Louisiana Rallies To Defeat Wright State And Even Series
LAFAYETTE, La. – The 20th-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team rallied to score five runs late in the game to defeat Wright State 6-3 on Saturday afternoon at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park.

The win improves the Cajuns to 2-4 on the year, while the Raiders fall to 1-4. Louisiana was edged 7-6 in hits by Wright State.

Freshman Brock Batty (2-0) picked up the victory after tossing 1.1 scoreless innings in relief with two strikeouts, and senior Logan Stoelke earned his second save of the year with 1.2 scoreless innings and three strikeouts to close out the game.

Mitch Gremling (0-2) took the loss for the Raiders after giving up two unearned runs in 0.2 innings.

LEADING THE CAJUNS

Junior Hunter Kasuls equaled his career high with three hits in the game including a home run. Both Kasuls and Kennon Fontenot drove in a pair of runs in the victory, while Gavin Bourgeois drew three walks and scored twice.

Starter Nick Lee registered his first quality start of the season going 6.0 innings with seven strikeouts.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Louisiana struck first in the bottom of the first as Bourgeois came home to score on sacrifice fly to left field by Tyler Stover. The lead would be short lived though as Wright State notched a pair of runs in the top of the second on a Zach Weatherford single and a Chase Sloan groundout to shortstop to take a 2-1 advantage.

The Raiders added a run in the top of the fifth when Alex Alders scored on a wild pitch to extend their lead to 3-1.

The Ragin' Cajuns began the comeback in the bottom of the sixth plating two runs with the bases loaded on a walk to O'Neal Lochridge and an RBI groundout to second base by Kasuls to even the contest at 3-all.

The Cajuns regained the lead in the bottom of the seventh inning when Fontenot brought home two runs on an infield bunt single down the third base line.

Wright State threatened in the top of the eighth loading the bases with one out, but Stoelke came on and got two big strikeouts to preserve the lead. Kasuls tacked on the final run of the game in the bottom of the eighth on a solo home run to right field to make the final 6-3.

UP NEXT

The Cajuns and Raiders meet in the rubber match of the series tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Russo Park. Following the Wright State series finale, Louisiana will host Nicholls in a 6 p.m. contest on Wednesday to close out a four-game homestand at Russo Park.

Texas State Baseball rallies late to snatch series from Cowboys
SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State baseball team earned a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over McNeese Saturday evening at Bobcat Ballpark to clinch the weekend series.

The Bobcats (3-3) plated all four runs in the final two frames after being blanked through the first six. Senior Dylan Paul kicked off the scoring with a solo opposite-field home run in the seventh to counter a two-run triple from the Cowboys (0-6) in the top of the third.

Shane Selman answered Paul's round-tripper with one of his own in the top of the eighth to add an insurance tally for McNeese, but TXST responded with three in the bottom of the frame to snatch the victory.

The rally began when senior Jared Huber drew a one-out walk that was followed by a single from junior Jacob Almendarez. Senior Derek Scheible loaded the bases with a single of his own, and junior Jonathan Ortega cut the deficit in half with a sacrifice fly. Almendarez then scored on a wild pitch to the tie the game. Junior Jaylen Hubbard laced a go-ahead RBI double down the left-field line that brought home Scheible and gave the Bobcats the lead for good.

Junior Brayden Theriot was able to keep the visitors off the scoreboard in the ninth to earn his first save of the season. Classmate Connor Reich tossed the first 6.0 innings and allowed two runs on three hits in the no-decision effort. He struck out six and walked three before being relieved by Broc Bosse (1-0). The lanky sophomore went 2.0 frames to earn the win and conceded just one run on three hits, while fanning three.

Scheible and Almendarez led TXST at the plate with two hits and one run each. Jacob Stracner was the lone Cowboy with two hits, and he also drove in a pair of teammates.

McNeese outhit Texas State 7-6, which marked the first time this season that the maroon and gold was outhit by an opponent.

The Bobcats will look for a sweep over the visiting Cowboys at 1 p.m. Feb. 25 at Bobcat Ballpark.

NO. 17 JAGS SWEEP HARTFORD SERIES
MOBILE, Ala. – The 17th-ranked University of South Alabama baseball team swept a doubleheader from Hartford (0-3) Saturday at Stanky Field to complete a three-game series sweep.

USA (7-1) extended its winning streak to four games with the pair of wins on Saturday, and extended its home winning streak to six games dating back to last season.

South Alabama will return to action Tuesday when it hosts Auburn at 6:30 p.m. at Stanky Field.

South Alabama 6, Hartford 3 (Game 1 of DH)
GAME FACTS
- USA jumped out to a one-run lead in the bottom of the first. Dylan Hardy led off the inning with a single back up the middle, advanced to second on a grounder to second off the bat of Paul Russo, and moved to third on a groundout to second by Travis Swaggerty. Brendan Donovan followed with an RBI double to right field to plate Hardy for a 1-0 Jaguar lead. Wells Davis drew a one-out walk before Carter Perkins singled to left field to load the bases for Will Luft, who flew out to right-center field for the final out of the frame.
- Hartford (0-3) loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the third on three straight singles by Robert Carmody, Cam Belliveau and Nick Campana. but Jaguar right-hander Zach Greene struck out Ashton Bardzell for the first out of the frame and then rolled a 5-4-3 double play off the bat of Chris Sullivan to escape the jam and preserve a one-run Jaguar lead.
- The Jags doubled their lead in the bottom of the third. Swaggerty reached on a one-out single to right field, stole second then scored on an RBI double to the right-center gap by Donovan for a 2-0 advantage.
- Hartford rallied to tie the game 2-2 in the top of the second on a one-out, two-run double down the left field line by John Thrasher. The Hawks then took a 3-2 lead on a Jaguar throwing error by Jaguar right-hander Austin Gossman on a bunt down the third base line.
- USA answered to tie the score at 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth when Michael Sandle delivered a two-out solo home run over the left field wall – the first of his Jag career.
- USA took a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the eighth on a two-out RBI single to left field by Hardy that scored Sandle from second. Russo followed with an RBI bunt single up the first base line to score Hardy for a 5-3 Jaguar advantage. Swaggerty delivered a single through the right side of the infield to put runners at the corners with two outs. A wild pitch allowed Russo to score and double the USA lead to 6-3.

NOTES
- Greene recorded a career-high seven strikeouts without issuing a walk, and allowed just one earned run on nine hits without factoring in the decision.
- Right-hander Nick DeSantis struck out three batters against one walk with one hit allowed in 1 1/3 relief innings to earn his first win of the year.
- Four Jaguars recorded multiple hits in the game, led by Donovan who went 2-for-2 with two doubles, two RBIs and three walks. Hardy added two hits, one RBI and two runs scored, Russo had two hits, one RBI and one run scored, and Swaggerty finished with two hits.
- Sandle homered, drove in a run and scored twice, marking the fourth straight game he has recorded at least one RBI.

South Alabama 9, Hartford 3 (Game 2 of DH)
GAME FACTS
- USA took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a two-run double to left-center field by Swaggerty that scored Hardy and Russo, who reached on a walk and single, respectively.
- Hartford added a run in the top of the second on an RBI fielder's choice off the bat of Cam Belliveau to cut the USA lead in half at 2-1.
- The Hawks tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the third on a wild pitch by left-hander Caleb Yarborough.
- USA answered in the bottom of the third on a two-out RBI double to right field by Will Luft that scored Davis, who reached on a walk, to take a 3-2 lead.
- Sandle, Hardy and Russo reached on consecutive singles to load the bases with no outs in the bottom of the fourth inning. A wild pitch allowed Sandle to score and double the USA lead at 4-2. Hardy scored one batter later on an RBI groundout to first base off the bat of Swaggerty for a 5-2 advantage. An RBI groundout to first by Donovan scored Russo from third to extend the USA lead to 6-2.
- USA increased its lead to 8-2 in the bottom of the seventh on a two-run home run to right-center field by Wells Davis – his second of the year.
- The Jags added their final run of the game on an RBI double to right field by Davis in the bottom of the eighth inning.

NOTES
- Three Jags recorded multiple hits in the game, led by Davis who went 2-for-3 with a double, one home run, three RBIs and two runs scored. Hardy finished 2-for-2 with a double and two runs scored, and Russo added two hits and two runs scored.
- Swaggerty doubled and drove in three runs.
- Left-hander Caleb Yarborough (1-0) tossed 3 1/3 relief innings, and allowed just two hits while striking out one with two walks to earn his first career win.

Georgia Southern's Early Runs, Solid Pitching Sets the Table for 7-3 Saturday Win over Fairfield
STATESBORO, GA. – Georgia Southern Baseball secured the series win with a 7-3 victory over Fairfield on Saturday afternoon on Jack Stallings Field at J.I. Clements Stadium. The Eagles scored runs in the first three innings and rode the arm of Seth Shuman to improve to 3-3 on the year. Georgia Southern closes the weekend series against the Stags on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.

Shuman continued to deal on the mound, working seven innings to take his second win of the season and improve to 10-0 on his career. He fanned eight batters and scattered six hits and allowed just three runs in his final inning of work.

QUOTABLES
Head Coach Rodney Hennon
"Shuman gave us a strong effort, he did a great job of throwing strikes. I though Cole Whitney threw well in the eighth and ninth innings. We made some big defensive plays in the game, the relay throw to cut down a runner at the plate and the double play in the ninth were big for us. I thought we had some guys step up and play well for us. Jaxxon Fagg had a big double, and I thought Johns Hamilton played well. We did a good job at times with two strikes offensively where we got some big hits. That was encouraging and now we've got to come back and play good baseball tomorrow."

SCORING PLAYS
Bottom 1st - Hits by Mitchell Golden and Jason Swan put runners on the corners with one out. As Mason McWhorter struck out, Swan broke for second, drawing a throw. He was hung up in a rundown long enough that Mitchell Golden was able to score before the Stags threw the ball into Swan's back as he returned to first.
Bottom 2nd - Jaxxon Fagg opened the second with a leadoff single and moved up to second with a sacrifice bunt from Christian Avant. With two outs in the inning, Johns Hamilton earned his first collegiate hit with a single up the middle, plating the younger Fagg and extending the lead to 2-0.
Bottom 3rd - The Eagles got RBI singles from Mason McWhorter and Noah Searcy to plate a pair in the third, but Jaxxon Fagg sent another run across with a double to the gap in right, extending the lead to 5-0.
Top 7th - Back-to-back singles in the seventh inning set the table for Fairfield's Drew Blake to hit a three-run home run to the gap in right, cutting the lead to 5-3.
Bottom 8th - Two hit batters and a single in the eighth loaded the bases in the eighth, paving the way for Hamilton to drive in a run when he was hit by the 1-2 pitch. Steven Curry nearly hit into a double play with one out in the frame, but the relay throw was high, allowing him to reach and the run to score, pushing the advantage to 7-3.

NOTES
- Cole Whitney earned his first collegiate save on Saturday, working two innings without allowing a run. He entered with the Eagles ahead 5-2 and posting a strikeout and a walk.
- Eight of the nine Eagles in the starting lineup earned a hit on Saturday.
- Jaxxon Fagg led the way offensively, going 2-for-3 in his first Division I start, earning his first hits with the Eagles. He also drove in a run and scored one of his own.
- Mitchell Golden went 1-for-5 with a run scored to push his hit streak to a team-best 11 games.

ROGERS, BULLPEN COMBINE TO SHUT OUT JACKSONVILLE 7-0
ATLANTA -- Jake Rogers took a shutout into the seventh inning and the bullpen finished the job as Georgia State blanked Jacksonville 7-0 in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, clinching the series for the Panthers. In the nightcap, GSU rallied from a 3-0 deficit before JU scored two in the top of the ninth to win 5-3.

GSU (4-3) catcher Nick Gatewood had five hits and two RBI in the twin bill, while Mike Huggins and Jack Thompson drove in two runs each on the day.

"I'm really proud of our team for winning the series," head coach Greg Frady said. "Of course, after you win the first two game, you want to sweep, but I thought we played really well. I like how are team competed."

Rogers (1-1) allowed just three hits in 6.2 innings with two strikeouts and three walks. Will White relieved him to finish the seventh, and then Trey Horton pitched the final two innings as the GSU staff extended its scoreless streak to 15 straight innings.

"Jake Rogers was phenomenal today," Frady said. "For our bullpen matched with Jake to give us a shutout is a really good job. That's a good team we played, and Jake certainly set the pace."

The Panthers put up four runs in the first three innings to support Rogers. Luke Leonard started a two-out rally with a single, advanced to second on a wild pitch and then stole third on Will Kilgore's walk. Huggins delivered an RBI-single for the first run, and then Kilgore scored the second run on a double steal and an error as he evaded the catcher's tag.

GSU added two more runs in the third on RBIs by Jake Corso (fielder's choice) and Jack Thompson (sacrifice fly) to take a 4-0 lead.

Huggins increased the lead in the sixth on a bloop single that scored Leonard, and then Kendall Ford's sacrifice fly made the score 6-0. Gatewood hit his first homer of the season, an opposite field solo shot down the left field line, in the seventh.

In Game 2, Jacksonville (4-3) jumped in front with three runs in the first two innings off GSU starter Jordan Lee. But Lee settled down from there, pitching six innings without allowing another run.

The Panthers finally got on the board with two runs in the sixth. After Justin Jones reached on an error, Gatewood brought him home with a double to left center. Ryan Glass singled, and then Thompson's singled up the middle to plate Gatewood and bring the Panthers within 3-2.

In the seventh, Ford drew a two-out walk, and Jones tied the game with a triple to the right field corner.

The score remained 3-3 until the ninth inning, when the Dolphins put runners at first and third with two outs. GSU reliever Brandon Bell came on to pitch and induced a ground ball up the middle from Angel Camacho that Jones was in position to field but the ball hit the bag and bounce away, allowing the run to score. Scott Dubrule added an RBI-single to put Jacksonville ahead 5-3.

The Panthers rallied in the ninth but again were victimized by bad luck. With one out, Jones reached second base when his popup behind first base dropped between three fielders. That brought up Gatewood, who crushed a ball to the wall in straightaway centerfield. But there confusion over whether or not the ball was caught by the centerfielder as he crashed into the wall, so Jones and Gatewood were both at second base and Gatewood was called out.

Georgia State returns to action Wednesday for a 5 p.m. game at Georgia.

App State's Schmid Strikes Out 11 In Win At UNCW
WILMINGTON, N.C. — Colin Schmid fired strike after strike, and he pitched with a lead after Appalachian State's bats heated up.

A junior left-hander, Schmid struck out 11 batters over seven innings and allowed only two runs on four hits as the Mountaineers evened their series against UNCW with a 6-2 victory at Brooks Field.

App State (2-3) totaled 11 hits Saturday, with Drew Beck and Kendall McGowan accounting for three apiece. They benefited from two hits apiece by Alex Leshock and CJ Brown, who hit the first home run of his Appalachian career and scored twice.

The Mountaineers took an early lead on the Seahawks (4-2) and posted runs in five different innings in support of Schmid, who improved to 1-0 while issuing just one walk in a 99-pitch outing. He struck out at least 10 batters for the second time in his career, adding to his 13-strikeout performance at Georgia Southern in 2017.

"He did a phenomenal job," App State head coach Kermit Smith said. "He was very competitive, and any time something didn't go his way, he's done a great job all year of moving on to the next pitch. I thought he was very single-minded — each pitch he threw, he was very convicted to it. He just had dominant stuff today."

Through five games against two teams picked to win their respective leagues, including one coming off an NCAA Regional appearance, App State's starting pitchers have a 2.54 ERA.

Schmid struck out three batters in his seventh and final inning of work, fanning two straight after David Sheaffer hit a one-out homer to cut UNCW's deficit to 4-2. App State reliever Luke Watts added two more strikeouts over the final two innings, and the game ended with shortstop Joel McDaniel initiating a 6-4-3 double play.

Leshock's RBI triple to score Brown on a perfectly executed hit-and-run play and Bailey Welch's RBI single to center field enabled the Mountaineers to take a four-run lead into UNCW's last two at-bats.

"We came out with a good mindset and had a lot of good energy in the dugout," Smith said. "It was just one of those days that was a pretty complete day. I thought we did everything very well."

App State went ahead for good in second inning, when McGowan delivered a one-out double down the third-base line and Brown reached on a two-out walk. McGowan scored after Leshock's hard-hit grounder to third was misplayed for an error.

Brown recorded the first hit of his young App State career when he homered to left in the fourth inning for a 2-0 lead against UNCW starter Zarion Sharpe.

The Seahawks trailed 2-1 following an RBI double from Sheaffer with two away in the bottom of the fourth inning, and the Mountaineers regained a two-run cushion when McDaniel scored from second on Beck's RBI single to center. McDaniel had reached on a leadoff walk and advanced to second on a groundout before Beck came through.

Beck started a seventh-inning threat with a one-out double to left field and scored on a two-out single to center from McGowan, who was down 0-2 in the count before putting a 2-2 pitch in play for a 4-1 advantage.

"We came out from the first pitch on, and I thought we were pretty complete the whole day," Smith said.

The series is scheduled to conclude Sunday at 2 p.m. with Brandon Boone as App State's projected starter on the mound. Logan Beehler is the projected starter for UNCW.

No. 3 Florida State Walks Off Troy in Game Two
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Drew Mendoza drove in the game-winning run on a one-out single in the bottom of the ninth to give No. 3 Florida State the 6-5 win over Troy Saturday afternoon at Dick Howser Stadium.

Troy (4-3) fell despite a fierce comeback – the Trojans saw themselves in a 3-0 hole after the first inning and clawed back to even the game at five in the seventh inning before dropping the game in walk-off fashion.

The third-ranked Seminoles (6-0) loaded the bases with only one out in the ninth before Mendoza claimed hero status – he finished the game 2-for-4 with two runs driven in.

The Trojans were able to take advantage of a loss of control on the mound to knot the game up with two runs in both the sixth and the seventh.

The first Troy run of the game came on a deep blast off the scoreboard by Matt Sanders in the third inning. It was Sanders' fourth homer of the early season and he is currently in the midst of a 15-game hitting streak, dating back to 2017.

Sanders and Brandon Lockridge led the Trojan bats – Sanders went 2-for-5 with a double and the homer, while Lockridge finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

Sadler Goodwin (0-1) suffered the hard-luck loss after scattering just two hits and allowing the one run in 2.1 innings of relief work. Goodwin was aided by several strong defensive plays in those innings, including a top-play worthy, warning track grab by Dylan Crutcher before crashing into the wall – the play saved extra bases in the bottom of the eighth.

Florida State's Gage Hutchinson (1-0) struck out the side in the top of the ninth to set the Noles up for the walk-off win in the bottom of the inning.

Coastal Carolina Rally Falls Short to Illinois Saturday
CONWAY - Coastal Carolina hit three, two-run home runs, including one in the ninth inning, but could not complete the comeback as Illinois held on for a 7-6 victory Saturday afternoon in the Britain Resorts Invitational at Springs Brooks Stadium.

Illinois (2-3) jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the second when Jeff Korte hit three-run home run, bringing home Doran Turchin and Michel Massey.

The Illini added to their lead with four runs in the fifth. Zac Taylor singled to start the frame and Ben Troike was hit by a pitch. After a sacrifice bunt, Bren Spillane delivered a sacrifice fly to bring home Taylor. Michael Massey followed with an RBI double. Turchin made it 7-0 contest with a two-run home run to left field.

Coastal (5-2) trimmed its deficit with two runs in the home half of the fifth. Kyle Skeels hit a leadoff double and Zach Biermann followed with a two-run shot to right field, his first home run as a Chant, to make the score 7-2.

The Chants make it a 7-4 ballgame in the sixth. Keaton Weisz singled and scored on Seth Lancaster's two-run home run to right field. It was the senior's second round-tripper of the season.

CCU's third, two-run home of the game made it a one-run game, 7-6, in the ninth. Kyle Skeels walked and, two batters later, Lee Sponseller hit his first home run as a Chanticleer. However, Joey Gerber struck out the next batter to preserve the win and earn his first save.

Illini starter Ty Webber (1-0) allowed five hits and four runs over six innings to get the win. CCU starter Zack Hopeck (0-1) allowed eight hits and seven runs (six earned) with no walks and four strikeouts.

Coastal will host West Virginia on Sunday at 2:30 pm.