-0 lead in the fourth. Dylan Manichia singled on the first pitch and Kyle Reese doubled down the right field line to start it off. A high throw from shortstop to first base allowed the batter to reach safely and the Colonels to plate the game’s first run.
The Colonels’ Justin Holt attempted to score on a wild pitch in the third inning, but Dalton Todd tracked down the pitch in the dirt and tossed it to Trey Auger at the plate just in time for the second out.
Payton Coddou’s three frames on the hill gave him the win, his first decision of the year. Trey Auger got the start and went 3 2/3 innings. Matthew Reeves, Chase Cater and Anthony Herrera finished the night in order.
Kyle Knauth’s trio of hits led all offensive performers.
Complete Bobcat Effort Dominates UTSA
SAN ANTONIO – Texas State put on a dominating performance for a 6-0 victory over I-35 Rival UTSA Tuesday night. The Bobcats faced just two more batters than the minimum in a nine-inning game, giving up just two hits in the shutout while answering with 12. Texas State notched back-to-back victories for the first time since April 5-6. With the impressive win, the Bobcats improve to 24-22 on the season.
Nobody has held UTSA to fewer hits this year than the two Texas State gave up Tuesday night. One might ask, "How could the Bobcats give up two hits, walk three and still face just two more than the minimum batters?" The defense made it happen with just one ball even reaching the outfield all night, and the Bobcats turned three double plays for just the second time this season.
It was Texas State's first errorless game since April 22 at UL Lafayette. The chemistry between the pitching and the infield of Ryan Newman, Jonathan Ortega, Luke Sherley and Mickey Scott worked to perfection. The infield led the Bobcats to their most assists in an outing this season, finishing the game with 19, led by Sherley's seven.
The Roadrunners could not find a way to crack the impressive pitching from Jeremy Hallonquist, Chase Hodson, Joe Powell and Pasquale Mazzoccoli.
In addition to the strong defense and pinpoint pitching, the Bobcats were able to get the offense rolling a bit, scoring three runs combined in the first two innings and adding three more in the fourth. Both Tanner Hill and Sherley hit home runs in the game while Sherley finished with three RBIs. Hill's home run keeps him on top of the Sun Belt Conference with 14 on the season.
Newman, Granger Studdard and Derek Scheible all tallied two hits in the game with six others striking for a hit. Newman continues to swing the bat well as of late, knocking his 13th hit in the last six games.
Texas State will look to parlay Tuesday's success into the weekend series at Bobcat Ballpark against Georgia State.
Mountaineers Win Third Consecutive
BOONE, N.C. — Freshman Colin Schmid had a career-high four RBI, including the game-winner in the bottom of the eighth inning that lifted Appalachian State University baseball to its third-straight win, a wild 10-9 triumph over North Carolina A&T on Tuesday evening at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
Appalachian State (14-31) jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the second inning but North Carolina A&T (10-34) slowly chipped away at the deficit until it took an 8-7 advantage with two runs in the top of the seventh.
The Aggies extended their lead to 9-7 with another run in the top of the eighth but the Mountaineers responded with three runs in the bottom of the frame to retake a 10-9 advantage.
App State tied the game in the eighth on a bizarre play. The Mountaineers loaded the bases with nobody out against N.C. A&T reliever Leon Hunter (2-4) to bring Grayson Atwood to the plate. Hunter’s first pitch to Atwood got past catcher Jarrett Norman and went all the way to the backstop. Henry Davis scored easily from third on the wild pitch but as he crossed the plate, he was hit in the head by Norman’s throw to Hunter. The ball ricocheted back towards the backstop and Matt Vernon scored all the way from second to knot it up at 9-9.
Two batters later, Schmid ripped a single up the middle to drive in Brian Bauk from third with the go-ahead run.
Bauk worked around a two-out single in the ninth to close out the victory.
Schmid went 3-for-5 with a two-run single in the first inning, an RBI single in the fourth and the game-winning RBI single in the eighth to lead App State’s 10-hit attack. The Mountaineers have recorded double-digit hits in a season-high five-straight games.
Davis and Vernon chipped in with two hits and three runs apiece.
Dallas DeVrieze retired three-straight batters in the top of the eighth, the final two on strikeouts, to earn his first win of the season. Bauk’s save was his fifth of the campaign.
Appalachian State scored the winning run in its final at-bat for the eighth time this season. The come-from-behind victory was the Mountaineers’ 10th of the campaign.
App State returns to Sun Belt Conference action this weekend at second-place UL Lafayette (29-16, 11-9 Sun Belt), which is ranked No. 20 in the latest NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) rankings. Game times are set for 7 p.m. ET Friday, 7 p.m. ET Saturday and 2 p.m. ET Sunday at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field in Lafayette, La.
Patriots erase deficit to take down Mavs
ARLINGTON, Texas - The UT Arlington Mavericks could not hold a 3-0 lead as Dallas Baptist scored seven unanswered runs in the final five innings to pick up a 7-3 win on Tuesday night at Clay Gould Ballpark.
UTA (23-23) scored two in the first and one more in the second off of DBU (29-14) starter MD Johnson, but were held to just three hits the remainder of the way as the Patriots earned their second win of the season over the Mavs.
"Brad (Vassar) did a good job early on in hanging some zeros up there," coach Darin Thomas said. "We got a lead, but DBU did a good job too of coming back and then hung some on us later in the game. They pitched us well and we weren't able to get to them late."
Johnson moved to 4-3 on the season with 5.1 innings of work in his second outing against UTA this year. The Patriots' bullpen, meanwhile, allowed just two singles in 3.2 innings of shutout work.
Maverick starter Brad Vassar allowed just one run on three hits with three strikeouts in 4.0 innings, while Matt Michalski fell to 1-4 on the season after allowing three runs in 1.1 innings. In all the Mavs allowed just seven hits to a potent DBU lineup on the night; however, the Patriots made the most of their swings, collecting four extra-base hits, including three home runs.
Jameson Hannah proved to be the biggest menace in the game, finishing 2-for-4 with a triple, home run and four RBI. It was his two-run bomb in the bottom of the sixth that surged DBU ahead 4-3, capping a three-run inning.
The Mavs continued its trend of striking early, getting to Johnson for a pair of runs in the bottom of the first after Vassar navigated his way out of a mini jam in the opening half of the frame. Darien McLemore brought in the first run with a one-out RBI single before Quinitin Rohrbaugh scored Brady Cox with an RBI squeeze bunt.
Cody Farrell made it a 3-0 lead with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second, scoring Caleb Koedyker who had led off the inning with a sharp single to center field. That lead stood up until the top of the fifth when DBU got on the board on an RBI ground out from Tim Millard to cut the lead to 3-1.
Michalski did his job in the inning, minimizing the damage to keep the Mavs in front by a pair before the Patriots surged ahead with a pair of home runs in the top of the sixth. Trooper Reynolds was the first to do damage, cutting the lead to 3-2 with a solo home run. Three batters later Hannah sent one over the right-field fence to put DBU ahead for good at 4-3.
UTA had chances in both the seventh and eighth when it got the tying run to the plate, but the Patriots' pitching staff was up to the task and quelled both rallies. DBU added two more runs on a two-run triple by Hannah in the eighth and one more on a solo shot by Daniel Sweet in the ninth to make it a 7-3 final tally.
The Mavs will jump back into conference play this weekend when it travels to Little Rock for a three-game series beginning Friday.
Thompson Homers, Roach, Gonzalez Drive in Three Each in 13-5 Win Over AAMU
ATLANTA -- Redshirt freshman Liam Henry struck out six in 2.2 of relief to earn his first college victory in Georgia State's 13-5 win over Alabama A&M Tuesday at the GSU Baseball Complex. Jack Thompson homered, and Joey Roach and Brandon Gonzalez drove in three runs each to pace the offense.
The Panthers (21-23) broke the game-open with an eight-run second inning, highlighted by Gonzalez's two-run single and Thompson's two-run homer to left field, his fifth of the season.
Gonzalez also had an RBI-triple to the right field corner in the fifth inning, and the Panthers' backup catcher threw out a runner at second base.
Roach was 2-for-2 with a single, a double and a walk, driving in a run in each of his three plate appearances.
Freshman Israel Zackery was 2-for-2 with two runs scored.
Henry (1-0), a side-arming right-hander from Atlanta's Grady High School, came on with bases loaded and one out in the fifth. He struck out the first batter he faced, allowed a two-run single and then ended the inning with a strikeout. Then he struck out four more in the scoreless sixth and seventh innings.
Sophomore righy Rhett Harper finished the game with two scoreless innings, including three strikeouts. Starter Bryce Conley fanned four as the Panthers equalld their season high of 13.
Georgia State and Alabama A&M (13-37) play again Wednesday at 4 p.m.