Four Run Fourth Pushes Eagles Past App State, 6-2
STATESBORO, GA. - Georgia Southern Baseball got another quality start from Jacob Condra-Bogan and a four run fourth inning to take a 6-2 win over Appalachian State in the opening game of a three game set on Thursday night. Jacob Greene went 2-for-3 with his third home run of the season and two RBIs on the day in his return to the lineup behind the dish. The Eagles and Mountaineers return to the diamond on Friday night at 6:30 p.m.
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Rodney Hennon
"Jacob Condra-Bogan gave us a strong effort on the mound. Jacob Greene's home run was big to tie it up for us after we gave up an early run. We gave them an unearned run, but we took advantage of the two out error in the fourth. We were able to get a four-spot out of it and had some really nice at bats with two outs. After that, Condra-Bogan did a nice job to pitch with the lead and Connor Simmons finished it off well."
SCORING PLAYS
Top 1st - GS 0 - APP 1 - The Mountaineers scrapped together a run in the first with a Tyler Stroup single which plated the game's first run from second base with two outs in the inning.
Bot 3rd - GS 1 - APP 1 - Jacob Greene got the Eagles back on level terms in the third with a solo home run to left. The freshman made his return to the starting lineup in conference play for the first time since March 18th.
Top 4th - GS 1 - APP 2 - A hit batter to open the fourth came around to score with a wild pitch, infield hit and a throwing error as the Mountaineers took a 2-1 lead on the unearned run.
Bot 4th - GS 5 - APP 2 - A two out error by the Apps opened the door for the Eagles to take their first lead of the day. After a walk, Evan McDonald dinked a bloop single to right to plate Tyler Martin and level the game at 2-2. Greene hit a wounded duck to the gap in right which found the green stuff, scoring the runner from third. A wild pitch plated another runner, while a throwing error by the shortstop gave the Eagles a 5-2 lead.
Bot 5th - GS 6 - APP 2 - Jordan Wren posted his second RBI double of the week to plate a run in the fifth inning to take the lead to four after five innings.
GAME NOTES
- Georgia Southern picked up its eighth-straight win over Appalachian State in baseball on Thursday night, taking the 6-2 win. The Eagles have never lost to the Mountaineers in Sun Belt play.
- Graduate student Jacob Condra-Bogan improved to 4-0 on the season by working 7.1 innings for his third quality start of the season. He scattered five hits and allowed two runs, one earned with seven strikeouts.
- Freshman Jacob Greene went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs to pace the Eagle offense. He hit his third home run of the season in the third inning as he returned to the starting lineup in conference play for the first time since March 18th.
- For the third-straight year, Georgia Southern Baseball has joined with the vs Cancer foundation to raise money to fight childhood cancer. Many members of the Eagle Baseball team will shave their heads following the Appalachian State as the team works to raise money for the foundation. Fans can contribute by visiting https://team.vs-cancer.org/gs2017.
NEXT UP
Georgia Southern and Appalachian State tangle for the second time this weekend on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. The game can be seen live on ESPN3 with radio coverage on the Georgia Southern Sports Network.
Simmons Pitches Mavs Past Little Rock, 2-0
ARLINGTON, Texas -- Kadon Simmons fired eight three-hit innings and Quintin Rohrbaugh collected three hits, leading UTA to a 2-0 win over Little Rock in the series opener of a three-game series, on Thursday night at Clay Gould Ballpark.
Simmons fired a gem in his ninth start to pace the Mavs to their first shutout win of the year, with the two starters combining to start 45 of 56 hitters they faced with first-pitch strikes in a one hour and 58-minute game. UTA has now won four consecutive conference games after a sweep at Appalachian State last weekend.
UTA (18-16, 9-4 Sun Belt) remained in first place in the Western Division with the win and sits a half game shy of South Alabama (9-3) for the overall lead, with the Jaguars tied with Coastal Carolina in the seventh inning.
ON THE MOUND
A native of Cut & Shoot, Texas Simmons (5-2) worked eighth shutout innings, allowing only three hits and no walks, fanning five over 92 pitches. The win improved Simmons to 14-6 in his career, gives him six quality starts on the year and 14 in his career. Simmons has worked into at least the seventh inning in 18 of his 24 career starts and in 13 of his last 16 starts. He started 21 of the 27 hitters he faced with a first-pitch strike.
The Mavs turned to junior Daniel James to open the ninth inning, trying to lock down a 2-0 lead. James got three quick outs on eight pitches with a strikeout to earn his Sun Belt leading eighth save of the year.
Little Rock (13-21, 5-8 Sun Belt) starter Cory Malcom (2-3) turned in a strong start, working 7.1 innings, allowing nine hits and two runs, not issuing a walk and striking out six. Malcom started 24 of the 29 hitters he faced with a first-pitch strike. Dylan Slayton took over for Malcom in the eighth, getting two outs.
LEADING THE MAVS
In a series-opening pitching duel, UTA collected nine hits in the game, including a 3-for-3 game from Rohrbaugh. Noah Vaughan drove in UTA's other run with a hit, with Brady Cox, Aaron Funk and Easton Johnson each adding knocks. Will Olson was 2-for-4 with a run.
HOW THEY SCORED
UTA opened the scoring in the bottom of the sixth inning, getting a leadoff single from Brady Cox, who took second on a deep fly out. Olson then singled into shallow centerfield, with the throw nailing Cox at the plate for the second out. Rohrbaugh then lined a two-out, RBI triple off the wall in rightfield, scoring Olson from first base. Vaughan then smacked a RBI single of the sliding glove of the first baseman, allowing Rohrbaugh to score.
NEXT
The series will resume on Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT at Clay Gould Ballpark. The Mavs will turn to junior righty Trae Patterson (3-2, 2.73 ERA) vs. Little Rock junior right-hander Ryan Lemoine (1-3, 8.62 ERA). The game will be broadcast live on UTAMavs.com, with the Voice of UTA Baseball, Josh Sours, calling the action.
BLANTON, SPERRY, SEWELL LEAD 9-3 WIN OVER TROY
ATLANTA -- Ryan Blanton went 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBI to lead Georgia State to a 9-3 victory over Troy in their Sun Belt Conference series opener Thursday at the GSU Baseball Complex.
Darius Sewell also homered and had three hits, Cam Sperry drove in two runs and Liam Henry turned in a strong relief effort to help the Panthers (11-21, 2-11 Sun Belt) snap their 11-game losing streak.
The Panthers had to overcome adversity after falling behind 2-0 in the first inning and then losing starting pitcher Devin Vainer to an injury in the third inning, but the GSU bullpen allowed just one run on six hits while striking out over seven innings.
Troy (17-15, 5-8 Sun Belt) jumped in front with two runs in the first and then had the bases loaded with no outs in the second. Vainer struck out Steven Whitaker and then rolled a double-play grounder fielded by third baseman Romero Greer, who stepped on the bag and then threw to first to end the inning.
Blanton tied the game with a two-run single in the bottom of the second, scoring Sewell, who singled with one out, and Jarrett Hood, who walked.
One inning later, Sperry put the Panthers ahead for good with a run-scoring single, and then in the fourth, Blanton smacked a solo homer to right center, his team-leading sixth of the season, for a 4-2 lead.
Leading 4-3, Georgia State exploded for five runs in the seventh. Blanton got things started with his fourth hit of the day, beating out an infield single with a slide at first base. Justin Jones followed with a single and Nick Gatewood walked to load the bases. Greer grounded out to bring in one run, and then Sperry delivered his second run-scoring single, on which a second run scored on a throwing error by the right fielder to give the Panthers a 7-3 lead.
Then Sewell hit a two-run homer to left, his second, for a 9-3 advantage.
Vainer, making just his second start of the season, left the game after hitting Brandon Lockridge to lead off the fourth. Jansen Acton (1-0) came on and immediately picked off Lockridge trying to steal second base. Acton finished the inning with a pop up and a strike out and then pitched a scoreless fourth inning, working out of a bases-loaded jam with an inning-ending strikeout. He was credited with his first win for the Panthers.
Henry, the sophomore right-hander, pitched the next four innings, allowing one run on four hits with four strikeouts, and then Tyler Koch struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning to finish the win.
"I thought we really fought hard for this win," head coach Greg Frady, a Troy graduate, said. "The score was 9-3, but it was a close game for a long time and we had to fight hard. We turned a crucial double play in the second inning. It always feels good to win but this has extra special meaning because we were on a skid and we fought our way out of it."
Blanton, the Panthers' senior center fielder, had four hits in a game for the fifth time in his career. His home run was No. 21 of his career. He leads the Panthers with a .293 average, six homers, 24 RBI and 22 runs scored.
"Ryan Blanton has been a great player for us for four years, and I certainly will miss him next year, but right now, I'm enjoying every second of having him on our team. He had a huge night," Frady said. "When Ryan is getting it going, we're getting it going as a team."
Game 2 of the series is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m., with audio on GeorgiaStateSports.com.
ULM Rallies in the Ninth; Herrera Sets Program Saves Record
SAN MARCOS, Texas – The ULM baseball team scored five runs in the top of the ninth inning on Thursday night, with Texas native Anthony Herrera coming up with the go-ahead, two-run single and then earning the save to give the Warhawks a 6-5 comeback victory over Texas State. The save was Herrera’s 21st of his career, making the senior the ULM program’s new all-time saves leader, passing Mark Wisniewski, who had 20 career saves from 1982-1985.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: ULM 6, Texas State 5
Location: Bobcat Ballpark / San Marcos, Texas
Teams: ULM (10-25, 5-8 SBC)
Texas State (20-15, 7-6 SBC)
TURNING POINT
-The Warhawks loaded the bases with one out in the ninth to run Texas State starter Connor Reich via consecutive singles by Turner Francis, Chad Bell and Spencer Hemphill to set the table for the rest of the frame, first on Harper’s two-run single back up the middle to cut the Texas State lead to one run before Reynolds’ slow roller to the shortstop tied the game and brought in Hemphill.
-Tied at four-all with two outs, Herrera battled and fouled off three consecutive pitches before sending a line shot into center field to give ULM the two-run lead.
HOW IT HAPPENED
-Texas State struck first, using a pair of singles to open the bottom of the first inning by the top of the order to set the table to plate a run on a ground ball double play.
-ULM quickly responded in the top of the second inning, with Johnny DeLaCruz drawing a two-out walk that was followed up by Nate Reynolds’ RBI double off the base of the center field wall that knotted the game at one apriece.
-The game remained that way until the fifth, when Leigh delivered the two-out single to give Texas State the lead. The Bobcats again used two-out hitting in the sixth, first with a double before Jaylen Hubbard delivered a two-out, two-run homer to extend the lead to 4-1.
-Trailing by three runs going into the top of the ninth, ULM notched five runs on six hits to take the lead, highlighted by a two-run single from Cade Harper and an RBI single from Nate Reynolds before Herrera’s go-ahead, two-run single.
-Texas State would not go quietly in the bottom of the ninth, putting two runners on with one out before a ULM throwing error on an attempted double play allowed one run to score and put the tying runner at second base. Herrera ended the night and completed the comeback win moments later as he forced a popup to close the night.
-ULM finished with nine hits as team in the win, with the six hits in the ninth. DeLaCruz and Herrera (2 RBI) each finished with two hits, as Harper and Reynolds each finished with a hit and RBI as well.
-Warhawk starter Josh Leone did not factor in the decision, allowing four runs (three earned) over 6 2/3 innings of work while striking out one and sitting down 11 runners in a row from the end of the first through the fourth frame.
-Reliever Tyler Schwaner earned the win after holding Texas State to one hit over 1 1/3 innings out of the bullpen to set the ULM bats up for the ninth inning rally.
-Texas State tallied 10 hits, led by two hit nights from Derek Scheible, Hubbard and Leigh. Reich struck out four ULM batters while allowing six hits and four runs in 8 1/3 innings of work. Brayden Theriot was saddled with the loss after allowing two runs on three hits in the ninth.
UP NEXT
-ULM and Texas State continue the series with another 6:00 p.m. start on Friday night before a 1:00 p.m. first pitch in the finale on Saturday afternoon. ULM will then make the short trip to Grambling next Tuesday night.
Cajuns Baseball Blanks Arkansas State In Series Opener
LAFAYETTE, La. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team got another stellar performance on the mound from left-hander Gunner Leger Thursday night as the Cajuns shutout Arkansas State 8-0 in the series opener at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park.
The win improves the Ragin' Cajuns to 19-14-1 on the season and 8-4-1 in the Sun Belt. Louisiana now has seven shutouts on the year, which ties for the national lead with Auburn, Oregon State and Clemson. Four have come at home, while three have been in league play.
"Gunner is always there for you whether you play good or bad," head coach Tony Robichaux. He can take control of the ball game. You look up and he was in a lot of trouble throughout the ballgame, but he was just meticulous in not giving in and letting the game get away from him. As a coach, I'd hate to play against him."
Leger (7-1) has now combined to toss five shutouts this season going seven scoreless scattering five hits with no walks and six strikeouts. The junior has allowed just two runs in 34.2 innings at home this season and has lowered his ERA to 0.95 for the season in the victory.
Junior reliever Wyatt Marks notched his fourth save of the season in the contest tossing two perfect frames with four strikeouts. Marks leads the Cajuns with 60 strikeouts in 38.1 innings.
Red Wolves starter Bradey Welsh (1-1) suffered his first loss of the season allowing seven runs on 10 hits in 7.2 innings pitched.
The Ragin' Cajuns outhit A-State (19-15, 7-6 Sun Belt) 12-5 in the game with third baseman Joe Robbins tying a season-best with three hits. Right fielder Ishmael Edwards and shortstop Brad Antchak each had two hits including a double and two RBI on the night.
Louisiana jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. After a pair of singles by Antchak and Robbins, designated hitter Steven Sensley brought home Antchak on a ball hit to shortstop. In the next at bat, left fielder Kennon Fontenot drove a single back up the middle to plate Robbins from second base and give the Cajuns a two-run edge.
Robbins added to the advantage in the bottom of the fifth on a sacrifice fly to centerfield scoring Zach LaFleur to make the score 3-0.
The Cajuns put the game out of reach in the bottom of the eighth scoring five runs on four hits and two free passes to make the final 8-0. A two-run single by Edwards and a two-run double by Antchak highlighted the scoring in the inning.
Louisiana will look to clinch the series tomorrow at 6 p.m. at Russo Park. The Ragin' Cajuns will start right-hander Nick Lee (4-3, 5.54 ERA), while Arkansas State will send right-hander Peyton Culbertson (3-3, 6.39 ERA) out to the bump.