Wanuch, Gilpin strong in Steeplechase and other sports news

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Arkansas-SEMO Live Blog

UTC seniors Nathan Wanuch and John Gilpin finished second and fourth in 9:24.89 and 9:40.31 in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket Invitational track and field meet this past weekend in Atlanta. It was the first steeple for Gilpin. The Mocs' Iman Isang was seventh in the 110 hurdles, and senior Mark Cole had his second 1500 personal record in as many weeks with a ninth-place 3:58.65. UTC's Maddison Melchionna was fifth with Chandler Rogers 10th in the women's 800, and freshman Jessica York was 10th with a PR in the 1500.

• Sewanee's Amy Nelson finished second with a 39.33-meter women's hammer throw and was sixth in discus in the 15-school Emory Classic track and field meet Saturday in Atlanta, and the Tigers' Caroline Brooks, Amy Lee, Parker Goss and Amy Buice were third in the 4x800 relay. Willow Smith was fourth in the women's 10,000 with the best time of any NCAA Division III participant, and Sewanee's Josh Hirakawa was fourth in the men's 110 hurdles with Thomas Walters fifth in pole vault.

Baseball

• Cleveland State swept its TCCAA baseball doubleheader Sunday at Southwest Tennessee, winning 5-4 and 4-2 to sweep the three-game series. In the first game, the Cougars (18-5, 8-10 TCCAA Region VII) rallied after falling behing 4-0 with three runs in the fifth on a three-run home run by Dalton Rogers and single runs in the sixth and seventh innings. Zach Janes and Chris Caffrey each had a pair of hits in the win, and starter Jake Wright picked up his first win of the season while Kegan Fredrick notched his first save. Cleveland State again had to rally in the second game after falling behind 2-0 after two innings. The Cougars scored all of their runs in the fourth inning on four hits with RBI hits by Rogers, Caffrey and Chase Shaw. Josh Morgan picked up the complete-game pitching fivtory with seven strikeouts.

• Lee University lost 2-1 in its Gulf Coast baseball series finale Sunday against visiting West Florida, ranked No. 3 in NCAA Division II. The Flames (21-13, 9-9) outhit the Argonauts (25-5, 17-3) seven to six, but Lee only managed to scored one run in the fourth inning on a home run by Zacary Hawkins. Hawkins finished 2-for-4 to lead the Flames offense, and starting pitcher Derrick Pitts took the loss despite pitching 5 2/3 innings and allowing only two runs (one earned) on five hits and four walks while striking out four. Saturday, West Florida won 11-0 and 3-0 as Dawson Brown and Jordan DeLorenzo held the Flames to a total of eight hits with 17 strikeouts, while Austin Southall drove in two runs in each game.

• Nationally 16th-ranked Rhodes College won 16-0 and 1-0 over visiting Sewanee in Southern Athletic Association baseball Saturday and added a 6-2 victory Sunday. Mike O'Neil pitched a six-hitter in Saturday's second defeat, and Michael Walker had one of the Tigers' two hits in each game. Sunday, the Tigers (8-15) struck first with a first-inning run on an RBI single by Gus Myer, but Rhodes took the lead on a four-run fifth inning and added single runs in the sixth and eighth innings. Jack Whaley was 3-for-4 for Sewanee and leadoff hitter Jackson Cooper was 2-for-4 at the plate.

Softball

• Chattanooga State swept a doubleheader at Southwest Tennessee winning two six-inning games 12-3 and 9-1. Shelby Willard improved her pitching record to 15-0 with the win in the first game, striking out 12. Katy Richardson went 4-for-4 with two RBI, and Baylee Williams, Elyse Ferguson and Courtney Crawford each had two hits. Williams had three RBIs in the win, and Ferguson had a tw0-run home run. In the Second game, Sharlene Godoy got the pitching victory to improve to 11-4, and she had 10 strikeouts. Richardson continued her hot day at the plate, going 3-for-4 in the second game with three runs and an RBI. Khadija Neely hit a two-run homer and was 3-for-3 at the plate with four RBIs, and Lindsey Stickrod went 2-for-4 with two doubles. With the wins, Chattanooga State's record is 33-5 and 18-4 in TCCAA play.

• Cleveland State wrapped up a four-game sweep at Jackson State on Sunday with a 6-2 win followed by a 10-2 victory. Ida Watson threw seven strong innings to pick up the win in the opener, and Kelsey Haley won the second game. Ashley Swaney, Tori Roberts and Hannah Powell had RBI hits in the opening game, and Emily Huston and Kirsten Henry hit home runs in the sweep.

• Lee University lost 6-5 to West Florida on Sunday in the final game of the Gulf South softball series in Cleveland. Dominique Hannah hit a home run, and senior Ana Coscorrosa went 2-for-3.

• Sewanee 6-1 and 19-0 to visiting Hendrix in an SAA softball doubleheader Sunday. Sewanee scored its lone run on a sacrifice fly by Kate Heil to score Courtney Saunders.

• Former Ooltewah standout Jackie Baird broke the East Tennessee State single-season home run record on Sunday with her 12th homer of the season to wrap up a weekend series sweep of Northern Kentucky. Baird's record setting homer was a two-run shot in the bottom of the fourth inning of a 5-2 win in the opening game of the Sunday's doubleheader. Another former Ooltewah player, freshman Kelsey Chernak had a two-run double in the victory. In addition to holding the single-season record, Baird is now tied with Stephanie Gaynord for the ETSU career home run record with 25, and she entered the weekend ranked second in the nation with 0.42 home runs per game.