SUNDAY'S SCORES
Southeast Missouri 3, @Stephen F. Austin 1
@UT Martin 4, Buffalo 3 (Union City, Tenn.)
Morehead State 3, @Jackson State 1
Murray State 3, @Southeastern Louisiana 1
Kent State 5,
@Belmont 4
@South Alabama 8,
Eastern Illinois 3
Jacksonville State 12, @FIU 6
@Tennessee Tech 2, Toledo 0
@#7 Arizona 18,
Eastern Kentucky 4
SIUE 13, @Seattle 10
Indiana State 12,
@Austin Peay 9
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 1
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Opening weekend of the 2017 Southeast Missouri baseball (2-2) season came to a close Sunday with a 3-1 Redhawk victory over Stephen F. Austin (2-1).
In his Redhawk debut, starter Nate Green (1-0) earned his first career win. Green worked five complete innings, allowing SFA's only run on five hits.
Carlos Vega made his second appearance of the weekend on the mound for Southeast. Vega was sharp, pitching three scoreless innings, allowing jut one hit, struck out three, and walked none.
Matthew Wade picked up his second save of the weekend after pitching a perfect ninth inning, including earning a strikeout.
Patrick Ledet (0-1), who beat the Redhawks a season ago, recorded the loss on Sunday. Ledet pitched five innings and gave up all three SEMO runs. He was the first of eight pitchers used by the Lumberjacks.
Southeast put up nine total hits on Sunday and were led by a three-hit day by Dan Holst, tying a career best. Holst knocked a pair of triples and scored twice. First baseman Tristen Gagan was the only other Redhawk with multiple hits, finishing 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Holst led off the third inning with his second hit of the weekend, a single into right field. Connor Basler laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Holst up. After a fly out that allowed Holst to advance to third, Clayton Evans knocked a two-out line drive base hit into left, allowing Holst to touch home and putting SEMO on the board, 1-0.
The Lumberjacks immediately tied the game in the bottom of the inning when Nick Ramos hit a double into the right center gap, scoring Tyler Kendrick all the way from first. After three innings, the game was tied 1-1.
On the first pitch of his at bat in the fifth inning, Holst blasted a triple into right field to lead off the frame. Basler singled up the middle for his first collegiate hit, scoring Holst and putting SEMO back up, 2-1. A two-out walk to Evans was followed by a double to left center off the bat of Gagan, scoring Evans all the way from first and widening the lead to 3-1 on the Lumberjacks.
The combo of Vega and Wade out of the pen held the Jacks to just one hit the remainder of the game.
SFA had two-hit performances from Alex Hrinevich and Kendrick. The pair were responsible for two-thirds of SFA's six total hits.
UT MARTIN 4, BUFFALO 3
UNION CITY, Tenn. - Tyler Albright singled in Creighton Eldridge in the ninth and then scored the winning run three batters later in the University of Tennessee at Martin’s 4-3 comeback victory over Buffalo on Sunday afternoon.
The Skyhawks trailed 3-2 entering the bottom of the ninth when Eldridge drew a leadoff walk. Senior Josh Hauser laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Eldridge to second base and set the stage for Albright. The Algonquin, Ill. native laced a single into right to score Eldridge and pull the Skyhawks even 3-3. After a Ryan Helgren walk and Tanner Wessling hit-by-pitch to load the bases, Dan Kerwin hit a grounder back to Buffalo closer Logan Harista who sent a throw wide of his catcher Kyle Brennan to give UT Martin the 4-3 win.
Adduci and Aube both kick started the Skyhawk offense in the fourth inning with back-to-back singles. The speedy runners combined with a hard ground ball from Eldridge forced an errant throw from Bulls first baseman Andrew Taft into left field, as Adduci scampered home to put UT Martin on top 1-0. Tyler Albright then hit a sacrifice fly to right to score Aube and give the Skyhawks a 2-0 advantage.
Buffalo (1-2) quickly responded as they laced four hits off UT Martin starting pitcher Jake Patzner in the top of the fifth. The Bulls turned those hits into three runs and took over the lead 3-2. Neither team was able to break through until the late UT Martin rally in the ninth.
Patzner got the nod in the rubber match today going five innings, allowing just three runs and striking out seven Buffalo hitters. Alex Evans picked up where he left off last year throwing four scoreless innings in relief and punching out six Bulls en route to his first win of the season. Harasta picked up the loss for Buffalo.
Albright finished the day 3-3, with two RBI’s and a .500 average to lead a strong showing from the UT Martin offense throughout the weekend. Wessling and Adduci also notched .500 averages and nine Skyhawk hitters notched multiple hits over the three-game series. This weekend was UT Martin’s first home opening series win since 2010 when the Skyhawks swept IPFW in a three-game series.
MOREHEAD STATE 3, JACKSON STATE 1
JACKSON, Miss. - Senior righthander Luke Humphreys and junior righty David Calderon combined to allow host Jackson State just one hit as the Morehead State Baseball team closed the JSU Tournament with a 3-1 win over the Tigers Sunday at Bob Braddy Field.
The Eagles finished the weekend 2-2.
Humphreys, from Dickson, Tenn., picked up the win with a 5.1-inning outing. He only surrendered a bunt hit down the third-base line and struck out four. Calderon, a Chicago, Ill., native, collected his first career save by shutting down JSU for the final 3.2 frames while fanning two.
Humphreys collected his 18th career victory, moving into a tie for fourth place in career wins at MSU. He also started for the 42nd time in his career, needing just four more to set that MSU career standard.
The Eagle offense did just enough, despite leaving 11 men on base. Sophomore designated hitter Trevor Snyder drew a bases-loaded walk in the first to open the scoring.
Snyder, who was 2-for-4, struck again in the third with an RBI double to score sophomore leftfielder Niko Hulsizer, who had reached third on a two-base error.
Sophomore catcher Hunter Fain added the final tally with an RBI double in the fourth that scored junior second baseman Braxton Morris. Hulsizer, who leads the Eagles with a .545 batting average, had two hits. Senior rightfielder Will Schneider added two hits as well.
MURRAY STATE 3, SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA 1
HAMMOND, La. - For the second straight day a solo home run pushed Murray State out to an early lead and Chad Gendron slammed the door in the ninth inning for the save as the Racers defeated No. 36 ranked Southeastern Louisiana, 3-1 Sunday afternoon in Hammond, La.
Brandon Gutzler's first inning homer put the Racers (3-0) out front early and for the third consecutive game, MSU led wire-to-wire. The Racers extended their lead to 3-0 with two runs in the fifth inning. A Kipp Moore RBI single to left scored Adam Bauer to make it 2-0 and in the next at-bat, Gutzler hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Jaron Robinson.
Southeastern (1-1) got a run back in the bottom half of the fifth to make it 3-1 before the Racers ended the Lions' threat with a 6-3 double play. SLU threatened again in the seventh when it started the inning with a leadoff double however, Luke Brown came on in relief and ended the threat. Brown struck-out the first batter he faced and Moore was able to throw out a would-be base stealer at second base before a groundout ended the inning.
Gendron was able to pick up his second save of the year with a solid ninth, allowing just one hit in the inning. Gendron, Brown and John Lollar combined to pitch three scoreless innings and allowed just two hits in relief of starter Austin Dubsky.
Dubsky worked six innings in the win and struck-out four batters and allowed just three hits. Robinson tied a career-high with a three-hit day while Moore was the other Racer with a multi-hit day as he went 2-for-5.
MSU collected 10 hits in the game while Southeastern had just five. Both teams hit into two double plays while the Racers left seven men on base and the Lions stranded five.
KENT STATE 5, BELMONT 4
NASHVILLE - A pair of doubles from junior infielder Ben Kocher helped spark Belmont baseball's offense in the final game of the series against Kent State, but the Bruins were plagued by a ninth inning outburst from the Golden Flashes. After giving up four runs in the final stanza, BU fell to KSU, 5-4, Sunday afternoon at E.S. Rose Park.
Having struggled to heat up their bats in the first two games against the Golden Flashes (3-0), the Bruins (0-3) capitalized on a big third inning to give themselves their first advantage of the weekend. After junior infielder Rafael Bournigal was dealt a four-pitch walk, Kocher stepped to the plate and launched an RBI double into left centerfield. The Zionsville, Indiana product took a gamble on the next play and stole third. The play proved to be successful and set up junior outfielder Alex Ward to put Belmont up, 2-0, with a RBI sac fly to centerfield.
The Bruins continued to work Kent State's starting pitcher Joey Murray in the bottom of the fourth, loading the bases on a pair of singles and a walk. With two outs under his belt, Murray faced Kocher at the plate once again. This time the righty was able to force a fly out and keep Belmont from increasing its lead.
While the Flashes pitching staff couldn't seem to silence the Bruins, sophomore righty Casey Queener dealt five clean innings, including his first 1-2-3 frame in the fifth. It wouldn't be until the sixth that Kent State found its way on the board with a solo shot over the left field fence to cut BU's lead in half, 2-1. Queener, unfazed by the bomb, settled back in and sat the next two batters down to keep the Flashes from causing any more damage.
Sophomore right-hander Kyle Klotz went on to replace Queener on the bump in the seventh.
In the eighth inning, Belmont capitalized on a couple of costly Kent State plays. At the top of the frame the Golden Flashes had a runner on second with two outs and one of their most productive hitters, Dom Iero, at the plate. One pitch into the at-bat the Flashes signaled the baserunner to steal third. Not skipping a beat, Klotz fired a bullet at Kocher who was residing at third to tag the runner and trigger the third out of the inning. The Bruins went on to tack on their third run of the day in the bottom of the frame after the Flashes committed their lone error of the game.
Belmont headed into the final three outs with a 3-1 advantage. Junior righty Austin Reynolds was called on to make his debut sporting a Bruins uniform. He induced a fly ball to left field for a quick first out, but a stubborn Kent State squad refused to go away as they registered four runs before BU could collect the final two outs. After a wild pitch got past senior catcher Clay Payne, KSU took advantage with three consecutive multi-base knocks and claimed its first lead of the game, 5-3. It's was the third time that the Flashes registered multiple runs in the ninth inning.
Kocher tried to work his magic one last time, sending a double to centerfield with two outs in the bottom half of the final inning, but the Bruins comeback bid came up short.
Chris Martin, who only tossed a third of an inning, earned the win for Kent State while Zach Spangler collected his second-straight save. Queener was tabbed with the loss.
SOUTH ALABAMA 8, EASTERN ILLINOIS 3
MOBILE, Ala. - For the second day in a row the Eastern Illinois baseball team gained an early lead, but South Alabama used another late comeback to win the final game of the series by a score of 8-3.
With the loss, Eastern Illinois dropped to 0-3 to begin the year. South Alabama improved to 3-0.
Eastern Illinois scored the first run of the series finale in the top of the third inning. After a lead-off walk to Justin Smith to begin the inning, Andrew Curran moved Smith up another 90 feet on a sacrifice bunt. The Panthers put runners on the corners following a Joseph Duncan single. Dane Toppel scored Smith on the next play with an RBI groundout to give EIU a 1-0 lead.
South Alabama responded with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning to tie the score at 1-1. After loading the bases against the Panthers, South Alabama scored the tying run on an RBI fielder’s choice off the bat of Paul Russo.
The Panthers quickly regained the lead in the top of the fourth inning with a two-out rally. After a walk to Hunter Beetley, South Alabama kept the Panthers alive with an error that allowed Jordan Flint to reach safely and moved Beetley up to second base. Smith singled to right to give the Panthers their first run of the inning. Duncan followed a Curran walk with an RBI single up the middle to put Eastern Illinois ahead 3-1.
EIU starter, Dustin Wilson, controlled the South Alabama for most of the game, but the Jaguars once again got to the junior in the bottom of the fifth inning. Dylan Hardy hit a two-out triple into the right-field corner and later scored on an RBI single by Russo and cut the EIU lead to 3-2.
South Alabama overtook the lead following a four-run sixth inning and a two-run seventh inning against the EIU bullpen.
Wilson (0-1) suffered the loss on the mound for the Panthers, going 5.2 innings in his first career start at Eastern Illinois.
Duncan finished the game going 2-for-5 at the plate with one RBI and one stolen base. Dougie Parks also recorded a hit for the Panthers.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 12, FIU 6
MIAMI, Fla. - Jacksonville State posted eight runs over the final four innings to claim the season-opening weekend series over Florida International with a 12-6 Sunday win at the FIU Baseball Stadium.
After dropping Friday's season-opener, 5-0, to the Panthers (1-2), the Gamecocks (2-1) bounced back to win 6-5 on Saturday before posting the win on Sunday.
JSU, who rallied in the seventh of Saturday's contest with three runs, carried that momentum over in to the series finale with three runs in the second frame. Freshman Chase Robinson put the Gamecocks on the scoreboard with a sacrifice fly ball to drive in Payton Young, who reached base with a single. The Piedmont, Alabama native made his second start of the season and first in right field on Sunday. Junior Taylor Hawthorne belted a double to right center, pushing across a pair of JSU runs. The Gamecocks would add a run in the third on freshman Andrew Naismith's RBI sacrifice fly. Naismith, who made his second start at first base, finished the day 2-for-3 after recording a solo home run in the Gamecock ninth to add the 12th run of the day.
Hawthorne led six Gamecocks with multiple hits on the day as the Prattville, Alabama shortstop was 3-for-6.
Sophomore Derrick Adams was staked to a 4-0 lead through the first two innings before FIU drove in two runs on a pair of two-out singles. The Panthers added two more runs in the fourth to equalize at 4-4 and took a 5-4 lead on Irving Loez's solo home run off of JSU reliever Cody Dodd. That would be all that Dodd, a freshman from Alexandria would give to FIU as the right hander tossed 3.0 solid innings and was touched for the one hit and one run. Adams and Dodd combined for six strikeouts in the first seven innings. Dodd picked up the win in his Jax State debut. Tyler Wilburn and Nate Sylvester pitched the eighth and ninth respectively.
The Gamecocks struggled against FIU's Robert Garcia for three innings as he posted seven strikeouts in four innings of work, but it was his final inning that JSU started to put things together offensively against him. Trailing 5-4 in the sixth, JSU rallied with its second of its trio of three-run frames. Robinson and Hawthorne produced RBIs along with senior Joe McGuire's eventual game-winning RBI with a single to left. The Oxford, Alabama product, who got the win on the mound Saturday, registered another RBI in the JSU's three-run eighth.
Senior Peyton Williams collected JSU's first home run of the season to start scoring in the eighth. Williams belted one over the right field wall. It was his fifth of his career and first since last season against Austin Peay. McGuire's RBI was the second of the inning, while senior Josh Bobo joined the RBI contingent with a double down the left field line.
JSU, who was held to five hits on Friday, combined for 29 hits in the final 18 innings of the weekend after collecting 12 hits on Saturday and 17 on Sunday.
TENNESSEE TECH 2. TOLEDO 0
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - For the second consecutive game, pitching took center stage for the Tennessee Tech baseball team Sunday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles completed a four-game series sweep of Toledo with their second straight shutout, a 2-0 win at Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
After Saturday evening's masterful performance from rookie Devin Lancaster, it was a veteran's turn to dominate the hill. Senior Chase Burkett took the role without blinking, tossing seven scoreless innings and scattering four hits and a walk. He posted three strikeouts while holding the Rocket hitters off balance throughout a tight ball game.
Burkett was perfect through the first three innings before allowing his first hit of the contest in the top of the fourth. For Toledo, starter Layne Schnitz-Paxton did not allow a hit through the first three innings as well, eventually surrendering his first in the bottom of the fourth to Ryan Flick. Junior Trevor Putzig followed with a second base knock and both runners advanced a base on a wild pitch to Matt Jones.
Jones then drove in the first run of the game with an RBI ground out to second base. From that point on, Burkett continued to cruise, grilling the Toledo order inning after inning.
Junior David Garza, who celebrated his 22nd birthday, added a much-needed insurance run in the bottom of the seventh frame. The Tech shortstop ripped an RBI single off the glove of the second baseman, scoring Putzig for a 2-0 Golden Eagle lead.
With the game still tight, Tech turned to closer Ethan Roberts for the final six outs. The sophomore did not disappoint, fanning two and allowing no hits and no walks for his second save of the young season.
Leadoff hitter Alex Junior reached base three times in the contest thanks to three free passes while Putzig led the team offensively with two hits in three trips to the plate.
Sunday marked the first time a Golden Eagle squad posted back-to-back shutouts since the 2013 Ohio Valley Conference championship team collected two 1-0 victories in the middle of its nation-leading 14-game winning streak. Tech would go on to set a program record of 40 wins and a conference record of 24 victories that season.
#7 ARIZONA 18, EASTERN KENTUCKY 4
TUCSON, Ariz. - The Eastern Kentucky University baseball team could not withstand a storm of runs as it fell to the No. 7 University of Arizona Wildcats, 18-4, on a rainy Sunday afternoon at Hi Corbett Field.
The Colonels (0-3) came out swinging, but the Arizona pitching made quick work of the top of the lineup in the first.
The Wildcats (3-0) jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the first, and would never look back.
Going into the top of the fourth down 9-0, Eastern tried to start a comeback rally sparked by a RBI groundout from senior Shea Sullivan. Fellow senior Matt Olive picked up his first RBI of the season with a double that scored junior Daniel McFarland.
The Colonels finished the top of the fourth down 9-2, but the rally was quickly squashed with a four-run bottom of the fourth from the Wildcats, giving them a 13-2 lead.
Eastern cut into the lead with a sacrifice fly from senior Cornell Nixon that scored sophomore Alex Holderbach, but a five-run fifth from Arizona put them firmly ahead, 18-3.
A team best second RBI of the day from Olive came from a single that plated freshman Miles Jones in the top of the sixth, but that would be all she wrote as EKU fell by a score of 18-4.
Olive finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs for Eastern.
SIUE 13, SEATTLE 10
BELLEVUE, Wash. - SIUE baseball scored 13 times on 15 hits Sunday to earn a series split with a 13-10 win over Seattle in the finale of a four-game set.
SIUE and Seattle are both 2-2 this season.
The Cougars used a four-run second inning to take a 4-2 lead. The Cougars scored twice in the third inning and single runs in the sixth and seventh innings to lead 8-4 after seven innings.
Seattle scored twice in the seventh and two more times in the bottom of the eighth to lead 10-8 before SIUE used a five-run ninth inning to edge the Redhawks.
Alec Skender, Keaton Wright and Chris Monasmith all homered for the Cougars. Wright finished 2 for 5 with a game-high four RBIs. Monasmith was 2 for 3 with two driven in. Eric Giltz was 3 for 4 with two RBIs. Skender was 2 for 4 with the RBI and two runs scored. Jackson Layton was 1 for 4 with a pair of RBIs.
Mason McReaken (1-0) scored the win with an inning of relief. He allowed two unearned runs. Devin Colley earned the save with a scoreless ninth inning. He allowed two hits. In all, the Cougars used six pitchers Sunday.
Seattle's Austin Hansen (0-1) allowed five runs on three hits in 1 1/3 innings of relief to suffer the loss.
Jack Reisinger was 3 for 5 for the Redhawks with a home run and three RBIs. Aaron Stroosma and Austin Lively each had two hits for Seattle.
INDIANA STATE 12, AUSTIN PEAY 9
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Recap coming soon.