SUNDAY'S SCORES
Michigan State 6,
UT Martin 1 (Greenville, S.C.)
@Morehead State 11-9, Bowling Green 7-6
Siena 9,
@Murray State 8
@Eastern Kentucky 11, Youngstown State 6
@Bethune-Cookman 3,
Tennessee Tech 1
Belmont 11, @#17 Georgia Tech 5
@Southeast Missouri 17, Purdue 7
@Kansas State 14,
Eastern Illinois 0
Mercer 10,
@Austin Peay 6
@#23 Dallas Baptist 14,
Jacksonville State 11
@SIUE 4, Northern Illinois 3
MICHIGAN STATE 6, UT MARTIN 1
GREENVILLE, S.C. - In its final game of the First Pitch Invitational, the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team dropped a 6-1 decision to Big Ten opponent Michigan State. The Skyhawks pulled within one run in the fourth inning, but ultimately could not mount enough offense to complete the comeback against the Spartans.
Michigan State was able to get on the board first with a run in both the second and third innings. Spartan infielder Royce Ando drove in a run with his double to left-center in the second, while an RBI-fielder’s choice groundout by outfielder Brandon Hughes made the score 2-0 after three innings.
The Skyhawks responded with a run of their own in the fourth to pull within one. Centerfielder Creighton Eldridge doubled to left-center to spark the UT Martin offense. Keylen Steen then laced a single to left to knock in Eldridge and trim the margin to 2-1. It was Steen’s second hit of the weekend tournament and second RBI of the season.
Alex Evans came on in relief of starter Jake Patzner to start the fourth and stymied the Spartan offense through the fifth inning. However Michigan State infielder Dan Durkin was able to break through in the sixth with a two-run homer to extend the lead to 4-1.
Connor Aube and Josh Hauser both singled in the seventh to give the Skyhawks runners at first and second, but UT Martin was not able to capitalize as both runners were left on to end the inning. The Spartans padded their lead in the ninth with a pair of runs on hits from Marty Bechina, Zack McGuire and Chad Roskelly to give Michigan State the 6-1 victory.
Patzner (1-1) took his first loss of the year for UT Martin. The 6-8 righty finished the day with three innings pitched, two earned runs and five strikeouts. Evans tossed the final six innings allowing four runs and striking out four. Andrew Gonzalez picked up the victory for the Spartans.
Ryan Helgren (two singles, one walk) was the lone Skyhawk with multiple hits on the day as the senior from Columbia, Tenn. notched his second multi-hit game of the season.
MOREHEAD STATE 11-9, BOWLING GREEN 7-6
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State baseball team clubbed five home runs and rallied from at least three runs down in both ends of its doubleheader with Bowling Green Sunday as the Eagles claimed 11-7 and 9-6 victories at Allen Field.
The Eagles, who won their 12th consecutive home series, improved to 7-5 as four relief pitchers combined to throw seven scoreless innings. Morehead State is now 36-11 at home in the last three seasons.
Senior outfielder/infielder Will Schneider led the charge by going 7-for-9 (.778) on the day, including a perfect 5-for-5 in game two with a double and a home run. Schneider upped his hitting streak to a team-best nine games.
Senior outfielder Michael Patrick was 4-for-4 in game one and also homered in game two, while junior second baseman Braxton Morris was 5-for-8 (.625) on the day, highlighted by a grand slam in the nightcap that put MSU ahead 8-5 in a seven-run fifth inning outburst.
Sophomore catcher Hunter Fain's bat also came alive in the opener as he was 4-for-5 with three runs scored.
Morehead State trailed 3-1 right off the bat in the first game before junior third baseman Chase Teter's three-run round-tripper put his team on top for good in the fourth. The Eagles also managed to tack on five runs in the fifth as freshman catcher Brody Shoupe made his first career hit matter - a two-run single.
Hatcher (1-1) collected the win in the opener, allowing eight runs and being charged with seven runs to go along with five strikeouts. Freshman righty Alex Garbrick and junior fireballer David Calderon combined for four innings of scoreless relief with Masullo shutting out the Falcons in the sixth through eighth frames.
In game two, Wilson went six innings and only gave up three earned runs to improve to 1-1. Freshman righty Dom Masullo struck out the side in the seventh, and junior reliever Seth Boyle slammed the door with three punchouts in the final two frames for his first career save.
SIENA 9, MURRAY STATE 8
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State baseball team was held scoreless the final five innings of the game, as Siena was able to rally from a five-run deficit to defeat the Racers, 9-8 on Sunday at Reagan Field.
The Saints (2-9) were able to get a three-run innings in both the fifth and eighth innings to rally from an 8-3 deficit after four complete. The Racers (7-4) were able to build on that lead thanks to a six-run bottom of the fourth.
Kipp Moore got the Racers out to an early 1-0 lead as he hit his third leadoff home run of the season and second in as many games on Sunday. The lead would not last long, however as Siena was able to get two runs in the top half of the second to take its first lead of the game. Following an RBI-groundout from Brandon Gutzler to tie things in the third, the Saints again took the lead with their own run in the top of the fourth to go up 3-2.
MSU then went to work offensively in its half of the fourth. Back-to-back bases-loaded walks by Adam Bauer and Gutzler pushed the Racers in front 4-3 and in the next at-bat, Tyler Lawrence delivered a grand slam deep to left field, giving the Racers an 8-3 advantage.
A three-run top of the fifth put Siena back within striking distance, before pushing ahead in the top of the eighth, 9-8. MSU was held to five hits in the final five innings of play and left four runners stranded on base.
Chad Gendron took the loss as he gave up the game-winning homer from Siena’s Joe Drpich. Gendron allowed just the one earned run in two innings of work. Tyler Horsley, Bobby Pennington and Alec Whaley all pitched in relief of starter Trevor McMurray. Whaley was the most effective out of the bullpen as he worked 2.2 innings and allowed just one hit.
McMurray gave up three earned runs off four hits in 3.2 innings in his start on the mound. McMurray also walked four batters. The Racers had 10 walks as a staff in the loss.
Bauer and Lawrence went 3-for-4 and 3-for-5, respectively at the plate in the contest. Bauer and Moore both scored two runs each while Ryan Perkins and Davis Sims both went 2-for-5.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 11, YOUNGSTOWN STATE 6
RICHMOND, Ky. - With Sunday’s 11-6 win over Youngstown State University, the Eastern Kentucky University baseball team completed its second straight three-game sweep of a non-conference opponent. It is the first time in the history of the program that the Colonels swept three-game series against non-conference opponents on back-to-back weekends.
Eastern (6-6) swept Oakland University last weekend.
The series sweep against the Penguins marked the first time EKU has swept two non-conference series in the same season since 1999.
Youngstown State (1-8) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second before Eastern tied it in the bottom half of the frame when Logan Starnes scored on a double steal attempt. EKU took the lead for good with Sullivan’s two-run triple in the bottom of the third.
Ben Fisher and Nick Howie each drove in two runs in the bottom of the fourth as the Colonels built a 7-1 lead. Fisher had a double down the left field line and Howie singled up the middle in the 4-run inning.
The Penguins scored five runs combined in the fifth and sixth innings to close within 8-6 but never got any closer. Eastern Kentucky answered the attempted rally with two runs in the bottom of the sixth to put the game away.
Brian Mroz and Caleb Johnson combined to shutout the Penguins over the final three innings, allowing just one hit.
Sullivan went 2-for-4 with a run, a walk and three RBIs. McFarland finished 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI. Miles Jones went 3-for-3 and scored a run.
Shane Willoughby had two hits in four at bats with a run and three RBIs for Youngstown State.
BETHUNE-COOKMAN 3, TENNESSEE TECH 1
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Bethune-Cookman scored twice in the fourth and held on from there to edge the Tennessee Tech baseball team Sunday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Ballpark, 3-1. The Wildcats (8-3) took the three-game series with the win over the Golden Eagles (8-4), two games to one.
Tech delivered the first blow of the contest in the third inning, taking an early 1-0 advantage. After Alex Junior advanced to second base on a passed ball, the sophomore speedster came around to dent home plate on an RBI single to center field off the bat of junior third baseman Trevor Putzig.
Bethune-Cookman answered in the bottom of the fourth, taking the lead for good on a two-run double to left field. The home team added an insurance marker in the eighth on an RBI ground-rule double to left center field.
Putzig led the way offensively on the day, finishing 2-for-4 at the plate with Tech's lone RBI while batting in the two-hole for the first time this season. Juniors Ryan Flick, Chase Chambers and David Garza each added base knocks in the contest as well.
Chase Burkett took the tough-luck loss Sunday, tossing four innings and allowing five hits and two earned runs. Travis Moths fanned two in an inning of relief while Ethan Roberts finished with two and two thirds inning of work with four hits and an earned run allowed while punching out three. Sophomore Ty King struck out the only batter he faced.
BELMONT 11, #17 GEORGIA TECH 5
ATLANTA - A couple of extra base knocks from senior utility Nick Egli in the first two frames helped propel Belmont baseball past No. 17 Georgia Tech, 11-5, to avoid the series sweep Sunday afternoon inside the Russ Chandler Stadium. The Bruins wore out the Yellow Jackets bullpen from start to finish, handing them only their second loss of the season.
Egli reached base in each of his first four at-bats, including tying a career-best performance by tallying four RBIs after the first two frames with help of a triple and home run. He was walked in his next two plate appearances, contributing to a career high three runs in an outing. Eight different Bruins contributed to the 12-hit outing, with all but one of the starters recording at least one hit. Kyle Conger, Alex Ward and Tyler Walsh joined Egli with a multi-hit day.
For the second consecutive game Belmont (5-6) separated themselves from Georgia Tech (9-2) in its first turn at the plate. A leadoff walk put a runner on for sophomore infielder Chas Hadden to increase his hitting streak to six-straight contests with a RBI base knock up the middle, igniting a three-run inning. Egli brought Hadden home on the next play, delivering his first triple since 2015 to the centerfield wall. With a runner in scoring position, sophomore Rafael Bournigal launched a sacrifice fly to the centerfielder, securing a 3-0 lead for the Bruins.
A RBI single from the Yellow Jackets brought them within two after a frame, but BU continued to give the Ramblin' Wreck a hard time at the plate in the second after a single and hit-by-pitch put runners on first and second for redshirt-freshman Matt Cogen to plate Belmont's fourth run. Egli then stepped to the plate and one-upped his three-bagger in the previous inning by catapulting a ball over the left field barrier to register the Bruins first home run of the series. The veteran tallied four RBIs in his first two plate appearance with a pair of extra-base hits to put Belmont up, 7-1.
Georgia Tech added their second run in the bottom of the third but couldn't get anything else off Belmont's starting hurler, sophomore Connor Etheridge. The Bruins defense continued to shut down the Yellow Jacket's dominant offense in the fourth stanza by working themselves out of a jam. The Ramblin' Wreck resided on the corners with one down before the Bruins halted their chances of cutting into the five-run deficit. Junior catcher Austin Reynolds sparked the second out, releasing a bullet to Conger who denied Georgia Tech of stealing second. Etheridge wrapped up the inning by tossing his fourth strikeout of the day, stranding a runner on third.
Etheridge's day was ended prematurely after he wore a line drive to the back in the home half of the fifth, forcing head coach Dave Jarvis to call on senior Brennan Washington to replace the starter. Washington gave up a two-run long ball to centerfield, allowing the Yellow Jackets to bring themselves within three, 7-4.
The Bruins made the Yellow Jackets pay for intentionally walking Ward to load the bases with just one down. Junior infielder Ben Kocher collected a RBI after getting hit-by-pitch to bring in the first run before senior outfielder Tyler Walsh connected on his first hit of the day for a RBI single up the middle. Belmont's two insurance runs to increase its lead back to five, 9-4.
A throwing error from Conger allowed the Yellow Jackets to add a run in the bottom of the seventh, but Belmont brought in senior closer Dom Veltri to throw the final two innings, ensuring that the Bruins claimed the final game of the series, 11-5.
The Yellow Jackets recycled six hurlers, including three in the first three stanzas. Their starting pitcher, Keyton Gibson, swallowed the loss after giving up three runs two outs into the opening inning.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 17, PURDUE 7
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri baseball (6-4) avoided a sweep at the hands of Purdue (5-5) Sunday with a 17-7 victory in the series finale.
The Redhawks produced their 17 runs on 17 hits and scored in all but one inning. The top third of the SEMO lineup was the major producer in the contest, combining for 11 hits, eight RBI, and 10 runs scored. Dan Holst and Tristen Gagan each knocked four hits and were on base six times. Holst tied a school record with five runs scored while driving in two. Gagan drove in five runs with a home run and two doubles. The Redhawks' leadoff hitter Clayton Evans finished with three hits, an RBI, and two runs scored. Brian Lees knocked two hits including a grand slam in the fourth inning for four RBI.
Justin Murphy (2-0) picked up his second win on the mound. He worked seven innings, allowed seven runs, six earned, on six hits, struck out four, and walked one hitter.
Jared Waldhoff and Matthew Wade each pitched a hitless, scoreless inning in relief, each recording a single strikeout. With only one walk in the game, Southeast has allowed one walk or less for seven-straight games.
Tanner Schumacher (0-2) recorded the loss for the Boilermakers. He worked only two and two-thirds innings, allowed five runs on three hits. Purdue used seven total pitchers in the game.
For the third time in the series, Purdue pushed a run across in the top of the first inning. Harry Shipley doubled to lead off the game, advanced on a groundout to first, then scored on a groundout to short by Nick Dalesandro, leading 1-0 after a half inning.
The Redhawks plated two in the bottom of the inning to find their first lead of the weekend. Holst lined a one-out double to left field and advanced to third on a passed ball. A slow grounder off the bat of Gagan was picked up by the third baseman, who threw home for a play at the plate. Holst narrowly slid a foot in to tie the game at one. Gagan picked up his first stolen base of the season when he swiped second. Chris Osborne lined a base hit into left field, scoring Gagan from second and putting the Redhawks up 2-1 after an inning.
Danny Wright drew a one-out, four-pitch walk in the bottom of the second inning, the first walk issued by Schumacher this season. A failed pickoff attempt allowed the speedy Wright to move all the way up to third. Connor Basler flew out to right, deep enough for Wright to tag up and widen the Redhawk lead to 3-1 after two.
With Holst aboard, Gagan lifted his fourth home run of the season over the wall in left to tack on to the SEMO lead, 5-1, in the third.
A one-out error by Basler in the top of the fourth opened the door for a two-run home run by Jacson McGowan to right, cutting the lead to 5-3.
The Redhawks tacked on a bunch in the fourth inning to extend the lead to 11-3. With runners on the corners Gagan doubled down the third base line to plate Evans. Following a walk to Osborne to load the bases, Kylar Robertson perfectly placed a slow-rolling infield single in the four hole to plate another run. With bases still juiced, Lees blasted a grand slam to right center, putting the Redhawks up by eight.
Southeast continued the scoring streak in the fifth inning when Holst stole home with two out, his fifth stolen base of the season.
Dalesandro hit a two-run home run to left center in the top of the sixth to cut into the SEMO lead, 12-5.
The Redhawks were held scoreless for the only time in the game in the sixth inning.
Another two-run blast for Purdue, this time by John LeGare in the seventh, continued to chip away at the SEMO lead, 12-7.
With two-out, Holst reached base for the fifth time on his third hit in the seventh inning. He scored all the way from first on Gagan's second double of the day, 13-7. Holst's five runs scored tied a single-season school record, accomplished seven times prior to Sunday.
The offensive output didn't stop in the bottom of the eighth. With two out and Lees standing on second, Kyle Bottger doubled to left center to push Lees across. With runners on the corners, Evans singled through the left side to score Bottger. Holst picked up his second double of the game to drive in a pair, bringing the final tally to 17-7. Holst worked his way around to third base in the inning but was stranded 90 feet away from setting a new program record for runs scored.
Purdue's six hits were produced by six separate hitters but Dalesandro finished with a team-best three RBI.
Both teams combined for five home runs on the windy day at Capaha Field.
KANSAS STATE 14, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0
MANHATTAN, Kan. - Eastern Illinois baseball fell in their series finale at Kansas State on Sunday by a score of 14-0.
Eastern Illinois dropped to 1-9 on the season, while Kansas State improved to 9-2 overall.
Kansas State starting pitcher, Parker Rigler, had some of his best stuff on display as he pitched a complete game no-hitter for the Wildcats. Rigler improved his record to 2-0 on the year.
Kansas State took control of the game early, scoring four runs in each of the second and third innings to take an 8-0 lead.
The Wildcats extended their lead to 10-0 in the fifth, on a two-run single by Cameron Thompson.
Kansas State scored their final four runs of the game in the bottom of the eighth as Kyle Barfield hit a two-run home run, followed by a sacrifice fly by Tristan Peterson and an RBI triple by Hanz Harker.
Matt Albert reached base twice for the Panthers via a hit-by-pitch and a walk. Tyler Tesmond was also hit by a pitch, while Dougie Parks drew a walk.
Dustin Wilson (0-3) suffered the loss on the mound for the Panthers.
MERCER 10, AUSTIN PEAY 6
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University’s baseball team was held without a home run for the first time this season and suffered a 10-6 loss to Mercer, Sunday afternoon at Raymond C. Hand Park.
Austin Peay (6-5) held the lead three times in Sunday’s finale, but could not make any of the leads stick. The Governors grabbed a 6-3 lead in the fourth courtesy three runs in the fourth. Left fielder Max Remy led off that fourth frame with a double and would score when Mercer committed an error on a sacrifice bunt. Right fielder Chase Hamilton tacked on a pair of runs with his single.
However, the Governors saw an opportunity to pad their lead fail to pan out. Third baseman Parker Phillips was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs again. However, Mercer starter Kevin Coulter escaped further damage by inducing an inning-ending double play.
Mercer (9-3) charged back in the top of the fifth courtesy a trio of home runs. First baseman Hunter Bening led off the inning with a home run. APSU starter Alex Robles nearly escaped the inning with the lead, retiring the next two batters he faced. However, third baseman Danny Edgeworth hit a solo home run, cutting the lead to one run. After a hit batsman, right fielder Conrad Cornell hit a two-run home run, giving Mercer a 7-6 lead.
After grabbing the lead, the Bears turned to their bullpen and right-hander Robert Broom (1-1). He held the Govs scoreless over the final five innings to pick up the win. Broom held the Govs to just one hit – pinch hitter Malcolm Tipler’s leadoff single in the eighth – while walking two while striking out seven.
Robles (1-2) suffered the loss after allowing seven runs (six earned) on six hits and a walk while striking out five. The Govs pitching staff – Robles and four relievers – combined for a season-high 14 strikeouts, but also permitted a season-high eight walks.
Phillips led the Govs offense with a 2-for-3, three RBI outing that included his team-leading fifth double this season. Hamilton had two RBI as part of his 1-for-5 outing.
Center fielder Alex Hanson and Cornell each had two RBI to lead the Bears offense.
#23 DALLAS BAPTIST 14, JACKSONVILLE STATE 11
DALLAS, Texas - Jacksonville State dropped its first weekend series of the season after falling to No. 23 Dallas Baptist University, 14-10, in the rubber game of the non-conference series at DBU's Horner Ballpark.
The Gamecocks' season-opening 11-game road trip is nearing a close with a 6-4 mark through the first 10 games of the season. JSU's road trip comes to a close on Tuesday as it will travel to Emerson, Georgia to face the Falcons of Bowling Green. Game time is set for 4 p.m. CST. After dropping Friday's series opener to Jax State, DBU claimed Saturday's contest, 10-6. The Patriots improved to 8-3 on the season.
It was on offensive day for both teams as the clubs combined for 31 total hits and scored 25 runs. Both pitching staffs struggled with consistency as DBU's four pitchers issued eight walks, but all of those came in the first 4.1 innings. DBU's Travis Stone picked up the win in relief after limiting JSU to one run and scattering six hits in 4.0 innings of work.
In mirror images of the first two games of the series, Jax State recorded runs early, scoring eight of its 11 through the first three innings. JSU took a 2-0 lead with RBI singles by junior Trent Simpson and Hayden White. Simpson joined junior Clayton Daniel with three hits each in the setback. The Oxford, Alabama native also pitched a pair of innings late in the game. Simpson added a second RBI in JSU's two-run fifth inning.
DBU, who posted runs in every inning except the second and third, had a three-run first off of Jax State starter, Colton Pate. Pate, making his second start of the week, lasted three innings and was touched for five runs on six hits. The Gamecocks gave him run support in the second with a two-run single by junior Nola Greckel to give JSU a 4-3 lead.
JSU expanded the lead to 8-3 after a four-run third that was highlighted by Daniel's two-out, two-run double to left. Greckel added an RBI along with junior Taylor Hawthorne. Hawthorne added two more hits to his weekend total as he finished with eight hits in 14 at bats and drove in five runs.
The Patriots rallied again in the fourth to trim the deficit to 8-7. DBU's Tim Millard had the big hit in the frame with a single that drove in two runs. Millard was one of two Patriots to have three hits in the contest, joining Devlin Granberg. Millard and Grandberg combined for six RBI to lead DBU in the win.
With a one-run lead, the JSU offense extended the lead in the fifth after back-to-back RBI by Hawthorne and Simpson. Those two runs in the fifth put the Gamecocks up 10-7 before heading to the home half of the fifth.
JSU miscues in the field opened the door for DBU to equalize in the fifth with three runs thqat were aided by three of JSU's five errors in the final four at bats for DBU. All three runs in the fifth were unearned as just nine of DBU's 14 runs were earned.
DBU took the lead in the sixth after a JSU throwing error that sent two runners home and give the Patriots a 12-10 advantage. DBU added an unearned run in the seventh and a run in the eighth.
The Gamecocks tried to mount a comeback in the ninth as they loaded the bases, but were only able to register one run.
SIUE 4, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 3
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE scored twice in the bottom of the eighth inning to take a 4-3 lead Saturday before holding on for the win to complete the four-game sweep of Northern Illinois at Simmons Baseball Complex.
SIUE improved to 4-0 at home this season and 8-4 overall. NIU fell to 2-9.
Trailing 3-2 going into the eighth, Keaton Wright worked a one-out walk before Brock Weimer was hit by a pitch. Aaron Goecks then drilled a double off the right field fence to bring in Wright to tie the game. Jared McCunn then pinch hit and hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Weimer with the eventual game-winning run.
Northern Illinois' Andrew Frankenreider allowed the two runs in two innings of relief and fell to 0-1 with the loss.
The Cougars' late runs came after NIU fought back from behind. SIUE scored twice in the fifth against Northern Illinois starter Donovin Sims. The Cougars used three two-out hits to take a 2-0 lead. Dustin Woodcock and Wright each had RBIs in the inning.
Sims tossed six innings in the start, allowing two runs on six hits. He struck out nine.
The Huskies tied the game in the seventh with back-to-back home runs from Jacob Dunham and Roderick Bynum. NIU then took the 3-2 lead in the eighth on an RBI-single from Joe Jumonville before the Cougars answered in the bottom of the inning.
Mike Miller (1-0) earned the win in relief. He allowed the run in the eighth on two hits. Tristan Walters earned his second save of the weekend with a 1-2-3 ninth inning. Brendan Miller started and threw six scoreless innings. He allowed just three hits and struck out three.
Alec Skender led the Cougars with two hits. Woodcock, Wright and Goecks each had a hit an RBI.
Jumonville led Northern Illinois with two hits and the RBI.