posted May 8, 2008
In a shot that had to be heard halfway around the NAIA world, Auburn University Montgomery pinned a stunning 20-5 defeat on the third-ranked Lee Flames in the second round of the Region XIII Tournament at Olympic Field on Wednesday afternoon.
Led by the awesome hitting display of Chase Burch and Allen Ponder, the once-beaten Senators stayed alive in the double-elimination event by handing the Flames their first defeat of the tourney. AUM will face once-beaten Southern Poly on Thursday at 3:30.
Burch was a perfect 5-for-5. He ripped a pair of mammoth home run shots and drove in seven runs. He also scored four times and added a double to his extra-base hit total. Ponder also smashed a pair of homers. He finished with two RBI and two runs scored. The two sluggers had plenty of help.
Matt Arrighi was also perfect at the dish. He finished with three singles, scored three runs and collected a RBI. Clay Booth doubled and singled and collected two RBI. Daniel Jones joined the 19-hit attack with a pair of singles. He drove in two runs and scored three times.
The Senators scored seven times and sent 11 men to the plate in the very first inning. They added three more runs in the top of the second and destroyed any hopes of a Lee comeback with six big tallies in the sixth inning.
The Flames (54-8) were their own worst enemy. They helped the AUM cause by committing five costly errors. The Senators played errorless ball. Lee must fight its way back beginning on Thursday at noon when they face once-beaten University of Mobile.
In a normal game, the 12 hits by the Lee offense would have been plenty enough for a victory. Clint Harrelson came up with a three-hit performance, while Chris Warters continued his sensational hitting display with a home run and a single. He drove in four runs and scored once. Josh Guy was the only other Flame with more than one hit. In fact, Warter's homer was Lee's only extra-base hit of the game.
Joel Matthews started for the Flames and was only able to record one out. The Flames committed two costly behind the big right-hander. He allowed four hits, six unearned runs and struck out one. Mitch Davidson, Josh Rose, Ben Wilson and Josh Guy hurled in the Lee defeat.
Stephen Yates hurled five innings and picked up the pitching victory for the 42-20 Senators. Yates allowed 10 hits and four earned runs. Ponder came on to hurl the final two innings and surrendered two hits and one earned run.
Southern Polytechnic State University 3 - Belhaven College 1
CLEVELAND, Tenn. - Southern Polytechnic State University rode the complete-game pitching of right-hander of Mark Doll to a 3-1 victory over Belhaven College and lived to play another day in the Region XIII Tournament at Lee's Olympic Field.
The Hornets advanced to Friday's round and will face Auburn University Montgomery in a 3:30 elimination game.
Daniel Griffin ripped his second home run in two days to pace the Southern Poly nine-hit attack. The shortstop also singled and scored two runs for the winners. Chase Oliver doubled and drove in one run for Southern Poly, while Daniel Hester singled home the other Hornet run. Josh Grooms joined Griffin as Southern Poly's only players with two hits.
In nine innings, Doll allowed eight hits and one earned run. He struck out eight and walked three. Belhaven's only run of the tournament came in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Blazers finished the season with a 41-17 record, while Southern Poly advances with a 39-16 mark.
Grant Vance enjoyed a perfect 3-for-3 day at the plate for the losers. Shawn Anderson stroked a solo home run in the eighth. He also singled in the defeat. Brian Legnon pitched well in the loss. He also worked nine innings and allowed nine hits and just one earned run. He struck out four and walked two.
LSU Shreveport 7 - University of Mobile 5
CLEVELAND, Tenn. - The LSU Shreveport Pilots scored two runs in the top of the 10th inning and went on to score a 7-5 win over the University of Mobile on Wednesday evening in the NAIA Region XIII Tournament at Lee's Olympic Field.
The win by the Pilots (46-14) leaves the Louisiana club as the only unbeaten team in the remaining five-team field. They will return to action on Thursday at 7 p.m. and face the winner of an earlier contest between host Lee and the University of Mobile.
LSU Shreveport began the game by scoring four runs in the first inning off Ram starter Jesse Luker. Mobile responded with four runs in the bottom of the first and the exciting game was on. The score remained the same until LSUS tacked on a single run in the top of the sixth inning to take a 5-3 lead.
The Rams came battling back in the bottom of the eighth and tied the game at five. The ninth inning was scoreless and in the extra inning, LSUS put a two-spot on the board and walked away with a big tourney win.
Juan Leon worked the first eight innings for LSUS. He allowed just six hits and four earned runs. He struck out two and walked four. Blake Pinkston came on in the ninth inning and pitched two scoreless innings to pick up the win. He allowed one hit and walked one Mobile batter.
Scott Mitchell retired the final two outs of the 10th inning for Mobile. However, the damage had already been done as the Pilots tallied two runs in the 10th against the loser, Luker.
LSUS out-hit the Rams 11-7. Anderson Blubaugh stroked three hits including a double to pace the LSUS attack. He also tallied a couple of runs. Lead-off hitter Quenton Shamsabady socked the only home run of the game. Jeff Ledet added a pair a double and a single.
For Mobile, Carlos Romero was the only hitter with two hits. He also had a pair of RBI. Kevin Orso knocked in two runs with a two-base hit, while Nelson Curry doubled and scored a run.
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