Stephen F. Austin
Texas-Pan American
`Jacks Get Another Walk-Off Win Over UTPA
4/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 29, 2008
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - SFA got its second consecutive walk-off win on Tuesday, this time using a single from Jeff Brewer in the bottom of the ninth to pull off a 10-9 win over UT-Pan American at Jaycees Field.
The `Jacks (19-25) have now won seven in a row over UTPA (17-29) dating back to last season, and five games overall.
Richard Folmer picked up his fifth win of the season, tying him for the team lead, with 1 1/3 innings of shutout baseball in relief. A.J. Franco blew the save and took his third loss of the year for UTPA.
SFA had five players with multiple hits, led by Brewer with three. Kevin Crabtree opened up the scoring with his seventh home run of the year in the first inning and finished with a pair of hits and a pair of RBI, while Jeffrey Kello two hits and three RBI on his first career home run in the seventh.
The teams were tied at four apiece before the game got interesting in the later innings, beginning with a four-run top of the seventh for UTPA. A pair of soft singles led off the inning for the Broncs against Erik Gregersen, who was getting in some midweek work in the non-conference game, before back-to-back walks brought home a run that gave UTPA the lead. Two batters later Ryan Vest hit a soft grounder to third baseman Jeffrey Kello that was scored a single, but Kello made an attempt to get Vest at first and threw wildly past the bag, clearing the bases and pushing the lead to 8-4.
Kello made up for the error, though, in his half of the inning as SFA put together a two-out rally that began with a single from Brian Ferguson. Matt Whatley then singled through the left side with two strikes, setting the stage for Kello who took a 1-1 pitch over the left-field wall for his first career home run to get the `Jacks within a run.
UTPA increased the lead to two on an RBI single by Billy Donaho one inning later, but SFA got it back on a sacrifice fly from Noel Trevino that scored Kai Kirby in the eighth to make it 9-8 UTPA going to the ninth.
After Folmer worked a scoreless frame in the top half of the inning, Justin Roland started the game-winning comeback by being hit in the ribs by Franco on a 1-1 pitch. Whatley followed with another single to put runners at the corners with only one out before Zach Gardner put down a perfect bunt to the left side that put him on first base with a single and got Roland across home with the tying run. Brewer then followed him with a line-drive single in front of center fielder Bonham Hough that brought Whatley in with a slide to give the `Jacks the win.
SFA jumps back into conference play this weekend against Texas State beginning at 3:00 p.m. on Friday. All three games of the series can be heard live on KSFA 860 AM.
-SFA-
