4.11.2001 Baseball Roundup: April 10
Miami (OH) Rallies For 7-6 Win Over UC
OXFORD, Ohio -- Miami (OH) scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to help the RedHawks to a 7-6 win over Cincinnati on Tuesday afternoon at Stanley G. McKie Field. The RedHawks scratched out five singles in the inning to snap a three-game losing skid.
Miami (OH) (14-17) knotted the game at 6-6 with an RBI single off the bat of Justin Knoedler, who earlier had homered. Andi Scheidt ended the game with a roller up the middle that took a bad hop over the glove of UC shortstop Kevin Youkilis (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore) to bring in the game-winning run.
LaDaris Vann (Fort Pierce, Fla./Spanish River) and Brett Clark (Elk Grove, Calif./Sacramento City C.C.) each recorded a pair of hits in the loss for Cincinnati (18-14). Vann had an RBI triple, while Clark had a double and a home run while driving in three.
Miami (OH) scored an unearned run with two outs in the first to take a quick lead before UC scored single runs in the second and third frames to take a 2-1 lead. Youkilis led off with a solo homer in the second and Brett Clark plated a run with an RBI double in the third. Youkilis' home run gives him 46 on his career, moving him past teammate Matt Singer (Cincinnati, Ohio/Purcell Marian) for sole possession of first place on UC's all-time list.
The RedHawks reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the third, scoring two runs by piecing together three singles and a walk before UC answered to tie the game with an RBI single by freshman Justin Niefer (Cummin, Ga./St. Joseph's).
Cincinnati took the lead with three runs in the sixth inning as Vann registered his third triple of the season to drive in a run and Clark hit his fifth homer of the season, a two-run shot.
Senior Curtus Moak (Hamilton, Ohio/Hamilton) hurled three scoreless innings of relief for UC, extending his scoreless streak to 11 innings over his last seven appearances.
Sophomore Rob Reel (Vandalia, Ohio/Northville) allowed one earned run over three innings, striking out two without issuing a walk in his second career start. He handed the game over to Moak. Senior Kyle DiEduardo (Boca Raton, Fla./Olympic Heights) pitched the next 3.1 innings, allowing four earned runs in dropping his fourth game of the year.
The Bearcats will be back in action tomorrow when it visits cross-town rival Xavier at 3 pm. Dan Reineke is expected to get the start on the mound.
Charlotte Rallied to Defeat Appalachian State, 8-6
BOONE, N.C. -- Charlotte rallied from a three run deficit with eight runs on eight hits in the final three innings to defeat Appalachian State, 8-6.
Appalachian State took an early 1-0 lead behind two hits in the first inning. Wes Timmons, who doubled to leadoff the game, scored the first run of the game on a Carey Hobbs' single down the rightfield line.
Appalachian State increased their lead to 3-0 in the second inning. Adam Ennis scored the first run of the inning on a Charlotte fielding error. Then, Nick Baughn scored the other run on a Timmons single to centerfield.
Charlotte scored five runs on four hits and two Appalachian State errors in the seventh inning to take a 5-3 lead. Brian Bowman, George Sandel, Brad Lamm, Thomas Bowker and Eric Shanks each scored in the inning for Charlotte. Bowman scored on a Lamm single to centerfield. Then, Sandel in a bizarre play scored the second run of the inning after an Appalachian State fielder held the ball on Lamm's single. Then, Lamm scored on Bowker's single to centerfield. Bowker, stole second and third, then he scored on a Shanks single to leftfield. Then, Shanks scored the final run of the inning on a Chris Brake fielder's choice.
Appalachian State tied the game at 5-5 with two runs on two hits and two Charlotte errors in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Charlotte regained the lead for good 8-5 on three runs and three hits in the eighth inning. Bowman scored the first run of the inning on a Lamm single to rightfield. Then, Lamm, who advanced to third on an Erwin single, scored the second run of the inning on an Appalachian State balk. Then, Erwin scored the last run of the inning on Shanks' single to left centerfield.
Appalachian State scored a run on three hits in the ninth inning to make the final score 8-6.
Charlotte pitcher Nicholas Barron recorded his first career win after pitching three inning in relief. Charlotte reliever Jacob Chaney, a native of Watauga County, recorded his fifth save of the season after getting the final out in the ninth inning.
Charlotte will return to action on the road at North Carolina, Wednesday, April 11.
Kentucky Drops Louisville, 8-3
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- In the battle of the bluegrass nines, Kentucky beat Louisville 8-3 on Tuesday evening in Lexington. The teams will meet for the rematch on April 17th at Slugger Field in Louisville at 6:00 p.m.
A sacrifice fly by Cardinal first baseman Mike Budak was the first run of the game, giving U of L a 1-0 lead. Centerfielder Mike Hook singled to lead off, leftfielder Dave Williams Jr. walked, and both were moved ahead a base by third baseman Scott Gerlach's sacrifice, before the fly ball to left by Budak.
Kentucky(15-20) matched the single mark in the first on a RBI double by first baseman Gordon Tyler. On the play, UK leftfielder Caleb Brock who had waked, was thrown out at the plate when Hook fired to shortstop Adam Haley, who pegged Brock at the dish to end the inning.
The Wildcats added another run in the second on an RBI single by second baseman Brad Pickerel to give them their first lead at 2-1, and they added to the total with a solo home run by shortstop Vince Harrison leading off the third to make it 3-1.
Kentucky continued to pad the lead with a pair of runs in the fourth on a two-run single by centerfielder Beau Moore, giving them a 5-1 advantage, and knocking Louisville starter Mike Tisdale out of the game. Tisdale(6-4) surrendered five runs-four earned on six hits and a walk to go with three strikeouts, in 3.1 innings, his shortest start of the season while taking the loss.
The Cards edged closer with a pair of runs in the sixth to make it 5-3 Kentucky. Budak singled home Williams, who reached on a bunt single to lead off, and Gerlach scored on a groundout by catcher Fernando Isa.
UK rightfielder Seth Morris hit a solo home run with one out in the bottom of the sixth to get one of the runs back, 6-3.
There were two brief delays in the bottom of the sixth inning totalling 17 minutes due to lightning in the area. Ironically, the 2000-2001 UK/U of L football game in September was also marked by a lightning delay.
Louisville loaded the bases in the seventh with one out, but were unable to cash in. The Cards stranded nine runners in the contest.
UK put the final two runs of the game in the eighth to make it 8-3.
Wildcat starter Bryan Felkel(2-0) tossed five frames, giving up three runs-two of which were earned on five hits and three walks, he struck out three in the win. Reliever Mark Michael shut down the Cards with four scoreless innings to pick up his first save.
U of L's Chase Cruse pitched the final 4.2 innings for the Cards and gave up three runs on five hits with three strikeouts. Haley, Budak and rightfielder Kevin Fishback each had two hits for the Cards, while Williams had three base hits.
Louisville(20-19) will travel to Charlotte for a three-game weekend series beginning Friday.
Blazers Defeat Alabama in Baseball Action
TUSCALOOSA ? Al Hecklinski drove in a Blazer season-high six runs and went 3-for-4 to lead UAB to a 10-6 non-conference baseball victory over Alabama here Tuesday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
The Blazers (18-15) snapped a current three-game losing streak while winning their third straight game against a Southeastern Conference opponent ? having beaten Mississippi State last week 4-2 and Vanderbilt 6-1 on Mar. 6.
Eight different Blazers recorded hits in the contest as UAB stroked a season-best 18 bingles. Along with Hecklinski, Mark Garner and Brandon Isbell collected three hits apiece while Brandon Holmes, Chris George, Matt Gaulden and Keith Barnes added two safeties each.
After UAB starter Scott Gibson surrendered two-run homers to Aaron Clark and Beau Hearod in the first, the Blazers found themselves behind 4-0. UAB then went to the bullpen and Andre Parks responded by pitching five solid innings and limiting the Crimson Tide (23-13) to a pair of runs to earn the win and improve to 3-0 on the year. Parks scattered five hits and walked four while striking out two in the process.
Joe Yarbrough tossed three shutout innings down the stretch to earn his fourth save of the campaign.
Down 4-0, the Blazers scored its first run in the second on a RBI fielder?s choice by Gaulden. UAB took went ahead 5-4 one inning later as they took advantage of a Bama error that would give Hecklinski the opportunity to blast a home run ? a three-run shot ? to left off the scoreboard. Gaulden then drove in his second run of the game later in the frame with a run-scoring single.
A RBI single by Garner in the fourth gave UAB a 6-4 advantage, but Bama tied the game at six with a sacrifice fly in the fifth by Kavonski Chatman and a sixth-inning solo home run by Casey Lambert.
The Blazers then took the lead for good in the seventh on a safety squeeze by Barnes as he collected his C-USA leading ninth sacrifice of the season to give UAB a 7-6
Another Bama error in the eighth led to three Blazer insurance runs. Hecklinski drove home the first two with a single up the middle and Isbell completed the scoring by plating a run with a double to left.
Nate Rogers, the third of five Crimson Tide pitchers on the night, suffered the loss as he gave up three runs (one earned) on four hits and a strikeout to fall to 0-1.
The two teams will complete their two-game midweek series in Birmingham Wednesday at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast.
Cougar Baseball Team Halts Texas A&M 4-2 Solid Outing By Keith Whatley Sparks 14th Win In Last 16 Games
College Station, TX -- The University of Houston baseball team used a career-outing by junior left-hander Keith Whatley to claim a 4-2 non-conference win in front of almost 5,000 fans at Olsen Field Tuesday night in College Station. With the victory the Cougars have now won 14 of the their last 16 games.
Whatley posted the best start of his career in front of the hostile A&M crowd to record his fourth win of the season. The junior from Atlanta, Texas, fired a three-hit shut out for a career-long 6.0 innings. He walked just one batter and tied a career-high with five strikeouts.
He had some offensive help early in the game. Houston jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Gabe Lucas singled, advanced to second on a passed ball and third on a fly ball to the outfield. The Cougars then added a run in the fifth on an RBI gound out by Sean Allen and two more in the top of the sixth.
With two away in the sixth Hyung Cho singled and scored from first base when Chris Klosterman singled and Aggie right fielder Carlos Sepulveda misplayed the bounding ball. The error allowed Klosterman to advance all the way to third base. He then scored on Keith Ahrens second base hit of the night to make the score 4-0.
Texas A&M would not be shut out. After Whatley was relieved by Bryan Harris to start the seventh, the Aggies rallied for a pair of runs on a walk, a single and a two-out pinch-hit triple by Greg Porter. Harris was relieved Nick Torina who worked a scorless eighth inning. With a man on base in the bottom of the ninth, junior right-hander Nathan Mitchell ended the game with a strikeout. He earned his second save of the season.
The Cougars improved to 20-18 with the team's 14th win in its last 16 games. Texas A&M fell to 24-14 on the season.
Houston will next face Conference USA rival Tulane in a three-game weekend series Friday through Sunday, April 13-15. First pitch from Turchin Stadium in New Orleans will be at 6:30 p.m.