AUGUSTA, Ga. -
Augusta State fell behind 11-1 in the first two innings Thursday
afternoon, then battled back with eight runs over the last three
innings and escaped New Field with a 15-14 non-conference victory
over the Cobras.
ASU senior righthander Tony Baker improved to 1-1 on the season,
earning the victory with 2.0 innings of scoreless relief. At the
plate, Baker went 5-for-6 with three RBI and three runs scored.
Junior centerfielder Alex Walker drove in a game-high four runs,
going 3-for-6 with three runs scored. Freshman third baseman Cole Payne enjoyed a 3-for-6 afternoon and junior left fielder Kenny Smith had a pair of hits and scored four runs. Senior shortstop
Evan Smith also scored three runs.
Coker roughed up Jaguar starter Scott Shipman in the first inning,
touching up the freshman righty for four hits and seven runs in 1.0
inning of work. The Cobras added four runs in the second off Zach
Breaux before the freshman righty settled down, tossing three
innings of hitless relief with a pair of strikeouts.
Breaux and three other ASU relievers -- Aaron Lewis, Jacob Watson
and Baker -- yielded just six hits and three runs over the final
seven innings.
The Jags, who outhit the hosts 18-13, scored five runs in the
fourth on an RBI-double by freshman catcher Justin Appel and
RBI-singles from Baker and Evan Smith along with a sacrifice fly
from Carl Burrow.
ASU got a two-run homer from Walker in the seventh and tied the
game with five runs in the eighth, combining a pair of errors with
an RBI-double from Baker and a RBI-triple from Walker. In the
ninth, the Jags scored the goahead run when Kenny Smith doubled to
right field and scored on Baker's single through the left
side.
In the bottom of the ninth, Baker allowed a leadoff single to Drew
Hardee, then picked off Hardee at first base. Baker struck out Tom
Peterson to end the game.
The victory lifted ASU to 6-7 while Coker, which committed four
errors, slipped to 9-5.
The Jags open their Peach Belt Conference schedule this weekend
with a three-game series in St. Augustine, Fla. ASU and Flagler
meet in a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 1:00 p.m., and play
a single game Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.