TUESDAY'S SCORES
Xavier 22,
@Eastern Kentucky 14
@Morehead State 14, Marshall 11
@Tennessee 9,
Belmont 2
Jacksonville State 4, @Alabama 0
Arkansas State
at Southeast Missouri (cancelled)
Illinois State
at Eastern Illinois (cancelled)
Lipscomb
at UT Martin (cancelled)
EASTERN KENTUCKY 22, XAVIER 14
RICHMOND, Ky. - The two teams combined for 36 runs and 34 hits, but the Eastern Kentucky University baseball team came out on the wrong end, falling 22-14 to visiting Xavier University on Tuesday at Earle Combs Stadium.
A sacrifice fly by Chris Botsoe got the Colonels on the board in the bottom of the second. EKU didn’t record its first hit until Brandon Dehass singled with two runners on and two outs in the bottom of the fourth. One run scored to make it 2-0. A misplayed fly ball off the bat of Daniel Harris IV allowed two more runs to score. Daniel McFarland had an RBI triple and Cornell Nixon added an RBI double to cap the five-run inning and make it 6-0.
The Musketeers (10-17) came right back in the top of the fifth and scored 13 runs. Nate Soria hit a two-run home run to get the visitors on the board. Conor Grammes tied it, 6-6, with a two-run home run later in the inning. Sam Flamini hit a grand slam to make it a 10-6 game. Joe Gellenbeck’s two-run home run down the right field line capped the big inning, putting Xavier up 13-6.
The Colonels (12-17) cut into the deficit in the bottom half of the fifth on a three-run home run from Dehass, a freshman. It was the first of his career. A RBI triple from McFarland closed the gap to 13-10.
Alex Holderbach’s team-leading sixth home run of the season, a two-run shot, made it 18-12 in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Dehass had a 3-for-4 game with two runs and five RBIs. Nick Howie went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Darren Williams started on the mound for Eastern and allowed just two runs on four hits in four and one-third innings. He did not walk a batter and struck out six.
Gellenbeck finished 4-for-6 with two runs scored and five driven in.
MOREHEAD STATE 14, MARSHALL 11
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Freshman third baseman Bryce Hensor went 5-for-5 at the plate, and the Morehead State baseball team also used the strength of four two-run homers en route to a 14-11 win Tuesday in a slugfest over Marshall in front of the largest crowd of the year at Allen Field.
The Eagles, who had dropped both games to the Thundering Herd last season (including a 13-11 game at Allen Field), improved to 17-13.
Hensor produced the first five-hit game for an Eagle this season, recording all five as singles. He drove in a run and scored three times. The Eagles got home runs off the bats of junior first baseman Trevor Snyder, junior center-fielder Connor Pauly, junior right-fielder Jake Hammon and senior left-fielder Tyler Niemann. Pauly had three hits and was a double shy of the cycle.
MSU built a 13-5 lead after the the fifth and had to withstand a barrage of power from the 'Herd, who nailed five home runs.
Snyder and Pauly both sent two-run homers out of the park in the first inning for a 4-0 advantage. Snyder added an RBI single in the second to cap another double-digit output, and Morehead State led 7-0 after two frames. A pair of two-run bombs by Marshall got the visitors back to within 7-4 in the third.
With MSU holding onto an 8-5 lead in the fifth, catcher Jordan Freese started a five-run rally with an RBI double down the left field line. Hammon followed later with his first round-tripper of the year, and Niemann lifted a two-run blast over the right-field fence to push the lead to 13-5.
Three more Marshall homers and a run-producing single made the game tight at 13-11, and MSU junior catcher Hunter Fain added an insurance run with a double to left field to score one in the eighth.
After Marshall led off the ninth with a double, freshman lefty Cory Conway entered and nailed down the final three outs for his second save.
Starter Kyle Cantu (2-0), who only tossed 19 pitches, was credited with the win on a designated "staff" day for the pitchers. Jacob Bradley (0-1) surrendered seven runs in just 1.2 innings fo the loss.
TENNESSEE 9, BELMONT 2
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Belmont Baseball dropped a 9-2 decision in Knoxville Tuesday night to the University of Tennessee Volunteers.
The Bruins wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. On the first pitch of the second at-bat of the night, junior Devon Gardner (Maryville, Tenn.) gave the Bruins an early lead with a solo home run well over the left field fence.
The Volunteers put together a threat early, putting a runner in scoring position with a double down the left line, but sophomore Justin Fowlkes (Collierville, Tenn.) struck out one and forced a fly out to end the inning, preserving the Belmont lead.
Tennessee took the lead for the first time in the bottom of the second with a two-out double that scored two runs. The Vols would tack on one more run in the bottom of the third extending their lead 3-1.
In the top of the fourth, Junior Chas Hadden (Morristown, Tenn.) worked a one out walk and stole second to put himself in scoring position, but he was stranded as the next two Belmont batters went down swinging.
Freshman Chandler Schultz (Nashville, Tenn.) took over the mound for the Bruins in the bottom of the fourth and made an immediate impact, forcing Belmont's only three up, three down inning of the contest.
Belmont threatened again in the top of the fifth after sophomore Michael Matter (Ft. Myers, Fla.) took advantage of his second career at-bat. He rocketed a double to deep right field. He then got himself 90 feet from home plate advancing on a wild pitch, but he was stranded there.
UT took advantage of a couple hit batsmen and a Belmont error that allowed three more runs to cross home plate extending the lead 6-1 in the bottom of the fifth.
Belmont ended its scoring drought in the top of the sixth. Leadoff man Gardner got his second hit of the night sending a base hit down the right side and stealing a bag to put himself in scoring position. He advanced to third on a groundout by sophomore Matt Cogen (Franklin, Tenn.) before scoring off a sacrifice fly from Hadden to cut the lead 6-2. With two outs, senior Ben Kocher (Zionsville, Ind.) laid down a base hit of his own and Reynolds worked a walk to put two more Bruins on base, but they were stranded there as the next batter lined out to the Vols shortstop.
UT recorded another base hit in the bottom of the sixth and took advantage of another Belmont error to plate their seventh run of the contest. In the next inning, the Vols extended the lead 9-2 after a two-run long ball made its way just over the left field fence that would round out the nights scoring.
Seven Bruins saw time on the mound, but Fowlkes took his fifth loss of the season. Fowlkes pitched two innings, striking out one.
Devon Gardner led Belmont's offense with two hits, both runs, and a RBI.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 4, ALABAMA 0
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Jacksonville State scored four runs with two outs in the fifth inning and posted its third consecutive win over Alabama with a 4-0 decision on Tuesday night at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.
The blanking of the Crimson Tide is JSU's fifth shutout of the season and the first over UA since a 3-0 win during the 1974 campaign. JSU (16-9) now has three shutouts of Alabama with the win as the program posted a 2-0 win in 1973. The Gamecocks entered the game as one of the nation's best in shutouts. The three straight wins in consecutive seasons is the first since winning both games against Alabama (18-12) in 1980 and the meeting in 1981. Last season, JSU won a 2-1, 10-inning decision in February, 2017 and returned to Tuscaloosa last May for an 11-8 win.
Jax State's four-run fifth inning was highlighted by four key hits, including a two RBI base hit by senior Taylor Hawthorne that chased Crimson Tide starter Sam Gardner. Hawthorne, who has reached base in 47 of the last 48 games going back to the final 23 games of the 2017 campaign, delivered senior Clayton Daniel and freshman Alex Strachan. Daniel, who paced the Jax State order with a 3-for-4 night, came through with a clutch two-out, two-strike single to right field to plate the first run of the inning. Hawthorne joined Daniel with a multi-hit contest with a pair of hits.
Senior Trent Simpson, who recorded his fifth save of the season, greeted UA's first reliever Mason Duke with a single back up the middle for an RBI. Simpson was the back end of a JSU bullpen that did not allow a Crimson Tide hit over the final 4.1 innings. The Gamecock arms allowed just three hits, with lead off hitter Cobie Vance registering two of the three hits. UA's Keith Holcombe was credited with a double with two outs in the top of the fourth. Both teams stranded eight base runners in the contest, with JSU starter Sean Rape getting out of early jams.
Rape went a career-long four innings was touched for all three UA hits and struck out a pair in the outing. Senior Grant Chandler tossed the next three innings, followed by freshman Christian Edwards and Simpson. UA also used four pitchers in the setback.
Tuscaloosa, Alabama native Cole Frederick recorded a hit in his return to his home town, while senior Hayden White posted a hit.