WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@Missouri 15,
UT Martin 9
@Lindenwood 13, Blackburn 2
Murray State 13,
@Southern Indiana 6
@Tennessee Tech 11, Middle Tennessee 9
MISSOURI 15, UT MARTIN 9
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team came out swinging today with eight runs in the first three innings but ultimately fell 15-9 to Southeastern Conference foe Missouri.
Blaze Bell went 3-for-4 in the role of designated hitter while Will Smith (2-for-5) notched a multi-hit game as well. Hunter McLean bashed his third home run on the season with a pair of RBI’s while Jackson Cooke (two RBI’s) and Zac Rice (three runs scored) also played key parts in the Skyhawks’ offense.
Freshman Silas Jones (two innings pitched) made his first career start while Baylor Jones (one inning pitched), Eli Martin (one inning pitched) and Dylan Lapic (one inning pitched) threw scoreless frames. Redshirt freshman lefty Brock Arender (0-1) struck out three batters over 1.1 innings but was charged with the loss despite allowing zero earned runs.
UT Martin (11-19) was on the board in the top of the first for the second straight game when Rice led off the game with a walk and eventually came around to score. The Tigers scored four runs in the bottom half of the inning but the Skyhawks got a run back in the top of the second when McLean launched a solo homer out to left center.
Silas Jones retired the first two batters he faced in the second but Missouri was able to score twice before Jones stranded the bases loaded.
UT Martin grabbed the lead with an explosive top of the third, slapping six runs on the board to go ahead by an 8-6 margin. Will Smith started the rally with an RBI single and a bases loaded walk from Cole Smith would follow. Bell (RBI single), McLean (sacrifice fly) and Cooke (two-run single) helped extend the Skyhawk advantage.
Baylor Jones took over for his younger brother during the home half of the inning and hurled a shutout frame while leaving two runners stranded. Arender entered in the bottom of the fourth and held the Tigers scoreless for the second straight frame.
Missouri (12-18) retook the lead during the bottom of the fifth inning with five runs – all unearned. The Tigers would get four runs (three unearned) in the sixth before Martin and Lapic blanked Missouri in the seventh and eighth, respectively.
UT Martin chipped away in the top of the ninth as Rice once again drew a free pass. After advancing 90 feet on a wild pitch, he scored on a Fernandez opposite field RBI single to make the score 15-9 – the game’s final margin.
LINDENWOOD 13, BLACKBURN 2
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood baseball team (8-20), defeated Blackburn (3-16), 13-2 in seven innings on Wednesday night.
The Lions worked out of a bases loaded jam in the first to keep things scoreless. Lindenwood responded quickly, as Filip Sarota homered over the left field wall, driving in Tyson Ludwig to give the black and gold a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Lindenwood kept the line moving and scored two more in the frame, taking a 4-0 advantage into the second.
In his first start of the season, Alessandro Volpe drove in three runs with a double in the third to extend the lead to 7-0. The line wasn't done moving as Anthony Stellato drove in Tyson Ludwig to make the score 8-0 after three innings of play. The Beavers answered back with one in the top of the fourth cutting the deficit to 8-1.
The bottom of the fourth brought on Lindenwood's third fourth run inning of the game, with Ambrose Russo, Volpe and Stellato bringing runs home. For Volpe, it was his fourth RBI of the game, while it was the third of the night for Stellato, making the score 12-1. Each team scored a run in the sixth, moving the score to 13-2 headed to the seventh. Due to the run rule, the game ended after seven and the Lions picked up their eighth win of the season. Graham Briete earned the win on the mound.
MURRAY STATE 13, SOUTHERN INDIANA 6
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Baseball were frozen offensively in the final six innings by Murray State University and lost 13-6 Wednesday evening at the USI Baseball Field. USI is 13-16 overall, while Murray State goes to 19-10.
After falling behind 2-0 on Murray State home runs in the first and second inning, USI got on the scoreboard with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second to even the count, 2-2. USI junior centerfielder Terrick Thompson-Allen (Sioux City, Iowa) ignited the second inning rally with his fifth home run of the season, while junior catcher Logan Mock (Livermore, California) scored on squeeze play bunt by freshman leftfielder Ethan Rothschild (Evansville, Indiana) for the second tally.
The Eagles would break the tie in the bottom of the third when senior designated hitter Tucker Ebest (Austin, Texas) launched a three-run bomb to right field for a 5-2 USI advantage. The round tripper was Ebest's fourth of the season.
The Racers would rally to tie the game, 5-5, with a pair of runs in the fifth and a single tally in the sixth. Murray State would grab the lead back for the first time since the top of the second, 8-5, when it picked up a trio of runs in the top of the seventh.
USI closed the gap to two, 8-6, in the bottom of the seventh when freshman leftfielder Cameron Boyd (Villa Hills, Kentucky) drove in Thompson-Allen with a two-out single to left field. The Eagles would leave the tying run at first when senior pinch hitter Tyler Kapust (Sellersburg, Indiana) struck out to end the frame.
Murray State would complete an offensive surge of runs in the final five innings by posting a run in the eighth and four more in the ninth to lead 13-6. USI would attempt to make a game of in the bottom of the ninth before the Racers closed the door on the 13-6 decision.
USI junior right-hander Adam Wiehe (Louisville, Kentucky) took the loss in relief. Wiehe (0-1) allowed three unearned runs on two hits and struck out two in one inning.
TENNESSEE TECH 11, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 9
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Following a two-hour weather delay before the first pitch was even thrown, the Tennessee Tech baseball team delivered a five-run comeback to down in-state rival Middle Tennessee by an 11-9 final score Tuesday evening at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
The visitors from Murfreesboro were quick on the attack in the first of two meetings between the longtime foes, swinging early in the count and taking advantage of a number of defensive miscues by the Tech defense. The Blue Raiders (10-17) scored an unearned run in the first inning and used a sacrifice fly in the second to make it a 2-0 lead.
The Golden Eagles (17-12) responded in the bottom of the second, starting with an RBI double down the left-field line off the bat of designated hitter Preston Ford. The slugger plated shortstop Tanner Shiver all the way from first base. Ford came around to score later in the frame on a throwing error by the Blue Raiders to tie the ball game.
More defensive issues by the purple and gold led to four more unearned runs by MTSU in the third inning, one that saw the visiting bats accumulate three hits to bring their total to seven through three frames. One more error in the fourth led to one final unearned run by the Blue Raiders, leaving Tech in the five-run hole.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Golden Eagles took a big chunk out of the deficit, banging out three hits with three walks to plate four runs. After Ford singled to left and right fielder Theo Bryant IV doubled to left center, third baseman Eddie Garza drew a four-pitch walk to load the bags.
Middle Tennessee picked up the second out of the frame before the lineup kicked over to the top where left fielder Austin Turner delivered a clutch at-bat. The senior worked a seven-pitch walk to drive in a run with his Ohio Valley Conference-leading 36th free pass of the year.
Second baseman Troy Baunsgard, who doubled in the third inning, watched four of the next five offerings also miss their mark to collect his own RBI walk. Doubling Tech's output for the frame was catcher Hayden Gilliland thanks to a two-run single up the middle. The knock cut the deficit to just a single run heading into the fifth.
It took two more innings, but the Cookeville crew finished off the rally in the sixth, scoring two runs off the bat of Baunsgard. The senior slugger produced a savvy slice to center field, dropping a two-run single in for the game-tying and go-ahead runs.
For good measure, the Tech offense worked a little overtime in the eighth inning, adding a wildly important three insurance runs to the scoreboard. Turner picked up walk No. 37 on the year to lead things off and promptly stole his team-leading 12th bag of the year. A base hit through the right side from Gilliland put runners on the corners with Nicho Jordan coming to the plate.
The Tech center fielder drew a walk to load the bases, setting up Shiver for an RBI single through the left side. Ford followed by forcing a fielder's choice to shortstop, sprinting to the first-base bag and reaching safely on an errant throw by the second baseman. The senior got credit for one RBI on the play while a second run scored on a throwing error.
The inning's offense proved critical for the purple and gold, as the Blue Raiders made things interesting in the ninth with a two-run home run with one out. Sophomore Brody Lanham finished things off with his second strikeout of the inning.
Jack Erdman, who took over on the hill in the fourth inning, picked up his second win of the season following three innings of work. The junior scattered one hit and one, unearned run while striking out three Blue Raiders. Freshman Drew Mattox and sophomore Jaxson Pease each accounted for scoreless frames to bridge the way to Lanham.
Baunsgard led the Golden Eagles with three RBI on the night, finishing 2-for-4 with a walk. Ford enjoyed a big day at the dish with a 3-for-5 showing, two ribbies, and two runs scored. Turner and Garza each scored twice, with Turner collecting the two walks. Eight of Tech's nine hitters combined to total 13 knocks in the contest.