GAMECOCKS TAKE GAME ONE OF DOUBLEHEADER 6-3 OVER USC UPSTATE
Columbia, S.C. -- Andrew Crisp hit a three-run homer and reliever Parker Bangs did not allow an earned run in 4.2 innings of work as South Carolina defeated USC Upstate 6-3 in game one of a doubleheader at Carolina Stadium. Game two of the doubleheader is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET at Carolina Stadium. The second contest will also last seven innings.
Bangs picked up the win and allowed just one run, unearned, on two hits with five strikeouts and one walk. He is 3-2 on the year. USC Upstate reliever Austin Moyer suffered the loss and is 3-7 on the year. He allowed six runs on eight hits with a strikeout and four walks.
South Carolina broke ahead 2-0 in the bottom of the first inning. The top four hitters in the lineup all reached base on hits with Nick Ebert driving in Whit Merrifield with a RBI single and Jackie Bradley, Jr. tallying a RBI single to score DeAngelo Mack.
USC Upstate would get on the scoreboard with a single run in the top of the second inning. Tommy Shovlin drew a one-out walk and after a sacrifice bunt scored on Blake Green's RBI single to left field. Upstate would tie it in the top of the third inning as Eric Guillen and Jimmy Tanner each singled to open the frame with Phillip Morgan driving home Guillen on a RBI base hit.
Tied at 2-2, the Gamecocks stormed ahead in the bottom of the third to score four runs and take a 6-2 lead. Bradley tallied his second hit of the game with two outs, a triple to deep left center that scored Mack and after a walk to Justin Dalles, the Gamecocks pushed ahead by four on the back of a three-run homer by Andrew Crisp. The homer to right center was Crisp's 10th of the season and makes him the fifth Gamecock player to record double-digit home runs this year.
USC Upstate would scratch across an unearned run in the top of the fifth inning. With one out and runners on first and third base, Gamecock reliever Parker Bangs struck out Tommy Shovlin. On the play, catcher Justin Dalles threw down to second base in attempt to nab Ryan Wilkins, who was going for a stolen base. On the play, the throw was low and got by second baseman Scott Wingo allowing Jimmy Tanner to score from third base.
Carolina finished with a 9-8 advantage in hits with Bradley 3-for-3 with two RBI. Jimmy Tanner was also 3-for-3 for USC Upstate.
BASEBALL BULLDOGS KNOCK OFF MEMPHIS
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Mississippi State concluded the non-conference portion of its baseball schedule with a hard-fought 6-5 win over the Memphis Tigers Tuesday afternoon at AutoZone Park.
The Bulldogs rode an outstanding pitching performance from junior right-hander Justin Bussey and three long balls to the victory. Cody Freeman hit a pair of home runs, while Ryan Duffy hit the game-winner in the eighth inning,
MSU has now won 11 of it last 12 meetings with Conference USA member Memphis. The Bulldogs now have a chance to finish the season with a break-even record. MSU has won three of its last four and is now 24-27 overall. Meanwhile, Memphis dropped to 21-29.
The Bulldogs broke on top with three runs in the second inning. Jet Butler drew a walk and later scored on an RBI-double by Grant Hogue. Freeman followed with a two-run home run to left field.
Memphis answered with two runs in the second inning and took the lead with three more scores in the third inning. Trey Wiedman hit a home run in the Memphis second inning. The Tigers took the lead thanks to an RBI-double by Tyler Huelsing, an RBI-single by Adam T. McLain and an RBI-single by Shawn Ablett.
From there, the story would be Bussey (2-2). The former Shelton State CC standout worked his longest outing with the Maroon and White, hurling six straight scoreless innings. Bussey allowed two hits, hit two batters, walked no one and struck out six to earn the victory.
The Bulldogs rallied on a sacrifice-fly by Connor Powers in the fourth inning and Freeman’s second home run of the day and sixth of the season. On Powers’ hit, Hogue actually scored from second base, taking two bases on the flyout.
Duffy broke the tie in the eighth inning by hitting a towering pinch-hit home run to right field - his ninth of the season.
The Bulldogs finished with 10 hits. Hogue, Freeman and Butler had mutiple hits.
The Tigers finished with nine hits. Cole Shelton and Drew Martinez had multiple hits for UM.
Ryan Fraser (3-5) threw five innings in middle relief for the Tigers and took the loss. Starting pitcher Ryan Holland.
For MSU, Greg Houston drew the start but was chased during the Memphis three-run third inning. Drew Hollinghead completed that inning before giving way to Bussey.
MSU closes its 2009 regular season by hosing second-ranked LSU this weekend in a three-game Southeastern Conference series. The Bulldogs and Tigers meet at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, 6:30 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday.
GAMECOCKS SWEEP DOUBLEHEADER AGAINST USC UPSTATE WITH 9-2 WIN IN NIGHTCAP
Columbia, S.C. - Andrew Crisp tied his career-high with four RBI on a pair of doubles and starting pitcher Adam Westmoreland allowed just two runs in 5.1 innings of work as South Carolina defeated USC Upstate 9-2 in game two of a doubleheader to sweep the twin bill on Tuesday evening at Carolina Stadium. The Gamecocks also earned a 6-3 win earlier in the day over the Spartans. Both games were seven inning contests. Carolina is now 34-19 on the year while the loss drops USC Upstate to 14-37 for the season. The Gamecocks close out the regular season with a three-game SEC series vs. Georgia beginning on Thursday night at 7 p.m. at Carolina Stadium.
Westmoreland worked into the sixth inning and yielded just two runs on seven hits while striking out seven and walking one to pick up the win. He is now 4-2 on the year. USC Upstate starter Phillip Myers lasted only one inning and allowed three runs on three hits to suffer the loss. He is now 1-4 on the year.
"Obviously it was a very productive night for us to pick up a couple wins, against a team that has been playing very well," said South Carolina head coach Ray Tanner. "We tried to prepare our team for USC Upstate and they have played really well in the past couple weeks. We had some really good at bats tonight. I think the turning point in the first game was (Parker) Bangs getting out of the jam and he kept the game in check. (Adam) Westmoreland did a nice job as well. He gave up some hits but only walked one guy. It was a good day for us. We made a couple mistakes but I was happy with our guys for getting two wins."
South Carolina broke ahead 3-0 in the bottom of the first inning. Whit Merrifield led off with a single and scored on DeAngelo Mack's RBI double down the left field line. The double extended Mack's hitting streak to 14 games. Nick Ebert followed with a walk and both Ebert and Mack would score on Parker Bangs' RBI double down the left field line.
Upstate would put two runs on the board in the top of the third inning. Keith Bisgounis doubled with one out and scored on Eric Guillen's two-out RBI double down the right field line. After a single by Ryan Wilkins, the Spartans would score their second run on a RBI infield single by Jimmy Tanner.
The Gamecocks answered with two runs of its own in the bottom half of the third as Crisp drove in Jackie Bradley, Jr. and pinch runner Adam Matthews on a RBI double to left centerfield.
It would remain 5-2 until the sixth inning when Carolina piled four more runs on the board. Crisp tallied his second two-run double of the night with Ebert also recording a RBI on a bases loaded walk and Bradley registering a sacrifice fly to drive in a run.
Carolina out-hit USC Upstate 10-8 in the nightcap. Merrifield, Mack and Crisp all had two hits. Bangs drove in two runs. Eric Guillen was 2-for-4 for USC Upstate.
No. 11 Florida Downs Jacksonville, 7-4
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – No. 11 Florida (36-17) knocked off Jacksonville (33-18), 7-4, on Tuesday night at McKethan Stadium to conclude the non-league portion of its schedule. Junior Mike Mooney (Loxahatchee, Fla.) snapped a 2-2 tie with a three-run homer in the fourth and junior Matt den Dekker (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) was 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and scored twice.
“I thought Alex (Panteliodis) gave us a great start,” head coach Kevin O’Sullivan said. “I thought that was the best he’s thrown the ball all year. His fastball had life and was down (in the zone). I thought (Patrick) Keating threw really, really well and his stuff was crisp. He’s thrown the ball really well the last couple of times. (Mike) Mooney came out and gave us a big three-run homer. We were also able to keep our pitchers fresh for later this week.”
The Dolphins grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second inning against freshman Alex Panteliodis (Tampa, Fla.) (5-5) on a two-run homer by sophomore Chris Connelly. Junior Alex Martinez had led off with a single up the middle and Connelly followed with his sixth dinger of the season into the left-field bleachers.
In the bottom of the inning, Florida answered with a pair of unearned runs off senior Garrett Dunlap (1-1) to knot the score at 2-2. Sophomore Josh Adams (Jacksonville, Fla.) (2-for-4, two runs) and den Dekker started things off with back-to-back singles and senior Brandon McArthur (Seffner, Fla.) laid down a sacrifice bunt. However, Dunlap threw the ball away trying to force Adams at third base, scoring Adams and enabling den Dekker and McArthur to take third and second, respectively. A groundout by senior Teddy Foster (Jacksonville, Fla.) brought across den Dekker with the tying run.
Mooney clubbed a three-run homer with two down in the fourth to give Florida a 5-2 lead. den Dekker began the inning with a double down the right-field line and advanced to third on a grounder by McArthur. den Dekker was cut down at the plate on Foster’s ground ball to third base and then junior Hampton Tignor (Sarasota, Fla.) reached on a fielding miscue by sophomore Glen Johnson. Mooney cranked his second round-tripper of the year to left field to put the hosts in front. His previous big fly came at Georgia on May 1.
Senior Patrick Keating (Harrisburg, Ill.) replaced Panteliodis, who was on a predetermined pitch count, prior to the fifth and surrendered a leadoff double to sophomore Jamaal Hawkins. Panteliodis tallied a career-high six strikeouts and scattered three hits over four frames. After freshman Kevin Lehane punched a single into left field for runners on the corners, Keating induced a flyout by Johnson and had junior Chuck Opachich ground into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.
Adams belted his seventh homer with two down in the fifth over the right-field fence for a 6-2 Gator lead. Junior Glenn Witkowski took over for Dunlap (4.2 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 2 ER) with den Dekker aboard at second courtesy of his second double of the night and gave up an RBI single into left field by McArthur for a five-run Florida advantage.
Martinez drove in senior Kyle Fleming (2-for-4) with a grounder in the sixth to narrow the gap to 7-3. Freshman Greg Larson (Longwood, Fla.) relieved Keating and gave up a leadoff two-bagger to Fleming. A grounder by senior Jeremy Gillan pushed the runner to third and senior Thomas Myers drew a walk. Martinez reduced the Dolphins’ deficit to four runs with his grounder to shortstop.
Redshirt freshman Justin Poovey (Granite Falls, N.C.) entered the game in the seventh and retired the side with a couple of strikeouts and a groundout. Fleming had a one-out single in the eighth but was erased at second base on a fielder’s choice by Gillan. Senior Thomas Myers tripled to deep center to bring in Gillan for a 7-(Balm, Fla.) recorded the final three outs to notch his 11th save, two shy of the single-season school record.
The Gators return to SEC action on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. when they host Eastern Division rival Kentucky (26-24) in the opener of a three-game series to conclude the regular season.
Georgia Beats Georgia Tech, 7-5, At Turner Field
ATLANTA -- Lyle Allen's one-out single in the top of the ninth scored two runs and broke a 5-5 tie as No. 15 Georgia beat No. 7 Georgia Tech 7-5 in front of 24,665 fans Tuesday at Turner Field, the sixth largest regular season crowd in college baseball history and the second largest crowd in the seven year Spring Baseball Classic for Kids.
The Bulldogs (35-17) improved to 6-1 against the Jackets (33-13-1) in the annual matchup at Turner Field and have won the last five.
Rich Poythress started the ninth-inning rally with a one-out double to center that narrowly missed leaving the park followed by an intentional walk to Bryce Massanari. Allen then roped a single up the middle that scored Poythress and a throwing error on the play allowed pinch-runner Peter Verdin to score.
Dean Weaver (3-2) closed the door in the ninth for his second win in as many games. Justin Earls tossed a season-high three scoreless innings. He faced 10 batters and retired nine, and the only batter to reach was on an error. After Matt Skole had Georgia Tech's first hit of the game with no outs in the second, Georgia pitchers held the Jackets hitless until a single by Jason Haniger to lead off the sixth.
Allen finished 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI and Zach Cone had two hits for Georgia. Matt Cerione and Bryce Massanari drove in two runs apiece.
"It was a big one," Georgia coach David Perno said. "We finally got in a situation where they made a couple of mistakes and gave us chance to overocome our mistakes. We played really well. (Justin) Earls changed everything, and he got control of the game. You rarely see a team not have a big inning and win but we did. Lyle (Allen) was able to get redemption with the big knock after the ball fell in the bottom of the eighth. It was a great experience for our kids and a great win."
Georgia took a 1-0 lead in the first when Colby May scored on a two-out bloop hit by Lyle Allen. Tech then took a 2-1 lead in the second as Chase Burnette walked to leadoff the inning then scored on Thomas Nichols' fielder's choice and after a Georgia fielding error loaded the bases, the Jackets scored on a balk to take the lead.
The Bulldogs came back with two more runs in the third as May singled up the middle then Massanari blasted his 19th home run 12 rows deep in the left field seats for a 3-2 Georgia lead.
Georgia took advantage of a Tech error in the fourth and scored two more two-out runs when Matt Cerione's single to center plated Zach Cone and Levi Hyams to go ahead 5-2.
Tech rallied with three runs in the fifth to knot it up at 5-5. Derek Dietrich and Luke Murton drew back-to-back one-out walks, and Dietrich scored on a single by Tony Plagman to cut the lead to 5-3. Haniger followed with a single, and Cerione threw out Murton at home for the second out of the inning, but a bloop single to left field by Burnette scored two runs and tied the game.
Georgia Tech walked the bases loaded with one out in the top of the eighth, but Zach Brewster struck out Adam Fuller and Matt Cerione flew out to left field to end the threat. The Yellow Jackets threatened in the bottom of the inning with a runner on third and one out, but Michael Palazzone struck out Jeff Rowand and Derek Dietrich flew out right field.
Georgia will close out the regular season with a three-game series at South Carolina Thursday through Saturday. All three games will be televised by SportSouth.
Fletcher’s RBI Single Leads Auburn To 8-6 Win Over Georgia Southern
AUBURN, Ala. – Brian Fletcher’s two-out RBI single in the bottom of the eighth broke open a 6-6 tie and made a winner out of Sean Ray, who threw 3 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, as Auburn picked up a 8-6 win over Georgia Southern on Tuesday night in Auburn’s final non-conference game of the season. The win was the first in Ray’s career, who has thrown 13 2/3 consecutive innings of scoreless relief over his last five appearances.
“It felt good to get my first collegiate win,” said Ray, a redshirt sophomore. “My fastball was working tonight and the change-up was working well. It felt good to get back out there after the Kentucky series and get back into the swing of things.”
Ray, who threw six scoreless innings in relief on Saturday night at Kentucky, has allowed just four total hits over his last five appearances, issuing two walks against eight punch outs dating back to March 7 against Brown.
“This was a good win for the Tigers. Georgia Southern is a good club with a very good RPI and record and I think this is great for our confidence,” Auburn Head Coach John Pawlowski said. “This was a hard-fought game. We were up 6-2 and they battled back.”
Casey McElroy finished with a team-high three RBI on the night, driving in a run in the first with a RBI double and then drawing a bases-loaded walk in the second to push Auburn out to a 6-2 lead after two complete innings. Following Fletcher’s eighth-inning single up the middle, McElroy was able to double him in from first to give Auburn a two-run cushion.
Austin Hubbard picked up his SEC-leading 12th save, entering for Ray in the ninth after he allowed a leadoff single. After Ty Wright reached on an error and Kevin Bowles sacrificed the two runners into scoring position, Hubbard fanned Griffin Benedict and Eric Phillips to end the game and earn his second straight save.
“We did some good things on the mound again today. Sean Ray did an outstanding job for us and Hub got us out of some trouble in the ninth,” Pawlowski said.
Auburn jumped on top of Georgia Southern starter Andy Moye from the get-go, scoring six times on five hits and five walks, knocking him from the game in the second inning with the bases loaded. Hunter Morris and McElroy each drove in a run in the first to put Auburn ahead, 2-1, before Auburn scored four times in the second, with Ben Jones delivering a two-out double down the line in right to score two.
Trent Mummey, who entered the game as the league-leader with 63 runs scored, scored twice in the game, coming home in the first on Morris’ single and then scoring the game-winning run on Fletcher’s ball back up the middle in the eighth.
Georgia Southern was able to score four runs (two earned) off of Scott Shuman in the fifth to tie the game at 6-6, with Benedict driving in a pair with a double to the wall in right-center after a Roman Grimaldi leadoff single and an error by Justin Hargett on a double-play ball that allowed Ty Wright to reach base. Phillip Porter scored Benedict with a single of his own, prompting the move to Ray, who allowed a pair of singles before settling in and retiring 10 straight hitters before the ninth-inning single.
Auburn finished its non-conference season with 20 wins and now stands at 29-24 overall heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
Dexter Bobo (2-2) took the loss for Georgia Southern, which fell to 35-15 on the season.
Auburn closes out the regular season at home against arch-rival Alabama. Game times are 6pm CT on both Thursday and Friday and 3pm on Saturday. Thursday’s game will air live on CSS while the Saturday contest will be shown as the SEC Game of the Week on FSN.
HAWN’S HOMER GIVES VOLS 5-4 WIN OVER MTSU IN EXTRA INNINGS
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – First baseman Cody Hawn’s solo home run in the top of the tenth inning gave Tennessee a 5-4 victory over Middle Tennessee on Tuesday night at Reese Smith Field on Tuesday night. Hawn finished the night 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs.
Tennessee (23-29) completed the season sweep of MTSU as it picked up its first extra-inning win of the season. Hawn’s home run was his 19th of the season which moves him into sole possession of fifth place on the school top-10 list for home runs in a season.
Middle Tennessee (36-15) used a season-record eight pitchers on the night as it lost for only the fourth time at home this season.
Volunteer reliever Bryan Morgado (4-2) pitched the final 2-1/3 innings of the game, shutting out the Blue Raider on one hit. He struck out the final three batters of the game in the bottom of the 11th.
MTSU right-hander Coty Woods (3-2) pitched 2-2/3 innings, surrendering one run on two hits with one walk and two strike outs.
In the bottom of the ninth, Blue Raider third baseman Rawley Bishop tied the game at 4-4 with a solo home run to left-center field to send the game into extra innings.
Tennessee led for the first eight innings beginning with a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on a sacrifice fly by catcher Blake Forsythe. Shortstop Zach Osborne scored on the play after walking to lead off the game.
MTSU tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the first when left fielder Bryce Brentz doubled down the left-field line to send shortstop Tyler Burnett.
The Vols extended its lead to 4-1 with a three-run top of the third. Hawn got the scoring started with an RBI-single through the right side to score designated hitter Cody Brown. Center fielder Kentrail Davis then scored from third on a wild pitch which was followed by Hawn scoring on a throwing error by MTSU shortstop Tyler Burnett.
The Blue Raiders added a run in the bottom of the fifth to make the score 4-2. First baseman Blake McDade drove in Brentz with a run-scoring single up the middle.
MTSU cut the Vols’ lead to 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning when Brentz hit a solo home run, his 26th of the year, over the wall in right field.
Tennessee junior Stephen McCray worked 2-2/3 innings in his ninth start of the year. McCray allowed one run on six hits while striking out two.
Jeff Lockwood, Will Locante and Matt Ramsey each made appearances out of the Volunteer bullpen.
UT head coach Todd Raleigh was ejected from the game in the top of the second inning by first base umpire Scott Cline after arguing a call at first base.
The Vols return to action later this week as they closes out the season with a three-game series against Vanderbilt that runs Thursday through Saturday at Hawkins Field in Nashville, Tenn.
MAHTOOK HOMER PACES LSU TO 12-4 WIN OVER CENTENARY
BATON ROUGE – LSU centerfielder Mikie Mahtook blasted a three-run homer and drove in four runs to pace the second-ranked Tigers to a 12-4 victory over Centenary (31-15) Tuesday night in Alex Box Stadium.
With the win, the Tigers (39-14) finished with a 28-9 regular-season record in their new ball park.
“I think the kids performed fairly well overall for the year in the regular season here at home,” LSU head coach Paul Mainieri said. “I hope we can have the opportunity to play in the postseason at Alex Box.”
In addition to Mahtook, left fielder Leon Landry also enjoyed a fine game at the plate, finishing 3-for-3 with two runs, a double and an RBI. Furthermore, first baseman Ryan Schimpf and third baseman Tyler Hanover each collected two hits.
LSU freshman Chris Matulis (6-2) earned his sixth victory of the season. The southpaw fired a scoreless fourth inning and struck out two after relieving starter Daniel Bradshaw, who limited the Gents to only one hit in the first three frames.
“I thought Chris Matulis threw the ball really well in his one inning tonight,” Mainieri said. “He was down in the zone and had good control. Leon is swinging the bat well again, and he’s becoming another option for us down the stretch, especially against right-handed pitching.”
The Tigers took an early 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. Second baseman DJ LeMahieu plated a run on a grounder to shortstop, and Hanover drove in the other on an RBI single.
Mahtook launched a three-run dinger to left center with two outs in the second to give LSU a 5-0 advantage.
Centenary scored three runs in the fifth to cut the deficit to 5-3. Second baseman Thomas Deering connected on a solo homer to left, and the Gents took advantage of a pair of walks and a throwing error to bring home two more.
However, LSU broke the game open with a seven-run seventh. The Tigers drew six walks in the inning, including four with the bases loaded as the Gents’ pitching staff struggled to find the strike zone. Schimpf, LeMahieu and Mahtook also drove in runs during the frame.
Centenary’s Michael Tompkins hit a solo dinger with one out in the eighth to reduce the deficit to 12-4, but LSU relievers Ryan Byrd and Buzzy Haydel combined to pitch a perfect ninth to close out the game.
The Gents’ starter Joe Hagen (1-2) was charged with the loss after surrendering nine runs (eight earned) and nine hits in 6.1 innings.
LSU travels to Mississippi State this weekend seeking its first SEC regular-season title since 2003. The Tigers currently have a half-game lead over Alabama and a one-game lead over Florida and Ole Miss. Game 1 is Thursday at 6:30 p.m. (CDT), Game 2 starts at 6:30 p.m. Friday and Game 3 is set for 2 p.m. Saturday.
All three games of the LSU-Mississippi State series may be viewed in the Geaux Zone at www.LSUsports.net. The games may also be heard on the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network.
Thursday’s game will be televised lived by Cox Sports Television (Cable Ch. 37 in Baton Rouge). Friday’s game will be televised live on the Pelican Sports Network (Cable Ch. 113 in Baton Rouge) and it will be shown on a tape-delayed basis at 10 p.m. on Cox Sports Television.
Saturday’s series finale will not be televised.
FARRIS, KAPTEYN HOMER TO LEAD UK TO WIN IN HOME FINALE
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Freshmen Braden Kapteyn and Cory Farris each belted home runs, with Kapteyn charting a 4-for-6, four-RBI game and Farris totaling a 3-for-5, five-RBI outing to lead the Kentucky Wildcats to a 18-10 win over Morehead State in the final home game of the 2009 season, on a beautiful Tuesday evening at Cliff Hagan Stadium.
Trailing 10-9 entering the bottom of the seventh inning, UK got a pinch-hit double from Marcus Nidiffer and a RBI double from Farris to even up the game heading to the eighth. The Wildcats put the game away with an eight-run eighth inning, getting a two-RBI double from shortstop Chris Wade, a RBI bunt single from Keenan Wiley, a grand slam from Farris and an RBI single from Gunner Glad.
Not only did Kapteyn contribute a four-hit, four RBI game – equaling the best output of his career – but the freshman from Lansing, Ill., hurled the final two innings of the game, allowing only one hit and striking out three, improving to 5-0 on the year. Wade joined the RBI-fest with a 4-for-5, five-RBI day. Glad totaled a 3-for-5 game, with Chad Wright finishing 2-for-5, and Chris Bisson going 3-for-5 with four runs scored. Farris’ game came on the heels of one of the better outings of his career Sunday, when the Florence, Ky., native went 2-for-4 with his first career extra-base hit, snapping a streak of 66 consecutive at bats without an extra-base hit for the blossoming hitter. After doubling off the wall against Auburn Sunday, Farris exploded in a big way Tuesday, ripping his second double and first career homer – a grand slam – both coming in clutch RBI situations.
UK starter Clint Tilford lasted just 1.1 innings for Kentucky, allowing six runs – all earned – on eight hits while walking three and striking out none. Senior Jonathan Huff was the first out of the bullpen for UK, giving the Wildcats four solid innings. The righty allowed four earned runs on three hits while walking five and inducing two double plays. Kentucky turned to sophomore Mike Kaczmarek in the sixth inning, getting 1.1 innings out of the lefty who allowed only one hit, while striking out two. Kapteyn then started the eighth inning for UK, shutting the door on the Morehead offensively.
The Eagles got on the board in the first inning, getting three perfectly-placed hits. J.D. Ashbrook started the game with an infield single on a slow-hit ground ball to short, then advanced to third on a high chopping double just over the head of the Kentucky third baseman by Daniel Pugh. Morehead State then got its first run when Drew Lee was jammed by Tilford but still fisted the ball into left, scoring Ashbrook. After Lee was picked off first base for the first out of the inning, Bottoms sent a rope off the high right field wall, scoring another run and giving the Eagles a two-run lead. Taylor Davis then singled up the middle on a slow grounded ball up the middle putting runners on the corners. The Eagles got their final run of the inning when Andrew Deeds hit a sacrifice fly to right field. All together in the first inning, Tilford gave up three runs on seven hits.
After two quick outs to start the bottom of the first, the Wildcats answered the Eagles with a run of their own in the first inning, when Bisson reached on a single to the shortstop and Glad roped a line-drive single into the right-center field gap, scoring Bisson. Wade then hit a fly ball to the warning track in left field. The ball was dropped by the left fielder, allowing Glad to score and Kentucky to cut the lead to one. With two outs, Kapteyn hit a laser line drive to the left field wall, scoring Wade and tying the game at three.
Morehead State plated three more runs in the second inning, led by a two-RBI double into left-center field by Lee. The inning started on back-to-back walks to Ashbrook and Pugh, both scoring on the 17th double of the year for Lee. After a balk and a walk, Tilford was replaced in the game by senior righty Jonathan Huff. Deeds greeted Huff with a single up the middle, scoring a run and putting runners at first and second with one out. The inning ended when Huff got Eric Bainer to ground a ball back to him, inducing a 1-6-3 double play.
The Eagles scored again in the third inning, when Lee plated his fourth RBI of the game. With runners on first and second and two outs, Lee sent a laser line drive to right field that scored Redmon and gave the Eagles a 7-3 music.
Kentucky tied the game in the third inning, highlighted by a two-RBI double by Wade. The inning started when Bisson led off with a single up the middle and then Glad ripped a double to left field. Both runners came home to score on Wade’s double into the left center field gap. Kapteyn then hit his second double of the game with a rope that landed just fair down the left field line, scoring Wade and cutting the MSU lead to one. Wiley then walked, and Suerdick flied out to the first baseman on a bunt attempt bringing up Farris with runners at first and second, one out. The Kentucky right fielder singled through the right side of the infield, loading the bases. Wright tied the game with a sacrifice fly into center field, scoring Kapteyn and moving two runners into scoring position for Burns. The rally ended when Burns grounded out to shortstop.
The Wildcats took the lead in the fourth inning when Kapteyn hit his fourth homer of the season. With two outs, Wade continued the inning by being hit by a pitch giving Kapteyn a chance to give Kentucky a lead. Kapteyn sent a rope to right center field, that cleared the McDonalds sign with ease giving UK a 9-7 lead.
The Eagles cut the lead to one in the sixth inning when Bottoms doubled into left center field scoring Lee. The inning started when Pugh walked and was called out at second on Lee’s fielder choice. Bottoms then doubled with a laser shot just out of the reach of a diving Wright. Later in the inning, Morehead State took the lead with a two-RBI single by Luke Bainer off of reliever Mike Kaczmarek.
UK evened up the game in the bottom of the seventh, plating one run on two hits. With one out, catcher Nidiffer pinch hit for Suerdick and turned on a pitch, sending it down the left-field line for his sixth double of the year. Farris, a native of Florence, Ky., followed and belted a two-strike offering into right field for his second double in as many games, scoring Nidiffer from second and making it 10-10.
In the eighth inning, with the bases loaded and Farris at the plate, Kentucky delivered the decisive blow that ended the upset hopes of the Eagles. Farris sent a soaring fly ball into right center field that cleared the wall and landed just to the right of the observation deck for the freshman’s first career home run. The inning started on a fielding error by the MSU second baseman, Glad then doubled to left field for his second double of the game. Wade then delivered two RBI when he singled up the middle. Wade then scored when Keenan Wiley hit an infield bunt single and the pitcher threw wildly to first. After an intentional walk to Marcus Nidiffer, Farris sent his laser over the right field wall.
Lyons Double Seals Comeback Win
FAYETTEVILLE – Senior Scott Lyons had three hits including the game-winning double in the bottom of the ninth inning to lead the No. 16 Arkansas Baseball team to a 3-2 win over the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles at Baum Stadium on Tuesday night.
The Razorbacks (32-17) were sluggish at the plate after an hour-plus long rain delay but came through in the ninth inning with three of their six hits to rally from a 2-0 deficit with two outs left. The Arkansas win ends a season long five-game losing streak. Oral Roberts (26-13) scored two unearned runs in the fourth inning but couldn’t manage much offense themselves, tallying just five hits.
Arkansas struggled throughout the game with Oral Roberts’ Drew Bowen who was the only pitcher for the Golden Eagles. Bowen completed the game after 8.2 innings and 169 pitches, but it was the last pitch that did him in.
A leadoff strikeout in the ninth was followed by a pair of flair hits by Brett Eibner and Collin Kuhn. Chase Leavitt then took three balls before getting hit by a pitch to load the bases for Lyons who strode to the plate with two hits in his pocket and looking for more. Falling behind in the count 1-2, Lyons crushed the next pitch to the left-center field gap where Oral Roberts’ left-fielder appeared to be able to make a play. Instead the Golden Eagles’ left-fielder fell to the ground and the ball landed on his leg and bounded away allowing all three Razorback base runners to score and clinch the victory for the Hogs.
“I thought that ball was way out when [Lyons] hit it,” Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said. “We just couldn’t get the big hit tonight. It was a good win, but a very frustrating game. I thought that the pitching staff did a great job.”
Arkansas’ pitchers were solid throughout the night as they allowed just two unearned runs on five hits while striking out nine. Redshirt freshman Drew Smyly started the game and matched a career high with six innings and set a career best with six strikeouts. He would run into trouble in the fourth inning after a single and a walk, but with one out and runners on second and third, Smyly struck out the next batter he faced on a ball in the dirt. Needing to throw the batter out at first, the ball was instead tossed down the right-field line allowing both base runners to score and give ORU the lead. Undeterred, Smyly struck out the next batter he faced for the second out and completed the inning with a ground out to shortstop.
Following Smyly out of the bullpen were Sam Murphy, Justin Wells and Stephen Richards who combined to throw three innings, one each, and give up just two hits, three walks and three strikeouts. Richards, who pitched the ninth, was credited with his fifth win of the season.
Along with Lyons’ three-hit day, Eibner, Kuhn and Ben Tschepikow each contributed one hit a piece. The Razorbacks, who were looking for a big hit most of the evening, left eight runners on base as they drew five walks and forced Bowen to work out of the stretch several times.
The Razorbacks complete their regular season with a three-game series against Ole Miss beginning on Thursday night at Baum Stadium. For more information regarding Razorback baseball or University of Arkansas athletics please visit ArkansasRazorbacks.com.
Baseball Wins Eighth Straight; Beats Jacksonville State, 8-4
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- No. 10 Alabama hit three more home runs, including a two-run shot by senior right-fielder Kent Matthes, and junior left-hander David Head turned in 4 1/3 solid innings out of the bullpen to lead the Crimson Tide to an 8-4 win over Jacksonville State in the final non-conference game of the season Tuesday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
Matthes, junior third baseman Brandon May and senior center fielder Alex Kubal all homered for Alabama, who has hit 103 home runs this season. Matthes slugged his 26th home run in the first inning to pull within one home run of the UA single-season home run record set by Doug Duke in 1986. Duke hit 27 home runs for the Tide that season. May added a game-tying homer in the fourth and Kubal’s sixth inning shot put the Tide up by four runs.
Head, a junior from Stockbridge, Ga., earned his firsts career win for the Tide. The junior lefty, making his first appearance since April 7, worked 4 1/3 innings and allowed one run on three hits with five strikeouts. He surrendered a two-out, solo home run to Andrew Edge in the seventh inning.
Head replaced UA starter Casey Kebodeaux with two outs in the fifth inning after Kebodeaux suffered a hamstring injury on the mound.
Jacksonville State (28-19) took advantage of two walks and two wild pitches in the first inning to grab an early 2-0 lead.
The Crimson Tide answered immediately when Matthes slammed his 26th home run to left field to tie the game at 2-2.
Edge’s seventh home run of the season gave the Gamecocks a 3-2 lead in the second inning only to see May tie the game at 3-3 with his 12th home run of the season in the fourth inning.
The Crimson Tide took advantage of pair of errors to scored three runs in the fifth inning to take a 6-3 lead. Freshman left fielder Taylor Dugas singled and moved to second when sophomore shortstop Josh Rutledge reached when JSU second baseman dropped a pop up in shallow right field. Wilson reached on an infield hit to load the bases.
Dugas scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch from right-hander Tanner Freshour to give the Tide a 4-3 lead. Matthes followed with a sacrifice fly to score Rutledge and Wilson scored on a throwing error by right fielder Kyle Bluestein to give the Tide a 6-3 lead.
Kubal’s fourth home run of the season and second in as many games put the Tide up 7-3 in the sixth inning.
Edge’s eighth home run of the season and second of the game cut the lead to 7-4 in the seventh inning.
The Crimson Tide scored its final run in the eighth inning when Kubal drew a one-out walk, moved to second on Dugas’ single to left and scored from second base on Rutledge’s infield ground out to make the final 8-4.
Alabama closes out the regular season with a three-game series at arch-rival Auburn, beginning Thursday, May 14, at 6:07 p.m. (CDT). The game will be televised regionally by Comcast Sports South (CSS).