WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
Belmont 6, @#21 Mercer 4 (10 innings)
Eastern Illinois 5, @Indiana State 3
@Evansville 11,
SIUE 7
BELMONT 6, #21 MERCER 4 (10)
MACON, Ga. - Behind a two-run tenth inning, Belmont Baseball (33-15, 16-5) knocked off No. 21 Mercer, 6-4, in 10 innings Wednesday.
An RBI single from Jamie Ritchie (Buford, Ga.) to right field scored Judah Akers (Cookeville, Tenn.) in the second to give the Bruins an early 1-0 lead.
With two outs, Josh Davis (Fayetteville, Ga.) hit a single to center to score Jared Breen (Marietta, Ga.) and put the Bruins ahead 2-0 in the third. Mercer got on the board in the bottom half of the inning after Derrick Workman hit an RBI single to right field.
A leadoff home run from Austin Barrett and a two-run homer from Nick Backlund put the Bears on top in the bottom of the fifth 4-2.
The Bruins responded in the top of the sixth with a two-run rally with two outs. Dom Veltri (Clarksville, Tenn.) got things started with an RBI single to score Jamie Ritchie (Buford, Ga.) and make it a one-run game. Matt Beaty (Dresden, Tenn.), who came in as a pinch hitter, hit an RBI single to left center, tying the game at 4-4.
Three consecutive singles from Davis, Akers and Alec Diamond (Kennesaw, Ga.) loaded the bases for the Bruins in the top of the seventh, but Mercer reliever Grant Papelian struck out two to end the inning and leave the bases loaded.
Mercer closer Dimitri Kourtis retired the first eight Belmont batters he faced, but the Bruins pounced with two outs in the tenth - taking a 6-4 lead behind a single from Veltri, and consecutive doubles from Beaty and Drew Ferguson (Knoxville, Tenn.). In the bottom half of the inning, Beaty made a great back-handed stab to rob Barrett of extra bases and force out the lead runner. A Dan Huenecke (Palatine, Ill.) strikeout and a fly out to center ended the game securing the Bruins' win.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 5, INDIANA STATE 3
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Sophomore infielder Brant Valach went 2-for-4 at the plate with three RBI, a homer and a run to lead the Panther baseball team to a 5-3 win over Indiana State on Wednesday, May 8.
Trailing 2-1 heading into the top of the sixth inning, the Panthers (17-26) scored three runs on one hit to take a 4-2 advantage over the Sycamores (18-22). Mitch Gasbarro scored the first run after Nick Priessman hit into a double play. Valach drove home the final two runs with a homer down the left-field line, his third long ball of the season.
Tyler Wampler hit a ground out RBI in the bottom of the seventh inning to cut the Indiana State deficit to one (4-3) before Valach gave the Panthers an insurance run in the following inning with a RBI single to right field, making the score 5-3.
EIU had three more hits (10-7) than Indiana State and left two fewer runners on base (8-6). Both squads committed one error in the contest.
Four Panthers had two or more hits on the night. Gasbarro went 2-for-4 with a run while Jason Scholl went 2-for-2 with a run and a RBI. Caleb Howell also added two hits.
“It was great to see some new guys play well tonight,” said Eastern Illinois head coach Jim Schmitz. “(Jason) Scholl got the offense started while (Mitch) Gasbarro also played great.”
Matt Borens (3-4) earned the win for EIU, striking out three without allowing a hit in two scoreless innings of relief. Joe Greenfield pitched the final inning as the junior pitcher did not allow any runs to post his second save of the season.
Tyler Pazik (0-1) took the loss for the Sycamores, allowing three runs and one hit in 1.1 innings of relief. Robby Ort went 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI to lead the Indiana State offense.
EVANSVILLE 11, SIUE 7
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Evansville snapped SIUE's season-long five-game winning streak Wednesday with a 11-7 win over the Cougars in nonconference baseball at Braun Stadium.
The Aces (20-29) scored 10 runs over the first five innings in the game.
The Cougars (14-30) scored their seven runs on 12 hits. Stoecklin said offense wasn't the issue.
Evansville took an early lead, thanks to a pair of first inning runs against Cougar starter Sam Hopkins. The Aces' Kevin Kaczmarski tripled to lead off the game and then scored on a double by Chris Pearson. Pearson went to third on a single by Pearson and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Jonathan Ramon.
The Cougars took a 3-2 lead in the third on one swing of the bat by freshman Jacob Stewart. Stewart connected for the first home run of his career. Zach Little and Travis Becherer scored ahead of Stewart on the long ball. Little singled and Becherer reached on a fielder's choice earlier in the inning.
Stewart finished 1 for 4 with the homer, three RBIs, and two runs.
The Aces tied the score in the bottom of the third, before SIUE took a 4-3 lead in the fourth inning when Joel Greatting walked and then scored on a two out-single by Drew Johnson.
Evansville regained the lead with a four-run fourth inning. The Aces used three hits against reliever Jake Stauffenberg to take a 7-4 lead. Kaczmarski and Pearson each had RBI singles in the inning. Jason Hockemeyer added a two-run double. Two of the runs were charged to Hopkins who started the inning. The Aces added three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to go up 10-4.
Kaczmarski and Hockemeyer had three hits in the game to lead Evansville.
Hopkins fell to 1-5 with the loss. He allowed five runs over 3 1/3 innings.
James Vazquez, Michael Monaghan, and Skyler Geissinger each collected RBI-singles in the seventh to cut the Evansville lead to 10-6.
Vazquez finished 3 for 5 with the RBI. Monaghan and Geissinger each had two hits for the Cougars.
Ramon added a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning for the Aces' final run.
Evansville's Cole Isom started and tossed six innings for the win. He allowed four runs on six hits.