Catamounts take two games; Hawk claims seventh victory

Western Carolina picked up a pair of non-conference baseball victories over Georgia State last week at Hennon Stadium/Childress Field.

Rod Goldston's two-run homer in the 10th gave the Catamounts (29-14) a 9-7 win and a series sweep on April 23. Alan Beck singled to start the 10th, and Goldston homered one out later.

The blast made a winner of former Smoky Mountain standout Derrick Hawk (7-1). He pitched the final four innings and gave up just two hits and one run.

Western scored a run in the first on consecutive two-out singles by Beck, Todd Buchanan and Goldston.

The Catamounts extended their advantage to 6-0 in the third. Three walks loaded the bases, and Denver Edick and Chris Davis delivered two-run doubles. After a single by Matt Nelson, Brian Sigmon drove in a run with a fielder's choice.

GSU cut the gap to 6-2 in the fifth as Justin Newman homered and Kevin Kawasaki had an RBI single.

The Panthers made it 6-3 in the sixth as Stanley Wise singled and eventually scored on a wild pitch.

Georgia State drew even with a three-run sixth. One run scored on an error, and Rusty Bennett had a two-run single.

The Panthers took a 7-6 edge in the eighth. Mike Buchanan and Kyle Breitbach singled putting runners on the corners, and Mike DeVeaux drove in a run with a ground out.

The Cats tied it in the bottom half as Goldston's sacrifice fly plated Todd Roper, who had singled.

Goldston was three of three at the plate with four RBIs. Nelson also had three hits while Davis and Beck both had two.

Newman and Sean Fitzgerald each had two hits for GSU.

Reliever Scott Boatman took the loss.

Beck drove in a career-high seven runs leading the Cats to a 21-10 victory on April 22. He was three of five at the plate, including a pair of three-run homers.

Roper, Nelson and Brandon McDowell all had three hits while Goldston and Wayne Kilmer both added two.

Beck doubled and scored on an error in the first.

Goldston singled in a pair to cap a five-run second making it 6-0. Two errors on one play allowed a run to score. Kilmer had an RBI single, and Beck drove in a run with a fielder's choice.

The onslaught continued in the third as four runs extended the margin to 10-0. Roper had an RBI single, and Beck hit his first three-run shot.

McDowell's homer and Roper's RBI single put WCU up 12-0 in the fourth.

Georgia State got on the board with three unearned runs in the fifth. Kawasaki had an RBI double, and Bennett doubled in a pair.

Western broke the game open with eight runs in the bottom of the fifth to lead 20-3. The highlight was Beck's second three-run homer giving him the Southern Conference lead with 13. Goldston and Davis had RBI doubles while Nelson singled in a run. Roper was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, and Kilmer delivered a sacrifice fly.

WCU's final run came in the sixth on Sigmon's fielder's choice with the bases loaded.

GSU scored four times in the seventh for a 21-7 margin. Kawasaki delivered an RBI single, and Stephen Burroughs singled in two. The other run scored on a wild pitch.

The Panthers concluded the scoring with three runs in the ninth. Ryan Sterling had an RBI double while DeVeaux and Brian Williams both singled in runs. Seth Foster (3-3) pitched six innings and allowed no earned runs.

Kawasaki paced the GSU offense by going four of five. Burroughs had two hits.

Tim Burgess, who was removed from the mound in the second, took the loss.

Western was scheduled to play non-conference games Tuesday and Wednesday at Oklahoma State. Results were not known at the Herald sports deadline.

Conference action will resume this weekend at Wofford. A doubleheader is set for noon Saturday with a single game at 1 p.m. Sunday.

Back to Sports: 05/01/03.