FROM PRESS RELEASES
Hawaii 7 Northern Illinois 3
SURPRISE, Ariz. – Hawai’i took a 4-0 lead and never trailed in a 7-3 victory over Northern Illinois Thursday night at Surprise Stadium. The Huskies (0-2), who played a school-record 16-inning game prior to the nightcap, got within a run with a three-run seventh but were unable to take a lead in the contest.
“They hit the ball well and took advantage of their opportunities,” said head coach Ed Mathey. “We got back into the game with three runs in the seventh but you have to stop the other team after you score. Overall, it’s a matter of execution for us and we didn’t take advantage of opportunities when we had them today.”
Hawai’i (5-3) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a sacrifice fly by Jeffrey Van Doornum. The Rainbows added a run in the third on Vinnie Catricala’s RBI single down the right field line.
In the sixth, Hawai’i loaded the bases and extended its lead to 4-0 on a sacrifice fly by Matt Roquemore and a bases loaded walk to Jonathan Hee.
Northern Illinois struck for three runs in the top of the seventh to draw within 4-3. With runners at second and third, Jeff Thomas (Loves Park, Ill./Harlem) delivered a single to left that scored Joe Buonavolanto (Willowbrook, Ill./Hinsdale South) and Pat Minogue (Crystal Lake, Ill./Central) to cut the deficit in half. Two batters later, Jordin Hood (Hawthorn Woods, Ill./Lake Zurich) tripled to left center to score Anthony Maziur (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest), was pinch-ran for Thomas.
The Rainbows extended their lead back to four in the bottom of the seventh with a RBI triple by Catricala and a two-run home run to straightaway center field by Van Doornum.
NIU starter Matt Jernstad (Oswego, Ill./Oswego), who absorbed the loss (0-1), struck out seven in 5.2 innings of work before giving way to the bullpen.
Hawai’i starter Matt Daly (2-0) picked up the win after going 6.2 innings with six strikeouts and three earned runs.
NIU returns to action this weekend at Southern Illinois (2-2) beginning with a 3 p.m. doubleheader Saturday and concluding with a 4 p.m. single game Sunday. All three games of the series will be played at Rent One Ballpark in Marion, Ill.
HUSKIE TRACKS
-Freshman Joe Etcheverry recorded his first collegiate hit when he delivered a pinch-hit single in the ninth.
-At 6’7”, freshman Zach Oates became the tallest Huskie player to appear in a game since 1980.
-Dave Nykiel was the lone Huskie pitcher to appear in both games Thursday.
Portland 9 NIU 6
SURPRISE, Ariz. – A four-run 16th inning, keyed by Danny Meier’s two-run double, lifted Portland to a 9-6 victory over Northern Illinois Thursday afternoon. The Huskies (0-1) took a 5-2 lead but were unable to hold on in their opening game of the season.
The marathon contest was the longest on record for NIU, both in innings (16) and duration (4:22).
Meier’s double put the Pilots up 7-5 in the 16th before Paul Crowder scored from third on a balk and Kevin Armijo had a RBI single for a four-run differential.
The Huskies got one back in the bottom half of the inning on a RBI groundout by Anthony Maziur (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest) before leaving a runner on base.
Danny Reed (Lindstrom, Minn./North Iowa Area CC) set a career-high with four hits while Dave Reynolds (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) chipped in three for the Huskies.
Northern Illinois got on the scoreboard first when Reed laced a RBI double down the left field line in the fourth to score Bobby Stevens (Chicago, Ill./Guerin Prep), who led off with a double off the left field fence.
After Portland took a 2-1 lead with a pair of runs in the sixth, NIU loaded the bases in its half of the inning and knotted the game when Matt Behren (Elmwood Park, Ill./Holy Cross) drew a bases-loaded walk to force in Jeff Thomas (Loves Park, Ill./Harlem).
The Huskies took the lead later in the frame when Reynolds (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) delivered a two-run single that chased Portland starter David Gruener and made it 4-2 Huskies. One batter later, Tim Kamin (Oak Lawn, Ill./Richards) followed with a pinch-hit RBI double for a 5-2 cushion.
Portland used a pair of solo home runs by Rocky Gale in the seventh and Bryant Kraus in the eighth to cut its deficit to one. Later in the eighth, Gale evened the game at five with a RBI single.
NIU placed a runner on third with one out in the bottom of the 13th but was unable to push across the winning run.
Huskie starter Trevor Feeney (Channahon, Ill./Joliet Catholic) worked 7.1 innings, scattering seven hits and allowing two earned runs in a no-decision effort. Nick Badgley (McHenry, Ill./McHenry CC) took the loss (0-1) in relief for NIU.
Matthew Lange (3-1) tossed the final six innings to notch the win for Portland (4-2).
The Huskies face Hawai’i Thursday evening to wrap up their stay in Arizona. NIU will play a doubleheader Saturday and single game Sunday against Southern Illinois at Rent One Ballpark in Marion, Ill.
OK State 7 South Florida 2
TAMPA, Fla. – The University of South Florida Bulls came up short against the No. 21 Oklahoma State Cowboys, 7-2, Thursday night at Red McEwen Field. The game was the first outing of a four-game weekend for the Bulls.
The Bulls fall to 2-2 on the season and the Cowboys improve to 5-0 after the non-conference game.
The winning pitcher was Cowboy sophomore Andrew Oliver (2-0) and the loss went to junior pitcher Daniel Thomas (0-1).
The Bulls started the game even with the Cowboys through three innings. Thomas, a junior right-handed pitcher, started the game strong, not allowing a run until the fourth. He was limited to 86 pitches, throwing 54 strikes in his second outing of the year. Thomas struck out eight of his 24 batters faced in 5.0 innings.
The Bulls tallied both of their runs in the bottom of the seventh, as a pair of newcomers earned RBI in the inning.
Junior Chris Rey led off the seventh with a double, then senior Charles Cleveland drove in USF’s first RBI with a single up the middle. Freshman Jonathan Koscso then hit a line drive down the first base line to score Charles Cleveland from first base. The Bulls scored two runs in the seventh, but it wasn’t enough to corral the nationally-ranked Cowboys.
Redshirt-freshman Ryan Lockwood and Rey headlined the Bulls’ offense, both hitting .500 for the day. Lockwood also played well in the outfield, diving for two hard-hit balls to center. Rey’s two hits came in the seventh and the ninth innings.
Junior Addison Maruszak extended his hitting streak to three games, getting one hit in the Bulls’ second loss of the season.
Freshman right-hander Michael Anzivino, who made his first-career start, threw seven strikes in 12 pitches during the sixth inning.
Three more young Bulls made their first career appearances including, Drew Malley, a Gaither HS graduate, Steven Hunt, a Jesuit HS graduate, and Kyle Eastham, a Riverview HS graduate. Malley threw two-thirds of an inning and struck out one batter. Following Malley, Hunt struck out his first batter faced of his NCAA career and finished the game with three Ks. Eastham closed the game for USF, striking out two and forcing a pop up against three batters faced.
Friday the Bulls face off against the New York Yankees, in an exhibition game, at 1:15 p.m. at Legends Field. The last time the Bulls played against the Yankees was in 1982, a 9-1 victory for the Bronx Bombers.
The Bulls then return to Red McEwen Saturday at 7 p.m. to play the Northwestern Wildcats and will take the field against Oklahoma State on Sunday at noon.
Gonzaga 19 BYU 12
SPOKANE, Wash. – (http://www.gozags.com February 28, 2008) Junior Jason Chatwood hit home runs in back-to-back at-bats to lead the Gonzaga University baseball team to a 19-12 victory over Brigham Young University Thursday in its 2008 home opener at Patterson Baseball Complex and Washington Trust Field. Chatwood was one of five Bulldogs to record multiple hits in the outing, including Bryan Winston who went 4-for-5 with six runs batted in.
Starter Brandon Harmon (1-1) earned the victory for Gonzaga (1-4) as the senior allowed six runs, five earned, on seven hits while striking out five during 6.0 innings of work. Jeremy Stumetz and Cody Martin also saw time on the mound for the Zags. Brigham Young (1-3) threw five pitchers including starter Jake Wortham (0-1). Wortham was tagged with the loss after allowing eight runs on eight hits during 2.0 innings.
Chatwood, Winston, Marcus McKimmy, Tyson Van Winkle and Michael Rhodes all recorded multiple hits in the game with Chatwood and Winston earning four apiece. Van Winkle and McKimmy each posted three while Rhodes recorded a double and a single. In addition, Chatwood, Van Winkle, Rhodes and Evan Wells each scored three runs to account for 12 of the Bulldogs runs scored.
BYU jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the opening frame thanks to one-run singles by Steve Parker, Bryce Ayoso and a two-run single by Jonathan Cluff.
Chatwood narrowed Gonzaga’s deficit in the bottom of the first with his first home run of the season, a solo-shot to left center. During the next inning, with two outs, a runner on second and one run already scored, Chatwood recorded his second home run of the game to become the first Zagssince 2002 to record home runs in back-to-back at-bats. The next batter, Van Winkle, then stepped up to the plate smashing a ball over the left field wall for his first home run of the season, bringing the score to 5-4.
Gonzaga would go on to post three runs in the third thanks to a three-run shot by Winston before eventually scoring 13 unanswered runs to take a 13-4 advantage.
Brigham Young began to chip away at the lead in the sixth inning with two runs, before scoring three runs in each the seven and eighth frames. The Zags maintained their lead throughout the game though, scoring two runs in each the sixth, seventh and eighth.
In total, Gonzaga posted 18 hits including nine multiple-base hits. Prior to Thursday afternoon, the Bulldogs had recorded only two extra-base hits in the opening four games of the season. The hit total was the highest for the Zags since an 18-hit barrage on March 26, 2006 against Dartmouth College.
Friday the Cougars and Gonzaga will continue the four-game series at Patterson Baseball Complex and Washington Trust Field with a doubleheader. Matt Fields is expected to earn the starting in the opening game, which is scheduled for a Noon first pitch. Cory Powell will start for GU in game 2, which will begin thirty minutes following the end of game one. Both games will be nine inning contests.
SIU 10 Tennessee-Martin 6
MARTIN, Tenn. – Southern Illinois University (2-2) registered eight runs and nine hits with two outs in a 10-6 win over Tennessee-Martin (0-5) earlier today at Skyhawk Field. The Salukis handed the Skyhawks their fifth-straight loss of the season.
SIU pounded out a season-high 16 hits, with eight of nine starters contributing at least one apiece.
“I was happy with the way we played today,” said Saluki head coach Dan Callahan. “We were aggressive at the plate and hit very well with two outs. I also thought we pitched well enough to win the game.”
The Salukis jumped out to an early 6-0 lead after scoring once in the first, three times in the second and twice in the third.
Adam Hills singled home Bret Maugeri for the first run of the game. An inning later, the Dawgs rallied for four two-out hits.
Owen Mackedon singled to center and went to second when Maugeri was hit by a pitch. Scott Elmendorf, Hills and Mark Kelly followed with RBI-hits to give the Salukis a four-run cushion.
Mackedon again ignited a two-out attack in the third when he walked out of the nine-hole. He went to second on an ensuing single by Maugeri, before Elmendorf doubled home both runners.
SIU then dealt UTM its biggest blow in the fifth.
With a run already in and runners at first and second with two outs, Hills launched a three-run homer over the wall in right center to give the Dawgs a 10-2 lead. Hills was only the second Saluki to hit a home run in SIU’s last 16 games dating back to May 4, 2007.
But, UTM would not go down without a fight. The Skyhawks got to SIU’s bullpen in the seventh and started chipping away at the Saluki lead.
Adam Curynski gave up three runs and three hits in one inning, as UTM narrowed the gap to 10-5 in the seventh.
Back-to-back infield singles helped push across another run for the Skyhawks, who later had the bases loaded with two outs against Daniel Wells in the eighth. Wells, however, gave way to Ian Reinhart, who caught Lucas Wilmore looking on strikes to silence the threat.
Reinhart went on to retire the Skyhawks in order in the ninth, securing his first save of the season.
After two shaky relief appearances, Andrew Dunn (1-0) recovered nicely in his first career start. Dunn gave up four hits and two runs, while striking out two and walking one in six innings. He threw nine pitches as part of a one-two-three first inning and retired eight of the first 10 hitters he faced.
“I thought Andrew did a nice job setting the tone for us today,” said Callahan. “He had good command and pitched well with a lead.”
Shawn McElyea (0-1) suffered the loss after giving up eight hits and five runs in 2.2 innings.
SIU also set a season-high in runs.
Maugeri, who started for the injured Aaron Roberts in right field, accounted for four of those tallies. Roberts was injured during pre-game batting practice, but is expected to be back in the starting lineup for SIU’s series-opener against Northern Illinois Saturday.
Offensively, Hills, Elmendorf and Mackedon did the most damage, joining forces for nine of SIU’s hits.
Hills narrowly missed hitting for the cycle, going 3-for-6 with a run scored, single, double, home run and career-high five RBI. Elmendorf finished at a perfect 3-for-3 with two doubles, a run scored and career-high four RBI, and Mackedon went 3-for-4 with two runs scored.
Mackedon, along with Chris Murphy (2) and Lou Johanns (2), added seven hits out of the bottom of the order.
UTM was led by Miles Hartsfield, who went 3-for-4 with a run scored and one RBI.
SIU hit a blazing .556 (10-for-18) in two-out situations on the day.
SIU returns to action when it opens a three-game series against Northern Illinois Saturday. The Salukis and Huskies will play a 3 p.m. doubleheader Saturday, before closing out their series with a 4 p.m., CST, first pitch Sunday. All three games of the series will be played at Rent One Ballpark in Marion.
Kentucky 12 Oakland 2
LEXINGTON, Ky. — The No. 17 Kentucky baseball team got multi-hit performances from four starters, including a 3-for-4, two-RBI day from third baseman Chris McClendon, as the Wildcats opened the game with 10 unanswered runs and got a solid pitching performance from starter James Paxton, blasting the Oakland Golden Grizzlies 12-2, on Thursday night at Cliff Hagan Stadium.
McClendon, a 2007 junior college first-team All-American, paced the Wildcats offensively with the team-best three hits. Outfielder Troy Frazier had the offensive highlight of the game, leading off the second inning with a home run over the left-field wall, part of a 1-for-2, two run, two RBI, two walk day. In Wednesday’s win over Oakland, Frazier was a perfect 3-for-3, with a career-best five RBI. Brian Spear, Collin Cowgill, and Sawyer Carroll each charted multi-hit games.
Second baseman Ryan Wilkes, making his first appearance of the season, finished 1-for-4, with a run, a RBI, and two walks. Chris Wade, Keenan Wiley, and Spencer Korus each tallied hits, with Wade reaching on his club-high fourth double of the year.
At this point in the season, the veteran UK pitching staff has toiled 43 innings, struck out 47 and walked just a staggering four batters – good for a stellar 2.09 ERA.
Offensively, UK has totaled 60 runs in just five games, on pace for 672 runs in the scheduled 56-game slate. That would shatter a school record set during the 2006 Southeastern Conference Championship that saw UK plate 500 runs. Just five games deep in 2008, UK is averaging 12 runs per game and 9.3 hits per game.
Dynamic sophomore southpaw James Paxton got his first career start, picking up the win after working four pre-determined innings. Paxton allowed only three hits and struck out six, before handing the ball over to a cast of relievers. Mike Kaczmarek and Clint Tilford toiled three combined hitless innings, with Tilford striking out four. Jesse Yano and senior Brock Baber closed out the contest, with Baber striking out two in 1 2/3 innings.
Taking the loss was Oakland starter Andrew Estes, who lasted only 1 2/3 innings, giving up six runs and three walks.
Kentucky (5-0) got the ball rolling in the first inning after Paxton set down the Oakland lineup in order. Spear reached on a one-out single and Cowgill, UK’s preseason All-America selection, followed with a line-drive single, unplayable by the Golden Grizzly third baseman. After Spear got gunned down trying to take third, Carroll promptly plated Cowgill with a RBI single to right field.
The massive damage came in the second inning, as UK got five runs on four hits. Frazier, facing a 2-2 count as the leadoff man in the frame, sent a line-drive shot into the jet stream in left-field, marking the first homer of his season and the fourth of his career. A year ago, Frazier led Western Kentucky with a .327 average and three home runs. McClendon followed with a single through the left side. A speedy infielder who stole 33 bags last season as a sophomore, McClendon stole second – his fourth in four attempts this year, and Wilkes drew a walk. Catcher Tyler Howe laid down a sacrifice bunt, moving the runners into scoring position and Wade loaded the bases with a walk. Wiley got under a sacrifice fly, scoring McClendon. Spear plated Wilkes with a single through the left side and Cowgill got on the RBI board with a base hit, scoring Wade. Carroll drew a walk, juicing the bases, and Frazier walked in another run, for the fifth run of the inning.
In the third, UK struck again, as Howe got hit by a pitch and Wade, who had just been called back to the box after the home-plate umpire ruled he had leaned into a pitch, ripped a RBI double down the left-field line. With Wade on second, Wiley drove him in with a single to center field.
UK mounted some two-out damage in the sixth inning, as Carroll singled on a 1-2 count to right center and Frazier drew a walk. After a passed ball put both runners in scoring position, McClendon came through with a two-RBI single into left field.
In the eighth inning, the Golden Grizzlies got on the board, plating two runs, courtesy of three hits and a Wildcat error. With Yano on mound and UK pitching shutout, Justin Wilson reached on a fielding error. D.J. Jarrad doubled to right, moving both runners in scoring position. Scott Sexton plated Wilson with an RBI ground out and Rob Merkle delivered an RBI groundout for OU’s final run.
UK answered the Oakland (0-2) two runs in the bottom half of the eighth, as Korus, making his first at bat in a UK uniform, singled through the right side and Neiko Johnson drew a walk. Wilkes battled a two-strike count with a double down the opposite-field foul line, scoring Korus’ pinch-runner, Chris Bisson. Wade plated Johnson with a sacrifice fly, for the final margin.
Kentucky returns to action on Friday, with a 4 p.m. ET first pitch with Butler. Fans can catch the action live on WXRA 1580-AM in Lexington, on the Big Blue Sports Network with Neil Price.
