Jordan Meisner

Baseball Splits Saturday DH in Tyler

4/14/2018 10:12:00 PM

By: LC Sports Information - Brad Welborn

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

After an important win on Monday night the Louisiana College baseball team returned to play on Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader at the University of Texas at Tyler. The Wildcats were able to split the two game set with a 5-3 win in the opener but falling in the nightcap 8-3. The win in game one was the first for the Wildcats in Tyler over the Patriots since the 2004 season.

Game 1

Things looked grim for the Wildcats early in game one as the Patriots jumped out to a 3-0 lead thanks to two errors that loaded the bases, then allowed another run to score. The Wildcats though bounced back right away in the top of the second. A double from catcher Ty Morgan put runners at second and third to start the inning, after two outs by the next two batters, Brady Atkins delivered a 2-run single up the middles to put the Wildcats within a run of UTT.

In the third it was once again Morgan that would come through with another double, this time with a runner on first that was able to score thanks to an error on the play and tie the game at three.

After giving up the three runs in the first inning, two of them unearned, LC starter Deauton Delgado worked around hits in each of the next five innings to hold the Patriots off the scoreboard. The Wildcat defense was solid the rest of the way as well, going errorless the remainder of the game.

It was the Wildcats fifth double of the game, this one from Steven Pizano, that put the go ahead run on base and in scoring position to start the seventh inning. He moved to third on a base hit to center from Blaine Ouber. After a steal of second by Ouber, the Wildcats benefited from some Patriot miscues to take the lead. A balk brought Pizano in from third to put LC on top for the first time and then a passed ball two batters later allowed Ouber to slide in and give the Wildcats the winning 5-3 margin.

Deauton Delgado (3-2) tossed his second complete game in a row going all 7.0 innings, scattering nine hits and allowing three runs, only one of them earned, with six strikeouts. Brady Atkins and Blaine Ouber both went 3-for-4 in the game and Steven Pizano and Ty Morgan each were 2-for-4 as the Wildcats ripped 12 hits in the game.

Game 2

With runs in the first two innings in game two, the Patriots once again had an early lead on the Wildcats. A first pitch home run by Konner James in the top of the third cut the Patriots lead in half and gave LC their first run of the game. UTT answered though in the bottom of the inning with an RBI groundout to push their lead back to two at 3-1.

It was the bottom of the fourth that was the back breaker for the Wildcats as the Patriots scored a run on a base hit to second, then two more on a 2-out single up the middle to take a 6-1 lead into the fifth. The Wildcats scored the next two runs of the game on solo home runs in the sixth and seventh innings, one from Charlie Gallusser, the first of his career, and Duncan Cornfoot, his second of the week. An RBI single in the seventh and a run on an error in the eighth were the final two for the Patriots giving them the 8-3 win in the Saturday nightcap.

Seven different Wildcats had hits in the game, with James, Gallusser, and Cornfoot providing all the offense with the home run swings. Sully Martin moved one hit closer to the all-time number in game two and needs just four more hits to break the LC record.

The Wildcats and Patriots will finish their three game series on Sunday afternoon with a 1 p.m. first pitch from Irwin Field in Tyler, Texas. Stay connected to Louisiana College baseball by following @LC_bsb on Twitter. For general athletics news follow @LC_Wildcats on Twitter or like Louisiana College Wildcats on Facebook.

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