Stephen F. Austin
Sacred Heart
SFA Picks Up Series Sweep Over Sacred Heart
3/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 9, 2008
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Noel Trevino hit a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to break a 2-2 tie, and the SFA Lumberjack baseball team held on for a 4-2 win on Sunday to complete a four-game sweep of Sacred Heart.
Kevin Thomas tossed four innings in relief to pick up his second win of the year for SFA (8-5), while Matt Fitton took the loss for Sacred Heart (0-9).
Jared Schrom got his first start of the season against the Pioneers, and pitched well, only allowing two runs with five strikeouts in four and two-thirds innings pitched - his longest outing of the season. Thomas finished with six strikeouts of his own as Lumberjack pitchers combined to punch out a dozen Pioneers while only allowing three walks on the afternoon.
After a harmless first inning it was Adam Bosley that got things started for SFA in the bottom of the second inning, singling through the right side off of Sacred Heart starter Ryan Lynch. Sean Meyers followed Bosley with a double down the first-base line and Gabriel Garcia-Serrano followed with a sacrifice fly to plate Bosley and give SFA a 1-0 lead. Kai Kirby followed him with one of his two hits on the day, a single that plated Meyers and pushed the lead to 2-0.
Schrom cruised through the first three innings, allowing only two runners to reach base in that span. However, Jeff Hanson led off the top of the fourth inning with his second home run of the series to cut the `Jacks lead in half.
SFA coach Donnie Watson finally lifted Schrom with two outs in the fifth after Sacred Heart knotted the score at two apiece on a tough error by third baseman Matt Whatley that allowed Justin Mulrain to score; however, after a single to Frank Bainer, Thomas only allowed two more hits to Pioneer hitters before being lifted himself with two outs in the ninth.
With the score tied at two apiece, Trevino uncorked his fifth bomb of the year - his third of the series - off of Fitton with one out in the seventh to give the `Jacks the lead it would not relinquish.
The Pioneers tried to make a rally in the ninth after Kirby drove home his second run of the day in the bottom half of the eighth to give SFA a two-run lead. Sacred Heart put runners on the corners with two outs before Watson decided to shut the door and go to his closer, Richard Folmer. It only took Folmer three pitches to strike out Phil Tantillo for the game's final out, securing his second save in as many days.
SFA takes on Houston on Tuesday at Cougar Field before opening up Southland Conference play on Friday when it hosts Southeastern Louisiana.
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