FRIDAY'S SCORES
Eastern Illinois 6, @Lindenwood 5
Little Rock 16-10, @Tennessee Tech 4-7
@Southeast Missouri 9, UT Martin 3
@Southern Indiana 5, Western Illinois 3
EASTERN ILLINOIS 6, LINDENWOOD 5
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Eastern Illinois baseball team (19-32, 12-14 OVC) picked up their fourth straight win with a 6-2 victory at Lindenwood (16-37, 9-17 OVC) on Friday. The win clinched the series and guaranteed the Panthers a spot in the OVC Tournament for the third consecutive season.
Just like in the series opener, the Panthers got off to a hot start with a multi-run first inning. The first run came across on a Lucas Loos single that scored Cole Gober from second base.
Following a Michael O'Conor base hit, Trenton Pallas kept things going with a two-RBI double to extend the lead to 3-0. EIU tacked on one more when Pallas scored on a throwing error by the Lindenwood catcher.
The next four innings were mostly uneventful offensively, as both teams struggled to produce base runners.
The Lions finally broke through in the sixth inning with a sacrifice fly from Colin Shea, but were unable to draw any closer.
The Panthers immediately responded in the top of the seventh with a Lucas Loos RBI ground out followed by a Michael O'Conor RBI single to extend the lead to 6-1.
However, just as in Thursday's game, the Lions refused to go away quietly. After scoring one run in the eighth, Lindenwood put together a furious ninth inning rally and found themselves trailing by just one with the tying and go ahead runs in scoring position.
The comeback fell short, though, as Colton Coca was able to end the game with a swinging strikeout to give Eastern a 6-5 win and clinch the Panthers' spot in this year's OVC Tournament.
Christian Carew (1-3) got the win while Colton Coca picked up his second save of the season.
Carew was dominant in his five complete innings on the mound, allowing just one run on three hits with a trio of strikeouts.
Michael O'Conor and Quade Peters were the only Panthers in the multi-hit club, as they both went 2-4. O'Conor added a run scored and RBI to his performance while Peters posted one run scored.
Meanwhile, Lucas Loos and Trenton Pallas drove in two runs apiece.
LITTLE ROCK 16-10, TENNESSEE TECH 4-7
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The Little Rock Trojans reign supreme in OVC play earning the regular season crown for the first time in program history. The Trojans now head into the OVC tournament with the outright number 1 seed.
In game one, the bats were hot for the Trojans racking a season high 19 hits. Luke Pectol was the star in the game going 6/6 and breaking the single game hit record. Pectol finished the game with 6 hits, 4 RBI, and 2 runs scored. Every Trojan scored at least one run with Jake Wright leading the way with 3 runs scored. Christian Bernabe and Trey Hill were the only two Trojans to go yard. Jackson Wells was the pitcher of record improving to 5-3 on the year. Wells' pitched 6.1 innings with 8 strikeouts, 6 hits, 1 run, and 3 walks.
In game two, the Trojans picked up right where they left off putting up a 10-run game with 16 hits. Jake Wright led the way going 2/4 with 4 RBI and a home run. Nico Baumbach went yard hitting a 440 foot bomb over the batter's eye in centerfield. Baumbach finished with 2 hits, 2 RBI, and a run scored. Trey Hill started behind the plate and knocked 2 RBI. Ben Harmon went 2/4 with 2 runs scored. Jack Cline was the pitcher of record finishing with 5 innings pitched, 4 strikeouts, and no walks. Hunter Royal finished the game and earned his third save going 2 innings, with 1 run and 2 strikeouts.
Little Rock has earned the number one seed heading into the OVC tournament for the first time in program history. The Trojans will have almost a week off as the first game on the schedule will be Thursday morning. Little Rock ends the regular season on a 7 conference game win streak with 2 straight series sweeps.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 9, UT MARTIN 3
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri Baseball (30-24, 17-9 OVC) picked up their 30th win of the season with a 9-3 victory over UT Martin (20-33, 12-14 OVC) in game two of the series on Friday night from Capaha Field.
Second baseman Brooks Kettering paced the SEMO offense with a 4-for-5 night at the plate with three RBIs and his sixth home run of the season. The Redhawks pounded out 13 hits, including three home runs.
RHP Payton Lawrence (2-1) made the Friday night start as the Dixon, Ill.-native tossed 5.0 innings in solid fashion. Lawerence allowed just three runs on five hits, striking out five hitters on senior weekend.
The Redhawks took the lead in the second inning with a Josh Cameron RBI groundout that scored Ty Stauss from third base. Cameron's Rbi was the first-of-three in the contest.
Kettering's blast came an inning later after a leadoff hit-by-pitch by designated hitter Keoni Coloma, and a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt by catcher Nolan Ackerman brought Kettering to the plate with a runner in scoring position.
The freshman crushed the ball down the right field line off UTM's Eric Steensma (3-8) to give SEMO a 3-0 lead after the third.
Right fielder Josh Cameron made it five unanswered runs with his 12th home run of the season in the fourth inning. His ball traveled over the right field party deck to give the Redhawks a 5-0 advantage.
Later in the fourth, Ackerman drove in Coloma after his two-out double for the third run of the inning and after the fourth, SEMO led 6-0.
Third baseman Caleb Corbin hit his fifth home run of the season in the fifth inning off UTM's Choyce Duffy to make it seven unanswered runs heading to the sixth inning.
UTM would plate three runs in the top of the sixth to cut the Redhawks lead to 7-3, but that was all they could muster.
Kettering recorded an RBI double and Ty Stauss drove in a run with a walk in the eighth inning as the Redhawks cruised to the 9-3 victory on Friday night.
RHP Collin Wilma had a nice outing in relief for Lawrence as he entered the game in the sixth inning. Wilma pitched 3.1 innings of one-hit baseball, striking out four Skyhawks in the appearance.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 5, WESTERN ILLINOIS 3
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Baseball trailed early, but rallied to defeat Western Illinois University, 5-3, Friday evening at the USI Baseball Field. The Screaming Eagles are 24-30 overall and 13-13 in the OVC, while Leathernecks go to 13-36, 8-18 OVC.
USI, which had clinched a spot in the Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Championship with the win and help on Thursday, rose to sole possession of fourth in the OVC standings with the win. The Eagles, 13-13 in the league, are a game ahead of University of Tennessee at Martin (12-14), Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (12-14), Tennessee Tech University (13-14), and Eastern Illinois University (12-14) with one game to play. USI holds the tie-breaker in the standings with TTU, SIUE, and EIU.
The OVC Baseball Championship, presented by SERVPRO, is scheduled for May 22-25 at Mountain Dew Park in Marion, Illinois. The top two seeds receive a double-bye, while seeds three and four receive a first round bye before the double-elimination portion of the eight-team tournament.
The Leathernecks grabbed the initial lead of Friday's contest, 1-0, with a tally in the first and upped it to 2-0 with a run in the third. USI closed the gap to 2-1 when junior second baseman Lane Crowden (Jackson, Missouri) crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly by junior third baseman Ricardo Van Grieken (Venezuela) in the bottom of the third.
Crowden reached after being hit by a pitch, advanced to second on a sacrifice, and continued to third on an error/failed pick off.
The score would remain 2-1 until the bottom of the sixth when USI rallied with a pair of runs to take a 3-2 advantage. Van Grieken and sophomore shortstop Caleb Niehaus (Newburgh, Indiana) posted back-to-back hits to put runners at second and third to get the rally started.
Senior designated hitter Tucker Ebest knocked the tying run in with a sacrifice fly, while junior leftfielder Thomas Emerich (Ava, Missouri) gave the Eagles the 3-2 lead with a RBI-single to center.
USI increased the lead to 5-2 with a pair of runs in the bottom eighth. Niehaus drove in senior rightfielder Renn Tachioka (Japan) with a double down the left field line, while Emerich, who had a team-high two RBIs in the game, sealed WIU's fate with a single to left for the fifth run of the ball game.
The Leathernecks challenged in the top of the ninth, closing the gap to 5-3, and loaded the bases before USI junior right-hander Tyler Hutson (Villa Hills, Kentucky) slammed the door shut on the win.
On the bump, junior right-hander Carson Seeman (Auburn, California) posted the win in relief. Seeman (4-2) blanked the Leathernecks on two hits and one walk, while strike out one in 2.1 innings of work.
Hutson recorded his team-high fifth save of the year after throwing the final two innings. The junior allowed one run on three hits and struck out two.