SUNDAY'S SCORES
@#5 South Carolina 6,
Eastern Kentucky 0
Dayton 4,
@Belmont 1
@#25 Arkansas 8,
Eastern Illinois 3
@Jacksonville State 6, Valparaiso 3
@Murray State 6, Bowling Green 3
@Southeast Missouri 6, IPFW 4
@Tennessee Tech 12, NYIT 1
Morehead State 10, @Grambling 7
@Baylor 12,
Austin Peay 1
@New Mexico State 4,
SIUE 1
UT Martin 5, Eastern Michigan 3 (Nashville, Tenn.)
#5 SOUTH CAROLINA 6, EASTERN KENTUCKY 0
COLUMBIA, S.C. - Eastern lost 6-0 at No. 5 South Carolina on Sunday. The Gamecocks complete the three-game sweep by holding the Colonels scoreless for the third straight game.
South Carolina (7-0) has not allowed a run in 51 straight innings.
The Gamecocks took control with four runs in the third. Back-to-back RBI singles by Connor Bright and Grayson Greiner put the home team in front 2-0. DC Arendas capped the inning with a two-run single to right.
Will Crowe (2-0) shut the Colonels down for six and one-third innings. He scattered four hits, walked one and struck out five.
Myles Scott (0-2) started for Eastern Kentucky. He allowed four runs on six hits in two and one-third innings. The senior walked two and struck out two.
Relievers Ben Brooks, Cameron Langfels and Alex Hamilton combined to shut the Gamecocks out for the next three and two-thirds innings. That ran the bullpen’s streak to 10 and one-third consecutive innings without allowing a run. Eastern relievers had held South Carolina scoreless for eight innings. The streak was snapped in the bottom of the seventh when Bright drove in an unearned run with a single to left field.
The relief corps still has a streak of 12 and one-third consecutive innings without allowing an earned run.
Sean Hagen went 3-for-3 for the Colonels. Freshman Shea Sullivan had three hits in four at bats. Bright finished 3-for-4 with a run and two RBIs for Carolina.
DAYTON 4, BELMONT 1
NASHVILLE - The Bruins fell to Dayton 4-1 Sunday afternoon at Rose Park.
Dayton jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the fifth and extended their run to 3-0 in the sixth.
William Dodd's RBI single scored Drake Byrd to put Belmont on the board in the seventh.
The Flyers plated another run in the ninth before Charlie Dant loaded the bases in the bottom half. He pitched out of the jam when Dodd grounded into a double play to end the game.
Chase Cunningham went six innings on the mound. He gave up six hits and registered a season-high three strikeouts. Dan Ludwig tossed three innings of relief and recorded a season-high four strikeouts.
#25 ARKANSAS 8, EASTERN ILLINOIS 3
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The Panther baseball team was swept at No. 25 Arkansas, dropping the series finale, 8-3, on Sunday afternoon at Baum Stadium. EIU falls to 1-6 on the year.
Trailing 2-0 heading into the top of the seventh inning, the Panthers scored three runs on one hit and one error to take a 3-2 advantage. Mitch Gasbarro scored the first run of the inning on a bases loaded walk before Demetre Taylor hit a two-out, two-RBI single through the right side for the final two runs.
The Razorbacks (6-0) responded by scoring six unanswered runs over the next two innings to regain a lead they would not relinquish. Arkansas scored two runs on one hit in the bottom of the seventh inning before adding four runs on four hits in the next frame for the final 8-3 ledger.
The Razorbacks got on the scoreboard first, scoring two runs in the third inning on an Andrew Benintendi two-run homer.
EIU left three more runners on base (13-10) in the loss and had four fewer hits (10-6) than Arkansas. Both teams committed one error in the game.
Demetre Taylor led the Panther offense as he went 3-for-5 at the plate with two RBI. Caleb Howell also added one hit and a run.
Garrison Stenger (0-2) took the loss for EIU as the junior pitcher allowed two runs and one hit in 1.1 innings of work. Christian Slazinik made the start and surrendered two runs and four hits in five innings of action. He also had two strikeouts and issued three walks.
Jacob Stone (2-0) earned the win for Arkansas, allowing one hit while issuing one walk in 1.2 scoreless innings. The EIU and Arkansas pitching staffs combined to walk 16 batters in the game.
Tyler Spoon led the Arkansas offense as he went 2-for-4 at the plate with three RBI and run. Benintendi went 2-for-4 with three runs and two RBI.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 6, VALPARAISO 3
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Four Gamecocks pitchers recorded 11 strikeouts as Jacksonville State swept the series over Valparaiso with a 6-3 win at Rudy Abbott Field on Sunday.
Michael Mason (1-0) had four strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings to earn his first win of the season in relief, while Travis Stout recorded a four-out save for his third save of the season. Mario Losi (0-1) gave up five runs on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings to suffer the loss for the Crusaders.
Polk had three strikeouts, while Graham Officer had one, Connor Metcalf had two and Mason added four as the Gamecocks limited Valpo to just seven hits in the game.
Valpo jumped on Gamecock starter Adam Polk with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning to build a 2-0 lead, but Jax State answered in the home half of the first to tie the game.
Michael Bishop led off with a single and stole second before moving to third on an infield grounder. Griff Gordon then hit a deep fly to left field to score Bishop. Cal Lambert followed with a double down the right field corner and scored after Ryan Sebra singled up the middle to tie the score at 2-2.
Valpo scored its other run in the fourth inning after Bryce Hara led off with a double and came around to score on Jake Hanson's sacrifice for a 3-2 lead, but the Gamecocks would battle again to tie the game in the fifth inning.
Chase Silvani led off the winning with a walk and the stole second and third base and scored on Eddie Mora-Loera's RBI single to right center to tie the game at 3-3.
Jax State took the lead for good in the seventh inning after Paschal Petrongolo had a pinch-hit RBI triple to score Silvani, and Mora-Loera later followed with a double to left center to score two more runs for the final margin. Mora-Loera led the Gamecocks with two hits and three RBI in the game.
MURRAY STATE 6, BOWLING GREEN 3
MURRAY, Ky. - Freshman Tyler Lawrence delivered a bases-clearing double in the bottom of the seventh to propel Murray State to a 6-3 victory over Bowling Green in the rubber game of a three-game series Sunday afternoon at Reagan Field.
With the score tied 1-1 heading into the seventh, Taylor Mathews doubled down the right-field line and Ty Stetson walked. With two outs, Kollin Dowdy gave the Breds the lead with a run-scoring single to center. Anthony Bayus would walk to load the bases, and Lawrence wasted no time in clearing them as he ripped the first pitch he saw just inside the bag at third.
The Falcons (2-4) tried to rally in the top of the eighth as an error helped put two runners on with two outs. Greg Basalyga and Jesse Rait delivered back-to-back RBI singles to pull within two at 5-3.
The Breds (4-2) added an insurance run in the home-half of the inning Clay Kelly and Mathews singled, and Stetson walked to load the bases. Dowdy drove in Kelly with third with an infield single to third.
MSU got on the board in the first inning as Stetson singled to left field and scored on a Lawrence single up the middle with two outs.
BGSU pushed across a run in the second on a Brian Bien infield single to third.
Brock Downey (1-0) picked up the victory after allowing three runs, one earned, on eight hits and three strikeouts over 7.1 innings. John Lollar (1) picked up the save after giving up two hits and striking out two over 1.2 innings. Ben Singer (1-1) took the loss after giving up four runs on four hits and two walks over two innings.
Lawrence led the offense by going 3-for-4 with four RBIs. Dowdy added two hits and two RBIs, while Stetson finished 2-for-3 with a pair of walks and two runs scored.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 6, IPFW 4
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - The Southeast Missouri baseball team improved to 6-2 on the season, extended their winning streak to four games, and earned a three-game sweep of IPFW (2-5) Sunday with a 6-4 victory over the Mastodons.
IPFW took a 1-0 lead in the opening stanza when the leadoff batter of the game came around to score after reaching on an error.
Andy Lack used an RBI double in the second inning, scoring Scott Mitchell and tying the game.
The Mastodons were quick to retake the lead in the top of the next inning. IPFW scored their second unearned run of the game on when Brandon Soat scored on the second Redhawk error of the day.
With two out in the fourth inning, the Redhawks took their first lead of the day. Mitchell extended the inning after reaching on an error by the first baseman. Andy Lack singled, followed by a double off the bat of Clayton Evans, scoring both runners and taking the lead. Jason Blum drove in one more run when he scored Evans with an RBI single, putting Southeast up 4-2.
IPFW tied the game in the top half of the fifth inning. Redhawk starter Ryan Lenaburg faced two batters in the inning but was pulled after allowing the first two batters to reach. Travis Hayes was brought in to relieve Lenaburg. Hayes' defense was able to get the lead runner out as Hayes fanned the second out. Kristian Gayday singled to score one run, bringing IPFW within a run. Steve Lowden immediately followed with an RBI single of his own, driving in the tying run.
Southeast once again retook the lead with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the fifth. After Derek Gibson drew a one-out walk and advanced on a wild pitch, Andy Lennington singled down the right field line, scoring Gibson. Lennington took second on another Mastodon wild pitch and scored on an RBI single off the bat of Dalton Hewitt, putting the Redhawks back out in front by two runs again.
The Redhawk's bullpen, looking sharp once again, was able to hold the Mastodons to just four runs in the contest. Hayes, despite allowing two runs to cross the plate, which were not charged to him, picked up his first win in a Redhawk uniform. Skylar Cobb saw two innings on the mound, allowing only two hits. Brady Wright worked only one inning Sunday, only needing six pitches in the eighth inning. Garret Stockton picked up his fourth save, third of the week, after closing out the game for the Redhawks in the ninth.
Bieser added: "We know Brady has closer experience and he was quick with quality pitches today but Garret is really starting to settle in as our closer so we wanted to get him that extra work."
Offensively, every Redhawk in the lineup recorded at least a hit. Lack went 2-for-4 on the day with an RBI and a run scored while Evans drove in two runs of his own with a run scored.
IPFW reliever Nate White suffered the loss in the game.
Soat had a 3-for-4 performance for the Mastodons Sunday while Gayday was 2-for-4.
TENNESSEE TECH 12, NYIT 1
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The offense kept hitting for the Tennessee Tech baseball team Sunday afternoon as the Golden Eagles wrapped up a four-game sweep of NYIT with a 12-1 victory at Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
Nine Tech players combined for 14 hits against the Bears, including three players with muti-hit affairs.
Leading the Golden Eagles offensively were juniors David Allen, Jordan Hopkins, and Dylan Bosheers. Starting in left field, Allen put togehter an impressive day at the plate, going 3-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored. He also stole a base for the Golden Eagles.
Hopkins, who spent the day as Tech's designated hitter, also went 3-for-3 in the contest, scoring three runs while driving in two and garnering a walk. The starting shortstop, Bosheers collected two hits and scored three runs.
The Golden Eagles scratched three runs across in the bottom of the second inning, using a free pass and hit-by-pitch from NYIT to give Allen base runners with no outs. He promptly singled through the right side, driving in the first run of the contest. Following a walk of Jordan Parris, second baseman Zach Zarzour ripped a ball to second that became a fielder's choice and drove in a run.
Zach Stephens added a sacrifice fly to right center field to wrap up the scoring for the inning. But the Golden Eagles would not stop there.
Tech added two more runs in the bottom of the third with a double by Bosheers, an RBI single by Hopkins, and an RBI double Allen. And there was still more to go.
In the fourth, the Tech bats really took off, putting up a five spot while going all the way through the lineup and some. The Golden Eagles also added two more runs in the eighth inning to finish the weekend on a great tear offensivley.
John Gora earned his first career victory as a Golden Eagle, tossing five innings with six strikeouts and just one hit allowed. Four Tech relievers, along with Gora, combined for 13 strikeouts on the day, allowing a total of only four hits and one earned run.
MOREHEAD STATE 10, GRAMBLING 7
GRAMBLING, La. - Three home runs, including a grand slam from junior first baseman Kane Sweeney, pushed the Morehead State baseball team to a 10-5, series-winning victory over Grambling State on Sunday afternoon at Ellis Field.
The Eagles (4-4) took the final two games of the three-game series, and have won four of their last five. Grambling falls to 1-6 on the season with the loss.
Junior right fielder Brandon Rawe got things going in the top of the first, driving in junior second baseman Tyler Bigler with an RBI single.
MSU pushed its lead to 2-0 in the fourth when junior center fielder Ryan Kent drove in senior designated hitter Bobby Burns with an RBI single. GSU got on the board in the home half of the fourth when senior first baseman Brandon Kiser hit a solo home run.
Rawe answered with a solo shot in the top of the fifth, his second homer in four games, and seventh RBI in two games. Burns drove in another with an RBI triple to push the lead to 4-1.
With the bases loaded in the sixth inning, Sweeney crushed a grand slam to clear the bases, followed by a two-run homer from junior shortstop Robby Spencer to extend the lead to nine.
The Tigers fought back in the bottom of the sixth, driving in four runs on two hits to cut the deficit to 10-5. They plated another two runs in the ninth, before senior righty Dan Hyatt came in to shut the rally down with his first save of the season.
Sophomore right-hander Tyler Keele picked up his second win in as many starts, striking out seven in six innings. Junior righty Dylan Ramage threw two scoreless innings in releif.
BAYLOR 12, AUSTIN PEAY 1
WACO, Texas - Austin Peay State University’s baseball team suffered through an error-prone outing and lost a 12-1, seven-inning decision to Baylor, Sunday. The Govs were swept in a three-game series for the first time since May 2010.
Austin Peay (1-6) registered the game’s first two hits. Third baseman Alex Robles knocked a one-out double in the first and first baseman Matt Wollenzin led off the second with a double. However, the Govs could not advance the runner in either case.
Baylor (4-2) plated the game’s first runs in its half of the second inning. The Bears took advantage of a leadoff walk followed by a single to ultimately score twice off Austin Peay starter Ryan Quick. However, Quick escaped further damage with a line drive out and a fielder’s choice.
The Govs scratched out a run in the third, taking advantage of a Baylor error. Center fielder Chase Hamilton forced the Bears miscue with a leadoff bunt which resulted in a throw wide of first base and allowed Hamilton to reach second.
After advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt, Robles walked to put runners on the corners. Baylor then made another mistake when Robles broke for second and was caught stealing. Hamilton scored after the out as the Baylor defense lost track of the number of outs.
The Bears broke the game open in the fourth and fifth innings, taking advantage of ill-time Austin Peay errors in each frame. A two-out error extended the fourth inning and Baylor saw the next two batters walked to load the bases. First baseman Mitch Price made the Govs pay with a double into the right-center field gap, clearing the bases and giving Baylor a 5-1 lead.
However, it is the fifth inning that put the game out of reach. Austin Peay used three pitchers in the inning which was extended by a pair of two-out errors. The situation was exacerbated by APSU pitchers hitting five batters in a stretch of six plate appearance. By the time the inning ended, Baylor had seven runs on the board and led 12-1, hastening the game’s end.
After Wollenzin’s second-inning double, the Govs did not record a hit the game’s final five innings. Baylor finished the game retiring 13 of the final 14 Austin Peay hitters – only Chase Hamiton kept from being retired as he reached base on a wild pitch during a strike out.
Quick (0-1) suffered his season’s first loss after allowing four runs on three hits while walking seven in 3.2 innings.
Baylor’s Austin Stone (1-0) picked up the win after holding the Govs to one unearned run on two hits in five innings.
NEW MEXICO STATE 4, SIUE 1
LAS CRUCES, N.M. - SIUE baseball outhit New Mexico State 8-5 Sunday, but the Aggies earned a 4-1 win over the Cougars in the finale of a four-game series.
The Aggies (6-2) scored twice in the third inning and twice in the sixth inning to take the series, three games to one. Two of NMSU's four runs were unearned. The Aggies' Jory Goldstrom was 1 for 4, including a two-run double in the third inning, with three RBIs for the game.
Evan Martens (0-1) made his second start of the season and allowed three runs, two earned, on four hits over 4 1/3 innings. He struck out one and walked one. Mike Miller allowed an unearned run over 2 1/3 innings. Brett Thomas tossed the final 1 1/3 innings scoreless.
SIUE (1-6) scattered eight hits over nine innings against five New Mexico State pitchers.
Aggies starter Billy Conrad (1-0) allowed the run on six hits over 6 1/3 innings. He walked four a struck out three.
Alec Saikal had the lone Cougar RBI with a single in the fourth inning. Devin Caldwell and Jacob Stewart also had hits in the inning. The Cougars stranded two in the inning and 10 for the game.
Nick Lombardo and Skyler Geissinger each had two hits for the Cougars.
UT MARTIN 5, EASTERN MICHIGAN 3
NASHVILLE - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team pushed across a pair of runs in its final at-bat and held on for its first victory of the season tonight, a 5-3 decision over Eastern Michigan at ES Rose Park.
UT Martin (1-6) trailed 2-0 early but came back to take a 3-2 advantage after four innings of play. After Eastern Michigan tied the game in the top of the seventh, the Skyhawks manufactured the eventual game-winning runs in the eighth inning, rewarding Skyhawk interim head coach Brad Goss with his first career managerial victory. Goss previously spent nine years as an assistant at UT Martin before taking over the reins of the program last September.
Freshman Ben Upton continued his red-hot series with a 3-for-4 effort at the plate, scoring a run while driving in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth. Sophomore catcher Drew Erie also produced his second straight multi-hit outing with a 2-for-3 performance today.
Skyhawk starting pitcher Alex Martin allowed just two runs over 5.2 innings this afternoon but did not factor into the decision. Chris Ross escaped a bases loaded jam in the sixth to keep UT Martin’s lead before Stu Jones and John Houston finished off the game with one shutout inning apiece. Jones earned his second career win out of the bullpen while Houston recorded his first career save.
The Eagles scored one run in both the first and second innings but Martin would soon settle in. He retired eight straight batters at one point, needing just five pitches to polish off Central Michigan in the top of the third before fanning back-to-back hitters to cap off a perfect fourth inning. He pitched around a pair of walks and a bunt single in the fifth and got two quick outs in the sixth before the Eagles loaded the bases. Ross then induced a flyout on the first pitch he threw to keep the Skyhawk lead intact.
After UT Martin had a runner thrown out at the plate in the bottom of the second, the Skyhawks posted runs in each of the next two innings. Max Balter stole second base after drawing a leadoff walk in the third inning, advancing to third base on a sacrifice bunt by Fletcher Johnson. Chase Young then drove in Balter with a grounder to the right side to make the score 2-1.
The Skyhawks then seized their first lead of the game in the bottom of the fourth. Nico Zych drove a 2-2 pitch for a single up the middle with one away and advanced to third on a single by Upton. Zack Malone then gave UT Martin its third consecutive hit of the inning with a single through the left side that brought Zych home. An Eastern Michigan throwing error off a fielder’s choice then allowed Upton to stroll home and result in a 3-2 Skyhawk advantage.
Back-to-back hits by Eastern Michigan to lead off the top of the seventh tied the game at 3-all but Jones did not allow a ball out of the infield in a scoreless top of the eighth.
In the bottom half of the frame, Sorensen was hit by a pitch with one out and was lifted for pinch runner Taylor Douglas. Douglas advanced to second base on a failed pickoff attempt and would later move up to third base on a fly ball off the bat of Zych. With two outs, Upton jumped on the first pitch he saw to leg out an infield single, then advancing to second on an errant throw by the Eagle shortstop. Fellow freshman Nick Molina then came in to pinch run and two wild pitches later, Molina crossed home to make the score 5-3.
Houston followed with a dominant nine-pitch top of the ninth against the heart of the Eastern Michigan lineup. He put the exclamation point on the victory with a game-ending strikeout of the Eagles’ cleanup hitter on just three pitches.