'Necks earn one over Thunderbirds
Jon Oakley
Issue date: 4/20/09 Section: Sports
The Leathernecks baseball team ended a seven-game losing streak on Saturday, taking the final game of its four game series at Southern Utah 11-8.
Both teams had their bats working in the series, but the Leathernecks (8-21, 4-7 Summit League) ended up on the losing end of the first three games 22-8, 12-18 and 4-8.
"It was good to escape from up here with a win," said head coach Stan Hyman. "It's a tough place to play because this is a very good Southern Utah team that plays to the strengths of their ballpark. They're a tremendous offensive machine."
In the four games, 20 homeruns were hit, nine of which were knocked out by the 'Necks, three by junior centerfielder Andrew Hagins and two by senior first baseman Tyler Metcalf.
Hagins was a monster at the plate in the series, collecting eight hits and driving in 10 runs. With the strong weekend, Hagins raised his Summit League batting average to .349 and took the team lead for conference RBIs with 12.
Hyman said that he is confident that his offense as a whole is on track and that the lineup is right where he wants them to be.
"Offensively we have a very balanced attack," Hyman said. "We had a lot of production from the bottom of the order. Really there weren't any holes in the lineup. Offensively we played really well."
Saturday's finale was another slugfest, with the Thunderbirds (19-15, 9-2 Summit) taking an early 4-0 lead with a pair of runs in the first and third innings. The 'Necks offense came alive in the fourth inning, putting up seven runs on four hits, three walks, a wild pitch, an error and a pass ball.
Southern Utah returned in the bottom of the fourth with a run of its own, but with Western scoring security runs in the fifth, sixth, seventh and ninth innings, the Thunderbirds never brought the game back to a tie.
After the long weekend on the mound, the 'Necks' earned run average jumped to a 9.70 on the season and 8.90 in The Summit League.
"Pitching-wise, we could not slow them down, forget shutting them down," Hyman said.
Sophomore pitcher Chris Fuchs went against the grain in his appearance on the mound in the series finale. Fuchs threw three and two thirds scoreless innings, striking out four, walking none and picking up his third save of the year.
The 'Necks next action will be against Iowa at Modern Woodman Park in Davenport, Iowa Tuesday at 7 p.m., then host Iowa Wesleyan Wednesday, April 22 at 3:30 p.m.
Both teams had their bats working in the series, but the Leathernecks (8-21, 4-7 Summit League) ended up on the losing end of the first three games 22-8, 12-18 and 4-8.
"It was good to escape from up here with a win," said head coach Stan Hyman. "It's a tough place to play because this is a very good Southern Utah team that plays to the strengths of their ballpark. They're a tremendous offensive machine."
In the four games, 20 homeruns were hit, nine of which were knocked out by the 'Necks, three by junior centerfielder Andrew Hagins and two by senior first baseman Tyler Metcalf.
Hagins was a monster at the plate in the series, collecting eight hits and driving in 10 runs. With the strong weekend, Hagins raised his Summit League batting average to .349 and took the team lead for conference RBIs with 12.
Hyman said that he is confident that his offense as a whole is on track and that the lineup is right where he wants them to be.
"Offensively we have a very balanced attack," Hyman said. "We had a lot of production from the bottom of the order. Really there weren't any holes in the lineup. Offensively we played really well."
Saturday's finale was another slugfest, with the Thunderbirds (19-15, 9-2 Summit) taking an early 4-0 lead with a pair of runs in the first and third innings. The 'Necks offense came alive in the fourth inning, putting up seven runs on four hits, three walks, a wild pitch, an error and a pass ball.
Southern Utah returned in the bottom of the fourth with a run of its own, but with Western scoring security runs in the fifth, sixth, seventh and ninth innings, the Thunderbirds never brought the game back to a tie.
After the long weekend on the mound, the 'Necks' earned run average jumped to a 9.70 on the season and 8.90 in The Summit League.
"Pitching-wise, we could not slow them down, forget shutting them down," Hyman said.
Sophomore pitcher Chris Fuchs went against the grain in his appearance on the mound in the series finale. Fuchs threw three and two thirds scoreless innings, striking out four, walking none and picking up his third save of the year.
The 'Necks next action will be against Iowa at Modern Woodman Park in Davenport, Iowa Tuesday at 7 p.m., then host Iowa Wesleyan Wednesday, April 22 at 3:30 p.m.
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