FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 5-5, Belmont 2-3
Jacksonville State 11, @Eastern Illinois 0
Tennessee Tech 4, @SIUE 1
@Austin Peay 10, Murray State 2
@UT Martin 8, Southeast Missouri 7
@Mercer 14,
Eastern Kentucky 9
MOREHEAD STATE 5-5, BELMONT 2-3
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Freshman Bryce Hensor went 6-for-7 at the plate, and sophomore righty Dom Masullo nailed down saves in both ends of Friday's doubleheader with Belmont as the Morehead State baseball team swept the Bruins, 5-2 and 5-3, at Allen Field.
The Eagles (10-9/3-2 OVC) kept up their winning ways at home as MSU has still only lost two series at Allen Field since 2015. Belmont is now 7-11 ad 3-2 in the league.
In the first game, Eagle starter David Calderon, the OVC leader in Ks, shook off a shaky first-inning start to record eight strikeouts, and reliever Cory Conway (1-0) recorded his first career win as the Eagles broke a 2-2 tie with three runs in the final four innings.
Masullo shut down the Bruins in the ninth for his third save.
After Belmont pushed ahead 2-1, junior shortstop Reid Leonard cranked an RBI double in the fifth to score center-fielder Connor Pauly. Pauly had an RBI ground out in the sixth, and junior catcher Hunter Fain notched a sac fly to score Hensor in the eighth. Hensor raced home on a relatively shallow fly to left to beat the throw.
Leonard put the icing on the win with an RBI single in the eighth as well.
Conway tossed the sixth and seventh frames, striking out two, after Calderon worked the first 5.2 innings.
Of the Eagles' 11 hits, Hensor was 3-for-3 and Leonard was 2-for-4. Right-fielder Jake Hammon had his third straight multi-hit day with two safeties. Senior second baseman Braxton oris upped his hitting streak to 13, and then made it 14 with hits in the nightcap.
Tyler Vaughn allowed nine hits, but just two earned runs, in seven innings to be tagged with the loss.
In game two Hensor was 3-for-4 with an RBI, while Leonard, Morris and senior third baseman Eli Boggess tallied two hits each.
On the mound, lefty starter Dalton Stambaugh (3-2) worked 6.2 innings with three punchouts and seven hits surrendered. TJ Satterly then stymied the Bruins for the next two frames before allowing a late home run and giving way to Masullo for the last out.
Senior left-fielder Tyler Niemann broke a scoreless stalemate with a two-run homer to center field in the third inning, his third four-bagger this season.
Belmont tied the game 2-2 with two tallies in the fourth but MSU answered with a go-ahead sac fly by Hammon in the bottom of the fourth. Pauly also singled home a run in the fourth, and Hensor capped the scoring with an RBI single in the fifth.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 11, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0
CHARLESTON, Ill. - A combination of great pitching and timely hitting turned in to a recipe for an 11-0 shutout of Eastern Illinois by Jacksonville State on Friday afternoon at Coaches Stadium in Charleston, Illinois.
The Gamecocks pulled even in conference play at 2-2 and improved to 11-5 overall with the series-opening win, while EIU dropped its home opener and fell to 7-9 on the season. The two clubs will continue the Ohio Valley Conference weekend series on Saturday at 1 p.m. The game will be available on the OVC Digital Network.
Going back to last Sunday's 13-0 win over Austin Peay, JSU has out-scored its last two OVC foes 24-0 and have put back-to-back blankings of an OVC for the first time since 2008. Jax State turned in a pair of shutout wins over EIU in the final two games of the series. The blanking is also the fourth of the year for JSU.
Redshirt sophomore Garrett Farmer registered a career high in innings pitched and matched his career high in total strikeouts. Farmer (2-0) nearly posted a complete game shutout before being lifted with two outs in the eighth. The Huntsville, Alabama righty matched his career high with nine strikeouts versus EIU. He also fanned nine batters in six innings of work against Radford earlier this year. Farmer scattered four hits and did not allow a Panther to reach second base until his third walk of the day and moving the Panther with the four hit in to scoring position. Farmer was the recipient of great defense behind him as he induced three double plays to help him limit his pitch count to 92 pitches on the day. Sophomore Corley Wood finished the final 1.1 innings with a pair of strikeouts and touched for a hit in the ninth.
While Farmer was dominate on the bump. The Gamecocks' bats came through in scoring situations and took advantage of 11 walks by four of the five EIU pitchers used in the opener. JSU scored multiple runs in three different innings, beginning with junior Nic Gaddis' bases-clearing double in the second inning. Gaddis was one of three Gamecocks with multiple hits as the catcher from Trenton, Georgia would add another double in the seventh. Gaddis entered the weekend as the OVC's leader in doubles, now has 11 on the season. He also reached base two more times with a pair of walks.
After JSU added a run in the third on one of freshman Cole Frederick's three hits on the day with an RBI single, the lead was expanded to 8-0 with a four-run fourth. Jax State put together four hits in the frame, highlighted by freshman Isaac Alexander's two RBI double. Senior Trent Simpson started the big inning with an RBI single. Frederick turned in another RBI single to round out the RBI in the inning. Frederick, from Tuscaloosa, Ala, put the final run on the board in the eighth with his first career home run to make it 11-0. He finished with three RBI and reached base four times on the day.
Alexander, from Muscle Shoals, Alabama carded his second hit of the day with an RBI double in the sixth. Sophomore Chase Robinson had a a sacrifice fly in the frame. Seven of the nine spots in the lineup recorded hits as Jax State finished with 12 hits and stranded 13 on the base paths.
Senior Taylor Hawthorne recoded a single in his third plate appearance and extended his consecutive games reaching base streak to 39 games, dating back to the last 23 games of last season. His streak is currently the longest in the country and shared with Will Brennan of Kansas State, who reached base on Friday against College of Charleston.
Sophomore Andrew Naismith nearly matched an OVC record for walks in a single game with five free passes from EIU pitching on Friday. The OVC record for walks in a game is six, set by twice by Murray State's Laverne Billinger in 1958 and Mike Whaley of Austin Peay in 1974. The last Gamecock to have five walks in a game was Paschal Petrongolo during a the 2014 season against Kennesaw State.
TENNESSEE TECH 4, SIUE 1
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Yet another fantastic display on the mound resulted in victory for the Tennessee Tech baseball team Friday evening, as the Golden Eagles (12-5, 3-1) out-dueled SIUE (5-10, 1-3) in Ohio Valley Conference play, 4-1.
With one of the nation's top offenses facing off a historically strong pitching staff, it was the Tech hurlers that shined brightest on the day, led by senior starter Travis Moths. The right-hander earned his league-leading fourth victory of the season after twirling the Golden Eagle pitching staff's third consecutive gem.
Moths tossed six innings while limiting the Cougars to just five base runners and a single earned run. The Tech veteran struck out eight batters in the affair while walking just two and scattering three hits.
With Moths at his pitch count limit, head coach Matt Bragga turned to junior closer Ethan Roberts to finish things off. The Sparta native did just that, facing nine and sitting nine down in order to cover the final three innings and earn his fourth save of the year. He punched out three while needing just 31 pitches to finish off the team's three-hitter.
The pitching continued an impressive run by the Golden Eagle arms that began on Tuesday with an 8-0 shutout of the Big 12's West Virginia. Tech then dominated the Mountaineers again on Wednesday in a 9-1 victory. In that span, the Tech staff has held opponents to a meager .110 batting average, 10 hits, six walks and two runs while striking out 22.
While the Tech offense was held without an extra-base hit for the first time all season, the lineup still put the pressure on early and often, totaling 11 singles and seven walks.
Junior second baseman John Ham set the pace in the second, leading off the frame with a base knock to left field. Right fielder Nick Osborne drove him in later in the inning with a hit to right field, providing a 1-0 lead for the visitors.
The Golden Eagles plated two more in the third as senior first baseman Chase Chambers grounded out to second base to drive in the eventual winning run from third. Fellow senior David Garza laid down a great sacrifice bunt that brought in the second score of the frame for a 3-0 advantage.
SIUE managed a leadoff home run in the bottom half of the third off the bat of Mario Tursi, but the Golden Eagles earned that run right back in the fourth with an RBI fielder's choice off the bat of junior Kevin Strohschein.
AUSTIN PEAY 10, MURRAY STATE 2
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Center fielder Imani Willis hit his season’s second grand slam and Austin Peay State University’s baseball team rolled to a 10-2 victory against Murray State in the opening game of their three-game Ohio Valley Conference series.
After Murray State (10-8, 2-2 OVC) grabbed a two-run lead in the top of the first, Austin Peay saw its first four batters in the bottom of the frame reach base, left fielder Andrew Flaherty batting in the first run on an infield single. Two batters later Willis hit his grand slam to left, staking the Govs to a 5-2 lead.
Govs starter Michael Costanzo (4-0) struck out the side around the two-run home run in the first. After being handed the lead after the first inning he promptly settled into a rhythm and allowed just two base runners over the next four innings. Costanzo would leave after recording his ninth strikeout of the game, finishing with 5.1 innings pitched and allowing just the two runs.
Relievers Brett Newberg and Devin O’Donovan followed Costanzo and kept Murray State off the board over the final 4.2 innings. Newberg struck out five while scattering three hits in his 2.2 innings. Donovan added a strikeout in his inning of work. The trio of Govs pitchers combined to strike out 15 Racers batters – the most in a single game this season.
Austin Peay (11-7, 3-1 OVC) was held scoreless for four innings after its breakout frame. The Govs finally broke through against the Racers bullpen, adding to their lead by scoring in each of their final three innings.
Willis, who added a double and RBI single to his outing, finished the day 3-for-4 with five RBI – half the Govs run total. Designated hitter Kyle Wilson went 2-for-3 with a RBI, including a double.
Murray State starter Peyton Hayes (0-1) suffered the loss after allowing six runs (five earned) on five hits in five-plus innings of work. First baseman Ramsey Scott’s two-run home run in the first was the Racers only run production on the day and they were held to three hits following his hit.
UT MARTIN 8, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 7
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team battled out an 8-7 victory this afternoon over Ohio Valley Conference opponent Southeast Missouri. The win snapped a 17-game losing streak to the Redhawks, the last victory coming back on April 27, 2012
UT Martin (5-12, 2-2 OVC) was led by Jordan Stoner (four hits, three runs scored) came up a home run shy of hitting for the cycle. Collin Edwards (one hit, three RBIs) and Ethan Whitley (one hit, one home run and two RBIs) both connected for multiple-RBI games. The trio of Casey Harford (two hits, one RBI), Tyler Albright (two hits, one RBI) and Carson Shrode (one RBI) also accounted for the scoring in the contest. Ben Aslett rounded out the hit column for the Skyhawks.
Lefty Konnor Aherin (2-0) was credited with the win as he came on in the eighth, just in time for the UT Martin rally. He tossed two innings of perfect baseball in his time on the mound. Righty starter Austen Bullington logged four innings of work while giving up six earned runs but fanning a batter in the process. Southpaw Dom Bazzani came on in relief of Bullington and put together three full innings of solid baseball, giving up just one earned run and striking out a Redhawk along the way.
Southeast Missouri looked to get off on the right foot as a Redhawk singled to open the ballgame. Bullington would erase the runner as he used a quick pickoff attempt to sit Urhahn down and start fresh. Bullington would allow another hit but got a friendly groundball and flyout to end the first inning.
The UT Martin first inning set the tone for the Skyhawks as Stoner led off with a triple to right center. Harford then drew a seven-pitch walk followed by an Albright walk. With the bases loaded, Edwards then stepped to the plate for a three-run double to left center. Whitley would then pound a homer to right center to clear the bases as UT Martin ended the inning with a 5-0 advantage.
The Redhawks would plate two runs in both the second and third innings to narrow the Skyhawk lead to 5-4.
UT Martin put another run on the board in the third inning as Aslett led off with a single to center followed by an Edwards walk. Later, Whitley would draw a seven-pitch walk to load the bases up again. Shrode would line out to the leftfielder but Aslett would cross the plate to push the Skyhawk up 6-4.
Southeast Missouri struck again in the fourth frame with a pair of runs to even things up at 6-6.
Bazzani would make fairly quick work of the Redhawks in the fifth inning as he retired the first batter via the strikeout. He would then work around a single before getting a double play to end the inning.
The UT Martin fifth looked as if big things were in store for the Skyhawks as Aslett worked a four-pitch walk followed by Edwards reaching base via hit by pitch. Davis moved the runners over on a sacrifice bunt. Whitley worked a walk for himself to load the bases but to no avail as the UT Martin bats were unable to clear the bases.
Bazzani pitched with ease in the sixth as he retired the side on just 12 pitches, all fly balls.
The Skyhawks tallied another run in the sixth as Stoner led off with a single through the right side. Albright then doubled down the left field line to plate Stoner, reclaiming the lead at 7-6.
Southeast Missouri tied the game in the seventh as Bazzani conceded a homer but was able to get out of the frame with any further damage with the game tied at 7-7.
Aherin began his workday with a runner on first in the eighth but got a ground ball back to him and made the heads-up play by getting the lead runner out at second. He then got a pair of fly balls to end the inning.
UT Martin broke the tie in the eighth as Stoner got things started with another triple to right center followed by a Harford single to give the Skyhawks the 8-7 lead and ultimate final score.
Aherin kept the Redhawk bats quiet in the ninth as he got a foul out and a pair of goundouts to secure the victory.
MERCER 14, EASTERN KENTUCKY 9
MACON, Ga. - Eastern Kentucky University’s baseball team built a 4-0 lead and led 6-5, but lost its series opener at Mercer University, 14-9, on Friday.
Cornell Nixon got Eastern on the board when he scored on a throwing error to start a 4-run third inning. Tyler Romanik drove in a run with a single down the left field line. A double by Daniel Harris IV brought in two more runs and made it 4-0 in favor of the visitors.
The Bears responded in the bottom half of the third with five runs to take the lead. Trey Truitt cleared the bases with a double to right center during the big inning.
Another Mercer throwing error allowed two Colonels to score in the top of the fourth to take back the lead, 6-5. However, the Bears scored five times in the bottom of the fifth inning to take a 10-6 advantage and never trailed again.
Romanik hit his second home run of the season in the top of the sixth. The two run shot over the wall in left field drew Eastern Kentucky within two, 10-8.
Nixon finished the night 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Romanik went 3-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs.