2008 Woodie Awards
Jags drop two of three to MTSU
David Hopper
Sports Reporter
Issue date: 4/23/07 Section: Sports
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South Alabama’s baseball team avoided getting swept by Middle Tennessee Sunday afternoon as they pounded out 14 hits en route to an 11-5 victory over the Blue Raiders at Stanky Field.
“The guys came out swinging; we haven’t been doing that lately,” said USA head coach Steve Kittrell. “It was a big win today, (but it was) a disappointing weekend.”
The Jaguars (20-18, 6-11 Sun Belt) got off to an early 5-0 lead, scoring two runs in the first inning and three in the second. With two outs in the first inning, David Doss got on base with a single through the left side. Jeff Cunningham brought home Doss with a line-drive double off the wall in right-center. Jeff Collins then singled through the left side, scoring Cunningham. After Ray Kruml was hit by a pitch, Bunky Kateon singled up the middle, advancing Kruml to third base. Lance Heisler, who was 3-of-4 with five RBIs, drove in Kruml with a single through the left side. Clint Toomey then ripped a triple down the right-field line, scoring Kateon and Heisler.
The Jaguars added three more runs in the fourth inning to take an eight-run advantage. Kruml led off the inning with a base-hit bunt. Kateon singled to left field, advancing Kruml to third base; however, Kateon got into a pickle while running to second and was tagged out by the shortstop. Heisler batted in Kruml with a single to left field and was later caught stealing during Toomey’s at-bat. Toomey then singled to the shortstop. Doss reached second base on a missed fly ball to right field while Toomey scored an unearned run. Cunningham knocked in Doss with a line-drive to left-center.
Myles Ervin of Middle Tennessee (23-21, 12-9) hit a three-run homer over the left-field wall in the fifth inning, cutting the Jaguars’ lead to five.
Heisler hit his first homer of the season, a three-run shot to left field in the fifth. Middle Tennessee put up two more runs in the next inning, and neither team scored the rest of the game.
Starter Brandon Sage (3-4) received the win, putting in seven innings of work, giving up eight hits, and fanning six. Josh Anderson (1-2) took the loss.
“Sage was outstanding,” said Kittrell. “I thought (he was) really a bulldog on the mound; he got ahead in the counts hitting his spots.”
The Jaguars need to finish the season strong in order to make the Sun Belt tournament, which will be held at Stanky Field next month. Kittrell estimates that the Jaguars need to win at least nine of the remaining 13 games in order to secure a spot in the tournament. “We’ve got to play like we did today every day from here on out,” he said. “A lot of (USA) teams in the past have done it. There’s no reason we can’t do it; the test is ahead of us.”
Saturday: Middle Tennessee 6, USA 5
The Blue Raiders were too much for the Jaguars in Saturday’s televised game.
"It's another disappointing loss," Kittrell said. "We just couldn't step up and deliver a big hit when we had chances with men on base. Give Middle Tennessee a lot of credit. They have come in here and pitched well and gotten some big hits when they needed it."
Joey Doan (3-4) got the start on the mound for the Jaguars. Doan hurled 123 pitches in six innings of work while giving up four runs and eight hits while fanning four. Matt Scott (3-4) received the win. Scott pitched five innings, allowing four runs and seven hits while striking out seven batters.
Matt Ray started things off for the Blue Raiders in the first inning with an infield single. Ray then advanced to third base on a single to right by Zach Barrett. Wayne Kendrick’s fielder’s-choice RBI scored Ray.
The Jaguars fought back in the third inning, tying the game at 1-1. Kruml singled and made it to second on a wild pitch. Doss singled through the left side while Kruml advanced to third before scoring on a wild pitch.
The Blue Raiders had their best offensive inning of the game in the fourth. After Warren reached on a fielder’s choice, Matt Campbell singled to left, advancing Warren to second. Drew Robertson then singled to left to load the bases. Ray reached on an error while Warren made it home. Barrett knocked in Campbell and Robertson with a single to right. Ray was then batted in by Kendrick to give the Blue Raiders a 5-1 lead.
The fourth inning was also the best offensively for the Jaguars. USA put up three runs on two hits. Heisler was hit by a pitch and Jernigan took a base on a catcher interference call. Kateon grounded out, advancing the runners to second and third. Toomey then hit in what initially looked like a routine ground out to second base, but the ball took an unusually high hop over the fielder’s head. Heisler and Jernigan both scored on the play. Kruml grounded out to the third baseman on the next play, and Toomey advanced to second base. Toomey scored on a single to right by Doss to cut the Blue Raider to one.
The Jaguars tied the game at 5-5 in the fifth with Laird scoring on a sacrifice fly by Jernigan. However, the Jaguars were unable to score again, and the Raiders put up one more run in the sixth.
Friday: Middle Tennessee 8, USA 6
South Alabama fell to Middle Tennessee 8-6 Friday evening. Middle Tennessee pitcher Brad Robinson (5-1) earned the win, allowing five runs on six hits while striking out six in 6.2 innings. Dan Goldberg (4-4) received the loss. He put in 3.2 innings of work, giving up six runs, walking five and fanning four. Goldberg also threw three wild pitches and hit three batters, both season highs.
"We fell behind and their pitcher got in a groove and did a good job," said Kittrell. "Dan didn't have his good stuff. He was out of rhythm all night. Usually he regroups, settles down and gets out of jams, but tonight he just didn't have it." The Blue Raiders got off to a two-run lead in the first inning after Goldberg walked in a run, and Wayne Kendrick scored on a fielder’s choice.
All the Jaguars’ runs came in the second and seventh inning. After Sean Laird and Joel Collins were both hit by a pitch in the second inning, Heisler laid down a sacrifice bunt along the third-base line, and Laird scored on a bad throw to the third baseman by the catcher. Collins advanced to third, and Heisler reached second base on the play. Kateon then drew a walk to load the bases. Toomey, who was 2-of-5 with one run and three RBIs, smashed a line-drive single to center, driving in Collins and Heisler to give the Jaguars a 3-2 advantage.
However, the Jaguars did not have the lead for long as the Blue Raiders answered in the third with three runs on three hits. After Adam Warren reached on an infield single and Rawley Bishop was hit by a pitch, Grant Box singled through the right side to load the bases. Warren scored on a wild pitch, and Blake McDade singled to center, scoring Bishop and Box. Middle Tennessee added another run in fourth when Matt Ray scored on a wild pitch, giving the Blue Raiders a 6-3 lead.
The Jaguars tallied three more runs on four hits in the seventh. Russell Harben reached on a bunt and later advanced to second on a balk. Toomey ripped a line-drive single to right field, scoring Harben. A single to center by Kruml advanced Toomey to second base. After Cunningham drew a walk, Laird singled up the middle, driving in Kruml and Toomey.
The Jags’ offensive spurt wasn’t enough, however, as the Blue Raiders put up two runs in the top half of the inning.
“The guys came out swinging; we haven’t been doing that lately,” said USA head coach Steve Kittrell. “It was a big win today, (but it was) a disappointing weekend.”
The Jaguars (20-18, 6-11 Sun Belt) got off to an early 5-0 lead, scoring two runs in the first inning and three in the second. With two outs in the first inning, David Doss got on base with a single through the left side. Jeff Cunningham brought home Doss with a line-drive double off the wall in right-center. Jeff Collins then singled through the left side, scoring Cunningham. After Ray Kruml was hit by a pitch, Bunky Kateon singled up the middle, advancing Kruml to third base. Lance Heisler, who was 3-of-4 with five RBIs, drove in Kruml with a single through the left side. Clint Toomey then ripped a triple down the right-field line, scoring Kateon and Heisler.
The Jaguars added three more runs in the fourth inning to take an eight-run advantage. Kruml led off the inning with a base-hit bunt. Kateon singled to left field, advancing Kruml to third base; however, Kateon got into a pickle while running to second and was tagged out by the shortstop. Heisler batted in Kruml with a single to left field and was later caught stealing during Toomey’s at-bat. Toomey then singled to the shortstop. Doss reached second base on a missed fly ball to right field while Toomey scored an unearned run. Cunningham knocked in Doss with a line-drive to left-center.
Myles Ervin of Middle Tennessee (23-21, 12-9) hit a three-run homer over the left-field wall in the fifth inning, cutting the Jaguars’ lead to five.
Heisler hit his first homer of the season, a three-run shot to left field in the fifth. Middle Tennessee put up two more runs in the next inning, and neither team scored the rest of the game.
Starter Brandon Sage (3-4) received the win, putting in seven innings of work, giving up eight hits, and fanning six. Josh Anderson (1-2) took the loss.
“Sage was outstanding,” said Kittrell. “I thought (he was) really a bulldog on the mound; he got ahead in the counts hitting his spots.”
The Jaguars need to finish the season strong in order to make the Sun Belt tournament, which will be held at Stanky Field next month. Kittrell estimates that the Jaguars need to win at least nine of the remaining 13 games in order to secure a spot in the tournament. “We’ve got to play like we did today every day from here on out,” he said. “A lot of (USA) teams in the past have done it. There’s no reason we can’t do it; the test is ahead of us.”
Saturday: Middle Tennessee 6, USA 5
The Blue Raiders were too much for the Jaguars in Saturday’s televised game.
"It's another disappointing loss," Kittrell said. "We just couldn't step up and deliver a big hit when we had chances with men on base. Give Middle Tennessee a lot of credit. They have come in here and pitched well and gotten some big hits when they needed it."
Joey Doan (3-4) got the start on the mound for the Jaguars. Doan hurled 123 pitches in six innings of work while giving up four runs and eight hits while fanning four. Matt Scott (3-4) received the win. Scott pitched five innings, allowing four runs and seven hits while striking out seven batters.
Matt Ray started things off for the Blue Raiders in the first inning with an infield single. Ray then advanced to third base on a single to right by Zach Barrett. Wayne Kendrick’s fielder’s-choice RBI scored Ray.
The Jaguars fought back in the third inning, tying the game at 1-1. Kruml singled and made it to second on a wild pitch. Doss singled through the left side while Kruml advanced to third before scoring on a wild pitch.
The Blue Raiders had their best offensive inning of the game in the fourth. After Warren reached on a fielder’s choice, Matt Campbell singled to left, advancing Warren to second. Drew Robertson then singled to left to load the bases. Ray reached on an error while Warren made it home. Barrett knocked in Campbell and Robertson with a single to right. Ray was then batted in by Kendrick to give the Blue Raiders a 5-1 lead.
The fourth inning was also the best offensively for the Jaguars. USA put up three runs on two hits. Heisler was hit by a pitch and Jernigan took a base on a catcher interference call. Kateon grounded out, advancing the runners to second and third. Toomey then hit in what initially looked like a routine ground out to second base, but the ball took an unusually high hop over the fielder’s head. Heisler and Jernigan both scored on the play. Kruml grounded out to the third baseman on the next play, and Toomey advanced to second base. Toomey scored on a single to right by Doss to cut the Blue Raider to one.
The Jaguars tied the game at 5-5 in the fifth with Laird scoring on a sacrifice fly by Jernigan. However, the Jaguars were unable to score again, and the Raiders put up one more run in the sixth.
Friday: Middle Tennessee 8, USA 6
South Alabama fell to Middle Tennessee 8-6 Friday evening. Middle Tennessee pitcher Brad Robinson (5-1) earned the win, allowing five runs on six hits while striking out six in 6.2 innings. Dan Goldberg (4-4) received the loss. He put in 3.2 innings of work, giving up six runs, walking five and fanning four. Goldberg also threw three wild pitches and hit three batters, both season highs.
"We fell behind and their pitcher got in a groove and did a good job," said Kittrell. "Dan didn't have his good stuff. He was out of rhythm all night. Usually he regroups, settles down and gets out of jams, but tonight he just didn't have it." The Blue Raiders got off to a two-run lead in the first inning after Goldberg walked in a run, and Wayne Kendrick scored on a fielder’s choice.
All the Jaguars’ runs came in the second and seventh inning. After Sean Laird and Joel Collins were both hit by a pitch in the second inning, Heisler laid down a sacrifice bunt along the third-base line, and Laird scored on a bad throw to the third baseman by the catcher. Collins advanced to third, and Heisler reached second base on the play. Kateon then drew a walk to load the bases. Toomey, who was 2-of-5 with one run and three RBIs, smashed a line-drive single to center, driving in Collins and Heisler to give the Jaguars a 3-2 advantage.
However, the Jaguars did not have the lead for long as the Blue Raiders answered in the third with three runs on three hits. After Adam Warren reached on an infield single and Rawley Bishop was hit by a pitch, Grant Box singled through the right side to load the bases. Warren scored on a wild pitch, and Blake McDade singled to center, scoring Bishop and Box. Middle Tennessee added another run in fourth when Matt Ray scored on a wild pitch, giving the Blue Raiders a 6-3 lead.
The Jaguars tallied three more runs on four hits in the seventh. Russell Harben reached on a bunt and later advanced to second on a balk. Toomey ripped a line-drive single to right field, scoring Harben. A single to center by Kruml advanced Toomey to second base. After Cunningham drew a walk, Laird singled up the middle, driving in Kruml and Toomey.
The Jags’ offensive spurt wasn’t enough, however, as the Blue Raiders put up two runs in the top half of the inning.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Diane Altsman
posted 5/03/07 @ 1:55 PM CST
Great Article David Hopper...After I read it, I felt like I had been to the Baseball games! Good writing.
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