Combined Reports
(March 17, 2010)

ATLANTA - Seniors Scott Holloway and Alex Sanford each tossed their second straight complete game to lead the Huntingdon baseball team to a doubleheader sweep of Oglethorpe on Tuesday at Anderson Field. The Hawks (19-4) took game one of the contest 7-5, while winning the finale 6-1.

In the opener, Holloway tossed his second career complete game and second in as many starts, as he scattered 11 hits and allowed five runs to earn the victory. Holloway struck out four in the outing to improve to 4-0 on the season.

The Hawks pounded out 14 hits in the victory, giving them four straight games with 10 or more hits.

Seniors Kyle Eller and Shawn Bezwiechin keyed the offense, finishing with three hits each, while Bezwiechin added a team-high three runs batted in. Seniors Bryant Hall and Josh Bennefield each chipped in a pair of hits, while freshman Austin White finished with his seventh double of the season.

Oglethorpe (10-7) finished with 11 hits of its own, including three by Joseph Parillo and two by Jonathan McWhorter.

John Hale started the contest for the Petrels, tossing 5.0 innings and allowing six runs to fall to 0-1 on the season. Drew Brooks closed out the contest with two innings of three-hit ball, allowing one unearned run.

In the nightcap, the Hawks jumped out to a 5-0 lead after one inning and never looked back as Sanford kept the Stormy Petrels’ bats in check for the remainder of the contest.

Sanford (5-1) allowed just four hits and struck out 10 in the complete-game effort.

Bennefield finished with two hits for Huntingdon, while Bezwiechin added a hit and a RBI.

Mark Hoban took the loss for the Petrels, also tossing a complete game, but allowing six hits and six runs, while striking out eight.

Huntingdon will look to extend its win streak to 13 games on Saturday, when it hosts Atlanta Christian for a doubleheader at Posey Field. First pitch of the opener is scheduled for x p.m.

Tide wins in the ninth over Minnesota

TUSCALOOSA - No. 21 Alabama scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 5-4 come-from-behind win over the University of Minnesota Tuesday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.

Alabama (13-1) posted its third comeback win of the season and won its second game in its last at-bat with its win over Golden Gophers.

Sophomore first baseman Jon Kelton started the winning rally with a leadoff walk against UM relief pitcher Billy Soule and moved into scoring position on junior catcher Brock Bennett’s sacrifice bunt.  Right-hander Tim Ryan replaced Soule on the mound and the side-winder was greeted with an RBI single by pinch-hitter Brett Whitaker, scoring Kelton from second base to tie the game at 4-4.

Senior Cal Tinsley then pinch ran for Whitaker and sophomore center fielder Taylor Dugas, who had three hits and reached base four times, drew a walk.  Junior shortstop Josh Rutledge then capped the rally with an RBI single to right field to score Tinsley from second base with the winning run, giving the Tide a 5-4 victory.  Rutledge finished the game with three hits and one RBI.

"I was just trying to look for a good pitch to hit, especially after he had just walked (Taylor) Dugas, so I was just trying to get one in the zone and take him up the middle or opposite field," Rutledge said after the game.

Minnesota (5-10) snapped a 3-3 tie with a run in the top of the fifth inning to take a 4-3 lead against junior reliever Nathan Kilcrease.  Troy Larson opened the inning with a base hit and was erased at second base when AJ Petterson reached on a fielder’s choice.  Aaron Henkemeyer followed with a walk and Michael Kvasnicka snapped the tie with an RBI single to right field.  Kvasnicka’s team-leading 13th RBI gave the Gophers a 4-3 lead.

Kilcrease allowed one run and three hits in 2 1/3 innings in relief of freshman starter Tucker Hawley, who made his UA debut on the mound on Tuesday.  Senior left-hander David Head replaced Kilcrease after a one-out triple in the seventh inning and retired eight of the 10 batters he faced with four strikeouts.  Head (1-0) picked up his first win of the season with another stellar performance out of the pen.

"It was one of those games where I thought we battled hard," Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard said. "On the mound it was a typical midweek game. I felt like when we got to our bullpen guys (Nathan) Kilcrease  and (David ) Head we would have a chance to win it late. When (John) Kelton got the walk to start the (ninth) inning I felt like we were going to roll back up to the top and it was going to give us a chance to win."

Soule replaced UM starter Austin Lubinsky with one out in the fifth inning and got junior second baseman Ross Wilson to hit into an inning-ending double plays.  Soule then blanked the Tide over the next three innings before running into trouble in the ninth.  He was charged with one run and two hits in four innings on the mound.

Ryan (0-1) took the loss after he allowed two runs and two hits in the final inning and did not retire a batter.

Auburn handles Alabama A&M

AUBURN - Dexter Price kept the Alabama A&M Bulldogs off the scoreboard for seven-plus innings and Tony Caldwell drove in Auburn’s first two runs with a sacrifice fly and a solo home run as Auburn defeated Alabama A&M, 11-1, on Tuesday evening. Auburn held a slim 4-0 lead after seven before erupting for seven runs in the eighth inning to win its seventh straight at Plainsman Park.

"Tonight it was very important for us to pitch well and Dexter Price did a great job. Ten ground-ball outs in a game that the final score did not indicate how close this game was," Auburn Head Coach John Pawlowski said. "Into the sixth inning the score is only 2-0 so it was important that we had someone out there that got ground balls and was ahead all night and Dexter was very efficient with his pitches."

Making just his second start of the season, Price was nearly flawless during the first seven innings, allowing just three hits and a walk with none coming in the same inning. Only after Alabama A&M led off the eighth with a double did he leave the game, having already matched his career high with six strike outs while pitching into the eighth for the first time in his career.

"I felt like I struggled a bit with my off-speed so I had to go out there and work with what coach (Pawlowski) said, keeping the fastball down in the zone," Price said. "Luckily I had a great defense behind me and they were able to get the ground balls," Price said.

For the offense, it was slow going at the start against Alabama A&M starter Juan Flores (1-1), with the exception of Caldwell. In the first he hit a towering shot that only a leaping catch against the wall by Alabama A&M left fielder Diego Lopez could keep from being at least a run scoring double but was instead was a sacrifice fly to score Justin Bryant (1-for-3, 3B, 2 BB, 2 RBI).

In the fourth Caldwell struck again, blistering a solo home run off the batter’s eye in center, his second home run of the season that put Auburn up 2-0.

Auburn scored two more in the sixth on a Dan Gamache (2-for-4) RBI double and an two-base error by Alabama A&M center fielder Steven Wimpeye on Ryan Jenkins’ (0-for-3, BB) pop fly to take a 4-0 lead, effectively ending Flores’ night after he allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits and four walks.

Auburn put the game away with a seven-run eighth, collecting just three hits, all for extra-bases, but benefiting from four walks, an error, a hit batter, a balk, a passed ball and a wild pitch. Wes Gilmer (1-for-3, 2 R) started the action with his first home run of the season to lead off the inning and then Kevin Patterson (0-for-2, BB) and Jenkins drew back-to-back walks. Consecutive triples by Bryant and Creede Simpson (2-for-5, R, RBI) brought in two more and preceded another set of back-to-back walks to Hunter Morris (0-for-4, BB) and Caldwell. A balk put Morris and Caldwell on second and third before a Casey McElroy (1-for-3) sac fly brought Morris in. A wild pitch with Caldwell on third capped the scoring, giving Auburn an insurmountable 11-0 lead heading to the ninth

Alabama A&M (10-5) avoided the shutout by scoring an unearned run off of Ty Kelley in the ninth.

Troy bats come to life in win over North Florida

After managing just two infield hits through the first four innings Tuesday night, the Trojans bats finally came to life, blasting three homers in a 9-6 victory over North Florida at Riddle-Pace Field.

The Trojans even their season record at 7-7 while North Florida falls to 8-9 on the year. The teams will meet again on Wednesday, with the first pitch slated for 1 p.m.

The long ball has been the Trojans’ primary offensive weapon this year, and that proved to be true again on Tuesday.

Senior Miles Hoyle finally got the offense started for the Trojans in the fifth inning when, trailing 5-1, he blasted a three-run homer to deep left field. Two batters later Ryan Ditthardt launched a solo homer to tie the game.

Both blasts came off UNF starting pitcher Robbie Collier, but the Trojans piled on more once the junior left-hander left the game.

In the sixth inning John Atteo (1-1) came on to pitch for the Ospreys and was greeted by consecutive hits from Steven Felix, a double, and Todd McRae, an RBI single. After a strikeout, Hoyle singled and Chase Whitley followed with a towering homer to center, giving Troy a 9-5 lead. Atteo lasted just a third of an inning, allowing four runs.

“We know we can score in bunches, the problem has been not doing enough between the long balls,” Trojans coach Bobby Pierce said. “Tonight we got a good mixture of both, but I would like to see a little more of the in-between.”

The three homers were enough for Trojans freshman right-hander Thomas Austin (1-0) who came on in relief of starter Shane McCain to open the fourth inning. Austin scattered six hits, allowing three runs, while walking one and striking out three in five innings of work.

“Tonight all of the credit goes to Thomas Austin,” Pierce said. “He came in and threw a nice sinker and that is two times in a row he has come into a game and held a team right where they were. He pitched very well and I was very proud of his effort. He did leave the one slider up, and he has struggled with that since changing to the new arm angle.”

Whitley came on to pitch the ninth to earn his first save of the year.

North Florida scored three runs in the third after a pair of one-out walks by McCain was followed by an RBI double by Michael Smith and a two-run single by Preston Hale. The Ospreys added two runs in the fifth off Austin on a two-run homer by Andrew Karmeris.

UNF scored its final run in the seventh on a Karmeris single.