STATESBORO, Ga. (3/27/22) – A bases-loaded hit-by-pitch resulted in a heart-breaking loss for the Arkansas State baseball team, which fell 7-6 to Georgia Southern on Sunday afternoon at J.I. Clements Stadium.

A-State (4-17, 0-6 SBC) did not trail until the game’s final pitch, entering the ninth with a one-run lead and holding the Eagles (17-7, 5-1) to their last strike. However, a ninth-inning rally ended in a walk and hit batter.

The Red Wolves performed well from start to finish, beginning with another solid start by lefty Jakob Frederick. The Sacramento, Calif., native went five innings and allowed four runs on eight hits. Tyler Jeans worked the sixth and seventh, giving up just one run before handing off to Brandon Anderson (0-3). Anderson worked the final 1 2/3 frames and allowed two runs on two hits.

Daedrick Cail rattled off three hits from the leadoff spot, reaching base four times in five appearances. Ben Klutts went 2-for-4 with an RBI while Brandon Hager scored twice on two hits.

A-State strung together three runs on six singles in the second inning en route to taking an early 3-0 lead and chasing Georgia Southern starter Ben Johnson. Tristen Jamison drove home Jaylon Deshazier, then a base hit by Eli Davis scored Hager with two outs. Cail joined the two-out hit parade with a single up the middle to plate Cooper Tremmel.

The Eagles got two runs back in the bottom of the second on an RBI single by Jarrett Brown and a double by Parker Biederer that scored Brown. Biederer, who led Georgia Southern with three hits and four RBI, was tagged out at third for the final out while trying to stretch hits hit into a triple.

The Red Wolves picked up another two-out RBI in the fourth when Klutts drove in Davis from third to make it 4-2.

Hager then led off the fifth with an opposite-field solo homer over the 24-foot wall in right field to put the score at 5-2. Georgia Southern responded in the bottom half of the frame with a two-run homer by Biederer.

In the sixth, Cail scored on a sacrifice fly by Deshazier, making it 6-4 – a score which held through 6 ½ innings. Jay Thompson (2-0) tossed the final three innings for Georgia Southern and did not allow a run.

The Eagles tacked on a run in the seventh when Noah Ledford doubled home Jason Swan, but Jeans worked out of the frame with no further damage.

Anderson then stranded the bases full in the eighth to give the Scarlet and Black a chance to end its skid. After Ledford drew a walk to lead off the bottom of the ninth, Anderson picked off pinch-runner J.C. Peacher for the first out. On the next pitch, pinch-hitter Blake Evans flew out to right, putting A-State one out away from the win.

Thompson then drew a two-out walk to represent the tying run, followed by a pinch-hit single by Noah Searcy to put runners at the corners. Jarrett Brown then coaxed a walk to load the bases. A four-pitch walk to Biederer pushed across Thompson to tie it, then Jesse Sherrill was plunked to plate Jarrett Jenkins, who pinch-ran for Searcy, for the game-winner.

NEXT UP

A-State returns home for a four-game home stand to begin a stretch of seven home contests in eight games, beginning with a midweek outing versus in-state foe Central Arkansas. First pitch at Tomlinson Stadium-Kell Field is slated for 6 p.m. Tuesday, with the game set to be broadcast live on ESPN+. The radio broadcast can be heard on The Ticket Radio Network stations 95.3, 96.9, 104.1 and 970 AM.

SOCIAL MEDIA

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Original article source: https://astateredwolves.com/news/2022/3/27/baseball-a-state-drops-heartbreaker-to-georgia-southern-sunday.aspx | Article may or may not reflect the views of KLEK 102.5 FM or The Voice of Arkansas Minority Advocacy Council