CLEVELAND, Miss. – The University of West Alabama baseball team picked up its first Gulf South Conference series win of the season with a 4-2 victory in opening game of the doubleheader Sunday from Ferriss Field. The Statesmen avoided the sweep with a 3-2 win in the second game of the twin bill.
West Alabama takes the series from Delta State for the third straight season, including the last two in Cleveland. DSU came into the weekend receiving votes in the latest National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) poll.
Following Sunday's action, the Tigers are 13-13 and 6-9 in the league, while the Statesmen go to 14-13 and 7-5.
GAME 1: West Alabama 4, Delta State 2
Delta State cashed in on back-to-back baserunners to start bottom of the first, as Brett Burrell poked a two-run single to strike first.
The bats were quiet for a while. In the third, DSU had two runners on with two outs, but a fly out ended a chance for the Statesmen to add on to their lead.
In the fifth, following a lead off single by Brendan McCauley,
Roe Ketchum got Dylan Coleman out on an around the horn double play and caught Hayden Cooper looking to end the inning.
In the bottom half of the frame, the Tigers cashed in a lead off single by
Jack Beck, as
Cade Horton cut the deficit in half with an RBI groundout.
After working around a one-out walk on defense for UWA in the bottom half of the sixth, the bats got back to work in the seventh. After
Blake Vineyard led off the inning with a double, two batters later, Beck recorded the RBi knock to even the game at two runs apiece.
In the eighth, after
Kyle Vogler led off the inning by reaching on an error and a hit by pitch by
Houston Kitterman, a sac bunt by Horton moved the runners up 90 feet with one out. Two batters later, Vineyard came through clutch with a two-run, go-ahead RBI single to give the Tigers the 4-2 advantage.
In the bottom of the ninth, after the Statesmen drew back-to-back free passes to put the tying run on base, the Tigers went to
Jace Dunsford, who earned the save in game one on Saturday, and he mowed down the final two batters he faced to give the Tigers the series win.
Jack Beck had a three-hit day for UWA, his first of the year, as he scored a run and drove in one as well.
Blake Vineyard added a two-hit day with a double and added two RBIs.
Roe Ketchum (1-1) earned the win for the Tigers on the mound, tossing seven innings and allowing two earned runs. 12 of his 21 outs were of the fly ball variety.
Jace Dunsford fired two-thirds of scoreless ball and one strikeout to earn the save.
Brendan McCauley led the Statesmen with a three-hit day, while Brett Burrell added two RBIs.
GAME 2: Delta State 3, West Alabama 2
In the night cap, it was the Tigers that struck first in the second inning. After a
Cade Horton led off with a double,
Chase Dejean brought him home on an RBI knock.
Unfortunately, the Tigers' lead was short lived, as a solo shot to start the bottom of the second by Dylan Coleman made it a 1-1 affair.
DSU took the 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third, cashing in a first batter walk as Brett Burrell brought Matthew Nichols home on a sac fly.
UWA, looking for the series sweep, did not go away quietly, as they evened the score again on a
Ryan Fletcher RBI base hit in the fourth.
Delta State took the lead for good in the bottom of the frame on a Nichols RBI knock.
After being retired in the fifth and sixth in order, the Tigers had ducks on the pond with two outs, but a strikeout preserved the win for the Statesmen.
Cade Horton and
Chase Dejean each had two hits for UWA, while Dejean and Fletcher each drove in a run.
Maxwell Schumacher (2-3) fanned six batters in four innings pitched.
Logan Cromer (1-1) fired six innings for DSU with seven strikeouts, while Dylan Coleman had two hits in the second game of the twin bill, including a homer.
West Alabama will return home to take on Columbus State on Tuesday afternoon from 3 p.m. from Tartt Field.
