SUNDAY'S SCORES
Eastern Kentucky 11, Prairie View A&M 1 (New Orleans, La.)
@Southeast Missouri 8-9, Western Michigan 4-8
South Dakota State 7,
UT Martin 1 (Russellville, Ark.)
Kentucky 11,
@Austin Peay 1
Illinois State 10,
@Belmont 6
@Oral Roberts 18,
Murray State 3
@#12 Arkansas 3,
Eastern Illinois 2
EASTERN KENTUCKY 11, PRAIRIE VIEW A&M 1
NEW ORLEANS - Eastern Kentucky University’s baseball team hit four home runs on its way to an 11-1 win over Prairie View A&M University at the Andre Dawson Classic on Sunday in New Orleans.
It was EKU’s second straight win and second straight game scoring 11 runs. The Colonels have won two of their first three games to start a season for the first time since 2012 and just the fifth time since 2000.
Will Johnson got the home run parade started when he sent the second pitch of the game over the wall in left field. Christian Lucio’s RBI single through the left side later in the inning made it 2-0, and gave the Colonels all the runs they would need.
Newcomer Brennan Kelly pitched a complete game, allowing eight hits, one run and two walks while striking out five in seven innings.
Eastern Kentucky scored two more in the second to pull ahead by a score of 4-1. Nick Howie hit a solo home run in the top of the fourth and Lucio did the same in the fifth. It was Lucio’s second of the season.
With a 9-1 lead in the top of the seventh, A.J. Lewis hit a two-run dinger over the wall in left center. In the bottom half of the inning, with two outs and a runner on first, Lewis threw out the runner attempting to steal with a pinpoint throw to second. That play ended the game in the seventh.
EKU had five stolen bases, one each by five different players.
Lewis finished 2-for-5 with two runs and three RBIs. Howie went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Five other Colonels had two hits each.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 8-9, WESTERN MICHIGAN 4-8
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri (3-0) swept Western Michigan (0-3) in the 2019 baseball opening season weekend. SEMO won 8-4 and 9-8 on Sunday.
In Sunday's first game the Redhawks defeated the Broncos 8-4 with a comeback in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Noah Niznik got his first collegiate start. Niznik, a St. Louis native, recorded four strikeouts and allowed three hits in six full innings of work.
SEMO took the lead early in game two, only to exchange leads in the seventh inning after WMU posted four runs in the top of the inning. The Redhawks returned in the bottom of the eighth and posted five runs on five hits when they batted through the entire line up.
Keck got his first collegiate hit in his first start when he scored two on a base hit up the middle in the bottom of the eighth. He would finish 1-for-4 on the day and caught for former high school teammate Niznik. Later in the inning, Connor Basler hit a double down the left line and advanced on the throw to home. Basler scored three on the play and went two-for-three in game two with three RBI.
In the final game of the weekend, SEMO defeated WMU 9-8 in a game that changed leads four times.
Daniel Bergtholdt got the start on the mound and would allow eight hits in 5.1 innings of work. The Broncos took a 2-0 lead before the Redhawks had a turn to get the bats rolling in the final game.
The Redhawks put up three runs in the bottom of the second to take the lead. A triple down the right line scored Wilber who hit a single to left field two batters before. Blazevic scores both Gonzalez and Nielsen on a double that he tried to stretch out to give SEMO a 3-2 lead at the end of the second.
The Broncos returned with a three-run home run and took the lead 5-3 in the top of the third. Southeast would tie the game back up 5-5 in the next half inning that started with a leadoff solo home run by Peyton Faulkner.
The Redhawks allowed 25 hits and notched 23 strikeouts in the three games. Collectively, the Redhawks had 31 hits and scored in 11 of the 25 innings of play.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 7, UT MARTIN 1
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team suffered a 7-1 setback to South Dakota State this afternoon.
UT Martin (1-2) was led by Creighton Eldridge's RBI while Blake Daniels paced the squad in the hit column as he tallied a single and a double. Casey Harford, Sean Dixson, Ethan Whitley and Tyson Cox all rapped out hits today.
Right-handed pitcher Austen Bullington (0-1) started on the bump today and was tagged with the loss. Bullington was perfect through the first three innings of play and racked up three strikeouts in his 4.1-inning start. Southpaw Dom Bazzani was called upon in relief of Bullington and worked through the rest of the fourth. Righty David Hussey was nearly lights out in his three-inning appearance as he allowed just one hit and one walk while retiring five batters via the strikeout. Right-handed pitcher Marcus Eusebio tossed one inning of one-run baseball out of the bullpen.
Bullington would make quick work of the Jackrabbits through the first three frames as he needed just 30 pitches in that span. He recorded a strikeout in the first, sandwiched between a flyout and popout. In the second inning, Bullington bookended the frame with a pair of whiffs. In the third inning, he kept the ball in the air as he induced a popout, a lineout and a flyout, respectively.
South Dakota State would get on the board in the fourth inning as the Jackrabbits tallied a pair of runs in the frame. They would also rack up two runs in each of the next two innings to claim a 6-0 lead.
The Skyhawks cracked into the scoring column in the eighth as Harford beat out an infield single and then advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Later, Eldridge stepped into the batter's box to poke a single through the right side and provide a 6-1 score.
The Jackrabbits tallied one more run in the ninth to give the final score of 7-1.
KENTUCKY 11, AUSTIN PEAY 1
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University starting pitcher Josh Rye surrendered just three runs over five-plus innings, but Kentucky again pieced together a late charge to claim an 11-1 victory, Sunday, at Joe and Cathi Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park.
For the first time in the series, Austin Peay (0-3) scored first and again it was center fielder Garrett Spain who delivered the run. After first baseman Parker Phillips doubled to start the second inning, Spain found the hole in the infield for a run-scoring single and a 1-0 Austin Peay lead.
The Governors would have a crucial opportunity to increase their lead in the fifth inning, getting runners on second and third base with one out. But the Wildcats escaped as a pair of relievers combined for back-to-back strikeouts to end the threat.
Rye (0-1) would stymie Kentucky through five-plus scoreless innings, particularly when the visitors would get runners on base. The Wildcats would go hitless in their first 11 at-bats with a runner on base against the Govs left-hander.
That streak included the opening moments of the pivotal sixth inning. After Braydon Daniel led off the frame with a walk, Rye would get outs on a mishit bunt and a deep fly ball to nearly end the threat. However, designated hitter T.J. Collett rifled a ground ball down the first base line to keep the Kentucky rally alive. One batter later first baseman Dalton Reed delivered a three-run homer to right-center field to give Kentucky the lead for good, 3-1.
Kentucky (3-0) would eventually extend its lead with two runs in the seventh and six more in the eighth as the Govs surrendered seven unearned runs in the closing frames.
Rye was the hard-luck loser despite limiting Kentucky to three runs over his 5.2-inning start. He struck out a career-high tying seven of the 23 batters he faced and allowed only four hits and two walks.
Kentucky reliever Carson Coleman (2-0) picked up his second win of the series with 1.1 scoreless innings of relief. Starter Dillon Marsh was left with no decision after allowing one run over four innings.
Six different Govs hitters finished with one hit each, Spain along with fellow freshmen Gino Avros and Sebastian Martinez each posting a hit.
Collett and right fielder Jaren Shelby each had three hits to pace Kentucky, Shelby ended the day 3-for-5 with two RBI.
ILLINOIS STATE 10, BELMONT 6
NASHVILLE - Recap coming soon.
ORAL ROBERTS 18, MURRAY STATE 3
TULSA, Okla. - The Murray State baseball team wrapped up their opening series with Oral Roberts, Sunday afternoon, falling to the Golden Eagles, 18-3, at J. L. Johnson Stadium in Tulsa.
A couple of big innings by ORU early put the game out of reach as the Racers were never quite able to get a rally going to get back into the contest.
Shane Burns made his Racer debut on the mound and made it through the first inning unscathed, but the freshman could not work out of trouble in the second, allowing five runs, including a three-run home run to Spencer Henson
Joe Ivey trotted out to the mound for his Racer debut in the third and had two strikeouts in a scoreless inning, but could not duplicate that success in the fourth as the Golden Eagles tacked on seven more runs.
After ORU added three more runs in the fifth, the Racers got on the board in the sixth as Dylan Letellier doubled, stole third and when the throw was wild, came around to score.
Murray State added a couple of more runs in the eighth as two walks to Sean Darmafall and Letellier led to runs as both runners came around to score when a throwing error by the ORU pitcher sailed into right field.
#12 ARKANSAS 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 2
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The Eastern Illinois baseball team wrapped up their opening series at Arkansas Sunday afternoon. A late inning comeback forced the first tie of the series as the Panthers put pressure on the Razorbacks late in the game. The Razorbacks were able to pull off the series sweep with a walk off single in the ninth.
With the loss EIU falls to 0-3 to start the season, while Arkansas advances to 3-0.
Spenser Dexter got the start on the hill for the Panthers in the series finale. Dexter threw three shut out innings against the Razorbacks. Arkansas was able to drive in their first run of the game in the fourth inning when Jordan McFarland hit a sacrifice fly to short. Dexter finished with two strikeouts and one run in four innings.
The Razorbacks were able to extend their lead to two runs in the bottom of the seventh when Casey Martin's sacrifice bunt would score Jack Kenley.
The Panthers would put pressure on Arkansas tying the game in the bottom of the eighth inning. Trey Sweeney got the eighth inning rally started with a one out double to left field. Jimmy Govern was able to give EIU their first run of the game when he doubled to right field. Hunter Morris would keep the rally alive with an RBI double to score Govern.
The Razorbacks were able to secure the series sweep in the bottom of the ninth when Heston Kjerstad hit a walk off single to right center.
Blake Malatestinic took the loss for the Panthers on the mound today.
Govern finished the afternoon going 2-for-4 with a double, and RBI. Christian Pena finished 2-for-4 with two fits.