GAME 1
The Pilots dominated the first part of the game and then Texas Wesleyan turned the game into a slugfest as the game saw seven home runs; four from the Pilots and three from the Rams. The Pilots continued to pound the baseball as the bullpen came in to shut down the Rams offense for the win.
Jared Mata (7-2) picked up the win for the Pilots as he tossed four innings allowing four earned runs, eight hits, one walk and one strikeout.
"The numbers can't explain how well Mata threw today. He gave us four solid innings until his ball stayed up in the zone in the fifth and we had to get him out. We knew our bullpen would hold the lead and they did. Pharr and Pennington did a great job in relief," head coach Rocke Musgraves said.
Calen Pennington threw one inning in relief and struck out one batter while Richard Pharr tossed the final two innings and struck out the final two batters of the game for the victory.
"Pharr put two runners on in the sixth but induced the ground ball to get out of it and then blew them away in the seventh," said Musgraves.
The ace of the Texas Wesleyan staff Joey Evans (5-4) suffered the loss as the Pilots roughed him up for six earned runs on eight hits in three innings pitched.
The Pilots got on the board first with six runs in the second inning as David Morgan drove in the game's first two runs with a two-run homer to left field. Brandon Bravata then doubled home a run to extend the lead to 2-0 until Andrew Brouillette's three-run home run, his fourth of the season, to the opposite field extended the lead to 6-0 after an inning and a half.
Texas Wesleyan scored one run in the bottom of the inning after a RBI-single from Ryan Ragsdale to pull the Rams within five, 6-1.
LSU Shreveport added two more runs in the third inning as Brandon Bravata drove in his second and third runs of the game with a two-run single to extend the Pilot's lead to 8-1.
The Rams got back into the game with five runs in the fifth thanks to three home runs in the inning. The first was a two-run shot from Nick Schrock, then a solo from Adam Resendez and two-run homer from by Justin Keller to trim the Pilot's lead to two, 8-6 after five complete innings of play.
The Pilots plated four in the sixth after Kevin Smith led off the inning with his 13th homer of the year. Then a two-run single from David Morgan increased the lead to 11-6. The visitors would add one more after a sacrifice fly and a RBI from Brandon Bravata to give the Pilots a six run advantage (12-6) after five and a half.
Chase Wentz hit a two-out line drive missile that cleared the center field wall for his fourth home run of the season to give the Pilots a 13-6 lead with three outs to go.
Brandon Bravata was two for four at the dish with four RBIs and a double while Andrew Brouillette was one for four with a home run.
Kevin Smith extended his hitting streak to six games and finished the game one for four with a solo-homer while Chase Wentz was two for five with a home run and one RBI.
Shawn Moy was two for two with a double and three runs scored while David Morgan was three for four with a home run and four RBIs.
GAME 2
The Rams had the upper hand early on but the Pilots mounted a comeback and tied the game in the top of the seventh with two outs to force the bottom of the seventh.
Cole Newell go the start for the Pilots but was forced out of the game in the third inning with the Pilots down 5-0 which eventually became 6-0. Ben Suit came in to relieve Newell and was lights out.
Suit threw the third, fourth, and fifth innings and retired the last seven batters he faced before handing the ball over to Corey Theriot. Theriot (1-4) struck out two of the three hitters in the sixth, unfortunately he took the loss.
"Newell just didn't have his stuff today but our bullpen did a great job with Suit coming in and shutting them down. Theriot threw the ball well in the sixth and left the fastball out over the plate in the seventh and their guy made him pay and that's the way it goes sometimes," said Musgraves.
The Ram's closer Matt Cutchain (3-4) earned the win after blowing the save in the seventh.
Texas Wesleyan struck first with a run via a sacrifice fly and a RBI from Travis Spencer to give the home team a 1-0 lead after one complete.
The Rams added two more in the second after a two-run single from Adam Resendez extended their lead to 3-0 after two innings of play.
Texas Wesleyan starter Drew Cavender struck out five Pilot hitters in his three innings of work and took the no-decision.
The Pilots got on the board in the fourth inning after a sacrifice fly and a RBI from Chase Wentz following a double from Kevin Smith to extend his hitting streak to seven games. The Pilots trimmed the Ram lead to five, 6-1 after three and a half.
LSU Shreveport got another run in the fifth inning after back-to-back doubles from Matt Bagley and Stephen Hobbins to trim the Ram lead to four, 6-2 after four and a half.
The Pilots scored two runs in the sixth as Shawn Moy had an RBI single and the Pilots scored the other run on a fielder's choice to pull within two, 6-4 after five and a half.
LSU Shreveport tied the game in the top of the seventh with two outs as Curtis Beaudoin drove in a pair with a single to tie the game at six. The inning started with a single by Brandon Bravata and the Andrew Brouillette as they set the table after an intentional walk to Kevin Smith.
It only took two pitches in the bottom of the seventh for Ryan Jacobi to hit a walk-off homer to win the game for Texas Wesleyan. Jacobi entered the game as a defensive replacement in the top of the inning.
Curtis Beaudoin was one for three at the plate with the game tying two RBIs while Stephen Hobbins was one for two with a double. Shawn Moy was two for four while Kevin Smith kept his hitting streak alive. He has now hit safely in his last seven games and was one for two today with a double.
"I was proud of our hitters, they ran into a guy (Cavender) who had filthy stuff and shut us down in the first three innings. We were struggling at the plate but they battled back and tied the game and came through with some big hits when we needed them," said Musgraves.
The next series for the Pilots will be the regular season and GCAC series finale which begins on Friday night at Pilot Field at 6:30 p.m. against the University of Mobile Rams.
Saturday will be Youth Day at Pilot Field as every youth baseball player in uniform will receive free admission to the game while two parents will also be admitted into the park at no charge for each player. The first game of the double dip will begin at 1:00 p.m.
The Pilots enter the final weekend half a game behind the Blazers of Belhaven University for first place in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference. LSU Shreveport must win one more game this weekend than Belhaven to claim their second GCAC regular season title. Belhaven is on the road versus the Loyola Wolfpack.
