February 28, 2006

Final Stats

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - In the moments before his Hornets took the field, ASU head coach Larry Watkins chatted with his old friend Kenneth Hatcher, Sr., coach of the visiting Miles College Golden Bears. Both coaches laughed as they walked to their dugouts, but it was Hatcher who left Paterson Field with the biggest smile as his Golden Bears beat the Hornets 9-5.

The Golden Bears scored four runs off three ASU pitchers in the fifth inning to erase ASU's early lead. By the time, Josh Clemons could get the final out, Miles led 7-4 and never looked back.

ASU tried to get back into the game, as Travis Johnson smashed a home run over the left field wall. Clemons, who began the game at shortstop, was solid in relief. But the Golden Bears touched him up for two runs in the seventh and coasted to the win.

Hornet starter Clinton Smith got off to a tough starting, hitting Brandon Heard, the Miles leadoff man. After stealing second, Heard scored on Chris Evans' double to centerfield. Evans also stole third and reached home on Stevie Roberson's ground out.

Bama State responded with four runs in the bottom of the first. Jake Paramore, who took over the leadoff spot a couple games ago, continued to excel in his new role. After singling, Paramore worked his way into scoring position and was driven home by Anthony Hall. ASU took advantage of a couple of errors by the Miles infield, and tacked on three more runs capped off by Clemons' RBI single.

Smith (0-1) took the loss for ASU. Kenneth McGaughy went the distance for Miles and picked up the win.

Alabama State doesn't have much time to rebound, hosting Concordia College on Thursday. First pitch at Paterson Field is at 1 p.m. Admission is free.