Eagles split with LSU-S in twin bill
Teams drop to 3rd in RRC standings
Texas A&M UniversityTexarkana’s climb to the top of the Red River Conference baseball standings stalled a bit Saturday at George Dobson Field.
The Eagles entered
Saturday’s doubleheader with LSU-Shreveport in a three-way tie for second place behind Southwestern. A&M-Texarkana salvaged the nightcap on Chase Beebe’s run-scoring single in the bottom of the eighth for a 5-4 victory.
LSU-Shreveport (25-12, 10-5) rallied to win the opener, 10-7, remaining tied with the Eagles for third place, who are now 20-16 overall and 10-5 in conference. LSU-Alexandria is one game ahead of the Eagles and Pilots, and two back of Southwestern.
“I was disappointed with our bullpen in the opener,” A&M-Texarkana coach Steve Jones said. “Winning the second game today was a big win against a quality program.
They really swing the bat and pitch pretty darn good. I thought it was a matchup of two real good teams.
“I think the conference race is going to be a dogfight at the end. Everybody is pretty much the same. Southwestern still has to go through us and those guys (LSU-Shreveport). The big thing is that we’ve got to play at today’s level against everybody, and we’ll be fine.”
LSU-S 10, A&M-TEXARKANA 7
The Eagles’ bullpen got a failing grade in Saturday’s opener after giving up 10 and 11 hits the final three innings.
A&M-Texarkana and righthander
Jacob Cobb-Adams took a 2-0 lead into the fifth inning. The Pilots got on the scoreboard when Ryan Pouwells legged out an infield hit and was balked to second. He scored on two groundouts.
That’s when the game got ugly, the Pilots scoring five runs in the sixth on five hits after the first two batters were retired. Back-to-back-back doubles by Kevin VanAsselberg, Blake Buller and David Salgueiro gave the Pilots their first lead.
A walk and Kevin Rosario’s third hit of the game set up a two-run double over the left fielder’s head by Beaux Guilbeau.
Incredibly, the Eagles rallied for four runs in their half of the sixth to tie the score. Cameron Frost, who finished the game with four singles, started the frame with a hit to left and scored three pitches later when Cade Thomason lofted his fourth home run of the season over the green monster in center.
George Gugino walked one out later, and Chase Beebe singled to right. Both scored on Kolton Perfect’s double off the center field wall.
Texarkana pitchers Jon Michael Cunningham and Caleb Baker could not silence the hot Shreveport bats. Five consecutive hits by VanAsselberg, Francisco Rodriguez, Buller, Sanguerio and Pouwells plated four more runs.
The Eagles made it interesting in the bottom of the seventh on four singles, leaving the potential tying run at first on the final out.
Texarkana’s early lead was ignited by Cole Beckham in the first inning when he was hit by a pitch. A walk and single by Frost, whose fly to right was lost in the sun, loaded the bases. One out later Zach Boeher scored Beckham and courtesy runner Heath Eubanks with a double.
Gugino and Perfect had two hits each for the Eagles, while five players had two hits each for the winners.
The Louisiana team played error-less ball and turned four double plays.
A&M-TEXARKANA 5, LSU-S 4
It was the opposite of the opener with LSU-Shreveport taking an early 2-0 lead into the fourth inning.
The Eagles got to LSU starter Alex Naiser in that inning after he hit
Boehler. He was erased on a fielder’s choice, but a single to left by Beebe, and a double steal put runners at second and third.
A throwing error by the catcher scored Gugino, and Beebe waltzed home on a double to right by Michael Moore, who was making his first start in several weeks after suffering three broken bones in his face after being hit by a ball.
Texarkana captured the lead in the fifth after a leadoff single by Wyatt Miller. Frost followed with an infield hit, his seventh straight hit of the day. One out later Boehler made it 4-2 with a single to center.
The Pilots’ infield turned six double plays on the day and was the benefactor of a spectacular diving catch by left fielder Caleb Lasseigne. In the end Shreveport’s only two errors of the day proved disastrous.
Righty Neiko Yribe pitched the Eagles into the seventh before tiring after throwing 117 pitches. He yielded a oneout triple of Salgueiro, who scored on a double by Pouwells.
Baker, making his second appearance of the day, got out of further trouble with a grounder to the mound and strikeout. He did give up a long, game-tying home run in the eighth to Matthew Hammock.
Baker got the win when Cade Thomason lined a double down the right field line to start the Eagles’ eighth. He moved up on Boehler’s sacrifice bunt, eventually scoring on Beebe’s hit.
LSU-S lost starting catcher Buller in the fourth inning after a violent collision with the Eagles’ Eubanks, who was ruled out at the plate trying to score.