SUNDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Kentucky 4, Morehead State 3
@Belmont 9, UT Martin 8 (12 innings)
@Murray State 5, Eastern Illinois 0
@Southeast Missouri 11, SIUE 10
@Tennessee Tech 12, Austin Peay 6
Jacksonville 4,
@Jacksonville State 1
EASTERN KENTUCKY 4, MOREHEAD STATE 3
RICHMOND, Ky. - After splitting Friday’s series-opening doubleheader, Eastern Kentucky University’s baseball team won the weekend series with a 4-3 victory over visiting Morehead State University on Sunday at Earle Combs Stadium.
EKU (9-15, 2-4 OVC) turned a one-run deficit into a one-run lead in the bottom of the sixth. Chris Botsoe led off the inning with a walk and stole second. He advanced to third on a single by pinch hitter Nick Howie and then scored the tying run on a single to right field by Daniel Harris IV. With one out and the bases loaded later in the inning, a fly ball by Cornell Nixon was good enough to plate the go-ahead run.
The Eagles (14-11, 5-4 OVC) struck first, scoring three runs in the top of the second inning. Back-to-back singles by Reid Leonard and Tyler Niemann pushed in one run each.
Eastern got on the board in the bottom of the fourth when Botsoe singled to right field and Will Johnson scored from second base. The Colonels made it a one-run game, 3-2, on a run-scoring single to left center by Alex Holderbach in the bottom of the fifth.
Austin Perry turned in his second quality start of the season. The senior allowed three unearned runs, walked four and struck out three in six innings of work.
Nine different batters had one hit each for Eastern Kentucky. Nixon finished 1-for-2 with a walk, a run and an RBI. Botsoe was 1-for-3 with a walk, a run and an RBI.
Leonard had two hits in four at bats and drove in one run for Morehead State.
BELMONT 9, UT MARTIN 8 (12)
NASHVILLE - Belmont Baseball secured the series sweep over the UT Martin Skyhawks on Sunday after a 12-inning showdown. The Bruins defeated the Skyhawks 9-8 after a balk scored the winning run.
Belmont once again took an early lead, scoring in the first inning for the third time this weekend. After junior Devon Gardner (Maryville, Tenn.) laid down the first hit of the game, Junior Chas Hadden (Morristown, Tenn.) delivered a RBI double to score the first run of the game.
Junior Casey Queener (Brentwood, Tenn.) got the start on the bump for the Bruins. He was able to retire the Skyhawks in order in five of the first six innings. Queener recorded a season-high nine strikeouts on the day.
Freshman Jackson Campbell (Russellville, Ky.) added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth after hitting his second home run of the season to give Belmont a 3-0 lead after four innings.
Devon Gardner once again got things going in the bottom of the fifth with a single to left center field. Chas Hadden and senior Ben Kocher (Zionsville, Ind.) loaded the bases with two consecutive outs. Senior Cully Day (Mahomet, Ill.) stepped up to the plate with two outs and three base runners. He drove in three more runs with a base clearing triple to extend the Belmont lead 6-0.
Belmont's bats went cold after that, only recording one more hit through nine innings.
UT Martin would make a rally in the top of the seventh to tie things up. After taking advantage of five hits and two walks, the Skyhawks plated six to put pressure on the Bruins.
Belmont didn't allow UT Martin to register a hit in the final two innings to keep them scoreless. The Bruins headed to the bottom of the ninth looking for more heroics on the weekend to complete the series sweep. After two quick outs, Hadden stepped up to the plate and blasted a ball to right field. Hadden was robbed of what looked sure to be a home run when the Skyhawks right fielder reached over the fence and made a spectacular catch to keep the game alive.
The Skyhawks wasted no time, taking the lead in the top of the tenth. Their leadoff man knocked a base hit and the Bruins allowed two walks that loaded the bases with one out. One man scored on a sac fly and one scored on a wild pitch to tak a 8-6 lead.
Kocher, who had the walk-off homer in Saturday afternoon's game, was the leadoff man for the Bruins. He once again came up big and got himself on base with a single to right field. After quick out, Jackson Campbell delivered his second home run of the game and it was a big one. His long ball plated two run that tied the game back up.
After a scoreless 11th inning, the squads would head to the decisive 12th inning. UT Martin got two on base after both men were hit by a pitch but stranded both of them.
Kocher once again led off with a single up the middle to give the Bruins an early base runner. Day worked a walk that advanced Kocher to scoring position. Freshman Jordan Henshaw (New Market, Ala.) delivered a ground out that advanced Kocher to third. The game was decided when the UT Martin pitcher was called for a balk that allowed Kocher to score the winning run.
Relief pitcher, junior Kyle Klotz (Fairview, Tenn.) picked up his first win of the season. He threw the final two innings for the Bruins allowing no hits and striking out one.
Seven pitchers saw time on the hill for the Bruins.
MURRAY STATE 5, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0
MURRAY, Ky. - Murray State was able to jump out to an early lead Sunday afternoon at Reagan Field, scoring five runs in the first three innings on its way to a 5-0 victory over Eastern Illinois, sweeping the three-game series. It's the Racers' second sweep this season (Western Illinois).
MSU (14-11, 5-4 OVC) opened the game with Gavin Wehby scoring on the first of three Panther errors in the contest as Ramsey Scott reached base on an error. Two batters later, a Mike Farnell single to right field scored Brandon Gutzler and the Racers were up 2-0.
After a scoreless second, the Racers broke open the game early with three runs in the bottom half of the third as Grant Wood led off the inning with a solo home run to left field, his second homer of the year. Later in the inning, Caleb Hicks got an infield single and Farnell was able to score on a throwing error by EIU (9-14, 1-5 OVC). Jaron Robinson rounded-out the scoring in the game two batters later as he got an RBI single through the left side, scoring Hicks.
Both teams were fairly quiet the last six innings of the game as the Racers ended the day with eight hits and left 12 on base. EIU collected six hits and had 10 stranded.
Luke Brown shut down the Panthers in his best outing of the season. Brown picked up the win after pitching a season-high six innings and allowing just three hits while striking out two. Braydon Cook and Alec Whaley pitched the final three scoreless innings of relief. Cook struck-out a pair of batters in the two innings of work.
Grant Wood was the only Racer with more than one hit in the win as he went 2-for-3 at the plate with a walk and a hit-by-pitch. Farnell, Robinson and Davis Sims all went 1-for-3 on the day. Sims extends his hitting streak to 18 straight now.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 11, SIUE 10
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Danny Wright delivered a walk-off two-out, two-RBI single in the bottom of the ninth inning to send Southeast Missouri (10-15, 7-2) to a thrilling 11-10 come-from-behind victory over SIU Edwardsville (5-16, 1-8) Sunday.
SEMO was down, 10-7, entering its final at-bat in the ninth inning.
Alex Nielsen led off with a single and Chase Urhahn drew a one-out walk. After Peyton Faulkner struck out, Trevor Ezell walked and Tristen Gagan followed with a two-RBI single. Justin Dirden walked on the next play. Devon Wilson pinch ran for Gagan and came around to score the winning run on Wright's walk-off hit.
Both teams combined for a total of 16 runs in the final two innings of the contest.
SIUE took a 5-4 edge on a three-run home run by Aaron Goecks in the top of the eighth inning and later put up five more after loading the bases with no outs in the ninth. Goecks' home run hovered the foul line, but was ruled fair in the eighth inning.
The Redhawks, however, had late game magic of their own and answered with three runs in the bottom of the eighth before rallying to bury the Cougars for good.
Justin Dirden had a huge day, going 2-for-5 with two home runs, two runs scored, a walk and five RBI. Wright, Nielsen and Connor Basler also had two hits for SEMO which finished with 12 for the day.
Carlos Vega worked six inning in his second-straight Sunday start. Vega gave up a run on three hits, struck out six and walked one.
Six other pitchers took the mound after Vega exited the game in the seventh.
Ryan Losman (1-2) was credited with his first win of the season after coming on to get the final out in the top of the ninth.
Mason McReaken (2-1) suffered the loss. McReaken allowed five runs on four hits, walked three and struck out three in 1.2 innings.
SEMO posted its first series sweep of the season and improved to 7-2 in OVC play.
TENNESSEE TECH 12, AUSTIN PEAY 6
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The offense was back it again for the Tennessee Tech baseball team Sunday afternoon, propelling the Golden Eagles (18-5, 8-1) to a 12-6 victory over Ohio Valley Conference rival Austin Peay (14-11, 5-4) to complete the three-game series sweep.
Tech scored 12 runs on 12 hits to extend its winning streak to nine games and continue to demonstrate itself as one of the nation's top offenses. Heading into the weekend, the Golden Eagles led the country in batting average, slugging percentage, on base percentage, scoring, home runs, hits and a few more categories.
Sunday did nothing to hold back the impressive bats of Tech, as the team pounded out four more home runs to bring its season total over 50. It was junior Kevin Strohschein who started the fireworks for the Golden Eagles, blasting a two-run shot off the batter's eye in center field for a 2-0 lead in the first.
Austin Peay answered, scoring once in the second and three more times in the third to take a 4-2 lead. Junior John Ham cut the deficit in half in the bottom half of the third, smashing his team-leading ninth long ball over the fence in left center field.
The Governors turned in their own solo shot in the fourth to reestablish the two-run advantage, but the Tech offense was not to be silenced on the day.
The Golden Eagles loaded the bases with a hit, hit-by-pitch and walk in the bottom of the fourth, providing senior Trevor Putzig for a chance for some heroics. The third baseman delivered, uncorking a mammoth, no-doubt grand slam to left center field to give his team a 7-5 lead.
Tech plated two more in the fifth to gather some wiggle room with its lead, extending it to 9-5 on a passed ball and a sacrifice fly ball from Putzig. He gathered his sixth RBI of the contest with a fielder's choice in the seventh. Junior Nick Osborne drove in the final two runs for Tech with a dinger to right field.
On the hill, junior Alex Hursey earned his fourth victory of the season after tossing four and one third innings in relief. He held the Govs to a single earned run while scattering seven hits and a pair of walks. The southpaw struck out six APSU batters, but was forced out the game in the seventh after loading the bases with two outs.
Junior closer Ethan Roberts ended the threat immediately, striking out a pinch hitter to take things to the seventh-inning stretch. The Sparta native closed out the final two and one third frames while allowing just a single earned run and fanning two. He picked up his fifth save of the season in the process, needing just two more to tie the program's career record of 22 set by Seth Lucio during the 2014 campaign.
Putzig led the offense on the day, finishing 1-for-3 with two runs scored and six RBI. Strohschein turned in a 3-for-5 day at the plate with a pair of RBI while senior catcher Brennon Kaleiwahea also gathered three hits in four at bats. He scored three runs as well. Alex Junior gathered three of the team's 10 walks in the contest out of the leadoff spot.
JACKSONVILLE 4, JACKSONVILLE STATE 1
OXFORD, Ala. - The Jacksonville State baseball team dropped a 4-1 decision on Sunday to Jacksonville at Choccolocco Park.
With the win, the Dolphins completed the weekend sweep of the Gamecocks in a non-conference set for both squads. Jax State dropped to 12-9 overall, while JU improved to 16-9 on the season. Both clubs will face league competition next weekend as the Gamecocks will face Murray State in a series that has been moved to Young Memorial Field on the campus of UAB in Birmingham, Alabama. The Dolphins open Atlantic Sun action against cross-town rival North Florida.
The weekend sweep by the Dolphins is the first by a Gamecock non-conference opponent since the opening weekend of the 2008 season when Middle Tennessee State claimed all three games.
JU manufactured single runs in the third, fourth and fifth to take a 3-0 lead and for the third straight day, the Dolphins' starting pitching gave the Gamecocks fits. JU's Austin Temple, making his second start of the season, went the first five innings and collected six strikeouts and walked just two. Temple was touched for three hits and surrendered the lone JSU run in the fifth. Temple moved to 2-0 on the season.
JSU starter Colton Pate was effective in his five innings of work even though the Dolphins put together eight hits off of him. Pate allowed three of the four runs and tallied five strikeouts. He was saddled with the loss and fell to 3-2 on the season.
Senior catcher Hayden White provided the offense for JSU with his first home run of the year in the fifth. Senior Taylor Hawthorne turned in a hit and has now reached base safely in 42 of the last 43 games dating back to last season and 19 of the 20 games this season. Andrew Naismith and Matthews Hammers collected hits off of JU pitching. Naismith and Hawthorne each had four hits on the weekend with both turning in a home run. Naismith had a home run on Friday and on Saturday.
Senior Grant Chandler worked three innings of relief and was touched for a run in the eighth, while senior Trent Simpson pitched the ninth.