Loveless Lifts Lumberjacks Past Central Arkansas in Elimination Game
SAN MARCOS, Texas - Stephen F. Austin first baseman Bobby Loveless
cranked two home runs, including a grand slam in the eighth inning, to push the
No. 6 seed Lumberjacks to a 7-2 win over No. 7 seed Central Arkansas in an
elimination game on Thursday of the 2012 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament
at Bobcat Ballpark.
The win ensures that the Lumberjacks (24-32) will play another day
with their next game scheduled for Friday at noon against the loser between No.
2 Southeastern Louisiana and No. 3 Texas State.
Loveless finished with a career-high five RBI on the day and enjoyed
his first multi-home run game of his career, while Hunter Dozier also homered
and drove in a pair of runs on two hits. SFA finished with nine hits on the
day, with four going for extra bases.
Cameron Gann moved to 7-3 with the win, navigating through five
innings with a pair of strikeouts and allowing six hits before turning it over
to Justin Choate and Alex Moshier out of the bullpen. Choate worked out of a
difficult situation in the sixth, while Moshier tossed the final 2.2 innings to
earn his ninth save of the season.
The Lumberjacks managed to hand Jeffery Enloe his second loss in
three weeks, despite the lefty logging 7.1 innings before SFA broke the game
open on Loveless' second home run. Enloe fell to 5-8 on the year, striking out
five and walking two batters while being charged with all seven runs.
Dozier opened up the SFA scoring with one out in the first inning,
launching the first pitch he saw from Enloe over the left-field fence for a
solo homer, his ninth long ball of the year to put the Lumberjacks up 1-0. Two
innings later Dozier delivered again to push the lead to 2-0, this time with
two outs, socking an RBI single to left field to score Bryce Cummings from
second base after he had led the inning off with a single.
Loveless made it a 3-0 SFA lead with a leadoff solo home run to
open the fourth inning and Gann managed to get through the first three innings
unscathed before UCA began to chip away at the lead. Ethan Harris crossed with
the first UCA run in the bottom of the fourth, leading off with a double off
the wall and scoring two batters later on a fielder's choice by Travis Snider.
The Bears had a chance to do more damage, but a heady play by Bobby Loveless at
first base turned a routine grounder off the bat of Griffin Glaude into a
double play after he doubled off Garrett Brown at second base on the play to
end the inning.
UCA cut the lead to 3-2 an inning later when Blake Marchal singled
up the middle to score Blake Roberts, and one inning later the Bears threatened
to either tie the game or take the lead when they put the first two runners of
the inning on base. The Lumberjacks then turned to Choate, who coaxed a double
play from Griffin Glaude before striking out Roberts with the tying run on
third base.
After SFA left a runner on base in the top of the seventh, UCA
mounted their final threat of the game when Logan Moon singled and reached
second on a sacrifice bunt against Choate. But Alex Moshier then entered and
picked up where he left off against UCA two weeks ago, getting Harris and
Willson to soft fly balls to keep SFA up 3-2.
Zach Benson then started SFA's rally in the top of the eighth with
a one-out double into the left-field corner, which was followed by an
intentional walk to Dozier with a base open. Enloe then walked Jarid
Scarafiotti on four pitches to load the sacks for Loveless, who launched a 1-0
pitch over the scoreboard in right field for a grand slam that gave SFA a 7-2
cushion. It was the first grand slam for an SFA hitter in Southland tournament
play since Kevin Crabtree did so in an 11-3, second-round win over McNeese
State in 2007.
Moshier then responded by facing just six batters in the final two
frames to close out the extended save and keep SFA's tournament hopes alive.
Choate will get the ball for the Lumberjacks on Friday at noon
against either the Bobcats or Lions. Should SFA get past that game, they would
then play again at 7 p.m.
Central Arkansas finished its season with a 25-30 record.
Postgame Quotes
Stephen
F. Austin coach Johnny Cardenas
"Our guys did a good job of showing up today. We didn't do a lot
of pep talk today. We just told the guys that they needed to find something
inside of them to come out and do what they needed to do, and they responded to
the call today.
"This is a good group of guys. They've met a lot of adversity over
the course of the year, and have done a pretty good job of coming to play.
"We take it one game at a time. You can't look at how many games
you need to win to get to the championship."
On
Bobby Lovelace's performance
"He's really found his stride in the last few weeks, and it's a
good time to do it."
On
the availability of the team's pitchers for the rest of the tournament
"We used a lot of guys in the first game, including the guy we
thought was going to be our third game starter, so we're going to have to go
back and figure out who will start for us tomorrow."
Stephen
F. Austin first baseman Bobby Lovelace
"He left one over the plate, and I deposited it over the right
field wall. In the last at-bat, I was surprised they didn't change pitchers. He
started me off with a curveball so I knew he was going to throw a fastball
there, and he left it over the outside corner and I hit it."
On the grand slam
"In that situation I was at least trying to hit something into the
outfield to get a run in. I got a pitch I could drive, and I drove it.
"We just have to take it one game at a time. It feels great
getting this win after losing last night. Winning today improves our mindset
going into tomorrow."
Central
Arkansas' coach Allen Gum
On
what he told the team after the game
"I told them the biggest thing we gained this year was respect
throughout the conference. At the start of the year, everyone had us finishing
last. Into the last weekend, we had a chance to be tied for third or fourth
seed. We came a long way, but we just didn't play well in this tournament. But
I'm proud of our guys. Our seniors provided great leadership.
"Getting to the tournament was a big step for us. The Southland
has good teams, and the season is a grind. Now we just need to build on that
foundation, and add to it each year, and our underclassmen will be ready to do
that."