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The 2019 Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Championship got underway with an elimination game on Tuesday night as UT Martin eliminated Eastern Illinois.
This season marks the 41st time the event has been held and first time it has been held at Rent One Park in Marion, Illinois. The venue is the home of the Southern Illinois Miners, a professional baseball team playing in the Frontier League. The park, which opened in 2007 and has a Sportexe Turf synthetic surface, features 3,400 chairback seats and lawn seating for over 2,000. The venue, located direct off Interstate 57, includes a brand-new high-definition LED video board, 14 suites, a banquet facility, an entertainment plaza, kids’ play area and a 10-hole miniature golf course. The stadium is located directly off Interstate 57.
Tickets, which can be purchased in person at the park or
via this link, will be $10 per day or $25 for an all-session pass (up to 14 total games). There is also an $5 a day rate for college students with ID. All seats are general admission for the OVC Championship.
Fans can watch the entire 2019 OVC Baseball Tournament live on ESPN+. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year). ESPN+ is an integrated part of the completely redesigned ESPN App and also available on the web, iPhone, iPad, tvOS, Android Handset, Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast and FireTV. More information can be found at
www.OVCSports.com/ESPN.
Game 1: #8 UT Martin 2, #7 Eastern Illinois 1
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UT Martin,
Eastern Illinois
#8 UT MARTIN 2, #7 EASTERN ILLINOIS 1
MARION, Ill. - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball squad outlasted Eastern Illinois by a 2-1 margin in the opening round of the Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Championships.
UT Martin (25-29) notched its first win in the OVC Championships since 2011 when the squad defeated Eastern Kentucky 6-2. The Skyhawks tied the program’s most wins in the Division-I era (previously set in 2017).
Leading UT Martin at the plate was the reliable duo of Casey Harford and All-OVC second team outfielder Jordan Stoner as both connected for a knock and drove in a run apiece. Stoner tallied a single while Harford notched his second three-bagger of the year. Also collecting hits in the contest was the foursome of Sean Dixson, Blake Davis, Billy Edwards and Tyson Cox. The pairing of Dixson and Creighton Eldridge also worked the count to draw one walk each. Stoner swiped the lone bag of the contest for the Skyhawks to give him seven on the season.
Senior righty Austen Bullington shined in his first postseason start in a UT Martin uniform. The Newburgh, Ind. native tossed six strong innings as he allowed only one earned run on seven knocks. He did not issue a free pass to the Panthers though and fanned one in his time on the bump. Zach Denney (3-1) picked up the win as he pitched one complete inning. He conceded just a pair of walks as he sat down one Eastern Illinois batter on strikes. David Hussey came on for 1.1 inning of relief as he allowed a trio of knocks but also whiffed three batters. All-OVC second team reliever Nick Wohlbold tossed the remaining 0.2 inning of the contest as he worked around a walk to cement the program’s playoff victory and notch his 13th save of the year.
The Skyhawks took the lead in the opening frame of play as Eldridge got things started as he earned a free base. With two outs in the inning, Harford ripped a triple to left center field to bring in Eldridge and give UT Martin an early 1-0 advantage.
Bullington worked around a leadoff single by the Panthers to force a line out to right field followed by a 4-6-3 double play to make quick work of the Eastern Illinois bats in the bottom of the first inning. He avoided trouble in the second as he worked around a one-out double by forcing a couple of ground out to second base. Bullington sat down the Panthers in order in the third inning as he worked a pair of ground outs with a line out sandwiched in between.
Eastern Illinois knotted things up in the fourth making the score 1-1.
Bullington got back to work in the sixth as he worked around a leadoff base knock by inducing a pair of ground outs followed by a swinging strikeout.
Denney came on in the seventh and retired the first two batters he faced on four pitches as he forced a first-pitch fly out to left followed by a three-pitch strikeout. He then ran into some slight trouble as he allowed the next two batters to get on base. He kept his composure though as he induced a pop out to short to hold the Panthers at bay.
UT Martin pushed another run across in the eighth when Dixson led the frame off with a six-pitch free base. Eldridge then moved Dixson over to second on a sacrifice bunt back to the pitcher just before a Stoner single through the right side plated Dixson to give the Skyhawks a 2-1 lead.
Hussey entered the ballgame in the eighth inning. He conceded a leadoff single before fanning the next batter and followed that up with a pop out to third. Eastern Illinois then sent a double down the left field line to put a pair of runners in scoring position. Hussey would not be fazed as he sat down the next Panther on strikes to avoid a big Eastern Illinois inning. He remained in the game into the ninth as he fanned the first batter of the frame before allowing a double. Wohlbold was then called upon to slam the door. He lost the first batter via a walk but he then induced a 6-4-3 groundball to secure the victory.