TUESDAY'S SCORES
@Indiana State 2,
Eastern Illinois 1
@Eastern Kentucky 10, Northern Kentucky 8
Morehead State 3, @Ohio 1
Tennessee Tech 20, @UNC Asheville 9
@Central Arkansas 5,
Southeast Missouri 4 (12 innings)
UT Martin 12, @Evansville 4
Arkansas State
at Austin Peay (cancelled)
INDIANA STATE 2, EASTERN ILLINOIS 1
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Indiana State’s Clay Dungan brought home the game-winning run on an RBI sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth as the Sycamores earned a 2-1 walk-off victory over Eastern Illinois on Tuesday.
Following the loss, Eastern Illinois dropped to 2-17 on the season. Indiana State improved to 11-9 on the year.
Indiana State took the lead over the Panthers right away to start the bottom half of the first inning as Kyle Moore hit a lead-off solo home run over the wall in right and put the Sycamores up 1-0. Indiana State threated again in the bottom of the second inning with the bases loaded and just one out, but Brendon Allen got the Panthers out of the jam with an inning-ending double play and kept the Sycamores from adding to their lead.
After the first inning, the game had the feel of a pitcher’s duel between Allen and the Indiana State pitching staff as both offenses were held scoreless through the next seven frames. Joseph Duncan singled through the left side with one out in the top of the ninth inning and stole second to put a runner in scoring position for Matt Albert. Albert lined a ball into left field that dropped in for a double and plated Duncan to tie the score at 1-1.
Indiana State started the bottom of the ninth inning with two runners on against the EIU bullpen. A sacrifice bunt moved the runners up to second and third with one out. Clay Dungan flew out to deep right and brought home the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly as the Sycamores earned a 2-1 victory.
Allen went seven innings strong on the mound for the Panthers, allowing just the one run on five hits and eight strikeouts. Alex Stevenson shut down the Sycamores in order in the eighth. Michael Starcevich took the loss on the bump for the Panthers.
Duncan finished the game 2-for-4 at the plate to lead EIU.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 10, NORTHERN KENTUCKY 8
RICHMOND, Ky. - Daniel McFarland hit two home runs and Ben Fisher homered for the sixth time in the last six games as the Eastern Kentucky University baseball team beat Northern Kentucky University, 10-8 on Tuesday at Earle Combs Stadium.
It was McFarland’s three-run home run that got the Colonels (13-9) on the board in the bottom of the second inning. Fisher’s solo shot in the third made it a 4-0 game.
Two, two-run doubles in the fourth allowed Eastern to double its lead. Cole Warrenfeltz brought home two with a double down the right field line. Two batters later, Nick Howie hit a two-run double to right field.
The Norse cut into the lead on Ty Amann’s two-run home run in the top of the fifth.
With Eastern Kentucky leading by just two, McFarland hit his second home run of the game and fourth of the season. The two-run shot extended the lead to 10-6 after seven innings.
McFarland finished 4-for-4 with three runs and five RBIs. Fisher walked three times while going 1-for-2 with two runs scored and an RBI.
NKU got the tying run on with one out in the top of the ninth, but Caleb Johnson got Mike Moffatt to hit into a game-ending double play.
Jake Richmond had a 3-for-5 day with two runs and two RBIs for Northern Kentucky (6-11).
MOREHEAD STATE 3, OHIO 1
ATHENS, Ohio - It took until the eighth inning Tuesday, but the Morehead State baseball team's offense came through and backed up what turned into a masterful pitching performance as the Eagles rallied to defeat the host Ohio Bobcats 3-1 at Bob Wren Stadium.
Three Eagle pitchers held the Bobcats to no earned runs, and sophomore rightfielder Niko Hulsizer erased a 1-0 deficit in the eighth with a two-out, two-run homer well over the wall in left field to move MSU's record to 14-6 overall. The Eagles have now won nine of their last 10. Ohio fell to 11-8.
Hulsizer's blast was his team-leading fifth round-tripper, and he now has five multiple-RBI games.
On the mound, Humphreys tossed the first five, striking out three, and allowing six hits. He only saw the one run scored in the fourth when the Eagles committed two errors and were charged with not finishing a second-to-first double play.
Freshman righty Alex Garbrick tossed the sixth and seventh frames without allowing a hit as he improved to 2-0. Junior righthander David Calderon punched out three batters and surrendered just one hit in the final pair of frames for his third save. The Eagle bullpen now has 13.1 straight innings in the last four games with no runs allowed.
Sophomore Trevor Snyder added an insurance run with a sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth.
Junior second baseman Braxton Morris had his 10th multi-hit game, going 3-for-4. Hulsizer and junior third baseman Eli Boggess had two hits apiece as the Eagles are now 10-1 in 2017 when they get 10-plus hits.
TENNESSEE TECH 20, UNC ASHEVILLE 9
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Tech baseball team exploded offensively Tuesday afternoon, denting home plate over and over again to the tune of a season-high 20 runs and 24 hits in a huge victory at UNC Asheville.
The Golden Eagles (16-6) defeated the Bulldogs (8-11) by a score of 20-9, doing the brunt of their damage in a monster, 11-run sixth inning. For the third time this season, Tech smacked five home runs in a game, propelling the offense to its juggernaut performance.
Things got started in the top of the third, when sophomore Alex Junior grounded out to second base to drive in the first run of the game. After a Trevor Putzig single to center field, fellow sophomore Kevin Strohschein blasted a two-run dinger to left center field for a 3-0 Tech lead.
The Golden Eagles doubled the advantage in the fourth, starting with a lead-off solo shot down the left field line. UNC Asheville gathered two outs before Junior singled to set up Putzig with another two-run long ball to left center field, the junior's first of the season.
The Bulldogs provided a small offensive spark in the bottom of the fifth, cutting into the visitor's lead with three runs. Tech had an answer and then some.
A total of 16 Golden Eagle batters saw the plate in the sixth, starting with senior Matt Jones, who single to left field to lead off the frame. Shortstop David Garza followed with a single of his own to left field and, with his blazing speed, Junior beat out a throw from the pitcher for an infield, bunt single to load the bases.
Putzig garnered a bases-loaded walk for an RBI, providing Strohschein for some more heroics. The slugger came through with a two-run single to left field, prompting the team's third pitching change of the game. It didn't faze the Tech attack, however, as junior Ryan Flick ripped his second double of the contest, and Ohio Valley Conference leading 14th of the season, to left center field for two RBI.
Chase Chambers ripped and RBI single to right field, prompting senior Chris Brown to clear the bases with a towering, two-run missile to right field. All of this was done before the first out of the inning was even recorded.
After a ground out, two more Golden Eagle batters reached base, including Jones, who would score on a throwing error on a pickoff attempt at third base. Putzig recorded another RBI with a single to right field while Strohschein smacked a sacrifice fly to left center field for the final RBI of the inning.
Without hesitation, the Tech offense turned a three-run lead into a staggering, 17-3 advantage.
Tech score three more times over the final three frames to reach the 20-run plateau for the first time in 2017, gathering a two-run bomb from Chambers in the eighth inning.
The Bulldogs scored six more runs over the final four innings, but never truly threatened the potent Golden Eagle lineup one time the entire day.
Freshman Devin Lancaster moved to an impressive 3-0 on the year with five innings of work on the hill. The right-hander scattered four hits while allowing one earned run and three runs total. He also struck out four UNCA batters.
Nick Osborne took over for the sixth inning, serving up a solo home run for the only hit allowed in the frame. Jake Rice covered the seventh while allowing just one earned run and two total while Nic Dye finished the eighth and ninth.
Offensively, Strohschein led all Tech batters with five RBI on the day, finishing 3-for-5 from the plate with two runs scored. Flick posted four hits in five at bats, scoring twice and driving in two runs while Putzig tallied four RBI on three hits, not to mention three runs scored.
Chambers cruised to three RBI and two runs scored on a 2-for-5 day while Brown totaled two RBI and a run.
CENTRAL ARKANSAS 5, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 4 (12)
CONWAY, Ark. - The Southeast Missouri baseball team (10-8) fell to Central Arkansas (9-13) on Wednesday, 5-4, on a walk-off walk in the bottom of the 12th inning.
Southeast trailed 4-3 going to the ninth but tied it in the inning to force extra innings.
The Redhawks well outhit the Bears 11-5 in the contest. Chris Osborne tied a career high recording four hits, finishing 4-for-6 with an RBI. Danny Wright was the other SEMO player with multiple hits, finishing with two and scored twice.
Redhawk starter Nate Green worked four innings in his third start of the season. He allowed three runs, only one earned. He struck out one, walked two, and hit three Bears.
SEMO used a total of six pitchers in the game. The Redhawk bullpen was solid on Wednesday. Jared Waldhoff, the second out of the pen, pitched a career-long one and two-thirds innings of perfect baseball. Carlos Vega worked three scoreless innings, allowed just one hit, and fanned five. Matthew Wade (2-1) was tabbed with the loss after allowing the winning run in the 12th.
Between the fifth and 11th innings, Redhawk pitchers retired 20 of 21 Bear batters.
UCA starter Cody Davenport pitched three innings, allowed one run on four hits. Mark Moyer (1-1) pitched the final six innings of the game. He allowed just four hits, allowed the tying run in the ninth, and fanned three Redhawks.
Kylar Robertson led off the top of the second inning with a base on balls then picked up his third stolen base of the season to move into scoring position. He moved to third on a groundout by then trotted home on a base hit lined into center by Connor Basler to take a 1-0 lead.
The Bears began the top of the third inning getting runners on the corners with no out. A shallow popup to left resulted in a collision between Clayton Evans and Basler. Basler made the catch but fell on the play, allowing Jansen McCurdy to tag up and tie the game, 1-1.
Southeast got the run back and then one in the top of the fourth inning. With Wright on second and two out, Evans lined a single up the middle to plate Wright and break the tie. Evans, who moved into scoring position on the throw home, scored on a base hit off the bat of Osborne to make it 3-1 in the Redhawks' favor.
The Redhawks' two-run lead was erased due to a pair of crucial errors in the bottom of the fifth. The Bears began the inning getting the first two runners on, prompting Southeast to make a call to the pen for Adam Pennington. Rego Aguilar laid down a sac bunt picked up by Pennington whose throw to first was wild, allowing a run to score. Still with runners on the corners, Kyle Bottger's throw home on a fielder's choice was low and in the turf, allowing the tying run to score. Eddie Sanchez laid down a squeeze bunt to plate the go-ahead run, 4-3 Bears. Jared Waldhoff entered and retired both batters he faced to get out of the inning.
After only having one hit in between the fifth and eight innings, the Redhawk offense woke up to make it a new ball game when it mattered most. Wright led off the frame with a base hit to left and was moved into scoring position by Basler. Wright came around to score on a bounding base hit up the middle by Evans, knotting the game up at 4-4. Osborne also recorded his fourth hit of the game in the inning.
Vega retired the Bears in order in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings for the first time this season.
Both teams cruised through to the bottom of the 12th inning. The inning began with Wade hitting the leadoff batter followed by two walks to load the bases. Wade was replaced by Chase Hagerty, who inherited bases loaded, one out, and a 2-0 count. William Hancock drew the bases-loaded walk to secure the 5-4 victory for Central Arkansas.
The Bears' five hits were contributed to by five separate players. William Hancock recorded a pair of RBI in the game.
UT MARTIN 12, EVANSVILLE 4
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The bats came alive on Tuesday night for the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team in their 12-4 victory at Evansville. It was the Skyhawks’ (8-10, 0-6) first win in the series since 2009 and broke a streak of six consecutive wins in the series for the Purple Aces.
Evansville (7-12, 0-0) got on the board first as they scored a run on a wild pitch from UT Martin starting pitcher Jake Patzner. The Purple Aces followed that up with an RBI-single from Evansville first baseman Andrew Tanous to score another and put the home team ahead 2-0.
The Skyhawks used some big hits as they capitalized on a pair of Evansville mistakes in the third inning to push across five runs. UT Martin loaded the bases on a single from Josh Hauser, followed by freshman Connor Aube reaching on a throwing error and centerfielder Creighton Eldridge taking first on a hit-by-pitch. Redshirt-junior Tyler Albright continued his stellar offensive output with a single through the right side to drive in the Skyhawks’ first run and trim the margin to 2-1. Senior Tanner Wessling then drilled a shot into deep right field for a triple to clear the bases. Wessling’s three RBI’s on the extra-base hit pushed his total to 13 on the season and gave UT Martin the 4-2 lead. In the next at-bat, first baseman Ryan Helgren grounded out to second to score Wessling and cap off the Skyhawks largest inning since March 7 against Bethel.
A two-out rally sparked another huge inning for UT Martin in the fourth, who tacked on four more runs to pad its lead. After Albright reached first on a walk with two outs, the Skyhawks strung together four straight singles from Wessling, Helgren, Anthony Adduci and Dan Kerwin. Adduci’s knock up the middle scored two runs, while Kerwin’s hit to left pushed across another to give UT Martin the 8-2 advantage. A wild pitch from Purple Aces’ hurler David Ellis brought home Adduci to add another run and extend the margin to 9-2.
For the third consecutive inning, UT Martin scored multiple runs as the Skyhawks pushed across three in the fifth to give them a comfortable 12-2 lead. Wessling and Adduci each notched their fourth RBI on the night in the inning, as Wessling grounded into a fielder’s choice to score one, and Adduci used another two-RBI single to give the Skyhawks the double-digit advantage.
Evansville scored two in the seventh on a single from Jimmy Day to cut into the deficit, but that was all the Purple Aces could manage as right-hander Shane Seckinger entered the game for UT Martin on the mound in the eighth and closed out the last two innings. The Oakwood, Ga. native tossed two scoreless innings, retiring six out of seven batters he faced and striking out two.
Reliever Alex Evans (2-2) took over for Patzner after two innings and was lights out to earn the win. The right-hander from Mulvane, Kan. accomplished the rare four strikeout inning in the sixth as an Evansville batter reached first on a swinging third strike, before Evans whiffed his fourth hitter of the inning the very next at-bat. Evans tossed a strong 5.0 innings allowing only two runs and striking out eight. Alex Weigand was hit with the loss for the Purple Aces.
The Skyhawks were paced by strong offensive performances by Wessling (3-6, four RBI’s) and Adduci (2-4, four RBI’s). Helgren (2-5), Kerwin (1-5) and Albright (1-4, three runs scored) also tacked on RBI’s in UT Martin’s eighth victory of the season.