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Archived Game Results
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| Date |
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Results |
| 5/11/2010 | Dyersburg State at Dyersburg State TCCAA Tournament | 7-17 Loss | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
DYERSBURG - The final chapter in the 2010 Cleveland State baseball season was written on a cloudy Tuesday afternoon at Dyersburg State Community College as the Cougars fell to the homestanding Eagles on day five of the TCCAA/NJCAA Region VII Conference Tournament by a final score of 17-7.
The Cougars took a big lead early in the game, but couldn't hold off the high flying Eagles as the home team came soaring back to turn a one-run game into a blowout. The Cougars finished the regular season conference standings in a tie for second place and were the third seed in the tournament and ended their season with a fourth place finish in the tournament. Only three teams remain as Dyersburg, Walters State and Chattanooga State were the final three teams vying for the title.
The Cougars opened the game like gangbusters with a five run outburst in the top of the first. Trevor Burgess doubled to lead off the game and scored ahead of Ryan Casteel who air-mailed a long home run over the right centerfield fence for a quick Cougar lead. Two errors, two walks and a two-run single from Troy Zawadzki plated three more runs and just like that the Cougar had a 5-0 lead.
The Eagles answered in the bottom of the first with three of their own as Chase Pilkenton and Tyler Childress each singled in a run while another crossed on an error to slice the lead to 5-3.
The Cougars added a run in the fourth as Lance Rorex doubled in a run for a 6-3 advantage, but from that point on it was all down hill for Cougar fans.
Dyersburg State mounted a rally in the fifth as Pilkenton followed a walk with a two-run dinger while back to back doubles and an RBI single from Michael Brown pushed three more runs across as the Eagles turned a three run deficit into a two run lead at 8-6.
Casteel smashed his second homer of the game in the seventh to draw the Cougars within a run of the Eagles, but the wheels fell completely off the Cougar wagon in the bottom of the eighth as the home team put nine runs on the board to quickly turn a one run game into a run rule win.
Three hit batters, a walk, two Cougar errors and RBIs from Brown, Nathan Stewart, and RJ Rayborn put the game out of reach in the span of about 10 minutes. Tyler Childress then took some paint off the outfield wall with a two-run double to put the Eagles on top by 10 runs to put the exclamation point on the outburst and the win.
Scott Laughlin took the loss for the Cougars (33-19) while Michael Freeman came on in the second inning for the Eagles (29-16) and pitched into the seventh to pick up the win in relief.
Cody Hooper was named to the All-Conference first team and was also named the Conference Player of the Year. Gray Hutchinson, Trevor Burgess, Cody Ferrell, Ryan Casteel and Travis Tingle were named to the All-Conference second team while Lance Rorex, was named to the All-Conference third team.
Overall Record 33-19
Conference Record 16-10 | | | 5/10/2010 | Columbia State at Dyerburg State TCCAA Tournament | 10-5 Win | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
DYERSBURG - It wasn't a thing of beauty, but the Cleveland State Cougars lived to play another day on a rainy Monday afternoon as day four of the TCCAA/NJCAA Region VII Baseball Tournament rolled on. The Cougars built and lost the lead twice and finally came out on top with a 10-5 win over the pesky Columbia State Chargers.
The Cougars will now play the loser of the Chattanooga State and Dyersburg State game on Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. central time.
The teams finally got under way after a four hour rain delay as mother nature washed out the scheduled morning games. When the tarp was finally removed from the field the Chargers proceeded to scratch out a run in the bottom of the second inning for a 1-0 lead.
The Cougars took the lead in the top of the third as Trevor Burgess tied the game with one swing as he led off the frame with a solo homer. Back to back singles from Ryan Casteel and Cody Hooper helped set the table for Cody Ferrell who put the Cougars on top with a sacrifice fly for a 2-1 lead.
Pitching took over from there as Zane Leffew for the Cougars and James Kessler in relief of Tyler Cole for the Chargers took turns putting zeros on the board. Columbia State took advantage of a Cougar miscue in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at 2-2.
The Cleveland State bats came to life in the seventh as Brandon Rader doubled in a pair of runs and Troy Zawadzki followed with an RBI single, both with two outs, to give the Cougars a 5-2 lead.
The Chargers came right back in the bottom of the inning as Ethan Williams came up with a huge double with the bases loaded to once again knot the game at 5-5.
Cleveland State took the lead for good in the eighth as a pair of walks and Cody Ferrell's second double of the game set the stage for Adam Hindman and the sophomore left fielder delivered big in crunch time with a two-out bases clearing triple to give his team an 8-5 lead.
This time the Cougars didn't allow a Charger comeback as they tacked on two more runs in the ninth with Burgess knocking in a run and then scoring on a wild pitch to secure the win.
Zane Leffew pitched into the seventh and gave the Cougars (33-18) exactly what they needed as he tossed a gem to keep his team in the game while Matt Lynam came on to pitch two plus innings of relief and pick up the win. Sam Davis suffered the loss for the Chargers (26-22). Burgess led the Cougars with three hits and was a single shy of the cycle while Ferrell, Hindman and Zawadzki all had two hits.
Overall Record 33-18
Conference Record 16-9 | | | 5/9/2010 | Chattanooga State at Dyer County High School TCCAA Tournament | 3-4 Loss | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
It was Tigers clawing the Cougars in a big cat fight on Sunday afternoon as day three of the TCCAA/NJCAA Region VII Baseball Tournament rolled on. In a game that went right down to the final out before a winner could be determined, Chattanooga State pulled off an incredible come-from behind win over Cleveland State by a final score of 4-3.
Chattanooga State will now advance into the winners bracket final and will play the winner of the Dyersburg State and top seeded Walters State game on Monday at 2:00 central time while the Cougars will try to regroup quickly and will play Columbia State in an elimination game on Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. central time.
"You have to give Chattanooga State credit, they got it done and found a way to win and we didn't," explained Cougar coach Mike Policastro.
The Tigers jumped on top with a run in the top of the first without the benefit of a hit on a pair of walks and two Cougar miscues. Cleveland State came right back in their half of the first as Ryan Casteel beat out an infield single, move to third on a sizzling double from Cody Hooper and scored on a grounder from Cody Ferrell to tie the game at 1-1.
Chattanooga State scratched out another run in the fourth as Michael Maxwell picked up an RBI single, but once again the Cougars tied the contest in the bottom of the frame. A pair of Tiger miscues set the stage and Brandon Rader delivered a two-out single to knot the game at 2-2.
The Tiger's Tyler Burstrom and Josh Barrett for the Cougars took turns retiring the side with ease for the next several innings before the Cougars could push across a run in the seventh to take their first lead of the game. Adam Hindman started the rally with a single, moved to second on a nice sacrifice bunt by Rader and scored on a clutch single from Trevor Burgess to put Cleveland State on top 3-2.
Barret got the side out in the eighth and then turned things over to Zach Driggers in the ninth. Driggers got the first out in the ninth, but back to back singles from Taylor Eaves and Isaac Davenport set the stage for a dramatic ending. Following a big strikeout for out number two, a slow roller toward shortstop by J. D. Pullen somehow found it's way into left field allowing both runs to score putting the Tigers on top 4-3.
The Cougars put the tying run on base in the bottom of the ninth, but Josh Coppinger came on in relief to put out the fire and record the save for the Tigers and send them into the winner's bracket final.
Driggers was the tough luck losing pitcher for the Cougars (32-18) while Burstrom got the win for the Tigers (33-12).
In other tournament action, Volunteer State eliminated Motlow State and Columbia State finished off Roane State while Dyersburg State beat Columbia State and Walters State whitewashed Volunteer State.
Overall Record 32-18
Conference Record 15-9 | | | 5/8/2010 | Motlow State at Dyersburg State TCCAA Tournament | 7-6 Win | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
DYERSBURG - The Cleveland State Cougars built a comfortable lead in their opening round game of the TCCAA/NJCAA Region VII Baseball Tournament on Saturday morning and then held off a furious comeback attempt by the Motlow State Bucks to post a thrilling 7-6 win.
The Cougars will advance in the bracket to take on Chattanooga State on Sunday at 4:00 central time while the Bucks will fall into the losers bracket to play Roane State.
"We needed every run, it wasn't pretty but we managed to hang on and that's all that counts at this time of year," explained Cougar coach Mike Policastro. "Tingle pitched well and we scored a few runs early, but give Motlow credit, we kicked it around there at the end and they took advantage and came close to coming all the way back."
Cleveland State jumped on top in the bottom of the second inning with four big runs. Trevor Burgess came through in the clutch with a two-out bases loaded triple for three big RBIs and then scored on a wild pitch for a 4-0 lead.
The Bucks got on the board in the fifth as Blake Allen doubled and scored, but the Cougars got that run plus one back in the bottom of the frame. This time Adam Hindman came up with the big blow as he doubled into the gap to push across both runs for a 6-1 lead.
The Cougars added a run in the seventh on a Motlow miscue and as it would turn out, the deciding run.
The Bucks started their comeback in the eighth as they knocked Tingle from the hill. Kirkland Wheeler singled in a pair of runs to draw Motlow to within striking distance at 7-3.
The error bug bit the Cougars in the ninth as a pair of miscues opened the door for the Bucks and they took advantage as Clint Ambrosch singled in a pair of runs and Zac Mitchell singled in another and just like that it was a one run Cougar lead at 7-6.
The comeback would end right there though, as Zach Driggers came on in relief following Scott Spears and Kevin Greene to finally put out the fire and get the final out to pick up the save and preserve the win.
Cody Hooper and Hindman led the 16 hit attack for the Cougars (31-17) with three hits apiece. Mitchell had three hits for Motlow State (28-19) while Andy Southard took the loss.
Overall Record 32-17
Conference Record 15-8 | | | 4/30/2010 | @ Roane State | 10-2 Win | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
KINGSTON - The Cleveland State Baseball team traveled to Roane State on Friday afternoon as both teams got in one last game for a tune-up before next week's Region VII Conference Tournament. The Cougars erased an early one run deficit to post a convincing 10-2 win over the Raiders to end the regular season on a positive note and hopefully build a little momentum for tournament time.
Shane Douty singled in a run in the bottom of the first to put the Raiders on top 1-0.
The Cougars came to life in the top of the third with three runs to take the lead. Ryan Casteel singled in a run and Cody Hooper doubled in two more during the outburst. Casteel then sinlgled in another run in the fourth to push the lead to 4-1.
The score remained the same until the seventh. Turner Touchstone doubled in a pair of runs and Drew Fox singled in one of his own to push the lead to 7-1. Justin Neckles joined the hit parade an inning later with a two-run double, scoring Troy Zawadzki and Trevor Burgess to push the lead to 9-1.
Neckles added another RBI in the ninth with a sacrifice fly while the Raiders pushed a run across in the bottom of the ninth on a wild pitch to cut the final score to 10-2.
Casteel led the 15 hit Cougar offensive attack by going 4-4 on the day. The Cougars (31-17) used a different pitcher each inning to get in some work with Tyler Brown (6-2) picking up the win. Nick Caldwell took the loss for Roane State.
Cleveland State will now turn their attention toward Dyersburg and the Conference Tournament starting on Friday.
Overall Record 31-17 | | | 4/27/2010 | Gordon College Game 2 | 1-8 Loss | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
The Cleveland State Cougars dodged the raindrops on Monday afternoon at Cougar Field long enough to get in a pair of games with the visiting Gordon College Highlanders. The Cougars took game one by a final score of 5-3, but dropped the second game as the bats went cold by a final of 8-1.
The Cougars jumped on top in game one with three runs in the bottom of the second inning. Adam Hindman got things started with a bunt single and came around to score on a single from Lance Rorex. Brandon Rader then singled and later scored along with Rorex as Trevor Burgess added a two-run double for a 3-0 lead.
The score stayed right there until the top of the sixth as the Highlanders mounted a comeback. Andy Almonte doubled in a pair of runs and Nate Mitzel tied the game with an RBI single.
The Cougars came right back in the bottom of the inning as Troy Zawadaki bunted for a single and scored on a ringing double from Ryan Casteel. Cody Hooper was intentionally walked to load the bases, but the strategy backfired as Cody Ferrell drew a walk to force in a run for a 5-3 Cleveland State lead.
Josh Barrett started on the hill for the Cougars and scattered five hits in five plus innings of work while Zach Driggers came on in the sixth to put out the fire and toss a scoreless seventh to get the win. Josh Stevenson started for the Highlanders while Bryant Kerns took the loss in relief.
The Cougar bats went ice cold in game two, thanks in part to the pitching of Gordon College starter Pat McGowan who tossed four innings allowing only two hits. Ben Prestwood then threw the final three innings allowing only three hits.
The Highlander offense on the other hand, scored in each of the first four innings to provide more than enough run support. Dustin Dalken doubled in run in the first, Almonte singled in a run in the second and Chase Raffield added an RBI single in the fourth. Robbie Payne was double trouble as he hit a pair of solo homers, one in the third and another in the seventh.
Ryan Mutchnick contributed a pinch hit RBI double in the seventh to allow the Cougars to avoid the shutout.
Ferrell (2-4) started on the mound for the Cougars (30-17) but lasted less than two innings giving up four runs. Travis Tingle tossed an inning plus allowing three runs while Tyler Brown and Scott Spears also pitched in relief.
Overall Record 30-17 | | | 4/27/2010 | Godron College Game 1 | 5-3 Win | | Overall Record 30-16 | | | 4/26/2010 | @ Volunteer State Game 2 | 2-13 Loss | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
GALLATIN - The Cleveland State Cougar baseball team moved their scheduled Region VII Conference doubleheader at Volunteer State up 24 hours from Saturday to Friday to avoid the heavy rains that were forecast for the weekend. If coach Mike Policastro and his Cougars had known what was in store for them they probably would have chosen the rain instead.
The storms hit anyway as the Pioneers brought lightning in their bats to Friday's twinbill as they proceeded to pound Cleveland State pitching for 17 hits in each game, run-ruling their guests in five innings in game one by a final score of 18-8 and whitewashing the Cougars,13-2 in game two.
The Pioneers put nine runs on the board over the first three innings of game one. A pair of Cougar errors led to a run in the first and the flood gates opened in the second as Volunteer State put a touchdown and extra point on the board. Curt Powell mashed a three-run homer as the home team scored seven runs on seven hits in the frame. The Pioneers then added a run in the third on a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 9-0.
The Cougars got up off the deck in the top of the fourth with five big runs. Cody Hooper got things started with a solo homer, Brandon Rader later added a two-run double while another run crossed on a wild pitch and all of a sudden the lead had been trimmed to 9-5.
The comeback continued in the fifth as once again Hooper dialed long distance to lead off the inning. After a pitching change, Cody Ferrell nailed a solo homer of his own and Troy Zawadzki doubled in two more to slice the lead to 9-8.
The comeback would end right there though as the wheels fell completely off the Cougar wagon in the bottom of the of the fifth. The game quickly went from a one-run affair to a blowout as the Pioneers scored nine times on eight hits and two more miscues. Joey DelMonico doubled in a pair of runs and Taylor McGilvray singled in a pair of his own as the home team ended game one in a hurry.
Corey Collins gave up six runs over four innings but picked up the win for the Pioneers while Travis Tingle (6-4) lasted only one inning plus five batters to suffer the loss. Five Cougar pitchers followed Tingle, but couldn't put out the fire as all five gave up at least two runs.
Game two was more of the same only worse for the Cougars as the Pioneers scored early and often. Again, the Pioneers scored nine runs over the first three innings.
Clint Newman hit a three-run homer in the first as the home team scored six times on seven hits for a 6-0 lead. Curt Powell tripled in a run and Chris Summers singled in another as the Pioneers would hold a 9-0 lead after just three innings.
The Cougars avoided the shutout in the fourth as one run crossed on an error and another on a groundout.
Volunteer State put the exclamation point on the outing with four more in the bottom of the fourth as Matt Foster hit a two-run homer and McGilvray doubled in another run to finish the game.
Tyler Brown (5-2) started the game for the Cougars (29-16, 14-8) and recored only one out before giving up six runs to take the loss. Chris Hatfield allowed only three hits in five innings of work to pick up the win for Volunteer State.
Overall Record 29-16
Conference Record 14-8 | | | 4/26/2010 | @ Volunteer State Game 1 | 8-18 Loss | Overall Record 29-15
Conference Record 14-7 | | | 4/17/2010 | Roane State Game 3 | 6-0 Win | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
The Cleveland State baseball team moved back into second place in the Region VII Conference standings with a weekend sweep of the Roane State Raiders at Cougar Field. The Cougars took game one on Friday by a final count of 9-1 and then swept a twinbill on Saturday taking the first game in dramatic comeback fashion 6-3 and game two 6-0.
In the first game on Saturday, the Raiders jumped on top with a run in the first as Bryant Walker singled in a run for a 1-0 lead. The visitors scratched out single runs in the fifth and sixth on a Sean Greenway single in the fifth and Cougar miscue in the sixth to push the lead to 3-0.
Roane State starting pitcher, Lucas Henderson took a no-hitter into the fourth inning as he kept the Cougars off balance for most of the game.
The Cougars finally got the egg off the board in the bottom sixth as Cody Ferrell found a fastball to his liking and lined a frozen rope two-strike, two-out, two-run homer over the right field fence to pull the home team to within a run of the lead at 3-2.
Down to their last at-bat and last out, the Cougars found themselves with the bases loaded and Ryan Casteel at the plate. The former Bradley Central Bear promptly unloaded them with a walk-off grand slam homer over the right centerfield fence to win game one in dramatic fashion.
Scott Spears picked up the win in relief of starter Tyler Brown for the Cougars while Kragen Caughron took the loss for the Raiders.
Game two was a pitchers duel for five innings as Cougar starter, Josh Barrett and Raiders hurler David White took turns retiring the opposition with relative ease.
The Cougars finally broke the ice with five big runs in the bottom of the fifth. Troy Zawadzki pushed the first run of the game across by coaxing a bases loaded walk to open the flood gates. Trevor Burgess singled in a run, Cody Hooper singled in two more and Casteel drew another bases loaded walk to put the home team on top 5-0.
Cleveland State added an insurance run in the sixth as Rorex singled in a run while Zach Driggers struck out the side as he came on to pitch the seventh to secure the win and the sweep.
Barrett tossed six shutout innings allowing only three hits and striking out 12 Raiders along the way to get the win. White took the loss for the Raiders.
"It was kind of frustrating all day long, because we didn't swing the bat well," explained Cougar coach Mike Policastro. "We kept it close and somehow found a way to win game one. We were really lucky to get that one and then in game two, Josh came out and really gave us a good effort on the mound. You have to give the Roane pitchers credit they did a good job, but we kept getting ourselves out."
"All in all, you have to be happy with a conference sweep any way you can get one," the coach continued. "Tyler kept us close in game one and Spears did a good job out of the pen and then Josh set the tone in game two and shut them down till we finally scored some runs late. Sometimes, you just have to find a way to win and that's what we did today."
On Friday, the Cougars opened the series in fine fashion as they overwhelmed their guests with seven runs over the first three innings. Ferrell singled in a run in the first frame while Gray Hutchinson doubled in another to help Cleveland State to a quick 3-0 lead.
The Cougars added a pair of runs in the second and third to push the lead to 7-0. Burgess put two more runs on the board in the second with a two-run dinger while Rorex knocked in a run in the third with a single and another crossed on a Raider miscue.
The Raiders scored their only run of the game in the third on a Cougar error. The Cougars added a pair of insurance runs in the seventh as Ferrell led off with a solo homer and Drew Fox tripled in a run to seal the win and game one of the series.
Travis Tingle (6-3) didn't allow an earned run while striking out eight in eight strong innings to pick up the win for the Cougars (29-14, 14-6). Nick Caldwell took the loss for Roane State.
The Cougars will travel to Wallace State on Tuesday and then head for Volunteer State on Saturday for the final regular season conference games before the tournament.
Overall Record 29-14
Conference Record 14-6 | | | 4/17/2010 | Roane State Game 2 | 6-3 Win | Overall Record 28-14
Conference Record 13-6 | | | 4/16/2010 | Roane State Game 1 | 9-1 Win | Overall Record 27-14
Conference Record 12-6 | | | 4/13/2010 | @ Young Harris College | 4-9 Loss | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
YOUNG HARRIS, GA. - The Mountain Lions won the battle of the big cats on a sunny Tuesday afternoon in Georgia as Young Harris College avenged an early season loss to the Cougars. The Mountain Lions clawed Cleveland State pitching for 15 hits as they notched the win by a final score of 9-4.
The Mountain Lions pounced into the lead with a pair of runs in each of the first two innings. Brett Armour singled in a run in the first while Matt Lowery singled in a run in the second frame and Chris Holloway doubled in another to put the home team on top, 4-0.
The Cougars cut the lead in half in the top of the third inning as Ryan Casteel dialed long distance following a leadoff walk to Trevor Burgess for a two-run homer.
Cleveland State tied the game in the fifth on a Mountain Lion error and a two-out single from Brandon Rader.
It didn't stay tied for long though, as Young Harris got those runs back in the bottom of the fifth as Armour doubled in a run and a second run crossed as the Cougars turned a doubleplay to give the Mountain Lions a 6-4 advantage.
Lowery knocked in his second run of the day with another single in the sixth and the Mountain Lions added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth to finish off the 9-4 win.
Ben Watson (4-1) gave up two earned runs in five innings of work to pick up the win for Young Harris (31-11). Cody Ferrell started the game on the hill for the Cougars (26-14) while Josh Barrett took the loss in relief.
Armour and Michael Squires paced the Mountain Lions with three hits each while Matt Lobacz, Lowery, Holloway and Ethan Herron had two hits apiece. Casteel and Ferrell led the Cougars with two hits each. The Cougars had 10 hits in the game, but stranded 11 runners along the way.
The Cougars will now get ready for a three-game weekend series with Roane State at Cougar Field on Friday at 2:00 and Saturday at noon.
Overall Record 26-14 | | | 4/12/2010 | Tennessee Wesleyan JV Game 2 | 5-0 Win | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
The Cougars took the bite out of the Bulldogs on a beautiful spring afternoon at Cougar Field on Monday as they swept a doubleheader from the Tennessee Wesleyan junior varsity team. Cleveland State banged out 17 hits in the twinbill as they took game one 10-2 and the second by a final score of 5-0.
The Cougars scored early and often to start game one as Turner Touchstone doubled in a run in the bottom of the first inning and Brandon Rader unloaded for a two-run homer in the second to help the home team to a 6-0 lead.
Rader singled to lead off the fourth and later scored on a triple from Trevor Burgess to extend the lead to 7-0. The Bulldogs got on the board in the top of the fifth as Andrew Tharp doubled and scored on a Murphy Martin two-run homer.
The Cougars put the game out of reach in the sixth as Rader picked up his third hit of the game and Cody Hooper dialed long distance for a three-run dinger to push the lead to an eight run advantage.
Scott Laughlin went the distance to get the win for the Cougars scattering four hits and fanning eight Bulldogs along the way while Ryan Hopson took the loss.
The Cougars went right back to work in the second game with a pair of runs in the first as Burgess doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly from Hooper. Gray Hutchinson singled and later scored on an RBI double by Ryan Mutchnick to give Cleveland State a 2-0 lead.
The game stayed right there as Cougar starting pitcher Zane Leffew and Bulldog starter, Jeremy Kimsey took turns putting zeros on the board over the next several innings.
The Cougars finally broke through in the sixth frame as Hooper led off the inning with a frozen rope line drive over the left field fence for his second homer of the day. A single from Rader, a walk and a hit batsmen loaded the bases for Hutchinson who drew a walk for an RBI the easy way to push the Cleveland State lead to 5-0.
That would be all the run support that Leffew would require as he retired nine out of the last ten Bulldogs he faced to pick up the win. Leffew tossed seven strong innings for the Cougars (26-13) allowing only two hits, a pair of doubles to Tharp, and striking out eight. Jeremy Kimsey took the loss for Tennessee Wesleyan.
Rader led the way for Cleveland State with four hits in six trips while Hooper had four hits and Burgess added three. Tharp collected three of the Buldogs five hits on the day.
Cleveland State will now turn their attention to a big weekend conference series as Roane State will visit Cougar Field for a single game on Friday at 2:00 and a doubleheader on Saturday starting at noon
Overall Record 26-13 | | | 4/12/2010 | Tennessee Wesleyan JV Game 1 | 10-2 Win | | Overall Record 25-13 | | | 4/10/2010 | @ Columbia State Game 2 | 11-10 Win | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
COLUMBIA - It took 11 innings and 11 runs for the Cleveland State baseball team to earn a split in their Region VII conference matchup with the Columbia State Chargers on Saturday afternoon at Dave Hall Field. And that was just the second game of the doubleheader as the Cougars lost the first game of the twinbill, 6-4 and won the marathon second game, 11-10.
The Cougars and the Chargers combined to use 10 pitchers, scored 21 runs and had 24 hits in the marathon second game before the visiting Cougars could finally nail down a win.
Cody Hooper whistled a double off the left field fence in the top of the first of game one, scoring Lance Rorex who had singled to start the game and give the Cougars a qick 1-0 lead.
It didn't last long though as the Chargers took the lead with a pair of runs in the second and two more in the third to take a 4-1 lead. Justin Pearson tripled in a run in the second and then doubled in two more in the third to put the home team on top.
The Cougars got one of those runs back in the fourth as Brandon Rader singled in a run with two outs. But, the Chargers came right back in the bottom of the fifth with a pair of back to back solo homers from Blake Rogers and Ethan Williams to push the lead to 6-2.
Cody Ferrell got the Cougars a run closer with a laser shot over the right field fence to start the sixth. The Cougars put the tying runs on base in their last turn at the plate in the seventh, but a double play ended the comeback as the Chargers took game one.
Travis Tingle gave up all six runs in four innings of work as he took the loss for the Cougars. Andy Finnell tossed six plus strong innings on the hill for Columbia State to get the win while Sam Davis came on in the seventh to pick up the save.
The Cougars took an early 3-0 lead in game two with a run in the first on a Hooper RBI double and two more in the second as Drew Fox tripled in a run and scored on a single from Rorex.
The Chargers came to life and jumped on top with seven big runs over the next three frames. A couple of errors, one mental and one physical led to a four run bottom of the second while RBIs from Rob Holley, Bailey Turner and Cody Lane helped account for a 7-3 Columbia State lead.
The Cougars cut the lead to a single run with a three spot in the sixth as Gray Hutchinson singled in a run and later scored on a wild pitch and Adam Hindman doubled in another.
Cleveland State took the lead an inning later as four more crossed the plate. Ferrell provided the big blow as he airmailed his second homer of the day over the right field fence for three big RBIs and a 10-7 Cougar lead.
Columbia State charged right back in the bottom of the seventh as a couple of singles a bloop and an error resulted in three big runs to once again tie the contest at 10-10.
The Cougar's Zach Driggers and Sam Davis locked horns over the next several innings as they took turns retiring the opposition. Finally in the top of the 11th inning, Cody Ferrell dialed long distance for the third time and the second time in game two for a solo homer to give the Cougars a one run lead.
Driggers, who came on in the seventh, retired nine of the last 10 hitters he faced and retired the side in order in the bottom of the 11th to pick up the win. Tyler Brown started the game for the Cougars while Davis took the loss.
The Cougars will host Tennessee Wesleyan on Monday at 1:00 and then travel to Young Harris on Tuesday.
Overall Record 24-13
Conference Record 11-6 | | | 4/10/2010 | @ Columbia State Game 1 | 4-6 Loss | Overall Record 23-13
Conference Record 10-6 | | | 4/6/2010 | Georgia Perimeter Game 2 | 10-6 Win | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
It was a cat fight of epic proportions on a sunny Tuesday afternoon as the Jaguars of Georgia Perimeter invaded Cougar Field for a doubleheader with the Cleveland State Cougars.
The Cougars let a win slip right through their fingers as the Jaguars came roaring back to score four times in their last at bat and steal game one by a final score of 7-5. History almost repeated itself in game two as the Cougars saw a six run lead disappear, but managed to hold on and win 10-6 in extra innings and salvage a split in the twinbill.
The Cougars struck first in game one with a pair of runs in the third inning as Cody Hooper plated both runs with a two-out triple.
The Jaguars jumped on top an inning later on a Jaime McMillan three-run homer, but the Cougars tied the game in the fifth on an RBI double from Ryan Casteel.
Brandon Rader put the home team back on top with an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth and Lance Rorex singled in another to give the Cougars a 5-3 lead with three outs to go.
The Jaguars had other thoughts as they mounted a four run rally to regain the lead and eventually win game one. RBI doubles by Hunter Pope and McMillan mixed in with a pair of Cougar miscues added up to a 7-5 lead for Georgia Perimeter as they hung on for the win.
Rob Crosby started on the hill for the Jaguars while Drew Johnson picked up the win in relief and Bryan Benzor pitched the seventh to get the save. Zane Leffew started for the Cougars while Quentin Bowman took the loss in relief. Matt Lynam and Zach Driggers also pitched in relief for Cleveland State.
The Cougars took an early lead in game two with six big runs. Ferrell tripled in a pair of runs in the first inning while three Jaguar errors and RBIs from Casteel and Hooper produced four more runs in the second.
The Jaguars started their comeback with three runs in the fifth as McMillan doubled in a pair of runs and Zach Lowery doubled in the third to cut the lead in half 6-3.
Georgia Perimeter tied the game in the seventh as Patrick Henry doubled in a pair of runs and LeAndre Davis added the game-tying single to force and extra inning.
Lance Rorex singled to start the rally in the eighth for the Cougars and moved to second on a nice sacrifice bunt from Troy Zawadzki. Casteel then singled and the Jaguars intentionally walked Hooper to load the bases. Ferrell took the free base on balls to Hooper personally and promptly unloaded the sacks with a walk-off grand slam homer deep into the tennis courts beyond the right centerfield fence to give the home team a win and a split of the twinbill.
Scott Spears picked up the win in relief for the Cougars (23-12) while Blake McCullars took the loss for the Jaguars. Scott Laughlin started on the mound for the Cougars while Jeremy Bales and Josh Barrett also pitched in relief.
The Cougars will hit the road to Columbia State on Saturday for a key conference doubleheader.
Overall Record 23-12 | | | 4/6/2010 | Georgia Perimeter Game 1 | 5-7 Loss | | Overall Record 22-12 | | | 4/3/2010 | Walters State Game 3 | 8-2 Win | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
The Eighth ranked Walters State Senators took care of business on Saturday afternoon as they took two out of three games from the Cleveland State Cougars in a key Region VII TCCAA weekend matchup at Cougar Field.
The first place Senators took the first game of the series on Friday, 6-4 and the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday, 5-3 while the second place Cougars avoided the sweep in the back end of the twinbill on Saturday with an 8-2 win.
"It was a very close series, we could have easily won the first two games, but just didn't get a break here or there," explained Cougar coach Mike Policastro. "You gotta give Walters credit, they are a really good team. They had good pitching and got the hits when they needed them. I was proud of the way our guys bounced back to win the last game after two tough losses."
The Senators took a 1-0 lead in the first game on Saturday on a sacrifice fly in the second inning, but the Cougars got that run back as Cody Ferrell led off the bottom of the second with a solo homer.
Walters State jumped back on top as Garrett Koster led off the third with a solo shot, but once again the Cougars answered in the bottom of the frame as Cody Hooper found a fastball to his liking and promptly hit it into the subdivision across the street behind the left field fence for a two-run dinger and a 3-2 Cleveland State lead.
The game stayed right there until the sixth inning before Cody Pate singled in the tying run for the Senators. A two-out pop up that somehow fell between two Cougars, opened the door for Corey Davis and the big Senator came through in the clutch as he rattled the right centerfield wall for a two-run double and a 5-3 Walters State lead.
That would be all the insurance that Senator's starter, Will Scott would need as he worked around a pair of walks in the seventh to finish strong and secure the win. Scott tossed seven strong innings, allowing only four hits while fanning 10 Cougars to get the win. Cody Ferrell took the loss for the Cougars.
The Cougars took the lead early in the second game with a single run in the first on an RBI single from Ryan Casteel and pushed another across in the third as Hooper knocked one in with a single as well for a 2-0 lead.
The Cougar bats came to life in a big way in the fifth as they batted around putting six big runs on the board in the process. Lance Rorex took one for the team to get things started while Casteel brought him around with a single. A pair of errors and a walk set the stage for Trevor Burgess who promptly unloaded a three-run homer into the tennis courts beyond the right field fence to give the home team an 8-0 advantage.
The Senators broke up the shutout in the seventh as Pate singled in a run and Davis plated another with a sacrifice fly, but it was too little too late as Scott Spears came on to put out the fire and preserve the win.
Tyler Brown scattered five hits and tossed six plus strong innings to pick up the win while Kyle Deese took the loss for Walters State.
On Friday, the Senators drew first blood with four big runs in the third as Logan Bowers singled in the first run of the game and Dylan Pratt followed with a three-run homer to put the visitors on top 4-0.
The Cougars chipped away at the lead with single runs the third and the fourth as Burgess and Troy Zawadzki each plated a run on a fielders choice.
Ferrell air-mailed an opposite field two-run home run to left field in the sixth inning and just like that the game was tied at 4-4.
The Senators mounted a two-out rally in the ninth on a strikeout-wild pitch, a walk and an Infield single. Once again it was Pratt coming through in the clutch with a two-run single to put the visitors on top for good 6-4.
"We got good pitching in all three games, they kept us in it and gave us a chance to win and our infield defense was great," Policastro said. "We wanted to take two out of three, that didn't happen, but we had our chances against a good team and that is really all you can ask for. The series really was decided on two plays, a strikeout on Friday and a little bloop that fell in the first game today."
Michael White went the distance for the Senators (17-6, 12-2) to get the win, allowing only three hits and striking out 12 along the way while Travis Tingle suffered the loss for the Cougars (21-10, 10-5).
Overall Record 22-11
Conference Record 10-5 | | | 4/3/2010 | Walters State Game 2 | 3-5 Loss | Overall Record 21-11
Conference Record 9-5 | | | 4/2/2010 | Walters State Game 1 | 4-6 Loss | Overall Record 21-9
Conference Record 9-4 | | | 3/30/2010 | @ Tennessee Wesleyan JV Game 2 | 13-1 Win | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
ATHENS - A pitcher's dual and a blowout was the order of the day as the Cleveland State baseball team traveled north to Athens for an afternoon doubleheader with the Tennessee Wesleyan junior varsity Bulldogs at Jack Bowling Field.
The Bulldogs only scored one run in each end of the twinbill, but it was enough to earn a split as the home team won the first game 1-0 while the Cougars rebounded to take game two in a big way by a final of 13-1.
Ryan Hopson tossed a gem at the Cougars in game one as he was nearly unhittable, allowing only four hits while going the distance to throw a seven inning shutout at the Cougars. Cody Ferrell gave up only two hits and one run in three innings of work for the Cougars, but suffered the loss. Zach Driggers tossed two scoreless innings in relief while Kevin Greene pitched a scoreless inning as well.
The Bulldogs pushed the only run of the game across in the bottom of the third on a single by former Bradley Bear, Michael Coccia. The Cougars came within an eyelash of tying the game in the seventh, but the rally ended as the runner was gunned down at the plate for the final out of game one. Lance Rorex had two of the four Cougar hits.
The Cougar bats got hot in a hurry in game two as the visitors put eight runs on the board in lightning quick fashion. Ryan Casteel plated the first run of the game with a sacrifice fly in the first while the Cougars exploded for seven runs in the third.
Trevor Burgess and Cody Hooper doubled in a pair of runs each to start the rally while Gray Hutchinson doubled in a run of his own and Brandon Rader singled to knock in another to help push the Cougars lead to 8-0.
Former McMinn County Cherokee, Tanner Quirk singled in the only run of the game for the Bulldogs in the bottom of the third to avoid the shutout.
Lance Rorex got that run back for the Cougars in the fifth with an RBI single and the Cougars added four more runs in the seventh as Burgess air-mailed a two-run homer and Hutchinson plated two more with a single to cap off the win.
Scott Laughlin picked up the win for the Cougars (21-9) allowing only one hit and one run in three innings of work while Zane Leffew, Jeremy Bales, Josh Barrett and Quentin Bowman all worked a scoreless inning in relief. Bart Cherry took the loss for the Bulldogs.
Rader and Burgess led the Cougars with three hits each while Ferrell, Hutchinson, Troy Zawadzki and Rorex added two hits each.
Overall Record 21-9
| | | 3/30/2010 | @ Tennessee Wesleyan JV Game 1 | 0-1 Loss | | Overall Record 20-9 | | | 3/27/2010 | @ Dyersburg State Game 2 | 15-5 Win | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
DYERSBURG - The Cleveland State baseball team hit the road for west Tennessee for the second weekend in a row and on Saturday afternoon swept a Region VII Conference doubleheader from the Dyersburg State Eagles in a big way. The Cougars clipped the Eagles wings with 25 runs and 31 hits in the double dip, winning the first game 10-5 and then run-ruling their host in game two by a final of 15-5.
"Any conference win is a big win and Dyersburg is a tough place to play," said Cougar coach Mike Policastro. "Offensively we hit the ball really well. Both Travis Tingle and Tyler Brown pitched great in their games, so overall it was a very good day."
The Cougars scored early and often in game one as they put nine runs on the board over the first four innings. Troy Zawadzki and Trevor Burgess each knocked in a run while Cody Hooper nailed a two-run homer to help the visitors to a 5-0 lead after only one half inning of play.
Ryan Casteel singled in a pair of runs in the second and Hooper followed with a run scoring double to push the lead to 8-0. The Cougars tacked on single runs in the fourth and fifth which would be more than enough run support for starting pitcher, Travis Tingle (5-1) who tossed six plus innings before giving way to Matt Lynum who finished up. Cole Patterson suffered the loss for the Eagles.
Dyersburg avoided the shutout on a solo homer from Chase Pilkington in the fourth and then the second solo shot of the game by Pilkington in the seventh. Tyler Childress hit a two-run homer for the Eagles in the seventh as well, but it was too little too late as the Cougars took game one.
The Cougars put a run on the board in the second inning of game two on an RBI single from Burgess, but the Eagles tied the game in the bottom of the frame on a sacrifice fly by Pilkington.
Brandon Rader put the Cougars on top for good with an RBI single in the fourth while Hooper and Gray Hutchinson each knocked in a run in the fifth to push the lead to 4-1.
Pilkington added another run with a single for the Eagles in the sixth, but the Cougars got that one back plus one in the seventh on an RBI single from Casteel and an error to push the lead to 6-2.
Dyersburg cut the Cougar lead to a single run with three in the bottom of the seventh as James Dellou pushed two-runs across on a Cougar error and Cole Pratt singled in another but the Cougars answered in a big way an inning later with a nine-run outburst to secure the win and the sweep.
Zawadzki plated the first run of the frame with a single. The Cougars then loaded the bases for Hooper who promptly unloaded them with one mighty swing for a grand slam homer. The wheels fell completely off the Eagle wagon after that as three errors and RBIs from Rader, Burgess and Lance Rorex added up to four more runs as the Cougars completed the sweep and a long day of baseball.
Tyler Brown (4-1) pitched six strong innings to get the win for Cleveland State (20-8, 9-3) while Neil Robinson took the loss for Dyersburg State.
The Cougars will travel to Tennessee Wesleyan on Tuesday for a pair of games and then get ready for a conference showdown with nationally ranked Walters State in a three game set next weekend at Cougar Field.
Overall Record 20-8
Conference Record 9-3 | | | 3/27/2010 | @ Dyersburg State Game 1 | 10-5 Win | Overall Record 19-8
Conference Record 8-3 | | | 3/24/2010 | @ Tusculum College JV Game 2 | 6-5 Win | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
GREENEVILLE - The Cleveland State baseball team got back to their winning ways on Wednesday afternoon by sweeping a doubleheader from the Tusculum College junior varsity. Both games were close as the Cougars managed to win game one 7-5 and then overcame a four run deficit to take game two 6-5.
Cody Ferrell pitched five strong innings for the Cougars to get the win in game one striking out six along the way, while Quentin Bowman added his first save of the season. Cody Hooper continued to carry the big bat as he went 3-4 with a triple, double and two RBIs while Ryan Casteel added a pair of doubles and Troy Zawadzki chipped in with a two-run double as well.
Scott Spears picked up the win for the Cougars (18-8) in relief in game two as the visitors fell behind early, 5-1 as former McMinn County Cherokee, Heath Comerford hit a two-run homer for the Pioneers.
The Cougars began to chip away at the lead and finally caught up and passed the Pioneers in the fifth as Trevor Burgess and Ryan Mutchnick each doubled and Hooper stepped up big again with a two-out two-run game tying double as the Cougars went on to sweep the twinbill.
"It was two good wins, especially in game two," said Cougar coach Mike Policastro. "The guys stepped up with the big hits when we needed them. Hooper had another monster day and Cody Ferrell, Spears and several others did a good job in relief in the second game."
Overall Record 18-8 | | | 3/24/2010 | @ Tusculum College JV Game 1 | 7-5 Win | | Overall Record 17-8 | | | 3/20/2010 | @ Jackson State Game 2 | 8-9 Loss | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
JACKSON - The Cleveland State baseball team could only manage a split of a Region VII Conference doubleheader on a windy Saturday afternoon at Jack Martin Field in Jackson. The Cougars exploded for 17 hits in game one to win by a lopsided score of 11-3 and then saw a dramatic comeback fall just short in the second game as the Generals took the second game 9-8.
The Cougars put seven runs on the board early with three in the second inning and four more in the third. Cody Ferrell hit a solo homer to get things rolling in the third while Trevor Burgess doubled in another and Lance Rorex plated a run with a single. Ryan Casteel led off the third with a solo dinger while three more crossed the plate on an error and RBIs from Ferrell and Adam Hindman for a 7-0 Cougar lead.
Casteel crushed his second homer of the game in the sixth, this time a two-run shot to staight away centerfield and Hindman followed that with a two-run triple to push the lead to 11-0.
The Generals broke up the shutout in the bottom of the sixth with a pair of long balls of their own as Josh Hattaway and Tyree Jefferies went back to back to cut the Cougar lead to 11-3.
That would be all the run support that Cougar starter Travis Tingle would need as he went the distance to pick up the win scattering five hits and striking out seven along the way.
After Casteel's two homers, Hooper and Zawadzki went 3-5 and Ferrell was 3-4 in the game. Tyler Farley suffered the loss for the Generals.
The Cougars took a quick 2-0 lead in game two with one in the first and another in the second. Rorex singled to start the game and later scored on a wild pitch in the first while Hindman singled and scored on a grounder from Drew Fox in the second.
Hattaway hit his second homer of the day for the Generals in the bottom of the second to cut the lead in half and then the wheels fell completely off the Cougar wagon an inning later as the home team put a six spot on the board. Five straight Generals hits accounted for the outburst as Cameron Sherwood and Jimmy Franklin had back to back two-run doubles to help Jackson State take a 7-2 lead.
The Cougars mounted a rally as Hutchinson led off the sixth with a frozen rope home run to centerfield to start a five run outburst. Six straight hits resulted in three more runs as Rorex, Zawadzki and Ryan Mutchnick added an RBI single each to cut the lead to 7-6. Casteel lifted a sacrifice fly to right field and just like that the Cougars had tied the game at 7-7.
The game seesawed right back to the Generals favor in the bottom of the sixth as Ryan Williams hit a solo homer to put the home back on top, 8-7.
The Cougars managed to tie the game in the top of the eighth as Hooper singled to knot the game at 8-8.
Hattaway became the man of the hour for the Generals in the bottom of the ninth as he sent the Jackson State fans home happy with his third homer of the day and second of the game, this time a walk-off screamer over the scoreboard in left centerfield for a dramatic 9-8 win.
Zach Driggers took the loss for the Cougars (16-8, 6-3) in relief. Tyler Brown started and Josh Barrett, Scott Spears, Kevin Greene and Matt Lynum all pitched in relief. Gavin Lindsey pitched three plus innings in relief to pick up the win for Jackson State.
The Cougars will travel to Tusculum on Wednesday afternoon for a doubleheader and then hit the road to Dyersburg next Saturday for a pair of conference games.
Overall Record 16-8
Conference Record 7-3 | | | 3/20/2010 | @ Jackson State Game 1 | 11-3 Win | Overall Record 16-7
Conference Record 7-2 | | | 3/16/2010 | Gadsden State | 11-1 Win | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
The Cleveland State Cougars pounded the Gadsden State Cardinals into submission on Tuesday afternoon at Cougar Field as the home team racked up 13 hits and needed only seven innings to take an 11-1 win from their guests.
The Cougars took advantage of a pair of Cardinal miscues in the first inning to put three unearned runs on the board to take an early lead.
Gadsden State scored their only run of the contest in the third as Ethan Vineyard doubled in a run to cut the lead to 3-1.
The Cougars got two more in the fifth on a passed ball and an RBI single from Ryan Casteel and then ended the game by the mercy rule with a six run outburst in the seventh frame. Cody Hooper doubled in a run, Gray Hutchinson and Adam Hindman added a run-scoring single each to the cause while Troy Zawadzki chipped in with a two-run double of his own and Jeff Embree capped off the outburst and ended the game with an RBI single for a big 11-1 win.
Scott Laughlin started the game for the Cougars (15-7) and picked up the win with three strong innings of work while Jeremy Bales, Quentin Bowman and Josh Barrett all tossed a scoreless inning in relief. Dana Wright suffered the loss for Gadsden State. Lance Rorex, Trevor Burgess, Hutchinson, Hindman and Zawadzki all had two hits to lead the Cougars.
The Cougars will travel to Jackson State on Saturday for a big Region VII doubleheader.
Overall Record 15-7 | | | 3/15/2010 | Motlow State Game 2 | 7-1 Win | Overall Record 13-7
Conference Record 5-2 | | | 3/15/2010 | Motlow State Game 3 | 6-5 Win | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
The Cleveland State Cougars needed a last at-bat two-out miracle and a strong pitching performance on Monday afternoon at Cougar Field and that is exactly what they got as the home team swept a twinbill and the three game Region VII Conference series from the Motlow State Bucks. After taking game one of the series on Sunday in extra innings, the Cougars took game one on Monday by a final score of 7-1 and then pulled off a big comeback in the second game with a dramatic 6-5 win.
Gray Hutchinson got the Cougars off and rolling in the bottom of the first with an RBI single after Ryan Casteel had tripled in the first run moments earlier for a 2-0 lead. Cleveland State pushed their lead to 5-0 and inning later on an error and a two-run shot from Trevor Burgess.
Motlow scored their only run in sixth as Cody Midgett singled in a run to break up the shutout, but the Cougars got that one back plus one in the bottom of the frame on a passed ball and a single from Adam Hindman to finish off game one.
Tyler Brown (3-1) scattered five hits on the hill for the Cougars as he went the distance to pick up the win while Colton Robertson took the loss for Motlow.
The Cougars went right back to work in game two as they quickly jumped out to a 4-1 lead. Casteel blasted his second homer of the series for a 2-0 lead in the first while Troy Zawadzki and Cody Hooper hit solo shots in the second and third frames.
The error bug hit the Cougars in the fourth as Motlow scored four times on only one hit, a two-run single from Zac Mitchell, two errors and three walks, to take the lead 5-4.
The score remained right there until the bottom of the seventh as they Cougars found themselves trailing by a run with two outs. Lance Rorex drew a big walk to start the rally and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and third on a fly ball to the warning track by Casteel. Hooper then ripped the game-tying single and Hutchinson followed with a gapper for a double and the game winner in dramatic fashion.
"To sweep this series was huge, especially coming back the way we did to win two of the games," explained Cougar coach Mike Policastro. "Lance turned in a gutsy at-bat to get us started and then Hooper and Hutchinson with the big two-out hits, that was great. Offensively we hit the ball well in the series when we needed too and really did a good job, 1-9 of putting the ball in play. Tyler Brown did an outstanding job for us today in game one as well."
Matt Lynum picked up the win for the Cougars (14-7, 6-2) in relief of Cody Ferrell who started the game while Cameron Jones took the loss for Motlow State.
Overall Record 14-7
Conference Record 6-2 | | | 3/14/2010 | Motlow State Game 1 | 6-5 Win 10 innings | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
Cougar Field resembled a windy day at Wrigley Field in Chicago with the wind blowing out on Sunday Afternoon as the rains finally subsided long enough to get in a Region VII Conference baseball game as Motlow State visited Cleveland State for the first of a three game set. The Bucks and the Cougars combined to hit seven home runs in the contest as Cleveland State would need an extra inning to post the come-from-behind win by a final score of 6-5.
Motlow State jumped on top with an unearned run in the first and a solo homer in the third by Cody Midgett for a 2-0 lead. The Bucks doubled their lead in the fifth as Zac Mitchell hit a two-run dinger for a 4-0 advantage.
The Cougars needed only three swings of the bat in the bottom of the fifth to slice into the lead in a big way. Ryan Casteel, Cody Hooper and Gray Hutchinson lit off the fireworks with back to back to back home runs and just like that cut the lead to 4-3.
The score stayed right there until the ninth as the Bucks put an insurance run on the board on a solo homer from Seth Brothers for a 5-3 lead.
Down to their last at-bat and last out, the Cougars struck in lighting quick fashion. Casteel Doubled and Hooper promptly tied the game with his second round-tripper of the day to tie the game at 5-5.
Scott Spears came on in relief of Cougar Starter, Travis Tingle in the ninth and quickly retired the side in the tenth to set up the game winner. Cody Ferrell started the rally with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Adam Hindman and then stole third. Troy Zawadzki then ended the homer-fest with a bunt single to score Ferrell and give game one of the series to the Cougars.
Spears picked up the win for Cleveland State (12-7, 4-2) while Aaron Pearson took the loss for Motlow. Hutchinson and Hooper led the Cougars with three hits each while Brothers and Axel Watson had two hits apiece for Motlow.
The teams will return to the field on Monday for a doubleheader starting at noon.
Overall Record 12-7
Conference Record 4-2 | | | 3/9/2010 | Olney Central College (Illinois) Game 1 | 1-6 Loss | | Overall Record 11-6 | | | 3/9/2010 | Olney Central College (Illinois) Game 2 | 5-6 Loss | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
That old baseball philosopher, Yogi Berra once said, "Good pitching will stop good hitting or vice versa." The pitching part of Yogi's quote rang true for the Cleveland State baseball team on Tuesday afternoon at Cougar Field as they dropped both ends of a doubleheader to the Olney Central College (Olney, Illinois) Blue Knights by scores of 6-1 and 6-5.
Blue Knight pitcher, Zack Sterling turned in a sterling performance in game one as the took a one-hitter into the sixth inning while the Cougars had a hard time coming up with the big hit as the home team stranded 20 runners on the afternoon including leaving the bases loaded four different times.
Olney put single runs on the board in each of the first two innings in game one and then stretched their lead with three more in the third as Jon Hedges slammed a two-run homer and Geoff Bowers added an RBI single. The Cougars avoided the shutout as they pushed a run across in the seventh inning on a fielders choice.
Sterling went the distance for Olney to get the win while Josh Barrett (1-2) suffered the loss for the Cougars. Kevin Greene and Jeremy Bales pitched well in relief for Cleveland State. Bowers, D.J. Henderson and Derek Coverstone all had two hits for the Blue Knights.
In the second game, it was more of the same as Olney jumped out to a five run lead with two in the first inning and three more in the second.
The Cougars got a pair of those runs back in their half of the second as Cody Ferrell launched a solo homer over the left field fence and Ryan Casteel knocked in the other with a single.
The Blue Knights tacked on a run in the fifth as a strikeout reached on a passed ball and eventually scored on a single Andy Lasher for a 6-2 lead.
The Cougars strung three straight singles together in the sixth to scratch out a couple of runs as the first run crossed on a balk while Casteel knocked in the other with a single to slice the lead to 6-4.
Cleveland State made things interesting in their final turn at the plate as they cut the lead to a single run without the benefit of a hit by loading the bases with two outs. Troy Zawadzki pushed a run across by drawing a bases loaded walk, but the rally would end right there as the Blue Knights managed to record the last out.
Scott Laughlin started for the Cougars on the mound and took the loss while Scott Spears and Zach Driggers pitched well in relief. Joe Goodman picked up the win for Olney. Casteel went 4-5 in game two to lead the Cougars (11-7) while Ferrell and Zawadzki added two hits each.
The Cougars will host Motlow State in a three game conference series with a single game on Friday at 2:00 and a doubleheader on Saturday at noon.
Overall Record 11-7 | | | 3/8/2010 | Wabash Valley (Illinois) | 9-6 Win | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
A pair of Nationally ranked baseball teams butted heads on a beautiful Monday afternoon at Cougar Field as the 22nd ranked Cleveland State Cougars got back to their winning ways with a big win over the eighth ranked Wabash Valley Warriors from Mt. Carmel Illinois by a final score of 9-6. The Cougars banged out 13 hits along the way as Cody Ferrell and Matt Lynum combined to hold down the powerful Warrior bats.
"This was a big win over a quality team," stated Cougar coach Mike Policastro. "Cody pitched well for seven innings and kept us in the game and then Matt Lynam came in for the first time this year and throws two innings and gives up only one hit. Cody had a good curve ball today and Matt was almost unhittable. Offensively, we had good at-bats and put some runs on the board against quality pitching. It was good to bounce back after Saturday and play well."
The Warriors struck first with a pair of runs in the top of the first on a sacrifice fly and a solo homer into the trees by Tyler Oliver for a 2-0 lead. Gray Hutchinson got one of those runs back in the bottom of the frame for the Cougars with an RBI single. The home team took the lead with three in the third as Cody Hooper crushed a double into the left field corner for a pair of RBI's and Ryan Mutchnick plated another with a single to give the Cougars a 4-2 lead.
Wabash scratched out single runs in the fifth and sixth but the Cougars widened their lead in the bottom of the fifth with four big runs. Troy Zawadzki doubled in a pair of runs and Hutchinson doubled in another run to push the lead to 8-4.
B.J. Willis doubled in a pair of runs in the seventh for Wabash, but the Cougars got one of those back in the bottom of the inning to take a three run lead once again.
Ferrell started and tossed six plus innings on the hill for the Cougars striking out 11 Warriors along the way while Lynam pitched two plus strong innings in relief allowing only one hit to get the save. Tyler Dunaway took the loss for the Warriors.
Casteel led the way for the Cougars (11-5) with three hits on the day while Hooper, Hutchinson and Mutchnick added two hits each. Willis and Oliver paced the Warriors (11-6) with two hits each.
The Cougars will host Olney College in a doubleheader on Tuesday at 1:00 and then get ready for a weekend Conference series as they host Motlow State in a three game series on Friday at 2:00 and a twinbill on Saturday starting at 12:00.
Overall Record 11-5 | | | 3/6/2010 | Chattanooga State Game 2 | 2-4 Loss | Overall Record 10-4
Conference Record 3-1 | | | 3/6/2010 | Chattanooga State Game 3 | 8-13 Loss | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
The Cleveland State baseball team ran into the hard-hitting Chattanooga State Tigers on a beautiful Saturday afternoon at Cougar field and dropped both ends of a doubleheader. The Tigers took a 4-2 decision in the first game and then out-slugged the Cougars in game two by a final count of 13-8 to take two out of three in the Region VII TCCAA Conference matchup. On Friday the Cougars won their tenth game in a row in the first game of the series as the home team banged out 13 hits for 11 runs.
In the first game of the series on Friday, Cody Hooper got things rolling in the Cougars first turn at the plate with a two-run homer while Adam Hindman and Gray Hutchinson doubled the score in the third with an RBI single each. The Tigers scratched out single runs in the third, fourth and fifth on a balk, a sacrifice fly and an RBI single from Dylan Coleman to cut the Cougar lead to 5-3.
The Cougars exploded for four more runs in the sixth as once again Hutchinson and Hindman each knocked in a pair of runs with singles to extend the lead to 9-3.
The Tigers didn't quit as they added three runs in the seventh as Andy Marinelli singled in a run and Zack DeBord followed with a two-run homer.
Ryan Casteel got two of those runs back in the seventh with a two-run home run to finally put the game out of reach and secure game one of the series.
Travis Tingle (3-1) picked up the win on the hill for the Cougars while DeBord took the loss for the Tigers. Hooper went 4-4 with 3 RBI's while Hutchinson and Casteel added two hits each. Gabe Herman, Taylor Eaves, Marinelli and Coleman all had two hits for the Tigers.
The Tigers played long ball on Saturday with three solo shots in the first game and a grand slam in the second to sweep the twinbill.
Taylor Eaves put the Tigers on top in the second inning with an RBI single while Ryan Mutchnick tied the game for the Cougars with a roller to second in the bottom of the frame.
Solo home runs from Adam Whitlock, J.D. Pullen and DeBord in the fourth, fifth and sixth gave the Tigers a 4-2 lead as that would be all that starting pitcher Matt Taylor would need to pick up the win. Tyler Burstrom tossed two perfect innings in relief to get the save in game one. Tyler Brown took the loss for the Cougars.
Ryan Mutchnick hit a solo homer of his own in the fifth, but that would be the extent of the offense for the Cougars in the first game.
Gray Hutchinson put the Cougars on top in game two with a three-run homer in the first, but after that, it was all Tigers as they put six runs on the board in the third as Adam Whitlock provided the big fly with the bases loaded.
A two-run single by Drew Fox in the third got the Cougars within a run at 6-5, but the Tigers got those two back in the fifth to regain their three run lead.
Adam Hindman air-mailed a two run dinger for the Cougars in the bottom of the fifth to cut the lead to a single run again at 8-7, but then the wheels fell off the Cleveland State wagon as the Tigers put the game out of reach in the sixth with four unearned runs. J.D. Pullen singled in a pair of runs, while three more scored on miscues and a bases loaded walk.
Will Phillips got the win for Chattanooga State while Josh Carpenter and Tyler Burstrom pitched in relief. Zane Leffew took the loss for the Cougars (10-5, 3-2) while Green, Spears, Zach Driggers and Cody Ferrell all pitched in relief.
Overall Record 10-5
Conference Record 3-2 | | | 3/6/2010 | Volunteer State at Columbia, TN | 59-66 Loss | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
COLUMBIA - The Cleveland State Lady Cougars came within an eyelash of upsetting the second seeded Volunteer State Lady Pioneers on Saturday evening in the semifinals of the TCCAA/NJCAA Region VII Conference Tournament, but couldn't quite get over the hump as their season came to an end with a heart-breaking loss by a final score of 66-59. The Lady Cougars took care of business in a big way on Friday to move into the semi's with an 84-58 win over Chattanooga State.
The Lady Cougars fell behind early, 9-4, but a pair of buckets from Jasmine Wilson in the paint put Cleveland State on top for the first time 19-18. The lead changed hands nine times the rest of the first half before Takeya Day stole the ball and put it up and in at the buzzer to give the Cleveland ladies a 31-27 halftime lead.
It was back and forth the entire second half as the Lady Cougars would hold as much as a nine point advantage, but each time the Lady Pioneers would answer with a run of their own.
The lead changed hands 12 more times in the second half as the Lady Cougars found themselves in a tie game with only two minutes to play. Tiffany Johnson hit a long 3-pointer to put the Lady Cougars on top 59-57, but the Lady Pioneers would come to the front as they proceeded to score the final nine points of the game to take the win
Taylor Neil led the Lady Cougars (20-8) with 18 points while Wilson finished with 14 and Day with 10. Vee Young and Nadia Givens paced the Lady Pioneers (23-4) with 16 points each.
Overall Record 20-8 | | | 3/5/2010 | Chattanooga State Game 1 | 11-7 Win | Overall Record 10-3
Conference Record 2-1 | | | 2/27/2010 | Southwest Tennessee Game 1 | 3-0 Win | Overall Record 8-3
Conference Record 1-0 | | | 2/27/2010 | Southwest Tennessee Game 2 | 13-12 Win | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
The Cleveland State baseball team opened up TCCAA Region VII Conference play on Saturday afternoon at Cougar Field with a doubleheader sweep of the Southwest Tennessee Saluqis. The Cougars pounded out 19 hits and 16 runs in the twinbill as they took game one by a final count of 3-0 and then staged an amazing last at-bat comeback to steal game two by a final score of 13-12.
The Cougars struck first in game one with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second inning. Adam Hindman reached on an error, stole second and later scored on a passed ball while Lance Rorex added a two-out RBI single to the rally for a 2-0 Cougar lead.
Saluqi starting pitcher, Justin Wright and the Cougar's Travis Tingle took control of the middle innings as each hurler took turns retiring the opposition with relative ease. Ryan Casteel broke the scoring drought in the bottom of the fifth with a frozen rope that dropped beyond the left centerfield fence for a solo shot and a 3-0 Cleveland State lead.
That would be all the run support that Tingle would need as the big right-hander tossed all seven innings to complete the shutout and the win, allowing only five hits and striking out seven along the way. Wright went the distance as well for the Saluqis, but took the loss.
The pitchers duel turned into a slugfest in game two. The Cougars put five runs on the board in the second inning as Drew Fox knocked in a run with a double and Rorex followed with a three-run dinger later in the frame. Cleveland State tacked on an unearned run in the third for a 6-0 lead.
The score stayed right there until the sixth inning as a pair of Cougar errors opened the door for the Saluqis as they put five runs on the board in the sixth and six more in the seventh to take an 11-6 lead. Tyler Woodard hit a grand slam homer in the sixth while Kyle Lewis added a bases loaded double in the seventh.
Casteel got the comeback started in the bottom of the eighth with a single and scored on a double from Cody Hooper. Gray Hutchinson followed with a two-run homer and Fox added and RBI single to cut the lead to 11-10. Casteel provided the game winner as he came up with the bases loaded in his second trip to the plate in the inning and promptly unloaded them with a ringing double to give the home team a 13-11 lead.
The Saluqis made things interesting in the ninth as they scratched out a run and had the tying run on base, but the Cougars managed to get the last out and finish off the sweep.
Tyler Brown started the game on the hill for the Cougars (9-3, 2-0) while Kevin Greene, Scott Spears, Josh Barrett all pitched in relief. Zane Leffew got the win in relief while Zach Driggers came on to pick up his fourth save of the season.
Rorex had three hits in game one while Casteel added three hits in game two. Hutchinson and Fox had two hits each. Caleb Flexenhar paced the Saluqis with three hits while Lewis and Shawn Clarke added two hits apiece.
Overall Record 9-3
Conference Record 2-0 | | | 2/23/2010 | Young Harris College | 10-7 Win | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
The Cleveland State baseball team stretched its win streak to seven in a row on a chilly Tuesday afternoon at Cougar Field and at the same time handed the Young Harris Mountain Lions their first loss of the season. Quentin Bowman knocked in four runs and five Cougar pitchers held down the potent Mountain Lion lineup just long enough to post the win by a final count of 10-7.
Bowman put the home team on top in the bottom of the second inning with a two-run single. Young Harris took the lead an inning later as Chris Holloway singled in a run and Matt Lowery added two more with a double for a 3-2 lead.
Gray Hutchinson tied the game leading off the fourth for the Cougars with a solo home run while Brandon Rader plated a run on a grounder to the shortstop and Lance Rorex added one with a double for a 5-3 Cleveland State lead.
After the Mountain Lions cut the lead to 5-4 in the fifth, the Cougars tacked on two more in their half of the fifth and another in the sixth on an RBI double from Ryan Casteel.
The Mountain Lions cut the lead to 8-6 in the seventh on a two-run single from Lowery, but Bowman got those two back in the bottom of the frame with a two-run blast for a 10-6 lead. Young Harris added one more in the ninth, but that would be the end of the comeback attempt as the Cougars finally finished the slugfest.
Tyler Brown started the game on the hill for the Cougars (7-3) while Kevin Greene picked up the win in relief. Scott Laughlin, Cody Ferrell and Scott Spears all pitched in relief while Jake Montgomery took the loss for Young Harris (11-1). Rorex and Casteel led Cleveland State with three hits while Hutchinson and Bowman had two each. Lowery went 4-5 on the day to pace the Mountain Lions.
Overall Record 7-3 | | | 2/20/2010 | Vincennes University Game 3 | 7-6 Win | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
A heat wave hit Cleveland just in time to get in a little baseball as the Cleveland State Cougars completed a weekend sweep of the visiting Vincennes University Blazers (Indiana) with a come-from-behind win on Saturday afternoon at Cougar Field by a final score of 7-6. The Cougars won a pitchers duel and a slugfest on Friday in the first games of the three game set, 3-1 in game one and 12-10 in game two.
Kevin Cyrus put the Blazers on top in the very first inning on Saturday with a long three-run homer into the tennis courts past right field to give his team a 3-0 lead. Ryan Casteel got two of those runs back in the bottom of the first with an opposite field shot of his own and just like that the score was trimmed to a 3-2 Blazer lead.
Lance Rorex led off the third with a solo shot to tie the game at 3-3 and the Cougars took the lead an inning later on an RBI single from Adam Hindman. Vincennes jumped right back into the lead in the fifth as Anthony Olund cleared the bases with a three-run double to put his team on top 6-4.
Cody Hooper dialed long distance in the bottom of the sixth with prodigious solo shot into the subdivision across the road from the field and then topped that an inning later by air-mailing a two-run homer to dead centerfield and over the scoreboard to give the Cougars the lead once again, 7-6.
Josh Barrett took over in the fifth for starter Zane Leffew and pitched well before handing it over to Zach Driggers who promptly slammed the door to pick up his third save of the series and of the season completing the sweep. Ross Boeglin suffered the loss for the Blazers.
"We really swung the bats well this weekend, it was nice to finally get some decent weather and I think that makes everybody feel better," explained Cougar coach Mike Policastro. "We pitched pretty well at times, but you have to give Vincennes credit, they are a good hitting team and they have some guys that can hurt you. So, it was a good series and we were fortunate to get the sweep."
On Friday the Cougars got the series off on the right foot with a doubleheader sweep of the Blazers. Game one was a pitchers duel as Travis Tingle turned in an outstanding performance for the Cougars, tossing six innings, allowing only four hits and one earned run while striking out six to get the win. Chad Martin pitched well for the Blazers, but suffered the loss.
Casteel put the Cougars on top in the bottom of the first inning with a long solo homer to left centerfield for a 1-0 lead. Rorex led off the third with a walk, stole second and third and then scored on a sacrifice fly to centerfield from Hooper to double the Cougar lead to 2-0.
Troy Zawadzki chipped in with a one-out triple in the fifth frame and scored on a solid single up the middle by Casteel to push the score to 3-0. Olund singled in the only Blazer run of the game in the sixth, but Driggers came on to put out the fire and pick up the save and the win for the home team. Casteel had two of the six Cougars hits in game one.
Game two went from pitchers duel to slugfest in a hurry. The Cougars took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first as Zawadzki singled in a run and Hooper added two more with a mammoth homer to the opposite field.
Vincennes took its first lead of the series with a single run in the second and three more in the third on a passed ball an error and an RBI single from Austin Conley for a 4-3 lead.
It didn't last long as the Cougars tied the game on a double by Hooper in the bottom of the frame and then regained the lead with four in the fourth. Zawadzki had a two-run single while Casteel and Hooper added an RBI each.
Vincennes came right back in the fifth with a five-run outburst highlighted by a three-run homer by Alex Mitchell that curled around the right field foul pole for a 9-8 lead.
The Cougars would not be outdone on this day though as they finally put the game away in the bottom of the fifth with four more runs. Brandon Rader doubled in a run while Hooper became Mr. Automatic with two more RBIs. The Blazers tacked on one more run in the seventh, but Driggers came on to record his second save of the season and of the day to complete the sweep of the twinbill.
Cody Ferrell started the game for the Cougars on the hill while Scott Spears picked up the win in relief. Nick Meko took the loss for the Blazers.
The Cougars will play host to Young Harris on Tuesday at 2:00 and then open conference play on Saturday as Southwest Tennessee comes to town for a noon doubleheader.
Overall Record 6-3 | | | 2/19/2010 | Vincennes University Game 1 | 3-1 Win | | Overall Record 4-3 | | | 2/19/2010 | Vincennes University Game 2 | 12-10 Win | | Overall Record 5-3 | | | 2/17/2010 | Tusculum College JV Game 1 | 8-2 Win | | Overall Record 2-3 | | | 2/17/2010 | Tusculum College JV Game 2 | 14-3 Win | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
The weather was cold to say the least on Wednesday afternoon at Cougar Field, but the Cleveland State bats were on fire as they banged out 18 hits and 22 runs on their way to sweeping a doubleheader from the Tusculum Pioneers junior varsity team by a final score of 8-2 in the first game and 14-3 in the second game.
Ragan Rudisill hit a solo homer for the Pioneers in the top of the second inning to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. The Cougars got that one back plus one in the third as Ryan Casteel plated a run with a sacrifice fly and Gray Hutchinson added another with an RBI single for a 2-1 lead.
Quentin Bowman drew a bases loaded walk for an RBI while Lance Rorex pushed one across with a sacrifice fly in the fourth and Ryan Mutchnick knocked in one in the fifth with a single to stretch the Cougar lead to 5-1. A wild pitch and a two-run single from Trevor Burgess finished off game one.
Zane Leffew got the win for the Cougars in game one while Josh Barrett started the game and Travis Tingle, Scott Spears and Scott Laughlin all pitched in relief. Zeke McGranahan took the loss for the Pioneers.
Cleveland State scored early and often in game two. The Cougars put a pair of runs on the board in the first and Mutchnick made it 3-0 in the bottom of the second with a long solo homer.
The Cougars then put the game out of reach in the third with eight big runs. Drew Fox started the rally with a two-run single, Troy Zawadzki added an RBI single, Brandon Rader chipped in with an RBI double and Casteel topped off the inning with a three-run home run to complete the eight-run outburst.
Logan Goodin broke up the shutout for the Pioneers with a three-run dinger of his own in the fifth. But, Jeremy Bales pushed in a run in the sixth for the Cougars with a bases loaded walk and Burgess added a two-run single to complete the contest.
Tyler Brown tossed four innings for the Cougars (3-3) allowing only one hit to pick up the win while Zach Driggers and Kevin Greene pitched in relief. Jon Roncolato took the loss for Tusculum. Zawadzki had two hits for the Cougars in game one while Rudisill had a pair for Tusculum. Fox, Burgiss, Rorex and Rader all had two hits for the Cougars in game two while McGranahan had two hits for the Pioneers.
The Cougars will return to action on Friday as they host Vincennes University for a doubleheader starting at 1:00 and a single game on Saturday with Vincennes at noon.
Overall Record 3-3 | | | 2/7/2010 | @ USC Sumter Game 3 | 3-6 Loss | By BRYAN GRISHAM
CSCC Sports Information Director
SUMTER, SOUTH CAROLINA - The Cleveland State Baseball team opened it's 2010 baseball campaign with a long road trip over the weekend and three tough losses to start the season. The Cougar's bats were nearly as cold as the brisk February weather as the visitors were only able to manage three hits each in both ends of a doubleheader on Saturday, dropping the first game to the USC Sumter Fireants 4-0 and the second game 4-1. The Fireants stung the Cougars again on Sunday to complete the sweep of the three game series by a final of 6-3.
The Fireants got all the runs they would need in the bottom of the first inning in the first game on Saturday as Daniel Andreu doubled in a pair as the home team took a quick 3-0 lead. Sumter tacked on another run in the fourth which would be all the run support that starter, Tyler Christman would need as he tossed six shutout innings to pick up the win. Travis Tingle pitched six innings for the Cougars scattering six hits and allowing only one earned run to suffer the loss.
In the second game on Saturday, it was more of the same as the Fireant pitchers continued to toss zeros at the Cougars. Sumter put single runs on the board in the second and third frames and then two more in the fourth on a two-run single from Timmy Taylor for a 4-0 lead. Adam Hindman knocked in the first run of the season for the Cougars an inning later with a groundout to cut the lead to 4-1, but that would be the extent of the rally as the home team finished strong to sweep the twinbill.
Taylor Ramsey pitched five innings, allowing only three hits and one run to pick up the win for the Fireants while Logan Daniels tossed the final two innings for the save. Cody Ferrell took the loss for the Cougars allowing six hits and four runs over four innings while Tyler Brown didn't allow a run in his two innings of work.
The pattern continued on Sunday as the Cougars gave up four runs in the first couple of innings and played from behind the rest of the way. Trailing 4-0 in the third, the Cougar bats warmed a bit as Cody Hooper doubled in a run in the frame while Adam Hindman did the same an inning later and Trevor Burgess doubled in another in the fifth to cut the lead to a single run at 4-3.
The Fireants got those runs back though, with one in the sixth and two more in the eighth to finish off the game and the three-game sweep.
Ben Sauls gave up three hits and one run in three innings of work to get the win for Sumter (3-0) while Josh Barret pitched two innings to take the loss for the Cougars (0-3). Zane Leffew, Scott Laughlin, Scott Spears, Kevin Greene and Zach Driggers all pitched in relief for the Cougars.
After garnering only six hits on Saturday, the Cougars had nine on Sunday. Hooper led the way with five hits in the three game set, Lance Rorex had four hits for the weekend and Hindman added three hits.
"We didn't hit it that well, although we hit a little bit better on Sunday," said Cougar coach Mike Policastro. "Sumter is a good team and they got the two-strike hit or the two-strike pitch when they needed it and we didn't. That was the difference. We pitched pretty well, but couldn't do enough with the bats."
Overall Record 0-3 | | | 2/6/2010 | @ USC Sumter Game 1 | 0-4 Loss | | Overall Record 0-1 | | | 2/6/2010 | @ USC Sumter Game 2 | 1-4 Loss | | Overall Record 0-2 | |
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