Stephen F. Austin
Washington State
SFA Drops Both Games of Doubleheader at Washington State
3/5/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Game One
Washington State 10, Stephen F. Austin 5
SFA Line Score | 5 • 9 • 0
WSU Line Score | 10 • 10 • 1
Records: Washington State | 5-4 • Stephen F. Austin | 4-8
Pitching Records: W | Trenton Dupre (1-0) • L | Austin Hagy (0-2)
Game Two
Washington State 7, Stephen F. Austin 3
SFA Line Score | 3 • 0 • 1
WSU Line Score | 7 • 13 • 4
Records: Washington State | 6-4 • Stephen F. Austin | 4-9
Pitching Records: W | Cody Anderson (1-0) • L | Patrick Ledet (0-2)
Up next: vs. Grambling State (5-7) | Tuesday, March 7 | 6:00 p.m. | Jaycees Field
PULLMAN, Wash. - The Stephen F. Austin baseball team held leads in both games of its non-conference doubleheader at Washington State, but the Cougars battled back each time and sent the ‘Jacks to a pair of losses at Bailey-Brayton Field on Sunday afternoon.
GAME ONE | Washington State 10, Stephen F. Austin 5
One big inning by the ‘Jacks offense was not enough to counter a set of Washington State hitters that put up runs in six frames. Erik Nouis started his day by tossing a pair of hitless innings before the ‘Jacks gave their starter what appeared to be a comfortable cushion to work with in the third.
Eric DeJesus started the frame by taking a five-pitch walk before Tyler Kendrick reached on the lone Washington State error of the game. That kept the line moving for the rest of the ‘Jacks’ lineup and from there Nick Ramos, Conner Fikes, Zac Michener and Andrew Cole each recorded an RBI to give the ‘Jacks a 4-0 lead.
DeJesus capped SFA’s five-run third by getting to first on a bases-loaded walk that scored Alex Hrinevich. In all, the ‘Jacks sent 11 men to the plate in the third.
Washington State’s retaliation started with a two-run third that saw the Cougars score on a passed ball and an RBI single from JJ Hancock. Two more RBI singles by the home club in the fourth shrank SFA’s lead to 5-4 before Washington State took the lead for good in the fifth.
Austin Hagy gave up consecutive one-out singles and after Dugan Shirer swiped second base the Cougars had two men in scoring position. Cal Waterman and Dillon Plew each laid down RBI bunts off of offerings from sophomore Austin Hearn to put the home team up 6-5. Chris Hassold stepped to the hill after that and ended the frame with a strikeout, but SFA would never lead again.
The ‘Jacks had only four total baserunners in the fourth through ninth innings and the Cougars continued to pad their lead by getting a solo home run from Hancock with two outs in the sixth, a two-run triple off the bat of Matheny in the seventh and a bases-loaded walk in the eighth.
Fikes, Ramos and designated hitter Stephen Stuart each finished with two hits for the ‘Jacks while Jackson Gore totaled three strikeouts in 1.1 innings of relief work.
GAME TWO | Washington State 7, Stephen F. Austin 3
Four Washington State pitchers combined to render the ‘Jacks hitless in game two of the non-conference doubleheader. SFA managed to take an early 1-0 lead on the Cougars thanks to two of the home team’s four errors.
Both Kendrick and Ramos reached the base paths on miscues by a pair of Washington State infielders in the first, and Michener notched the first of three SFA RBI in the tilt by scoring Ramos with a sacrifice fly.
Patrick Ledet worked his way through two scoreless frames to begin his outing in the mound before running into trouble in the third. Shane Matheny punched a one-out double to right that tied the game before Ledet ended the WSU threat with a strikeout and popout.
Needing only one more strike to escape from a bases-loaded jam in the home half of the third, Ledet’s payoff pitch to Dillon Plew was called a ball and pushed Washington State’s go-ahead run across. One batter later, Shane Matheny punched a two-run single up the middle the upped the Cougars’ lead to 4-1.
Washington State added one run each in the fifth, sixth and seventh frames, and although Ramos and Fikes provided RBI groundouts for the ‘Jacks in the sixth SFA could not complete its comeback bid. Both of the ‘Jacks’ runs in the sixth were unearned after the Cougars’ third error of the game allowed Kendrick to reach second after Gavin Gregory began the frame with a six-pitch walk.
Ledet struck out three through four innings and was tagged for four runs on seven of the Cougars’ 14 hits. For Washington State, Cody Anderson picked up the win by throwing six innings and striking out six.
Beginning with a Tuesday night matchup against Grambling State, SFA will be back in Nacogdoches for their next four games. First pitch between the ‘Jacks and Tigers has been set for 6:00 p.m.
-SFA-
