SUNDAY'S SCORES
@Austin Peay 11-6, Eastern Illinois 5-3
SIUE 12-2, @Jacksonville State 4-1
Morehead State 6, @Tennessee Tech 5
Murray State 4, UT Martin 2 (Edwardsville, Ill.)
Eastern Kentucky 5-6, Southeast Missouri 1-12 (Edwardsville, Ill.)
Bradley 12,
@Belmont 5
@Belmont 11, Quinnipiac 5
AUSTIN PEAY 11-6, EASTERN ILLINOIS 5-3
CLARKSVILLE, Ill. - Austin Peay State University’s baseball team opened Ohio Valley Conference action with a doubleheader sweep of Eastern Illinois, Sunday, at Raymond C. Hand Park. The Govs won the opener 11-5 before returning to post a 6-3 victory in the nightcap.
In game one Austin Peay (7-4, 2-0 OVC) used eight extra-base hits, including three home runs, as part of a 17-hit attack to swamp Eastern Illinois in the series opener.
Center fielder Chase Hamilton’s two-run home run in the second inning punctuated a three-run frame that gave the Govs the lead for good. Austin Peay then tacked on two runs courtesy starting pitcher Alex Robles’ double in the third to build a 6-2 advantage.
Eastern Illinois (0-8, 0-2 OVC) scored two runs in the bottom of the third on third baseman Brant Valach’s two-run home run. However, neither team would score for the next four innings as both bullpens scrambled to post zeros.
Robles would depart in the fourth inning after walking back-to-back hitters with one out. He did not qualify for the decision after allowing four runs on four hits in 4.1 innings.
Reliever Levi Primasing (2-0), who picked up the win, followed Robles and retired the two batters he faced to end the Panthers threat. He would allow a leadoff single in the sixth before ending his outing with a groundout.
Austin Peay would tack on insurance in the latter innings. Shortstop Clayton Smithson hit a two-run home run followed by right fielder Patrick Massoni’s solo home run in the eighth inning. Second baseman Garrett Copeland and first baseman Josh Wilson each added RBI base hits in the ninth to extend the lead to 11-5.
Massoni’s home run capped a 5-for-5 outing – the first by a Govs hitter since Reed Harper’s 5-for-5 effort against Morehead State on May 5, 2013. Wilson went 2-for-5 with a RBI while three Govs had two hits each.
Eastern Illinois starter Matt Wivinis (0-2) suffered the loss after allowing six runs on 10 hits in five innings. Valach had two home runs in the contest – adding a solo home run in the eighth – as part of a 2-for-4, three RBI outing.
In game two three of Austin Peay’s first five runs were courtesy Eastern Illinois miscues and the bullpen struck out the last nine EIU hitters to secure the doubleheader sweep.
The Govs scored in each of the first four innings, building a 5-3 lead. Austin Peay took advantage of an error in the first inning, a wild pitch in the third and back-to-back wild pitches in the fourth to claim three runs. Designated hitter Alex Robles added a RBI single in the first and shortstop Clayton Smithson’s solo home run in the second were the lone RBI in the first four frames.
Eastern Illinois’ offense all came in the first two innings. The Panthers would tie the game at 3-3 in the second as Austin Peay starter Caleb Powell surrendered a solo home run and two doubles in the second.
However, those were the last runs allowed by the APSU pitching staff. Powell went the next four innings without surrendering a run. Powell (3-0) picked up the win after holding Eastern Illinois to three runs on six hits while striking out a career high six batters in six innings.
The highlight of the night came from the bullpen. Reliever Levi Primasing entered the game in relief and struck out all six batters he faced in the seventh and eighth innings. Closer Kacy Kemmer then struck out the three batters he faced in the ninth to record his season’s first save.
Second baseman Garrett Copeland and Robles each went 2-for-4 to pace the Govs eight-hit attack. Massoni added a sixth hit to his doubleheader total with an RBI single in the sixth.
Panthers’ starter Garrison Stenger (0-3) suffered the loss after allowing six runs on six hits in five innings, but struck out nine APSU hitters. First baseman Caleb Howell’s 2-for-3, one RBI effort led EIU’s six-hit outing.
SIUE 12-2, JACKSONVILLE STATE 4-1
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - SIUE baseball banged out a season-high 18 hits in game one and scored a ninth-inning run in game two to sweep a doubleheader from Jacksonville State Sunday. The Sunday sweep completed a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series sweep for the Cougars.
SIUE won 12-4 and 2-1 and improved to 3-0 in the OVC and 3-8 overall. Jacksonville State fell to 0-3 in the OVC and 6-6 overall.
Dustin Woodcock hit a sacrifice fly with one out in the top of the ninth inning in game two, breaking a 1-1 tie. Woodcock drove home Justin Fagan who pinch ran for Keaton Wright, who led off the inning with a double.
SIUE took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. After Wright led off the inning with a double, he advanced to third on a groundout by Chase Green and then scored on a groundout by Skyler Geissinger.
The ninth-inning run came against All-OVC closer Travis Stout. Stout fell to 0-1 with the loss.
P.J. Schuster (1-0) worked five scoreless innings in relief to earn the game two win. He struck out five and allowed four hits.
Zach Malach relieved Schuster in the bottom of the ninth with runners on first and second and just one out. Malach got pinch hitter Ty Pierce to fly out before striking out Clayton Daniel looking to end the game. The save was the second of the year for Malach, who also earned the save in game one of the series Saturday.
Wright led the hit parade in game one going 4 for 5 with a double. Green was 3 for 5 with a pair of RBIs. Nick Lombardo, Parker Guinn, Geissinger, and Woodcock each had two hits. Woodcock and Lombardo each homered in the win.
SIUE took a 2-0 lead on back-to-back RBI doubles from Mario Tursi and Lombardo in the second inning.
The Gamecocks got RBIs from Tyler Hawthorne and Gavin Golsan in the home half of the inning to knot the score 2-2 after two.
The Cougars then put a six-spot on the board in the third inning, beginning with six consecutive hits to open the inning. Green, Guinn, and Geissinger each had single RBIs in the inning. The big hit came from Dustin Woodcock who connected on a three-run home run, his second of the year, to make it 8-2 Cougars after three innings.
The Gamecocks added single runs in the third and fourth innings to cut the Cougar lead to 8-4. Hawthorne led JSU in game one. He was 2 for 4 with two RBIs.
Lombardo added a solo homer in the seventh for a 9-4 SIUE lead. Green, Guinn, and Geissinger added RBIs again in the eighth for the 12-4 final.
JSU's Tony Urban surrendered six runs and fell to 2-2 with the loss. Urban pitched into the third inning. He allowed nine hits and struck out one.
Ryan Agnitch (1-0) pitched six scoreless innings in relief to earn his first win for the Cougars. He allowed a single hit, walked one, and struck out four.
MOREHEAD STATE 6, TENNESSEE TECH 5
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Sophomore catcher Jimmy Wright clubbed a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth inning to help propel the Morehead State baseball team to a 6-5 victory in game two of an Ohio Valley Conference series at Tennessee Tech Sunday.
Morehead State, which scored all six of its runs with two outs, moved to 8-3 overall and 2-0 in the league. Tech slipped to 5-7 overall and 2-0 in the conference. The Eagles won game one of the conference set, 7-5, Saturday to claim a series over Tech for the first time since 2011.
"I have to credit our guys again today," Head Coach Mike McGuire said. "I thought we made some mental miscues early that we normally don't do, but once again, we didn't panic when we fell behind. Two-outs hits are a backbreaker for the other team when they think they are going to get out of it, and we got two-out hits up and down the lineup."
Wright, who missed the last three games with an injury, went 2-for-2, and he was one of five Eagle batters to record two hits. Morehead State trailed 4-3 entering the eighth. Senior first baseman Kane Sweeney and senior right fielder Brandon Rawe singled to lead off the go-ahead frame, and following a double play and a walk to senior left fielder Nick Newell, Wright blasted his first round-tripper over the right-field fence.
Rawe, Newell, senior shortstop Robby Spencer and sophomore center fielder Ryan Kent had two hits apiece. Kent and Rawe had a double each. Spencer and Sweeney have reached base in all 11 games, while Sweeney extended his hitting streak to six contests. MSU's first seven batters in the lineup combined for all 12 hits.
Senior right-hander Blake Smith, the second of six MSU hurlers to see action, picked up the win to move to 2-0. Junior Craig Pearcy only threw one pitch and recorded his second save in as many days and his league-best fifth of the year. Sophomore starter Luke Humphreys scattered eight hits and gave up three runs in the first six innings.
Jeb Scoggins, the last of three TTU pitchers, was pinned with the loss to fall to 0-1.
Tech's centerfielder, David Allen, and right fielder Anthony El Chibani each went 3-for-4 at the plate.
MURRAY STATE 4, UT MARTIN 2
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Matthew Johnson drove-in a career-high four RBIs to lead Murray State to a 4-2 victory Sunday over UT Martin in Edwardsville, Ill. The Racers won two-of-three in the series and earned their first series victory of the season.
Johnson got the Racers (5-10, 2-1 OVC) on the board first in the first inning with a two RBI double to left that scored Tyler Lawrence and Dalton West. It marked the sixth time this season that Murray has scored in the first inning, improving its mark to 3-3 on the season when doing so.
The Skyhawks (2-9, 1-2 OVC) responded to tie things up in the second inning with a pair of runs of their own to make it 2-2. Johnson would go on to deliver the game-winning RBI in the third with another double, this time to right field that scored Brock Downey. Johnson added an insurance run for MSU in the seventh with a sacrifice fly that brought home Taylor Mathews to make it 4-2 Racers.
Brandon Hicks went on to close-out the game in the ninth for the Racers, picking up his first save of the season. Hicks pitched 3.1 innings of relief and allowed no runs on two hits while striking-out four batters. John Lollar picked up the win in the start for the Racers. Lollar went 5.2 innings and allowed two runs on 11 hits.
Johnson was the only Racer in the win to get multiple hits. Downey, Lawrence, Kipp Moore and West collected the other hits for MSU. UTM collected 13 hits in the contest but left 12 on base while the Racers stranded eight. Murray also turned a pair of double plays in the victory.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 5-6, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1-12
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Behind the spectacular pitching of Logan Hershenow and Aaron Ochsenbein, the Eastern Kentucky University baseball team beat preseason Ohio Valley Conference favorite Southeast Missouri State, 5-1, in the conference opener for both teams on Sunday in Edwardsville, Illinois.
The Redhawks won game two of the doubleheader, 12-6.
Due to weather and field conditions in Cape Girardeau, the two teams are playing at the Simmons Baseball Complex on the campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
In game one, Hershenow (1-3) was stellar on his way to earning his first win of the season. The senior allowed just one run on five hits over seven innings of work. He walked one and struck out six.
Sophomore Ben Fisher broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the sixth. His sacrifice fly to center field allowed TJ Alas to score what proved to be the game winning run. The Colonels got some insurance when two runs scored off a double by Mandy Alvarez in the seventh and when Luke Wurzelbacher hit a solo home run in the eighth. It was the first round-tripper of the season for the junior.
Ochsenbein, a freshman, was nearly perfect in pitching the final two innings. He did not allow a hit, walked one and got five of the six outs via strikeouts.
Alvarez finished 3-for-5 with two RBIs. Alas and Shea Sullivan each had two hits.
Southeast Missouri (5-7, 1-1 OVC) scored the first five runs of the second game and led 9-1 after three innings. Kyle Nowlin got the Colonels (5-8, 1-1 OVC) on the board with a solo home run to lead off the second inning. It was his second dinger of the season.
Eastern cut the deficit to 9-3 in the fifth, but that’s as close as the Colonels would get. Back-to-back doubles by Doug Teegarden and Alvarez to start the inning scored one run. Two batters later, Nowlin drove in Alvarez with a single up the middle.
Nowlin went 4-for-5 with a run and three RBIs. Teegarden finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored. Alvarez, Wurzelbacher and Blake Sides also had two-hit games.
No Redhawk had more than two hits or more than two RBIs in the game. Branden Boggetto was 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs.
BRADLEY 12, BELMONT 5
NASHVILLE - In game one of two at Rose Park on Sunday, the Bruins fell 12-5 to Bradley. Belmont was held scoreless for four innings until they broke through and scored three in the bottom of the 5th.
Starting on the mound for the Bruins was sophomore Dom Veltri. Veltri pitched 3 innings and allowed 2 earned runs on 4 hits and struck out 2 batters. Josh Tubbs relieved Veltri on the mound and pitched 3 innings. Tubbs allowed 3 runs on 6 hits and struck out 4 batters.
At the plate, Tyler Walsh went two for two with a double and a single. Alec Diamond was two for three with two infield singles.
Although the Bruins held the Braves scoreless in 3 innings, the Braves capitalized on their 13 hits.
The Bruins tacked three runs on the board bottom of the third to retaliate against the 5 runs the Braves had. Walsh led off the bottom of the 5th with a double down the left field line to start the attempted rally. William Dodd hit an infield single, and error by the first baseman allowed Walsh to score and Dodd to advance to second. With Dodd's single, the Bruins were back to the top of the order. Diamond stepped up to the plate and recorded an infield single to the pitcher which advanced Dodd to third. Matt Beaty went two for five, stepped up to the plate and hit a triple to left field, he was awarded two RBI for plating Dodd and Diamond, but was left stranded at third.
Two more runs were added by the Bruins in the bottom of the 7th, Diamond drew a walk to get on base. Matt Beaty once again stepped up to the plate and hit a Homerun straight back to center field ricocheting off the scoreboard. The Homerun plated him and Diamond.
BELMONT 11, QUINNIPIAC 5
NASHVILLE - In game 2 of the day, this time against against Quinnipiac, the Bruins pulled out an 11-5 win.
Winning pitcher, freshman, Tyler Vaughn pitched 7 innings for the Bruins and had a strong presence on the mound. He allowed only 1 run on 9 hits and struck out 12 batters faced, while only walking two. Vaughn is now 2-1 on the season with a 2.11 ERA.
Senior Matt Beaty was the standout in game 2 going 4 for 5 at the plate with 2 singles and 2 doubles. Beaty is now batting .429 for the season and looks to continue his success at the plate.
Alec Diamond started off the hitting in the bottom of the first with a lead of single to left field. Drew Ferguson followed suit with an RBI double to plate Diamond. Matt Beaty then reaches on a fielder's choice while Ferguson got caught in a run down between second and third to be tagged out by the Bobcat short stop.
Quinnipiac dished out two walks to load the bases and allowed one more walk to drive in a run. Alex Ward almost grounds into a double play but is called safe as the ball from the short stop is hailed over the first baseman's head. Ammons out at second and Walsh scores off the throwing error. Bobcat pitcher, Joseph Scaglione, dishes out two more walks to load the bases once more. Alec Diamond in his second at bat of the inning hits another single plating two more runs for the Bruins as they take a 6-0 lead in the first innings, a solid lead.
The Bruins allow one run in the fourth for the Bobcats, but tack on 2 more runs in the bottom of the fourth off three hits.
Quinnipiac tried for a rally in the 8th and 9th but the Bruins were able to hold them to two runs each inning to take the 11-5 victory.
This win against Quinnipiac marks Head Coach Dave Jarvis' 500th Win at Belmont. Head Coach Dave Jarvis entered the 2015 Season just 4 wins away from is 500th victory at Belmont. This is Dave Jarvis' 18th season as the Head coach of the Belmont Bruins and has seen much success at the helm of the Belmont Baseball program.