FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 6, Murray State 3
Eastern Kentucky 5, @Morehead State 4
@Austin Peay 7, Tennessee Tech 3
Belmont 4, @UT Martin 0
@SIUE 4, Southeast Missouri 0
EASTERN ILLINOIS 6, MURRAY STATE 3
CHARLESTON, Ill. - The Panther baseball team picked up its first Ohio Valley Conference win of the season on Friday afternoon, defeating Murray State, 6-3, at Coaches Stadium. Game two of the series is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 6.
Tied at three heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, the Panthers (8-18, 1-8 OVC) scored two runs on two hits and one Murray State error to take a 5-2 advantage. EIU added an insurance run in the following inning on a bases loaded walk by Cameron Wallace.
The Thoroughbreds (12-17, 6-7 OVC) took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning, scoring two runs on three hits. A Nick Priessman RBI single up the middle in the bottom of the frame got the Panthers within one (2-1).
Ty Stetson hit an RBI single through the left side in the fifth inning, giving Murray State a 3-1 lead. The Panthers tied the contest in the bottom of the frame on a Mitch Gasbarro two-run homer, the first home run of his career.
Gasbarro finished the day going 2-for-3 with three runs and two RBI. Treysen Vavra went 3-for-4 with a run and a RBI while Priessman added a 2-for-4 plate performance with two RBI.
George Kalousek (1-0) earned the win, striking out two with no hits in 2.2 scoreless innings of relief work. Jake Johansmeier posted his first save of the year, striking out one and allowing two hits in the final inning of play.
Andrew Grahn made the start for the Panthers as the sophomore pitcher allowed five hits and three runs in 4.1 innings of action.
Cameron Finch (3-2) took the loss for Murray State, surrendering nine hits and five runs in six innings of action. Noah Zipko went 2-for-4 with an RBI to pace the Thoroughbreds offense.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 5, MOREHEAD STATE 4
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Freshman TJ Alas scored on an error in the top of the ninth inning to send the Eastern Kentucky University baseball team to a 5-4 win at Morehead State University on Friday.
Alex Hughes led off the top of the ninth with a single through the left side and Alas come on to pinch run for the senior. Alas moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and then to third on a wild pitch. With two outs, a ground ball by Austin Grisham was misplayed and Alas come home with what proved to be the game winner.
The game was far from over. Cody Creamer, who had come on in relief in the seventh inning struck out the first two batters in the bottom half of the ninth. However, the Eagles loaded the bases on two walks and a single. On a 2-2 count, Creamer got Drew Williams swinging to end the game.
Creamer (1-0) pitched the final three innings, allowed two hits, walked three and struck out five. Brent Cobb started for the Colonels and allowed four runs on 10 hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out two.
Sean Hagen finished 3-for-5 with a run and two RBIs at the plate for Eastern (7-19, 3-7 OVC). Hughes’ only hit of the game was the clutch single in the ninth.
Taylor Pickens went 3-for-5 with two runs and an RBI for Morehead State (9-20, 4-9 OVC). Morgan Cirbo (1-2) suffered the loss after being charged with one run in one and two-thirds innings.
MSU took a 3-1 lead in the second inning on RBI singles by Jeff Birkofer and Kane Sweeney. Shaun Ball’s RBI single in the top of the fourth tied the game for EKU at 3-3, but the Eagles went back on top in the bottom of the inning on Chase Greenwell’s run scoring single.
Eastern Kentucky scored for the third straight inning and tied the game again in the top of the fifth. Hagen’s two-out single scored Kyle Nowlin to make it 4-4. The game remained tied until the ninth.
AUSTIN PEAY 7, TENNESSEE TECH 3
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University’s baseball team scored the game’s first six runs en route to a 7-3 Ohio Valley Conference victory against Tennessee Tech, Friday night, at Raymond C. Hand Park.
The win was head coach Gary McClure’s 777th career win, moving him into sole possession of the OVC’s career wins mark in his 26th season at Austin Peay. It also was McClure’s 320th career OVC victory, extending his own record.
Austin Peay (25-5, 8-1 OVC) scored in the first inning for only the ninth time this season. The Govs opened their half of the first with right fielder Rolando Gautier’s single. Gautier would score on first baseman Craig Massoni’s double. Massoni would score courtesy an error on left fielder Cody Hudson’s infield single, putting the Govs ahead 2-0.
Second baseman Jordan Hankins doubled the Govs lead in the third with his two-run home run that cleared the batter’s eye in center field. It was his fifth home run this season – each coming at Raymond C. Hand Park.
Tennessee Tech starter Tristan Archer settled in after the home run and retired the next eight batters he faced. However, he ran into trouble again in the sixth when he allowed Hankins to reach base as the leadoff hitter. Hudson doubled with one out and shortstop Reed Harper followed with a two-run single that put the Govs ahead 6-0.
Tennessee Tech (21-9, 10-3 OVC) finally got two runners on base at the same time against Austin Peay starter Lee Ridenhour in the seventh inning and capitalized to break up the shutout bid. Third baseman Daniel Miles walked to start the frame and left fielder James Abraham singled.
Then, with one out, right fielder Michael Morris singled to center field where the ball got past APSU’s Dylan Riner and went to the wall, allowing two runs to score and Morris to reach third where he would score on catcher Jordan Parris’ sacrifice bunt, cutting the APSU lead to 6-3.
Ridenhour would allow a walk following the sacrifice bunt but then struck out the final four batters he faced, including the side in order in the eighth. Reliever Kacy Kemmer struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning to secure the victory.
Ridenhour (5-0) remained unbeaten in conference play after allowing three runs (one earned) on six hits over eight innings. He struck out a career-high nine batters for the second consecutive week.
Hankins led the Govs with a 2-for-3, three RBI outing that included a RBI on a bases-loaded walk in the seventh. Gautier and Hudson also had two hits each as the Govs posted nine hits in the contest.
Archer (5-2) suffered the loss after allowing seven runs on nine hits over 6.1 innings. Shortstop Dylan Bosheers led Tennessee Tech with a 2-for-4 outing.
BELMONT 4, UT MARTIN 0
MARTIN, Tenn. - Belmont Baseball (22-6, 9-1) shut out UT Martin, 4-0 in Ohio Valley Conference action Friday night.
Austin Coley (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) pitched out of a jam in the bottom of the first, striking out three batters in a row. The Skyhawks got two runners on following a walk and a hit batsman.
Belmont loaded the bases behind a pair of singles from Matt Beaty (Dresden, Tenn.) and Drew Turner (Shelbyville, Tenn.) and a Skyhawks error, but UT Martin starter Dan Tobiak pitched out of the inning.
Coley retired eight batters in a row before UT Martin's Bryon Johann singled to left in the bottom of the third.
Judah Akers (Cookeville, Tenn.) doubled to the gap in right center to lead off the sixth. A sacrifice bunt from Beaty moved Akers to third before a wild pitch from Tobiak allowed the first baseman to score the first run of the game.
With the bases loaded in the top of the seventh, Akers hit a two-run single through the left side to extend Belmont's lead to 3-0. Turner was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score the Bruins' fourth run of the game.
Coley went 5.1 innings on the mound, giving up four hits. The sophomore right hander struck out nine and walked two. He earned his fifth win of the season and improves to 5-0.
Jessie Snodgrass (Lebanon, Tenn.) set a career best of four strikeouts in his 2.2 innings of relief.
Dom Veltri (Clarksville, Tenn.) came on to close the game and struck out the first two batters he faced.
SIUE 4, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 0
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE junior right-hander Travis Felax fired the first complete-game shutout of his career Friday, as the Cougars blanked Southeast Missouri 4-0 in the opener of a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series at Simmons Baseball Complex.
Felax used 104 pitches, allowed just four hits, and tied his career high with nine strikeouts, the final one being of SEMO designated hitter Ryan Barnes to end the game. The Troy, Ill. native did not walk a hitter and improved to 3-3 on the year. The victory was the third complete game this season for Felax and the sixth of his career. Friday also marked the fifth consecutive that Felax had not pitched at least eight innings.
SIUE, now 8-16 overall and 6-7 in the OVC, scored all four of its runs with four hits in the second inning. Skyler Geissinger led off the inning with a double down the left field line. Ryan Mansfield then lined a one-out single to right field to drive home Geissinger with the game's first run. Caleb Wilkerson followed with a walk. James Vazquez then drove home Mansfield with a single.
Vazquez and Wilkerson then pulled off the double steal when Vazquez got caught in a rundown between first and second base, allowing Mansfield to score to make it 3-0. Travis Becherer followed with an RBI-single to drive home Vazquez with the fourth run.
Stoecklin said Felax responded after the Cougars took the lead.
The Cougars finished with 10 hits as a team. Joel Greatting, Geissinger, and Mansfield each had two hits for SIUE. Stoecklin also said he believes the offense is taking shape.
SEMO starter Will Spitzfaden (3-3) allowed all four runs. He settled in to throw 7 1/3 innings. He struck out five and walked two. The Redhawks fell to 15-16 with the loss and 7-6 in the OVC.