SUNDAY'S SCORES
Ohio 2,
SIUE 1 (13 innings) (Emerson, Ga.)
@Eastern Kentucky 9, Oakland 4 (Lexington, Ky.)
Iowa 14,
Morehead State 7 (Hoover, Ala.)
Austin Peay 7, @#6 NC State 3
Buffalo 11,
@Murray State 4
@Southeast Missouri 5, Western Illinois 1
@Belmont 7, Bowling Green 5
Eastern Illinois 4, @Central Arkansas 2
Jacksonville State 9, @Western Kentucky 5
@Tennessee Tech 16, Bradley 14
@UT Martin 4, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 2 (Union City, Tenn.)
OHIO 2, SIUE 1 (13)
EMERSON, Ga. - Ohio earned a series split, with a narrow 2-1 win over SIUE baseball in 13 innings Sunday in the finale of a four-game set.
Ohio improved to 5-3 with the win. The Cougars are 4-4 for the season.
Ohio opened the scoring in the first inning pushing across a run on two hits against SIUE starter Brendan Miller. The Cougars answered in the fourth when Jared McCunn picked up a two-out RBI single to score Brock Weimer.
Miller settled in to throw six innings, allowing just the single run on five hits. He walked one and struck out four.
Ohio's Evan Bourn lifted a sacrifice fly to left field in the top of the 13th inning scored Mateus Vakuda with the eventual winning run. Dustin Woodcock singled to start the bottom of the inning, but was left on the bases. The Cougars left nine men on base for the game.
Devin Colley, Mason McReaken, Tyler Hutchinson and Anthony Sitko combined to allow a single run and did not walk a batter in seven innings of work out of the bullpen. McReaken struck out three hitters in three innings. Hutchinson (0-1) suffered the loss, allowing the run in 2 1/3 innings of work.
McCunn and Woodcock each had two hits to lead the Cougars, who finished with eight hits for the game.
Jake Roehn (2-0) pitched three scoreless innings to pick up the win for the Bobcats. Four different Ohio players had two hits apiece to lead the Bobcats.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 9, OAKLAND 4
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Shea Sullivan went 4-for-5 and scored three times as the Eastern Kentucky University baseball team completed a three-game sweep of Oakland University with a 9-4 victory on Sunday at Whitaker Bank Ballpark in Lexington.
Eastern (3-5) built a cushion in the bottom of the fourth. With runners at the corners, Brenden Overton broke a 3-3 tie with a RBI single to right. After Ryland Kerr walked to load the bases, Alex Holderbach drew a walk himself to force in another run. Logan Starnes capped the scoring in the inning with a RBI single to right field to make it 6-3.
EKU had another three-run inning in the seventh.
After Oakland (1-7) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, the Colonels answered in the bottom half of the inning with three runs. Cornell Nixon began the inning with a walk and Sullivan followed with a game-tying double. Ben Fisher then put the home team in front with a run-scoring double. A sacrifice bunt allowed Fisher to move to third and then score on a ground ball by Kerr for a 3-1 lead.
The Golden Grizzlies tied it on a two-run double by Emerson Misch in the top of the second inning.
In addition to finishing 4-for-5 with three runs, Sullivan also drove in two. Fisher went 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs.
Brian Mroz (1-2) was outstanding in relief. He came on to start the third inning with the game tied and tossed three shutout innings. He gave up two hits and walked one while striking out five.
Tyler Trovinger went 2-for-4 with two runs scored for Oakland.
IOWA 14, MOREHEAD STATE 7
HOOVER, Ala. - The Morehead State Baseball team out-hit the Iowa Hawkeyes 13-10 Sunday afternoon the Eagles' final game of the Hoover Classic, but too many free bases fueled Iowa's 14-7 win at the Hoover Met Stadium.
Morehead State concluded with a 5-3 record after the first two weeks of the 2017 campaign. The Eagle pitchers issued nine walks, three wild pitches and hit two batters against Iowa.
Of the Eagles' 13 hits, junior third baseman Chase Teter tied the school single-game record with three doubles – all to left field. Senior first baseman/rightfielder Will Schneider, senior centerfielder Ryan Kent, sophomore DH Trevor Snyder and sophomore outfielder Niko Hulsizer all nailed a pair of hits apiece. Kent had two RBI, while Hulsizer legged out a double and a triple – both off the wall in right field.
Morehead State jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first frame, but the Hawkeyes answered with six in the second as they took advantage of three walks and a hit batter by starter Luke Humphreys and reliever JC Hatcher.
Iowa climbed ahead 8-5 after five innings before the Eagles scratched back to within 8-7 heading to the bottom of the seventh. Snyder had an RBI ground out in the sixth, and sophomore shortstop Reid Leonard singled home a run in the seventh.
However, Iowa blasted the game open by scoring three times in the seventh and eighth innings.
Humphreys was charged with six earned runs to fall to 1-1.
AUSTIN PEAY 7, #6 NC STATE 3
RALEIGH, N.C. - Third baseman Landon Kelly had five RBI to lead Austin Peay State University’s baseball team to a 7-3 victory against No. 6-ranked North Carolina State, Sunday afternoon at Doak Field.
After an awful Saturday with runners in scoring position, Austin Peay (4-3) took advantage of its second opportunity in Sunday’s contest. First baseman Dre Gleason and left fielder Alex Robles started the frame with a walk and a double, respectively. One out later, third baseman Landon Kelly laced a double into the left center gap to give the Govs their first lead of the series, 2-0.
North Carolina State (4-2) was unable to respond immediately as Austin Peay starter Caleb Powell retired the side in order in the second. However, the Wolfpack did get the runs back in the third, using a walk and a double of their own to start a rally that third baseman Evan Mendoza hit a single that tied the game, 2-2.
Then the teams traded solo home runs. Govs right fielder Chase Hamilton launched his fourth of the season to right field in the fifth, giving the Govs a 3-2 lead. North Carolina State shortstop Joe Dunand responded with a leadoff home run in the seventh, tying the game again.
The game finally broke Austin Peay’s way in the eighth inning. After seeing a leadoff walk cut down on a close play at third base for the second out, the Govs pieced together their game-winning rally. Robles singled and pinch hitter Cayce Bredlau walked to load the bases. A wild pitch allowed pinch runner Tyler Hubbard to score, breaking the tie. Kelly then supplied the insurance with his first collegiate home run, a three-run blast to left for a 7-3 lead.
Powell bounced back nicely from his rough opening weekend start, limiting the Wolfpack to two runs on four hits and three walks over 5.1 innings. Reliever John Sparks (1-1) picked up the win, limiting NCSU to one run while striking out five over his 2.2 innings. Lefty Levi Primasing recorded the final three outs.
Kelly finished his first collegiate start with a 2-for-4, five RBI day at the plate. Robles notched another three-hit outing that included his 200th career hit in the sixth inning.
North Carolina State reliever Michael Bienlein (0-1) was tagged for the loss after a runner he left on board scored on the wild pitch. The Wolfpack used six pitchers in the contest.
Mendoza’s 1-for-4, two RBI outing led the NCSU offense, which was held to six hits by the Govs three pitchers.
BUFFALO 11, MURRAY STATE 4
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State baseball team was held to six hits in an 11-4 loss to Buffalo on Sunday afternoon at Reagan Field in the series finale with the Bulls.
The Racers (5-2) did most of their damage in their four-run eighth inning as they collected three of their hits in the inning. Adam Bauer hit his first triple of the season to drive in two runs to get the Racers on the board for the first time in the game after the Bulls (3-3) built an 11-0 lead. The next batter, Caleb Hicks hit his first home run of the year on a two-run shot to left to make it 11-4.
Aaron Bence, Kipp Moore, Ryan Perkins and Davis Sims all had hits in the loss with Bauer, Hicks, Perkins and Justin Perkins scoring the runs. Starter Shawn Dubin allowed just two hits in six innings of work for the Bulls on the day.
Austin Dubsky got the start on the mound for MSU and went 3.2 innings. Dubsky allowed three hits and three unearned runs in the game. The Racers used six pitchers out of the bullpen Sunday with Justin Perkins and Caleb Arbeiter pitching scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 5, WESTERN ILLINOIS 1
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri baseball completed a three-game series sweep of Western Illinois (0-7) Sunday afternoon with a 5-1 victory.
The win is Southeast's fourth in a row as the Redhawks improve to 5-2 on the young season.
Entering Sunday's game, SEMO had hit just a pair of home runs in the first six games. The Redhawks blasted a trio of homers in Sunday's game alone.
Southeast outhit the Leathernecks 8-3 in the contest. Trevor Ezell and Dan Holst each recorded a pair of hits. Tristen Gagan joined Ezell and Holst in going yard on the day.
Justin Murphy (1-0) earned his first victory as a starter Sunday. He worked seven complete innings, allowed one run on only three hits while fanning three. Murphy recorded a string of eight-straight batters retired from the second to the fourth inning.
Carlos Vega appeared on the mound for a second consecutive game and pitched two scoreless, hitless innings to close the game and pick up his first save in a Redhawk uniform.
For the second game in the series, the Redhawk pitching staff surrendered no walks. The only walk given up by the Redhawks this weekend came in the ninth inning of game two on Saturday.
Javin Drake (0-2) suffered the loss for WIU. He worked six innings, allowed three runs on six Redhawk hits. He struck out three.
Kylar Robertson ripped a one-out double down the right field line for a Redhawk baserunner in the second inning. Following a fly out to left by Chris Osborne, Brian Lees doubled over the right fielder to drive Robertson in and put SEMO on the board early, 1-0.
Gagan hit a solo home run to lead off the fourth inning, widening the lead to 2-0. It was Gagan's second home run in as many days.
Johnathon Fleek cut the Redhawk lead in half with a leadoff home run to left in the top of the fifth inning, 2-1.
The lead was widened back to two when Ezell hit his first home run of the season over the wall in right to go back up 3-1 on the Leathernecks.
A two-run bomb off the bat of Holst in the bottom of the eighth tacked on a pair of insurance runs heading to the ninth inning. Holst's home run bounced off the top of the wall in right center and went out.
Vega sat the Leathernecks down in order in the ninth to secure the save and the Redhawk victory.
BELMONT 7, BOWLING GREEN 5
NASHVILLE - Trailing with two down and no one on base in the bottom of the eighth, senior Nick Egli stepped up to the plate and blasted his second double of the day to ignite a five-run rally that propelled Belmont Baseball past Bowling Green, 7-5, in the final game of the Mule Mix Classic Sunday afternoon at E.S. Rose Park.
After a disastrous fourth inning that saw Bowling Green (0-6) post five runs and dig Belmont (3-4) into a 5-2 whole, the Bruins struggled to get their offense firing. The squad, who started the game with a two-run advantage early, were only able to register one hit in 15 plate appearances spanning four and 2/3 innings before Egli broke the spell with his two-out two bagger. From then on the Bruins were rolling, recording a pair of walks to load the bases for junior infielder Kyle Conger who laced a two-run single up left field and brought the Bruins within one, 5-4.
Recording a team-best fifth multi-hit outing of the year, redshirt-freshman Matt Cogen tallied his third hit of the day to load the bases for the second time in the eighth with two-outs still lit on the scoreboard. That sent sophomore infielder Chas Hadden to the batter's box with the game-winning run on base. Hadden, who had yet to get a hit all day, delivered a base knock down the left line for 2 RBIs and the Bruins had claimed the 7-5 advantage before Bowling Green was able to get the third out.
For the second consecutive day the Bruins got out to an early lead, hanging up two runs in the opening frame. Leadoff hitter, Conger did his job connecting on a single up the middle to bring up Belmont's hottest hitter Cogen to the plate. The Franklin, Tennessee product didn't skip a beat, lacing a RBI triple to the right field warning track for his 10th hit of the year. Bowling Green's starting pitcher, Zac Carey, lost his next toss to allow Cogen to get home on a wild pitch and put BU up, 2-0.
Sophomore hurler Casey Queener started the game dialing up six strikeouts through the first couple of frames, but struggled to settle in after that. Head coach Dave Jarvis called on junior reliever Connor Etheridge to takeover on the mound with one down in the fourth, inheriting runners on all three bases. The inning continued to go downhill, as Etheridge issued an RBI walk and a couple of singles to allow the Falcons to go up 5-2. Bowling Green went on to work its way through the lineup and load the bases for the third time before Etheridge could trigger the third out via strikeout.
Etheridge ensured that no further damage be done on the scoreboard, tossing consecutive three up, three down innings in the fifth and sixth. BU looked to cut into its deficit in the bottom half of both frames, but couldn't get anything to go stranding three runners. Initially the Bruins left Conger and Cogen on first and second after they both reached with base on balls. Junior infielder Rafael Bournigal started the sixth with a free ride himself, but was caught stealing second – a play that would prove costly as senior catcher Clay Payne took the plate. Payne ripped the Bruins second triple of the day, a hit that would've brought in Bournigal and put BU within two, but instead they headed to the seventh still down, 5-2.
The Falcons forced the Bruins to hang up six scoreless frames before they'd mount their monstrous comeback in the eighth. Etheridge would finish the day logging 3 and 2/3 innings of work, striking out eight of the 14 batters. Sophomore righty Kyle Klotz replaced Etheridge in the eighth to collect his first win on the mound of the year, while veteran closer Dom Veltri earned the save sitting down Bowling Green's final three batters.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 4, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 2
CONWAY, Ark. - Timely hitting and strong pitching lifted Eastern Illinois baseball to their first win of the season, defeating Central Arkansas, 4-2, in their series finale on Sunday.
With the win, Eastern Illinois improved to 1-6 overall, while Central Arkansas dropped to 5-2 on the season.
Freshman right-handed pitcher, Alex Stevenson, earned his first collegiate start in the series finale at Central Arkansas on Sunday and picked up his first career win. Stevenson was dominant on the mound, as he allowed just two runs in five innings of work and scattered six hits before he gave way to the bullpen for the final four innings. Brent Stephens and Michael Starcevich both pitched two scoreless innings out of the bullpen as Starcevich picked up the first save of his career.
Joseph Duncan got the game started off strong for the Panthers as he hit a lead-off single in the top of the first inning. Duncan quickly moved up into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Andrew Curran, and later scored in the inning on a Dougie Parks RBI single to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
Central Arkansas responded in the bottom half of the frame. Keaton Presley singled to lead off the inning for the Bears and found his way to third base following a stolen base and an EIU error. UCA knotted the score on the next play on an RBI single off the bat of Hunter Strong.
Both teams scored one run each in the second inning as the Panthers got their run on an RBI single by Josh Turnock, with UCA earning their run on an RBI double by Eddie Sanchez.
Tyler Tesmond hit a two-out double to left in the fourth inning that started an Eastern Illinois rally. Turnock, Nicholas McCormick, and Duncan all followed with three-straight walks as Duncan’s walk brought home Tesmond to give the Panthers a 3-2 lead. Curran provided the Panthers with an insurance run after getting hit by a pitch on the next play to plate Turnock.
The two-run cushion was more than enough support for the Eastern Illinois pitching staff, as the Panthers surrendered just four hits the rest of the way to pick up the 4-2 victory in the series finale.
Tesmond (2-for-3) and Parks (2-for-4) both recorded multi-hit games for the Panthers on Sunday.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 9, WESTERN KENTUCKY 5
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - A seven-run third inning for Jacksonville State and a career day on the mound for sophomore Derrick Adams highlighted a 9-5 series-clinching Sunday win over Western Kentucky.
The Gamecocks, in a midst of an 11-game road trip, have claimed the first two weekends to start the season with a win at WKU's Nick Denes Field. Both of JSU's series wins have come against Conference USA foes as it opened the season with a pair of wins over Florida International and the two wins in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Jax State opened the series with a 3-2 decision over the Hilltoppers before WKU evened the weekend set on Saturday, 14-4. JSU has won two consecutive series against WKU after collecting a sweep last season in Jacksonville.
Adams, a sophomore from Huntsville, Alabama, had a career outing against the Hilltoppers. The left hander went a career-long six innings on the mound and established a new career high in strikeouts with 10 on Sunday. His previous mark was six which was set last season against South Alabama last May. Adams allowed just one run on two Hilltopper hits in the outing. After allowing WKU to equalize with a run in the second and the Gamecocks responding with seven runs on five hits to take an 8-1 lead, Adams mowed down the next 12 Hilltoppers. WKU did not get its second hit of the day until a two-out single by Kaleb Duckworth.
JSU, who used three pitchers out of the bullpen to wrap up the final three innings, combined for 15 strikeouts, which is the most for the Gamecocks since they fanned 16 against Troy last season in a 16-inning contest.
After WKU knotted the contest at 1-1 in the second inning, JSU strung together five hits and took advantage of a pair of WKU walks. With the bases loaded, junior Trent Simpson singled to centerfield to give JSU a 2-1 lead - a lead that would quickly expand to with an RBI single by Hayden White and a two RBI base hit by Josh Bobo. Senior Peyton Williams added an RBI in the frame with a sacrifice fly to center. Junior Nolan Greckel closed out the scoring in the inning with a single that plated a pair of runs.
Bobo finished the weekend against WKU 6-for-13 and a trio of RBI and scored three runs. He put together back-to-back multiple hit games in the series. Greckel, from Acworth, Georgia, had another solid day at the plate with a pair of hits. Junior Clayton Daniel tallied a three-hit day and has now put together a 15-game hitting streak that dates back to the 2016 season.
JSU added its final run of the contest in the seventh as Williams registered his second run-producing hit with a single to left field.
Senior Joe McGuire came in relief of Adams and was touched for four runs in the seventh by WKU. The Hilltoppers made things closer with the four-run inning that was sparked by a two-run home run by pinch hitter Wyatt Featherston.
Jax State used freshman Tyler Wilburn to finish the seventh and record the first two outs of the eighth before Simpson closed things down. Wilburn and Simpson carded a pair of strikeouts in their respective outing. Simpson picked up his first JSU save after getting the final out in the eighth and a quick ninth.
TENNESSEE TECH 16, BRADLEY 14
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - It was a roller coaster of a game, but by the end of it all the Tennessee Tech baseball came out on top. The Golden Eagles (6-1) outslugged Bradley (3-3) in a barn burner Sunday afternoon, taking the weekend series 2-1 with a 16-14 victory at Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
The two sides waged war back-and-forth all day, with Bradley doing exactly what it did each time before in the series, taking a 2-0 lead to start the scoring. Tech quickly answered in the bottom half of the second, with Matt Jones lacing an RBI single to right center field. Junior Collin Harris followed, blasting his team-leading fifth home run of the season, a two-run shot to right field to give the Golden Eagles a 3-2 lead.
Bradley answered back in the third, gathering a second two-run home run for a 4-3 advantage. It didn't last long, however, as it took just five pitches for the Tech offense to retaliate. Kevin Strohschein led off the frame with a double to left center and, just three pitches later, Ryan Flick drove him in with an RBI single to right center field.
The Braves flashed single runs across the plate in both the fourth and fifth frames to capture a 6-4 lead, but the Golden Eagles offense channeled its historical past to conjure up a monster sixth inning. Junior Chase Chambers led an eight-run Tech barrage, hammering a lead-off solo home run for the opening salvo.
Chris Brown single to left field to keep the pressure on and Trevor Putzig fired his own single through the left side right after. Both runners advanced a base on a wild pitch, setting up Jones for an easy two-run single through the left side to retake the lead.
TTU was far from done, however. With a new pitcher on the hill, the Golden Eagles took no exception. Harris reached on a fielder's choice to second base, beating out the potential double play throw from second. He then stole second, setting up Alex Junior for an RBI single up the middle.
David Garza got plunked on the first pitch he saw, adding to the baserunners. Bradley managed a second out before walking Flick to load the bases, forcing a second pitching change in the inning. It wouldn't last long, however, as both Chambers and Brown would be hit by the first pitches they saw, leading to two more Tech runs.
Another pitching change didn't' matter to the Golden Eagles, as Putzig gathered his second hit of the frame with a two-run single to center field to equal Tech's eight runs for the frame.
And still it wasn't enough. With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Chambers took one might swing and again obliterated the ball. He smashed a three-run long ball to right center field for his second dinger of the contest to give Tech a 15-6 lead.
Bradley made a run at a comeback, scoring six times in the top of the eighth using a patient approach at the plate to draw three bases-loaded-walks and score a total of six runs in the top of the eighth. Quickly, the lead was 15-12 for Tech.
The Golden Eagles snagged one insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, an RBI fielder's choice off the bat of freshman Anthony Carrera. Bradley did manage two unearned runs in the ninth, but redshirt freshman Seth Noel hung on to give Tech the victory.
Noel earned his first career win in his first career appearance, tossing one and one third innings of work while allowing just one hit and a walk. He fanned two as well.
Chambers led the Tech offense on the day, scoring three runs and driving in five in four at bats. Jones tallied four hits in five at bats, posting three RBI and a run scored. Junior totaled three hits on the day while Putzig also managed a multi-hit performance.
UT MARTIN 4, ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 2
UNION CITY, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team used timely hitting and solid pitching to take down Arkansas-Pine Bluff 4-2 on Sunday afternoon to complete the three-game weekend series sweep. This sweep is the program’s first of the season and first since the Skyhawks’ three-game triumph over Jackson State April 22-24, 2016.
UT Martin used a four-run fourth inning to propel them to victory behind RBI’s from Ryan Helgren, Dan Kerwin and Anthony Adduci. It was the only inning in which the Skyhawks scored on the afternoon, but it was more than enough run support for the dynamic combination of starting pitcher Jake Patzner and reliever Alex Evans.
The Golden Lions were first on the scoreboard as they loaded the bases in the top of the second with no one out. Patzner limited the damage however, only allowing one run to cross on a sacrifice fly. The DeSoto, Mo. native struck out the final two batters in the inning and stranded two UAPB runners.
The Skyhawks responded with four runs in the fourth in what was the decisive inning. Tyler Albright led off with a single up the middle. Helgren’s rope to left scored Albright all the way from first to give him his team-high sixth RBI and tie the game 1-1. Following a Tanner Wessling single, Kerwin smoked a double to right-center to drive in Helgren and give UT Martin the 2-1 lead. Wessling then scampered home on a wild pitch from Golden Lions starter Tyrus Lopez to put the Skyhawks up 3-1. The very next hitter, freshman Adduci bounced out to short but it was good enough to score UT Martin’s fourth and final run.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff was able to plate one more in the eighth as Jacob Giron and Aderly Perez pieced together basehits to tighten the gap to 4-2. However, Evans effectively navigated the rest of the UAPB lineup to close the door and give UT Martin their fifth consecutive victory.
Patzner (1-0) notched his first win of the season, while Evans (1) picked up his first save. Lopez (0-2) tossed seven innings and was saddled with the loss. The win marked the fifth straight contest in which the Skyhawk pitching staff recorded 10 or more strikeouts.
Wessling continued his hot start with a 3-3 performance to improve his batting average to a team-high .600. Albright’s single extended his hitting streak to six games, while his run scored extended his streak of scoring or driving in a run in every contest this season. UT Martin improves to 17-4 as a program against Southwestern Athletic Conference schools.