Sophomore Tyler Carpenter's two-out single in the ninth plated junior Ryan Rummel with the game-winning run.
UT-San Antonio 5 Northwestern State 4
CORPUS CHRISTI — Sophomore Tyler Carpenter’s two-out liner to right brought home junior Ryan Rummel, capping a two-run ninth-inning rally, and No. 3 seed UTSA opened the 22nd annual Southland Conference Tournament with a 5-4 victory against sixth-seeded Northwestern State on Wednesday morning at Whataburger Field.
The Roadrunners (32-22), playing at the unusual early hour of 9 a.m., posted their third win in a row, all of which have come in their final at-bat, and came from behind for the 19th time this season.
Trailing 4-3 entering the final frame, sophomore Brett Aguilar started the game-winning rally with a double to left center off Demons closer Chad Sheppard. After junior Lance Brown moved Aguilar up to third with a sacrifice bunt, Rummel stroked a base hit through the drawn-in infield to tie the game at four. A passed ball by Garrett Vaughn allowed Rummel to move up to second and Sheppard then issued an intentional walk to freshman Casey Selsor. Two batters later, Carpenter followed with a soft liner to right and Rummel crossed the plate with the winning run without a throw from Beau Snodgrass.
UT-San Antonio Recap
Northwestern State Recap
Sam Houston State 9 Southeastern Louisiana 2
CORPUS CHRISTI – Mark Johnson entered Wednesday’s opening round game of the Southland Conference Baseball Tournament without a blemish on his SLC postseason record. The Sam Houston State skipper ended the day the same way.
Freshman Sean Weatherford gave Johnson a great performance on the hill and the No. 7 Bearkats busted out the bats in a 9-2 win over No. 2 Southeastern Louisiana. The Kats will now face Texas-San Antonio Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m.
“I think the biggest part of the game is when you have the guy on the bump throwing strikes and keeping you in the game,” said Johnson, who is now 9-0 in Southland Tournament games. “Sean kept us in the game early and kept battling. We started nipping away and kept putting the ball in play to do well early in the innings. Sean was the story of the day and he did a great job for us. When you can stretch out nine innings from your starting pitcher and not get into your bullpen, it’s a pretty special thing.”
Sam Houston State Recap
Southeastern Louisiana Recap
Texas State 9 Stephen F Austin 2
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Top-seeded Texas State used the long ball to beat Stephen F. Austin, 9-2, Wednesday in its Southland Conference Tournament opener at Whataburger Field.
Paul Goldschmidt, Tyler Sibley and Lance Loftin all went deep as the Bobcats out hit the Lumberjacks 13-6.
Stephen F. Austin struck first to take a 1-0 lead in the second thanks to left fielder Justin Long’s triple that scored right fielder Bo Coffman. Coffman doubled with one out in the inning and went to third on a ground out.
The lead was short lived. Goldschmidt, the Southland Conference Player and Hitter of the Year, sent a blast inside the left-field foul pole to give the Bobcats a 3-1 lead.
Both teams tacked on single runs in the fourth before Loftin, the Texas State second baseman, homered to left center. Shortstop Jason Martinson delivered a two-out triple off the wall in right center and then right fielder Tyler Sibley followed with a homer well over the left-field fence to give the Bobcats a 7-2 lead.
Martinson’s sacrifice fly tacked on another Bobcat run in the eighth.
Loftin finished his day with a game-best three hits and Goldschmidt added two to go along with his team-high three RBI. Sibley and designated hitter Keith Prestridge, the Southland newcomer of the year, each drove in two.
Texas State Recap
Stephen F Austin Recap
Lamar 4 UT-Arlington 3
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Lamar scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth, including the game-winning sacrifice fly to come from behind and beat Texas-Arlington, 4-3, in the opening round of the Southland Conference Baseball Tournament at Whataburger Field Wednesday.
Lamar (37-20) looked dead in the water through six innings as starter Eric Harrington was roughed up for the second time by the Mavericks this season, but a great relief outing by Brian Needham kept the Cards within striking distance.
Trailing 3-0 after UTA scored once in the second, third and fifth innings, Lamar scored a pair in the seventh on a Tyler Link double that snuck just inside the bag at first as Jeremiah Sammy and Cameron Campbell came home to make it a 3-2 game.
An inning later the Cardinals loaded the bases and Sammy drew a full-count walk to tie the game, before Ryan Saldivar hit a shallow fly to right that allowed Steven Tucker to score from third as the throw home was up the line and give LU its first lead of the contest.
Lamar Recap
UT-Arlington Recap
