FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 9, Morehead State 8 (11 innings)
@Murray State 5, Belmont 4
Eastern Kentucky 11, @Jacksonville State 7
UT Martin 8, @Austin Peay 6
@#20 Tennessee Tech 7, Southeast Missouri 6
SIUE 1, @Samford 0 (11 innings)
EASTERN ILLINOIS 9, MOREHEAD STATE 8 (11)
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois and Morehead State opened up the series with extra-innings on Friday. The Panthers were able to walk-off in the bottom of the 11th win defeating Morehead State, 9-8.
With the win Eastern Illinois improves to 16-25 (5-14 OVC), while Morehead State drops to 25-18 (12-7 OVC).
Tyler Jones kicked off the series for the Panthers on the mound. Jones was dominant on the mound Friday tossing 7.2 innings. Jones finished with six strikeouts, four hits, four runs (zero earned).
The Panthers jumped out to a 8-0 lead late in the game as they scored their eight runs in three straight innings. Hunter Morris broke the scoring drought in today's game pulling a solo homer to right field. Hunter Beetley and Dougie Parks both had home runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Beetley drove a solo home run to left. Parks would hit a two run homer to left later in the inning.
Eastern Illinois added three more runs to their lead in the bottom of the seventh. Parks earned his third RBI of the game when he grounded out the short, scoring Curran. The Panthers would earn their second run of the inning when Morris would reach on a fielding error by Niko Hulsizer. Jimmy Govern would give the Panthers an 8-0 lead with a single to right field to score Morris.
Morehead State was able to make the comeback scoring eight unanswered runs to tie the game. Trevor Snyder tied the game with a two out single to left scoring Braxton Morris and Reid Leonard.
Frankie Perrone played hero for the Panthers as he would hit a walk off home run to left field to lead off the top of the 11th inning to lift the Panthers over the Eagles in game one.
Michael Starcevich earned the win on the mound for the Panthers improving to 1-1 on the season. Starcevich tossed 3.1 innings, with three hits, three runs, three walks, and three strikeouts.
Morris finished 2-for-5 with three runs, a walk, and a RBI. Andrew Curran finished 2-for-4 with two runs, a double, and a walk.
MURRAY STATE 5, BELMONT 4
MURRAY, Ky. - Ramsey Scott delivered an RBI single up the middle in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a 4-4 tie and help lead Murray State to at 5-4 victory Friday night over Belmont in game one of the series with the Bruins at Reagan Field.
Scott led the Racers (18-23, 6-13 OVC) on the night going 2-for-3 at the plate with a pair of RBIs. Brandon Gutzler also had a two-hit game as he was 2-of-4 at the dish and scored twice while Mike Farnell, who scored the game-winning run went 1-for-3 with two runs and a big two-run home run in the fifth that tied the score at 4-4.
The Bruins (15-26, 9-13 OVC) scored first on the night as a two-run homer in the top of the second put them ahead early, 2-0. In the second, MSU cut the lead in half as Scott doubled to right center to score Gutzler. In the fourth, MSU tied it at 2-2 when Gutzler scored after stealing third and then coming home on a throwing error by the Belmont catcher.
In the fifth, Belmont reclaimed the lead as the Bruins got a two-run, two-out double to make it 4-2. Both runs were unearned in the inning. Farnell’s team-high eighth homer of the season in the bottom half of the inning squared things all up again at 4-4.
Braydon Cook got the victory in relief, improving his record to 2-2. Cook pitched hitless innings and walked just a pair of batters. Alec Whaley got his first save of the season as he got the final two outs for the Racers. Trevor McMurray pitched 5.2 innings in the start and allowed four runs, two of which were earned on eight hits.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 11, JACKSONVILLE STATE 7
OXFORD, Ala. - Eastern Kentucky University used a five-run top of the first and runs in four of the first five innings to take down conference foe Jacksonville State University, 11-7, and push its winning streak to seven games Friday night.
One game after hitting a school record four home runs against Xavier, junior catcher Alex Holderbach hit another in the first game of the Ohio Valley Conference series. Teammate Will Johnson made a run at Holderbach’s new record himself, smacking a pair of home runs in the victory.
In the first inning, EKU (23-20, 13-6 OVC) got a pair of two-run home runs from Johnson and Holderbach to go ahead 4-0 and not look back. Daniel McFarland brought home the fifth run of the inning with an RBI single to right center.
Eastern added two more runs in the top half of the fifth inning when McFarland brought home Nick Howie on an RBI bunt single to second base. Daniel Harris IV later scored when Johnson got hit by a pitch.
Johnson delivered his second home run of the game when he sent a 0-1 pitch over the left field fence to take a 6-0 lead in the fourth.
JSU (23-14, 11-8 OVC) put up a five spot of its own in the bottom of the sixth inning. Nic Gaddis delivered a two-run home run and Andrew Naismith hit a solo home run to cut into the Colonel lead. Alex Strachan brought home Hayden White with an RBI single to right field to make the score 9-6.
Trent Simpson singled to right field to bring home Gaddis to cut the lead to 9-7 in the seventh inning, but JSU would never get closer.
McFarland sent a 1-2 pitch in the gap to right center to bring home two more runs in the top of the eighth.
Logan Teague started on the mound and went five and two-third innings. He picked up his fifth victory of the year. Casey Collins threw three and one-third innings while striking out seven and allowing one run.
Johnson was 3-for-4 with two home runs, one double, and four RBIs. McFarland pitched in and went 3-for-5 with one double and four RBIs. Holderbach finished 2-for-5 and drove in three runs, pushing his nation-leading RBI total to 65.
Gaddis went 3-for-4 with on triple, one home run, and two RBIs.
Jacksonville State starter Garrett Farmer entered the game with a 5-0 record and a 2.95 ERA. He allowed seven earned runs on nine hits in four innings of work against the Colonels.
UT MARTIN 8, AUSTIN PEAY 6
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball squad produced an 8-6 come-from-behind victory over Ohio Valley Conference foe Austin Peay tonight.
UT Martin (9-30, 5-14 OVC) was led by the heavy swing of Collin Edwards as he connected for a three-run homer in the contest. Carson Shrode belted a pair of doubles and drove in one run while Blake Davis also collected a double and an RBI in the matchup. Ethan Whitley tallied two hits while pushing one run across the plate. Tyler Albright rounded out the scoring column as he drove in one run on a groundout. Jordan Stoner racked up a pair of singles and scored a squad-best three runs on the night. Ben Aslett connected for a base knock while also drawing a pair of walks in the game. Casey Harford finished out the hit column for the Skyhawks as he collected a hit in the bout.
Dom Bazzani (3-3) tossed a season-high six complete innings in his seventh start of the season. The Stockbridge, Ga. native fanned seven batters in his time on the hill while he allowed six earned runs in that span. Peyton Cain threw three innings in relief and allowed just four hits along the way. He sat down one batter on strikes in his 13
th appearance on the year.
UT Martin got off to a red-hot start as Stoner led off the game with a single up the middle on the first pitch of the ballgame. The Skyhawks would put together a two-out rally with Aslett drawing a seven-pitch walk to shift Stoner to second base. Davis then ripped a double down the left field line to plate Stoner and move Aslett to third. Edwards then stepped up to the plate to send a ball over the wall in left field for a three-run blast and give UT Martin an early 4-0 advantage.
Austin Peay would match the Skyhawks tit-for-tat in the home half of the first as it put up a four-spot as well to tie things up at 4-4. Bazzani would retire the side on strikeouts though, all of the swinging variety.
Bazzani worked around a two-out single in the second to sit down the final batter via the punchout. He would make fairly quick of the third as he forced a popout and flyout on just four pitches before issuing a four-pitch walk and fanned the final batter of the frame. Bazzani kept up the efficiency in the fourth as he conceded a leadoff single but forced a lineout and got a friendly groundball to end the inning on a double play.
Stoner worked a 10-pitch walk in the fifth to get the frame started before a Shrode double to left center would bring him home and give the Skyhawks a 5-4 lead.
The Governors would pull ahead in the fifth inning as they plated a pair of runs to claim a 6-5 advantage.
The Skyhawks reclaimed the lead in the seventh as Stoner led off the inning with a single up the middle. Shrode then pounded out a double to left field to put men at the corners in time for an Albright groundout which allowed Stoner to cross the plate. A wild pitch would be good enough for Shrode to dart home. Aslett then drew a six-pitch walk and Blake Williams would pinch run for the designated hitter. A Davis single to left center would put runners at the corners again for UT Martin. Whitley would poke a single through the left side to bring in Williams and give the Skyhawks the 8-6 lead, the ultimate final score of the back-and-fourth bout.
Cain came on in relief in the seventh inning and worked around a leadoff single to sit down the next batter he faced on strikes and find a ground ball and fly ball to get out of the frame. He kept his poise as the first batter of the eighth would reach on an error followed by a double-play ball to clear the base paths. With two-outs, the Governors would connect for a double but Cain would find another friendly ground ball to end the inning.
Austin Peay looked to be on the verge of a ninth-inning rally as the first two batters each singled through the right side. Cain would work a foulout on a failed bunt attempt followed a double play to end the contest.
#20 TENNESSEE TECH 7, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 6
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - For the second time in 48 hours, the Tennessee Tech baseball survived a late comeback bid to extend the nation's longest winning streak. The Golden Eagles (36-5, 18-1) edged Ohio Valley Conference rival Southeast Missouri (20-22, 14-8) Friday evening, 7-6, for their 27th consecutive victory.
Holding a 7-5 advantage headed into the top of the ninth, Golden Eagle junior closer Ethan Robertstook to the hill for his third inning of work looking for his 11th save of the season. The Redhawks wouldn't make it easy.
Chase Urhahn led off the inning with a single, but Roberts instantly answered by forcing a pop up on a bunt attempt for the first out. SEMO's Trevor Ezell watched a pair of balls just miss the outside corner of the zone before doubling to right center field to cut the Tech lead to one.
A fly ball out to right center allowed Ezell to advance to third base, putting the tying run just 90 feet away with two outs. And then Roberts dug deep. After working a 2-2 count to Jason Dirden, the Sparta native induced another pop up, this time to second base, to end the game and clinch Tech's unbelievable 27thvictory in-a-row.
Roberts finished the final three innings of the contest, fanning three and allowing just four hits and a run. He notched his second save in as many as many games in the week and his league-leading 11th on the year.
Senior Travis Moths picked up his OVC-best ninth victory of the year, moving into a tie for third-most in a single season in school history. The victory also represented Moths' 21st of his career, ranking him fourth in program history. The right-hander tossed six inning with five strikeouts and five earned runs to snag the win.
Chase Chambers put the Golden Eagles on the board early, driving in junior Kevin Strohschein with a base hit to left center field in the first. Southeast Missouri answered in the third, plating two to take the lead.
In the fifth, Tech used its specialty to recapture its advantage, using a Collin Harris long ball to take a 4-2 lead. The senior outfielder crushed a three-run blast to right field, clearing the fence for the fifth time of the season. It marked Tech's 98th home run of the season, sitting just one behind the program record set last year.
The Redhawks came right back, scoring three times in the sixth to jump back on top, 5-4. One more time, however, the Golden Eagles had a response.
Strohschein led off the bottom half of the sixth with single and, thanks to a brilliant piece of base running, reached second base on a slight bobble of the ball by the SEMO right fielder. A single to center field by junior John Ham advanced Strohschein to third, setting up David Garza for a great opportunity.
The senior delivered with a long fly ball to centerfield, a sacrifice fly that brought Strohschein home to tie the game at 5-5. Then, on a 2-0 count, junior Nick Osborne carried over his heroics from Wednesday's contest.
After finishing 5-for-5 with two home runs and four RBI against Tennessee, Osborne came through with the go-ahead, RBI single through the left side of the infield.
Harris led off the bottom of the seventh with a single, but the Redhawks responded with a pair of quick outs. With the senior making it to second base on a ground out, SEMO opted to make a pitching change with Strohschein due up next.
The plan back fired, as the junior designated hitter ripped the first pitch he saw through the left side for the eventual winning run.
Strohschein finished the contest 3-for-4 with a run score and an RBI while Harris notched two hits in two at bats to go along with three RBI and two runs scored. Ham tallied a pair of hits in four at bats as well.
SIUE 1, SAMFORD 0 (11)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Three SIUE pitchers combined to shut out Samford Friday as SIUE earned a 1-0 win in 11 innings to open the three game nonconference series.
The Cougars improved to 11-29. Samford is 24-19. The shutout is the first of the year for SIUE.
Freshman Collin Baumgartner, making his first weekend start, allowed just six hits over six innings. He stuck out three. Brock Fulkerson (2-1) worked four innings allowing two hits. He stuck out six. Mason McReaken earned his fifth save of the year with a scoreless 11th inning.
Aaron Jackson opened the 11th inning with a double down the right field line. Jordan Ross sacrificed Jackson to third. Samford responded by bringing the infield in. Eric Giltz then singled through the middle to bring in Jackson with the winning run.
Wyatt Burns (3-3) allowed the run and suffered the loss. He worked 4 1/3 innings. He gave up five hits and struck out five. Burns followed starter Cody Shelton who threw 6 2/3 scoreless innings. He walked one and struck out seven.
The Cougars outhit the Bulldogs 10-8. Giltz was 2 for 5 with the RBI to lead the Cougars. Samford second baseman Taylor Garris was 2 for 4 to lead the Bulldogs.