TUESDAY'S SCORES
@Austin Peay 21, Middle Tennessee 8
@Kentucky 12,
Eastern Kentucky 0
@Belmont 18, Southern Illinois 17
Jacksonville State 2, @Alabama 1 (10 innings)
@Tennessee Tech 11-6, Central Arkansas 6-10
Murray State, @Mississippi Valley State (cancelled)
AUSTIN PEAY 21, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 8
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - First baseman Dre Gleason had four hits and a career-high seven RBI, leading Austin Peay State University’s baseball team to a 21-8 rout of Middle Tennessee, Tuesday night at Raymond C. Hand Park.
Trailing by a run entering the bottom of the first, Austin Peay (5-3) wasted little time getting its offense in gear. After a leadoff walk and one-out hit batsman, Gleason got his day started with a two-out, two-run double past the first baseman. Left fielder Alex Robles would follow with a run-scoring single and the Govs opened up a 3-1 lead.
The Governors piled on another six runs in the third inning, Gleason delivering the biggest blow of the frame with a three-run home run after the first two batters were walked. Austin Peay’s next three runs came on two wild pitches and a sacrifice fly to extend the advantage to 9-1.
Middle Tennessee (3-5) would push the Govs in the fifth and sixth frames. The Blue Raiders plated five runs in the fifth inning, two via Governors errors and another two coming on first baseman Aaron Aucker’s home run. MTSU closed the gap further with two runs in the sixth, including Aucker’s RBI single.
But Austin Peay head coach Travis Janssen gathered his troops in the dugout and the message resounded clearly as the Govs got a run back in the sixth before breaking the game open with a nine-run seventh inning and closing the scoring with two runs in the eighth.
The Govs nine-run seventh frame lasted 49 minutes and saw 15 batters take a turn. Second baseman Garrett Giovannelli had a double to start the frame and added another double later in the inning. Center fielder Imani Willis and pinch hitter Malcolm Tipler hit back-to-back home runs in the frame as the Govs extended their lead to 19-8.
Austin Peay starter Josh Rye (2-0) recovered from allowing a home run in the first inning to pick up the win in a three-inning outing that saw him allow two hits and a walk while striking out five.
Gleason finished the day 4-for-5 with a double, home run and seven RBI with each of his four hits supplying a run. Three Govs finished with three-hit outings while another three had two hits each as the Govs pounded out 22 hits.
In that 22-hit total the Govs hit four home runs, bringing their season total to 22 in the season’s first eight games. Austin Peay also hit a program record-tying nine doubles, nearly doubling their total for the season.
Middle Tennessee starter Devin Conn (1-1) suffered the loss after allowing six runs on four hits and three walks in two-plus innings. Aucker ended the day 2-for-4 with three RBI while third baseman Drew Huff went 3-for-5 with three RBI to pace the Blue Raiders 10-hit outing.
KENTUCKY 12, EASTERN KENTUCKY 0
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Eastern Kentucky University baseball team could not get anything going as it fell to the University of Kentucky Wildcats by a score of 12-0 on Tuesday evening at Cliff Hagan Stadium.
The Colonels (3-6) threatened to get on the board in the top of the first when Ben Fisher and Brenden Overton notched singles with two outs, but a Ryland Kerr strikeout ended the inning.
After the Wildcats (3-5) took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first, Eastern got in position to cut into the lead in the top of the second. A fielding error allowed Logan Starnes to reach first, and he advanced to second on a Nick Howie single. Cornell Nixon walked in the next at-bat, loading the bases, but EKU could not convert any runners and left the inning scoreless.
UK added to its lead in the bottom of the third with a five-run inning, and added four more insurance runs in the seventh and eighth to win 12-0. Riley Mahan led the way for UK with two hits and four RBIs.
Fisher, Overton and Howie picked up two hits for the Colonels, all of which were singles.
BELMONT 18, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 17
NASHVILLE - Belmont baseball and Southern Illinois combined for 35 runs and 29 hits in a midweek game that lasted more than four hours Tuesday evening inside E.S. Rose Park. BU pulled out a 18-17 victory over the Salukis powered by three different Bruins registering two or more hits.
The Bruins continued their trend of putting up runs early with a four-run second frame initiated by a two-run long ball from senior outfielder Brennan Washington (Murfreesboro, Tenn.). For the third time this season Washington sent one over the left-centerfield fence, the only Bruin to deliver multiple dingers this season. The team followed suit with a single and a pair of walks to load the bases for redshirt-freshman Matt Cogen, who continued his hot hitting with an RBI base knock to increase BU's lead, 3-0. Sophomore infielder Chas Hadden tacked on the final run of the inning with a bases loaded walk.
Southern Illinois responded with Salukis residing on all three bases to cut into its deficit with a one-run fielder's choice. They then capitalized on an error by junior infielder Kyle Conger to bring SIU within two, 4-2, after the top half of the third.
In the ensuing inning, the Salukis matched Washington's bomb with a two-run shot of their own orchestrated by Hunter Anderson over the left field barrier to knot the game up, 4-4, but only temporarily. They'd go on to claim their first lead, 5-4, aided by Belmont's second miscue of the contest – this time committed senior infielder Drake Byrd.
To no surprise, Cogen registered his sixth multi-hit outing of his rookie campaign in the bottom of the fourth with his second RBI of the day – this time via triple to right-center - to kick start what would develop into a five-run stanza for the Bruins. Senior catcher Clay Payne once again wore out the right-center field with a double to the warning track to add another run. Washington duplicated his previous two-run appearance contributing two more runs after painting the leftfield line for a double – the squad's third extra base hit of the frame. The veteran's two bagger capped the Bruins five-run inning to leave the team with a 9-5 lead.
From then on, both teams traded runs for the next few innings with Belmont continually maintaining the lead. Southern Illinois plated four runs over the next couple of frames, while the Bruins scored nine to hold a 18-9 lead after six. The Salukis used three long balls in the top of the seventh to bring themselves within four and tacked on a couple more the following inning to make the score 18-16 after eight.
Southern Illinois threatened to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth, crossing the plate one more time before the Bruins would force two Salukis to be stranded in scoring position to bring the final run total to 18-17. By the end of the slugfest, the first inning was the only frame in which neither team scored a run.
Seven different Bruins took the mound for Belmont with freshman Tyler ALderfer earning the win in his collegiate debut.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 2, ALABAMA 1 (10)
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Jacksonville State needed extra innings but came away from its first midweek contest with a big 2-1, 10-inning win over in-state rival Alabama on Tuesday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
The win moves the Gamecocks to 5-2 on the season and snaps an 11-game skid to the Crimson Tide that dates back to the 2004 season. UA falls to 3-5 on the season and will host the Gamecocks again on April 25. JSU has now won two consecutive games against teams from the Southeastern Conference dating back to the win over Auburn during the 2015 campaign.
JSU pushed the winning run across the plate in the 10th without getting a hit. Junior Taylor Hawthorne led off the inning with a walk and moved to second on a balk by UA's Deacon Medders. Trent Simpson, who already had a pair of hits against UA pitching, attempted to sacrifice Hawthorne to third, but he battled at the plate to eventually walk. With one down in the frame, UA decided to intentionally walk junior Hayden White for the second time in the game, but the first pitch from Medders went off the catcher's mitt, scoring Hawthorne from third base.
Junior Justin Hoyt, who was inserted in to the game with two outs in the eighth, finished the final 2.1 innings to secure the win. Hoyt, one of five pitchers used in the contest, was touched for just one hit and collected a pair of strikeouts. The five JSU pitchers combined for seven strikeouts and held UA to six total hits. Junior Colton Pate earned the start and settled in for two scoreless frames.
The Crimson Tide pushed its lone run of the contest across the dish in the fourth off of JSU redshirt freshman Tyler Wilburn in the fourth. Cobie Vance had an RBI single to right field, scoring Chandler Avant. Avant had three of UA's six hits as he went 3-for-4 on the night.
JSU manufactured the game-tying run with a response in the fifth. Freshman Chase Robinson, who has had a hit in every game this season, started the frame with a single to right field. Senior Peyton Williams pushed Robinson to second on a sacrifice bunt. Junior Nolan Greckel laced an RBI single to centerfield to equalize. The Gamecocks stranded 12 men on base, including a pair of bases-loaded situations in regulation.
JSU pitching retired eight straight Crimson Tide batters before Connor Short reached in the eight on a two-out fielding miscue. Avant had his third hit and the only extra base hit following the JSU error.
TENNESSEE TECH 11-6, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 6-10
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - With a doubleheader on the books due to impending weather expected in the Cookeville are Wednesday, the Tennessee Tech baseball team (7-2) split its two-game series with Central Arkansas (6-3) Tuesday, winning game one, 11-6, before falling to the Bears in game two, 10-6.
The Tech victory was driven by a solid combination of timely of potent offense and timely pitching, with the latter getting the job done in the end. Central Arkansas actually owned a quick 2-0 lead in game one of the doubleheader, but the Golden Eagle bats quickly answered and never looked back.
Back-to-back hits from Alex Junior and David Garza put runners on the corner with Kevin Strohschein up to bat. Junior scored and Garza moved to second on a balk by the Bear's starter and a second balk in the Strohschein at bat moved Garza to third, allowing for an easy RBI on a ground out.
After Ryan Flick walked and Chase Chambers got whacked by a pitch, senior Chris Brown drove in the third run with an RBI single to right center field. Junior Trevor Putzig tallied the fourth run on an RBI single up the middle.
On the flip side, starter Chase Burkett settled down nicely after surrendering a double and two-run home run to two of the first three batters he faced. The senior sat two down on strikes in the second inning and matched that with two more batters punched out in the third. He kicked off the fourth with a K before finishing 1-2-3 and then rallied to close out the fifth after allowing the first two batters to reach.
Burkett received plenty of help offensively, even after the 4-2 lead. In the second, Junior swatted his first long ball of the season, a lead off solo shot to right center field. Tech snagged three more runs in the fourth thanks to a two-run triple off the wall in center field from Chambers and an RBI single off the bat of Brown.
Sophomore Ty King took over on the hill for Burkett, who finished the game with five innings pitched, five hits allowed, two earned runs, a walk and an impressive six strikeouts. King tossed two innings of scoreless ball, holding the Bears without a hit for those two frames.
Before King could give way to freshman hurler Jake Rice, the Tech offense struck three more times, highlighted by a solo lead off dinger from Matt Jones (his first of the year). The rookie southpaw then blanked Central Arkansas in the eighth. The Bears tried hard to make a late rally, scoring four times with two unearned runs in the ninth. Senior Brandon Smith took over for the final two outs, however, finishing the job and providing the Tech victory.
Game two saw the roles reversed a little bit as Central Arkansas' offense scored in each of the first five innings to jump quickly to a 9-5 lead. The Bears snagged a 2-0 lead through two frames, but Flick answered with a two-run moon shot to right field to tie things up.
After Central Arkansas put two more runs on the board in the third, another Tech long ball would even things again, this time a two-run shot off the bat of Garza, who blasted his first dinger of the year to left field.
The Ohio Valley Conference's leader in home runs entering the day, junior Collin Harris blasted his sixth tater of the season to lead off the fifth. Flick scored on a throwing error in the sixth to pull the Golden Eagles within three, but the Bears muted the Tech offense for the final three frames to gather a 10-6 win.
The Tech pitching staff struggled to quiet the Central Arkansas bats in game two, all except junior Travis Moths who made a bit of program history on the night. The right handed fireballer mixed his dominant repertoire to the tune of six strikeouts in two innings. More impressively, he struck out all six batters he faced, becoming the first Golden Eagle to strike out six straight batters since teammate Ethan Roberts accomplished the feat in relief last season against Belmont.
He is the first Tech pitcher to fan the side in back-to-back innings in over a decade as well.