Pilots take two to complete series sweep over Wiley
February 19, 2011
MARSHALL, Tex. - The no. 13 LSU Shreveport Pilots baseball team swept Saturday's double header at Airport Park to complete the three game series sweep of Wiley College. The Pilots won the first game of the double dip 6-5 in 9 innings and took game two by a 9-4 decision in 7 innings.
GAME 1, W 6-5
Wiley had control of the game as they led 2-0 after four and their starter pitcher, Ismael Marcano, had held the Pilot offense to no hits and had struck out seven batters. But things turned around in the fifth inning as he got tired and walk Shawn Moy to lead off the inning to start the rally. After a walk to Allen Degges, Manny Estrada drove in the Pilot's first run of the game which was followed by a walk to Ridge Gonsoulin that lifted the starter that had kept the Pilot offense at bay until the fifth.
The new reliever, Roberto Carrion, issued back-to-back walks to Andrew Brouillette and Kevin Smith to bring home two more runners to give the Pilots their first lead of the game, 3-2. Wiley answered in the bottom of the fifth with three runs of their own from an RBI-double from David Munoz and a two-run double from Rafael Sanchez to regain the lead for the Wildcats 5-3 after five complete innings of play.
The Pilots stayed under control and added another run in the top of the sixth after Moy hustled on an infield popup that was misplayed by the Wiley second baseman as Moy reached second base after the error. A few batters later Estrada got his second hit of the game and Moy scored to trim the Wiley lead down to one, 5-4.
LSUS faced their final at-bat trailing by one run until a one-out sacrifice fly by Moy brought home the game's tying run. Wiley was unable to score in the bottom half of the seventh to send the game into extras. Neither team was able to score until Smith hit a one-out solo homer to right field, his fourth of the season, to give the Pilots the lead 6-5 and that is all they would need.
The LSUS starting pitcher, Cody Boutte, took the no-decision but he kept a good hitting team in Wiley College to a minimum of five earned runs which was close enough for the Pilot offense to mount a comeback. Boutte scattered seven hits while striking out seven and only walking two.
The Pilot relief pitcher, Ben Suit (2-2), picked up the win after three and two thirds out of the pen. He allowed three hits, one walk and struck out three batters. Suit came on in relief in the bottom of the sixth inning and quickly induced a double-play ball to get the Pilots out of the inning.
Estrada was two for four with two RBIs while Smith was two for four with two RBIs. Brouillette was one for two with an RBI and walked twice.
The Pilots scored six runs on five hits and played an error-free game defensively while Wiley scored five runs as they out hit the Pilots with 10 hits but made two errors in the field. LSUS left nine runner aboard while Wiley stranded seven.
GAME 2, W 9-4
The final game of the series began as a pitcher's duel as Jared Mortensen (Pilots) and Josh Bohack (Wiley) held the high powered offense to no runs through the first three innings. The Pilots got to Bohack first as Smith hit his second homer of the day, this time a two-run shot over the right field fence bringing home Brouillette who had been hit by a pitch. LSUS led 2-0 after four complete innings of play.
LSUS scored three more runs in the top of the fifth inning as Curtis Beaudoin and Michael Diffie got back-to-back bunt singles to put runners at the corners for Gonsoulin who blasted his first collegiate home run off Bohack to extend the Pilot lead to a comfortable 5-0 advantage heading into the last of the fifth. The Wildcats got a homer from James Murphy but the bases were empty to minimize the damage and the Pilots led after five 5-1.
Wiley scored two runs on three hits in the sixth inning to bring the game within two, 5-3 Pilots after six complete.
Gonsoulin led off the seventh with a walk and was soon brought in on an Estrada double to right center field. Chase Wentz singled and later stole second base to allow Estrada to score from third on the throw to second. After another attempt at hitting Brouillette, the Wiley pitcher was forced to give him a three-one fastball which he deposited over the left field fence for a two-run shot to extend the LSUS' lead to 9-3. Brouillette hit three home runs in the first game of the series yesterday and he was hit by a pitch his first two times at the plate in this game and nearly a third time but he got the last laugh with his fourth homer of the weekend.
Mortensen (1-0) picked up the win for the Pilots after tossing six innings allowing five hits, three earned runs, two walks, and eight strike outs. Justin Brodnax pitched the final inning of the game allowing one earned run, one walk, and struck out one.
The Pilots scored nine runs on ten hits as they out hit Wiley for the first time in the series and the Pilots played their third consecutive error-free game defensively. The Wildcats scored four runs on six hits and committed two errors on defense.
The next game for the Pilots will open a four-game home stand as they host Louisiana College at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday night at Pilot Field. Next weekend the Pilots will host Bacone College at Pilot Field with a 6:00 p.m. start on Friday night and a 1:00 p.m. start for the double-header on Saturday.
