Cougars start conference play perfectly

Tony Ammann
Sports Editor

A simple switch from aluminum to wood has resulted in a handful of splinters for opponents of the SIUE men's baseball team.

The Cougars began their conference schedule for the 2000 season Saturday against St. Joseph's College. SIUE pitchers took advantage of the National Collegiate Athletic Association rule that only allows hitters to use wooden bats in conference play.

In game one of a doubleheader against the Pumas, Cougar hurler Bret Giaudrone didn't allow a hit for the first six innings.

Giaudrone retired the first seven hitters he faced before walking Tom Chambers with one out in the third inning. Giaudrone then picked Chambers off first base and followed that by striking out Matt Norton to preserve his chance for a shutout.

Giaudrone took a 3-0 lead into the top of the seventh, facing the minimum 18 batters. He needed just three outs to record the eighth no-hitter in school history.

Derrick Nosal led the inning by hitting a weak line-out to SIUE second baseman Chad Opel. Brian Stultz broke up the no-hitter with a line drive double just out of the reach of right fielder Dave Crouthers' glove.

The Pumas put two runs on the board and put the potential tying run at second base. But Giaudrone reached back for a little extra and struck out Jeff Downs to give SIUE a 3-2 win.

Giaudrone struck out four and walked two in the win to improve his record to 3-2. He said he prefers coming out of the bullpen, which he has done in eight of his 10 appearances so far this season.

"It's more of a rush when you go out and close (a game)" Giaudrone said. "Nobody likes to be the last guy on the mound at the end of the game."

In game two, SIUE hurler Matt Wilkinson hoped to perform an encore of Giaudrone's gem. Wilkinson would not disappoint, facing the minimum three batters in seven different innings.

Wilkinson struck out one and allowed just two hits. He and Giaudrone allowed a combined total of just four hits for the day. SIUE head coach Gary Collins didn't think the Pumas should have scored all day.

"That was good pitching," Collins said. "It was about as good of pitching as we've had in two straight games. When you're playing conference with wood, you have to have good pitching and defense."

"Both of (St. Joseph's) pitchers are solid pitchers," Collins said. "They're going to win some games. But we made them make some pitches and when they got tired, we took advantage."

SIUE went scoreless for the first five innings but opened the floodgates with a three-run sixth and a five-run seventh.

The Cougars tacked on another in the eighth inning and won convincingly 9-0. Center fielder Travis Dawson and third baseman Kyle Briggs each had two hits apiece for the Cougars. Opel and first baseman Josh DeWitte each had two runs batted in.

The Cougars took their 2-0 record in the Great Lakes Valley Conference right back into action Sunday at Roy E. Lee Field for a doubleheader against Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne.

Fort Wayne took an early 6-1 lead in game one, but SIUE answered with a five-run third to even the score 6-6.

Opel, who notched a key two-run double in the inning, would have deja vu in the fourth and put the Cougars ahead for good.

With two outs and runners at first and second, Opel doubled to left for the second straight time to put his team ahead 8-6. SIUE held the Mastadons scoreless the rest of the way and won 9-6.

Ryan Edwards came on in relief for the Cougars, pitching four scoreless innings. He earned his second win of the season to even his record at 2-2, allowing just two hits and striking out two.

The Cougars went for a perfect weekend and a flawless start in the conference in game two. Once again, the Mastadons struck first blood and were ahead 3-1 after six innings.

In the bottom of the seventh, SIUE designated hitter Jason Kessler contributed with what may have been his biggest hit of the season. With one out and the bases loaded, Kessler tripled to left center to clear the bases and give his team a 4-3 lead.

The Cougars tacked on another run in the inning as well as a run in the eighth for a 6-3 win. Once again, the Cougar bullpen came through big. Dan Sergott, Mike Ortt and Jared Wood held the Mastadons to no runs and three hits in the final five innings.

Collins said his team's No. 1 goal of late is to play a game with one error or less, two walks or less and only one wild pitch or passed ball.

"Our goal is to eliminate those things, and that will make us a better team," Collins said. "We've been playing better (on defense) in our last couple of games."

SIUE has won eight games in a row and is a perfect 4-0 in the GLVC.

The Cougars' next game will be 3 p.m. Wednesday against Lindenwood College in St. Charles, Mo., and a home contest at 3 p.m. Thursday against Missouri Baptist College. Both games are nonconference games.