Baseball: April 25 Scoreboard
Sam Houston State 4, Oklahoma 3 (11)
Northwestern State 6, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 3
Central Arkansas 6, New Orleans 1
Central Arkansas 8, New Orleans 0
Stephen F. Austin 7, Abilene Christian 6
Abilene Christian 6, Stephen F. Austin 2
UIW 2, Lamar 0
Nicholls 13, McNeese State 1
Southeastern Louisiana 15, Houston Baptist 4
Sam Houston State 4, Oklahoma 3 (11)
NORMAN, Okla. – Pinch runner Ryan Farney scored on an error by the right fielder on a ball hit by shortstop Myles Manning for the winning run in the 11th inning as Sam Houston defeated No. 23 Oklahoma in Norman Saturday afternoon.
The victory evens the series between the two teams being played a L. Dale Mitchell Park in Norman, Oklahoma, at one apiece. The series finale is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m.
Sam Houston climbs to 23-21 for the year. The win ended a four-game winning streak for the Sooners who fell to 29-17.
Led by second baseman Jake MacWilliam who went 2-for-4 with an RBI, Sam Houston out-hit the Sooners 7-4. Center fielder Colt Atwood and designated hitter Hayden Simerly both accounted for two hits for the Bearkats as well.
Alex Bisacca (5-1) was the winner in relief, holding Oklahoma hitless in the last four and two-thirds innings. Logan Boyd started on the mound, spreading four hits over six and two thirds innings. Bisacca faced 15 batters, allowing only two on base with walks. Thirty four of his 49 pitches were strikes.
Sam Houston struck quickly with Atwood and Simerly picking up consecutive singles in the top of the first inning. Left fielder Bryce Johnson scored Atwood with a ground out to third base. Oklahoma tied the game 1-1 on as right fielder Taylor Alspaugh scored on an error.
MacWilliam scored Johnson in the fourth inning with a single and Johnson had walked, stole second and took third on a ground out. Catcher Chris Shaw put the Sooners in front with a two-run homer in the bottom half of the inning.
Manning’s single up the middle scored infielder Zach Smith to tie the contest 3-3 in the seventh inning. Smith walked, went to second on a wild pitch and stole third base.
In the top of the 11th, first baseman Spence Rahm was hit by a pitch and Farney took over as a pinch runner. Smith sacrificed Farney to second to set up the game winning play.
Bisacca and the Bearkat defense closed out the bottom of the inning with the Sooners going three up and three down.
– Return to top –
Northwestern State 6, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 3
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Northwestern State knew what Texas A&M-Corpus Christi left-hander Trevor Belicek brought to the mound.
Facing the Southland Conference’s top strikeout pitcher, the Demons accepted they would go down swinging a few times, but Northwestern State found a way to balance the punchouts – another key C.J. Webster hit.
Webster delivered a two-out, two-run single in a game-changing three-run fifth inning, which helped propel the Demons to their fourth straight win, a 6-3 victory against Southland Conference foe Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Saturday at Chapman Field.
Webster’s two-run single followed his game-winning sacrifice fly in Friday’s 4-3 win and helped the Demons (24-17, 16-6) secure the series victory. The Demons improved to 2-1-1 in conference road series this season.
Belicek (7-3) finished with 12 strikeouts, but he was outdueled by Demons right-hander Josh Oller (7-1), who piled up a career-high nine strikeouts of his own.
Oller surpassed his previous high of eight, set against McNeese State on March 28. Oller did his customary job of working in and out of trouble, scattering eight hits in seven-plus innings. Dueling Belicek did not change Oller’s approach.
For the second time in as many games, the Islanders (19-19, 9-11) struck first, as Justin Perales’ sacrifice fly put Texas A&M-Corpus Christi up 1-0 after two innings.
The lead grew to 2-0 when Brett burner flicked an RBI single to center field in the fourth inning.
The next inning, the Demons, with some help from the Islanders’ defense, began to solve Belicek. Nick Heath reached on an error to start the inning before Matthew Alford delivered an infield single.
Garrett Logan then dropped a bunt down the third-base line that Belicek could not handle cleanly, loading the bases. Following Logan’s bunt, Joel Atkinson put the Demons on the board with a sacrifice fly.
Cort Brinson, who extended his hitting streak to 23 games with his second four-hit game of the season, singled to center to reload the bases.
After a strikeout, Webster fell behind 0-2 before driving the go-ahead single into center.
Oller delivered a shutdown inning in the fifth then watched as the Demons could not capitalize on a leadoff double by Caleb Dugas (3-for-5) in the sixth inning.
The Islanders appeared ready to seize momentum and at least tie the game in their half of the sixth, as Tyler Ware and Kyle Danford started the inning with consecutive singles, putting runners on the corners with nobody out.
Oller induced a hard groundball to third base off the bat of Zacarias Hardy. Alford cleanly picked the short hop and threw to David Fry covering second for the first out.
Ware was indecisive initially but took off for home, but Fry pivoted and made a strong, accurate throw home where Logan was able to tag out Ware and end the Islanders momentum.
The Demons added a single run in the seventh on a Brinson RBI single then two more in the eighth. When Texas A&M-Corpus Christi threatened in the eighth, Burroughs called on Brandon Smith, who allowed an inherited runner to score in the eighth before working a scoreless ninth to earn his seventh save of the season.
Smith’s seven saves are tied for ninth in school single-season history and his nine career saves are tied for fifth on the all-time school list.
The series concludes Sunday at 1 p.m. with a matchup of right-handers. Northwestern State will send Jeffrey Stovall (4-3, 4.96) to the mound against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s Devin Skapura (2-4, 4.32).
– Return to top –
Central Arkansas 6, New Orleans 1
Central Arkansas 8, New Orleans 0
CONWAY, Ark. _ A pair of complete games from its pitching staff carried the University of Central Arkansas to a doubleheader sweep of the New Orleans Privateers in Southland Conference action on Saturday at Bear Stadium.
Junior Connor Gilmore tossed an 8-0 shutout in the opener, and junior Brandon Hagerla followed with a 6-1 complete game in the nightcap. The UCA offense had a combined 21 hits in the doubleheader, including 14 in the first game of the day.
Gilmore (7-2) turned in his fourth complete game in his last five starts and allowed just six hits, all singles. Hagerla allowed eight hits, with just one for extra bases. Neither Gilmore nor Hagerla walked a batter as UCA had its third consecutive game without a walk, and third straight complete game after Tyler Gray’s win over UAPB on Wednesday.
In the opener, UCA exploded for four runs in the first inning off UNO starter Alex Smith, who lasted just one inning. Matt Anderson started it with a two-out single and Travis Hull and Brad Dillenberger followed with base hits, with Dillenberger driving in Anderson. Hayden Steele got the fourth straight single, scoring Hull
Shortstop Logan Preston tripled down the left-field line to make it 4-0.
UCA, which left three runners on in the second inning, added two more runs in both the fourth and fifth innings. The fourth-inning rally started with two outs again as Wesley Hoover and Anderson had back-to-back singles and both scored on Hull’s double to center. In the fifth, Nick Rougeau had a sacrifice fly and Langley doubled for the 8-0 margin.
Langley and Anderson both finished 3 for 5, with Anderson scoring twice. Hull went 2-for-5 with two RBI, while Hoover and Steele were both 2 for 4.
The Bears made the most of their seven hits in the second game as Dillenberger finished 2-for-4 with two RBI. Preston, a junior from Texarkana, hit his team-high seventh home run of the year to move into a tie for first in the SLC.
After falling behind 1-0 in the first, the Bears quickly answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning, courtesy of catcher Charles Deckard’s two-run single up the middle. UCA got another run in the sixth on Preston’s leadoff blast to left center, and added three more in the seventh to put it out of reach. Dillenberger had a two-run double into the left-field corner and Preston added a sacrifice fly for the 6-1 final.
– Return to top –
Stephen F. Austin 7, Abilene Christian 6
Abilene Christian 6, Stephen F. Austin 2
NACOGDOCHES, Texas
-- The eighth inning controlled the fate of the Lumberjacks Saturday as Stephen F. Austin split a Saturday doubleheader with Abilene Christian. SFA rallied in the eighth to win game one 7-6, only to see ACU score six in the eighth to win game two 6-2.
With the split, SFA is now 14-29 on the season and 8-14 in Southland Conference play as they continue to fight to qualify for the SLC Championship in Sugar Land. The `Jacks remain 10th in the standings, trailing A&M-Corpus Christi and Lamar for the final spot.
As has been the case in recent games, SFA fell behind once again in game one, allowing an ACU run in the top of the first inning, giving the Wildcats the 1-0 lead.
The Lumberjacks looked poised to answer in the bottom of the second as
Kyle Thornell ripped his eighth triple of the year to lead off the second, moving him into a tie for first in the NCAA this season. But he couldn't advance the final 90 feet as three-straight SFA infield outs stranded him at third.
SFA's bats then went silent, going without a hit for four-straight innings while ACU added four more runs, only one of which was earned, to take the commanding 5-0 lead.
The Lumberjack bats came alive in the bottom of the seventh as five-straight hits allowed four runs to cross the plate.
Zach Valenzuela started off the campaign with an RBI single to score Thornell, followed by a two RBI blast to the wall in right center by
Tyler Boxwell. With the bases loaded,
Conner Fikes drew a walk to bring Valenzuela home, trimming the SFA deficit to one at 5-4 after seven.
ACU added a run in the top of the eighth, leaving SFA facing a two-run deficit in its half of the inning. After leadoff hits by Thornell and
Garrett McMullen,
Dan O'Neill brought Thornell home with a fielder’s choice RBI. Boxwell then struck again, tying the game with an RBI single to right, advancing Valenzuela to third.
Will Vest then laid down a perfect bunt, allowing Valenzuela to score the go-ahead run.
Tyler Wiedenfeld then came on to record his seventh save of the season as SFA completed the late inning rally.
Josh Keith earned the victory for the `Jacks, allowing a run on two hits in 1.1 innings.
Starter
Cameron Gann took the no decision in his final start at Jaycees Field, allowing five runs (two earned) on six hits with eight strikeouts through 6.2 innings of work.
Thornell continued his hot play in SLC play, going 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored with Boxwell, Valenzuela and McMullen each recording a pair of hits in the game one win as Boxwell drove in three runs for the `Jacks.
Game two of the doubleheader saw one of the most dominant pitching performances through seven innings that SFA had seen in quite a while. Starter
Dillon Mangham, making his final Jaycees Field start as well, struck out 14 Wildcats in 7.1 innings, setting the SFA single game record for strikeouts since the program was reinstated in 2006.
Mangham and the `Jacks retired 17-straight ACU batters from the second through the seventh innings, during which SFA recorded a pair of runs. Fikes blasted a solo home run in the top of the first inning to put the `Jacks on the board, followed by an RBI single in the fourth by O'Neill, putting SFA on top 2-0.
But while the eighth inning was fortuitous for SFA in the first game, the tables turned in the second. Back-to-back doubles to lead off the inning for ACU opened the floodgates as the Wildcats scored six runs on six hits, squandering the impressive performance by Mangham. SFA was unable to answer, dropping the second game by the 6-2 margin.
On the day, Thornell finished 3-for-6 with three runs scored to lead SFA, including going 1-for-3 in game two. Five other Lumberjacks scattered the six hits as ACU pitcher Thomas Altimont went the distance, allowing two runs on six hits with 10 strikeouts on 133 pitches.
The 2015 home schedule wraps up Sunday afternoon in the series finale between the Lumberjacks and Wildcats. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. as Sunday will be SFA's Senior Day with seniors
Cameron Gann,
Josh Keith,
Dillon Mangham,
Dan O'Neill and
Tyler Wiedenfeld being honored pregame.
– Return to top –
UIW 2, Lamar 0
BEAUMONT, TEXAS – A couple of early runs for the University of the Incarnate Word baseball team proved to be enough for the Cardinals' first Southland Conference road victory of the year, beating Lamar 2-0 on Saturday at Vincent-Beck Stadium.
A strange play in the top of the first inning erased what would have been a 2-run home run for
Matt Morris (Scottsdale, AZ/Saguaro HS). Morris hit a ball to deep left field that was nearly caught at the wall, but went over the fence. While Morris was running he passed
Mark Whitehead (San Antonio/Johnson HS) on the base paths because Whitehead was holding in case the ball was caught, which caused Morris to be called out and only credited with a single. Whitehead was allowed to score on the play for the Cardinals' (14-27, 5-15 SLC) first run of the game.
Christian Divelbiss (Yuba City, CA/ Yuba City HS) led off the second inning with a walk, advance to second on a
Colton Besett (Cedar Park/Vista Ridge HS) single and later scored on a single through the right side from
Trey Rodriguez (Corpus Christi/Carroll HS).
With a 2-0 lead in the second inning,
Garret Cooper (Round Rock/McNeil HS) and
John Shull (San Antonio/Churchill HS) took care of the rest, shutting out the Lamar (19-23, 8-12 SLC) offense. Cooper pitched six scoreless innings scattering seven hits, four walks and two strikeouts for his fifth win of the season. Shull came in to pitch in relief in the seventh inning for a nine-out save. He hurled three scoreless innings to collect his first save of the season, allowing four hits and striking out one.
The Cardinals collected nine hits as a team and committed no errors. Besett and Morris led the offense with two hits apiece.
The Lamar Cardinals collected more hits, 11, than UIW, but were unable to score despite Stijn van der Meer's 4-for-4 day at the plate. Jayson McKinley got credited with the loss for Lamar, dropping to 2-3 on the year. Relief pitcher Danny Fernandez tossed 6.1 shutout innings of relief allowing just three hits and one walk while striking out six.
Lamar was able to load the bases in the fourth and sixth innings, but could not score. In the ninth inning, they put a runner on base, but a 5-4-3 double play ended the game. Overall, they left 10 runners on base.
The series is now tied 1-1 and the rubber match is set for Sunday at 1 p.m.
– Return to top –
Nicholls 13, McNeese State 1
Recap to follow,
– Return to top –
Southeastern Louisiana 15, Houston Baptist 4
HOUSTON, TEXAS
– Jacob Seward tied the school hitting-streak record leading off the game and Southeastern Louisiana never looked back, pounding Houston Baptist, 15-4 in seven innings, Saturday at Husky Field to sweep the Southland Conference series.
Southeastern (33-12, 17-4) tied a season high with 21 hits on its way to an eighth-consecutive win in conference play. HBU (21-20, 12-9 Southland) dropped all four games, including a non-conference matchup earlier in the year, it played against the Lions this season.
Seward led off the game with a double to left-center field, tying Gavin Fingelson's school-record 22-game hitting streak. The sophomore from New Orleans, Louisiana, finished the game 5-for-5 with four RBIs and three runs scored.
Kevin Carr drove in Seward with a two-out single to right, putting the Lions up, 1-0, in the first.
The Huskies tied the game in the bottom half of the first with an unearned run.
Southeastern responded quickly, leaving little doubt how the rest of the game would play out. The Lions sent 10 batters to the plate and scored seven runs. Capping off the offensive explosion, Carr smashed a three-run home run to left.
HBU scored a pair of runs, one earned, on first baseman Andrew Alvarez's two-run homer to left in the second, but again Southeastern responded with a big inning.
The Lions sent nine men to the plate in the third, scoring four more runs on their way to a 12-3 lead.
Chris Eades bashed his third home run of the season, a solo shot to left-center in the fourth.
Seward, Carr (4-for-5), Daniel Midyett (3-for-5), Ryan Byers (2-for-3), Carson Crites (2-for-5) and Julian Service (2-for-5) all turned in multi-hit performances as every member of the starting lineup hit safely for the second-straight game.
Southeastern ripped four doubles, a triple and two home runs in the contest.
Carr joined Seward in driving in four runs and Byers scored four times. Southeastern's first 14 runs were all scored with two outs.
Junior left-hander Kyle Cedotal (6-2) tossed a complete game en route to earning the win. The native of Denham Springs, Louisiana, walked one and fanned seven.
The Lions remain atop the Southland standings, leading Northwestern State by 1.5 games.
Southeastern wraps up its regular-season series with Tulane at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in New Orleans, Louisiana. The game will be televised regionally by Cox Sports TV.
– Return to top –