FRIDAY'S SCORES
Illinois State 13,
@Morehead State 10
@Austin Peay 15, Indiana State 8
Fort Wayne 7,
@Murray State 5
SIUE 6, @Oral Roberts 4
@Cincinnati 6,
UT Martin 1
@Eastern Kentucky 14, Coppin State 4
Bradley 7,
@Belmont 4
@Georgia State 7,
Eastern Illinois 2
@Southeast Missouri 12, South Dakota State 8
Jacksonville State 12, @FIU 6 (12 innings)
@Troy 10,
Tennessee Tech 7
ILLINOIS STATE 13, MOREHEAD STATE 10
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Morehead State baseball crossed the plate seven times in the final three innings in its home opener against Illinois State Friday, but unfortunately the Eagles had already fallen into a 12-3 hole in the first six and fell 13-10 to the Redbird at Allen Field.
MSU slid to 5-4 on the year, while ISU moved to 4-3 and also to 5-0 all-time against Morehead State. The Eagles got a pair of two-run homers from newcomers Connor Pauly and Adam Rapp in the setback, but committed four errors leading to six unearned ISU scores. MSU entered with an OVC-low two errors on the year.
Calderon (1-2) struck out eight in a five-inning outing, allowing seven runs, but only one was earned. ISU got a two-out, three-run homer by Joe Aielts in the fifth that broke open a 4-3 game into a 7-3 Redbird lead. Another three-run round-tripper in the seventh pushed the visitor's advantage to 12-3.
Junior infielder Reid Leonard cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the seventh on a bases-clearing double off the wall in left field, and then junior Trevor Snyder brought home Leonard on another two-bagger.
Pauly smacked an RBI double in the eighth, and Rapp slammed his first home-field homer in the ninth.
Snyder, who entered in the sixth frame as a pinch hitter, led the Eagles by going 3-for-3. Pauly, Rapp and senior infielder Braxton Morris collected two hits.
Besides Calderon, four other Eagles pitchers combined to strike out 13 Redbird batters.
AUSTIN PEAY 15, INDIANA STATE 8
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Designated hitter Parker Phillips hit a grand slam to punctuate a seven-run second inning as Austin Peay State University’s baseball team posted a 15-8 series-opening victory against Indiana State, Friday, at Raymond C. Hand Park.
Austin Peay (7-2) sent 10 men to the plate in the second frame, opening with first baseman Andrew Flaherty’s double. Third baseman Malcolm Tipler drove in a run with a single before second baseman Garrett Giovannelli (walk) and right fielder Nick Walker (hit by pitch) each reached base with the bases loaded to drive in a run. Phillips followed with his grand slam to put a period on the seven-run outburst.
The outburst provided all the support Governors starting pitcher Michael Costanzo (2-0) would need. After allowing a double in a two-run first inning, the senior lefty would not allow another hit until the sixth inning en route to the win. Costanzo would finish with a season-high seven innings, allowing two runs on two hits while striking out eight.
The Governors offense would tack on two runs in the fourth when Giovannelli would lift a home run to left field to secure the victory. A four-run sixth was paced by pinch hitter Aaron Campbell’s two-run single and extended the lead to 13-2.
Indiana State (5-4) would rally for five runs, courtesy four run-scoring doubles, in the ninth to tighten the score. Second baseman Jarrod Watkins capped the rally with a RBI single to finish the day 2-for-4 with a RBI.
Sycamores starter Tristan Weaver (1-1) was tagged for nine runs on six hits and four walks to suffer his season’s first loss.
Phillips ended the day 1-for-5 and four RBI while Giovannelli chipped in a 2-for-4 with another four RBI.
FORT WAYNE 7, MURRAY STATE 5
MURRAY, Ky. - Murray State’s ninth-inning comeback fell just short Friday afternoon at Johnny Reagan Field as the Racers fell to Fort Wayne, 7-5 in the series opener. MSU scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth before running out of gas.
The Racers (4-5) had runners on the corners with just one out in the ninth inning before a flyout by Kyle Stevens and a groundout by Brandon Gutzler ended the MSU threat.
A four-run top of the sixth inning for the Mastodons (3-4) proved fatal for the Racers as Fort Wayne scored the four runs off just one hit. Two hit batters, a pair of walks and an error in the inning cost MSU dearly.
MSU began the scoring in the contest in the second inning on a Tyler Duke single to left field that brought home Gavin Wehby from second base. The Racers didn’t really threaten again until the fifth inning when Jaron Robinson was thrown out at home trying to score on a base hit from second.
A two-run homer to left field in the eighth pushed Fort Wayne’s lead to 6-1 and in the top of the ninth, the Mastodons were able to get another insurance run thanks to an MSU error and push the lead to 7-1.
In the ninth, CJ Bush’s double to right center started the Racer rally as he scored Bryan Chilton. In the next at bat, Jake Slunder’s two-RBI single through the hole made it 7-4. MSU cut it to 7-5 on a balk from the Mastodon pitcher brought Ryan Perkins home from third. Perkins reached on a single earlier in the inning.
Nate Pianto took the loss in the series opener as he faced three batters, hitting two and striking out the other, both runners Pianto hit came in to score in the sixth. Peyton Hayes took the no decision in his third start of the season. Hayes pitched 5.1 innings, giving up just three hits and allowing one run while striking out four. Braydon Cook pitched the final 3.2 innings and struck-out four batters while walking five and allowing four runs on two hits. Two of those runs scored were unearned.
Davis Sims led the MSU offense at the plate with a 3-for-5 day while Gutzler was the other Racer with multiple hits as he went 2-of-4.
SIUE 6, ORAL ROBERTS 4
TULSA, Okla. - SIUE baseball homered three times and scored six runs in the second inning on its way to a 6-4 series-opening win at Oral Roberts.
SIUE improved to 3-4. Oral Roberts fell to 5-1.
The Cougars roughed up ORU starter Josh McMinn, striking for the six runs on six hits. Brock Hammit homered to lead off the inning. Aaron Goecks doubled and then scored on a single by Jackson Layton. Bret Fehr followed with a one-out home run. Peyton Codova-Smith drew a two-out walk and Brock Weimer followed with a home run to cap the inning.
McMinn (0-1) didn't make it out of the second inning. He allowed all six runs on six hits and three walks. He struck out three.
The Golden Eagles came back for three runs on four hits against Cougar starter Nelson Martz in the third inning. ORU centerfielder Nick Rotola homered to start the inning. Spencer Henson and Riley Keizor also picked up RBIs in the inning for Oral Roberts.
Martz (1-2) earned his first win of the year with a five-inning start. He allowed the three runs on six hits and two walked. He struck out four.
Oral Roberts picked up its only other run against SIUE reliever Brock Fulkerson in the sixth inning. Trevor McCutchin led off the frame with a double. He moved to third, and then scored on consecutive groundouts. It was the only run allowed by Fulkerson in two innings.
Collin Baumgartner tossed a scoreless eighth inning, striking out two. Mason McReaken worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his second save of the year. He struck out two.
Weimer and Fehr each finished with the two RBIs. Goecks added two hits and the run scored.
Both teams left nine men on base.
CINCINNATI 6, UT MARTIN 1
CINCINNATI, Ohio - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team dropped a 6-1 decision to Cincinnati this afternoon.
UT Martin (1-7) was led by Ben Aslett who put together the only multi-hit performance on the day for the squad. Aslett went two-for-four with the Skyhawks’ lone RBI while Jordan Stoner, Collin Edwards, Tyler Albright and Ethan Whitley all tallied one hit apiece.
Junior Austen Bullington (0-1) logged a quality start as the Newburgh, Ind. native tossed six innings, allowed three earned runs and fanned four Bearcats along the way.
Looking to get off on the right foot, Stoner cracked a single through the left side to lead off the game but could not be pushed across the plate. Bullington retired the side in order in the home half of the first on just 12 pitches.
The UT Martin second inning started off with Carson Shrode drawing a walk but the second double play of the day would keep the Skyhawks off of the scoreboard. Bullington chewed through the Bearcats again in the bottom of the second, retiring the side in order once again.
Albright led off the third inning on a single to centerfield but was wiped off the basepaths on a Whitley fielder’s choice. Stoner would reach base via the walk but both runners would be left stranded. Bullington would work his magic once again in the bottom of the third as he recorded a pair of strikeouts, both swinging, while not allowing a baserunner through three innings.
Cincinnati capitalized on a three-run fourth frame on three hits giving the Bearcats a 3-0 advantage.
Aslett led off the fifth inning on a single but another haunting double play wiped the bases clean again. Whitley would double and Creighton Eldridge would draw an eight-pitch walk but to no avail. Another swift inning from Bullington came in the bottom of the fifth as he retired the side in order for the fourth time of the day.
Bullington faced slight resistance in his sixth frame of work but only conceded one hit and one walk in that span for his final inning of the day.
The Skyhawks found light in the seventh inning as Edwards doubled to lead off the frame followed by an Aslett single, plating Edwards and narrowing the gap to 3-1.
Cincinnati had another three-run inning in the eighth on a pair of hits, a walk and an error giving the fans the eventual final score of 6-1.
UT Martin looked to be in luck in the ninth as Shrode struck out but reached base on a wild pitch but could not find assistance to home plate.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 14, COPPIN STATE 4
RICHMOND, Ky. - Alex Holderbach’s two-run single highlighted a three-run first inning that propelled the Eastern Kentucky University baseball team to a 14-4 victory in the series opener against Coppin State University on Friday at Earle Combs Stadium.
Tyler Romanik got the Colonels (3-6) on the board with a one-out single to right that brought home Ryland Kerr. Two batters later, Holderbach drove in his fifth and sixth runs of the season with a single to left center.
Behind the pitching of starter Aaron Ochsenbein (1-0), Eastern cruised through the fifth inning. The redshirt junior tossed five shutout innings, allowing just three hits, walking four and striking out a career-best eight batters.
EKU added a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth. Kerr scored again, this time after a triple to lead off the inning. Logan Stephens made it a 5-0 game with a run-scoring single up the middle.
The Eagles (1-5-1) platted four runs in the top of the sixth to get back in the game. Back-to-back RBI singles by Allen Saar and Caleb Duhay capped the big inning and made it 5-4.
Eastern Kentucky put an end to any CSU comeback bid by scoring twice in the bottom of the seventh to pull in front 8-4. Then added six runs in the eighth to put the game away.
Kerr went 4-for-5 with three runs and two RBIs. He had a single, two doubles and a triple. Holderbach had four hits in five at bats, scored once and drove in three. Stephens finished 1-for-1 with a walk, a run and two RBIs.
Saar had a 2-for-3 day with an RBI for the Eagles.
BRADLEY 7, BELMONT 4
NASHVILLE - Belmont Baseball dropped a 7-4 decision to Bradley on a chilly Friday night.
Belmont started off well, retiring the first three batters they faced. Belmont gave up three hits in the top of the second, but put together a couple defensive plays, including a double play to keep the Braves at bay.
Belmont got things going in the bottom of the second. Senior Austin Reynolds (Smyrna, Tenn.) recorded the first hit of the game with a single to right field. Freshman Jackson Campbell (Russellville, Ky.) follow that up with a base hit of his own to push Reynolds to scoring position. Junior Devon Gardner (Maryville, Tenn.) recorded the third hit of the inning with an RBI single to put the Bruins ahead early.
Bradley would even the score in the top of the third. After a single and a stolen base, Luke Shadid crossed the plate as the batter after him sent a shot to right field. Senior Tyler Vaughn (Jonesboro, Ill.) was able to keep Bradley from making any more moves with a strikeout to end the inning.
Belmont scored again in the bottom of the third. Junior Hunter Holland (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) led off with a double to left field. With a runner in scoring position, junior Chas Hadden (Morristown, Tenn.) stepped up to the plate. Hadden grounded out, but recorded a RBI to send Holland home and retake the lead. Later in the inning, senior Ben Kocher (Zionsville, Ind.) got his first hit of the night with a single up the middle of the field. Reynolds stepped up once again and hit a beautiful ball down the left line for his first RBI of the night increasing the lead 3-1.
Bradley wouldn't let up, starting off the top of the fourth with a solo home run shot to right field. After a double and a single, the Braves found their way across the plate yet again to knot the score at 3-3.
Belmont struggled from the plate for the next few innings while Bradley heated up. The Braves scored two runs in the top of the seventh and one in the top of the eighth to take the lead for the first time.
Reynolds registered his third hit of the night with another shot down the left line in the bottom of the eighth. His RBI double sent Hadden home to chip at the Bradley lead.
After allowing a run in the top of the ninth, Belmont had work to do to stay in the game. Bradley retired BU's first two batters in the bottom of the ninth. Senior Kyle Conger (Brentwood, Tenn.) put together a nice at-bat to get to first base on a walk before Holland grounded out for the final out of the contest.
Vaughn pitched four innings and struck out two. Sophomore's Jack Rettig (Mahomet, Ill) and Brandon Liskey (Harrisonburg, Va.) saw time on the mound along with freshman Kyle Brennan (Franklin, Tenn.).
GEORGIA STATE 7, EASTERN ILLINOIS 2
ATLANTA - The Eastern Illinois baseball team fell behind in the sixth inning surrendering four runs which led to their loss to Georgia State 7-2 in the series opener Friday afternoon.
Eastern Illinois fell to 5-3 while Georgia State improved to 5-3.
Eastern Illinois got on the board first in the top of the fourth inning. Jimmy Govern led the inning off with a lead of double to left. Logan Beaman followed up with a sacrifice bunt that would move Govern to third. Dougie Parks picked up his seventh RBI of the season connecting for a single through the left side which scored Govern.
Georgia State would answer back in the bottom of the sixth scoring four runs. Nick Gatewood got the Georgia State rally started with a one-out single through the left side. Gatewood would move into scoring position due to a Jake Corso two-out single to right. Tanner Thompson would follow up with Georgia State's third single of the inning scoring Gatewood, and advancing Corso to second. A Luke Leonard double would score Corso, and advance Thompson to third. Will Kilgore would extend the Georgia State lead to 4-1 with a base clearing single.
Georgia State would add three runs extending their lead to 7-1 within the next two innings on a Gatewood single, and a Kendall Ford single.
EIU would attempt the comeback in the ninth scoring on a Jimmy Huber ground out with the bases loaded. Eastern Illinois comeback was halted by dominant pitching, and Georgia State picked up the victory defeating EIU by a final score of 7-2.
Alex Stevenson took the loss for the Panthers as he allowed four runs in 5.2 innings pitched.
Parks finished 2-for-3 with a double, walk, and a run. Govern also hit 2-for-3 this afternoon recording a double and a run.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 12, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 8
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Freshman catcher Wade Stauss went 2-for-3 with a run scored, three-run home run and five RBI, and reliever Carlos Vega tied a career-high six strikeouts to lead Southeast Missouri (3-7) to a 12-8 comeback win over South Dakota State (0-8) Friday.
SEMO broke an 8-8 deadlock with three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to claim its series opening win.
Trevor Ezell led off the inning with a single to left field and went to second on a one-out walk by Justin Dirden. After a pitching change, Ezell stole third and Dirden stole second. Ezell scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch and Dirden also touched home in the same fashion. Devon Wilson then launched his first career home run over the wall in left center to put the Redhawks ahead, 11-8.
The Redhawks added one more run in the eighth inning as Chase Urhahn scored on Tristen Gagan's grounder to third.
Vega, the sixth SEMO pitcher to take the mound, entered the game with two outs in the fifth inning. He got Phil Velez to fly out to right field as the Jackrabbits stranded runners at first and third.
After that, Vega (2-1) struck out six of the next 12 hitters he faced to get his second win of the season.
For the fifth-straight home game, the Redhawks fell behind in the first inning.
Down, 2-0, SEMO took a one-run lead on Stauss' team-high third home run of the year. Stauss' bomb went opposite field and sailed over the left field wall. Gagan and Dirden, who each singled prior to Stauss' round-tripper, scored on the play.
A pinch-hit grand slam by Anthony Schneider regained a 7-4 advantage for SDSU in the top of the fifth inning.
The Redhawks, however, answered with four runs of their own in the bottom half of the fifth to take an 8-7 edge. SEMO loaded the bases with three walks. Peyton Faulkner scored on Gagan's walk, the fourth of the inning. Urhahn scored when Dirden grounded out to first. Stauss then ripped a two-out single to right center scoring Ezell and Gagan.
Newt Johnson tied the game at 8-8 scoring with the help of two walks and two wild pitches.
SEMO registered a season-high 12 runs on 11 hits.
Wilson had a team-high three hits for the Redhawks. He finished at 3-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI. Wilson hit safely in each of his last three at-bats of the game.
Faulkner also joined Wilson and Stauss with multiple hits. Four others, including Urhahn, Ezell, Gagan and Dirden followed with one each. Ezell extended his hitting streak to 10 contests.
Brett Mogen (0-1) suffered the loss for SDSU, which fell to its eighth-consecutive loss this season.
In all, 12 pitchers took the mound between the two teams. There were also a total of 21 walks (13 by SEMO) and six wild pitches in the game.
Defensively, neither SEMO or SDSU committed an error.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 12, FIU 6 (12)
MIAMI, Fla. - Jacksonville State exploded for six runs in the twelfth to break a 6-6 deadlock with Florida International on Friday night in the opening game of the three-game series between the two clubs.
In JSU's (7-2) final at-bat, it batted around strung together three consecutive RBI singles right back up the middle to plate the go-ahead and insurance runs with one out in the frame. Junior Nic Gaddis delivered the game-winning RBI, scoring Taylor Hawthorne, who started the inning with a hit by pitch. Hawthorne swiped second and FIU (4-5) intentionally walked Andrew Naismith ahead of Gaddis. Freshman Isaac Alexander followed Gaddis with an RBI, while sophomore Chase Robinson extended the string of hits with a single for his third RBI of the night.
Alexander and Naismith led JSU to a season-high 13 hits with three each. Robinson finished with three RBI on the night with his single and a sacrifice fly in the second and third respectively. Cole Frederick reached on a fielding miscue in the FIU infield for the fifth run of the frame. Senior Clayton Daniel, who had a pair of RBI in the contest, lifted a fly ball to right, scoring the final run for JSU. Daniel extended JSU's early lead to 6-4 with an RBI single in the sixth.
The story outside of Jax State's big inning in the 12th was the pitching of junior transfer Austin Brewster out of the bullpen. The Trussville, Alabama native, who came to the program from Shelton State Community College, was sensational in relief by finishing the final 5.2 innings. Brewster limited the Panthers to a pair of hits in the outing and tallied four strikeouts. After FIU tied the game at 6-6 with a two-run seventh, Brewster retired the next 11 Panthers to pick up his second win as a Gamecock.
Jax State got off to a great start with a single run in the second and turned in a four-run frame in the third to stake starter Garrett Famer to a 5-1 advantage. FIU started cutting in to the deficit in four of the first five innings with single runs in each frame, which were highlighted by leadoff home runs in the third and fourth. FIU's Eddie Silva had a pair of home runs in the setback.
Farmer went a season-longest 5.1 innings and tallied four strikeouts. Sophomore Dylan Hathcock pitched an inning in the contest.
TROY 10, TENNESSEE TECH 7
TROY, Ala. - An early lead wasn't enough for the Tennessee Tech baseball team to claim victory in its first road contest of the 2018 season Friday night, as Troy (6-4) defeated the Golden Eagles (5-3) at Riddle-Pace Field, 10-7.
Tech jumped out in front in the top of the first, plating three runs behind an RBI double from senior Trevor Putzig and a two-run single to left field by junior second baseman John Ham.
Troy answered with run in the bottom of the first with a single run, then took the lead for good in the bottom of the second with a three-run triple with two outs.
Trailing 6-3 headed into the fifth, the Golden Eagles made a valiant comeback bid, turning to Tuesday's breakout star Cody Littlejohn. Coming off a career contest in which he slugged three doubles and a grand slam to drive in eight runs, the sophomore pinch hit with a runner on and two outs.
After falling behind in the count, 1-2, Littlejohn cracked his second home run of the season, a two-run blast to right center field. The dinger pulled Tech to within a single run with four frames to play.
The Trojans responded, however, scoring four unearned runs in the bottom half of the frame to jump back ahead 10-5. Relievers Tyler Sylvester and Zack Wilcox ended the offensive threat of the Trojans over the final three innings, combining to allow just a single baserunner while striking out two and giving the Golden Eagles a chance.
The Tech offense attempted one more comeback attempt in the top of the eighth, gathering a baserunner with a walk to catcher Brennon Kaleiwahea. With two outs, Putzig returned to the batter's box, looking for one pitch to attack.
The third baseman found what he was looking for, turning on a 1-1 offering and depositing a 2-run jack job over the left field fence. The long ball, which marked Putzig's team-leading fifth of the season, cut the deficit to just three.
Troy closed things out in the ninth, however, inducing a game-ending double play with the tying run at the plate.
Putzig led the team on the night with a 3-for-5 performance featuring two runs scored and three more RBI.