SUNDAY'S SCORES
Tennessee Tech 4, @Lindenwood 3
@Morehead State 8, Western Illinois 7
Little Rock 16, @UT Martin 14
@Southeast Missouri 9, Southern Indiana 6
SIUE 20, @Eastern Illinois 9
TENNESSEE TECH 4, LINDENWOOD 3
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Recap coming soon.
MOREHEAD STATE 8, WESTERN ILLINOIS 7
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State baseball team withstood a late rally and scored two runs in the eighth inning for an 8-7 win to complete the series sweep over Western Illinois Sunday afternoon at Allen Field at Prefontaine Park.
Morehead State (28-23, 12-12 OVC) came to bat in bottom of the eighth in a 6-6 game. With one out, Eagle shortstop Jaden Correa hit a sharp single up the middle. JJ Dutton followed with a single through the left side putting runners at first and second bases. Left Fielder Davis German shot a liner down the right field line that went all the way to the corner for a two-run double and an 8-6 Eagle lead.
Western Illinois (17-33, 8-16 OVC) mounted its third rally in as many innings in the ninth. Shortstop Josh McClintock delivered a two-out single to left. WIU Krayton Morse was hit by a pitch. A wild pitch that bounced nearly into the Western Illinois dugout allowed McClintock to score from second and Morse to advance to third base. A strikeout ended the game and preserved the win.
Cole Wells (4-2) picked up the win out of the bullpen. He got the last out of the eighth inning before getting through the ninth. He allowed one earned run on two hits and got the final out with his lone strikeout of the outing.
Freshman Connor Davis turned in another solid start for the Eagles in getting the no-decision. He threw six shutout innings, scattering five hits. He walked four and struck out three WIU batters.
Western Illinois reliever Eric Rawlings (2-5) took the loss for the Leathernecks. He pitched three innings allowing two earned runs on five hits and struck out three.
Morehead State opened the scoring in the third inning. Dutton was hit by a pitch and Germann walked. After a double play left Dutton at third base with two outs, designated hitter Aubrey Kearns drilled a triple into the gap in left center that split the outfielders. Right fielder Ian McCubbin plated Kearns with a double off the Big Blue Wall in right field to give MSU the early 2-0 lead.
The Eagles expanded the lead in the fifth: Germann led off reaching on a hit by pitch and advanced to second on a balk. Third baseman Griffin Olson drilled a single through the right side that got past the WIU first baseman. Kearns followed with a laser over the Big Blue Wall in right field that traveled 380 feet for a two-run home run and a 5-0 lead.
MSU made it 6-0 in the sixth when first baseman Brayton Coomer led off with a walk and stole second. Correa delivered with a lined RBI single into center to plate Coomer.
Western Illinois mounted its charge in the seventh. The Leathernecks led off with two hit batsmen and an RBI single through the left side by WIU center fielder Joe Connolly. Designated hitter Cordell Coburn delivered with a two-run triple off the screen in deep left field to cut the MSU lead to 6-3.
The Leathernecks knotted it up in the eighth. A leadoff walk and three straight hits, highlighted by first baseman Liam Bushey's two run double tied the game at 6-6.
LITTLE ROCK 16, UT MARTIN 14
MARTIN, Tenn. - In a game that felt more like a heavyweight fight than a baseball game, Little Rock delivered blow after blow Sunday afternoon and walked out of Skyhawk Field with one of its biggest offensive performances of the season.
The Trojans pounded out eight doubles and three home runs while overcoming multiple deficits in a game that featured 30 combined runs and 36 total hits. Little Rock improved to 30-22 overall and 16-8 in OVC play with the win.
Little Rock answered immediately with its biggest inning of the season. The Trojans sent 14 batters to the plate during a stunning 10-run fourth inning that completely flipped the game. Kade Smith started the rally with an RBI double before Nico Baumbach delivered a bases-loaded double that cleared the bases. Trey Hill added a two-run homer later in the inning while Jerdy Lopez capped the surge with a two-run single as the Trojans suddenly grabbed a 10-8 lead.
Little Rock chipped away in the sixth inning as Nolan Freund launched a solo homer and the Trojans added two more runs to pull within 13-12.
The Trojans tied the game in the eighth when Freund doubled and later scored, setting the stage for the decisive ninth inning.
After the two teams traded blows throughout the afternoon, Angel Cano delivered the biggest swing of the game, crushing a leadoff home run in the ninth inning to put Little Rock back in front. Blake Simpson later added another insurance run as the Trojans carried a 16-14 lead into the bottom of the inning.
Baumbach finished 3-for-6 with four RBIs and two doubles while Cano, Freund, Simpson, Lopez and Ty Rhoades all collected three hits apiece. Freund scored three times and added two RBIs while Smith finished with two doubles and two RBIs.
Once Little Rock settled in offensively, the confidence inside the dugout continued to grow.
After Little Rock used five pitchers through the first five innings, Tag Andrews stabilized the game out of the bullpen. The freshman tossed four innings, allowing just one run while striking out four to earn the victory.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 9, SOUTHERN INDIANA 6
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri (35-16, 15-9 OVC) secured a 9-6 victory over Southern Indiana (25-26, 8-16 OVC) at Capaha Field on Sunday. Southeast Missouri's pivotal six-run rally in the second inning set the tone for the game, with both teams combining for two home runs.
The Redhawks secured a 9-6 victory over Southern Indiana, with decisive performances in key innings. In the bottom of the second, Carson Schrack doubled to right center, later scoring on a single by Demitri Shakotko. Joe Hall was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, bringing in another run. Ryan Lopetegui then cleared the bases with a four-run homer to left field, giving Southeast Missouri a commanding 6-0 lead after two innings.
Southern Indiana responded in the third with a run after Noah Foster singled and scored on a hit by K. Holiday, narrowing the gap to 6-1. The score remained unchanged until the sixth inning, when Southern Indiana's H. Miller hit a two-run homer, closing the gap to 6-3. The Redhawks answered in the bottom of the inning when Brooks Kettering reached on an error and scored on a single by Hall, extending the lead to 7-3.
In the seventh, SEMO added two more runs. Tank Sims singled and scored on a hit by Andrew Ramirez, followed by Shakotko's sacrifice bunt bringing Schrack home, making it 9-3. Despite a late push by the Screaming Eagles, scoring three runs in the ninth inning, Southeast Missouri's early lead held firm.
SIUE 20, EASTERN ILLINOIS 9
CHARLESTON, Ill. - – Ryan Niedzwiedz, Mack Mitchell and Cooper Eggert each hit two home runs, the Cougars hit eight total and finished off a dominant three-game sweep of Eastern Illinois with a 20-9 win Sunday in the series finale.
The Cougar hit 17 home runs and scored 39 runs in the three-game sweep of the Panthers.
Sunday's win was the 30th of the season for the Cougars, marking the first time SIUE has won 30 games in a season since moving to Division I. The last 30-win season for SIUE came in 2007.
SIUE has won eight in a row and improved to 18-6 in Ohio Valley Conference play. SIUE has a two-game lead in the league with three to play in the regular season. The Cougars are 30-21 overall.
Eastern Illinois dropped to 15-9 in the OVC and 28-18 overall.
For the second day in a row, Niedzwiedz got the scoring started with a two-run home run in the first inning. It was his fourth in two days in the series. Brenden Fry doubled to drive in two in the second to push the lead to 4-0.
The Panthers cut the lead in half in the bottom of the second inning on a Tyler Castro two-run single.
Mitchell's second homer of the series and an RBI-single by Brenden Fry made it 6-2 in the third inning.
A James Love home run for EIU in the bottom of the inning cut the lead back to 6-3.
Chase Bloomer led off the fourth inning with his 10th home run of the year and Cooper Eggert homered with one out in the fifth for an 8-3 SIUE lead.
The Panthers got a two-run hit from Zak Goodwin to make it 8-5 after five innings.
SIUE starter Jase Phillips worked into the fifth inning, allowing five runs on six hits.
Nine SIUE hitters came to the plate in the sixth inning and the Cougars scored five more times. After RBI hits from Niedzwiedz and Joshua Heyder, Ethan Willoughby drove home Niedzwiedz with a sacrifice fly and Mitchell hit his second home run of the game to make it a 13-5 advantage.
It was 13-6 when the Cougars tacked on seven more in the ninth inning. Daniel Gierer drove home a run with a double and Bloomer hit a sacrifice fly into shallow right field. A throwing error added another run on the play. Niedzwiedz hit a solo home run and Eggert capped things off with a three-run blast.
Eastern Illinois had a three-run inning of their own in the ninth.
SIUE outhit EIU 20-14. Sean Kang finished 4-6 with two runs scored. Bloomer and Niedzwiedz each had three hits. Niedzwiedz and Eggert finished with four RBIs apiece.