SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Belmont 14, UT Martin 11
@Murray State 13, Eastern Illinois 7
@Southeast Missouri 7, SIUE 0
Jacksonville 17,
@Jacksonville State 6
BELMONT 14, UT MARTIN 11
NASHVILLE - Belmont Baseball secured another conference series victory Saturday afternoon, defeating UT Martin in dramatic fashion. Senior Ben Kocher (Zionsville, Ind.) was the hero of the game after blasting a walk-off three-run long ball to earn the 14-11 victory.
Saturday's victory improved the Bruins to 5-3 in Ohio Valley Conference play while the Skyhawks dropped to 2-6 in the conference.
Senior Connor Etheridge (Springfield, Ill.) started on the bump for the Bruins. Etheridge had yet another successful start on the hill for the Bruins. Etheridge set the tone for the game after striking out the first batter he faced and forcing a three-up, three-down inning to start things off for the Bruins. Etheridge threw six innings, striking out six and walking none. He retired the Skyhawks in order in four of the six innings he pitched.
Belmont's bats came alive early. BU's second batter, Senior Kyle Conger (Brentwood, Tenn.), recorded the first hit of the game with a single up center field. Sophomore Matt Cogen (Franklin, Tenn.) followed that up with a hit of his own to extend his hitting streak to seven games. Kocher recorded his first of six RBI's to plate Conger which gave the Bruins an early 1-0 lead. The lead would hold to the bottom of the third.
Belmont opened things up, scoring five runs in the bottom of the third inning. Senior Cully Day (Mahomet, Ill.) extended his reached base streak to 14 games after working a four pitch walk to give Belmont an early base runner. After another walk and Cogen's second base hit, sophomore Chas Hadden (Morristown, Tenn.) drove in two more runs with a double to deep right center field. After three more Bruins knocked base hits and a sacrifice fly from senior Austin Reynolds (Smyrna, Tenn.), the Bruins took a commanding 6-0 lead.
The Skyhawks started to chip away at the lead in the top of the fifth after their first two batters laid down base hits and took advantage of a wild pitch to put themselves in scoring position. Jordan Shrode would step up to the plate with one out and hit a bomb that scored three, cutting the Belmont lead in half. BU's defense would make two quick outs to get out of the inning including a spectacular grab by Day in center field for the final out.
Etheridge made quick work of his final inning on the hill, forcing three straight groundouts in the top of the sixth.
Belmont tacked on its seventh run of the night in the bottom of the sixth. After putting himself on base with a single, Day scored his first run of the night off a Cogen single RBI.
Junior Kyle Klotz (Fairview, Tenn.) made his first appearance of the season at E.S. Rose Park, coming in to relieve Etheridge in the top of the seventh. Klotz struck out two and walked none, but UT Martin tacked on two more in the inning with back-to-back homeruns.
Junior Devon Gardner (Maryville, Tenn.) got in on the home run action in the bottom of the seventh. Gardner crushed a ball to left field for a solo home run that put the Bruins up 8-5.
Freshman Logan Bowen (Bowling Green, Ky.) made his 14th appearance of the season, taking over the mound for the Bruins in the top of the eighth. Bowen gave up two singles and an error that allowed UT Martin to plate two more. With one on and no outs, freshman Kyle Brennan (Franklin, Tenn.) came to the mound and forced a fly out and struck out two to get out of the inning.
After a scoreless bottom of the eighth, Brennan headed back to the mound with a three-run lead trying to secure his second save in as many days. After two quick outs, the Bruins looked to have the game won but the Skyhawks made a four-run rally on five consecutive hits to tie the game 11-11. Sophomore Jack Rettig (Mohamet, Ill.) made his eighth relief appearance of the series, getting the Bruins out of the ninth inning with a quick strike out.
With their backs against the wall, the Bruins remained poised in the bottom of the ninth. Freshman Jackson Campbell (Russellville, Ky.) came to the plate as a pinch hitter, smashing a leadoff triple to give the Bruins early inning momentum. Day came up big once again, delivering a RBI double to put Belmont within one. After advancing to third on a fly out, Day scored the tying run taking advantage of a wild pitch. The next two batters, Cogen and Hadden, were hit by a pitch and walked to put the winning run in scoring position. Ben Kocher secured the victory when he smashed a three-run bomb over the left field fence for the walk-off win.
Rettig earned his second win of the season.
MURRAY STATE 13, EASTERN ILLINOIS 7
MURRAY, Ky. - Murray State blasted five home runs and collected a season-high 20 hits on its way to a 13-7 victory Saturday over Eastern Illinois at Reagan Field. The five homers is one shy of tying for the program record of six.
EIU (9-13, 1-4 OVC) jumped out to an early lead Saturday, scoring three unearned runs in the top of the first inning. In the bottom half of the first, Davis Sims got the Racers (13-11, 4-4 OVC) on the board with a single through the left side that scored Gavin Wehby and cut the deficit to 3-1.
In the second, the Panthers would get the run back to go up 4-1 but the bottom of the second was when the MSU homer barrage hit. Mike Farnell got the Racers going with a solo shot to right field to make it 4-2, two batters later, another solo homer, this one from Ryan Perkins made it 4-3 in favor of EIU.
In the fourth, Jaron Robinson gave the Racers their first lead of the game and they wouldn’t look back as his two-run shot to left center put MSU out front 5-4. Later in the inning, Ramsey Scott hit a three-run blast, his team-leading sixth of the season to push the Racers out in front 8-4.
After EIU got a two-run homer of its own in the fifth, Robinson again hit a two-run shot, this one that just went over the left field wall and MSU was back up four runs, 10-6. Then in the sixth, MSU got a three-run inning as Farnell and Caleb Hicks each got RBI singles up the middle. Robinson grounded into a fielder’s choice later in the inning that scored Farnell and made it 13-6 Racers.
Grant Wood led seven Racers with multiple hits in the win as he went 4-for-5 from the dish with a run scored. Sims and Wehby were both 3-for-5 on the day while Perkins was 2-of-3 with three runs scored. Robinson also went 2-of-3 and led MSU with five RBIs. Farnell and Hicks also had two-hit days in the victory.
Trevor McMurray was solid out of the bullpen as he picked up his third win on the season. McMurray pitched the final 5.1 innings in relief of starter Blake Clynes. McMurray allowed two earned runs on five hits while striking out four. Clynes pitched 3.2 innings and allowed four runs, just one of which was earned.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 7, SIUE 0
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Logan Spalt, Daniel Bergtholdt and Nathan Bock combined on a four-hit shutout as Southeast Missouri (9-15, 6-2) blanked SIU Edwardsville (5-15, 1-7), 7-0, Saturday at Capaha Field.
SEMO clinched its third-straight series win in Ohio Valley Conference play.
The Redhawks capitalized on an error and had a pair of hits to grab a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning.
Tristen Gagan doubled to right field and Justin Dirden was hit by a pitch giving the Redhawks runners at first and second with no outs. On the next play, Danny Wright reached safely on an error by third baseman Jared McCunn and Gagan scored. Wade Stauss followed with a sacrifice fly to bring in Dirden. Alex Nielsen then delivered the first triple of his career and Wright touched home.
After Spalt pitched out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the fifth inning, SEMO tacked on two more runs in the bottom part of that frame.
Connor Basler hit a two-strike infield single and Chase Urhahn drove the first pitch of his at-bat over the right field wall to give the Redhawks a 5-0 advantage. For Urhahn, it was his second home run of the season.
The Redhawks scored once more in each of the seventh and eighth innings to put the finishing touches on their shutout.
Trevor Ezell drew a one-out walk in the seventh inning and advanced to second and third on a wild pitch. Ezell was safe at home on the front end of a double steal where Gagan was thrown out at second on the play.
Wright hit a one-out single, stole second and scored the game's final run on a double by Stauss in the eighth.
Rain and thunderstorms delayed the game for an hour and 53 minutes with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning. Once play resumed, Bock pitched a perfect ninth inning to send the Redhawks to their fourth-straight conference win.
Eight of SEMO's nine starters had a hit. Urhahn and Stauss added two RBI apiece.
Spalt (1-1) picked up his first career win. He pitched five scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Neither Bergtholdt or Bock allowed a walk in the last four frames.
Ryan Byrd (0-4) remained winless for SIUE. Byrd struck out three, walked two and allowed five runs on five hits in 4.1 innings.
SEMO recorded its first shutout of the season. The Redhawks last shutout was a 1-0 win vs. Jacksonville State on Apr. 14, 2017.
JACKSONVILLE 17, JACKSONVILLE STATE 6
OXFORD, Ala. - Jacksonville clinched the non-conference weekend series at Choccolocco Park on Saturday with a 17-5 win over Jacksonville State.
The two clubs will close out the series on Sunday with the Gamecocks (12-8) looking to avoid a weekend sweep at the hands of the Dolphins (15-9). The last time JSU was swept in a non-conference series at home was theopening weekend of the 2008 campaign. The series finale is set for 1 p.m. in Oxford. Admission is free for all JSU students and all fans 18 years old and younger.
The 17 runs allowed by Jax State was a season-high as a season high in walks attributed to the high-scoring affair for JU. The five pitchers used by JSU issued nine walks and six of those turned in to runs. The Dolphins touched Gamecock arms for 16 hits in the contest, including five doubles and three home runs. JU jumped on the board early with a five-run second with runs scored coming on long balls that left the yard quickly in a swift breeze to left field at Choccolocco Park. The Dolphins extended the lead to 8-0 after the top of the third with a three spot.
The Gamecocks put together their best inning against JU starter, Tyler Santana in their half of the third. After back-to-back RBI by seniors Taylor Hawthorne and Trent Simpson, sophomore Andrew Naismith cut the deficit in half with his second home run of the series. Naismith, who had a solo home run on Friday in JSU's rally in the ninth to send it to extra innings, belted a two-run round tripper off of Santana. The Auburn, Alabama native played in right field on Saturday for the first time at JSU. The four-run third would be all JSU could get off of Santana as he worked seven innings and scattered eight hits.
JU expanded the lead in the fourth and broke the game open late a four-run seventh and a ninth. JU delivered back-to-back doubles in the seventh to highlight the inning, while all four runs in the ninth were scored on a grand slam.
Hawthorne was the only Gamecock to record multiple hits off of the three pitchers used by the Dolphins. The Prattville, Alabama native tallied his fourth home run of the season in the eighth. JSU played a run in the ninth on an RBI walk with the bases loaded by Nolan Greckel.