Author Archives: Jerry Briggs

Texas State beats Louisiana to clinch Sun Belt tournament berth

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Trailing by four runs early, the Texas State Bobcats rallied to beat Louisiana 8-6 Sunday afternoon on ‘Senior Day,’ clinching both the series and a berth in the Sun Belt Conference tournament.

Texas State fell behind 4-0 in the top of the first, but did not back down.

By the end of the second innning, the Bobcats had pulled within one. In the fourth, they scored twice to take a 6-5 lead and never trailed again.

Louisiana won the first game of the series, 7-4, on Friday. Texas State bounced back to win 6-5 on Saturday.

By Sunday, they had won again, earning their second series victory over the Ragin’ Cajuns and their first since 2004.

Records

Texas State 25-25, 13-14
Louisiana 29-23, 15-12

Highlights

Senior Luke Sherley bashed three hits, including his fifth home run of the season, and scored three runs. Jacob Almendarez also had three hits and one RBI. Freshman Dalton Shuffield (from Johnson High School) went two for six.

Wes Engle started on the mound but was removed after failing to record an out. He did not concede a hit, but all three batters he faced reached base and scored, prompting coaches to call on Zachary Leigh (2-3).

The sophomore pitched well in earning the victory, giving up two runs on five hits in seven innings. Sherley got the save by pitching the ninth, his first appearance as a pitcher since high school.

Coming up

The Bobcats play a non-conference game at Texas on Tuesday. They finish with three on the road in the Sun Belt against UT-Arlington. The Sun Belt tournament is set for May 22-27 in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi wins, completes sweep against UIW

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The Jackson Owens-fueled Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders turned back the Incarnate Word Cardinals 8-3 Sunday afternoon to complete a three-game sweep.

Owens beat UIW at the plate and on the mound.

He hit a double and a triple and drove in three runs for the Islanders, and he also pitched the last 2 and 2/3 innings, earning credit for the win.

The series was played in Corpus Christi at Chapman Field.

Records

Incarnate Word 29-23, 13-14
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 27-26, 11-16

Series notes

The Cardinals held the lead in all three games but failed to win any of them.

As a result, they fell into a tie for seventh with New Orleans leading into the final days of the SLC race.

Eight teams qualify for the SLC tournament.

UIW and New Orleans are tied for seventh at 13-14, followed by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Nicholls, both 11-16.

Each team has three games remaining.

Looking ahead

Hoping to secure its first SLC tournament berth, UIW plays at home Thursday, Friday and Saturday against first-place Sam Houston State.

UIW is hosting a team that is coming off historic success.

Last year, the Bearkats won the NCAA Lubbock Regional and advanced to the tournament’s Super Regional round.

At that point, Florida State knocked out Sam Houston State in two straight for a berth in the College World Series.

Recently, the Bearkats (35-17, 21-6) bounced back from a four-game losing streak to win two in a row against Houston Baptist.

Sam Houston State clinched at least a share of the SLC’s regular-season title with a 9-6 victory over Houston Baptist on Sunday.

Tournament time

The SLC tournament is scheduled May 23-26 at Constellation Field in Sugar Land.

UTSA clinches spot in C-USA tournament with victory at ODU

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The UTSA Roadrunners have clinched a spot in the Conference USA baseball tournament.

UTSA assured itself of a chance to play for the C-USA’s postseason title by scoring an 11-3 victory Sunday at Old Dominion.

With the win, the Roadrunners took two of three in the series from the last-place Monarchs.

More importantly, in the long term, the win also settles UTSA’s travel plans for the last week of May.

UTSA will make the trip to Biloxi, Miss., as one of eight C-USA teams battling for the postseason title and the accompanying bid to the NCAA tournament.

Records

UTSA 28-21, 14-12
Old Dominion 15-33, 7-19

Highlights

Bryan Arias, a UTSA junior from Marshall, led off the game with his seventh home run of the season. The Roadrunners went on to score one run in the first inning, two in the second and one in the third for a 4-0 lead.

UTSA banged out 16 hits one day after getting shut out, 7-0, on a complete-game, five-hitter by ODU’s Morgan Maguire. Trent Bowles had three hits for UTSA, including his team-leading 16th double. He also stole his 14th base, which also leads the team.

Pitcher Chance Kirby enjoyed another quality start by pitching into the seventh inning and yielding two runs on seven hits. Kirby has eclipsed six innings pitched with two or fewer runs allowed in four straight games.

After picking up the win against Old Dominion, he improved his record to 5-4 with a team-best 2.93 earned run average.

Coming up

UTSA hosts Abilene Christian (non-conference) on Tuesday. UTSA completes the regular-season schedule next weekend with three home games against the C-USA’s Charlotte 49ers starting Thursday night.

The C-USA tournament is set for May 24-28 in Biloxi.

Ayala pitches Texas A&M-Corpus Christi over UIW

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Freshman A.G. Ayala pitched the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders to a 4-3 victory Saturday over Incarnate Word at Chapman Field.

Ayala held visiting UIW to two runs on four hits in seven innings as A&M-Corpus Christi won its second game in a row in the Southland Conference series.

The Islanders will try for their first SLC series sweep of the season Sunday at 1 p.m.

Trailing by two runs, the Cardinals scored once off reliever Will Floyd in the eighth inning to trim the lead to 4-3.

But Cody LeCompte entered the game and got the last six outs for the save.

Tyler Miller was the hard-luck losing pitcher, throwing all eight innings for the Cardinals.

He gave up only two earned runs on seven hits and struck out nine.

Records

Incarnate Word 29-22, 13-13
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 26-26, 10-16

Series notes

With the loss, UIW will enter Sunday’s game in seventh place, one game ahead of eighth-place New Orleans, in the SLC race.

Eight teams qualify for the SLC postseason tournament.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is tied for 10th place, one game out of ninth and two games out of the eighth.

Both UIW and A&M-Corpus Christi have four SLC games remaining.

Team in transition

For the past four years, UIW has been ineligible for postseason play in the SLC because of its status as a team in transition to NCAA Division I.

This year, the Cardinals have moved past the transition, and would be eligible if they can just win some games down the stretch.

To complete the season schedule, they are scheduled to play three games at home next week with first-place Sam Houston State.

Top-ranked Florida wins, clinches SEC championship

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Top-ranked Florida hit four home runs Saturday to make it look easy in a 9-3 victory over No. 12 Georgia.

The win clinched at least a share of the Southeastern Conference title for the Gators, prompting coach Kevin O’Sullivan to start speculating on his team’s potential in the NCAA postseason.

“I have enjoyed every single day watching these guys compete and how they have gone about it,” O’Sullivan said in comments posted on Florida’s athletics website. “It has been a professional approach and consistent.

“Their togetherness and comradery has been really special.”

“It is not easy to have a bullseye on your back all year. They have handled it with class and consistency. I’m looking forward to seeing how they will do in postseason.”

Florida is the defending national champion.

The Gators finished 52-19, including 5-1 in the College World Series, to win the 2017 title.

Many of the same faces from last year are powering the current squad, including JJ Schwarz, Nelson Maldonado, Jonathan India and Blake Reese, who all homered against Georgia.

Reese slugged a sixth-inning grand slam.

Records

Florida — 41-11, 20-6
Georgia — 34-15, 15-11

Old Dominion even series against UTSA with 7-0 victory

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Morgan Maguire threw a complete-game shutout Saturday as the last-place Old Dominion Monarchs defeated UTSA 7-0 at Norfolk Va., in Conference USA baseball.

With the victory, Old Dominion evened the three-game series at one win apiece leading into Sunday’s series finale.

Maguire allowed five hits while striking out seven a day after UTSA pounded ODU pitching in an 11-1 victory.

For UTSA, it was the team’s fifth shutout loss of the season and first since April 8, when Louisiana Tech won 13-0 in San Antonio.

This one might sting a little more than usual.

The loss prevented the Roadrunners from winning the series on the second-to-last weekend of the regular season.

It also dropped them into a tie for fifth in the standings with FIU.

After Sunday’s series finale against ODU in Virginia, UTSA returns home to face Abilene Christian in nonconference play Tuesday.

The Roadrunners host the Charlotte 49ers in C-USA next weekend.

Records

Old Dominion — 15-32, 7-18
UTSA — 27-21, 13-12

Houston Cougars sweep, clinch share of title in the American

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The Houston Cougars clinched at least a share of the regular-season title in the American Athletic Conference Friday by winning two games against 25th-ranked Connecticut at Dunkin’ Donuts Park in Hartford.

After winning the first game, 6-5, Houston rolled to a 10-1 victory for the sweep and a second straight regular-season title.

The Cougars won the first game when Lael Lockhart homered and doubled in a 3-for-4 showing at the plate.

They hung on in the ninth inning when relief pitcher Joe Pulido choked off a Huskies rally, ending it with the potential tying run at third base and the winner at second.

In the second game, designated hitter Joe Davis hit two home runs, added two doubles and drove in four runs.

Note

The JB Replay uses Baseball America as the source for its national rankings.

Records

Houston — 31-19, 16-7
Connecticut — 29-16-1, 11-9

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi edges UIW, 5-4, in 11 innings

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Jackson Owens blooped a two-out hit down the right field line to drive in the winning run, as the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders defeated visiting Incarnate Word 5-4 in 11 innings Friday night in Southland Conference baseball.

With runners at second and third and UIW pitcher Luke Taggart trying to send the game to the 12th, Owens popped a ball into short right right.

When nobody from UIW could catch it before it hit the ground, Thomas Jeffries crossed home plate for the walk-off victory, keeping the Islanders’ SLC postseason hopes alive.

With the loss, UIW dropped into seventh place in the SLC standings, two games in the loss column out of eighth. A&M-Corpus Christi moved into a tie for 10th.

Eight teams qualify for the SLC tournament. UIW plays again in Corpus Christi on Saturday at 4 p.m. and on Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Cardinals complete their regular-season conference schedule with three games at home next week against the first-place Sam Houston State Bearkats.

Records

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi — 25-26, 9-16
Incarnate Word — 29-21, 13-12

Hayden Cantrelle stroked five hits Friday night, and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns defeated Texas State 7-4 in the Sun Belt Conference at San Marcos.

The teams play again Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. in the Bobcats’ final home series this season.

Louisiana scored one run in the second inning and three in the fifth for a 4-0 lead.

In response, Texas State scored three times in the bottom of the fifth to pull within 4-3.

But the Bobcats could never gain the lead and ended up falling to 1-6 in their last seven games.

Texas State’s Nicholas Fraze (5-4) took the loss after exiting in the sixth inning trailing 5-3. He gave up 11 hits in five and 1/3.

Louisiana’s Colton Schmidt (7-0) pitched into the seventh inning for the victory.

Records

Louisiana — 29-21, 15-10
Texas State — 23-25-1, 11-14

UTSA produces 17 hits in an easy 11-1 victory at Old Dominion

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Ryan Stacy slammed a one-out, solo home run to ignite a four-run first inning for the UTSA Roaodrunners, who rolled to an 11-1 road victory over Old Dominion Friday night in Norfolk, Va.

Fueling a 17-hit attack, freshman Dylan Rock went 4 for 5 at the plate. He scored three runs and drove in two.

Junior righthander Nathan Alexander picked up the victory by starting and pitching five scoreless innings.

He gave up three hits.

In UTSA’s last Conference USA road trip of the season, the Roadrunners and Monarchs are set to play Saturday and Sunday.

Records

UTSA — 27-20, 13-11
Old Dominion — 14-32, 6-18

Area Division I baseball teams play for momentum in stretch run

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With two weeks left before conference tournament play commences, local and area NCAA Division I baseball teams will need to start winning to create momentum for championship runs. Here’s the breakdown:

Summary: In Conference USA, if you take your eye off the ball, you can get smacked in the nose. UTSA can’t afford to let that happen this week. The fifth-place Roadrunners (26-20, 12-11) are in good position to make the eight-team C-USA tournament. But if they have any postseason championship aspirations, they need win a road series this weekend against the last-place Old Dominion Monarchs (14-31, 6-17) and then follow suit next week against Charlotte (27-20, 13-11) at home.

Leaders

Batting: Bryan Arias (.340, 41 runs, 6 HR), Ben Brookover (.322, 7 HR, 46 RBI), Trent Bowles (.316, 7 HR, 34 RBI, 13 SB).

Pitching: Steven Dressler (5-2, 2.90), Chance Kirby (4-4, 2.94), Karan Patel (2-3, 4.47), Derek Craft (3-4, 1.79).

Summary: Incarnate Word (29-20, 13-11) is bouncing back in baseball at just the right time. Eligible to play in the Southland Conference tournament after a four-year wait in transition from NCAA Division II, the Cardinals are tied for fifth with a top-eight finish necessary to extend the season. UIW plays at Texas A&M Corpus Christi (24-26, 8-16) this weekend before hosting powerful Sam Houston State (33-16, 19-5) next week. Sam Houston is the SLC’s No. 1 program.

Leaders

Batting: Eddy Gonzales (.381), Ridge Rogers (.355), Kyle Bergeron (.343, 6 HR, 46 RBI).

Pitching: Cody Allen (2-3, 2.47, 5 saves), Luke Taggart (4-3, 3.87), Tyler Miller (3-3, 3.99).

Summary: It’s been a struggle lately for the Texas State Bobcats, who have lost five of their last six. But they remain in position to reach the Sun Belt Conference tournament. Texas State (23-24-1, 11-13) hosts Louisiana (28-21, 14-10) this weekend. The Bobcats will finish on the road against UT-Arlington (21-27, 11-13).

Leaders

Batting: Dalton Shuffield (.300), Jonathan Ortega (.294, 32 RBI), Derek Scheible (.234, 10 HR, 33 RBI).

Pitching: Nicholas Fraze (5-3, 2.93), Connor Reich (5-3, 3.45).