THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 12, Southeast Missouri 9
@Eastern Kentucky 6, Belmont 2
Tennessee Tech 14, @UT Martin 6
MOREHEAD STATE 12, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 9
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The top four hitters in the Morehead State baseball lineup combined for 13 hits and a pair of pitchers only walked one Southeast Missouri batter as the Eagles opened Ohio Valley Conference play with a 12-9 win over the Redhawks at Allen Field Thursday.
Leadoff man Reid Leonard was 4-for-6 with leftfielder Michael Patrick collecting three hits in the second spot. Sophomore outfielder Niko Hulsizer manned the third spot for the Eagles (9-5) and was 3-for-6 with a home run and a team-best four RBI. Senior outfielder Will Schneider upped his batting average to a league-best .509 with three hits and also drew three walks. MSU had 18 hits and now has 41 hits in its last two games.
On the mound, freshman southpaw Dalton Stambaugh (1-1) collected his first career win, scattering 11 hits but striking out five in 5.2 innings. Fellow freshman Jake Ziegelmeyer, a righty, snagged his first career save by fanning four and allowing just three runs in the final 3.2 innings.
The Eagles jumped on SEMO lefty starter Robert Beltran (0-2) for five runs in the first two innings, including a two-run homer by Schneider in the second. The hosts also scored twice in the first four frames on errors and once on a bases-loaded walk allowed by the team that led the OVC in fewest walks.
Hulsizer added a solo homer, his team-best fourth, in the fifth as the Eagles built an 8-2 lead. The Redhawks crept back to within 8-6 in the sixth on a Dan Holst two-run single, but Morris ignited a four-run rally in the bottom of the innings with his second home run in the last three outings. Hulsizer also clubbed a two-run double to the left field corner.
SEMO nailed four home runs on the day, including two by rightfielder Chris Osborne, who also had a game-best five RBI.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 6, BELMONT 2
RICHMOND, Ky. - Cornell Nixon’s leadoff solo home run in the bottom of the eighth broke a 2-2 tie and fueled a 4-run inning as the Eastern Kentucky University baseball team opened Ohio Valley Conference play with a 6-2 victory over Belmont University on Thursday at Earle Combs Stadium.
EKU (8-6, 1-0 OVC) has won five straight games and remains undefeated in four games at the new Earle Combs Stadium. The two teams will conclude their three-game series with a doubleheader on Friday. First pitch is scheduled for noon.
Nixon led off the bottom of the eighth inning with his first home run of the season. With one out and one on, Shea Sullivan doubled down the left field line to make it 4-2. Miles Jones added a couple of insurance runs with a two-out, two-run home run over the wall in right field.
Jack Piekos started for Eastern. He did not earn the win, but did have a quality start, allowing two runs, both unearned, on five hits and striking out five over seven innings. Alex Hamilton (3-0) got the win after pitching one and one third innings of scoreless relief. He gave up one hit and struck out one.
Nixon finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Sullivan went 2-for-4 with a run and two driven in. Jones had a 2-for-4 day, scored once and drove in a pair.
Kyle Conger and Chas Hadden each had two hits for Belmont (5-8, 0-1 OVC). Tyler Vaughn (0-3) suffered his third loss of the season after allowing six runs on 10 hits over seven and two-thirds innings.
TENNESSEE TECH 14, UT MARTIN 6
MARTIN, Tenn. - Centerfielder Creighton Eldridge sent two balls deep over the right field wall, but it was not enough as the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball squad fell 14-6 to Tennessee Tech on Thursday evening. Keylen Steen also tallied his first career homerun as a Skyhawk in the loss.
The Golden Eagles pushed across the first run of the game as they tallied three hits in the opening inning, including and RBI-single from Trevor Putzig. UT Martin did not take long to answer as Eldridge (4) drilled his first homer of the day to drive in freshman Connor Aube and give the Skyhawks the 2-1 lead.
Tennessee Tech again found success in the second inning as it pieced together runs on an RBI-single from Alex Junior and an RBI-groundout from Putzig. Steen (1) responded for UT Martin with a shot down the left field line that found its way over the wall to even the score 3-3.
A nine-run third inning propelled the Golden Eagles to a 12-3 lead in what was the decisive at-bat. Tennessee Tech tallied nine hits in the inning to break the game open, including a two-run homer by Golden Eagle first baseman Chase Chambers. Tennessee Tech tallied another run in the fifth on a Ryan Flick RBI-hit through the left side to increase the lead to 13-3.
Josh Hauser led off the Skyhawk half of the fifth inning with a single up the middle. Aube followed along with a single of his own and then stole second base to give UT Martin runners at second and third with no one out. Eldridge drove in his third run of the day with an RBI-groundout to second to trim the margin to 13-4.
After a quiet sixth inning from both teams, Aube reached base for the fourth straight time on a walk in the seventh inning before Eldridge (5) hit his second bomb of the night to trim the lead to 13-6. Another RBI-single by Flick knocked in an insurance run for the Golden Eagles in the ninth to give the visiting team the 14-6 win.
Senior Jake Patzner (1-2) took the mound for UT Martin and was saddled with the loss. Wood (3-1) earned the win for Tennessee Tech. Kyle Laberge made his season debut tossing four complete innings in relief for the Skyhawks.
Aube (3-4, two runs scored), Eldridge (2-5, two homers and five RBI’s) and Ryan Helgren (2-4) each notched multiple hits on the night for UT Martin. Eldridge has now tallied a remarkable four homeruns in the last two games, as the Mansfield, Texas native has racked up 11 RBI’s giving him the most for a player in a Skyhawk uniform in a two-game span since 2010.