Stephen F. Austin
Northwestern State
'Jacks and Demons Split Friday Doubleheader
3/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Stephen F. Austin 5, Northwestern State 3
Jaycees Field • Nacogdoches, Texas
Records: SFA (7-16, 2-5 SLC); NSU (11-10, 5-2 SLC)
Box Score
Northwestern State 6, Stephen F. Austin 3
Jaycees Field • Nacogdoches, Texas
Records: SFA (7-17, 2-6 SLC); NSU (12-10, 6-2 SLC)
Box Score
Up Next: vs. Northwestern State • Saturday, March 21 • 3 p.m.
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin split a Friday Southland Conference doubleheader with border rival Northwestern State, taking the first game 5-3 before falling in the second 6-3 at Jaycees Field. The Lumberjacks now sit at 7-17 on the year and 2-6 in SLC play.
The series was altered to try and get all three games in around the heavy rains expected to hit the Nacogdoches area, and the Lumberjacks took advantage early. SFA scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning in game one, the first coming off an error by the Demon third baseman that allowed Dickey to score, the second came off an RBI single by Dan O'Neill.
Northwestern State added a single run in both the fourth and fifth innings, pulling even at 2-2 after five. That score remained until the bottom of the seventh when Nick Ramos ripped an RBI double down the right field line, scoring Dickey and Hunter Wilson and putting the `Jacks on top 4-2.
The Demons added a run in the top of the eighth to trim the deficit to 4-3, but SFA pushed the lead back to two in the bottom half of the inning as Garrett McMullen scored off a wild pitch, giving the `Jacks the 5-3 lead heading to the ninth.
Northwestern State made it interesting in the final inning, using a base hit and a pair of walks to load the bases with nobody out. But O'Neill proved to be the game saver at first, making an unassisted double play, snagging a line drive and stepping on the bag to get the first two outs, then fielding a grounder for the unassisted put out to end the game.
Wilson had the hot bat for the Lumberjacks, going a perfect 4-for-4 on the day with a run scored while Dickey, O'Neill and Kyle Thornell each had a pair of hits for SFA. Ramos (two) and O'Neill earned the RBIs for the `Jacks in game one.
Cameron Gann had a solid outing, allowing just two runs on six hits with six strikeouts in 6.0 innings pitched. Josh Keith pitched the seventh and earned the win, allowing a run on two hits, with Tyler Wiedenfeld notching the four-out save, his fifth of the season.
Game two played out much differently as it was Northwestern State that raced out to the early lead, scoring once in the third and four times in the fourth, to take a commanding 5-0 lead after four.
SFA plated a run in the sixth as a Ramos single and an O'Neill double set Ramos at third, scoring on a McMullen ground out to short to cut the lead to 5-1.
Northwestern State added another run in the seventh and held the 6-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning where SFA mounted one final rally. A two-RBI triple by Eric DeJesus scored McMullen and Brandon Smith, pulling the `Jacks to within three at 6-3, but the rally ended there as Northwestern State forced a fly-out to right to end the threat.
The `Jacks managed eight hits against the Demons in game two, two of which came from DeJesus with six other Lumberjacks accounting for the remainder. Dillon Mangham took the loss for SFA, allowing six runs on nine hits in 7.0 innings pitched while the SFA bullpen held the Demons hitless over the final two innings.
The final game of the series now sits in waiting to see how the weather cooperates. The final game is tentatively set for 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon, but the forecast calls for continuous rain with some thunderstorms all day Saturday. If the game is not able to be played Saturday, first pitch is tentatively scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon for the series finale.
Stay tuned to @SFA_Baseball and SFAJacks.com for the latest information regarding altered start times and weather delays.
-SFA-
