May 7, 2011

NAPERVILLE, Ill. - Chicago State defeated Houston Baptist in a single game while Northern Colorado, Utah Valley and NJIT swept North Dakota, Texas-Pan American and NYIT, respectively, as Great West Conference play continued on Saturday.

Chicago State 6, Houston Baptist 5 (13 innings) CHICAGO, Ill.-- With the bases loaded in the 13th inning, Chicago State's Tony Sanchez was hit by a pitch from Houston Baptist freshman reliever Kobie Hajdik as the Cougars edged the Huskies, 6-5, in Great West Conference action Saturday afternoon.

Albert Carpen led off the 13th with a single to right and beat out the force play at second when brother Michael Carpen grounded to second. Jonathan Carpen popped up a bunt down the first-base line but not high enough for HBU senior first baseman to come up with the ball after a diving effort and the bases were loaded. Sanchez fell behind 1-2 in the count before being hit.

Junior leftfielder Luke Clements went 3-for-6 with a triple and a run scored for the Huskies (14-32, 12-7 GWC). Junior designated hitter Robbie Buller, junior rightfielder Kolby Arnst and Warren each went 2-for-6. Arnst drove in a run and scored a run, while Buller also scored once. Junior catcher Asai Adame drove in a pair of runs.

Sanchez went 3-for-5 with a double, a home run and five RBIs for the Cougars (8-33, 3-13). Albert and Jonathan Carpen each went 2-for-6, with Albert scoring a pair of runs.

Senior Chase Hernandez allowed five runs on seven hits and struck out seven as he did not factor into the decision for the Huskies after seven innings of work.

Gregory Day allowed five runs, three earned, on 10 hits and struck out six in seven innings for the Cougars. Andrew Watson (2-1) picked up the win for Chicago State, holding HBU to just two hits over the final six innings. Senior righthander Stephen Nikonchik threw three innings of scoreless relief for HBU, and Hajdik (1-2) took the loss.

With HBU trailing 5-4, freshman Tanner Kalina delivered a pinch-hit, leadoff double off the fence down the left-field line, then went to third on a wild pitch. After freshman second baseman Garrett Tully walked, Adame drove in the tying run with a successful squeeze play. Clements moved the runners into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt, but junior shortstop Collin Hetzler grounded out with the infield in, and after Buller was intentionally walked to load the bases, sophomore centerfielder Jake Gonzalez flied out to end the inning.

The Huskies jumped out to the lead by scoring three runs in the top of the first. Clements led off the game with a triple and scored on a Hetzler groundout. Buller followed with a double and scored as Gonzalez reach on an error, allowing him to go to second. Arnst then drove in Gonzalez with an RBI single to center.

Sanchez got the Cougars on the board with a solo home run to left in the fourth. Gavin Trevino, William Hill and Albert Carpen led off the fifth with consecutive singles and Trevino scored on a wild pitch. After Michael Carpen was walked to load the bases, Sanchez ripped a bases-clearing double to left-center to give Chicago State a 5-3 lead.

HBU answered back with a run in the sixth as Arnst and Warren led off with back-to-back singles. Tully was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Adame pushed a single through the right side to cut the lead to one.

The Huskies' only threat late in the game, came in the 10th inning as Tully led off with a bunt single and Adame sacrificied him up to second. Clements dropped a single into leftfield, but Tully was thrown out at the plate.

The series concludes with an 11 a.m. first pitch Sunday.

Utah Valley 9, Texas-Pan American 6 (Game One)

Utah Valley 6, Texas-Pan American 5 (Game Two)

EDINBURG, Texas - Each starting Utah Valley catcher hit a three-run home run in both ends of a doubleheader sweep, 9-6 and 6-5, at Texas-Pan American on Saturday.

Court Zollinger had an RBI double during a five-run second inning and hit a three-run shot to left, his first collegiate home run, during a four-run fifth in the opener. Then in the second game of the twin bill, Alex Exon's three-run home run gave the Wolverines a lead during a four-run fourth.

"Both of them did a great job getting a pitch they could drive. Those were the difference in both games," said head coach Eric Madsen. "We also had guys make some great pitches in huge situations."

In the first game, UVU (22-20, 14-1) trailed 1-0 after one inning before the five-run second. In addition to Zollinger, Kai Hatch, Billy Burgess and Jason Zundel each had an RBI in the frame.

In the fifth, with the Wolverines up 5-3, Chris Benson singled and scored on a double by Austin Heaps. Two hitters later, Hatch singled before Zollinger's home run, a towering shot to left, made it 9-3.

The Broncs (19-22, 8-11) put a dent in the score with three in the eighth and had the go-ahead run at the plate with the bases loaded before Kyle Beecher induced a fly-ball to center to end the inning.

Beecher closed out the game to get his first save with Zane Gray (2-1) getting the win. Heaps was 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI while Hatch had two hits and Zollinger finished with four RBI.

In the second game, after Exon delivered his go-ahead home run in the fourth, Utah Valley added a single run in the fifth before UTPA scored twice in the bottom of the inning to get within two, 5-3.

Reliever Craig Brimhall got three double plays during his 3.1 innings of work. In the fifth, he induced a 6-4-3 twin-killing to end a threat before an unconventional double play in the sixth. Mike McCarthy his a sac-fly that scored Roger Bernal, but Brimhall, backing up behind the plate was able to field Benson's throw from center to get Alex Carnall trying to advance to third, ending the inning.

Goose Kallunki had a two-out double to drive in Benson in the sixth to extend the lead to 6-3 before UTPA got a run back in the bottom of the inning to make it 6-4. In the eighth, the Broncs scored on a base hit by Carnall to get within a run, 6-5, and had runners at second and third with just one out. Adrian De La Rosa attempted a squeeze-bunt with two strikes but fouled it off to strike out before Ryan Chadwick came in and got McCarthy to ground out to end the inning.

Chadewick pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to finish off the game and get the save, his second, with Brimhall (3-1) getting the win. Benson and Hatch both had three hits for Utah Valley.

The series will conclude on Sunday at noon CT.

Northern Colorado 11, North Dakota 9 (Game One)

Northern Colorado 19, North Dakota 18 (Game Two)

GREELEY, Colo. - Northern Colorado swept Saturday's twinbill against North Dakota, 11-9 and 19-18 to stretch their winning streak to 11 in Great West Conference play.

UNC's Jared Bergren led the way for Northern Colorado as the junior went 7-for-9 in the twin bill and all seven hits were for extra bases. He had three doubles, two triples and two home runs, as well as eight RBI for a slugging percentage of 2.222. His eight RBI give him 50 for the season.

Juniors Casey Coy and Ben Packard also had solid days at the plate, both going 6-for-9 with a double and triple each.

Senior T.J. Berge tallied four hits in the two games, bringing him just one shy of fourth on the career charts with 203 (204, John Ray, 2004-07). Two of those four hits were doubles, moving him into second all-time in Northern Colorado history with 48. He passes Chris Kirgan (1992-94), who had 47 and moves him within nine of the school record of 57 by Kevin Sandberg (2006-09).

As a team, Northern Colorado hit .542 over the doubleheader, with 45 total hits and 30 runs scored. The team had 12 doubles, six triples and four home runs to improve to 19-27 overall and 14-4 in Great West Conference action.

A pair of relief pitchers got the wins this afternoon as freshman Chris Hammer won game one to move to 3-4 on the year, while junior Cameron Tallman got his first decision in game two.

Game One Recap Junior Bret Fanning went 3-for-3 with three runs scored to lead the team, while Berggren was 3-for-4 with four RBI. Senior Marcus Valenzuela also went 3-for-4 with one RBI as all nine players in the batting order had at least one hit.

The Bears 11 runs were scored on 19 hits with one UND error, while North Dakota (6-27, 4-11 GWC) scored nine runs on 10 hits with one NC miscue.

North Dakota , like it did yesterday, scored one run in the top of the first inning. The Bears answered immediately as leadoff hitter Hilker hit the first homerun of his career, clearing the wall in left field. Fanning legged out a single back up the middle, stole second and scored on a single to right-center by Packard. Coy then laced a triple down the right field line and scored on a single to right by Jones.

The Sioux pulled within one, 4-3, with two runs in the second inning. They had a walk and two hits in the frame and scored their second run on a balk. Fanning tripled down the left field line and scored on a double to left center by Berggren for the Bears run in the second and a 5-3 lead.

In the fourth inning, North Dakota took its first lead of the series, scoring three runs on three hits with two hit batters. Hammer took over the duties on the hill for the Bears, getting the final two outs via strike out and pop out.

Fanning, in an extremely close play at first, beat out the throw from the short stop for his third hit of the afternoon and stole second on the next pitch. Berge grounded out, but advanced Fanning to third and Berggren hit a line shot down the left field line for his second double of the afternoon to tie the score at 6-6. A double to right center by Packard gave the lead back to the Bears and North Dakota went to the bullpen. Jones and Valenzuela both singled back up the middle for an 8-6 NC lead.

Hilker started the fifth inning with a single just out of the reach of the short stop. Fanning sacrificed him to second and he moved to third on a double to right-center by Berge. Berggren followed with a triple to the deepest part of the park for the team's third triple of the game, Coy was hit by a pitch and Berggren scored on a wild pitch for the 11-6 lead.

North Dakota's Andy Sadler was hit by a pitch for the third time, this one extremely scary as it hit his upper shoulder, near his head. David Dafforn came in to run for him. An error by the Bears and a triple by Jake Magner, along with a sacrifice fly gave UND three runs and Steinmetz came into throw with the score 11-9. He allowed a hit but got the final out to preserve a two-run lead for the Bears. Neither team scored in their final at bat for the 11-9 tally.

Game Two Recap Berggren missed only the single in hitting for the cycle as he has a double, triple and two home runs for his four hits. He also scored four times and had four RBI. Packard and Coy also each had four hits, while Jones tied for game-high honors with four RBI.

The Bears struck first, scoring two in the bottom of the first. Hilker doubled down the left field line, Fanning reached on catcher's interference for the second time on the day and Berge doubled to left center. Packard singled to left field to score Berge but was thrown out trying to stretch the hit to a double for the 2-0 lead. North Dakota scored five runs on five hits in the top of the second and added to the lead with four more in the third for a 9-2 lead.

Berggren got one run back for the Bears with one swing of the bat, clearing the fence in right center in the third. Packard walked and moved to third on a single back up the middle from Coy. Packard scored on a sacrifice fly to center from Jones for two runs and a 9-4 score.

The Fighting Sioux tacked on one more run in the fourth for a 10-4 advantage. In the bottom of the fifth, Berggren doubled down the right field line, Packard singled to left and Coy doubled to left center for two runs. Jones singled and Valenzuela doubled over the right fielder's head for the seventh run of the day and UND went to the pen. Crudo singled to left and Hilker singled up the middle, Berge reached on an error to load the bases and Berggren drew a walk to tie the score at 10-10.

The Bears defense retired the side in order in the sixth and Jones hit the first home run of his career to take the lead back, 11-10. Valenzuela smashed his second straight double to end another pitcher's night as UND again went to the bullpen. Crudo tripled to straight-away center to give the team a 12-10 lead.

North Dakota regained the lead in the top of the seventh with six runs as they batted around. Five hits and a pair of walks gave UND a 16-12 lead.

Berge singled to center to lead off in the seventh and Berggren crushed his second home run of the game to cut the lead in half. Packard then hit another triple to right center and UND made a pitching change. Jones doubled to left center with one out and Valenzuela singled back up the middle to tie the score at 16-16.

The Fighting Sioux scored one run in the top of the eighth for a 17-16 advantage. Berggren continued the hitting with a triple to right and scored when Packard singled back up the middle. Coy followed with a single to right and the Bears took the lead when Jones singled through the right side to plate Packard. Valenzuela hit into a fielder's choice to score Coy for the 19-17 lead.

North Dakota scored one in the top of the ninth after the first two hitters singled, but after a sacrifice bunt, Tallman buckled down to get two groundouts for his first win of the year.

The series will conclude with the first pitch is scheduled for noon (MT).

NJIT 2, NYIT 0(Game One)

NJIT 10, NYIT 9(Game Two)

NEWARK, NJ--NJIT got back on the winning side in Great West Conference baseball, sweeping a doubleheader against visiting NYIT, 2-0 and 10-9, Saturday at Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium.

The Highlanders, who had lost six straight conference games through their 7-6 10-inning defeat against NYIT on Friday, bounced back on Saturday behind the first career shutout for sophomore RHP DJ Roche in the 2-0 seven-inning opener and then solid hitting and a fine relief effort by sophomore RHP Kyle Burdi in winning the nine-inning second game, 10-9. Burdi earned his first save of the year with 3.2 innings of scoreless, one-hit pitching in relief of sophomore LHP Tripp Davis (4-5).

The win lifts NJIT to 6-13 in the Great West Conference, while the Bears fall to 7-9 in the Great West. The Highlanders are 13-30 overall, while NYIT is 11-26.

Game One recap Roche (1-4) had his best college pitching game in winning the opener and he also drove in one of the runs to raise his team-leading RBI total to 30. On the mound, he blanked NYIT on five hits in seven innings, walking one and striking out a career-high 10, including the last two with the bases loaded to finish the game.

At the plate, Roche beat out an infield single with two outs in the third inning to drive in a run. He was one of eight different Highlanders to get one hit each in the game. The only extra-base hit for either team was a double for Bryan Bleakley that helped build NJIT's first run in the second inning.

NYIT had five hits, two in the seventh inning, when the Bears posed their most serious scoring threat, loading the bases with one out before Roche reached back for the two big strikeouts. Effrey Valdez and Rob Cafiero each registered two hits for the visitors.

The losing pitcher, NYIT freshman RHP Marcos Perez (2-4), was solid in defeat, allowing just the two runs in six innings on eight hits. He had four strikeouts without a walk and hit one batter.

NJIT scored runs in the second and third innings. With one out in the second inning, Jeff Peterson singled up the middle, advanced to third on Bleakley's double before coming home on a sacrifice fly to right field off the bat of Anthony Caiola.

The Highlanders put together three singles to score their third-inning run. Matt Tomczyk singled with one out and advanced on singles by Matt Weckerle and Roche, who legged out a two-out infield single to drive home the run.

Meanwhile, Roche retired 12 of the first 13 batters he faced, including six strikeouts, with the only blemish in the first four innings being a two-out first-inning single by Valdez.

Cafiero led off the fifth inning with a single for the Bears and got as far as third base, where he was stranded.

The only trouble for Roche came in the last inning, when Valdez and Cafiero each singled around an out to open the frame. Steve McNamara walked to fill the bases, but Roche responded with two swinging strikeouts to secure the victory.

Game Two recap Having won the first game, NJIT turned to sophomore LHP Tripp Davis, who has been the team's most reliable pitcher all year, coming in with a 2.96 earned run average and not having allowed more than four earned runs in any of his 11 starts.

However, Davis, who had pitched brilliantly in some earlier losses and no-decisions, had his most difficult outing of the year, allowing nine runs in 5.1 innings. But his teammates picked him up and gave him the win with a 10-run attack and the excellent relief work of Burdi.

The first eight men in the NJIT batting order got hits, paced by the leadoff man, Tomczyk, who was 3-for-5 and drove in two runs. Teddy Bickert, Weckerle, and Bleakley all added two hits apiece, and Weckerle and Peterson joined Tomczyk as Highlanders with two RBI each. Peterson's two runs batted in came on his first college home run in the fourth inning.

The losing pitcher for NYIT was actually the most effective of the three Bears pitchers. Junior RHP JC Costa (0-2), the second reliever, took the loss when he gave up two runs in the fifth inning to break an 8-8 tie, but he did not allow another run and finished with four innings, allowing one hit, the two runs, and three walks, while striking out five.

The NYIT starter, sophomore RHP Jose Checo, allowed five runs in two innings and the first reliever, freshman LHP Nick Arevalo, was tagged for three runs in two innings.

The hitting star for the Bears in Game Two was Cafiero, who played catcher, after playing third base the first two games of the series. The freshman, who came into the day with 11 runs batted in, drove in six in Saturday's nightcap on a grand slam in the third inning and a long two-run double in the fifth inning. He was 2-for-4 in the game.

NYIT DH Ali Rodriguez was 3-for-5, while CF Jerry Smith was 2-for-3 and LF Dan Lackner, making his first start of the series, was 2-for-4.

The lead seesawed, with NJIT breaking out for five runs in the bottom of the second, but NYIT coming right back for four runs of its own in the top of the third on Cafiero's grand slam.

The Highlanders put three more runs on the board for an 8-4 lead through four innings, but NYIT tied the score with a four-run top of the fifth inning.

However, NJIT pulled ahead for good in the bottom of the fifth inning, scoring twice to go up, 10-8. The Bears added one more run against Davis in the sixth, but then the two last relievers, Burdi for NJIT and Costa for NYIT, put up zeros the rest of the way and the Highlanders finished off the sweep.

NJIT loading the bases in the second inning before making an out. The first run was scored by Jeff Peterson, who came in from third on a passed ball. After a shallow fly out, Vincent Del Vecchio's ground out brought home the second run. Then the Highlanders strung together three straight two-out hits, as Tomczyk hit an RBI single, Bickert doubled, and Weckerle drove in Tomczyk and Bickert with a two-run hit to right field.

The Bears came right back when Cafiero hit an 0-2 pitch over the left field fence for a two-out grand slam, his second home run of the season. It was also the first homer allowed by Davis this season, who was pitching his 82nd inning when the string was broken.

Aside from the grand slam, Davis, who normally has excellent control, was hurt by back-to-back walks that preceded Cafiero's blast. The NJJT sophomore came into the inning having allowed just 16 walks in 81 innings.

NJIT tacked three runs onto its 5-4 lead with a two-out rally in the fourth inning. Roche singled up the middle to score Bickert, and Peterson followed with his first college home run, a two-run shot to left field, extending NJIT's advantage to 8-4.

Cafiero struck again for the Bears in the fifth inning, driving a two-run double off the left field fence and trimming the gap to 8-6. Cafiero was driven home on a double down the left field line by the next batter, 2B Michael Iglesias, who, in turn, scored the tying run on a single for Lackner.

The Highlanders broke the 8-8 tie with two runs in the bottom of the fifth against NYIT's Costa, on another run-scoring single for Tomczyk and an RBI ground out by Bickert.

The Bears answered with a run in the top of the sixth inning. Rodriguez, the last batter Davis would face, doubled off the fence in right center field and eventually scored as the result of two wild pitches by NJIT's Burdi, who also got the last two outs of the sixth inning.

Burdi walked two in the seventh inning, but escaped damage. He allowed his only hit--to Rodriguez leading off the eighth--and added another walk, but he struck out Cafiero to strand the two runners in scoring position.

In the ninth inning, Lackner reach second on a two-base outfield error with one out, but Burdi got the second out on a fly ball and the game ended when Bleakley, the NJIT catcher, picked off Lackner, who had strayed too far off second base.

The teams are scheduled to conclude the series with a single game on Sunday at 1 pm. The game will be played on the NYIT campus in Old Westbury on Long Island. --GWC--