TUESDAY'S SCORES
Evansville 8,
@Belmont 4
@Georgia Tech 8,
Southeast Missouri 5
@Eastern Kentucky 10, Western Carolina 5
@Jacksonville State 7, UAB 1
#16 Kentucky 14,
Murray State 2 (Paducah, Ky.)
@Memphis 10,
UT Martin 0
Bradley,
@SIUE (cancelled)
Western Kentucky,
@#16 Tennessee Tech (cancelled)
EVANSVILLE 8, BELMONT 4
NASHVILLE - Belmont Baseball dropped an 8-4 decision to Evansville on their final home game of the season.
Evansville wasted little time getting on the board, scoring one run on two hits in the top of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead.
Junior Chas Hadden (Morristown, Tenn.) recorded the first hit of the night for the Bruins in the bottom of the first with a one out single. Despite the early base runner, Belmont was unable to get on the board.
Neither team could get much going in the second inning, but the Purple Aces tacked on another in the top of the third and would take a 2-0 lead after three complete innings.
Evansville took control of things in the top of the fourth, scoring four runs to take a 6-0 lead. The Purple Aces recorded six hits in the inning and scored three runs after two outs.
Belmont was finally able to crack the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth. Hadden reached base once again as he was hit by the very first pitch of the inning. After Hadden advanced to scoring position on a wild pitch, junior Devon Gardner (Maryville, Tenn.) delivered a RBI double to shallow right field, cutting the Evansville lead 6-1 after four innings.
The Purple aces responded yet again, scoring a run for the third-consecutive inning in the top of the fifth to extend their lead 7-1.
The Bruins scored again in the bottom of the fifth. Senior Ben Kocher (Zionsville, Ind.) and junior Hunter Holland (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) worked consecutive walks to lead off the inning. They would complete a successful double steal to put two runners in scoring position. Kocher would then take advantage of a wild pitch to score the second run for the Bruins. With no outs and a runner 90-feet from home plate, the Bruins next three batters were retired, and the score would be 7-2 after five innings of work.
After the Bruins held the Purple Aces off the board in the top of the sixth, the Bruins tightened things up in the bottom of the inning. After a leadoff walk by sophomore Matt Cogen (Brentwood, Tenn.), a fielder's choice by Gardner and a single up the middle from senior Austin Reynolds (Smyrna, Tenn.) put runners on first and second. Kocher would be hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs. Hunter Holland and freshman Jordan Henshaw (New Market, Ala.) worked back-to-back bases loaded walks to tighten the score 7-4 before the third out.
Evansville led off the seventh inning with a single that would eventually score after two additional base hits to give the Purple Aces an 8-4 lead. Evansville would load the bases with two outs, and the Bruins' called on junior Kyle Klotz (Fairview, Tenn.) from the bullpen to try and close out the inning. Klotz did his job and retired the final out swinging to limit the damage to one run.
After a scoreless eighth, freshman Logan Bowen (Bowling Green, Ky.) was called upon to throw the ninth inning for the Bruins. Bowen did a beautiful job, forcing the only three up, three down inning of the night for Belmont to keep the Bruins within striking distance.
The Bruins needed four runs to stay in their final home game of the season. After one quick out, a walk from Cogen, double for Gardner, and an Evansville error that allowed Reynolds to reach base, the Bruins' had the bases loaded and the tying run at the plate. The Purple Aces turned a double play to dash the Bruins' hopes and won the game 8-4.
GEORGIA TECH 8, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 5
ATLANTA - Atlantic Coast Conference member Georgia Tech (29-23) beat Southeast Missouri (23-28), 8-5, Tuesday night in midweek action at Russ Chandler Stadium.
After SEMO battled back from a four-run deficit and tied the game on a solo home run by Trevor Ezell with two outs in the top of the fifth inning, the Yellow Jackets regained the lead and never looked back.
Georgia Tech quickly answered with an RBI-double by Kyle McCann and a run scoring single by Colin Hall to take a 6-4 advantage in the bottom of the fifth.
The Yellow Jackets added two more runs with the help of an error and two-out base hit by Joey Bart in the eighth inning.
Georgia Tech scored twice in the first and second innings to build its early four-run lead.
Danny Wright, who led off the third inning with a single, eventually scored SEMO's first run when Tristen Gagan grounded into a double play. Justin Dirden later slugged a two-run home run to make it a one-run game with two outs. For Dirden, it was his team-high 14th home run of the season.
Wesley Pyles (0-1) suffered his first loss of the season. Pyles recorded a career-high six strikeouts and walked one in 3.1 innings out of the bullpen. He also allowed two runs on two hits.
Jared Datoc (1-3) picked up the win in relief. Datoc gave up one run on three hits, struck out two and walked none in three innings.
Jonathan Hughes earned the save, his first of the season. Hughes worked the final three frames, allowing one run on four hits.
SEMO outhit Georgia Tech, 10-9. Chase Urhahn, Devon Wilson and Peyton Faulkner led the Redhawks with two hits each. Wilson, who extended his hitting streak to eight games, finished with multiple hits for the third-straight contest.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 10, WESTERN CAROLINA 5
RICHMOND, Ky. - Three home runs fueled the Eastern Kentucky University baseball team’s 10-5 win over visiting Western Carolina University on Tuesday at Earle Combs Stadium.
Alex Holderbach staked the Colonels to an early 2-0 lead with a two-run shot over the wall in left in the bottom of the first. It was his 18th of the season. Daniel Harris IV turned a 2-1 Eastern lead into a 5-1 advantage when he drove the first pitch he saw over the wall in left with two runners on in the second inning. It was his fifth of the season.
Western Carolina (7-43) scored twice in the fourth and twice in the fifth to tie the game 5-5. A 38-minute lighting delay halted play before final out in the fifth was recorded.
The Colonels (27-26) pulled away in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, back-to-back doubles by Tyler Romanik and Daniel McFarland broke the tie. A single by Brandon Dehass pushed home another run. The fourth straight hit in the inning was a two-run dinger from Cornell Nixon. His third home run of the season capped a 4-run sixth and put the home team in front 9-5.
Kerr finished 2-for-5 with two runs scored. Nixon was 1-for-3 with a walk, two runs and two RBIs. Harris had one hit in four at bats, scored a run and drove in three.
Logan Teague (6-5) picked up the win after tossing two innings of scoreless relief. Five Eastern relievers combined for four and one-third innings of scoreless relief.
Three different batters recorded two hits each for Western Carolina, who is coached by former EKU baseball player Bobby Moranda.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 7, UAB 1
OXFORD, Ala. - Jacksonville State wrapped up its regular season stay at Choccolocco Park on Tuesday with a 7-1 win over in-state foe UAB.
JSU, having played two full regular seasons at the Oxford facility while its state-of-the-art home facility is being built, collected its 27th win at Choccolocco Park. The Gamecocks will make make at least two more appearances at the signature field in Oxford with the 2018 Ohio Valley Conference commencing on Tuesday, May 22. Jax State's first game of the tournament will be on Wednesday, May 23. Entering the final weekend of the regular season, seven of the eight seeds remain open and seven of the eight spots have been secured.
The Gamecocks (27-23) will make the trek on Edwardsville, Illinois on Wednesday to prep for a three-game series with SIU Edwardsville that begins on Thursday. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at the Simmons Baseball Complex on the SIUE campus. UAB dropped to 20-29 on the season.
Jax State took advantage of 10 combined walks by six different pitches and broke a scoreless deadlock in the fourth with five runs. Freshman Cole Frederick greeted UAB's Isiah Gonzales-Montoya with a two RBI single to give JSU a 3-0 lead. JSU pushed the first run on the board on a passed ball. Senior Clayton Daniel added a two RBI single back up the middle, scoring two more runs in the frame.
Daniel, who finished 3-for-5 and delivered three RBI, inched closer to JSU's career hits record of 323 career hits, held by former Gamecock Bert Smith. Smith's career mark is the all-time best in the OVC. Daniel has accumulated 318 career hts and is five hits shy of matching the record and six hits to establish a new program and league mark for hits in a career. He already owns the career doubles record at JSU and in the OVC. The Guntersville, Alabama infielder has 68 career doubles. Daniel posted his third hit of the day with an RBI single in the seventh. He now has 20 multiple hit games this season and nine three-hit games in 2018. His multiple RBI gave him five multiple RBI games this year. Daniel, who has played in 219 career games, has 94 multiple hit games as a Gamecock.
Freshman Alex Strachan reached base all five time he made a trip to the plate, including an RBI in the eighth. Strachan finished with two hits and walked three times. Frederick added two hits on the night.
Redshirt freshman Sean Rape had one of his best outings of the year as he went a career-long 5.0 innings and scattered five hits and had a career-best four strikeouts. The Gamecocks' bullpen issued one hit in the final four innings with UAB breaking up the shutout bid with a solo home run by Thomas Johns in the eighth. JSU's Corley Woods, Colton Pate, Austin Brewster and Christian Edwards each tossed an inning in relief.
#16 KENTUCKY 14, MURRAY STATE 2
PADUCAH, Ky. - Murray State got out to an early lead Tuesday night, but eventually the high-powered Kentucky attack came around as the Racers fell 14-2 to the No. 19 Wildcats at historic Brooks Stadium in Paducah.
MSU (24-27) struck first with a run in the third on an RBI single from Ryan Perkins that scored Bryan Chilton. After UK’s (34-18) first home run tied the score at 1-1 in the top of the fourth, the Racers reclaimed the lead on a Jaron Robinson RBI single to make it 2-1.
However, from there, the Wildcats got a two-run homer in the fifth to take the lead for good at 3-2. Then in the sixth, Kentucky got a grand slam to lengthen its lead to 7-2 and added another run later in the inning to go up 8-2 before a six-run eighth rounded out the scoring on the night for the Wildcats.
Davis Sims led the Racers by going 2-for-4 in the loss. Chilton was 1-of-2 while Perkins, Robinson and Ramsey Scott all went 1-of-3 at the dish. UK out-hit the Racers 13-9 on the night.
Peyton Hayes got the start on the night for MSU and was one of six pitchers the Racers used. Hayes went 4.1 innings and allowed three runs on four hits while striking out five Kentucky batters. Chance Carner, Mike Farnell, Caleb Hicks, Connor Holden and Tyler Horsley all made relief appearances.
MEMPHIS 10, UT MARTIN 0
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The University Tennessee at Martin baseball squad dropped a 10-0 decision to the Memphis Tigers out of the American Athletic Conference. The seven-inning game was played as a part of the Babe Howard Classic at USA Stadium which was beset by a 90-minute rain delay.
UT Martin (11-38) was led by Colin Edwards who had a two-hit night. The Arnold, Mo. native smacked a double and also drew a walk in the contest. Jordan Stoner rounded out the hit column for the Skyhawk bats.
Dalton Westfall (0-4) got the starting nod for UT Martin and was tagged for five earned runs in his 0.1 inning of work. The Skyhawk bullpen pitched well by allowing just two earned runs in 5.2 innings of relief. Seth Rayburn tossed a team-best 2.2 innings and rung up a squad-high three batters for the UT Martin pitching staff while he allowed just one earned run. Nick Wohlbold logged two full innings of work while striking out one batter as he allowed just one earned run in his time on the mound. Austin Buzick finished out the abbreviated game and allowed just two men to reach base (one hit and one walk) in his one full inning pitched.
Stoner looked to get the Skyhawks on the board as he led off the game with a single to left field but would remain stranded on the base paths.
Memphis struck for eight runs in the first to jump out to an early 8-0 lead.
UT Martin tried to take advantage of an Edwards double in the second but the following bats were unable to pull through for the man at second base.
Rayburn made quick work of the Tigers in the second inning as he sat down the first batter of the frame on just three pitches. He then induced a popup before ringing up the last batter of the inning on strikes.
Memphis put up another run in the third to push its lead out to 9-0.
The Skyhawks appeared to be in for another scoring opportunity in the fourth inning as Aslett led off the frame being hit by a pitch. Edwards then connected for an infield single to put runners on first and second but to no avail.
Wohlbold quickly recorded the first two outs of the fourth before conceding a single then a double to put a pair of runners in scoring position. He was able to keep his composure and found a friendly ground ball to get out of the inning unscathed.
The Tigers found another run in the fifth to give the eventual final score of 10-0.
Buzick found a pair of quick outs in the sixth as the first two Memphis batters got out on a groundout and flyout, respectively. He would allow a single and issue a walk before getting the last batter to popout to end the frame.
UT Martin looked for a rally in the seventh as Edwards drew a seven-pitch walk to open the inning but he would not be pushed across the plate.