FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
UT Arlington 1, Stephen F. Austin 0
ARLINGTON, Texas – Jason Mitchell threw a three-hit shutout and Preston Beck hit a walk-off double to lead UT Arlington to a 1-0 victory over Stephen F. Austin Friday at Clay Gould Ballpark.
The victory puts the Mavericks (25-22, 17-8 Southland Conference) in second place in the conference with a narrow lead in the standings over the Lumberjacks (30-13, 16-8 Southland), who dropped just their fourth road game of the season (15-4).
Mitchell (6-3) lead the Mavericks to their ninth consecutive Southland Conference victory while throwing his fifth complete game – all in conference play – and second complete-game shutout of the season. Mitchell allowed only three hits and three walks with seven strikeouts.
Lumberjacks’ starting left-handed pitcher Tyler Herriage took the no-decision throwing 7.2 scoreless innings allowing four hits and three walks with eight strikeouts. SFA reliever Jason West (3-4) took the loss throwing two-thirds of an inning, allowing one hit and one run (unearned) with a walk and strikeout.
Beck drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning with a double to deep center field to score Chad Comer from second base.
UTA All-American Michael Choice led off the ninth with a line-drive out to a diving Michael Haynes at third base. Comer reached base on a fielding error by Haynes before advancing to second base on a fielding error by first baseman Bobby Loveless on a pickoff attempt from West.
Beck worked the count to 2-2 while hitting the seventh pitch he saw from SFA relief pitcher to center field to give the Mavs their third walk-off victory of the season.
Choice reached base in the fourth inning with his nation leading 63rd walk to extend his reaching base safely streak to 59 consecutive games dating back to last season.
Beck led the Mavericks at the plate going 2-for-4 while collecting the game’s only RBI. Jordan Vaughn, Steffan Guest and Jesse Payne were the only other Mavericks with a base hit.
Only two Lumberjacks had base hits in the game as Bobby Loveless went 2-for-3 and Ryan Priest went 1-for-4.
The Mavericks and Lumberjacks Southland Conference three-game series continues Saturday, May 8, with a 2:10 p.m. first pitch at Clay Gould Ballpark.
Prior to the game at 1:40 p.m., the UT Arlington baseball program will recognize former Maverick and current Kansas City Royals manager Trey Hillman with the retirement of his No. 1 jersey with an on-field ceremony at Clay Gould Ballpark.
Hillman was a four-year standout for the Mavericks from 1982-85. UTA will also honor former Mavericks Dave Owen (1977-79) and Steve Foster (1987-88), who are currently the third-base coach and bullpen coach for the Royals. Owen was the first Maverick player to reach the Major Leagues and Foster was the first Maverick pitcher to reach the big leagues.
Central Arkansas 4, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 3
CONWAY, Ark. – Junior designated hitter Matt Bauer hit a two-run double in the bottom of the eighth inning to carry Central Arkansas to a come-from-behind 4-3 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Friday night at Bear Stadium.
Bauer, a junior who has picked up increased playing time in the past two weeks, hit a shot down the right-field line that scored both Michael Pair and Chase Huchingson to give the Bears the 4-3 lead. Senior reliever Michael Wild, who came on in the seventh, allowed a walk and a single in the top of the ninth inning but earned the victory by getting Bobby Buckner to fly out to right field.
Wild (5-7) entered in the seventh with the bases loaded and also got out of that inning with a fly ball. The Islanders, who out-hit the Bears 12-4, left the bases loaded three times and stranded 15 runners.
"When you get an opportunity, you have to take advantage of it," UCA coach Doug Clark said. "Bauer had the pinch-hit home run against SEMO last week, then stepped up there tonight with the double. He’s worked awfully hard for his opportunities and it’s paying off for him. He’s helped the club a bunch lately."
The Islanders got single runs in the first and second innings before UCA got one back in the fourth when Bauer and Drew Sullivan both walked and Zack Dickson singled to load the bases. Tye Throneberry’s sacrifice fly scored Bauer.
A&M-Corpus Christi pushed its lead to 3-1 in the sixth inning but UCA closed the gap to 3-2 in the seventh. Sullivan led off with a walk, stole second and advanced to third when the catcher’s throw went into center field. Dickson reached on an error that allowed Sullivan to score.
In the eighth, Clay Washington had a one-out, pinch-hit single and Huchingson came in as a pinch runner. Pair reached on a fielding error on Islander third baseman Weston Montgomery before Bauer doubled in just his 10thofficial at bat of the season. Dickson had two of UCA’s four hits, going 2-for-3.
UCA starter Bobby Pritchett went six innings, striking out five and walking four. A&M-Corpus Christi starter Jake Liedka (3-2) went the distance, striking out six and walking four.
The series continues Saturday with a 6:30 p.m. start.
UTSA 10, Nicholls 6
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Freshman Ryan Dalton broke open a 4-all contest with a three-run home run in the seventh and UTSA ended a four-game losing streak with a 10-6 victory against Nicholls Friday night at Roadrunner Field.
The Roadrunners (15-27, 6-19 Southland) picked up their first series-opening win since April 1 (19-5, at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) and moved within five games of the Colonels (22-22, 11-14 Southland) for the eighth and final spot in this month’s Southland Conference tournament. They also recorded their ninth consecutive win against Nicholls overall and 12th in a row at Roadrunner Field.
Senior Lance Brown drew a one-out walk to start the decisive rally and was safe at second when Colonels starting pitcher Clint Dempster’s throw on a grounder off the bat of senior Ryan Rummel was high for an error. Dalton followed with his team-leading 13th homer of the season and UTSA went on to score two more runs in the frame.
Nicholls drew within three in the eighth on Adam Miley’s two-run homer to left, but the Roadrunners took advantage of the Colonels’ fourth error of the night in the bottom of the frame to stretch the lead to four to wrap up the scoring.
Sophomore starter Casey Selsor (5-6) allowed four runs (three earned) in his seven innings of work and picked up his first win since April 1. The southpaw scattered 11 hits, walked three and fanned four in the 118-pitch performance.
Dempster (5-5), who entered the game as the reigning national player of the week, was knocked around to the tune of seven runs (six earned) on a dozen hits in 6.1 panels. He walked one and fanned four.
After Nicholls took a 2-0 lead in the second, UTSA responded with a two-spot of its own in the bottom of the inning, both scoring with two outs.
Junior Tyler Carpenter got the Roadrunners on the board with his fourth home run of the season, a solo shot to left, and freshman Daniel Rockett followed with a single up the middle. The Roadrunners’ center field then moved up to third when Dempster’s pickoff throw to first was wide and he crossed the plate one batter later when Brown stroked a double to left center.
The Colonels went back in front one inning later when Steven Gauthe, who led off the frame with a single, came home on a throwing error by Dalton on Keith Kulbeth’s bunt single three hitters later.
The Roadrunners took their first lead of the night in the bottom of the stanza when freshman Jake Wood lined a one-out sacrifice fly to left with the bases loaded and Carpenter followed with a run-scoring liner to right.
However, Nicholls promptly tied things up in the fifth when Gauthe successfully executed a safety squeeze with runners on the corners and one down.
Carpenter led UTSA’s 17-hit offensive attack with his 4-for-5, three-RBI night, while Dalton went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBI.
Brady Borque, Bear Comer, Gauthe and Miley all had two hits for the Colonels.
Southeastern Louisiana 9, Sam Houston State 5
HAMMOND, La. – Josh Cryer hit a two-out, bases-clearing double in the first inning and added a two-out RBI single in the third as Southeastern Louisiana defeated Sam Houston State, 9-5, in a Southland Conference game Friday at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field.
Chris Ernest and Cass Hargis each belted their first home run of the season and Trey Martin added two hits as Southeastern (34-14, 16-9 Southland) built a 5-2 lead before putting the game away with a four-run sixth.
The series continues Saturday with a 2 p.m. first pitch.
"The bottom of the lineup played real well," Southeastern coach Jay Artigues said. "Josh Cryer had some big hits for us, two huge, two-out hits, including the double in the first. I thought we did a good job putting pressure on them, especially in the sixth inning."
Cryer gave the Lions a 3-0 lead in the first inning after doubling off the center-field wall off Sam Houston starter Dallas Gallant (2-8). The Lions got their runs as Jeff Harkensee hit a two-out single, Cody Gougler drew a walk and Joe Sparacino was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
The Lions continued their two-out mastery in the third after Gallant fanned Justin Boudreaux and got Harkensee to ground out to first. Gougler drew a walk – extending his streak of reaching base safely 10 consecutive times dating back to last Sunday’s 14-5 win at Nicholls – before Sparacino drew a walk to put runners on first and second. Cryer, who 2-for-4 then singled to center off Gallant, giving Southeastern a 4-1 lead.
Ernest led off the fourth inning with a home run off Gallant, who went 5.1 innings allowing nine runs with nine strikeouts, before the Lions put the game away in the sixth to take a 9-2 lead.
Martin hit a one-out double to right field that scored Brock Hebert and Ernest before Hargis chased Gallant with a two-run home run to left field.
Brandon Efferson (8-3) pitched 6.1 innings for Southeastern, allowing eight hits and fanning six batters as he snapped a two-game losing streak. The right-hander battled out of three jams early by the Bearkats, including the fourth after Sam Houston loaded the bases.
"Brandon did a great job and competed well and Tyler Watkins came in and threw strikes and let the defense make plays behind him," Artigues said. "They both really did a good job on the mound. Brandon didn’t have his best stuff, but he made some competitive pitches at some crucial times and got us out off innings."
Taylor Davis led SHSU at the plate going 3-for-5 with a pair of solo home runs and three RBI. Ryan Mooney added three hits for the Bearkats, who out-hit Southeastern, 14-9, but stranded 14 runners on base. Mark Hudson and Kevin Miller added RBI for the Bearkats, who remained two games behind Nicholls for out of the eighth and final spot in the Southland Conference tournament scheduled for May 26-29 in Corpus Christi, Texas.
No. 29 Texas State 13, McNeese State 1 (7 innings)
LAKE CHARLES, La. – A two-run homer started tonight’s game and a two-run home run finished the feat, as No. 29 Texas State ran away with a 13-1 seven-inning run rule victory over McNeese State Friday night at Cowboy Diamond. Texas State improved to 29-14 on the season and 19-6 in Southland Conference action.
With two out in the first inning, Jason Martinson reached base with a single into left field and one at bat later, Jeff McVaney gave Texas State a 2-0 lead with his eighth homer of the season.
McNeese was able to answer with an unearned run in the bottom of the first, but Carson Smith maintained on the mound and blanked the foe for the remaining innings. The sophomore fanned the side in the second and retired the side in order from the third through the sixth. In the seventh on two outs, Smith hit one batter and allowed a single, but got the final McNeese batter to fly out to earn his seventh win of the season.
Smith (7-3) tossed his third complete game in the victory and allowed just two hits, while striking out nine.
A solo homer by Andrew Stumph highlighted Texas State’s scoring in the second, followed by a six-run fifth frame. McVaney added another long ball in the sixth and Kyle Livingstone capped the winning decision with a two-run homer, his eighth of the season as well, in the seventh.
All but one Bobcat starter recorded a hit in tonight’s 13-hit attack. McVaney went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and four RBI to lead the team.
Dustin Lloyd took the loss for McNeese State. The right-hander allowed 10 hits and 10 runs, walked three batters and recorded just one strikeout in the loss.
Saturday’s game against the Cowboys is set for 3 p.m.
