Elevens Wild As Hornets Play To Tie With Lehigh
Dover, Del. (Mar. 14, 2012) --- Delaware State and Lehigh could not settle their baseball contest after 11 innings, so the game was called due to darkness with the score tied at 11-11 at Soldier Field this afternoon.
The four-hour-nine-minute contest featured a total of 13 pitchers, 33 hits, 27 runners left on base and seven hit batters.
Delaware State trailed 11-10 when Troy Drummond singled in pinch hitter Joey Babuca with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie the game. Babuca was hit by a pinch to lead off the inning. He advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by JP Frey. After ground out by DJ Miller, Drummond was the last hope for the Hornets (10-6-1). After falling behind 0-2 in the count, he took two pitches before chopping a single up the middle to bring in Babuca with the tying run.
The Hornets trailed 6-0 early in the contest before pulling ahead 10-9 after scoring two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Lehigh (3-10-1) scored twice in the top of the eighth to regain the lead. The Mountain Hawks tied the game at 10-10 on a Delaware State error, then took the lead 11-10 on a one-out suicide squeeze bunt by Brandon Wilt.
Each team failed to take advantage of scoring opportunities in extra innings. Lehigh had runners on second and third with none out off DSU reliever Zach Adkins in the top of the 10th inning, but could not score.
Delaware State Hornets put runners on first and second with none in the bottom of the tenth off Mountain Hawk reliever Dan Ciccone. The Hornets appeared to have the game won when Ryan Haas hit a deep fly in the gap in left center, but Lehigh centerfielder Casey Turner made a great running catch to keep DSU off the board. The Hornets had runners on second and third with one out put the potential winning run was cut down at the plate on a grounder by Eddie Sorondo. Ciccone then retired Joey Babuca on a foul out to end the threat.
The Hornets also had runners on second and third with one out in the 11th but Lehigh reliever Brandon Sady struck out Scott Davis and retired Cameron Cecil on a ground out to end the threat.
The Mountain Hawks scored three runs in the first and second innings to open up a 6-0 lead.
Delaware State cut the deficit in half with three runs in the bottom of the second. Tony Gatto drove in the first run on a sacrifice fly and two scored on a Lehigh error.
The Hornets used the long ball to tie the game in the bottom of the third. Haas led off the inning with his first home run of the season to cut Lehigh's lead to 6-4. After Sorondo was hit by a pitch, Aaron Nardone followed with a shot over the right field fence to tie the game.
Lehigh regained the lead, 8-6, with two runs in the fourth. The Hornets answered with two in the bottom of the fourth when Nardone drove in his third and fourth runs of the game on a two-run single. Nardone was 3-for-5 with four RBI in the contest.
Five players had two hits each for the Hornets.
Tyler Brong was 4-for-6 with two RBI, while Casey (3-for-7) and Joe Abeln (3-5) collected three hits each for Lehigh.
For the complete story, visit www.dsuhornets.com
North Carolina A&T Falls to Elon, 5-4
GREENSBORO, N.C.-North Carolina A&T turned in a strong performance against the defending regular-season Southern Conference champions on Wednesday afternoon at War Memorial Stadium in a highly competitive and exciting game.
The Aggies got the tying and winning runs on base in the bottom of the ninth before a double play ended their hopes of victory, as they fell to the Elon Phoenix 5-4. It was the second time this season that an A&T ninth-inning rally against the Phoenix fell short.
Left fielder Andre McKoy finished the game 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Senior second baseman Marquis Riley collected a double and three RBI. He now leads the team with 18 RBI and a .371 batting average. Right fielder Dairio Little also had two hits in the contest.
A&T led 3-2 going into the Elon sixth. With one on and one out, pinch-hitter Sebastian Gomez doubled down the left field line. Tyler Boone then struck out Quinn Bower, but loaded the bases as Niko Fraser was hit by a pitch. Designated hitter Alex Swim stepped up to the plate and hit the ball to Michael Radford, who dropped it.
Tomko scored on the error to make it 3-3. With the bases still loaded, Boone walked Garrett Koster, which scored Gomez. Boone threw a wild pitch while Ryan Kinsella was batting, and that allowed Fraser to score for a 5-3 Elon lead. Boone caught Kinsella looking for his eighth strikeout of the day.
The Aggies cut the lead to one in the seventh inning, as McKoy singled up the middle against pitcher Jordan Darnell. He took second and third on an error by Darnell, who tried to pick off McKoy at first. Riley grounded out to third base, and McKoy scored on the play.
The Aggies also had strong pitching on Wednesday, with two of their weekend starters getting some midweek work in since the Aggies have a bye-weekend. The A&T pitchers combined for a new season-high in strikeouts with 15. Reigning MEAC Pitcher of the Week Esterlin Paulino matched a season-high with six strikeouts in 3.0 innings. He allowed two runs on four hits. Sophomore right-hander Tyler Boone struck out eight and allowed three unearned runs on four hits. Freshman reliever Joe Mackey tossed 3.0 shutout frames to silence the Phoenix offense.
For the complete story, visit www.ncataggies.com
Bethune-Cookman Hits Season Marks in 11-2 Win Over Harvard
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - After briefly falling behind Harvard (1-8) early, Bethune-Cookman (8-9) quickly fired back, and carried two big innings to a nine-run win in game two of the series. Eight Wildcat batters combined for a season-high 15 hits to extend the series lead to 2-0.
The Crimson reached the board first in the second, taking advantage of the lone B-CU error on the night, followed up by an RBI single to left center. However, center fielder Brandon Turner made the throw home to throw out the second runner at the plate; a play that could easily be seen as a turning point.
The Wildcats didn't let the lead simmer for long, carefully waiting for the right pitches to load the bases in the bottom half, collecting two singles and a walk to set up a Carlos Delgado base on balls RBI. Jordan Taylor kept the bases full with an RBI base hit, splitting the left side gap defenders, and evening the score. Next up, Turner doubled up the Crimson with a two-RBI double just inside first base, extending the lead to 4-2.
Juan Pizarro's RBI in the third gave the Wildcats a little more breathing room, as Harvard held for the next two frames, but couldn't hold B-CU down for long.
A Harvard wild pitch put runners in scoring position in the sixth, and another set off a big inning, as Pizarro scored. Brashad Johnson leveled some more damage with a two-RBI shot, beating out the throw and advancing on a Harvard error. Anthony Stokes kicked the door completely open for the 'Cats with a two-RBI single to right center.
In the seventh, Alejandro Sanchez put the cherry on top with an RBI single through the right side, giving Carlos Delgado the opportunity to round third and coast in for the final run, as B-CU settled into an 11-2 victory and 2-0 lead in the series.
For the complete story, visit www.bcuathletics.com