TUESDAY'S SCORES
Eastern Kentucky 11, Northern Kentucky 8 (Lexington, Ky.)
Jacksonville State 11, @Samford 5
UT Martin 7, @Lipscomb 3
@#2 Vanderbilt 21,
Tennessee Tech 10
EASTERN KENTUCKY 11, NORTHERN KENTUCKY 8
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Eastern Kentucky University’s baseball team scored 10 runs combined in the fourth and fifth innings to overcome an 8-1 deficit and beat Northern Kentucky University 11-8 on Tuesday at Whitaker Bank Ballpark in Lexington.
Back-to-back walks to start the fourth inning set up an RBI single from Christian Lucio to get the 5-run frame started. Ryland Kerr followed with a two-run single to left. Logan Thomason’s RBI double capped the inning and got EKU within two, 8-6.
Lucio got another five-run inning started with a single to start the fifth. Later in the inning he scored on a double steal to get the Colonels (24-21) within one. A ground ball by Thomason tied the game 8-8. Three batters later, Daniel Harris IV hit a 3-run home run to complete the comeback.
A walk put two runners on for Northern Kentucky in the second inning and Andrew Bacon hit a three-run home run to make it 5-0. A one-out walk in the third preceded a two-run home run by Matt Jewell to put Northern in front 7-0. NKU scored its first seven runs on just three hits.
Lucio got Eastern on the board in the bottom of the third with a solo home run, his fifth of the season. He finished 3-for-4 with a walk three runs and two RBIs.
Thomason had a 3-for-5 day with a run and two RBIs. Harris finished 1-for-3 with a walk, a run and three RBIs. Jacob Abbott (1-0) earned the win after pitching three scoreless innings of relief. He allowed just one hit and struck out five.
The Norse (10-33) totaled just four hits on the day. Bacon was 1-for-3 with two runs and three RBIs.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 11, SAMFORD 6
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Jacksonville State baseball team wrapped up its non-conference road schedule and the month of April with an 11-6 over in-state rival Samford on Tuesday night at Joe Lee Griffin Field.
The Gamecocks' win was powered by three home runs and three doubles as they scored multiple runs in five of the nine frames. JSU started strong with a 5-0 lead in the first two innings and kept adding runs throughout in the contest. The win moved JSU to 24-20 on the season and gained a split with SU in the two-game season set between the two clubs. The win avenged a 5-3 loss to the Bulldogs back on March 5 on Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case Stadium. It also snapped a four-game losing skid to Samford and the first win on the Bulldogs' diamond since 2015. The Bulldogs dropped to 33-13 overall.
Junior Tre Kirklin led all Gamecocks with a three-hit night, including an RBI double in the second inning and one of the three JSU home runs on the night against Samford arms. The Kennesaw, Georgia outfielder extended JSU's lead to 7-3 in the fourth inning after SU trimmed a 5-0 deficit to 5-3 in the home half of the third inning. Kirklin was involved in JSU's two-run seventh with a bunt single and scored on junior Alex Webb's bases-loaded two-run double for the final scoring of the night for the Gamecocks.
Senior Nic Gaddis started the scoring early as JSU took advantage of a Samford error and a single by Webb. Gaddis delivered JSU's 50th home run of the season with a three-run blast over the left center wall. Sophomore Alex Strachan added his name to the home run list with a towering two-run home run in the fifth.
Junior Devin Brown added two hits on the night as Jax State finished with 11 total hits.
The trio of Trey Fortner, Michael Gilliland and Jackson Tavel held the Bulldogs to the five runs on eight hits and combined for eight strikeouts. Fortner tossed the first 2.2 innings and recorded two strikeouts. Gilliland, a freshman left from Boaz, Alabama, already had one good outing against Samford in the first contest with four-plus innings of work and struck out five Bulldogs. On Tuesday, he mirrored that outing with 4.1 innings of work and allowed a pair of hits to the Bulldogs. Gilliland added three more strikeouts to his seasons' total versus Samford. He notched his second win of the season as both have come against in-state programs (Auburn, Samford). Tavel capped off the evening with the final two frames and collected three strikeouts.
UT MARTIN 7, LIPSCOMB 3
NASHVILLE - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball squad notched a 7-3 win over Lipscomb this evening as Nick Wohlbold became the school’s all-time saves leader.
Wohlbold picked up his 10th save of the season as well as his career which puts him in first place in program history for most career saves. The sophomore from Columbia, Mo. surpasses Patrick Bernard’s (2015-16) nine. He passed Bernard for most in a season (eight) after the Skyhawks beat Eastern Illinois this past Sunday by a score of 4-1.
UT Martin (19-25) was led at the dish by the pairing of Blake Daniels and Jordan Stoner as both men tallied a pair of knocks and couple of RBIs in the contest. Sean Dixson rapped out two hits including a double as he pushed one run across the plate and earned a free base and was plunked by a pitch to get on base four times. Blake Davis belted a solo home run – his eighth long ball of the season. Casey Harford did not notch a hit but was able to bring in a run on the night. Creighton Eldridge tallied a pair of hits including a two-bagger while Billy Edwards also rapped out a hit in the game. Tyson Cox was held hitless but made up for things by swiping a pair of bases.
Seth Petry (4-1) drew the starting nod and came out victorious as he logged five complete innings. The Murfreesboro, Tenn. native allowed two earned runs on four hits and a walk while he fanned one Lipscomb batter. Marcus Eusebio clocked in for 0.2 inning of work and sat down one via the punchout. David Hussey came on for 1.1 innings of relief as he allowed just one base runner on a hit and fanned three along the way. Zach Denney followed with 1.2 innings of one-run baseball and forced three Bisons to whiff before his day was through. Wohlbold was called upon to close the door as he needed to get just one out to secure the victory.
The Skyhawks got off to a hot start as they plated a run in the opening frame. Dixson beat out an infield single on the first pitch he saw. Daniels moved Dixson over to second via a groundout before a Stoner knock to right put runners at the corners. Harford then grounded out to short but it would be enough to bring in Dixson and give UT Martin a 1-0 advantage early on in the contest.
In the bottom half of the first, Petry worked around a leadoff single to left center to induce a fielder’s choice to swap out base runners. He then got some help from his backstop, Davis, to catch the runner attempting a swipe of second base. The next batter of the inning grounded out to third which allowed Petry to get through the frame on 11 pitches.
Petry opened and closed the second inning with a foul out as he mixed in a ground out by working around a two-out walk. He was efficient in the third as he retired the side in order via line out, strikeout looking and ground out, respectively.
UT Martin added on a run in the fourth as Davis sent a solo shot to left field which put the Skyhawks up 2-0.
In the fourth inning, Petry plunked the first batter he faced but induced a nifty 4-6-3 double play ball to wipe the base paths clean. He hit the third batter of the frame but forced another groundout to get out of the inning unscathed.
The UT Martin fifth saw a pair of runs come home as Edwards got things going with an infield knock to first base. Cox then reached via fielder’s choice and swiped second base just before Dixson got on after being plunked. A Daniels single to center put runners on every bag in time for a Stoner single to left field that plated both Cox and Dixson giving the Skyhawks a 4-0 lead.
Lipscomb notched a two-run fifth to inch back by a score of 4-2.
Three more runs would cross the plate in the sixth in UT Martin’s favor. Davis led off the frame by reaching first on a throwing error by the Bisons’ shortstop and later moved up to second via a wild pitch. Hayden Cooper worked a four-pitch free base just before Edwards earned his own walk on five pitches to juice the bases. Dixson would be issued four straight balls to walk in Davis. A Daniels single to center would be good enough to plate both Cooper and Edwards and give their ball club a 7-2 lead.
The Skyhawks worked out of a pickle in the bottom of the sixth while Eusebio recorded a strikeout his 0.2 inning of toeing the rubber. Hussey would come on to finish out the frame and needed just three pitches to induce a fly out to center. He worked into the seventh and tossed the complete inning. Hussey conceded a leadoff single before fanning the next three batters to hold Lipscomb out of the scoring column.
Denney entered the contest in the eighth and sat down the side in order as he needed just nine pitches to do so. He forced the first batter to pop out to shallow left, the second to line out to first base and rung up the final batter on three straight pitches. Denney worked into the ninth and fanned a pair of Bisons but not before Lipscomb pushed one run across the plate to make the score 7-3. Wohlbold came on to close things out with a pop out to second base.
#2 VANDERBILT 21, TENNESSEE TECH 10
NASHVILLE - With the wind blowing out at Hawkins Field, the Tennessee Tech baseball team struggled to keep the No. 2 ranked team in the nation off the scoreboard Tuesday evening, falling to in-state rival Vanderbilt for the first time in three years, 21-10.
Boasting one of the nation's best offensive units, the Commodores (34-9) displayed that reputation throughout the night, pounding out 21 hits in the ball game, including four home runs. Isaiah Thomas led the way for the Vandy Boys, finishing the night with five RBI as part of a 4-for-5 showing with two long balls.
After Vanderbilt took a 6-0 lead in the first, the Golden Eagles (18-25) tallied their first long ball at Hawkins Field in the past 10 seasons to get on the board in the second, courtesy of freshman John Dyer. The rookie slugger crushed a laser down the left field line, clearing the 35-foot wall in left field for his eighth dinger of the season.
In the fifth, the Golden Eagles loaded the bases to lead off the inning, with freshman Jason Hogan, junior Anthony Carrera and senior All-American Kevin Strohschein each drawing four-pitch walks. Hogan dented home plate on a wild pitch for Tech's second run of the game.
Junior utility man Gavin Johns spun a single to third base to drive in another marker for the purple and gold. Dyer then reached on a fielder's choice, plating Tech's fourth run of the contest.
In the seventh, freshman catcher Jack Schad picked up an RBI while drawing a walk with the bases juiced. Sophomore first baseman Jason Hinchman, who walked to lead off the frame, scored on the play.
The Golden Eagles plated two more in eighth, starting with an RBI single through the left side by Dyer. Second baseman Nathan McMeans followed with a sacrifice fly to center field, driving in Hinchman.
Strohschein drove in one more for Tech in the ninth with a fielder's choice to second base. Dyer put a bow on a fantastic night, driving in two more with a single up the middle to give him five in the contest.
Johns completed his sixth straight game with at least a pair of hits, finishing 2-for-5 while making his first career start at shortstop. Strohschein became the first player in OVC history to reach the 600 mark in total bases in a career, tallying two on the night.