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The 2015 Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Championship will feature three games on Thursday.
The first game of the day saw No. 5 Jacksonville State eliminate No. 3 seed SIUE. The second game saw No. 2 Morehead State top No. 4 Tennessee Tech 4-3 in 10 innings. In the nightcap No. 6 seed Belmont upended No. 1 seed Southeast Missouri 7-2.
This season marks the 37th time the event has been held and the sixth year in a row it has been held at The Ballpark at Jackson (formerly Pringles Park) in Jackson, Tennessee. The venue is home of the Jackson Generals, the AA-affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.
The entire tournament is being streamed live and free of charge on the OVC Digital Network. The games are available in HD and available on any computer, tablet or smart phone.
Game 3: #5 Jacksonville State 8, #3 SIUE 5
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Game 4: #2 Morehead State 4, #4 Tennessee Tech 3 (10 innings)
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Game 5: #6 Belmont 7, #1 Southeast Missouri 2
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#5 JACKSONVILLE STATE 8, #3 SIUE 5
JACKSON, Tenn. - Junior Paschal Petrongolo had three hits, including a two-run home run, as No. 5 seed Jacksonville State eliminated No. 3 seed SIUE on Thursday at the OVC Baseball Championship.
Dating back to last season it marked the seventh-straight elimination game the Gamecocks (30-26) have won. JSU will play a to be determined opponent on Friday morning at 11 a.m. CT.
SIUE saw its season end at 20-30.
The game was tied at four after four innings before Jacksonville State scored twice in the fifth inning to grab the lead and added two more runs in the seventh inning to pull away.
Graham Officer (5-1) was the winning pitcher in relief, allowing one run over 3.2 innings. Senior Travis Stout pitched the final inning to pick up his 14th save of the season. Overall it was his 46th career save which moved him into a tie for fifth place in NCAA history.
Jarrett Bednar (2-7) was the losing pitcher, allowing six runs (five earned) over four innings.
Petrongolo finished the day 3-for-5 for the Gamecocks while Ryan Sebra also added three hits.
Keaton Wright homered and drove in two runs for SIUE who fell to 0-4 all-time in OVC Baseball Championship games.
#2 MOREHEAD STATE 4, #4 TENNESSEE TECH 3 (10)
JACKSON, Tenn. - Morehead State scored the game-winning run on a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the 10th inning as the No. 2 seed Eagles knocked off No. 4 seed Tennessee Tech in Game No. 4 of the 2015 OVC Baseball Championship.
With the victory Morehead State (36-20) advances to the Winners Bracket Championship on Friday night against either Southeast Missouri or Belmont. Tennessee Tech (26-28) will play an elimination game against a to-be-determined opponent on Friday at 3 p.m. CT.
Morehead State scored a pair of runs in the second inning thanks to an Alex Stephens double and a Clayton Meyer triple. Tennessee Tech took the lead in the fourth inning when Dylan Bosheers and Jordan Hopkins hit home runs. The Eagles would equal the score when Meyer singled home a run in the seventh inning.
Ryan Kent walked with one out to start MSU's portion of the 10th inning before Brandon Rawe singled him to third base. OVC Player of the Year Chris Robinson, who was 0-for-4 in the game, was intentially walked to bring Robby Spencer to the plate. Spencer drew the five-pitch walk to win the game.
Both teams got excellent starting pitching as Luke Humphreys allowed four hits and three runs in 6.1 innings while Tech's Evan Fraliex allowed seven hits and three runs in 6.2 innings of work.
Aaron Goe (6-0) picked up the win after pitching the final two innings and allowing just one run. Travis Moths (5-4) suffered the loss after allowing two hits and a run in three innings.
Meyer finished the day 2-for-4 with two RBI while Spencer was 2-for-4 with two runs scored for MSU.
#6 BELMONT 7, #1 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 2
JACKSON, Tenn. - Jackson native Patrick McGrath allowed two runs over eight innings as No. 6 seed Belmont upset No. 1 seed Southeast Missouri on Thursday night at the 2015 OVC Baseball Championship.
With the victory Belmont (29-27) advances to the Winners Bracket Championship to face No. 2 seed Morehead State on Friday night at 7 p.m. CT. Southeast Missouri (33-22) will play an elimination game against No. 5 seed Jacksonville State at 11 a.m.; if the Redhawks win that game they will taken on No. 4 seed Tennessee Tech at 3 p.m. on Friday.
McGrath (9-4) topped Southeast for the second time in as many weeks in scattering five hits and striking out seven in his eight innings of work. He allowed a run in the bottom of the second inning and another in the fifth but the remainder of the game kept the regular season champion Redhawks in check.
OVC Pitcher of the Year Joey Lucchesi (7-2) was uncharacteristically wild to start the game, walking the first three batters he faced in giving up three runs in the first frame. He allowed a single run in each the second and third innings as Southeast fell behind 5-1 after three frames. The junior took the loss, his first since April 3, in walking seven batters and allowing four hits and five earned runs in 6.1 innings.
Drew Ferguson added two hits on the night for Belmont, including a two-run home run in the top of the ninth to put the game away. In two games at this year's Championship the All-OVC first-team selection is hitting .700 (7-for-10).
Hunter Leeper led Southeast Missouri with a pair of hits.