SUNDAY'S SCORES
UT Martin 4, @Eastern Illinois 1
Belmont 9, @Tennessee Tech 5
@Murray State 8, Eastern Kentucky 7
@Austin Peay 13, SIUE 11
@Jacksonville State 6, Morehead State 2
@Purdue 6,
Southeast Missouri 2
UT MARTIN 4, EASTERN ILLINOIS 1
CHARLESTON, Ill. - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball squad claimed the series from Eastern Illinois in today’s 4-1 win over the Ohio Valley Conference foe.
Both sides of the ball pulled through in the series finale while Nick Wohlbold notched his historic ninth save of the season which ranks most in a single season in UT Martin history, surpassing Patrick Bernard’s eight in 2015. He is tied for Bernard for most saves in a career with nine.
UT Martin (18-25, 7-14) was led by Billy Edwards. Although he did not connect for a hit, he drove in a pair of RBIs to lead the Skyhawks on the day. The duo of Blake Daniels and Casey Harford each tallied a hit and an RBI in the contest. Sean Dixson paced all UT Martin batters in hits as he pounded out a trio of knocks. Jordan Stoner connected for a pair of base hits while Blake Davis rapped out one knock in the Sunday matinee. Creighton Eldridge showed great patience as he worked out three free bases on the day.
Righty Winston Cannon drew the starting nod and tossed seven strong innings. The Cookeville, Tenn. native allowed only four hits, two walks and one earned run as he sat down seven Panthers on strikes. Wohlbold etched his name in the record book as he logged a two-inning save. He conceded just one hit and held Eastern Illinois scoreless as he fanned a couple of batters along the way.
Cannon worked around a one-out two bagger in the first inning to force a pop out and then sit down the final batter of the frame on strikes. In the second, evaded trouble as he once again conceded a one-out double and then issued a four-pitch free base. He kept his composure though to induce a fly out and fan the next batter to escape the frame. The third inning saw Cannon cruise through the frame as he retired the side in order via a pair of fly outs and a pop out, respectively.
UT Martin cracked into the scoring column in the fourth inning when Davis led off the frame with a first-pitch single to left center before advancing to second on a passed ball. Eldridge then worked the count for a six-pitch free base. Whitley would reach on an attempted sacrifice bunt but all runners would be safe in the process. An Edwards groundout would be good enough to bring in Davis and give the Skyhawks a 1-0 advantage.
Eastern Illinois answered in the bottom of the fourth with a run of its own to knot things up at 1-1 however Cannon would record a strikeout in the process.
In the fifth inning, Cannon forced a first-pitch fly out to the opening batter before allowing a single up the middle. He then used a nifty pickoff move to catch the offending runner in a pickle and wipe the base paths clean before inducing a foul out to first base to conclude the inning. Cannon kept chugging along in the sixth as he once again sat down the side in order on a pair of swinging strikeouts with a foul out sandwiched in between.
Dixson opened the seventh inning with a leadoff triple to right field before Daniels plated him on a groundout to give UT Martin a 2-1 lead.
Cannon worked his magic again in the seventh as he put away the Panthers in order via pop out and a couple of strikeouts for his final inning of work.
The Skyhawks put up another run in the eighth as Davis and Eldridge each worked five-pitch free bases, respectively. Hayden Cooper then pinch hit and moved both runners over on a groundout. Edwards then plated Davis via sacrifice fly to push the UT Martin lead out to 3-1.
Wohlbold entered the contest in the eighth for the two-inning save situation. He worked around a leadoff single to right before retiring the next two batters on swinging strikeouts. He forced the next batter of the frame to fly out to left center to get out of the inning.
UT Martin put up one more run in the ninth as Dixson got the inning going with a first-pitch leadoff single to left. A Daniels groundout back to the pitcher would allow Dixson to move up to second before he later shifted over to third on a wild pitch. Harford then ripped a knock up the middle to bring in Dixson and give the Skyhawks a 4-1 advantage, the eventual final score.
In the ninth, Wohlbold shut the door as he retired the Eastern Illinois batters in order on a couple of groundouts with a pop out in between for his historic save.
BELMONT 9, TENNESSEE TECH 5
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Quality at bats and clutch pitching boosted Belmont University Baseball to a 9-5 victory over conference rival Tennessee Tech on Sunday afternoon.
Belmont got started on a high note with its leadoff batter, senior Zach Ehrhart (Mt. Juliet) sending a long ball over the right field fence on the first swing of the day. With the early lead, the Bruins kept pounding the ball, notching another home run in the inning. This time, senior Hunter Holland (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) sent a two-run bomb over the left field fence to give Belmont a 3-0 lead after the first half inning.
Sophomore Korey Bell (Brentwood, Tenn.) kept the Golden Eagles off the board through the first inning, preserving the Belmont lead.
Tennessee Tech got its bats going in the bottom of the second, scoring four runs on four hits to take a 4-3 lead. A one-run bottom of the third for Tennessee Tech put BU at a 5-3 deficit.
The Bruins got back in the scoring column in the top of the fifth. After three-consecutive walks loaded the bases, Holland worked a walk. With nowhere to put him, Belmont cut the deficit 5-4.
Belmont blew the lead open in the top of the sixth. Sophomore Jackson Campbell (Russellville, Ky.) got things going with a one-out single to shallow center. Ehrhart then laid down a picture-perfect bunt for a hit and junior Chandler Adkins (Knoxville, Tenn.) was walked to load the bases. With two outs, senior Devon Gardner (Maryville, Tenn.) delivered a timely single to left field that scored two runs to take a 6-5 lead. Holland's bat stayed hot as he hammered his second homerun of the day. This three-run long ball gave Belmont a 9-5 lead.
Junior Justin Fowlkes (Collierville, Tenn.) threw five impressive relief innings, giving up just two runs. Fowlkes gave way to freshman Aaron Hubbell (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) in the bottom of the seventh. Hubbell shut the door, throwing two-consecutive three up, three down innings to keep BU on top.
Belmont held the 9-5 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth. The Golden Eagles put two base runners on with a hit and a walk and Belmont called on sophomore Kyle Brennan (Franklin, Tenn.) for the final out. Brennan capped off the victory with a strikeout for his seventh save on the season.
Fowlkes improved to 3-0 on the season and BU improved to 16-8 in OVC play.
MURRAY STATE 8, EASTERN KENTUCKY 7
MURRAY, Ky. - For the second straight day, the Murray State baseball team came back from six runs down to defeat Eastern Kentucky, earning the series sweep with an 8-7 win, Sunday afternoon at Reagan Field.
Similar to yesterday, the Racer bullpen was the key to victory as six pitchers threw one scoreless inning each, allowing a total of three hits while striking out three. As the Racers got closer and eventually took the lead, Justin Thomas, Jake Jones, and Braydon Cook each did not allow a hit in the final three innings of the game to secure the win.
The Racers only had six hits of the day led by Wes Schad and Bryan Chilton with two each, but the biggest hit of the day belonged to Ryan Perkins who smacked a game-tying two-run home run in the seventh inning, his eighth of the season.
Murray State started off sluggish out of the gate as the Colonels had a couple of hits clank off Racer gloves to take a 5-0 lead after two turns at-bat.
Despite the early deficit, Skirka didn't feel the need for a motivational speech in the dugout as he had confidence in his players.
The Racers got one run back in the bottom of the second when Schad double to lead off the inning before coming around to score from second on a sacrifice fly by CJ Bush.
After a scoreless third inning for both teams in the third, the Colonels added two more runs in the fourth to take a 7-1 lead after four innings, the same as yesterday.
Like Saturday, the Racers started their rally in the fifth, scoring three runs on two hits and a couple of EKU errors. Chilton knocked in the first two runs of the inning with an RBI single through the left side. Perkins was then hit by a pitch before advancing to third on a bunt by Jake Slunder, but when the throw to third got away, Perkins came scampering on home to make it a three-run game.
After Connor Holden pitched a scoreless top of the sixth, MSU chipped away a little more in the bottom of the inning as Schad singled and advanced to second on an error to lead off the inning before moving over to third on a sacrifice bunt and scoring on Bush's second sacrifice fly of the game.
The comeback was made complete in the seventh when Chilton walked to lead off the inning before watching Perkins crush a ball over his head along with everyone else's head for a game tying two-run shot.
The Racers took the lead later in the inning when Slunder walked and advanced to third on an errant pickoff attempt. The sophomore then started dancing off third base, distracting the pitcher and ultimately forcing a balk.
The final two innings went by quickly as Jones pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the eighth before Cook closed it out in the ninth with his fifth save of the season.
AUSTIN PEAY 13, SIUE 11
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - A three-run seventh-inning provided Austin Peay State University’s baseball team enough breathing room to post a 13-11 Ohio Valley Conference victory against SIUE on Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park. With the win, Austin Peay completed a sweep of the three-game league series.
The opening four innings featured three ties, four lead changes and the teams tied 10-10. SIUE (16-25, 8-13 OVC) used a pair of four-run innings to take leads of 4-0 after the top of the second inning and 10-7 after the top of the fourth. Austin Peay (24-18, 16-8 OVC) responded to the Cougars second-inning rally with six runs to take the lead. In the fourth, the Governors scored three runs to tie the game.
After a couple of scoreless frames, Austin Peay would break the 10-10 tie with its three-run seventh inning. Pinch hitter Malcolm Tipler started the frame with a single and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and left fielder Aaron Campbell’s single. Right fielder Parker Phillips would break the tie with a line drive to center field that was just deep enough for Tipler to score in front of the throw.
The Governors weren’t done in the seventh, catcher David Martinez driving in a second run with a single that also pushed center fielder Garrett Spain to third base. Spain would score as the Govs were successful in a delayed double steal that saw Martinez caught out after Spain touched home for the 13-10 lead.
SIUE would have opportunities to rally in the final two innings against closer Brett Newberg, who was making his third relief appearance of the weekend. The Cougars would plate a run in the eighth when a one-out walk was driven in two batters later when the Govs couldn’t complete a double play. But SIUE would leave a runner on base in that inning and also in the ninth as Newberg struck out the final three batters of the game.
Austin Peay reliever Greg Leban (3-0) was the fifth man out of the bullpen and tossed two scoreless innings, striking out two, to pick up the win. Newberg struck out five of the nine batters he faced over the final two innings to notch his sixth save.
Spain, Martinez, shortstop Garrett Kueber and designated hitter Matt Joslin each had two hits. Martinez notched a pair of RBI, including an RBI double in the fourth inning. Kueber hit a two-run home run – his second homer of the series – to also finish with two RBI. Phillips did not record a hit on the day but had a pair of sacrifice flies.
SIUE reliever Tyler Hutchinson (1-2) allowed two runs in the decisive seventh inning and was dealt the loss. Catcher Brock Weimer went 2-for-4 with three RBI to lead the Cougars offense.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 6, MOREHEAD STATE 2
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Jacksonville State collected another Ohio Valley Conference weekend series with a 6-2 series-deciding win over Morehead State on Sunday afternoon on Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium.
The Gamecocks bounced back after falling 5-0 on Friday night to claim their sixth OVC set of the season and fifth in a row. JSU improved to 23-20 overall and 14-7 in OVC play, while MSU dropped to 28-17 on the season and 12-9 in the conference. Jax State entered the weekend with a share of first place in the OVC standings and will exit the weekend with a share of the top spot with Belmont (16-8) and Austin Peay (16-8).
For the second consecutive contest, Jax State had another stellar pitching performance and a four-hit day at the plate. Redshirt sophomore Dylan Hathcock tossed seven shutout innings before the Eagles touched him for a run in the seventh inning. Sophomore Cole Frederick became the second Gamecock on the weekend to tally four hits in a game as he followed junior Alex Webb's four-hit game on Saturday night.
Frederick gave Hathcock a lead to work with in the first inning with an RBI double down the left field line, scoring junior Tre Kirklin. The Tuscaloosa, Alabama native delivered a two-out, two-run double in his next at bat in the third inning to extend the JSU lead to 4-0. Frederick added a bunt single in the fourth and a base hit to right field in the sixth. He finished with three RBI on the day. For the weekend, Frederick hit .500 (7-14) with five RBI.
Hathcock, the Tallassee, Alabama lefty baffled the Eagles' order with 14 ground ball outs and recorded five fly ball outs. Hathcock did not issue a walk until the final batter he faced in the eighth, walking the leadoff hitter. He carded his first win as a Gamecock. Junior Corley Woods finished the final two frames, including a pair of strikeouts. As a pitching staff, JSU accumulated 28 strikeouts and limited MSU to five free passes in 27 innings of work.
Jax State kept adding cushion for Hathcock with a two-run fourth inning. Sophomore Alex Strachan connected on a one-out solo home run to left field. Webb added the final RBI of the day with a single to centerfield.
Sophomore Isaac Alexander had multiple hits with a double and a single.
PURDUE 6, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 2
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Freshman Andrew Keck had two hits as Southeast Missouri (20-25) dropped its series finale to Purdue (17-26), 6-2, Sunday afternoon.
Purdue put up three runs in the bottom of the third inning. Tyler Powers tripled to left center and scored on a sacrifice bunt by Milo Beam. Back-to-back two-out singles by Skyler Hunter and Cole McKenzie scored the other runs as the Boilermakers took a 3-0 lead.
Beam drove in Powers on an infield single to increase Purdue's lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the fourth.
SEMO got on the board in the top of the sixth inning. Austin Blazevic walked and Alex Nielsen was hit by a pitch. After both runners advanced on a wild pitch, Andrew Keck singled up the middle to make it a 4-2 game.
The Boilermakers, however, scored an unearned run in each of the sixth and seventh innings to push their lead to 6-2.
Defensively, SEMO committed a season-high four errors which led to three unearned tallies.
McKenzie went 3-for-4 to lead Purdue which finished with eight hits.
James Kulak picked up the win in relief. Kulak walked two in 1.1 no-hit innings. Noah Niznik (2-2) suffered the loss. Niznik struck out four, walked two and allowed five hits in 3.2 innings.
Keck went 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Hunter Southerland, Tyler Wilber and Connor Basler followed with a hit.