WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@Kentucky 9,
Morehead State 4
Southeast Missouri 6, @Arkansas State 5
@Southern Illinois 14,
Austin Peay 3
Alabama A&M 9,
@Tennessee Tech 5
Jacksonville State 9, @Samford 6
Evansville 4,
@SIUE 2
UT Martin 7, @Union University 1
KENTUCKY 9, MOREHEAD STATE 4
LEXINGTON, Ky. - A five-run first-inning proved to be the difference maker as Kentucky defeated the Morehead State baseball team 9-4 Wednesday before 1,675 fans at Cliff Hagan Stadium.
Kentucky improved to 16-9 in 2015, while MSU, which defeated the Wildcats when they were ranked 12th last season, fell to 11-12.
Kentucky staked itself to the 5-0 advantage in the first, scoring via two singles, a hit-by-pitch and a balk from MSU freshman starter Seth Boyle.
The Eagles trimmed the lead to 6-4 with a pair of round-trippers in the fourth. Senior designated hitter Nick Newell drilled a two-run bomb to score senior shortstop Robby Spencer, and sophomore third baseman Alex Stephens connected on a two-run job, his first Division I four-bagger.
The hosts pulled back ahead 8-4 in the sixth via a two-run double, and added a final tally on a ninth-stanza RBI single.
UK reliever Taylor Martin was credited with the victory, his first of the season. He tossed 2.1 innings, surrendering just one hit, after starter Zach Pop exited with two outs in the fourth.
Boyle fell to 0-2 with the loss. He allowed five hits and six earned runs in three frames.
Second baseman JaVon Shelby and leftfielder Ka'ai Tom collected two hits for the Wildcats, while sophomore catcher Jimmy Wright produced two hits for the visitors.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 6, ARKANSAS STATE 5
JONESBORO, Ark. - The Southeast Missouri baseball team defeated the Arkansas State Red Wolves Wednesday evening, 6-5. Southeast Missouri extends its winning streak to six games with the victory.
The Redhawks improve to 15-9 on the season while Arkansas State falls to 10-12.
This is the first win over Arkansas State in Jonesboro, Arkansas since April 5, 2011.
It was a classic pitcher's duel through three innings to start the game.
Jason Blum drew a leadoff walk in the fourth inning for Southeast's second base runner of the day. He advanced over to third on a standup double by Ryan Rippee. With Dalton Hewitt at the plate, Adam Grantham threw a wild pitch that went all the way to the backstop, easily allowing Blum to score. Southeast led 1-0 after three and a half innings.
Southeast added another run in the fifth inning. After reaching on a fielder's choice, Branden Boggetto advanced to third on a single through the right side by Clayton Evans. Boggetto tagged up and scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Trevor Ezell to extend the lead to 2-0.
Arkansas State got on the board in the bottom of the inning when Austin Baker homered to right field, 2-1 Southeast Missouri after five complete innings.
Arkansas State took the lead in the sixth inning with a trio of runs. Ryan Lenaburg entered the game to pitch for Southeast. A leadoff walk scored on an error by Blum at third to tie the game at 2-2. After another walk, Lenaburg was replaced by Brady Wright. A hit loaded the bases for the Red Wolves. The go-ahead run scored on an RBI fielder's choice. Jeremy Brown made it 4-2 with a sac fly on a blooper to left. All three runs, two of which we unearned, were charged to Lenaburg.
The Redhawks took those three runs back in the top of the next inning. With one out, pinch hitter Cole Ferguson reached on a throwing error by the shortstop. A pair of walks loaded the bases for Ezell. Ezell drilled a single up the middle to plate two runs and retie the game at 4-4. Garrett Gandolfo drove in Clayton Evans with a base hit past the pitcher to recapture the lead for the Redhawks, 5-4. Southeast had the opportunity to extend the lead but stranded the bases loaded in the inning.
The game was retied in the seventh inning when Baker scored on a sac fly by Matt Burgess; 5-5 after seven innings.
Southeast manufactured the winning run in the top of the eighth. Brendon Neel reached on an error by the shortstop, advanced on a sac bunt, and again on a fly out to right. Evans laid down a bunt for a hit that allowed Neel to score the go-ahead run. Southeast led 6-5 going to the bottom of the eighth.
Matt Wade would come in to pitch in the eighth inning and shut down the Red Wolves' offense in the eighth and ninth en route to his second save of the season.
Southeast outhit Arkansas State 8-5 in the game. Gandolfo and Evans each had two hits and an RBI. Ezell finished with three RBI in the game and went 1-for-3.
Redhawks starter Jacob Lawrence pitched five innings, allowing just one run on two hits. He struck out four and walked two. Alex Siddle (2-0) picked up the win in relief, pitching one inning. He allowed one run on two hits.
Baker was the only Red Wolf hitter with a multi-hit game, going 2-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.
Derek Birginski (0-2) recorded the loss. Birginski pitched one and two-thirds innings in relief. He allowed the go-ahead run. He surrendered two hits, walked three, and struck out one. Grantham went five innings, allowing two runs on three hits.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 14, AUSTIN PEAY 3
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Austin Peay State University used six pitchers in the first three innings as Southern Illinois posted a 14-3 nonconference rout, Wednesday night, at Itchy Jones Stadium.
Southern Illinois (4-19), which snapped a six-game losing streak, broke the game open in the first inning when right fielder JC DeMuri hit a grand slam. The Salukis six-run third inning – which itself equaled SIU’s largest output in a game before Wednesday – was helped along by four walks and three hit batsmen by APSU pitchers.
Austin Peay (11-10) could not find a response offensively. The Govs scored lone runs in the second, fourth and ninth innings. Third baseman Logan Gray singled and scored in the second and hit a leadoff home run in the fourth to account for two of the runs. Pinch hitter Caleb Mitchell’s RBI single in the ninth drove in right fielder Kyle Blackburn.
Govs starter Zach Hall (1-4) retired the first two batters he faced but unexpectedly left the game with the bases loaded and ultimately was responsible for three runs in two-thirds of an inning pitched.
Gray led the APSU offense with a 2-for-4 outing, including his solo home run. Blackburn went 2-for-2 as a late substitute, including a ninth-inning double.
Austin Peay used nine pitchers in the contest, including four in the third inning. Zach Walton tossed 2.1 innings of scoreless relief and was followed by Levi Primasing who pitched a scoreless eighth.
Southern Illinois’ Alex Lesiak (1-1) picked up the win after allowing two runs in 6.1 innings. DeMuri went 1-for-4 with four RBI and second baseman Will Farmer added a 2-for-4, four RBI outing.
ALABAMA A&M 9, TENNESSEE TECH 5
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - It was a tough one for the Tennessee Tech baseball team Wednesday evening, as the Golden Eagles (10-13) fell at Bush Stadium at the hands of Alabama A&M (16-10). The Bulldogs used two big early innings to grab a 9-5 victory over the hosts.
The Golden Eagles actually took the first lead of the game, scoring an unearned run in the bottom of the first thanks to a miscue by the Bulldogs. Alabama A&M answered in the second, however, tallying three markers in the top half, including one unearned.
The Bulldogs doubled their lead in the third, putting up a four-spot off of five hits and one error. With a 7-1 deficit staring them down, Tech started a rally that would come up short, beginning with a run in the bottom of the third. Freshman Chase Chambers used a two-out double to left center field to set up fellow freshman slugger Ryan Flick for an RBI. Flick drove in his 24th run of the season with a single to left center field before the end of the inning.
With a runner on first to start the bottom of the fourth, junior Josh Pankratz delivered for the Tech squad, hammering a triple to right center field for an RBI. Andrew Contreras drove in Pankratz while grounding out to second base, cutting the deficit to just 7-4.
Each side traded runs in the sixth, with Matt Cunningham lacing a two-out triple to left center field before David Allen drove in the freshman with a single up the middle.
Alabama A&M shut down the Tech attack over the final three innings, grabbing an insurance run in the top of the ninth before finishing things off for the 9-5 victory.
Chambers, Pankratz and Cunningham each tallied two hits on the night to lead the Golden Eagle offense while Justen Folger and Patrick Dodson led the Bulldogs with three hits apiece.
Senior reliever Cain Sloan had a chance at Golden Eagles history in the seventh, striking out the first three batters of the inning. With one of the batters reaching first on a passed ball, Sloan was offered the opportunity to register his fourth strikeout of the inning. The right-hander would eventually settle for a ground out to first base, but did finish two innings of work with five Ks and just one hit surrendered.
Ben Fritz picked up his first collegiate victory in the contest for the Bulldogs, tossing two innings of relief while allowing just one earned run.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 9, SAMFORD 6
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Jacksonville State baseball team completed its midweek spring break sweep of a pair of in-state rivals with a 9-6 win over Samford on Wednesday night at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
After disposing of Troy, 8-1, on Tuesday in Troy, the win over the Bulldogs was Jax State fifth in a row and the eighth in the last 10 games. The Gamecocks improved to 14-8 overall, while Samford fall to 9-13 on the season. After its two-game road trip to Troy and Birmingham, the Gamecocks return to Rudy Abbott Field for a non-conference three-game series with the Falcons of Air Force.
The Gamecocks took advantage of the Bulldogs' pitching staff ineffectiveness early as the seven SU hurlers issued eight walks and four wild pitches. JSU took a 4-0 lead in the second inning off of just one hit in the frame. A pair of wild pitches by SU starter Jake Greer moved runners in to scoring position. The first run of the game came by way of a wild pitch as Paul Angel scored on a ball that got past the catcher. Angel highlighted the Gamecocks' nine-hit night with a 3-for-4 night playing in his home town of Birmingham. The lone hit in the frame came off the bat of junior Paschal Petrongolo as he laced a single up the middle, scoring a pair of JSU runs. Petrongolo aided in JSU getting its fourth run of the inning as he managed to stay in a run down long enough to score the runner from third.
The Bulldogs sliced the JSU lead in half with a pair of run in the home half of the second. Danny Rodriguez had a fielders choice RBI, followed by a double down the left field line by Richard Greene. Greene was 3-for-4 on the night and drove in four runs.
JSU posted its second four-run inning in the fourth to expand the lead out to 8-2. After Josh Bobo reached on a fielding error, freshman Hayden White made the Bulldogs pay for the miscue with a two-run blast to right field for his first career home run in a Gamecock uniform. White, from Prattville, Alabama, also started a key double play as JSU got a strikeout and White threw out a runner trying to steal second in the fifth.
SU responded once again with two runs in the fourth as Austin Edens and Greene had RBI singles in the inning.
Jax State added its final run of the contest in the sixth with a key two-out walk by Bobo. The manufactured run started after Ryan Sebra reached via an error and eventually scored on the walk. SU made things interesting with two runs in the sixth as Greene plated his second and third RBI with a single to left.
The Gamecocks' pitching staff was solid throughout, including the middle relief efforts of Grant Chandler and Joe McGuire. Chandler, a freshman from Madison, Alabama, tossed two complete innings after coming in relief of JSU starter, Jack Pierce. Chandler was issued his second win of the season. McGuire, who was an offensive threat at Troy on Tuesday, pitched the seventh and eighth and held the Bulldogs hitless and recorded four strikeouts.
Senior Travis Stout earned his sixth save of the season and 38th of his career with a clean ninth inning. Stout's 38 saves puts him second on the NCAA's career saves active list behind David Berg of UCLA, who has 40 career saves.
EVANSVILLE 4, SIUE 2
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Evansville took advantage of five walks to score four times in the ninth inning Wednesday to score a 4-2 come-from-behind win over SIUE in nonconference play at Simmons Baseball Complex.
SIUE fell to 8-11 with the loss. Evansville improved to 10-10.
With the Cougars in front 2-0, the Purple Aces loaded the bases in the ninth on three walks by Cougar reliever Mike Miller. Miller struck out two and did not allow a hit. He suffered the loss and fell to 0-3. Caleb Wilkerson relieved Miller and walked in a run before a wild pitch brought home a second run to tie the score. Evansville third baseman Jonathan Ramon singled up the middle to plate two more runs.
The Cougars broke a scoreless deadlock in the seventh inning with two runs on three hits. Dustin Woodcock doubled to the wall in right center with one out and then scored a double to the left field corner by Skyler Geissinger. Geissinger scored on an RBI single by Drew Johnson which made it 2-0.
Woodcock and Geissinger each had a pair of hits for the Cougars, who had just seven as a team.
Jarrett Bednar started the game and tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings. He struck out one.
Brendan Miller followed Bednar and pitched five shutout innings.
Ramon led the Aces with two hits.
UT MARTIN 7, UNION UNIVERSITY 1
JACKSON, Tenn. - Four University of Tennessee at Martin pitchers held Union University to four hits on the night as the Skyhawk baseball team claimed a 7-1 victory at Fesmire Field.
Junior left-hander Chris Flores drew the starting assignment and responded with one of the best outings of his career. He allowed only one hit in four shutout innings, earning the mound victory in the process to improve to 1-1 on the season.
Chris Roe (two innings), Gary Price (one inning) and Taylor Douglas (two innings) followed Flores out of the bullpen, combining to allow just one earned run on three hits while fanning four batters against one walk.
Offensively, the Skyhawks (6-16) were guided by Nick Pribble and Mike Murphy, each of whom had three hits, scored a run and drove in a run. Drew Erie added a run scored and an RBI in his first start of the season while Nico Zych (one run scored, RBI), Douglas (run scored), Matt Hirsch (run scored) and Nick Gavello (run scored) also pitched in to UT Martin’s victory this evening.
Pribble got the offense started with a leadoff single to begin the contest. He advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Andrew Castillo and came around to score two batters later when Zych split the gap with a triple to left center. Zych would later score on a balk to give the Skyhawks a 2-0 lead.
Flores retired the side in order in the bottom of the first and the UT Martin offense responded with another run in the top half of the second. Pribble delivered a RBI single to right center to score Hirsch, who reached on a single earlier in the frame.
Flores pitched around an error and a single to strand a pair of Bulldogs on the basepaths in the second inning. The Skyhawks then tallied another run in the third inning, as Douglas walked and stole second before scoring on a Murphy single to extend UT Martin’s lead to 4-0.
Over his final two innings of work, Flores did not allow a base hit. He retired Union in order in the third and erased a pair of walks by starting his own double play groundout in the fourth inning.
Union was able to score one run in the bottom of the fifth but the Skyhawks answered right back with three runs in the sixth. Murphy singled to lead off the inning and later moved up to third, where he scored on a bunt single off the bat of Erie. Gavello, who earlier reached on a fielder’s choice, scored after he stole third and the catcher’s throw got away for an error and Erie would later come in on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Castillo to make the score 7-1.
Roe pitched around trouble in the sixth, stranding the bases loaded. Price then took over and breezed through the seventh, retiring Union in order.
Making just his second appearance on the mound this season, Douglas pounded the zone and as a result, he posted two perfect innings to conclude the game. At one point, he struck out three out of four batters before inducing a flyout to left field to end the contest.