SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Austin Peay 11, Belmont 3
@Jacksonville State 12, Tennessee Tech 10
Eastern Kentucky 9, @SIUE 1
AUSTIN PEAY 11, BELMONT 3
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Starting pitcher Jacques Pucheu opened with seven scoreless frames while Austin Peay State University’s baseball team supplied plenty of run support in an 11-3 Ohio Valley Conference victory against Belmont, Saturday morning on Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park.
Pucheu (4-0) was nearly unhittable for a second-straight home start, scattering three hits through the first seven innings. He retired 12 consecutive batters from the third through seventh innings.
Meanwhile, the Austin Peay (13-12, 7-4 OVC) offense struck in the first inning to support their starter. The first four Govs of the game reached base safely, center fielder Garrett Spain earning a bases-loaded walk to push the first run home. Right fielder Parker Phillips and designated hitter Matt Joslin each added a run with sacrifice flies, and first baseman John McDonald pushed the lead to 4-0 with his RBI single.
After three scoreless innings by both teams, the Governors used the long ball to do damage in the fifth and sixth. Catcher David Martinez and Phillips each hit home runs in a three-run fifth. Second baseman Bobby head hit a solo home run in a two-run sixth as the Govs pushed their lead to 9-0.
Belmont (13-13, 8-3 OVC) would break up Pucheu’s shutout bid in the eighth when catcher Jackson Campbell hit a solo home run. The Bruins would tack on a pair of runs in the ninth but could not get any closer.
Pucheu tied his season long with eight innings pitched and his 11 strikeouts were one shy of his career high. He did not walk a batter and allowed just four hits to the 28 batters he faced.
Martinez went 3-for-5 with two RBI with a triple and a home run. Phillips finished the day 3-for-4 with two RBI, and Head was 2-for-4 with three RBI.
Belmont starter Joshua South (2-3) went four-plus innings, surrendering six runs on seven hits and three walks in the loss. Left fielder Hunter Holland was 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, accounting for half the Bruins hits.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 12, TENNESSEE TECH 10
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Jacksonville State claimed its Ohio Valley Conference weekend series with Tennessee Tech with a 12-10 slugfest on Saturday night on Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium.
The Gamecocks (13-14, 5-3 OVC) claimed their second OVC series of the season and will be looking for a sweep of the Golden Eagles (11-13, 2-9 OVC) on Sunday in the series finale. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. on Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium. Tickets are available on JSUGamecockSports.com and JSU students and fans 18 years old and younger are admitted free.
JSU erased a 7-1 deficit with a six-run fourth inning that was highlighted by a bases-clearing triple to the right centerfield gap by redshirt freshman Nash Adams that trimmed the TTU lead down to a run at 7-6. Jax State took advantage of three walks by Tech starter Mark Leonard and a single by Isaac Alexander sandwiched between the free passes. Sophomore Cole Frederick put the ball in play for the game-tying RBI. The Gamecocks capped off biggest run-producing inning of the season with junior Andrew Naismith's triple to left field.
Tech equalized two at bats later with a fielder's choice RBI, but junior Corley Woods limited the Golden Eagles to the one run after getting out of a bases-loaded jam. Woods finished the sixth and pitched the seventh and tallied the first two outs in the eighth. Woods wound up the winning pitcher and moved to 3-0 on the season, but it was the work of senior Cody Willingham that kept JSU in the game after Tech scored seven runs in the first three innings, including a four spot in the first inning off of JSU starter Trey Fortner.
Willingham tossed a career high 3.2 innings and collected a career-best six strikeouts in the outing. The Rainsville, Alabama native scattered five hits and allowed one run against Tech.
Jax State broke open the 8-8 deadlock with four runs with two outs in the seventh. Senior Nic Gaddis started the inning with one of his three hits on the night as he turned in a leadoff double. Tech's Thomas Saliba looked to avoid trouble after getting the next two Gamecock hitters, but Alexandria singled to left, plating the go-ahead run. Alexander's hit sparked the JSU order as freshman Carson Crowe pelted a double to right center field, followed by a pinch-hit RBI single by Zeth Malcom. Adams reached on a TTU throwing error that allowed pinch runner Grant Atkins to score.
Junior Jackson Tavel, facing the TTU line up for the second consecutive day finished the eighth and tallied the first two outs in the ninth. TTU's Keven Strohschein had the first of back-to-back home runs in the final at bat. Strohschein was one of two Tech hitters to go 4-for-5 on the night. Nathan McMeans also had four hits. TTU's Jason Hinchman followed Strohschein's home run.
Senior Austin Brewster recorded his second career save in as many games with the final out.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 9, SIUE 1
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Eastern Kentucky University’s baseball team scored five in the fourth and added four late runs to pull away for a 9-1 series clinching victory over Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on Saturday.
The Colonels won game one of the series 12-9 on Friday and stretched their conference winning streak to five straight with Saturday’s win.
EKU (16-12, 5-3 OVC) broke a scoreless tie by pushing across five runs on three hits and four walks in the top of the fourth inning. Nick Howie and Chris Botsoe started the frame with consecutive walks. After a strikeout, Charles Ludwick drew a walk to load the bases. Howie came home on a wild pitch before three straight doubles by Corey Conklin, Logan Thomason and Will Johnson drove in four more runs.
The Cougars (8-16, 4-7 OVC) got on the board in the bottom half of the fourth when Jack Rigoni scored on a wild pitch.
EKU added two runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth. Botsoe had an RBI double in the seventh. A.J. Lewis had a run scoring single in the eighth.
Kaven Brown (6-1) started for Eastern Kentucky and picked up his conference leading sixth win of the season. The senior allowed one unearned run on four hits, walked five and struck out one in seven innings.
Conklin finished the game 2-for-4 with a walk, two runs and two RBIs. Howie and Thomason each had two hits and scored two runs. Ludwick was 0-for-1 with a run scored and drew three walks. Will Brian struck out five in two innings of scoreless relief for EKU.
Five different SIUE players had one hit each. The two teams combined for 18 walks.