SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 16, Eastern Kentucky 5
Belmont 3-10, @Jacksonville State 2-5
UT Martin 3, @SIUE 1
@Southern Illinois 6-10,
#26 Tennessee Tech 4-9
EASTERN ILLINOIS 16, EASTERN KENTUCKY 5
CHARLESTON, Ill. - After Friday's series-opening baseball game between Eastern Illinois and Eastern Kentucky was delayed due to darkness, the Panthers and Colonels picked the contest off where they left off as the Panthers earned a 13-11 win on a walk-off two-run home run from Hunter Beetley. The Panthers kept things rolling into the second game of the day and picked up another win over EKU by a convincing score of 16-5.
Eastern Illinois improved their current winning streak to five game and improved to 12-27 (6-11 OVC). Eastern Kentucky dropped to 21-18 (7-10 OVC) following the two losses.
Eastern Illinois carried their momentum from their game one win into the second game and used a complete team effort to defeat Eastern Kentucky, 16-5, in the second game of the series on Saturday.
Brendon Allen was in complete control on the mound as the veteran pitcher allowed just one run over the course of 7.2 innings pitched while striking out 12. Allen picked up his first win of the season with the dominating performance.
The Panthers took some pressure off of Allen as they struck first in the bottom of the second. Perrone started a two-out rally with a solo home run to left. Justin Smith followed with a bunt single and came around to score on a two-run blast by Duncan. The Panthers went back-to-back as Govern followed the Duncan home run with a solo shot of his own and put Eastern Illinois ahead, 4-0, early.
EIU added a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run home run by Curran.
Allen dominated the Colonels through the first five innings, but Eastern Kentucky finally got to the right-handed pitcher in the sixth. Sullivan singled to center and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Sullivan came around to score later in the inning on an RBI double by Holderbach.
Eastern Illinois extended their lead to 9-1 with three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Smith laced a single to right field that got past a diving Colonel and wound up on third base after the ball was returned to the infield. After a walk to Duncan, Govern plated Smith with an RBI single as Duncan moved up to second on the play. A sacrifice bunt moved the runners up to second and third before Albert drove the pair in with a two-run single.
The Panthers took a commanding 10-1 advantage over the Colonels following a solo round-tripper by Curran in the bottom of the seventh.
Despite scoring a pair of runs in the top of the eighth, Eastern Kentucky had no answer in stopping the EIU offense in the bottom-half of the inning. Stevenson followed a Parks single and an Albert double with a two-run single of his own. An error allowed the Panthers to gain another base runner and moved Stevenson up to second. After a fielder's choice cut down the runner advancing to second, Duncan drove home another run with an RBI single. Govern followed with an RBI single of his own to plate another run for the Panthers. Parks drove home the final two runs for the Panthers later in the inning on a double and moved the score to 16-3 in favor of Eastern Illinois.
Eastern Kentucky struck for two runs in the top of the ninth, but that would be all the Colonels would get as Cole Berry got the final EKU batter to fly out to center to give the Panthers the win.
Duncan and Govern led the EIU offense once again as the pair collected three hits each. Parks, Albert, Curran, Perrone and Smith all added two hits each for the Panthers.
BELMONT 3-10, JACKSONVILLE STATE 2-5
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Belmont baseball used a pair of come-from-behind victories to claim the series against Jacksonville State on historic day for Head Coach Dave Jarvis, who earned his 900th career win as the Bruins took game two, 3-2. Senior Nick Egli (Brentwood, Tenn.) then accounted for the final seven runs in game three to propel BU past JSU, 10-5.
Egli led the charge with a 4-for-10 day at the plate and seven RBIs that all came in the final two innings of the series finale, while redshirt-freshman Matt Cogen (Franklin, Tenn.) was the sole Bruin to put together a pair of multi-hit outings. Belmont also saw extensive contributions on the mound with sophomore right-hander Dylan King (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) tossing his fourth double-digit strikeout effort of the year in the second game and senior Dom Veltri (Clarksville, Tenn.) went on to close out both games of the doubleheader, earning his sixth save in game two.
Jacksonville State took the first lead of the game with a two-run long ball from Hayden White that soared over the left field wall to put the Gamecocks up, 2-0. The Bruins got a run back in the next stanza after a leadoff single from sophomore Hunter Holland (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) and a walk issued to freshman Logan Jarvis (Franklin, Tenn.) gave Belmont its first base runners. BU used fundamental baseball from then on to score the run as senior Clay Payne (Powell, Tenn.) rolled a sacrifice bunt down the first base line advancing runners. Junior Rafael Bournigal (Mulberry, Fla.) then delivered a sacrifice fly to cut the Bruins deficit in half, 2-1.
A pitchers dual then ensued, with neither team getting much off the starting hurlers. King struck out ten batters in the first six stanzas and only gave up one free ride during his time on the hill. Despite relinquishing seven hits in that span, he only allowed two runs to score while forcing JSU to strand four runners. On the other end, Jacksonville State starter Colton Pate also caused troubles as Belmont was only able collect four hits and a run through six stanzas.
King remained locked in as Belmont's defense stifled the Gamecocks in the bottom of the sixth. JSU managed to get runners to threaten on second and third with only one away before King struck out his tenth batter and tagged a runner attempting to get home on a wild pitch to end the frame unscathed keeping the Bruins within striking distance. Payne then tied the game up with two down in the seventh, belting a 0-2 pitch over the left field wall for his third home run of the year that knotted the game up, 2-2.
Belmont continued to heat up in the final frames, taking its first lead of the game in the eighth after a JSU throwing error allowed Egli to take second right off the bat. Cogen laced his second hit that came in the form of a RBI single to right field giving BU a 3-2 lead.
Veteran relievers Brennan Washington (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) and Dom Veltri (Clarksville, Tenn.) closed out the victory, ensuring that the Gamecocks were held scoreless for the final three frames. Washington collected the win, moving to 3-0 on the year, while Veltri recorded his sixth save.
Holland kicked off the second game of the day with a dinger over the left field wall in the second frame to put the Bruins up, 1-0, early. His home run was the fourth from the Bruins this series with all of them sent to left field.
While Holland spark the Bruins offense, starting pitcher Connor Etheridge (Springfield, Ill.) relied heavily on the BU's defense to back him up after getting into consecutive bases loaded jams to start game three. He managed to get out of both unscathed, courtesy of some outstanding defensive efforts in the field. Jarvis made a couple crucial plays at first, while Holland and junior shortstop Kyle Conger (Brentwood, Tenn.) wouldn't let anything go in left field. The Bruins collectively held the Gamecocks scoreless in both stanzas.
For the third time in the first four frames, Jacksonville State juiced the bases – this time finding a way to convert some runs. After working his way out of a couple jams, Etheridge's luck ran out in the fourth as the Gamecocks plated three runs on four hits to take the lead, 3-1.
Similar to the previous contest, Belmont found itself in a 3-1 hole early on and would chip away at their deficit. Holland continued to be the difference maker in the second game, collecting his second extra base shot of the game with a leadoff two-bagger to deep centerfield in the fifth. Sophomore Chas Hadden (Morristown, Tenn.) came in to pinch hit and made the most of his sole plate appearance with a RBI groundout to shortstop, bringing BU within one, 3-2.
Jacksonville State doubled its advantage, 4-2, on a long ball if its own from Andrew Naismith, who lifted one over the centerfield barrier in the bottom of the sixth. Sophomore reliever Casey Queener (Brentwood, Tenn.) made an appearance in the sixth and struck out a trio of batters in three frames of work, only giving up the long ball.
After a day at the plate, Egli got back to his ways with his third home run of the series to left field. The designated hitter helped Belmont retake the lead in the eighth with a three-run no doubter that capped off a four-run frame for the Bruins. It all started with a leadoff walk handed to Payne. Bournigal then connected on a two-bagger that was sent to deep left centerfield for the first run. Jacksonville State then committed the first error of the game to allow Bruins to reside on the corners for Egli to clean up the bases and put BU up, 6-4.
The Brentwood, Tennessee product then sealed the deal for Belmont with a grand slam to centerfield in the top of the ninth, his second homer in consecutive at bats combing for seven runs and cushioning the Bruins lead, 10-4. Egli connected on four home runs in the series, the other coming in the first game on Friday night.
Jacksonville State scored a run in the bottom of the ninth to bring them within five, but that's all they'd get of Veltri.
UT MARTIN 3, SIUE 1
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Redshirt junior Dalton Westfall tossed his best game in Ohio Valley Conference play on Saturday afternoon, as the University of Tennessee at Martin captured a 3-1 victory over SIU Edwardsville.
The Buckhannon, W.Va. native stymied the Cougar lineup all day to the tune of eight innings, allowing just one run. For head coach Rick Robinson, it was great to see the big righty return to his early season form.
UT Martin (16-20, 6-11 OVC) was first on the board, as junior second baseman Tyler Albright launched his second home run over the left field wall in the first inning to put the Skyhawks ahead 1-0.
SIUE (17-20, 6-13) struggled offensively, as Westfall sat down the Cougars in order in both the first and second inning and worked around a walk in the third, but did not surrender a hit through the opening three frames.
The Skyhawks padded their lead in the fourth as they pushed across two runs on three total hits. Dan Kerwin extended his hitting streak to a stellar 16 games with an RBI-single, followed by a sacrifice fly off the bat of senior Josh Hauser to give UT Martin the 3-0 advantage.
That run support was more than enough for Westfall, who did not surrender his first run until the bottom half of the eighth inning. The Cougars put one in the board, but that was all the home team could manage as the Skyhawks claimed their fourth straight victory overall, and fifth straight OVC win.
Westfall (4-4) finished the contest with 8.0 innings pitched, allowing just the lone run in the eighth, and striking out another 11 hitters to improve his season total to 68. Peyton Cain (1) tossed a scoreless ninth inning to earn his first save of the season. Brock Fulkerson (2-5) was hit with the loss for SIUE.
The Skyhawk bats were led by Ryan Helgren (3-4, one run). Albright, Kerwin and Hauser were the UT Martin hitters responsible for the RBI’s on the night.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 6-10, #26 TENNESSEE TECH 4-9
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Tennessee Tech baseball team suffered back-to-back close losses in doubleheader action Saturday afternoon, falling twice at the hands of non-conference opponent Southern Illinois in Carbondale, Ill.
In game one, the Golden Eagles (30-11) took an early 1-0 advantage over the Salukis (20-20), using an RBI single up the middle to kick off the action. The home team answered in the third, plating two to take the lead for what would wind up being for good.
Southern Illinois scored three times in the fourth, plating three runs while taking advantage of a couple of Golden Eagle miscues. The runs provided a 5-1 lead for the Salukis.
Tech made a comeback bid in the sixth, with junior Trevor Putzig scoring on a passed ball and junior David Garza driving in a second run to pull within two. The Salukis shut down a bases-loaded threat with two outs in the frame, however, helping limit the damage.
Both sides traded single runs the rest of the way, with SIU taking the 6-4 victory.
Tech took a larger advantage to kick off game 2, scoring twice early in the first behind and RBI double by Putzig and sacrifice fly off the bat of sophomore Kevin Strohschein. The Golden Eagles ran it to 3-0 behind a second-inning RBI single by Alex Junior.
The Salukis answered right back, scoring once in the second frame and three times in the third, to take a 4-3 lead.
The Golden Eagles recaptured the lead in the fourth, thanks to an RBI double from freshman catcher John Elford and RBI single by Junior. Southern Illinois notched things at 5-5 with a solo run in the fourth, but Tech blasted the game open in the fifth.
With the bases loaded and no outs, junior left fielder Collin Harris unloaded a bases-clearing double to right field. He would score on an error later in the frame, providing Tech with a 9-5 advantage.
The home team cut that lead to 9-7 in the seventh, but looked like it was on its way to a loss in the ninth. With two outs in the frame and just one to go, the Salukis rallied behind four consecutive hits, on a total of five pitches. Thanks to a single, RBI double, RBI single and another RBI double, SIU walked off with the victory to stun the Golden Eagles, 10-9.