FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 4-4-04

College Baseball: AASU 5, USC Spartanburg 3

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Leon Boyd limited the Rifles to just two earned runs in seven innings and senior closer Zach Shelnutt induced a game-ending double play to give Armstrong Atlantic State a Peach Belt Conference series sweep of visiting USC Spartanburg on Sunday afternoon with a 5-3 win.

The Pirates (25-14, 7-8 PBC) swept the Rifles (18-19, 9-12 PBC) for the sixth straight year as AASU won for the ninth time in its past 10 games.

AASU jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the second inning as George Fletcher drilled a home run to lead off the inning, then four straight hits culminated in two more runs as Brian Dice and Kyle Craven had RBI singles off of USC Spartanburg starter Trevor Berryhill (4-5). The Pirates added a single run in the fourth on an RBI groundout by Rob Recuenco, then a single run in the fifth on back-to-back doubles by Brandon McKinnon and Dustin Thomas to open up a 5-0 lead.

Pirate starter Leon Boyd (5-3), meanwhile, cruised through the first six innings, limiting the Rifles to just four hits and no runs. In the seventh, the first two runners for USCS reached and an errant throw by Dustin Thomas on a sacrifice bunt scored one run and placed runners at the corners. A two-run double by John Caddell plated two runs to make the score 5-3, but Boyd struck out Chris Nowak looking to end the threat.

Josh Tallent worked a scoreless eighth inning for the Pirates, then gave up a leadoff single to Jason Smith in the ninth. Shelnutt entered the game and gave up a single to pinch hitter Ross Vigder – putting the tying runs on base – but got Brad Wingo to fly out to left field and then induced a 4-6-3 double play ball off the bat of Caddell to end the game.

Boyd went seven innings, giving up six hits and three runs – two earned – and struck out seven to pick up the win. Berryhill gave up 10 hits and five runs in five innings to get saddled with the loss. Thomas had three hits on the day to lead the Pirates, while Jason Smith had three hits on the day for the Rifles.

The Pirates return to action as they travel to Florence, S.C., for a three-game PBC series against Francis Marion, beginning with a single game at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, April 9.

-Pirates-