Box Score
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Sixth-seeded Norfolk State capitalized on a three-run sixth inning and rode the strong pitching of Jason Barker (Chesapeake, Va.) and Ryan Shook (Virginia Beach, Va.) to a 5-3 win over No. 2 Delaware State in an elimination game of the 2009 MEAC Baseball Championship on Friday morning at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.
The Spartans (21-22) advance to face No. 4 Maryland Eastern Shore in another win-or-go-home contest at 6 p.m. Friday. Delaware State's season ends at 19-25-1.
Trailing 3-2 entering the sixth, NSU got the lead-off hitter on base in the form of Jerrod Farley (Chester, Va.), who was hit by a Josh Schmidt pitch. After a sacrifice bunt, Juan Herrera (Santiago, Dominican Republic) tied the game at 3-all with an RBI double into the right-field corner. Herrera then advanced to third on the Hornets' fourth error of the game and scored to go-ahead run on a passed ball. TiQuan Griffin (Florence, S.C.) drove in the final run of the inning by beating out a high chopper to second base, allowing Drew Suttmiller (Chesapeake, Va.) to score from third base to make it 5-3.
Barker allowed two of three first three hitters he faced in the bottom of the eighth to reach and was lifted in favor of Shook, a freshman right hander. Shook walked Troy Drummond to load the bases, but induced a double-play grounder from Ryne Mailen to end the threat.
Shook worked around a two-out walk in the bottom of the ninth, striking out Jose Sanchez to end it.
NSU got off to a solid start. John Lynch (Newport News, Va.), who had three hits in Thursday's first-round game, kept up his hot hitting by ripping a sharp triple down the right-field line on Schmidt's first pitch of the game. It was Lynch's team and MEAC-leading seventh triple of the season. Anselmo Cantu (Virginia Beach, Va.) knocked him in with a sacrifice fly for a quick 1-0 NSU lead.
DSU tied the game at 1-all in the bottom of the third. Mailen led off with a double to center field. He was sacrificed to third and scored on a balk by Barker.
The Spartans mounted a two-out rally in the top of the fourth. Chris Joyce (Chesapeake, Va.), Herrera and Suttmiller hit consecutive one-out singles, and Sanchez, DSU's shortstop, misplayed Suttmiller's infield hit to allow Joyce to score the go-ahead run at 2-1.
The Hornets retook the lead at 3-2 on Wynton Weather's two-run single in the bottom of the fourth.
But Barker settled down, pitching 7.1 solid innings for his sixth win of the year. He allowed eight hits and three runs to go with three walks. He struck out seven, tying his career high. Shook earned his second save of the year with a hitless 1.2 innings of relief. The two combined to hold DSU scoreless over the final five frames.
Lynch and Herrera each went 3-for-4 for the Spartans. Joyce added two hits. Babineaux had three hits for DSU.
