SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Kentucky 14, Murray State 1
@Morehead State 12, Jacksonville State 10
@SIUE 4, Austin Peay 3
Tennessee Tech 3, @Belmont 2 (10 innings)
Eastern Illinois 5, @UT Martin 1
Southeast Missouri 8, @IPFW 6
EASTERN KENTUCKY 14, MURRAY STATE 1
RICHMOND, Ky. - The first six batters reached base to start the game and Eastern Kentucky scored in each of the first five innings on its way to a season-ending 14-1 victory over Murray State on Saturday at Turkey Hughes Field.
Six straight Colonels reached base to start the game as EKU scored seven first inning runs. Sean Hagen’s two-run triple made it 3-0. Freshman Cole Warrenfeltz extended the lead to 6-0 with a two-run double. Kyle Nowlin’s sacrifice fly capped the scoring.
Brent Cobb (4-6) was spectacular in the final start of his career. The senior allowed one run on seven hits in eight and one-third innings of work. He walked two and struck out four.
Taylor Blair’s two-run double highlighted a three-run second inning that extended the EKU advantage to 10-1. Bryan Soloman hit his 14th home run of the season in the third to make it an 11-1 game.
Soloman finished 2-for-4 with three runs scored and two knocked in. Ben Fisher had two hits in three at bats, scored three times and drove in a pair. Hagen was 1-for-5 with a run and two RBIs. Sophomore Doug Teegarden went 2-for-4 with a run and three RBIs.
Dalton West had a 2-for-3 day with one RBI. His double to left center in the second inning scored the Thoroughbreds only run of the game. Sheldon Baxter (2-6) suffered the loss. He gave up five runs on five hits and did not record an out.
Eastern Kentucky concludes the 2014 season with a 24-31 record and a 12-18 mark in Ohio Valley Conference play. Murray State finishes its season 23-29 overall and 14-16 against league teams.
MOREHEAD STATE 12, JACKSONVILLE STATE 10
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State baseball team used a three-run seventh inning and 12-10 win over Jacksonville State on Saturday afternoon to punch its ticket for the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. MSU will be the No. 5 seed in next week's event, while JSU will be the No. 3.
The Eagles finish the regular season 28-26 overall, while the Gamecocks slip to 30-24. MSU went 16-14 in conference play and 13-8 at home, while JSU closes out league action 18-12 overall and 12-14 on the road. Morehead State also ends up winning nine of its last 11 games at Allen Field.
Saturday's series finale featured multiple ties and lead changes. MSU junior shortstop Robby Spencer broke a tie game in the seventh by launching a solo homer. Senior designated hitter Bobby Burns smashed a two-run double with two outs to give the Eagles a 12-9 advantage.
Jacksonville State threatened in the eighth and ninth, but junior right-hander Ryan Vansaghi and senior right-hander Dan Hyatt slammed the door on the Senior Day victory. Sophomore right-hander Matt Ellenbest improved to 2-2 with the win, while Hyatt tallied save No. 4.
Junior right fielder Brandon Rawe, who continues to lead the conference and rank nationally in several offensive categories, paced Morehead State with a 3-for-4 performance, one run scored and two RBI. He now has a team-best 29 multi-hit efforts this season, including 13 three-hit games.
Eight of Morehead State's nine starters registered at least one hit, while seven knocked in at least one run. The Eagles managed three runs in the second, two in the fourth and four in the fifth.
Sophomore first baseman Paschal Petrongolo led Jacksonville State by going 4-for-5 with three runs and three RBI. He smashed a solo homer in the eighth, while senior second baseman Eddie Mora-Loera added a solo blast in the fourth. The Gamecocks posted 16 hits on the afternoon.
Senior left-hander Adam Polk, the third of four JSU pitchers, fell to 4-4 with the loss.
Morehead State has already improved by 12 wins over the 2013 campaign (16-40). The Eagles also end up recording eight more home victories and nine more road wins than last season.
SIUE 4, AUSTIN PEAY 3
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE overcame a 3-1 deficit Saturday to defeat Austin Peay 4-3 to win the series and clinch a spot in its first-ever Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
The Cougars finished the regular season at 21-31 overall and 16-14 in the OVC. The Cougars earned the No. 4 seed and will play fifth-seeded Morehead State at 3 p.m. Wednesday in the first round of the tournament at Jackson, Tennessee.
The 16 conference wins are the most for the Cougars since joining the OVC.
Trailing 3-1 in the sixth, SIUE got RBIs from Skyler Geissinger and Keaton Wright to even the score at 3-3. Devin Caldwell singled in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Austin Peay (20-30, 14-16) put runners on base in both the seventh and eighth innings. Both times the Cougars turned a double play to get out of the inning.
Zach Malach (2-1) earned the win in relief. Malach allowed a run on four hits over a career-best outing of 6 2/3 innings. He did not walk a batter and struck out four.
TENNESSEE TECH 3, BELMONT 2 (10)
NASHVILLE - Pack your bags Tennessee Tech baseball fans! The Golden Eagles are headed to the Ohio Valley Conference tournament as the No. 2 seed after taking out the Belmont Bruins, 3-2, in 10 innings Saturday afternoon.
For the second straight contest, the Golden Eagles and Bruins battled on the mound, going scoreless through the first six innings in the final regular season contest for both teams.
Tennessee Tech opened up the scoring in the top of the seventh inning, using a RBI single by senior second baseman Zach Zarzour to take a 1-0 lead.
The Golden Eagles doubled that lead in the eighth as senior slugger Brandon Thomasson crushed a solo home run to left field to give the Tech squad a 2-0 advantage. The long ball marked the 22nd of the year for the right fielder, ranking him just one behind the national lead behind Kentucky's A.J. Reed.
Belmont rallied late on its senior day, scoring twice in the bottom of the ninth inning to force extra innings. But Tech refused to be swept in the series, as senior first baseman Zach Stephens belted a solo bomb to left field, giving the Golden Eagles the lead for good.
Starter John Gora, picking up his first start in over two months, performed great for the Tech squad, tossing six innings of shutout ball while scattering three hits and walking none while striking out five batters.
Freshman Kyle Keatts earned his second career save in the contest, finishing the final three outs of the game with one strikeout and no walks or hits.
For the contest, Thomasson led Tech with two extra base hits, a double and home run, as well as an RBI. Stephens also finished the game 2-for-5, collecting a moonshot with an RBI.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 5, UT MARTIN 1
MARTIN, Tenn. - Senior pitcher Joe Greenfield led the Panther baseball team to a 5-1 win over UT Martin on Saturday afternoon as Eastern Illinois swept the series to qualify for the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
The No. 6 seed Panthers will play No. 3 seed Jacksonsville State at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 21 in Jackson, Tenn., at the Ballpark in Jackson. EIU finished OVC play with a 10-2-1 record to qualify for the tournament.
EIU improved to 21-31-1 on the year and 15-14-1 in conference play while the Skyhawks concluded their season at 9-42 overall and 5-25 in OVC play.
Greenfield (6-5) threw a career-high 12 strikeouts with no walks while only allowing one run. The Orland Park, Ill., posted his fifth career complete game in the win.
The Panthers took an early 1-0 lead in the third inning on a RBI ground out by Brant Valach before scoring two runs on two hits in the eighth inning to make the score 3-0. UT Martin cut its deficit to two (3-1) in the bottom of the frame on a RBI double by Mikey Nantze.
The Panthers added two insurance runs in the ninth inning on two hits and one error. A Frankie Perrone RBI single scored the first run before Dane Sauer was hit by a pinch later in the inning with the bases loaded, sending Cameron Berra home for the final run.
EIU had three more hits (8-5) than UT Martin and left 12 more runners on base (15-3). The Skyhawks committed four errors in the contest while the Panthers did not have any miscues.
Caleb Howell went 3-for-6 at the plate with a run and a RBI to pace the EIU offense while Berra added two runs.
Taylor Douglas paced the Skyhawks offense as the center fielder went 2-for-4 at the plate. Alex Boshers (1-4) took the loss for UT Martin, allowing seven hits and three runs in 7.1 innings of work. He also had six strikeouts and six walks.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 8, IPFW 6
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Southeast Missouri put the exclamation point on a terrific season Saturday with a three-game sweep of IPFW (19-34), winning the series finale, 8-6. Southeast swept both series with the Mastodons this season, defeating them a total of six times in 2014.
The Redhawks finish the regular season 36-18. With the conclusion of Ohio Valley Conference play Saturday, the six-team tournament field was set (see below). Southeast Missouri locked up the No. 1 seed when they won the OVC Regular Season Championship. The Redhawks will play the worst seed standing in game five of the tournament at 7 p.m. Thursday at The Ballpark at Jackson in Jackson, Tennessee.
IPFW jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Lucas Salerno grounded out to score the first IPFW run. Malcolm White hit a base hit to left to take a 2-0 lead.
With Cole Bieser on first and Jason Blum on third, the Redhawks executed the delayed double steal as Blum swiped home on the catcher's throw down to second to put the Redhawks on the board in the third inning, 2-1 Mastodons.
IPFW extended the lead to 3-1 with a sacrifice fly by Kevin Wirth in the bottom of the inning.
Nolan Fisher hit a sac fly of his own in the top of the next inning to score Dalton Hewitt and narrow the Mastodon lead to 3-2.
Southeast tied the game with another sacrifice fly in the fifth inning by Andy Lennington to tie the game at 3-3.
Matt Tellor drove a base hit up the middle to score Blum and put the Redhawks up 4-3 in the top of sixth.
White homered to left center in the sixth to retie the game at 4-4.
Lennington led off the seventh inning with a double to center field. He scored on a one-out double by Cole Ferguson to take a 5-4 lead.
The Redhawks took a commanding lead in the top of the ninth inning. Fisher drove in Hewitt and Lennington to put Southeast up 7-4. Blum threaded one through the right side to score Fisher to give the Redhawks an 8-4 lead going to the final frame of the game.
IPFW wasn't going down quietly in the ninth as Wirth drove in two runs with a double to right center with no out in the inning. Perry Middleton came in, recorded two quick outs, and was replaced by Brady Wright, who recorded the final out of the game and the regular season.
The Mastodons outhit Southeast 15-12 in the series finale.
Every Redhawk in the lineup recorded a hit while Blum, Lennington, and Hewitt all had two hits each. Fisher finished the day with three RBI to lead the team.
Christian Hull recorded the win and improved to 5-2. Hull pitched two innings in relief, allowing one run on three hits. Wright picked up his fifth save of the season after recording the final out of the game.
For the Mastodons, Kristian Gayday and Shane Trevino led the offense with three hits apiece. Wirth finished with three RBI.
Dane Davis (1-6) recorded the loss after giving up the go-ahead run in the seventh inning.