Mercer Blast Rattlers, 24-1
MACON, Ga. (March 1) - Macon picked up their ninth win of the season as they scored in every inning in route to a 24-1 win over the Florida A&M, Tuesday evening at Cladu Smith Field.
FAMU (4-6) finished with five hits, while Mercer (9-2) garnered 21 hits.
Brandon Barker picked up the win for the Bears as he gave up three hits, one earned run and striking out four in three innings of work, while Heath Blackburn received the loss for the Rattlers allowing 10 hits, nine earned runs and striking out two in two and two-third innings.
Cory Franklin led the Rattlers from the plate as he went two-for three from the plate driving in FAMU's only run.
Mercer was paced by Thomas Carroll as he was a perfect four-for-four from the plate scoring one run with four RBIs.
Reginald Grant scored the Rattlers only run of the game as he scored on a Franklin single to left field.
Mercer would score two run in the bottom of the first and fourth innings, four runs in the second and third innings, seven runs in the bottom of the fifth and five runs in the bottom of the sixth.
For the complete story, visit www.famurattlersports.com
Bethune-Cookman Falls to Auburn, 9-2
AUBURN, Ala. - Early scoring by the Auburn Tigers put the Wildcats in a tough situation, though they shut down the Auburn offense beyond the third inning. B-CU played from behind after the first inning and couldn't capitalize on scoring opportunities to overcome the early deficit, falling 9-2 at Plainsman Park.
Auburn scored four runs in each of the first two innings, digging B-CU an early hole for the Wildcats, looking to follow up on a strong late-game offensive outing against Southern on Sunday. The Wildcats put runners on base early in the game, but were unable to convert until the fourth inning.
On the mound, B-CU looked for the solution, going to the bullpen until they landed on Joey Munoz, coming in to close out the second. Munoz shut down the Tigers' scoring, only allowing one run and collecting 3 strikeouts in 4.2 innings.
Shortstop Brashad Johnson led the team offensively, going 2-4 with 2 RBI. Getting back involved on offense in recent games, DJ Leonard also went 2-4 on the night.
For the complete story, visit www.bcuathletics.com
Aggies Defeat Villanova
CARY -North Carolina A&T scored 12 unanswered to defeat the Villanova Wildcats 12-6 Tuesday afternoon at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.
As a team, the Aggies are hitting .358 on the young season. Sophomore Carvell Copeland recorded four hits and scored a run. Freshman Luke Tendler went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored.
Villanova, who has been in the south for two weeks playing the likes of Norfolk State, North Carolina Central and Duke, jumped out to a 6-0 lead thanks to three walks, two errors and a batter who was hit by the pitch.
Over the next eight innings, the Aggies pitching got better and their hitters gave all six Villanova pitchers fits.
After Andre McKoy scored on a throwing error, Dairio Little's sacrifice fly to right field scored Xavier Macklin from third to tie the game at 6 in the fifth inning. The Aggies took their first lead of the game in the seventh as Kelvin Freeman led the inning with a double to right center field. Little and Mark Nales would later walk to load the bases.
The Wildcats turned to relief pitcher Kevin MacLachlan to slow the Aggies down. Head coach Keith Shumate countered with left-handed pinch-hitter Craig Erskine. Erskine lined the right-hander's 1-2 pitch into left field for a two-run single that scored Freeman and Little for an 8-6 Aggies lead.
Reliever Garrett Braun took care of the rest for the Aggies (5-4). Braun replaced starter Dustin Myers in the second inning, and pitched like an ace all afternoon. He went eight scoreless innings and struck out nine to improve to 1-1 on the season.
For the complete story, visit www.ncataggies.com
Rams Score Late Run on Error to Top NSU, 7-6
NORFOLK, Va. - Norfolk State committed four errors, two leading to the go-ahead run in the eighth, as visiting Virginia Commonwealth escaped Marty L. Miller Field with a 7-6 win over Norfolk State on Tuesday afternoon.
The Spartans (3-5) rallied from a 6-0 deficit to tie the game, only to have their defense fail them. With one out in the top of the eighth, Chris Ayers walked off NSU reliever Ray Morton (0-1). Pinch runner Ryan Caldwell stole second, then went to third as a miscommunication in the NSU outfield led to the first dropped fly ball of the inning. Bill Cullen then reached base on another dropped fly, which allowed Caldwell to score from third.
The Spartans got their lead-off batter on in the bottom of the ninth as James Taylor was hit by a pitch. He stole second base, but was stranded there as the Rams (3-4) held on.
Early on, it appeared as though VCU would run away with this one. The Rams scored six times in the top of the third. An infield hit and a walk got things started, and Paul Nice knocked in the first run with an RBI single. Cullen scored on a passed ball to make it 2-0. Then with two outs and the bases loaded, Taylor Buran grounded to shortstop for what appeared to be the third out. But Joey Cujas hustled on the base paths and was called safe at second base on the fielder's choice, allowing Cullen to score from third and keep the inning alive. Chris Ayers followed with a two-run single and Landon Prentiss an RBI single to make it 6-0.
The Spartans started their rally in the fourth. John Rasberry doubled to right field for the Spartans' first hit. Two batters later, Brandon Hairston knocked him in with an RBI single.
NSU added three more in the fifth, cutting its deficit to 6-4. Sammy Serafine led off with a double inside the first-base bag, then advanced to third on Taylor's second single of the day. Cameron Parsons scored Serafine with an RBI double, and Taylor scored on a wild pitch by VCU starter David Benson. John Lynch capped the rally with an RBI groundout.
Serafine doubled again in the seventh and scored on a double by Rafael Colon to make it 6-5. Lynch knotted the game at 6-all with his second RBI groundout of the day.
Dylan Auker (1-0) - the third of six Rams' pitchers - got the win by pitching two-thirds of an inning in relief. Brennan Huelse and Chris Shaklee combined to work a scoreless eighth, then Jonathan Watson earned the save with a scoreless ninth.
NSU starting pitcher Ryan VanAssche got a no-decision. Despite allowing the six runs in the third, he did not allow another run, pitching seven innings and striking out six. Morton gave up one unearned run in two innings of work to take the loss.
Hairston and Taylor both went 2-for-3, while Serafine and Parsons both went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
For the complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com