FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 3-11-00

College Baseball: No. 21 AASU 11, Bryant 1

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Junior Simon Stoner pitched a complete-game two-hitter, giving up just one unearned run, as the No. 21-ranked Armstrong Atlantic State Pirates defeated Bryant College, 11-1, in Savannah Invitational action on Saturday afternoon.

Stoner and Bryant starter Chuck Martino were locked in a pitcher's duel until the sixth inning, when the Pirates (18-5) broke through with five runs to chase Martino. Haydn Chinn led off with a tripple, then after a walk and a bunt, Nick Snow and Bryan Beckmann added RBI singles for the Pirates to stretch the lead. Bryant (4-3) scored its only run in the top of the eighth on an RBI single by Jon England, but AASU added five more in the bottom of the eighth, highlighted by Jimmy LaRose and Brian Pickel, who each had two-run singles in the inning.

A junior from Prince George, British Columbia, Stoner (1-1) walked five but struck out 10 Bulldogs for his first win as a Pirate. In his other two starts this season, Stoner had not lasted past the third inning and entered Saturday's game sporting a 29.70 ERA. Bryant's Martino gave up five runs in 5 1/3 innings to take the loss for the Bulldogs.

AASU and Bryant square off again on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Savannah Invitational action. The 10 a.m. game on Sunday pits Bemidji State against North Dakota State.

- Pirates -