WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
UT Martin 6, @Alabama A&M 0
@Belmont 3, Evansville 0
Jacksonville State 4, @Troy 3
UT MARTIN 6, ALABAMA A&M 0
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - The pitching staff for the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team allowed just four hits en route to a 6-0 victory over Southwestern Athletic Conference opponent Alabama A&M on Wednesday afternoon.
UT Martin (21-23, 8-13 OVC) was on the board early as senior Tanner Wessling roped a triple down the right field line to bring home fellow senior Ryan Helgren all the way from first base to put the visiting squad ahead 1-0. It was Wessling’s fourth triple and 13th extra-base hit on the season.
The score remained the same until the sixth inning, when Helgren used a sacrifice fly to center field to bring home freshman Connor Aube and extend the Skyhawk advantage to 2-0.
Alabama A&M (12-38) had a pair of defensive miscues in the seventh inning that cost the home team a couple of runs. Aube reached on an error by the Bulldog third baseman that brought home Jojo Allen, followed by an RBI-double from shortstop Josh Hauser to give the Skyhawks the 4-0 lead. The two-bagger was Hauser’s 16th RBI on the year.
The Skyhawks pushed across another run in the top of the eighth as Caleb Brewer picked up his second career RBI with a groundout that brought home Wessling and pushed the Skyhawk margin out to 5-0.
For the fourth straight inning, UT Martin put a run on the board, as the Skyhawks put the finishing touches on the scoreboard in the visiting half of the ninth inning. Aube ripped a shot into right-center and circled the bases for a rare inside the park home run. It was the Falmouth, Maine native’s second round-tripper on the season and was enough to earn UT Martin the 6-0 victory.
The story on the mound all day was senior Jake Patzner (2-4). The 6-8 right-hander was spectacular on the hill limiting the home squad to just four hits in 7.0 innings, while striking out eight and not walking a single batter to earn his second victory of the season. Alex Evans and Peyton Cain each tossed a scoreless inning in relief for the Skyhawks.
At the plate, Hauser (2-5) was the lone UT Martin batter with multiple hits, while Aube (2), Helgren (1), Brewer (1) and Wessling all recorded RBI’s in the win.
BELMONT 3, EVANSVILLE 0
NASHVILLE - Seven Belmont baseball hurlers pieced together an impressive outing on the hill, compiling a three-hit shutout over Evansville Wednesday evening at E.S. Rose Park as the Bruins collected the 3-0 win over the Purple Aces.
The Bruins pitching staff managed the first four frames very effectively with three different pitchers sitting down each of the initial 12 Purple Aces they collectively faced. Sophomore Casey Queener (Brentwood, Tenn.) got the starting nod, tossing the first two flawless frames with the addition of a couple strikeouts. Austin Reynolds (Smyrna, Tenn.) and Zach Hodgkiss (Eads, Tenn.) then came in to relieve and kept up the trend – both tossing a perfect inning.
Hodgkiss returned for the fifth and allowed the first Evansville base runner on a throwing error, but quickly cleaned it up and sat down the next to ensure that UE remained scoreless. The Belmont hurlers retired the first 14 batters they saw.
It wasn't until the home half of the fifth that BU converted base runners into runs, having previously stranded the first eight Bruins to reach. With redshirt-freshman Matt Cogen (Franklin, Tenn.) residing on first, senior designated hitter Nick Egli (Brentwood, Tenn.) let one soar over the centerfield wall for a two-run bomb that put BU up, 2-0. It was the veteran's 13th long ball of the season and brought his total to 42 RBIs.
Evansville collected its first hit of the game with two down in the top of the six as rookie hurler Justin Fowlkes (Collierville, Tenn.) was the fourth Bruin reliever to take the hill. He sat down the first pair of Purple Aces he faced, continuing to cause trouble for them at the plate before Craig Shepherd broke up the no-hit bid with a base knock through the left side. Fowlkes went on to get the next batter swinging and force UE to hang up another scoreless inning.
The Bruins tacked on an insurance run in the seventh courtesy of sophomore Hunter Holland (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) who launched a high flier into right field with runners on corners to register a sacrifice fly and bring Cogen home as he scored for the second time to make it a 3-0 contest.
BU continued to get valuable pitches from its bullpen all night as senior Brennan Washington (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) came in for the eighth and allowed a leadoff hit but then fanned the next three batters he face to induce Evansville's eighth scoreless frame, keeping the shutout intact. Senior closer Dom Veltri (Clarksville, Tenn.) came in and solidified the shutout with BU's fifth three up, three down stanza to earn his career-best eighth save of the year.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 4, TROY 3
TROY, Ala. - Jacksonville State put together another ninth inning rally on Wednesday night as Jacksonville State erased a 3-1 deficit to Troy with three runs to down the Trojans, 4-3, at Riddle-Pace Field on the Troy campus.
With the win, the Gamecocks split the season set with their longtime rival and moved to 23-20 on the season. The loss drops Troy to 24-20 overall. The Trojans topped JSU earlier this season at Choccolocco Park. Jax State will now prep for a critical Ohio Valley Conference weekend as Morehead State, the second place team in the league standings will visit Oxford, Alabama beginning on Friday, May 5. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. The series will continue on Saturday and Sunday with 1 p.m. start times.
JSU did all of its damage in the ninth with one down as junior Nola Greckel worked his third walk of the night off of Troy closer Marc Skinner. Junior Trent Simpson, in a pinch-hitting role, reached base after a misplayed ball at third base, pushing Greckel to third and Simpson, the tying run in scoring position. Junior Clayton Daniel collected his third hit of the night, driving in Greckel. Junior Taylor Hawthorne turned in his second double of the night with a two-bagger down in the left field corner to equalize at 3-3. With the Trojan infield drawn in, senior A.J. Reynolds laced a single to left field, scoring the winning run. It's the second ninth inning comeback for JSU in the last four games. The Gamecocks orchestrated a rally last Saturday at Eastern Kentucky.
With Justin Hoyt, the club's leader in saves pitching the eighth to hold the deficit at two runs, Jax State went with Simpson to face the Trojans in the ninth. Simpson notched his first save of the season with three straight outs. The Oxford, Alabama native fanned two of the three batters he faced. Hoyt recorded the win and moved to 4-1 on the season.
Entering the ninth, it looked like Troy's three-run third inning would be the difference in the contest. After freshman first baseman Andrew Naismith gave JSU a 1-0 lead on a solo home run over the tall wall in right field in the second, the Trojans would put together the three runs on a trio of hits off of JSU starter Michael McCreless. A leadoff walk opened the door for Troy to have a big inning as back-to-back RBI singles would give the Trojans a 2-1 lead. Troy's Justin Friend, who had a 3-for-4 night at the plate, drove in the third run with a single to centerfield.
McCreless matched his career high of five innings in the contest, allowing the three runs on five hits in the outing. Redshirt freshman Tyler Wilburn was the first Gamecock reliever out of the bullpen and worked a 1.2 innings with a strikeout. Freshman Corley Woods worked the seventh before Hoyt entered the contest. Woods, Hoyt and Simpson did not allow a Trojan hit in the final three frames.
Daniel finished the night 3-for-5 with an RBI in the ninth and was solid defensively with six putouts, while Hawthorne's first double came in the first inning. Daniel now has a team-best 22 multiple hit games and his fourth game with three hits. The Guntersville, Alabama native pushed his hitting streak to eight games and extended his streak of consecutive games reaching base to nine games.