Tucker's 11 RBI Power No. 22 Florida Over UCF, 16-3
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida freshman Preston Tucker (Tampa, Fla.) tied the SEC single-game record and established a school mark with 11 runs batted in to lift the No. 22 Gators (21-11) to a 16-3 win over UCF (11-22) on Wednesday night at McKethan Stadium. The rookie first baseman cranked grand slams in both the fifth (right field) and seventh (center field) innings, sandwiched around a three-run bomb in the sixth to left center.
With a 3-for-4 effort tonight, Tucker is an eye-popping .833 (10-for-12) with 20 RBI and six homers over the past three games. His 11 RBI matched the league record total by Jason Nappi of Mississippi State in a 2008 game against UAB and surpassed the previous Gator mark of 10 shared by Avery Barnes (vs. Tennessee, 5/18/07) and Adam Davis (vs. Tennessee, 4/30/05).
Tucker became the third player in SEC history to belt a pair of grand slams in a single outing, along with Roger Miller of Georgia (1987) and Frank Baldasare of Auburn (1968). In addition, he became just the seventh Florida player to hit three homers in game, joining Brian Leclerc (vs. Florida A&M, 2/15/05), Ryan Shealy (vs. Ole Miss, 3/15/02), Pat Osborn (vs. Winthrop, 2/16/02), Greg Catalanotte (vs. Charleston Southern, 3/24/98), Brad Wilkerson (vs. Mercer, 1/30/98) and Mark Ellis (vs. USF, 5/7/97).
"Preston has been a natural hitter since day one," head coach Kevin O'Sullivan said. "He gives us an added dimension of power, something that we haven't had a whole lot of. All of his home runs were impressive. That one down the right-field line in the fifth I think hit Keys (a dorm across the street from the stadium). The second one was opposite field and that's something we've been working on. The third one was a laser; it didn't get 10 feet off of the ground."
"I've been seeing the ball great and felt pretty good coming into tonight," Tucker said. "I didn't think that I would have a night like this. Everything is working out. I've never done that (hit three home runs) before, so I've never had the emotional high you get when you hit three home runs in a game. I'm still in awe.
"I knew a lot of guys were joking, trying to get me to hit another one (in my third at bat). It was a sigh of relief when I hit the third one but the first one was the best. We were down 3-1 at the time and I was just trying to get the team the lead."
UCF senior Colin Arnold (2-for-4) and freshman Beau Taylor (2-for-3) opened the game with consecutive singles off freshman Justin Poovey (Granite Falls, N.C.) before the right-hander had junior Shane Brown hit into a 6-4-3 double play and senior Brandon Romans ground out.
The Gators threatened in the second but were kept at bay by junior Austin Hudson. Tucker drew a leadoff walk but was forced out at second base on a fielder's choice by sophomore Josh Adams (Jacksonville, Fla.). Although senior Brandon McArthur (Seffner, Fla.) (2-for-4) roped his sixth double down the left-field line for a pair of runners in scoring position, Hudson struck out freshman Ben McMahan (Windermere, Fla.) and had senior Teddy Foster (Jacksonville, Fla.) foul out to the catcher.
The Knights grabbed a 3-0 lead in the third on a double by Taylor and a two-run single by Romans. Junior Kyle Mills was plunked with one down and needed to be replaced by freshman pinch runner Jake Huxtable. Arnold singled to center and Taylor sent a two-bagger into left to open the scoring. UF cut down Arnold at the plate on a fielder's choice by Brown but Romans delivered an RBI single to clear the bases and prompt a pitching change, as freshman Alex Panteliodis (Tampa, Fla.) replaced Poovey (2.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R).
Florida got on the board in the bottom of the frame on a triple by senior Avery Barnes (High Springs, Fla.) that brought acrden Dekker (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), who had reached on a fielder's choice. Barnes' team-leading fifth triple raised his hitting streak to seven games.
Huxtable reached on an infield hit to start the fifth and moved to second on a wild pitch with one down. After Panteliodis (1.2 IP, 1 H) hit Taylor, freshman Anthony DeSclafani (Freehold, N.J.) (3-1) had Brown tap into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play. DeSclafani picked up the win by tossing 2.1 scoreless innings in which he permitted one hit.
Tucker cranked his first career grand slam with two down in the fifth to give the Gators a 5-3 lead. Foster was plunked by sophomore reliever Evan Stobbs to start the frame and was sacrificed to second by junior Mike Mooney (Loxahatchee, Fla.). den Dekker earned a free pass from Stobbs and UCF called junior Cory Weech (3-1) in from the bullpen. The righty struck out freshman Daniel Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla.) and issued a two-out walk to Barnes to load the bases. Tucker stepped to the plate and launched a towering blast over the right-field fence for his team-high fifth homer to put the Gators on top. It marked the third-straight game with a round-tripper for the rookie and his third-straight outing with at least four RBI.
The Gators put the game out of reach with six runs on four hits and UCF error in the sixth. McArthur started the inning with his second double of the game and scored when Foster's grounder was misplayed by senior shortstop Eric Kallstrom. Mooney doubled to left field for a pair of runners in scoring position and den Dekker coaxed a walk from freshman D.J. Hicks to load the bases. Freshman Tyler Thompson (Tequesta, Fla.) ripped a pinch-hit single to score Foster and Barnes followed with a sac fly into left to increase UF's margin to five runs. Tucker then cleared the bases with a three-run shot over the wall in left center for an 11-3 bulge.
McMahan connected on his first career homer off senior Caleb Graham to open the home part of the seventh to help the Orange and Blue build a 12-3 lead. It was also his first RBI of the campaign. den Dekker singled and sophomore Riley Cooper (Clearwater, Fla.) singled for runners on the corners. Following a walk to junior pinch hitter Jonathan Pigott (Ormond Beach, Fla.), Tucker jacked his second grand slam of the night to straightaway center field to finalize the 16-3 score.
The Gators (7-5) resume Southeastern Conference action on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series at Auburn (22-10/6-6 SEC). First pitch from Plainsman Park will be at 7 p.m.
REBELS PITCH 7-0 SHUTOUT OF NEW ORLEANS FOR EIGHTH STRAIGHT WIN
OXFORD, Miss. -- Senior left-hander Brett Bukvich pitched 7.0 scoreless innings to set the tone for the Rebels as No. 14 Ole Miss (24-8) defeated New Orleans (13-18) by a score of 7-0 on Wednesday.
The win is the eighth straight for the Rebels who will return to action this weekend with a three-game series against South Carolina at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field. It is the first time that New Orleans has been shutout since a shutout loss at Tulane on March 13, 2007.
Bukvich (4-1) picked up the win as he allowed only three hits, walked two and struck out seven on the night. Kyle Barbeck and Wade Broyles pitched the final 2.0 innings to combine for the shutout with Bukvich.
Cory Meyers (2-4) suffered the loss for the Privateers as he allowed three runs on three hits with two walks in his 2.0 innings on the mound. Myers was the first of nine pitchers used by New Orleans on the night.
"I think this was one of our better games of the year," said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. "Brett Bukvich made it look easy tonight. He has 19 wins in his career and this might go down as one of his best performances. He just really dominated the zone tonight. It was nice to see Logan Power get going again at the plate and look like the Logan Power we saw at the beginning of the year. I thought it was a well-played game."
Ole Miss scored early and often with a two run first inning as Matt Snyder sparked a two-out rally for the Rebels. Snyder singled before moving to second when Matt Smith was hit by a pitch. Both Snyder and Smith scored on a double down the left field line from David Phillips in the next at bat to get Ole Miss on the board.
Kevin Mort scored the third run in the second inning when he scored from second on a double from Brett Basham. Mort walked before taking second on a wild pitch to get into scoring position for the Basham hit as Ole Miss moved on top 3-0.
Power plated the fourth run of the game in the fifth inning when he scored from third on a balk. Power doubled and stole third before scoring on the balk to give the Rebels a 4-0 advantage after five complete.
Zach Miller scored in the sixth as he drew a walk, stole second and third before coming home on a sac fly from Mort.
Jordan Henry scored the sixth run after reaching on a fielding error in the second. He moved to third on a single from Power and scored a batter later on a single from pinch-hitting Michael Snyder.
The Rebels scored the final run of the game in the eighth when Mort doubled and then scored on a single from Taylor Hightower for the final score of 7-0.
Ole Miss will return to action on Friday at 6:30 p.m. when the Rebels play host to South Carolina in a three-game Southeastern Conference series at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field.
SECOND-RANKED LSU DEFEATS GRAMBLING STATE, 8-4
BATON ROUGE -- LSU second baseman Ryan Schimpf launched a two-run blast, and third baseman Derek Helenihi delivered an inside-the-park home run to propel the second-ranked Tigers past Grambling State, 8-4, Wednesday night in Alex Box Stadium.
With the victory, the Tigers improved to 24-8 on the season. Grambling fell to 5-25 with the loss.
Schimpf's dinger was his seventh of the season, while Helenihi's inside-the-park homer was the second in two seasons for LSU. Outfielder Jared Mitchell accomplished the feat last season against Stetson on March 8, 2008.
Right-hander Nolan Cain (2-0) earned the victory after pitching a scoreless fifth inning. LSU starter Ben Alsup, who was pressed into duty because of a pregame injury to projected starter Randy Zeigler, performed admirably as the sophomore fired four innings of no-hit ball and struck out a career-high five batters.
"Ben Alsup was rushed into the emergency start, and he was magnificent," LSU head coach Paul Mainieri said. "He threw the ball great and gave our team a chance to get our offense going.
"It wasn't the greatest performance we've ever had, but I wasn't disappointed at all with our effort and focus. I thought the kids went out and played really hard tonight."
After stranding several base runners in the first two innings, the LSU bats came through in the bottom of the third to take a 2-0 lead. Following a lead-off single by left fielder Chris McGhee, Schimpf blasted a mammoth two-run homer to the deepest part of the ball park in center field.
The Tigers added to their lead in the fourth with two runs off Grambling's Baron Hinton. Right fielder Mikie Mahtook drilled an RBI double into right center field, and third baseman Tyler Hanover followed with an RBI single to put LSU up, 4-0.
After LSU scored two more runs in the fifth, Grambling chipped away at the Tigers' lead with a big sixth inning, plating four runs to cut the deficit to 6-4.
However, the Tigers struck back in the bottom of the frame when Helenihi connected on the inside-the-park homer to give LSU a 7-4 advantage. Helenihi drove a deep fly into right center, which caromed off the wall and got past center fielder Anthony Clifton, allowing the senior to round all four bases.
LSU tallied an insurance run in the eighth as designated hitter Blake Dean notched an RBI on a fielder's choice to increase the lead to 8-4. The bullpen trio of Daniel Bradshaw, Shane Riedie and Jordan Nicholson kept Grambling off the scoreboard in the final two innings to preserve the victory.
Hinton (0-1), who gave up nine hits and six earned runs in 4.1 innings, was charged with the loss.
LSU travels to Alabama this weekend to face the Crimson Tide. Game 1 begins Friday at 6:35 p.m. (CDT). The game can be heard on the LSU Sports Radio Network (98.1 FM), and live audio and stats will be available on www.LSUsports.net.
Auburn Picks Up 14th Straight Non-Conference Win, Downs Bethune-Cookman, 6-3, On Wednesday
AUBURN, Ala. – Joseph Sanders and Hunter Morris each hit home runs and Scott Shuman picked up his first win in over a year as Auburn ran its non-conference winning streak to 14 with a 6-3 win over Bethune-Cookman at Plainsman Park on Wednesday night. Auburn improved to 22-10 with the win while Bethune-Cookman dropped to 15-17.
"I thought we pitched very well yesterday and today. Scott Shuman threw the ball well again after throwing it well at Mississippi State (last weekend)," Auburn Head Coach John Pawlowski said. "Our goals this week with two midweek games was to play solid baseball and find a way to win a couple of games, and we did that. Now we have to get ready for Florida."
Morris finished the night 2-for-3 to run his hitting streak to seven games and pick up his eighth multi-hit game of the season while Sanders' two RBI gives him nine multi-RBI games tonight and ups his season total to 44. The pair also upped the season home-run total to 69.
Scott Shuman (1-0) earned his first win since March 9, 2008, entering in the fifth with Auburn up 3-1 and runners on first and second and two out. He induced a groundball out of Chris Brown to end the inning and then retired six of the next nine hitters he faced before running into trouble in the eighth., allowing a leadoff walk, a two-run home run and another walk before being taken out of the game with one on and one out in the inning. He finished the night allowing two runs on three hits and three walks, striking out three in 2 2/3 innings.
Ryan Durrence drove in all three of Bethune-Cookman's runs, hitting a one-out solo home run in the second off of Auburn starter Paul Burnside and then a one-out, two-run shot off of Shuman in the eighth.
Bethune-Cookman starter Joseph Munoz (2-4) took the loss, surrendering four runs on six hits and three walks in four-plus innings, leaving after Morris' fifth-inning home run.
Austin Hubbard picked up his second save in as many nights, entering with two on and two out in the eighth and walking the first hitter he faced before fanning Drew Clark with the bases loaded to end the eighth. He then pitched around a leadoff triple in the ninth, striking out the heart of the Bethune-Cookman order, to earn his seventh save of the season and up his season strikeout tally to 39 in just 23 1/3 innings.
Sanders' 14th home run of the season erased a one-run deficit in the third and turned it into a 2-1 Auburn lead as he sent a 2-1 pitch out to left-center with Trent Mummey on first after being hit by a pitch.
Mummey's two-out single to right in the fourth scored Casey McElroy, who had walked to start the inning, to put Auburn up 3-1 before Morris delivered his eighth home run of the season in the fifth for a 4-1 lead with none out in the inning.
Following the Morris blast, Tony Caldwell continued his hot streak at the plate, tripling off of Bethune-Cookman reliever Edgar Serra and scoring on a wild pitch to make it 5-1 Auburn.
Auburn tacked on a final run in the bottom of the eighth as McElroy singled, went to second on an errant pickoff throw to first, moved up to third on a wild pitch and scored on Justin Hargett's single.
Making his first start since March 22, Burnside pitched into the fifth inning, allowing a run on three hits and three walks in 4 2/3 innings, striking out three.
Auburn finished the game with a season-high five stolen bases, with Hargett stealing two and McElroy, Morris and Mummey each grabbing one.
Auburn returns to Southeastern Conference action this weekend when it plays host to No. 22 Florida for three games, beginning Friday at 6pm CT. The series continues on Saturday at 3pm and concludes on Sunday at 1pm.
DUFFY WALK-OFF LIFTS MSU PAST SOUTHERN MISS
STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Mississippi State's Ryan Duffy hit a towering walk-off home run to left field in the bottom of the ninth inning lifting the Bulldogs past in-state rival Southern Miss 7-6 in college baseball action Wednesday night at Dudy Noble Field.
The Bulldogs improved to 18-15 overall and 15-4 at Dudy Noble Field this season. Southern Miss fell to 20-11. The Golden Eagles had entered the contest with a nation's best 7-0 mark in true road games on the season. The teams wind up splitting the 2009 season series as the Bulldogs snap an overall three-game slide to the Golden Eagles.
Duffy brought things to a dramatic closure Wednesday night. The junior designated hitter hit Collin Cargill's 1-0 pitch into the left field lounge for his fourth home run of the season, marking MSU's second win by walk-off this season.
"I was really just looking to put the barrel (of the bat) on the ball," Duffy said. "Fortunately, it worked out very well for us. This is a really big win going into a huge series this weekend in Knoxville."
While the Bulldogs did match a season-best with three home runs, the story of the contest may have been pitching and defense. MSU matched a school record with five turned double plays. The Bulldogs also got a much-needed lift from the pitching duo of Chad Crosswhite and Paxton Pace.
Pace (1-0), who had appeared in two games prior to the Wednesday's relief work, threw the final four innings to garner his first win as a Bulldog. Pace allowed six hits and four runs (one earned), with one strikeout and no walks.
Starter Chad Crosswhite was lifted after a leadoff hit batsman in the sixth inning. Crosswhite allowed three hits and two runs (both earned), with two walks and one strikeout.
MSU struck first Wednesday night, as Connor Powers greeted Southern Miss starter Seth Hester with a two-run home run to center field. For Powers, it was his team-best ninth home run and fourth in the last five games.
The Bulldogs still held a 3-1 lead before Southern Miss tallied four runs in the sixth inning.
In that at-bat, MSU opened the door with the hit batsman and a catcher's interference call. Bo Davis and James Ewing had RBI-singles. A passed ball scored another run and Joey Archer's sacrifice-fly extended the lead to 5-3.
The Bulldogs stormed right back with two scores in the sixth inning. Duffy started things with a double to right center field. After a walk, Hester was replaced by Wade Weathers. Weathers issued a walk to Ryan Collins and gave up an RBI-single to Ryan Powers. Jonathan Johnston followed and allowed the game-tying sacrifice-fly to Grant Hogue.
Kyle Lindsey followed in relief for USM and worked the Golden Eagles out of the sixth inning before being touched for Russ Sneed's fifth home run of the season in the seventh inning. That long ball gave the Bulldogs a briefly-held 6-5 lead.
Southern Miss forced the game's final tie in the eighth inning when Kameron Brunty singled and Joey Archer followed with an RBI-double. Again, the MSU defense sparkled, as a great outfield catch by Collins meant no more damage in that at-bat.
Cargill (2-2) entered in the eighth inning. He worked around a one-out walk before giving up Duffy's game-winner an inning later.
"One thing you can say about our team is we are always going to compete and play hard," Duffy said. "That is what our fans deserve to see. Even after the disappointing loss on Sunday, the mindset was to get right back after it and win a couple of games in the midweek. Both teams played hard tonight. It was a back-and-forth game and we feel real good about getting the W."
MSU finished with 10 hits. The Bulldogs have now had double-digit hits in five straight games. Ryan Powers, Luke Adkins, Sneed and Duffy all had multiple hits. Ryan Powers has now hit safely in 10 straight games.
Southern Miss finished with nine hits. Davis had three hits, while Ewing had two hits for the Golden Eagles.
MSU returns to the road for Easter weekend play in the Southeastern Conference. The Bulldogs face the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville. MSU and UT are scheduled to play at 6 p.m. CT Friday, noon CT Saturday and noon CT Sunday. All three MSU-UT games will be televised regionally by SportSouth.
Razorbacks Rally To Defeat Sun Devils, 8-7
FAYETTEVILLE -- Freshman Tim Carver had two hits including a game-winning single in the fifth inning to rally the No. 1 University of Arkansas baseball team to an 8-7 victory over No. 1 Arizona State in front of a Baum Stadium record 11,014 fans in Fayetteville on Friday night.
Arkansas (24-6) takes two from Arizona State (23-7) who was ranked No. 1 in three national polls entering the midweek series. The Hogs are now 7-1 against teams from the Pacific 10 conference this season.
"This was a great crowd and a great atmosphere," Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said. "When I saw the attendance on the scoreboard I couldn't believe it. The fans were a big part of both wins against Arizona State and we appreciate the support that we've had all season."
As the game began one could tell that it was going to be an impressive crowd as fans streamed in from the gates. No one would know just how big the crowd was until the seventh inning when it was announced that there were 11,434 tickets sold for the contest and more than 11,000 were in attendance. The two numbers dwarf the already robust Baum Stadium records of 10,727 tickets sold and 10,581 actual attendance set on May 5, 2007 against LSU. The two-game series with Arizona State brought 17,300 fans through the turnstiles, another Razorback record, this one for a midweek series, and the 19,776 tickets sold were also a midweek series record.
The Razorbacks had to rally against the Sun Devils who took advantage of four walks issued by Arkansas pitching and six hits to build a 6-1 lead by the end of the third. A first inning home run by Jason Kipnis, RBI hits by Abe Ruiz, Raoul Torrez and Kipnis had the Sun Devils looking as if they would earn a series split in Fayetteville.
The Hogs would score once in the second inning on three consecutive singles, but it was the Razorback fourth that changed the feel of the game. With one out Andy Wilkins hit a chopper to the shortstop who fielded the ball cleanly and fired to first. The good throw was dropped by Ruiz allowing Wilkins to remain on the bag and firing up the crowd which had been silenced by the Arizona State bats. Sophomore Brett Eibner followed up the error with a ground-rule double to center field and Andrew Darr connected on the second of his three hits into left field to plate both runners and make it a 6-4 game. A sacrifice bunt was followed by three more singles by Carver, Chase Leavitt and Bo Bigham and suddenly the Razorbacks were down by just one, 6-5.
"With the schedule that we play, we've been behind a lot this year, but we've never panicked," Van Horn said. "When we were down 5-0, we got a lot of at-bats and both teams were using middle of the week pitching and getting a little bit thin. When we got that inning where they had the error, we took advantage of that. We got some big two out hits and next thing you know we were right back in it and I thought our bullpen did a good job."
Arizona State added an unearned run in the top of the fifth to make it 7-5, but the Razorback bats were not done as two walks came back to burn the Arizona State pitching staff in the bottom of the inning. Darr singled to score the first run and with two outs Carver came to the plate with runners on second and third and delivered a single to left field plating Eibner and Darr and giving the Razorbacks their first and final lead.
"I told our guys these are two great wins, but I don't want these games to be the highlight of the season," Van Horn cautioned. "We have a lot of baseball left to play. I know we have guys in the clubhouse that can stay focused because they know what's up. I'm just real proud of them with the way they hung in."
On the mound the Razorbacks had some issues over the opening three innings, but the staff settled in and six pitchers combined to upend the Sun Devils. Zack Cox came into the game with one out in the fifth and tossed three innings of two hit ball with one walk to earn his third victory of the season. Tuesday night's winner Sam Murphy threw the end of the eighth to earn a hold and Stephen Richards closed out the contest with one inning of work including a pair of strikeouts to end it.
Arkansas pounded out 11 hits in the contest led by Darr's three and Carver and Eibner's two each. Other hits for the Razorbacks came from Leavitt, Bigham, Wilkins and catcher James McCann.
The Razorbacks get back into Southeastern Conference play this weekend when they host Vanderbilt for three games beginning on Friday night at 6:35 p.m. For more information regarding Razorback baseball or University of Arkansas athletics please visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com.
TENNESSEE WINS BIG OVER LIPSCOMB 17-3
Tennessee pounded out 19 hits, including home runs by Charley Thurber and Josh Liles, and scored multiple runs in three innings to defeat Lipscomb 17-3 on Wednesday night at Robert M. Lindsay Field at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Seven of nine Volunteer starters collected two hits as Tennessee (13-20) matched its season high of 19. Thurber finished the game 2-for-5 with three RBIs and P.J. Polk added two more RBIs with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate.
"It is good to see us swing the bats like we did tonight," UT coach Todd Raleigh said. "When you get Cody Hawn and Cody Brown in there at the same time the dynamics of our team are totally different. We are a lot more offensive. It was good not just scoring runs but how we scored the runs. We got a lot of big hits; a lot of guys did the right things."
Lipscomb falls to 13-19 and has lost nine of its last ten games.
Volunteer starter Ty'Relle Harris (3-2) pitched five innings, allowing one run on three hits while issuing two walks and striking out seven.
Lipscomb right hander Charles Williams (1-5) surrendered eight runs on eight hits through two innings of work. Williams did not issue a walk and struck out two.
Tennessee sent nine batters to the plate in the bottom of the first and scored five runs on three hits to take a 5-0 lead. The inning was highlighted by a three-run home run by Thurber. Tyler Horne and Cody Brown scored on the home run after back-to-back RBI singles.
Lipscomb catcher Jay Moreland led off the top of the third inning with a solo home run to right field, making the score 5-1.
The Volunteers took an 11-1 lead with a six-run third inning. Polk's two-run single got the scoring started. Polk then scored when shortstop Zach Osborne was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Osborne then scored on a throwing error by the catcher. Liles scored on a groundout by Cody Hawn and catcher Blake Forsythe capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly to center.
Liles gave Tennessee a 12-1 advantage with a solo home run to right-center field in the bottom of the fifth inning. The homer was his seventh of the season.
Lipscomb tallied two runs in the top of the eighth to make the score 13-3.
Tennessee added four runs on three hits in the bottom of the eight to take a 17-3 lead.
Steven Gruver, Dylan Hochevar, Josh Allman and Matt Ramsey pitched the final four innings out of the bullpen for Tennessee.
The Volunteers return to Southeastern Conference action this weekend when they host Mississippi State for a three-game series. Game times are set for 7 p.m. Eastern time Friday and 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. All three games will be televised regionally on SportSouth.
Georgia Splits Doubleheader With Winthrop
ATHENS -- Joey Lewis hit two home runs including a grand slam in the bottom of the third to lead Georgia to a 13-2 win over Winthrop as the fifth-ranked Bulldogs split a doubleheader with the Eagles Wednesday at Foley Field. Winthrop won the first game 7-4.
Lewis tied his career high with five RBI in the first game and hit two of Georgia's season-high five home runs. Rich Poythress, Peter Verdin and Levi Hyams also homered for the Bulldogs (26-6). Lewis had three hits while Poythress, Johnathan Taylor, Chase Davidson and Colby May all finished with two.
Poythress drove in four runs and is now tied for ninth on Georgia's career home runs (32) and RBI (155) lists.
Chase Hawkins (3-1) picked up the win, allowing just one run on five hits in five innings. Justin Earls, Jeff Walters, Will Harvil and Dean Weaver combined to surrender one run on three hits in the final four innings.
"The beauty of a doubleheader is that you can get a bad taste out of your mouth real quick and we had a bad taste after that first game," Georgia coach David Perno said. "You're only as good as your pitching and defense. It doesn't matter how good you hit, if you can pitch and can't catch, you're not going to win games. We just didn't do that in the first game."
The Bulldogs took a 1-0 lead on an RBI single by Poythress in the first. Winthrop (20-11) answered with a run in the third, then Lewis' grand slam put the Bulldogs ahead 5-1.
Poythress then hit a three-run blast in the fourth, his 14th of the season, to give Georgia an 8-1 lead.
Lewis connected on a solo home run in the sixth, then in the seventh Peter Verdin hit a pinch-hit two-run homer and Levi Hyams hit a two-run blast to make it 13-1. Winthrop added a run in the eighth.
Robert Lake (4-2) took the loss, surrendering seven runs on eight hits in 3.1 innings.
In game one, Winthrop took advantage of four Georgia errors and scored five unearned runs in the 7-4 win. The Eagles took the lead on three unearned runs in the third, and Matt Thielepape led off the fourth inning with a solo home run to give Winthrop a 4-0 edge. Another unearned run in the sixth made it 5-0.
Georgia broke through with a run in the bottom of the seventh and had the bases loaded with two outs when Tyler Mizenko struck out Levi Hyams to get out of the jam.
The Eagles got the run back in the eighth and added another in the ninth to go ahead 7-1. The Bulldogs scored three in the ninth and had the tying run on deck when Poythress grounded out to end the game.
Ken Monteith (3-1) allowed just one earned run on two hits in 6.1 innings to pick up the win. Georgia's Jason Leaver (3-1) allowed three runs—all unearned—on five hits in 2.2 innings to take the loss.
Georgia heads to Kentucky for a three-game series beginning Friday at 6:30 p.m.
WKU NABS WIN WITH RUN-SCORING BALK IN EIGHTH
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Sophomore southpaw Logan Darnell's balk in the top of the eighth inning forced home the go-ahead run – part of four runs scored off the Kentucky bullpen in the eighth – as the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers secured a 10-9, come-from-behind win over the Kentucky Wildcats, on Wednesday evening at Cliff Hagan Stadium.
Kentucky (18-13) held a 9-6 lead entering the top of the eighth, before Western struck for the go-ahead runs. The Wildcats pushed across six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take the 9-6 lead, erasing a 6-3 WKU lead. Western Kentucky turned to its ace Friday night starter, Louisville Slugger preseason All-American Matt Ridings, making only his second career relief appearance, notching the save with two scoreless innings. Ridings, a Baseball America preseason All-Sun Belt Conference first-team selection in 2009, struck out the side in the eighth and allowed one pesky single from lead-off man Chris Bisson in the ninth. A year ago, Ridings tallied a team-high 10-3 record and a 3.88 ERA in 15 starts, striking out 98 in 92.2 innings, the sixth-most strikeouts in WKU season history, becoming only the fifth player in school history to claim 10 wins, third-most in program annals.
The Sun Belt leader through 12 games of the conference season in 2009, Western Kentucky has emerged as the top program in the Sun Belt, just a year removed from the league crown and an appearance in the NCAA Athens Regional. The win for WKU marks its first win in the series in the last four meetings, with the last win coming in 2006, during UK's Southeastern Conference Championship run. UK leads the all-time series with the Hilltoppers, 30-21.
Western Kentucky (22-9) was led in the game offensively by six players who each captured two hit nights, including Chad Cregar, Matt Rice, Matt Hightower, Terrance Dayleg, Jake Wells and Kes Carter. Rice, Hightower and Carter each had two RBI in the game for WKU. Rice had a key two-run double down the left field line in the eighth inning that helped propel WKU to the win. Hightower's RBI came in the second and third inning when he drove in a run on a single in the second and blasted a solo shot over the right center field wall in the third. Both of Carter's RBI came in the second inning when he hit a two-run single to right field.
Kentucky was led offensively in the game by junior Gunner Glad who was 2-for-5 on the night with three RBI. Glad has been on a tear for the Wildcats since returning to the lineup after an injury at the beginning of the season. On the season, the native of Tulsa, Okla., holds a .370 average with 20 RBI, with 12 RBI coming with two out. UK also got multi-hit nights from sophomore Chris Bisson, who was 2-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored and senior Chris McClendon, who finished 2-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored.
Western Kentucky used 10 pitchers in the game, getting shutout pitching from Ross Hammonds (2.0 innings), Garrie Krueger (0.2 innings), Harry Stubel (0.1 innings), Aaron Mayfield (0.2 innings), Bart Carter (1.0 innings) and Ridings (2.0 innings). Senior reliever Evan Teague started the game for the Hilltoppers going two innings, giving up one earned run on two hits, striking out three. The win was issued to Carter, who is now 3-1 on the season.
Kentucky used a combination of junior Clint Tilford, sophomore Mike Kaczmarek, junior Tyler Henry, freshman Braden Kapteyn and Darnell. Tilford, a West Paducah, Ky., native, started the game for the Wildcats, going 2.2 innings, giving up four runs on seven hits while striking out two. Kaczmarek threw a scoreless inning for the Wildcats, giving up no hits and striking out three. Henry went two innings giving up two runs on two hits and Kapteyn went 1.1 frames for Kentucky giving up three runs on three hits. The loss was given to Darnell who went two innings, giving up one earned run on two hits and striking out five of the six outs he recorded.
Kentucky will return to action Friday when they host a three-game series with No. 3 Georgia at Cliff Hagan Stadium with first pitch slated for 6:30 pm ET. All the action can be heard on the Big Blue Sports Network (radio) with the Voice of UK Baseball, Neil Price, calling the action. Fans in Lexington can hear the game live on WLAP 630-AM and in Louisville on WKJK 1080-AM. Kentucky will start freshman right-hander Alex Meyer Friday, senior Chris Rusin Saturday and junior James Paxton Sunday.
Western Kentucky got on the board first when Tilford gave up three consecutive hits to start off the second inning. The first hit was a double down the right field line by slugger Cregar, who advanced to third on the single by Rice and later scored when Hightower grounded a ball through the left side of the infield. After Tilford got a fielder's choice and a groundout to first to put runners at second and third with two outs, Carter sent a sharp single over the head of Bisson, giving WKU a three-run lead. Tilford then walked Jared Andreoli to put runners on first and second with two outs for Matt Peyton who was hit by a pitch to load the bases. The Kentucky righty then got Wade Gaynor to strikeout to end the inning.
The Wildcats answered with a run of their own in the bottom of the second, when Marcus Nidiffer roped a single up the middle scoring Keenan Wiley from second. The inning started when Spencer Korus walked and was thrown out at second when Wiley grounded into a fielder's choice at second. Wiley then stole second base, and after a Kapteyn strikeout, Nidiffer sent a scorched line drive up the middle scoring Wiley easily and cutting the WKU lead to two. The inning ended when Chad Wright flied out to deep center field.
The Hilltoppers got the run back in the third inning when Hightower picked up his second RBI of the game on his sixth homer of the year. With a 3-1 count and two outs, Hightower sent a laser shot to right center field over the McDonalds sign giving WKU a 4-1 lead. After back-to-back singles by Dayleg and Wells, UK Head Coach Gary Henderson made a pitching change bringing in lefty Mike Kaczmarek to face Carter. Carter struck out looking on a brilliant breaking ball by Kaczmarek to end the inning.
Kentucky tried to get a rally going in the fourth inning when junior Glad leadoff the inning reaching on an error by the third baseman. After Korus got hit by a pitch, Wiley and Kapteyn both struck out looking, leaving runners on first and second with two outs with Nidiffer coming to the plate. The Kentucky catcher struck out, ending the inning.
The Wildcats got a big two-out rally going in the fifth inning when Chris Wade got a two-out single up the middle, later scoring on a Glad single through the right side. After Wade's single, McClendon got a base hit to right field moving Wade into scoring position at second base for Glad. The Kentucky first baseman then singled just past the Hilltopper third baseman, easily scoring Wade and putting runners at first and second with Korus stepping to the plate. After Korus walked, McClendon scored for Kentucky on a wild pitch during the at bat of Wiley who grounded out to the pitcher to end the inning with Kentucky still down one run.
WKU answered the Kentucky rally in the fifth with a run in the sixth inning. The inning started with a leadoff single through the right side of the infield by Carter. After a strikeout of Andreoli, Henry hit a batter putting runners on first and second for Gaynor, who popped up to right field. Cregar then got his first RBI of the game with a double down the right field line, putting runners on second and third with two outs. Kentucky then went to the bullpen and brought in Kapteyn who threw a wild pitch, bringing home Matt Payton and giving WKU a 6-3 lead. Kapteyn got out of the inning when Rice grounded out to second.
UK responded when WKU pitcher J.B. Paxson loaded the bases after a Kapteyn lead-off double, the seventh of the year for the freshman. With the bases loaded and no outs, Paxson walked Bisson to cut the WKU lead to two, bringing up Wade with the bases still loaded. The Hilltoppers brought in a new pitcher in the form Chad Adcock, who hit Wade with a pitch, for Kentucky's second run of the inning. Kentucky tied the game when McClendon hit a rope single into left center field, scoring Rose and bringing up Glad with the bases still loaded. On the next pitch, Kentucky grabbed their first lead of the game when Glad singled through the left side, scoring two runs and putting runners on first and second with still no outs for Korus. After Korus struck out, Wiley sent a single over the head of the WKU shortstop scoring McClendon from second. Western Kentucky then changed pitchers, bringing in Mayfield, who struck out Kapteyn. The inning ended when Nidiffer struck out swinging, with Kentucky up 9-6.
Western Kentucky put together a game-winning rally in the eighth inning when Andreoli hit a double to left center field and came home to score on a single sharply hit up the middle by Payton. After Kapteyn hit a batter, Kentucky brought in Darnell who struck out the first batter he faced, but then gave up a double on a line drive just over the head of McClendon scoring two runs and tying the game at nine. Darnell then got another strikeout for the second out of the inning and after giving up a swinging bunt single to Dayleg, Darnell then balked brining in the runner from third and giving WKU a one run lead. The inning ended on a fly out to right field by Wells.
GAMECOCKS FALL 7-5 AT CLEMSON
Clemson, S.C. -- No. 20 Clemson scored three runs in both the third and fifth innings on its way to a 7-5 victory over South Carolina on Wednesday evening at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The win improves Clemson to 21-11 on the year while the loss drops Carolina to 21-11 for the season. Wednesday ended a six-game winning streak by the Gamecocks over the Tigers. South Carolina has won nine of the last 11 games between the two schools. South Carolina returns to action this weekend with an SEC road series at Ole Miss beginning on Friday night at 7:30 pm ET.
Clemson reliever Matt Vaughn earned the win after two innings of relief. He allowed one run on two hits with a walk and a strikeout. Carolina reliever Will Casey suffered the loss and is 0-1 on the year. He allowed four runs on three hits in 2.2 innings of work with two walks and one strikeout.
The Tigers out-hit South Carolina 9-7 on the evening. Kyle Parker went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a RBI to lead the Tigers. Seven different players recorded hits for Carolina.
South Carolina broke ahead 1-0 in the top of the second inning. Nick Ebert drew a leadoff walk and after a groundout advanced him to second base would score on Adam Matthews' RBI double down the left field line. Matthews ripped a 2-1 pitch from Clemson starter Ryan Hinson into the left field corner to put the Gamecocks out in front.
Carolina increased the advantage to 2-0 in the third inning. Whit Merrifield reached base with one out on a bunt single, DeAngelo Mack then was hit by a pitch and both advanced to second and third on a double steal. Merrifield would score on Nick Ebert's RBI groundout to shortstop.
The Tigers responded in the bottom of the third though with three runs to take a one-run lead. Mike Freeman walked for the second time in the game and scored on Addison Johnson's two-run homer to right center. That ended the evening for Gamecock starter Adam Westmoreland with left-hander Will Casey entering the game for Carolina. Clemson would get consecutive one-out doubles from Ben Paulsen and Kyle Parker to go ahead 3-2.
South Carolina answered in the top of the fourth with a single run to tie the game at the three apiece. Matthews reached base for a second time in the game with a leadoff walk and advanced to third on a failed pickoff by Hinson. Clemson would then go to the bullpen for right-hander Matt Vaughn, who allowed a sacrifice fly to center field by Justin Dalles that scored Matthews and evened the game.
The Gamecocks regained the lead with a run in the top of the fifth inning. Mack walked with one out, stole second base and advanced to third on a single from Ebert. He would then score as Andrew Crisp reached base on a RBI fielder's choice.
Clemson responded in the bottom half with its second three-run inning of the game to regain the lead 6-4. With Ben Paulsen on first base and one out, the Tigers loaded the bases with consecutive walks by Casey issued to Parker and Brad Miller. Paulsen would score the tying run on Wilson Boyd's RBI sacrifice fly to left field. Clemson added two more runs then with consecutive RBI base hits by pinch hitter Chris Epps and Jason Stolz. Epps drove a 3-2 pitch from reliever Parker Bangs for a single to right field and Stolz hit a grounder up the middle for an infield hit as Clemson built a two-run advantage.
Clemson increased the lead to 7-4 in the sixth inning with another run despite not recording a hit in the frame. Jeff Schaus reached base with one out on a hit by pitch and Paulsen walked to give the Tigers a pair of runners. With two outs, left-handed reliever Brandon Miller would walk both Brad Miller and Wilson Boyd to score Schaus. Carolina scored a single run in the ninth inning as DeAngelo Mack tallied a two-out RBI base hit to score Jackie Bradley, Jr.