FRIDAY'S SCORES
Austin Peay 10, @Morehead State 4
Jacksonville State 4, @Belmont 3
@Eastern Kentucky 7, Eastern Illinois 1
@Southeast Missouri 7, Murray State 4
@UT Martin 9, SIUE 5
@#21 Tennessee Tech 4, Southern Illinois 0
AUSTIN PEAY 10, MOREHEAD STATE 4
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Starter Michael Costanzo took a shutout into the eighth inning and Austin Peay State University’s baseball team supplied a pair of home runs in a 10-4 Ohio Valley Conference victory against Morehead State, Friday night at Allen Field.
Costanzo (7-1) opened the game with seven shutout frames. His biggest trouble came in the first inning when he allowed a leadoff single and then saw a ball hit the top of the wall in right for a second single. However, he worked around the runners on the corners by issuing his first strikeout.
After tossing a scoreless second, Constanzo would allow a single in the third, which would be wiped out on an inning-ending fielder’s choice. That single would be the last base hit he would allow until the seventh inning as he retired 13 consecutive batters.
Meanwhile, Austin Peay’s (22-16, 12-7 OVC) offense went to work and provided Constanzo with plenty of run support. Second baseman Garrett Giovannelli opened the game with a double and scored on third baseman Malcolm Tipler’s double to supply an early 1-0 lead.
The Govs lead would grow by leaps in the fourth and fifth frames. Left fielder Nick Walker hit his season’s fifth home run, a two-run blast to right field, in a three-run fourth inning. First baseman Parker Phillips continued his recent power hitting ways in the fifth with a towering three-run home run to left, extending the lead to 7-1.
That was enough for Costanzo, who would allow his first extra-base hit to start the eighth – a double by catcher Hunter Fain. The Eagles would break up the shutout bid two batters later when third baseman Bryce Henson hit a single up the middle to score Fain.
Morehead State (24-15, 11-5 OVC) would narrow the deficit against the Governors bullpen in the ninth, but could not overcome a nine-run deficit in the inning. Austin Peay closer Brett Newberg was called on late and retired three of the four batters he faced to close the door.
Costanzo won his second straight start, allowing one run on seven hits in the eight-inning outing. However, he did not allow a walk to any of the 31 batters he faced while striking out five. The second time this season he has not issued a walk in a start.
Giovannelli went 3-for-4 with a walk, RBI and run scored to pace the Govs 10-hit attack. Phillips and Walker each ended the night with the home run as their lone hit on the day.
Morehead State starter TJ Satterly (1-1) suffered the loss after allowing seven runs (six earned) on six hits and three walks in five innings. Hensor led the Eagles offense with a 4-for-5, two RBI outing.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 4, BELMONT 3
NASHVILLE - Jacksonville State staked redshirt sophomore Garrett Farmer with an early 4-0 lead on Friday and Farmer turned in another stellar performance in JSU's 4-3 series-opening win over Belmont on Friday night at Rose Park.
The Gamecocks picked up win No. 20 on the season and improved to 9-7 in Ohio Valley Conference play as the series in the Music City started the second half of conference play. The Bruins dropped 14-23 overall and 9-10 in league play. With impending weather forecasted for Sunday, the two clubs will wrap up the three-game set within a span of 24 hours with a doubleheader on Saturday. The first game of the twinbill will get underway at 1 p.m.
JSU scored a pair of runs in each of the first two at bats and Farmer scattered three Belmont runs in his second consecutive start in which he went eight innings. Junior Nic Gaddis put the Gamecocks on the board quickly with the only extra base hot of the contest as he connected on a one-out two-run home run just inside the left field foul pole. Gaddis' fourth home run of the season pushed senior Taylor Hawthorne home after the first of a two-hit game for Hawthorne. Hawthorne has now reached base in 17 straight games and in 33 of the 34 games this season. The Prattville, Alabama native has reached safely in 55 of the last 56 games dating back to last season.
A string of three consecutive hits off of Bruin starter Tyler Vaughn set up the pair of runs by JSU in the second inning. Senior Clayton Daniel had an RBI on a ground ball that was not played correctly in the infield and allowed both runs to cross the dish. It was a trio of freshman that set up the run-scoring chance for the Gamecocks as Isaac Alexander, Cole Frederick and Alex Strachan started the inning with singles. Alexander joined Hawthorne with a pair of hits.
After establishing a new career mark in strikeouts last Friday against Southeast Missouri, Farmer turned in a mirror outing. The reigning OVC Pitcher of the Week put together another gem on the mound. The Huntsville, Alabama-right hander matched his career high in strikeouts that was set last Friday. Farmer fanned 10 Bruins and issued just two free passes. He was touched for seven of the Bruins' hits in eight innings of work. Against SEMO, he went eight complete innings. In his last two starts, Farmer has compiled 16 strikeouts and allowed three runs, two earned runs and an earned run average of 1.16. Opposing batters hit .164 against him. He improved to 5-0 on the season and earned his fourth win in OVC action. In OVC starts, Farmer has complied 44 strikeouts in 40.2 innings and 13 total runs for an ERA of 2.66.
Simpson closed it out to notch his sixth save of the season.
The Bruins scored two of their three runs with two-out RBI with runs in the third, fifth and eighth. The run in the fifth inning was the only run scored with less than two outs. Belmont received RBI from Matt Cogan, Chas Hadden and Cully Day. Day was the lone Bruin to have two hits off of Jax State pitching.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 7, EASTERN ILLINOIS 1
RICHMOND, Ky. - Eastern Kentucky University scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to pull away from Eastern Illinois University and take a 7-1 victory in the Ohio Valley Conference baseball series opener on Friday at Earle Combs Stadium.
The Colonels held a slim 3-1 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh. Daniel McFarland scored on a throwing error to plate the first run of the big inning. Alex Holderbach made it 5-1 with an RBI triple that just missed going over the wall in st=9[raight-away center field. Nick Howie followed with a single up the middle to plate Holderbach. Tyler Romanik capped it with a run scoring single to left to push the advantage to 7-1.
Eastern Kentucky starter Logan Teague (4-4) didn’t need the extra runs. The junior right-hander allowed just one run on five hits over nine innings. He walked three and struck out five. It is the first complete game by an EKU pitcher since 2013.
Holderbach finished 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Cornell Nixon was 2-for-4 with a walk and a run scored. Howie drove in two and scored once while finishing 1-for-3 at the plate.
The Colonels (19-20, 10-6 OVC) scored six runs on nine hits against Eastern Illinois starter Tyler Jones. Jones came into the game with a 4-2 record and a 2.21 ERA. He was chased after six and two-thirds innings on Friday.
Chris Botsoe’s home run to start the second inning gave the home team a 3-0 lead. It was his fourth of the season. The Panthers (13-23, 4-12 OVC) got on the board in the top of the third inning when Joseph Duncan’s double to left center scored Tyler Tesmond.
Dougie Parks was the only EIU player to record multiple hits off Teague, finishing 2-for-4.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 7, MURRAY STATE 4
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri (18-20, 12-7) hit three home runs to key a 7-4 win over Murray State (17-20, 5-11) Friday at Capaha Field.
The game was tied, 4-4, when SEMO scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to bury the Racers.
Peyton Faulkner was hit by a pitch with one out and scored on a double by Trevor Ezell. With two outs after Tristen Gagan lined out to left field, Justin Dirden followed with a home run to widen the Redhawks lead to 7-4. For Dirden, it was his team-high 10th home run of the season.
SEMO held a one-run edge until MSU scored the tying run when Mike Farnell was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the top of the seventh. The Racers left the bases loaded in each of the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, despite scoring all of their runs in those frames.
The Redhawks took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Ezell slugged a two-run home run over the left center wall, his third of the year.
Danny Wright then launched a solo home run to extend SEMO's lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the second inning. It was Wright's second round-tripper as he became the seventh Redhawk to hit multiple home runs in 2018.
Logan Winder (1-0) picked up his first career win. Winder worked 1.1 innings, allowing one hit and a run to go along with one strikeout.
Logan Spalt gave SEMO a strong start on the mound throwing a no-hitter through the game's first four innings. Spalt recorded five strikeouts, as well.
Daniel Bergtholdt came on the eighth inning and threw two scoreless innings to lock down his team-high fourth save.
Offensively, the Redhawks pounded out 10 hits.
Ezell narrowly missed hitting for the cycle. He went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, a double, home run and three RBI. Wright also went 3-for-4 with a run scored.
Braydon Cook (1-2) suffered the loss for MSU. Cook gave up three runs on three hits in three innings out of the bullpen.
The Racers left 10 runners on base and went 4-for-14 with runners in scoring position.
UT MARTIN 9, SIUE 5
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin downed Ohio Valley Conference opponent SIUE 9-5 this evening on solid production from both the lineup and pitching staff.
UT Martin (6-29, 3-13 OVC) was led by freshman third baseman Billy Edwards’ four-RBI night on a pair of hits and a walk in the contest. Jordan Stoner produced three RBIs on a couple of hits while Ben Aslett tallied a hit and drove in a run as well. Carson Shrode rounded out the run production as he put one run on the board.
Ethan Whitley tallied a pair of hits for the Skyhawks as he scored a team-high three runs. Anthony Adduci drew two walks, coming in to score both times. The duo of Tyler Albright and Blake Davis racked up a pair of hits apiece while Collin Edwards also collected a hit in the matchup.
Dom Bazzani (2-3) was firing on all cylinders tonight as he pitched five complete innings and racked up 10 strikeouts along the way. He allowed just one earned run in the contest. Peyton Cain twirled in his two innings of work as he allowed just two hits and sat down three Cougars via the punchout. Zack Denney and Konnor Aherin both tossed an inning apiece as Aherin shut the door and picked up a strikeout.
Bazzani came out hurling in the first inning as he worked around a pair of walks to strikeout the side, all of the swinging variety. He stuck to the gameplan in the second frame as this time he worked around a pair of singles to sit down two of the three outs on whiffs.
UT Martin got on the scoreboard in the second innings as Davis led things off with a single through the left side. He would later move up to second on a wild pitch before Whitley tallied a base knock to put men at the corners. Adduci then showed great patience as he worked a four-pitch walk to juice the bases. Later, Billy Edwards would work the count to draw a walk of his own and bring Davis home. A Stoner single up the middle was enough to plate both Adduci and Whitley to give the Skyhawk a 3-0 advantage.
In the third inning, Bazzani worked around a leadoff hit by pitch to force a pair of friendly fly balls and sat down the final out of the inning on a strikeout to evade any danger.
SIUE would collect a run in the fourth frame to temporarily narrow the score to 3-1. Not to be outdone, Bazzani would pick up another strikeout before the inning would end.
The Skyhawks worked the counts again as Whitley, Adduci and Harford all worked consecutive walks, respectively, to lead off the frame. A Billy Edwards double down the right field line would be good enough to plate both Whitley and Adduci. Shrode drove in the final run of the inning on a well hit ground ball to the shortstop as Harford crossed home plate and UT Martin extended its lead out to 6-1.
Keeping in line with three-run innings, the Skyhawks put up another trio of runs in the fifth. Collin Edwards got the frame going with a single to left field before moving to second on a throwing error. A Whitley single to left followed by an Aslett base knock up the middle would be good to plate Edwards. Billy Edwards then collected a single to left field and brought Whitley home. Stoner would pick up a single of his own and plate Aslett to push UT Martin’s lead to 9-1.
Cain came on in the sixth inning with a page of the Skyhawk playbook in hand – retiring the side on swinging strikeouts. He would make fairly quick work of the SIUE seventh as he worked around a two-out double to get out of the frame unscathed.
The Cougars would not go down quietly as they put up four runs in the ninth but UT Martin would come out on top by a score of 9-5.
#21 TENNESSEE TECH 4, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 0
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - It wasn't the vaunted offense that propelled the No. 21 Tennessee Tech baseball team to history Friday evening, but rather its pitching staff that carried the load. The Golden Eagles (32-5) shut out visiting Southern Illinois (20-18) in a 4-0 decision, breaking the Ohio Valley Conference record for consecutive wins along the way.
Tech extended the nation's longest winning streak to a whopping 23 straight games, receiving dominant efforts from two arms to clinch the team's fourth shutout of the season. Held without a home run for just the seventh game this season, the Golden Eagles showed just how good and complete of a team they are, gathering just a single extra base hit in the 4-0 win.
Senior hurler Travis Moths was simply spectacular after struggling a bit in the first frame. After walking two and allowing a hit in the first frame, the veteran settled into the mound, getting better and better each inning to earn his league-leading eighth victory of the season.
Moths tossed seven shutout innings in all, scattering three hits and three walks. The right-hander struck out nine on the night, tying his season-high mark for the second time. Looking his best in his final inning of work, Moths struck out the first two batters of the frame with extremely efficient breaking stuff before eventually forcing a pop up to second base.
Having broken the program record for career saves on Wednesday, closer Ethan Roberts took over things on the hill in the eighth with a chance to extend the record further. The junior did not disappoint, looking dominant in his two frames of work.
Roberts picked up his ninth save of the season while striking out the first five batters he faced. A weak fly ball to no man's land down the right field side broke the Sparta native's streak, but he quickly rebounded to force the game-ending fly out to right field two pitches later.
The Golden Eagles took advantage of some Saluki miscues to plate the eventual winning run. After seniors Chase Chambers and David Garza notched base hits in the second, junior Nick Osborne reached on a fielding error at second base to load the bases.
Senior Brennon Kaleiwahea followed by reaching on a fielding error at shortstop, driving in Chambers for a 1-0 lead. In the fourth, junior John Ham used a plethora of patience in the box and on the base paths to double the Tech lead. After drawing a seven-pitch walk, Ham reached second on a wild pitch with Garza at the plate.
He advanced to third on a swinging bunt ground out and then eventually crossed the plate on another wild pitch.
Looking for insurance in the seventh, it was Ham's patience again that paid dividends. With the bases loaded and two outs, second baseman fought off four pitches to eventually draw a nine-pitch, RBI walk to make it a 3-0 game in favor of the Golden Eagles. Alex Junior added the fourth run with an RBI single through the right side in the eighth, driving in Osborne who led off the frame with a double.