SUNDAY'S SCORES
Mercer 9,
@Belmont 4
Eastern Kentucky 11, @UNC Asheville 4
@Georgia Southern 8,
SIUE 2
@Jacksonville State 9, Kennesaw State 8 (17 innings)
@Tennessee Tech 8, Northwestern 6
Michigan State 18,
Eastern Illinois 13 (Starkville, Miss.)
@#10 Mississippi State 9,
Eastern Illinois 0
Xavier
, @Austin Peay (cancelled)
MERCER 9, BELMONT 4
NASHVILLE - Belmont Baseball (6-5) fell to Mercer, 9-4, Sunday in the series finale.
Mercer got things started quickly with two runs in the first. The Bears added two more runs in the fifth and the sixth to take a 4-0 lead.
In the top of the seventh, Mercer's Michael Massi hit a leadoff double and an RBI single from Austin Barrett sparked four runs for the Bears, which extended their lead to 8-0.
The Bruins responded in the bottom half with four runs of their own. Tyler Walsh hit a leadoff single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Rafael Bournigal registered his first collegiate hit to put runners on the corner. An RBI single from Alec Diamond scored Walsh and put Belmont on the board.
Back-to-back hit batsmen scored Bournigal. With the bases loaded, Jamie Ritchie drew a walk to score Diamond. William Dodd's sacrifice fly brought home Ray Eastman to cut Mercer's lead to four.
Mercer was able to get one more run across in the top of the ninth to maintain their lead, 9-4.
Diamond went 2-for-5 with one RBI.
Dan Ludwig went five innings registering a season best six strikeouts.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 11, UNC ASHEVILLE 4
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Eastern Kentucky pounded out 15 hits in an 11-4 victory at North Carolina Asheville on Sunday. With the win, the Colonels (4-6) complete the three-game sweep.
EKU wasted little time getting out ahead. With one out and one on in the first , Sean Hagen drove in the game’s first run with a double to left center. Two batters later, Luke Wurzelbacher drove in Hagen with a single to center. With the bases loaded and still just one out, Bryan Soloman made it 5-0 with a bases-clearing double down the right field line. Ben Fisher’s single through the right side scored Soloman to cap the inning and put the visitors out in front by six.
The Colonels added an unearned run in the third for a 7-0 lead. The Bulldogs got on the board in the bottom of the fourth on Eli Miller’s three-run home run.
Eastern added a pair in the sixth on a two-run single by Doug Teegarden before sophomore Kyle Nowlin hit his first home run of the season in the seventh to extend the lead to 10-3.
EKU freshman Caleb Johnson made his first career start. He allowed three runs, two of which were earned, on two hits in four innings of work. Johnson walked one and struck out five. Entering the game, he had not allowed a run in four innings of relief this season.
Myles Scott (1-2) came on to pitch for Eastern in the fifth and picked up his first win of the season. He tossed two and two-thirds innings of relief before allowing a run in the bottom of the seventh. That ran EKU’s relievers streak to 19 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run.
In three innings, Scott gave up two hits, one run, walked one and struck out one. Ben Brooks and Chris Cervantes allowed one hit each while pitching the final two innings.
Soloman finished 3-for-5 with two runs and three RBIs. Kenny Hostrander went 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Teegarden had three hits in five at bats, scored twice and drove in a pair of runs.
Six different Bulldogs (1-7) had one hit each. Miller’s lone hit in four at bats was the three-run shot. Adam Spracklin (0-1) started for UNCA. He allowed five runs on three hits in just one-third of an inning. He walked two and struck out one.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN 8, SIUE 2
STATESBORO, Ga. - SIUE baseball outhit Georgia Southern 12-10 Sunday, but left 14 men on base in an 8-2 loss to the Eagles to wrap up a nonconference weekend at Clements Stadium.
The Cougars are now 2-8 for the season. Georgia Southern improved to 9-2.
SIUE took a 2-0 lead in the fourth inning. Austin Verschoore accounted for both of the Cougars' runs. Skyler Geissinger singled and Jake Michalak doubled to start the inning. Verschoore picked up a two-out single to left center to drive home both runners and give the Cougars their only lead of the game.
Caleb Wilkerson (0-1) started and took the loss. Wilkerson tossed three scoreless innings before getting into trouble in the fourth inning. Wilkerson gave up five hits, including a home run as GSU took the lead 4-2. Zach Malach relieved Wilkerson and tossed three innings, allowing three runs, one earned, on one hit. He struck out two and walked one.
SIUE committed four errors Sunday and 11 errors over the three game series.
Skyler Geissinger and Devin Caldwell also had multi-hit days for the Cougars. Geissinger was 3 for 4 with a run scored. Caldwell was 2 for 4 Sunday and 6 for 12 for the series.
Matt McCall (1-0) earned the win for GSU in relief. McCall tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings. He allowed four hits and struck out five.
Garerr Chapman led the Eagles at the plate. He was 3 for 4 with a pair of RBIs. Aaron Mizell was 2 for 4 with a two-run home run.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 9, KENNESAW STATE 8 (17)
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Michael Bishop went 5-for-10, including the game-winning hit in the bottom of the 17th inning, to lead Jacksonville State to a 9-8 win over Kennesaw State in the longest game in both school's history on Sunday afternoon.
Jax State set 10 school records, tied one more, while Michael Bishop's 10 at-bats also tied a NCAA Division I national record. The 17-innings broke the school record of 15 innings played set last season, and the game lasted 5 hours and 43 minutes.
Jax State used 10 pitchers to throw 287 pitches, while Kennesaw State used seven pitchers to throw 304 pitches for a total of 591 pitches in the game.
The two teams battled to a 8-8 tie into the 17th inning, before Andrew Bishop led off the inning with a walk and moved to second on Tyler Gamble's sacrifice bunt. Bishop then hit a 1-2 pitch up the middle to score his brother, Andrew, and give the Gamecocks the win to improve to 6-4 on the season.
Michael McCreless (1-0) was the 10th pitcher used by the Gamecocks and went five innings, allowing four hits and he did not surrender a run to earn his first career win. Cole McArthur (0-1) got stuck with the loss for the Owls after giving up the game-winning hit to Bishop.
Jax State jumped out to an early lead after scoring five runs in the first inning, highlighted by Gamble's two-RBI, while Eddie Mora-Loera, Andrew and Michael each drove in a run for a 5-0 lead.
The Owls (7-6) scored a run in the second on a sacrifice fly and another run in the sixth to cut the lead to 5-2, but the Gamecocks answered in the home half of the sixth after Griff Gordon had a RBI single for a 6-2 JSU lead.
Kennesaw State rallied to tie the game after scoring two runs in the seventh, and two more runs in the eighth inning after Jacob Bruce drove in both runs with a double to tie the game at 6-6.
In the 12th inning, the Owls took their first lead of the game after Kal Simmons scored on a wild pitch and Justin Motley followed with a RBI single for an 8-6 lead, but the Gamecocks rallied in the bottom half of the inning. Griff Gordon drove in both runs with a single to right field to tie the game back at 8-8.
Michael Bishop led the Gamecocks with five hits, while Gordon had four hits and three RBI, and Andrew Bishop had three hits. Kennesaw State was led by Colin Bennett and Motley with three hits each.
TENNESSEE TECH 8, NORTHWESTERN 6
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - For the second time in two years the Tennessee Tech baseball team has put together a 10-game winning streak, completing a sweep of Northwestern Sunday morning after defeating the Wildcats (2-8), 8-6 in a thriller.
With the victory, the Golden Eagles (11-1) also tied the 1970 Tech squad for best 12-game start to a season. Former head coach W.A. Wright led Tech to an 11-1 start, finishing the 1970 season 21-14 overall. The 1955 team still owns the standard for a start to a year, winning its first 14 games while starting 15-1 before its second loss. The head coach of that squad? None other than the very man whose name dons the field at Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex, Malcolm Quillen. His group of Golden Eagles finished the year 17-2 while winning the program's second Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship.
As for head coach Matt Bragga's squad, the Golden Eagles got off to a great start with the bat against the Wildcats, hammering home four runs in the first inning of the game.
Tech took advantage of four Northwestern missteps throughout the contest, including one in the opening inning. Following a first-half run by the Wildcats, Tech made two quick outs to start the bottom half. But slugger Zach Stephens woke the Golden Eagle bats up, drilling a single just inside the left field line to start a two-out barrage.
Senior Brandon Thomasson drew a walk in the next at-bat and was immediately joined on base by third baseman Daniel Miles, who took a pitch off the elbow to load the bases for Dylan Bosheers.
The junior came through, lacing a single to center field to drive in two runs and give the Tech squad the early 2-1 lead. Jake Rowland then smacked a high hopper to shortstop, leaving no doubt that the inning would be over. But as the shortstop tossed the ball to second for the force out, Northwestern second baseman muffed the throw, allowing Bosheers to slide in safely and Rowland to reach on a fielder's choice.
Left fielder David Allen made the Wildcats pay for the mistake, smacking a two-run single to left field to increase the Tech lead to 4-1.
The Tech squad scratched across another run in the bottom of second to up its advantage to 5-1. Second baseman Zach Zarzour led off the inning with a bunt single to third base and eventually made it all the way around, scoring on a fielder's choice ball by Daniel Miles.
The Wildcats made things interesting in the third, tallying two runs off a double by Matt Hopfner and single by Cody Stevens to cut the Tech lead down to 5-3. But another defensive miscue led to an unearned run by Bosheers in the fifth.
After reaching with a single to right center field, Bosheers stole second to set up Jake Rowland with a man in scoring position and one out. Rowland connected on a routine hit to left field, advancing Bosheers to third. But the Wildcat left fielder bobbled the ball as he tried to pick it up, allowing Bosheers to cross the plate.
Northwestern wasn't about to give up, however, striking fear into the Golden Eagle fans in the top of the seventh. The Wildcats quickly loaded the bases with no one out, looking to break the game wide open.
Following an RBI single by Nick Linne, the call went to Cookeville native Ross Spurgeon to come in and shut down the threat. He did a remarkable job, allowing just two more runs to score off of a sac fly and single to right field before striking out Jack Mitchell and forcing Zach Jones into an inning-ending ground ball to shortstop. The damage had been done though, as Northwestern tied the game 6-6.
But just as the Wildcats thought their luck was turning for the better, it got worse. Miles kicked things off by drawing a four-pitch walk. Two batters later Bosheers connected on another base hit that gave a Northwestern outfielder problems. This time the center fielder mishandled the ball, giving Miles the opportunity to come home and rally the Golden Eagles back to a 7-6 lead.
Spurgeon then killed any momentum the Wildcats might still have had, shutting them down 1-2-3 in the top of the eighth. The righty struck out the first batter on four pitches before forcing the next Northwestern player to foul out on an 0-2 count. He finished the inning by fanning another Wildcat on three pitches.
Tech added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, letting redshirt freshman Hunter Hudson run wild as a pinch hitter. The outfielder singled to left field to lead-off the inning and promptly stole second. He then scored on an RBI single to left field by Zarzour, showing his blazing speed by beating the throw attempt by a mile.
On came closer Seth Lucio in the top of the ninth to close things out. And that's just what the junior did, earning his fourth save of the season with quick work.
The Golden Eagles ran wild in the game, swiping seven bases, including two each for Bosheers, Zarzour, and Rowland.
Overall, Bosheers and Zarzour led the offensive punch for the Tech squad. Bosheers finished 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored while Zarzour tallied three hits in five trips to the plate. He scored a run while driving in one as well.
Spurgeon garnered his second win of the season, tossing two innings while allowing just one hit and striking out three.
MICHIGAN STATE 18, EASTERN ILLINOIS 13
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Michigan State defeated the Panther baseball team, 18-13, in the first of two games for Eastern Illinois today in the Diamond Classic.
EIU scored 13 runs through the first four innings of play against the Spartans (5-5), taking a 13-8 lead into the fifth inning. Michigan State responded by scoring 10 unanswered runs over the next three innings to take an 18-13 advantage. Neither team scoring in the final two innings of play.
The Spartans had two more hits (20-18) than EIU and left four fewer runners on base (14-10). Both teams committed two errors in the contest.
Frankie Perrone led the Panther offense, going 3-for-5 at the plate with five RBI and two runs. The freshman outfielder was a double shy of hitting for the cycle. Demetre Taylor went 3-for-4 with two RBI and Jacob Reese went 2-for-5 with three runs.
Garrison Stenger (0-3) took the loss for EIU, allowing seven hits and six runs with two strikeouts in 0.2 innings of play. Christian Slazinik started the game and allowed six hits and seven runs in three innings.
Walter Borkovick (1-0) earned the win for Michigan State, throwing four strikeouts and allowing four hits in 4.2 scoreless innings. Jimmy Pickens went 4-for-4 at the plate with six RBI and four runs to lead the Spartans offense.
#10 MISSISSIPPI STATE 9, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0
STARKVILLE, Miss. - In the second game of the day the Panthers held the Bulldogs (10-4) scoreless until the fourth inning when Seth Heck hit a two-out, RBI single to make the score 1-0. Mississippi State made the score 2-0 in the sixth inning before adding seven runs on seven hits and one Panther error to push its lead to nine.
The Bulldogs had two more hits (12-10) than EIU and left one more runner on base (10-9). EIU had two errors in the contest while Mississippi State did not have any miscues.
Caleb Howell went 2-for-3 at the plate to lead the EIU offense while Adam Casson and Perrone both went 2-for-4.
Chase Thurston (0-1) took the loss for EIU, allowing six hits and six runs (four earned) in 3.1 innings of play. Troy Barton made the start and surrendered one hit with two strikeouts in three scoreless innings.
Dakota Hudson (1-1) posted the win for the Bulldogs, striking out five batters and allowing seven hits in 5.2 scoreless innings. Heck paced the team at the plate as the junior infielder went 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run. Jake Vickerson also went 3-for-5 with a run and a RBI.