Stephen F. Austin
Nicholls State
Lumberjacks Take Series From Colonels
3/27/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 27, 2011
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Zack Taylor struck out a career best nine hitters in seven innings and the SFA bats gave him enough help to pick up a 5-1 win over Nicholls on Sunday in the series finale at Jaycees Field.
It was Taylor's second consecutive positive Sunday start for the `Jacks (18-7, 8-1 SLC), who used the win to stay in a first-place tie atop the Southland Conference with Texas State with the teams scheduled to meet next week in San Marcos. The junior allowed just four hits and one run in his seven innings, using just 107 pitches to run his record to 3-1 on the year.
Colton Eubanks earned his third save of the year with 1.1 perfect innings. Colonel (8-14, 1-8 SLC) starter Mike Wisecarver fell to 2-2 on the year with the loss, holding SFA to just three runs in seven innings.
SFA hit the ball hard all afternoon but had just nine hits to show for it, including a 3-for-4 day from outfielder Bryson Myles. Freshman Hunter Dozier added three RBI to his season total as well, including a two-run double in the bottom of the eighth that pushed SFA's lead to 5-1.
Taylor struck out six of his nine hitters in the first four innings of the game and did not allow a hit out of the infield until the fourth. He got an early 1-0 lead in the first inning when Myles led off with a single and eventually scored on an RBI grounder from Darren Crabtree.
The Colonels tied it up in the fourth when Michael LeGrange rolled a single through the left side of the infield to score Scott Moseley from second, who had stolen second after being hit by a pitch with two outs.
But it didn't take long for the `Jacks to reclaim the lead, as hits from Jordan Lewis and Jackson Hood in the bottom half of the fourth set up a one-out grounder by Dozier that put SFA back in front 2-1.
SFA was unable to add on to that lead until the seventh, leaving a runner on base in two of the next three innings until a two-out surge started with a single from Michael Haynes. One batter later Myles slammed an RBI triple off the batter's eye in right-center field to push the lead to 3-1.
After Chase Wier and Eubanks managed to piece together a scoreless top of the eighth, the `Jacks put it away in the home half of the inning with two more insurance runs. Singles from Darren Crabtree and Lewis, and a walk from Hood loaded the bases for SFA with one out against reliever Brad Delatte, who then served up a first-pitch double to Dozier into the left-field corner that plated two runs for a 5-1 SFA lead.
That was plenty of room to work with for Eubanks in the ninth as the junior righty did not allow a base runner in the final inning to close things out and earn the save.
The `Jacks face a tough week ahead of them, beginning Tuesday on the road at nationally-ranked TCU, followed by a three-game series at Texas State beginning on Friday.
-SFA-
