FRIDAY'S SCORES
UT Martin 17, @Eastern Illinois 14
@Murray State 17, Eastern Kentucky 11
SIUE 7, @Austin Peay 4
Morehead State, @Jacksonville State (postponed)
UT MARTIN 17, EASTERN ILLINOIS 14
CHARLESTON, Ill. - In a game that featured 37 total hits and just four half innings where a run was not scored by either team, the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team slugged its way past Ohio Valley Conference rival Eastern Illinois 17-14 in game one of an important conference series.
Creighton Eldridge continued his recent tear with a lead-off home run to start the game and put the Skyhawks ahead 1-0 early. It was the Mansfield, Texas native’s ninth big fly on the season. The center fielder picked up his second RBI of the contest in the second inning with an RBI-single through the right side. UT Martin brought home two more runs in the inning scored by Ben Aslett and Tyler Albright to extend the advantage to 4-0.
Eastern Illinois (16-30, 9-13 OVC) fought back in the bottom half of the second inning with their biggest offensive output on the day. The Panthers pushed across seven runs on six total hits to take the lead 7-4. The home squad tacked on two more in third to take what looked like a solid 9-4 lead after three innings.
UT Martin (22-23, 9-13 OVC) answered back with a run in the top of the fourth inning, as senior Dan Kerwin launched yet another bomb, this time over the center field wall, to bring the Skyhawks within four, 9-5. It was Kerwin’s fourth home run in as many conference games, dating back to last weekend.
The Skyhawks picked up another run in the fifth inning on an RBI-base knock from senior Josh Hauser. However, Eastern Illinois responded in the bottom half of the inning to earn back their four-run advantage, 10-6.
The visiting team turned the game upside down in the top of the sixth, as UT Martin poured in five runs to take back the lead. Ryan Helgren drove in a run on a sacrifice fly, while Aslett, Connor Aube and Tanner Wessling all picked up RBI-hits in the inning to give their squad an 11-10 lead. Unfortunately for the Skyhawks, the Panthers picked up a pair of solo homers in the bottom half of the inning, as the lead changed hands yet again in favor of Eastern Illinois 12-11.
The resilient Skyhawks answered back once again in the top of the seventh inning. Hauser picked up his second RBI-single of the day and Aslett pounded a three-run blast to left-center to march UT Martin back in front 15-12. For Aslett, it was his first career home run in the blue and orange and it could not have come at a more critical time in the season.
As the offensive theme continued for the day, the Panthers got one run back in the in the bottom of the seventh to trim UT Martin’s advantage 15-13. However, the Skyhawks refused to relinquish this lead as the bats continued to produce in the eighth inning with a solo shot off the bat off of senior Ryan Helgren to push the lead back out to 16-13.
The Panthers got one back in the bottom half of the eighth inning, but Keylen Steen shut the door on any comeback attempts with his solo bomb in the top of the ninth to seal the 17-14 victory for UT Martin. It was the Chehalis, Wash. native’s second homer on the year.
In total offensively, Hauser (4-6, two RBI’s), Kerwin (3-6, two runs), Aube (3-5, three runs), Aslett (3-6, four RBI’s), Eldridge (2-7, two RBI’s), Wessling (2-4, two runs) and Steen (2-5, two runs) all notched multiple hits in the slugfest.
Senior Alex Evans (7-4) picked up the win tossing four relief innings and striking out five in the hard earned victory. Alex Stevenson (4-3) took the loss for the Panthers.
MURRAY STATE 17, EASTERN KENTUCKY 11
MURRAY, Ky. - Murray State used an eight-run bottom of the first inning and five home runs total for the game to power its way to a 17-11 victory Friday night at Reagan Field over Eastern Kentucky in the first game of a three-game set between the two.
The Racers (23-23, 11-11 OVC) pounded out 19 hits in the victory and scored in each of the first five innings to build up as much as a 13-run lead at one point. MSU hit three home runs in the opening inning to jump to the big lead.
Brandon Gutzler and Kipp Moore both launched three-run homers to right field in the opening stanza while a two-run shot from Jaron Robinson later in the inning made it 8-0. After MSU added three runs in the bottom of the second to make it 11-0, the Colonels (22-24, 8-14 OVC) were able to cut into the Racer lead with four runs in the third.
After a two-run homer to right center from Jack Hranec pushed the lead back up to 13-4, Moore would lead off the fourth with a solo shot, his second long ball of the game. MSU would get two more runs in the inning with RBI singles from Adam Bauer and Tyler Lawrence, making the score 16-4. An RBI groundout from Robinson in the fifth gave the Racers their biggest lead of the game at 17-4.
The Colonels would slowly claw back into the game however, scoring the last seven runs of the contest and left the bases loaded in the top of the eighth inning before a Caleb Arbeiter strikeout ended the threat.
Aaron Bence and Hranec each led the way at the plate on the night by going 3-for-6. Robinson was 2-for-3 and tied for the team lead on the night with Moore with four ribbies each. Meanwhile, Davis Sims went 2-for-4 at the plate with three runs scored and Bauer was 1-of-3 with three walks and three runs scored. In all, four Racers had multiple RBIs in the win and all nine starters recorded at least one hit each.
Ryan Dills picked up his fourth win of the season in the contest as he pitched 5.1 innings and struck-out five batters. Alec Whaley also appeared in relief along with Arbeiter.
SIUE 7, AUSTIN PEAY 4
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Nelson Martz tossed seven strong innings and SIUE took advantage of six Austin Peay errors Friday night in a 7-4 win to open a three-game Ohio Valley Conference baseball series at Raymond C. Hand Park.
SIUE improved to 19-24 overall and 7-15 in the OVC. Austin Peay fell to 20-23 overall and 11-13 in the OVC.
The Cougars capitalized on two errors in the third inning to go up 1-0. Aaron Goecks reached on an error to start the inning. Eric Giltz laid down a sacrifice bunt which was misplayed, allowing him to reach. Mario Tursi then executed a sacrifice bunt to move both runners ahead and Alec Skender singled to drive home Goecks.
It was more of the same in the fourth inning. Jared McCunn led off the inning and was hit by a pitch. Jordan Stading followed with a bunt single to the right side. Aaron Goecks reached on a bunt single and an error allowed McCunn to score from third. Giltz then bunted and reached on an error for the second straight inning. Stading scored on the play. Tursi laid down the fourth straight in the inning which moved Goecks to third. Skender followed with an RBI single to make it 4-0.
Dustin Woodcock walked to lead off the fifth inning, stole second base and went to third base on an errant throw. McCunn drove in Woodcock with a sacrifice fly to right to make it 5-0 Cougars.
Josh Rye (6-2) allowed all five runs, two earned, in six innings. He took the loss for Austin Peay. He walked two and struck out five.
Martz (6-4) was perfect through the first four innings and hadn't allowed a run through five.
The Governors scored three times on three hits in the sixth to trim the SIUE lead to 5-3. Martz bounced back with two strikeouts in a scoreless seventh. He allowed just the three runs on six hits. He didn't walk a batter and struck out six.
McReaken tossed the final two innings. He allowed a run on a solo home run in the ninth. He struck out one.
The Cougars added two runs in the top of the ninth on RBI hits from Skender and Keaton Wright. Skender and Stading had three hits apiece for the Cougars. Skender finished with three RBIs. Wright was 2 for 5.
Austin Peay finished with just seven hits. Nobody had more than a single hit.