March 29, 2009

Box Score

THIBODAUX, La. - UTA's Michael Choice led off the top of the 10th with a triple to center field and scored the go-ahead run on a sac fly later in the inning to give the Mavericks all they would need for a 6-5 victory over Nicholls Sunday afternoon in Southland Conference baseball action at Ray E. Didier Field.

Momentum swung in the directon of the Mavericks at the end of the game when Jay Pitschka drove a single through the left side to score the tying run from third in the top of the ninth for UT Arlington.

Despite getting two baserunners in the bottom half of the inning, the Colonels couldn't produce a run, sending the game to extra innings with the score tied 5-5.

The Colonels got the scoring started early, as first baseman Zach Tisdale (Petal, Miss./Pearl River CC) drove an RBI single through the right side in the bottom of the first, plating Scott Moseley (Enterprise, Miss./Meridian CC) and Josh Swenson (Applevalley, Minn./North Iowa Area CC), who each reached earlier in the inning on basehits of their own.

Drew Snider (Collinsville, Miss./Meridian CC) doubled to right center and scored, along with Tisdale, when designated hitter Adam Miley (Baton Rouge, La./Copiah Lincoln CC) singled to left, giving Nicholls a 4-1 lead after one inning of action.

Senior Lance Guidroz (Lockport, La./Santa Fe CC) drops to 0-1 on the year for Nicholls after coming in to pitch the 10th. The righty allowed one run on one hit in four batters faced.

Junior Tyler Minto (Mobile, Ala./Alabama Southern CC), who started for the Colonels, did not record a decision. After giving up a solo homerun in the top of the first, the righthander shut down the Mavericks, striking out six and allowing just one UTA player to reach base.

Nicholls added an insurance run in the third, pulling ahead 5-1. Snider reached on an error, advancing to scoring position on a wild pitch and an infield ground out before coming around on Brady Bourque's (Gonzales, La./LSU-Eunice) basehit to right field.

"We competed today," said Colonel head coach Chip Durham. "We had a great start from Minto on the mound. He's one of those guys who we can count on to get a quality start. We came out aggressive offensively and did a great job in the first inning, then didn't do a very good job out of the bullpen and our offense just coasted along in the final innings of the game. We played well defensively. I'm very pleased with that."

The Mavericks chipped away at the Colonel lead with a run in the seventh and two in the eighth, pulling within one (5-4), before righthander Ross Larson (New Lenox, Ill./Lurleen B. Wallace CC) pitched Nicholls out of the jam.

UT Arlington put runners on first and second with a double down the left field line by Tim Steggal and an intentional walk to Matt Otteman before Larson got pinch hitter Mitch Putman to ground out.

Nicholls will travel to Baton Rouge Tuesday night to face Southern in the second half of a midweek home-and-home series before returning to Didier Field Wednesday night for a single game against the New Orleans Privateers.

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