Stephen F. Austin
Texas-San Antonio
`Jacks Come Back To Clinch Series With UTSA
4/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 5, 2009
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Brian Ferguson went a perfect 4-for-4 with three RBI, including the go-ahead single in SFA's five-run eighth inning as the `Jacks took a 12-7 win from UTSA to clinch the weekend series at Jaycees Field.
The `Jacks (12-17, 5-9 SLC) trailed 7-4 going into the bottom of the sixth inning, but managed to score eight runs in their final three at-bats to take their second consecutive game over UTSA (16-14, 8-7 SLC).
SFA has now won five of its last six games overall, while UTSA has dropped seven of its last eight.
Ferguson led the offensive onslaught that saw SFA register 15 hits, the fourth straight game the `Jacks have had at least 11 hits. The senior had three RBI on the day and is currently riding a 10-game hit streak, the longest of his career. Bo Coffman also had a breakout game, driving in four runs with a 3-for-5 outing.
Alex Moshier did not allow a hit in his inning of work, earning his third win of the season while J.T. Mackey shouldered his first loss of the season for the `Runners.
SFA jumped out on top 3-0 in the first inning when Coffman sent the first pitch he saw from UTSA starter Clay Schrader over the center field wall, scoring both Ferguson and Zach Gardner.
Both teams traded runs in the third inning, but the `Runners took their first lead of the game in the fourth. Zach Brown tripled into the right field corner and came in to score when Casey Selsor reached on an error in the outfield by Justin Long. Selsor eventually came in to score as well when Tyler Carpenter tagged a 3-2 pitch from Jared Schrom, knotting the score at 4-4 with his first home run of the season.
Jared West then came in to pitch for the `Jacks, but a botched double-play opportunity put runners at second and third and nobody out in the fifth, with Michael Rockett scoring on a sacrifice fly and Aaron Powell scoring on a wild pitch.
UTSA plated three more runs in the fifth and sixth innings to extend the lead to 7-4, which is when the Lumberjack offense went to work.
SFA managed to load the bases in the sixth inning with two outs for Ferguson, who shot his third hit of the day through the right side for a two-run single to trim the lead to 7-6.
Joe Staley then tied the game one inning later, hitting his third home run in the last week out to left-center field off of Matt Crocker. Staley then came through defensively in the top of the next inning, throwing out Ryan Hutson stealing at second for the inning's second out before Moshier sat down Marshal Davis swinging to get SFA back to the plate.
SFA then exploded for five runs in the eighth, starting with a leadoff double from Gardner down the left field line. He moved to third on a passed ball, but Mackey got Tanner Hines looking before UTSA head coach Sherman Corbett made an interesting move to intentionally walk Sean Meyers to get to Brian Ferguson who was already 3-for-3 on the afternoon. Ferguson then made him pay by lining a single to center field to score Gardner and give the `Jacks the lead. Coffman, Long and Joe Staley each followed with RBI singles of their own and a throwing error by Lance Brown helped bring in another run to give SFA plenty of cushion in the ninth.
Richard Folmer then entered and threw a perfect ninth, going through the middle of the UTSA order to do so and striking out Aaron Powell for the game's final out.
SFA next heads to Corpus Christi for a three-game series with the Islanders beginning on Thursday at 2:00 p.m.
-SFA-
