Feb. 7, 2009
Box Score
The Pirates wasted no time putting runs on the board in either game as they defeated the Schreiner Mountaineers in double-header action on Saturday at Rockwell Stadium.
GAME ONE: Southwestern 13, Schreiner 7
Southwestern came out swinging in the first game of the double header against Schreiner. The Pirates scored their first two runs of the game in the bottom of the first inning on a bases loaded single by senior third baseman Ricky Gomez.
Schreiner responded by pushing one across in the top of the second inning after Willis walked the bases loaded and Schreiner's J. D. Escobar hit a slow roller to short stop. Willis picked off Escobar on first base to end the inning.
The Pirates put up another run of their own in the bottom of the second after freshman left fielder Cray Betts led of the inning off with a triple to right-center field. Matt Clark singled up the middle to bring in Betts and push the Pirates lead to 3-1.
After a scoreless third and top of the fourth the Pirates came out hot and batted around in the bottom of the inning. Junior centerfielder Todd Boone walked, sophomore first-baseman Chris Lowry singled up the middle and senior catcher Michael Murphy followed with another single up the middle to drive in Boone. After the centerfielder allowed the ball past him, Lowry scored as well.
Sophomore designated hitter Kyle Belski added to the lead by hitting a two-run homer to left-centerfield. Wooten walked on the following at-bat and after Gomez flied out to center, senior second baseman Brent McMullen jacked a two-run homerun to almost the exact same spot as Belski to push the Pirates lead to eight, 9-1.
After a pair of errors in the top of the fifth, Schreiner closed the gap to 9-2. However, the Pirates responded and put an additional 4 runs on the board in the bottom of the fifth.
The Mountaineers attempted to mount a comeback in the top of the sixth by stringing together some hits with some intermixed Pirate errors. They were able to pull within six, 13-7, but that is as close as they would get. Neither Schreiner nor Southwestern would score again.
The winning pitcher for the Pirates was senior Wes Willis. Willis had 6 strike outs, 4 walks and 1 earned run in five innings. The losing pitcher was Colton Hermes.
Southwestern was led in hitting by junior shortstop Matthew Clark. Clark was 3-4 in game one with 2 RBI's.
GAME TWO: Southwestern 5, Schreiner 3
In game two the Pirates started off as hot as they did in game one and pushed two across early. In the bottom of the first, a walk to Boone, single by Murphy and a walk to Belski loaded the bases for John Wooten. A wild pitch allowed Boone to score and moved the runners up. Wooten's sacrifice fly to centerfield brought in Murphy for the second run of the inning.
In the top of the second, Schreiner threatened by putting runners in scoring position with two outs. J.D. Escobar hit a shot to centerfield that Boone chased down to keep the Mountaineers from getting on the board. Southwestern was able to push one more across in the bottom of the inning on a wild pitch to bring the lead to 3-0.
The score remained the same until the top of the fifth inning. Schreiner's Oliver Stogsdill reached second on an error by right-fielder Wooten. Pinch hitter Jesse Tijerina lined one just past first base and barely fair to drive in Stogsdill and cut the Pirate's lead to two. The Pirates answered with a run of their own after Shipp was hit by a pitch and Murphy doubled down the left field line to move both runners into scoring position. Belski's long sacrifice fly to deep centerfield brought in Shipp. Another sacrifice fly by Noggle brought in Murphy and pushed the Pirates lead to four, 5-1.
Schreiner was able to make it interesting in the top of the seventh by pushing two across on a single followed by a walk and Tijerina double down the first baseline. Martinez followed with a ground ball to first to bring in Escobar. Pitcher Brantley Freeman ended the attack by striking out pinch-hitter Garza.
Southwestern's Freeman pitched a complete game for the Pirates and was the winning pitcher. Freeman recorded 12 strike outs, walked 1 batter and allowed 2 earned runs. The losing pitcher for the Mountaineers was Brandon Pape.
In hitting, Southwestern was lead by Michael Murphy who went 3-4 in game two and scored twice.
The wins move the Pirates to 3-3 overall. They face off against Schreiner again on Sunday for a single, nine inning game beginning at 1:00 p.m.
