State Division 1 Roundup

ASU rallies in 7th past UT-Arlington

SUN BELT TOURNAMENT

ARKANSAS STATE 4, TEXAS-ARLINGTON 2

At a glance

SUN BELT BASEBALL TOURNAMENT

at J.J. Clements Stadium, Statesboro, Ga.

FRIDAY’S GAMES

South Alabama 9, Troy 1

Arkansas State 4, Texas-Arlington 2

Texas State 5, Coastal Carolina 5

Georgia Southern vs. Louisiana-Lafayette, (n)

TODAY’S GAMES

South Alabama vs. Arkansas State, 2 p.m.

Texas State vs. GSU/ULL winner, 5:30 p.m.

SUNDAY’S CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Semifinal winners, noon

Arkansas State University (28-26) got 8 2/3 innings of relief from its bullpen Friday and used a three-run seventh inning to rally past the University of Texas at Arlington (30-25) at J.J. Clements Stadium in Statesboro, Ga.

The Mavericks loaded the bases in the bottom of the first inning with a one-out single and two walks before Red Wolves starter Peyton Culbertson gave up another walk to give Texas-Arlington a 1-0 lead. Culbertson was replaced by Tyler Mitzel, who got a strikeout and a pop out to escape the jam. Mitzel was solid for Arkansas State, allowing just 1 hit with 1 walk and 1 strikeout over the next 5 innings.

ASU tied the game in the top of the second on a Derek Birginske RBI single that scored Alex Howard, who doubled down the left-field line to start the inning and went 2 for 3 with a run scored.

The game remained tied until the seventh inning. Jeremy Brown started the inning with a single up the middle on the first pitch he saw, but he was thrown out at second when Birginske bunted to reach base on a fielder's choice. Birginske advanced to third on Drew* Tipton's double, putting runners at second and third with one out. Reliever Austin Gardner came in for starter Trae Patterson and gave up a sacrifice fly to Grant Hawkins, which scored Birginske for a 2-1 lead. Garrett Rucker's RBI single made it 3-1 and Rucker scored on Joe Schrimpf's RBI triple down the right-field line to give ASU a 4-1 lead.

Texas-Arlington scored its final run on a Quintin Rohrbaugh sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Schrimpf finished 2 for 4 with 1 RBI for the Red Wolves, who finished with 9 hits. Tyler Zuber (6-1) got the victory after replacing Mitzel in the sixth inning. Zuber allowed 1 earned run on 2 hits with 5 strikeouts over the final 3 2/3 innings.

ASU advanced to face the University of South Alabama, a 9-1 winner over Troy University in Friday's first game, in today's first semifinal at 2 p.m.

SOUTHLAND

HOUSTON BAPTIST 6, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 2

Houston Baptist University (29-24) atoned for its 15-4 loss to the University of Central Arkansas (32-25) on Wednesday, scoring twice in the second inning and three times in the fourth to hand the Bears their first loss at the Southland Conference Tournament at Constellation Field in Sugar Land, Texas.

UCA's loss sets up a rubber match against Houston Baptist at 1 p.m. today, with the winner advancing to the tournament championship game against Sam Houston State University at 6 p.m. The Bearkats eliminated the University of New Orleans 7-1 on Friday and are undefeated in the tournament.

The Huskies, who eliminated top seed and regular-season champion McNeese State with a 5-4 victory earlier in the day, got a two-run home run from designated hitter Christian Thames in the second inning to take a 2-0 lead. They added 3 runs on 4 hits in the fourth inning, shortly after UCA Coach Allen Gum was ejected by the home plate umpire, to push the lead to 5-0. According to Southland Conference officials, Gum will be allowed to coach in today's game.

The Bears, who left 10 runners on base, got an RBI single from Michael Haun in the seventh inning to cut the lead to 5-1. Justin McCarty doubled to right field in the eighth inning and scored on Brooks Balisterri's RBI single to trim the lead to 5-2. McCarty finished 2 for 4, while Haun was 1 for 2 with an RBI.

Houston Baptist starter Zach Carter (7-3), who earned the save in the Huskies' victory over McNeese State, got the victory after allowing 2 runs on 8 hits over 8 innings. UCA starter Cody Davenport (4-4) took the loss, allowing 5 runs on 7 hits in 3 2/3 innings. Junior Will Brand was solid out of the bullpen, allowing 1 run on 4 hits over 5 1/3 innings with 1 walk and 3 strikeouts.

Sports on 05/27/2017

*CORRECTION: Arkansas State University’s Drew Tipton hit a a double in the seventh inning of a 4-2 victory over Texas-Arlington on Friday. His name was incorrect in a previous version of this story.

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