Sunday, May 8
ULM Holds On For Series Win at Troy
TROY, Ala. – ULM led 4-1 in the fourth inning and faced a bases-loaded situation with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but Anthony Herrera caught a game-ending pop fly for his ninth save and a 4-3 win for the Warhawks on Sunday.
Each of the first three Trojan batters in their last at-bat bunted, with a sacrifice sandwiched between two singles. Matt Sanders then hit a comebacker to Herrera on the mound, but the throw to second on a potential game-ending double play went into the outfield and allowed a run to score.
A walk and sacrifice fly followed, and then a comebacker to the mound just got out of reach from Herrera while also loading the bases. Peyton Fuller then hit a high pop fly along the first-base line, and Herrera camped underneath it to finish the game.
ULM (19-30, 9-15 SBC) got on the board when Josh Faciane beat out what would have been an inning-ending double play in the second. Danny Springer, who led off the frame with a double down the left field line, was able to score on the play.
Troy (27-21, 12-12 SBC) evened the score in the bottom of the third on an RBI groundout of its own.
Herrera picked up where he left off from his clutch two-way performance on Saturday. The junior faced a full count with two outs and the bases loaded in the fourth, but singled through the middle to give ULM a 3-1 lead. Nathan Pugh, whose two prior hits kept up his hot streak, then drew a five-pitch walk with the bases loaded that made it a 4-1 margin.
Keller Bradford entered the game after the seventh-inning stretch and gave up a triple and walk, but back-to-back strikeouts and a flyout to center field preserved the ULM lead.
The bottom of the eighth was one of the more dramatic scoreless innings of the season. The Trojans welcomed Herrera with two quick singles. Spencer Hemphill then made arguably the biggest play of his career. He dove for a popped-up bunt just outside of the right-handed batter’s box, then gunned a throw to Danny Springer at first base for the twin-killing that ending the Troy threat and kept it a 4-1 contest.
ULM starter Keegan Curtis earned his first win of the year after allowing just one earned run in six complete innings. The Trojans only had one single off of him in the final three stanzas.
Three-Run Eighth Lifts Cajuns Baseball To Series Win Over App State
LAFAYETTE, La. – The 19th-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team used a three-run eighth inning to defeat Appalachian State 4-1 on Sunday at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field to claim the squad's seventh straight series and tenth of the season.
The win improves the Cajuns to 31-17 overall and 16-8 in Sun Belt play, while the Mountaineers fall to 15-33 on the year and 9-18 in league action.
"Nick (Lee) did another good job again today, and gave us a chance to win," head coach Tony Robichaux said. "Instead of letting the early home run affect him, he bared down and did a great job of pitching in tight conditions. That's what we have to do when the offense goes cold. We have to be able to hold the game there till the offense can come through like they did today."
Lee limited App State to one run on four hits in seven innings of work. The freshman equaled a career-high with eight strikeouts in a no decision.
Sophomore Dylan Moore (5-1) tossed two scoreless innings in relief to notch his fifth win of the season. Moore allowed just one runner to reach on a walk with two strikeouts.
Reed Howell took the loss to fall to 5-2 on the year giving up three runs on three hits with a walk and two strikeouts in 1.2 innings.
Louisiana outhit Appalachian State 7-4 in the contest with Kyle Clement going 2-for-4 with a double and scored a run.
Tyler Stroup gave the Mountaineers a 1-0 lead in the top of the first as he drove a leadoff solo home run over the fence in right field.
In the bottom half of the first, Brian Mills brought home Hunter Kasuls on a ground ball hit to shortstop to even the contest at 1-all. Kasuls led off the inning with a triple to right center.
Appalachian State's best scoring chances came in the the fifth and sixth innings putting a pair of runners on, but Lee worked his way out of both innings unscathed to keep the contest tied.
The Ragin' Cajuns loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh with one out following a Nick Thurman single and a Kennon Fontenot pinch hit walk. The Cajuns came up empty handed in the inning after a Kasuls foul out and a Brian Mills ground out ended the threat.
Louisiana would break through in the bottom of the eighth scoring three runs on three hits and an App State error to take a 4-1 edge. Clement and Stefan Trosclair started the inning with back-to-back singles. After a Brenn Conrad sacrifice bunt, Joe Robbins perfectly executed a pinch-hit suicide squeeze to score Clement and give the Ragin' Cajuns a 2-1 lead. In the next at bat, Brad Antchak single home two more runs to give the Cajuns a three-run advantage.
Moore retired three of the four batters that he faced in the ninth striking out Tanner Mann-Fix to end the contest.
The Cajuns return to action on Wednesday at 5 p.m. as the team opens a five-game road swing at Houston. Following the matchup with the Cougars, Louisiana will face South Alabama in a three-game series in Mobile, Ala.
BEMBNOWSKI, BELL COMBINE TO SHUT OUT EAGLES IN SERIES FINALE
MOBILE, Ala. – Austin Bembnowski and Randy Bell combined to shut out Georgia Southern in No. 22 University of South Alabama baseball's 10-0 win in Sunday's series finale at Stanky Field.
Bembnowski (6-1) tossed seven shutout innings and allowed four hits with five strikeouts and two walks to earn his sixth win of the season. Bell pitched one perfect inning before the Jaguars ended the game in the bottom of the eighth due to the 10-run mercy rule.
"I'm very pleased with today," USA head coach Mark Calvi said. "Austin Bembnowski pitched off of his fastball and did a really nice job for us. Guys worked to get on base, and Ben Gann came up with a big home run and it was good to see. He has been struggling a little bit offensively, but the one thing with that guy is that he has never let it get to his defense; he is probably the best third baseman in this league. He has never let his offense seep into his defense, and that's a sign of his maturity. It was really good to see him swing the bat well today."
South Alabama (36-14, 19-5 SBC) jumped out to a four-run lead in the bottom of the second. USA loaded the bases with one out in the inning on a single to center field by Carter Perkins, and consecutive walks by Brendan Donovan and Jared Barnes. Ben Gann then lifted an 0-1 pitch from Eagle right-hander Adam Kelly over the left-center field wall for a grand slam home run and a 4-0 Jaguar lead.
Georgia Southern (29-19, 14-13 SBC) threatened in the top of the fourth when it loaded the bases with two outs. Logan Baldwin led off the inning with a double to center field, and Hunter Thomas followed with a single back up the middle. Cal Baker drew a two-out walk to load the bases, but Jaguar right-hander Austin Bembnowski escaped the jam with an inning-ending fielder's choice off the bat of Kent Rollins.
South Alabama increased its lead to five runs in the bottom of the fourth. Barnes reached on a bunt single down the third base line, and moved to second on a two-out walk by Matt Bolger. Travis Swaggerty followed with an RBI single to left field to score Barnes from second and push the USA lead to 5-0. A bunt single by Cole Billingsley loaded the bases for Drew LaBounty, who delivered a two-run single to right field to plate Bolger and Swaggerty for a 7-0 Jaguar advantage.
The Jags extended their lead to eight runs in the bottom of the fifth. Perkins singled down the left field line to lead off the bottom of the fifth, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Donovan and scored later in the inning on a two-out double to left field by Gann for an 8-0 lead.
USA added the game's final runs in the bottom of the eighth. Bolger and Swaggerty drew consecutive walks to start the inning. Bolger scored on a throwing error by Eagle third baseman Rollins on a throw to second on a fielder's choice off the bat of LaBounty for a 9-0 lead. Martinez followed with an RBI double to center field to score Swaggerty with the game's final run.
Seven Jaguar starters hit safely in the game, led by Gann who went 2-for-5 with a double, a home run, one run scored and a career-high five RBI. Perkins added two hits and two runs scored, and LaBounty had one hit and drove in two runs.
USA will return to action next weekend when it hosts Louisiana-Lafayette in a three-game Sun Belt Conference series at Stanky Field, with game one scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday night.
Mavs win 6-4 to take series from Trojans
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Jacob Moreland allowed just two runs in 5.2 innings of relief and the UT Arlington Mavericks never trailed in taking their second straight game from Little Rock with a 6-4 win at Gary Hogan Field in the series rubber match on Sunday afternoon.
The UTA (25-24, 11-13 SBC) senior reliever entered with one out in the fourth inning after the Trojans (23-22, 14-10 SBC) had cut the Maverick lead to 3-2 and proceeded to keep Little Rock off the board until the ninth before closing it out to run his record to 4-0 for the season.
The series win gives UTA its third consecutive series win on the road.
Meanwhile, the Maverick offense continued to produce, reaching double-digits in hits for the third straight game and pushing across six runs despite leaving 14 men on base for the game. Colton Turner, a day removed from tying a school record with eight RBI on Saturday, drove in two more with a double and a sacrifice fly while Cody Farrell finished with a 3-for-4 day that included an RBI and was a home run short of the cycle.
For the second straight game every Maverick hitter in the lineup reached base at least once, with eight collecting at least one hit.
Reed Willenborg took the loss for the Trojans, falling to 0-2 for the season after allowing three runs in 3.2 innings with four strikeouts and five walks. The Little Rock offense kept the pressure on throughout the day, equaling UTA with 11 hits, including three from Hayden Martin and Ty Gunter, and two more from Ryan Scott.
The Mavs took advantage of Noah Vaughan reaching on a wild pitch on a strikeout that would have ended the second inning when Farrell tripled him home to put UTA up 1-0. UTA added two more in the fourth without putting the ball in play, getting four straight walks and a hit-by-pitch with two outs in the frame to go up 3-0 with RJ Williams and Brady Cox picking up RBI in the inning.
Little Rock answered with two runs in the bottom half of the fourth on a two-run double from Cameron Knight before Moreland entered to get a pair of fly outs and keep the tying run at second base and the Mavs up 3-2.
Turner picked up the first of his two RBI on the day with a double to score Darien McLemore in the top of the fifth and an inning later he upped the advantage to 5-2 with a sacrifice fly to score Cox.
Little Rock put together a scoring threat of their own in the fifth after the Mavs intentionally walked Scott with a base open and two outs and the score still at 4-2, but Moreland got Dalton Thomas to ground out to avoid any damage. Two innings later they threatened again after the Mavs elected to face Thomas again following another intentional pass to Scott that loaded the bases with two outs, but again Moreland was able to dispose of the Trojan slugger with a routine fly out to left field to keep UTA ahead with a 5-2 edge.
UTA added an insurance run in the visiting half of the ninth with a two-out rally, getting a two-out double from Farrell before freshman Josh Minjarez delivered a single to left to plate him and give Moreland a 6-2 cushion entering the ninth.
Things got dicey in the final frame as the Trojans cut the lead to 6-3 after three of the first four hitters of the inning hit safely. Thomas again found himself at the plate for Little Rock as the potential run, but could only muster a sacrifice fly before Moreland got Nik Gifford to ground out routinely to short stop for the game’s final out.
UTA will next make its first trip to Boone, N.C., next weekend for a series at Appalachian State beginning Friday.
A-State's Culbertson Tosses Gem in Series Finale
JONESBORO, Ark. (5/8/16) – Peyton Culbertson tossed six innings of one hit baseball, while Jeremy Brown drove in a pair of runs to lead Arkansas State to a 4-1 victory over Northwestern State in the series finale Sunday afternoon at Tomlinson Stadium.
The A-State right-hander tossed six innings and surrendered just one run on hit and struck out three in his first career weekend start. He retired the first eight batters he faced, which included three strikeouts and took a no-hitter into the fourth inning when he ran into trouble.
Culbertson (4-0) walked the first two batters of the inning and after a sacrifice bunt, Daniel Garner tied the game at 1-1 with an infield single for the first hit of the game for Northwestern State. Culbertson bounced back, however, and got an inning-ending double play to limit the damage to one run.
He worked out of trouble again in the fifth inning after a pair of walks and an error loaded the bases, but Jake Bakamus turned got another inning-ending double play when he fielded a ground ball on a hop and tagged out a runner and threw to first to prevent the Demons from scoring.
Joe Schrimpf delivered an RBI base hit in the sixth inning to put the Red Wolves in front 2-1 for his team best 39th RBI of the season. Tim Seldomridge reached on an error to start the inning and later stole third base to draw the infield in. Schrimpf then took a pitch to the opposite field and out of the reach of the drawn in, infield to put A-State in front.
Schrimpf finished 1-for-2 with an RBI.
Jeremy Brown gave the Red Wolves a 3-run cushion in the seventh inning when he delivered a 2-RBI single through the left side. The inning started with a bunt single by Ty White and continued when a pitch hit Garrett Rucker. Both runners moved up a base on a groundout and scored on the single by Brown to push the lead to 4-1.
Brown logged the only multi-hit game of the day for the Red Wolves and rove in a pair of runs.
A-State manufactured a run in the first inning after White reached on a throwing error by the Northwestern State shortstop and advanced to second on the play. Schrimpf followed with a sacrifice bunt to move White to third base and Rucker drove in the run with a sac fly to left field to give the Red Wolves their first lead of the series.
Bryan Ayers relieved Culbertson in the seventh inning and earned his first save of the season by scattering three hits across his outing.
A-State will host Memphis in a mid-week contest Tuesday afternoon at Tomlinson. First-pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. The game can be heard locally on 95.3FM The Ticket and online at AStateRedWolves.com.
Sewell's Homer in 11th Gives GSU 10-9 Win at Texas State
San Marcos, Texas -- Freshman Darius Sewell hit a solo home run in the top of the 11th inning and then sophomore reliever Rhett Harper got the final three outs to give Georgia State a 10-9 victory at Texas State Sunday at Bobcat Ballpark.
Jack Thompson hit a three-run homer to put Georgia State (23-25, 9-15) ahead 9-4 in the seventh, and GSU still led 9-6 in the eighth inning when Luke Sherley hit a three-run homer to tie the game for the Bobcats.
The score was still tied in the ninth when Wayne Wages came on to pitch for the Panthers with one on and one out and got out of the inning to force extra frames.
Texas State (26-23, 13-11 Sun Belt) threatened again the 10th with runners at first and second, but Harper worked out of the jam by striking out Dylan Paul for the third out.
Sewell, the rookie right fielder from Atlanta's Lakeside High School, came to the plate with one out in the 11th and hit the 2-2 pitch from reliever Brandon Lewis (2-1) over the left field fence for his third homer of the season.
In the bottom of the frame, Texas State had Sun Belt home run leader Tanner Hill leading off, but Harper (2-1) got a ground ball to third, where Jarrett Hood made a nice play for the first out. Then pinch hitter Mickey Scott popped up in foul territory. A two-out single by Granger Studdard kept the Bobcats alive, but Harper got Nick Perez to fly out to center to seal the win.
The victory is Georgia State's sixth in extra innings this season. The Panthers now stand in a three-way tie for eighth place (with ULM and Arkansas State) in the Sun Belt standings, with the top eight teams qualifying for the conference tournament.
The Panthers jumped in front in the second inning on a two-run single by Will Kilgore. After Texas State tied the game with runs in the third and fourth innings, GSU scored three more in the fifth on an infield single by Justin Jones and then Sewell's two-run double to the left field corner.
Kilgore added his third RBI of the day on a sacrifice fly in the sixth, and the Panthers led 6-4 after six innings.
In the seventh, Sam Few singled and James Clements walked to put runners at first and second with two outs for Thompson. The sophomore first baseman hit his sixth homer of the season off Texas State closer Pasquale Mazzoccoli, who has 11 saves, giving GSU a 9-4 lead.
The two teams combined for 33 hits and 14 walks in the game, but the GSU pitching staff stranded 18 Texas State runners.
Georgia State is at Kennesaw State for a 6 p.m. game Tuesday at Stillwell Stadium.