Egan Fans 12, Spartans Split Doubleheader with Savannah State
NORFOLK, Va. - Sophomore right hander Jordan Egan struck out a career-high 12 batters to help Norfolk State win game one 7-3, and Savannah State salvaged the third and final game of the series with a 5-3 win in the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader at Marty L. Miller Field.
Egan (2-2) fell one out shy of NSU's second straight nine-inning complete game. His 12 strikeouts are the most by a Spartan this season and are four more than his previous career high of eight, which he has done twice this year for NSU (17-24), which took two of three in the weekend series.
Blaze Zeilman got the scoring started for the Spartans in the bottom of the second inning in the opener, tripling in John Rasberry with two outs for the game's first run. SSU (27-21) answered with a run in the fifth as Kevin Herlihy led off with a double and scored on Julius Green's sacrifice fly to tie things at 1-all.
But the Spartans broke the game open with four runs in the bottom of the fifth. TiQuan Griffin and John Lynch reached on consecutive one-out singles, and James Taylor knocked in Griffin with a double down the right-field line to break the tie. After Brandon Hairston walked to load the bases, Rasberry hit an RBI single to plate Lynch. Taylor and Hairston then scored on a Tiger error to make it 5-1.
Chris Joyce added insurance with a two-run, two-out single in the bottom of the seventh, stretching the Spartans' lead to 7-1. That hit was Joyce's 227th career hit, moving him past Andrew Dixon (1983-86) for second all time at NSU.
That was more than enough for Egan, who fell just shy of his first career nine-inning complete game. He was lifted after allowing a two-out, two-run double by Green in the top of the ninth. Ryan Morton got the final out for NSU.
Egan allowed just five hits and three runs in 8.2 innings, walking just two - both in the final frame.
Rasberry, Taylor and Lynch had two hits each for the Spartans in game one. Green had all three RBI for SSU.
In game two, SSU got out to an early lead by plating four runs in the top of the first. Emory Barkley had an RBI single and Matthew Nowacki a two-run single to highlight the Tigers' rally. Dexter Kelley made it 5-0 for SSU in the top of the second when he was hit by a pitch, stole second and eventually scored on an NSU error.
The Spartans slowly rallied, scoring two in the third. Hairston hit an RBI double and Rasberry a sacrifice fly to get NSU within 5-2.
The Spartans made it 5-3 in the sixth as Hairston walked with the bases loaded. But NSU left the bases loaded to end the frame, and couldn't mount a serious threat in the seventh.
Michael Allegretti (7-2) got the win for SSU with four innings of work. He walked five and struck out six, allowing three hits and a pair of runs. Eric Ransom pitched the final 1.1 innings for his seventh save of the year.
Ryan Davis took the loss for NSU to fall to 1-3 on the year. He allowed four hits and five runs, four earned, in one-plus inning of work. Richie Salter threw six scoreless innings of two-hit ball in relief for NSU.
For the complete story, visit www.nsuspartans.com or www.ssuathletics.com
Coppin State Splits With Florida A&M
BALTIMORE -- Coppin State rode the pitching of Zach Spahn and the hitting of Alex Black and Andrew Kiessling to an 8-6 victory in game one and a split of its MEAC doubleheader with Florida A&M on Saturday at Joe Cannon Stadium.
Spahn went eight innings and allowed just three hits and struck out 10 batters to earn the victory, while Black had two hits and three runs batted in and Kiessling had three RBI.
Coppin State held leads of 5-0 and 7-3 in game two only to see the Rattlers rally for an 11-9 victory.
The Eagles used a six-run fourth inning keyed by a two-run triple by Kiessling to defeat Florida A&M in game one.
Derek Richards added two hits and an RBI in game one, while Craig Richmond also had an RBI.
Jarryd Reid had a grand slam in game two to cap the Rattlers rally leading them to the 11-9 victory.
John Bergwall had three hits and an RBI, while Spahn had two hits and three runs driven in during the second game. CSU also received two hits from Richards, Jesse Savage and Chris Kashangaki.
For the complete story, visit www.coppinstatesports.com or www.famuathletics.com
Hornets Split Twin-Bill With Aggies
Dover, Del. (Apr. 30, 2011) --- Delaware State scored the winning run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning to defeat North Carolina A&T 9-8 in the second game of a MEAC doubleheader at Soldier Field this afternoon. The Aggies scored 10 runs in the last two innings en route to a 12-4 victory in the opener.
In the seven inning nightcap, North Carolina A&T scored two runs in the top of the seventh to tie the game at 8-8.
Eddie Sorondo singled off NCA&T reliever Garrett Braun to lead off the Delaware State seventh. Sorondo advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Tony Gatto, and moved to third on a passed ball. After an intentional walk to Brandon Crist put runners at first and third, Troy Drummond was up next for the Hornets. Braun's first pitch to Drummond skipped away from catcher Malik Clark, allowing Sorondo to score from third with the winning run.
Ryan Haas was 3-for-4 with four RBI, while Crist drove in two runs for the Hornets in game two.
Xavier Macklin was 3-for-3 with two solo homers for North Carolina A&T. Kelvin Freeman had a two-run shot and Luke Tendler hit a solo home run for the Aggies in the fourth inning.
The score was 1-1 when Keith Hernandez and Ryan Haas had run scoring doubles in the third inning to give the Hornets a 3-1 lead.
The Aggies took their first lead of the game 4-3 on the Freeman and Tendler home runs in the fourth.
Crist had a two-run single in the bottom of the fourth to give the Hornets a 5-4 lead.
North Carolina A&T regained the lead 6-5 on run-scoring singles by Freeman and Mark Nales in the top of the fifth.
Haas had a two-run single and Cameron Cecil followed by a double to give Delaware State an 8-6 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Tony Gatto (1-0) was credited with the win for the Hornets, despite giving up the tying runs in the top of the seventh inning.
In the opener, North Carolina A&T trailed 4-2 before exploding for three runs in the eighth and seven in the ninth to take control of the game.
Delaware State opened the scoring with three runs in the bottom of the first. Cecil doubled in the first two runs and Gatto added a run-scoring single in the inning.
The Hornets opened up a 4-1 lead when Scott Davis drove in Drummond on a bunt single in the fifth.
North Carolina A&T trailed 4-2 when Macklin hit the first pitch from DSU reliever Tommy Dill over the centerfield fence with two outs in the top of the eighth inning to give the Aggies a 5-4 lead.
NCA&T put the game away with seven runs in the top of the ninth. Freeman hit a grand slam and Tendler added a two-run single to highlight the inning.
Freeman and Macklin drove in four runs each, while Tendler had three RBI for the Aggies in the opener. Marquis Riley had four of the NCA&T's 18 hits in the contest.
Scott Davis was 2-for-4 for the Hornets in game one.
The split gives Delaware State a 22-21 overall record and 10-4 mark in the MEAC. North Carolina A&T is 15-28 and 6-7.
For the complete story, visit www.dsuhornets.com or www.ncataggies.com
Bethune-Cookman Sweeps Doubleheader Against UMES
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - The Hawks of Maryland Eastern Shore gave the Wildcats a bit of a scare to open the three game MEAC series on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats grabbed an early lead in game one, but four UMES runs in the sixth made it a one-run game. B-CU held on, blanking the Hawks in the final three innings to earn the 5-4 win. In game two, the margin was even tighter, featuring two ties in a game that truly came down to the final play in the 3-2 Wildcat win.
GAME ONE
In game one, the Wildcats early moves on offense kept the Wildcats on top, as they fought off a UMES comeback with solid pitching from the bullpen and defense.
The Wildcats moved on top early, as Ryan Durrence came home on a Brashad Johnson RBI single to center field in the second inning to go up by one.
In the third, Peter O'Brien put another on the board on a hit and run play with an RBI single through the left side. O'Brien beat out a rundown between first and second as he made way for Emmanuel Castro to make the successful dash for home on the steal, and take a 3-0 lead.
One inning later, Castro put in his own RBI, batting in Sanchez to make it 4-0 with a single through the left side. DJ Leonard picked up an RBI in the fifth with a hard-hit line drive at the short stop, sending Matt Wright wheeling around third to score and make it 5-0.
In the sixth inning, the Hawks started to make a little offensive movement, taking advantage of an error for a run, in the midst of five straight batters to reach base. A two-run triple brought it in a little close for comfort, making it a 5-4 lead to wrap up the sixth.
Gabriel Hernandez (5-0) picked up the win with six strikeouts in six innings on the mound. Jordan Dailey earned his seventh save on four strikeouts in three innings pitched. In the crucial bottom of the ninth, Dailey picked up two of his strikeouts and a pop-up to end it.
At the plate, Emmanuel Castro led B-CU with 2-4 hitting, one RBI, and one run scored on stealing home.
GAME TWO
The second game was a tense outing for the Wildcats, coming down to the very last play, as B-CU clung to a one-run lead in the seventh and final inning after overcoming two ties at the hands of the Hawks.
In just the second inning, DJ Leonard put the Wildcats on the board, reaching on a wild pitch call and then making the move across home plate on an error in the UMES outfield during a Matt Wright single.
Much like the first outing, the Hawks hung around, knotting it up in the bottom of the third with an RBI through the left side.
The Wildcats reclaimed the lead on a Ryan Durrence sacrifice fly to left field in the top of the fourth, with B-CU going back on top 2-1.
The Pendulum swung back to even as UMES tied it up once again at 2-2 on an error in the fifth inning.
Peter O'Brien singled to shortstop for an RBI, beating the throw and sending pinch runner Josh Johnson across the plate to put B-CU up 3-2 in the top of the sixth. Johnson's run proved to be the most crucial of the game.
The Wildcats sought to separate themselves in the top of the seventh and final frame, but the UMES defense proved strong. After holding the Wildcats without an insurance run, the Hawks put two runners on, with only one out in the bottom of the seventh.
With the tie run in scoring position, Julio Morales took over on the mound, inducing a fly-out to right field, where David Lee settled in for the catch and made a big-league throw from right to meet O'Brien dead-on for the tag at the plate, preserving the 3-2 win.
On the mound, freshman Scott Garner (6-2) picked up the win with four strikeouts in six innings. Senior Julio Morales picked up his first save of the year, facing just one, but the most crucial, batter in the game.
Matt Wright hit 1-2 with one RBI to lead the Wildcats, just ahead of Peter O'Brien at 1-3 with an RBI as well. Paul Biocic went 2-2 as B-CU's lone multi-hit batter.
The wins on Saturday extended the Wildcats' impressive winning streak over MEAC opponents to 42 games, while also taking B-CU to 28-19 on the year with a 14-0 MEAC count.
For the complete story, visit www.bcuathletics.com or www.umeshawks.com