FRIDAY'S SCORES
UT Martin 2, @Eastern Illinois 1 (11 innings)
SIUE 9, @Austin Peay 4
@Tennessee Tech 4, Belmont 3
Morehead State 4, @Jacksonville State 2 (10 innings)
Eastern Kentucky 6, @Murray State 4
@Indiana State 8,
Southeast Missouri 7
UT MARTIN 2, EASTERN ILLINOIS 1
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Fletcher Johnson doubled with two outs in the top of the 11th inning for the eventual game-winning hit to guide the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team past Eastern Illinois, 2-1 at Coaches Stadium this afternoon.
The Skyhawks (16-31, 8-17 Ohio Valley Conference) were immersed in a pitcher’s duel today, as UT Martin starter Jackson Zarubin turned in the best performance of his career. The redshirt junior out of Pleasanton, Calif. carried a shutout into the ninth inning before receiving a no-decision. He went a career-high eight innings, allowing one run on five hits while walking two and fanning two batters. Skyhawk closer Patrick Bernard (2-2) entered in the ninth inning and picked up the win, striking out three batters over three shutout innings.
At the plate, Andrew Castillo had three hits and scored a run out of the leadoff hole while Nico Zych (RBI), Austin Taylor, Andrew Massey (run scored) and Johnson each had multi-hit performances. UT Martin outhit Eastern Illinois by a 13-8 margin today.
Zarubin stranded a Panther runner on third to wrap up a scoreless first inning. He then fanned a pair of batters while retiring the side in order in the second frame and also posted a three-up, three-down inning in the third.
UT Martin loaded the bases in the top of the fourth but could not generate a run. Zarubin then stranded a pair of runners in the fourth after Eastern Illinois posted back-to-back singles to lead off the inning.
Zarubin needed only five pitches to get through a perfect inning in the fifth before leaving a Panther runner at third in another scoreless frame in the sixth. He received some help from his battery mate Luis Paublini in the bottom of the seventh, as he nailed an Eastern Illinois baserunner trying to steal second base to close out the frame.
The Skyhawks broke the scoreless tie in the top of the eighth. Castillo led off the inning with a single and Matt Hirsch followed with a bunt single. Taylor Douglas then lifted a long flyball to right field to advance Castillo and put men on the corners with one away. Zych then lined an 0-1 pitch into left to plate Castillo and give UT Martin a one-run advantage.
Zarubin was strong in the eighth, pitching around a two-out single to keep the shutout intact. After Eastern Illinois came away with a leadoff single in the ninth, Bernard entered the contest. With one away and runners on first and third, the Panthers produced a run with a fielder’s choice on a bang-bang play at first base that would have been a game-ending double play. Bernard kept his composure and retired the final batter on a flyout to left field, sending the game into extra innings.
Bernard did not allow a ball out of the infield in a perfect 10th inning, giving the Skyhawk offense some momentum in the top of the 11th. Massey battled back from an 0-2 count to draw a walk to lead off the inning and Mikey Nantze sacrificed him over to second base. Johnson then stepped in with two outs and sent a double to the gap in right-center to bring in Massey and give UT Martin a 2-1 edge.
Bernard got two quick outs in the 11th but Eastern Illinois would put runners on second and third with two outs until Isaac Carrel cleanly fielded a grounder for the final putout of the game.
SIUE 9, AUSTIN PEAY 4
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - SIUE baseball matched its Ohio Valley Conference win total from a season ago and maintained its hold on second place in the league with a 9-4 win over Austin Peay Friday in the opener of a three-game series at Raymond C. Hand Park. The Cougars improved to 16-9 in OVC play an 17-25 overall with the win. Austin Peay fell to 23-24 overall and 14-14 in the OVC.
Parker Guinn, Jacob Stewart, and Denton Reed hitting seventh, eighth, and ninth for the Cougars respectively, combined for seven of SIUE's eight RBIs for the night. Guinn was 1 for 3 with a three-run home run and two runs scored. Reed was 2 for 4 with a three-run triple. Stewart was 1 for 5 with a solo home run.
The Cougars built a 5-0 lead over the first four innings and never trailed. The Govs trimmed the lead to 5-4 with a run in the fifth, two in the sixth, and one in the eighth. Stewart's first home run of the season to lead off the ninth inning kick started a four-run ninth inning.
P.J. Schuster improved to 7-3 with his third consecutive win. Schuster pitched into the eighth inning and allowed four runs, three earned, on five hits. He walked just one and struck out five.
Alex Robles allowed five runs over 7 1/3 innings and fell to 6-3 with the loss. He struck out three and walked two.
Cayce Bredlau was 2 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs for Austin Peay.
TENNESSEE TECH 4, BELMONT 3
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Despite taking the lead in the fourth thank to a two run home run by senior, William Dodd, the Bruins dropped the series opener to Tennessee Tech 4-3 on Friday.
The Golden Eagles took an early lead plating a single run in both the first and second inning. In the top of the third the Bruins were able to tack a single run on the board off of a wild pitch by Eagles starter, Chris Chism.
In the top of the fourth, Tyler Fullerton led off the inning drawing a walk. Nick Egli reached on a fielder's choice forcing Fullerton out at second. After two outs, William Dodd stepped to the plate and delivered a two run home run over the left field fence for the Bruin lead.
The lead did not hold for long as Tech returned with two runs of their own in the fifth as the Bruins were held to five scoreless innings to end the game.
Dan Ludwig picked up his 13th start of the season and pitched four innings and struck out three batters. Tyler Vaughn came in for Ludwig in relief and picks up the loss. He pitched 3.2 innings and struck out two batters.
MOREHEAD STATE 4, JACKSONVILLE STATE 2 (10)
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Playing in his home state, Morehead State freshman second baseman Braxton Morris ripped a two-run triple in the top of the 10th inning Friday as the Eagle baseball team tied the school record for wins with a 4-2 triumph at Jacksonville State.
Morris was one of several key players in the MSU victory as the Eagles improved to 31-18 overall. This squad tied the 1993 team for most victories. Morehead State also tied the school record for Ohio Valley Conference wins, set last season, with 16 and equaled the school single-season standard for saves with 16. The Gamecocks fell to 26-23 overall and 13-12 in the conference. Morehead State, at 16-9 in the OVC, remained in a tie with SIU Edwardsville for second place. The Eagles own a potential tiebreaker with SIUE.
Sophomore pitcher Luke Humphreys tossed eight innings and struck out six in a no-decision. Junior righty Tyler Keele escaped a situation in the bottom of the ninth with two runners on and no outs to collect his second win of the year, and junior right-hander Aaron Goe picked up his second save of the season, striking out the side in the bottom of the 10th.
Morehead State scored a pair in the second inning following a score by the hosts in the first. Senior leftfielder Nick Newell's OVC-best 25th double plated senior catcher Chris Robinson and senior shortstop Robby Spencer.
The Gamecocks tied the contest in the fourth on Ryan Sebra's solo homer, but Humphreys retired the final 13 batters he faced from the fourth through eighth frames.
Newell led off the 10th with a single, his third hit of the night. Junior third baseman Alex Stephens, seeing his first at-bat since April 4 due to an injury, followed with a single. Senior designated hitter Clayton Meyer then executed a sacrifice bunt to push the runners into scoring position. Morris, who hails from Albertville, Ala., took a 3-1 pitch off JSU closer Travis Stout and crushed it to the wall in right center field. Stout fell to 0-3.
Seven pitchers on both teams combined to strike out 22 batters. Morehead State finished with 12 hits, the team's 31st outing with double digits in 2015. JSU had just five hits.
Senior first baseman Kane Sweeney had a pair of hits to extend his reached-base streak to 26 contests, while sophomore center fielder Ryan Kent upped his reached-base streak to a team-best 28 games. The Eagles stranded 14 runners on base.
JSU center fielder Gavin Golsan totaled three of the five hits for his club. The OVC stolen base leader was also cut down by Robinson for just his third time caught this season in 36 chances.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 6, MURRAY STATE 4
MURRAY, Ky. - With three home runs, the Eastern Kentucky University’s baseball team opened its weekend Ohio Valley Conference series with a 6-4 win at Murray State University on Friday.
Kyle Nowlin, the nation’s leader in home runs, go the fireworks started with his 18th of the season in the top of the first inning. A two-run shot over the wall in left field by Logan Starnes and a solo dinger by Cole Warrenfeltz in the second inning gave the visitors a 4-0 lead. It was the first time either of the sophomores have homered in a college game.
Starnes added an RBI double in the fourth before TJ Alas drove in a run with a double to right field in the fifth to put Eastern in front 6-1. Starnes would finish the game 2-for-4 with a run and three driven in. Alas went 2-for-4 at the plate. Nowlin scored twice, was walked once and finished 1-for-3.
An RBI triple by Taylor Mathews and a run-scoring ground out by Matthew Johnson in the bottom of the seventh got the Racers (14-36, 9-16 OVC) within two, 6-4.
Alex Hamilton (4-5) turned in a quality start for the Colonels (18-27, 9-15 OVC), allowing three earned runs on seven hits in six and one-third innings. He walked three and struck out four. Ben Gullo pitched the final one and two-thirds innings to earn his second save of the season. He allowed one base runner and struck out two.
INDIANA STATE 8, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 7
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Southeast Missouri baseball held a 7-3 lead over Indiana State Friday evening but the Sycamores rallied for five runs in the eighth inning to take game one of the three-game series, 8-7.
The Redhawks fall to 31-18 on the season while the Sycamores improve to 22-23.
Southeast Missouri's struggles against Missouri Valley Conference teams continue as they are now 2-8 against teams in the league this season.
The game featured a number of delays including the start of the game, which was pushed back an hour and five minutes due to forecasted rain and lightning in the area.
The Redhawks' first hit of the game came on a home run to left by Ryan Rippee in the second inning, giving Southeast a 1-0 lead.
Jason Blum led off the fourth inning with a base hit to center and Branden Boggetto got clipped by a pitch for Southeast's second and third base runners of the game. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch. With one out, Rippee grounded to short to drive in Blum. Cole Ferguson singled to center to plate Boggetto and extend the Redhawk lead to 3-0. A power outage in the top of the fourth sent the game into a 15 minute delay.
The Sycamores narrowed the Redhawk lead with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Hunter Owen drilled a two-run base hit down the left field line to cut the Southeast lead to 3-2. The bottom half of the inning featured an injury to the home plate umpire, further delaying the game. From top to bottom, the fourth inning took just over an hour. Heading to the fifth inning, Southeast led 3-2.
With bases full of Redhawks and one out, Andy Lennington was hit by a pitch to force in Trevor Ezell in the top of the fifth inning, extending the lead to 4-2. The Redhawks stranded the bases loaded in the inning.
An RBI groundout for the Sycamores in the bottom of the fifth inning once again narrowed Southeast's lead to 4-3. The tying run was stranded on third to end the inning.
A leadoff home run by Hunter Leeper got a run back to start the top of the sixth inning. With runners on second and third with one out, Ezell laid down a safety squeeze bunt to score Brendon Neel and extended the lead to 6-3.
Leeper blasted his second home run in as many at bats to left in the top of the eighth inning, extending the lead to 7-3 on the Sycamores.Both home runs were Leeper's first in a Redhawk uniform.
A five-run eighth inning for the Sycamores, capped by a three-run go-ahead home run by Conner McClain, put Indiana State in front by a run, 8-7.
Austin Conway entered the game to pitch for Indiana State in the ninth and sent the Redhawks down in order to secure the win and record his sixth save of the season.
Southeast outhit Indiana state 9-7 in the game.
Leeper was 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs. Leeper was the only Redhawk with more than one hit in the game. Rippee had one hit with two RBI.
Manuel Estevez was 2-for-2 with two walks. McClain, the nine-hole hitter, was 1-for-2 with three RBI, two runs scores, and two walks.
Southeast starter Joey Lucchesi suffered a no decision. Lucchesi pitched six inning, allowing three runs on three hits. Lucchesi struck out five but walked six. Matthew Wade pitched one inning and allowed four runs. Ryan Lenaburg (3-3) suffered the loss. Lenaburg gave up the go-ahead three-run home run in the eighth inning.
Jeff Degano left the game in line for the loss. Degano, who had allowed only one home run all season, gave up two Friday evening. Degano also gave up a season-high six earned runs to the Redhawks. Reliever Conner Schwienebart (4-1) picked up the win. Schwienebart worked two and two-thirds, allowing one run on two hits.