SAVANNAH, Ga. – Armstrong Atlantic State's John Roberts jacked a solo homer in the bottom of the 11th inning Tuesday to lift the Pirates to a 6-5 non-conference victory over Augusta State at Pirate Field.
The loss dropped the Jaguars to 13-32 overall while the fifth-ranked Pirates avoided the upset and improved to 32-9 on the season.
Roberts' heroics came after Armstrong forced extra innings by rallying for a run in the bottom of the ninth. The Jags walked three straight Pirate batters before Clayton Miller tied the game at 5-all with a sacrifice fly to right that plated Tanner Jones.
The Jags, who managed just three hits, jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first off Pirate starter Travis Morris. Caleb Saggus and Clayton Dennis drew a pair of walks before Jeff Rice was hit by a pitch. Justin Appel was hit by a pitch to plate Saggus and when Brac Barton drew a walk to force home Dennis, Armstrong head coach Joe Roberts had seen enough and yanked Morris.
Bryson Stack's grounder to second was misplayed, allowing Rice to score before Pirate reliever Eric Fowler retired the next two batters to escape the inning.
Armstrong immediately countered with four runs in the bottom half of the frame off of ASU starter Matt Blume to reclaim the lead. Blume then settled in, and went 4.2 innings overall, giving up seven hits – just three after the first inning -- and four runs with a pair of strikeouts
The Jags reclaimed the lead with single runs in the fourth and fifth. Ross Miles reached on an error and Saggus singled to center in the fourth. After Dennis was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Rice delivered a sacrifice fly to chase home Miles and knot the game at 4-all.
In the fifth, Barton singled down the left field line, went to second on a passed ball and scored on a throwing error.
Saggus, Dennis and Barton were responsible for the Jags' three hits. Zach Taylor went 3-for-5 for the Pirates while Casey Maloney and Roberts had two hits each.
Mack Adams, Aaron Lewis, Kyle Golden and Clint Echols combined for 4.1 innings of solid relief, yielding just two hits and a run in 4.1 innings. Zack Breaux (0-1) was tagged with the loss after allowing a hit and a walk in the 10th inning before surrendering Roberts' game-winner in the 11th.
Armstrong's Joseph Snooks (1-0) earned the win with a perfect top of the 11th inning. Chess Malone went 6.0 innings for the Pirates and gave up just a single and an unearned run.
The Jags travel to USC Aiken's Robert Hernandez Stadium to take on the Pacers Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
