Baseball: March 7 Scoreboard
Sam Houston State 11, New Orleans 10
Sam Houston State 3, New Orleans 2 (10)
UIW 11, Southeastern La. 10
Southeastern, La. 4, UIW 1
Nicholls 5, Abilene Christian 4
Nicholls 2, Abilene Christian 0
McNeese State 5, Houston Baptist 2
Northwestern State 9, Lamar 6
Northwestern State 3, Lamar 1
Central Arkansas 11, Stephen F. Austin 1
Central Arkansas 9, Stephen F. Austin 8
Louisiana Tech 2, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 1
Sam Houston State 11, New Orleans 10
Sam Houston State 3, New Orleans 2
HUNTSVILLE, Texas -- Catcher Collin Yelich smoked a tenth-inning RBI-single to center field to give Sam Houston State a 3-2 walk-off win over New Orleans. The win sealed the Southland-opening series sweep of the Privateers.
The hit was Yelich’s second of the game and his third of the day. The junior backstop caught both games of Saturday’s doubleheader.
Starting pitcher Sam Odom allowed a hit to lead off the ballgame but then retired the next 15 batters he faced. Odom was perfect in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings with five strikeouts. The streak was snapped with a single to lead off the top of the sixth.
“Any time your starting pitcher gives up two runs in a game, good things are going to happen,” Bearkat head coach Matt Deggs said. “I thought we competed well at the plate. We made the routine plays defensively and mixed in a few great plays as well.”
Center fielder Colt Atwood singled to start the bottom of the first and second baseman Zach Smith followed with a walk. Right fielder Travis Lee was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Atwood was thrown out at the plate when left fielder Hayden Simerly hit into a fielder’s choice ground out.
The next batter Dylan Ebbs had a little more luck than Simerly. The Bearkats’ designated hitter drove in Smith from third base with a fielder’s choice ground out to second base. First baseman Spence Rahm walked to reload the bases but the Kats left them loaded.
In the third inning Lee was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game and moved to second on a ground out. Ebbs doubled the Bearkat lead with an RBI-single to right field to plate Lee.
The sophomore designated hitter was 3-for-5 with two RBI and one run scored. Atwood and Smith also had multiple hits in the ballgame.
Odom entered the ninth inning having allowed just four hits and no walks. The sophomore right-hander had thrown only 71 pitches through eight frames but couldn’t hold it together in the ninth. The Privateers got a lead-off single and two walks to load the bases before first baseman Preston Marsh delivered a game-tying single into center field.
The Bearkats had a great opportunity to walk it off in the bottom of the ninth inning when they got two runners on base with one out but couldn’t get a run across.
With one out in the tenth Ebbs lined a single up the middle to start the rally. First baseman Spence Rahm absolutely crushed a ball to left field that narrowly missed getting out of the ballpark but hit off the wall for a double. Yelich was the next batter and provided the game-winning hit.
Sam Houston will host nationally-ranked Houston Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Don Sanders Stadium. The Bearkats and Cougars split the home-and-home series last season, winning on each other’s home field.
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UIW 11, Southeastern La. 10
Southeastern, La. 4, UIW 1
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word baseball team came back from a 10-0 deficit in the seventh inning to salvage the last game of the three-game series against Southland Conference rival Southeastern Louisiana with a walk-off single from
Ethan McGill(Penn Valley/Nevada Union HS).
The Cardinals (7-9, 1-2) found themselves one out away from losing by run-rule to the Lions being down 10-0 in the seventh, but an RBI-triple from
Blake Woosley (Corvallis, OR/Philomath HS) brought in a run to keep UIW in the game. In the eighth inning, the Cardinal offense exploded for six runs to make it a ballgame.
Aaron Warren (Schertz/Wagner HS) started the rally with a pinch-hit RBI double and the runs kept coming along.
"Everything is contagious," UIW head coach
Danny Heep said after the game. "Not hitting is contagious and hitting is contagious.
Aaron Warren came in and hit a ball in the gap and all of a sudden everybody is saying, 'if he can do it, we can do it too.' All of a sudden the game changed and we put some pressure on the other team."
Austin Hoffman (Goodyear, AZ/Millenium HS) followed with an RBI double,
Christian Divelbiss(Yuba City/Yuba City HS) hit a 2-run triple and the Cardinals capitalized on the Lions' four wild pitches and a passed ball in the inning, scoring six runs to make it 10-7 going into the ninth.
In the ninth inning, Warren once again started the rally. He led off the inning with a double and then came around to score on a single from Hoffman. The game was tied on another wild pitch by the Lions and later loaded the bases to face a pinch-hitter, McGill. With a 3-2 count, McGill lined a hit to right center field to bring in the winning run.
John Shull took the win for the Cardinals in the second game, pitching an inning of shutout baseball. The Lions' starter Kyle Cedotal threw seven very strong innings, giving up three hits and one unearned run, but the bullpen gave up 10 runs in the last two innings, and Mason Klotz was tabbed with the loss.
Divelbiss and Hoffman both finished the game with two hits, two runs and two RBI apiece. UIW scored 11 runs on nine hits while the Lions scored 10 and collected 12 hits in the loss.
In the first game of the day, the Lions (12-5, 2-1) overpowered the Cardinal offense. Jake Johnson threw a complete game allowing only one run (unearned) while striking out 10 and walking two. He needed only 109 pitches to beat the Cardinals 4-1 in the first game of the doubleheader.
Brandon Anderson (Cheyenne, WY/Cheyenne Central HS) took the loss going six innings, scattering 10 hits and giving up three runs.
Adam Hunter (Yoakum/Yoakum HS) pitched two scoreless innings in relief for the Cardinals.
Daniel Midyett led the Lions with three hits, two runs and two RBI, including a home run in the seventh inning. Brooks Morse had a 2-for-4 game and brought in one run in the win.
The Cardinals were limited to one run on two hits and committed one error. The Lions scored four runs on 11 hits and committed two errors.
The Cardinals will go on the road Tuesday night as they face #8 Texas at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin at 6:35 p.m.
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Nicholls 5, Abilene Christian 4
Nicholls 2, Abilene Christian 0
ABILENE, Texas – The Nicholls State University baseball team outhit Abilene Christian in game one and outpitched them in game two en route to a doubleheader sweep on Saturday afternoon in at Crutcher Scott Field.
Nicholls (9-5-1, 2-1 SLC) took a 5-4 victory over the Wildcats (1-9, 1-2 SLC) in the first matchup and completed the sweep with a 2-0 shutout over ACU in the second contest.
GAME 1
The Colonels jumped out to an early lead for a second straight game, taking a 3-0 advantage in the top of the second inning. A
Tanner Vandevere triple to center field brought
David Zorn and
Kyle Reesein, before Vandevere came home on a passed ball.
Just like the previous night, the Wildcats responded to tie the game. A Marcelle Carter single to left scored Mason Spracklen and advanced Aaron Draper to second. Tyler Eager subsequently doubled down the left field line brought Draper and Carter home.
Nicholls fought back, determined not to let a second consecutive game slip away.
Alex Shermer doubled down the left field line in the fifth, scoring
Justin Holt. In the sixth, Reese notched a single up the middle, advanced on a Zorn single to second base and came home after a Joe Gawreih balk.
Abilene Christian continued to battle, cutting the Colonel advantage to a run in the seventh. Russell Crippen singled through the left side, allowing Draper to score. Nicholls had to use three pitchers in the frame, but won the chess match and escaped the frame with a 5-4 lead.
The Wildcats threatened with two singles in the ninth, but reliever
Stuart Holmes struck out two batters and a retired a third on a ground out to secure the victory.
Lefty
Grant Borne (1-1) earned the win, tossing nine strikeouts through six innings of work with three runs allowed.
Stuart Holmes continued his dominance out of the bullpen, throwing the final inning and fanning two batters in his sixth save of the year.
Aaron Mason (0-2) took the loss, surrendering five runs (two earned) through seven innings with two strikeouts.
Vandevere led the Colonels offensively, batting 2-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs.
Kyle Reese was also 2-for-3 and scored twice.
Carter paced Abilene Christian at the plate, going 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI
GAME 2
For a third straight game Nicholls drew first blood, scoring on a
Christian Correa ground out that sent
Darius Knighthome. The Colonels added a run in the second when Shermer reached on an error, advanced to second on a Zorn sacrifice bunt, took third on a
Eagle Wuestney single to center field and came home on a wild pitch.
Neither team would score over the remainder of the contest as Nicholls completed the Saturday sweep.
Righty
Justin Sinibaldi (3-1) was the story of the day, throwing a three-hit complete-game shutout with eight strikeouts.
Thomas Altimont (0-3) took the loss, surrendering two runs (one earned) on seven hits and fanning six batters through nine innings.
Shermer returned to the Colonels' starting lineup for the first time in over a week and rewarded his coaches with a team-leading 2-for-4 day and a run scored.
Marc Frazier also registered a 2-for-4 outing.
Colton Hall and Alex Copeland each hit 1-for-3 to pace the Wildcats in the loss.
Nicholls will host ULM at 6 p.m. on Wednesday before facing Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in a three-game weekend series slated to begin at 6 p.m. on Friday in Thibodaux. All four contests will be broadcast live on KTIB 640 AM.
Visit geauxcolonels.com for live stats, video and the most up-to-date information on Nicholls baseball.
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McNeese State 5, Houston Baptist 2
HOUSTON, Texas – Saturday afternoon’s series finale finished in dramatic fashion that was capped off by a two out bases loaded walk in the eighth inning and helped McNeese state baseball team take the lead and the victory to clinch the first Southland Conference series of the season with a 5-2 win over Houston Baptist.
The first seven innings provided a back-and-forth battle between the two squads before the Huskies scored the game-tying run in the bottom of the seventh to knot up the score 2-2.
Following sophomore Matt Gallier’s intentional walk to juice the bases in the top of the eighth, the Pokes found themselves in a hole after a strikeout handed the squad their second out of the inning. Freshman Joe Provenzano’s patience allowed the second baseman to remain calm at the plate and was rewarded with a ball four that handed the lead back to McNeese and also set-up a crucial ninth inning that eventually gave the Cowboys the series.
The Pokes were able to load the bases again in the top of the ninth frame but this time was different. With two on and no outs, Guilbeau reached base on a sac bunt and a throwing error. On the next play, senior James Cantu’s sacrifice fly allowed pinch hitter Lucas Quary to reach home and extend the lead by two runs.
An insurance run was added on another sac fly from Gallier who scored junior Connor Crane from third base to hand the Pokes a three run lead and the eventual victory.
Junior Ethan Stremmel (2-0) earned his second victory of the week after tossing 4.1 innings in relief and allowed only one earned run to score on three hits and one walk. He fanned two batters in the process.
Sophomore Collin Kober was credited with his team leading fourth save of the season after an appearance in the last two frames and closed out the game after allowing no hits or runs.
At the plate the Cowboys continued to flex their offensive muscle by recording 12 hits on the day with seven different batters getting a hit. Crane went 3-for-5 on the day with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Crane’s double was his league leading ninth on the year. Crane is now hitting .338 (23-for-68) with nine double, a triple, two homers and five RBI this year, while McNeese is hitting .287 and are averaging 10 hits per game.
In addition to Crane’s three hits, Billy Sommers (2-for-4), Connor Lloyd (2-for-4) and Provenzano (2-for-2) collected multi-hit games while Guillotte recorded his fourth double of the season. Guillotte finished the week batting .450 (9-for-20) with three doubles, four runs scored and one RBI.
McNeese got on the board in the third inning following a RBI hit from Guilbeau to take a 1-0. HBU responded with a run of its own in the fourth to tie the ballgame while the Cowboys added another run from Crane’s RBI double in the fifth to take a 2-1 lead.
The Pokes will be back in action this week when they make their annual trip to Baton Rouge to take on in-state foe and college baseball perennial powerhouse LSU at Alex Box Stadium on Wednesday, March 11. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m.
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Northwestern State 9, Lamar 6
Northwestern State 3, Lamar 1
BEAUMONT, Texas – The performance by the Northwestern State baseball team Saturday could be summed up in one word by its head coach.
"Relentless," third-year head coach
Lane Burroughs said. "It seemed like their energy level, their desire, their passion, they were just relentless all weekend."
A perfect weekend start to Southland Conference play culminated with a doubleheader sweep of Lamar on Saturday at Vincent-Beck Stadium, as the Demons took an offensive-minded 9-6 win before pitching its way to a 3-1 victory in the nightcap.
One constant across both games was strong relief work, as
Chase Hymel worked 3 2-3 scoreless innings to save Game 1 before
Brandon Smith notched a two-out save in Game 2.
Hunter Duvic turned in a scoreless inning in the nightcap, as Demons relievers allowed just four hits and one walk in 6 2-3 scoreless innings in the doubleheader.
"Chase had a rocky first inning," Burroughs said. "I don't know if he wasn't loose, but he got lathered up and was the difference in the game. Brandon was really good, throwing multiple pitches for strikes."
In the opener,
Josh Oller (3-0) pitched into the sixth inning, working around 11 hits and allowing six runs (five earned) without walking a batter.
After missing chances early in the season to produce big offensive innings, the Demons (9-7, 3-0) found those missing hits in the sixth inning of the opener, scoring six runs off Lamar starter Chase Angelle (1-2) and Will Hibbs.
Matthew Alford started the two-out scoring with an RBI single before
David Fry welcomed Hibbs to the game with a two-run single that put NSU ahead to stay.
After a pair of hit by pitches,
Nick Heath cranked a bases-clearing double for his first three RBIs of the year. Heath and leadoff man
Joel Atkinson moved up from the bottom of the lineup, as Burroughs looked to ignite his offense.
"David and Nick had the big hits," Burroughs said. "We moved Alford and Fry down to take some pressure off them and moved Nick and Joel up. They deserve it. We started
Anthony Lucas (at DH). Nick just happened to come up with the bases loaded and hit the three-run double."
After Hymel shut the door, the Demons took an early lead in Game 2, as Heath singled, stole second and took third on a wild pitch to set up
Cort Brinson's two-out RBI single in the first inning of game two.
The Demons added another run in the second, as Fry was hit by a pitch, took second on a ground out and scored on an RBI single by Atkinson.
NSU did not score again until the seventh inning, but
Jeffrey Stovall (2-1) made sure the lead stood up.
Stovall scattered 10 hits in six innings but managed to make key pitches at the right time before turning the ball over to Duvic in the seventh and Smith in the eighth.
That combination helped the Demons pick up their seventh win in eight games and start conference play with a sweep.
"I think this is the first time since I've been a head coach that we've swept someone on the road," Burroughs said. "We talked about waves crashing on the shore. We didn't play really well in the first game, but they kept coming, they kept coming, they kept coming. I'm very proud of their energy and how relentless they were all weekend."
Chase Daughdrill, who saw his streak of reaching base safely end at 13 games Friday night, responded with a 5-for-8 performance, driving in a pair of runs. Heath had three hits, three RBIs and three stolen bases – all of which came in the nightcap.
C.J. Webster, Alford and Fry all had two-hit games in the opener, as NSU rapped out a season-high 13 hits.
The Demons return home to begin a four-game homestand Tuesday night at 6:30 when they host Louisiana Tech. The Demons then play their first conference home series of the season when they host defending league champion Sam Houston State from Friday-Sunday.
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Central Arkansas 11, Stephen F. Austin 1
Central Arkansas 9, Stephen F. Austin 8
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – One game went 10 innings and the other just eight as the University of Central Arkansas Bears completed the series sweep of Stephen F. Austin on Saturday afternoon, winning 9-8 in the first game and 11-1 in the nightcap at Jaycees Field on the opening weekend of Southland Conference play.
UCA (7-3, 3-0) dominated the second game, putting up six runs in the first inning and getting a complete game from junior right hander Brandon Hagerla on the mound. A two-run eighth inning, including a two-run triple to the right center by catcher Travis Hull, ended the game by run rule. Hagerla sat down the Lumberjacks in order in the bottom of the eighth to improve to 2-0 on the season.
Hagerla went the distance, allowing just five hits and one run while striking out three and walking one. Hull finished that game 3 for 5 with 4 RBI and two runs scored. UCA out-hit SFA 10-5 in Game 2.
In the opener, the teams traded big innings before the Bears came up with the winning run in the top of the 10th. The Lumberjacks (4-12, 0-3) put up six runs in the fourth inning to take a 6-2 lead over the Bears, and added another run in the sixth for a 7-2 lead. But UCA answered with a five-run seventh when it batted around and got a two-run single from third baseman Nate Ferrell and RBI from pinch hitter Joey Pinney.
In the 10th, facing SFA’s sixth pitcher of the game, Matt Anderson walked and moved to second on Logan Preston’s sacrifice bunt. He moved to third on a wild pitch and eventually scored on Tyler Langley’s base hit to the gap in left center. Langley was 3 for 5 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. Ferrell, Anderson and Pinney all had two hits each as UCA out-hit SFA again 11-9.
Junior Bo Stitch (3-0) picked up the win on the mound for the second consecutive game, going the final three innings, striking out three and allowing two hits. UCA won the opener 5-4 in 12 innings on Friday night.
The Bears opened the second game with three straight bunt singles to load the bases in the first inning against SFA starter Eric Polivka. Travis Hull then hit a ball that glanced off the glove of SFA first baseman Dan O’Neill and into foul territory, allowing Braxton Phillips to score. Brandon Montalvo followed with a walk to score Chris Townsend.
Logan Preston had a sacrifice fly and Anderson doubled to center to make it 5-0 and Jacob Richardson’s ground out stretched it to 6-0 before the home team came to the plate. After SFA got one run back in the bottom of the first, three more runs came across for the Bears in the second inning on RBI from Hull, Brandon Montalvo and Anderson again.
With Hagerla cruising, the Bears finally ended it in the eighth on Hull’s triple, his third hit of the game and fourth of the day.
Langley was 3 for 5 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored, while Anderson was 2 for 2 with 2 runs and an RBI. Pinney was 2 for 3 off the bench and Ferrell was 2 for 6 with a pair of RBI.
UCA returns to action on Tuesday at Wichita State before hosting Lamar in SLC play next weekend.
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Louisiana Tech 2, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 1
RUSTON, La. - The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball team dropped game two of its three-game series with Louisiana Tech, 2-1, Saturday at Patterson Park.
The team was held hitless through five innings but Jordan Lee wasted no time in this one to get the Islanders (6-5) in the hit column as he led off the game with a single through the right side.
Junior transfer Casey Thomas followed with a single up the middle to put Lee in scoring position. An area the Islanders have been strong this season is scoring runs when they have runners on second or third.
Outfielder Kyle Danford did just that two batters later as he singled to left field send Lee home and give the Islanders the 1-0 advantage.
The lead would not last long as Louisiana Tech (7-6) would score two in the bottom of the second. A single, a double and a wild pitch sent the first run across the plate for the Bulldogs. Later in the inning a single up the middle would score the final run of the game.
Right-hander Matt Danton went eight innings and allowed only six hits and two runs in the loss. He struck out four and walked only one as he fell to 1-2 on the season.
The Bulldogs used a three-man set on the mound. Phil Maton picked up the win for the home squad after going seven complete and giving up six hits.
Thomas finished 2-for-3 while drawing a walk. Lee went 1-for-4 and scored a run.
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