Defending champs sweep ‘Cats in opening weekend

    Saturday, at John Kurtz Field, the GCSU Bobcat baseball team endured a doubleheader sweep by the No. 1 ranked University of Tampa Spartans.
    “We have to be slightly discouraged,” said first-year head coach Tom Carty. “You don’t want to be 0-2 after a doubleheader. We’ve got things to work on.”
    The Bobcats displayed talent and skill in the first game, an 11-inning heartbreaker. They played well in the 6-5 loss, outhitting the Spartans 15-11 and committing fewer errors in the field. But the deciding factor was timely hitting, and the Bobcats stranded 18 runners in the loss.
    Tampa struck first in the third inning with a 3-0 lead, but the Bobcats fought back late. They tied the game with two outs in the eighth inning on a wild pitch following back-to-back singles by sophomore outfielder Sean Harrell and sophomore shortstop Chandler Snell. Neither team scored in the ninth, and fans in attendance received a free baseball.
    In the top of the tenth, Tampa regained the lead. Spartan shortstop Jesus Barroso reached with a bunt single, and then scored on Paul Cruz’s triple. But the Bobcats weren’t done.
    Harrell again ignited the offense in the bottom half of the inning, reaching on a walk and stealing second. After advancing to third on a wild pitch, he scored on Snell’s sacrifice fly to tie the game at five.
    A ruthless Tampa offense again scored once in the top of the eleventh, and the Bobcats again had to answer.
    After two outs in the bottom half of the inning, senior second baseman Tommy Rice and Harrell knocked back-to-back singles, and it appeared the game would require even more innings. Snell followed with a shot into right, but it was hit directly at the rightfielder, and the Bobcats fell just short, 6-5.
    Clete Jessup earned the no decision, giving up three earned runs over five innings in his start. Harrell proved to be the offensive spark plug for the game, as he reached base four times, drove in two runs and scored twice.
    The Bobcats hoped for a different outcome in the second game with senior ace Sean Heimpel taking the mound. That hope soon disappeared, as the Spartans scored six runs in the second inning on their way to a 15-3 blowout.
    The two time defending national champions scored in every inning except the fourth and outhit the Bobcats 16-7. Spartan hitters also connected for three home runs in the game. Heimpel worked one and a third innings, giving up seven earned runs and walking three.
    “Jessup and the guys did good in the first game, made good pitches,” junior catcher Pete Paris said. “In the second game, we left the ball up in the zone, and you can’t do that against these guys.”
    RBI singles by sophomore third baseman Brooks Robinson and junior outfielder Danny McCorkell in the third and a leadoff solo homer by sophomore outfielder Andrew Evans in the fourth capped the scoring for the Bobcats.
    “We played well in the first game, but not so well in the second,” junior first baseman Mitch Mitchell said. “We’ve got to stay in and fight.”
    The Bobcats are looking ahead to this weekend, when they go on the road to face Alabama-Huntsville on Saturday and Sunday. Tuesday, they’ll be back at home to face Shorter College at 3 p.m.
    “Hopefully on Monday we can shake it off and prepare for Alabama-Huntsville,” Carty said. “There are many more games ahead.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Feb 8 2008. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry