Pilots crush Northwood for series win
March 19, 2011
CEDAR HILL, Tex. - The no. 13 LSU Shreveport Pilots baseball team put an exclamation point on the series finale against the Northwood Knights as they dominated on Saturday afternoon by a final score of 21-4 at Knights Field. The Pilots put 10 runs on the board before NU got a chance at the plate. The Pilots outscored NU 42-20 in the series.
LSUS starting pitcher Jared Mortensen had plenty to be thankful for before he took the mound on Saturday as his offense gave him a comfortable lead to give him room to make mistakes but all he would have needed would have been one run. Mortensen (3-0) picked up the win as he tossed five complete innings allowing only two hits, two walks and fanned eight batters.
The Pilots had their way with Northwood pitching in the top of the first inning as they scored 10 runs on six hits, three walks, and two hit batters. The Northwood starter Brendan Alvey (2-1) suffered the loss as he did not make it out of the first innings and was pulled after facing the order once and only managed to get one out and it was a screaming line out.
Kevin Smith put an exclamation point on the top of the first with a second grand slam of the series in as many games to put the game away early. Smith now has 10 long balls on the year.
LSUS added three more runs over the next few innings and put a five spot on the board in the fifth inning as Manny Estrada and Cody Causey both hit two-run shots over the left field wall to worsen the damage and extend the lead to 18-0 after five complete innings of play.
The Pilots added one more run in the sixth and two in the seventh thanks to a two-run double from Ridge Gonsoulin. Northwood scored four runs over the final two innings, two of which were unearned, but it was not nearly enough as the Pilots now gain sole possession of first place in the current RRAC standings.
LSUS had five hitters with multi-hits and six with multi-RBIs. Estrada was two for four with four RBIs while Smith was two for three with four runs batted in. Curtis Beaudoin drove in a pair and was two for five while Gonsoulin was three for four with four RBIs. Causey was two for three off the bench with two RBIs and Matt Bagley was one for two with two RBIs.
The next game for the Pilots will be next Friday afternoon at Pilot Field as they will take on Huston-Tillotson University in a double header beginning at 4:00 p.m.
