WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@Clemson 5,
Morehead State 2
@Tennessee Tech 9, Berea (Ky.) 4
@Alabama 6,
Jacksonville State 5
@UT Martin 8, Evansville 3
CLEMSON 5, MOREHEAD STATE 2
CLEMSON, S.C. - The Morehead State baseball team relinquished a lead to Clemson for the second straight game on Wednesday afternoon, falling 5-2 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
The Tigers improved to 13-7 on the season, while the Eagles fell to 7-14. MSU was only out-hit in the contest by one, 10-9, but it stranded 10 runners on base to Clemson’s six.
Clemson got out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on an RBI single to left field from sophomore catcher Garrett Boulware.
The Eagles tied it up in the top of the third when sophomore center fielder Duran Elmore scored on a Clemson fielding error.
MSU took its first lead of the game in the top of the fifth when sophomore catcher Chris Robinson drove in senior left fielder Taylor Pickens on an RBI single to right field. The lead was short-lived, however, as CU tied it at two in the bottom of the fifth.
The Tigers retook the lead in the bottom of the sixth, 3-2, driving in one on an RBI single from junior first baseman John McGibbon. They added on two more in the eighth to extend the lead to 5-2 to close out scoring.
MSU freshman right-hander Matt Anderson only gave up four hits and two earned runs while striking out six in 5.1 innings, but fell to 0-3 with the loss. Clemson senior righty Jonathan Meyer (1-0) picked up the win out of the bullpen.
Robinson went 3-for-4 with one RBI for the Eagles. Senior shortshop Chase Greenwell (2-for-4) and junior designated hitter Bobby Burns (2-for-4) also picked up multiple hits, while Pickens recorded two walks and a single.
TENNESSEE TECH 9, BEREA 4
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The streak continues. The Tennessee Tech baseball team (15-6, 5-1) won its eighth consecutive contest Wednesday afternoon, defeating the Berea Mountaineers (9-11, 1-2), 9-4.
Another streak was continued during the contest and was largely responsible for setting the tone for the win. Slugger Brandon Thomasson recorded a hit in his 13th straight game, crushing a home run to left center field to start the scoring in the first inning. More impressive was the fact that the ball was smacked straight into a heavy wind.
The scoring continued in the fifth as the Golden Eagles racked up three more runs. Austin Wulf reached base on a fielder's choice, driving in a runner from third and giving Tech a 3-0 lead. Three batters later, Daniel Miles smacked a two-run single to left center field, driving in both Wulf and Zephan Guyear.
Berea made a splash in the fourth inning, scoring four runs to cut the Tech lead to one. Leading the Mountaineer comeback attempt were catcher Ryan Akins and shortstop Ty Shipley. The two combined for four hits and an RBI in the contest, as well as two runs.
The Berea surge was quickly squashed as the Golden Eagles answered in the bottom of the eighth inning with four runs. After the bases were loaded, Wulf grounded out to second base, bringing in Tevis Sherfield. With two outs and the bases loaded, Guyear came home on a wild pitch, giving Tech a little more cushion with a 7-4 lead.
After a Thomasson walk, Miles also garnered a free pass, driving in Zach Zarzour for another run. Dylan Bosheers wrapped up the scoring frenzy with another walk, driving in Stephens and giving the Golden Eagles a 9-4 lead.
It would prove to be more than enough as Seth Lucio came in and shut down the Berea batters. The first batter squeaked a hit into right field. Lucio was none too pleased, taking revenge on the next three batters as the sophomore struck out all three Mountaineers to lead Tech to its 15th win of the season.
Earning his second victory of the year was sophomore pitcher David Hess. Normally a weekend starter, Hess came on in relief of Josh Bryant, pitching 3.2 innings. He allowed just two hits while striking out six batters. He opened his appearance setting down four the first five batters he faced on strikes.
ALABAMA 6, JACKSONVILLE STATE 5
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Austen Smith had three hits and drove in a pair of runs to lead Alabama to a 6-5 win over Jacksonville State at Sewell-Thomas Stadium on Wednesday.
Jake Hubbard (1-0) had three strikeouts and allowed just three hits to pick up the win,l while Ray Castillo earned the save after recording the final three outs for the Crimson Tide. JSU's Adam Polk (2-4) got stuck with the loss after giving up three hits and two runs in one inning on the mound for the Gamecocks.
Jacksonville State (11-12) took the early lead after Michael Bishop led off with a single and Eddie Mora-Loera followed with a single to move Bishop to third. Griff Gordon then hit an infield grounder to score Bishop and give the Gamecocks a 1-0 lead.
Alabama (13-9) tied the game in the home half of the first after Ben Moore scored on a Gamecock wild pitch, but Jax State answered in the top of the second.
Paschal Petrongolo led off with a single and Cal Lambert reached on an Alabama fielding error followed by a walk to Andrew Bishop to load the bases. Petrongolo scored after Gamble hit into a double play, but JSU took a 2-1 lead.
Alabama matched the Gamecocks with a run in the bottom of the inning on a RBI single by Kenny Roberts to tie the game at 2-2, but the lead didn't last long.
Jax State plated two runs in the third inning after Michael Bishop led off with a double and Mora-Loera followed with a walk. Gordon then singled to center to load the bases for the Gamecocks, before Bishop scored on a wild pitch. Petrongolo then hit a deep fly to left center to score Mora-Loera as JSU took a 4-2 lead.
The Crimson Tide took a 5-4 lead in the third inning after Austen Smith and Kyle Overstreet and Georgie Salem each drove in a run as UA had five hits in the inning.
Alabama added an insurance run in the fourth inning after Ben Moore reached on a Gamecock error and scored on a a RBI single by Smith for a 6-4 lead.
Jax State pulled to within 6-5 in the fifth inning after Michael Bishop led off with a single and Mora-Loera walked, before Gordon hit a single to left field to score Bishop for the final margin.
Bishop led the Gamecocks with three hits and extended his hitting streak to a season-best five games, while Gordon finished with two hits for JSU. Smith led Alabama with three hits, while Salem, Roberts and Booth each had two hits to led the Crimson Tide.
UT MARTIN 8, EVANSVILLE 3
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin scored the first five runs of its game against Evansville tonight and added three more late insurance runs in an 8-3 victory at Skyhawk Field.
Four Skyhawks tallied multi-hit games tonight, as Grant Glasser (two runs scored, RBI), Byron Johann (extended his hitting streak to eight), Luis Paublini (two runs scored) and Brent Morris (one run scored) all registered two hits apiece. Hagen Nelson drove in a pair of runs and scored a run in his first start of the season, while Nico Zych (two RBI) and Matt Haynes (two runs scored, RBI) also led UT Martin, who improved to 8-13 on the season.
Sophomore left-hander Dalton Potts moved to 3-2 on the season with two scoreless innings while maintaining a pitch count. John Skubina tossed a scoreless third inning, while Trevor Lundgrin (0.2 perfect innings), Carter Smith (four innings, two hits allowed, career-high six strikeouts) and Stu Jones (one inning) all chalked up scoreless outings for the Skyhawks.
Potts used a big double play to help put up a shutout first inning, then retired the side in order in the second.
The Skyhawks registered three runs in the bottom of the second, starting with back-to-back singles by Paublini and Morris. Two quick outs followed before a two-out rally, beginning with an RBI single by Nelson. Zych and Glasser then amassed RBI singles to give UT Martin a 3-0 advantage.
After Skubina shut out the Purple Aces in the third, UT Martin compiled two more runs in the bottom half. Haynes doubled to right center to bring around Paublini while Zych drew the third straight walk of the inning for an RBI.
However, Evansville scored three runs in the top of the third to get back within striking distance at 5-3. Lundgrin came into the game with the bases loaded and one out but helped UT Martin hold on to the lead by dialing up a strikeout and inning-ending flyout.
Smith racked up a pair of strikeouts in both the fifth and sixth innings, keeping the score at 5-3 until the Skyhawks added one run in the sixth, seventh and eighth. Glasser doubled in the sixth and eventually came around to score on a wild pitch, while Nelson drove in his second run of the game off a fielder’s choice in the seventh. Glasser was solely responsible for the final run, as he turned a hit by pitch into two stolen bases and a throwing error to make the score 8-3.
Smith retired the side in order in the seventh and tacked on two more strikeouts in the eighth. Overall, the sophomore out of St. Louis, Mo. retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced.
Jones then worked a scoreless ninth to lower his season ERA to 0.79 in 11.1 innings.