By BRYAN GRISHAM

CSCC Sports Information Director

                       COUGARS SPLIT TO TAKE TWO OF THREE FROM PIONEERS

   GALLATIN, TN. - The Cleveland State Cougar baseball team finished a grueling three game road trip to middle Tennessee on Monday by splitting a doubleheader with Volunteer State to take two out of three games in the series from the Pioneers in a marathon twinbill that took almost eight hours to complete. After taking a 3-1 decision on Sunday in game one of the series the Cougars (17-7, 7-2) missed a couple of opportunities in the first game on Monday as the Pioneers needed 12 innings (in a scheduled seven inning game) to take their only win of the series by a final score of 11-10 while the Cougars held on in the second game for a 2-1 win.

   The Cougars dug themselves an early hole as Volunteer State put eight runs on the board in the first couple of innings. Cory Hilton singled in the first run of the game for the Cougars in the top of the first, but the Pioneers put two on their side of the scoreboard in the bottom of the frame for a 2-1 lead.

   The Cougars seesawed right back into the lead in the second with two runs as Troy Zawadzki doubled in a run and Andrew Root followed with a run scoring single for a 3-2 Cougar lead.

   The home team scored six times in the bottom of the second on five hits and three big Cougar miscues to take a commanding 8-3 lead

   The never-say-die Cougars just kept hitting as they wasted no time in tying the game with a run in the fifth on an Adam Hindman RBI single and then four more in the sixth. Cory Stooksbury singled in a run in the sixth, Root knocked in another with a double while two more runs crossed on a Pioneer error and a wild pitch and just like that the game was tied at eight all.

   Cleveland State took the lead in the seventh as a run scored on a passed ball, but a lead-off homer in the bottom of the inning from Josh Garton tied the game and sent it into extra innings.

   Both teams scored a run in the tenth as play continued into the twelfth inning. Drew Feathers finally put an end to game one for the Pioneers as he doubled in a run in the bottom of the twelfth to give Volunteer State the hard-earned 11-10 win. Root paced the Cougars with five hits in six at-bats in game one, Stooksbury added three hits while Hindman and Drew Banks had two hits each. Garton went 3-4 for the Pioneers as both teams combined for 21 runs and 33 hits. Zane Leffew took the loss for the Cougars while Stuart Dill got the win for Volunteer. Mark McGill started for the Pioneers while Ben Booker started for Cleveland State. Chad Fromm tossed five strong innings in relief for the Cougars.

   Game two was the polar opposite of game one as Travis Tingle gave the Cougars and coach Mike Policastro a much needed lift as he went the distance to get the win allowing only one run and scattering four hits along the way.

   Tingle and Volunteer starter, Josh Spicer took turns throwing zeros at the opposing batters through the first several innings before the Cougars were able to break out.

   Troy Zawadzki came up with the big hit for the Cougars in the fourth inning as he provided a clutch two-out double to score Justin Ridenour who had singled. Drew Fox reached on a bunt single and later scored on a wild pitch as Cleveland State took a 2-0 lead.

   The Pioneers cut the Cougar lead in half in the fifth as Clinton Newman doubled in a run, but that would be the extent of the comeback as Tingle worked his way into and out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh to get the win and more importantly a two of three series win for the Cougars.

   Cody Ferrell and Jay Huffman collected two hits each to lead the Cougars in game two while Spicer took the loss on the mound for Volunteer.

   "It's great to go on the road and take two out of three from a team as good as Volunteer State," explained Policastro. "We had a couple of chances to win the first game of the doubleheader, but that's the way it goes sometimes. You have to give Volunteer credit, they got it done in extra innings."

   "I was real proud of my guys for the way that they just kept battling. They came back in game one and had a chance to win and then in the second game, Travis Tingle pitched an outstanding game and worked out of a couple of jams to get a big win. I'll take two out of three anytime and especially on the road."

   After taking a day off on Tuesday, the Cougars will host Truett-McConnell on Wednesday in a single game starting at 2:00.