TUESDAY'S SCORES
Indiana State 6,
@Eastern Illinois 4
@Murray State 11, Evansville 6
Southeast Missouri 6, @Saint Louis 2
@Southern Illinois 16,
UT Martin 5
Belmont 2, @Lipscomb 1
@Tennessee Tech 7, Alabama A&M 1
INDIANA STATE 6, EASTERN ILLINOIS 4
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois scored three runs in the final two innings of play, but the Indiana State baseball team escaped Coaches Stadium with a 6-4 win on Tuesday afternoon.
The loss drops the Panthers to 11-25 on the year while the Sycamores improve to 24-10. Tuesday’s game concluded a five-game homestand for the Panthers.
Manuel Estevez hit a RBI single to left field in the top of the first inning to give the Sycamores an early 1-0 advantage. Caleb Howell crossed home plate in the bottom of the frame on a Demetre Taylor ground out to first base to knot the game at one.
Indiana State added three runs over the next two innings to make the score 4-1 before scoring two runs on one hit in the eighth inning to push its lead to five (6-1). EIU scored two runs in the bottom of the frame on two hits to make the score 6-3. Brant Valach drove in the first run with a RBI double left field before crossing home plate later in the inning on a wild pitch.
Howell hit a two-out, RBI single to center field in the ninth inning to cut the Panthers deficit to two (6-4) before Mitch Gasbarro struck out looking to end the contest.
EIU had two more hits (9-7) than Indiana State and left one more runner on base (7-6). The Sycamores committed two errors while the Panthers did not have any miscues.
Ryan Keaffaber (1-1) earned the win for Indiana State, striking out six batters and allowing eight hits and three runs in 7.2 innings of action. Nick Kolarik threw three strikeouts in 1.1 innings of relief and surrendered only one hit.
“Indiana State’s starter did a great job today,” said Panther head coach Jim Schmitz. “We were able to get some hits today with no one on base. Unfortunately, we needed to do a better job with RISP like we did last weekend against Tennessee Tech.”
Andrew Grahn (1-1) took the loss for the Panthers as the junior pitcher allowed three hits and two runs in two innings of action. All told, EIU used six pitchers who combined to throw five strikeouts and issue five walks.
Gasbarro led the Panther offense as the sophomore infielder went 3-for-4 with two doubles and run. Howell added two hits, one run and one RBI.
Mike Fitzgerald led the Sycamores offense, going 3-for-3 with two runs and a RBI.
MURRAY STATE 11, EVANSVILLE 6
MURRAY, Ky. - Murray State collected 13 hits and scored at least one run in six innings Tuesday afternoon in an 11-6 victory over Evansville at Reagan Field.
Three Breds collected multi-hit games as Tyler Lawrence went 3-for-5 with a double and a pair of RBIs, and Taylor Mathews went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a pair of stolen bases. Luke Daugherty added a pair of hits and an RBI.
MSU (16-18) got on the board in the first inning as Ty Stetson and Anthony Bayus singled up the middle to start the inning. With one out, Lawrence singled up the middle to score Stetson.
The Breds added to the lead in the third inning on Matt McGowan’s two-run double into the gap in right center. The double scored Kollin Dowdy and Lawrence.
The fourth inning saw two more runs score as this time it was Dowdy with a two-run double to left center.
UE (22-13) got on the board in the fifth inning on an RBI groundout from Jake Mahon and a Kyle Pollock RBI single to right field.
MSU got one of the runs back in the sixth on Lawrence’s second RBI single up the middle.
The seventh inning was the big one for the offense as Derek Yoder ripped an RBI double just inside the third-base bag. Mathews followed with a two-run double up the middle and Bayus drove in the fourth run with a groundout to third.
Luke Daugherty pushed across the 11th run of the game in the eighth with an RBI double into the right-field corner.
The Purple Aces made the score more respectable in the ninth as they pushed across four runs on six hits.
Tyler Saltsman (2-0) earned the victory, tossing 3.1 innings of shutout baseball, allowing three hits. Andrew Bramley did not factor in the decision after giving up two runs on four hits and three strikeouts over 4.2 innings.
Matt Rodgers (3-1) suffered the loss after giving up three runs, one earned, on five hits over three innings.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 6, SAINT LOUIS 2
ST. LOUIS - The Southeast Missouri baseball team defeated Saint Louis (20-14) Tuesday, 6-2. The Redhawks broke a 2-2 lead in the eighth inning with four runs in the inning. The Redhawks improve to 25-11 on the season. They are one win away from tying their win total from last season.
This is the first time the Redhawks have defeated the Billikens since April 13, 2011.
Southeast struck first in the game. Jason Blum led off the game with a single to center. He stole second and tagged up and went to third on a fly out. He scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Matt Tellor to give Southeast a 1-0 lead in the first inning.
The Billikens tied the game in the bottom of the third inning. Alec Sole led off with a double down the left field line. He scored from second on a single by Braxton Martinez in the right center gap, tying the game at 1-1 after four.
Cole Bieser was hit by a pitch with one out in the sixth inning. A failed pickoff attempt allowed Bieser to move up to third. Tellor flew out to center, just deep enough to score Bieser and take a 2-1 lead.
The Billikens retied the game in the bottom of the inning. A leadoff hit batsman followed by a double put runners in scoring position. Tyler Iago's day was done with one out in the inning. Alex Siddle came in, gave up the tying run on a sac fly but retired the second batter he faced to end the inning.
The Redhawks took a comfortable lead in the eighth inning, putting up four runs. A walk, a single, and a two-out walk to Tellor loaded the bases. Derek Gibson threaded the ball through the right side to score Clayton Evans and Blum. Andy Lennington followed up with a double down the left field line. Tellor easily scored on the play and Gibson just got a hand under the tag at home, putting the Redhawks out in front 6-2.
Brady Wright came in to throw the final two innings of the game, shutting down the Billkens, allowing only one hit.
Saint Louis narrowly outhit Southeast 9-8.
Lennington was 3-for-4 with one RBI in the game. Blum was the only other Redhawk with a multi-hit performance. Gibson and Tellor both had two RBI.
Skylar Cobb was the winning pitcher of record Tuesday evening. Cobb climbs to 3-0 after one scoreless inning, allowing only one hit. Iago pitched five and a third innings, allowing two runs on seven hits.
For the Billikens, Sole and Colten Frabasilio were both 2-for-4 Tuesday.
Damian Rivera (2-4) recorded the loss. He pitched two thirds of an inning, allowing four runs on three hits. Starter Zach Girrens pitched six complete innings. Girrens allowed two runs on three hits while striking out four batters.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 16, UT MARTIN 5
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team fought off an early deficit to tie tonight’s game at Southern Illinois before the Salukis offense took over the middle innings in a 16-5 Skyhawk loss at Itchy Jones Stadium.
Trailing 4-0 after the bottom of the first, the Skyhawks used a four-run top of the fourth to even the score. However, Southern Illinois then scored 11 runs over its next three frames to put the game out of reach.
UT Martin (4-30) was led once again by Taylor Douglas, who went 3-for-4 with a walk and pair of runs scored. Tonight’s performance was Douglas’ eighth multi-hit effort in the last 11 games as he has now raised his season batting average to a team-best .349.
Chase Young also posted his sixth multi-hit game of the season this evening, going 2-for-4 with a walk and a pair of RBI’s out of the leadoff spot.
On the mound, Chris Ross (0-4) was charged with the loss after allowing eight runs over four innings. A total of four relievers also saw time on the mound today, highlighted by a scoreless seventh inning by John Houston.
The game started out well for UT Martin as Young battled back from a 0-2 count to draw a leadoff walk. He then stole second base but would wind up not scoring in the inning.
The Salukis (19-17) then scored four runs in the bottom of the first but Ross recovered to throw up shutout frames in both the second and third, needing only seven pitches to get through the third inning.
UT Martin then evened the score in the fourth thanks to five hits in the frame. Taylor Cox roped a double into the gap in right center to lead off the inning and Douglas reached on an infield hit on the very next pitch. Nick Molina then singled to right field to load the bases with one out before Andrew Massey was able to draw a seven-pitch walk to make the score 4-1. Mikey Nantze then brought in Douglas with a single to shortstop and Young tied the game on the next pitch with a double that plated both Molina and Massey to tie the game up at 4-all.
However, Southern Illinois would score four runs in the fourth, four runs in the fifth and three runs in the sixth to go on top by a 15-4 margin.
Douglas sparked a two-out rally in the seventh, as he lined a single into center with two away. Pinch hitter Isaac Carrel then walked and Zack Malone (who also pinch hit) singled down the right field line to make the score 15-5.
The Salukis added one more run in the bottom of the eighth to close out the game’s scoring.
BELMONT 2, LIPSCOMB 1
NASHVILLE - Belmont knocked off rival Lipscomb, 2-1 Tuesday afternoon at Ken Dugan Field.
Scott Moses drew a two-out walk and scored on a double down the left field line from Drew Ferguson in the third to put Belmont on the board, 1-0. Matt Beaty's single up the middle brought home Ferguson and put the Bruins ahead 2-0.
Lipscomb got one across in the bottom of the sixth behind a leadoff single from Nick Rome and a Drew Adams RBI groundout.
The BU pitching staff scattered just four hits, walked three and struck out eight. Chase Cunningham got the win after striking out four in his two innings of work. Greg Brody earned his seventh save of the season.
TENNESSEE TECH 7, ALABAMA A&M 1
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - On what would have gone down as a normal night with the Tennessee Tech baseball team claiming a normal win, things were far from normal. The Golden Eagles did collect their 29th victory of the season, dispensing Alabama A&M, 7-1, for the second time this year.
But the highlight of the night belonged to senior Zach Stephens, as the first baseman forever entrenched his name among the Ohio Valley Conference elite with one swing of the bat.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Golden Eagles put two players on base thanks to walks garnered by juniors Jordan Hopkins and David Allen. Alabama A&M managed two outs before the second walk, looking to get out of the frame without any damage.
Stephens had other ideas. On the first pitch he saw, the slugger unleashed a three-run bomb just left of dead center field, giving the Golden Eagles a 7-1 lead and knocking two more records of his "bucket list." With the three-run shot, Stephens became the OVC's all-time career leader in both home runs and RBI, recording his 54th long ball and 211th RBI. A four-year starter, he truly joined a league of his own, breaking both records that had stood for over 30 years after passing Mike Williams of Western Kentucky in each category.
Already Tech's all-time leader in hits, total bases, home runs, and RBI, Stephens added to his career totals with an impressive day at the plate overall. He led the Tech offense with a 4-for-5 day at the dish, scoring two runs while driving in four.
Senior Daniel Miles added two RBI on the night, ripping a double in the first inning to help complete a 2-for-3 day with two walks. Fellow senior Zach Zarzour also put together a multi-hit game, going 2-for-5 with two runs scored out of the leadoff position.
Evan Fraliex collected his second win of the season, tossing three innings in a predetermined "staff day" on the mound. The freshman struck out three batters while surrendering zero hits and two walks. Six other pitchers combined to finish the contest, combining to strike out seven more Bulldog batters on the night.
Closer Seth Lucio tallied the final three outs, striking out the first batter he saw before forcing Alabama A&M to ground into a game-ending double play.