TUESDAY'S SCORES
@Marshall 7,
Eastern Kentucky 3
@Southeast Missouri 5, Southern Illinois 4
Morehead State 6, @#12 Kentucky 4
@Middle Tennessee 4,
Belmont 0
#21 Tennessee 10,
@Tennessee Tech 1
@Saint Louis 9,
SIUE 4
Eastern Illinois, Illinois (Mattoon, Ill.) (cancelled)
Western Kentucky,
@Austin Peay (postponed)
MARSHALL 7, EASTERN KENTUCKY 3
HUINGTON, W.Va. - The Eastern Kentucky University baseball team fell to host Marshall, 7-3, on Tuesday afternoon at Kennedy Center Field.
A pair of freshmen, Taylor Blair and Ben Fisher, combined to go 5-for-7 from the plate for the Colonels, but it was not enough, as the Thundering Herd staved off a potential EKU rally in the seventh inning to secure the midweek victory.
EKU took an early lead when sophomore Kyle Nowlin led off the game with a base hit and later scored on a balk; however, Marshall responded with two runs in the bottom of the first and then added another in the bottom of the fifth to take a 3-1 advantage.
The Colonels made it 3-2 in the top of the sixth when Fisher scored on a sacrifice fly by sophomore TJ Alas, but Marshall again responded with a pair of runs in the home half of that inning to stretch its lead to three.
EKU’s opportunity for a late rally came in the top of the seventh, when the Colonels loaded the bases with one out for senior Bryan Soloman, who laced a single into right field to score sophomore Luke Wurzelbacher and make it 5-3. However, with the bases still loaded, senior Sean Hagen pinch hit for Fisher and grounded into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.
Marshall tacked on two more runs for good measure in the bottom of the eighth and held on for the non-conference win.
Sophomore right-hander Chris Cervantes (0-1) received the loss for the Colonels, going 5.1 innings and surrendering only two earned runs on seven hits.
Right-hander Kolin Stanley (1-2) earned the win for Marshall despite allowing two runs on three hits in his 1.2 innings of relief work.
With the loss, EKU drops to 14-18 on the year. Marshall improves 12-18.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 5, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 4
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri extended their winning streak to eight games Tuesday with a 5-4 victory over regional rival Southern Illinois (17-15). Southeast improves to 22-10 on the season.
The Redhawks touched home first on a two-RBI single off the bat of Andy Lennington. Lennington took third on a single by Dalton Hewitt. Lennington then scored while Hewitt was caught in a 2-4-3-6 rundown. Southeast led 3-0 after one inning.
With two out in the Redhawks' half of the fifth inning, Matt Tellor scored from first on a double down the left field line off the bat of Derek Gibson, putting the Redhawks out in front by four runs.
Southern Illinois crossed home in the top of the sixth. After an error by Andy Lack put a leadoff single on third, Will Farmer scored on a sacrifice fly for an unearned run. 4-1 Southeast Missouri.
SIU narrowed the Redhawk lead a little more in the top of the eighth. With runners on the corners with one out, a balk was called, scoring the Salukis' second run.
The Redhawks added a very important insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. Lennington hit a two out double to right field. Lennington was awarded third base on the second balk of the inning called on Saluki pitcher Derek Fogel. Hewitt plated Lennington for what would be a very important run; 5-2 Redhawks.
Christian Hull came in to close the game; however, the Salukis cared to make it interesting. Ryan Casillas led off the inning with a single off of Hull's leg. Cody Daily then pulled the game within one with a two-run home run to left field, 5-4. Hull then settled in then struck out the side to secure his third save of the season and the 5-4 victory for the Redhawks.
The Redhawks just outhit the Salukis 10-9 in the game.
Hewitt was 3-for-4 with the all important insurance RBI in the eighth. Lennington continued his hot streak with a 2-for-4 game with two RBI and two runs scored. Five other Redhawk batters added a hit apiece.
Alex Winkelman (2-2) was once again stellar on the mound for Southeast. Winkelman pitched seven complete innings giving up one unearned run on only four hits. Winkelman also fanned seven batters.
For the Salukis, Casillas was 3-for-4 with a run scored while Daily was 2-for-4 on the day.
Austin McPheron (1-1) recorded the loss in his second career start. McPheron went four and two thirds innings, giving up four runs on seven hits with three walks.
MOREHEAD STATE 6, #12 KENTUCKY 4
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Morehead State baseball team limited No. 12 Kentucky to just five hits en route to a 6-4 victory on Tuesday evening at Cliff Hagen Stadium. The win was MSU's first over a nationally-ranked opponent since April 18, 2007.
The Eagles improve to 16-16 overall and 11-7 on the road, while the Wildcats slip to 22-11 on the season and 15-4 at home. The victory was also Morehead State's first over UK since April 18, 2007.
MSU's dramatic improvement in 2014 comes on the heels of a 16-40 campaign. The Eagles, who were 9-23 after 32 contests last year, have improved by seven wins at this point in the season.
Kentucky entered the affair leading the Southeastern Conference in batting average (.318), slugging percentage (.467), on-base percentage (.418), runs (284), hits (357), RBI (247) and homers (30).
Junior left-hander Luke Schneider allowed just one run and two hits in 5.1 innings for his second victory of the season, while sophomore right-hander Craig Pearcy yielded just one earned run and three hits in 3.2 innings for his team-best sixth save.
Senior designated hitter Bobby Burns recorded a team-high three hits for Morehead State, while junior left fielder Chris Robinson extended his on-base streak to 16 games. Junior shortstop Robby Spencer also launched a two-run homer for the Eagles.
Kentucky scored 36 runs in a three-game series over the weekend vs. No. 12 Florida, but no Wildcat had more than one hit on Tuesday. Sophomore left-hander Ryan Combs, who allowed three runs and five hits in three innings, was tagged with the loss.
The Eagles pushed across runs in the first, second, fourth and sixth innings before Spencer's second long ball of the season in the seventh. The Wildcats were held scoreless through five frames, but rallied with two scores in the eighth and one in the ninth.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 4, BELMONT 0
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Belmont Baseball fell to Middle Tennessee, 4-0 Tuesday, snapping a six-game win streak.
Middle Tennessee struck first behind a two-run homer from Jared Allen in the first inning. The Blue Raiders added a run in the second and one in the third to take a 4-0 lead.
The Bruins threatened in the fifth by loading the bases behind a bunt single from Alec Diamond, but the runners were left stranded.
Diamond and Matt Beaty both had two hits for the Bruins.
#21 TENNESSEE 10, TENNESSEE TECH 1
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Tech baseball team couldn't pull of the upset Tuesday evening as the No. 21 ranked Tennessee Volunteers (22-9) defeated the Golden Eagles (25-9), 10-1, in a contest that saw moderate rainfall early as well as the largest crowd of the season at Bush Stadium.
The final score wasn't truly indicative of how the contest played out, as the Volunteers grabbed five unearned runs in the ninth inning to put any comeback chances for the Golden Eagles out of reach.
Tennessee scored first in the game, grabbing a single run in the top of the first after putting runners on first and third with no outs. Tech forced a double play before the run scored, limiting the damage to just the one run.
The Golden Eagles answered in the bottom half of the inning as senior slugger Brandon Thomasson sliced an RBI double down the left field line to tie things at 1-1.
Six relief pitchers made sure to keep the Tech offense completely at bay the rest of the contest, allowing just two hits the rest of the game while striking out 11 Golden Eagles.
Starter Jacob Honea pitched pretty well in the contest, despite being dealt his second loss of the season. After the run in the first inning, Honea surrendered just two more runs, including only one earned, on a pitch that just missed his spot and was turned over for a two-run home run. Honea tossed four innings with two strikeouts while allowing just five hits.
Tennessee grabbed two more runs in the top of the seventh inning, extending its lead to 5-1 before a big ninth inning thanks to a Tech error. The Vols scored five unearned runs in the frame to grab their third straight victory.
A transfer from Tennessee, redshirt sophomore Jake Rowland enjoyed a solid performance against his former ball club, going 2-for-4 with a run scored. Zach Zarzour and Jordan Hopkins both drew multiple walks in the game and Thomasson drove in the lone run for the Golden Eagles thanks to a 1-for-4 day at the dish.
SAINT LOUIS 9, SIUE 4
ST. LOUIS - Saint Louis and SIUE did all of the scoring in the first five innings Tuesday, and it was SLU which came out on top 9-4 in nonconference baseball at the Billiken Sports Complex.
The Billikens took advantage of three Cougar errors, scoring five unearned runs to improve to 19-11. SIUE has now lost seven in a row, and eight of its last nine games. The Cougars are 10-20 overall.
Trailing 1-0 after an inning, the Cougars took a 3-1 lead on one swing of the bat by Jacob Stewart in the second inning. Alec Saikal and Devin Caldwell each singled before Stewart connected on a 3-1 pitch for a three-run home run.
Saint Louis got a run back in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single by Alec Sole to make it 3-2. The Billikens regained the lead with a three-run bottom of the third, capped off by a two-run single by Sole.
Sole finished 4 for 5 with four RBIs to lead Saint Louis.
Billiken catcher Colton Frabasilio added a three-run home run of his own in the bottom of the fourth to push the SLU lead to 8-3. Sole added his third RBI of the game with a single to make it 9-3.
SIUE starter Mike Miller (0-2) allowed all nine Saint Louis runs on 10 hits. Only four runs were earned. He walked five and struck out three.
The Cougars added the final run of the night in the fifth. Nick Lombardo was hit by a pitch to start the fifth inning and then stole second base. After advancing to third on a wild pitch, Lombardo scored on a sacrifice fly by Chase Green.
Cougar reliever Caleb Wilkerson was outstanding for the Cougars. Wilkerson tossed 4 1/3 inning of scoreless relief. He allowed just a single hit, and struck out six hitters.
The Cougars managed just six hits against five Billiken pithers. Starter Josh Moore was credited with the win despite throwing just three innings. He allowed three runs on three hits. He struck out four and walked three.
Caldwell and Lombardo were the only SIUE players with more than a single hit. Caldwell was 2 for 4 with the run scored. Lombardo was 2 for 3 with the run scored.