FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Southeast Missouri 12, Purdue Fort Wayne 4
@Indiana State 8,
Austin Peay 1
Boston College 6,
@Eastern Kentucky 4
Illinois State 4-4,
@Murray State 3-5
@SIUE 3-6, UIC 2-4
@Kennesaw State 3,
UT Martin 1
@Belmont 5, Bowling Green 2
FIU 2,
@Jacksonville State 1
@Tennessee Tech 7, Youngstown State 2
@Southern 10-2,
Eastern Illinois 8-4
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 12, PURDUE FORT WAYNE 4
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri (6-3) defeated Purdue-Fort Wayne (4-4) 12-4 Thursday at Capaha Field in game one of the three game series.
Walks pushed Southeast ahead of the Mastadons as the Redhawks reach base on balls a total of 12 times. Connor Basler led the team with three base on balls. SEMO only struck out five times on the day.
SEMO was walked at least once in every inning of play, except the sixth inning. The Redhawks scored in five of the eight innings at bat.
Freshman Turner Fritts went 2-for-3 on the day with three RBI and one run. He finished with two base hits and a walk.
The Redhawks came out of the gate and scored three runs in the bottom of the first with eight of the nine batters getting an at bat.
In the third inning, Southeast posted four runs that started off with a lead-off walk for Wade Stauss. Peyton Faulkner would hit a bases-clearing double down the left foul line to extend the lead 7-0 SEMO.
The Mastadons scored their first run on three-consecutive base hits to the outfield to make it 8-1 SEMO.
The Redhawks scored two more in bottom of the sixth after a leadoff triple by Tyler Wilber to push ahead 10-1. Wilber would extend the lead when he scored on an error by the IPFW first baseman on a throw.
Austin Blazevic hit the ball to the first baseman, who threw the ball towards home to make the out, but overshot the catcher, allowing Wilber to score and Blazevic to reach base safely. He would eventually score on a base hit to center field by Fritts.
Purdue-Fort Wayne would score again in the top of the seventh on back-to-back doubles to the left field, this time the Redhawks led 10-3.
Southeast would push two more runs through in the bottom of the eighth to extend the lead to 12-4.
Dylan Dodd got the win on the day after allowing just two hits and no runs in five innings of work on the mound.
INDIANA STATE 8 AUSTIN PEAY 1
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Austin Peay State University’s baseball team saw its offense held to four hits in an 8-1 loss to Indiana State, Friday afternoon at Bob Warn Field.
A pitcher’s duel quickly developed between Austin Peay starter Brandon Vial and Indiana State starter Tristan Polley with neither starter allowing a run through the first three innings.
Indiana State (8-1) broke through first, using a pair of doubles in the fourth inning to score twice. Right fielder Roby Enriquez led off the frame with a double and scored on designated hitter Joe Boyle’s one-out double for the game’s first run. Left fielder CJ Huntley would tack on a second run with a sacrifice fly.
Austin Peay (3-5) would not let the Sycamores’ outburst go unanswered. Right fielder Aaron Campbell led off the fifth with an infield single. He would score on third baseman Gino Avros’ ground out that also pushed shortstop Bobby Head into scoring position. But Polley got another ground out to end the threat with a 2-1 lead.
The Sycamores would tack on a key insurance run in the sixth when Huntley drove in a run with a single. Two innings later, Indiana State broke the game open with third baseman Jake Means’ grand slam capping a five-run burst that set the final score.
Polley (2-0) kept Austin Peay at bay en route to the win scattering three hits while recording 13 ground outs and eight strikeouts from the 28 batters he faced in eight innings of work.
Vial (0-1) allowed three runs on seven hits while striking out five of the 24 batters he faced over five innings but suffered the loss.
Austin Peay’s four hits were divided between catcher David Martinez, Campbell, center fielder Garrett Spain and pinch hitter Griffin Rivers.
Indiana State posted 13 hits in the win, Dungan and Enriques each posting three hits.
BOSTON COLLEGE 6, EASTERN KENTUCKY 4
RICHMOND, Ky. - Eastern Kentucky University’s baseball team suffered a 6-4 defeat to Boston College at Earle Combs Stadium on Friday.
Jake Alu broke a 3-3 tie with a three-run home run for the Eagles (5-3) in the top of the sixth inning.
Michael Brewer got Eastern (6-4) on the board when he led off the bottom of the third with his first collegiate home run. The solo shot over the wall in right field made it a 2-1 game. His single through the right side, and a run-scoring ground ball by A.J. Lewis, tied the game 3-3 in the bottom of the fifth.
Brewer finished the game 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs.
Alu’s only hit was the home run. He finished 1-for-3 with a walk, a run and three RBIs. Sal Frelick was 3-for-5 with a run and two RBIs.
ILLINOIS STATE 4-4, MURRAY STATE 3-5
MURRAY, Ky. - Brock Anderson played hero Friday evening as he delivered a two-run walk-off double against Illinois State in game two of a doubleheader at Reagan Field. The 5-4 win came after the Redbirds took the first game, 4-3.
The Racers had to come back twice in game two as they were down 3-2 in the eighth but tied it up when an errant throw by the Illinois State third baseman allowed Sean Darmafall to score all the way from first.
ISU retook the lead in the top of the ninth with a solo home run, but in the home half, the Racers rallied back once again. Jordan Holly singled to lead off the inning and promptly stole second. After a Ryan Perkins walk and a Jaron Robinson sacrifice bunt, Tyler Duke came back from down 0-2 in the count to work a walk and set up bases loaded for Anderson. The junior got ahead in the count 2-0 before ripping a liner over the right fielder's head to drive in the winning runs.
The Racers got the scoring started in the second inning as Jake Slunder came all the way around from first base on a single by Jonah Brannon to give MSU the early lead. The Redbirds answered in the third with a three-run home run to take the lead that they would hold until the eighth.
Earlier in the day in game one, the Racers tried to come back as well as they were down 3-0 after four innings of play. Murray State got within one as they scored two runs in the fifth on a groundout by Bryan Chilton and a single from Holly. ISU added an insurance run in the seventh that proved big as the Racers answered in the eighth on an RBI single from Duke, but that was as close as MSU would get as they went down in order in the ninth.
The Murray State pitching staff shined all day, putting on their best performance of the season, allowing just six earned runs in 18 innings pitched. Trevor McMurray started game one and threw six innings, striking out six. Alec Whaley followed him by pitching the final three innings, allowing no earned runs while striking out two.
In game two, Braydon Cook got his first start of the season and threw 2.2 innings with a couple of strikeouts. Jordan Cozart had the best performance on the mound for the Racers as he followed Cook with 3.1 innings of scoreless baseball while striking out five, including the first four batters he faced. Blake Clynes and Connor Holden each put in an inning of hitless baseball before Peyton Hayes came in the ninth. While he allowed the go-ahead run, he earned the win, just the second of his career.
SIUE 3-6, UIC 2-4
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE baseball opened the 2019 home season in fine fashion Friday, sweeping a doubleheader from UIC at Simmons Baseball Complex.
The Cougars improved to 3-5 overall, while UIC slipped to 1-7.
Scheduled for a seven-inning affair, the Cougars needed an extra inning to get past the flames in game one. With the score tied 2-2, SIUE freshman Brady Bunten led off the inning with a double to right center and moved to third on an errant pickoff throw. Jordan Ross lifted a fly ball into right field and Bunten was able to beat the throw to home plate with the winning run.
The Cougars took an early lead in the opener, scoring a run on two hits in the first inning. Brock Weimer doubled to drive home Ross with the first run.
UIC tied the score in the second, before SIUE regained the lead in the bottom of the inning. Garrett Carmichael doubled to score Raul Elguezabal who had doubled to start the inning.
SIUE reliever Chris Robinson (2-1) struck out eight hitters over four scoreless innings. He allowed just two hits and did not walk a batter. Robinson followed Collin Baumgartner who fanned a career-high seven hitters in four innings. He allowed two runs on six hits.
UIC righthander Jacob Key (0-3) worked the complete game for the Flames. He struck out nine and allowed three runs, two earned, on six SIUE hits.
The Flames got a grand slam from Dominic Smith in the first inning of game two to lead 4-0.
SIUE starter Cameron Prayer lasted only the inning, allowing the four runs on three hits and two walks.
The Cougars plated two runs in the second thanks to throwing errors to trim the lead to 4-2. SIUE took over in the fifth with four runs on four hits. Dustin Woodcock singled to drive in a run and Carmichael added two RBIs on a two-out single to right field.
The SIUE Bullpen shined in game two. Brayden Bone, Adam Drewry and Cole Milam combined for six shutout innings. Bone struck out five over three innings. Drewry (1-0) earned his first SIUE win with two shutout innings and Milam saved his second game of the year, striking out the side in the seventh.
KENNESAW STATE 3, UT MARTIN 1
KENNESAW, Ga. - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team dropped a tough 3-1 decision to Kennesaw State this evening.
UT Martin (3-5) was led by senior outfielder Jordan Stoner as he belted a solo shot, his first home run of the season. Sean Dixson paced the squad in the hit column, pounding out a pair of base knocks. Creighton Eldridge, Ethan Whitley, Blake Davis, Blake Daniels and Stoner all collected a hit apiece.
Winston Cannon (1-2) got the starting nod and tossed 7.1 innings of solid baseball as he allowed just five hits, one walk and two earned runs but was tagged with the hard-luck loss. He did manage to sit down five Owls via the strikeout in his time on the bump. Zach Denney came on in relief in the eighth but conceded an earned run in his 0.2 inning pitched but retired both outs on strikes.
Cannon came out dealing as he opened the home-half of the first with a flyout to center followed by a whiff and ended the inning on a popout to first base. He made quick work again of Kennesaw State in the second inning with a groundout to third followed by a pair of friendly fly balls to center field. In the third inning, Cannon remained perfect as he used two groundouts and a flyout to escape the inning.
Stoner got the Skyhawks on the board in the fourth frame as he cranked a leadoff jack to left field and gave UT Martin a 1-0 advantage.
Cannon allowed his first baserunner of the game in the fourth inning as he hit a Kennesaw State batter to leadoff the frame. He then gave up his first hit of the contest as the next batter tallied a single. Cannon kept a cool head though as he forced a flyout to right and then got some help from Davis on a runner caught stealing. Cannon then got out of the inning on a strikeout to evade danger.
The Owls matched UT Martin’s run in the fifth as they knotted things up at 1-1.
Cannon kept things going in the sixth when he found a foul out, a groundout and a flyout to retire the side in order. He forced a groundout to open the seventh inning then conceded a pair of base knocks but maintained his composure to fan the next two batters.
Kennesaw State pulled ahead in the eighth as the Owls tallied a pair of runs and took a 3-1 lead.
Denney would sit down the final two batter of the eighth inning via the punchout with a hit-by-pitch sandwiched in between.
The Skyhawks found themselves down to their last strike with no one on base in the top of the ninth inning when Davis notched a single to short followed by a Daniels base knock to right but the rally came up short.
BELMONT 5, BOWLING GREEN 2
NASHVILLE - Belmont University Baseball defeated Bowling Green 5-2 on Friday evening behind another impressive outing from senior pitcher Casey Queener (Brentwood, Tenn.).
Queener, reigning OVC Pitcher of the Week, was nearly untouchable, throwing seven complete innings. He allowed just two hits and walked two, striking out an impressive 11 on the evening. He set the tone early for the Bruins, forcing a quick three outs in the top of the first.
In the bottom of the inning, junior Chandler Adkins (Knoxville, Tenn.) tallied the first hit of the night with a single to center field and stole second to put himself in scoring position. He was stranded however, keeping things scoreless after the first inning.
After the second-consecutive one, two, three inning for Queener, Belmont got on the board in the bottom of the second. Sophomore Logan Jarvis (Franklin, Tenn.) worked a leadoff walk, and then stole second and advanced to third on a balk. Jarvis scored the first run of the afternoon when freshman John Behrends (Chattanooga, Tenn.) placed a ground ball in the perfect spot allowing the run to cross home plate for a 1-0 lead after two complete innings.
Queener struck out the side in the top of the third to preserve the lead and kept the Falcons off the board in the fourth.
After a scoreless bottom of the third, Belmont plated two more runs in the fourth. Senior Devon Gardner (Maryville, Tenn.) and junior Hagan Severance (Brentwood, Tenn.) worked walks to put runners on first and second. Freshman Grayson Taylor (Cullman, Ala.) plated both runners on a double to deep right center field, giving Belmont a 3-0 lead.
After a walk and a base hit in the top of the fifth, Bowling Green made its biggest threat of the night thus far. A walk and a base hit plated one run for the Falcons in the inning tightening the lead 3-1.
After a scoreless sixth, Bowling Green struck again in the top of the seventh. The leadoff hitter swung on the first pitch of the inning for a solo home run, narrowing the Belmont lead 3-2. The Falcons put one more aboard in the innings with a walk, but three more Queener strikeouts ended the inning with little damage.
Sophomore Logan Bowen (Bowling Green, Ky.) took over the mound for the Bruins in the top of the eighth to try and close the game out. Bowen was extremely effective in the eighth, forcing three quick outs to keep Bowling Green off the board.
In the bottom of the eighth, The Bruins made a two-out rally to add a couple of insurance runs. Severance worked a walk to put a runner aboard and Taylor followed it with a single through the left side to put runners on the corners. Senior Zach Ehrhart (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) sent a blooper a ball to center field to plate Severance, giving Belmont a 4-2 lead. Adkins plated the final run of the night with an infield hit to increase the Belmont lead 5-2.
Bowen returned to the mound, needing three outs the preserve the win and notch his first save of the season. He did so in impressive fashion, retiring the Falcons in order for the 5-2 victory.
FIU 2, JACKSONVILLE STATE 1
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - For the second consecutive Friday night, Jacksonville State dropped a 2-1 decision as Florida International claimed the opening game of the weekend series on Friday night at Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium.
A week ago, the Gamecocks (4-6) suffered the result and margin against Jacksonville as the Panthers spoiled another superb pitching performance by junior redshirt Garrett Farmer. It was a classic pitching duel between Farmer and FIU's Logan Allen. The two pitchers combined for 24 strikeouts in the contest. Farmer, who tossed 16 scoreless innings dating back to his opening day start against North Alabama. Last week at JU, the Huntsville, Alabama native threw seven shutout frames and issued a pair of hits. Against FIU, he matched his career high in strikeouts by fanning 12 Panthers. He posted 12 against UT Martin on May 11, 2018 at Choccolocco Park.
FIU (4-4) broke the scoreless deadlock in the sixth with a run, but Framer limited the damage after FIU had the bases loaded in the frame. Javier Valdes broke up a no-hit bid by Farmer with a leadoff triple to left centerfield. Valdes scored on Jose Garcia's single to left field. Farmer was touched for an infield single and an intentional walk to load the bases before inducing a pop fly on the infield. The game0winning run came in the ninth as Austin Shenton started the inning with a solo home ruin.
Allen led the Panther pitching staff with 12 of the 18 strikeouts combined by the six FIU pitchers used in the affair. Allen did not fare in the decision as JSU equalized in the eighth.
Senior Nic Gaddis' solo home run to leadoff the eighth accounted for the Jax State offense. Gaddis greeted FIU reliever Gio Soto with his third home run of the season. The Trenton, Georgia product has been a thorn for the Panthers in the last four games. Last season, Gaddis went 8-for-12 in Miami and had nine RBI. He has now reached base in nine of the 10 games this season.
Juniors Alex Webb and Devin Brown each had a hit for the Gamecocks. Webb reached base three times with a walk and hit by pitch. His hit in the third inning was the first of the game by either club. Brown delivered a one-out single in the fifth. The Gamecocks stranded 10 on the bases paths as FIU issued seven free passes.
JSU's Austin Brewster (1-1) was saddled with the loss, while FIU's Jose Machado (1-0) garnered the win and Will Sexton finished with a save.
TENNESSEE TECH 7, YOUNGSTOWN STATE 2
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Advantageous at bats and a dominant relief performance propelled the Tennessee Tech baseball team to a 7-2, series-opening victory over Youngstown State Friday evening at Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
It was a little bit of a slow start for both teams, as the two sides traded zeros on the scoreboard through the first two innings. Youngstown State seemed to have something going in the third, drawing a leadoff walk, followed by a bunt single down the first base line.
Golden Eagles starter Caleb Morgan worked around the start to the frame, forcing a line drive to shortstop Jay Meuse for out number one. He forced a fly out to the next batter before punching out the final batter of the frame to escape unscathed.
In the bottom half, Tech took its turn with the bats, beginning with a leadoff single by John Elford. A sacrifice bunt and ground out put him at third with two outs in the frame, but outfielder Andrew Swanson would not disappoint. The junior college transfer spun a single just over the pitcher's head that dropped in no man's land for a single and an RBI.
Youngstown State got on the board in the fourth, beginning with a leadoff home run to tie the game. The Penguins then took the lead later in the frame, scoring on a Golden Eagle error. Morgan worked out of further trouble, taking Tech to the bottom half.
The Golden Eagles tied the game back up in that half frame. Jason Hinchman ripped a double off the outstretched glove of the Youngstown State shortstop with one out. Two batters later, freshman JD Funk laced a single down the left field line, knotting things at 2-2.
With the game at a stalemate, Tech turned to junior Nic Dye to take them through the next portion of the game. His performance was immaculate, as the southpaw exceeded expectations by completing the remaining five innings without any trouble.
He made a great play on an attempted bunt to lead off the fifth, grabbing the ball just off the first base line, spinning and nabbing the runner for the first out. He struck out the next batter he faced and then got the third out with a ground ball to second base.
His quick work sprung life into the Tech squad, which responded with a game-changing bottom of the fifth. With one out, Meuse collected a four-pitch walk and Swanson followed with a single to right center field. Senior outfielder Kevin Strohschein then turned in the game-deciding at bat, blasting a single to right field to drive in a run.
With two outs, Tech kept working as Hinchman drew a four-pitch free pass to load the bases. Junior utility man Gavin Johns followed by drawing his own walk, driving in a second run. Funk then doubled the Golden Eagle advantage, dumping a two-run single into right field.
A four-run lead allowed Dye to continue his dominant run on the hill, which was no more apparent than in the sixth. The Carrollton, Ga. native used just 11 pitches to strike out the side and needed only 64 to cover the final five frames of the contest.
In those five innings, Dye recorded eight punch outs and just two walks. He kept the Penguins without a hit as well, earning his first victory of the season.
Funk led the Tech offense on the day, finishing 2-for-4 with a three RBI. Swanson and Hinchman also recorded multiple hits in the contest.
SOUTHERN 10-2, EASTERN ILLINOIS 8-4
BATON ROUGE, La. - The Eastern Illinois baseball team played Southern University in a doubleheader Friday night. The Panthers split the doubleheader against the Jaguars. Southern took game gone 8-10, while EIU won the second game 4-2.
In game one, EIU got on the board first in the first inning scoring three runs. Keith Kerrigan drew a walk to give the Panthers their first base runner of the game. Jimmy Govern doubled to left center to drive in EIU's first run of the game. Hunter Morris would extend the lead to three runs with his first home run of the season.
Southern answered back in the bottom of the first with two runs.
The Panthers added four more runs in the top of the second inning. Grant Emme earned his first RBI of the game with a single to third. Govern and Morris also earned RBIs with doubles in the top of the second to give the Panthers a 7-2 lead.
Southern battled back in the bottom of the fourth adding four runs. Tyler LaPorte drove in the first run of the inning with a single to left field. Coby Taylor doubled down the right field line to drive in Javeyan Williams. Johnny Johnson followed up with a ground out to second to drive in LaPorte. Z Moore singled to left to drive in the fourth run of the inning to end Tyler Jones' afternoon.
Southern would pull away from the Panthers in the bottom of the sixth to steal the first game of the doubleheader from the Panthers 10-8.
In game two, EIU once again got on the board first in the top of the second inning. Garyn Stewart gave the Panthers a 3-0 lead with a three run homer. Matt Mackey added to the Panther lead with an RBI double down the left field line to score Christian Pena.
Southern would attempt the comeback in the bottom of the fifth LaPorte drove in the first run for the Jaguars with an RBI single through the left side. Hunter David would draw a walk to bring in their second run of the inning.
Carson Haws got the start on the mound for the Panthers. Haws earned his first win of the season tossing 4.2 innings with eight strikeouts and two runs.