TUESDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Kentucky 9, East Tennessee State 4
@Southern Illinois 5,
Eastern Illinois 3
@Tennessee 9,
UT Martin 0
@Middle Tennessee 9,
Belmont 0
Murray State 8, @Evansville 3
@Southeast Missouri 15, McKendree 0
@Lipscomb 8,
Austin Peay 6
EASTERN KENTUCKY 9, EAST TENNESSEE STATE 4
RICHMOND, Ky. - Eastern Kentucky University’s baseball team fell behind 4-0, but stormed back to beat East Tennessee State University, 9-4, on Tuesday at Earle Combs Stadium.
With the game tied 4-4, Jacob Abbott completed the comeback with an RBI single to left center in the bottom of the fifth inning. Ryland Kerr extended the lead to 6-4 with a run-scoring double down the left field line in the bottom of the sixth.
ETSU (17-12) loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the seventh, but Andrew McWhorter came in and got a strikeout and a double play to end the inning.
Alex Holderbach hit his eighth home run of the season, a solo shot in the bottom of the eighth, to set the final score.
East Tennessee jumped out to a 4-0 lead. Aaron Maher drove in two runs with a single to right in the top of the second to make it a 3-0 game. Maher’s sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth pushed the visitors out in front by four.
The Colonels (16-17) erased that Buccaneer lead in the bottom of the fourth. Will Johnson’s single through the right side with two on and one out pushed in EKU’s first run of the game. Daniel Harris IV got Eastern within one with a two-run single up the middle. With the hit-and-run on, Chris Botsoe scored the tying run when he motored home from second base on a ground ball to the second baseman.
Kerr went 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI. Harris finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs.
Jaxson Blair (1-1) earned the win after allowing one run on two hits in three innings of relief work. He walked three and struck out two.
Maher had a 2-for-4 day with three RBIs for East Tennessee.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 5, EASTERN ILLINOIS 3
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Eastern Illinois baseball team traveled to Carbondale, Illinois to take on Southern Illinois in a midweek contest Tuesday evening. Southern Illinois was able to walk away with the victory defeating EIU 5-3.
With the loss Eastern Illinois dropped to 10-20, while Southern Illinois improved to 18-14 on the season.
Dougie Parks entered the midweek battle between Eastern Illinois and Southern Illinois leading the Panthers in home runs with six and continued to stretch his lead in the top of the second inning. Parks was able to give the Panthers the early lead driving a solo home run to left field.
Southern Illinois was able to immediately answer back in the bottom of the second inning on a Alex Lyon sacrifice that would score Logan Blackfan to even the game.
Eastern Illinois would hit two doubles in the top of the fourth to grab the lead for the second time in the game. Parks became the first base runner for the Panthers in the inning reaching second on a one out double. Hunter Morris came up clutch for the Panthers as he drove a two out double to right center to score Parks.
However, the Panthers couldn't contain the Southern Illinois offense as they would score in three straight innings to secure the victory over the Panthers.
The Panthers would score another run in the top of the sixth inning when Josh Turnock hit into a fielders choice, scoring Jimmy Huber. The Southern Illinois pitching staff was able to put an end to the Panthers rally and held off the EIU offense to secure their 18th win of the season.
Blake Malatestinic suffered the loss on the mound for the Panthers as he dropped to 0-3 on the season. Malestestinic tossed 5.1 innings, with six hits, five runs, two walks, and two strikeouts.
Parks finished 3-for-4 with two runs, a home run, RBI, and a double. Morris went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and a double. Joseph Duncan finished the evening 2-for-4 with a walk.
TENNESSEE 9, UT MARTIN 0
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball squad fell to UT system rival Tennessee 9-0 this evening.
UT Martin (5-24, 2-13 OVC) was led by Billy Edwards’ two hits while Jordan Stoner, Collin Edwards and Anthony Adduci all tallied a base knock apiece. Stoner and Carson Shrode were able to work the counts and draw a walk each.
Peyton Cain (0-4) got the starting nod and tossed 4.2 innings as he allowed four earned runs. The righty fanned three Volunteers in his time on the mound. Nick Wohlbold worked for one full inning and allowed three earned runs. Konnor Aherin pitched 0.1 inning and did not allow a run in that span. Zack Denney tossed two complete innings and allowed just one earned run along the way.
Jordan Stoner led off the game by rapping a single on just the second pitch he saw, squirting the ball through the left side. He would later swipe second base to give the Skyhawks a prime scoring opportunity but fly balls would plague any chance UT Martin had at taking the early advantage.
Cain went to work early as he forced a pair of groundouts on five pitches. He would concede a two-out single but found a line out to centerfield to end the first unscathed.
Tennessee would strike for one run in the second frame to take a 1-0 lead but not before Cain sat down a pair of Volunteers on swinging strikeouts.
The Skyhawks threatened again in the third inning as Billy Edwards led the frame off with a single through the right side. A nifty pickoff move by Tennessee pitcher Sean Hunley would erase Edwards from the base paths. Stoner then worked a four-pitch walk and moved up to second on a wild pitch. He would be stranded as the bats were unable to pull through.
In the third inning, Cain worked around a leadoff single to sit down the next three batters in order on a pair of groundouts and a fly out.
The Volunteers put up eight runs over the next four innings to extend their lead out to 9-0.
UT Martin looked to get a fire started in the eighth as Adduci led off the inning with a pinch-hit single through the left side. Shrode later walked to put a pair of runners on but to no avail.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 9, BELMONT 0
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The bats went cold for Belmont Baseball as they were shutout 9-0 on Tuesday night at Middle Tennessee State University.
After being retired in order in the first inning, the Bruins put together what would be their biggest threat of the night in the second inning. Senior Austin Reynolds (Smyrna, Tenn.) recorded a two-out single for the first Belmont hit of the game. Junior Devon Gardner (Maryville, Tenn.) followed that with a base hit of his own. Junior Hunter Holland (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) worked a walk to load the bases, but the next batter flew out and Belmont left all three runners stranded.
MTSU cracked the scoreboard to take a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the third after a leadoff double sparked a flurry of hits that led to three runs. The Blue Raiders scored another three runs on four hits in the bottom of the fourth to take a 6-0 lead.
Belmont struggled to get things going, recording only four hits on the night. The third Belmont hit of the night came in the fifth on a Holland single, but the next batter grounded into a double play to end the inning.
The Bruins wouldn't register their final hit until the top of the eighth inning when Freshman Jackson Campbell (Russellville, Ky.) rocketed a two-out single to left field, but he was stranded on base as the next batter flew out.
MTSU tacked on a run in the seventh inning and scored their final two of the night in the bottom of the eighth on a two-run home run.
Sophomore Michael Matter (Ft. Myers, Fla.) earned his second start of the season on the mound for the Bruins. He threw two and one-thirds inning, striking out two and walking none.
Freshman Logan Bowen (Bowling Green, Ky.) had an effective outing on the bump in relief for the Bruins. In his team-leading 9th appearance of the season he faced three batters and struck out two, forcing the only three up, three down inning for the Bruins in his one inning of work.
Eight different Bruins saw time on the mound for the Belmont squad.
MURRAY STATE 8, EVANSVILLE 3
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Murray State got a four-run top of the sixth inning to break a 3-3 tie, pounded out 13 hits and had four players with multiple hits Tuesday night in Evansville, Ind., as the Racers defeated Evansville 8-3 to sweep the season series with the Purple Aces.
The win is the fourth straight against the Purple Aces and ties the program record for most consecutive wins in the series against Evansville, matching the four consecutive from 1953-58. It was also just UE's (6-20) second loss at home this season as it entered the contest 5-1 at Braun Stadium in 2018.
Gavin Wehby led the MSU (17-14) offense in the win with a three-hit night, as he was 3-of-5 at the plate with an RBI and three runs scored. Davis Sims went 2-for-4 and drove in four runs while also hitting his 17th double of the season. Mike Farnell and Ramsey Scott both were 2-for-5 in the victory.
Ryan Perkins went 1-of-3 at the dish on the night with a pair of walks and was stellar defensively in the outfield as he made a couple of nice diving catches in left field to rob the Purple Aces of extra-base hits. Perkins also threw a runner out at home plate in the bottom of the sixth to quell a UE threat and preserve the 7-3 lead.
Sims got MSU on the board early on the night as his RBI single to center field in the top of the first scored Wehby from second to give the Racers a 1-0 lead. In the fifth, MSU pushed its lead to 3-0 on a sacrifice fly RBI from Sims and an RBI groundout by Grant Wood two batters later.
In the bottom of the fifth, Evansville was able to rally and tie the score up at 3-3. However, the Racers responded in the top half of the sixth with their big inning to retake the lead. Five consecutive hits in the inning got the Racers going as Wehby got an RBI single through the right side to make it 4-3. In the next at-bat, Brandon Gutzler singled to bring home Jaron Robinson and then Sims delivered his double to left center that plated two and the Racers cruised the rest of the way. Farnell's double to center in the ninth gave the Racers their extra insurance run.
Peyton Hayes picked up his first career victory with MSU as he pitched 1.2 innings of relief and struck-out a pair of batters. Luke Brown got the start on the night and went 4.1 innings, allowing three runs on four hits while striking out five. Tyler Anderson and Braydon Cook also appeared in relief in the win.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 15, MCKENDREE 0
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri (15-18) had seven extra base hits in a 15-0 win over McKendree (6-21) Tuesday night at Capaha Field.
SEMO outhit McKendree, 14-3, with five doubles and two home runs.
The Redhawks took an early lead on a two-out double by Cole Bornhop in the bottom of the second inning and tacked on another run when Danny Wright singled home Chase Urhahn in the third.
With one out in the bottom of the fourth inning, Urhahn singled to center and Devon Wilson scored. After Connor Basler touched home on a passed ball, Wright knocked in Peyton Faulkner on a single to widen SEMO's lead to 5-0.
SEMO continued to pour it on in the fifth inning, where Justin Dirden led off with a home run. Doubles by Basler and Faulkner led to three more runs as the Redhawks pulled ahead, 9-0.
The Redhawks loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the sixth and kept the inning alive when Basler walked and Hunter Southerland scored. Urhahn followed with a bases clearing double in the right center gap to widen SEMO's lead to 13-0.
Still not finished, Michael Berra hit a two-run home run to polish off the onslaught. For Berra, it was the first home run of his career.
Ashton Holyfield gave the Redhawks a quality start striking out four in four scoreless innings. Holyfield retired 12 of the 16 hitters he faced. He improved to 1-1 this season.
Lucas Vallandingham (0-2) suffered the loss. Vallandingham struck out three, walked two and gave up three runs on four hits in three innings. He was one of six Bearcat pitchers who took the mound.
Offensively, a total of 10 different Redhawks had a hit.
Wright went 3-for-5 with two RBI and Urhahn finished at 2-for-6 with two runs, a double and four RBI. Wilson and Basler each scored three runs, while Bornhop added two hits and two runs scored. Faulkner, Berra, Tristen Gagan, Dirden and Alex Canty also had a hit.
SEMO recorded its second shutout of the season.
LIPSCOMB 8, AUSTIN PEAY 6
NASHVILLE - Catcher Parker Phillips drove in three runs but Austin Peay State University’s baseball team could not hold on to a late lead and fell 8-6 to Lipscomb in nonconference action, Tuesday night at Dugan Field.
Austin Peay (18-15) twice built three runs leads in the contest. Designated hitter Brett Newberg helped the Govs build a 3-0 lead with a two-run home run in the fourth inning. After Lipscomb tied the game, the Governors again built a 6-3 advantage, again scoring twice in the seventh thanks to a Lipscomb miscue and a Phillips sacrifice fly.
Lipscomb (15-16) twice rallied from those three-run deficits with big innings. The Bisons struck for three runs in the fourth inning with second baseman Jackson Furstace supplying a two-run single in the frame.
The Bisons pieced together their game-winning rally in the eighth, scoring five times. With two outs in the frame, five consecutive Lipscomb batters reached base. Right fielder Josh Martinez tied the game with a bases-clearing single that just eluded the Governors defense. Shortstop Blake Thomas broke the tie and left fielder Tevin Symonette added an insurance run with back-to-back singles.
Phillips ended the night 1-for-1 with three RBI thanks to three sacrifice flies. He was one of seven Govs to finish with a base hit as they finished with seven hits in the contest.
Newberg (3-1) suffered the loss after allowing three runs in the eighth inning. Starter Harley Gollert supplied three hitless frames in his season’s third loss but was left with no decision.
Martinez and Furstace each had two hits to pace Lipscomb’s eight-hit outing. Martinez was 2-for-3 with three RBI while Furstace finished 2-for-3 with two RBI.
Dayton Tripp, the seventh Lipscomb pitcher of the night, picked up the win after tossing 1.2 scoreless frames. Reliever Robbie Knox notched his fourth save after striking out two of the three batters he faced in the ninth.