SATURDAY'S SCORES
Eastern Kentucky 5-4, Southern Illinois 4-3 (Emerson, Ga.)
@Samford 6,
Austin Peay 4
Western Michigan 11-10,
UT Martin 7-0 (Emerson, Ga.)
#19 Kennesaw State 4-4,
@Jacksonville State 2-11
Tennessee Tech 11, Michigan 8 (Savannah, Ga.)
@Oral Roberts 13,
SIUE 3
Illinois State 8-6,
Southeast Missouri 3-5 (Lake Charles, La.)
Murray State 4, IPFW 1 (Emerson, Ga.)
Dayton 5,
Morehead State 3 (14 innings) (Emerson, Ga.)
Valparaiso,
@Belmont (cancelled)
EASTERN KENTUCKY 5-4, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 4-3
EMERSON, Ga. - Eastern Kentucky earned a pair of one-run victories over Southern Illinois on Saturday at the LakePoint Sports complex in Emerson, Georgia.
The Colonels (2-3) earned their first victory of the season with a 5-4 win in game one of the doubleheader. EKU edged Southern Illinois (1-5) by a score of 4-3 in the second game.
Despite a two-run home run from TJ Alas in the third inning of game one, Eastern Kentucky trailed 4-2 going into the bottom of the eighth. With two outs and two runners on, newcomer Mandy Alvarez hit his first home run as a Colonel to tie the game. Kyle Nowlin scored later in the inning on a SIU error to give EKU the lead heading into the ninth.
Cameron Langfels retired the side in order in the top of the ninth to complete the comeback victory. Langfels (1-0) earned the win after pitching two innings of hitless relief. Sophomore Alex Hamilton started and gave up three runs on three hits in six innings of work. He walked four and struck out six on his way to his first career quality start.
Alvarez finished 1-for-4 with a run and two RBIs. Alas went 2-for-4 with a run and two RBIs. Doug Teegarden had two hits in three at bats and scored once.
Alvarez went 3-for-3 with two RBIs and fellow newcomer Luke McGee gave up just four hits in 5-plus innings of work to help Eastern Kentucky win game two.
Nowlin’s double in the first inning scored Alvarez and Alas to stake Eastern to a 2-0 lead. An RBI single by Alvarez in the second made it a 3-0 game. Up by two in the fourth, Alvarez pushed in what would prove to be the game-winning run with a sacrifice fly to center.
McGee (1-0) allowed two runs on four hits, walked one and struck out three in five and one-third innings. Alvarez finished 3-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs. Alas had two hits and junior Teegarden scored twice.
Hunter Anderson’s two-run home run in the top of the sixth got Southern Illinois within a run, but that is as close as the Salukis would get. SIU got the tying run to third and the go-ahead run on first with two outs in the ninth inning, but Ben Gullo got Michael Klein to ground out to third to end the game. Gullo pitched the final two innings to earn the save. He allowed one hit, one walk and hit one batter.
SAMFORD 6, AUSTIN PEAY 4
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Austin Peay State University’s baseball team continued to create offensive opportunities, but could not cash in enough of them in a 6-4 loss to Samford, Saturday, at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
For the second straight game, Austin Peay (2-2) scored the game’s first runs. The Govs took advantage of errors in the first and third innings to score single runs in each frame. However, each time Austin Peay would get another runner to third base with less than two outs, leaving the runner stranded each time.
Austin Peay starting pitcher Zach Hall made the early run support stand up early. He allowed two hits and two walks through five scoreless innings, facing a runner in scoring position only twice.
Samford (3-2) would finally piece together a rally against Hall in the sixth inning, loading the bases with one out on a leadoff single, a hit batsman and a walk. Hall left the game after the walk and turned the ball over the reliever Kacy Kemmer. He faced designated hitter Damon Waller and surrendered a grand slam that gave Samford its first lead, 4-2.
Austin Peay would gather back one of those runs in the seventh when left fielder Cayce Bredlau hit a two-out RBI double. However, Samford responded with a pair of run in its half of the seventh, first baseman Alex Lee’s ground out providing what proved to be the game-winning RBI.
The Govs would threaten in the eighth inning, loading the bases with one out against Samford closer Andres Gracia, but could not capitalize as a fielder’s choice ended the threat. In the ninth, Austin Peay placed runners on first and second with one out and third baseman Logan Gray delivered with a double that pushed across a run.
However, with runners on second and third with one out, the Govs could not capitalize again against Gracia, who got a pop out and ground out to end the game.
Gray led Austin Peay with a 3-for-5 outing that included his RBI double. Bredlau, batting from the leadoff spot, went 2-for-5 with a RBI double. Right fielder Ridge Smith went 1-for-5 with a RBI and added an outfield assist to cut down a runner at home plate in the eighth.
Hall (0-1) suffered the loss after allowing three runs on three hits and three walks in 5.2 innings.
Waller led Samford with a 1-for-4, four RBI performance. Reliever Philip Flach picked up the win after allowing one run while striking out four batters in 2.2 innings. Gracia picked up his season’s second save, allowing one run on three hits in 1.2 innings.
WESTERN MICHIGAN 11-10, UT MARTIN 7-0
EMERSON, Ga. - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team concluded its neutral site series against Western Michigan today, falling 11-7 and 10-0 in a doubleheader at Lake Point Sports Complex.
The Skyhawks (1-6) were led offensively by Taylor Douglas, who tallied four hits in seven at-bats to go along with two runs scored and a pair of RBI’s. Jake Deason and Matt Hirsch also collected three hits for UT Martin while Hirsch drove in three runs for the Skyhawks.
On the mound, freshman Matt Poteete did not allow an earned run in two appearances today. Dillon Symon, Chris Flores, Chris Roe, Michael Fidler, Austin Taylor and Cole Schaenzer also did not allow earned runs in their appearances this afternoon.
In game one the Skyhawks fell behind early but kept chipping away to take a lead after seven innings of play but Western Michigan tallied four runs in the bottom of the eighth for the comeback win.
The Broncos got on the scoreboard first with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the first. UT Martin then used a little two-out magic to even the score in its next at-bat. Hirsch singled with two away and after a Mike Murphy walk, Deason lined a single up the middle to plate Hirsch.
Western Michigan followed with four runs in the second inning to go on top by a 5-1 margin. Douglas was able to get one run back in the top of the third, as his RBI groundout to the right side brought home Pribble, who drew a leadoff walk in the inning.
Symon then needed only nine pitches to breeze through a scoreless bottom of the third. He pitched around trouble in the fourth before accounting for another shutout frame, concluding his appearance with a strikeout on three pitches.
It was then Poteete’s turn to shine, as the true freshman put up a zero on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fifth and followed that with another scoreless frame in the sixth against the heart of the Western Michigan order.
Meanwhile, the Skyhawk offense was about to let loose. Douglas singled to lead off the sixth and following a walk to Nico Zych, Luis Paublini dropped down a perfect sacrifice bunt to put a pair of runners in scoring position with one away. Hirsch then came through with an RBI groundout to make the score 6-3.
UT Martin then took its first lead of the game in the top of the seventh. Deason led things off with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Fletcher Johnson. Pribble followed with an RBI single and after pinch hitter Nick Gavello walked, Douglas crushed a double to left field to bring in Pribble and slice the Skyhawk deficit to one run. Following a pitching change, Zych walked to load the bases before Hirsch provided the go-ahead hit, bringing in a pair of runs on a single to give UT Martin a 7-6 advantage.
Patrick Bernard did not allow a ball out of the infield (popout to second base, called strikeout, groundout to shortstop) in a perfect seventh inning.
However, five Bronco runs crossed the plate in the bottom of the eighth, the biggest of which was a three-run triple with one out.
The Skyhawks tried to rally in the ninth, as Douglas and Zych each laced one-out singles to put the potential tying run in the on-deck circle. However, Western Michigan would soon close out the win.
Unearned runs harmed UT Martin in the doubleheader nightcap, as only two of the Skyhawks’ 10 runs allowed were earned. Pitching for the second time in this series, Alex Martin got the starting nod for UT Martin and he got through the first inning unscathed. The Skyhawk offense loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the first but couldn’t grab an early lead.
The Broncos tallied one run in the second inning, five runs in the third frame and three runs in the fourth inning to go on top by a 9-0 margin.
Flores then accounted for a scoreless fifth inning while Gary Price shut down the Western Michigan offense in the sixth.
Drew Erie and Douglas walked while Zych was hit by a pitch to once again load the bases with one out in the sixth but the Skyhawks couldn’t scratch across any runs.
The Broncos tacked on a run in the seventh off a two-out double but Fidler and Roe followed with a shutout inning apiece.
However, the UT Martin offense could only manage a Douglas single in the eighth and a Gavello double in the ninth before Western Michigan completed the shutout.
#19 KENNESAW STATE 4-4, JACKSONVILLE STATE 2-11
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Jacksonville State baseball team earned a split with No. 19 Kennesaw State with an 11-4 win in the second game of a Saturday twinbill and the third game of a weekend series at Rudy Abbott Field on the JSU campus.
The Owls (5-2) claimed the weekend series with a 4-2 win in the first game on Saturday after topping the Gamecocks 14-8 in the series opener on Friday. With the nightcap win, Jax State finishes the weekend with a 4-2 overall mark and will be idle till next weekend when it travels to in-state rival Auburn for a three-game series that begins at Plainsmen Park on Friday, Feb. 27.
The Gamecock bats touched the Owls pitching staff for 11 hits in the final game of the series. JSU handed Gamecock starter Ryan Sebra a two-run lead after the first inning, but the Owls equalized with a pair of runs in the second. Junior Tyler Gamble connected on his first of a four-hit day with an RBI single in the first frame, followed by a run-scoring single by sophomore Joe McGuire. Gamble, from Alabaster, Alabama, drove in three runs and walked twice in the second game.
JSU broke the 2-all deadlock in the third with a four-run, three-hit inning. Gamble once again sparked the offense with a single to right that pushed Paschal Petrongolo to third base. After a misplayed ball by the Owls' infield, Petrongolo scored to give the Red and White a lead that it would not relinquish. JSU had hits from Hayden White and Taylor Hawthorne in the frame.
After giving up two runs in the second inning, Sebra settled in and tossed 4.1 innings pitched and posted a pair of strikeouts and four runs on four hits. Freshman Justin Hoyt managed to get out of a jam in in his one inning on the mound. Hoyt gave way to Graham Officer, who shut down the Owls' hot bats in his 2.2 innings of work. Officer fanned four in his eight batters faced.
Jax State added insurance runs in the eighth with three runs off of KSU pitching. Gamble picked up his fourth hit of the game to highlight the frame.
In the opener, it was KSU's offense that thrived with 11 hits, but managed just four runs in the win. The Owls plated a run in the second on a Cornell Nixon RBI single. Jax State starter Tony Urban got out of many jams in his five innings of work. Urban scattered eight hits and struck out three in the loss.
JSU knotted the contest with a run in fourth after freshman Clayton Daniel started the frame with a single and would score on Sebra's ground ball to second. KSU's bounced back in the top of the fifth after Justin Motley scored on Kal Simmons double down the left field line.
KSU added a pair of runs in the seventh on Brennan Morgan's two-run blast to left. Morgan had a home run in each contest.
JSU threatened in the eighth with a run off of Petrongolo's fielder's choice, but KSU escaped without further damage. Petrongolo saw his 17-game hitting streak snapped with a hit-less first game. He bounced back to have a hit in the finale.
TENNESSEE TECH 11, MICHIGAN 8
SAVANNAH, Ga. - The lower end of the Golden Eagle lineup stepped to the forefront Saturday afternoon and helped lead Tennessee Tech (3-2) to a satisfying, 11-8 victory over Big Ten foe Michigan (2-4) at historic Grayson Stadium in Savannah, Ga.
Anthony El Chibani, batting eighth in the lineup, and Jordan Hopkins, in the ninth spot, combined to go 4-for-7 and drive in five runs in the victory. Starter Evan Freliex (1-0) worked five solid innings to pick up his first win of the year, while Jeb Scoggins tossed the final 2.1 innings to claim his first save. In between, Kyle Godwin got out of a huge jam in his 1.2 innings on the hill.
Tech used a six-run third inning to bolt to an 8-0 lead before Michigan battled back to make it 8-6 in the seventh. The Golden Eagles responded with a three-spot in the top of the eighth for an 11-6 lead, which proved to be enough when Michigan rallied for two in the bottom of the ninth.
Tech got on the board with two runs in the second on an RBI groundout from Trevor Putzig and a run-scoring single by El Chibani.
The Golden Eagles put up six unearned runs in the third, combining four hits and a pair of Wolverine errors to build an 8-0 lead. David Allen started things with a single up the middle, and Chase Chambers and Josh Pankratz each drew two-out walks to load the bases. An error allowed Allen to score, before El Chibani's clutch, two-run single to left center. With two still aboard, Hopkins doubles down the right field line to make it 7-0. Leadoff hitter Jake Farr struck out, but reached first on a wild pitch on the third strike. Another error plated Hopkins with Tech's eighth run.
Michigan put up a run in the bottom of the third as Jake Bivens doubled, moved to third on a groundout and scored on Jackson Glines' single. Carmen Benedetti blasted Michigan's first home run of the season, a three-run shot to right in the fifth, trimming Tech's lead to 8-4.
The Wolverines continued to cut into the lead in the bottom of the seventh with a single, double and back-to-back sacrifice flies that made it 8-6.
All-American Dylan Bosheers delivered the key blow in Tech's three-run eighth. The Golden Eagles loaded the bases as El Chibani walked, Hopkins singled and Farr was hit by a pitch. Allen's deep fly ball brought home one run, before Bosheers doubled to left for th final two runs.
Michigan scored a pair of runs in the ninth before Scoggins coaxed a flyout to end the game.
ORAL ROBERTS 13, SIUE 3
TULSA, Okla. - SIUE baseball collected 10 hits Saturday, but it wasn't enough to keep Oral Roberts from the sweep. The Golden Eagles took Saturday's finale 13-3 to sweep the three-game series from SIUE.
The Cougars fell to 0-6 with the loss. Oral Roberts improved to 5-1.
Mike Miller (0-2) started and took the loss for SIUE. Miller allowed six runs total, though just two were earned, on three hits. He walked two.
Nick Lombardo, Alec Saikal, and freshman Mario Tursi each had two hits for the Cougars. Lombardo, Tursi, and Austin Verschoore each had RBIs in the loss.
ILLINOIS STATE 8-6, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3-5
LAKE CHARLES, La. - The Southeast Missouri baseball team lost both games of a doubleheader Saturday to Illinois State. Southeast fell in game one by a score of 8-3. A ninth-inning comeback in game two fell short as Southeast lost 6-5.
Southeast Missouri falls to below .500 on the season at 3-4 while Illinois State climbs to 4-2.
In game one Dalton Hewitt put Southeast on the board with his second home run of the season. Branden Boggetto scored on Hewitt's home run to right center to put Southeast ahead 2-0 in the second inning.
Andy Lennington hit his second home run of the season in the third inning to extend the Redhawk lead to 3-0.
Illinois State found a lead in the fifth inning. Ryan Koziol hit a leadoff home run to get the Redbirds on the board. A three-run home run by Paul DeJong gave Illinois State a one-run lead. Logan Leverett tripled to right center, driving in another run and giving Illinois State a 5-3 lead.
Mason Snyder hit Illinois State's third home run of the day, fifth of the series, in the seventh to make the score 7-3. The Redbirds plated one more run on an RBI double by Leverett to make it 8-3.
The Redhawk offense would remain dormant the remainder of the game. The Redhawks were out-hit 16-8 and left eight runners on base.
Travis Hayes (1-1) suffered his first loss of the season. Hayes pitched six complete innings, allowing five earned runs, struck out six, and walked one. Jacob Lawrence saw two-thirds of an inning, allowing three runs but struck out both batters he retired. Matthew Wade worked two and a third scoreless innings allowing only two hits.
Lennington finished the game going 3-for-4 with an RBI and was the only Redhawk with a multi-hit performance in game one.
Jacob Hendren (1-0) earned the win after pitching six innings. He allowed three runs on eight hits, struck out seven Redhawks, and walked three.
In game two Ryan Rippee put the Redhawks on the board right off the bat in the first inning. With Lennington on second, Rippee singled to right field, deep enough for Lennington to score and put Southeast ahead 1-0.
ISU was quick to respond in the top of the second. A pair of one-out singles and a wild pitch put a runner on third for the Redbirds. Leverett scored on a sac fly to right, tying the game at a run apiece.
Jason Blum drew a one-out walk in the third inning. With two out, Lennington hit a high, fly ball to right center field that the centerfielder lost in the lights. The ball fell well behind the fielder, giving Lennington a double and scoring Blum from first and putting Southeast back on top, 2-1.
Brian Rodemoyer tied the game with a solo home run to left in the fifth inning, 2-2.
DeJong broke the tie in the sixth inning with a leadoff home run just fair down the right field line. Leverett broke the game wide open for ISU with a three-run home run, ISU's sixth of the doubleheader, to make it 6-2 in favor is the Redbirds.
Garrett Gandolfo led off the seventh for the Redhawks with a triple to right center field. He scored on an error by the second baseman, narrowing the deficit to 6-3.
Rippee recorded his first home run in a Redhawk uniform to lead off the eighth inning and cut the Redbird lead to two runs, 6-4.
The Redhawks made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth inning. With two out, Blum singled and Trevor Ezell and Lennington each walked to load the bases. Matt Lambert, who was one out away from a four-inning save, was pulled in favor of Jake Sale. Rippee proceeded to line a single into right field, scoring Lennington. Ezell, who was sent home on the play, was out at the plate on the throw from the right fielder, ending the game, 6-5.
For the first time in the series, Southeast out-hit Illinois State, 10-9. Rippee was 3-for-5 with three total RBI. Lennington and Gandolfo each contributed a pair of hits.
Lennington hit an impressive .545 (6-of-11) in the three-game series. He hit one home run, two doubles, drove in four, and recorded 11 total bases. He also swiped a pair of bases.
Ryan Lenaburg suffered the loss and falls to 1-1 on the season. He pitched five complete innings, allowed six runs on seven hits, struck out two, and walked one. Alex Siddle and Greg Mosel combined for four innings of scoreless baseball out of the pen.
For Illinois State, Jack Landwehr (1-1) recorded the victory. Landwehr pitched five innings, allowed two runs on five hits, struck out four and walked four. Jake Sale was credited with his first save of the season for getting the final out of the game.
MURRAY STATE 4, IPFW 1
EMERSON, Ga. - The Murray State baseball team used a pair of two-run innings and got a three hitter from starter Brock Downey on its way to a 4-1 victory over IPFW Saturday night in Emerson, Ga. The win is the Racers’ first of the season and first of the Kevin Moulder era.
The Racers (1-3) got two runs in both the second and third innings and that was it, but that was enough in the seven inning contest. The two teams played just one, seven inning game Saturday due to the late start time and the constant rain.
Murray State collected just five hits in the victory, but drew six walks and got aid from three IPFW (3-2) errors in the game as well. Matt McGowan was the only Racer with more than one hit in the game as he went 2-for-3 including an RBI triple to left center in the second inning. Rick Linton, Dalton West and Derek Yoder got the Racers’ other three hits, all doubles in the win. Yoder’s RBI double through the left side in the third scored West and pushed the MSU lead to 3-0.
Murray State got on the board first when Linton reached on an error that scored Yoder in the second and got its final run when Yoder scored after Reed Thompson reached on an error in the third inning. IPFW’s lone run came on a solo home run from Kendall Whitman in the sixth.
Downey pitched six innings and allowed the one run while recording eight strikeouts and just two walks to even his record to 1-1 on the year. Cody Maerz came on in the seventh to pick up the save for the Racers. Maerz allowed a hit in the inning.
DAYTON 5, MOREHEAD STATE 3 (14 INNINGS)
EMERSON, Ga. - In a game that was suspended on Saturday and completed on Sunday, the Morehead State baseball team fell to Dayton 5-3 in 14 innings in the series opener at the Perfect Game Fields at LakePointe Sports Complex.
Five pitchers - junior righty Matt Anderson, freshman left-hander Aaron Leasher, senior right-hander Tyler Keele, sophomore southpaw Cable Wright and junior righty Craig Pearcy - combined to fan 23 Flyer batters in the game. The previous school single-game standard was 20 against Southern Illinois in 1991. Anderson sat down a career-best 12 batters Saturday night in the first five frames before the contest was halted due to heavy rain, and he now has a team-best 22 punchouts in 11 innings this season.
Dayton's Nick Gobert launched a solo homer in the eighth to the tie the game 3-3, and the Flyers got a run-scoring double and single in the top of the 14th for the winning margin.
Pearcy (0-2), who surrendered just three hits and struck out four in the final 4.1 innings, was saddled with the loss. Mason Kutruff (1-0) worked the final two scoreless innings for the win.
Morehead State grabbed a 3-2 lead in the seventh via an RBI double by senior leftfielder Nick Newell and a run-scoring single off Spencer's bat.
Robinson, Newell and Spencer had multi-hit efforts for MSU, while second baseman Robbie Doring had a pair of hits for UD.