FRIDAY'S SCORES
Murray State 5, Hofstra 1 (Hammond, La.)
Buffalo 10,
@UT Martin 2 (Union City, Tenn.)
Southeast Missouri 4, UT Arlington 3 (Nacogdoches, Texas)
@Stephen F. Austin 3,
Southeast Missouri 2
@Tennessee Tech 7, Toledo 5
@Austin Peay 9, Youngstown State 2
Kent State 15,
@Belmont 0
Morehead State 5, Jacksonville 2 (Jackson, Miss.)
@FIU 5,
Jacksonville State 0
@#7 Arizona 6,
Eastern Kentucky 0
@Seattle 4-9,
SIUE 1-3
Eastern Illinois, @South Alabama (postponed)
MURRAY STATE 5, HOFSTRA 1
HAMMOND, La. - Kipp Moore blasted a leadoff home run to left center field and the Racers didn’t look back as they kicked off the 2017 season with a 5-1 victory over Hofstra on Saturday in Hammond, La., in the first game of the Tangi Tourism Baseball Classic hosted by Southeastern Lousiana.
Moore provided much of Murray State’s offense in the win as he went 3-for-4 with a run scored, a double and two RBIs in the win. Adam Bauer, Jaron Robinson and Ramsey Scott each added an RBI on the day.
Trevor McMurray picked up the win and had a solid first outing in his first career start. McMurray pitched six innings and allowed just one run off five hits and struck-out four Pride batters. MSU used all freshmen from its pitching staff in the win as Luke Brown, Tyler Horsley and Alec Whaley all pitched in relief.
After Moore’s homer in the bottom of the first made it 1-0, a double from Moore that scored Aaron Bence in the third inning pushed the Racers out to a 2-0 lead. Hofstra got on the board in the sixth with a solo homer to left center to make it 2-1. However, the Racers responded with their best inning of the game in the sixth with a three-run inning to push the cushion to 5-1.
A leadoff walk from Tyler Lawrence started the inning and was followed by an RBI double from Scott. Three batters later and with two outs, Bauer delivered a bloop single to center field to score Scott and make it 4-1. Bauer would later score on a double from Robinson to right center.
MSU collected eight hits on the day, three of which went for extra bases while Hofstra had seven hits. The Pride also left nine stranded on the base paths while MSU left five on.
BUFFALO 10, UT MARTIN 2
UNION CITY, Tenn. - Dan Kerwin launched a solo homer in the sixth inning, but the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team could not overcome three critical errors in its 10-2 loss to Buffalo on opening day.
Both offenses struggled early despite each team having chances to break the scoreless draught. Redshirt sophomore Dom Bazzani pitched around a first inning error to leave a Buffalo runner at third. The lefty stranded another two runners in the second inning and worked out of trouble leaving the bases loaded full of Bulls in the third. After surrendering a couple of walks, the Stockbridge, Ga. native forced Bulls slugger Andrew Taft into a weak ground ball to get out of the inning.
Bazzani found more trouble in the fourth, loading the bases, but this time Buffalo capitalized. Ben Haefner’s double down the right field line plated all three Buffalo baserunners to give the Mid-American Conference foe a 3-0 lead. The Bulls tacked on two more runs in the inning to claim the 5-0 lead.
A dropped fly ball led to two more runs in the sixth inning for Buffalo as UT Martin fell behind 7-0. Kerwin’s bomb in the bottom half of the inning put the Skyhawks on the board and trimmed the margin to 7-1. However UT Martin could not manage more than the one run.
Buffalo broke through again in the top of the ninth using two walks, a single from Alex Thrower and a sacrifice fly from Vinny Mallaro to plate three more runs. Skyhawk freshman Anthony Adduci led off the bottom half of the ninth with a double down the left field line. Three batters later, second baseman Tyler Albright drove in Adduci with a single through the left side. UT Martin failed to score again en route to the 10-2 defeat.
Alex Tuohy (1-0) pitched five scoreless innings for the Bulls to earn the win. Bazzani (0-1) took the loss for the Skyhawks throwing 96 pitches in 3.2 innings. Lefty reliever Sam Folks struck out three Buffalo hitters and did not allow a run in 1.2 innings out of the bullpen for UT Martin.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 4, UT ARLINGTON 3
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - In the first game of a Friday doubleheader Southeast Missouri topped UT Arlington 4-3 to post the first career victory for first-year head coach Andy Sawyers.
A three-run fifth inning put the Redhawks on top of the Mavericks 4-2. The pitching staff was able to hold UTA and preserve the lead en route to the season-opening win.
Clay Chandler (1-0) picked up the win on the mound after six and two-thirds innings of work. He allowed two runs on seven hits while fanning three and walking a pair.
Matthew Wade earned the save for the Redhawks after entering in the eighth facing a bases-loaded, one out situation. He pitched the final one and two-thirds innings en route to his fifth career save.
Kadon Simmons (0-1) recorded the loss for Arlington. Simmons worked five innings, allowing all four Redhawk runs on 10 hits. He struck out four batters and walked one.
Southeast had a trio of Redhawks record two hits each including Trevor Ezell, Chris Osborne, and newcomer Kyle Bottger.
The Mavericks were the first to touch home against the Redhawks in 2017 when Noah Vaughan blasted a two-run home run to dead center field with Will Olsen on base. UTA led 2-0 going to the bottom of the fourth inning.
SEMO wasted no time narrowing the deficit in the bottom of the frame. Osborne recorded his second hit of the game, this time a double ripped into right center. Osborne tagged up on a fly out to right off the bat of Brian Lees and come in to score on an RBI single by Chris Caffrey poked through the left side. Southeast had three hits in the inning.
A three-run fifth inning gave the Redhawks their first lead of the 2017 season. The Redhawks loaded the bases with no out on base hits by Ezell and Tristen Gagan and a walk to Dan Holst. Kylar Robertson tied the game with a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Ezell. Lees followed with a two-out, two-run triple to right field, putting Southeast up 4-2 on the Mavericks.
Newcomer Carlos Vega entered to pitch for Southeast in the top of the eighth inning. The Mavericks loaded the bases with one out. A single to center by Josh Minjarez plated a run to cut the SEMO lead to 4-3. Wade marched in from the pen, facing bases loaded with one out. Wade got Phil Berthiaume to hit into a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play to preserve the lead in the Redhawks' favor.
Like the Redhawks, the Mavericks had three players record two hits apiece in the season opener.
STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 2
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - In the second game of the day Southeast Missouri fell to Stephen F. Austin 3-2.
Two errors by each team were the name of the game in Friday's nightcap and the four errors resulted in unearned runs for both teams.
Robert Beltran (0-1) suffered the Friday evening loss on the mound. He worked five innings, allowing all three SFA runs, two earned, on six hits. He fanned four and walked two.
Cape Girardeau native Chase Hagerty made his collegiate debut on the mound Friday. The redshirt-freshman faced nine hitters in three complete innings, retiring all nine batters including earning four strikeouts.
Trevor Kiminski (1-0) earned the win for the Lumberjacks in five and a third innings. He allowed both Redhawk runs, one earned, on just two hits. He struck out five SEMO players and walked just two.
Stephen F. Austin used seven total pitchers on opening night. The final pitcher, Tyler Starks, pitched a perfect ninth inning en route to his first save of the season.
Redhawks' designated hitter Robertson was responsible for two of SEMO's three hits, finishing 2-for-4 in the contest.
Much like game one of the day, the Redhawks' opponent was the first to touch home with a pair of runs. Gavin Gregory reached on a throwing error by Caffrey that also allowed Clark Kahawaii to score and go up 1-0. Gregory came around to score on an RBI single by Nick Ramos, going up 2-0 on the Redhawks after three complete innings.
In the top of the fourth, Southeast loaded the bases with no out. In his first at bat as a Redhawk, Aiden McMahan hit into an RBI fielder's choice that the second baseman threw behind the shortstop covering for the double play, allowing another run to score and tying the game at 2-2.
Zac Michener homered to centerfield to break the tie and score the would-be game winner in the bottom of the fifth and go up by one on the Redhawks, 3-2.
The Redhawk offense was stymied after that, getting just a single hit to fall.
Michener finished 2-for-4 including his game-winning home run to lead the Jacks to victory on opening night.
TENNESSEE TECH 7, TOLEDO 5
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Tech baseball team used a veteran lineup and history of late-game rallies to accomplish just that Friday evening, collecting a 7-5, comeback victory over Toledo on opening day of the 2017 season in Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
Golden Eagle starting pitcher Michael Wood and Rocket starting hurler Steven Calhoun battled back-and-forth from the outset of the 3:00 p.m. CT first pitch to the end of the fourth inning.
Wood would be the first to give way to the bullpen, allowing two earned runs, three hits and three walks while striking out four batters in four innings of work. Calhoun lasted five full innings with three hits, one earned run and two walks before he too gave way to his bullpen.
The Golden Eagles struck first, notching a solo run in the bottom of the first inning thanks to an RBI single from Chris Brown. Toledo answered in the third, using a Brad Boss home run to even things at 1-1.
The Rockets notched their second run in the fourth and threatened to increase the lead by more until Wood induced a ground ball to Tech third baseman Trevor Putzig. The junior corralled the ball and flipped it to Matt Jones at second base, who then transferred and fired to first baseman Chase Chambers for an inning-ending double play.
Chambers led off the bottom of the sixth for the Golden Eagles, wasting no time welcoming the Rocket bullpen into the contest with a triple to right center field off Steven Duby. Two batters later, junior Ryan Flick ripped a blistering shot into center field for a base hit and game-tying RBI.
Toledo looked to send the Golden Eagles a gut punch in the top of the seventh, scoring three times to take a 5-2 advantage.
Reigning Ohio Valley Conference Rookie and Player of the Year Kevin Strohschein, as well as Chambers, made sure that Tech had the last word, however, plating four of the team's next five runs that secured a perfect 1-0 start to the 2017 campaign.
Strohschein led off the bottom half of the seventh with a single to right field. Following a strikeout, Chambers took his turn at the plate and promptly sent the first pitch offered to him by Jordan Kesson howling over the wall in left center field for a two-run home run to cut the Toledo lead to just one run.
The Rockets managed to squeeze out of the rest of the frame unscathed, but the potent Tech offense was waiting to pounce again in the eighth.
Putzig led off the frame with a single through the left side and advanced to third base after junior college transfer Collin Harris roped a double off the top of the wall down the right field line. Toledo turned to reliever Michael Jacob to try and salvage the lead with two runners in scoring position and no outs, but to no avail.
Alex Junior worked a lengthy at-bat threatening to lay down a suicide squeeze before ultimately drawing a six-pitch walk to load the bases. Jacob collected his first out of the frame with a strikeout, brining Strohschein to the plate with a chance at playing hero for Tech, a role he grew so accustomed to during last season's record-breaking freshman campaign.
Naturally, the right fielder delivered, chopping an 0-2 offering up the middle and past the diving glove of both middle infielders for two RBI and a Golden Eagle lead. Brown followed with a sacrifice fly to center field for good measure, providing Tech a 7-5 lead they would hold on to.
Sophomore bullpen hand Ethan Roberts came on in the ninth to garner his first save of the season, forcing a fly ball out to left field before fanning the final two batters he faced.
After undergoing Tommy John surgery in late April last season, redshirt junior Evan Fraliex took home the emotional victory in his first game back in action. The right-hander one and a third innings of relief, allowing just one hit on 15 total pitches.
Ty King tossed two strong innings of relief as well on the night, replacing Wood in the fifth inning. He also allowed just a single hit.
Leading the way offensively, the law firm of Strohschein, Chambers and Brown accounted for six total RBI, including two for each prosecutor. Both Strohschein and Chambers finished 2-for-4 on the day as well. Harris and Flick also each notched multi-hit performances.
Junior tallied just a single at bat on the day out of the leadoff spot, reaching all five times he visited the plate. The center fielder collected two walks, was hit by a pitch twice and reached on an error. He scored two runs and stole a base.
AUSTIN PEAY 9, YOUNGSTOWN STATE 2
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University’s baseball team unleashed a four home run night, helping support starting pitcher Alex Robles en route to a 9-2 season-opening victory, Friday afternoon, in the second game of the Riverview Inn Governors Challenge at Raymond C. Hand Park.
Robles (1-0) was impressive in the opener, facing just 18 batters (three over the minimum) in his five-inning outing. He would allow a solo home run in the first inning, but shook it off with back-to-back strikeouts as he struck out the die in the frame. Those two strikeouts began a stretch that saw Robles retire 10 of 11 until surrendering a solo home run in the fourth.
Austin Peay (1-0) used the long ball to help Robles get ahead of the Penguins. Junior shortstop Kyle Wilson, who was making his debut as a Governor, led off the bottom of the first with a home run to tie the game. Two innings later, junior Cayce Bredlau, who missed the bulk of 2016 due to injury, hit a two-run blast in his return to the diamond for a 3-1 lead the Govs would not surrender.
The Governors would tack on single runs in the fourth and sixth innings before putting the game out of reach with a four-run seventh. Senior outfielder Chase Hamilton led off that frame with a solo home run and senior first baseman Dre Gleason followed with a two-run home run. Sophomore center fielder Imani Wilis tacked on the final run with a walk, stolen base and scored on a wild pitch.
Meanwhile, Robles finished his outing with nine strikeouts out of 18 batters faced, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk. The Govs bullpen mopped up the Penguins with sophomore lefty Brett Newberg and freshman right-hander Tyler Thompson combining to retire the final 12 batters of the game.
Youngstown State (0-1) had just three hits – a single and two home runs – scattered throughout their lineup. Shortstop Shane Willoughby and first baseman Andrew Kendrick each hit solo home runs.
YSU starter Joe King (0-1) allowed four runs on eight this in his four-inning outing.
KENT STATE 15, BELMONT 0
NASHVILLE - Belmont baseball struggled to find a rhythm during its 2017 debut against Kent State Friday evening at E.S. Rose Park. The Bruins were shutout, 15-0, by the Golden Flashes who's bats came alive early and often.
After only relinquishing three runs through the first three innings, KSU (1-0) took command of the game, scoring in five of the next six frames. While the Flashes tallied 18 hits, Belmont (0-1) was only able to connect on two at bats – both by junior infielder Alex Ward. Ward hoped to spark the Bruins in the bottom of the fourth inning with the squads first hit of that day on a single up center field, but was unable to convert after getting caught stealing on the proceeding play.
BU looked to junior hurler Tyler Vaughn to try and work through a powerful Kent State lineup. Despite giving up a solo shot by the Golden Flashes Reilly Hawkins on the second pitch of the day, the Preseason All-OVC honoree settled in the next two innings, striking out four batters. Vaughn tossed his second shutout of the game in the fifth stanza after making a diving catch and throwing the batter out at first base to signal the first out. Kent State would eventually threaten with runners on the corners, but Vaughn came up clutch once again as he caught his ninth batter looking to get out of the inning unscathed.
The Flashes tallied their next three runs on a pair of singles in the third and fourth innings to expand their lead, 4-0, and force Head Coach Dave Jarvis to call on junior right-handed pitcer Connor Etheridge to take over on the mound. While the Bruins were working through various pitching changes during the duration of the game, the Golden Flashes returning ace Eli Kraus was able to shut down the Bruins offense through seven frames.
Etheridge got out to a strong start tossing a pair of quick outs, but an untimely error by BU allowed KSU to sneak in a pair of runs before he could get out of the jam. The Golden Flashes headed to the seventh with a 6-0 advantage. It was in that stanza that Ward recorded his second hit of the day, painting the first base line with a bullet. Unfortunately, Belmont still couldn't seem to find an answer to Kraus as he retired the next two batters. The Medina, Ohio product only gave up a pair of hits and a walk in the 26 batters he faced.
The Golden Flashes tacked on seven additional runs in the final two innings of the game with the help of a grand slam blasted by Dom Iero, who finished the day with six RBIs on four hits. Robert Zeigler closed the last six outs on the mound, retiring three Bruins.
Junior Ben Lovell and freshman Michael Matter both tossed an inning of work for the Bruins as well.
MOREHEAD STATE 5, JACKSONVILLE 2
JACKSON, Miss. - Behind seven strong innings from starting pitcher Aaron Leasher and home runs by sophomores Hunter Fain and Niko Hulsizer, the Morehead State baseball team opened the 2017 season with a 5-2 neutral-site victory over Jacksonville at Jackson State's Bob Braddy Field.
Leasher, a junior left-hander, struck out six and surrendered only three hits in moving to 1-0. Senior lefty Cable Wright nailed down the final six outs, including three strikeouts, for his first save of 2017.
Fain, batting second in the order, cranked a monster solo home run in his first at-bat and finished the day 2-for-5. Hulsizer led the offense by going 4-for-5 and smashing a solo shot to left field in the seventh frame.
Morehead State, which had 32 games of 10 or more hits in 2016, was right back at it this year with 13 hits. Besides Fain and Hulsizer's multi-hit efforts, senior right-fielder Will Schneider and sophomore shortstop Reid Leonard each had two hits apiece.
Leasher did not allow a hit until a one-out single by JU in the fifth and was perfect through three.
The Eagles chased Dolphin starter Michael Baumann from the game after just 4.2 innings. He gave up seven hits and three earned runs.
FIU 5, JACKSONVILLE STATE 0
MIAMI, Fla. - The Jacksonville State baseball team dropped its opening day contest to Florida International, 5-0, on Friday evening in Miami, Florida.
The Gamecocks (0-1) struggled early to put runs on the board after touching FIU (1-0) starter Christopher Mourelle for four hits. A pair of those hots came in JSU's half of the third after a pair of freshmen recorded their first collegiate hits. Andrew Naismith, from Auburn, Alabama and earned the start at first base, started the third with a single up the middle. JSU's new rightfielder, Chase Robinson pushed Naismith to third on a double to left center. JSU was primed to put the first runs of the contest on the board, but Mourelle worked his way about the jam. Mourelle, who picked up the win, went 6.0 innings against Jax State and posted a career-high seven strikeouts. FIU's four pitchers combined to tally 10 strikeouts in the win. Mourelle also avoided trouble in the fourth after Hayden White was in scoring position before Josh Bobo lined out to right field to end the threat. White had one of JSU's five hits, while newcomer and Oxford, Alabama product Trent Simpson collected his first hit in a JSU uniform.
While Mourelle kept the Gamecocks off balance at the plate, JSU's opening day starter Garrett Farmer was equally impressive. The sophomore from Huntsville, Alabama, who worked his way in to the weekend rotation as a freshman, turned in a quality start in the opener. Farmer went five complete innings and did not allow an FIU hit until a two-out double by Nick Day in the fifth. Before Day's double, Farmer retired nine of the 10 batters he faced thorough four frames. The only Panther to reach base via a hit was a two-out walk in the second by JC Escarra. Farmer recorded four strikeouts and was touched for the one run, which was driven in by Eddie Silva in the fifth after Day's double.
FIU used three pitchers over the final three frames to hold the Gamecocks scoreless. Junior Clayton Daniel had the lone hit off the FIU bullpen as he extended his hitting streak to 11 games, dating back to the last 10 games of 2016. The season-opening loss is the first for JSU since falling to Kennesaw State in 2013.
The Panthers added four insurance runs in the eighth to secure the win. The Panthers posted the runs off of just two hits in the inning. JSU used senior Nate Sylvester and junior Grant Chandler in relief.
#7 ARIZONA 6, EASTERN KENTUCKY 0
TUCSON, Ariz. - The Eastern Kentucky University baseball team fell in its season opener against No. 7 University of Arizona Wildcats, 6-0, at Hi Corbett Field on Friday night.
The Colonels (0-1) started the game off with a hit as junior Daniel McFarland doubled down the left field line, but Eastern could not capitalize on the hit and left McFarland stranded. Arizona took the lead in the bottom of the inning when its lead-off batter scored from second on a single to left field.
After a scoreless second inning, the Wildcats (1-0) added to their lead in the bottom of the third when, with runners at the corners, the Colonels turned a double-play but could not stop the runner on third from scoring. Arizona padded its lead with three runs in the sixth, and an insurance run in the eighth.
Eastern attempted a rally in the ninth with another hit from McFarland, this time a double up the right field line, but it would not be enough to overcome the Wildcats pitching and defense.
Junior Jack Piekos gave up two earned runs and notched two strikeouts in his first five innings of work in a Colonel uniform.
For Arizona, JC Cloney went seven innings and only gave up one hit while striking out six Colonels.
SEATTLE 4-9, SIUE 1-3
SEATTLE - Seattle University swept a season-opening baseball doubleheader from SIUE Friday, winning 4-1 in the opener before taking the nightcap 9-3 at Bannerwood Park.
The Cougars (0-2) and Redhawks (2-0) will continue the four-game series with single games Saturday and Sunday.
In the opener, a scheduled seven-inning contest, the Redhawks scored single runs in the second and third innings for a 2-0 lead. The Cougars trimmed the lead to 2-1 in the fourth inning. Alec Skender singled to start the inning before Keaton Wright walked. Both runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Brock Wiemer. Jordan Stading then grounded out to drive in Skender.
Seattle leftfielder Aaron Stroosma added a two-run homer in the sixth for the final margin. Skender paced the Cougar offense, finishing 3 for 3 with the run scored. Mario Tursi had the only other hit for SIUE. He was 1-2.
Nolan Martz (0-1) made his Cougar debut, tossing five innings. He allowed all four runs on seven hits. He struck out five and walked three. Tyler Hutchinson pitched a scoreless sixth, striking out one.
Seattle righthander Janson Junk tossed six innings for the win. He allowed a run on four Cougar hits. He struck out seven and walked only one.
In the late game, Seattle struck for five runs on four hits in the first inning against SIUE starter Brock Fulkerson. Seattle designated hitter Max Modeste hit a three-run homer in the inning.
Fulkerson (0-1) pitched 3 1/3 innings, allowing six runs on six hits. He struck out four and walked three.
Both teams scored in the second inning. Mario Tursi collected the Cougars' RBI on a groundout which followed hits by Chris Monasmith and Jackson Layton. Wright picked up a one-out RBI-single in the third to score Dustin Woodcock, who had walked to start the frame.
Jared McCunn pulled the Cougars to within three runs and 6-3 with a two-out, RBI-double in the fifth inning. Wright scored after reaching on a walk. Seattle added two runs in the bottom of the fifth and another in the seventh for the 9-3 final.
Modeste finished 1 for 3 with the three-run homer for Seattle. Redhawlks' first baseman Sean Sutton finished with three hits for Seattle.
Anthony Sitko allowed a run in two innings of relief for SIUE. He walked two. Michael Shereyk allowed two runs in 2 2/3 innings.