SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 5, Southeast Missouri 4
@Austin Peay 6, Belmont 2
Tennessee Tech 22, @Jacksonville State 6
@SIUE 11, Eastern Kentucky 2
@UT Martin 9, Morehead State 5
@#3 TCU 15,
Murray State 6
EASTERN ILLINOIS 5, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 4
CHARLESTON, Ill. - After Eastern Illinois gave up their lead during the middle innings of game two against Southeast Missouri on Saturday, the Panthers scored twice in the bottom of the eighth and earned a 5-4 comeback win against the Redhawks to even the series at 1-1.
The Panthers started the game out hot striking first in the bottom of the first inning. Back-to-back singles by Joseph Duncan and Jimmy Govern put a pair of runners on for the Panthers to get things started. SEMO’s pitcher Justin Murphy made a nice play on a bunt by Logan Beaman and threw Duncan out at third on the attempt. Eastern Illinois kept rolling however as Dougie Parks doubled to left field to score both Govern and Beaman. After a groundout and a wild pitch, Parks moved up to third base and came around to score on a Nicholas McCormick RBI single to put the Panthers ahead, 3-0.
EIU starter Michael McCormick held the Redhawks hitless throughout the first three innings, but ran into some trouble in the fourth. Chris Osborne and Dan Holst knocked back-to-back doubles to give SEMO their first run of the game. After a wild pitch, Holst came around to score on a Tristen Gagan sacrifice fly and cut the EIU lead to 3-2.
SEMO kept applying the pressure against the Panthers in the fifth inning as the Redhawks rallied with two outs. An EIU error kept the inning alive for the Redhawks as Osborne and Holsts hit back-to-back singles, with Holst’s base hit scoring a runner on the play. Gagan plated Osborne with an RBI double and gave SEMO a 4-3 advantage.
The Redhawks appeared as if they would break the game open in the top of the eighth as SEMO had the bases loaded with no outs, but Alex Stevenson got the next three batters out to keep the score at 4-3. The Panthers carried their momentum from the top of the inning into the bottom-half as Duncan started a rally reaching base on a SEMO error. Govern got hit by the next pitch to put a pair of runners on for the Panthers. A wild pitch moved Duncan and Govern up to second and third ahead of Beaman. Beaman came through with a clutch two-run single to right field and gave the Panthers the lead once again at 5-4. Stevenson shut down the Redhawks in the ninth and gave EIU the 5-4 win.
Six Panthers – Duncan, Govern, Beaman, Parks, Nicholas McCormick and Justin Smith – all recorded one hit each for Eastern Illinois.
Stevenson picked up his team-high third win of the season as the freshman scattered four hits over four scoreless frames.
AUSTIN PEAY 6, BELMONT 2
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - First baseman Dre Gleason and right fielder Chase Hamilton hit back-to-back home runs to lift Austin Peay State University’s baseball team to a 6-2 Ohio Valley Conference victory against Belmont, Saturday afternoon at Raymond C. Hand Park.
After two scoreless frames to start the contest, Belmont (14-15, 9-5 OVC) broke through in the third when catcher Clay Payne led off the inning with a home run to left. It would be the only run allowed by Austin Peay starter Brett Newberg, who would strand two on base in that third inning to thwart the Bruins looming scoring threat.
Austin Peay (14-16, 6-8 OVC) rallied to tie the game in its half of the third. Center fielder Imani Willis started the rally with a two-out single, then stole second base and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Second baseman Garrett Giovannelli then delivered a single to tie the game, 1-1.
The tie would last just one frame, Austin Peay breaking the deadlock with the long ball. Gleason and Hamilton hit back-to-back home runs with one out in the fourth to give the Govs a 3-1 lead. Willis would later deliver a two-out single to supply another run for a 4-1 advantage.
That would be enough for Newberg (2-0) who picked up his second straight OVC victory, holding the Bruins to one run on three hits in his five-inning outing. Reliever Zach Neff tossed the final four innings for his season’s second save, striking out six of the 16 batters he faced.
For the second-straight game, a Govs hitter finished 4-for-4 at the plate as Willis hit the mark Saturday, including a double and two RBI, after Giovannelli notched the feat in Friday’s opener. Gleason chipped in two RBI with his 1-for-3 effort that included a home run and sacrifice fly.
Belmont starter Dylan King (2-4) was tagged for four runs (three earned) on six hits over his four-inning outing and was tagged for the loss.
Left fielder Alex Ward and Payne, respectively batting eighth and ninth order, had the Bruins lone RBI.
TENNESSEE TECH 22, JACKSONVILLE STATE 6
OXFORD, Ala. - It didn't take long for the Tennessee Tech baseball team to right the ship after suffering its first loss in Ohio Valley Conference play Friday night, as the Golden Eagles (25-8, 13-1) unleashed a smothering offensive attack Saturday afternoon to defeat Jacksonville State (16-12, 5-6) in Choccolocco Park by a decisive score of 22-6.
The Golden Eagles wasted no time jumping on the scoreboard, plating two in the first and running away with it from that point on. The visitors scored a least one run in eight of the nine innings played on the day, tying a season-high with five home runs while ripping a season-best eight doubles.
Junior Chase Chambers kicked off the fire sale, lacing a two-run double to left center field for a 2-0 lead in the first. Tech plated four more in the second, using an RBI double from sophomore Nick Osborne, two-run home run from Alex Junior and solo shot from Kevin Strohschein to do the damage.
Still not satisfied with a 6-0 lead, the Golden Eagles nearly doubled their advantage in the third. TTU unleashed the bats for five runs, starting with a bases-clearing, three-run double by Osborne. Three batters later, junior third baseman Trevor Putzig pounded a double down the left field line to drive in two more.
The lead would inflate to 11-0 before Jacksonville State finally put a run across, as Tech dented home plate twice in the fourth after a Gamecock error at third base with two outs. The home team snagged a single run in the bottom half, but the Golden Eagles defense quickly ended any further threat as Putzig, second baseman Matt Jones, and Chambers completed a 5-4-3 double play.
Junior designated hitter Ryan Flick launched a solo bomb to center field to get the run back in the fifth. Jones and shortstop David Garza each smacked RBI doubles in the frame as well, making it a 16-1 advantage.
Flick hammered his second long ball of the game in the sixth – his ninth of the year – this time a two-run shot to right field. The Gamecocks held Tech off the board in the seventh, but the Golden Eagles answered right back with a three-spot in the eighth, scoring on a wild pitch and back-to-back doubles from Chambers and Jones.
Pinch hitting in the top of the ninth, freshman Cody Littlejohn crushed his first dinger of his young career, a solo tattoo job to right field. The run gave Tech a 22-6 lead that would hold for the Golden Eagles' 25th win of the year.
Senior hurler Jake Usher took the win, tossing five innings while allowing just five hits and two earned runs. He struck out two Gamecock batters while walking one.
Relievers Marcus Evey, Devin Lancaster, Brandon Smith and Max Tilton combined to cover the final four frames, allowing just one earned and four total runs. They also combined for four strikeouts and just two walks.
SIUE 11, EASTERN KENTUCKY 2
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Brock Fulkerson and Brock Weimer kept the SIUE baseball team humming at home Saturday.
Fulkerson pitched the Cougars' first complete game of the season, and Weimer drove in five runs as SIUE beat Eastern Kentucky 11-2 at the Simmons Complex.
The Cougars, who can sweep the three-game series this afternoon, improved to 17-13 overall and 6-8 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Eastern Kentucky dropped to 18-14 and 4-7 in allowing 11 runs to SIUE for the second consecutive day. The win was the Cougars' third at Roy E. Field this week and boosted their home record to 11-3.
Fulkerson (2-3) took command of things after surrendering a two-run opposite-field home run to the Colonels' left-handed slugger Ben Fisher in the first inning. It was Fisher's 16th home run, tops for Division I players.
Fulkerson then retired 16 successive hitters and finished off his four-hitter with seven strikeouts in a compelling 97-pitch performance. The Cougars assisted him by scoring 11 unanswered runs.
Weimer spurred the 14-hit attack that featured three home runs and eight starters hitting safely. Weimer's two-run home run, a team-leading seventh blast, pushed the Cougars in front 3-2 in the third inning, and they never looked back. He also stroked a two-run single in the sixth and drew a bases-loaded walk in the first.
First baseman Jared McCunn contributed with a 2-for-5 performance, including a two-run home run in the seventh and RBI single in the sixth. It was his third home run of the season.
Shortstop Mario Tursi went 2 for 5 with a solo home run, his second of the season, in the seventh and he reached base three times. Center fielder Eric Glitz went 3 for 4 with a triple and two singles. He was on base four times. Third baseman Jordan Stading pitched in with two hits.
UT MARTIN 9, MOREHEAD STATE 5
MARTIN, Tenn. - Trailing 5-1 heading into the bottom half of the sixth inning, the University of Tennessee at Martin offense exploded to the tune of eight runs in their final three at-bats to knock off Ohio Valley Conference foe Morehead State 9-5 on Saturday afternoon.
The Skyhawks scattered out seven hits in the final three innings, as the middle part of the order consisting of Ryan Helgren, Dan Kerwin and Creighton Eldridge powered through the Eagle bullpen to give the home team the win.
It was Morehead State who was on the board early, as the visiting team picked up their first run of the series in the second inning when Trevor Snyder scored all the way from first base on an errant throw from UT Martin starting pitcher Peyton Cain to give the Eagles the 1-0 lead.
The Skyhawks battled back in the bottom half of the inning as Eldridge sent a shot deep into left-center for his second triple of the series. Tanner Wessling brought him home two batters later with a big triple of his own to knot the score 1-1.
Morehead State (22-9, 8-3 OVC) used their biggest offensive outburst of the weekend to take a 5-1 lead in the sixth, as the Eagles pushed across four runs on four hits in the inning.
UT Martin (11-16, 3-11 OVC) did not take long to respond as senior teammates Helgren and Kerwin went back-to-back in the bottom half of the sixth to trim the margin to 5-3. For Helgren, it was his fifth big fly on the season, while Kerwin’s shot was his second.
The Skyhawks tied up the ballgame just one inning later as the home squad scored two more runs in the bottom of the seventh. An RBI-single from Helgren brought home fellow senior Josh Hauser for the first run of the inning, while catcher Keylen Steen drew a bases loaded walk to tie the game 5-5.
However, the decisive inning came in the bottom half of the eighth as UT Martin scored four runs to take a commanding lead. Tyler Albright knocked in the go-ahead run on a single through the left side to give UT Martin the 6-5 advantage, followed by the third RBI on the day from Helgren on a single into right field. Albright scampered home on a wild pitch in the next at-bat and Steen was hit by an offering from Morehead State reliever Dom Masullo with the bases loaded to give the catcher his second RBI in as many innings and round out the scoring as the Skyhawks took game two 9-5.
Kyle Laberge (1-2) tossed two scoreless innings for UT Martin in the eighth and ninth and picked up his first victory in a Skyhawk uniform. Peyton Cain finished with five strong innings allowing just four earned runs and striking out two. David Calderon (0-1) took the loss for Morehead State.
Helgren (3-5, three RBI’s), Eldridge (2-2, three walks), and Albright (2-4, two runs scored) all notched multi-hit games for UT Martin while Kerwin, Steen and Wessling each picked up RBI’s in the victory as well.
#3 TCU 15, MURRAY STATE 6
FORT WORTH, Texas - TCU got a seven-run second inning and a six-run third inning to do most of its damage Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas as the Horned Frogs defeated Murray State, 15-6 in game two of the three-game series.
MSU pitchers walked 15 batters on the day and hit four more as TCU (26-5) scored its 15 runs on just seven hits. The Racers (15-15) actually out-hit the Horned Frogs in the loss as they got 12 knocks, including four doubles.
The Racers scored five of their six runs in the top of the fifth inning. Kipp Moore drove in two with a double to left center as the first four batters of the inning reached safely for MSU. Bryan Chilton got a sacrifice fly RBI to center field later in the inning and Jack Hranec delivered a two-run double to left field to round out the scoring surge for the Racers.
Hranec and Caleb Hicks both went 2-for-4 at the plate in the loss while Adam Bauer led MSU offensively with a 3-for-5 day. Bauer also was responsible for MSU’s first run of the game when he ripped an RBI single to left field in the third.
Tyler Lawrence matched a pair of all-time program records on the day after he went 1-for-2 at the dish with a double. Lawrence is now tied with Wes Cunningham for the most career hits in school history with 236 and tied Tyler Pittman for the most doubles in program history with his 55th two bagger.
The Racers used six pitchers on the day with Austin Dubsky getting the start and the loss on the mound. Dubsky pitched just 1.2 innings and allowed six earned runs.