March 2, 2008

Box Score

On Saturday (Mar. 1) afternoon, the SU baseball team won once and lost once as they had the Hardin-Simmons University Cowboys in town for a doubleheader.

Hardin-Simmons 12, Southwestern 5

In the first game, SU fell behind quickly as the Cowboys put up six runs in the top of the first. The Pirates got on the board in the bottom of the second with first-year Kyle Belski (Missouri City, TX/Dulles HS) and Matt Clark (Spring, TX/Klein HS) each driving in runs. HSU then scored at least one run in each of the ensuing five innings to build its lead to 12-2. In the bottom half of the seventh, senior Zach Copeland (Dallas, TX/W.T.White HS) drove an 0-1 pitch over the wall in left center to make it 12-4. The Pirates added one more run on an error for the 12-5 final.

Sophomore John Wooten (Columbus, TX/Columbus HS) was the sole Southwestern player to record multiple hits, going 2-4 in the game. He scored one run. Copeland and Blake Williams (Lufkin, TX/Lufkin HS) were the two Pirates with extra-base hits with a home run and a double, respectively.

First-year Chris Churchwell (Kingwood, TX/Kingwood HS) suffered the loss for the Bucs, he is now 0-1 on the year. Churchwell allowed seven earned runs on 10 hits in just two innings of work.

Southwestern 14, Hardin-Simmons 4

The Pirates took control early on in the second contest. SU got one run in the first on an RBI single from Wooten. In the second, senior Richard Falcone (Houston, TX/Westside HS) drove in two with a double down the left field line followed by a one-run double from Michael Murphy (Houston, TX/Austin HS).

Leading 4-0, the Pirates really got it going in the third. SU pounded out six hits to add seven runs to their total. Pirate hits included a Murphy double and a home run from Wiliams. The Cowboys got a run in the fifth and three in the sixth to make it 11-4. The Pirates were able to answer with three runs in the bottom half of the sixth for a 14-4 lead. The game ended after seven as a result of a 10-run rule.

Falcone was 4-5 in the game with four runs batted in and two runs scored. Murphy had three hits in five at bats, scoring twice and driving in a pair. Senior Jamie Herrmann (Houston, TX/Westside HS) had a good game, scoring two runs while going 3-4 at the plate.

Southwestern finished with 14 runs on 16 hits in the game. On the mound, junior Eric Gonzales (Austin, TX/Bowie HS) evened his record at 1-1 by going 5.1 innings and allowing four earned runs. He gave up just six hits while striking out four and walking two.

Southwestern's record now stands at 5-7 for the season while Hardin-Simmons is 7-3.

The Pirates host DeSales University on Tuesday (Mar. 4) in Georgetown at 7:00 pm for one game as the Bulldogs come to Texas for seven games.