March 12, 2021

Pitching rules the field on Friday

More news about: Fontbonne | Houghton
Ryan Newtown turned in another outstanding performance on the mound, and the Houghton Highlanders capitalized on some timely hitting as they defeated the Alfred State Pioneers on Friday afternoon, 8-1. In his second outing of the year, Newtown tossed a nine-inning complete game, allowing one walk and eight hits, while striking out five.
Houghton athletics photo

No. 1 Trinity (Texas) suffered its first loss of the season to open up a three-game road series at Sul Ross State University on Friday night. The Lobos upset the Tigers 11-4, snapping a 10-game winning streak that dated to the end of last season for the Tigers. Sul Ross added single runs in the fourth and sixth innings to extend the lead to 7-4, then put up a four-run seventh to finish off the scoring and put the game out of reach. The two teams combined to issue 20 total walks, including 11 drawn by Trinity batters. The Tigers were held to just six hits in the game, and Trinity's four errors led to three unearned runs.

Eureka notched its first win of the 2021 season on
Friday afternoon with a 7-4 triumph over Elmhurst
at the Corn Crib. The Red Devils held off the Blue Jays
in a close non-conference game to open a special
weekend series at the big stadium in Normal.
Eureka athletics photo by d3photography

No. 21 Shenandoah opened up its ODAC slate Friday afternoon with a 10-2 home victory over Guilford. In the bottom of the first, Shenandoah (4-1, 1-0 ODAC) scored three runs on two hits and one Quakers (0-1, 0-1) error to provide itself with all of the offense it would need to secure the victory. SU added two more in the second, chasing GC starter Tristan Dobbs (0-1), before adding four in the fourth and one in the fifth to pull away. Sophomore Tad Dean (1-0) tossed the initial seven innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and one walk against five strikeouts. Jacob Faivre and Tristan Everett finished up, pitching the eighth and ninth, respectively, with Faivre striking out two and Everett one. Dean faced the minimum in the first, fifth, sixth, and seventh innings and benefitted from inning-ending double plays in the first and second. The southpaw retired the final 12 hitters he faced with four strikeouts, four flyouts, two groundouts, a lineout, and a popper to second. The top six hitters in the SU lineup were a combined 15 for 27 with nine RBI and seven runs scored. Colby Martin, Anthony Ward, and Pearce Bucher all had three hits each with Martin and Ward both driving in three runs apiece.

Centenary (La.) crushed the LeTourneau YellowJackets by a combined score of 23-1, winning 11-1, 10-0, in a non-conference doubleheader on Friday at Shehee Stadium to remain undefeated at home this season. The Maroon and White have won 20 of their last 26 games overall going back to the start of last season. Centenary, which has scored 10 or more runs in a game six times this season, has outscored its opponents at home 57-13 through seven games so far this season. Centenary has now won five games in a row after completing a three-game sweep in non-conference play over the Dubuque University Spartans last weekend. Centenary is off to it best start in the division III era (2012-present) and is one game ahead of the pace of the superb 2017 team which began 10-3 en route to a 35-10 overall record, a SCAC Tournament Championship, an an NCAA Tournament appearance.

Coe picked up a pair of wins over Illinois College on Friday afternoon, winning 3-1 in game one and 13-3 in game two. The Kohawks got a strong outing from game-one starter Jack Greene to start the day right as the offense exploded in game two to complete the sweep over the Blue Boys. Coe has now won four-straight games and improves to 4-1 overall while Illinois College drops to 1-7 on the season. The Kohawks racked up 16 hits in the two games, driving in 15 total RBI while recording nine stolen bases. Riley LeGrand had a stand-out day at the plate, going 5-of-6 while racking up four runs scored, three RBI and two walks, improving his season average to .444. Greene, who earned the win in game one, bounced back from a tough opening outing. The senior went five innings, shutting out the Blue Boys while just four hits and recording five strikeouts. TJ Johnson started game two on the mound but also used his bat to help propel Coe to the sweep. He pitched six innings, allowing three runs while racking up nine strikeouts. The senior also drove in four runs in the game, capping off the day with a two-run jack in top of the seventh.

University of Mary Hardin-Baylor took control of the
game with a big second inning and the Cru rolled to
an 11-1 victory over Austin Friday night in Sherman.
UMHB improves to 2-6 on the season with the win
while the loss drops the Kangaroos to 3-2 on the year.
Mary Hardin-Baylor athletics photo

In a triumphant return to intercollegiate play, just one day short of a year since the 2020 spring was canceled, North Park picked up a pair of wins over Dominican (14-2, 8-1). The Vikings scored 22 runs in their first two of four games scheduled against the Stars. The vikings won 14-2 and 8-1. Logan Peters had five hits and four RBI to lead North Park with five players recording four on the day. Starters Ethan Sund and Tyler Banks combined for nine innings and 14 K's in each of their first starts of the season.

Rochester Institute of Technology broke out the bats on Friday night in a neutral-site contest against Elmira, as the Tigers beat the Soaring Eagles by a 19-3 final score. RIT (1-0) outhit Elmira (0-3), 23-to-7, and used a nine-run fourth inning to take a commanding lead. The Soaring Eagles also committed a trio of errors, while the Tigers were spotless on the defensive side of the ball. Seven Tigers has extra base hits with Patrick Blackall getting three - two douples and a triple.

Gustavus swept Crown College in a non-conference doubleheader Friday, winning 8-1 in game one before a convincing 19-2 victory in game two. The Gusties combined for 28 hits, including six doubles, five triples, and a home run, while the pitching staff collected 22 strikeouts in 14 innings. The Gusties broke the game open in the sixth, scoring six runs on four hits and two Crown errors. Jake Christenson provided the big blow with a bases-loaded triple. Gustavus blew the night cap wide open in the fourth, scoring 11 runs on seven hits and an error. Luke Johnson delivered a three-run triple in his first career at-bat. Dalton Thelen added a two-run double, backed by a two-run single by Kathan Decker.

Hope put on a hit-and-run fest while silencing its opponents, mostly, during their turn at the plate on Friday. With 13 hits, four for extra bases, the Flying Dutchmen slugged their way past the Olivet College Comets, 13-3, in a single nine-inning, home-opening outing. From the mound, three Hope pitchers allowed only five hits as they struck out the Comets 11 times. The game at Boeve Stadium was Hope's first home contest since May 4, 2019. The Flying Dutchmen played three road games in 2020 before the season was cancelled due to the pandemic. "It was wonderful to play in Boeve again," said head coach Stu Fritz. "A huge thank you to Hope College in general to get us to this spot and to all the countless people and hours that go into helping our kids stay healthy to give them the chance to compete because that's what they want to do."

Belhaven took to the road for a weekend series against the University of St. Thomas Celts. The series started with the teams splitting a doubleheader on Friday, March 12, with the Celts taking game one, 11-10, in extra innings, while the Blazers got a 10-0 win in game two. In the opener, Hunter Pachal would cash in four RBIs in part to his momentum changing 3-run blast. John Sebok would go three-for-six, chipping in 2 RBIs and scoring a run. Eric Moore (2-0) would pick up the win on the bump, throwing a four-inning, two hitter. Brett Sanchez got the start for the Blazers in the second game and pitched his second complete game of the 2021 season in the winning effort improving to 5-0. Sanchez allowed only three hits in the shutout with six strikeouts, and one walk. The Blazers had 11 hits during the contest with Kyle McLaughlin having the only multi-hit game going 2-for-3 with one RBI.

Calvin opened their season with a 4-2 win over
Chicago. The Knights scored three in the final inning
 to secure the win.
Calvin athletics photo

Fontbonne started off conference play in style picking up two wins over Blackburn, 10-0 and 12-2. In the opener, starter Luke Summers was on target, pitching a three-hit, 12 strikeout shutout as the game ended in seven as Griffins enacted the mercy-rule for the 10-run win. It was another mercy-rule win in the night cap as Tyler Chambliss had a career-high four-hit performance at the leadoff spot followed by Daniel Youngblood who added two hits and two RBIs. Ryan Howell earned his first win on the year tossing 7.0 innings, allowing one run, and sitting down four.

Covenant recorded nine runs off of eight hits in its 9-5 victory over Greenville Friday afternoon. The win improves the Scots to 7-5 overall, while the Panthers drop to 0-7. Alex Gonzalez was 1-for-4 with two RBIs, while Brooks DuBose went 2-for-4 and recorded two RBIs. Kenny Mills was 2-for-3 and had two RBIs as well. Trevor Grapenthin was 2-for-4. Adam Carver got the start on the mound for the Scots and pitched five innings. Noah Sweatman entered the game as Covenant was down 5-2 and pitched four scoreless innings to end the game and did not allow a single hit. Jaxen Gibson pitched five innings for the Panthers, allowing three hits. Dustin Sutton led Greenville, going 3-for-4 with an RBI, while Landon Mokris recorded the three-run home run in the top of the fifth inning.

Despite a rough start to the first game of the day, Texas-Dallas split a pair of games at Concordia Texas Friday evening in American Southwest Conference play. The Comets (now 7-3, 6-2) opened the twin bill with an 8-4 loss to CTX, but responded with a 9-3 win in Friday's nightcap. The two teams will complete the three-game series with a single game at 1 p.m. Saturday at Tornado Field. Down 8-1 heading to the 7th, the Comets had the game-tying run on deck before the final out was recorded in an 8-4 loss to CTX to open Friday's doubleheader. The Comets plated six runs in the top of the 7th inning en route to a 9-3 win over CTX in the second game of the night.

The 24th ranked NC Wesleyan Bishops scored 5 runs early and proceeded to hold off the CNU Captains 6-3 at Bauer Field on Friday afternoon. Sophomore DH Travis Cross, however, led Wesleyan in hits on the day as he went 3 for 4 with a double and run scored. Senior starting pitcher Derrick Carter pitched very well as he mowed down the Captains with 5 shutout innings before giving up a three-run homer in the 6th. He came back though to finish the inning and shut CNU down in the 7th as he finished with 7 strikeouts and no walks with only 2 earned runs allowed to pick up the win improving to 2-0. Senior reliever Kevin Williams then picked up the save as he closed out the game tossing 2 hitless and scoreless innings with 3 strikeouts.

The Texas Lutheran Bulldogs belted four home runs and collected eight extra-base hits and 18 total hits in a 19-4 non-conference road victory Friday night at East Texas Baptist. The Bulldogs opened a 6-1 lead after four innings and broke the game wide open with an eight-run seventh and a three-run eighth. Bulldog senior right-fielder Tyler Cauley blasted a pair of home runs in the win. Cauley has four on the season and 32 in his career. He drove in four runs against the Tigers and now has 163 career RBI in 151 games as a Bulldog. Cauley hit a two-run home run in the fourth and another two-run homer in the eighth. Cole Irby added four hits and three RBI. Irby, the reigning Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Hitter of the Week, raised his average to .559 in eight games.