SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Jacksonville State 9-10, Youngstown State 4-5
@Oklahoma 11,
SIUE 1
@East Tennessee State 12,
Eastern Kentucky 2
@Belmont 18, Toledo 5
@Southern Miss 10,
Murray State 3
@Tennessee Tech 8-12, Longwood 7-2
@Southeast Missouri 5, Bowling Green 1
@Georgia 10,
Eastern Illinois 2
Texas-Pan American 8,
UT Martin 7 (Jackson, Miss.)
@Jackson State 20,
UT Martin 10
@Austin Peay 3, South Dakota State 1
Morehead State 8-4, @ #34 San Diego 5-2
Northern Illinois,
@Austin Peay (cancelled)
Wright State,
@Belmont (cancelled)
JACKSONVILLE STATE 9-10, YOUNGSTOWN STATE 4-5
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Jacksonville State bats continued to stay hot on the opening weekend of the 2015 baseball season as the Gamecocks combined for 21 hits in a doubleheader sweep of Youngstown State on Saturday to close out the three-game series at Rudy Abbott Field on the JSU campus.
The Gamecocks posted a 9-4 win in the first game of the twinbill and rallied from a 5-1 deficit after an inning and a half to oust the Penguins, 10-5. It marks the first time Jax State has opened a season with three consecutive wins since 2002.
After opening the season on Friday with a 13-1 win over YSU, the offensive numbers carried over in to Saturday as the Gamecocks scored six runs in the first four innings to take a 6-0 lead. The JSU fourth highlighted the first contest as it plated four runs in the frame to open the game up. It was a trio of newcomers that sparked JSU in the frame as freshmen Clayton Daniel, Hayden White and junior college transfer Elliott McCummings had solid at bats in the innings. Daniel led off the inning with a bunt single, while White, who made his first career start behind the plate, drilled a one-out double. After McCummings sacrifice fly chased Penguin starter, Jeremy Quinlan, JSU juniors Ty Pierce and Tyler Gamble plated a pair of runs with singles to left.
Junior Paschal Petrongolo, who went 6-for-10 on the first weekend of the season and 3-for-6 in the two Saturday games, also had one of his two hits in the frame. The Blackwood, New Jersey-native has recorded a hit in the last 16 games dating back to the last 13 games of the 2014 season. He also registered his first triple of the season for his other hit in the contest.
Freshman shortstop Taylor Hawthorne was impressive in the opener with a 3-for-5 day at the plate and turned in stellar defensive plays on defense.
For the second-straight game, the Gamecocks had stellar numbers on the mound. Senior Tony Urban (1-0) picked up the win after tossing 5.1 and scattering five hits in his first outing of the year. Urban posted five strikeouts on his pitching line. Sophomore Joe McGuire had three of JSU's nine strikeouts in the contest after throwing 2.2 innings and surrendered just one hit. Freshman Jake Walsh, from Melboune, Florida, finished the game in the ninth after the Penguins scratched the scoreboard for the first time in the game with four runs in the final frame.
YSU carried the momentum it picked up at the plate in the final plate appearance of the first game as it would take an early 1-0 lead after the first inning and touch Jax State starter Colton Campbell for four runs on a pair of hits in 1.2 innings of work. After JSU equalized in the bottom half of the first, the Penguins took a 5-1 lead after their first two at-bats.
The Gamecocks exploded for five runs in its second plate appearance to take a 6-4 lead - one it would not relinquish thanks to solid relief pitching from junior Graham Officer. The JSU second was keyed by junior Gavin Golsan, who had an RBI double in the frame along with Ryan Sebra's two-run single to right. The double in the third was just the beginning for the Trussville, Alabama product as he turned in an inside the park home run the following inning to extend the JSU lead to 8-5. It is JSU's first inside the park home run since former Gamecock Michael Bishop recorded one last season in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament last May against Tennessee Tech.
On the mound, Officer silenced the YSU bats over in his four innings of work. The Milton, Georgia reliever scattered six YSU hits and carded four strikeouts to earn the win. JSU Head Coach Jim Case inserted Michael McCreless and Travis Stout in the final three innings.
OKLAHOMA 11, SIUE 1
NORMAN, Okla. - SIUE baseball dropped to 0-2 on the season with an 11-1 loss Saturday at Oklahoma.
The Sooners improved to 2-0 with the win. The two teams are scheduled to play the final game of the series Sunday. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m.
SIUE freshman right fielder Dustin Woodcock accounted for the Cougars only run and two of SIUE's six hits. Woodcock was 2 for 3 with a solo home run in the fifth inning.
The Sooners got out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning. All three runs were earned against Cougar starter Jarrett Bednar. Bednar allowed two unearned runs in the second inning due to a passed ball on a strikeout. He threw three innings, allowing the five unearned runs on three hits. He walked one and struck out two.
Ryan Agnitsch allowed two runs on five hits over three innings of relief. He struck out a batter. P.J. Schuster allowed four runs on six hits over the final two innings. He walked one and struck out two.
Collin Book, Denton Reed, Chase Green, and Zach Little each had single hits for the Cougars in the loss.
Oklahoma finished with 14 hits. Five different players had two hits for the Sooners. Austin O'Brien was 2 for 4 with a home run, two RBIs and three runs scored for the Sooners.
Corey Copping (1-0) earned the win. He tossed seven innings allowing a run on four hits. He struck out six and walked two. Thomas McIlraith and Hunter Jones each tossed a scoreless inning in relief for Oklahoma.
EAST TENNESSEE STATE 12, EASTERN KENTUCKY 2
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - Eastern Kentucky scored first, but East Tennessee scored 10 unanswered in a 12-2 victory on Saturday.
The series finale between the two teams has been cancelled due to poor weather conditions. The Colonels will play at No. 7 Louisville on Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Sophomore She Sullivan led off the game with a double down the right field line and Taylor Blair followed with an RBI single to center to stake the Colonels (0-2) to an early 1-0 lead.
The Buccaneers (2-0) pushed four runs across in the bottom of the second. A sacrifice fly by Zach Thompson tied the score. Run scoring singles by Trey York and Jeremy Taylor made it 3-1. The fourth run of the inning came home on an Eastern throwing error.
ETSU added one in the fourth and five more in the sixth to go up 10-1.
TJ Alas hit his second home run in as many games in the top of the eighth. His solo shot over the center field wall made it 10-2. The junior finished 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Doug Teegarden also had two hits for Eastern Kentucky.
Sophomore Alex Hamilton (0-1) suffered the loss after allowing five runs on six hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out two. Brian Mroz and Matt Lynch each pitched one inning of scoreless relief for the Colonels.
York went 3-for-4 with three runs and four RBIs for the Buccaneers. Lee Haeberle (1-0) notched the win after giving up just one run on five hits in six innings on the mound. He struck out five and walked two.
BELMONT 18, TOLEDO 5
NASHVILLE - The Belmont baseball team defeated the Toledo Rockets 18-5 this afternoon in a cold and windy game at Rose Park on Saturday. Senior captain Matt Beaty led at the plate going 3-6 with a triple, single and a grand slam recording 6 RBI's.
Starting on the mound for the Bruins was freshman newcomer Tyler Vaughn. In his debut appearance, Vaughn pitched three up, three down. He struck out his first two batters faced. Vaughn was awarded his first collegiate win for the Bruins.
Although the cold weather was a factor, the bruins did not let the cold cool their bats. They took an early 2 run lead in the bottom of the first and did not look back. The Rockets fought back with a few runs but never gained a lead.
The Bruins scored 5 runs in both the 6th and 8th innings. Tyler Fullerton and Drew Ferguson went 2-3 at the plate. Fullerton recorded two doubles for the game with one RBI, Ferguson hit a single and a double scoring 4 Runs and batting in one RBI. Sophomore shortstop, Tyler Walsh went 3-4 at the plate with three singles and 2 RBI.
Three more pitchers, Aaron Quillen, Josh Tubbs and Connor Etheridge made their debut on the mound for the Bruins. All three pitchers allowed no runs and struck out a total of three batters.
This is the first win for the Bruins in their 2015 campaign, bringing their record to 1-1 for the season.
SOUTHERN MISS 10, MURRAY STATE 3
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - For the second consecutive game, Southern Mississippi was able to put together a six-run inning in order to pull away late from the Murray State baseball team, defeating MSU 10-3. The Racers fall to 0-2 on the season with the loss.
The Racers once again got off to a good start, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning. Tyler Lawrence singled to left field to bring home Brock Downey and Nick Moore had a sacrifice RBI to plate Anthony Bayus giving Murray a 2-0 lead.
After Southern Miss. (2-0) was able to get one run back in the bottom of the inning and tie the game at 2-2 in the third, a Kollin Dowdy RBI single to center, which scored Bayus again, gave MSU a 3-2 lead in the fifth inning. In the bottom of the sixth, the Golden Eagles responded again to tie the game at 3-3. The Racers were able to escape giving up more runs in the inning as USM had runners on second and third with no outs, but the pitching of Brad Boegel and John Rafferty limited the damage.
The Racers were unable to limit the damage in the seventh however, as Southern Miss., scored six runs on six hits while MSU committed an error in the inning, to blow the game wide open. USM added its final run on a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning.
Rafferty takes the loss in the game as he allowed three earned off three hits in one inning of work. Boegel, who started the game on the mound, went 5.1 innings and allowed three runs on eight hits while striking out four batters and walking none. Cody Maerz also pitched 1.2 innings of relief and allowed two runs on five hits.
Taylor Mathews and Derek Yoder each went 2-for-3 in the loss, giving MSU its first multi-hit games of the season. The Racers collected 10 hits overall in the game while Southern Miss., had 16. Bayus had two steals in the game while Downey and Yoder each swiped a bag. MSU went 4-of-6 on stolen base attempts in the loss while USM was perfect 4-for-4.
TENNESSEE TECH 8-12, LONGWOOD 7-2
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Recap coming soon.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 5, BOWLING GREEN 1
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri baseball won its opening weekend series against Bowling Green (1-2) Saturday with a 5-1 game three victory.
The Redhawks begin the 2015 season 2-1.
Southeast starter Ryan Lenaburg (1-0) pitched a gem in his first start of the season. Lenaburg pitched six and a third innings allowing only one run. He struck out a career-high eight batters and walked only one.
Southeast got on the board in a big way in the second inning. With one out, Andy Lennington poked a single through the right side followed by Branden Boggetto getting hit by a pitch and Hunter Leeper drawing a walk to load the bases. Brendon Neel flied out to right for a sacrifice fly, scoring Lennington and putting Southeast on the board. Jason Blum followed with a single to left, plating Boggetto. Freshman Trevor Ezell then stepped in and singled to right to plate Leeper and take an early 3-0 lead in the rubber game.
In the sixth inning, Ezell found himself at the plate once again with bases loaded. Ezell reached on a fielder's choice that scored Leeper from third. With runners on the corners and two out, Ezell was thrown out at second after being caught in a rundown long enough for Neel to swipe home and extend the lead to 5-0.
Randy Righter put the Falcons on the board in the seventh inning when he homered to left center off Lenaburg. After six and a third innings, Lenaburg's day was finished.
Joey Lucchesi came in and silenced the Falcon offense the remainder of the game. Lucchesi allowed only two hits in two and two thirds innings of work and fanned four batters.
Despite scoring four less runs, the Falcons outhit Southeast 9-8 but committed three errors on the day.
The Redhawk defense rebounded Saturday, committing no errors after they had six in Friday's doubleheader.
Lennington led the Redhawk offense with a 3-for-4 performance and a run scored. Blum and Ezell each had two hits while Ezell had two RBI and Blum had one. Blum finished the weekend hitting .556 (5-for-9), scoring four runs, and drawing four walks with an impressive .714 on base percentage.
Bowling Green's Matt Smith was the only Falcon hitter to have a multi-hit day when he went 2-for-3 Saturday.
GEORGIA 10, EASTERN ILLINOIS 2
ATHENS, Ga. - Eastern Illinois scored two runs against Georgia in the first inning but could muster only four hits for the day as the Bulldogs won 10-2 on Saturday afternoon.
EIU fell to 0-2 on the season as the Panthers plated two runs in the top of the first against UGA starter Ryan Lawlor (1-0). The left-hander would settle down and pitch six innings to pick up the win.
Isaac Sampen drove home a run for the second straight game as he singled home Demetre Taylor. Brant Valach drove home the first run of the game as Mitch Gasbarro scored on Valach’s hit.
Georgia answered with five runs in the bottom of the first against EIU starter Christian Slazinik (0-1). Jared Walsh tied the game with a single to center. Zack Bowers then tripled to center to give the Bulldogs the lead. Georgia would score two more in the inning, the final run unearned as they improved to 2-0 on the year.
“Our starting pitcher was not sharp and we could have helped him out making a few plays behind him on defense in the early innings,” said EIU head coach Jimmy Schmitz. “I was happy with a few of the arms we used out of the bullpen. Andy Fisher, Chase Thurston, Luke Dietz and Adam Casson all pitched well in relief.”
Mitchell Webb hit Georgia’s sixth home run of the weekend with a two run shot in the third inning as the Bulldogs added runs in the second third and fifth innings. UGA’s bullpen closed out the final three innings allowing no hits. Three Georgia players drove in twos run each with Webb going 2-for-4 with two RBI.
EIU had four hits on the day with Sampen, Valach, Taylor and Gasbarro all collecting hits in the first inning. EIU had three players reach base on walks in the final eight innings. Caleb Howell had his consecutive games streak of reaching base end at 36 games.
TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN 8, UT MARTIN 7
JACKSON, Miss. - UT Martin started its day with an 8-7 loss to Texas-Pan American.
On the mound, Alex Martin drew the starting assignment in Game 1 and dazzled Texas-Pan American through seven innings, conceding only one run on three hits while notching a career-high 10 strikeouts. However, he received a tough luck no-decision after the Broncs posted the comeback victory. As a staff, eight Skyhawk hurlers combined for 16 strikeouts in 17 innings today.
Murphy, Zych and Paublini each had three hits while Douglas, Castillo and Paublini all drove in a pair of runs to back Martin on the mound but Texas-Pan American rallied in the late innings.
Martin retired the first seven batters he faced, four of which came via a strikeout. However, the Broncs were able to take a 1-0 lead after a two-out single in the top of the third.
The Skyhawks then answered right back with three runs and five hits in the bottom half of the frame. Pribble and Murphy led things off with back-to-back singles and after a fielder’s choice, Castillo laced a two-run double to put UT Martin on top by a 2-1 margin. Zych followed with a bunt single and moments later, Paublini fought off a 3-2 pitch for a double to right center that plated Castillo and made the score 3-1.
Martin then found his groove again, sitting down the next five Texas-Pan American batters in order.
UT Martin got back on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth. After Castillo reached on a fielder’s choice, Zych lined a double into the gap in left center to put baserunners on second and third. Paublini then singled up the middle to bring in Castillo and provide the Skyhawks with a 4-1 edge.
Martin pitched around a two-out single to strike out the side in the sixth, setting the stage for another big offensive inning in the bottom half.
After Pribble and Murphy each singled with two outs, Douglas roped a double to bring in both runners and give UT Martin a 6-1 advantage through six innings of play.
Martin got through another scoreless frame in the seventh before giving way to the bullpen. A pair of errors played a role in a seven-run eighth inning for Texas-Pan American, as three of the Broncs’ runs were unearned.
Trailing 8-6 in the bottom of the eighth, Deason muscled up for a one-out homer to pull the Skyhawks back within a single run. It was the fourth career longball for the redshirt junior infielder from Bartlett, Tenn.
After Dalton Potts notched a pair of strikeouts in a clean top of the ninth, Zych accounted for a two-out single in the bottom half of the frame to put the tying run on base. However, he was ultimately stranded as Texas-Pan American claimed the win.
JACKSON STATE 20, UT MARTIN 10
JACKSON, Miss. - After tallying eight runs in the season’s first two games, the Skyhawks went off for 10 runs in their doubleheader nightcap but Jackson State put together two big innings on its way to the 20-10 win.
Skyhawk starting pitcher Chris Flores pitched around trouble in the first inning, holding the Tigers off the scoreboard.
UT Martin jumped out to a lead in the top of the second. Zych belted a leadoff double and later advanced to third on a passed ball. Two batters later, he trotted home on a groundout to give the Skyhawks a 1-0 advantage.
Jackson State then scored nine runs in the bottom of the second – all of which came after the first two batters of the inning were retired. Included in the inning was a three-out triple and grand slam for the Tigers.
The Skyhawks didn’t hang their heads, as they clawed back for a pair of runs in the top of the third. Murphy reached on an error and Castillo hit into a fielder’s choice to put men on the corners. Zych then singled in Murphy and after both runners moved up 90 feet on a passed ball, Castillo scored on a fielder’s choice to make the score 9-3.
The Tigers tacked on one more run in the third but freshman Michael Fidler accounted for a shutout fourth inning in his collegiate debut.
UT Martin was able to get back in the game with a big fifth inning. Castillo was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame and Zych followed with a double. Castillo scored on an error and after Mikey Nantze was hit by a pitch, the bases were juiced for Johnson, who crushed the first pitch he saw for a grand slam – the first career round-tripper for the sophomore outfielder out of Helena, Ala. All in all, the Skyhawks pushed five runs across the plate and sliced their deficit to 10-8.
However, Jackson State responded with three runs in the fifth and two runs in the sixth to take a 15-8 lead.
The Skyhawks got two runs back in the top of the seventh, as Hirsch (reached on a walk) and Nantze (reached on a single) each scored on passed balls to make the score 15-10.
Jackson State added five runs in the eighth before freshman Matt Poteete held the Tigers off the scoreboard in his collegiate debut in the eighth inning.
UT Martin would place a pair of runners on the basepaths in the top of the ninth but couldn’t complete a comeback.
AUSTIN PEAY 3, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 1
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Another late game rally pushed Austin Peay State University to a 3-1 victory against South Dakota State, Saturday, in the second day of the Governors Challenge at Raymond C. Hand Park.
The game evolved into a pitcher’s duel between Austin Peay starter Jared Carkuff and South Dakota State’s Chris Anderson. That duo kept the game scoreless through four innings, Anderson facing 13 batters while Carkuff faced 15 batters.
South Dakota State (0-2) broke through first, thanks to a pair of Austin Peay errors in the fifth. The first two batters reached on infield errors and right fielder Eric Danforth’s ground out pushed the game’s first run home.
Austin Peay (2-0) responded in the sixth inning as center fielder Patrick Massoni led off the frame with a double and left fielder Cayce Bredlau followed with a single. A wild pitch allowed Massoni to score and an error on the same play let Bredlau scamper to third base. The Govs cashed in that error when designated hitter Alex Robles hit a sacrifice fly to center, Bredlau scoring to give APSU a 2-1 lead.
The Govs tacked on an insurance run in the seventh, right fielder Kyle Blackburn starting the rally when he was hit by a pitch. Two batters later Massoni drove in the run with a single for the 3-1 lead.
Carkuff (1-0) picked up the win after allowing one run on five hits in six-plus innings, striking out four batters. Levi Primasing and Zach Walton combined to close out the sixth. Robles followed and allowed two hits over two scoreless innings for his first career save.
Anderson (0-1) was the hard-luck loser for the Jackrabbits, allowing two runs on five hits over six innings, striking out four.
Austin Peay was held to six hits in the contest, Massoni and catcher Ridge Smith with two hits each.
South Dakota State finished with eight hits, centerfielder Zach Coppola and second baseman Al Robbins posting two hits each.
MOREHEAD STATE 8-4, SAN DIEGO 5-2
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The Morehead State baseball team used late-inning rallies in both ends of a doubleheader at San Diego Saturday to sweep the Toreros, 8-5 and 4-2.
Morehead State improved to 3-0 and insured itself of winning the USD series. San Diego, which entered the season ranked No. 34 by Collegiate Baseball, fell to 0-3.
In the opener, Morehead State scored two runs in the eighth and ninth frames to erase a 5-4 deficit. In the nightcap, the Eagles saw three players cross the plate in the top of the ninth to cancel out a 2-1 USD cushion.
Junior closer Craig Pearcy, who had a team-best eight saves in 2014, recorded saves in both contests, nailing down his first by getting the final six outs in the opener and working the ninth frame in the second contest.
In game one, sophomore Alex Stephens crushed an RBI triple in the eighth and later scored the go-ahead run when freshman designated hitter Tyler Niemann walked. In the ninth, sophomore center fielder Ryan Kent raced home on a wild pitch, and senior catcher Chris Robinson scored on senior right fielder Brandon Rawe's single to right field.
The Eagles plated three runs in the third, highlighted by senior left fielder Nick Newell's two-run triple.
Aiden Stinnett nailed a two-run double for the hosts in the first inning, who also plated solo runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings.
Junior righty Tyler Keele picked up his first win of the year, tossing 1.1 innings. Sophomore right-hander Luke Humphreys started and allowed three runs in five innings with five walks issued.
USD relief pitcher Jonathan Teaney was pinned with the loss, allowing the go-ahead run in a 2.2-inning assignment.
Stephens led a seven-hit attack with a 2-for-5 effort.
In game two, junior pitcher Matt Anderson struck out a career-best 10 batters in his first start of 2015. Senior righty Blake Smith faced just one USD hitter in the eighth inning but was credited with his initial victory.
Stephens started the final-inning rally with an RBI ground out to score senior shortstop Robby Spencer with the tying tally. Sophomore catcher Jimmy Wright then crushed a run-scoring triple to right field to plate Newell, who had singled earlier. Wright scored the fourth run on freshman second baseman's Evan Warden's sacrifice fly.
Wright had two of the Eagles' eight hits.
Anthony McIver was nailed with the loss after allowing three runs on three hits in 2.1 innings.