Pilots Split With Spring Hill
April 25, 2009
Mobile, Ala. - LSUS and Spring Hill split a pair of games in Saturday's doubleheader with the Badgers taking game one 11-9 and the Pilots rebounding for a 3-0 win in the nightcap.
In game one, the Pilots jumped out to an 8-4 lead after just three innings, but Spring Hill rallied for three runs in the 4th and four more in the 5th to take an 11-8 advantage.
In the crucial 5th frame, Spring Hill's Justin Harrison tied the game with a 2-out RBI single and shortstop Ryan Cummings followed with a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch to gave the Badgers the lead at 9-8.
Third baseman Brad Holstein then drove a 2-run single over the bag at second base to build a comfortable 11-8 advantage.
On the mound, SHC reliever Quinn Nichols (3-2) picked up the win in three innings of work giving up just two hits with no walks and two strikeouts. Scott Petroski (4-1) took his first loss of the year, also in relief.
Ryan Hall and Bill Saliski added two hits apiece as each blasted solo homers in the second inning for the Badgers.
Brent Lavallee, Kyle Lawrence and Quinton Shamsabady each had homeruns for LSUS in the loss.
The nightcap remained scoreless through five innings as LSUS starter Turner Brasher held down the Badger batters and Spring Hill's Todd Kline and Nick Clapper (4-7) combined to return the favor to the Pilots.
LSUS (39-12, 27-7 GCAC) finally cracked the scoreboard with a run-scoring double to left-center by first baseman Craig Barnes with two outs in the top of the 6th inning.
Solo homers by Brandon Bravata and Andrew Brouillette in the 7th and 8th innings provided for the final 3-0 score.
Brasher went seven innings with just three hits, six walks and four strikeouts and Richard Pharr took his first save of the year closing out the final two innings with two hits, no walks and a strikeout.
LSUS will meet Spring Hill (26-26, 15-21 GCAC) again on Thursday in the first round of the GCAC Tournament hosted by William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Miss.
The Pilots finished one-half game behind William Carey in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular season standings, and will enter the conference tournament as the No. 2 seed.
