MONDAY'S SCORES
Southeast Missouri 14, @Morehead State 6
Jacksonville State 12, @Austin Peay 5
Tennessee Tech 9, @UT Martin 3
@SIUE 11, Murray State 4
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 14, MOREHEAD STATE 6
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Southeast Missouri baseball team picked up its second Ohio Valley Conference series win Monday with a 14-6 win over the Morehead State Eagles.
Southeast improves to 9-8 overall and 4-2 in OVC play. Morehead falls to 10-6, 3-3 OVC.
Southeast avenged their series loss from a year ago to Morehead State as it was the only OVC series loss for Southeast in 2014.
Southeast scored 29 runs in against the Eagles in the series.
Southeast kept their hot bats going early in the game with three runs in the first inning. Trevor Ezell extended his reaching base safely streak to 17 games with a double to lead off the game. Jason Blum singled but was out on a fielder's choice off the bat of Ryan Rippee that also allowed Ezell to touch home and put Southeast on the board. Dalton Hewitt plated Rippee from first with a double to left center. Hewitt immediately scored on a single off the bat of Andy Lennington, putting Southeast up 3-0 in the first.
Morehead State wasted no time tying the game in the bottom of the inning when Robby Spencer hit a three-run home run to right.
The Redhawks recaptured the lead in the top of the second inning and then some. Branden Boggetto and Ezell led off the inning with back-to-back base hits. Both runners scored on a double by Blum. Rippee plated Blum and Garrett Gandolfo on a single to right, putting the Redhawks up 7-3. The Redhawks knocked Morehead State starting pitcher Matt Anderson out of the game in the inning.
Morehead got runners on second and third quick in the third inning with nobody out. Joey Lucchesi fanned two hitters but Evan Warden poked one up the middle to score both runners and narrow the Redhawk lead to 7-5.
The score would stand until the bottom of the sixth inning. Lucchesi got two quick outs but Morehead wasn't going down quietly in the inning as they put runners on first and second. Lucchesi was taken out of the game for Ryan Lenaburg. Lenaburg walked the first batter he faced to load the bases then threw a wild pitch, allowing a run to score and making it a one run game, 7-6. Lenaburg would be taken out of the game for Alex Siddle who got the final out to stop the bleeding and preserve the lead.
The Redhawks, who hadn't had a hit since the second inning, plated three runs in the seventh inning. Rippee and Hewitt had back-to-back base hits to leadoff the inning. The OVC saves leader Craig Pearcy was put in the game for the Eagles. Lennington drove Rippee in on a base hit of his own. A walk to Scott Mitchell loaded the bases with no out for Boggetto. Boggetto was hit to plate the second run of the inning and keep the bases loaded. After a pair of strikeouts by Pearcy, a wild pitch allowed Lennington to score and extend the Redhawk lead to 10-6.
The Redhawks upped the lead in the ninth inning. Clayton Evans drilled a two-run home run to left to put Southeast up by half a dozen. After an error and a walk, Gandolfo drove in two more to bring the final tally to 14-6.
Lennington finished 3-for-5 in the game while five other Redhawks each contributed two hits each.
Lucchesi (2-0) earned his second victory of the season. He pitched five and two-thirds innings, allowing six runs on eight hits. He struck out seven and walked three. Alex Siddle worked two and a third scoreless innings in relief. Greg Mosel closed the game for Southeast in the ninth inning.
Brendon Rawe and Warden each had three hits in the game for MSU.
Anderson (1-1) recorded the loss. He worked only one and a third innings, allowing six runs to Southeast. A total of six pitchers were used in the game for Morehead State.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 12, AUSTIN PEAY 5
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Senior Ryan Sebra became the first Jacksonville State player to hit for the cycle since 2004 as Sebra led the Gamecocks to a series-clinching 12-5 win over Austin Peay on Monday afternoon at Raymond C. Hand Park.
Sebra's day started with a two-run blast just inside the right field foul pole to give Jax State a 2-0 lead in the second. The Ormond Beach, Florida-native drilled a triple to center in the third inning and posted a bunt single in the fifth. He completed the cycle with a leadoff double to start the final frame. He becomes the first Gamecock to hit for the cycle since former JSU standout Robby Goodson accomplished the feat on March 9, 2004 against Toledo. Sebra is the first OVC player to complete the cycle since Tennessee Tech's Brandon Thomasson on March 26 of last season. It is also the first time an opposing player has hit for the cycle against APSU.
With his four hits in five plate appearances on Monday, Sebra finished the weekend with nine hits in 13 plate appearances along with four RBI. He scored five runs and walked once in the three-game series.
The win moved the Gamecocks to 9-7 overall and 2-4 in league play, while APSU dropped to 10-6 on the season and 4-2 in the OVC.
Sebra was just one piece of a quality offensive day throughout the JSU line up. The Gamecocks finished the day with 13 hits and collected 41 hits for the weekend against APSU pitching. He was one of four different players to hit a home run in the rare Monday conference affair. After JSU held a 4-1 lead entering the sixth, McCummings started the frame with his first home run of his Gamecock career with a dinger to left center. His home run was first of two home runs in frame as Paschal Petrongolo joined the day's home run club with a three-run blast to right. McCummings posted stellar numbers over the weekend as the West Deptford, New Jersey-junior had four hits on the weekend - all for extra bases.
Freshman shortstop Taylor Hawthorne belted his first career home run in the Jax State seventh to give his club its 10th run of the game. Hawthorne, who had two hits on the day, has now reached base in all 16 games this season.
The last time JSU turned in four home runs in a game was last season at Morehead State on May 15.
For the third consecutive game, JSU had quality starts from the pitching staff. Freshman Jake Walsh earned his first career win after tossing five complete innings, scattering four hits and allowed just a run in the outing. The Melbourne, Florida-right hander posted four strike outs and did not give up a free pass.
After manufacturing a run in the third, APSU plated runs solo runs in the final four innings. The Govs' Jared Carkuff was saddled with the loss as he was one of seven Peay hurlers to enter the game. Dre Gleason and Chase Hamilton led the Govs offensively with four hits combined.
TENNESSEE TECH 9, UT MARTIN 3
MARTIN, Tenn. - The first time Chase Chambers left the yard Monday gave Tennessee Tech a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning.
The next time he drove it out of the park came in the fifth inning, a three-run shot that gave the Golden Eagles plenty of breathing room on the way to a 9-3 Ohio Valley Conference victory at UT Martin.
The two-homer day for Chambers helped Tech (10-8/3-3 OVC) claim the series from the Skyhawks (3-13/1-2 OVC) by winning two-out-of-three. A freshman from Knoxville, Tenn., Chambers went 2-for-5 with six RBI to pace Tech's 11-hit attack. Jake Farr, Dylan Bosheers and Matt Cunningham also collected two hits apiece.
That offensive firepower backed a sensational pitching performance from starter Travis Moths (1-1), who struck out 11 over six innings on the hill for his first career collegiate win. The freshman from Louisville, Tenn., scattered five hits and walked two.
Jacob Honea and Jeb Scoggins shared the work over the final three innings. Honea worked 1.1 innings, allowing two runs on four hits with three strikeouts and one walk, while Scoggins slammed the door over the final 1.2 scoreless innings. He yielded one hit and claimed the 15th strikeout of the game for the Golden Eagle staff.
UT Martin managed 10 hits, with Andrew Castillo delivering three base knocks. Andrew Massey and Taylor Douglas each had two hits.
Skyhawk starter Alex Martin (0-3) took the loss, allowing seven runs over six innings. He walked three and struck out five. UT Martin got one inning each from Cole Schaenzer, Chris Flores and Gary Price, as the four pitchers combined for 10 strikeouts.
Jake Farr singled and scored on Chamber's blast down the right field line in the top of the opening inning to stake Moths to a 2-0 lead. The long ball was the first of the young man's career.
UT Martin put runners at second and third in the bottom of the inning on a pair of doubles before Moths coaxed back-to-back strikeouts to escape the threat.
Tech made it 3-0 in the second as Jordan Hopkins walked, stole second and scored on an RBI single from Cunningham. Chambers figured in Tech adding another run in the third for a 4-1 lead. His smash to second forced an error and plated Bosheers, who had set the stage with a one-out triple to right field.
The Skyhawks got one run back in the bottom of the fourth after Moths retired the first two batters. Austin Taylor was hit by a 2-2 pitched and moved to second on a balk. A single to left by Luis Paublini drove home Taylor. The threat escalated when Paublini advanced on a wild pitch, Matt Hirsch walked and Mikey Nantze was also hit by a pitch to load the bases, before Moths settled down and ended the inning with a strikeout.
Holding a 4-1 lead, Tech added three in the fifth as Farr singled, Bosheers walked and Chambers belted his second of the day to right field to make it 7-1.
Each team added a single run in both the seventh and eighth innings to account for the final scoring. For Tech, Bosheers doubled in the seventh and scored on a double by Ryan Flick. In the Tech eighth, the Golden Eagles put two runners in scoring position and notched a run on a sacrifice fly by Farr to score Andrew Contreras.
The Skyhawks got a seventh-inning, RBI single from Castillo to score Massey, and in the eighth Massey added an RBI single to drive home Paublini. That brought in Scoggins, who got the final two outs of the inning and pitched around a one-out single in the ninth by wrapping up the contest with a double-play ball.
SIUE 11, MURRAY STATE 4
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE blasted five home runs Monday on its way to an 11-4 win over Murray State to complete a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series sweep at Simmons Baseball Complex.
The Cougars improved to a perfect 6-0 in OVC play and 6-9 overall while Murray State fell to 6-14 overall and 2-4 in the OVC.
All five of SIUE's home runs were two-run homers and came from four different players. The five home runs in a game is the most for the Cougars in the Division I era and the most they have hit in a single game since hitting five in a 2001 game against Tampa.
The Cougars finished with 15 total hits and three doubles to go along with the five home runs.
John Lollar (1-2) started and allowed four runs on six hits over 2 1/3 innings to take the loss. Maerz allowed five runs on seven hits over 4 2/3 innings in relief. John Rafferty allowed two runs in just 1/3 of an inning. Cameron Wallace pitched the final 2/3 of an inning for Murray State.
Cougar catcher Parker Guinn led the charge, connecting on a pair of two-run homers in back-to-back at-bats in the third and fifth innings. Nick Lombardo, Alec Saikal, and Keaton Wright had the other home runs for the Cougars. Wright finished the game 3 for 5. Guinn and Lombardo each were 2 for 5. Saikal was 2 for 4. Dustin Woodcock was 3 for 4.
Mike Miller started the game on the mound for SIUE. Miller allowed two runs on four hits in 4 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out two. P.J. Schuster (2-0) earned his second win in relief this season. Schuster allowed two runs on five hits. He walked one and struck out a career-high eight hitters.
Murray State finished with nine hits. Anthony Bayus, Derek Yoder, and Matt McGowan each had two hits for the Racers. McGowan and Bayus each had solo home runs in the loss.