Baseball: March 6 Scoreboard
Sam Houston State 12, New Orleans 4
Abilene Christian 3, Nicholls 2
Central Arkansas 5, Stephen F. Austin 3
Southeastern Louisiana 5, UIW 3
McNeese State 2, Houston Baptist 1
Houston Baptist 4, McNeese State 2
Northwestern State 4, Lamar 3
Louisiana Tech 6, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 2
Sam Houston State 12, New Orleans 4
HUNTSVILLE, Texas -- Dylan Ebbs and Travis Lee drove in three runs apiece to lead Sam Houston State to a 12-4 win over New Orleans in the Southland opener for both teams Friday night at Don Sanders Stadium. The series will conclude with a doubleheader Saturday starting at 1 p.m.
Firing on all cylinders offensively, the Bearkats (6-8, 1-0) cranked out 15 hits and capitalized on four errors by the Privateers (6-8, 0-1). Ebbs and Lee were joined by Rahm and Winne with multiple hit games.
“I thought we competed extremely well at the plate tonight. I really liked our approach. We had a really hard but good week of practice,” Bearkat head coach Matt Deggs said. “We did a nice job of executing. Our short game was really good tonight. We pulled off some hit runs and stole some bases.”
Starting pitcher Andrew Godail tossed seven innings and allowed just one hit. He struck out four batters and picked up his first win of the season. Jordan Church tossed the final two innings in relief and allowed three unearned runs.
“Andrew Godail set a great tone for us. He had really good stuff tonight. His ball was moving all over the place, it was cutting and it was sinking. He had good command of his slider. He gave the hitters a chance to settle in and get things going.”
The Bearkats opened the scoring in the first inning after Lee worked a walk with two outs. The senior right fielder then stole second base and advanced to third on an errant throw by the catcher.
After left fielder Hayden Simerly worked a walk Ebbs, the designated hitter, drove Lee in with an RBI bloop single to center field. Lee was 3-for-3 in the game with three runs scored and three RBI and Ebbs finished the game 2-for-2 with three RBI and two runs scored.
“Last week was kind of rough but tonight we decided to just have fun,” Lee said. “It was a blast. We all just relaxed and the ball looked like a watermelon to us. We just got one hit after another and we just kept on going.”
Godail retired the first seven batters of the game but got into trouble with one out in the top of the third.
The Privateers tied the game up 1-1 with three straight one-out singles. Shortstop Jake MacWilliam prevented another run from scoring by throwing out a runner at the plate after an infield single. A walk loaded the bases but Godail got a groundout to get out of the inning.
SHSU immediately retook the lead after a key Privateer error in the bottom of the third inning. After center fielder Colt Atwood singled with one out, second baseman Zach Smith hit what looked like a tailor-made double play ball but the shortstop threw it away. Lee gave the Bearkats the lead with an RBI single to score Atwood.
Ebbs helped turn it into a big inning with a two-out two-RBI single to left field. First baseman Spence Rahm followed with an RBI single to plate Ebbs and make the score 5-1.
The Kats put three more runs on the board in the fourth. Third baseman Ryan Brinley singled to start the frame. MacWilliam was hit on the hand while attempting to bunt and had to leave the game. His replacement Miles Manning reached on an error on a sacrifice bunt attempt. Atwood then advanced both runners with a successful sacrifice bunt.
Smith dropped down a squeeze bunt to score Brinley from third base. The Bearkat second baseman then stole second base. Lee ripped a single up the middle to plate both Manning and Smith, making the score 8-1.
One more run came across in the bottom of the fifth after Ebbs was hit by a pitch, Rahm singled and catcher Collin Yelich reached on a bunt to load the bases. Brinley drove in the run on a sacrifice fly.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, New Orleans brought in reliever Mitchell Cohen, who loaded the bases with one out. Pinch-hitter Trevor Winne delivered with a two-out two-RBI single to left field that scored Lee and pinch-hitter Bryce Johnson. Winne had a 2-for-2 night with three RBI.
The Bearkats tacked on one more run in the bottom of the eighth and New Orleans added three more in the top of the ninth.
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Abilene Christian 3, Nicholls 2
ABILENE, Texas – Nothing has come easy in the early going of the 2015 baseball season for the ACU Wildcats. Perhaps that’s what made Friday night’s 3-2 win over Nicholls in the Southland Conference-opener for both teams so sweet.
The Wildcats entered the game 0-7 on the season, but saw their pitching staff put together another solid outing and their offense throw in some timely hits in the sixth inning to secure their first win of the season. The Wildcats are now 1-7 overall and 1-0 in the Southland, while Nicholls falls to 7-5-1 and 0-1.
The teams will close out their three-game series Saturday with a 2 p.m. doubleheader at Crutcher Scott Field. The teams moved Sunday’s game to Saturday because of the threat of rain in the area on Sunday.
Friday night’s game promised to be a pitcher’s duel, and it lived up to the billing.
Nicholls starter Marc Frazier entered the game with a 3.60 ERA and ACU starter Garrett deMeyere carried a 2.35 ERA into the game, and both pitched to those numbers. Frazier retired the first 14 Wildcats he faced in going 5 1/3 innings of four-hit baseball. deMeyere matched him pitch-for-pitch, allowing just three hits and two unearned runs while striking out six Colonels in 6 1/3 innings.
deMeyere only walked two batters and Frazier one as the game rocked along at a quick pace. Nicholls scored an unearned run in the first when Justin Holt reached on an error by ACU first baseman Russell Crippen on the game’s first pitch, and then came around to score on an RBI fielder’s choice by Frazier when ACU right fielder Colton Hall dropped a line drive right at him. However, he was able to get Gavin Wehby at second base for the force out to limit the Colonels’ offensive damage.
deMeyere then settled into a good groove, retiring the next nine men he faced and 11 of the next 12 before he ran into trouble in the fifth. He walked David Zorn to lead off the inning, and then he moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Tanner Vandevere. Joey Morales then singled through the hole into left field and Zorn tore around third, headed for the plate. But ACU freshman Marcelle Carter came up firing and threw Zorn out at the plate by 10 feet to keep the game at 1-0. deMeyere struck out the next man he faced (Holt) to end the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Wildcat offense finally got untracked against Frazier, who is part of a Nicholls pitching staff that entered the game with a 1.53 ERA, sixth-best in the nation.
Jeff Clarke led off with a single and went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Kyle Carroll. After a wild pitch moved Clarke to third, Aaron Draper walked to give ACU runners at the corners with one out. Carter then grounded a ball to Morales at shortstop, but he bobbled the ball and all runners were safe, including Clarke, who tied the game at 1-1.
Senior center fielder Tyler Eager then followed with an RBI single to center to score Draper and give the Wildcats a 2-1 lead. Junior catcher Alex Copeland then singled into left field and Carter scored to make it a 3-1 game.
deMeyere, though, immediately ran into trouble in the seventh when he walked Kyle Reese to lead off the inning. Carroll then committed an error when he tried to backhand a ball hit by Justin Smith, and that allowed Reese to get to third. Zorn then squeezed in a run to make it 3-2 and that brought out ACU head coach Britt Bonneau to make a pitching change.
He brought in Nick Palacios, who retired the only two men he faced to end the seventh with ACU still leading 3-2. Ladgie Zotyka then worked around a two-walk to get Christian Correa to line out to left field to end the eighth with the Wildcats still leading by one run.
In the ninth, Kevin Sheets came on and immediately gave up an infield single to Reese. Darius Knight then came on to pinch hit, but struck out looking after he fouled off two bunt attempts and took a 1-2 pitch down the middle for the first out. Zorn then grounded into a 5-4-3 game-ending double play to secure the Wildcats’ first win of the season.
“Our guys kept battling, just like they’ve done each game this season,” Bonneau said. “We knew that deMeyere needed to match what Frazier did, and he was able to do that and give us a chance to win. We’ve had some things not go our way this year, as evidenced by our record. But I look back at that game last Tuesday (a 6-5, 16-inning loss at No. 5 Texas Tech), and we just kept playing no matter what happened. I thought we did a good job of doing that (Friday).
“We needed Garrett to give us six or seven innings because when we’re able to get that out of our starters, it gives us the chance to run Nick, Ladgie and Sheets out there with a chance to win a game,” Bonneau said. “And that was a huge sixth inning for our confidence. That was our third time around against him (Frazier) and we finally figured him out a little bit. “
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Central Arkansas 5, Stephen F. Austin 3
CONWAY, Ark. – The University of Central Arkansas Bears opened Southland Conference play Friday with a 12-inning, 5-4 victory over the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks at SFA's Jaycees Field.
The Bears (5-3, 1-0) got a lead-off triple from junior center fielder Tyler Langley in the top of the 12th, and he quickly scored on Braxton Phillips' sacrifice fly to right field to make it 5-4. Junior reliever Bo Stitch got the final out of the 11th inning and then sat the Lumberjacks down in order in the 12th to earn his second victory of the season.
Langley finished 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored, while junior shortstop Logan Preston was also 2 for 4 with an RBI.
Senior third baseman Nate Ferrell spotted the Bears a 2-0 lead in the first with his third home run of the season, scoring Chris Townsend, who had walked. That lead, with junior Connor Gilmore on the mound for the Bears, held up until the fifth inning when an RBI groundout put the Lumberjacks on the board.
UCA made it a 3-1 lead in the seventh on Langley's sacrifice liner to center that brought home pinch runner Robert Haun. But the Lumberjacks (4-10, 0-1) smacked back-to-back home runs off Gilmore in the bottom of the seventh to tie it at 3-3. SFA loaded the bases with just one out in the bottom of the ninth inning but Ferrell made a diving stop at third, threw home for the first out and UCA catcher Travis Hull went right back to Ferrell to complete the double play and end the rally.
Langley and Phillips both chased down long fly balls in the 10th inning as UCA escaped that frame. The Bears returned the favor by loading the bases in the top of the 11th and Preston brought in the run with an infield single as SFA went to second for the final out but Haun beat the throw and Townsend scored for a 4-3 lead.
SFA answered in the bottom of the 11th, scoring on an error on UCA second baseman Matt Anderson, who recovered nicely and threw out the potential go-ahead runner at home after he fell down rounding third. After UCA re-took the lead in the 12th, Stitch got a line drive to Langley in center, a called third strike and a ground out to Corey Herndon at first base to end it.
SFA used seven pitchers in the game, with the final one, Jarred Greene (1-3), picking up the loss.
Because of expected rain on Sunday, the teams will finish the series with a noon doubleheader on Saturday.
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Southeastern Louisiana 5, UIW 3
SAN ANTONIO, Texas
– Tate Scioneaux shut down the Incarnate Word bats Friday and Southeastern Louisiana picked up a 5-3 win over UIW in the Southland Conference opener for both schools at Dickson Stadium.
The game was played on the campus of St. Mary's University, but the final two games of the series will move to Sullivan Field on the UIW campus.
Southeastern (11-4, 1-0 Southland) scored a run in the second inning and then went up 3-0 on Ryan Byers' two-run home run to left field in the fourth. For the sophomore from Ponchatoula, Louisiana, it was the first homer of his career.
UIW (6-8, 0-1 Southland) pushed across a run on Scioneaux (2-1) in the fourth with a two-out single to right by designated hitter Christian Divelbiss.
The Lions greeted reliever Cody Richey with three-consecutive hits to open the seventh. Julian Service singled and Daniel Midyett doubled, putting a pair in scoring position. Kevin Carr followed with an RBI single through the left side to plate Service, chasing Richey after just three batters. Carson Crites greeted Jason Shull with a fly ball to center, allowing Midyett to score on the sacrifice fly.
Scioneaux earned the win, allowing two runs on four hits in seven innings of work. The junior from Reserve, Louisiana, walked a pair and struck out eight. Mason Klotz worked a scoreless ninth, fanning three, for his first save of the season. Cardinal starter Garret Cooper (3-1) suffered the loss.
Midyett led the Lions at the plate, going 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and a run scored. Crites, who scored the first run of the game, went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Jacob Seward had a pair of hits and picked up his second stolen base of the season.
Southeastern and UIW will wrap up the series with a doubleheader Saturday at 1 p.m. Fans can keep up with the entire series through live statistics or by following SLUathletics on Twitter. A link for stats is available on the baseball schedule page at
www.LionSports.net.
To open Saturday's doubleheader, the Lions will send junior right-hander Jake Johnson (2-0, 1.35) to the mound against UIW righty Brandon Anderson (1-0, 4.24). Left-hander Kyle Cedotal (1-1, 1.96), a junior from Denham Springs, Louisiana, draws the starting nod for Southeastern in the series finale against Cardinal right-hander Kris Looper (0-1, 13.50).
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McNeese State 2, Houston Baptist 1
Houston Baptist 4, McNeese State 2
HOUSTON, Texas – McNeese State held off Houston Baptist, 2-1, in the first game, then the Huskies answered with a 4-3 decision in the second game as the two schools split a doubleheader to open Southland Conference play Friday afternoon at Husky Field.
In the second game, senior catcher Samm Wiggins went 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, two RBIs and scored twice for the Huskies (7-7, 1-1 SLC). Senior centerfielder Zach Nehrir, junior shortstop Louie Payetta and senior third baseman Curtis Jones recorded two hits apiece.
Junior lefthander Matthew McCollough (3-1) allowed one run on eight hits with two strikeouts and a walk in 6.1 innings. Senior lefthander Brandon Hammerly gave up one run in 1.2 innings, before senior righthander Chris Garza gave up a run, but closed out the game for his second save.
Andrew Guillotte went 3-for-5 with a double and scored a run, while Cameron Toole drove in a pair for the Cowboys (10-5, 1-1). Lewis Guilbeau, Connor Lloyd and Matt Gallier each had a pair of hits.
Bryce Kingsley took the loss, allowing two runs on eight hits with six strikeouts and a walk in 5.2 innings, while Cole Prejean gave up two runs on two hits in 2.1 innings.
The Huskies struck first in the bottom of the third when junior leftfielder Brandon Morones led off with a single, went to second on a passed ball, third on a sacrifice bunt, then scored on a sacrifice fly by Nehrir.
The Cowboys tied up the game in the top of the sixth when Guillote led off with double and scored on a single by Guilbeau.
Wiggins reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the inning, when he led off with a solo blast to left, his second homer of the year. HBU scored two more in the eighth on an RBI double by Wiggins and a sacrifice fly by freshman designated hitter Zac Garcia to take a 4-1 lead.
McNeese rallied in the ninth as James Cantu, Lloyd and Gallier each singled to load the bases. Toole then smacked a two-run single up the middle to cut the Huskies’ lead to 4-3. Bryce Packard followed by grounding into a double play, which moved Gallier to third, then Guillotte ripped a grounder down the third baseline, but Jones made a sliding backhanded stop, popped up and fired to first for the final out.
In the first game, Morones went 2-for-4 and scored the Huskies’ lone run.
Senior righthander Taylor Wright (2-2) took the loss, allowing two runs on eight hits in 6.2 innings.
Guillote and Billy Sommers each went 2-for-5 with an RBI and Guillote also scored a run. Connor Crane and Gallier each had two hits, with Gallier also scoring a run.
Kaleb Fontenot (2-1) earned the win for McNeese, allowing one run on five hits with six strikeouts in 6.0 innings. Collin Kober pitched 2.1 innings of scoreless relief, while Cory LaPeze got the final two outs for his second save.
The game was scoreless through six innings, but Gallier led off the top of the seventh with a single and went to second on a sacrifice bunt. Guillotte delievered an RBI single, then later scored on a single by Sommers to give the Cowboys a 2-0 lead.
HBU also got on the board in the seventh as Morones led off with a single and scored on an RBI single by Garcia. The Huskies loaded the bases in the eighth and had the leadoff runner on in the ninth, but were unable to plate the equalizer.
The series concludes with a single game Saturday at 1 p.m. at Husky Field. The broadcast will be available on HBUHuskies.com, beginning at 12:45 with the pregame show.
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Northwestern State 4, Lamar 3
BEAUMONT, Texas – In what has become a typical Friday night game, Adam Oller proved himself to be a quintessential Friday night pitcher.
Matched up with Lamar ace Danny Fernandez, Oller responded with a complete game, holding the Cardinals to six hits and allowing one earned run in a 4-2 Northwestern State victory at Vincent-Beck Stadium.
“It was a great Friday night college baseball game,” third-year head coach Lane Burroughs said. “Two aces going at each other. Their guy was really good. Adam was really good, too.”
Oller (2-1) and Fernandez (2-1) were locked in a 1-1 duel until the seventh inning when the Demons (7-7, 1-0 Southland Conference) put together the game’s only multi-run inning.
Cort Brinson smacked his second leadoff double of the game, dropping a fly ball on the right-field line, and Chase Daughdrill followed by sacrificing Brinson to third.
For the second time in the game, C.J. Webster delivered with a runner on third and less than two outs, as he laced Fernandez’ first pitch into right field for the tiebreaking RBI single.
“C.J. did a tremendous job,” Burroughs said. “He got us a couple of big RBIs. Even his outs, he swung the bat really well. He barreled up some balls. He’s seeing it really well, and I’m proud of how he’s having quality at-bat after quality at-bat.”
Garrett Logan followed Webster with a single to right field before Joel Atkinson chopped an RBI double just inside the third base bag to put NSU ahead 3-1.
After Northwestern State took a 1-0 lead on Webster’s second-inning RBI groundout, Lamar (7-6, 0-1) tied it with an unearned run in the third inning, thanks in part to a pair of Demons errors.
However, Oller kept the game tied and proceeded to keep the Cardinals off the scoreboard until the ninth inning.
“That’s what an ace does,” Burroughs said. “He minimizes innings. They don’t let things get away from them. I always say he’s a pane of glass. He doesn’t let things bother him. His mentality and makeup are off the charts.”
The Demons added another run on an eighth-inning RBI double by Caleb Dugas before Lamar mounted one last threat.
Oller retired Stijn van der Meer to start the ninth before Reed Seeley doubled and Brandon Provost singled him home to cut the NSU lead to 4-2.
After a visit to the mound, Oller recovered and struck out the last two batters to end the game and his 116-pitch complete game.
“We thought about making a move in the ninth,” Burroughs said. “He was very adamant about staying in. We had (Brandon) Smith and (Chase) Hymel ready, but he got out of it.”
Brinson and Atkinson led the way offensively for the Demons with two hits apiece, while Provost had the only multi-hit game for the Cardinals.
The series concludes Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m., as Sunday’s forecast calls for rain the Beaumont area. Josh Oller (2-1, 2.11) and Jeffrey Stovall (1-1, 3.50) are set to take the ball against Lamar’s Chase Angelle (1-1, 3.71) and Eric Foshee (1-1, 4.05).
After Saturday’s doubleheader, the Demons open a four-game homestand against Louisiana Tech at Brown-Stroud Field on March 10. First pitch for that game is set for 6:30 p.m.
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Louisiana Tech 6, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 2
RUSTON, La. – Louisiana Tech's Tyler Clancy scattered three hits in seven innings of work to lift the Bulldogs past the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball team, 6-2, on Friday at J.C. Love Field. Justin Perales went 2-for-4 with an RBI in a losing effort for the Islanders, who fell to 6-4 on the season.
Taylor Nichols led the way for the Bulldogs offense, going 3-for-4 with two RBI in the win for La. Tech (6-6). Clancy retired the first 16 batters he faced in the game, and picked up the win, striking out three and walking just one in the victory.
Lukas Hermanson, Jordan Lee and Kyle Danford each posted hits in the loss, with Danford and Lee each scoring runs. Garrett Harris was carded with the loss after surrendering four hits and five walks to the tune of three runs in his four innings of work. Kaleb Keith tossed 2 1/3 shutout innings out of the bullpen for the Islanders, while Jared Jordan retired both of the Bulldog batters he faced.
Louisiana Tech got on the board in the first, with a leadoff single, a sac bunt and a groundout putting a runner at third with two down. Bre'shon Kimbell then capped it off by sending a single to left on the first pitch he saw to make it a 1-0 lead.
In the third, the home squad was able to double its advantage. After a flyout from the leadoff batter, two walks and a single loaded the bases with one away. Harris got a grounder off the bat of Brent Diaz, but the Islanders were unable to turn the double play, getting just the runner at second, to make it 2-0. The Bulldogs pushed the advantage to 3-0 with a sac fly from Mason Paxton in the fourth.
Then in the fifth, Louisiana Tech was able to put a crooked number on the board against reliever A.J. Flores. After a leadoff groundout, Diaz knocked a double and a hit batsman put two on and one out. Flores then got a grounder off the bat of J.D. Perry, but it was mishandled by Casey Thomas at short to load the bases. Nichols followed and sent a two-run single to left to push the lead to 5-0. An RBI base hit from Colby Johnson followed to make it a 6-0 advantage.
Meanwhile, Clancy was cruising on the mound, setting down the Islanders 1-2-3 in each of the first five frames. But in the sixth, the Islanders started to mount a charge. Brett Burner reached on a one-out error, and Hermanson followed by looping a single to right field. But back-to-back groundouts snuffed out the rally and sent the game to the seventh still at 6-0.
The Islanders looked poised for a big inning in the seventh, as Danford and Perales cracked consecutive singles and a walk to Tyler Ware loaded the bags with nobody out for Cody Clarke. Clarke hit a hard grounder, but it went straight to short, as the Bulldogs were able to turn a 6-4-3 double play, allowing the first run of the ballgame for the Islanders. A flyout ended the rally with a 6-1 Louisiana Tech lead still in tact.
A&M-Corpus Christi added a run in the ninth off reliever Adam Atkins. Lee led off the frame with a double to left center, and two batters later Perales sent a bounding ball up the middle to plate the senior and make it a 6-2 game. But the joy was short-lived for the visitors, as a 6-4-3 double play ended the contest.
The Islanders and Bulldogs will continue their three-game set on Saturday at Love Field, with first pitch slated for 2 p.m. Matt Danton is slated to take the hill for the Islanders, where he will be opposed by La. Tech's Phil Maton. The series will conclude on Sunday at 1 p.m., with Trevor Belicek getting the ball. Live stats and video for both contests will be available at LaTechSports.com.
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