Baseball splits extra-inning contests
The No. 12 GCSU baseball team blew a 6-2 ninth-inning lead against 17th ranked Valdosta State on Wednesday, and later fell 8-7 in 13 innings. Junior right fielder Shawn Ward had four hits to lead the Bobcats, while sophomore catcher Benton Yaun added three knocks.
The Bobcats (26-12 overall, 14-4 in Peach Belt Conference) led 6-2 in the ninth before surrendering a grand slam to send the game into extra innings. Ward’s double in the 13th brought home senior pinch runner Paul Bordon to give GCSU a 7-6 advantage. The Blazers rallied, however, with a pair of runs in the bottom half to take the victory.
Last weekend, the Bobcats rallied to take two of three games from No. 20 UNC Pembroke at John Kurtz Field after losing Saturday’s opener, 8-6.
The bats were hot for the Bobcats in game two, as they cruised to a 13-2 victory. Once again GCSU jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first. Senior left fielder Kyle Allen led off with a single and scored on a single by Ward, who then scored on junior catcher Richard Pirkle’s RBI double. The Bobcats extended that lead to 10-0 in the sixth when Ward flexed his muscles with a two-run jack. Pitts added another RBI double in the eighth as part of a three-run inning as GCSU stretched its lead to 13-0. The Braves managed their only two runs in the ninth. Junior right hander Eric Pettepher went the distance for the Bobcats, allowing two runs on eight hits while striking out seven and walking three to run his record to 4-0 on the season.
Sunday’s rubber match proved to be a thriller, as the Bobcats rallied for an 8-7 win in 11 innings. With the Bobcats down 3-0 in the third, Allen and Harrell smacked back-to-back one-out homers to get them within 3-2. GCSU took a 4-3 lead in the fourth when Pirkle walked and scored on Veyna’s RBI single. Senior shortstop Chandler Snell followed with an RBI single to score Veyna. The Bobcats went ahead 6-4 in the fifth. Pirkle doubled, plating senior designated hitter Steve Muoio, and a sac bunt by senior third baseman Brett George later in the inning plated Pitts.
The Braves went ahead 7-6 in the eighth, but the Bobcats pushed across a run in the bottom of the ninth to keep the game going. Allen led off with a single and advanced to second on a walk by Harrell. Later in the inning with two outs, Pitts came through again with an RBI single, scoring Allen and making it 7-7.
Allen once again led off with a single in the 11th and went to second on a sac bunt by Harrell. After Muoio’s groundout advanced Allen to third, Ward singled through the left side to give the Bobcats the 8-7 win.
“I was glad to finally be able to pull through for us,” Ward said after his game-winning hit, before which he had gone 0-4 on the day. “If we can keep this up and keep playing as a team, I think we’ll be able to do a lot of good things.”
Senior lefty Ryan Tabor picked up the win for the Bobcats, pitching four innings in relief. Senior Martin Dewald gave up three runs in the first but then got in a groove, striking out 10 of 11 batters from the second through fifth innings.
“This was a big win for our program and where we’re at right now,” Bobcats head coach Tom Carty said after the win. “We knew this would be a battle all weekend long. We got some good pitching and threw pretty well.”
The Bobcats prolific offense continues to spank the ball, fueling them to a so-far successful season.
“We’re a very good offensive team and a veteran one,” Carty said. “(Allen and Harrell) keep getting on base for us at the top of the lineup, and that’s giving us plenty of opportunities.”
The Bobcats return to action this weekend with a three-game set at Montevallo with two games on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. and one on Sunday beginning at 2 p.m.. They return to home action April 21 against Valdosta State for a 4 p.m. start.
Posted by Scotty Thompson
on Apr 16 2010. Filed under Sports.
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