March 5, 2008

Box Score

On Wednesday (Mar. 5), the SU men's baseball team went off for a season-high 20 runs with three players hitting home runs as the Pirates hammered #23 University of Mary Hardin-Baylor by a score of 20-4 in Belton, TX.

SU got it going in the top of the first as Michael Murphy (Houston, TX/Austin HS) doubled with two outs and was then driven in by a Blake Williams (Lufkin, TX/Lufkin HS) single. In the second inning sophomore Todd Boone (Huntsville, TX/Huntsville HS) doubled in to runs, followed by Richard Falcone (Houston, TX/Westside HS) singling in Boone and then two batters later, Williams drove a home run over the left field wall to score three and put SU ahead 7-0. It was Williams' third home run in as many games.

To start off the third, Eric Gonzales (Austin, TX/Bowie HS) reached on an infield single and then senior Jamie Herrmann (Houston, TX/Westside HS) homered to center for a two run shot. The next three batters reached and Falcone struck with a grand slam to lef t field. Through three innings, the Pirates led the Crusaders 13-0. UMHB got three runs in the fourth and then another in the fifth to pull within 13-4, but the Cru would not get closer.

Later, Southwestern added a pair of runs in the seventh inning as Falcone scored on a wild pitch and Gonzales scored Williams with a sacrifice fly. In the ninth inning, SU added five runs with RBI hits from Matt Clark (Spring, TX/Klein HS), Boone and Falcone with Mark Noggle (Houston, TX/Clear Lake HS) driving in a run with a walk.

On the mound, Wes Willis (Austin, TX/Austin HS) improved to 3-1 on the season. The junior lasted eight innings, allowing four earned runs on seven hits and two walks. He struck out a career-high 10 batters.

Falcone collected three hits in six at bats for six more buns batted in, bringing his season total to 26. The senior also scored three times and drew one walk. Williams drove in four and scored twice while going 3-6 at the plate. Falcone is batting .500 on the season and Williams has now hit safely in 11 straight games with a season average of .407.

Herrmann, hitting his second home run of the year, went 3-4 at the plate with three runs scored and two runs batted in. Boone recorded three RBI and scored twice. Every Pirate starter recorded at least one hit and scored at least one time.

The win evens Southwestern's record at 7-7 for the season while UMHB falls to 11-3.

The Pirates are scheduled to face off against Wabash College on Thursday (Mar. 6) in Georgetown at 7:00 pm.