SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Kentucky 7, UT Martin 3
@Belmont 5, SIUE 3
Jacksonville State 7, @Murray State 6 (15 innings)
@Southeast Missouri 5, Austin Peay 3
@Tennessee Tech 5, Eastern Illinois 2
@Illinois State 4-9,
Morehead State 0-7
EASTERN KENTUCKY 7, UT MARTIN 3
RICHMOND, Ky. - Senior Shaun Ball hit a 2-run home run with the score tied in the eighth inning and sophomore Ben Gullo struck out 13 as Eastern Kentucky beat Tennessee-Martin 7-3 in game two of the series.
With the game tied 3-3 in the eighth, Bryan Soloman led off the bottom of the inning with a double to right center. Ball stepped to the plate and sent a 3-0 pitch over the right field fence. The Colonels (11-20, 7-7 OVC) added two more runs on an RBI single by Kenny Hostrander and a triple by Austin Grisham.
Gullo cruised through the first six innings, allowing just two hits and retiring nine straight from the fourth through the sixth. He encountered a bit of trouble in the seventh. After a single and a walk, Matt Young hit a one-out, 3-run home run to tie the game. It was Young’s second homer of the season and just his eighth RBIs.
Gullo (2-2) allowed three runs on five hits over eight innings. He walked only one batter and blasted his previous career-best of six strikeouts with 13 K’s. The Lake Zurich, Ill., native struck out two batters each in the first four innings and struck out two in his final inning of work.
Grisham led off the EKU first inning with a single to center and Doug Teegarden reached on an error. A double steal moved the runners to second and third. Sean Hagen followed with a single up the middle to score both runners, giving the junior nine RBIs in the series.
Kyle Nowlin followed a two-out double by Ball with an RBI single through the left side to extend the lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the sixth.
Ball went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs. Grisham, Hagen, Nowlin and Hostrander all recorded two hits. Young finished 2-for-4 with a run and three RBIs for Tennessee-Martin (9-25, 2-15 OVC).
Taylor Cox started for UTM and allowed three runs, two of which were earned, over seven innings. He gave up nine hits, walked one and struck out five. Chris Ross (3-3) suffered the loss after allowing four runs on four hits in two-thirds innings.
Eastern has won five straight OVC games and six of its last seven overall.
BELMONT 5, SIUE 3
NASHVILLE - Belmont Baseball (25-8, 12-2) defeated SIU Edwardsville, 5-3 Saturday afternoon at E.S. Rose Park.
Dom Veltri (Clarksville, Tenn.) got things started for the Bruins with a triple to the gap in right center, scoring the first run of the game on a wild pitch.
A two-run double from Devin Caldwell gave SIUE a 2-1 lead in the top of the second.
In the bottom of the third, the Bruins had the bases loaded and tied the game, 2-2 as Veltri crossed the plate after Drew Turner (Shelbyville, Tenn.) grounded out to the SIUE second baseman.
The Bruins took the lead, 3-2 after Turner doubled down the left field line to score Jared Breen (Marietta, Ga.) in the bottom of the fifth.
SIUE's Caldwell hit a solo shot in the top of the sixth to tie the game at 3-3. The Bruins responded with a two-run double from Judah Akers to put BU on top, 5-3 in the bottom half of the inning.
Dan Ludwig (Naperville, Ill.) went seven innings giving up eight hits, three runs and striking out six.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 7, MURRAY STATE 6 (15)
MURRAY, Ky. - Paschal Petrongolo hit a two-run home run in the 15th inning to lead Jacksonville State to a 7-6 win over Murray State to take the second straight Ohio Valley Conference game against the 'Breds on Saturday afternoon.
Tony Urban (2-0) pitched the final 2 1/3 inning with three strikeouts to earn his second win this year as the Gamecocks claimed their fifth final at-bat win of the 2013 season. Cody Maerz (0-2) gave up six hits and the game-winning home run in 4 2/3 innings to suffer the loss for Murray State.
With the game tied at 5-5 in the top of the 15th, Coty Blanchard reached on a two-out single to right field before Petrongolo slugged his team-leading fourth home run of the season with a two-run shot over the right field fence to give JSU a 7-5 lead.
The Racers battled back in the home half of the inning as Taylor Mathews led off with a single and Nick Paradossi followed with a double to right center. Mathews scored as Paul Ritzheimer grounded out, before Urban recorded the final two outs to give the Gamecocks the win.
Blanchard led the Gamecocks with four hits and scored two runs, while Eddie Mora-Loera and Cal Lambert each finished with two hits. Dylan Wheeler had three hits to lead Murray State.
Jax State scored the first runs of the game in the fourth inning after Chase Silvani had a one-out single and moved to third when Griff Gordon singled up the middle. Silvani then scored on a Murray State wild pitch to give JSU a 1-0 lead.
Murray State took the lead in the sixth inning after Ty Stetson walked and Elliott reached on an infield single and Brandon Eggenschwiler walked to load the bases. Mike Kozlowski followed with an infield grounder to score Stetson, before Wheeler singled through the right side to give the 'Breds a 2-1 lead.
The Gamecocks then tied the game in the eighth inning after Mora-Loera led off with an infield single and moved to second on Andrew Bishop's sacrifice bunt. Stephen Bartlett the doubled down the left field line to score Mora-Loera and tie the game at 2-2.
Jax State took the lead in the 10th inning after Mora-Loera was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and moved to second on Andrew Bishop's sacrifice bunt. Lambert then faced a full count and singled to left field to score Mora-Loera and give JSU a 3-2 lead.
Murray State answered in the home half of the inning after Elliott led off with a single and moved to second when Bran Eggenschwiler had an infield bunt and the 'Breds loaded the bases after Mike Kozlowski walked. Stout then got a strikeout, before Noah Zipko hit a fly ball to right field to score Elliott and tie the game at 3-3.
The Gamecocks played two runs in the top of the 11th inning after Gordon walked and Blanchard singled to right center. Petrongolo followed with a sacrifice bunt to move both runners up a base, before Bishop drove in both runs with a single to left field to give JSU a 5-3 lead.
The 'Breds battled to tie the game in the home half of the inning after Rick Linton walked and Ritzheimer followed with a double down the left field line. Stetson then hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Linton as Ritzhimer moved to third. Elliott then hit a sacrifice fly down the right field line as Ritzhimer came in to tie the game at 5-5 and continue the game.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 5, AUSTIN PEAY 3
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning on their way to a 5-3 comeback win over Austin Peay in front of a crowd of 1,472 at Capaha Field Saturday afternoon. The Redhawks scored five unanswered run in the final four innings on their way to the win.
The Redhawks move to 18-18 on the season and 10-7 in the Ohio Valley Conference as Austin Peay drops to 26-10 and 9-4 in the OVC.
Junior Derek Gibson extended his hitting streak to 16-games going 2-for-4 with the game tying RBI. Jason Blum extended his hitting streak to 10-games going 2-for-3 with an RBI and run scored.
Starter Will Spitzfaden (4-3) got the win for the Redhawks going eight solid innings allowing three runs (one Earned) on 10 hits with two strikeouts. Senior Bobby Hurst earned the save with two strikeouts in the ninth.
An error by the Redhawks opened the door for a pair of runs by the Govs in the top of the fourth inning to open up the scoring. Michael Davis scored on an error by the Redhawks to put APSU on the board. P.J. Torres added to the lead as he later scored on an RBI double by Dlyan Riner.
The Redhawks got two runners on in the fourth inning looking to break into the Govs lead, but Austin Peay turned a rare triple play to end the threat. The last triple play against the Redhawks came against Ole Miss on May 19, 2011.
Austin Peay added to the lead in the fifth inning as Jordan Hankins hit his sixth home run of the season to right center field to extend the Govs lead to 3-0.
The Redhawks got on the board in the sixth inning on an RBI single to right field by Blum. Freshman Clayton Evans scored on the base hit as he reached base on a two out triple.
Southeast then erupted for four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Junior Josh Meade cut the Govs lead to one with a clutch pinch-hit RBI single to left center field scoring Branden Boggetto as he opened the inning with a walk.
After Blum was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Gibson tied the game with a infield single that plated John Logan Zink (pinch runner for Meade). Matt Tellor gave the Redhawks the lead with a two-run single up the middle to make it 5-3 Redhawks.
Hurst came in a shut the door on the Govs in the ninth sending them down in order to earn his sixth save of the season as the Redhawks tied the series with a 5-3 win.
Tyler Rogers (5-1) was tagged with the loss going two thirds of an inning allowing two runs on three hits.
Hankins led the Govs going 2-for-4 with an RBI and run scored.
TENNESSEE TECH 5, EASTERN ILLINOIS 2
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - It's been a great few months for Tennessee Tech pitcher Ross Spurgeon (2-1) as the transfer from Cleveland State Community College has gone from limited action in the bullpen, to steady reliever to weekend starter for the Golden Eagles (25-10, 14-3).
Saturday made the progression of it all that much more special as the Cookeville native gathered a victory in his first career start at Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex, a 5-2 win over the Eastern Illinois Panthers (12-20, 3-10).
Earning his third start of the season, Spurgeon threw six solid innings, scattering seven hits and allowing just two earned runs with one strikeout. It marked the second victory of the season for the right hander and the first victory in game that he has started.
EIU starter Joe Greenfield was tabbed with the loss, despite pitching all eight innings for the Panthers. The junior hurler gave up 12 hits to a tune of five runs, four earned, while striking out three.
The Golden Eagles got things started on the offensive side of the ball, scoring after just three pitches in the first inning. After a first-pitch double by lead-off man Zach Zarzour, senior Austin Wulf drove him in with a single to center field.
Eastern Illinois evened things up in the third, grabbing an RBI off a bloop single by center fielder Nick Priessman. Spurgeon kept his cool, however, forcing the next batter to ground into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
Tech answered back in the bottom half, grabbing an RBI double off the bat of junior slugger Zach Stephens after a single by Wulf. Brandon Thomasson collected a base hit to right field, advancing to second on an error by the right fielder. Daniel Miles drove in Stephens with a ground out to shortstop, allowing Thomasson to advance to third base. That set up shortstop Dylan Bosheers for an RBI single to the Panther shortstop, giving the Golden Eagles a 4-1 advantage after three innings.
In the bottom of the fourth, Tech opened the inning with a singles by James Abraham and Jordan Parris. After a sacrifice bunt by Zarzour advanced the runners to second and third, Wulf grabbed his second RBI of the game with a ground out to the shortstop, giving the Golden Eagles a 5-1 lead.
The Panthers cut the lead down by a run in the top of the fifth as first baseman Treysen Vavra crushed a ball over the center field wall with two outs. That would be all for the EIU bats in the fifth, however, as Spurgeon set down the next batter.
The Tech pitching staff took over from that point, throwing four straight innings of shutout ball to give the Golden Eagles its 25th win of the year and 10th straight series win to start the 2013 season.
Sophomore closer Seth Lucio pitched a perfect ninth, earning his seventh save of the year and tying the Tech single-season saves record. Lucio struck out the second batter he faced, forcing the other two EIU players to fly out.
Wulf stood tall as the top offensive threat of the day, driving in two runs on a 2-for-4 day from the plate. Thomasson, Zarzour, and Abraham also collected two hits in the contest.
ILLINOIS STATE 4-9, MOREHEAD STATE 0-7
NORMAL, Ill. - The Morehead State Baseball team dropped both ends of a doubleheader against Illinois State on Saturday afternoon at Duffy Bass Field.
The Eagles were shut out, 4-0, in seven innings in game one, before falling by a score of 9-7 in the back half of the twinbill. With the pair of losses, MSU falls to 9-26 on the season, while ISU improves its record to 18-15.
In game one, Redbird sophomore right-hander Dan Savas (5-0) gave up only two hits en route to his second complete game victory of the season. MSU junior lefty Noah Smallwood (0-4) struck out eight, but allowed four runs on five hits.
Sophomore center fielder Duran Elmore and senior shortstop Chase Greenwell were the sole Eagles to register hits in the game.
The only scoring in the contest came in the bottom of the third, when the Redbirds jumped out to a 4-0 lead on a sacrifice fly from senior third baseman Zac Johnson followed by a three-run home run from senior right fielder Eric Aguilera.
In game two, ISU got the scoring underway with a two-RBI single from senior first baseman Kyle Stanton in the bottom of the first.
In the top of the second, the Eagles evened it up at two with a two-RBI single from freshman second baseman Trey Gross, the first RBI of his career. However, in the bottom half of the inning, MSU senior right-hander Austin Haney walked in two runs before the Redbirds added three more on a double from Stanton to bring the ISU lead to 7-2.
ISU extended its lead to seven in the fourth with a two-run home run over the center field wall from senior right fielder Eric Aguilera.
The Eagles cut into the Redbird lead in the fifth, 9-5, when senior shortstop Chase Greenwell drove in sophomore first baseman Kane Sweeney and Elmore with a triple to left center, before scoring himself on a wild pitch. They added two more in the seventh to cut the ISU lead to two, but that was as much of a comeback as they could muster.
Haney (2-2) was charged with the loss in his first start of the season, allowing eight hits and nine runs in four innings. ISU sophomore lefty Joe Claver picked up the win, his second of the season.
Sweeney went two-for-three in game two, which combined with a pair of walks in game one to extend his streak to 26 straight games reaching base. Greenwell (2-for-5) and Gross (2-for-4) also registered multiple hits in the contest.