Contributed
(March 6, 2010)

MT. PLEASANT, S.C.  – The Alabama baseball team used a pair of two-out rallies to post a 6-2 series-opening win over the College of Charleston on chilly, breezy night at Patriots Point Stadium.

Alabama (7-0) scored five of its six runs with two outs en route to its seventh straight win to open the season. In addition, 11 UA batters reached base with two outs. The Crimson Tide scored three runs with two outs in the second inning and added two more runs with two outs in the seventh to build a five-run lead.

“It’s been a good start,” Alabama head coach Mitch Gaspard said. “Really, in all seven games we’ve played really clean, our execution has been at a high level, but I think the key is pitching. We’ve gotten seven good starts and the bullpen has been solid throughout the games. The one thing to is defensively, we’ve made three errors in seven games. So, when you get those combinations, you have a chance to win a lot of games.”

The bottom of the order produced the first two-out rally in the second inning as the Crimson Tide scored three runs to take a 3-0 lead.  Alabama loaded the bases with two outs before sophomore center fielder Taylor Dugas stepped to the plate and lined a single to right field to score sophomore DH Jon Kelton and senior catcher Cody Trotter. Freshman right fielder Andrew Miller scored the third run when Dugas was caught in a run-down between first and second base to end the inning.

Alabama extended its lead to 4-0 in third inning when junior shortstop Josh Rutledge tripled into the right field corner and scored on junior second baseman Ross Wilson’s ground out.

College of Charleston (8-2) got on the board in the fourth inning with a run on two hits to close the gap to 4-1. Kolby Epley stroked a double into the left field corner to open the inning and Matt Leeds followed with a walk. Jose Rodriguez, who was down 0-2 in the count, lined single just over the glove of Wilson at second base to score Epley as the Cougars cut the lead to 4-1.

With the Cougars threatening, Morgan used en effective change-up to strike out the next three hitters and preserve UA’s 4-1 lead.

Morgan (2-0) worked five innings and allowed one run and six hits with six strikeouts and two walks.  He left after throwing 95 pitches, the highest pitch count for an Alabama starter this season.

“We went into the night wanting to get him up to 85 to 90 pitches and I think he finished with 92,” Gaspard said.  “I thought he really had to compete tonight.  They have an excellent offensive team and are very aggressive.  He really stood up in the fourth inning when they runners at first and second with no outs and got three big strikeouts.  He earned the win tonight.  He really competed for it.”

The Alabama bullpen took over from there as right-hander Nathan Kilcrease, left-hander David Head and right-hander Brett Whitaker worked the final four innings.  Kilcrease worked two innings and allowed one run, while Head worked 1 1/3 innings.

The Cougars threatened a comeback in the ninth inning when Thomas Brittle and Rob Kral reached on back-to-back singles against Head.  After Baker Knox fouled out, junior right hander Brett Whitaker replaced Head and got Rekar to fly out center and Mesa to strike out to earn his first career save.

Auburn beats Miami, Ohio

AUBURN - Down by four runs heading to the bottom of the seventh, Auburn scored eight times on seven hits, a walk and two hit-batters in the bottom half of the frame to rally for a 14-9 win over Miami (Ohio) on Friday night at Plainsman Park.

Creede Simpson (5-for-6, 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI) and Brian Fletcher (4-for-5, 2B, HR, BB, 3 R, 4 RBI) combined to hit nine of Auburn’s season-high 22 hits and drove in seven of the team’s 14 runs as Auburn (7-2) ran its winning streak to four straight.

"I didn’t have the best of hits but I will take them. The seventh was a complete momentum switch. Once the big inning occurred we were feeling great," Simpson said.

Down 9-5 going to the bottom of the seventh after leading 4-1 after four, Auburn’s highest-scoring inning of the season started with Fletcher’s fifth home run of the season and 32nd of his career, a solo blast to the back of the visitor’s bullpen to get Auburn to within three runs. Casey McElroy (1-for-5, 2B, BB, R) followed with a double and the rally was on as pinch hitter Dan Gamache singled home McElroy and Justin Bryant (1-for-3, HBP, SAC, 2 R), Simpson smoked a one-out, two-run double past the first baseman and Fletcher doubled in a pair with his second hit of the inning, a liner down the left field line. Tony Caldwell (3-for-5, 2B, 3R, 2 RBI) capped the scoring with a two-out double that put Auburn up 13-9.

"We try to build some momentum, get some guys on base and drive some runs in," Fletcher said. "At the beginning of the season I figured I would be seeing a lot more off-speed stuff and during practice and before games I have been trying to work on my approach. I am just trying to do the little things like move guys over to help the team."

Hawks beat Rust

Seniors Bryant Hall and Kyle Eller each drove in three runs to lead the Huntingdon baseball team to an 11-1 victory over Rust on Friday, in the opening game of a three-game series being played at Neal Posey Field this weekend.

In the contest, the Hawks (10-4) pounded out 11 hits, including two each from Hall, Eller, fellow senior Chris Knight and freshman Austin White. Huntingdon also took advantage of 11 walks issued by the Bearcats’ (0-4) pitching staff, as five of the free passes came around to score.

Junior Patrick Jackson and senior Josh Bennefield each scored two runs for the Hawks, three of which came after reaching via a walk.

On the mound, junior Sam Griffin kept the Bearcats in check, throwing just 91 pitches to work the first 7.0 innings. Griffin allowed only one unearned run and two hits, while striking out for to pick up his first victory of the season.

Rust managed just three hits for the contest and also committed four errors. Huntingdon finished the game with 12 runners left on base.

The two squads will square off in the final two games of the series on Saturday, when they play a doubleheader, beginning at 1 p.m.

SPSU defeats AUM

Brandon Chastain hit a grand slam and finished the game with five RBI to lead fourth-ranked Southern Polytechnic State University to a 12-3 win over Auburn University at Montgomery.

The Senators did not have to help the Hornets, but did so in the first inning allowing two unearned runs to give SPSU a quick 2-0 lead.

The lead grew to 3-0 in the fourth inning when SPSU added a run, but SPSU blew the game open in the fifth with six runs, four coming on Chastain’s grand slam over the right field fence to give the Hornets a 9-0 lead.

The Senators managed to push across three runs in the bottom of the seventh, with two of the RBI coming off the bat of Bruce Alter, but those would be the only runs AUM would score.

SPSU finished the scoring with two runs in the eighth and a single run in the ninth for the final margin of victory.

Jono Waugh led the Hornets offense with three this while Josh Grooms had two hits and two RBI and Mason Heller collected two hits and three RBI.

The Senators did manage 10 hits on the evening with Alter, Todd Cherry and Michael Dugan collecting two hits each.

David Harden (5-0) remained undefeated for SPSU going eight innings and allowing all 10 hits and the three runs.  He had three strikeouts and only walked one batter.

Aaron Elmore (0-1) went four innings in picking up the loss.  He allowed four runs, only two earned, and four hits while striking out two.

AUM (9-9/2-2 SSAC) and SPSU (18-1/1-0 SSAC) will conclude the weekend series tomorrow with a double-header beginning at noon.