College of Charleston
James Madison
@CofCBaseball Caps Sweep with Seven-Run Ninth Inning Rally
3/29/2015 10:55:00 PM | Baseball
HARRISONBURG, Va. – College of Charleston baseball sprung a seven-run ninth inning to erase a four-run James Madison lead, claiming an 8-7 victory to cap a Colonial Athletic Association series sweep at Veterans Memorial Park on Sunday afternoon.
Charleston (17-7, 6-0 CAA) trailed by as many as five runs and overcame its largest deficit of the season to become the only unbeaten team in CAA play this season.
After totaling 33 hits over games one and two of the series, the Cougars were held to four hits through eight innings, but rallied when called upon in the ninth to complete the five-run comeback.
The Cougars finished with eight runs on six hits, led by Alex Pastorius who went 2-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs and scored twice. Pastorius led off the Cougars' prolific ninth inning by being hit by a pitch, and culminated the rally with a double to the wall in left center after the Cougars batted all the way around.
After the best offensive game of his young career in game two on Saturday, freshman Ryan Brown turned in another impressive outing, finishing 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
Chase Henry (1-0) earned the win after entering the game in the seventh inning and keeping the Cougars within striking distance. Wade Arduini started on the mound and went 4.2 innings, and Carter Love chipped in 1.2 innings through the middle frames.
“The big thing for me was how hard our guys competed down to the last at bat,” said head coach Monte Lee. “When you're down a handful of runs late in the game like that, it's about competing, staying in the game, and finding a way to get the tying run to the plate. Once we go the tying run to the plate, we found a way to get it done and that's what a winning ball club does.”
JMU scored first for the first time in the series, breaking up a scoreless pitchers' duel in the fourth by stringing together a two-out triple and RBI single to take a 1-0 lead.
The Dukes went back to worth in the fifth and plated four runs on four hits and a Cougar error, costing the Cougars their most-damaging inning in seven games. After a double and a walk, three of the next four hitters recorded hits, including an RBI triple by Kevin Husum, who later scored on an RBI single by Kyle Weston.
After both teams went three-up, three-down in the sixth, the Cougars chipped away in the seventh inning when Pastorius doubled to the corner in left, and scored on a two-out Champ Rowland RBI single through the left side.
CofC looked to make the comeback effort a more-manageable task in the eighth after Tommy Richter walked and Blake Butler was hit by a pitch, but back-to-back flyouts stranded the runners.
The ninth started similarly for the Cougars, with Pastorius being hit by a pitch followed by Devon Reed and Rowland drawing walks to load the bases. Brown chopped a ball in front of the plate, and a JMU throwing error cost the Dukes two runs. A sacrifice bunt moved runners to second and third to put the tying run in scoring position, and the Dukes elected to walk Carl Wise with first base unoccupied. Butler narrowly missed an opportunity to extend his hitting streak to 20 games when the centerfielder tracked down a ball Butler ripped over his head, but it was deep enough to allow Rowland to tag up and score, cutting the deficit to 5-4. Morgan Phillips was walked to reload the bases, and Nick Pappas took a pitch in the shoulder to plate the tying run. Pastorius stepped back into the box and laced a double into left center which emptied the bases, culminating the rally and giving the Cougars an 8-5 lead.
The Dukes were not finished, however, as they led the bottom half of the ninth off with a single and RBI double, and cut their newly-found deficit to 8-7 on an RBI groundout and single to right. Henry fielded his position with poise on a sharply-hit comebacker, which he fired to second base to retire the lead runner, and fanned the next hitter to solidify the win.
Next up for the Cougars is a midweek contest at USC Upstate scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 31 at Harley Field, before The College welcomes Hofstra to Patriots Point in their return to CAA play next weekend.
POSTGAME NOTES
After being hit by a pitch in the first, Ryan Brown successfully got on base to start all three games of the series. Brown finished the series 7-for-14 (.500) with a homerun and three RBIs.
Blake Butler was denied a hit for the first time in 20 games, ending a 19-game hitting streak which was tied for fifth longest in CofC history. Butler is one of only six Cougars all-time to hit successfully in 19 straight games. Butler did draw a walk and was hit by a pitch on Sunday, and has now reached successfully in 22 straight games (accounts for hits, walks, and hit by pitch – reaching on an error or fielder's choice does not extend a reached-base streak). Butler has recorded a hit in 21 of CofC's 24 games this season.
The Cougars batted .385 (5-for-13) with two outs and .333 (3-for-9) with runners in scoring position. The Cougars scored six of their eight runs with two outs.
The Cougars outhit the Dukes, 39-23, in the series and batted .339 (39-for-115) to average 10.0 runs per game.
