SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 9-18, Eastern Kentucky 6-7
Murray State 11-5, @Eastern Illinois 10-7
@SIUE 15, Southeast Missouri 10
@UT Martin 7, Belmont 4
Tennessee Tech 14, @Austin Peay 13
@Southern Illinois 5,
Jacksonville State 4
MOREHEAD STATE 9-18, EASTERN KENTUCKY 6-7
MOREHEAD, Ky.- Sophomore Niko Hulsizer and senior Michael Patrick each homered twice and drove in six runs apiece to help the Morehead State baseball team complete a series sweep over Eastern Kentucky Saturday. The Eagles nipped the Colonels 9-6 in the opener and smashed 23 hits en route to an 18-7 nightcap victory at Allen Field.
Morehead State improved its best-ever Ohio Valley Conference start to 8-1 while winning for the 12th time in the last 13 tries overall to improve to 17-6. EKU fell to 1-5 in the league and 13-12 overall.
Despite allowing six homers, the Eagle pitching staff only surrendered three walks and struck out 13 EKU hitters as freshman Jake Ziegelmeyer (1-1) grabbed his first collegiate win in the opener, and senior Curtis Wilson (3-2) collected the "W" in the second contest.
Patrick homered in both contests and finished the day 5-for-9, while Hulsizer launched a three-run and two-run round-tripper in the second game, collecting all six RBI in that game. Patrick was 4-for-5 in the second game, joined in that category by senior centerfielder Ryan Kent with four hits. Kent was 6-for-9 on the day and moved into sixth place all-time at MSU now with 224 career hits.
Eight of the nine Eagles in the original lineup in game two had multi-hit performances as Morehead State totaled 33 hits in both games, including seven doubles in the second battle. Junior first baseman Tyler Niemann also had a home run, two doubles, and a 1.286 slugging percentage on the day. Sophomore catcher Hunter Fain also went deep on a two-run homer in the opening game.
EKU first baseman Ben Fisher, the national leader in home runs, launched three long balls today and finished with eight total RBI.
MURRAY STATE 11-5, EASTERN ILLINOIS 10-7
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Murray State had a roller coaster of a day at the ballpark Saturday in Charleston, Ill., as the Racers split a pair of games with Eastern Illinois. MSU was able to rally from a 10-9 deficit in the first game of the day to win 11-10 but were unable to hold onto an early five-run lead in the second game and lost 7-5.
The win was the resumption of the game that was postponed on Friday due to darkness. The two teams picked up the game today in the eighth inning with the Racers trailing.
A Davis Sims double down the left field line scored Tyler Lawrence from first base and tied the game at 10-10 in eighth inning. In the ninth, Adam Bauer collected what ended up being the game-winning hit as he belted his third triple of the season to right center field with two outs in the inning and scored Jaron Robinson.
Chad Gendron was then able to close things out for the Racers, thanks in large part to getting out of a bases loaded jam in the eighth inning. Gendron was able to strikeout batters for the first two outs and then ended the EIU threat with a lineout to center. In the ninth, it was Kipp Moore who was able to end the game defensively as he threw out the would-be base stealer from the Panthers at second base.
Sims led the Racers at the plate in the first game by going 3-for-5 with a run. Moore and Robinson both went 2-for-4 each with Robinson scoring three times. Brandon Gutzler went 2-of-6 with four ribbies over the span of the game and Jack Hranec was 2-for-5.
The series finale went much like the first two games in the series as MSU jumped out to an early 5-0 lead thanks to a pair of runs in both the second and fourth and another sandwiched in-between in the third. However, for the fifth time in the series, a team was able to get a five-run inning as the Panthers tied the game at 5-5 in the bottom of the fourth.
EIU was able to take its first lead of the game with a triple and a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh to take a 7-5 lead and then kept MSU off the board the final two innings. The Racers had their chances in the final half of game three but squandered multiple opportunities with more than one base runner.
MSU was held to a series-low seven hits in the game three loss. Sims went 1-of-2 with a pair of ribbies in the loss while Gutzler and Robinson each had RBI singles in the contest. Chance Carner was saddled with his first loss of the year as he appeared in relief of the starter Hranec. Carner allowed two runs off one hit in two innings of work while walking two and striking out three batters.
Hranec pitched 3.2 innings and gave up five runs off four hits. Tyler Horsley and Alec Whaley also made relief appearances in the finale.
SIUE 15, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 10
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Brock Weimer's six RBIs and first career grand slam highlighted a 15-run onslaught Saturday, as the Cougars evened their series with Southeast Missouri with a 15-10 win at Simmons Baseball Complex.
SIUE enjoyed its strongest offensive day of the season with a season-high 15 runs on a season-best 18 hits to improve to 12-10 overall and 3-5 in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Southeast Missouri, which had a four-game OVC winning streak snapped, fell to 11-9 overall and 4-4 in the OVC.
SEMO took a 2-0 lead in the first inning against SIUE starter Nelson Martz.
The Cougars answered with single runs in the first and the second to tie the score.
Southeast took a 3-2 lead with a run in the third inning before the Cougars took over for good with the first of three four-run innings.
Weimer drove in a pair of runs to give the Cougars a 4-3 lead. Jordan Stading then drove in Jared McCunn, while beating out a squeeze bunt to first base. Aaron Goecks followed with a second squeeze to drive home Weimer, giving SIUE a 6-3 lead.
Mario Tursi singled in a run in the fifth inning to push the Cougars' lead to 7-3.
The Cougars loaded the bases in the sixth against SEMO reliever Chase Hagerty. Alec Skender and Keaton Wright singled to start the inning. Dustin Woodcock was intentionally walked to load the bases for Weimer. Weimer then connected on a 3-1 pitch to straight away center for the grand slam to make it 11-3.
Weimer finished the day 4 for 5 with the grand slam and six RBIs.
Wright and Stading each came up with RBIs and Dustin Woodcock drove home two with a double in a four-run seventh inning which extend the SIUE lead to 15-3.
Wright was 3 for 5 with an RBI. Stading finished the day 3 for 4 with two RBIs. Tursi was 2 for 5 with two RBIs. Skender was 4 for 4 with four runs scored. Dustin Woodcock was 1 for 4 with two RBIs and two runs.
The Redhawks scored a run in the eighth before breaking out for six in the ninth to pull within five at 15-10.
Martz (3-2) settled in to throw six innings for SIUE and earn the win. He allowed three runs on five hits. He struck out three.
Southeast Missouri starter Justin Murphy allowed six runs on eight hits over 3 2/3 innings. He fell to 2-2 with the loss.
Tristen Gagen was 3 for 5 with four RBIs to lead the SEMO offense Saturday.
UT MARTIN 7, BELMONT 4
MARTIN, Tenn. - At a rain soaked Skyhawk Field, the University of Tennessee at Martin was able to overcome the elements en route to its first Ohio Valley Conference win of the season taking down Belmont 7-4.
The Bruins (9-12, 4-3) pushed across three runs in the top of the seventh inning to tie the game, but the resilient UT Martin (9-11, 1-7) squad rallied back to regain the lead in the seventh, before Ryan Helgren smacked a two-run single in the eighth to add some insurance and propel them to their first victory over Belmont in the last six attempts.
The Skyhawks were the first on the board as catcher Dan Kerwin was re-inserted as the backstop for UT Martin and he came through with a two-out RBI-single in the second to drive in Creighton Eldridge to give the Skyhawks the 1-0 lead.
The biggest inning of the day came in the third, as UT Martin poured in three runs on three hits to pad its lead. Tyler Albright doubled home freshman leadoff hitter Connor Aube with a shot down the right field line to give the Skyhawks the 2-0 advantage. After a Tanner Wessling single and an Eldridge walk, freshman designated hitter Anthony Adduci picked up his 14th RBI on the year with an RBI-single to right. Ben Aslett then launched a shot into deep center field to bring home Wessling on a sacrifice fly and give UT Martin the 4-0 advantage after three innings.
Right-hander Dalton Westfall got the nod for the Skyhawks and had yet another stellar performance on the mound. The Buckhannon, W.Va. native shut down the Bruin lineup for the first five innings limiting them to just three hits in the first five frames. Belmont was finally able to break through in the sixth as Chas Hadden was able to draw a walk with the bases loaded to trim the margin to 4-1.
The Bruins rallied to bring home three runs in the seventh on a two-RBI double from second baseman Rafael Bournigal and a one-run single from Ben Kocker to even the score at 4-4. The Skyhawks abruptly responded in the bottom half of the inning as Helgren laced a double into left-center followed by a Wessling shot right back up the middle to bring him home and give UT Martin the lead back 5-4.
Helgren picked up his third RBI in the series with a big two-out single into left field to give the Skyhawks some breathing room in the eighth. Peyton Cain shut down the Bruins in eighth, while reliever Alex Evans shut the door on any comeback attempt in the ninth to give UT Martin their seventh home victory of the season.
Westfall (3-2) tossed a solid 7.0 innings allowing four runs and striking out five, while Evans recorded the last three outs in the ninth to earn his second save of the year. Dylan King (2-3) got the loss for Belmont.
Helgren (3-5, two RBI’s), Albright (2-4, one RBI), Wessling (2-4, one RBI) and Kerwin (2-4, one RBI) all notched multiple hits in the victory for the Skyhawks.
TENNESSEE TECH 14, AUSTIN PEAY 13
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Tech baseball team (20-6, 9-0) won an up-and-down contest at Austin Peay (11-12, 4-5) Saturday afternoon, clinching a perfect 9-0 start to Ohio Valley Conference play by holding off a late APSU surge for a 14-13 victory in Clarksville, Tenn.
The win clinched the Golden Eagles' first sweep over their in-state rival since 2001 and their first sweep against the Govs in Clarksville since 1988. The 9-0 start matches the best start to conference play in program history, tying the 1956 Tech squad which started 9-0 and finished 10-1 in the OVC while winning the league and earning a trip to the NCAA District III Playoffs.
Tech's overall 20-6 record through the first 26 games represents Tech's best start since going 21-5 in 2014. The Golden Eagles won 40 games in 2014, as well as in 2013 when the team also started 20-6.
Not wanting to let Tech get the early advantage, Austin Peay jumped on the scoreboard first on Saturday, plating three with two home runs in the bottom of the first.
Unfazed, the Golden Eagles worked the score to a 3-3 tie by the third, scoring on a fielding error in the second and using an RBI double by Kevin Strohschein and sacrifice fly from Ryan Flick in the third.
A solo long ball by the Govs in the third gave Austin Peay a 4-3 advantage, but the Tech offense went off in the fifth to take the lead for good. Alex Junior led off the frame with a single through the right side and was immediately followed by a single to left field from Trevor Putzig. A second double off the bat of Strohschein tied the game at 4-4.
After Austin Peay gathered its first out of the frame, Tech continued its romp through the lineup as Chase Chambers took a pitched off the elbow to load the bases. Senior Chris Brown promptly singled to right field for two RBI, providing the Golden Eagles their first lead of the game.
Not finished in the frame, Collin Harris walked to once again put three on the bases for Tech. Matt Jones then blew the game wide open, ripping a double to right field for two more TTU runs and an 8-4 lead. David Garza singled through the left side to drive in the final run of the inning for the Golden Eagles, making it a 9-4 Tech advantage.
The Govs chipped away over the next two frames, gathering a two-run dinger in the bottom of the fifth and an RBI double in the sixth, cutting the deficit to 9-7.
Tech played along, posting two insurance runs in the top of the seventh with a huge, two-out, two-run double on a full count from Putzig. The Golden Eagles then seemingly put the game out of reach in the eighth.
With an 11-7 lead already in the books, Tech added three more runs with an RBI, bases-loaded walk to Garza and two-run single up the middle off the bat of Junior. Despite the 14-7 advantage, Austin Peay kept attacking.
The home team plated four in the bottom of the eighth on a wild pitch and three-run long ball. Making it just a three-run ball game. The Govs seemed to have new life in the ninth, maybe even destined to complete the comeback after smacking a two-run home run with zero outs in the ninth.
Holding tight to a 14-13 advantage, the Golden Eagles turned to freshman Devin Lancaster in a tough spot. The rookie midweek starter took the hill with the tying run on first, winning run at the plate and no outs on the scoreboard, not to mention the Govs' three, four and five hitters coming to the plate.
Understandably, some nerves were evident to start as Lancaster walked the first batter he faced on five pitches. He quickly rebounded, however, gathering the first out of the inning by forcing a fly out to left field by Dre Gleason, Austin Peay's most dangerous hitter.
On his very next pitch, Lancaster induced a pop up to first base for an infield fly rule out, putting Tech just one away from holding on. Finally, on a 2-0 pitch, the freshman forced a ground ball to third baseman Cody Littlejohn, who stepped on third base for the force out and final out of the game.
Lancaster picked up his first save of the season and his career with the single inning of work. Starter Chase Burkett earned his fourth victory of the season after tossing five and one third innings.
Six Golden Eagle batters recorded two RBI each in total team effort. Six Tech players also posted multi-hit performances, with Putzig leading the way with a 4-for-6 showing. Junior notched three hits in six trips to the plate. Jones led the team with three runs score while finished 2-for-4.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 5, JACKSONVILLE STATE 4
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois evened the weekend series on Saturday with a 5-4 win over Jacksonville State at Itchy Jones Stadium on the SIU campus.
After the Gamecocks claimed an 8-6 decision on Friday, Sunday's game becomes a rubber game contest for the non-conference series. JSU dropped to 11-10 overall, while the Salukis moved to 12-11 on the season. Sunday's rubber game is set for 1 p.m.
The Salukis erased a 4-2 deficit with three runs in the final two frames to collect the win. SIU answered Jax State's four-run seventh with a run in the home half of the frame and pushed the tying and winning runs across the plate in the eighth inning. SIU started the eighth with a leadoff walk by JSU left hander Nate Sylvester followed by a double by Logan Blackfan. Jake Hand singled to left field to equalize at 4-4 before freshman right hander Corley Woods was inserted on the mound. Hand moved in to scoring position on a stolen base with the JSU infield drawn in. Woods recorded the first out with a strike out, but a wild pitch in the next at bat plated the winning run for the Salukis. SIU's Ryan Netemeyer retired JSU in the ninth to post his eighth save of the season. Sylvester was saddled with the loss.
For the second consecutive day, SIU took an early lead on the Gamecocks as it registered a pair of unearned runs in the second inning off of JSU starter Colton Pate. Pate, the reigning co-Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week shrugged off the second inning and would hold the Salukis to the two runs. The Lincoln, Alabama native went 6.0 innings and allowed five SIU hits and fanned four Salukis. In his last two outings, Pate has not allowed an earned run spanning 13 innings after seven shutout frames last weekend against Eastern Illinois.
Pate kept the Gamecocks in the contest as the offense was facing SIU's Michael Baird, who started the game with an earned run average of less than one run. Baird kept JSU off balance for six innings until he ran in to trouble in the seventh.
Just like Friday, JSU's bats came alive in the seventh inning. In the opener, the Gamecocks' bats exploded for seven runs that broke open a 1-1 contest. As the rain began to get heavier with one out in the seventh, junior Taylor Hawthorne kick started the inning with a walk. Junior Hayden White connected on the first of four consecutive hits by the Gamecocks to chase Baird from the contest and take a 4-2 lead. White's single to right field drove in the first run, while freshman Chase Robinson laced a single off Baird to deadlock the game at 2-all. Senior Joe McGuire was called upon again in a pinch hit situation and for the second consecutive game; the Oxford, Alabama native delivered a single to load the bases off of SIU reliever Bradley Harrison.
With the bases full of Gamecocks, freshman Andrew Naismith earned a walk on a seven pitch at bat. Junior Nolan Greckel had an RBI with his team-best 21st walk in the inning. Greckel reached base twice in the game after starting the game with a base hit to right.
Simpson was the lone Gamecock player with multiple hits as he posted a double in the eighth, but was left stranded.