FROM CBB NEWS SOURCES
Ga Southern 6 The Citadel 5
STATESBORO, Ga. – With the bases loaded and one out in the ninth Jeremiah Parker (Carrollton/Carrollton) hit a grounder down the third base line. Ty Wright (Montrose/West Laurens) slid and beat Matt Arnold’s throw home as Georgia Southern pulled out a 6-5 Southern Conference win over The Citadel. The Eagles (28-19 overall, 12-9 SoCon) took 2-of-3 from the Bulldogs over the weekend.
Wright was hit by a Matt Reifsnider (4-4) pitch to start the ninth. Phillip Porter (Marietta/Sprayberry) sacrificed Wright to second then Chris Shehan (Strasburg, PA/Lampeter-Strasburg) was intentionally walked. Matt Crim, the Friday night starter, walked Griffin Benedict (Dunwoody/St. Pius) to load the bases. Parker hit a soft grounder down the third base line. Wright broke for home and on the slide was called safe by home plate umpire Ed Haggray.
Down 5-2 in the ninth, The Citadel used an error and single to bring Richard Jones to the plate. He took a Blake Nation (Brooks/Starr’s Mill) pitch over the centerfield fence to tie the game. With runners at the corners and two outs, Nation got Kyle Jordan on a lineout to end the frame.
The Eagles struck first, the first time in the series doing so. A.J. Wirnsberger (Tuscaloosa, AL/Paul Bear Bryant) reached on a fielder’s choice in the second. David Richardson (Dahlonega/Lumpkin County) hammered a 2-1 pitch off the batters eye in centerfield. His second home run of the series and ninth overall made it 2-0. For the second straight game Richardson extended his hitting streak on a home run, now at 13 games.
Shehan singled up the middle with one down in the third. Benedict reached on a throwing error by second baseman Conrad Kellahan, which moved Shehan to third. Parker singled home Shehan then Wirnsberger brought home Benedict on a single to centerfield.
Jones put the Bulldogs on the board, hitting a one-out solo home run in the fourth. The Eagles got that run back in their half of the fifth thanks to two-out hitting. Parker doubled down the left field line. Wirnsberger singled to left. Brian Shubsda’s throw was high, allowing Parker to slide under catcher Sid Fallaw to make it 5-1.
The Citadel threatened in the seventh. After Andy Moye (Alpharetta/Alpharetta) retired the first two batters, consecutive singles put the first two batters of the lineup on board. Head coach Rodney Hennon brought in Tony Chisman (Conyers/Salem). Sonny Meade hit a RBI single then a hit batter loaded the bases. Nation needed just one pitch to get Chris McGuiness on a grounder to Parker at first base and end the threat.
In the eighth Citadel got back-to-back singles to start. Nation recovered by striking out the side swinging.
Parker, who recorded his first career walk-off hit, finished 3-for-3 with two RBI. Wirnsberger added two hits and two RBI. Richardson also drove in two runs.
Moye turned in a season-best performance, striking out a season-high eight batters in 6.2 innings, his longest outing of the year. He allowed two runs on seven hits. Nation (3-3) gave up three runs (two earned) on four hits in 2.1 innings.
Sonny Meade finished with three hits for The Citadel (24-23, 12-12).
The Eagles continue an eight-game stretch at home on Monday afternoon (May 5), playing host to Mercer. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
TCU 6 Utah 4
FORT WORTH, Texas — A two run home run from Clint Arnold solidified the series sweep against Utah Sunday afternoon at Lupton Stadium. The Frogs rallied from a 3-0 deficit to post a 6-4 victory, claiming their fourth conference sweep of the season. Bryan Holaday also led the offensive charge with a 2-for-4 day at the plate and three runs driven in. Trent Appleby was brilliant in relief with five shut out innings.
Utah got things going early, putting up three runs on six hits in the first three innings. The Utes got RBI singles from Nick Kuroczko and Cody Guymon to put them up 2-0 in the second. A two-out RBI single from Michael Beltran made it a 3-0 contest.
In his tenth start of the season, Greg Holle went just 2 2/3 innings, giving up three runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out three in the no-decision.
With a runner on first, Trent Appleby came on in relief of Holle. He got out of the inning when Bryan Holaday gunned down Beltran trying to steal second.
TCU threatened in both the second and third innings, but failed to convert on any of the scoring chances. Matt Carpenter’s one-out single was erased by a double play and Steve Ellington, who worked a lead-off walk, was stranded at third in the third.
In the fourth, the Frogs finally put a crooked number on the scoreboard. Utah starter John James walked Bryan Kervin to open the inning. Clint Arnold pounded a double to right field to put two runners in scoring position with no outs. Kervin was cut down trying to score on a ground ball off the bat of Chris Ellington, but stayed in the run down long enough to get Ellington to second with only one out.
Carpenter was hit by the pitch to load the bases and Holaday drove in two with a single through the right side. TCU couldn’t push across the tying run and after four it was 3-2 Utah.
Utah tried to rally, putting two runners on in the top of the sixth with two outs. Appleby dug himself out of the jam, getting Utah’s Kuroczko to ground out to second to end the inning.
In the bottom of the inning, Chris Ellington knocked a single to left field and Matt Carpenter followed with a short fly ball to shallow right field. While Carpenter was thrown out at second, Ellington was able to advance to third. Holaday tied the game with his second hit, a hard smash to second.
With one out in seventh, Matt Vern bunted his way on to spark a three-run outburst that would give the Frogs their first lead of the game. With Ben Carruthers at the plate, Vern stole second and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Carruthers delivered a bunt single down the third base line, scoring Vern from third to put the Frogs up by a run, 4-3, ending James’ afternoon.
Utah reliever Tyler Andersen retired the first batter he faced before Clint Arnold blasted a two run shot over the left field fence for his first home run of the season, giving TCU the 6-3 lead.
The Utes got a solo home run in the top of the ninth from Corey Shimada before Seth Garrison came on and closed the door for his first save of the season.
Trent Appleby struck out a career-high six batters as he improved to 4-1 on the season. The freshman didn’t allow a run in five innings, surrendering just five base hits and walking one.
The Frogs improve to 33-16 overall and 16-5 in league play. They will continue their home stand next weekend when they open up a three-game series with UT-Pan American at Lupton Stadium. First pitch for Saturday’s opener is 6:30 p.m.
Radford 9 JMU 7
RADFORD, Va., May 4, 2008 – Radford University pulled away from a 6-6 tie with two in the seventh and one in the eighth and held on to defeat James Madison University 9-7 in a non-conference baseball game on Sunday afternoon at Dedmon Center Park.
RU improved to 18-26 overall while JMU dropped to 30-12. The Dukes fell to 13-5 on the road after entering the game with the eighth-best mark in the country. Both teams were playing for the first time in a week due to final exams and commencement exercises.
JMU turned a three-run deficit into a three-run lead with a six-run fourth inning. Radford evened the score with three runs in the fifth. The go-ahead run came in the seventh on JMU’s fourth error of the game, the most this season by the Dukes, who entered the game with the 11th-best fielding percentage in the country.
Sophomore Adam Hoyt (Chesapeake Beach, Md./Northern) was the winner in relief for Radford. He improved to 4-4 after working the final 5 1/3 innings, allowing one run on six hits with three strikeouts. He combined with senior starter Eric Evans (Mobile, Ala./UMS-Wright) to retire JMU in order in five of nine innings in the game.
Redshirt senior Trevor Kaylid (Cary, N.C./Green Hope) took the loss to fall to 3-3 on the season. He allowed two runs, one earned, in 2 1/3 innings on two hits.
Three Dukes had two hits each with redshirt junior Brett Sellers (Greencastle, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) going 2-for-4 with a walk, a run, and an RBI. Sophomore Alex Foltz (Mathias, W.Va./East Hardy) drove in two runs on two hits with a triple. Junior Brett Garner (Burke, Va./Lake Braddock) had two hits with a run and an RBI.
Sophomore Reggie Keen (Danville, Va./GW Danville) was 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs for the Highlanders. Redshirt sophomore Raphael Turner (Washington, D.C./Woodrow Wilson) had two hits, two RBIs, and a run. Redshirt sophomore Tyren Rivers (Suffolk, Va./Nansemond) had two hits, two runs, and three stolen bases. Redshirt junior Nick Minter (Virginia Beach, Va./Salem) also had two hits with an RBI.
In the first inning, Radford put the first two runners on base with a leadoff hit and a hit batter. Junior Alex Gregory (Great Falls, Va./Paul VI) then lifted a fly ball to deep centerfield. Both runners tried to advance a base on the catch. While hurrying to make the play at second, sophomore Mike Fabiaschi (Torrington, Conn./Torrington) could not gather the throw. Rivers came all the way around to score on the error for the unearned run.
The Highlanders added to the lead in the third after a hit batter and a single put the leadoff runners on again. Keen singled and Foltz could not field the ball cleanly, committing his first error of the season to allow the run to come in to score. After a strikeout, Turner singled to left to drive in the third run of the game.
JMU jumped on the board in the fourth inning with redshirt senior Joe Lake (Elkridge, Md./Long Reach) and Sellers reaching on a hit by pitch and a walk to open the frame. After a strikeout, redshirt freshman Trevor Knight (Charlottesville, Va./St. Anne’s-Belfield) lined a single up the middle to drive in one run. The short stop threw the ball away trying to get Sellers at third, allowing him to advance home and bringing Knight all the way to third. Freshman McKinnon Langston (Tallahassee, Fla./North Florida Christian) followed with a doubled just inside the rightfield line to tie the score at 3-3. Another double by Garner sliced into the gap in right gave JMU the lead. Foltz then lined a triple to right center that landed in front of the diving centerfielder to drive in two more runs for a 6-3 lead.
A single and hit by pitch to lead off the fifth was followed by an RBI single by Turner. A bunt pushed both runners into scoring position and a bloop single by Minter landed just in front of sophomore Matt Browning (Mystic, Conn./Fitch) in left field to drive in another run. With runners on the corner and one out, the Dukes went for the out on a steal attempt at second to prevent the big inning, allowing the tying run to score before a groundout then ended the inning.
The tie held until the seventh when Keen led off with a double to right. Senior Nate Toth (Bedford, N.H./Manchester) then reached on Fabiaschi’s third error of the game, with the wild throw allowing Keen to come all the way around to score. The pinch runner, senior Nachion Moore (Chesapeake, Va./Greenbriar Christian) moved to second on a bunt and came around to score on a pair of wild pitches by freshman Kevin Munson (Roanoke, Va./Cave Spring) for an 8-6 RU lead.
In the eighth, Radford got runners on second and third after a one-out double steal. Keen lifted a shallow fly ball that drifted into foul territory. Sellers made the catch with Rivers only taking a few steps off third base. Sellers took a few steps in to the infield and then tossed to the second baseman. As soon as Sellers released, Rivers took off for home and narrowly beat the throw from Lake for the delayed sacrifice fly.
JMU got a leadoff runner on in the ninth before Lake and Sellers then hit consecutive two-out singles to bring in one run. Redshirt sophomore Steven Caseres (New City, N.Y./St. Joseph Regional) then hit the first pitch he saw deep to right field with the outfielder making the catch on the warning track to end the game
The two teams will meet again on Monday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. for their fourth and final contest of the season.
UMass 5 Dayton 4 (15 innings)
AMHERST, Mass. – After tying the game in the bottom of the ninth to force extra innings and scoring again in the 12th inning to stay alive, UMass baseball (16-21, 9-12 A-10) came through with a run in the 15th inning to take a 5-4 victory over Dayton (27-20, 10-11 A-10) on Sunday afternoon at Earl Lorden Field. Andy Tuetken (Smithfield, R.I.) drove in Jim Macdonald (Cheshire, Conn.) with a one-out single to end the game. Macdonald, who was 4-for-6 on the day, had doubled in the previous at-bat to put himself in scoring position. Aaron Smith (Westfield, Mass.) (1-2) pitched 3 2/3 shutout innings of relief to earn the victory.
It was UMass’ longest game since a 15-inning, 4-2 loss to Saint Louis on May 12 of last season. The Minutemen are now 2-1 in extra inning games this season.
UMass starter Jared Freni (Malden, Mass.) pitched 5+ innings, allowing three runs on six hits and struck out three. The Flyers got their first run in the second inning when Kevin Miller was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. They added a second run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Kevin Miller and took a 3-0 lead in the sixth inning when Ryan Nevill scored on a double play after leading off the inning with a double down the left field line.
The Minutemen got two runs back off Dayton starter Alex Dye in the seventh inning. They loaded the bases when Macdonald was hit by a pitch, Kyle Multner (Peabody, Mass.) doubled to left-center, and pinch-hitter Mike Donato (East Hartford, Conn.) walked. Bryan Garrity (Peabody, Mass.) then delivered with an infield single to drive in UMass’ first run. In the next at-bat, Andrew Black (Baltimore, Md.) was hit by a pitch to force in Multner, making it 3-2.
Pinch-hitter Peter Copa (Malden, Mass.) led off the bottom of the ninth with a single to center field off Dayton closer Burny Mitchem. After Garrity bunted Copa to second and a strikeout, Brian Baudinet (Watertown, Conn.) delivered in the clutch with a two-out single to right field that scored Copa with the tying run, forcing extra innings.
Nick Serino (Saugus, Mass.) fired four perfect innings after coming into the game in the sixth and gave way to Mitchell Eilenberg (Brooklyn, N.Y.), who hurled two more scoreless frames in the 10th and 11th.
The Flyers took the lead in the top of the 12th on an RBI single by Marshall MacDonald, but the Minutemen answered in the bottom half of the inning. Baudinet led off with a single through the left side and advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Ryan Franczek (Chicopee, Mass.). With UMass down to its last out once again, Macdonald drove in the tying run with a double to left center.
With one out in the 15th, Macdonald once again blistered a double to left center, setting the table for Tuetken’s game-winning RBI single to right.
The Minutemen return to action on Wednesday when they host Northeastern at 3 p.m. at Earl Lorden Field.
Southern Illinois 5 Creighton 4
CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois University (26-20, 7-11) allowed only one hit in a thrilling 5-4 win over Creighton (30-16, 13-8) earlier today at Abe Martin Field. The Salukis came within two outs of throwing a no-hitter against the Bluejays.
It wasn’t pretty, but SIU did what it needed to get the win.
Three different Saluki pitchers, including starter Adam Curynski and relievers Jimmy Cornell and Daniel Wells, combined on a no-hitter through 8.1 innings before Daniel Etienne inherited a one-out bases loaded mess in the top of the ninth.
Wells, who broke SIU’s all-time career record in appearances when he pitched in his 82nd game today, plunked Vicente Cafaro and walked Joe Servais. After T.J. Roemmich hit into a fielder’s choice, Wells issued his second walk of the inning to Micheal Lam. Etienne then took the mound to face the top of the Bluejays’ order.
Robbie Knight, after working a 1-1 count, wrecked the no-hitter with a two-RBI single to left, cutting SIU’s lead to 5-4. Shortly after Elliot Soto lined out to left, the reigning Missouri Valley Conference Player-of-the-Year, Darin Ruf, came to the plate. Ruf hit a screaming fly ball to right field, but Aaron Roberts made the catch to end all hopes of CU’s comeback.
SIU used a pair of RBI-hits by Roberts, a run-scoring single by Chris Murphy and two-RBI double by Tyler Bullock to build a 5-1 lead.
CU intentionally walked Saluki cleanup hitter Mark Kelly to get to Roberts in each of the first and seventh innings. Roberts made the Jays pay by driving in a run on two-out base hits in each of those frames. The second of Roberts’ two hits ignited a three-run seventh for the Dawgs. Bullock’s double, which fell just inside the right field line, scored Kelly and Roberts to give SIU a four-run cushion.
The Bluejays had several chances to score, despite getting only one hit on the day. In all, CU had a total of 13 baserunners, five of which were left in scoring position. CU had the bases loaded in both the eighth and ninth innings, and 11 of its baserunners reached on either a walk or hit by pitch.
Curynski (3-1) picked up the win in his first career Missouri Valley Conference start. He allowed one earned run, walked three and struck out four in five innings of no-hit baseball.
Etienne earned the first save of his career after giving up a hit and recording the final two outs in the ninth.
Zak Moore (4-6) suffered the loss for CU. Moore worked six innings, giving up seven hits and two runs. He also struck out four and walked two.
SIU pitchers walked eight and hit three batters on the day.
Offensively, Murphy led the Salukis with three hits. He finished at 3-for-5 with two runs scored and one RBI. Roberts followed with two hits, a run scored and two RBI. Kelly added a hit to keep his hitting streak alive at 10 games.
SIU ended a six-game home losing streak in conference play. The Salukis won a league game in Carbondale for the first time since beating Indiana State on Apr. 22.
The Salukis break for final exams before heading to Illinois State for a three-game series, May 9-11.
