April 2, 2010
Box Score
ARLINGTON, Texas - Junior lefty Clint Dempster struck out 11 batters, the most by any Colonel pitcher in a game this season, and limited the Mavericks to just one earned run over the first 7.0 IP. However, it wasn't enough to stave off a late rally as Texas-Arlington (14-13, 7-4 Southland Conference) scored runs in the eighth and ninth to rally past the Nicholls State University baseball team (13-13, 4-7 Southland Conference) by a score of 4-3 on Friday night at Clay Gould Ballpark.
Dempster dominated for most of the night, allowing just two batters to reach base through the first three innings. Meanwhile, the Colonels staked Nicholls to a 1-0 lead as Adam Miley singled home Blake Bergeron in the top of the second.
However, Dempster ran into trouble in the fourth as the Mavericks started the inning with a walk and a Colonel error to put runners at second and third. Preston Beck's two-run single gave the Mavericks a 2-1 lead.
Dempster regained his composure and kept the Mavericks off the board through the seventh. The Thibodaux native retired nine of the next ten batters en route to an 11 strikeout performance, the most by any Colonel pitcher in a game this season. Dempster scattered five hits and allowed just three walks on the night.
With Dempster keeping the Mavs in check, Nicholls battled back to tie the game at 2-2 in the fifth. Beau Faulk reached second base on an error to lead off the inning and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a wild pitch. Nicholls reclaimed the lead in the sixth as Chase Jaramillo's solo home run put the Colonels up 3-2.
However, it wouldn't be enough to hold off the Mavericks. After Taylor Marba led off the eighth with a walk and was advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, preseason All-American Michael Choice delivered an RBI single to tie the game at 3-3 in the eighth.
Nicholls threatened to reclaim the lead and force UTA to face a do-or-die ninth. But, after Adam Miley notched a one-out double and advanced to third on a groundout, and Kasey Culverson was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and third, UTA's Rhett Varner struck out his 12th batter of the night to escape the jam.
In the bottom of the ninth, Chad Comer led off with a double which was followed by a base hit by Brian Nephew to put runners at the corners and chase Dempster from the game. Unfortunately, Brad Delatte was greeted by a walk-off single by Jesse Payne to score Comer and hand the Colonels a 4-3 defeat.
The Colonels will return to action by trying to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Mavericks on Saturday. The finale of the three-game Southland Conference series is set for a 1:00 p.m. first pitch at Clay Gould Ballpark. Live stats will be available courtesy of Gametracker at both www.geauxcolonels.com and www.utamavs.com, and a streaming audio webcast will be made available at www.ThibodauxOnline.com.
