SATURDAY'S SCORES
Jacksonville State 9-10, @Eastern Kentucky 4-9
@Belmont 5, Murray State 4
Austin Peay 5, @UT Martin 1
Tennessee Tech 11, @Southeast Missouri 6
Eastern Illinois 9-7, @Morehead State 7-2
SIUE 6, @Southern Miss 5
JACKSONVILLE STATE 9-10, EASTERN KENTUCKY 4-9
RICHMOND, Ky. - Travis Stout set the school record with his 16th save and Michael Bishop had a career-high four hits as Jacksonville State swept a key Ohio Valley Conference double-header at Eastern Kentucky on Saturday. JSU won the opener 9-4, and held on for a 10-9 win in the second game.
Jacksonville State improves to 29-22 and 20-6 in the OVC, while Eastern Kentucky drops to 17-30 and 13-12 in the league. The Gamecocks remain tied with Belmont, who also improved to 20-6 in the league on Saturday with a 5-4 win over Murray State.
In the opener, Casey Antley (5-4) scattered five hits and had seven strikeouts to earn the win for the Gamecocks. Brent Cobb (5-6) gave up seven hits and four runs to suffer the loss for the Colonels.
The Gamecocks jumped out to an early lead after scoring three runs in the top of the first inning. Bishop led off with a single and Griff Gordon followed with a one-out single to left field. Coty Blanchard then doubled to right field to score Bishop. Paschal Petrongolo followed with an infield single to score Gordon and Andrew Bishop then singled up the middle to score Blanchard as JSU took a 3-0 lead.
Jax State extended the lead in the fifth inning after Michael Bishop reached with his second double of the game and came around to score on an EKU error to give JSU a 4-0 lead.
Jacksonville State blew the game open in the seventh inning after scoring five runs on five hits to build a 9-0 lead. Michael Bishop, Blanchard, Petrongolo and Eddie Mora-Loera each drove in a run during the inning, while Michael scored on a wild pitch as JSU batted around and have five hits.
The Colonels got on the board in the eighth when Luke Wurzelbacher and Austin Grisham each drove in a run to cut the lead to 9-2. EKU added two more runs in the ninth as Bryan Solomon had a two-RBI double for the final margin.
Michael Bishop led the Gamecocks with four hits, while Eddie Mora-Loera had three hits and Blanchard had a two doubles. Sean Hagen led the Colonels with a pair of hits, while Solomon had two RBIs in the opener.
In the second game, Taylor Shields (7-2) scattered seven hits and gave up three earned runs to earn the win, while Stout pitched his way in the Gamecock record book by recording the final five outs to pick up his 16th save of the season, passing the record of 15 set by Todd Hornsby in 2011.
JSU improves to 9-1 in 1-run games against OVC opponents and has now won nine straight series against Eastern Kentucky. As a matter of fact, JSU has won seven of the last eight meetings between the two teams.
The Gamecocks jumped out the an early lead after scoring four runs in the first two innings, and two more in the third to build a 10-0 lead.
In the first, Michael Bishop and Mora-Loera each drove in a run, while Blanchard doubled in two more runs for a 4-0 lead. In the second inning, Gordon and Blanchard each drove in a run, while Mora-Loera doubled in two more runs as the Gamecocks took an 8-0 lead.
Jax State extended the lead in the third after Michael Bishop had his fourth double of the day to drive in a run and Miller tacked on a run to give JSU a 10-0 lead to chase EKU starter Ben Gullo from the game.
The Colonels cut into the lead in the sixth by scoring four runs, highlighted by a three-run home run by Bryan Solomon, and then scored five more runs in the seventh as Shaun Ball hit a three-run homer. Doug Teegarden and Sean Hagen each drove in a run during the seventh inning, but EKU could get no closer.
Blanchard finished with three hits and three RBI, while Mora-Loera, Gordon and Michael Bishop each had two hits to lead the Gamecocks. Kyle Nowlin and Alex Hughes led the Colonels with three hits each, while Hagen and Ball finished with two hits.
BELMONT 5, MURRAY STATE 4
NASHVILLE - Belmont Baseball (35-15, 20-6) held on to defeat Murray State, 5-4, in game two of the series at Rose Park.
Jared Breen (Marietta, Ga.) got the first hit of the day with a single to left and scored on a wild pitch allowing Belmont to take an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
Breen hit an RBI single in the second with two outs to score Drew Ferguson (Knoxville, Tenn.) and put BU ahead 2-0.
The 'Breds led off the fourth inning with a double down the right field line and a pair of singles tied the game at 2-2.
In the fifth, Breen launched his third home run of the series over the fence in left center to give the Bruins a 3-2 lead. Behind a two-run homer from Matt Beaty (Dresden, Tenn.), Belmont extended its lead to 5-2.
Murray State responded in the top of the seventh following a leadoff walk and a pair of singles. The 'Breds were able to make it a 5-4 game, behind sacrifice flies from Brandon Elliott and Brandon Eggenschweiler.
Dan Ludwig (Naperville, Ill.) went 6.2 innings on the hill. The left hander gave up four runs and struck out seven.
Josh Davis (Fayetteville, Ga.) earned his 12th save of the season following two innings of work. He is now tied for third in single season saves.
AUSTIN PEAY 5, UT MARTIN 1
MARTIN, Tenn. - Senior starting pitcher Casey Delgado struck out 16 batters, leading Austin Peay State University’s baseball team to a 5-1 Ohio Valley Conference victory against UT Martin, Saturday, at Skyhawk Field.
Delgado, whose 16 strikeouts are the most by a Govs pitcher since 1996, allowed one run in his complete-game victory and that came in the game’s first four batters. He surrendered a leadoff single to center fielder Grant Glasser and a two-out RBI single to pitcher Taylor Cox. Those would be two of the three hits he would surrender on the day.
Delgado would strike out two batters in the first inning and that would be the game’s running theme. He would strike out two batters in eight of the nine innings he pitched. The only time he did not strike out two batters was the sixth inning and he needed only six pitches to induce three consecutive ground outs.
The most impressive stat of the game was Delgado retired the final 22 batters he faced. In fact, he faced the minimum of 25 batters after surrendering the RBI single in the first inning. He would allow a one-out single in the second inning, but battery mate P.J. Torres caught that runner stealing to end the frame.
Still the Austin Peay (37-13, 18-7 OVC) offense trailed 1-0 through four innings but would tie the game in the fifth. Center fielder Dylan Riner led off the inning with a single, stole second and scored on second baseman Brett Carlson’s single up the middle. The Govs would go on to load the bases with no outs but second baseman Jordan Hankins lined into an inning-ending triple play, thwarting the threat.
The Govs finally broke through in the sixth inning, striking for four runs. First baseman Craig Massoni started the inning with a single and scored courtesy shortstop Reed Harper’s double. Harper would then score on left fielder Cody Hudson’s single, giving APSU a 3-1 lead. Hudson would steal second and forced a wild throw from the catcher that allowed him to reach third. From there he scored on designated hitter Michael Davis’ double, a hit that ended Cox’s outing on the mound.
UTM reliever Carter Smith would surrender a single to catcher P.J. Torres before recording the inning’s first out. Carlson would push across the Govs fifth run with a groundout before Smith could snuff out the threat.
Austin Peay rapped out 13 hits – its seventh consecutive double-digit hit outing – with every batter recording one hit. Massoni led the Govs with a 3-for-4 outing, giving him six hits in the first two games of the series. Carlson added a 1-for-4, two RBI performance while Harper and Torres had two hits each.
Cox (0-6) suffered the loss after allowing five runs on 11 hits over five-plus innings. Glasser, Cox and Nelson each had one hit.
TENNESSEE TECH 11, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 6
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - It took a little bit longer for the Tennessee Tech baseball team (35-14, 21-5) to get going Saturday evening than it did in game one, but the Golden Eagle offense indeed showed up against Southeast Missouri (22-29, 13-16), scoring nine runs in the fifth innings on its way to an 11-6 Ohio Valley Conference win.
After a rough 16-1 loss in game one, the Redhawks seemed to have solved the Tech lineup early in Saturday's contest, taking a 1-0 advantage heading to the fifth inning. Unfortunately, that was all she wrote for Southeast Missouri as the Golden Eagle offense woke up in a big way, batting through the lineup and more on its way to nine runs.
Tech opened the fifth with five consecutive hits from Dylan Bosheers (single to center), James Abraham (single to right center), Michael Morris (RBI double to right center), Jordan Parris (RBI single to left field), and Zach Zarzour (RBI single up the middle). Austin Wulf kept the scoring going with a sacrifice fly to left field. The Golden Eagles were one out into the inning and not even half way done.
Zach Stephens followed, drilling an RBI double down the left field line. Brandon Thomasson came to the plate next, singling through the left side and advancing to second base on a throwing error by the left fielder. SEMO managed to force the second out of the inning before Bosheers returned to the plate for the second time in the fifth. He was promptly hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Abraham came up again, and delivered for the second time of the inning, lacing a bases-clearing double to left center field to put the game out of reach for good. Morris singled in Abraham for good measure before the Redhawks finally put an end to madness. After 13 batters and nine runs, Tech took a 9-1 lead to the bottom of the fifth.
The Golden Eagles scored twice more in the contest while the Redhawks put up five more runs to make a final score of 11-6 in favor of Tech.
For the second consecutive day, every Tech starter recorded a hit as the team totaled 16 in the contest. Zarzour, Abraham, and Morris led the offense. The three combined for seven RBI and five runs scored. Abraham went a stellar 4-for-5 in the contest while Bosheers went 3-of-4 from the plate. Also driving in runs for the Golden Eagles were Wulf, Stephens, Bosheers, and Parris.
Sophomore David Hess (6-2) pitched nearly 3.2 innings of relief, earning his sixth win of the season while striking out six batters and not allowing a runner to score.
The win was the 35th of the year for the Golden Eagles, this year's team with the 1988 and 2008 squads for second most wins in a single season in program history. The victory also marked the 21st OVC win of the year for Tech, extending the school record of league wins in a single season. Tech won its 12th series of the season with the win, a single season program record.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 9-7, MOREHEAD STATE 7-2
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Panther baseball team earned two wins on Saturday afternoon at Morehead State in Ohio Valley Conference action. The series finale is slated for noon on Sunday, May 12.
EIU improves to 19-26 overall and 8-16 in conference action while Morehead State drops to 15-36 on the year and 9-17 in OVC play.
After having the series opener suspended in the third inning on Friday night with the Panthers trailing 5-1, EIU responded nearly 24 hours later to comeback and earn a 9-7 victory.
Treysen Vavra cut the Panthers deficit to three (5-2) when the game resumed with a sacrifice fly to right field in the third inning. EIU added seven unanswered runs over the next six innings, making the score 9-5. The Eagles scored two runs on two hits in the bottom of the ninth inning to get within two (9-7), but Panther relief pitcher Garrison Stenger struck out the final two batters to end the rally.
EIU had seven more hits (18-11) than Morehead State and left three more runners on base (12-9). The Eagles had two errors in the contest while the Panthers did not have any miscues.
Vavra led the Panther offense as the junior infielder went 3-for-4 with three RBI, two runs and two home runs. Brant Valach went 4-for-5 with three runs and two RBI while Nick Priessman went 2-for-5 with two doubles and two runs.
Jaden Widdersheim (4-3) earned the win for EIU, striking out two and only allowing four hits in 5.1 scoreless innings of relief. Stenger posted his second save of the year in the win, surrendering two runs with two strikeouts in the final 1.2 innings of play.
Noah Smallwood (1-6) took the loss for the Eagles, striking out five while allowing six runs and 12 hits in six innings of work. Andy Mocahbee led the team at the plate as he went 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBI.
In game two Joe Greenfield (3-6) posted his fourth complete game of the season on Saturday afternoon, leading the Panthers to a 7-2 win over the Eagles. The junior pitcher had seven strikeouts without issuing a walk while only allowing five hits and two runs.
In the top of the second inning, Cameron Berra hit a two-run homer to give EIU an early 2-0 lead. Valach hit a solo home run in the fourth inning to make the score 3-0 before the Panthers added three runs on five hits in the next inning, taking a 6-0 advantage. Morehead State cut its deficit to four (6-2) in the bottom of the frame as the Eagles scored two runs on two hits.
Priessman scored on a Jacob Reese sacrifice fly in the eighth inning to give the Panthers a 7-2 lead.
EIU had four more hits (9-5) than Morehead State and left one more runner on base (6-5). Both squads committed one error in the contest.
Valach led the offense as he went 2-for-3 with two runs and a RBI while Caleb Howell went 3-for-5 with a run. Both Vavra and Jason Scholl added a hit and a RBI.
Matt Anderson (1-6) took the loss for the Eagles, striking out six and allowing eight hits and six runs in five innings of work. Duran Elmore paced the offense as he went 2-for-3 with a run and a RBI.
SIUE 6, SOUTHERN MISS 5
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - SIUE scored four times in the first inning Saturday en route to a 6-5 win over Southern Miss in non-conference baseball at Pete Taylor Park.
The Cougars improved to 16-30 and have now won seven of their last eight games. Southern Miss falls to 25-23 with the loss.
For the second time in as many days the Cougars scored first and with the help of the long ball. Travis Becherer led off the game with a single and then advanced to second base on a groundout. Becherer scored on a single by James Vazquez. Joel Greatting and Skyler Geissinger followed with back-to-back home runs to make it 4-0 Cougars after one-half inning.
The homer was the seventh of the year for Greatting and his second consecutive first-inning blast. Greatting now leads the team with 33 RBIs. Geissinger's homer was the fifth for the freshman. He is second on the team with 29 RBIs. Both Greatting and Geissinger were 2 for 3 during the game. Becherer was 2 for 4.
The Golden Eagles scored two runs in the first inning to cut the lead to 4-2 and then tied the game with a pair of runs in the fourth. All four runs came against Cougar starter Tony Schaeffer.
Both teams scored in the seventh inning for the final margin. Vazquez collected his second RBI with a fielder's choice, while Greatting picked up his third RBI of the game with a single.
Southern Miss got a leadoff walk from Schaeffer in the bottom of the seventh and then picked up three hits against reliever P.J. Schuster to add its final run of the game. Schaeffer improved to 2-4 with the win. He allowed all five runs on nine hits. He struck out one.
Schuster tossed a perfect eighth and ninth inning. He struck out one and earned the first save of his career.
Conor Fisk started and pitched six innings for the Golden Eagles. He struck out seven and did not figure into the decision. Reliever Daniel Wineski fell to 0-1 with the loss. He allowed both runs in the seventh.
Southern Miss finished the day with 12 hits. Center fielder Dillon Day led the way with four hits. He was 4 for 5 with two runs scored. Isaac Rodriguez and Mason Robbins each had two hits.