March 21, 2009
GEORGETOWN, Texas - The Southwestern baseball team split its doubleheader with Austin College on Saturday at Rockwell Field, falling in the first game 18-8 before claiming a 17-1, ten-run rule victory in the second game.
Southwestern moves its record to 13-14 (6-4 SCAC), while Austin College is now 8-12 (3-9 SCAC).
In the first game, scheduled for seven innings, Austin College took an early lead in the second inning on a solo home run from Bobby Schleizer and then added three more unearned runs to make it a 4-0 contest.
In the bottom of the third inning, the Pirates used a pair of RBI doubles from Michael Murphy and Kyle Belski to cut the deficit to 4-2, but the Kangaroos responded with three runs in the fourth inning to push their lead to 7-2.
Murphy knocked in a pair of runs in the bottom of the frame with a two-run double, and Kyle Belski plated two more runs on a two-run sac fly to make it a one-run game at 7-6.
Austin College proceeded to blow the game open with an eight-run frame in the top of the sixth inning, extending the lead to 15-6, but the Pirates kept battling and pushed across a pair of runs on a sac fly from John Wooten and an RBI single from Ricky Gomez to make it a 15-8 game.
The Kangaroos added three runs in the ninth inning to push the lead to 18-8 and the Pirates went down in order in the bottom of the frame to seal the Kangaroo win.
Chris Churchwell (2-2) incurred the loss for the Pirates, while John Schulmeister picked up the win to improve to 1-2.
Murphy led the Pirates with a 3-for-4 effort that included three RBI, while Belski also drove in three runs.
In the second game, the Kangaroos took an early lead again, this time in the first inning on an RBI single to make it a 1-0 game. The Pirates responded with a seven-run inning, first on a two-run double from John Wooten, a sac fly from Gomez and an RBI single from Nate Shipp. A trio of bases-loaded walks to Chris Lowry, Brent McMullen and Murphy capped the scoring and gave the Pirates a 7-1 advantage after only one inning.
Southwestern's offense remained in high gear in the second inning, as Shipp delivered an RBI single, Todd Boone followed with a sac fly, Lowry recorded an RBI single of his own and Belski drove in two runs with a single to extend the Pirate lead to 12-1.
The Pirates tacked on five more runs in the fourth on a two-run double from Kyle Belski, a bases-loaded walk to Shipp and a two-run single from Boone to extend the lead to 17-1.
The teams traded zeroes on the scoreboard for the next three innings, giving the Pirates the 17-1 ten-run rule victory.
Wes Willis tossed a complete game to improve to 6-2, allowing one run on six hits while striking out four batters. Will Chermak dropped to 2-4 with the loss.
Belski notched four RBI to lead the Pirates, while Boone and Shipp each recorded three RBI. Pirate batters recorded 14 walks for the game.
The Pirates and Kangaroos complete their three-game series with a 1 p.m. contest on Sunday at Rockwell Field.