TUESDAY'S SCORES
Morehead State 7, @Charlotte 1
@Kentucky 7,
Eastern Kentucky 3
@Middle Tennessee 11,
Tennessee Tech 4
@#10 Ole Miss 12,
UT Martin 6
Jacksonville State 5, @UAB 3
@#1 Vanderbilt 11,
Southeast Missouri 3
MOREHEAD STATE 7, CHARLOTTE 1
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Morehead State baseball rallied for a 5-3 victory at Charlotte Tuesday afternoon as the Eagles tied the program record for the best start ever at 7-1.
Trailing 3-2 in the top of the eighth, MSU scored twice to take the lead for good. Senior Jake Hammon cranked an RBI single to score senior Connor Pauly before sophomore Stephen Hill pushed his team into the lead with a sacrifice fly.
In the ninth, junior Ryan Layne added an insurance run as his single through the right side scored scored senior Reid Leonard.
MSU staked itself to a 2-0 lead when senior Trevor Snyder pulled a two-run single through the left side.
Meanwhile, freshman right-hander Landon Weins continued his masterful start to his career. He worked 4.2 innings, scattering just five hits with four strikeouts to move to 1-0. In three appearances, Weins' ERA sits at 0.73.
Junior righty Jake Ziegelmeyer got the final two outs for his second save in 2019 and fifth of his career.
Hammon moved his reached-base streak to 30 games, while Pauly extended his to 37 contests. Pauly, Snyder and Hammon each totaled two hits, part of nine by the Eagle batters.
KENTUCKY 7, EASTERN KENTUCKY 3
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Eastern Kentucky University’s baseball team lost 7-3 at the University of Kentucky on Tuesday.
EKU senior Ryland Kerr led off the game with a single through the left side for the first official hit at UK’s new Kentucky Proud Park.
Kentucky (4-3) got on the board first. With two outs in the bottom of the second, Cam Hill reached base on a throwing error and Dalton Reed scored on the play. The Wildcats added to the lead with three runs in the bottom of the fifth, including T.J. Collett’s two-run home run over the wall in left field.
EKU (6-3) scratched out a run in the top of the sixth. Marcus Hill drew a one-out walk, moved to second and third on back-to-back wild pitches. He then scored on Kerr’s ground ball to short.
UK pulled away with three runs in the bottom of the sixth to make it 7-1.
Logan Thomason’s two-out, two-run, bases loaded hit through the left side in the top of the ninth set the final score.
Kerr finished the day 1-for-4 with an RBI. Thomason was 1-for-1 with two driven in.
Collett had one hit in five at bats, scored a run and drove in two. Alex Rodriguez was 2-for-2 with two walks.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 11, TENNESSEE TECH 4
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - An early lead disappeared quickly for the Tennessee Tech baseball team Tuesday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles fell on the road to in-state rival Middle Tennessee, 11-4.
Tech kicked off the action in the first, plating a run with two outs thanks to a single to center field from sophomore Jason Hinchman. The youngster gave Tech a 1-0 lead after driving in junior college transfer Jay Meuse who had led off the game with a single through the right side.
Middle Tennessee answered with a long ball in the bottom half, tying the contest at 1-1. The Blue Raider offense then burst into life in the second and third frames. Tech surrendered five hits to six batters to open the frame, with four doubles wrapping up the four-run inning.
In the third, it was six hits, including two doubles and home run that provided the damage. Six runs dented home plate in the inning, providing the Blue Raiders an 11-1 lead through three.
Junior college transfers Mark Leonard and Jacob Cole both combined to toss the five remaining innings without surrendering a run. Cole struck out four in his scoreless seventh and eighth innings.
The Midddle Tennessee arms were capable of keeping the Tech offense at bay for five straight innings, but the Golden Eagles broke through in the seventh to show some life.
Junior Anthony Carrera led it off with a single to right center field, one of his team-high three hits on the day in four at bats. Hinchman followed with a four-pitch walk. Pinch hitting in the next at bat, freshman backstop Jack Schad laced a single to right field to score a run for the Golden Eagles.
Zell Walker drew four consecutive balls after fouling off the first two pitches he saw, loading the bags for the next man in the lineup. Freshman Jason Hoganpinch hit and stabbed the second pitch he saw through the right side to plate a second Tech marker.
Walker would score later in the frame on a balk, providing the last taste of home plate the Golden Eagles would find in the contest.
Joining Carrera with a two-hit day were Meuse and fellow junior college transfer Andrew Swanson. Meuse recorded Tech's lone extra base hit on the day, a double in the fourth.
Redshirt freshman Daniel Holley took the loss on the day, completing one third of an inning in relief while allowing four earned runs on five hits. Middle Tennessee's Josh Young earned the win after completing three scoreless innings out of the bullpen, holding Tech to three hits and striking out five.
The Golden Eagles return home to Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex for a weekend series with visiting Youngstown
#10 OLE MISS 12, UT MARTIN 6
OXFORD, Miss. - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball program struck early but dropped today’s game to No. 10 Ole Miss by a score of 12-6.
UT Martin (3-4) was led by the red-hot bat of Blake Davis who recorded the club’s first home run of the season. He finished the day a triple short of the cycle while also pacing the team with three RBIs. Jordan Stoner tallied a pair of hits as well as two RBIs on the day. Robert Worley (one RBI) and Ethan Whitley smacked a base knock apiece to round out the hit column for the Skyhawks.
David Hussey (0-1) started the contest for UT Martin and was tagged for nine earned runs by the ranked foe. Dom Bazzani came on in relief to log 3.1 innings by conceded three earned runs while Jeff O’Doherty clocked in for 1.2 innings out of the bullpen and did not allow a hit, issued just two walks and fanned a pair of Rebels along the way.
UT Martin drew first blood as Cox led off the bout with a seven-pitch walk right before Eldridge reached on an error. Stoner then stepped into the batter’s box and ripped a double to right field to plate Cox with still no outs on the board. Later in the frame, Worley grounded out but was able to bring in Eldridge. Next came Davis’ big at bat when the catcher belted a two-run shot to left field, driving in Stoner in the process and giving the Skyhawks an early 4-0 advantage.
Ole Miss would not wait long before it made some noise as well. The Rebels matched UT Martin’s four-run frame in the bottom of the first to knot things up at 4-4.
The Skyhawks tacked on another run in the second as Edwards got things started with a four-pitch walk. Eldridge drew a free base a well just in time for a Stoner single up the middle to bring home Edwards and give UT Martin a 5-4 lead.
In the third inning, Ole Miss would claim the lead as the Rebels struck for five runs in the frame to lead by a 9-5 margin.
Bazzani would come on in the fourth and made fairly quick work of the inning. He opened with a groundout followed by a single but forced a flyout and used a nifty pickoff move to get out of the frame unscathed.
UT Martin tallied another run in the fifth as Stoner led off with getting plunked by a pitch. Whitley then roped a single to left center to put a pair in time for a Davis base knock to plate Stoner and inch the Skyhawks back with a 9-6 score.
Ole Miss added a run in each of the next three innings as it took tallied up the eventual final score of 12-6.
O’Doherty entered the game in the seventh with a runner on and one out in the frame as he fanned a Rebel and used a pickoff move of his own to escape the inning. He then worked around a leadoff walk in the eighth to retire the side on a strikeout and pair of friendly fly balls.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 5, UAB 3
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Jacksonville State picked up a much-needed win on Tuesday night with a 5-3 win over in-state rival UAB at Regions Field.
The Gamecocks snapped a five-game losing streak and moved to 3-5 on the season and will be looking to maintain the momentum from Tuesday's win in to Wednesday's contest at Troy. The two longtime time rivals will face off at 6 p.m. JSU's win over the Blazers was the fifth consecutive win over UAB, dating back to the 2016 season. UAB suffered its second loss of the season and moved to 6-2 overall.
Jax State posted a come-from-behind win after the Blazers recorded a pair of unearned runs. A Gamecock miscue in the second opened the door for UAB's first run of the game. Nathan Anthes registered a two-out single, scoring the first run. JSU starter Dylan Hathcock looked to be out of the fourth inning, but JSU's second error of the night was costly. UAB's Carter Pharis beat a throw home after a ground out back to the pitcher.
Hathcock, who made his first career start, was solid in a career-high four innings of work. He was touched for four hits and the two runs. He finished with a strikeout and did not issue a walk.
JSU's offense started clicking in the fifth with Isaac Alexander and Cole Frederick with back-to-back hits to start the frame. Alexander, who finished with two hits on the night, moved to third on Frederick's second double of the contest. Junior Chase Robinson picked up an RBI with a ground ball out to the right side, followed by JSU's second double of the inning with Carson Crowe's double down the right field line. Junior Tre Kirklin, who went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBI in the leadoff spot, lifted a fly ball to left field for the sacrifice fly.
UAB equalized with a two-out inside-the-park home run off the bat of Tyler Tolbert. Tolbert's hot found the gap in the spacious Regions Field outfield.
The Gamecocks regained the lead in the seventh with a pair of key two-out hits. Crowe, from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, stretched a hit to centerfield in to a double. Kirklin laced a single through the middle, scoring Crowe. JSU extended the lead in the eighth with a bases-loaded RBI walk by Alex Strachan.
JSU's bullpen scattered four hits over the final five innings and tallied five strikeouts. Junior transfer Jackson Tavel earned his second win of the season with three innings of work after JSU took the lead. Sophomore Christian Edwards struck out the UAB side in the ninth for the save.
#1 VANDERBILT 11, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3
NASHVILLE - No. 1 Vanderbilt (6-1) scored five unearned runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to pull away from Southeast Missouri (5-3), 11-3, Tuesday at Hawkins Field.
It was a three-run game with Vanderbilt ahead, 6-3, before the Commodores took advantage of a two-out error, had four hits and walked twice in the eighth.
JJ Bleday and Philip Clarke singled, and Stephen Scott walked to load the bases. Following a Pat DeMarco strikeout, Bleday scored on an error. On the next play, Jayson Gonzalez singled and Clarke scored. A Justyn-Henry Malloy walk and two-RBI single by Cooper Davis widened the Commodores lead to 11-3.
SEMO got within two runs after Vanderbilt took a 5-0 lead early on.
In the top of the fourth inning, Connor Basler was hit by a pitch and stole two bases to get to third. With runners at the corners following a Wade Stauss walk, Turner Fritts hit an infield single and Basler scored. Austin Blazevic drove in Stauss on an ensuing base hit up the middle.
Andrew Keck then walked to load the bases ending Zach King's day on the mound. Ethan Smith entered the game with the bases loaded and walked Alex Nielsen as SEMO sliced Vanderbilt's lead to 5-3.
SEMO starting pitcher Austin Sachse (1-1) exited the game after allowing five runs on seven hits and walking two in just 1.1 innings. Sachse threw 51 pitches in his short outing.
The Redhawk bullpen kept the Commodores off the scoreboard for four innings until they scored an unearned run off another error in the seventh.
SEMO's relievers did not allow an earned run and combined for six strikeouts in the final 6.2 innings of the contest. Aaron Stretch had a team-high three strikeouts in two innings.
Ethan Smith (1-0) picked up his first win of the season in relief. Smith allowed two hits and a walk in 2.2 scoreless innings. He recorded four strikeouts, as well.
The Redhawks had eight hits with Blazevic and Alex Nielsen finishing with two apiece. Basler, Stauss, Fritts and Peyton Faulkner followed with one each.
Vanderbilt registered 16 hits, including a total of nine from the first three hitters in its lineup. Davis went 4-for-6 with a run scored and two RBI, Austin Martin was 2-for-6 with a run scored, home run and one RBI, and Bleday went 3-for-5 with two RBI, three runs scored and a home run.