SATURDAY'S SCORES
Jacksonville State 7, Charleston Southern 4 (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Oral Roberts 3
, @Southeast Missouri 1
@Belmont 6, Illinois State 5
@Auburn 14,
Eastern Illinois 7
Tennessee Tech 8, Bowling Green 5
Indiana State
at Eastern Kentucky (cancelled)
Ball State
at Morehead State (cancelled)
Michigan State
at Austin Peay (cancelled)
IPFW
at SIUE (cancelled)
North Dakota State
at UT Martin (cancelled)
Canisius
at Murray State (cancelled)
JACKSONVILLE STATE 7, CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 4
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Coty Blanchard and Stephen Bartlett each hit a home run to lead Jacksonville State to a 7-4 win over Charleston Southern in college baseball on Saturday afternoon.
Junior left-hander Casey Antley struck out a career-high eight batters in 6 2/3 innings to run his record to a perfect 3-0 on the season after he allowed seven hits, three runs and walked just one. Travis Stout picked up his third save of the year after recording the final three outs of the game. Ryan Gunther (1-1) gave up eight hits and five runs to suffer the loss for Charleston Southern.
The Bucs (5-5) took the early lead after scoring three runs in the first inning on back-to-back doubles by Jaren Sustar and John Faircloth, before Chase Shelton and Drew Woodall each drove in a run to give the Bucs a 3-0 lead.
Jax State (4-8) cut into the lead in the home half of the second inning after Adam Miller drew a one-out walk and Bartlett then hit a 1-1 pitch over the right field fence to make the score 3-2.
The Gamecocks took the lead for good in the fifth inning after Eddie Mora-Loera singled up the middle and Griff Gordon drew a one-out walk. Blanchard then hit his second home run of the season with a three-run blast over the right centerfield fence to give Jax State a 5-3 lead.
JSU added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth inning when Tyler Gamble scored on a wild pitch and Gordon had a RBI single up the middle for a 7-3 lead.
Charleston Southern scored a run in the ninth inning after Zack Hagaman scored on a Gamecock wild pitch, but the Bucs could get no closer.
Mora-Loera, Gamble and Miller each had a pair of hits to lead the Gamecocks, while Gordon extended his hitting streak to a team-best nine games with his single in the seventh inning. Jaren Sustar led the Bucs with three hits.
ORAL ROBERTS 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - The Southeast Missouri baseball team dropped their series opener with Oral Roberts 3-1 on Saturday afternoon at Capaha Field. The Redhawks fall to 6-4 on the season as the Golden Eagles improve to 4-4.
The Golden Eagles outhit the Redhawks nine to six on a chilly and snowy day at Capaha field as the game featured a rare snow delay in the sixth inning.
Junior Cole Bieser led the Redhawks with a pair of hits in the contest as he has record a multi-hit contest in five of the last seven games.
Southeast Starter Will Spitzfaden (1-1) dueled with ORU starter Alex Gonzalez (1-2) for six innings allowing three earned runs on six hits.
The Golden Eagles got on the board first in the fourth inning on a two-run home run over the left centerfield fence by Tyler Boss. ORU added another run in the sixth inning on an RBI single from All-American catcher Jose Trevino to extend their lead to 3-0.
The Redhawks got on the board in the sixth inning to cut the Golden Eagles lead to 3-1. Bieser opened the inning with his second single of the contest. Derek Gibson followed with a double as the Redhawks' had two runners in scoring position.
Junior Matt Tellor drove in Bieser for his ninth RBI of the season later in the sixth frame, But Oral Roberts got out of the inning on a ground ball to maintain their lead at 3-1.
The Redhawks bullpen kept Southeast within two runs the rest of the contest as Hank Williams, Jr., Skylar Cobb, Alex Siddle and Tony Zerrusen saw time out of the bullpen as they combined for three scoreless innings.
The Redhawks were held in check offensively by Gonzalez as he earned the win for Oral Roberts going seven innings allowing six hits with one earned run with nine strikeouts. Nathan Garza threw the final two innings for the save for ORU as they took the game 3-1.
The Golden Eagles were led offensively by Boss, Matt Brandy and Kevin Cho as they added a pair of hits apiece for ORU.
BELMONT 6, ILLINOIS STATE 5
NASHVILLE - Belmont Baseball (9-2) took game two of the series with Illinois State Saturday, 6-5, behind five runs in the fourth and fifth innings.
The Bruins have won six straight games.
A sacrifice fly put the Redbirds on the board first in the first inning. Illinois State hit back-to-back singles to start the second before designated hitter Brock Stewart hit a two-run single to put the Redbirds up 3-0.
Illinois State began the third inning just like the second with back-to-back singles, but the Redbirds stranded both runners.
Josh Davis (Fayetteville, Ga.) hit a lead-off single in the bottom of the fourth and advanced to second on an Illinois State error. Scott Moses (Englewood, Tenn.) reached on a fielder's choice and Davis advanced to third.
An error from the Redbirds allowed Jamie Ritchie (Buford, Ga.) to reach first and score Davis, putting the Bruins on the board. A bunt single from Alec Diamond (Kennesaw, Ga.) loaded the bases and a sacrifice fly from Dom Veltri (Clarksville, Tenn.) scored Moses.
In the bottom of the fifth, Drew Turner (Shelbyville, Tenn.) and Davis both singled before Moses singled to left center and advanced on the throw which scored Turner, tying the ball game at 3-3. Ritchie hit a two-run single giving the Bruins a 5-3 lead.
Austin Coley (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) went 5.1 innings giving up six hits and four earned runs. The right hander struck out six, matching his season high that he set against Ohio.
Dan Ludwig (Naperville, Ill.) earned his second win of the season when he came on to relieve Coley. He allowed just two hits and struck out five.
The Redbirds tied the game in the top of the sixth, scoring a pair of runs.
Veltri drew a leadoff walk in the bottom half of the inning and advanced on a wild pitch. Drew Ferguson (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Turner each were hit by a pitch, loading the bases and forced the Redbirds to go to the bullpen.
Another Illinois State wild pitch advanced the runners and scored Veltri, giving the Bruins a 6-5 lead. BU loaded the bases, but stranded the runners.
Ritchie drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the seventh followed by a bunt single from Diamond. Veltri hit into a double play advancing Ritchie but a groundout from Ferguson left him stranded.
Davis took the mound in the top of the ninth to close out the game, striking out the first two batters before surrendering a hit. The right hander earned his second save of the season.
Davis, Diamond and Turner led the Bruins with two hits in the game.
AUBURN 14, EASTERN ILLINOIS 7
AUBURN, Ala. - The Auburn baseball team took game two of the weekend series with Eastern Illinois, 14-7, on Saturday afternoon at Plainsman Park. The weekend series concludes on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
For the second consecutive day, the Panthers (3-6) took an early lead as they scored one run on one hit and one Tiger (7-3) error to take a 1-0 advantage in the first inning. Auburn scored eight unanswered runs over the next four innings to take an 8-1 lead heading into the top of the fifth inning.
EIU rallied back by adding three runs in the fifth inning to cut its deficit to four (8-4). The Panthers also scored one run in the sixth inning and two in the seventh inning to make the score 8-7. Auburn scored six insurance runs in the eighth inning on two hits and two errors to take a 14-7 advantage.
“We struggled fielding the ball today,” said Eastern Illinois head coach Jim Schmitz. “We did a great job battling back again to get within one run. Defensively, we haven’t had that many mistakes in the field all year. We hope to come out strong tomorrow and win the series.”
Auburn recorded five more hits (13-8) than EIU and committed one less error (4-3). Both squads left nine runners on base in the contest.
Caleb Howell led the Panthers at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Nick Priessman also added two hits and an RBI.
Cullen Wacker paced the Tiger offense as the senior outfielder went 4-for-5 with four RBI, two runs, a double and triple. Michael O’Neal (3-0) recorded the win, surrendering four runs (two earned) and three hits in five innings of work.
Joe Greenfield (1-1) took the loss for EIU, surrendering 10 hits and eight runs (four earned) in five innings of action.
TENNESSEE TECH 8, BOWLING GREEN 5
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - After weather forced Game Two against Bowling Green (2-6) to be suspended in the seventh inning Saturday, the Tennessee Tech baseball team (6-4) earned an 8-5 win Sunday morning following the cancellation of the continuation and Game 3 due to weather.
The Golden Eagles put together a six-run fourth inning, rallying behind the bats of Zach Stephens and Brandon Thomasson to earn their sixth win of the season.
After jumping out to an early 1-0 lead in the first, Tech was started on its way to its second straight win over the Falcons. Bowling Green had different plans, scoring three runs in the top of the second. The Falcons added two more in the third and fourth innings.
The lead man for the BGSU offense was Patrick Lancaster, an outfielder and first baseman who collected two hits in four at-bats. He drove in one run for the Falcons.
Clutch, two-out hitting propelled the Golden Eagle comeback. Trailing 5-1 in the bottom of the fourth, Dylan Bosheers sparked the Tech offense, collecting a double down the left field line. Tevis Sherfield singled in the next at-bat, advancing Bosheers to third base.
BGSU collected a second out and looked poised to escape the inning as Zach Zarzour hit a ground ball to the Falcon's second baseman. The Bowling Green infielder booted the ball, allowing Zarzour to reach base and Bosheers to score and begin a monster inning.
Center fielder Austin Wulf earned a walk to load the bases for Stephens. The first baseman came up clutch, drilling a single to center field and driving in two runs to bring the Tech club to within one run of the Falcons. Thomasson followed suit, ripping his second triple in two days down the right field line to drive in two more runs and give the Golden Eagles the lead for good.
James Abraham drew a walk in the next at-bat, followed by an RBI single from Michael Morris to complete the six-run fourth inning and four-run rally. Tech grabbed an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth to take an 8-5 lead.
Senior right hander Nick Price, who pitched 2.1 innings in relief for David Hess, earned his first win of the 2013 campaign. He allowed just one hit while striking out two Falcon batters. Hess struck out five in 3.2 innings pitched, including three in the first. He allowed just three earned runs in the contest.
Tech's scoring was a team effort for the second contest in-a-row, as six different Golden Eagles drove in runs. Both Wulf and Thomasson gathered two hits in the game. Wulf went two-for-two, drawing two walks. Zarzour scored three runs in the contest while driving in one runner.