TUESDAY'S SCORES
@Tennessee Tech 1, Maryville College 0
West Virginia 16,
@Eastern Kentucky 9
@#17 Mississippi State 13,
Austin Peay 5
TENNESSEE TECH 1, MARYVILLE COLLEGE 0
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Neither a game cancellation nor frigid weather can stop the red hot Tennessee Tech baseball team (19-6, 8-1), winners of 12 consecutive games after eeking out a 1-0 shutout over Maryville (Tenn.) Tuesday afternoon. The win put the Golden Eagles into sole possession of the longest active winning streak in the nation.
Despite having their scheduled game at the University of Tennessee cancelled to due to poor field conditions, and forced to deal with below freezing weather and snow flurries, the Golden Eagles put together an impromtu contest against the Scots of Maryville (Tenn.) College (12-15, 7-11).
In all winning streaks, there's always a game or two that just don't always go the way one might want. The key is to dig deep and fight through the adversity to come out on top. That's exactly what the Golden Eagles did Tuesday afternoon, grinding out the tough 1-0 win over the Scots. Tech hit the ball hard, picking up seven base hits from five different players. The Maryville defense was excellent, however, turning four double plays, the most the Golden Eagles have hit into this season.
Senior right fielder Michael Morris was the hero for the Tech squad, driving in the game's lone run with an RBI double off the right center field fence in the bottom of the fifth. He drove in Zephan Guyear, who had singled in the previous at-bat. It was one of Morris' three hits in three at-bats. The senior also swiped a bag in the contest, stealing second base in the third inning.
The Scots were able to pick up five hits in the contest, including two from shortstop Nick Dean. The Golden Eagle pitching staff wasn't about to let the game slip from its grasp, however, shutting the door on every scoring chance the Scots put together and collecting its second combined shutout of the season.
Earning his third win of the year was right hander Garrett Baugh. The junior tossed six innings, allowing just three hits and one walk while striking out a game-high five batters. Four other Tech pitchers joined in on the shutout, with Ross Spurgeon coming in the top of the seventh and gathering the first two outs. He allowed two hits while setting down one batter on strikes.
Sophomore David Hess relieved Spurgeon, gathering the final out of the inning in just three pitches. In the eighth, junior Stanton Taylor joined in on the fun, pitching a hitless inning with a strikeout to set up sophomore closer Seth Lucio for a save attempt. The right hander did not miss a beat, throwing nine pitches to get three quick outs, including a strikeout.
Lucio picked up his fifth save of the season, tying him for second all-time at Tech in saves in a season. The pitching effort also gave the Golden Eagles the best start in program history, eclipsing the previous best of 18-6-1 by the 1982 team. Tech is off to its best start to a conference season as well, going 8-1 in its first nine games.
The 12-game winning streak is the second longest in school history, just two shy of the 1955 team which started its season 14-0.
The streak comes off the backbone of great hitting and pitching, areas that the Golden Eagles have been so good in that they rank nationally in several categories including: second in strikeouts per nine innings, tied for second in home runs, 12th in slugging percentage, 24th in runs scored, 24th in scoring, 25th in doubles, and 30th in on-base percentage.
WEST VIRGINIA 16, EASTERN KENTUCKY 9
RICHMOND, Ky. - Eastern Kentucky cut a 6-run deficit to two, but West Virginia scored eight runs in the final three innings to pull away for a 16-9 win.
The Colonels (5-15) cut the Mountaineers 6-0 lead in half on Shaun Ball’s three-run home run in the third inning. It was his third homer of the season. Trailing 8-4 in the bottom of the sixth, EKU plated two to close the gap to two runs. John Wilson’s RBI double accounted for one of the runs.
West Virginia (11-13) scored one in the seventh before exploding for five in the eighth and two more in the ninth. Ryan Tuntland had an RBI double and Alan Filauro a two-run single in the 5-run eighth inning.
Kyle Nowlin and Kenny Hostrander had back-to-back triples in the bottom of the eighth. Wilson’s sacrifice fly capped the two-run inning for the Colonels.
Ball finished 2-for-5 with a run and three RBIs. Hostrander went 2-for-2 with three runs, an RBI and a pair of walks. Wilson had two hits in four at bats, three RBIs and a run scored.
Tuntland led the Mountaineer attack with a 4-for-6 performance. He scored four times and drove in two. Filauro also went 4-for-6 with four RBIs and a run scored.
#17 MISSISSIPPI STATE 13, AUSTIN PEAY 5
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Austin Peay State University’s baseball team saw an upset opportunity melt away in the late innings of a 13-5 loss to nationally-ranked Mississippi State, Tuesday, at Dudy Noble Field.
Austin Peay (19-5) matched Mississippi State for six and a half innings and was tied 5-5 after left fielder Cody Hudson’s RBI single in the top of the seventh.
Mississippi State (22-6) broke the game open with three runs in the bottom of the seventh and a five-run eighth inning. The Bulldogs took advantage of two walks and three consecutive hits in the seventh inning. First baseman Wes Rea, designated hitter Trey Porter and catcher Nick Ammirati each drove in a run.
The Bulldogs eighth inning was assisted by a pair of walks and an error. Rea again batted in a run with a single and Ammirati wrapped up the game’s scoring with a two-run single.
Austin Peay scored the game’s first runs as shortstop Reed Harper drove home two with a bases-loaded single in the first inning. Then, after the Bulldogs scored four runs in the bottom of the frame, the Govs tallied two runs to tie the game in the second as right fielder Rolando Gautier and center fielder Dylan Riner each had RBI singles.
The Govs used nine pitchers in the contest. Junior Kacy Kemmer had APSU’s longest outing with two scoreless innings in the second and third frames. Junior Ryan Quick tossed a scoreless fourth before senior Casey Delgado added a scoreless fifth.
Freshman Jared Carkuff started the contest and faced eight batters in the first inning, allowing four runs, but the Govs battled back and tied the game after his departure. Freshman Hunter Lindley (0-1) allowed three runs in the eighth and was tagged for the loss.
Gautier posted his second consecutive three-hit outing, finishing 3-for-4 with a RBI. Harper added a 1-for-4, two RBI performance. The Govs offense notched nine hits and earned six walks against the Bulldogs pitching staff.
Mississippi State reliever Myles Gentry – the last of four pitchers for MSU – picked up the win after holding Austin Peay scoreless over the final 2.2 innings. Starter Will Cox allowed four runs over 1.1 innings but did not factor into the decision.
Porter led Mississippi State’s 11-hit outing with a 2-for-4, three RBI performance that included a two-run home run in the first inning.