BB: USAC: USA South Athletic Conference

[NCWC]

4 losses in a week..... Gonna drop way down the totem pole at the end of this month   

[Jim Dixon]

At least they were all non conference wins.  the USA South is looking pretty competative.

[A.G.]

4 losses in a week..... Gonna drop way down the totem pole at the end of this month   

I think NCWC was playing without 5 starters today...and they're pretty banged up.  They got a lot of hits but stranded runners and had 3 thrown out trying to steal and another nailed at home.  Their pitcher also tired (#26) late in the game, and I am sure in a conference game he'd have gotten the hook sooner, but he may have been taking one for the team with the big Ferrum series coming up this weekend.

Here's the report from the NCWC web site..

Late homers lift Lynchburg to 9-5 win over Battling Bishops

Lynchburg, VA - Lynchburg's Cameron Grant and David Gaines each hit home runs on Friday afternoon as the Hornet baseball team topped North Carolina Wesleyan by a 9-5 score in a non-conference match-up at Fox Field.  Grant's two-run shot in the sixth inning broke a 4-4 tied and put the Hornets on top for good.  Lynchburg improves to 9-3 on the season, while the Bishops have now dropped two straight and stand at 14-7 overall.

There was plenty of offense early as the Hornets and Bishops found themselves in a 3-3 deadlock after two complete.  NCWC's Justin Batts drove in two runs with a single in the first, while Luke Williford delivered an RBI-double in the second.

Wesleyan took a brief 4-3 lead in the fifth on a Dennis Meshaw RBI, but Lynchburg answered by tying the game on a double and single to lead off the sixth.  Tied at 4-4, Grant then delivered his two-run blast that gave the Hornets a lead that they would not relinquish.  Gaines followed with a solo blast in the seventh.

In all, eight Hornets accounted for 16 hits on the day. Kyle Bradley and Eric O'Brien each went 4-for-4, with Bradley scoring one run and driving in two and O'Brien driving in three.  Conner Thompson pitched 6.2 innings in relief of starter Spencer Garrett, giving up only two runs in collecting the win.

For the Bishops, Williford and Mark Wooten were each 3-for-5 at the plate, while Meshaw and Matt Smith collected two hits apiece as NCWC tallied 13 hits on the day.  Starter Heath Bridgers took the loss after allowing seven runs (six earned) on 14 hits in seven complete.  He struck out five and walked two on the day.

Wesleyan returns to USA South play on Saturday when the Bishops travel to Ferrum College for a 1:00 p.m. contest with the Panthers.

[narch]

the monarchs get another very good pitching performance today, and win 4-3 vs. greensboro - http://www.methodist.edu/monarchs/baseball/2007%20Stats/mub0310.htmbox score

this staff is really coming together pretty nicely at this juncture in the season...they've given up more than 4 runs just twice in 15 games and they are getting quality innings from the starters...despite losing their top 3 pitchers to graduation last year AND having a weekend starter and a top mid-week starter/weekend long man out for the season with injuries...hope they can keep it up!

[NCWC]

Im starting to think there is something wrong with Blake, 14 er in his last two starts, robertson has been shaky, luckily pearson has stepped up.  It seems like Mark Wootens bat has found its way back to him...2004 ROY-2 so so years....looks a lot more consistent this year.


Saw Billy Wagner pitcher last weekend and this past friday.  He throws it pretty good for a D3 boy.  Mets are looking pretty solid this spring training.

[narch]

the monarchs took one on the chin today, losing 11-4...it was just one of those days where everything the pride hit seemed to find a hole - i think they had 1 xb hit on the day, but a bunch of dinks and dunks that found their way in, and they managed to parlay that into 11 runs - toth was cruising through 3, and i thought he might put the pride on lockdown, but had a shaky 4th, giving up a run and then gave up 3 in the 5th and another 2 in the sixth...kivett is going to be the real deal for the monarchs...he went 4-4 with a 2b, a 3b and 2 singles - 3-3 in conference with 3 series splits...kind of reminding me of a few seasons ago when the monarchs split ever conference series...can we got back to 3 game sets

story and box

[NCWC]

Sunday, March 11, 2007
Pearson strikes again, gives NCWC series split with Ferrum

Rocky Mount, NC - For the second straight week, right-hander Ben Pearson helped his Bishop baseball squad avoid a conference sweep by tossing a complete game in the series' finale.  This week's victim, Ferrum College, saw Pearson scatter six hits and allow just two runs (one earned) as Wesleyan downed the Panthers by a 3-2 score on Sunday afternoon.  Previously on Saturday, the Bishops fell by a 7-6 score in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Wesleyan is now 15-8 overall, 4-2 in USA South action.  Ferrum is 9-8 on the season and also boasts a 4-2 league mark.

In Sunday's game, the Bishops got all the offense they would need in the top of the fourth.  Matt Smith led off the inning with a double, and one out later, sophomore Justin Batts nailed his fourth homerun of the season to give Wesleyan a  2-0 lead.  Jason Webb made it back-to-back blasts for the Bishops with his first four-bagger of the season, giving NCWC a 3-0 lead.

Pearson did the rest, allowing an unearned run in the sixth and a homerun in the ninth.  The Panthers managed to advance the tying run to third base that same inning, but Pearson ended the threat and the game with a fly-out to center.

With the win, Pearson moves to 5-1 on the season, 3-0 in USA South play. Casey Davenport took the loss for Ferrum after going six complete innings and allowing three runs (all earned) on six hits.

Batts, Smith, and Joel Creef paced Wesleyan at the plate with two hits apiece, while six different Panthers collected one hit on the day.

On Saturday, Ferrum and Wesleyan found themselves in a 6-6 tie going in to final frame.  The Panthers' DJ Phillips the tripled to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning and eventually scored on a wild pitch by NCWC starter Blake Rice to give the Panthers a 7-6 win.

Phillips was 2-for-4 on the day with two runs scored.  Brent Sowers was also 2-for-4 with a double, two runs, and an RBI.

Freshman pitcher Lincoln Garner tossed 7.1 innings, allowed eight hits, walked three, and struck out five en route to his second USA South win of the season.

Offensively, the Bishops were led by Matt Smith and Mark Wooten, who each went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.  Wooten's hit came on a solo homer in the top of the eighth inning, while sophomore Wes Means also homered for the Bishops. 

Wesleyan trailed 6-1 before plating a combined five runs in the eighth and ninth innings to knot the score at 6-6.

Rice suffered the loss for Wesleyan.  He pitched eight innings, allowed 10 hits, walked three, and struck out four.

Wesleyan returns to action on Thursday when the Bishops travel to Bridgewater College for a 3:00 p.m. match-up with the Eagles.

[A.G.]

Averett Homers in Ninth to Defeat LC Baseball 7-6

For immediate release – 3/13/2007 - #233

Averett Homers in Ninth to Defeat LC Baseball 7-6

Box score
http://www.lynchburg.edu/documents/Athletics/baseball/2007_Stats/aub0313.htm

DANVILLE, VA – Jake Loye hit a walk-off three-run home run Tuesday afternoon to give the Averett University baseball team a 7-6 non-conference victory over Lynchburg College.

The Cougars led 4-3 entering the ninth frame, but the Hornets plated three runs – one on a double from Jon Crews (Lynchburg, VA/Heritage) - and two more on a single from Jonathan Sewell (Charlottesville, VA/St. Anne's Belfield). After a hits-batman and a single in the bottom of the ninth, Loye hit his game-winning home run to left field with one out to end the game.

Eric O'Brien (Roanoke, VA/Cave Spring) and Jeff Taylor (Lynchburg, VA/Heritage) each went 3-5 for Lynchburg with a double. Crews, David Gaines (Lynchburg, VA/Jefferson Forest) and Kyle Bradley (Brookneal, VA/William Campbell) all had two hits.

Loye finished the game 4-5, and Ahmed Shelton had three hits for Averett (22-5).

[h-sc bball]

Add lesueur 's 2 hit and you have 9 of the 15 hits by freshmen...I don't think there is another team who has improved as much as Averett has with freshmen. Loye hit a two out 6th inning 3 run homer to beat H-SC 3-1 in an 7 inning contest.

Go Tigers

[A.G.]

Justin Franklin and Lincoln Garner from Ferrum are a pretty good duo...
...and Shelton, at least 26 years old, is hardly a freshman.

[narch]

...and Shelton, at least 26 years old, is hardly a freshman.

is he using his first year of eligibility?  if so, he's a freshman...maybe not a typical or traditional freshman, but a freshman nonetheless

[narch]

the monarchs HAMMERED villa julie today, 14-1 - another nice week day pitching performance from bisplinhoff going 6 and allowing just one run - kivett and quinn had pretty nice days, each registering a hr and driving in 6 and 5 runs, respectively

game story and box score

[NCWC]

Narch..its good to see elliot doing well.  He had come up for a recruit weekend his jr. year of high school i believe.

[NCWC]

I believe Pecora will be back in action again this weekend against the somehow 22-5 Averett squad

[A.G.]

...and Shelton, at least 26 years old, is hardly a freshman.

is he using his first year of eligibility?  if so, he's a freshman...maybe not a typical or traditional freshman, but a freshman nonetheless

The way I understand it, he actually enrolled in a college after his senior year in HS...
...and if this is true, there is NO WAY he can be eligible for NCAA...unless he got a special waiver.  If I were a USA South team, I would be checking under every nook and cranny on that guy.