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The 2026 Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Championship got underway with a pair of single elimination games on Tuesday. This year marks the 47th OVC Baseball Tournament (the first elimination style event was held in 1979).
The event is being held May 19-23 at Mtn Dew Park in Marion, Illinois. The venue opened in 2007 and was previously known as Rent One Park. It is now home to the Prospect League Team the Thrillville Thrillbillies, who began play in the summer of 2023. This year marks the fifth time the event has been held at the venue (2019, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026); the event will be held at the venue through 2029.
Tickets are $30 for an all-session pass, $10 per adult per day and $5 per day for children (18 and under) and college students with valid ID and can be purchased online or in-person at Mt Dew Park. All seats are general admission for the OVC Championship.
Fans can watch the entire 2026 OVC Baseball Tournament live on ESPN+.
Game 1: #6 Lindenwood 7, #7 UT Martin 4
Box Score |
Live Video |
Live Stats |
Photo Gallery | Postgame:
LWU,
UTM
Game 2: #8 Southern Indiana 6, #5 Morehead State 2
Box Score |
Live Video |
Live Stats |
Photo Gallery | Postgame:
USI,
MSU
#6 LINDENWOOD 7, #7 UT MARTIN 4
MARION, Ill. - In a game that will go down as an all-time classic, the Lindenwood baseball team (30-26, 13-14 OVC) defeated UT Martin (26-29, 11-15 OVC) by a score of 7-4 in the opening round of the OVC Tournament on Tuesday afternoon. The Lions trailed by a run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth before Jake Radosevich powered LU to the next round with a walk-off grand slam.
Josh Newell laid it all out on the field for LU, battling through 8.2 innings (10 H, 4 R, 5 K) on the mound before giving way to Aaron Jungers, who picked up his seventh win of the season after recording the final out in the top of the ninth.
Sam Driscoll led the Lindenwood offense with a pair of hits while also scoring one run and driving in another. Matt Graf and Filip Sarota also recorded RBIs in the contest while Will Geary and William Zareh registered hits.
UT Martin scored the game's opening run in the top of the second with a JT Popick RBI ground out that plated TJ Dunsford, who had led off the inning with a double before moving to third on an Andrew Davis sacrifice bunt.
The Lions answered right back in the home half of the frame in similar fashion, as Sam Driscoll drove one to the gap in right center for a leadoff double before moving up 90 feet on a Filip Sarota fly out and scoring on a Matt Graf RBI ground ball.
However, after a TJ Grines single and stolen base with one out in the top of the third, a ground out followed by a Colten Payton base hit allowed the co-OVC Player of the Year to come home for the go-ahead run.
The Skyhawks would tack on another run in the top of the sixth with Colten Payton doubling to lead off the frame before moving to third on a ground out and eventually scoring on JT Popick RBI single.
After Will Geary drew a walk and Jake Radosevich reached on an error to lead off the bottom of the sixth, a Sam Driscoll double down the right field line allowed Geary to score and put runners on second and third with no outs. Filip Sarota then stepped to the plate and drove a ball deep enough to center field for Jake Radosevich to beat the throw home for the tying run.
Matt Graf drew a walk to put two on with one out, but the next two Lindenwood batters were retired and the game remain tied entering the seventh.
The next two innings passed without either side scoring a run, but with two outs in the top of the ninth, a Cameron Green solo home run to right field put the Skyhawks ahead 4-3.
The Lions were on the brink of elimination with two outs and nobody on base in the bottom of the ninth, but with the top of the order due up, three consecutive walks loaded the bases for Jake Radosevich, who put some voltage into a ball to center field for a walk-off grand slam - delivering an all-time OVC Championship moment.
It was the second walk-off grand slam for the Lions this season, with Lindenwood defeating Murray State 4-0 behind a William Zareh walk-off granny on April 15th.
#8 SOUTHERN INDIANA 6, #5 MOREHEAD STATE 2
MARION, Ill. - University of Southern Indiana junior right-hander Ryan Weller threw seven strong innings and led the Screaming Eagles to a 6-2 victory over Morehead State Tuesday afternoon in the opening round of the Ohio Valley Baseball Championship at Mtn Dew Park in Marion, Illinois. USI, the eighth seed, is 28-27, while Morehead State, the fifth seed, is 31-24.
Weller (4-5) dominated for seven frames, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks, while tying a season high with seven strikeouts. The seven innings were the longest outing by Weller since he went seven against Morehead on the road in April.
USI started the scoring in the first inning when senior catcher Micajah Wall knocked in a tally on a fielder's choice. The Screaming Eagles increased the margin to 3-0 in the second on a RBI-triple by junior second baseman Zion Stephens and a RBI-single by senior leftfielder Hunter Miller.
After the MSU Eagles cut the margin to 3-2 with a tally in the third and fourth, USI sealed the victory with a three-run sixth. Junior third baseman Parker Martin drove in the fourth run of the game with a RBI-double before graduate rightfielder Noah Foster blasted a two-run home run for the fifth and sixth runs of the game. The home run was Foster's third of the year.
Following Weller's exit after the seventh, junior right-hander Trey O'Neil blanked Morehead over the last two frames, allowing a hit and striking out three.