March 26, 2008

Butler 5, IPFW 4 (10 innings) Box Score
Indianapolis, Ind. - Butler rallied for two runs in the eighth inning to tie the game before an RBI single by Jason Jamerson in the bottom of the 10th gave the Bulldogs a 5-4 extra-inning victory against IPFW at Bulldog Park.

The win was Butler's fourth in its last five games and improves its overall record to 4-11.

Trailing 4-2 in the eighth, the Bulldogs took advantage of some defensive miscues by the Mastodons to bring the contest back to even.

Kyle McLaughlin started the frame by reaching first on a fielding error by the shortstop before taking second on a ground-out and third on a fly-out. Jamerson followed with a hard shot to third was fielded by the third basemen, but a wild throw across the infield allowed McLaughlin to score and Jamerson to advance three bases.

Grant Fillipitch brought Jamerson in for the tying run with a bouncer to the right side that evaded the second baseman for the second unearned run of the inning. Butler finished the frame without recording a hit.

The game remained tied until the bottom of the 10th, when McLaughlin led off the inning with a walk before taking second on a sacrifice bunt by Ryan Neat. After Kyle Schultz walked to put runners on first and second, Jamerson smoked a liner to the gap in left center to bring across McLaughlin for the winning tally.

Butler took an early lead in the contest with two runs in the third inning. A two-out double by Joe Pauley with Luke Duncan on first put Bulldogs at second and third for McLaughlin, who sent a shot through the left side to plate both base runners.

IPFW answered with a bang in the sixth, as two batters reached base after being hit by pitches before a home run to left field by Aaron Kerns put the Mastodons on top, 3-2. Dustin Taylor extended the lead, roping a single to center to plate Jason Doerffler from second.

Starting pitcher Jamie Feldheiser worked a strong five innings, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out three. Joe Ochs picked up the win in relief, yielding one hit in three frames.

McLaughlin went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI, while Rick Betsch and Pauley added two hits each.

Youngstown State 12, Indiana (Pa.) 4 Box Score
Struthers, Ohio - Youngstown State erupted for season-highs in hits and runs to support a strong effort from starter Adam Kalafos in a 12-4 victory over Indiana (Pa.).

Kalafos allowed eight hits and struck out a career-high 11 batters to pick up his first win of the year for the Penguins, who won their home opener for the third straight year.

Josh Page and Joe Iacobucci had two singles and two doubles apiece, and Anthony Munoz hit his first career home run. As a team the Penguins banged out 18 hits on this cold day with stiff wind gusts that caused some balls to take off in the outfield.

The Penguins scored two runs in the first when Sean Lucas, Page and Iacobucci led off the game with three straight hits. Page then brought home Munoz on a sacrifice fly to put YSU up 3-0.

Kalafos retired the first nine hitters and struck out five in the first three innings before IUP finally put some hits together in the fourth. The first three had three of the five hits in the inning, and Kyle Stryker tied the game with an RBI double.

The Penguins reclaimed the lead in the fifth when Iacobucci and Anthony Porter had back-to-back RBI hits, and they blew the game open by scoring four runs with two outs in the sixth. Munoz hit a two-run homer, Iacobucci singled home Lucas and Page scored on a balk. Munoz then put the Guins ahead 11-3 in the seventh with a two-run single in the seventh.

IUP scratched a run across in the eighth, and Dustin Wachter singled home Page in the bottom of the frame for the final tally.

Kalafos was charged with all four runs and did not walk a batter against IUP, which came into the game on a six-game winning streak and team batting average of .353. Ryan Sellman came on to throw a scoreless ninth.

UIC 12, St. Francis (Ill.) 8 Box Score
Chicago, Ill. - The UIC baseball team broke open a close game with a four-run seventh inning to pull away from St. Francis in a 12-8 victory at Les Miller Field.

The Flames (11-7) extended their winning streak to seven games.

On a day when a strong wind was blowing out, both teams combined for 28 hits and four home runs.

Steve McGuiggan (3-for-4, 3 runs scored, 2 RBI) hit a solo shot and fell a double short of the cycle, while Brett Schaefer (3 RBI) blasted a go-ahead two-run homer during the sixth.

With only a two-run lead in the bottom of the seventh, UIC added a four-spot by taking advantage of costly miscues by the Fighting Saints (15-6). Jake Carr and Andy Leonard executed a double steal for a score, while an error on that same play put Carr at third for McGuiggan to drive in on a sacrifice fly. A balk by St. Francis pitcher Joe Koehler brought in another run, and a throwing error allowed UIC to send another runner home safely.

Brad Riegler (2-0) earned the win in relief.

Wright State 17, Cedarville 1
Dayton, Ohio - Host Wright State belted out nine extra base hits and tallied a season-high 19 hits in a 17-1 victory over Cedarville at Nischwitz Stadium. WSU tallied nine extra base hits and drove in 14 RBI's to claim its second straight victory.

The Raiders got on the board in the first inning on an RBI single from Justin Parker and then added three runs in the second inning, two coming on a John Kopilchack triple, to take a 4-0 lead.

Michael Woytek got the start on the mound for WSU and threw two innings in the predetermined short outing. He struck out three and walked one to collect his first collegiate win.

The only frame that WSU didn't score was the third inning, but tallied four runs in the fourth and a run in the fifth to push their lead to 9-0.

After Cedarville (7-12) tallied their lone run in the sixth inning, WSU scored three in the sixth, two in the seventh and three in the eighth innings to cap the scoring. Hamilton tripled twice and walked once, scoring three runs, in those innings and Casey McGrew collected a pair of hits in those innings.

In the contest, Wright State (5-11) collected nine extra base hits and four players each drove in three runs in the victory. Hamilton was three-for-four, tripling in three consecutive at-bats, and scored four runs in the contest. Danny Barker, McGrew and Parker each drove in three RBI's in the contest, with Parker belting his third homer of the season in the fourth inning.

With the trio of triples, Hamilton now has 13 for his career and ranks in a tie for second on the all-time list. The junior sits in rare company with a pair of former conference Player's of the Year in Ross Oeder (2004-07) and Jon Sbrocco (1990-93).

Bryce DeWeese threw two scoreless innings on the mound, while Jon Durket, Griffin Knapp and Michael Meintel each struck out two batters and recorded scoreless innings in the game.

Niagara at Cleveland State, canceled
Cleveland, Ohio - Weather claimed another game off the schedule for the Vikings, who have been idle since Mar. 16 after having four games called off last week.