Baseball: May 9 Scoreboard
Central Arkansas 10, Southeastern Louisiana 9
Northwestern State 12, Abilene Christian 6
Nicholls 5, New Orleans 1
Stephen F. Austin 8, Lamar 1
Sam Houston State 12, Houston Baptist 11 (10)
Houston Baptist 10, Sam Houston State 5
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 12, UIW 0
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 12, UIW 4
McNeese State 4, Grambling 2
McNeese State 7, Grambling 2
Central Arkansas 10, Southeastern Louisiana 9
HAMMOND, La. _ The University of Central Arkansas Bears knocked off the league leader Saturday and, in the process, earned a berth in the Southland Conference Tournament with a hard-fought 10-9 victory over the Southeastern Louisiana Lions at Pat Kenelly Diamond.
The Bears (24-20, 14-12) broke their own five-game losing streak and handed the Lions (37-15, 21-5) their first conference loss in the past 13 games. The victory sealed the Bears' fourth consecutive berth in the SLC Tournament, which will be played May 20-23 at Constellation Field in Sugar Land, Texas.
Ironically, the last time the tournament was played in Sugar Land, the Bears beat the Lions in the championship game to take their first SLC title.
The Bears fell behind 5-1 after two innings Saturday but battled back by scoring a combined nine runs in the third and fourth innings. A three-run third inning got it back to 5-4, then UCA piled up six runs in the fourth inning, chasing SLU ace Jake Johnson (9-2) after just 3 2/3 innings, his shortest league start of the season.
The Lions, the defending SLC champions, made it interesting with two runs in the fourth and seventh innings, but junior Bo Stitch came on and held the Lions scoreless for the final three innings for his team-high third save.
The double play came in the top of the ninth after SLU's Julien Service singled on a ball that glanced off of Stitch's glove. Chris Eades then grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. After Ryan Byers singled past shortstop Logan Preston, Stitch got the SLC's leading hitter Jacob Seward to line out to Tyler Langley in center for the final out.
Langley finished 3 for 6 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored from his leadoff spot. Freshman right fielder Ty Tice went 3 for 4 with 2 RBI, while junior catcher Travis Hull hit his first home run of the season, had 2 RBI and scored 3 times.
Freshman lefthander Chris Durham came out of the UCA bullpen in the second inning and pitched 4 1/3 innings to earn his first victory. SLU had 17 hits but only three for extra bases. Eades finished 3 for 5 and Kevin Carr had 3 RBI for the Lions.
The series finale is set for 1 p.m. Sunday.
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Northwestern State 12, Abilene Christian 6
ABILENE, Texas – The wait was worth it for Cort Brinson and for the rest of the Northwestern State baseball team.
After enduring a 16-hour break between the suspension of Friday night’s game and its resumption Saturday, Brinson and the Demons enjoyed a sweet Saturday in West Texas.
Brinson delivered the game-winning hit to cap a 12-inning victory in the opener then set the school record as part of a top-to-bottom offensive explosion in the regularly scheduled game, as the Demons scored a pair of wins, 6-5 and 12-6, against Abilene Christian.
Brinson was 0-for-5 when Friday’s game was suspended and was due up fourth in the 10
th inning. Joel Atkinson drew a two-out walk and Brinson followed by chopping a single through the left side to tie Eric DeBlanc’s record of 28 straight games with a hit.
More importantly, Brinson delivered the game-winning hit, a 12th-inning single to left field, as the Demons (28-19, 18-7) used four scoreless innings of relief from Smith (3-1) to capture the series opener.
Northwestern State carried the momentum from its early victory into the second game of the series.
Abilene Christian (13-33, 11-15) took a 1-0 lead against NSU starter Josh Oller (9-1) in the second inning before the Demons’ bats came to life.
NSU took advantage of a severe bout of wildness by Wildcats starter Nate Cole (0-2) in the third inning.
Brinson jumped a first-pitch slider from Cole and singled to left to start the third, snapping a tie with DeBlanc and extending the nation’s longest hitting streak this season to 29.
A hit-and-run single from Chase Daughdrill moved Brinson to third before Caleb Dugas walked to load the bases. After getting a strikeout, Cole walked C.J. Webster to force in a run and hit Nick Heath with a pitch to snap the 1-1 tie.
Reliever Drew Hanson came in and kept the Demons from adding to the lead in the third, but Northwestern State continued to put together quality at-bats against the rest of the ACU bullpen.
NSU drove Hanson from the game with a two-run fifth before Webster drilled a two-run home run off Landon Holifield in the sixth. Daughdrill’s RBI triple in the seventh put NSU ahead 7-1, and the Demons continued to add on in the final two innings.
Garrett Logan delivered an RBI double in the eighth before Kwan Adkins drilled the first home run of his career, a two-run shot off left-hander Austin Lambright to right center field, to put NSU up 10-2.
RBI singles by Dugas and David Fry in the ninth allowed the Demons to survive a three-run Abilene Christian ninth and notch their fourth straight victory.
All nine Demons reached base at least twice in the 12-6 victory, and six – Fry (3-for-6), Brinson (2-for-4), Daughdrill (2-for-5), Webster (2-for-5), Logan (2-for-4) and Adkins (2-for-5) – had multi-hit games in the win.
Northwestern State has posted double-figure hits in all four games of its win streak and the 15 hits in the nightcap Saturday were two shy of the team’s season high, set March 24 against Mississippi Valley State.
“I’m proud of so many guys,” Burroughs said. “Cort Brinson breaks the record. Kwan Adkins has his first home run and continues to make me look foolish for not playing him all year. It was very hot out there – hottest day we’ve had this year – and I thought we kept our energy up all day.”
Coupled with Southeastern Louisiana’s 10-9 loss to Central Arkansas, the Demons moved to within 2½ games of the league-leading Lions with four games to play.
Northwestern State will try for its second road series sweep in conference play Sunday at 1 p.m. when they send right-hander Jeffrey Stovall (5-4, 4.25) to the mound against Wildcats right-hander Garrett deMeyere (3-4, 5.06). The game will be webcast on NSUDemons.com.
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Nicholls 5, New Orleans 1
NEW ORLEANS, La. – Lefty Grant Borne tossed a complete game with six strikeouts and Kyle Reese turned in a perfect 4-for-4 outing, scoring three runs and driving in a fourth to lead the Nicholls State University baseball team past New Orleans in a Southland Conference matchup on Saturday afternoon at Maestri Field.
The win extends the Dirty Red’s current streak to seven games, marking the first time the squad has won seven straight since 2010.
The Colonels (31-16-1, 16-10 SLC) picked up right where the left off on Friday, scoring three runs in the opening frame. Justin Holt and Darius Knight notched consecutive singles, before a Reese single scored Holt. A throwing error on the play allowed Knight to come home. Seth Stevens subsequently flew out to center, sending Reese to third, before a Justin Smith single up the middle brought Reese in.
Nicholls added a run in the third when Reese singled through the right side, stole second, advanced on a Tanner Vandevere ground out and came home on a wild pitch.
The Privateers (14-35, 3-23) erased the shutout in the sixth inning, converting a pair of singles into a run.
The Colonels answered in the eighth, padding their lead with a final run. Reese singled up the middle and eventually scored on a triple to right field by Smith.
Borne (5-4) earned the win, allowing just one run on nine hits with six strikeouts in a dominant complete-game performance.
Daniel Martinez (1-4) took the loss, surrendering four runs on eight hits with eight strikeouts through six innings on the mound.
Reese recorded his second perfect outing at the plate and elevated his batting average to a league-leading .375. Smith turned in a 2-for-4 day with two RBIs and Holt finished 2-for-4 with a run scored. Knight went 1-for-3 with a run.
Hezekiah Randolph paced New Orleans offensively with a 1-for-4 outing and drove in the Privateer’s lone run.
Nicholls will fight for a series sweep on Sunday with first pitch slated for 1 p.m. in Thibodaux. The contest will be broadcast live on KTIB 640 AM.
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Stephen F. Austin 8, Lamar 1
BEAUMONT, Texas
-- Saturday's game at Lamar began as another pitcher's duel, similar to Stephen F. Austin's 1-0 win Friday night. But the Lumberjack bats came alive late, scoring six runs over the final three innings to take down Lamar 8-1 and clinch SFA's fourth Southland Conference series win of the season.
The win improves the Lumberjacks to 17-33 on the year and 11-17 in SLC play, remaining ninth in the race for the SLC tournament. However, a pair of victories for A&M-Corpus Christi on the day secured the number eight spot for the Islanders, eliminating SFA from postseason contention.
Both the Lumberjacks and Cardinals struggled to bring runs across the plate early in this one as the game was tied 0-0 after four complete. SFA struck first in the top of the fifth, recording RBI from
Nick Ramos and
Kyle Thornell to give the Lumberjacks the 2-0 lead.
Lamar answered back in the bottom half of the inning, registering a triple and a ground out to push across the Cardinals' lone run of the series, cutting the Lumberjack lead to 2-1. Lamar threatened in the sixth, loading the bases with one out, but SFA registered a key double play to keep the lead intact.
The Lumberjack bats then sprang to life over the final three innings, beginning with a ground out RBI by
Dan O'Neill to make it 3-1. SFA then broke the game open with its three-run eighth inning as a
Matthew Dickey RBI single, followed by a two RBI single from
Conner Fikes gave the `Jacks the 6-1 lead after the top of the eighth.
SFA then added two more in the ninth as Fikes struck again, ripping a two RBI single to center, bringing home the final two runs of the afternoon as the Lumberjacks closed out the Cardinals in the ninth to register the 8-1 victory.
Fikes paced the SFA offensive attack, going 4-for-6 with four RBI and a pair of runs scored, as the Lumberjacks knocked out 15 hits on the afternoon. Ramos added three more, going 3-for-4 on the night, as Dickey had a 2-for-5 performance with the RBI and a run scored.
Starter
Dillon Mangham had another strong showing in his final start as a Lumberjack, allowing just one run on eight hits with a pair of strikeouts in six inning pitched, earning the victory in his final collegiate start.
Travis Stone and
Patrick Ledet came on to keep the Cardinals in check as the duo combined to allow no runs on three hits with a pair of strikeouts over the final three innings.
SFA now prepares for its final Southland Conference game of 2015, looking for the series sweep against Lamar Sunday afternoon at Vincent-Beck Stadium. Right hander
Jarred Greene is slated to get the start for the `Jacks with the opening pitch scheduled to be thrown at 1 p.m.
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Sam Houston State 12, Houston Baptist 11 (10)
Houston Baptist 10, Sam Houston State 5
Sam Houston and Houston Baptist split a doubleheader Saturday to complete a Southland Conference baseball series at Husky Field in Houston that saw the two squads combine for 57 runs and 79 hits in the three games.
HBU won the opening game Friday 14-5. The Bearkats took the first game of a doubleheader Saturday 12-11 in 10 innings. HBU banged out 13 hits in a 10-5 victory in the nightcap to earn the series win.
Houston Baptist upped its record to 24-25 for the season and 14-13 in Southland Conference action. Sam Houston now stands 27-25 for the year and 16-11 in league play.
Second baseman Zach Smith totaled four RBIs including the hit that brought in the game-winning run in the 10th inning as Sam Houston finished on top in a slugfest with Houston Baptist in a 12-11 victory in the first game of a doubleheader.
The Bearkats totaled 20 hits and Houston Baptist posted 15 in the contest. Designated hitter Jake McWilliam and shortstop Miles Manning each accounted for four hits and first baseman Spence Rahm and Smith both added three apiece.
Alex Bisacca (6-2) was the winning pitcher in relief. Starter Logan Boyd went six innings, giving up six hits and three earned runs while striking out three Huskies. Bisacca threw the final four innings as HBU totaled nine hits and had five earned runs. After the game winning hit, Bisacca retired all three Huskies, striking out two of the three.
Sam Houston held a 7-1 lead after six-and-a-half innings and looked in control going into the bottom of the ninth inning ahead 11-8. But HBU rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings.
Pinch hitter Travis Lee singled to start the 10th for Sam Houston. He advanced to second on a ground out and scored on a single up the middle by Smith.
Rahm’s two-run double to right center broke a 7-7 tie in the top of the eighth inning. Sam Houston built a 7-1 lead after a four-run third inning and a three-run top of the sixth. The Huskies tied the contest by exploding for six runs in the bottom of the sixth.
With the extra-innings win, the Bearkats evened the series with HBU at one victory apiece. The third and deciding game of the series, originally scheduled for Sunday afternoon, will be played this afternoon to complete the Southland doubleheader.
Rahm began the four-run third inning with a run-scoring single to the left side. MacWilliam picked up his first RBI with a double up the left field line. Second Zach Smith wrapped up the inning’s scoring with a two-run single through the right side.
MacWilliam’s second RBI came on a bunt single in the seventh inning. LAfeft fielder Hayden Simerly scored on an error and Smith’s single to center field gave the Bearkats a 7-1 lead.
After Rahm broke the 7-7 tie in the eighth inning, MacWilliam and shortstop Myles Manning each singled to right field to add two more runs.
The Huskies rallied for two more runs in the bottom of the ninth on a two-run single by second baseman Greg Espinosa.
The Bearkats started Saturday’s series finale with a four-run first inning. Right fielder Bryce Johnson led off the game with a triple to left center. Johnson scored on a double to right center by first baseman Spence Rahm. Center fielder Colt Atwood, who walked, and Rahm scored on a double by left fielder Hayden Simerly later scored on a double play ground ball by third baseman Zach Smith.
Simerly, who went 2-for-4 at the plate, picked up a third RBI with a single up the middle in the seventh to score Hunter Courson who was running for Collin Yelich after the Bearkat catcher singled.
Sam Houston’s four-run lead was quickly erased by a seven-run bottom of the first performance by the Huskies. The seven runs came on five hits, two walks and a hit batter. HBU added three more runs in the second inning as the Huskies pounded out five more hits including a triple and a double.
Houston Baptist totaled 13 hits in the contest while the Bearkats produced nine. Both teams committed one error.
Sam Odom (4-5) was the losing pitcher, working an inning and a third. Jordan Church, Greg Belton and Ryan Brinley all saw action in relief.
The Bearkats close out the regular season with four home games next week. Sam Houston plays host to Texas A&M Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. Lamar visits for the final regular season Southland Conference series Thursday through Saturday.
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Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 12, UIW 0
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 12, UIW 4
SAN ANTONIO – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball team saw its bats come alive, sweeping a doubleheader from Incarnate Word, 13-0 and 12-4 on Saturday at Sullivan Field. With the wins and Stephen F. Austin's victory over Lamar, the Islanders have clinched their fifth straight berth in the Southland Conference Tournament. A&M-Corpus Christi and Sam Houston State are the only two teams that have advanced to the event in each of the last five seasons.
Brandon Guilford was the offensive star for the Islanders, going 7-for-9 in the doubleheader with three stolen bases, three runs and four RBI in the double-dip. Kyle Danford also had five hits on the day, while Tyler Ware and Zacarias Hardy each delivered four.
Matt Danton and Devin Skapura were stellar on the mound for the Islanders, combining to allow just one run in 15 innings with only 10 hits and one walk allowed. The duo also combined to strike out 17, as the Islanders had their top two scoring offensive games of the season
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McNeese State 4, Grambling 2
McNeese State 7, Grambling 2
LAKE CHARLES, La. – What more could the 2015 McNeese State baseball seniors have asked for during Saturday’s non-conference doubleheader with Grambling? The eleven outstanding senior student-athletes helped their team sweep the Tigers in a 4-2 victory in game one and a 7-2 win in game two to end their homestand.
The seniors also took a program and with the guidance of one of the top coaching staffs in the Southland Conference, helped build a team that posted consecutive 30-win seasons for the first time in over a decade and also put a product on the field that helped set the all-time record for cumulative season attendance.
The back-to-back 30 win seasons were the first accomplished since the 2002-2003 seasons while a record total of 21,361 fans attended games at Cowboy Diamond for an average of 712, both are school records.
McNeese improved to 31-21 overall on the season and finished the home portion of its slate with a 24-9 record at Cowboy Diamond. The home mark is the best finish for a Cowboy team since the 2000 season. The Pokes’ 31 victories are the most for the program since 2011.
Head coach Justin Hill and the McNeese baseball team honored the seniors in a pre-game ceremony that included James Cantu, Tyler Erickson, Andrew Guillotte, Cory LaPeze, Connor Lloyd, Steven O’Bryant, Cole Prejean, Lucas Quary, Lance Sefcik, Billy Sommers and Jacob Williams.
The Pokes will wrap the regular season on the road when they travel to Central Arkansas for a three-game league series against the Bears. McNeese currently sits third in the SLC Standings and can finish no better than second and no worse than sixth place.
Below is a recap of both games:
GAME ONE: McNeese State 4, Grambling 2
Junior Bryce Kingsley took his place on the mound in game one of the doubleheader and was able to withstand a rocky start to finish strong for a quality six innings of work. The quality start was his first since Feb. 28.
Kingsley was able to battle past the first three inning in which he gave up two runs, two hits, two walks and hit two batters to settle down and toss the next three frames without giving up a run and only one hit and struck out four batters.
Senior Cole Prejean (2-2) would come in to relieve Kingsley and picked up the win after working two innings and not give up a single run or hit. Sophmore Collin Kober was credited with his ninth save of the season after pitching the last inning with a shutout effort.
McNeese fell into a one run deficit in the early going and were in jeopardy of dropping their first game of the weekend until a couple of seventh inning walks jumpstarted an offensive explosion of three runs that allowed the Pokes to take the lead.
Grambling got on the board in the third inning with a pair of runs off of a sacrifice fly and a base-hit. The Cowboys were able to cut into the lead with a RBI-single from Lewis Guilbeau in the bottom of the fourth frame to make it a 2-1 ballgame.
After a pitching change, the Tigers were unable to find the strike zone with the Cowboys taking advantage on a double, a walk, a hit-by-pitch and then another walk from senior Connor Lloyd that knotted the ballgame up at 2-2.
The Pokes were not done yet as a patient junior first baseman Connor Crane remained patient at the plate and posted an RBI on another bases loaded walk to give McNeese is first lead of the game, 3-2.
In the same inning, McNeese used a sacrifice fly from senior James Cantu for the go-ahead run that gave the Cowboys a 4-2 lead.
Eight total McNeese batters reached base in the game and were led by Crane who had a hit and two walks for an RBI.
GAME TWO: McNeese State 7, Grambling 2
Freshman Joe Provenzano put his stamp on the baseball program with a three-RBI effort that helped the Cowboys sweep the non-league weekend series against Grambling.
The Downers Grove, Illinois native sent a triple deep into right center that allowed a bases-loaded brigade of Pokes to reach home and snap a 1-1 tie. The freshman second baseman was then able to reach home following a fielding error at third and extend the lead to a 5-1 score over the Tigers.
As an offense, McNeese combined for 10 hits in the ballgame and were led by Provenzano, who finished the game with a hit, three RBIs and a run scored. Senior Billy Sommers and junior Lewis Guilbeau each turned in multiple-hit performances while senior Lucas Quary knocked in two runs.
Junior starter Ethan Stremmel (4-4) got the win after tossing seven quality innings in which he gave up just one run despite scattering nine hits. He allowed no walks and struck out five batters in the process.
After the Tigers took a one-run lead in the top half of the third inning, McNeese tied the ballgame up as junior Matt Gallier was able to slide home on a rally that was ended prematurely on a play at second base in which senior Andrew Guillotte was called out on a questionable caught stealing ruling.
Nonetheless, the Pokes were not phased and continued to put in the work. Well, that work paid off as McNeese exploded for four runs in the seventh that was started by Provenzano’s three-run triple to take a four run lead.
Grambling cut the lead to three runs before Quary belted his eighth tater of the season way over the left field wall that scored two more runs and help the Cowboys climb to a 7-2 lead and the eventual victory.
The latter part of the game was as emotional as it gets as five senior tossers took their last stand on the mound at Cowboy Diamond. O’Bryant, Williams, Erickson, Sefcik and LaPeze all combined for two innings and did not surrender a run and gave up only four hits.
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