TUESDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 13, Saint Louis 4
@Alabama A&M 6,
Jacksonville State 4
@Eastern Kentucky 8, Miami (Ohio) 6
@Southeast Missouri 11, Missouri S&T 10 (10 innings)
@Belmont 4, #6 Vanderbilt 1
UT Martin 14, Murray State 3 (Union City, Tenn.)
@Western Kentucky 6,
Austin Peay 5 (10 innings)
EASTERN ILLINOIS 13, SAINT LOUIS 4
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois senior pitcher Andrew Grahn scattered four hits allowing one run in six innings as the Panthers picked up a midweek win over Saint Louis, 13-4, on Tuesday afternoon at Coaches Stadium.
Grahn (2-1) made his third straight solid start on the mound for EIU with 76 pitches setting down 17 of 19 batters at one point in his time on the mound. EIU provided Grahn some early offense as they improved to 10-29 overall.
Demetre Taylor, the reigning OVC Player of the Week, started the offense for EIU in the second with a leadoff home run to center field. Taylor finished the day 2-for-5 with two RBI. His second RBI came in the third inning with a sacrifice fly to right.
Hunter Morris and Joseph Duncan added RBI hits in the second to give Grahn an early 3-0 lead. Morris had an RBI double as the freshman catcher was 2-for-4 in the game.
Saint Louis scored its only run against Grahn in the fourth inning as Josh Bunselmeyer grounded out with runners at second and third scoring Jake Henson. Bunselmeyer added a solo home run in the seventh against the Panthers bullpen as he drove home two of the Billikens four runs.
The Panthers extended the lead to 7-1 in the sixth with a Dane Sauer solo home run and RBI single by Bobby Wenthe.
In the eighth SLU scored two runs against the EIU bullpen bringing the tying run to the on-deck circle. Mike Vigliarolo had a two-run homer as he was one of three Billikens players with two hits. Henson and Braxton Martinez also had two hits.
Senior Garrison Stenger pitched EIU out of the jam in the eighth and pitched with an additional five run cushion in the ninth to pick up the save.
EIU tacked on five runs in the eighth. Mitch Gasbarro had a two-run double down the left field line. Sauer added an RBI single to center. Caleb Howell and Cale Hennemann were both hit by pitches with bases loaded to bring home the final runs. Howell was 4-for-4 on the day and reached base in all six plate appearances as he has now reached base in 14 straight plate appearances. Howell increased his career hits total to 277 as he moved into a tie for ninth on the OVC career hits list.
Duncan, Sauer and Wenthe all had multiple hits in the game as EIU had 17 hits for the day. Josh Moore (4-3) suffered the loss for Saint Louis as the Billikens used eight pitchers during the game. SLU dropped to 28-16 on the year.
ALABAMA A&M 6, JACKSONVILLE STATE 4
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - Alabama A&M scored a pair of run in the first three innings en route to edging Jacksonville State 6-4 on Tuesday afternoon at Bulldog Field.
The two in-state teams were meeting for the first time since 2003 and the first time this season as the Gamecocks and Bulldogs were scheduled to play at Rudy Abbott Field earlier in the season, but that game was washed out. JSU, who entered the midweek matchup having won four of its last five, dropped to 23-21 on the season. AAMU, who has already set the program's record for wins in its NCAA Division I era, improved to 25-24 on the year.
Both squads started strong offensively as nine of the 10 runs scored in the contest came in the first three innings. JSU jumped on the scoreboard in the first with back-to-back doubles by Paschal Petrongolo and Tyler Gamble. With the field playing short with a steady wind blowing out, the Bulldogs belted a two-run home run off the bat of Andrew Utterback. Utterback, the designated hitter was 2-for-4 on the day and came in to pick up his sixth save of the year in the ninth.
AAMU expanded the lead to 4-1 in the second after an RBI single by Patrick Dodson, followed by Ben Lott's second of three doubles on the day for him. He paced the Maroon and White lineup with three hits.
JSU responded with a home run of its own in the third as Petrongolo recorded his fifth homerun of the season with a deep shot to center, scoring Clayton Daniel, who reached on a double to left. JSU finished with 12 hits in the contest and half of those hits were for extra bases.
The Bulldogs added their final two runs in the third as Julio Nunez delivered a leadoff home run, followed by an RBI single from Dustin Dhanani.
The Gamecock pitching staff settled in after the first three innings to hold the Bulldogs scoreless the rest of the day. Freshman Jack Pierce was saddled with the loss after making his sixth start of the day. Freshman Grant Chandler, who played at Bob Jones High School in the Huntsville area, saw action on the hill in relief. Colton Cambell, Michael McCreless, also a local product and Travis Stout pitched in the contest.
JSU junior right fielder Elliot McCummings was a perfect 4-for-4 at the dish, including a double. Gamble and Petrongolo were the only other Gamecock hitters with multiple hits in the contest. Junior Paul Angel led off the eighth with a solo home run to trim the lead to 6-4.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 8, MIAMI (OHIO) 6
OXFORD, Ohio - A five-run fourth inning sent the Eastern Kentucky University baseball team to an 8-6 over Miami University on Tuesday at Turkey Hughes Field.
With the score tied 3-3, Logan Starnes drove in Kenny Hostrander to get the big inning started and gave the home team the lead for good. Three batters later Mandy Alvarez drove in a pair with a single up the middle. Taylor Blair’s two-run single capped the five-run inning and gave Eastern (16-24) an 8-3 lead.
Jake Ramano gave the RedHawks (9-32) a 3-1 lead with a three-run home run in the third inning. EKU tied it in the bottom half of the frame on an RBI triple by TJ Alas and a sacrifice fly by Ben Fisher.
Matt Lynch (2-1) was tough on the mound for the Colonels. The senior gave up four runs on seven hits in seven innings of work. He walked two and struck out two. Kyle Nowlin went 3-for-4 with a walk and three runs scored. Alvarez finished 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs.
Miami got two runs off the bullpen in the eighth, but never got any closer. Ramano finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three driven in. Adam Yacek and Scott Slappey each had three hits.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 11, MISSOURI S&T 10 (10)
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri State baseball defeated in-state opponent Missouri S&T Tuesday evening at home in a 10-inning affair, 11-10. The Redhawks improve to 29-15 in the season while the Miners fall to 23-22.
Southeast was down 10-3 in the fourth inning but chipped away and shut out the Miners the final six innings en route to the victory.
The game didn't go without drama as a would-be game-ending double play in the bottom of the ninth was overturned. With the overturned call, Southeast tied the game and forced extra innings. Dalton Hewitt hit a bases-loaded walk-off base hit in the 10th to secure the victory for the Redhawks.
With the win, Southeast is 4-0 on the season in extra-inning games.
Missouri S&T jumped on Redhawk starter Jacob Lawrence for a pair of runs in the opening frame to take a 2-0 lead. The Redhawks immediately tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the inning with solo home runs by Jason Blum and Andy Lennington. The Miners scored two more runs in the top of the second on a pair of RBI singles to recapture the lead, 4-2. Peter Williams doubled down the right field line to score Ryan Rippee in the bottom of the inning, narrowing the Miner lead to 4-3. A Reed Brown home run in the top of the third put Missouri S&T out in front 5-3.
After allowing five runs in the first three innings, Lawrence was replaced by Greg Mosel to begin the fourth inning. The Miners doubled their lead with a five spot in the frame; widening the lead to 10-3. Mosel was knocked out of the inning after only recording two outs. Ryan Lenaburg pitched the first scoreless inning for Southeast in the fifth frame.
Southeast began chipping away at the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. Garrett Gandolfo hit a two-run home run to make it 10-5. Lennington scored on a base hit by Branden Boggetto to narrow the Miner lead to four, 10-6. Boggetto hit two-run home run in the seventh inning to make it a two-run game, 10-8. Trevor Ezell scored on a sacrifice fly by Gandolfo in the eighth inning to narrow the lead to only a run, 10-9.
Southeast found themselves with runners on the corners with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning and were down by a run. Hewitt reached base on a leadoff, infield hit. Hewitt was bunted to second by Rippee and advanced to third on an infield single by Boggetto. Pinch hitter Scott Mitchell hit into a game-ending 1-6-3 double play but the call was overruled, citing the first baseman was pulled off the bag on the play. Hewitt, the tying run, scored on the play.
In the bottom of the 10th inning, Southeast loaded the bases with one out. Hewitt drilled a base hit to left center to plate the winning run and complete the comeback victory, 11-10.
Southeast Missouri narrowly outhit the Miners, 16-15.
Blum led the offense, going 4-for-5 with three runs scored, including scoring the winning run, and an RBI. Boggetto had a three-hit game with three RBI while Gandolfo drove in three with two hits. Rippee also had a pair of hits with two runs scored.
Alex Siddle (3-0) picked up the win in relief Tuesday. Siddle worked three innings of perfect baseball. He fanned three batters in the outing. Lenaburg worked three and a third innings, allowing three hits with three strikeouts.
Missouri S&T's Tyler Johnson had three hits with two RBI and two runs Tuesday. Four other Miner hitters had two hits each in the game. Ryan Beardon (0-2) suffered the loss. He was responsible for the winning run in the 10th inning. In total, the Miners used nine pitchers. Starter Blake Stephens pitched the longest outing of any Miner pitcher; working two innings, allowing three runs on four hits.
BELMONT 4, #6 VANDERBILT 1
NASHVILLE - Patrick McGrath and Matthew Kinney combined for a masterful four hitter against the Vanderbilt Commodores on Tuesday at Rose Park. The Bruins defeated the Commodores 4-1 and swept the season series for the first time in history.
McGrath received his team best 6th win on the mound completing 7.2 innings of work. He struck out 5 batters faced and only allowed one run. Kinney pitched the last 1.1 innings and struck out 3 of the 7 batters he faced picking up his 5th save.
The Bruins received all the offense they needed from Alec Diamond two hits and two runs scored and multiple hits by Matt Beaty, Nick Egli and Brennan Washington.
The game was tight all the way until the Bruins scored two insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth to extend the lead to the final margin.
Belmont is the first non-SEC opponent to defeat Vanderbilt twice in the same regular season since San Diego in March 2012. The Bruins are also the first midweek opponent to defeat Vanderbilt twice in the same regular season since 2003 (Middle Tennessee during Coach Corbin's first season at Vanderbilt).
UT MARTIN 14, MURRAY STATE 3
UNION CITY, Tenn. - Senior right-handed pitcher Alex Martin was electric through six innings while junior shortstop Matt Hirsch reached base six times in the University of Tennessee at Martin’s 14-3 nonconference victory over Murray State at Elam Stadium.
The Skyhawks (13-29) scored early and often on their way to establishing new season-highs in runs (14) and hits (16). UT Martin scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning and never trailed thanks to Martin’s effort on the hill.
Martin tossed six shutout innings of one-hit ball, tying his career-high with 10 strikeouts. He previously fanned 10 batters on Feb. 14, 2015 against Texas-Pan American – his first start of the season. The Clarksville, Tenn. native won his second consecutive start, improving to 3-5 on the season.
Jackson Zarubin pitched the final three innings, dialing up three strikeouts to earn the first save of his UT Martin career.
Leading the Skyhawk offense this evening was Hirsch, who went 4-for-4 with two walks, three RBI’s and a run scored. Luis Paublini had three hits, two runs scored and two RBI’s off the bench while Taylor Douglas tallied two hits, two RBI’s and four runs scored for UT Martin, who was playing its first game in Union City since May 15, 2007 when it played Memphis.
Martin struck out a pair of batters in the first inning, pitching around a pair of Skyhawk errors that loaded the bases.
UT Martin wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, sending 10 batters to the plate in the first inning. Jake Deason led things off with a single and stole second base while Andrew Castillo followed with a single to put runners on the corners. Douglas then singled to center on the first pitch he saw to drive in Deason and make the score 1-0. Nico Zych drove a single to center to load the bases for Hirsch, who lined a single to right that scored Castillo. Douglas then came in to score on a Racer error and Andrew Massey drew a four-pitch walk to drive in Zych and extend UT Martin’s advantage out to 4-0.
Martin retired the side in order in the second, collecting two more strikeouts in the process.
Douglas walked and stole second with one away in the second, setting up the Skyhawks’ next run. Following a walk to Zych, Douglas came in to score on a double steal when Murray State committed an error on the stolen base attempt.
The Racers (14-32) led off the third with a single but that would be the only hit they would manage off Martin, as he rang up two more strikeouts in the third to strand the runner on third base.
Martin recorded the final two outs of the fourth inning and the first two outs of the fifth inning via strikeout, sitting Murray State down in order in the top of the fifth.
UT Martin pushed across two more runs in the bottom half of the frame, as Hirsch singled with one out to begin the scoring. Massey was then hit by a pitch and Fletcher Johnson reached on a bunt single to load the bases with Hirsch scoring on an errant throw on Johnson’s hit. Deason was hit by a pitch to load the bases once again for Paublini, who singled to bring in Massey and make the score 7-0.
Martin once again worked a clean inning in the sixth, his final frame of the evening. Zarubin then entered the game and put up another zero on the scoreboard in the top of the seventh.
The Skyhawks used a two-out rally in the seventh to expand their lead. Paublini singled and Douglas reached on an error to put two runners in scoring position. Zych walked to load the bases for pinch hitter Austin Taylor, who delivered with a two-run single through the right side. Hirsch and Mikey Nantze each accounted for RBI singles later in the inning to give UT Martin an 11-0 advantage.
Murray State scored three runs in the top of the eighth but the Skyhawks answered right back with three runs in the bottom half of the inning. Johnson walked and later scored on a Paublini double to the gap in left center. Paublini came around to score on a Douglas double down the left field line. Hirsch then completed his perfect evening with a double to right center that plated Douglas and concluded the scoring for the contest.
Zarubin was responsible for a scoreless top of the ninth to clinch the victory for UT Martin.
WESTERN KENTUCKY 6, AUSTIN PEAY 5 (10)
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - A pair of late defensive miscues proved costly as Austin Peay State University's baseball team fell to Western Kentucky, 5-4 in 10 innings, in nonconference action at Nick Denes Field.
Austin Peay (22-20) took its only lead in the sixth inning. Shortstop Imani Willis hit a leadoff double and scored on designated hitter Cayce Bredlau's single for a 5-4 advantage. The Govs would have opportunities to extend the lead in the seventh and eighth innings, but left a runner in scoring position in each frame.
Western Kentucky (22-20) rallied to tie the game in the seventh thanks to an Austin Peay error. Center fielder Anderson Miller led off with a single and the Hilltoppers moved him 90 feet with a sacrifice bunt. First baseman Ryan Church grounded to third base but was safe as the throw to first sailed wide, allowing Miller to score.
The Hilltoppers threatened to break the 5-5 tie in the eighth inning, putting two runners in scoring position with one out. The Govs turned to left-hander John Sparks and he faltered at first, throwing a wild pitch that then forced an intentional walk to load the bases. However, the freshman hurler settled down and induced a fly out and line out to center field to end the threat.
Sparks retired the Hilltoppers in order in the 10th inning and struck out the first batter he faced in the 11th. Designated hitter Steven Kraft reached on an infield single to start the final rally. Catcher Ryan Messex appeared to line out to left field, but the ball was dropped allowing the inning to continue. Sparks responded by striking out the next batter he faced to get to two outs. But he would not get the third out as Miller singled to center field, ending the game.
Sparks (3-1) was the hard-luck loser after allowing one unearned run in 2.1 innings of sparkling relief. His effort joined reliever Levi Primasing's 3.2 innings of relief that saw him allow one unearned run on six hits.
Bredlau led the Govs offense with a 4-for-5, two RBI outing. Second baseman Garrett Copeland, third baseman Alex Robles and first baseman Dre Gleason each had two hits.
WKU reliever Ben Morrison (2-0) picked up the win in relief, striking out six of the seven Govs batters he faced. Miller finished the game 2-for-5 with the game-winning RBI.