HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The No. 19 Delta State Statesmen rallied for seven runs in the top of the seventh inning and claimed a 13-12 win Wednesday at William Carey.
Will McGinnis' pinch-hit single down the left-field line that scored two runs highlighted the inning as it reclaimed an 11-10 lead for the Statesmen (26-10-1), who would score twice more before the inning was over.
Jason Judge picked up his first win of the season after pitching one inning of relief for the Statesmen. Toby Easterley struck out three batters over the final 2 2/3 innings of the game to claim his first save of 2010.
Kody James (1-2) absorbed the loss for William Carey (20-20), an NAIA program that competes in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference.
Delta State designated hitter Michael Vinson led the Statesmen with three RBIs and went 2-for-4 in the game. He was one of four Statesmen players with two hits in the game.
McGinnis went 2-for-2, which included his 2-RBI single in the seventh inning. Statesmen catcher Patrick Taylor went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs and scored three runs. First baseman Cade Hoggard went 2-for-3 and scored thrice in addition to knocking a run.
The Statesmen trailed 10-6 after William Carey plated four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to reclaim the lead. The lead would dwindle just as quickly as it was built, as the Statesmen immediately loaded the bases and begin driving in runs.
Hoggard started the rally by drawing a bases-loaded walk to score Matt Discon. Vinson and Taylor followed with bases-loaded singles that scored Michael Niemann and Josh Gordon, respectively, closing the gap to 10-9.
McGinnis then followed with his single that scored two runs. In all, seven Statesmen came to the plate in the inning before the Crusaders recorded their first out.
Taylor would later score on an RBI groundout by Chris Escobar, and McGinnis completed the scoring when Discon reached base on an infield error that would have been the third out. Discon reached base twice in the seventh inning as the Statesmen sent 11 batters to the plate in the frame.
Patrick Strack also added an RBI for the Statesmen in the game. He knocked DSU's only extra-base hit of the game, a double in the sixth that allowed Taylor to score from first base.
Cody Kelley started for the Statesmen and gave up six runs in three innings, though only two of those runs were earned. Jeffrey Vance also appeared on the mound for the Statesmen, giving up three earned runs and striking out four in 2 1/3 innings in relief of Kelley.
Delta State returns to Gulf South Conference play Saturday when they visit Arkansas-Monticello for the first two games of a three-game weekend series. First pitch in game one is scheduled for 1 p.m.
