Losing streak reaches five for MAC Cardinals
By MATT KING\Daily Journal Sports Writer
Mar 11, 2005 - 11:49:50 CST
PARK HILLS -- The Mineral Area College baseball team played its final two games at home on Thursday before embarking on an eight-game road trip to the gulf coast of Mississippi. With the way things are going, the weekend cannot come soon enough.
After earning a home victory against the Cardinals on Tuesday, John A. Logan completed a season sweep by winning both halves of Thursday's double-header in Park Hills. The Volunteers rolled 12-3 in game one, and mounted a big seventh-inning rally to prevail 7-3 in game two, extending the current MAC losing streak to five games.
Logan (13-5) took early control of game one by scoring three runs in the first inning. After Cardinal starter Blake Jones allowed the first two batters to reach, Daniel Webb ripped a two-run single down the left field line. Webb scored the third run of the frame on a wild pitch.
MAC (3-6) got one run back in the bottom of the first on a long double to left by Sean Bard, but the Volunteers restored the three-run spread on a double by Andrew Spaulding, and a RBI single from Mark Chamness.
Jones walked the first batter of the third inning and hit the second, opening the door for the Volunteers to add four more runs. Ryan Bittle blooped a two-run double into shallow left field with two outs, then scored on a two-run homer to left-center by catcher Matt Pleiss.
Jones (1-1) allowed six hits and four walks in two and two-thirds innings while recording two strikeouts.
Aaron Miller grounded a RBI single up the middle, and Scott Hubbard scored on an error to bring the Cardinals to within 8-3 in the fourth, but Aaron Halstead countered for the Volunteers by hooking a three-run homer inside the foul pole in left against reliever Luke Holland.
Ben Smith pitched six strong innings to earn the win for John A. Logan, scattering three hits and three walks while striking out three. Bittle, Pleiss and Webb each had two hits and two RBI in the game.
The Cardinals appeared to be on the road to victory in game two, but the Volunteers scored six runs in the seventh inning against MAC reliever Drew Horrell, washing away a tremendous pitching performance from starter Kyle Tesreau.
Tesreau struck out four and allowed just one run on five hits and five walks over six innings during his first collegiate start, but settled for a no-decision.
Logan opened the scoring on a two-out RBI single to right field by Webb in the third inning. The Volunteers picked up singles from Jeff Harp and Spaulding in the fourth, but both were caught stealing.
The Cardinals responded with a pair of tallies to grab the lead in the fourth. Bard ripped a lead-off single and scampered to third on a shallow single by Tyler Stahl with one out. Bard finished the game 2-4.
After Kenny Pikula tied the score with a sacrifice fly to score Bard, Lucas Hulsey put MAC ahead 2-1 with a RBI single to left. MAC put runners at the corners with one out in the fifth, but a sliding catch in left field saved a potential run from scoring.
Mineral Area added an insurance run in the sixth when Scott Hubbard laced a RBI single to left, but would get no more after stranding the bases loaded. The Cardinals left 11 total runners on base.
Three walks by Horrell in the seventh loaded the bases for the Volunteers with two outs. Halstead delivered a clutch two-run single up the middle to even the score at 3-3.
Webb followed with another RBI hit to put Logan ahead, and Matthew Hartline applied the knockout with a long three-run blast over the fence in left-center.
Hartline and Webb were each 2-4 at the plate, while Halstead was 1-2 with two RBI and two walks. Zachary Dials recorded the final out of the sixth inning and tossed a scoreless seventh to earn the win for Logan.
The Cardinals will return to action in Wesson, Mississippi on Sunday. MAC will face East Mississippi in a single game at 2:30 p.m. before squaring off against Copiah-Lincoln at 5 p.m.
GAME ONE:
John A. Logan 314 030 1 - 12 10 2
Mineral Area 100 200 0 - 3 3 3
WP - B Smith
LP - B Jones
Hitting (JALCC) - R Bittle 2, M Pleiss 2, D Webb 2, A Halstead, M Hartline, A Spaulding, M Chamness. 2b - R Bittle, D Webb. HR - A Halstead, M Pleiss.
Hitting (MAC) - S Bard, S Hubbard, A Miller. 2b - S Bard.
GAME TWO:
John A. Logan 001 000 6 - 7 8 2
Mineral Area 000 201 0 - 3 7 0
WP - Z Dials
LP - D Horrell
Hitting (JALCC) - D Webb 2, M Hartline 2, R Bittle, A Halstead, J Harp, A Spaulding. HR - M Hartline.
Hitting (MAC) - S Bard 2, R Hoffman, S Hubbard, R Becker, T Stahl, L Hulsey.
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After earning a home victory against the Cardinals on Tuesday, John A. Logan completed a season sweep by winning both halves of Thursday's double-header in Park Hills. The Volunteers rolled 12-3 in game one, and mounted a big seventh-inning rally to prevail 7-3 in game two, extending the current MAC losing streak to five games.
Logan (13-5) took early control of game one by scoring three runs in the first inning. After Cardinal starter Blake Jones allowed the first two batters to reach, Daniel Webb ripped a two-run single down the left field line. Webb scored the third run of the frame on a wild pitch.
MAC (3-6) got one run back in the bottom of the first on a long double to left by Sean Bard, but the Volunteers restored the three-run spread on a double by Andrew Spaulding, and a RBI single from Mark Chamness.
Jones walked the first batter of the third inning and hit the second, opening the door for the Volunteers to add four more runs. Ryan Bittle blooped a two-run double into shallow left field with two outs, then scored on a two-run homer to left-center by catcher Matt Pleiss.
Jones (1-1) allowed six hits and four walks in two and two-thirds innings while recording two strikeouts.
Aaron Miller grounded a RBI single up the middle, and Scott Hubbard scored on an error to bring the Cardinals to within 8-3 in the fourth, but Aaron Halstead countered for the Volunteers by hooking a three-run homer inside the foul pole in left against reliever Luke Holland.
Ben Smith pitched six strong innings to earn the win for John A. Logan, scattering three hits and three walks while striking out three. Bittle, Pleiss and Webb each had two hits and two RBI in the game.
The Cardinals appeared to be on the road to victory in game two, but the Volunteers scored six runs in the seventh inning against MAC reliever Drew Horrell, washing away a tremendous pitching performance from starter Kyle Tesreau.
Tesreau struck out four and allowed just one run on five hits and five walks over six innings during his first collegiate start, but settled for a no-decision.
Logan opened the scoring on a two-out RBI single to right field by Webb in the third inning. The Volunteers picked up singles from Jeff Harp and Spaulding in the fourth, but both were caught stealing.
The Cardinals responded with a pair of tallies to grab the lead in the fourth. Bard ripped a lead-off single and scampered to third on a shallow single by Tyler Stahl with one out. Bard finished the game 2-4.
After Kenny Pikula tied the score with a sacrifice fly to score Bard, Lucas Hulsey put MAC ahead 2-1 with a RBI single to left. MAC put runners at the corners with one out in the fifth, but a sliding catch in left field saved a potential run from scoring.
Mineral Area added an insurance run in the sixth when Scott Hubbard laced a RBI single to left, but would get no more after stranding the bases loaded. The Cardinals left 11 total runners on base.
Three walks by Horrell in the seventh loaded the bases for the Volunteers with two outs. Halstead delivered a clutch two-run single up the middle to even the score at 3-3.
Webb followed with another RBI hit to put Logan ahead, and Matthew Hartline applied the knockout with a long three-run blast over the fence in left-center.
Hartline and Webb were each 2-4 at the plate, while Halstead was 1-2 with two RBI and two walks. Zachary Dials recorded the final out of the sixth inning and tossed a scoreless seventh to earn the win for Logan.
The Cardinals will return to action in Wesson, Mississippi on Sunday. MAC will face East Mississippi in a single game at 2:30 p.m. before squaring off against Copiah-Lincoln at 5 p.m.
GAME ONE:
John A. Logan 314 030 1 - 12 10 2
Mineral Area 100 200 0 - 3 3 3
WP - B Smith
LP - B Jones
Hitting (JALCC) - R Bittle 2, M Pleiss 2, D Webb 2, A Halstead, M Hartline, A Spaulding, M Chamness. 2b - R Bittle, D Webb. HR - A Halstead, M Pleiss.
Hitting (MAC) - S Bard, S Hubbard, A Miller. 2b - S Bard.
GAME TWO:
John A. Logan 001 000 6 - 7 8 2
Mineral Area 000 201 0 - 3 7 0
WP - Z Dials
LP - D Horrell
Hitting (JALCC) - D Webb 2, M Hartline 2, R Bittle, A Halstead, J Harp, A Spaulding. HR - M Hartline.
Hitting (MAC) - S Bard 2, R Hoffman, S Hubbard, R Becker, T Stahl, L Hulsey.