SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Murray State 3, Eastern Illinois 1
@Morehead State 7, Eastern Kentucky 5
@Austin Peay 10, Tennessee Tech 4
Belmont 5, @UT Martin 2 (10 innings)
@SIUE 9, Southeast Missouri 3
Purdue 9,
@Jacksonville State 5
MURRAY STATE 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 1
MURRAY, Ky. - Behind the left arm of Shane Burns, the Murray State baseball team rebounded from yesterday's loss to Eastern Illinois by defeating the Panthers, 3-1, Saturday afternoon at Reagan Field.
Burns pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out four to improve to 2-1 and lowering his ERA to 3.38.
The Racers improve to 7-10 overall and 3-2 in the OVC, while EIU falls to 7-10 and 2-3 in conference play.
With Murray State as the road team, the Racers took an early lead, scoring one run in each of the first two innings.
In the first, Jake Slunder reached on an error before eventually coming into score on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Perkins.
The following inning, Jaron Robinson led off with an opposite-field triple and came into score when Bryan Chilton hit a grounder to short one batter later.
The Panthers had their best chance to score off Burns in the fifth when they put a runner on third with one out, but back-to-back strikeouts by the freshman kept EIU off the board.
The Racers added an insurance run in the seventh when, for the second time this season, Slunder scored from first on a single. Brock Anderson hit a ball up the middle and Slunder just kept running after a lackadaisical throw to the infield.
The combination of Blake Clynes and Peyton Hayes worked a scoreless eighth inning, but the ninth proved to be trickier. Two singles and two walks produced a run for the Panthers before Braydon Cook came out of the bullpen with still just one out. The redshirt-sophomore fanned his first batter before getting a pop up to left field to end the game and earn his second save this week.
MOREHEAD STATE 7, EASTERN KENTUCKY 5
MOREHEAD, Ky. - A sixth-inning grand slam by senior center-fielder Connor Pauly broke a tie and proved to be the winning margin as the Morehead State's baseball team claimed a series win over Eastern Kentucky with a 7-5 triumph at Allen Field Saturday.
The Eagles, who won for the third straight game, have claimed the first two games of the EKU series and will look for a sweep with a 1 p.m. ET Sunday matinee. MSU is now 13-5 overall and 3-2 in the OVC. EKU faltered to 11-6 and 0-2 in the conference.
Tied 3-3 in the sixth, DH Jon Burghardt reached on a throwing error by EKU's shortstop (one of seven combined miscues on the box score). Freshman right-fielder Zach Boyd drew a five-pitch walk from EKU starter Kaven Brown (4-1) before the Colonels switched to Jacob Ferris on the mound. Senior Reid Leonard worked a full count and then loaded the bases with a walk. Pauly hit a mammoth shot just inside the right-field foul pole and well over the 40-foot-high wall on the first pitch he saw to make it 7-3.
The visitors tagged Eagle reliever Landon Weins for four runs and another unearned run off MSU righty Alex Garbrick, but junior Jake Ziegelmeyer picked up his second save in as many days (and fourth of the year) despite the Eagles making three fielding errors in the ninth and loading the bases. Ziegelmeyer coaxed a strikeout and fielder's choice ground out to seal the victory.
Weins was credited with the victory to improve to 2-0.
Burghardt opened the Eagles' scoring in the second with an RBI single, and MSU made it 2-0 when the EKU centerfielder sailed a throw high to the plate on a fly out.
Pauly cranked an RBI double in the fourth to make it 3-0 before Chris Botsoe brought EKU to within 3-2 with a home run to left field in the sixth. Daniel Harris' RBI single tied it at three later in the top of the sixth.
AUSTIN PEAY 10, TENNESSEE TECH 4
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Starting pitcher Jacques Pucheu struck out a career-high 12 batters and Austin Peay State University’s baseball team powered to a 10-4 Ohio Valley Conference victory against Tennessee Tech, Saturday, on Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park.
Pucheu (3-0) opened and closed his six scoreless innings by striking out the side and struck out two batters in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings. He had to work out of trouble only once when Tennessee Tech loaded the bases with two out in the fifth. He would end that threat with his ninth strikeout of the day.
For the second-straight game, Austin Peay (7-9, 3-2 OVC) provided its starting pitcher with first-inning run support. First baseman Parker Phillips’ three-run home run off the top of the wall in the first inning provided first-inning support.
The Govs offense wasn’t done there, scoring in each of the first five innings as it jumped out to a 10-0 lead. However, Austin Peay only drove in three of its runs in a seven-run burst from the second through the fifth innings.
Tennessee Tech (10-8, 2-3 OVC) would score its first runs of the series in the eighth inning when third baseman Gavin McMean’s drove in a pair of runs with a bases-loaded single, cutting the deficit to 10-3. The Golden Eagles added their fourth run after a leadoff walk worked its way around to score.
Pucheu faced just 23 batters in his 12-strikeout game as he allowed two hits and three walks. He ran his scoreless inning streak to 22 innings with the six scoreless frames.
Phillips led the Govs offense with a 2-for-2, three RBI day that included a double and saw him hit by a pitch twice – his 40th and 41st career times hit by a pitch. Center fielder Garrett Spain, catcher David Martinez and designated hitter Matt Joslin each had a hit and an RBI.
Tennessee Tech starter Mark Leonard (1-1) went just two innings, allowing five runs on six hits. Johns’ 1-for-2, two RBI outing led the Golden Eagles, which posted only five hits.
BELMONT 5, UT MARTIN 2 (10)
MARTIN, Tenn. - Belmont University Baseball defeated UT Martin 5-2 in extra innings to secure the series victory Saturday. The Bruins improve to 4-1 in Ohio Valley Conference play with the win.
UT Martin drew first blood in the bottom of the second, scoring a run after a leadoff double to take a 1-0 lead.
Belmont made good contact with the ball through the first five innings but struggled to find the timely hit to get on the board.
Freshman pitcher Joshua South (Cookeville, Tenn.) was impressive on the mound yet again, keeping Belmont within striking distance with stellar pitching. He allowed just one hit through the first five innings.
Both squads' heated up in the sixth. The Bruins manufactured a run in the top of the sixth after junior Hagan Severance (Brentwood, Tenn.) reached on an error. After Severance advanced to third on a groundout and wild pitch, junior Chandler Adkins (Knoxville, Tenn.) drove Severance in to tie the game 1-1.
UT Martin responded immediately in the bottom of the inning, stringing together three two-out hits to take a 2-1 lead after six complete.
Sophomore Kyle Brennan (Franklin, Tenn.) was called on in the seventh and pitched a scoreless seventh, giving Belmont momentum heading into the eighth.
The Bruins knotted things up again in the top of the eighth. Again, Severance got things going with a one-out single. After advancing to third, Severance used some heads-up base running to cross home plate on an errant throw, by the pitcher on a pickoff attempt. After tying things up, Belmont dug its heels in defensively keeping UT Martin off the board in the bottom of the inning.
Neither team was able to cross home plate in the ninth, and the game would head to extra innings.
BU was in good position after scoring three runs in the top of the 10th. For the third time in the game, Severance was the first man aboard in the inning with a base knock. After advancing on an error by the pitcher, Severance scored the third run with an RBI single from senior Zach Ehrhart (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.). Freshman Grayson Taylor (Madison, Ala.) kept the bats hot with another single, putting runners on the corners with just one out. Freshman Jack Capobianco (London, Ky.) batted in Ehrhart when he laid down a beautiful sacrifice bunt, giving BU a 4-2 lead. The final run of the night was scored by Taylor when he crossed home plate on a wild pitch.
With a 5-2 lead, sophomore Logan Bowen (Bowling Green, Ky.) came in to try and notch his second save of the season. Bowen forced three quick outs, preserving BU's 5-2 victory..
SIUE 9, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE starter David Llorens tossed six shutout innings and struck out a career-best 10 hitters Saturday as the Cougars defeated Southeast Missouri 9-3 in the second game of a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series.
SIUE improved to 5-10 overall and 2-3 in the OVC. SEMO fell to 11-8 and also is 2-3 in the OVC.
The six innings from Llorens tied his career long. He surrendered only three hits in the game. Llorens racked up multiple strikeouts in four of the six innings he worked. He improved to 1-2 with the win.
Meanwhile Niznik retired the first 13 SIUE hitters of the day. Raul Elguezabal changed things with one out in the fifth with a solo home run to right to put SIUE on top. Niznik worked 5 1/3 innings and fell to 2-1 with the loss.
Eric Giltz picked up an RBI-hit in the sixth as the Cougars scored twice to go on top 3-0.
Llorens started the seventh, but allowed a couple of base runners before being relieved by Braydon Bone. Bone got out of the inning and added a strikeout to preserve the shutout.
The Cougars took control with a six-run seventh inning against three SEMO relievers. Giltz drove in two with a double, Brock Weimer bounced a ball over the centerfield fence for an RBI-double and Elguezabal and Jordan Ross each picked up RBI singles in the inning.
Giltz was 2 for 3 with three RBIs and run scored. Elguezabal and Ross each finished with two hits for the Cougars.
SEMO scored a runs in the eighth and two in the ninth inning for the final margin. Danny Wright finished 3 for 5 with two RBIs for the Redhawks.
PURDUE 9, JACKSONVILLE STATE 5
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Purdue evened the weekend series with Jacksonville State after posting a 9-5 win over the Gamecocks on Saturday afternoon at Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium.
Fir the second consecutive weekend, Jax State will have a rubber game on Sunday to determine the series. JSU (9-11) blanked the Boilermakers (4-13) on Friday night before Purdue bounced back on Saturday.
Purdue overcame a 1-0 deficit with a nine-run fifth inning. The Boilermakers made the big inning stand up as JSU put up four runs in the final two innings, including a three-run eighth inning. The Boilermakers, who entered the fifth inning without a run in the last 16 innings dating back to Wednesday's contest at Indiana State.
The Boilermakers were able to get to Jax State starter Trey Fortner after he went through the first four innings with allowing two hits and fanned five in the first four frames. Back-to-back singles started the six-hit frame along with a JSU error and a pair of hit-by-pitches. The big hit in the inning came from Purdue's Nick Evarts as he cleared the bases with triple down in to the right field corner. Fortner was touched for six hits, seven runs - five earned runs.
Fortner was staked to an early lead as JSU scored a run in the first inning for the second consecutive game. A leadoff walk by Purdue starter Patrick J. Smith to JSU's Tre Kirklin was the lone run Smith surrendered in his six innings of work. Junior Alex Webb put a ball in play to drive in the first of his three RBI on the day. Smith allowed a pair of JSU hits and turned in eight strikeouts in the win.
Webb connected on a two-run double in the eighth inning to highlight JSU's three-run frame. Redshirt Freshman Nash Adams, who had the grand slam in JSU's walk off win against Troy, turned in a triple and a double in his final two plate appearances. Kirklin, Tanner Anderson, Cole Frederick and Grant Atkins all had hits in the setback.