This is your SLC recap for April 18th.
#23 Southeastern Louisiana 9 Texas State 6
Senior Chris Franklin went 2-for-5 at the plate with three RBI before pitching the final two innings to record his seventh save as No. 23-ranked Southeastern Louisiana withstood a Texas State rally and earned a 9-6 Southland Conference victory Sunday at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
True freshman Jordan Hymel tossed seven inning and scattered four hits as Southeastern (29-9, 12-6 SLC) built a 7-0 lead and handed Texas State (21-13, 13-5 SLC) its first Southland Conference series loss. Justin Boudreaux went 2-for-4 with three RBI for Southeastern while Cass Hargis went 2-for-5 to extend his hitting streak to 10 games.
Franklin gave Southeastern a 1-0 lead in the second inning when he hit a two-out double to right field off Texas State starter Lee Colon (4-3) that scored Cody Gougler. Franklin later chased Colon in the fifth with a two-run double in the fifth that gave the Lions a 7-0 lead.
The Lions led 2-0 after three innings before Boudreaux hit a two-run single with two outs, scoring Chris Ernest and Hargis. Southeastern broke the game open in the fifth as it took advantage of three Bobcat errors.
Gougler, who finished 2-for-2 and reached base five times, led off the inning with a walk and moved to second on a failed pickoff attempt. Colon fanned Brock Hebert, but the ball got away from catcher Andrew Stumph allowing Hebert to reach and Gougler to steal third. Hebert attempted to steal second and got caught in a rundown, but slipped past second baseman Christian Gallegos and was safe at second as Jason Martinson mishandled the throw for an error. FULL STORY
Nicholls State 8 Central Arkansas 4
The Nicholls State University baseball team (17-18, 8-10 Southland Conference) piled up 12 hits and jumped out to an early 4-1 lead after the first three innings before pulling away for an 8-4 win over Central Arkansas (11-24, 4-14 Southland Conference) to clinch the series victory over the Bears on Saturday.
After a late rally came up short in the form of a 7-4 loss on Friday night, the Colonels rallied for a 5-3 win on Saturday behind Clint Dempster’s complete game to set up the rubber match between the two conference rivals.
Nicholls started strong as the Colonels plated four runs on five hits over the first three innings. Beau Faulk, who went 3-for-4 with two RBI, had RBI singles in the first and third. After Faulk staked Nicholls to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first by driving in Bear Comer with a two-out RBI single, Chase Jaramillo made it 2-0 in the second. The Colonel shortstop led off the inning with a single to center then stole second, third and home (for the third time this season) to make it 2-0.
Central Arkansas got a run back in the second as Nicholls’ starter Tyler Minto allowed an RBI double to Drew Sullivan, but Minto soon settled in. The Colonel right hander delivered 8.0 solid innings, limiting UCA to three earned runs on six hits while striking out five and walking just one.
The Colonels gave Minto some breathing room in the third. After Sullivan’s RBI double made it 2-1, Faulk delivered again. Like the first, the Houston native singled home Comer with a two-out RBI base hit to center field. However, this time, a fielding error by UCA center fielder Tye Throneberry allowed Faulk to reach third. The Colonels capitalized on another costly UCA error as Blake Bergeron extended the inning by reaching on an error at shortstop and scoring Faulk to make it 4-1. FULL STORY
Lamar 14 Sam Houston State 7
Kevin Roebuck and Pablo Salinas combined to drive in nine runs Sunday afternoon as Lamar University came from six runs down in defeating Sam Houston State, 14-7.
Roebuck, who had entered the game as a defensive replacement an inning earlier, had easily the game’s biggest blow – a grand slam over the leftfield fence that snapped a 7-7 tie in the seventh inning. Salinas slugged a pair of two-run doubles, and he picked up another RBI with a bases-loaded walk in the Cardinals’ seven-run seventh.
After managing only two hits through the first five innings, the Cardinals began heating up by banging out four hits, including Salinas’ first two-run double, in scoring three sixth-inning runs to reduce their deficit to 7-4.
The Cardinals, who improved to 23-15 on the season and pulled even at 9-9 in the Southland Conference, had only three hits in the pivotal seventh inning, but they were aided by two bases-loaded walks and three hit batsmen, including two with the bases also jammed.
The dramatic home run, which brought the Vincent-Beck Stadium crowd of 476 to their feet, was Roebuck’s second of the series. Salinas’ two, two-baggers improved his season total to 10, and Quentin Luquette, who went 2-for-4 from his leadoff spot, laced his 13th double of the season into right field in the first inning to tie Aaron Buchanan for the team lead. FULL STORY
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 6 Stephen F. Austin 3
Brandon Orr tossed eight strong innings sparking the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi baseball team to a 6-3 win over Stephen F. Austin in the series finale on Sunday at Jaycees Field.
With the win, the Islanders (14-23) avoid their second Southland Conference sweep of the season and moved to 6-12 in the league. The win on Sunday was their first in a conference finale this season and snapped a 4-game losing streak. The Lumberjacks fall to 11-6 and are 23-11 overall.
Orr (2-4) allowed two runs in the bottom of the first and then shutdown SFA the next seven innings giving up one hit. He retired the Lumberjacks in order five times and finished with five strikeouts.
For the first time in the series, SFA struck first with a pair of runs. The Lumberjacks first two hitters reached on back-to-back singles in the bottom of the first. Jarid Scarafiotti followed with a two-run double for a 2-0. SFA attempted to add to its lead as Scarafiotti advanced to third on an error by Omar Garcia whose throw hit a runner diving back into the bag at first.
“Brandon pitched like a senior today,” said Islander head coach Scott Malone. “He took a good punch in the bottom of the first, but kept his composure and battled back.”
The Islanders took the lead in the top of the third. With one away, Garcia doubled over the head of Bo Coffman in right. Bobby Buckner followed with a home run to right on a 2-1 pitch off Justin Braddock as he made his first plate appearance of the weekend to tie the game at two.
“The home run by Buckner was huge,” said Malone. “He had been platooning, fighting for his job. He really got us going today.” FULL STORY
UT Arlington 9 McNeese State 3
Logan Bawcom struck out seven batters in 8.0 innings and All-American Michael Choice went 2-for-4 and hit a bases clearing double in the fourth inning to help give UT Arlington a 9-3 series-clinching victory over McNeese State Sunday at Cowboy Diamond.
The Mavericks (17-20, 10-8 SLC) have now won four of their last five Southland Conference series while the Cowboys (20-15, 10-8 SLC) drop their second straight conference series.
UT Arlington had 11 base hits, with every starting position player posting at least one. Steffan Guest joined Choice with a multi-hit game going 2-for-5 with two RBI.
With no score heading into the third inning, shortstop Jesse Payne was hit by pitch and Choice followed with a single through the left side to put two runners on base. Freshman right fielder Preston Beck drove in both runners with a two-run double to left-center field giving the Mavs a 2-0 lead.
UTA added to its lead in the fourth with six base hits and five runs. Third baseman Brian Nephew and left fielder Nick Orr put together back-to-back RBI singles to score first baseman Jordan Vaughn and second baseman Cody Dyvig.
Payne then welcomed Cowboy relief pitcher Zach Butler with a single through the right side to load the bases for Choice. In just his third at-bat this season with the bases loaded, Choice cleared the bases with a double down the left-field line. FULL STORY
