WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 5, Lindenwood-Belleville 2
Murray State 8, @Austin Peay 3
Alabama State 9,
@Jacksonville State 5
@Evansville 9,
SIUE 5
@UT Martin 8, Union 3
Dayton 17,
@Eastern Kentucky 5
EASTERN ILLINOIS 5, LINDENWOOD-BELLEVILLE 2
CHARLESTON, Ill. - The Eastern Illinois baseball team played host to Lindenwood-Belleville Wednesday afternoon. The Panthers got on the board early and were able to hold off the Lynx to pick up their 12th win of the season.
With the win EIU improves to 12-12 on the season.
Tyler Jones got the start on the hill for the Panthers. Jones picked up his first win of the season improving to 1-2 on the season. Jones tossed 8.0 innings with 10 strikeouts.
The Panthers got on the board early with a four run first inning. Grant Emme got the early rally started with a one out single up the middle. Hunter Morris drove in the first run for the Panthers with a double to left center. Ryan Knernschield would move Morris to third with a single to center. Christian Pena would load the bases for the Panthers by drawing a one out walk. Matt Waznis would drive in the second run of the game with a single up the middle. The Panthers would take a 4-0 lead when Keith Kerrigan would reach on a fielding error.
EIU would add to their lead in the bottom of the third inning extending their lead to five runs.
Lindenwood was able to break the shutout in the top of the ninth inning scoring two runs. Cody Bauza would drive in the only runs of the game for the Lynx with a two run double to right center.
Knernschield had an impressive day at the plate for EIU. Knernschield finished 4-for-4 with two runs, a triple, and a double.
MURRAY STATE 8, AUSTIN PEAY 3
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - For the third time in four opportunities this season, the Murray State baseball team left the field victorious over Austin Peay after defeating the Governors, 8-3, Wednesday evening at Raymond C. Hand Park in Clarksville, Tennessee.
The Racers improve to 11-13 while APSU falls to 12-11. This game did not count toward OVC standings or the Battle of the Border.
Ryan Perkins went 2-3 with a home run and four runs batted in. Jordan Holly also added two hits, including a home run.
Six Racer pitchers combined to allow just three runs and struck out eight. Joe Ivey started the game and went four innings while striking out four and allowing just one run to earn the win.
Austin Peay put runners on all game but when the situation got tougher, the Racer pitchers buckled down as they held the Governors to 0-16 with runners in scoring position.
The scoring started early for the Racers as they loaded the bases without out a hit before Ryan Perkins knocked in a pair with a bloop single that landed just fair inside the left field line.
The Governors got a run back in the second, but Perkins answered in the fourth with a two-run home run to right. The right fielder gave a courtesy jog after it, but the whole ballpark knew the ball was gone as soon as it left the bat.
In the fifth, Jake Slunder knocked in the Racers' fifth run with a chopper over the drawn-in third baseman's head to drive in Jordan Holly. After two straight strikeouts, Austin Peay learned their lesson and intentionally walked Perkins to load the bases for Jaron Robinson. However, Robinson made them pay with a two-run two-out single up the middle to make it a 7-1 game.
After APSU cut into the lead in the fifth with two runs, Holly got a run back in the sixth with the first home run of his collegiate career, going back to his playing days at Walters State.
That was all the scoring in the game as Braydon Cook, Blake Clynes, and Peyton Hayes combined to throw three scoreless innings to end the game.
ALABAMA STATE 9, JACKSONVILLE STATE 5
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Senior Nic Gaddis collected three hits and three RBI in Jacksonville State's 9-5 setback to in-state foe Alabama State on Wednesday evening on Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium.
The Gamecocks dropped to 11-14 overall.
Gaddis extended his on-base streak to 16 consecutive games with a single in his first at bat and added a two RBI double in the seventh. The Trenton, Georgia native, who started at third base and then moved to centerfield for the ninth inning, capped off his night with a solo home run over the left field wall. Gaddis' fifth home run of the season traveled 355 feet and left the bat at 100 miles per hour. His on-base streak ranks among the best in the OVC. After Wednesday night, it ranked sixth-best in the league. He reached base four times with his 20th walk of the season.
Jax State played from behind the entire night and had chances to get even but stranded 10 on the base paths. The Hornets (14-13) posted single runs in the second and third inning off oj JSU starter Andrew Naismith. The Auburn, Alabama product scattered four hits in his four innings of work and fanned three.
An RBI single by Nash Adams plated JSU's first run of the contest in the fifth. Adams' base hit scored Chase Robinson, who connected on a leadoff triple. After ASU pushed the deficit out to 3-1 with a run in the visitors' half of the sixth, an error by the Hornets scored a Gamecock run. Junior Taylor Craven's ground ball was misplayed, scoring Gaddis from second base.
The Hornets broke the game open with a four-run seventh, which was highlighted by four hits put together by Hornets. The big blow was a two-out, two-RBI double by Noel Cheneau. Jax State trimmed ASU's lead to 9-4 with Gaddis' double in the seventh.
Adams was the other Gamecock to have multiple hits against ASU pitching. ASU starter Jeremy Rivera went 6.1 innings and touched for eight hits but collected six strikeouts to pick up his third win of the season. Naismith was tagged with the loss. Alexander Castro finished the game for the Hornets and posted five strikeouts.
EVANSVILLE 9, SIUE 5
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - SIUE baseball dropped a 9-5 decision Wednesday at Evansville.
The Cougars fell to 8-14 overall. Evansville is 11-9.
The second inning proved to be an eventful one for the Cougars.
SIUE banged out five hits in the top of the inning, scoring four times. Jackson Caley picked up his first career hit and RBI with a one-out double. Brady Bunten followed with a single to score Caley. Eric Giltz later collected a pair of RBIs with a two-out, two-run single to put the Cougars up 4-0.
In the bottom of the inning, the Aces loaded the bases on an error, a hit batter and a walk. Troy Beilsmith walked to force in a run to get Evansville on the board.
Evansville shortstop Craig Shepherd followed and lined a ball to Brady Bunten at second. Bunten flipped to Jordan Ross at second base catching the runner off base. Ross then threw to first catching the runner there for a triple play.
UE added another run in the third when Craig Tanner homered and then plated three in the fourth inning to take a 5-4 lead. Nate Reeder drove home two in the inning for the Purple Aces.
SIUE's Peyton Cordova-Smith tied the score with an RBI-hit in the fifth.
Evansville took the lead for good with two runs in the sixth. Reeder added another RBI for the Aces with an infield hit. UE scored twice more, both with the help of wild pitches in the seventh and the eighth innings.
The Cougars used six pitchers. Ryan Byrd started and worked 3 1/3 innings and allowed five runs. He struck out four but walked seven. Cole Milam suffered the loss. He allowed two runs in 2/3 of an inning. He fell to 0-2.
Giltz, Cordova-Smith, Bunten and Jordan Ross each had two hits for the Cougars.
UT MARTIN 8, UNION 3
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team downed regional rival Union by an 8-3 margin this evening.
UT Martin (9-15) was led at the dish by Sean Dixson (three hits and two RBIs) while Creighton Eldridge also tallied a trio of base knocks (including a triple) and drove in one run. Blake Daniels notched a two-hit day and plated a run while Casey Harford and Billy Edwards (first career home run) each had a knock and an RBI apiece. Blake Davis roped a couple of hits to round out the offensive side of things.
Eldridge’s three-bagger moved him into third all-time in program history in career triples. His eight triples in a Skyhawk uniform is tied with Churchill Moore (1986-87).
Seth Petry (1-0) drew the starting nod and logged 3.1 innings on the mound. He allowed just one earned run while sitting down a pair of Bulldogs via the punchout. He conceded just one hit and issued one base on balls. Zach Denney followed Petry and clocked in for 1.2 innings of relief while he also fanned two batters. Jeff O’Doherty tallied 0.1 inning of work while David Hussey tossed 1.2 innings of perfect baseball while also recording a couple of strikeouts. Marcus Eusebio came on in relief for an inning of work and forced two batters to whiff as he did not allow a run to cross the plate. Finishing things off was Nick Wohlbold who worked around a pair of hits and a walk to retire the side via strikes.
Petry was dealing early as he needed just five pitches to get out of the first inning. He forced a pair of popouts to first base followed by a groundout to shortstop.
The Skyhawks struck early as they put up a trio of runs in the first inning. Dixson got things started with a single to left field followed by a Daniels double to left center to put both runners in scoring position. Harford reached via a fielder’s choice while Dixson was caught trying to cross the plate. A Davis infield hit to the catcher followed by an errant throw by the backstop would be enough to bring Daniels and Harford in. Then Eldridge stepped to the plate and roped a triple to right field to plate Davis and give his squad a 3-0 advantage.
Petry kept up the efficient pace in the second as he worked around a two-out walk with a strikeout mixed in.
UT Martin tallied a pair of run in the second inning as Edwards worked the count to draw a free base just before a Dixson long ball would put the Skyhawks up by a 5-0 margin.
Petry was chugging right along in the third as he sat down the side in order via a lineout, strikeout and groundout, respectively.
Union would rally for a pair of runs in the fourth inning to inch back 5-2.
Denney made quick work of the Bulldogs in the fifth as he forced a flyout sandwiched in between a pair of strikeouts.
UT Martin added on a run in the sixth as Edwards ripped a homer down the right field line to give his team a 6-2 lead.
Hussey kept a cool head as he worked around a one-out error to follow up the inning with a pair of Union whiffs. Eusebio came on in the eighth and would find himself in a pickle but managed to work out of trouble with a flyout and a pair of strikeouts.
The Skyhawks put up two more runs in the eighth with Dixson singling through the left side to get the frame started. A Daniels two-bagger down the right field line would be good enough to plate Dixson. Stoner then moved Daniels up to third base on a flyout before he came home on a Harford groundout to make the score 8-2.
The Bulldogs rallied for a run in the ninth to give the final score of 8-3 but not before Wohlbold recorded three strikeouts in the frame.
DAYTON 17, EASTERN KENTUCKY 5
RICHMOND, Ky. - Eastern Kentucky University’s baseball team jumped out to a 3-0 lead but the University of Dayton scored 11 unanswered on its way to a 17-5 win on Wednesday at Earle Combs Stadium.
Will Johnson led off the bottom of the first inning with a solo home run over the wall in left center. It was his sixth of the season and the first of five straight hits for EKU. The final two hits in the streak were an RBI single to left center from Chris Botsoe and a run scoring double down the left field line by Brent Lovell. The Colonels ended the first with a 3-0 advantage.
The Flyers (11-11-1) answered with seven runs in the second and three more in the third to pull out to a big lead. Connor Echols’ two-run single through the left side highlighted a second inning that featured five hits for Dayton and two Eastern errors. Tate Hagan had a two-run double in the third for UD.
Ryland Kerr had a two-run single in the bottom of the seventh for Eastern Kentucky (14-12). He finished 2-for-5 with a run and two RBIs. Lovell went 1-for-3 with an RBI. Botsoe was 2-for-4 with a run.
Echols finished the night 2-for-4 with a run and three RBIs. Hagan was 2-for-4 with three driven in. Takahiro Yamada had a 3-for-5 day with a walk, three runs and two RBI.