March 7, 2009

Box Score

RUSTON -- Louisiana Tech (6-3) defeated Eastern Michigan (3-8) by a score of 5-4 Saturday afternoon at J.C. Love Field at Pat Patterson Park.

"Eastern Michigan is a well-coached, well-disciplined team," Tech head coach Wade Simoneaux said. "They pitch with a plan. They have a good approach at the plate, and they put pressure on us again today."

Jeb Stefan followed John Anderson's quality outing on Friday by pitching seven strong innings, while allowing only four hits, one run and two walks. He set a new career-high in strikeouts by punching out eight Eagles.

"Jeb pitches beyond the level of a freshman," Simoneaux said. "He has a feel for what he needs to do on the mound. He has a tremendous changeup that he can throw at any point in the count. When a pitcher can do that, hitters can't think the pitcher is going to throw a fastball when most do in a particular count. That is why he is so effective."

Through the first three innings, Stefan gave up two hits and a walk. Of the other nine batters he faced, he struck out four and forced one ground out and four fly outs.

Tech was unable to manufacture a base runner through the first four innings as Eastern Michigan pitcher Jordan Goldschmidt was throwing a perfect game. He retired the first 12 Bulldog batters he saw on the day.

Eastern Michigan recorded the first run of the day on an RBI single by designated hitter Todd Graves with two outs in the fourth inning. That was the only run the Eagles scored in the inning as Stefan then struck out the Eagles' right fielder Brent Ohrman to end the fourth.

Devon Dageford broke up Goldschmidt's perfect game in the fifth inning by stroking a single to left field. Clint Ewing was looking to put the Bulldogs ahead when he launched what could have been a two-run home run to right field, however the wind prevented the ball from escaping the field. Nick Grunenwald picked up Ewing as he smashed his first home run of the year, a two-run shot, to left field to put the Bulldogs ahead 2-1.

In the sixth inning, Stefan continued to dominate as he struck out two Eagles and forced a ground out to Chris Kersten to preserve Tech's 2-1 lead.

Kevin Winn extended his hitting streak to 16 games when he hit a solo home run on a three-and-one count to right field. The home run was Winn's first round-tripper since April 27, 2008 versus Hawai'i.

Stefan threw a scoreless inning in the seventh and was replaced by Mike Jefferson in the eighth.

Eastern Michigan cut the Bulldogs lead by one in the eight inning on a single and a throwing error by Dageford. With runners on first and second and one out for the Eagles, Jefferson forced Eagle catcher Andrew Marshall to ground out and Aaron Powell to fly out.

Clay Alexander cracked Tech's third home run of the day when he hit a two-run home run to left field to bring in Grunenwald from second base. After Clint Stubbs popped out to the shortstop, Patrick Thomas collected his 100th hit of his Tech career on an infield single. However, Eastern Michigan's Kevin Wammes was able to get out of the inning. With one inning remaining, Tech had a 5-2 advantage.

Benn Fairbanks came in for Jefferson in the ninth. After the Eagles drew three walks, Casey Jones came in to help preserve the win. The first batter Jones faced was left fielder Aaron Crooks. Crooks hit a line drive to Kersten and the native of Kiowa, Kan. made a diving catch to rob the Eagles from scoring possibly two runs.

Eastern Michigan ended up scoring two in the ninth on a double by Jim Gulliver, but Jones recorded a strike out and a ground out to end the game. By Jones preserving the win for the Bulldogs, he earned his first save of his career.

Stefan is now (2-0) on the season.

The Bulldogs were led in the RBI department by Grunenwald and Alexander, both with two each.

Three of the four pitchers the Bulldogs threw today were freshmen.

Tech will look to earn their second sweep of the season on Sunday at J.C. Love Field at Pat Paterson Park. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Sunday's game can be viewed for free by clicking on the "Athletics" tab at www.latechtv.com. An image of the field should appear approximately one hour before first pitch.

Dave Nitz will call the action Sunday on ESPN 97.7 FM. An audio stream of the radio broadcast can be found at www.espn977.com. The pregame show will begin at approximately 12:50 p.m.

GameTracker will also be available on Sunday at www.latechsports.com.