WEDNESDAYS SCORES
@Austin Peay 9, Arkansas State 8
@SIUE 5, Evansville 2
Murray State 13, @Southern Illinois 10
@Tennessee Tech 17, Alabama A&M 3
#18 Vanderbilt 17,
Belmont 11 (First Tennessee Park)
AUSTIN PEAY 9, ARKANSAS STATE 8
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Right fielder Chase Hamilton’s hard ground ball with the bases loaded in the ninth inning supplied the game-winning run as Austin Peay State University’s baseball team won in walkoff fashion, 9-8, against Arkansas State, Wednesday, at Raymond C. Hand Park.
Austin Peay (11-9) trailed 8-4 entering its half of the seventh inning. The Governors comeback started when first baseman Dre Gleason walked to start the frame and center fielder Alex Robles doubled down the left field line. APSU head coach Travis Jansen turned to Brett Newberg in a one-out pinch hit opportunity and it paid off as he hit a home run to cut the deficit to one run, 8-7.
The Govs resumed their march in the ninth when left fielder Cayce Bredlau worked a base on balls after falling behind in the count. Designated hitter Parker Phillips was hit by a pitch while attempting to bunt, representing the winning run. Gleason doubled down the left field line to tie the game.
Arkansas State (11-9) then intentionally walked Robles to load the bases. The Red Wolves then brought the infield in against Hamilton, who slammed a ground ball off the second baseman. The ball got far enough away from the fielder to allow Phillips to score the winning run.
The Govs late rally turned aside the Red Wolves mid-game burst. Arkansas State scored five runs in the fourth inning and another run in the fifth to build a 6-2 lead. Second baseman Jeremy Brown had a three-run home run in the fourth while left fielder Drew Tipton added a solo home run in the fifth.
Austin Peay’s burst handed left-handed reliever Levi Primasing (1-0) his season’s first victory after he pitched a scoreless ninth inning.
Newberg’s three RBI led the Govs with five other hitters also recording an RBI each. Gleason, Phillips and second baseman Garrett Giovannelli had two hits each.
Arkansas State reliever Zachary Patterson (1-2) suffered the loss after allowing two runs on a hit and two walks in the ninth inning. Red Wolves first baseman Joe Schrimpf led the offense with a 2-for-5, three RBI effort that included a two-run home run in the eighth inning.
SIUE 5, EVANSVILLE 2
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Chris Monasmith made sure the SIUE baseball team regained its winning touch Wednesday. The reserve catcher delivered a clutch two-run double in a four-run eighth inning as the Cougars overtook Evansville 5-2 in a nonconference game at Simmons Baseball Complex. SIUE, snapping a four-game losing streak, improved to 11-9. Evansville dropped to 7-13.
What he did was bounce a two-run double over third base in the decisive eighth as the Cougars overturned a 2-1 deficit. Teammate Jordan Stading then followed with a two-run single and SIUE closed out its win in improving to 7-2 at Roy E. Lee Field.
Reliever Mason McReaken struck out the side in order in the ninth to preserve the win for Tristan Walters, the fourth of five SIUE pitchers. Starter Brendan Miller kept the Cougars within striking distance by allowing only three hits and one run five innings.
Four SIUE relievers, working four innings, gave up three hits and one run.
Evansville used single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to grab a 2-0 lead, but the Cougars refused to buckle. Monasmith's one-out single in the seventh got them going. Following a fielder's choice, Aaron Goecks walked and Garrett Carmichael stroked a run-scoring double to left in cutting Evansville's lead to 2-1. It was Carmichael's first collegiate hit and RBI.
Things got brighter for the Cougars in their eighth. Alec Skender and Keaton Wright both walked and Jared McCunn sacrificed them to third and second base, respectively. The Purple Aces walked Dustin Woodcock to lead the bases.
Monasmith then came through with the double and Stading added the two-run single against a drawn-in infield.
Overall, the Cougars scored five runs on five hits. Korbin Williams tried to ignite Evansville by going 3-for-3 with a walk. He had half of the Purple Aces' hits.
MURRAY STATE 13, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 10
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Murray State was able to bust out for a six-run and five-run inning and scored 10 of its 13 runs with two outs as the Racers slugged their way to a 13-10 victory over Southern Illinois Wednesday night in Carbondale.
The win is MSU's (12-8) third in a row over the Salukis (11-10) and 5-of-6 overall in the series. It also marks the second time in three seasons that the Racers have swept the season series. MSU was also able to come from behind for the second consecutive game against the Salukis as SIU scored three runs in the bottom of the first to jump out to an early lead.
Brandon Gutzler and Ryan Perkins provided the first offense of the night for the Racers with RBI singles to make it 3-2 in the top of the third. That's when Davis Sims delivered the Racers' second grand slam of the season as he blasted his third home run of the season and put MSU out front 6-3.
After SIU scored three in the bottom half of the inning to tie the game at 6-6, the two teams exchanged runs in the fifth inning to put the score at 7-7. In the sixth, the Racers racked up their second big inning of the night as Tyler Lawrence collected an RBI groundout and Jaron Robinson scored on a passed ball to make it 9-7. Perkins then tied the team lead with his sixth homer of the year as he sent a laser over the right field wall to push the lead to 11-7. A Jack Hranec RBI single up the middle finished the scoring in the inning and it was 12-7 at that point.
MSU was able to score again in the top of the eighth and then the Salukis were able to make things interesting with two runs in the bottom of the eighth and then began the ninth with back-to-back doubles to cut the score down to 13-10. Chad Gendron settled into his outing at that point and shut the door on the comeback.
Perkins led the way at the dish with a 4-for-6 day with three runs and three RBIs. Sims went 3-for-5 with a pair of runs and those four ribbies on the long ball. Hranec and Kipp Moore also had 2-for-5 days in the win with Moore scoring twice.
The Racers used a total of eight pitchers on the night with Tyler Horsley picking up his first career victory. Horsley pitched 1.1 innings and didn't allow a hit while striking out a batter.
TENNESSEE TECH 17, ALABAMA A&M 3
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - For the second time in two days, the Tennessee Tech baseball team wore out the scoreboard Wednesday evening, as the Golden Eagles (17-6) won their fifth consecutive contest with a 17-3 decision over Alabama A&M (5-19).
One night after exploding for 24 hits in a 20-9 victory at UNC Asheville, the Tech bats stayed red hot upon their return to Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex, working seven Bulldog pitchers to the tune of 15 hits and 17 runs.
On the flip side, the Golden Eagle pitching staff was lights out, scattering four hits and three runs while shutting out the visitors over the final five frames.
Alabama A&M actually took an early lead in the contest, scoring in the first inning on an RBI double down the right field line. Tech quickly had an answer, however, in the form of designated hitter Ryan Flick.
The junior lefty, who came to the plate with two runners following a leadoff walk to Alex Junior and hit-by-pitch on Kevin Strohschein, uncorked a line-drive, three-run long ball over the wall in center field. His sixth dinger of the year provided Tech a lead it would never relinquish. Senior Matt Jones made sure of the fact three batters later, lacing a two-out, RBI double to left center field for the eventual winning run.
After the Bulldogs answered with a solo run in the second, the Golden Eagles responded in the third, gathering two more markers on a two-run moon shot to left field by Jones. Alabama A&M scored once more in the fourth, plating a single run on an RBI single.
Despite the three-run lead, the Tech offense would not let up. In the bottom of the fifth, 12 Golden Eagle batters took to the plate, even with a first-pitch ground out to start the inning.
Jones got smacked with a pitch and shortstop David Garza followed with a five-pitch walk to set up junior Brennon Kaleiwahea up with an RBI opportunity. The JUCO transfer delivered with an RBI double down the third base line, kicking off a monster offensive onslaught.
Junior followed with a beautiful, two-run single to right center field and advanced to third base on a first-pitch single to center field by junior Trevor Putzig. Strohschein ripped an RBI base knock down the third base line to keep the offense rolling and prompting Alabama A&M's third pitching change of the evening.
Flick made it an unpleasant welcome for the Bulldog reliever, drawing a seven-pitch walk to load the bases. Chase Chambers rocketed a towering fly ball to center field, a ball that was dropped for an error. The first baseman received a sac fly and RBI on the play, advancing to second base on a throwing error, also by the center fielder. Two runs scored on the play while one out was deemed after some confusion on the base paths occurred on the play.
Collin Harris rounded out the scoring for the Golden Eagles in the inning, torching a single through the left side for an RBI.
Seemingly unsatisfied, the Tech offense plated two more in the sixth thanks to a leadoff home run by Kaleiwahea – the first of the junior's career in purple and gold – and a wild pitch, which allowed Junior to dent the plate.
In the eighth inning, the Golden Eagles put runners of the corners for another threat, one that produced the team's 16th and 17th runs. Flick flipped his NCAA-leading 16th double of the season, and second of the game, down the third base line for an RBI. Strohschein, who reached on a single up the middle, then scored on a passed ball for the final run of the game.
On the hill, the Golden Eagles received three strong appearances out of the pen to completely shut down the Bulldog offense over the final five innings. Earning the victory on the day, sophomore Marcus Evey completed the fifth and sixth frames without allowing a hit and striking out three batters.
Redshirt junior Evan Fraliex came on for a brilliant two frames in which he did not allow a base runner. Fraliex fanned two of the six batters he faced while need just 29 pitches. Senior Brandon Smith completed the contest, fanning one before eventually inducing the game-ending 6-4-2-4-2-6 double play.
#18 VANDERBILT 17, BELMONT 11
NASHVILLE - Belmont baseball nearly pulled off the comeback of a lifetime, trailing by nine runs, 13-4, with two outs in the sixth inning against national powerhouse Vanderbilt. The Bruins slowly chipped away and manufactured seven runs to pull within two, but were unable to overcome the Commodore offense, falling 17-11, Wednesday evening inside First Tennessee Park.
Vanderbilt (14-8) appeared to have blown the game wide open in the fourth stanza by tacking on seven runs to take an 8-3 advantage on the Bruins (8-11) in the annual crosstown matchup. The Commodores continued to pile on the runs in their next plate appearances in the fifth, adding an additional four scores to the board, 12-3.
Facing the nine-run deficit – thanks to another run scored in the sixth by Vanderbilt - Belmont valiantly chipped away at the Commodore lead with a seven-run inning of its own, somehow climbing back within two, 13-11, with two outs on the board.
In the midst of the furious rally, Belmont saw three players register two or more hits, highlighted by Kyle Conger's (Brentwood, Tenn.) 3-for-6 effort with a double, triple and two RBI. Nick Egli (Brentwood, Tenn.) and Tyler Walsh (Evansville, Ind.) each posted two-hit efforts on the night.
The rally began with a Hunter Holland (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) walk, while Matt Cogen (Franklin, Tenn.) drilled a ball to centerfield. Holland later came around to score the first of the hebdomad after a wild pitch. Egli then registered an RBI, allowing Cogen to touch home.
Walsh swung the momentum in the Bruins' favor with a three-run double, 13-9, Chas Hadden (Morristown, Tenn.) and Rafael Bournigal (Mulberry, Fla.). Aided by a flurry Vanderbilt blunders, including a hit by pitch, walk and two errors, the Bruins were back in business looking at a two-run hole, 13-11.
Prior to the large deficit, Belmont led 3-1 through three frames before Vanderbilt's offense began to click in the middle innings to connect on Belmont's mid-week pitching. Just like it did early in the game, Vanderbilt showed its resiliency and tight-game moxie after the Belmont run and plated an additional four runs, thwarting any remaining hopes of a Belmont comeback, 17-11.