Southeastern Louisiana Knocks Off Defending Tournament Champion
SAN MARCOS, Texas - Ben Hernandez broke open a close game with a
two-run single in the fourth inning and No. 2-seeded Southeastern Louisiana
used clutch play at the plate and in the field as it defeated No. 3 seed Texas
State, 7-1, in the 2012 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament Thursday at
Bobcat Ballpark.
Dylan Hills (9-4) pitched a career-high 4.1 innings in relief for
Southeastern (38-19), which capitalized on five Texas State errors and used
timely hitting to score six runs with two outs in the contest. With its fourth consecutive
win over Texas State (32-23), Southeastern continued to advance in the winner's
bracket where it will face the winner of the Texas State-Stephen F. Austin game
at 7 p.m. Texas State and SFA will play in an elimination game Friday at noon.
Hernandez, who went 2 for 5 at the plate, broke open a close game
when his single up the middle off Texas State starter Colton Turner (5-3)
scored Jacob Fisher and Alex Marse to give Southeastern a 4-0 lead.
The Lions added a run in the fifth inning when Ladd Rhodes scored on
a throwing error by Isaac Nuti and Cody Gougler scored on an unearned run in
the sixth on an RBI single by Fisher.
Hill, who earned his second win against the Bobcats this season,
scattered a pair of hits and allowed a run after relieving starter Jordan Hymel
in the fifth inning. The Ponchatoula, La., native came in after the Bobcats
loaded the bases against Hymel and he quickly got catcher Andrew Stumph to pop
out to end the threat.
Southeastern took a 1-0 lead as it scored an unearned run in the
first inning after Harry Slade reached on a throwing error and moved to second
on Hernandez's bloop single to right.
After Slade was retired at third on Brock Hebert's attempted
sacrifice bunt, Turner uncorked a wild pitch putting both runners in scoring
position. Jonathan Pace answered with a RBI grounder to give the Lions a 1-0
lead.
Slade gave Southeastern a 2-0 lead in the second inning when his
two-out single scored Fisher, who went 2-for-4 at the plate and scored twice.
Southeastern collected nine hits off three Texas State pitchers
with Hernandez, Gougler and Fisher getting two hits each. Texas State, which
stranded 13 runners on base, was led at the plate by Tyler Sibley and Casey
Kalenkosky with two hits apiece. Sibley helped Texas State avert a shutout when
his two-out single scored Garrett Mattlage.
Turner, who went 3.1 innings and took the loss in Southeastern's
8-1 win over the Bobcats on April 14, went 4.0 innings for Texas State and allowed
six hits and five runs - three earned.
Postgame Quotes
Southeastern
Louisiana coach Jay Artigues
On
Dylan Hills performance on the mound
"He made a big pitch. We know they swing the bat well, one swing
of the bat can change the game. When they had bases loaded we knew how big that
moment was, but Dylan did a great job, made some great pitches for us and came
through in the end."
On
saving the bullpen
"He threw enough pitches to save our bullpen for the rest of the
weekend and for tomorrow which is really important. Right now we are very fresh
on the mound and everyone is available."
On
being at a 2-0 advantage
"We knew how important this ball game was to us and our guys did a
great job of taking care of business. Now it's time to visualize tomorrow's
game and get ready because we know whoever we play will be a great opponent.
Southeastern
Louisiana pitcher Dylan Hills
On
coming in bases loaded
"Coach always tells us, 'whenever you come into the game, the next
guy has to be out,' so basically I went right at him and it worked out.
On
staying in and finishing the game
"I really just stayed in the zone and I was able to finish the
game for us."
On
anything in particular working out
"I just stayed in my zone and the hitters did the rest. We have a
great defense so I don't mind just laying it in there and letting our defense
work."
On
the offense
"The offense came in big for us. It really helps you when you get
those runs on the board to relax on the mound. I don't have to worry about
giving up runs.
On
their game tomorrow
"We'll relax. We'll show up tomorrow and play a faceless opponent.
Doesn't matter who we play, we'll be ready."
Texas
State coach Ty Harrington
On
boiling down the game to two out situations
"That tends to separate the game and it definitely did tonight. We
didn't defend the baseball very well, we left runners on. We had some
opportunities to do some great things but weren't as fortunate. The next thing
for us to is to move our next moment, and that's tomorrow."
On
Dylan Hills' performance on the mound
"He has great cutter and slider command, and he uses it. It's
tough to do and our guys aren't used to seeing that. He did well."
On
the goals for the rest of the tournament
"We'll discuss who we'll throw later as a staff. Tournament play
isn't laid out like regular weekend play. The biggest key to coming back and
winning it is to focus on that next moment, not on what's beyond that.