Georgiades' Two-Run Single Pushes 'Jacks Past New Orleans, 5-4

Friday, May 17

Nacogdoches, Texas

6:00 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

24-30, 0

New Orleans

28-27, 0

New Orleans

Stephen F. Austin

Photo by: SFA Athletics

Georgiades' Two-Run Single Pushes 'Jacks Past New Orleans, 5-4

5/17/2019 10:05:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Senior finishes SFA's four-run sixth with a two-run single as 'Jacks' bullpen returns to form

By: Charlie Hurley | Director of Athletic Media Relations

NACOGDOCHES, Texas - All night long the SFA baseball team's pitching staff found itself trying to get out of some dicey situations and time and time again it succeeded in keeping the damage to a minimum to give the 'Jacks' offense a chance to do some damage.

In the bottom of the sixth, the 'Jacks' bats did all they needed to do to continue SFA's late-season surge.

Senior Jake Georigiades capped a four-run sixth with a two-run single that put SFA ahead for good and the 'Jacks battled back from a three-run deficit to claim a 5-4 Southland Conference victory over New Orleans Friday night at Jaycees Field.

After locking up a spot in the 2019 Southland Conference Tournament with a one-run win Thursday night, the 'Jacks took advantage of a chance to improve their seed. With one game left on their regular season docket, the 'Jacks sit in fifth place in the league standings and will be either the fourth, fifth, sixth or seventh seed in the Southland Conference Tournament next week in Sugar Land, Texas, depending on how things shake out Saturday.

SCORING SUMMARY
T1 | SFA starter Trayson Kubo ran into trouble early when Collin Morrill and Wade Raburn led off the game with consecutive singles to put runners on the corners but the 'Jacks' senior worked his way out of trouble for the first time without letting up too much damage. Carson Clowers started a double play by gloving a grounder off the bat of Pearce Howard and though one run came home to put the visitors on top 1-0 a flyout ended what could have been a big inning.

B3 | While the Privateers' traded two outs for their first run of the game, the 'Jacks needed no such equation to get on the board. Junior Jordan Monacy launched a no-doubt solo home run on a 2-1 offering from New Orleans starter Chris Turpin to lead off the home half of the third. Monacy's second long ball of 2019 knotted the score at 1-1.

T5 | Again Kubo found himself in a tough spot and just like he did in the first the senior was able to navigate his was around by making use of his defense. Gaige Howard drew a walk, Salo Iza came up with a single and Antonio Gauthier also drew a base on balls to load up the bags with nobody out. Trading outs for runs, both Beau Bratton and Darren Willis received credit for one RBI each by grounding out to second and third respectively. Those groundouts helped the Privateers open up a 3-1 lead.

T6 | Two of Kubo's three strikeouts came in the top of the sixth, but the Privateers made it a three-run game beginning with Pearce Howard's one-out single to right field. Pearce Howard moved to second on a stolen base and Gaige Howard's two-out RBI single pushed Pearce across home plate and upped New Orleans' edge to 4-1.

B6 | After being held to just two hits though the first five frames, the 'Jacks' bats heated up in the sixth. Carson Clowers started SFA's five-hit frame by roping a double to the gap in right-center. Following Nick Daley's infield single and subsequent steal of second, senior Antonio Lima pulled SFA within one by shooting a two-run single to left that made things 4-3. Brandon Uhse followed with a single of his own before another senior - Jake Georgiades - came up with the game's biggest hit. The College Station, Texas, product ripped a two-run single to right that pated both Uhse and Lima to put SFA on top 5-4.

AT THE DISH
• For the second time in as many games, New Orleans managed to out-hit the 'Jacks. Once again, however, it did not matter. Daley went 2-for-4 with a run scored to lead all SFA hitters while the seven and nine-hole hitters for the 'Jacks' came up with the team's only pair of extra-base hits.
• Iza led a nine-hit attack by New Orleans with a 3-for-4 effort at the plate which featured a double - the Privateers' lone extra-base hit on the night. Each of New Orleans' first five batters notched one hit.

ON THE HILL
• Georgiades' two-run single in SFA's four-run sixth made a winner of Kubo (3-3) for the first time in the month of May. The final-year man tossed six innings and let up four runs on eight hits and a pair of walks while striking out three.
• Freshman left-hander Jaxon Covington punched out a pair in a one, two, three seventh before turning things over to Tyler Starks and Jesus Gamez. Starks got the first two outs of the seventh and with the bases loaded Gamez painted the outside corner on the sixth pitch he threw to Iza to put an end to the Privateers' last threat of the night.
• Gamez locked up his fifth save of the year by working a one, two, three ninth.
• For New Orleans, Turpin (5-5) fell to .500 on the year by giving up all five of SFA's runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings of work.
• New Orleans' bullpen continued to shine as John Barr and Reeves Martin combined to fire the final 2 2/3 innings while allowing just one baserunner.

ON DECK
• With the number-four seed for the Southland Conference Tournament still within reach of them, the 'Jacks take Jaycees Field at noon Saturday to finish off their three-game Southland set with New Orleans. Junior lefty Jacob Stobart will start on the hill for SFA and following the conclusion of the game the 'Jacks will honor their 11-man senior class with a postgame ceremony.

CARDENAS COMMENTS
On Trayson Kubo keeping the damage to a minimum on the hill | "One of the things that we have preached to Trayson all year long is to not create bad situations on his own. Make the opposing offense earn everything they get off of you. At times it gets away from him and he get a little out of the zone, but he did a great job of boiling the situation down to what's in front of him, understanding that he can make one good pitch then he can get himself out of an inning. Especially with our defense playing the way it's playing up the middle, it's so important to give those guys - Lima, Clowers and Vasquez - an opportunity to make plays because more often than not they will.
On Jordan Monacy's homer | "That was one thing we recruited him to do. It's no secret our offense isn't where we'd like it to be, but nobody has worked harder than that guy in trying to get his swing right. To put a good swing on one, jump start us and elevate the team was huge tonight.
On Jake Georgiades' hit to cap a big inning | "Jake hasn't been swinging the bat like he was a season ago, but we still put a lot of faith in him in those big situations. Tonight he put a great swing on a good pitch and tried to stay with the play we've been preaching for the last couple of weeks.
On SFA's bullpen locking things down | "We just had to get those guys back on the horse. They're always going to be our guys coming out of the 'pen and they just had a bump in the road Sunday at Nicholls. If they're your guys, then they're your guys, though. They have to know that, they have to believe in that and in situations like tonight they have to know they're going to be right back out there. They did a great job to go out there and close the books on New Orleans tonight."