SATURDAY'S SCORES
Austin Peay 5, @Eastern Illinois 2
@Southeast Missouri 5-1, Eastern Kentucky 3-7
@Jacksonville State 11, SIUE 0
@Murray State 15-11, UT Martin 13-7
@Tennessee Tech 11, Morehead State 5
Bradley 4,
@Belmont 3 (11)
AUSTIN PEAY 5, EASTERN ILLINOIS 2
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Austin Peay State University’s baseball team ran its win streak to nine games with a 5-2 Ohio Valley Conference victory against Eastern Illinois, Saturday, at Coaches Stadium.
Austin Peay (17-2, 2-0 OVC) are off to their best start in program history and their current nine-game win streak is the longest since a school-record 11-game streak in 1971.
Govs starter Casey Delgado (3-1) scattered three hits over six innings, surrendering two runs on a pair of solo home runs, for the win. Reliever Kacy Kemmer followed with two scoreless innings. Closer Tyler Rogers tossed a three-up, three-down ninth for his season’s eighth save and his 20th career save, tying the APSU record.
Austin Peay’s offense scored in the first inning for only the fifth time this season. Left fielder Cody Hudson drove home a run with a sacrifice fly and shortstop Reed Harper added a second run with a RBI single. The Govs improved to 5-0 when they score in the first inning.
The Govs tacked on two more runs in the fifth after second baseman Jordan Hankins and first baseman Craig Massoni opened the frame with back-to-back singles. After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners, Eastern Illinois intentionally walked Harper to load the bases. The tactic backfired when EIU starter Joe Greenfield uncorked his first wild pitch, allowing Hankins to score. Catcher P.J. Torres followed with an RBI ground out and the Govs led 4-1 and would not look back.
Massoni, who finished Friday’s contest with three straight hits, opened Saturday’s game with three consecutive hits and finished the day 3-for-5. Center fielder Dylan Riner added a 2-for-3 outing. The Govs posted just eight hits, but earned eight walks while striking out only four times.
Greenfield (1-2) suffered the loss after allowing five runs on eight hits and seven walks over seven innings. Third baseman Brant Valach and first baseman Treysen Vavra has solo home runs in the second and sixth innings, repectively, to lead the Panthers offense.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 5-1, EASTERN KENTUCKY 3-7
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - The Southeast Missouri baseball team won their first Ohio Valley Conference series of the season as the Redhawks split a twin bill with Eastern Kentucky Saturday afternoon at Capaha Field. The Redhawks took the first game 5-3 as EKU took the second contest 7-1.
The Redhawks move to 11-10 overall after winning two of three games this weekend as the Colonels are now 5-11 overall and 2-4 in the conference.
In game one Southeast Missouri defeated Eastern Kentucky 5-3 in the opening game of a doubleheader at Capaha Field Saturday afternoon. Junior Luke Shearrow shut the door on the Colonels as he threw the final three innings with six strikeouts earning his first career save.
Cole Bieser, Matt Tellor and Clayton Evans each added a pair of hits in the contest as Southeast recorded 10 hits in the opening contest.
Zack Smith (2-2) got the win for the Redhawks going five plus innings allowing three runs on six hits. Smith got out of trouble in the first two innings on a pair of double plays to retire the Colonels.
The Redhawks got on the board with three runs in the second inning. Evans opened the scoring as he scored on a wild pitch. Alex Burridge would scored on an error and Jason Blum added another run on a double steal with Cole Bieser as the Redhawks took control of the contest.
Southeast added another run in the third inning as Branden Boggetto drove in Tellor as he reached third after a double down the left field line by Andy Lennington. The Redhawks extended their lead to 5-0 on a throwing error by first baseman Alex Hughes as Evans scored from second base in the fourth inning.
The Colonels scored three runs in the top of the sixth inning. EKU recorded three hits in the frame as Southeast recorded a throwing error in the inning. Lennington made a diving play at third base to end the frame as two runners were in scoring position to help preserve the Southeast lead.
Shearrow came in and threw the final three innings for the Redhawks helping Southeast earn a series win with the 5-3 victory.
Shaun Ball led EKU with a pair of hits and an RBI.
Shane Grimm (2-1) was tagged with the loss going six innings allowing five runs (two earned) with five strikeouts.
In game two Southeast Missouri dropped the second game of their doubleheader with Eastern Kentucky Saturday afternoon at Capaha Field by a score of 7-1.
The Colonels used a five-run inning in the seventh inning to pull away from the Redhawks. The five-run outburst was highlighted by three hits and three hit batters as EKU extended their lead to 7-0 in the frame after tallying runs in the second and fifth inning.
The Redhawks got on the board in the bottom of the seventh inning with on an RBI single off the bat of Ryan Barnes, but the Redhawks could not break into the Eastern Kentucky lead as they fell 7-1.
EKU starter Brent Cobb (2-3) was impressive going eight innings allowing eight hits and seven strikeouts.
Eastern Kentucky was led offensively by Doug Teegarden as he went 4-for-5 with three RBI.
Southeast starter Alex Winkelman (2-3) was tagged with the loss going 5.2 innings allowing six hits and two runs as he struck out three batters.
Barnes led the Redhawks offensively going 3-for-4 with an RBI. Bieser also added a pair of hits in the second contest for Southeast.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 11, SIUE 0
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Jacksonville State baseball team scored seven runs in the first two innings to cruise to an 11-0 win over SIU Edwardsville in the second game of the three-game Ohio Valley Conference series played at Rudy Abbott Field on Saturday.
Jax State clinched its second-straight OVC series with the blanking and moved to 10-10 overall and 4-1 in league play. The Cougars fell to 5-9 on the season and 3-2 in the OVC.
The Gamecocks gave starter Taylor Sheilds some breathing room with five runs in the top of the first. Junior Michael Bishop connected on his first of two hits to start the Gamecocks' scoring onslaught in the first frame. JSU sent ten batters to the dish with five of them scoring off of four hits and a pair of SIUE errors. Griff Gordon plated Eddie Mora-Loera on a double to center for the first run of the contest. Junior Coty Blanchard singled in the inning and scored on one of the Cougar miscues. Freshman Tyler Gamble drove in two runs with a single down the right field line.
JSU expanded its lead in the second with a two-run second inning. Blanchard, Paschal Petrongolo laced singles and Petrongolo's base hit scored Griff Gordon, who walked in the frame. The Gamecocks chased SIUE starter, Sam Hopkins after just 1.1 innings pitched.
That is all the support Shields needed as the junior from Gadsden, Ala. kept the Cougars off balance in his seven innings of work on the mound. He matched his season-best with his seven complete innings and only tossed 63 pitches. Sheilds ran into some trouble in the top half of third, but averted trouble. SIUE started the frame with three infield singles, but Shield was able to induce a double play with a play at the plate and at first. Shields ended the threat after Matt Highland fouled out to left field.
Jax State added four runs in the fifth inning, which was highlighted by Adam Miller's first career home run down the left field line to begin the fifth. Gordon and Petrongolo added their second RBIs of the contest with base hits. Mora-Loera also had an RBI single in the inning.
The Gamecocks scored the 11 runs off of 12 hits, while the pitching staff allowed just four SIUE hits in the contest that lasted just over two hours. JSU used Robby Lilly in the eighth and Taylor Sparks finished the contest in the ninth.
MURRAY STATE 15-11, UT MARTIN 13-7
MURRAY, Ky. - Murray State first baseman Mike Kozlowski hit for the cycle and drove in four runs, while second baseman Dylan Wheeler hit a grand slam and drove in six runs as the Breds erased an early seven-run deficit to defeat UT Martin 15-13 in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Reagan Field. In game two the Murray State offense picked up where it left off as they scored seven runs in the first three innings on the way to an 11-7 victory over UT Martin.
In game one with the game tied 12-12 in the bottom of the seventh, Brandon Eggenschwiler singled to right field and scored when Kozlowski completed the cycle with a triple off the top of the fence in right center. Wheeler followed two batters later with an RBI double to left center, before scoring on a Dalton West RBI single up the middle.
UTM threatened in the top of the ninth as they loaded the bases on a hit by pitch and a pair of walks to start the inning. Brock Downey settled in from there as he got a strikeout, an RBI groundout to second base and a flyout to center to end the game.
Downey (2) earned the save as he walked one and struck out one in one inning of work.
The Skyhawks got on the board early as a throwing error to start the game was followed by a single into right center. A wild pitch moved both runners up a base for Byron Johann to deliver a two-run single back through the middle.
UTM extended its lead in a big way in the third as they sent 10 hitters to plate, scoring five times. They loaded the bases with one before a passed ball and a two-run double down the left-field line scored three runs. The fourth run came in to score on a throwing error, while the fifth scored on a sacrifice fly to right field.
The Breds had an answer in the home-half of the inning as they matched the Skyhawks by scoring five runs of their own. Taylor Mathews started the one-out rally by beating out a chopper to second base. Eggenschwiler followed with a walk and Kozlowski delivered an RBI single to center field. Noah Zipko followed with a single to left to load the bases.
The Skyhawks quickly regained the momentum as a pair of singles started the fourth inning for Wade Collins to deliver an RBI double just inside the first-base line. Nico Zych followed by plating two runs with a single to center field.
The wild high-scoring affair continued in the bottom of the fourth as the Breds took their first lead of the game. The inning started with walks to Ty Stetson and Mathews, before Eggenschwiler reached on a hard hit grounder off the first baseman. With one out, Zipko drew a bases-loaded walk to score Stetson. Wheeler stepped into the box against the new Skyhawk reliever by hitting the second pitch he saw over the fence in right field for a grand slam. The rally continued with two outs as West reached on a bad hop single over the head of the shortstop and Paul Ritzheimer walked. Stetson delivered in his second at bat of the inning with an RBI single to right field.
UTM tied the game in the fifth as Matt Young hit a two-double to left center and scored on Johann’s bloop double to right field.
MSU regained the lead in the home-half of the inning as Kozlowski hit a solo home run to right field.
The Skyhawks tied the game in the top of the seventh without the virtue of a base hit. A hit by pitch, followed by a wild pitch and a groundout moved a runner to third with one out. The third-base umpire then called a balk to score the tieing run.
Cameron Wallace (1-0) got credit for the victory after allowing one run on two walks and a strikeout over 1.1 innings. Trevor Lundgrin (0-1) took the loss after giving up three runs on four hits over two innings.
Kozlowski finished the day 4-for-6 with three RBIs and four runs scored. Wheeler went 3-for-5 with a grand slam, six RBIs and three runs scored. Eggenschwiler added four hits in five at bats, while West added three hits and three RBIs.
In game two the Skyhawks (7-12, 1-5 OVC) jumped out to an early first-inning lead as a single and a throwing error put two on with no outs. A double steal moved both runners into scoring position and Byron Johann delivered an RBI groundout to shortstop. Two batters later, Brent Morris blooped an RBI single to center field.
The Breds (10-10, 4-2 OVC) answered right back in the home-half of the inning with Ty Stetson being hit by a pitch and Taylor Mathews beating out a bunt single. Brandon Eggenschwiler followed with a grounder through the legs of the second baseman, allowing Stetson to score from second. Mike Kozlowski followed with an RBI fielder’s choice to the shortstop.
MSU took the lead in the second inning as Dylan Wheeler and Brandon Elliott singled to start the frame. A wild pitch moved the runners up a base, and a balk allowed Wheeler to score. Nick Paradossi continued the rally with an RBI single to right field. Paul Ritzheimer singled to left center and Stetson put down a sacrifice bunt ahead of a two-run single to center field off the bat of Mathews.
The Breds added to the lead in the third as Wheeler started the inning with a single to shortstop before taking second and third on two wild pitches. Elliott drove in Wheeler with a single to left field.
UTM got a run back in the fourth as Wade Collins doubled to left center and scored on a Noah Zych single up the middle.
MSU took advantage of some fielding miscues in the bottom of the inning to push across two more runs. Eggenschwiler started the inning with a double down the left-field line and scored on Kozlowski’s double to right center. Wheeler singled into the four hole and when the throw got passed the pitcher covering, Kozlowski scored from third.
The Skyhawks pushed across their fourth run in the seventh as Sonny Mastromatteo doubled just inside the bag at first and scored on a Matt Haynes single to right center.
The Breds were aided by another throwing error to score a run in the eighth. Kozlowski started the inning with a double just inside the right-field line and went to third on a groundout. Wheeler struck out, but the throw to first was thrown away, allowing Wheeler to reach. The ball was picked up by the second baseman, and his throw home to get Kozlowski was wild to let the runner score.
Cashtyn DeLeeuw (1-0) earned the victory as he allowed four runs, two earned, on eight hits and five strikeouts over eight innings. Dalton Potts (2-2) took the loss after surrendering six runs, four earned, on six hits over 1.1 innings.
Kozlowski again led the offense by going 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and two RBIs. Wheeler and Elliott each went 3-for-5, while Mathews collected two hits and drove in two runs.
TENNESSEE TECH 11, MOREHEAD STATE 5
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - A three-run Morehead State lead proved to be no match for the hot bats of the Tennessee Tech baseball team Saturday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles used three home runs and 17 total hits to down the visiting Eagles, 11-5.
The win marks the sixth straight series win for the Golden Eagles (12-6, 4-1) this season and also improved their Ohio Valley Conference record to 4-1. The victory is the fifth in a row for the Tech squad, who scored 11 runs for the second straight contest.
Duran Elmore and Kane Sweeney led the way for Morehead State (7-11, 2-3), recording three hits each. Elmore also drove in two runs for the Eagles, homering in the third inning and grounding out to second for an RBI in the sixth.
The Golden Eagles stepped out to the lead first, grabbing a run in the second inning off a sacrifice fly by catcher Jordan Parris for a 1-0 lead. Morehead quickly changed that score, scoring four runs in the top of third to grab a 4-1 advantage.
Tech managed to recoup a run in the bottom of the third to cut the lead in half, scoring off a solo shot down the left field line by third baseman Daniel Miles, the junior's third of the season.
The Eagle pitching staff worked hard in the fourth and fifth innings, limiting the Golden Eagles to just one run. Miles, who led off the fifth with a double, later scored on a wild pitch after being moved over to third on a James Abraham single. The lead was cut to one with Morehead leading, 4-3.
An unearned run in the top of the sixth seemed to give Morehead State a little insurance and momentum, providing the Eagles with a 5-3 lead.
And then the Golden Eagle bats awoke. To open the bottom of the sixth, lead-off man Zach Zarzour singled off the pitcher's leg. A quick fly out by Austin Wulf looked to diminish Tech's chances, but Zach Stephens followed up the out getting hit by a pitch.
With men on first and second, Morehead State decided to make a pitching change, bringing in Morgan Cirbo to face junior clean-up hitter Brandon Thomasson. After watching a ball and strike pass by, Thomasson pounced, hammering his longest home run of the season, a three-run shot, well over the left-center field wall to give the Golden Eagles a 6-5 lead.
RBIs by Dylan Bosheers and and Michael Morris finished off the big inning for Tech, as the team took an 8-5 lead to the seventh inning. In the seventh, Stephens blasted a two-run dinger to right-center field. It marked the fourth of the year for the junior slugger, as well as his second consecutive game with a home run.
A triple by Miles and sac fly to drive him in by Bosheers finished the scoring for the game as the Golden Eagles closed out the final two innings to gain the 11-5 victory.
Nick Price came into the contest in relief to start the fourth inning, setting down the Eagle batters without surrendering any earned runs through 3.1 innings of work. The senior picked up his third win of the season, just three days after earning his second against Northern Kentucky on Wednesday.
The Tech pitching staff recorded nine strikeouts in the contest while allowing just four earned runs.
Thomasson extended his impressive hitting streak to 10 games with his 3-run blast. Miles finished the contest just a single shy of the cylce, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and a walk. Bosheers also finished 3-for-4, driving in two runners while scoring twice.
BRADLEY 4, BELMONT 3 (11)
NASHVILLE - Belmont Baseball (13-5) fell to Bradley, 4-3, in extra innings Saturday afternoon at Rose Park.
Scott Moses (Englewood, Tenn.) scored Josh Davis (Fayetteville, Ga.) from second base to put Belmont on the board first, 1-0 in the second inning.
Davis hit a leadoff double to center field to begin the fourth. Jared Breen (Marietta, Ga.) drew a walk bringing up Matt Beaty (Dresden, Tenn.). The third baseman reached on a fielder's choice as Breen was out on play, but Davis was able to advance to third. Moses reached on a fielder's choice and scored Davis, giving BU a 2-0 lead over the Braves.
The first two times Davis led off an inning, he scored for the Bruins.
Bradley loaded the bases with one out in the sixth and Tyler Leffler hit a two-run double to right field, tying the game at 2-2. Curtis Bunch grounded out to third to score the Braves' third run and take a 3-2 lead.
Austin Coley (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) went six innings, giving up four hits, three runs and struck out seven. Dan Ludwig (Naperville, Ill.) came on for an inning of relief.
In the seventh, Jamie Ritchie (Buford, Ga.) singled up the middle before Drew Ferguson (Knoxville, Tenn.) laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Ritchie. Drew Turner (Shelbyville, Tenn.) singled to right field and advanced on an error from the Bradley right fielder, scoring Ritchie tying the game at 3-3.
Davis took the hill in the eighth and struck out his first two batters. In his relief appearance he struck out a total of five batters.
In Jessie Snodgrass' (Lebanon, Tenn.) relief appearance he only allowed one hit.
Bradley's Mike Tauchman singled to right field, scoring Bunch in what was a close call at the plate in the top of the eleventh to put the Braves up 4-3.
This was the first extra innings game at Rose Park this season and fourth overall.