FRIDAY'S SCORES
SIUE 16, @Belmont 8
@Tennessee Tech 11, Eastern Illinois 5
Austin Peay 5, @Southeast Missouri 1
SIUE 16, BELMONT 8
NASHVILLE - SIUE baseball snapped a three-game losing streak with a 16-8 win over Belmont in the second game of a three-game series at Rose Park.
SIUE improved to 10-4 in Ohio Valley Conference play. The Cougars are 10-14 overall. Belmont drops to 15-12 overall and 7-3 in the OVC.
P.J. Schuster and Brett Thomas combined to keep the Bruin bats at bay. Schuster improved to 4-1 with the win. He allowed six runs over six innings. He struck out four. Thomas gave up two runs in three innings of relief work. He struck out three and earned his first save of the year.
Offensively, the Cougars scored a season-high 16 runs on a season-high 19 hits.
The Cougars jumped on Belmont starter Aaron Quillen scoring four times in the first inning. Quillen fell to 3-2 with the loss. He allowed nine runs on nine hits over 4 2/3 innings of work.
Keaton Wright, Alec Saikal, Dustin Woodcock, and Mario Tursi each finished with three hits for the Cougars. Wright drove in four runs with three doubles. Saikal finished the day with a homer, a double, and three RBIs. Woodcock had a home run, a triple, and two RBIs. Parker Guinn was 2 for 5 with two doubles and three RBIs.
Drew Ferguson led Belmont with three hits and two RBIs.
TENNESSEE TECH 11, EASTERN ILLINOIS 5
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - It may have taken over six hours to complete, but there was just no stopping the Tennessee Tech baseball team from walking away with a victory Friday afternoon as the Golden Eagles (12-17, 6-8) took down Ohio Valley Conference rival Eastern Illinois (0-23, 0-11) in an 11-5 decision at Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
With thunderstorms and heavy rain just as much a part of the game Friday as hot dogs and peanuts, the Golden Eagles focused on one thing. Scoring runs. And they wasted little time accomplishing that.
In the bottom of the first, Tech started early, gathering the early 1-0 lead behind an RBI single by Chase Chambers up the middle. Two batters later, freshman Ryan Flick kept his torrid pace over the past five games rolling with a two-out, two-run double to left center field. Just like that, the Golden Eagles were on top 3-0.
Eastern Illinois crossed two across the plate in the top of the second, making things far more interesting until the Tech bats got their second turn. With the first two runners of the inning reaching, left fielder Tyler Brazelton came to the plate for his second at bat in the same amount of innings. He singled to center to drive in another Tech run and keep the offense rolling.
Senior David Allen followed, reaching on a bunt single that found no man's land towards the third base line. With the bases juiced, All-American Dylan Bosheers drove in a second run for Tech in the inning, sending a long sacrifice fly ball into foul territory just shy of the wall in right field. Two batters later, catcher Jordan Hopkins jumped the Golden Eagle lead to 6-2 with an RBI double to right center field.
The Panthers snagged a quick run in the top of the third, using a solo shot by Cale Hennemann to get to Tech starter Evan Fraliex, but the sophomore hurler settled into a groove over the next three innings.
Tech plated another run in the bottom of the fourth, with Hopkins delivering on a sac fly to right field. Eastern Illinois did manage to etch out one more marker in the top of the sixth, cutting the Tech lead to just 7-4 with the home squad due up in the bottom half.
And that's when Mother Nature took over. Before the Golden Eagle could get to the plate, lightning in the area forced what would turn into a delay of roughly one hour, ending a solid performance on the mound for Fraliex. The right-hander provided six innings of work, scattering eight hits while allowing three unearned runs and four total. He also fanned six Panther batters, his highest strikeout total of the season.
With the poor weather seemingly subsided, Tech took its turn with the sticks in the bottom half of the sixth, jumping on reliever Andy Fisher immediately with a single by Brazelton through the left side. A David Allen sacrifice bunt moved the sophomore into scoring position with Bosheers coming to the plate. The senior singled to right field, but Brazelton was forced to hold up at third base.
It barely mattered, however, as Hopkins drew a six-pitch walk to load the bases for the increasingly dangerous Ryan Flick. The designated hitter earned an RBI the hard way, taking a pitch off the wrist to drive in Tech's eighth run of the game. With the bases still loaded, it was time for another Golden Eagle youngster to shine.
Second baseman Trevor Putzig came to plate with a huge opportunity at his disposal and the freshman delivered. Putzig took a 3-2 pitch the opposite direction through the right side, driving in two runs and giving the Golden Eagles a commanding 10-4 lead. What made the moment so much more important was what happened next.
Heavy rain and more lightning found its way into the Cookeville area, forcing the Golden Eagles to tarp the field and once again wait for an opening. The weather apparently liked the area a little too much, however, forcing a three-hour delay in the middle of the sixth inning before finally opening a short window to just squeeze in the final three inning of the contest.
Both sides worked quickly over the final three frames, with each side trading one run to bring the long, grueling day to an end with an 11-5 victory for the Golden Eagles.
Tech received a huge boost out of the bullpen from senior Jeb Scoggins, who covered the final three innings for the Golden Eagles with great efficiency. The right-hander allowed two hits and run to score while also walking two batters in extremely windy and wet conditions. But he also set down a career-high seven batters on strikes over the final nine outs, collecting his second save of the season in the process.
As for the Tech bats, Ryan Flick led the way with three RBI on the day, bringing his season total to a team-high 33. The freshman is now batting .500 over his past four games, scoring five runs and driving in seven on eight hits. He has a double and two home runs for a slugging percentage of .938 and also owns an on base percentage of .579, all for that span.
David Allen went a perfect 3-for-3 at the dish on the day, scoring three runs while laying down three bunts, including two for base hits and another as a sacrifice. Brazelton and Bosheers each tallied multi-hit games as well, scoring two runs apiece and driving in one each.
Seven Tech players gathered at least one hit in the contest, seven garnered at least one walk and six drove in at least one run.
AUSTIN PEAY 5, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Starting pitcher Alex Robles threw seven shutout innings as Austin Peay State University’s baseball team won the opening game of a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series, 5-1, against Southeast Missouri, Friday night at Capaha Field.
Robles (2-2) allowed three hits in the first seven scoreless innings and did not allow a runner past second base. After allowing a two-out single in the fifth, he would retire the next seven batters he faced before surrendering a leadoff double in the eighth.
That double was the first of three straight hits surrendered by the Govs right-hander. Southeast Missouri second baseman Jason Blum broke up the shutout bid with his RBI double, which also ended Robles’ outing. Reliever Levi Primasing followed retired the side in the eighth and ninth innings, facing just six batters for his season’s second save.
Robles picked up his second straight win after allowing one run on six hits in seven-plus innings, striking out seven.
Offensively, Austin Peay (16-10, 9-4 OVC) took advantage of a rare sub-par outing by the Southeast Missouri pitching staff and defense. The Govs needed just five hits to scratch out their five runs, but took advantage of six walks in the contest.
The Govs opened the scoring when center fielder Patrick Massoni singled and later scored on a wild pitch in the first inning. Two frames later, left fielder Cayce Bredlau reached on an error and third baseman Logan Gray made the Redhawks pay for the miscue with a two-run home run.
Austin Peay sent eight men to the plate in the fifth inning. Massoni led off the inning with a walk and scored on catcher Ridge Smith’s two-run double. Smith would later score on a delayed double steal that the Redhawks diagnosed correctly but could not make a throw to catch either runner.
The miscues proved costly for Southeast Missouri starter Joey Lucchesi (4-1) who suffered his first loss this season. He allowed five runs on five hits and five walks over six innings and was hampered by a pair of wild pitches.
Massoni went 1-for-4 at the plate with a walk and scored twice to lead the Govs. Gray finished 1-for-5 with two RBI, hitting his fifth home run in his last eight games.
Ezell’s 2-for-3 outing not only led Southeast Missouri’s six-hit attack but was the only multi-hit outing for either team.