FRIDAY'S SCORES
Eastern Illinois 9, @Western Illinois 8
Lindenwood 10, @Southern Indiana 2
Southeast Missouri 12, @Little Rock 10
Morehead State 4, @Tennessee Tech 3
UT Martin 8, @SIUE 7 (11)
EASTERN ILLINOIS 9, WESTERN ILLINOIS 8
MACOMB, Ill. - Mike O'Conor saves the day for the Panthers with a home run in the top of the ninth inning to win 9-8. Ethan Rossi would add the eventual go-ahead run later that inning to secure the victory. The Panthers improve to 30-19 (17-9 OVC), while the Leathernecks fall to 17-35 (8-18 OVC). Eastern Illinois has now reached 30 wins in four of the past five seasons.
Unable to close the door on the Leathernecks, the Panthers suffered four runs, watching their 7-3 lead disappear.
With the game knotted up 7-7, O'Conor crushed his 15th home run on a full count to retake the lead. The Panthers were able to add insurance later in the inning to secure the series-clinching victory. Chris Worcester's only hit of the day was a single to second base, followed by Peyton Wilson reaching on a walk. With a runner in scoring position, Rossi drove the eventual go-ahead run with a base knock to left field, scoring Worcester.
Prior to the chaotic finish, both teams traded punches, with Western Illinois controlling the lead with a 2-1 advantage heading into the top of the fourth inning.
The fourth-inning scoring surge was highlighted by a lead-off double by Zak Goodwin. Wilson followed with a single to second base, and Ethan Rossi capped the rally with a towering shot to center field, extending the lead to 4-1.
Prior to the seventh-inning stretch, EIU shoved three more runs to take a commanding 7-3 lead. After Castro was picked off at second base, Brett Stanley reached on a fielder's choice. James Love moved Stanley 90 feet away from home plate with his 18th double of the season.
EIU would take advantage of the Leathernecks' miscues with Worcester reaching first on an error by Josh McClintock, scoring Stanley.
Moments later, Goodwin singled to center field, scoring Love for his 43rd RBI of the year.
WIU rallied against reliever James Geshel in the seventh inning, platting three runs on four hits to cut the deficit to one heading into the final two innings. The Leathernecks would eventually tie the game with a leadoff home run in the following inning, before Eastern Illinois held a series-clinching victory.
Bryce Riggs was solid in his 12th start of the year, striking out six batters in 6.0 innings and allowing three runs.
Anthony Solis earned his fourth win of the season, holding on late for the Panthers, tossing 2.0 innings of relief, and suffering one run.
Rossi and O'Conor led the way offensively, with Rossi finishing 2-4 with four RBIs and a home run. O'Conor also had a home run along with two RBIs.
Eight out of the nine Panther batters had a hit, including four with multi-hit games.
LINDENWOOD 10, SOUTHERN INDIANA 2
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Lindenwood baseball team (29-25, 13-13) bounced back with a dominant 10-2 win over Southern Indiana (26-27, 9-17 OVC) on Friday evening to even the weekend series against the Screaming Eagles. The Lions registered 13 hits – all singles – and 10 RBIs in the contest.
Five Lindenwood batters posted multiple hits, led by nine-hole hitter Owen Ralph with three hits, an RBI, and one run scored. Meanwhile, Jake Radosevich, Sam Driscoll, and Filip Sarota all drove in two runs apiece.
Ethan Smith (3-2) picked up the win after giving up zero runs on one hit with two strikeouts through 2.1 innings of relief work. Seth Benes started the game, giving up a pair of runs on six hits with two punch outs through the first four innings.
Following a pair of scoreless innings to begin the game, Lindenwood loaded the bases with one out in the top of the third following back-to-back base hits by Kam Edwards and Charlie Isom-McCall and a Will Geary hit by pitch. Jake Radosevich then drove in the game's first run with a sacrifice fly that brought in Edwards and left runners on the corners with two away.
After Geary stole second to move into scoring position, Sam Driscoll delivered a two-RBI base hit to right field and moved to second base on the throw home, allowing Filip Sarota to drive in the fourth run of the inning with a single down the right field line.
Southern Indiana got one back in the bottom of the third with a Hunter Miller solo home run to right field that made the score 4-1.
However, the Lindenwood bats stayed hot in the top of the fourth, as the Lions were able to hang another crooked number to extend their lead to 7-1. After Owen Ralph reached base on a one-out infield single, a fielding error on a hard-hit ball up the middle by Kam Edwards out two on for Charlie Isom-McCall, who came through with a base hit to bat in a run.
With runners on second and third following an Isom-McCall stolen base, Will Geary kept the line moving with another RBI single that scored Edwards, and with Isom-McCall now only 90 feet from home, Jake Radosevich put the ball in play to drive in his second run of the game.
The Screaming Eagles cut one run off the deficit in the home half of the fourth, with a Noah Foster double driving Micajah Wall, who had been hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. However, USI stranded a pair of runners in scoring position in the frame.
The Lions had another answer in the fifth, though, with Filip Sarota leading off the inning with a base hit before tagging and advancing to second on a deep William Zareh fly out to set up Owen Ralph, who singled through the left side to bring in Sarota and push the lead back to six.
Southern Indiana loaded the bases with just one out in the bottom of the sixth, but a 6-4-3 double play allowed Lindenwood to escape the jam without allowing an runs to come across.
With two outs in the top of the seventh, William Zareh drew a walk before an Owen Ralph base hit moved him into scoring position with Kam Edwards coming to the plate. Edwards promptly delivered a base knock through the right side to bring in Zareh and make the score 9-2.
The Lions added another run in the top of the eighth with Sam Driscoll singling with two outs before stealing second, advancing to third on an error, and subsequently scoring on a Filip Sarota RBI single to left field.
Tanner Paschke tossed the final 2.2 innings for Lindenwood, giving up no runs and no hits with a pair of strikeouts to secure the win for the Lions.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 12, LITTLE ROCK 10
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Southeast Missouri Baseball (37-16, 17-9 OVC) emerged victorious over Little Rock (30-24, 16-10 OVC) with a final score of 12–10 on Friday at Gary Hogan Field. The Redhawks secured the win with a decisive four-run ninth inning, overcoming Little Rock's early lead.
The Redhawks opened the first inning with a strong offensive display. Cal Sullivan drew a walk, setting the stage for Josiah Hall, who homered to deep left field for two RBIs, putting the Redhawks ahead 2–0. Little Rock responded with a solo home run by Angel Cano, closing the gap to 2–1 after one inning.
In the second inning, SEMO extended its lead. Caleb Klein reached on a fielder's choice and advanced to third on a throwing error. Sullivan and Hall each hit RBI doubles, followed by Ryan Lopetegui's RBI single, bringing the score to 6–1. Little Rock replied with a two-RBI double by Trey Hill, narrowing the lead to 6–3 through two innings.
The third inning saw Little Rock take the lead. A combination of a fielding error and consecutive hits allowed them to score four runs, making it 7–6 in favor of Little Rock.
In the fifth inning, SEMO tied the game with runs scoring on wild pitches, yet Little Rock quickly regained the lead with two runs of its own, bringing the score to 9–8.
After several scoreless innings, the Redhawks mounted a comeback in the ninth. Lopetegui scored on a wild pitch, Tank Sims delivered an RBI single, and Brooks Kettering added a sacrifice fly, capping off a four-run inning. Little Rock managed a solo home run but fell short
MOREHEAD STATE 4, TENNESSEE TECH 3
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Five Morehead State pitchers combined to allow just six Tennessee Tech hits, and the offense saw three batters with two hits apiece as the Eagle baseball team claimed the series with a 4-3 win at Tech's Averitt Express Complex Friday night.
The Eagles won their sixth straight game, 12th in the last 14 overall, and reached the 30-win mark (following just 14 wins in 2025). MSU also moved to 14-12 in the OVC, remaining in fifth place and guaranteeing a winning league final record. MSU has now won 30 games in eight of the past 12 seasons.
Starter Landon Waugh pitched the first two frames with just one run allowed and was credited with the win to improve to 3-4. Lefty Kam Hawks tossed the middle three frames, being charged with two runs despite only surrendering one hit. Sam Smith, Jacob Vanover and Cole Wells shut out Tech for the final five frames. Wells earned his second save in as many games.
The Eagles spotted the home team a 1-0 advantage in the bottom of the first but quickly erased the deficit for good. In the second, first baseman Alex Kean rapped a two-out double. Right-fielder Austyn Peak then lifted his second home run of the year just over the wall in right field for a 2-1 lead.
MSU tacked on two more in the third for a 4-1 lead. Following center fielder Davis Germann's ground-rule double to right field, second baseman Aubrey Kearns tattooed a double of his own to left to score Germann. Shortstop Jaden Correa followed with an RBI single into center field to plate Kearns.
Tech crept back in it in the fourth when Connor Crowson belted a two-run long ball. Tech put runners in scoring position in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings but each time, the Eagle pitchers rose to the rask of stopping the threat.
Germann, Kearns and Kean each had a pair of hits as MSU lit the hit column on the scoreboard 10 times.
UT MARTIN 8, SIUE 7 (11)
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team used a go-ahead two-run homer from Cameron Greene to beat first-place SIUE 8-7 in an 11th inning marathon.
The win gave the Skyhawks their 26th victory of the campaign, which set a new NCAA Division I program record for wins in a single season.
Bo Strickland (stolen base, two runs scored) led the UT Martin (26-28, 11-15 Ohio Valley Conference) offense in hits with three while Garner Anderson (two hits, two RBIs) and Cameron Greene (two RBIs, two runs scored) both homered. TJ Grines (tied all-time single-season stolen base record) collected two hits along with JT Popick (RBI).
On the mound, Maxwell Schumacher went seven innings and struck out five. Making relief appearances were Will Turner (1.1 innings, no runs allowed), Gabe Bryant (one inning) and Mason Little (3-0, 1.2 innings).
The Skyhawks were off to a strong start as Andrew Lawrence singled in Strickland in the third and Schumacher surrendered no runs through the first three innings. SIUE (32-22, 19-7) tied everything up in the fourth, but UT Martin regained the lead in the fifth on a two-run blast by Anderson to centerfield. With the score tied in the top of the sixth, Popick smacked an RBI single to left field to shoot the Skyhawks in front, 4-3.
The back-and-forth battle continued as the Cougars tied the contest up again in the home half. An error with two outs during the seventh brought in Bo Strickland and once again UT Martin held the advantage. SIUE was there once again with a response, and the game was level at five after an RBI single in the bottom half of the frame.
The game would need extra innings and in the tenth, Colten Payton drove in a run on a fielder’s choice for a 6-5 Skyhawk edge. The Cougars wouldn’t go away as a run in the tenth moved the contest to the eleventh.
Following a one-out walk by Popick, Greene squared up a 3-1 count and sent it 419 feet to center field, and the Skyhawks found themselves up 8-6 with three outs to get. Little locked down the bottom of the 11th and induced a foul out to give UT Martin an 8-7 win.