WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
South Alabama 5,
@Jacksonville State 1
Tennessee Tech 2, @Alabama A&M 1 (10 innings)
UT Martin 11, @Southern Illinois 9
@Ohio State 7,
Morehead State 0
Saint Louis 17,
@SIUE 4
SOUTH ALABAMA 5, JACKSONVILLE STATE 1
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - After holding South Alabama scoreless for the first 16.2 innings of the midweek series, the Jaguars finally solved the JSU pitching staff in the last two innings to earn a series split with a 5-1 win on Wednesday at Rudy Abbott Field.
The Jaguars broke open a 1-1 ninth inning deadlock with four runs in their final at bat to halt a three-game losing streak and move to 26-16 overall. JSU moved back to the .500 mark at 20-20 and now turns its attention to a critical Ohio Valley Conference weekend series with the Bruins of Belmont at Rudy Abbott Field this weekend.
JSU was looking to sweep the two-game set from its in-state rival after blanking the visitors from Mobile, 3-0, on Tuesday. The Jax State pitching staff was superb in Tuesday night's contest and continued that momentum in to Wednesday's afternoon tilt. Freshman Jack Pierce earned the starting nod and tossed the first three innings and not allowing a Jaguar hit. USA was limited to just two hits on Tuesday and did not record its first hit on Wednesday until Daniel Martinez touched Colton Campbell for a single to left center. JSU pitchers held USA hit-less for 8.1 innings until the Marinez base hit.
The Jaguar hurlers were equally impressive on Wednesday as they limited Jax State to just four hits and struck out 12 Gamecocks in the win. JSU manufactured its lone run of the contest in the sixth off of USA starter Hunter Soleymani. Freshman Clayton Daniel led off the inning with a walk, then stole second and pushed to third on a pass ball. Senior Ryan Sebra picked up his team-leading 35th RBI with a single to the left side of the diamond.
USA would equalize in the eighth with a run that was aided by JSU miscues. Cole Billingsley started the frame with a hit by pitch and moved to third after a ground out and a wild pitch. Billingsley was plated on Ben Gann's fly ball ball to centerfield.
The Jaguars' bats came to life in the ninth along with a costly Gamecock error in the frame. Garrett DeGallier drew a one-out walk from Jesse Fry and pushed to third on a sacrifice bunt play that was mishandled by the JSU infield. Ryan Raspino and Billingsley delivered back-to-back doubles to give USA the lead. Bud Collura added the final run with an RBI single to right field. Fry suffered the loss in the contest, while Ben Taylor, who threw the final 1.2 innings, was credited with the win.
TENNESSEE TECH 2, ALABAMA A&M 1 (10)
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - The Tennessee Tech baseball team kept its winning ways rolling Wednesday afternoon, rallying from an early deficit to down Alabama A&M in extras, 2-1. The Golden Eagles (19-19) moved to .500 on the year with the non-conference victory while the Bulldogs (22-23) dropped below the even threshold.
Alabama A&M actually go the scoring going in the rematch between the two squads, using a two-out, RBI single by Andrew Utterback to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. The Tech pitching staff hunkered down from that point on, scattering three hits over the next nine innings for the team's ninth win in the past 11 games.
In the top of the third, the Golden Eagles pulled even with the Bulldogs, taking advantage of a miscue by the home squad to square things up at 1-1. Redshirt freshman Matt Cunningham quickly found a spot on third base after drawing a leadoff walk and advancing two bases on a passed ball.
Outfielder Tyler Brazelton followed, reaching first base on the passed ball after striking out. Senior David Allen took his turn at the plate, grounding into a double play that would also be enough to score Cunningham and tie the ball game.
For the next six innings, neither side was able to string together enough hits to take a lead over the other, that is, until the 10th inning. With a long road trip staring the Golden Eagles in the face, Tech made quick work to score the necessary go-ahead run in the frame.
Senior catcher Jordan Hopkins led off with single to second base, setting up junior Jake Farr to play hero two batters later. After a quick out, the second baseman ripped a double to left center field, driving in Hopkins for the first Tech lead of the contest. A subsequent single by Josh Pankratz seemed to be enough to score another run, but a fantastic throw to the plate from left field ended the scoring chance.
With the 2-1 lead and just three outs to go, senior reliever Jeb Scoggins (who had already covered the previous two innings) went 1-2-3 with the Bulldogs to pick up his second victory of the year. The right-handed hurler struck out the first batter swinging before forcing a ground out and lineout to end the game.
Scoggins finished the contest with five strikeouts in three innings of work while taking home the win. All-American shortstop Dylan Bosheers recorded a double on the day, tying the all-time Tech record for doubles in a career (54). He now sits just one two-bagger away from passing Mike Meihls for sole possession of the top mark.
Farr finished the day a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate, reaching base in all five appearances thanks to two walks and the three hits. Both Hopkins and freshman Chase Chambers tallied multiple hits as well.
UT MARTIN 11, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 9
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The No. 2 through No. 4 hitters in the University of Tennessee at Martin starting lineup combined for 10 hits, 10 RBI’s and six runs scored in an 11-9 Skyhawk victory at Southern Illinois this evening.
Andrew Castillo, batting second, went 3-for-4 with two walks, three runs scored and a pair of RBI’s while 3-hole hitter Taylor Douglas compiled a career-best four hits to go along with three RBI’s and two runs scored. Cleanup hitter Nico Zych racked up three hits, a career-high five RBI’s and a run scored – including a grand slam in the second inning that gave UT Martin (12-26) it wouldn’t concede for the remainder of the contest.
Matt Hirsch (two hits) and Jake Deason each scored twice while Fletcher Johnson also scored once for the Skyhawks, whose 13 hits were just one shy of a season-high in that category.
Senior righty Alex Martin (2-5) picked up the victory on the mound, going 5.1 innings before Jackson Zarubin (1.2 innings) and Patrick Bernard (two innings) finished out the game. Bernard came in pumping strikes on his way to his sixth save of the season for UT Martin, who swept the Salukis for the first time since 2011.
UT Martin held an early advantage after a pair of two-out hits in the top of the first. Douglas smoked a double into the gap in right center and three pitches later, Zych sent a single up the middle to score Douglas and give the Skyhawks the 1-0 lead.
Southern Illinois used a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the first to take a brief 2-1 lead but Zych’s blast in the second put UT Martin ahead for good.
Johnson (walk), Deason (hit by pitch) and Castillo (walk) all reached with one out before Douglas singled to tie the game at 2-all. Zych then dug in and delivered the big blow – depositing a 1-2 curveball past the wall out in left field to make the score 6-2.
Martin followed with a shutdown inning, accumulating the first two outs on five pitches on his way to retiring the side in order.
A pitching change greeted UT Martin in the top of the third but the offense kept rolling. Hirsch doubled down the left field line with one out and following a Deason walk, Castillo shot an opposite field double to right center to plate Hirsch. Douglas followed with a single through the left side that brought home both Deason and Castillo to expand the Skyhawk advantage out to 9-2.
Martin once again posted a zero on the scoreboard in the third, stranding a pair of Salukis on the basepaths. Southern Illinois would score twice in the fourth to make the score 9-4 but back-to-back hits by Castillo and Douglas in the top of the fifth resulted in another run for UT Martin.
Southern Illinois scored once in the fifth and pushed across two runs in the sixth to get within 10-7 but the Skyhawks tacked on a big insurance run in the top of the seventh. Hirsch drew a four-pitch walk to lead off the inning and Johnson laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move Hirsch to second base. A Castillo single then brought home Hirsch to give UT Martin a four-run lead at 11-7.
Zarubin needed only nine pitches to get through a scoreless bottom of the seventh but Southern Illinois chipped away with one run and brought the potential go-ahead run to the plate with no outs in the bottom of the eighth. With the bases loaded, Bernard struck out three consecutive batters to get the Skyhawks out of a jam and keep the score at 11-8 in the process.
The Salukis were able to turn a pinch-hit leadoff double into a run in the bottom of the ninth but no other Southern Illinois batter reached base as Bernard nailed down the save.
OHIO STATE 7, MOREHEAD STATE 0
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Morehead State baseball team was shut out for the just the second time in the last 50 games Wednesday night as the Ohio State Buckeyes handed the Eagles a 7-0 defeat at Bill Davis Stadium.
OSU improved to 28-10 overall and 17-4 at home, while Morehead State fell to 25-16. The Eagles, who have still claimed 14 of their last 17 games, were limited to five hits by four Buckeye pitchers. MSU has only been blanked now twice this season.
Leftfielder Ronnie Dawson delivered an RBI single in the first frame, and shortstop Craig Nennig drove home a pair in the fourth on a double. The hosts scored their final four runs in the fifth on a two-run single and a two-run two-bagger.
Jacob Niggemeyer tossed 5.2 innings, walked three and struck out three to improve to 3-0. Junior right-hander Patrick McGuff was tagged with the loss to fall to 1-1. He surrendered 11 hits and all seven runs in a 4.2-inning appearance. Just four of the runs were earned.
Junior righty Matt Anderson, sophomore southpaw Cable Wright and senior righty Ryan Vansaghi combined to hold the hosts scoreless and hitless for the final 3.1 innings. Wright made his team-best 24th appearance as he chases the MSU season record of 28. Vansaghi made his first appearance of 2015.
OSU designated hitter Tre' Gantt compiled a 3-for-4 night, while first baseman Connor Sabanosh had two hits.
Freshman infielder Evan Warden was 2-for-3, while senior leftfielder Nick Newell and senior catcher Chris Robinson had hits as well. Newell now leads the Ohio Valley Conference with 65 hits.
SAINT LOUIS 17, SIUE 4
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Saint Louis used a pair of big innings to down SIUE 17-4 Wednesday in nonconference action at Simmons Baseball Complex. The Cougars fell to 12-21 overall and have lost five straight games. Saint Louis improved to 28-12.
Jacob Stewart, regularly an infielder, made his first collegiate start on the mound for the Cougars. Stewart pitched into the second inning and allowed five runs on five hits.
Saint Louis scored five times on six hits in the second inning to chase Stewart. Ryan Daniels relieved Stewart and tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings. He struck out four.
SIUE opened the fourth inning with three straight hits off Saint Louis starter Matt Eckelman. Chase Green doubled to open the fourth inning and then scored on a single by Keaton Wright. Alec Saikal drove in Wright with a double to make it 5-2. Eckelman was relieved after Saikal's double. Parker Guinn moved Saikal to third on a groundout and then Skyler Geissinger drove him home with a sacrifice fly to make it 5-3.
Saikal led SIUE at the plate. He was 2 for 4 with the RBI and run scored.
Eckelman allowed all three runs on four hits. He struck out two. Because it was a planned short start, Eckelman earned the win to improve to 2-1.
The Billikens broke the game open in the fifth inning against relievers Caleb Wilkerson and Ryan Agnitsch. SLU scored nine times on four hits in the inning. The Billikens were helped by a pair of errors and took advantage of five walks in the inning.
Wilkerson did not retire a hitter. He walked four and allowed five runs, including four earned. Agnitsch finished the inning and settled in to throw two innings in relief. He allowed four runs, one earned, on five hits but struck out two.
Brendan Miller allowed a run over two innings of work and struck out five. Brett Thomas allowed two runs, one earned, on a hit in the ninth. He struck out two.
Braxton Martinez and Jake Henson each had three hits for the Billikens. Henson drove in three runs. James Morisano was 2 for 4 with a four RBIs.