Game Wraps
T-BIRDS' SEASON ENDS WITH DISAPPOINTING SUNDAY SWEEP AT CHICAGO STATE
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SUU Fails to Qualify for Mid-Con Tournament for the First Time Since Joining the League in Baseball in 2000 -
05/21/06
Box Score -- Game #1
Box Score -- Game #2
CHICAGO, Ill. -- Southern Utah saw its 2006 season come to an abrupt end Sunday afternoon as Chicago State spoiled the Thunderbirds shot for a Mid-Continent Conference title by taking the final two games of a four-game league series at Flames Field on the Illinois-Chicago campus.
After scoring 27 runs on 27 hits in taking the first two games of the set Saturday, the Thunderbirds could only muster four runs and seven hits in falling in the opener, 11-4. Chicago State, which was competing in its final Mid-Con sporting event overall as the institution will be departing from the league June 30, then rallied to force extra innings in the seven-inning finale and would plate the game-winning run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to claim victory, 6-5.
Southern Utah had entered the final day of the regular season one victory shy of claiming its seventh-straight Mid-Con tournament berth, but that bid will go to Centenary (11-11) as the T-Birds concluded their season at 26-28, 11-13 in conference play, while CSU posted its first two league wins of the year as the Cougars wrapped up their season at 7-44, 2-18 in conference.
The Cougars never trailed in game one as they jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead after the opening inning. SUU came back with a run in the fourth as Justin Sotelo doubled, stole third and scored on the front end of a botched double steal.
Chicago State then put the game away with five runs in its half of the fourth, highlighted by a three-run triple from Randy Bernosky, who would come around to score one batter later on an RBI-single from Luke Grow. The Cougars then tacked on two runs in the sixth and two more in the eighth for good measure to extend the lead to 11-1.
SUU came back with three runs in the ninth, but the hole proved to be too deep to climb out of.
CSU pounded out 16 hits in the opener, including a 4-for-5 effort with three RBI for John Torres, while Grow finished with two hits and three runs scored. CSU starter Chris Freshour ran his record to 2-1 on the year as he scattered five hits and three runs over 8.1 innings of work to pick up the win.
Sotelo accounted for three of the T-Birds’ seven hits in game one to go with an RBI. Senior hurler Jason Gillins (L, 7-3) was touched up for 10 hits and seven runs, though only three were earned, in four innings in his final appearance in a T-Bird uniform.
Southern Utah looked to be in good shape for the Sunday split as it led 5-2 after four innings. The T-Bird erased an early 1-0 deficit with four runs in the second frame as the first five SUU batters reached safely to begin the rally, while Trever Dimick singled home a run in the fourth.
However the Cougars would not go away quietly as CSU came back to tie the score at 5-5 in the sixth, pounding out four hits while chasing T-Bird starter Matt Wilson from the game.
SUU had a chance to regain the lead in the seventh as Amos Burgess led off the frame with a single and would move into scoring position on a wild pitch. Following a Jeff Oliverson flyout, Joe Wright was issued a walk and both T-Bird baserunners would advance 90 feet on the second wild pitch of the frame. CSU reliever Kyle Kupiec would intentionally walk Cameron Nelson to load the bases and that move would pay off as the Cougar hurler would induce an inning-ending 6-3 double play to preserve the tie.
In the CSU ninth, the Cougars would load the bases on a Torres single and a pair of intentional walks with one out in the frame. SUU reliever Dustin Wittwer (L, 2-2) then got Cougar catcher Cody Sandzimier to hit a bounding ball to T-Bird shortstop Keli`i Zablan for the possible inning-ending double play, but Sandzimier beat the relay throw to first base which allowed Torres to score the winning run to complete the comeback.
CSU outhit SUU 15-10 in the finale, all singles, led by Grow and Chris Goya who rapped out three hits apiece in the top-two spots in the Cougar order. Kupiec (W, 1-3) worked around a hit and two walks in three innings of scoreless relief to earn his first victory of the year.
Dimick finished with two hits and two RBI in his final game in a T-Bird uniform, while Burgess also closed out his SUU career with two hits. Wilson (ND) fanned seven but allowed 12 hits and five runs, three earned, before being chased in the CSU sixth. SUU’s defense did not help matters as the corps combined to commit seven errors on the day, including five in the finale.
SUU, which began Mid-Con play in 2000, saw its six-year streak of conference tournament appearances end, this after the T-Birds failed to advance to the Mid-Con tourney title game for the first time in program history last season.
T-BIRDS BREEZE PAST CHICAGO STATE FOR SATURDAY SWEEP
- Hahl Homers Twice and Becomes SUU’s Single-Season SB Leader; T-Birds One Win Away from Mid-Con Tourney Berth -
05/20/06
Box Score -- Game #1
Box Score -- Game #2
CHICAGO, Ill. -- Charlie Hahl and Keli`i Zablan each homered twice, while Hahl stole three bases on the day to become Southern Utah’s single-season stolen base leader, to lead the Thunderbirds to a decisive sweep of the first two games of their final regular season series at Mid-Continent Conference foe Chicago State Saturday. SUU used a pair of big innings to claim a 19-8 triumph in game one, while the T-Birds got a complete-game, seven-hit effort from Larry Ellenbrook en route to a 8-1 victory in the seven-inning nightcap.
The Saturday sweep moved Southern Utah into a fourth-place tie with Centenary and leaves the club one victory shy of claiming its seventh-straight Mid-Con tournament berth as the T-Birds improved to 26-26, 11-11 in conference play, while CSU remained winless in conference action at 0-18 and fell 5-44 overall.
SUU wasted little time getting on the board as Hahl drew a lead-off walk, stole second to clinch the school record, and would come around to score on a pair of flyouts to stake the T-Birds to a 1-0 first-inning lead.
Chicago State would answer in its half of the first as Raven Jackson cashed in a pair of baserunners with a two-out, three-run home run to give his club a 3-1 advantage.
From there it was all Thunderbirds as SUU erased the deficit with a nine-run third inning, sending 13 hitters to the plate overall to race out to a 10-3 cushion. Amos Burgess and Greg Marshall each connected for two-run doubles, while Zablan, who led off the frame by getting hit by a pitch, chipped in a two-RBI home run, while Hahl followed with his first homer of the year one batter later to cap the rally, marking the first time this season the T-Birds had hit consecutive homers in the same inning.
Southern Utah then put up seven more runs in the fourth, capped by a Burgess two-run triple, to pad the lead to 17-4 and would never look back.
 SUU pounded out 16 hits in the opener as every T-Bird in the starting line-up collected at lead one safety, led by Burgess, who finished a homer shy of the cycle, with three hits and four RBI. Meanwhile Hahl had four RBI and four runs scored to go with his two hits and three steals, giving him 33 on the year, which surpassed former T-Bird Floyd Armstrong’s previous record total of 30 steals set in 1985. In addition, Marshall and Zablan each finished with two hits and three RBI.
Senior starter Kasey Hubbard (W, 5-7) recorded his fifth victory of the year as he scattered six earned runs and 10 hits in six innings of work, while junior Derrek Ellena (S, 1) limited CSU to a hit and a walk in three innings of shutout relief to earn his first career save.
CSU finished with 11 hits, including a two-hit, five-RBI outing for Jackson. Cougar hurler Colin Jackson (L, 0-8) remained winless on the year as he was touched up for 13 runs and nine hits in 3.1 innings.
SUU got off to a quick start in the nightcap as Justin Sotelo belted his fourth home run of the season with two outs in the first inning. CSU came back with a run in its first at bat, but the Thunderbirds answered with two runs in the third, including a lead-off homer from Zablan and a Burgess two-out RBI-single to reclaim the lead at 3-1.
Southern Utah then put the game away in the fifth with five more runs thanks to a two-run blast from Hahl and consecutive RBI-doubles from Sotelo, Burgess and Jeff Oliverson.
Ellenbrook (W, 4-7) made the run support stand up as he limited the Cougars to just five hits over his final six innings of work after his first-inning hiccup, surrendering seven hits overall with two strikeouts in a complete-game effort.
SUU outhit CSU 11-7 in game two, including two hits apiece for Dimick, Sotelo and Burgess.
CSU pitcher Jonathan Kohn (L, 1-11) took the loss after allowing eight runs and 11 hits, though he did fan six in seven innings.
The two teams will wrap up the regular season with a second doubleheader Sunday beginning at 12 noon (CDT), at Flames Field on the University of Illinois-Chicago campus.
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