FRIDAY'S SCORES
Eastern Illinois 8, @Murray State 3
@Morehead State 7, Eastern Kentucky 2
@Austin Peay 6, Tennessee Tech 0
Belmont 11, @UT Martin 1
Southeast Missouri 8, @SIUE 6
@Jacksonville State 4, Purdue 0
EASTERN ILLINOIS 8, MURRAY STATE 3
MURRAY, Ky. - The Eastern Illinois baseball team traveled to Murray, Kentucky to take on Murray State on Friday. The Panthers defeated the Racers 8-3 in the first game for the conference series.
With the win EIU improves to 7-9 (2-2 OVC), while Murray State drops to 6-10 (2-2 OVC).
EIU came out strong in the bottom of the first inning with a quick six run lead. Dane Toppel got the one out rally started when he reached on a fielding error. Hunter Morris followed up with a two run homerun to right field. Ryan Knernschield kept the offensive pressure alive with a single up the middle. Ryan Ignoffo would single to right field and advance to second on a fielding error, while Knernschield moved to third. The Panthers added two more to their lead when Christian Pena hit a two run single to right. Trey Sweeney kept the rally alive with a two out RBI single to center field. Govern would drive in the sixth run of the inning with an RBI double to left field.
The Racers were able to get on the board in the top of the fourth inning with three runs.
The Panthers extended their lead to eight runs in the bottom of the eighth. Grant Emme and Sweeney both hit one run singles to give the Panthers an 8-3 lead.
Michael YaSenka got the call on the mound for the Panthers to kick off their conference series against Murray State. Yasenka picked up his first win as a Panther improving to 1-3 on the season. YaSenka tossed 8.0 innings with nine strikeouts, six hits, three runs, and two walks.
MOREHEAD STATE 7, EASTERN KENTUCKY 2
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Morehead State baseball opened its OVC series with visiting Eastern Kentucky with an emphatic 7-2 victory at Allen Field Friday.
The Eagles' pitching staff fell into a 2-0 hole after the first inning, on two unearned runs, but never let up another tally as MSU improved to 12-5 overall in 2019 and 2-2 in the OVC. The triumph also gave head coach Mike McGuire his 200th victory at Morehead State since taking over the reigns in 2013.
Morehead State spotted the Colonels the two runs in the first but responded with three of its own in the bottom of the inning. A two-run homer by senior center-fielder Connor Pauly tied it up, and senior catcher Hunter Fain - who leads the nation in on-base percentage - singled home senior left-fielder Jake Hammon later for the lead for good.
MSU added two more in the second as senior shortstop Reid Leonard connected on his first long ball of the year, and sophomore third baseman Stephen Hill banged one out of the park too.
The scoring concluded in the fifth as senior first baseman Trevor Snyder smacked an RBI double and scored later on a wild pitch.
On the hill, junior lefty Dalton Stambaugh (3-1) tossed a career-high 123 pitches (83 in the strike zone) and stymied EKU for 6.2 innings without allowing an earned run. Freshman righty Zack Smith allowed four hits but no runs in 0.2 frames, and junior closer Jake Ziegelmeyer entered with the bases loaded in the eighth and got a double play. He allowed a ninth-inning double but slammed the door for his third save this year.
Pauly and Snyder had two hits each for the homestanding Eagles.
AUSTIN PEAY 6, TENNESSEE TECH 0
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Starting pitcher Josh Rye combined with three relievers to toss a four-hit shutout as Austin Peay State University’s baseball team opened the home portion of its Ohio Valley Conference schedule with a 6-0 victory against defending champion Tennessee Tech, Friday night, on Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park.
Rye (2-2) faced trouble only in the first inning when Tennessee Tech put two runners aboard with two outs, but a TTU base runner was hit by a batted ball, ending the threat. The Governors starter battled his way through the next four innings, with a 16-pitch fifth inning the most comfortable frame he had in his outing.
Austin Peay (6-9, 2-2 OVC) quickly worked to provide Rye with run support, with five consecutive base hits in the bottom of the first providing three runs. Catcher David Martinez drove in the game’s first run with a single that was the fourth hit in the barrage. Left fielder Malcolm Tipler followed with a two-run double and an early 3-0 lead.
Neither team would threaten to score over the next five innings. Rye and reliever Ryan Kouba kept Tennessee Tech off the scoreboard. Meanwhile, TTU reliever Nic Dye entered the game to start the second inning and began his outing with five scoreless frames.
However, Dye ran into trouble in the seventh as he hit a batter and walked another before departing the game. He was relieved by Daniel Holley who struck out the first batter he faced before Tennessee Tech intentionally walked first baseman Parker Phillips to get to center fielder Garrett Spain. The Govs freshman fell behind in the count but leveled the count at 2-2 before lacing a double down the right-field line, clearing the bases and doubling the Govs lead to secure the win.
Rye picked up the win after five scoreless innings that saw him strike out six batters while scattering three hits and three walks. Kouba added two innings of relief followed by single innings from Tucker Weaver and Luke Brown to seal the Govs' second shutout of 2019.
Spain went 2-for-4 with three RBI to lead the Govs offensive effort. Martinez went 1-for-4 with an RBI and Tipler chipped in a 1-for-3, two RBI outing.
TTU starter Caleb Morgan (1-3) suffered the loss after allowing three runs on five hits in the first inning. Shortstop Jay Meuse’s 2-for-4 night at the plate accounted for half the Golden Eagles offense.
BELMONT 11, UT MARTIN 1
MARTIN, Tenn. - Belmont University Baseball defeated Ohio Valley Conference foe UT Martin 11-1 on Friday for the first game of a three-game series.
Senior Casey Queener (Brentwood, Tenn.) got off to another good start on the mound, keeping the Skyhawks scoreless through the first three innings. UT Martin notched its one and only hit of the night in the bottom of the third.
Belmont started its offensive momentum in the top of the fourth inning. A leadoff walk by freshman Grayson Taylor (Cullman, Ala.) put Belmont in good position. Junior Chandler Adkins (Knoxville, Tenn.) and senior Devon Gardner (Maryville, Tenn.) followed the walk with a single and double respectively. Gardner's double plated both Taylor and Adkins for a 2-0 lead. Sophomore Jackson Campbell (Russellville, Ky.) then scored Gardner with a single of his own to give BU a 3-0 lead.
UT Martin would score its one and only run of the night in the bottom of the fourth after a leadoff walk eventually scored on a Belmont error.
The Bruins added two more runs in the top of the fifth after three consecutive hits from Taylor, Adkins and Gardner gave Belmont a 5-1 lead. Belmont loaded the bases in the top of the fifth, but the Skyhawks got out of the jam to keep the Belmont lead manageable.
Belmont blew the game open in the top of the fifth, when BU batted around and more. The Bruins notched six hits in the inning, scoring six runs. Gardner started the offensive run when he worked a walk to put a base runner on. Freshman Tommy Crider (Madison, Ala.), senior Chas Hadden (Morristown, Tenn.) and Campbell recorded consecutive singles, giving Belmont an 8-1 lead. Junior Hagan severance (Brentwood, Tenn.) plated the ninth run when he drove in freshman John Behrends (Chattanooga, Tenn.), who worked a walk, with a two-out double to give Belmont a 9-1 lead. Senior Zach Ehrhart (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) finished off the scoring in the big inning with an RBI single, giving Belmont a 10-1 lead after seven innings.
Sophomore Chandler Schultz (Nashville, Tenn.) was called on out of the bullpen in the seventh inning. Schultz was immediately effective, sitting the Eagles down in order in the bottom of the seventh.
Crider rounded out the Belmont scoring in the top of the eighth when he crushed a solo home run over the left field fence, his first long ball of his career, giving Belmont an 11-1 lead.
Schultz struck out the side in the eighth and retired the Skyhawks in order again in the ninth, securing the save and the 11-1 Belmont victory.
The Bruins finished the night with a season-high 17 hits.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 8, SIUE 6
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Left-hander Dylan Dodd recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts to lead Southeast Missouri (11-7, 2-2) to an 8-6 series-opening win over SIU Edwardsville (4-10, 1-3) Friday.
SEMO snapped a four-game losing streak with its first road victory of 2019.
Dodd dominated on the mound, striking out eight of the first 12 hitters he faced. He started strong from the beginning striking out the side in the first inning. Dodd has struck out eight or more hitters in three of his five starts. His 11 strikeouts are the second-most in a game by any Ohio Valley Conference pitcher this year.
SEMO gave Dodd a lead when it pushed across a run in the top of the second inning. Tyler Wilber led off the inning with a walk and went to third when Alex Nielsen reached on a two-base error. With runners at second and third, Hunter Southerland grounded out and Wilber scored to give the Redhawks a 1-0 edge.
After going without a hit for 4.1 innings, SEMO ended its drought with a one-out double by Keegan Meyn in the fifth. Connor Basler followed with a single to left and Meyn scored. Danny Wright's two-out double to left center brought home Basler to push the Redhawks lead to 3-0.
Dodd held SIUE scoreless for 5.2 innings before the Cougars scored their first run on an infield single by Raul Elguezabal in the bottom of the sixth. An inning later, SEMO countered with three runs, two of which scored on a triple by Wilber. Wilber then touched home on a sacrifice bunt by Nielsen to stretch SEMO's lead to 6-1.
Southerland, in his first career start at first base, hit a solo home run to lead off the eighth inning. The round-tripper was Southerland's second of the season.
SIUE had its chances late in the game, but left the bases loaded in the seventh and stranded two more runners in the eighth. The Cougars wound up scoring once in each of those innings to cut SEMO's lead to 7-3. Reliever Logan Winder struck out Dustin Woodcock to end SIUE's threat in the seventh and Aaron Stretch posted two strikeouts to get out of the eighth.
After SEMO tacked on another run on a two-out double by Nielsen in the top of the ninth, SIUE made things interesting during its final at-bat.
The Cougars again loaded the bases and managed to score three runs thanks to a RBI-single by Woodcock, a sacrifice fly by Elguezabal and a fielder's choice. Aaron Stretch, however, struck out Jordan Ross to preserve the victory. Stretch had five strikeouts out of the bullpen.
Dodd (3-1) picked up his team-high third win of the season. He also allowed only one run on five hits and did not give up a walk.
Collin Baumgartner (0-3) remained winless for SIUE. Baumgartner worked five innings where he scattered four hits and allowed three runs to go along with seven strikeouts and four walks.
Offensively, SIUE had 12 hits, left 12 runners on base and went 5-for-21 with runners in scoring position. SEMO finished with seven hits. Nielsen went 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI. Wilber and Southerland added two RBI each.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 4, PURDUE 0
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Redshirt junior Garrett Farmer tossed seven shutout innings and junior Andrew Naismith collected three hits to lead Jacksonville State to a 4-0 blanking of Big 109 foe Purdue on Friday night at Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium.
The win pushed JSU's overall mark to 9-10 on the season, while the Boilermakers dropped to 3-13 on the season. Jx has strung together three straight wins after taking last Sunday's series finale with Eastern Illinois and Wednesday's dramatic 11th inning win over Troy. Purdue has played 15 of its first 16 games of the season away from its West Lafayette, Indiana campus. The two clubs will take for the field in the second game of the three-game series on Saturday at 1 p.m. Tickets are available at JSUGamecockSports.com and all JSU students and fans 18 years old and younger are admitted free.
Farmer looked the part of a Friday night starter as he limited Purdue to four hits over the seven innings and did not allow a Boilermaker to reach second base until the sixth inning. The Huntsville, Alabama righty fanned four in the outing and helped himself by picking off a base runner and threw out a runner attempting to take second base. Farmer moved to 2-0 on the season. The tandem of senior Austin Brewster, sophomore Jackson Tavel kept Purdue off the scoreboard in the next 1.2 innings. Sophomore Christian Edwards came in to record the final out after a pair of Boilermakers reached base in the ninth inning. Edwards posted his fourth save of the season.
While Farmer kept Purdue off-balanced for the first seven innings, the Gamecock offense gave him an early 1-0 lead and then a 2-0 cushion in the fifth. Jax State manufactured a run in the first inning with senior Nic Gaddis' RBI single to left field, scoring Tre Kirlin, who led off with a walk. Gaddis' RBI was his 100th of his career and became 29th player at JSU to have 100 or more RBI in a career.
In the fifth, JSU threatened to break the game open against Purdue starter Andrew Bohm, but Bohm limited the damage to the lone run. Naismith had the first of three consecutive hits, starting with an RBI single that scored Chase Robinson. JSU loaded the bases after the Naismith RBI, but Bohm tallied a pair of strikeouts and a fly ball to end JSU's chances for a big frame. Bohm was saddled with the loss and dropped to 0-2.
Naismith, from Auburn, Alabama, delivered a two-out, two-run home that traveled 370 feet over the fence in right center field. It was Naismith's second home run of the season. He capped off his Friday night with a double in the eighth.
Gaddis finished with multiple hits in the win and now has nine multi-hit games this season and extended his reached-base streak to 10 games.