WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@Southern Illinois 6, UT Martin 3
Missouri State 7, @Southeast Missouri 6
Tennessee Tech 10, East Tennessee State 1
@Murray State 11, Lipscomb 6
Eastern Illinois 7, @Illinois State 5 (11 innings)
Auburn 14, @Samford 6
Alabama 5, @Jacksonville State 0
Austin Peay 9, @Western Kentucky 3
@Eastern Kentucky, Kentucky State (cancelled)
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 6, UT MARTIN 3
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois University (12-8) came alive to score one run in the seventh and two in the eighth to secure a 6-3 win over Tennessee-Martin (1-18) earlier today at Abe Martin Field.
SIU held a two-run lead (3-1) before a two-out error allowed UTM to score a pair of unearned runs and tie the game at 3-3 in the top of the sixth.
An inning later, Scott Elmendorf started the seventh with a single to left and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Adam Hills. Skyhawk reliever Lin Cates then balked while attempting to intentionally walk Mark Kelly. Kelly remained at the plate and later lifted a sacrifice fly to score Elmendorf, giving the Salukis a 4-3 lead.
Two errors by second baseman Scott Gladstone doomed the Skyhawks in the eighth.
Chris Murphy reached on Gladstone's first error and went to second on a sacrifice bunt. Tyler Lairson was intentionally walked on the next play before another Gladstone error scored Crank and got Lairson to third. Lairson touched home when Aaron Roberts hit into a fielder's choice to polish off the 6-3 win.
Tyler Choate (1-0) picked up his first win of the season after allowing three hits in 3.1 scoreless relief innings. Choate retired five of the last six hitters he faced.
Cates (0-4) remained winless on the year. He gave up three hits and three runs in four innings.
SIU registered eight hits on the day. Elmendorf went 2-for-5 with two runs scored to lead the Dawgs.
MISSOURI STATE 7, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 6
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast suffered a tough 7-6 loss to Missouri State Wednesday at Capaha Field. The Redhawks (9-8, 2-1) carried a 1-run lead into the ninth inning and had the Bears (15-6, 2-1) down to their final strike but could not close out the game.
After MSU's Ben Woodbury reached on an error by shortstop Nick Harris to lead off the ninth, head coach Mark Hogan brought in standout left-hander James Leigh to go for the save. Leigh promptly made his presence felt when he got Nolan Keane to pop up a bunt back towards the mound. He made an athletic play to catch the ball in the air and then fired to first to double off Woodbury.
The next batter, Brayden Drake, was hit by a pitch to reach base. The following hitter, Ben Carlson was down to his final strike and it appeared that Leigh had struck him out to end the game, but the umpires ruled that Carlson checked his swing to draw a walk on the payoff pitch. Both Drake and Carlson moved up a base on a wild pitch.
Leigh then induced a ground ball to shortstop by Dallas Hord, but Harris was unable to field the grounder cleanly, allowing Drake and Carlson to come around to score as the ball rolled into short center field. Both unearned runs would hold up as Buddy Baumann pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth to earn his first save of the season for the Bears. Leigh took the tough luck loss to fall to 4-1 on the season, although he did not allow an earned run.
Early on, the teams went back and forth, leaving the score at 3-3 after three innings. Relievers Lance Rhodes and Pat Doyle then took over and held the opposing offenses scoreless until the seventh.
MSU plated two runs in the seventh on back-to-back RBI singles by Drake and Carlson.
Southeast answered back in the bottom of the inning when Matt Wagner hit a clutch 2-out, 3-run double to deep right-center to give the Redhawks a 6-5 advantage. Harris hit his second double of the game, Jim Klocke walked and Justin Wheeler was hit by a pitch prior to Wagner's gap shot.
Wagner finished with a game-high four RBIs. Harris notched the only multi-hit game for Southeast with the two doubles. Tony Spencer also added an RBI single. Harris and Klocke both scored two runs.
Carlson finished a perfect 3-3 with three RBIs to leads the Bears offense in addition to scoring the go-ahead run. Drake and Chris Playter added two singles and one RBI each.
Brant Combs earned his first victory of the season after retiring both batters he faced to finish the eighth inning.
TENNESSEE TECH 10, EAST TENNESSEE STATE 1
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - Sophomore Thomas Gray held East Tennessee State to five singles and struck out seven in seven innings of work, earning the win as Tennessee Tech topped the Bucs, 10-1, Wednesday night.
Making his third start of the year, Gray (2-1) got loads of offensive help plus two strong relief efforts in the final two innings from Adam Miller and Ryan Dennick. Miller threw just five pitches in a quick eighth inning, while Dennick got through the ninth with just nine pitches.
Tech (16-7-1) heads into a crucial three-game Ohio Valley Conference series this weekend with the momentum of two mid-week victories. The Golden Eagles downed Middle Tennessee, 15-11, on Tuesday night.
The Golden Eagles pounded out 13 hits off five ETSU pitchers, with Evan Webb and Chris King each collecting three RBI. King was 3-for-5 with a double, while Webb went 2-for-4. A.J. Kirby-Jones had a pair of doubles, going 2-for-4, while Sean Reilly added two RBI.
Just as they had done Tuesday night with a nine-run first inning at MTSU, the Golden Eagles came out with a vengeance in the opening frame and put a four-spot on the scoreboard in their first turn at the plate.
Thomas Nelson, the team’s sparkplug all season, got this one going with a leadoff single up the middle, followed by singles from Jake New and King for a quick 1-0 lead. Webb also singled to score New, and Kirby-Jones poked a double, pushing King across the dish.
Reilly’s RBI grounout added the fourth run, scoring Webb and giving Gray a four-run cushion before he stepped on the hill.
Tech added a single run in the third and three more in the fourth to make it 8-0. ETSU put its only run in the books in the sixth inning, before the Golden Eagles added single runs in the seventh and eighth.
Bucs starter Matt McGahey (0-1) pitched the first two innings and was charged with the loss.
Tech swept the two-game series from ETSU in 2008, outscoring the Bucs 25-7 in the two meetings.
MURRAY STATE 11, LIPSCOMB 6
MURRAY, Ky. - In Murray State's game last night at Lipscomb, runs were scored with an eyedropper, but in today's contest between the two teams in Murray, the runs came in floods, as the Thoroughbreds scored five runs in the first inning, three in the second and three in the seventh to beat the Bisons 11-6.
Lipscomb (12-10) had a three-run home run in the first inning and scored two in the fifth and one in the ninth.
Both starting pitchers started out slowly, as the first inning lasted 26 minutes. Murray State (8-9) plated its five first-inning runs on two hits, two errors, two walks and a hit batter.
Murray State was led by Wes Cunningham, who went 3-for-3 with a run and three runs batted in. Kyle Tiernan went 2-for-2 with a double and two runs, while Elliot Frey had two hits, three runs and an RBI. Cory Hodskins had a home run and two RBIs for the 'Breds, while Matt Phillips had a double and scored two runs. The top four batters in the MSU lineup went 9-for-13 (.692). On defense, catcher Evan Pettit had seven putouts, while shortstop Tiernan had a game-high four assists.
For Lipscomb, Caleb Joseph went 4-for-5 with two home runs, three runs scored and four RBIs. Ben Williams had three hits. On defense, first baseman Ryan Wilkins had eight putouts, while second baseman Clay Lehning had three assists.
On the mound, Matt McGaha (1-0) got the win in relief, allowing two runs on five hits, striking out one and walking none in four innings. Anthony Stacy got his first save of the season, allowing one run on two hits, striking out four and walking one in three innings. Marc Harmon started for the 'Breds, allowing three runs on four hits, striking out two and walking one in two innings.
For Lipscomb, starter Jerry Young (0-1) took the loss, allowing seven runs (four earned) on two hits, striking out none and walking three in just over an inning. Taylor Merry entered in the second inning, allowing one run on six hits, striking out four and walking one in four innings. Paul Piennette came on in the sixth, allowing no runs on two hits, striking out two and walking one in an inning, while Charles Williams entered in the seventh, allowing three run on two hits, walking one in one inning, and Kyle Tognazzini finished the game, striking out one in one inning.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 7, ILLINOIS STATE 5 (11)
NORMAL, Ill. - Tristan Facer’s first home run as a Panther, a two-run shot in the 11th inning, lifted Eastern Illinois baseball to a 7-5 victory at Illinois State Wednesday afternoon.
Jordan Tokarz went 4-for-6 at the top of the lineup and sent the game to extra innings with a two-out single in the eighth. With the bases loaded and EIU (9-10) trailing 5-3, he hit a grounder into the hole between third and shortstop for what was ruled a base hit. The tying run scored when the ISU shortstop failed to prevent the ball from caroming into left field.
Tokarz then led off the 11th with a single and scored on Facer’s long ball to left.
Richie Derbak (1-1) pitched four innings of one-hit relief to earn his first victory of the season. He struck out four, including the final batter of the game. The sophomore caught the first seven innings of the contest.
Alex Gee, Cameron Strang and Brett Nommensen also registered an RBI in the win.
Facer didn’t enter the game until the bottom of the ninth inning, replacing Gee at first base. Facer’s 11th-inning at-bat was his first of the game. Coincidentally, Schmitz said he put Facer in for an upgrade defensively with extra innings looming.
Eastern starter Mike Recchia worked five innings of one-run ball in his first collegiate start. The Panthers led 3-1 when he gave way to the bullpen. But after scoring a single run in the sixth, Illinois State (9-10) took the lead with a three-run seventh inning. A two-out, two-run double from Ronnie Calvird was the big hit of the rally.
Walks to Derbak, Zach Skidmore and Strang set the stage for Tokarz’s game-tying at-bat. Jordan Kreke scored easily from third and Skidmore accounted for the tying tally during the play.
The Panthers scored a single run in the first, third and fourth innings. Gee plated Nommensen with a two-out single in the first inning. Nommensen doubled home Tokarz in the third. And a sacrifice fly in the fourth from Strang scored Neil Wright.
Bart Thyer replaced Derbak behind the plate and eliminated one of the few baserunners his battery mate allowed to reach. With one out in the 10th, Thyer picked off ISU’s Kyle Cherney at first base after he had drawn a walk moments earlier.
The Panthers also turned a pair of 4-6-3 double plays early in the game.
AUBURN 14, SAMFORD 6
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Auburn baseball team plated eight runs in the fourth inning on its way to a 14-6 win over Samford Wednesday night at Regions Park.
For Samford (12-8) at the plate, Wayne Miller was 3-for-4 with two RBI. Alex Godshall and Tripp Swann were 2-for-3 each for the Bulldogs. Joshua Vanfleteren pitched an inning in relief, giving up eight runs, only one of which was earned, on four hits to take the loss. Vanfleteren was one of seven pitchers used by Samford in the game.
Auburn (16-9) was led by Joseph Sanders, who drove in four runs on a grand slam in a 2-for-5 performance. Mike Bianucci was 3-for-3 for the Tigers. Bradley Hendrix pitched 4.0 innings, giving up a run on three hits to pick up the win.
Auburn plated a run in the first inning and another in the third to take a 2-0 lead. Hunter Morris tripled to right-center field to drive in Bianucci for the first run of the game. In the third inning, Matt Hall scored from third base on a balk for a 2-0 Auburn lead.
Samford came back with three runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a 3-2 lead. Miller, Michael Marseco and Michael Rutledge each drove in a run for the Bulldogs in the inning.
Auburn answered with eight runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a commanding 10-3 lead. The majority of the damage in the inning came when Sanders hit his grand slam for the final four runs of the inning.
Samford plated a run in the bottom of the fourth inning and two in the eighth, while Auburn added two runs in the fifth inning and two more in the ninth to make the final score 14-6.
ALABAMA 5, JACKSONVILLE STATE 0
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Miers Quigley scattered four hits and tossed a complete-game to lead Alabama to a 5-0 win over Jacksonville State at Rudy Abbott Field on Wednesday.
Quigley (2-1) had a season-high eight strikeouts and threw 125 hits in the complete-game win. JSU’s John David Smelser (0-3) allowed just four hits, but gave up three runs to get stuck with the loss.
The Crimson Tide (13-11) took a 3-0 lead in the third inning after Ryan Rhoden and Jake Smith led off with back-to-back singles. Josh Rutledge followed with a single through the right side that scored Rhoden. Smith then scored on a sacrifice fly before Alex Avila had a RBI single up the middle to give Alabama the lead.
Alabama pushed the lead to 4-0 in the fourth after Rutledge had a RBI double. Rutledge led the Crimson Tide at the plate by going 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI.
The Tide scored its final run in the eighth inning after Matt Bentley led off with a solo homerun, his fifth home run of the season.
Todd Cunningham, Matt McLaughlin, Steven Leach and Daniel Adamson each had a hit for the Gamecocks. It was the first shutout for the Gamecocks since dropping a 12-0 decision at Texas A&M last season.
AUSTIN PEAY 9, WESTERN KENTUCKY 3
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Matt Kole had three RBI and picked up the victory as Austin Peay State Univeristy’s baseball team posted a 9-3 victory against Western Kentucky, Wednesday night, at Nick Denes Field.
Kole began the night as the designated hitter and helped put the Govs up early. His two-run first-inning triple opened the scoring. Two innings later, his double scored the eventual game-winning run. Kole (1-0) then came on to pitch in the fifth and faced just 11 batters through three complete innings to pick up his season’s first victory.
Austin Peay (11-9) received additional scoring output from third baseman Tyler Farrar who blasted a three-run home run off the scoreboard in right field. It was the second home run in as many nights for Farrar who also had a solo home run, Tuesday, against Memphis. Shortstop Greg Bachman added RBIs in the first and third innings while first baseman Ryan Gilboy finished the Govs scoring with an RBI double in the seventh.
Western Kentucky (11-10) scored lone runs in the first, fourth and fifth innings. The Hilltoppers cashed in a leadoff walk in the first inning with a sacrifice fly. WKU then got solo home runs from shortstop Terrence Dayleg and centerfielder Scott Kaskie in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively.
Austin Peay starter Jeff Lykins went four-plus innings, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out five. Kole, Ryne Mantooth and Jeff Brooks followed and shutdown the Hilltopper offense over the final five innings, combining to allow three hits. Kole, Bachman and second baseman Chad Cunningham each rapped out two hits to lead the Govs 10-hit attack.
Western Kentucky starter Bryce Jenney (0-1) was tagged for the loss after allowing five runs on four hits and three walks while striking out six over the first 2.2 innings. Third baseman Wade Gaynor led WKU’s offense with a 3-for-4 performance.