FROM CBB NEWS SOURCES
Old Dominion 13 Northeastern 0
Norfolk, Va. – Junior right-hander Dan Hudson struck out 11 in just over seven innings of work and the Monarchs of Old Dominion scored 13 runs on 16 hits to shutout the Huskies of Northeastern 13-0 at Bud Metheny Baseball Complex Saturday afternoon. Nine of the Monarchs 16 hits went for extra bases, including two doubles, three triples and four home runs.
With the game scoreless heading into the bottom of the fifth, ODU shortstop Gerard Hall took it upon himself to get the Monarchs on the board. Hall opened the inning with a single to right and promptly stole second and third base. Northeastern starter Les Williams struck out the next two Monarch batters, but with Williams pitching from the windup and with right-handed batter Jimmy Miles in the box, Hall stole home sliding up under the tag of NU catcher Frank Pesanello.
The Monarchs (20-21, 11-10 CAA) took a 2-0 lead in the sixth on a solo shot by Bryan Cipolla, his fifth of the season.
Williams left the game after allowing just two runs in six innings and the Monarchs quickly took advantage of the Husky bullpen, scoring six in the seventh inning off of Dan Zehr. Three consecutive triples by Miles, Max Most and Anthony Shawler highlighted the frame for ODU and designated hitter David Burns capped things off with a two-run home run to right, giving the Monarchs an 8-0 advantage after seven.
The Huskies (16-19-1, 8-12-1 CAA) then turned to lefty Charly Bashara who was met with the same greeting by the Monarch bats. ODU added five runs on three hits in the eighth behind Edgar Hernandez’s two-run blast, an RBI double by Cipolla and Shawler’s two-run homer to right.
Cipolla finished the day 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and three RBI’s, while four other Monarchs drove in two runs apiece.
With the win Hudson evened his record at 4-4 on the year, while Williams picked up the loss for the Huskies, falling to 1-4.
The two teams will close out the weekend series tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. with ODU’s Ryan Bergh (4-4) scheduled to face off against Northeastern’s Ryan Quigley (1-2).
Kentucky 6 Vanderbilt 2
NASHVILLE — Every member of the starting lineup charted a hit as the No. 17 Kentucky baseball team exploded for 13 hits, securing a series-evening 6-2 win over the 10th-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores, on Saturday afternoon in front of 2,945 fans at Charles Hawkins Field.
The two top-20 teams will square off in a rubber match on Sunday, with first pitch moved to 1 p.m. ET – up an hour from the originally scheduled 2 p.m. ET – due to the threat of inclement weather. Fans can catch the action live on the Big Blue Sports Network (radio), with the Voice of UK Baseball, Neil Price calling the action. In Lexington, fans can hear the game on WLAP 630-AM and in Louisville on WKJK 1080-AM.
The loss for the Commodores was just their second defeat in the last 14 games.
The Wildcats got hits from every member of the starting lineup, highlighted by two-hit performances from Collin Cowgill, Ryan Wilkes, Chris Wade and Keenan Wiley. Wiley extended his hit streak to a team-high 15 games, the longest hitting streak for a Wildcat this season. Wilkes finished with a double and a triple, driving in a team-best two RBI.
Making just his second career Southeastern Conference start, sophomore southpaw James Paxton was solid through 4 1/3 innings, allowing four hits and one run, walking two and striking out one. UK again got an excellent outing from its bullpen as seniors Aaron Lovett and Andrew Albers closed out the game. Lovett picked up the win (3-2), tossing two innings, allowing two hits, one run, walking two and striking out one. Albers picked up his first save of the season, working the final 2 2/3 innings, allowing two hits and striking out two.
Vanderbilt starter Caleb Cotham, who entered the game leading the team in wins, fell to 6-3 with the loss, working 4 1/3 innings, allowing seven hits, six runs, walking two and striking out four.
Kentucky (32-11, 10-10 SEC) stranded a season-high 16 runners on base.
UK got on the board with a three run, two-hit third inning. After Bryan Rose led off with a hard fly out to left field, Cowgill reached base for the second time in as many at bats, getting plunked by a 3-2 offering from Cotham. Sawyer Carroll drew a full-count walk, that included a wild pitch, allowing Cowgill to scamper to second. Chris McClendon scored Cowgill with a single to left field, with both runners moving up a base after a botched throw attempt. Wilkes notched his first triple of the year and the third of his four-year career, a hard liner into the right-centerfield gap, scoring Carroll and McClendon.
The Wildcats added a run to its lead in the fourth inning, as Wade led off with his team-high 15th double of the year, a hard ball drilled down the left-field line. After a Wiley sacrifice and a Rose strikeout, Cowgill connected on a slow-roller to the Vanderbilt shortstop, Ryan Flaherty, beating the throw to first and allowing Wade to score from third, making it 4-0 UK.
The Wildcats got two more runs in the fifth, extending a 6-0 lead. Wilkes got the frame started with a one-out walk, and Brian Spear followed with a single into the right-field gap. After a Tyler Howe strikeout, Wade scored Wilkes with a single into centerfield. Wiley followed, ripping an RBI single of his own up the middle, plating Spear.
Vanderbilt (31-12, 11-8 SEC) got a run of its own, narrowing the UK lead to 6-1 in the fifth inning. Catcher Shea Robin led off the fifth with a single into centerfield. After Paxton got Brian Harris to strikeout looking, Parker Hanks ripped a double down the left-field line. After David Macias drew a walk from Paxton, Lovett entered, getting Alex Feinberg to fly out on a sacrifice fly, scoring Robin. With runners on first and second, Pedro Alvarez belted a hard liner into left field, snagged by a diving Wiley, saving runs and extra bases.
In the sixth inning, Vanderbilt narrowed the UK lead to 6-2 as Ryan Flaherty led off with a walk. After Lovett got Dominic de la Osa to line out, second base was awarding to Flaherty on a balk. UK got Andrew Giobbi to groundout on a nice play from a diving McClendon at third for the second out. Robin followed, doubling into the right-field gap, scoring Flaherty.
Robin led the Commodores with a 3-for-4 performance at the dish.
South Florida 20 Villanova 4
TAMPA, Fla. – The University of South Florida baseball team scored 17 runs in the first five innings to beat Villanova 20-4 Saturday night at Red McEwen Field.
With the win, USF evens its BIG EAST record to 10-10, and improves its overall record to 24-19. Villanova drops to 20-22 overall and 5-12 in the league.
“We came out and did a great job, our guys stepped up and were ready to play tonight,” said Lelo Prado, USF head coach.
The Bulls were powered by the hot bats of freshmen Stephen Hunt (4-for-4) and Ryan Lockwood (3-for-6), added to a pair of home runs from junior Addison Maruszak (3-for-5).
“If Stephen Hunt stays focused on what he has to do, he is going to have a great career here and is going to be a high draft pick. He has all of the ability in the world, he can hit and he can pitch, but he has to stay focused.”
Hunt, a true freshman, was a home run shy of the cycle, collecting a triple, two doubles and a single. Hunt ended the night with four runs scored and six RBI.
“Ryan Lockwood has had a great start and he has been steady all year for us,” added Prado. “Thank goodness we have him on our side.”
Lockwood added a triple and a pair of singles to USF’s offensive attack, extending his hitting streak to 26 games. Lockwood, who is batting .395 this season, has 22 multiple-hit games and nine multiple-RBI games, both are a team best.
Maruszak provided two home runs, as well as a single to right field, collecting three RBI in the game.
The Bulls’ offense steadily produced throughout the game, scoring in every inning but the sixth and eighth. USF collected 10 of it 20 runs in the first two innings, pulling ahead with a 10-2 lead. The Bulls added 10 more runs over the next five innings while allowing only two Wildcats to cross the plate in the final seven innings.
In the game, USF collected 21 hits, which are a season high, as well as the Bulls’ 19 RBI, seven doubles and two triples.
Freshman Randy Fontanez earned his fourth win of the season, striking out three in 7.0 innings. He allowed two earned runs from seven hits, walking four of his 33 batters faced. Freshman Kevin Quackenbush came in for relief in the eighth, striking out one, but allowing one run from a pair of hits in his two innings of work.
Juniors Trey Manz and Mike Consolmagno each drilled a pair of doubles while freshman Jonathan Koscso tallied his fifth two-bagger of the year in the first inning of the game.
The Bulls and Wildcats will wrap up the three-game BIG EAST series on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Bulls will look to freshman right hander Derrick Stultz (3-3, 2.83 ERA) to face VU’s senior right hander Bill Hoffman (3-1, 8.28 ERA). The game is a Season Ticket Holder Sunday, which means a season ticket holder can present their ticket stub to the concessions stand to receive a hotdog, drink and snack item for $5.
Louisville 13 Cincinnati 4
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – After trailing 3-0 early, the University of Louisville offense exploded for 13 of the final 14 runs of the game, defeating Cincinnati 13-4 to even the series at a game apiece. The rubber game will be played Sunday in Jim Patter Stadium on with a start time that has been moved to 12:00 p.m. ET.
For the second consecutive game, the Bearcats (25-16, 12-5 BIG EAST) staked themselves to a lead in the first when a leadoff walk to Tony Campana turned into a run on Mike Spina’s sac fly to center.
UC added two more in the third on an RBI single by Spina and a popup to second with the bases loaded that induced an infield fly rule to go in effect. Cardinal second baseman Justin McClanahan lost the ball in the sun and after it dropped, runners at second and third attempted to advance, with Jamel Scott scoring from third and Josh Harrison getting thrown out at third to complete the double play and end the inning with UC holding a 3-0 lead.
Freshman Drew Haynes hit a two-out single in the bottom of the third for the Cards (25-16, 9-8 BIG EAST) and John Dao tripled down the right field line, putting UofL on the board.
Stewart Ijames tripled to the same corner with one away in the fifth and scored on a double that Tyler Mickits wired down the line to cut the lead to one.
Haynes then singled and John Dao beat a relay to first in an attempt to turn the double play, allowing Mickits to score from third and tie the game at three.
UC manufactured an unearned run with a pair of walks and a fielding error to take a 4-3 lead in the top of the sixth, but the Cards would score the next 10 runs to run away with the win.
McClanahan reached with one away in the sixth on a fielding error, and Chris Dominguez drilled a 3-1 pitch out to left for his league-leading 14th home run of the season and a 5-4 Cardinal lead.
An out later Jeff Arnold drew a walk and Ijames blistered his fourth home run of the season – all in BIG EAST games, over the fence in right, extending the lead to 7-4.
In the seventh, Dao and Phil Wunderlich singled ahead of a two-run double by McClanahan that made it 9-4 Cards.
Dominguez was then walked intentionally and Andrew Clark drew a walk that loaded the bases for Arnold, who extended his hitting streak to a career-best 12 games with an RBI single. An RBI groundout by Ijames capped the five run inning.
The final piece of insurance came in the eighth when Dao doubled and eventually scored on a sac fly to center by Dominguez.
Justin Marks tossed 5.1 innings, but struggled with his control, giving up four runs, two of which were earned on four hits and five walks, matching a career high. Marks struck out seven, but did not figure into the decision.
Thomas Royse (3-0) entered with two on in the sixth and worked out of the jam, on his way to 3.2 scoreless innings of relief to earn the win. He gave up just two hits and struck out a career-high six.
UC starter Michael Hill (3-3) took the loss, surrendering seven runs, four of which were earned on seven hits and two walks in 6.0 innings. He struck out five. Two Bearcat relievers followed him to the mound.
Dao enjoyed his first three-hit game of the season, driving in a pair, while Ijames and Haynes added two hits apiece. Seven of the Cards’ 12 hits went for extra bases. Ijames and Dominguez each drove in three runs.
Alabama 5 Auburn 4
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to erase a one-run deficit en route to a 5-4 win over arch-rival Auburn in front of 6,459 fans, the fourth-largest crowd in stadium history, Saturday afternoon at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
Trailing 3-2 heading into the seventh inning, Alabama rallied for three runs on three hits off Auburn relief pitcher Michael Hurst to even this SEC series at one game apiece. The rubber game is set for Sunday, April 27 at 2:06 p.m. (CDT) and the game will be televised live by Comcast Sports Southeast.
Pinch-hitter Matt Bentley was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and sophomore third baseman Jake Smith followed with a bunt single that dropped in front Sanders at first base. Junior catcher Kyle Moore reached on a fielder’s choice as Hurst threw wild to third base, allowing Bentley to score the tying run. Both Smith and Moore moved into scoring position on the play. Pinch-hitter Tyler Odle then blooped a single to right field to score Smith with the go-ahead run as the Tide regained the lead at 4-3. Josh Rutledge was hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs.
Ross Wilson struck out against lefty Evan Crawford, before Brandon May lined a single to right field to score Moore and give the Tide a two-run lead. Rutledge was caught in a run-down between second and third on the play for the second out and Avila grounded out to end the inning as the Tide left two runners in scoring position.
“I wasn’t doing so well in my previous three at-bats,” May said. “I really just tried to lock in and focus. I told myself to just do what you’ve done a million times – put the ball in play and hit it hard.
“(The inning) was big,” May said. “Every guy contributed. We bunted all those and they made a couple of mistakes and we capitalized on those, which was good.”
Auburn right fielder Mike Bianucci’s eighth home run of the season to lead off the eighth inning off Austin Graham brought Auburn to within a run at 5-4.
Alabama (24-20, 9-11 SEC) grabbed a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as junior right fielder Kent Matthes laced a two-out, two-run double to right center field. Freshman shortstop Josh Rutledge led off the inning with a walk and moved to second on junior DH Alex Avila’s two-out single to right field. Matthes then followed with a double to right-center to give the Tide the early lead.
Matthes went 1 for 4 with two RBI in the win over Auburn and made two fine defensive plays in right field. In the fourth inning, Matthes leaped over the wall in right-center field to take a home run away from Auburn first baseman Joseph Sanders. He ended the game with an outfield assist as he threw out pinch-hitter Ben Jones, who had rounded first base too wide on a two-out single.
“It was a great defensive game,” Matthes said. “Both teams made some nice defensive plays. Any time you make a play like that and you can carry it over and get some runs, it’s nice. I caught it pretty solid so that was good. Sometimes you see the contact with the wall jars it out, but I was able to hold on.”
Auburn (24-20, 8-12 SEC) cut the lead to 2-1 on Matt Hall’s third home run of the season with two outs in the fifth inning.
The Tigers scored two more runs in the sixth inning to take a 3-2 lead. Bianucci led off the inning with a single to left field and stole second base. Joseph Sanders followed with a one-out field single to put runners at first and third to chase UA starter Austin Hyatt.
Brian Fletcher, who hit a three-run home run in the sixth inning on Friday night, greeted reliever Josh Copeland with an RBI double to right center to score Bianucci with the tying run. David Cunningham’s ground scored Sanders to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead.
Copeland (3-2) earned the win in relief, despite allowing two inherited runners score. He worked 1 2/3 innings and allowed one hit and struck out one batter. Graham pitched the final two innings for his first save of the season.
Hurst (2-3) was the loser for Auburn as he was touched for three runs and two hits without recording an out.
Alabama will send junior right-hander Robert Phares (1-3, 6.31 ERA) to the mound in Sunday’s series finale against Auburn freshman right-hander Bradley Hendrix (1-1, 5.21 ERA).
