SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 6, UT Martin 4
@Eastern Kentucky 8, SIUE 3
@Belmont 4, Austin Peay 2
Eastern Illinois 10, @Southeast Missouri 3
@Tennessee Tech 11, Jacksonville State 8
Murray State 7, @Ohio State 5
MOREHEAD STATE 6, UT MARTIN 4
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State baseball team scored six runs, all in the middle innings, and held off UT Martin 6-4 at Allen Field Saturday to complete a series sweep over the Skyhawks.
MSU, which has now won nine consecutive games versus UTM, improved to 21-18 overall, 10-8 in the Ohio Valley Conference and 9-6 at home. UTM slipped to 4-33 overall and 3-18 in the league.
The Eagles fell behind 2-0 but scored three times in the fourth, twice in the fifth and once in the sixth before a quartet of MSU pitchers held the Skyhawks to just two runs over the final five frames.
Junior shortstop Robby Spencer, senior designated hitter Bobby Burns and junior rightfielder Brandon Rawe each tallied a pair of hits to lead an 11-hit day for MSU batters. Rawe, who upped his season hit total to an OVC-high 72, extended his hitting streak to seven games. He now has a team-best 23 multi-hit games.
Senior third baseman Jeff Birkofer had a fourth-inning RBI single to push his hitting streak to a team-best 12 games. Spencer, Burns, junior second baseman Tyler Bigler, junior leftfielder Nick Newell and junior catcher Chris Robinson all recorded an RBI apiece as well.
Despite facing just two batters, senior lefthander Noah Smallwood was credited with the win to improve to 3-2. Sophomore righties Tyler Keele and Craig Pearcy along with freshman lefthander Cable Wright combined to allow no hits to UTM in the final three innings. Pearcy earned his team-best eighth save.
Skyhawk starter Alex Martin, who surrendered five runs and four walks in 4.1 innings, was pinned with the loss to slip to 0-7.
UT Martin designated hitter Ben Upton led all players with a 3-for-5 effort. He pulled his team to within 6-4 in the seventh with a two-run homer.
The Skyhawks pulled out 2-0 in the fourth via an RBI single by rightfielder Nico Zych, one of his two hits. With Zych on third following a stolen base and wild pitch, Jake Deason's infield chopper was misplayed by the MSU pitcher and allowed Zych to score.
Birkofer's single plated the first MSU run in the fourth, followed by a sacrifice fly from Newell and a run-scoring single by Bigler.
Spencer led off the fifth with a single and moved to second when Rawe's towering shot to the left field corner was dropped by UTM's Chase Young. Spencer scored on Robinson's single, and Rawe trotted home on Burns' one-bagger. Spencer pushed across the final run in the sixth on a ground out. Freshman outfielder Clayton Meyer scored on that play following his first career triple.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 8, SIUE 3
RICHMOND, Ky. - Eastern Kentucky earned its second straight Ohio Valley Conference series victory with an 8-3 win over Southern Illinois Edwardsville in the series finale on Saturday. EKU won two of the three games.
Just as they had done in the first two games of the series, the Colonels (19-21, 9-9 OVC) took the early lead with four runs in the bottom of the second inning. Kenny Hostrander drove in a pair with a single to left field. Later in the inning, with runners on first and second, Kyle Nowlin sent a ball to the wall for two-run double and a 4-0 EKU lead.
The Cougars (13-24, 10-11 OVC) got one back in the third on a sacrifice fly by Chase Green. Doug Teegarden was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the third to push the Eastern lead back to four, 5-1.
EKU loaded the bases again in the bottom of the fifth. A sacrifice fly from Ben Fisher extended the home team’s lead to 6-1. Green’s bases loaded ground ball in the fifth cut the Eastern Kentucky advantage back to four, 6-2.
SIUE loaded the bases with one out in the top of the sixth, but reliever Brian Mroz got a ground ball to short for an inning-ending double play. Nowlin added to the Eastern lead with an RBI single up the middle in the bottom of the seventh. Bryan Soloman added an RBI single through the left side to extend the lead to 8-2.
Nowlin finished 2-for-4 with a run and three RBIs. Luke Wurzelbacher scored twice. Sean Hagen was 0-for-1 but drew four walks and scored two runs.
Freshman Caleb Johnson (4-0) picked up the win after tossing five innings and allowing two runs on seven hits. He walked two and struck out two.
Nick Lombardo and Denton Reed each went 3-for-4 for SIU Edwardsville. Caleb Wilkerson (0-2) suffered the loss after allowing five runs, only two of which were earned, in two and one third innings. He walked three and did not strike out a batter.
BELMONT 4, AUSTIN PEAY 2
NASHVILLE - Behind late inning heroics, the Bruins defeated Austin Peay 4-2 in the series finale Saturday afternoon.
Austin Peay got on the board first in the fourth inning to take a 1-0 lead.
The Bruins threatened in the fifth after Drew Ferguson's infield single sparked a two out rally. Alec Diamond laid down a perfect bunt single before Matt Beaty drew a walk to load the bases; however a flyout ended the inning and the BU threat.
The Governors took a 2-0 lead in the sixth behind an RBI double from Logan Gray.
Scott Moses led off the eighth by getting hit by a pitch. He advanced after a Brennan Washington double and Drake Byrd's infield loaded the bases. The Bruins tied the game behind a two-run single from Drew Ferguson. Diamond singled through the right side to plate Byrd and give Belmont the lead and a sacrifice fly from Beaty extended the Bruins' lead to 4-2.
Austin Coley scattered four hits and struck out seven through his 5.1 innings of work. Chase Cunningham gave up one hit in his 2.2 innings of relief and struck out two. Greg Brody came in to close the game for the Bruins and earned his eighth save.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 10, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Senior pitcher Joe Greenfield led the Panther baseball team to a 10-3 win over Southeast Missouri in the series finale between the two schools on Saturday afternoon at Capaha Field.
Greenfield (5-4) limited the Redhawks, who entered the weekend with the conference’s best batting average, to only two runs in eight innings of work. The Orland Park, Ill., native also threw four strikeouts in the win.
EIU improved to 12-27 on the year and 6-12 in conference play while SEMO dropped to 27-12 overall and 17-4 in OVC play.
Offensively, it was Brant Valach who came through at the plate as the junior infielder went 3-for-5 with six RBI and two home runs. The junior infielder increased his batting average to .460 in OVC play with a .840 slugging percentage.
Demetre Taylor went 2-for-5 with two runs and a RBI while Tyler Schweigert went 2-for-4 with one run. Mitch Gasbarro also added two runs and a RBI.
Both teams had nine hits in the contest and committed one error. SEMO left two more runners on base (7-5) in the contest.
Derek Gibson led the SEMO offense as he went 2-for-4 with one RBI. Matt Tellor also went 2-for-4 with one run.
Travis Hayes (5-1) was tagged with the loss as the junior pitcher allowed six runs and seven hits in 6.2 innings of work. He also posted three strikeouts and two walks.
SEMO took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning on a two-out, RBI single by Gibson before the Panthers took a 4-1 advantage in the fourth inning on a three-run homer by Valach.
EIU added four runs on two hits in the top of the seventh inning to make the score 8-1. The Panthers would add three more runs on one hit and one error in the next frame to seal the victory.
TENNESSEE TECH 11, JACKSONVILLE STATE 8
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - A huge first inning and continued hitting proved to be just the ticket for the Tennessee Tech baseball team Saturday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles (32-10, 14-7) completed a three-game series sweep of Ohio Valley Conference rival Jacksonville State (21-17, 11-7) with an 11-8 victory.
Tech all but took the third contest in the series in the first inning alone, scoring seven runs with two outs off the power of six hits. Gamecock starter Taylor Shields, who was dealt his fourth loss of the season, kept all seven runs unearned after an error earlier in the frame.
Things started early as leadoff man Zach Zarzour singled down the left field line. Jordan Hopkins followed, reaching on an error by the Jax State second baseman. The Gamecocks seemed to have avoided early trouble, recording outs on the next two Tech batters, but senior Brandon Thomasson started a two-out thrashing that would not end for another eight batters.
Thomasson singled to center field, plating one to kick things off. Dylan Bosheers, Jake Rowland, and David Allen all followed suit, each recording RBI singles to move the Tech lead to 4-0. Catcher Jordan Parris drew a walk to load the bases and bring Zarzour up for his second offering of the inning.
Luck seemed to be on the side of the Golden Eagles, as Zarzour struck out swinging, but reached first base safely on a passed ball by the Gamecock catcher. The play allowed another Tech runner to score, upping the advantage to 5-0. Hopkins then finished the scoring off for the Golden Eagles, lacing a two-run single to right center field to give Tech a 7-0 lead.
Jacksonville State scored two runs in the second, off the power of a two-run home run by catcher Stephen Bartlett. But Tech quickly made up the scores, as Bosheers crushed his eighth long ball of the year clear over the wall in left center field, scoring two and propelling Tech to a 9-2 advantage.
Both pitching staffs battled well over the next five innings, as each offense was held off the scoreboard until the top of the eighth. The Gamecocks struck for a run in the frame, but the Golden Eagles answered with two of their own to lead 11-3.
The Gamecocks did make things interesting in the ninth, scoring five runs in the inning to push the Tech squad to the limit. But junior Seth Lucio finally closed the book on Tech's OVC foe, striking out the final batter of the inning on a full count and pushing the Golden Eagles to within two games of first place in the league standings.
Freshman starter Evan Fraliex earned his third victory of the year, scattering five hits over six innings of work while allowing just two earned runs and striking out two. Relievers Jeb Scoggins, Ross Spurgeon, John Gora, and Seth Lucio finished off the final three innings as Tech picked up its 32nd win of the year.
Bosheers led the Tech offense on the day, going 2-for-3 with three RBI, three runs scored, and two walks. Thomasson was close behind, grabbing hits in all three of his at bats while driving in two, scoring three runs, and also drawing two walks.
Rowland collected two RBI on the day off the power of two hits, scoring a run as well. Hopkins finished 3-for-5 at the dish, reaching base four times while driving in two runs.
The sweep was the first for the Golden Eagles of an OVC opponent this season and also marked the first over Jacksonville State since 2009 when Tech won the OVC tournament championship.
The sweep also moved Tech into second place in the league standings, ahead of Jacksonville State by one and a half games. With a loss by Southeast Missouri earlier in the day, it also put Tech just two games out of the first place Redhawks.
MURRAY STATE 7, OHIO STATE 5
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Murray State scored all seven of its runs with two outs, and Taylor Mathews drove in four runs, as the Breds evened the series against Ohio State with a 7-5 victory Saturday afternoon at Bill Davis Stadium.
Mathews seemed to find himself at the plate in key situations multiple times in the game. And in each situation, the sophomore came through a pair of two-run singles with the bases loaded. He finished the game by going 3-for-5 with four RBIs. The four RBIs tie a career high that he set against SIU Edwardsville last season.
After falling behind 1-0 on a single in the third inning, MSU (17-19) came right back in the fourth inning to take the lead for good. Kollin Dowdy started the inning with a single and stole second. Still standing on second with two outs, Luke Daugherty drove him in with a single up the middle. Matt McGowan and Rick Linton followed with singles to load the bases. Mathews then came threw as he ripped the first pitch he saw into right field for a two-run single.
The Buckeyes (22-18) pulled within one run in the fifth inning on an RBI groundout off the bat of Pat Porter.
The seventh inning was the big one for the Breds as they broke open the game with four two-out runs. Anthony Bayus started the inning with a single up the middle. Walks to Tyler Lawrence and Luke Daugherty loaded the bases with two outs. McGowan fell behind 0-2, but sat back on a breaking ball and ripped it into left field for an RBI single. Linton followed by drawing a bases-loaded walk, and Mathews came through again with a two-run single to center field.
MSU struggled defensively in the ninth inning as they committed four errors in helping the Buckeyes score three runs. They scored a run on a fielder’s choice, and when the throw to first was wide, a second run scored. Zach Ratcliff drove in the third run with a sacrifice fly to left field.
The pitching staff was not done to be outdone as the duo of Cody Maerz and Brock Downey kept OSU off balance all game. Making just his second start of the season, Maerz allowed two runs on eight hits and two strikeouts over 4.1 innings. Brock Downey (7-1) earned the win in just his second relief appearance of the season. The junior allowed three unearned runs on three hits over 4.2 innings. He lowered his season ERA to 1.79.
Greg Greve (4-3) took the loss for OSU as he allowed three runs on eight hits over 5.0 innings.
The bottom four hitters in the Breds lineup led the way as they combined for all seven RBIs. Daugherty went 1-for-3 with a pair of walks, an RBI and two runs scored hitting in the six hole. McGowan was 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored out of the seven hole, while Linton went 1-for-4 with an RBI out of the eight hole.