SUNDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 6, Illinois State 5
Indiana State 11,
@Austin Peay 5
@Murray State 13, Fort Wayne 2
SIUE 2, @Oral Roberts 1
@Cincinnati 6,
@UT Martin 3
@Eastern Kentucky 10, Coppin State 8
Bradley 7,
@Belmont 2
@Georgia State 6,
Eastern Illinois 5 (12 innings)
South Dakota State 6,
@Southeast Missouri 5
@FIU 7,
Jacksonville State 2
@Troy 13,
Tennessee Tech 12
MOREHEAD STATE 6, ILLINOIS STATE 5
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Junior catcher Hunter Fain connected on a leadoff home run to center field in the eighth inning, and the Morehead State baseball team added what turned out to be eventual game-winning run in the inning as well as the Eagles knocked off Illinois State 6-5 in the series finale at Allen Field Sunday.
Morehead State, which trailed 4-0 after two frames and tied the game 4-4 in the sixth, improved to 6-5. The Eagles have not been swept in a three-game home series since 2013.
After Fain's heroics broke the 4-4 tie, freshman second baseman Bryce Hensor drew a walk off ISU reliever Michael Sebby (0-1). Hensor later scored the insurance run when junior first baseman Trevor Snyder beat out a fielder's choice grounder with two outs.
ISU grabbed one run back in the ninth off MSU closer Dom Masullo, but he finished with three strikeouts in the final frame to secure his first win of 2018.
Starter Jake Ziegelmeyer allowed four runs off 10 hits, but all four ISU tallies came in the second inning. He pitched through six innings before giving way to reliever JC Hatcher who recorded the next four outs. Masullo entered in the eighth and coaxed a grounder for out No. 3.
The Eagles concluded the day with 10 hits as junior third baseman Reid Leonard, senior leftfielder Eli Boggess and sophomore rightfielder Sam Sustersic knocked out two apiece. Boggess drilled the game-tying double, a two-run job, to left field in the sixth. The leftfielder misjudged the screaming line drive, and it sailed over his head when he broke in on the play.
INDIANA STATE 11, AUSTIN PEAY 5
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University’s baseball team came back from one deficit but could not fend off a second offensive outburst in an 11-5 loss to Indiana State, Sunday at Raymond C. Hand Park.
Austin Peay (8-3) scored the game’s first run when catcher Parker Phillips’ doubled to drive in second baseman Garrett Giovannelli. However, the Govs would leave the bases loaded as Sycamores starter Tyler Whitbreak struck out two batters after the double.
Indiana State (6-5) wouldn’t wait long to respond to the Govs early run. The Sycamores got back-to-back home runs in the second from catcher Max Wright and third baseman Jake Means to take a 3-1 lead. Left fielder Dane Tofteland would add a fourth run in the third inning.
The Governors would mount a comeback in the fourth, knocking four singles in the frame. Center fielder Imani Willis drove in a run with his and shortstop Garrett Kueber would tie the game, 4-4, with his two-run single.
Indiana State broke the tie immediately in the fifth after shortstop Clay Dungan led off with a double and scored on right fielder’s Roberto Enriquez’ sacrifice fly. The Sycamores broke the game open in the sixth with a five-run outburst. Means drove his second home run of the game to start the rally, Dungan added a two-run double and Enriquez wrapped up the rally with a run-scoring double for a 10-4 lead ISU would not relinquish.
Kueber ended the day 2-for-5 with three RBI, adding a RBI double in the eighth to his earlier hit. Phillips and first baseman Andrew Flaherty also had two hits each.
Govs relief pitcher Josh Rye (0-1) was tagged for the loss after allowing six runs (four earned) on six hits in three innings.
Dungan led Indiana State with an impressive 5-for-6, three RBI performance. Wright and Means each had two hits and two RBI.
Ames (1-0) came out of the bullpen to picked up the win after tossing 1.2 scoreless frames while allowing just two hits. Ethan Larrison picked up his season’s second save after allowing one run over the final four innings.
MURRAY STATE 13, FORT WAYNE 2
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State baseball team made it a 3-for-4 weekend as the Racers closed their four-game series with Fort Wayne Sunday on a high note with a 13-2 victory at Reagan Field. MSU pounded out 13 hits and drew nine walks in the win.
Brandon Gutzler and Davis Sims led the way offensively, both having 3-for-4 days at the plate, a home run and three RBIs each while Gutzler scored four runs and Sims scored twice. Grant Wood also had a two-hit day and multiple RBIs as he went 2-for-3, collected three ribbies and scored twice.
MSU (7-5) jumped on the Mastodons (3-7) early once again as a Caleb Hicks sacrifice fly RBI to center scored Wood in the bottom of the second. Then in the third, after Fort Wayne was able to tie the game in the top half of the inning, Ramsey Scott and Wood both drew bases-loaded walks that scored runs to make it 3-1 Racers.
The Racers would go on to have three 3-run innings in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings. A Gutzler single up the middle began the scoring in the fourth and in the next at-bat, Sims doubled to right center scoring Gutzler and Gavin Wehby to make it 6-1.
In the sixth, Scott doubled down the right field line to bring home Gutzler and then Wood singled up the gut to plate two, pushing the advantage to 9-1. The Mastodons would get a run back in the top of the seventh to make it 9-2 before Gutzler and Sims would hit back-to-back home runs in the seventh to push the lead to 12-2. Gutzler’s was a two-run shot to left center while Sims’ came one pitch later and was sent to left. Cole Womack’s first career hit and RBI in the eighth rounded out the scoring for the Racers in the victory.
Trevor McMurray moved his record to 2-1 with the win as he got the start on the hill. McMurray pitched a season-high six innings and allowed just one run off four hits. Chance Carner, Caleb Hicks and Alec Whaley all pitched one inning of relief and allowed just one unearned run.
SIUE 2, ORAL ROBERTS 1
TULSA, Okla. - Three Cougar pitchers combined to hold Oral Roberts to a run on six hits Sunday and SIUE baseball won its first series of the year with a 2-1 win in the finale.
The Cougars are now 4-5. Oral Roberts dipped to 6-3.
With the game tied 1-1 in the ninth inning, the Cougars took advantage of a Golden Eagle miscue. Jared McCunn reached on a fielding error to start the inning, and then advanced to second on a groundout. A Jackson Layton base hit scored McCunn to give SIUE the 2-1 lead.
ORU took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning on an RBI-double by Spencer Henson.
Brock Weimer tied the game with an RBI-hit in the sixth inning. Bret Fehr scored on the play after reaching initially on a fielder's choice.
Kenny Serwa started the game for the Cougars and tossed 4.2 innings. He allowed the run on four hits. He walked here and struck out four.
Collin Baumgartner came on in the fifth with two runners on and one out. He pitched out of the fifth inning and tossed 2.2 scoreless innings. He allowed two hits and struck out two.
Mason McReaken pitched the final two innings to pick up his second win of the year. He struck out three and walked one.
Layton had two hits for the Cougars, who finished with seven hits.
CINCINNATI 6, UT MARTIN 3
CINCINNATI, Ohio - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team fell 6-3 this afternoon in the series finale to the Cincinnati Bearcats.
UT Martin (2-9) was led by Casey Harford as he tallied a pair of hits as well as a pair of RBIs in the matchup. Jordan Stoner pounded out two hits and scored two runs for the Skyhawks while Blake Davis and Ethan Whitley both recorded a base knock as each.
Sam Folks (1-2) was tagged with the loss but he was able to fan four Bearcats in his five innings of work on the mound. Jefferey O’Doherty tossed an inning and recorded a strikeout while David Hussey pitched two innings of perfect baseball with a whiff in his appearance.
Cincinnati got on the board first as it sent eight batters to the plate and took an early 3-0 lead in the second inning. Folks would make quick work of the home half of the third as he retired the side in order on just nine pitches, striking out one in that span.
UT Martin answered with a run in the fourth frame as Stoner led off with a single. Davis then ripped a single up the left side and both runners were able to advance a base each as a wild pitch moved them both over. JoJo Allen was able to reach first on a throwing error which also allowed Stoner to give the Skyhawks their first run of the game, trailing 3-1.
Cincinnati tallied two more runs in the fifth inning to push the margin out to 5-1. UT Martin struck again in the sixth. Stoner was able to double before Harford’s two-run homer narrowed the gap to 5-3.
The Bearcats put another run on the board in the bottom of the sixth to give the eventual final score of 6-3. Hussey came on in the seventh and sat the Cincinnati batters down in order on 11 pitches with a pair of groundouts in the frame.
The Skyhawks looked to be in for a big inning when, with two outs, Harford singled through the right side followed. Davis was then hit by a pitch and both runners were able to move over due to a passed ball but were unable to find home plate.
Hussey chewed through the Bearcats in the eighth inning as he sat all three men down in order again, this time on 12 pitches and a strikeout in the process.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 10, COPPIN STATE 8
RICHMOND, Ky. - The Eastern Kentucky University baseball team completed the weekend sweep with a 10-8 win over Coppin State on Sunday afternoon at Earle Combs Stadium.
The Colonels (5-6) have now won four straight games.
Coppin State (1-7-1) scored two runs with two outs in the top of the fifth to take a 4-3 advantage. EKU, however, responded by plating four runs in the home half of the inning to take the lead for good.
Redshirt junior Ryland Kerr led off the inning with a double into right center and scored when junior Will Johnson reached on a throwing error.
Johnson went to second on a base hit by junior Tyler Romanik, advanced to third on a fly out by sophomore Nick Howie and scored on a pop out down the first base line from junior Alex Holderbach.
After freshman Brandon Dehass walked to put runners at the corners, freshman Daniel Harris IV roped a two-run triple into right field to give the Colonels a 7-4 lead.
Coppin State was not finished. The Eagles pushed two runs across in the top of the sixth to pull back to within one, 7-6.
Senior Cornell Nixon gave the Colonels some breathing room in the bottom of the sixth when he reached on an error, advanced to third on another error and then scored on a sacrifice fly to right by Kerr, making it 8-6.
Coppin State threatened again in the top of the seventh, loading the bases with no outs. Thompson turned to sophomore right-hander Nick Laster out of the bullpen. Laster induced a pop-out, struck out the next batter he saw and then got Allen Saar to fly out to center to get the Colonels out of the jam unscathed.
Eastern opened the bottom of the seventh with three consecutive singles by Howie, Holderbach and Dehass. Dehass’ base hit through the left side scored Howie and made it 9-6 in favor of EKU. A single through the right side of the infield by sophomore Chris Botsoe plated Holderbach and made it 10-6.
Coppin State added a run in the eighth and a run in the ninth, but senior reliever Max Ford was finally able to close the door on the Eagles.
Kerr was 3-for-4 on the day with two runs scored and an RBI. He finished the weekend 10-for-13 at the plate.
Romanik finished the game 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored, while Botsoe was 3-for-4 with two runs driven in.
Freshman southpaw Will Brian (1-1) pitched three innings of relief, allowing only two runs on three hits, to earn his first collegiate win.
Branden Redfern (0-1) picked up the loss for Coppin State, going four innings and surrendering six runs on eight hits.
BRADLEY 7, BELMONT 2
NASHVILLE - Recap coming soon.
GEORGIA STATE 6, EASTERN ILLINOIS 5 (12)
ATLANTA - The Eastern Illinois baseball team fell short in extra innings to Georgia State in the series finale Sunday.
Eastern Illinois drops to 5-5, while Georgia State advances to 7-3 on the season.
Georgia State got on the board first for the first time this weekend scoring two runs in the bottom of the first inning. Nick Gatewood got GSU on the board with a one run double down the left field line. Jack Thompson drove Gatewood home on a single up the middle later in the inning to give Georgia State the 2-0 lead.
Eastern Illinois answered back in the top of the second cutting the Georgia State lead to 2-1 on a Jimmy Huber double to center.
Georgia State answered back in the bottom of the third scoring off a Luke Leonard sacrifice fly. In the bottom of the seventh GSU added another run jumping out to a 4-1 lead on a Jake Thompson single up the middle.
EIU answered back in the top of the eighth tallying four runs to lead 5-4. Alex Stevenson led off the inning for the Panther with a single to right. Joseph Duncan followed up with a walk, advancing Stevenson into scoring position. Both runners would advance on a wild pitch to give the Panthers runners on third and second. An Andrew Curran walk would load the bases for the Panthers. Hunter Morris would clear the bases with a grand slam, and his second home run of the series.
Justin Jones answered the EIU comeback with an RBI single to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth.
Georgia State was able to secure the victory on a Mike Huggins walk off single in the bottom of the twelfth.
Dustin Wilson took the loss for EIU dropping to a record of 1-1.
Morris finished 1-for-4 on the day with a grand slam, and a run. Stevenson finished 2-for-5 with a run.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 6, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 5
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Gus Steiger lifted a two-out sacrifice fly to score Phil Velez in the top of the ninth inning as South Dakota State (2-8) edged Southeast Missouri (3-9), 6-5, Sunday in the series finale at Capaha Field.
SDSU, which won the series, used a pair of walks and a hit batsman to set up the game-winning run. Velez also singled in the ninth before scoring the final run.
SEMO again fell behind in the first inning when the Jackrabbits scored four off starting right-hander Christian Vick.
Steiger reached on an infield single to third base, went to second on a base hit by Tony Kjolsing and scored on a double by Nick Smith. Newt Johnson grounded out on the next play and Kjolsking scored. Anthony Schneider later delivered a run-scoring double and Velez grounded out to score Josh Falk for the other run putting SDSU ahead, 4-0.
Schneider flied out to right field and Johnson scored to push the Jackrabbits lead to 5-0 in the top of the sixth.
SEMO sent nine hitters to the plate and cut SDSU's lead to two when Tristen Gagan blasted a three-run home run to left field. Chase Urhahn walked and Trevor Ezell singled before Gagan hit his third home run of the season.
The Redhawks added one more run in the bottom of the seventh when pinch-hitter Wade Stauss brought home Urhahn on a sacrifice fly.
SEMO then tied things up at 5-5 on Ezell's infield single in the bottom of the eighth. Peyton Faulkner, who was at second base by way of a wild pitch, tried to score the go-ahead run on that play, but was thrown out at home plate.
Reliever Austin Suhr (1-2) recorded two strikeouts and a groundball out to retire the Redhawks in order in the bottom of the ninth.
Otis Roby was strong through 5.2 innings for the Jackrabbits, striking out seven and walking two.
After Vick's rocky start, he settled down to retire 14 of his final 17 hitters. Vick struck out six and walked one while allowing five runs on five hits through five innings. He threw 97 pitches.
Left-hander Daniel Bergtholdt (0-3) was charged with the loss. Bergtholdt sturck out two, walked one, gave up a run and scattered two hits in 3.1 innings.
SEMO outhit SDSU, 11-7, with Ezell going 4-for-5 with a run scored and one RBI to lead the way. Gagan followed at 2-for-4 with a run scored and three RBI.
FIU 7, JACKSONVILLE STATE 2
MIAMI, Fla. - Florida International salvaged the final game of the weekend series with Jacksonville State with a 7-2 win on Sunday afternoon at FIU Baseball Stadium.
The Gamecocks (8-3) claimed the three-game set by posting a pair of extra inning wins on Friday and Saturday. JSU broke up a 6-6 deadlock on Friday with a six-run 12th inning to start the weekend with a 12-6 decision. Jax State its third consecutive weekend series with a ninth-inning rally to send the contest to extra innings and then explode for seven runs in the 10th for a 13-6 victory. FIU moved its overall mark to 5-6 on the season. Even with the Sunday setback, the Gamecocks are off to their best start after 11 games since the 2011 campaign. That season, JSU started 8-3 and went on to post a 36-win season.
After a four-game road trip and a 3-1 mark during that span, JSU returns to Choccolocco Park on Tuesday, hosting regional foe Kennesaw State. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. The Gamecocks will enter Ohio Valley Conference play next weekend, hosting Austin Peay. The series begins on Friday, March 8 in Oxford, Alabama.
FIU broke a 1-1 tie in the home half of the seventh with a solo home run off the bat of Lorenzo Hamilton, Jr. to begin the frame. It was the Panthers' second home run of the day as Will Saxton equalized the contest in the fifth. The pair of round trippers spoiled another impressive start by senior Colton Pate. Pate, who was a member of a JSU trip of arms that combined for a no hitter last weekend against Radford, picked up right where he left that outing on Sunday. The Lincoln, Alabama righty was not touched for a hit until the third inning. Dating back to his first two starts, Pate held 46 batters hitless and lasted 15.2 innings of work before surrendering a run. He fell to 2-1 on the season.
After combining for 26 hits in 22 innings on the weekend, the Gamecocks were limited to six hits against three different FIU pitchers. FIU starter Logan Allen handcuffed the JSU line up in the first six innings, recording 10 strikeouts and touched for the lone run on four hits. The Panthers' bullpen allowed a hit in the ninth. JSU had an scoring opportunity to break the tie in the seventh before FIU turned in the six-run inning after stringing together six hits. The FIU arms finished with 12 strike outs.
Junior Nic Gaddis was sensational offensively and behind the plate for the Gamecocks. Gaddis entered Sunday's series-finale on a 7-for-7 streak at the plate after driving in the go-ahead RBI double on Friday night in the 12th and the hit parade on Saturday with a 6-for-6 performance and driving in six of JSU's 13 runs. The Trenton, Georgia native extended the hitting streak to 8-for-8 in his first plate appearance. He finished the weekend by reaching base 11 times after adding a pair of walks on Sunday. Gaddis delivered JSU's first run of the contest with another RBI double in the second. Gaddis also threw out a Panther on the base path on the weekend.
Senior Trent Simpson led JSU at the plate on Sunday with a pair of hits, including a double and scored on Gaddis' two-bagger. Junior transfer Seth Hendon connected on his first hit as a Gamecock with a leadoff double to start the ninth. He would score JSU's second run on Isaac Alexander's fly ball.
TROY 13, TENNESSEE TECH 12
TROY, Ala. - A seesaw battle at Riddle-Pace Field ended in favor of Troy Sunday afternoon, as the Tennessee Tech baseball team (6-4) fell to the Trojans (7-5) in the series finale, 13-12.
The Golden Eagles rallied on two separate occasions on the day, falling behind as much as 6-1 after five innings. A sacrifice fly by David Garza in the sixth made it a four-run deficit, but Tech still had plenty of work to do with just three innings to go.
In the seventh, things clicked for the Tech offense. Senior Brennon Kaleiwahea started with a leadoff walk and found himself at third base after back-to-back singles from Alex Junior and Trevor Putzig.
Junior Kevin Strohschein drew his own walk to drive in a run and senior Chase Chambers followed with an RBI single through the right side to cut the deficit to just two with the bases loaded and no outs. Troy made a pitching change, handing the ball to Corey Childress. The Trojan hurler fanned the first two batters he faced, needing just one out to escape the huge inning.
Cody Littlejohn walked into the batter's box as a pinch hitter, and worked a fantastic at bat, eventually drawing a seven-pitch walk to drive in another Golden Eagle run. Then Nick Osborne uncorked the big one, blasting a 1-0 offering that cleared the wall in left field for a grand slam and a 9-6 Tech lead.
Not finished, Kaleiwahea drew another walk, setting up Junior for an RBI double down the right field line. The hit drove Tech's lead up to 10-6 with two and a half innings to play.
Troy answered in the bottom half, plating six runs of its own, including a game-tying, three-run home run. The Trojans took back over, leading 12-10 headed into the eighth.
Once again, the Golden Eagles made a comeback, gathering an RBI single in the top half of the frame from Garza. With the bases loaded and one out, Troy seemingly gathered an easy second out, forcing Osborne to pop up into foul territory down the first base line.
John Ham made a heads-up, base running decision, however, tagging after seeing the first baseman react late after making the catch and sliding in safe at the plate to tie the game at 12-12.
Troy gathered the lead once more, this time for good, after a tough call at third base in the bottom of the eighth. The Trojans laid down a sacrifice bunt with two on and no outs. Tech pitcher Alex Hursey corralled the ball and tossed the ball to third base attempting to force out the runner.
The runner was ruled safe and Tech's throw to first attempting to get the batter bounced away for an error, allowing the runner at third to cross the plate.
Osborne led the Golden Eagles with five RBI and the grand slam. Junior and Chambers each finished 3-for-5, with Chambers scoring three runs and Junior driving in two. Garza tallied two RBI as well, finishing 2-for-4.