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2008 PBC Baseball Notes - May 5

 

   Armstrong Atlantic State (27-21, 14-13) -- The Pirates halted a 2-for-11 slide with three wins on the week, earning their way into the PBC Championships … AASU scored five runs in the eighth inning on Tuesday, giving the Pirates a come-from-behind 11-8 win over No. 15-ranked Erskine … Senior Joey Davis delivered a 5-for-5 game with seven RBI, including a grand slam home run, in AASU’s 10-2 win over Lander on Friday afternoon … Tommy Ray’s pinch-hit RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning then gave AASU a 2-1 win in Saturday’s first game of a doubleheader, sending the Pirates to the PBC Tournament as the No. 6 seed … Cody Walden delivered a complete-game five-hitter in the win as well … AASU will have a chance to defend their first-ever tournament title next week in Aiken, taking on Columbus State in a first-round matchup.  
 
 Augusta State (28-27, 9-18) -- Augusta State closed the regular season with a 2-3 record last week … The Jaguars beat Newberry on back-to-back days Tuesday and Wednesday in Newberry and in Augusta … ASU topped the Indians 5-3 on April 22 in Newberry, then handed them an 8-2 loss on Wednesday in Augusta … The victory at Jaguar field assured ASU of a winning season … The Jags then hosted Georgia College & State over the weekend in the final PBC series of the regular season for both squads … The Bobcats pulled off the series sweep, outscoring ASU 35-14 … GCSU won the opening game of the series 14-4 on Saturday, then swept Sunday’s twinbill 9-4 and 12-6 … Sunday marked Senior Day for six Jaguar seniors – Jeremy Armstrong, David Barnes, Michael Fritz, Clay Haynes, Matt Landis and Darren Swift … Sophomore rightfielder Shannon Wilkerson won the team batting title, closing with a strong weekend to improve his average to .380 … He led the Jags in batting average, hits, runs, doubles, homers, RBI and stolen bases … He jacked his team-best 16th homer of the season in Sunday’s 12-6 loss to dead centerfield, matching current ASU assistant coach Chris Cooper (2002) for the most homers in a single season since Tarry Stokes tallied 25 homers in 1994 … Seven Jaguar starters finished with a batting average of .300 or higher … Junior righthander Jacob Watson won the team ERA title with a 3.88 ERA in 58.0 innings pitched … Junior righty Brandon Iverson notched a team-high six wins and 61.2 innings pitched … Watson paced the squad with 55 strikeouts and 21 total appearances.
 
 Columbus State (39-15, 19-8) -- Columbus State clinched its first Peach Belt Conference regular season title since 1996 on Saturday by winning the first game of a conference doubleheader at Georgia Southwestern…CSU (39-15, 19-8) edged USC Aiken by one game in the standings….Rodney Rutherford set the school record with his 25th homer of the season in an 11-2 win over GSW on Friday…Rutherford batted .750 for the week with three homers and seven RBIs…CSU went 3-1 on the week with some impressive offensive production…Scored 22 runs and tallied 21 hits in a 22-11 win over West Georgia on Wednesday…Lead-off batter Jonnie Geiger hit two homers in the same inning; CSU tied a school record with seven homers in the game…In the 11-2 win over GSW, CSU once again had 21 hits; Rutherford went 5-for-5, Geiger, Thomas Morrison, Brian Gordon, Brandon Masters, and Brad Bowen had three hits apiece…Korey Noles improved to 11-0 on the season, a school record for most consecutive wins in a season, with a his eighth complete-game of the season…Noles’ PBC leading ERA is 1.54…CSU split with GSW on Saturday, winning the opener 9-1, and falling in 14 innings, 8-7…Danny Davidson improved to 7-3 on the season with a complete-game seven-hitter, one unearned run (one walk, 10 strikeouts); Masters (solo HR), Bowen (three-run HR); Casey Cook had three hits…CSU blew a 4-0 lead in the series finale…Rutherford leads the nation with 25 homers; C.J. Bressoud is second on the club with 10 homers…Geiger has 35 steals in 38 attempts…CSU is hitting .328 as a club…Team ERA is 3.06…CSU has 69 homers compared to 26 by the opposition… The PBC tournament takes place May 8-11 in Aiken, SC.
 
 Francis Marion (32-18, 16-11) -- FMU, ranked #29, last week, has concluded its regular season with a 32-18 record. Six of the team’s losses this year have been to nationally ranked opponents. FMU opened the year with the best start (11-1) in the program’s 36-year history.….. Senior CF Justin Greene tied the PBC-conference game records for home runs (3) and runs scored (5), while driving in seven runs in a 27-9 win at ASU on April 19. He leads the team with a .386 season average, shares the team lead in homers (7), and has an 8-game hitting streak. He has tied the FMU career records for runs scored (160) and being hit-by-pitches (45), while setting the school career mark for sacrifice hits (38).........Freshman 1B Preston Shuey leads FMU with 53 RBIs and shares the team lead in home runs (7)....Junior C Jared Barkdoll is hitting .366 with 7 HRs and 49 RBIs........Senior SS Greg Phelps is hitting .360. This season, he has hit in 43 of 48 games, including streaks of 34 games (dating back to 2007) and 10 games...…..Going into the March 29-30 North Georgia series, senior 2B Ryan Hypke was 4-for-32 this season. Since then (15 games), he has hit .449 (22-for-49) with 17 RBIs..…Freshman OF Vince Farfaglia has a 9-game hitting streak......Five different Patriots have double-figure double totals.....Junior RHP David Walters leads the FMU staff with a 9-4 record and 90 strikeouts in 91.2 innings. He has allowed only 82 hits.…..Senior LHP Zach Farry has a school record 12 saves this season, all of which have been at least 2-inning appearances.….Sophomore Zane Petty is 5-0 with a 3.25 ERA......Senior RHP Dusty Floyd owns an 11-0 career mark….FMU opened its season with a road doubleheader win (at Valdosta State) for the first time in team history…..FMU has an all-time record of 907-594-2 in 36 seasons…..FMU is 130-40-1 in its last 171 home games, but had a 13-game home field winning streak snapped by Barton on Feb. 20. FMU’s April 30 game with Newberry has been canceled.
 
 
 Georgia College & State University (32-22, 15-12) -- The Bobcats enter the PBC Tournament as the No. 5-seed, playing host USC Aiken Thursday, May 8, at 2 p.m. … The Bobcats are 22-19 all-time at the Peach Belt Tournament, including four runner-up finishes … The Bobcats’ shutout of Albany State April 22 was the first blanking since the 9-0 Feb. 12 win over Shorter; the last shutout of an NCAA opponent was April 25, 2007 against Valdosta State; the winner in all three games: Sean Heimpel … Richard Pirkle hit his first collegiate home run against Shorter Feb. 12, also his first career hit; Gator Parker repeated the feat March 1 … Also hitting their first Division II home runs this season were Derek Johns, Brooks Robinson, Danny McCorkell, Sean Harrell, Benton Yaun and Matt Pitts … GCSU is 8-0 in games where Pirkle hits a home run … The Bobcats swiped eight bases in the opener against PhilaU March 18 and have 126 stolen bases on the season … Head coach Tom Carty grabbed his first career win Feb. 9, the doubleheader opener against UAH; he added win No. 25 April 12, putting him fourth all-time at GCSU, passing 1970-73 skipper Alan McNamee … The Bobcats are taking good advantage of their hits, as when they out-hit their opponents, the GCSU record is 27-2 … Michael Newman has taken the school’s career saves record with his finish against LRC March 4; he now has 21 career saves, topping Will Anderson (1999-2002) … The 11-0 loss to No. 15 Valdosta State April 2 was the first time Georgia College has been shut-out this season, and the first since a 5-0 loss to Mount Olive in last year’s NCAA South Atlantic Regional … Newman has 116 career appearances, also a school record, his 30 career wins stands third … Newman and catcher Pete Paris were named to the first Preseason All-Peach Belt Team … Baseball inducted former pitcher Rusty Kea into the GCSU Athletic Hall of Fame this year, joining Tom Gorman and Phil Arp … Newman was honored with the John Kurtz Memorial Award (for top GCSU senior baseball player) prior to Sunday’s game.

 
 Georgia Southwestern (17-34, 7-20) -- The Hurricanes finished the week 2-2 . GSW won at Thomas University (GA) on Tuesday 15-6 then dropped the first two games in the weekend series against #8 Columbus State 11-2 & 9-1 before winning the series and season finale on Saturday 8-7 in 14 innings. Senior Nick Rex led the ‘Canes offensively, finishing the week 8-for-18 with three runs scored and four RBI. Rex went 7-for-15 against CSU, including 4-for-7 in the Canes lone win of the series. Cody Adams was another ‘Cane swinging a hot bat this week, going 8-for-16 (.500) with a home run and three doubles. Zack Stanton went 8-for-17 in four games, including a 4-for-6 performance in the 14 inning thriller against CSU. Stanton had two key hits in the game: a game-tying RBI triple in the 11th and a leadoff single in the 14th. Noble Coley and Patrick McCarthy hit home runs this week to wrap up the ’08 campaign.
 
 Lander (20-33, 7-20) -- The Lander Bearcats ended the season on a positive note as they defeated Armstrong Atlantic, 3-2, in their season-finale in Savannah. Armstrong Atlantic won the first two games of the PBC series, 10-2, and 2-1. Malcolm McLeod finished the season as Lander’s top hitter, batting .335 with 10 doubles and 26 RBI. Josh Lovvorn batted .316 with 10 doubles and one home run; and Gabe McCann batted .308 with 13 doubles, two homers and 31 RBI. Craig Roberson posted Lander’s lowest ERA with 3.77 and recorded a 2-1 won-loss record with 12 strikeouts in 14.1 innings. Weekend starter Daniel Hinchberger (5-4) had a 4.22 ERA with 84 strikeouts in 89.2 innings pitched.
 
 
 North Georgia (37-19, 16-11) -- North Georgia College & State University took three of four games from Flagler College over the weekend as they ended the regular season and prepare for the 2008 Peach Belt Conference Tournament, their first-ever postseason appearance since entering the NCAA. The Saints opened the series with an extra-inning thriller, taking a 5-4 decision as Daniel Petitti grounded out to second to bring home the winning run in the tenth inning. The second game of the doubleheader saw North Georgia take an early lead, but Flagler used a run in the third and three more in the fourth to escape with a 5-3 win. Game three was all about James Wiley who took the mound and recorded his second straight complete game win with a 5-0 victory. Craig Brisson notched three hits and Andre Airich had two hits of his own and drove in a pair in the win. In the finale, North Georgia lost a late-inning lead, but pulled out a 12-inning 5-4 win over Flagler College to leave town with the series victory. The Saints used a Josh Tate groundout to bring Anders Oster home for the game-winner. North Georgia will now travel to USC Aiken to compete in the Peach Belt Conference tournament this week with a first-round match up against Francis Marion University Thursday morning.

 

UNC Pembroke (33-23, 14-13) -- UNCP completed its 2008 season with a school record 33 wins against 23 losses – its fourth-straight 30-win season under head coach Paul O’Neil … The Braves also turned in a program-best 14 Peach Belt Conference wins, while also commencing with a winning record in league play for the first time in program lore as well … The Braves set new school marks for home runs (67), innings pitched (487.1) and pitcher saves (15), as well as four new fielding superlatives – percentage (.963), putouts (1462), assists (667) and fewest errors (82) … The Black & Gold also posted winning records both at home (21-11) and on the road (11-10), accomplishing that feat for the second-straight year … UNCP posted a winning record in non-conference play for the eighth consecutive year with a 19-10 clip … Individually, Jason Morales added five single season records to his repertoire including at-bats (230), hits (85), home runs (15), runs batted in (78) and total bases (150) … Newcomer Edmond Locklear became the third player in UNCP baseball history to record a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage (minimum 100 chances), while junior transfer Ryan Kirkman established a new single season superlative with 11 saves … The Braves will return six players from its starting batting order for the 2009 season, as well as Kirkman and both of its pitching wins leaders in Justin Yow and Josh Bagley.

 USC Aiken (43-13, 18-9) -- USC Aiken won a pair of mid-week games against Pfeiffer to run their win streak to nine-straight, before a tough season ending series loss to UNC Pembroke…The Pacers entered the final weekend with a chance to claim at least a share of their first PBC Regular Season Championship in 14 years…Tied with Columbus State at 17-7, the Pacers needed a sweep of the Braves to control their own destiny…On Friday night, the Pacers rallied from a 4-0 deficit to force extra innings, only to have Jon-Jon Mirra launch a game-winning homer in the 10th…USCA outhit the Braves 12-6, but could not convert on enough chances…Saturday’s doubleheader brought new life as Columbus State split their twinbill with Georgia Southwestern, meaning a sweep by the Pacers would still give them a share of the title…Despite a career-best 12-strikeout, complete-game performance from Dustin Tyra, the Pacers could only score on a Ken Raborn two-run blast in the first in the 3-2 defeat…USCA did claim the nightcap 12-11 in 12 innings to avoid their first sweep of the season…USC Aiken is expected to remain in the latest Collegiate Baseball Magazine Top 30 poll, their 57th appearance in the last 59 polls…With the regular season complete, USC Aiken will now ready itself to host the 2008 PBC Tournament on May 8-11 at Roberto Hernandez Stadium…The Pacers advanced to the championship game last year in Spartanburg, S.C. before falling to Armstrong Atlantic State 5-2…USC Aiken will be the two seed and will face a to be determined fifth-seed on Thursday.