SUN BELT TEXAS STATE 4-4, ARKANSAS STATE 3-5
Eric Wilcoxson’s two-run home run in the seventh inning broke a tie game and preserved a split of a doubleheader on Saturday at Tomlinson Stadium in Jonesboro.
ASU (15-12, 6-2 Sun Belt Conference) led 2-0 after scoring runs in the second and third innings, then took a 3-2 lead in the fifth on Austin Baker’s single that scored Wilcoxson. Texas State (16-10, 6-2) tied the game 3-3 on a groundout in the sixth.
In the seventh, Tanner Ring was hit by a pitch and Wilcoxson worked the count full before hitting his first home run of the season over the right-field wall. Morgan Croft allowed a run in the eighth but pitched a perfect ninth to earn his fourth save. Colton Kibler earned his second victory after giving up 1 run on 1 hit in 2 innings.
In the first game, Ben McElroy’s RBI double in the 12th inning gave Texas State a 4-3 victory after ASU scored two in the ninth inning to force extra innings.
Trailing 3-1 entering the ninth, Collin Massanelli hit an RBI single and Zach Maggio drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 3-3. Texas State scored a run in the first and two in the fifth to go ahead 3-0 before Kevin Fitzpatrick scored on an error in the sixth.
LOUISIANA-MONROE 6-11, UALR 4-10
UALR was one out away from salvaging a doubleheader split Saturday night, but Dalton Herrington tied the game with an RBI double in the ninth, then Herrington’s single in the 11th finished Louisiana-Monroe’s doubleheader sweep of UALR in Monroe, La.
Ben Crumpton’s two-run home run in the ninth inning gave UALR (11-12, 1-7) a 10-9 lead, but Jacob Tidwell singled with one out in the ninth for Louisiana-Monroe (10-17, 3-5). Herrington’s two-out double to right-center off Ethan Schlecthe tied the game at 10-10. Neither team scored in the 10th and UALR didn’t score in the 11th.
Jacob Stockton reached on an error with one out in the 11th, Justin Stawychny was intentionally walked and Herrington’s single scored Stockton from second to end a game in which UALR had 14 hits and rallied back from a 6-2 deficit after the second inning.
Crumpton went 3 for 6 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored, while Ryan Scott, Austin Pfeiffer, Sam Vogel and Hayden Martin each had two hits for the Trojans.
UALR’s first loss of the day was a continuation of Friday’s game that was postponed in the eighth inning.
SOUTHLAND STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 9-5, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 6-4
Central Arkansas lost three-run leads in both games while being swept in a doubleheader by Stephen F. Austin on Saturday in Nacogdoches, Texas. The Bears (14-10, 4-4) jumped out to 3-0 leads in both games before the Lumberjacks rallied for both victories.
The Bears took a 3-0 lead in the first game on a home run by Tyler Langley and a two-run double by Chris Townsend.
But the Lumberjacks (12-13, 4-4) took the lead by scoring three runs in the second and third innings off Bears starter Connor Gilmore, highlighted byhome runs fromy Mackenzie Handel and Zach Marberry.
UCA pulled to within 6-4 in the seventh after Nate Ferrell’s double scored Langley, but Stephen F. Austin scored two in the seventh and UCA couldn’t rally.
In the second game, UCA took a 3-0 lead before Stephen F. Austin scored four runs in the fifth to go ahead 4-3. The Bears tied it at 4-4 on Townsend’s RBI single. But Brett Thornell doubled in the eighth and Matthew Dickey drove him in for the eventual winning run.
SWAC ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 9-2, TEXAS SOUTHERN 2-5
Arkansas-Pine Bluff scored five runs in the first inning and took Game 1 of a doubleheader split with Texas Southernon Saturday at the Torii Hunter Baseball Complex in Pine Bluff.
Isias Alcantar hit a two-run double, Jordan Hass was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Vladimir Gomez hit a two-run single to give UAPB a 5-0 lead in the first inning of the first game. The Golden Lions (8-18, 8-2) added two runs in the third and seventh innings and starter Jim Ploeger pitched 6 shutout innings while striking out 9 in earning his third victory of the season.
Andre Davis and Gomez had two hits for the Golden Lions, while Gomez drove in three runs.
Texas Southern (9-16, 6-3) scored two runs in the first and three in the seventh, and Darius McClelland held UAPB to six hits and struck out six in the complete-game victory in the second game.
Sports, Pages 36 on 03/30/2014