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Pirates rally to beat Southern Miss
By RYAN ROCKWELL, Sports Writer
GREENVILLE -- The East Carolina baseball team was reeling. In just three outs, the team that had hopes of a College World series would fall for the ninth time in 11 games. But hustle, clutch hitting and a little luck propelled the Pirates over Southern Miss on Saturday, 7-6.
It had been the story all year. The Pirates were struggling at the plate again and trailed 6-4 after eight and a half innings of play to the No. 19 team in the nation. Things seemed to be over. The Pirates' big bats, Darryl Lawhorn and Ryan Norwood, came to the plate in the eighth, Lawhorn becoming the final out of the inning.
Who would the Pirates turn to?
Things started rather auspiciously for Conference USA's sixth-place team. The Pirates were six games in back of Southern Miss, which is first in the conference, going into Saturday's confrontation.
ECU catcher Jake Smith struck out looking to lead off the ninth. The next batter, designated hitter Adam Witter, appeared to have flied out to shallow right. Three Golden Eagles converged to the pop-up. Amazingly, the ball fell safely between the three defenders, giving Witter a one-out single.
Freshman slugger Mark Minicozzi came to the plate after tying the game in the fifth with a three-run home run to left. Minicozzi grounded out.
Scrambling for two-out answers, Pirate coach Randy Mazey decided to shake things up with a pinch-hitter to stand in for Luke Cherry, who was 1-for-3 on the day. In walks Jason Tourangeau, who Mazey said, "I can't remember the last time he got a base hit" after the game.
Tourangeau hit the ball sharply on the ground, but right at Eagle shortstop Matt Shepherd. Shepherd was eaten up by a bad hop, Tourangeau was safe and Witter scored from second. The Pirate fans were swooning.
The next batter, Ben Sanderson, was batting a paltry .194 going into Saturday's contest. But Sanderson hit his first home run of the season, a solo shot, in the seventh inning.
"When Sanderson came up to hit in the final inning, I called him back to pinch-hit for him and I couldn't find anybody," said Mazey. "I knew Ben was going to battle. It's a lot harder to pinch-hit than it is to come in after four at-bats after you've seen some live pitching."
Remarkably, Sanderson laid down an exquisite bunt, fooling everyone. Sanderson hustled down the baseline and was safe without a throw.
"He had had a couple of real good at-bats, so I kept him in there and he produced," said Mazey.
"I saw the third baseman back way up behind third," said Sanderson. "I remembered the guy from (North) Carolina doing it against us. It was a last-second decision and luckily I got a good one down."
With the bottom of the order behind them and two men on, Southern Miss reliever Austin Tubb had to face leadoff man Jamie Paige, who had already singled twice. Paige delivered with an RBI rip to left, tying the game.
It seemed all 1,311 purple and gold-clad fans in attendance were cheering.
Southern Miss (36-12, 18-5) was in search of bullpen relief, bringing in John Nicholas to face Ryan Jones, who was 0-for-4 on the afternoon. But, Jones did not like the idea of extra innings on a blustery, overcast day.
Jones knocked a single into left. The ball was hit hard and got to leftfielder Jason Lowery in a hurry. Lowery came up firing, attempting to throw Sanderson, who took off from second and rounded third with deliberate, powerful strides, out at the plate.
The throw was low and right on target, finding its mark, catcher Kevin Coker, just before Sanderson began his head-first slide.
In an inning full of improbabilities, Sanderson had beaten the odds again. The 5-8 senior criminally slid under the tag, touching the plate with his left hand as he coasted past umpire Bob Howard. Howard called "safe" without hesitation and Sanderson said he did not feel a tag by Coker.
"I knew there was going to be a play at the plate," said Sanderson, whose chin was still bleeding from the slide. "That's what you play for, to score the game-winning run from second. It was a great job by Jamie (Paige), Jones and Tourangeau getting those hits. I didn't feel a tag. I was unsure of whether or not I had touched the plate. But, I didn't feel a tag, I really didn't."
"What a great comeback," said Mazey. "All year we've been talking about the seventh, eighth and ninth innings are when we play our best baseball. What a great team win. Sanderson lays down a bunt with two outs. Tourangeau finds a way to get on base. It was a great win on everybody's part."
ECU (27-20, 13-10) played catch-up all afternoon. After three scoreless and hitless innings by both teams, Southern Miss took a 3-0 lead in the fourth on four hits, including a bases loaded single by Clint King off the wall in center. Two more runs scored on a Jarrett Hoffpauir sac fly to center. Jones bumped into the wall making the grab and nonchalantly threw the ball back in after stumbling to regain balance.
After Minicozzi tied the game at three with his three-run blast, a two-run shot from Brad Willcutt put the Golden Eagles up 5-2 in the sixth. Southern Miss added a run in the seventh on an RBI single by Hoffpauir. Hoffpauir was 2-for-2 with three RBI after hitting two homers in game one on Friday, a 6-3 Golden Eagle victory.
Ashley Capps started the game for ECU and pitched five innings, while giving up five earned runs on five hits. Neal Sears (3-4) collected the victory in four innings of relief, allowing one earned run and five hits.
The rubber game of the series is today at 12:30 p.m. at Harrington Field.
"We'll start playing with that intensity that we finished with on the first pitch tomorrow," said Mazey. "The energy level will be there. The intensity will be there. The desire will be there. It's just a matter of whether the hits and the runs will be there."
Southern Miss 000 302 100 -- 6 10 1
East Carolina 000 030 103 -- 7 12 0
WP: Neal Sears (3-4); LP: Austin Tubb (2-1).
SM -- Jason Lowery 1-5, Jeff Cook 2-4, Brad Willcutt 1-3 (HR, 2RBI), Clint King 2-4 (RBI), Jarrett Hoffpauir 2-2 (3RBI), Marc Maddox 1-2, Kevin Coker 1-4; ECU -- Jamie Paige 3-5 (RBI), Ryan Jones 1-5 (RBI), Jake Smith 1-4, Adam Witter 2-4, Mark Minicozzi 1-4 (HR, 3RBI), Luke Cherry 1-3, Ben Sanderson 2-4 (HR).
It had been the story all year. The Pirates were struggling at the plate again and trailed 6-4 after eight and a half innings of play to the No. 19 team in the nation. Things seemed to be over. The Pirates' big bats, Darryl Lawhorn and Ryan Norwood, came to the plate in the eighth, Lawhorn becoming the final out of the inning.
Who would the Pirates turn to?
Things started rather auspiciously for Conference USA's sixth-place team. The Pirates were six games in back of Southern Miss, which is first in the conference, going into Saturday's confrontation.
ECU catcher Jake Smith struck out looking to lead off the ninth. The next batter, designated hitter Adam Witter, appeared to have flied out to shallow right. Three Golden Eagles converged to the pop-up. Amazingly, the ball fell safely between the three defenders, giving Witter a one-out single.
Freshman slugger Mark Minicozzi came to the plate after tying the game in the fifth with a three-run home run to left. Minicozzi grounded out.
Scrambling for two-out answers, Pirate coach Randy Mazey decided to shake things up with a pinch-hitter to stand in for Luke Cherry, who was 1-for-3 on the day. In walks Jason Tourangeau, who Mazey said, "I can't remember the last time he got a base hit" after the game.
Tourangeau hit the ball sharply on the ground, but right at Eagle shortstop Matt Shepherd. Shepherd was eaten up by a bad hop, Tourangeau was safe and Witter scored from second. The Pirate fans were swooning.
The next batter, Ben Sanderson, was batting a paltry .194 going into Saturday's contest. But Sanderson hit his first home run of the season, a solo shot, in the seventh inning.
"When Sanderson came up to hit in the final inning, I called him back to pinch-hit for him and I couldn't find anybody," said Mazey. "I knew Ben was going to battle. It's a lot harder to pinch-hit than it is to come in after four at-bats after you've seen some live pitching."
Remarkably, Sanderson laid down an exquisite bunt, fooling everyone. Sanderson hustled down the baseline and was safe without a throw.
"He had had a couple of real good at-bats, so I kept him in there and he produced," said Mazey.
"I saw the third baseman back way up behind third," said Sanderson. "I remembered the guy from (North) Carolina doing it against us. It was a last-second decision and luckily I got a good one down."
With the bottom of the order behind them and two men on, Southern Miss reliever Austin Tubb had to face leadoff man Jamie Paige, who had already singled twice. Paige delivered with an RBI rip to left, tying the game.
It seemed all 1,311 purple and gold-clad fans in attendance were cheering.
Southern Miss (36-12, 18-5) was in search of bullpen relief, bringing in John Nicholas to face Ryan Jones, who was 0-for-4 on the afternoon. But, Jones did not like the idea of extra innings on a blustery, overcast day.
Jones knocked a single into left. The ball was hit hard and got to leftfielder Jason Lowery in a hurry. Lowery came up firing, attempting to throw Sanderson, who took off from second and rounded third with deliberate, powerful strides, out at the plate.
The throw was low and right on target, finding its mark, catcher Kevin Coker, just before Sanderson began his head-first slide.
In an inning full of improbabilities, Sanderson had beaten the odds again. The 5-8 senior criminally slid under the tag, touching the plate with his left hand as he coasted past umpire Bob Howard. Howard called "safe" without hesitation and Sanderson said he did not feel a tag by Coker.
"I knew there was going to be a play at the plate," said Sanderson, whose chin was still bleeding from the slide. "That's what you play for, to score the game-winning run from second. It was a great job by Jamie (Paige), Jones and Tourangeau getting those hits. I didn't feel a tag. I was unsure of whether or not I had touched the plate. But, I didn't feel a tag, I really didn't."
"What a great comeback," said Mazey. "All year we've been talking about the seventh, eighth and ninth innings are when we play our best baseball. What a great team win. Sanderson lays down a bunt with two outs. Tourangeau finds a way to get on base. It was a great win on everybody's part."
ECU (27-20, 13-10) played catch-up all afternoon. After three scoreless and hitless innings by both teams, Southern Miss took a 3-0 lead in the fourth on four hits, including a bases loaded single by Clint King off the wall in center. Two more runs scored on a Jarrett Hoffpauir sac fly to center. Jones bumped into the wall making the grab and nonchalantly threw the ball back in after stumbling to regain balance.
After Minicozzi tied the game at three with his three-run blast, a two-run shot from Brad Willcutt put the Golden Eagles up 5-2 in the sixth. Southern Miss added a run in the seventh on an RBI single by Hoffpauir. Hoffpauir was 2-for-2 with three RBI after hitting two homers in game one on Friday, a 6-3 Golden Eagle victory.
Ashley Capps started the game for ECU and pitched five innings, while giving up five earned runs on five hits. Neal Sears (3-4) collected the victory in four innings of relief, allowing one earned run and five hits.
The rubber game of the series is today at 12:30 p.m. at Harrington Field.
"We'll start playing with that intensity that we finished with on the first pitch tomorrow," said Mazey. "The energy level will be there. The intensity will be there. The desire will be there. It's just a matter of whether the hits and the runs will be there."
Southern Miss 000 302 100 -- 6 10 1
East Carolina 000 030 103 -- 7 12 0
WP: Neal Sears (3-4); LP: Austin Tubb (2-1).
SM -- Jason Lowery 1-5, Jeff Cook 2-4, Brad Willcutt 1-3 (HR, 2RBI), Clint King 2-4 (RBI), Jarrett Hoffpauir 2-2 (3RBI), Marc Maddox 1-2, Kevin Coker 1-4; ECU -- Jamie Paige 3-5 (RBI), Ryan Jones 1-5 (RBI), Jake Smith 1-4, Adam Witter 2-4, Mark Minicozzi 1-4 (HR, 3RBI), Luke Cherry 1-3, Ben Sanderson 2-4 (HR).
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