March 13, 2008

Box Score

The Pirates baseball team opened play at the Abilene Classic on Tuesday (Mar. 11) with a 17-7 loss to co-host McMurry University, followed by a 4-3 loss to the University of Texas at Dallas and then the Pirates rebounded for a 17-1 victory over Marietta College on Wednesday (Mar. 12).

McMurry 17, Southwestern 7

Southwestern fell behind in the bottom of the first after solo home run for McMurry. The Pirates then took their only lead of the game in the second inning as Jamie Herrmann (Houston, TX/Westside HS) drove in John Wooten (Columbus, TX/Columbus HS) with a double down the left field line. Shortly after, junior Eric Gonzales (Austin, TX/Bowie HS) scored on a passed ball giving SU a 2-1 lead.

That disintegrated in the third when SU starter Brantley Freeman (Mansfield, TX/Mansfield HS) was touched for seven runs, putting the Pirates in a 8-2 hole. McMurry then added two, three and three over the next three innings, extending the lead to 16-2. A single run in the seventh made it 17-2 before Southwestern scored again. In the eighth, the Pirates put together four hits along with two errors to score five runs for the final score of 17-7.

Herrmann was 2-2 at the plate with one run batted in and was the only SU player to record an extra-base hit. Seven different players scored runs and five different players had RBI's.

Freeman took the loss for the Pirates and falls to 1-1 on the year. Pirate pitchers issued 10 walks in the game and all but two of the runs were earned runs.

Texas-Dallas 4, Southwestern 3

In the next game with the Comets, UTD plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the second thanks to an RBI single and an SU error. The Pirates got on the board in the fourth when junior Michael Murphy (Houston, TX/Austin HS) drove an RBI double to left center to score Richard Falcone (Houston, TX/Westside HS) to make it 2-1. In the fifth, the Comets added a run thanks to another SU error.

SU managed to tie the game in the top of the sixth inning as junior Eric Gonzales (Austin, TX/Bowie HS) recorded an RBI single and Herrmann drove a sacrifice fly to right field to score a run and tie the game at 3-3. The game remained tied until the bottom of the ninth when UTD had a runner on first with one out. He then advanced to second on a wild pitch and to third on a passed ball, followed by a strike out. With two outs and a man on third, the Comets got a single to left to end the game.

Starting pitcher Wes Willis (Austin, TX/Austin HS) went eight innings while not figuring in to the decision for the Pirates, allowing three runs with just one of them earned. He struck out 10 Comets, walked one and scattered seven hits. First-year Chris Churchwell (Kingwood, TX/Kingwood HS) suffered the loss for SU, falling to 0-2 on the season. He gave up one unearned run on one hit in two thirds of an inning.

Southwestern 17, Marietta 1

The Pirates came out like a different team on day two at the Abilene Classic as they took on 2006 national champion Marietta. The Pirates pounded out 17 runs on 17 hits while limiting the Pioneers to just one unearned run on six hits.

SU got its first run in the bottom of the first with a pair of two-out singles and a Marietta error. The Pioneers tied the game at 1-1 thanks to a pair of Pirate errors in the top of the third. An RBI single from Wooten and an RBI groundout off the bat of Blake Williams (Lufkin, TX/Lufkin HS) put the Pirates ahead 3-1 through three.

Southwestern added three runs on two hits and two MC errors in the fourth. The Bucs then proceeded to bat around in the sixth, totaling eight runs on five hits, one Pioneer error, one hit batter and three walks for a 14-1 lead. Then, in the eighth, SU got two singles and a pair of doubles for three more runs and the final lead of 17-1.

Falcone was 4-6 in the game with two doubles and four runs batted in while scoring twice. He now has a SCAC-leading 31 RBI's. Every Pirates' starter scored at least once in the game.

Gonzales picked up the win by throwing six innings and scattering six hits while allowing just the one unearned run. He struck out two and walked one as he evened his season record at 2-2.

SU comes out of the trip with a 1-2 record which moves their overall record this year to 8-11.

The Pirates return home on Sunday (Mar. 16) for a game with Concordia University, Nebraska at 3:00 pm.