FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2-4-02
This Week In Armstrong Atlantic State Athletics
Monday, February 4
• Women's Basketball at Clayton State, 5:30 p.m.
• Men's Basketball at Clayton State, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, February 5
No Events Scheduled
Wednesday, February 6
• Women's Basketball vs. North Florida, 5:30 p.m.
• Men's Basketball vs. North Florida, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, February 7
No Events Scheduled
Friday, February 8
No Events Scheduled
Saturday, February 9
• Women's Tennis vs. Rollins, 1:00 p.m.
• Baseball at Lander, 2:00 p.m.
• Women's Basketball vs. Clayton State, 5:30 p.m.
• Men's Basketball vs. Clayton State, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, February 10
• Baseball at Lander, Noon (DH)
Baseball (7-0 Overall, No. 18 Collegiate Baseball Division II)
The 2002 AASU baseball squad swept a four-game weekend series from Tusculum College over the weekend to improve to 7-0 on the year. The 7-0 start is the best for the Pirates since 1994, when AASU also started the yea r 7-0 en route to its last College World Series appearance.
Frida,y, the Pirates opened the weekend series by pounding out 16 hits to defeat the Pioneers, 12-5. The top four hitters in the order for AASU each collected three hits, while junior Josh Smith picked up his first win in relief, hurling 1 1/3 innings, giving up just one unearned run. Junior Jeremy Olson picked up his second save of the year, pitching three scoreless innings, giving up just two hits while striking out four.
Tusculum started Saturday's doubleheader by plating six first-inning runs against the Pirates, but AASU would pound out 10 hits and score seven runs in the first two innings to overcome the deficit and go on to the 11-6 victory. Senior Brian Allen hurled 6 2/3 scoreless innings of relief to pick up the victory in game number one. In the second game, freshman Jason Hawkins limited the Pioneers to one earned run and six hits in 5 1/3 innings for his first win of the season in the Pirates' 9-2 win.
Sunday's final game saw senior David Harriman break out the lumber as the All-Conference catcher hit two home runs and drive in eight as the Pirates pounded the Pioneers 16-4. Harriman finished the four-game weekend series by going 12-for-16 with 13 RBI against Tusculum and now leads the club with a .548 average and 15 RBI.
This week, the Pirates host open up Peach Belt Conference play with a three-game series at Lander University beginning with a single game on Saturday, February 9 at 2:00 p.m., the concluding with a Sunday, February 10 doubleheader at Noon in Greenwood, S.C.
Men's Basketball (10-9 Overall, 6-6 Peach Belt)
The Armstrong Atlantic State men's basketball team began a three-game road trip this week, dropping two Peach Belt Conference games to rivals Augusta State and Kennesaw State.
The Pirates endured their worst regular season conference loss since 1993 at Augusta State on Wednesday, falling to the Jaguars 78-55. Senior Willard Winn led the Pirates with 17 points, while junior Dave Pisarcik added 14 points. AASU hit just 1-of-14 three-pointers from the field in the loss.
On Saturday, the Pirates took Kennesaw State to overtime for the second time in their last three trips to the Spec Landrum Centre, but this time the Owls came away with the victory, winning 82-76. Five AASU players reached double figures, led by senior Donta Humphries' 15 points, while junior Lamarr Chears added 12 points off of the bench.
This week, the Pirates will play three games, beginning on Monday, February 4 with a 7:30 p.m. contest at Clayton State, the makeup of the postponed January 2nd game. AASU then returns home for back-to-back home games against North Florida on Wednesday, January 6 at 7:30 p.m. and against Clayton State on Saturday, January 9 at 7:30 p.m.
Women's Basketball (7-12 Overall, 5-7 Peach Belt)
The Lady Pirates split two games on the week, using a Lexie Martin last-second basket to defeat Augusta State, 70-69, on Wednesday, but falling by just three at Kennesaw State, 72-69, on Saturday.
Martin's heroics on Wednesday evening at Augusta State capped a 22-point day by the senior as she hit 7-of-13 shots from the field, including 5-of-8 from three-point range, and added five steals in the victory. Junior All-America candidate Zandrique Cason added 12 points and 14 rebounds for her 10th double-double of the season in the victory, giving AASU five conference wins on the year, matching last season's output in coach Roger Hodge's first season as the Lady Pirates' head coach.
On Saturday, the Lady Pirates battled Kennesaw State close, but lost by three to the Lady Owls, KSU's 11th straight win over the AASU women's squad. Cason scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Lady Pirates, while Martin added 10 points, including her 1,000th career point in the first half against the Lady Owls, becoming just the sixth AASU women's basketball player to reach the 1,000 point plateau.
This week, the Lady Pirates will play three games, beginning on Monday, February 4 with a 5:30 p.m. contest at Clayton State, the makeup of the postponed January 2nd game. AASU then returns home for back-to-back home games against North Florida on Wednesday, January 6 at 5:30 p.m. and against Clayton State on Saturday, January 9 at 5:30 p.m.
Men's Tennis (0-1, 0-1 Peach Belt, No. 19 NCAA Division II)
The AASU men's tennis team lost a close 5-4 match to No. 20-ranked USC Spartanburg on Saturday afternoon in both team's season opening match.
The Pirates lost two of three doubles matches and trailed, 4-2, but three-set wins by Achim Roth and Michael Jezt tied the match at 4-all. Peter Morsley went to three sets in his singles match against Guillermo Yunez of the Rifles, but Yunez prevailed in a third-set tiebreaker to give USCS the win.
The Pirates are off until their next match on Saturday, February 16 as they host Flagler College at 1:00 p.m.
Women's Tennis (2-0, 2-0 Peach Belt, No. 4 NCAA Division II)
The No. 4-ranked women's tennis team blanked USC Spartanburg and No. 20-ranked Kennesaw State, each by 9-0 scores, to open the 2002 season.
AASU did not drop a game in either match in improving to 2-0 on the season.
The Lady Pirates next host No. 5-ranked Rollins College on Saturday, February 9 at 1:00 p.m. in an early showdown of two of the top-five ranked teams in the country.
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