Spartans spoil opening weekend

The No. 27 GCSU baseball team opened its 2010 campaign in tough fashion at home this past week, as No. 7 Tampa swept the Bobcats in a double-header Sunday, followed by a come-from-behind win Monday afternoon to complete the series sweep. The Spartans were powered by a potent offense, banging out 42 hits and plating 32 runs over the course of the series at John Kurtz Field.

In the opener of the double-header, Tampa started off quickly, scoring four runs in the top of the first inning off of GCSU senior lefty starter Ryan Tabor. The Bobcats cut into that lead in the bottom of the second, when redshirt junior catcher Richard Pirkle’s solo homer made it a 4-1 game. GCSU added two more runs in the third to make it 4-3. With one out, senior shortstop Chandler Snell singled and senior left fielder Kyle Allen walked. After a bloop single by senior center fielder Sean Harrell loaded the bases, senior first baseman Matt Pitts grounded into a fielder’s choice, but an errant throw to first allowed Snell to score and Allen to make it a one-run game.

The Spartans responded with two runs of their own in the top of the fifth to go up 6-3 and extended that lead to 8-3 with two more runs in the top of the ninth. The Bobcats made things interesting, however, in the bottom half of the ninth.

With two outs, Allen walked and Harrell followed with an infield single. Pitts, junior right fielder Shawn Ward and Pirkle followed with three consecutive RBI singles to make it an 8-6 game. Senior pinch hitter Steve Muoio then sent a towering fly ball to the right field fence, but it was just short as the Tampa right fielder corralled it and preserved the 8-6 victory for the Spartans.

Tampa picked back up in the second game, once again jumping out to an early lead with two runs in the top of the first. The Bobcats cut the lead in half in the bottom of the inning when Allen scored on an error by the Tampa shortstop. The Spartans roared right back, scoring a run in the second and four more in the fourth to jump out to a 7-1 advantage. The Bobcats added three of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Ward doubled, and Pirkle followed with a single. A balk by the Tampa pitcher allowed Ward to score and Pirkle to advance to second. Muoio’s RBI single plated Pirkle, and Muoio later came around to score on a fielder’s choice by junior infielder Jason Veyna to make it 7-4. The Spartans scored two more runs in their half of the fifth to set up a 9-4 victory in a seven-inning shortened contest.

In the series finale Monday afternoon, the Bobcats had victory snatched away from them, as the Spartans rallied for a 15-13 victory. GCSU once again found itself in a hole, down 4-0 after two and a half innings. But the Bobcats fought back, scoring four runs in the bottom of the third to tie the game. Back to back RBI singles by Pitts and Muoio cut the lead in half, and redshirt senior Andrew Evans hit a two-run double to tie the game.

The Spartans regained the lead in the top of the fourth with two runs, but GCSU came right back. After back to back singles by Harrell and Drew Goodman, Pitts hit a massive three-run blast to left center, giving the Bobcats a 7-6 lead, their first lead of the series. The Bobcats stretched that lead to 9-6 in the bottom of the sixth. An RBI single by Ward and another RBI double by Evans gave the Bobcats a three-run cushion. But the Tampa offense continued to be a thorn in the side of GCSU’s pitching, scoring once in the seventh on a solo home run and tying the game at 9-9 with two runs in the eighth.

The Bobcats followed with some more fireworks in the bottom half of the eighth. A bunt single by Pitts and an error on the throw by the Spartan third baseman was followed by an RBI double by Ward to put GCSU back up 10-9. Pirkle’s two run double and an RBI single by Snell padded the lead at 13-9.

The top of the ninth proved to be an unusually rough outing for Bobcats senior second-team all-American closer Martin Dewald, as the Spartans tagged him for six runs to go up 15-13 and get the win.

GCSU’s away matchup against Erskine originally scheduled for this past Tuesday was postponed until next month. The Bobcats (0-3) will be back in action with three away games this weekend in a neutral site tournament at Lander University. The Bobcats return home Feb. 19 to begin a weekend series with Millersville.

Posted by Scotty Thompson on Feb 12 2010. 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