SUNDAY'S SCORES
Texas-Arlington 3,
SIUE 2 (Nacogdoches, Texas)
Morehead State 11, @Norfolk State 0
@#11 LSU 10,
Eastern Kentucky 2
@#12 NC State 15,
Tennessee Tech 1
@Belmont 8, Bradley 7
Northern Illinois 11,
@Southeast Missouri 5
@Murray State 13, Saint Peter’s 3
Central Michigan 2,
@Jacksonville State 1 (11 innings)
@Austin Peay 18, Evansville 11
Eastern Illinois 5, @Florida A&M 3
TEXAS-ARLINGTON 3, SIUE 2
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - UT Arlington scored a run in the bottom of the eighth snapping a 2-2 tie and held on the defeat SIUE baseball 3-2 Sunday at Stephen F. Austin.
The Cougars moved to 4-3 while UTA improved to 4-2.
The Mavericks took a 2-0 lead in the first with back-to-back one-out home runs on consecutive pitches to Andrew Keefer and Andrew Miller. The Cougars answered in the top of the eighth inning when Brady Bunten doubled and Tyler Bastunas singled to drive home the game-tying runs.
The Mavericks used a double, a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly for the winning run in the bottom of the eighth. Keefer drove home the winner for UTA. He finished the game 1 for 2 with two RBIs.
Ryan Swanson (0-2) allowed the run in an inning of work and took the loss.
SIUE outhit UT Arlington 6-5. Josh Ohl was 2 for 4 to lead the Cougars. Aaron Goecks was 1 for 2 with a double and a run scored.
MOREHEAD STATE 11, NORFOLK STATE 0
NORFOLK, Va. - Making just his second career start, Morehead State baseball redshirt junior left-hander Cory Conway turned in his best career outing en route to earning Morehead State its first series sweep of the season.
The Westfield, Ind. native crafted his first career complete game, shutting out Norfolk State (2-5) as the Eagles (3-4) capture the series finale 11-0. Conway scattered nine hits and navigate two walks while tying a career-high with five punchouts—two of which came in his final inning of work. He also induced three double plays on the afternoon.
At the plate, Morehead State racked up nine hits with four going for extra bases to record 11 total runs in the game. On the bases, the Eagles stole four total bases, including three from senior centerfielder Ryan Layne to apply further pressure to their opponent.
#11 LSU 10, EASTERN KENTUCKY 2
BATON ROUGE, La. - Eastern Kentucky University’s baseball team lost the series finale 10-2 at No. 11 LSU on Sunday at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge. The Colonels shutout the ranked Tigers 2-0 in the series opener on Friday.
Eastern (4-2) trailed LSU 2-0 before the Tigers pulled away with seven runs in the bottom of the third inning. The first five batters reached base, capped off by a two-run single from Cade Beloso. The final three runs of the inning came on an error and a ground out.
The Colonels got on the board in the top of the sixth. With two outs and runners at first and second, A.J. Lewis drove in both with a double down the right field line.
Nick Howie finished 2-for-4 with a run scored. Lewis was 1-for-3 with two RBIs.
Beloso had a 3-for-3 day with a run and three RBIs for LSU.
#12 NC STATE 15, TENNESSEE TECH 1
RALEIGH, N.C. - An early deficit proved too much for the Tennessee Tech baseball team to overcome Sunday, as the Golden Eagles fell to No. 12 nationally-ranked NC State in the series finale in Raleigh, N.C., 15-1.
The Wolfpack (7-0) opened an 11-0 advantage over the first three frames, starting with a single run in the first. A three-spot in the second and seven more markers in the third left the Golden Eagles (3-3) with a significant hole they just couldn't climb out of.
NC State starter Chris Villaman controlled the pace, tossing four no-hit innings before being pulled after a predetermined pitch count. With Villaman off the hill in the fifth, Tech took advantage, securing not only its first hit, but its first three.
Senior Cody Littlejohn led off the frame with a single to left-center field, followed by a double down the left-field line by junior Paul Steffensen. A double-play ball put two outs on the board, but freshman Elijah Brooks still managed to get the Golden Eagles in the scoring column, ripping an RBI single to left field.
It proved to be all the offense Tech would muster while the Wolfpack collected four more runs in the sixth to put up the final score of 15-1.
Tech junior Jason Hinchman led the purple and gold with a pair of base hits in the contest. Littlejohn, Steffensen and Brooks provided the other offensive successes for the Golden Eagles.
On the hill, senior Jacob Cole tossed two and one-third scoreless frames in relief with just two baserunners allowed. Junior Grant Phillips posted a pair of scoreless innings as well to end the day.
BELMONT 8, BRADLEY 7
NASHVILLE - Coming away with its third straight walk-off win, the Belmont baseball team defeated Bradley 8-7 on Sunday at Rose Park thanks to a bases loaded RBI single from freshman Drew Lowry in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Junior Kyle Brennan recorded his second win of the season after pitching the final inning while six Belmont players recorded two hits.
Belmont struck first following two leadoff base hits in the top of the first inning, with sophomore Tommy Crider hitting a sacrifice fly to left field to score senior Hagan Severance from third base and give Belmont a 1-0 lead. Bradley responded in the top of the second by getting the bases loaded and scoring two runs off a fielder's choice and Belmont error.
The Bruins tied the game 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth inning thanks to junior Jackson Campbell, who hit his second home run of the season. Bradley came away with five runs in the fifth and sixth innings, but Belmont chipped away at the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning after Lowry collected an RBI single to left field to cut the deficit 7-3.
Belmont's bats caught fire in the bottom of the seventh inning, with the Bruins drawing three consecutive hits to score a run with no outs. A drawn walk by senior Chandler Adkins loaded the bases and junior Logan Jarvis capitalized with a single to center field to make it a one-run game.
Following a single from sophomore Jack Capobianco, Campbell drove in the tying run off a sacrifice fly to center field.
After a fly out to start the bottom of the ninth inning, Belmont collected a single and double and drew an intentional walk to load the bases. Lowry delivered on the first pitch he saw, hitting a single to left field that drove in the game-winning run.
With Belmont's winning streak now reaching five games, the Bruins have now won five straight games for the second year in a row.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS 11, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 5
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - After blowing a nine-run lead in an extra inning loss, Northern Illinois (4-4) regrouped to clinch a series victory with an 11-5 win over Southeast Missouri (2-6) Sunday afternoon at Capaha Field.
NIU won the series, 3-1, and cashed in on a season-high four SEMO errors to score six unearned runs today.
NIU walked three times and used a pair of RBI-doubles to take an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning. After scoring once in the first, SEMO took the lead in the bottom of the third.
Danny Wright reached on a one-out double down the left field line and stole third. Tyler Wilber followed with a base hit and Wright scored. On the next play, Justin Dirden belted a two-run home run to right field to give the Redhawks a 4-3 advantage. Aided by two errors, NIU scored a pair of unearned runs to regain a 5-4 lead in the top of the fourth.
An inning later, the Huskies increased their lead. Another SEMO error factored into NIU's scoring as Jake Dunham touched home when Tommy Szczasny reached on an error and Kam Smith brought in Jordan Larson on a sacrifice fly to make it a 7-4 ballgame. Landon Hahn tripled and scored on a wild pitch to pull the Redhawks within two runs (7-5) in the bottom of the sixth, but that was as close as SEMO would get.
NIU then put the exclamation point on its fourth win of the season with four runs in the top of the ninth. With a run already in, Brady Huebbe reached on a two-out error and Smith scored. Dunham followed with a two-RBI double to center field pushing the Huskies lead to 11-5.
The Huskies outhit the Redhawks, 14-11, with five players getting multiple hits.
Erik Hedmark (2-0) got the win. Hedmark struck out one and gave up four runs on nine hits in five innings. Paul Turelli was strong out of NIU's bullpen the rest of the way. Turelli struck out six, walked two and allowed just one run and two hits in four innings.
Bryan McNeely (0-2) suffered the loss.
Wright went 3-for-5 with a run scored and two doubles, and Dirden was 2-for-4 with two home runs, two runs scored and three RBI to lead SEMO.
In the final two games of the series, SEMO and NIU combined for 47 runs and 59 hits.
MURRAY STATE 13, SAINT PETER'S 3
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State baseball team completed a four-game sweep over Saint Peter's Sunday afternoon, winning the final game of the series, 13-3, at Reagan Field.
The top of the order for the Racers not only set the table but also provided most of the damage as Brock Anderson and Jordan Cozart went a combined 5-8 with three home runs, seven RBI, and six runs scored.
On the mound, Justin Thomas, Connor Holden, and Jase Carvell pitched 6.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen. Holden also set a career-high with seven strikeouts in three innings of work.
The Racers jumped out to an early lead in the first on two RBI singles by Cozart and Bryson Bloomer. However, the Peacocks rallied in the third with three runs to take a 3-2 lead after three innings.
After a scoreless fourth inning for both teams, the Racers broke out in the fifth with six runs. MSU took advantage of two-run error with the bases loaded to take the lead and then added four more runs on a sacrifice fly from Cozart, a single by Ryan Perkins, and a triple by Wes Schad, the first of his career.
The Racers added three more runs in the sixth as Anderson and Cozart hit back-to-back home runs.
Anderson added on in the eighth as he hit his second home run of the day and fourth of the season just to the left of the batter's eye in center field.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN 2, JACKSONVILLE STATE 1 (11)
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Runs were once again at a premium on Sunday afternoon on Rudy Abbott Field at Jim Case as Central Michigan edged Jacksonville State, 2-1, in 11 innings.
JSU and CMU will close out the four-game set with a Monday matinee at 3 p.m. Admission is free to JSU students and all fans 18 years old and younger. Tickets are available online at JSUGamecockSPorts.com.
The Chippewas (5-2) broke a 1-1 deadlock with an unearned run in the 11th inning. A two-out single by CMU's Griffin Lockwood-Powell and a Gamecock error on the infield kept the inning alive. Zach Lechnir singled to left field, plating the lead run. Jax State (3-4), who had 11 last at-bat wins in 2019, had runners on the corners with two outs before CMU's Cameron Miller got the final out of the contest. Senior Andrew Naismith pulled a one-out single to right field, while senior Alex Webb moved him to third base on a single to right centerfield.
Jax State pushed its lone run across the dish in the fourth inning. Junior Cole Frederick, who was the lone Gamecock to have multiple hits in the setback, started the frame with his second hit of the day. Junior Alex Strachan had the other hit in the inning before sophomore Carson Crowe scored Frederick on a ground ball out to the right side of the diamond. Frederick started another on-base streak after his 22-game on-base streak that dated back to the 2019 season was halted in the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader.
JSU starter Michael Gilliland went a career-long 5.2 innings, surrendering a run and four strikeouts. The Chippewas evened the contest in the sixth inning on an RBI triple by Zach Gilles, scoring Drew Lechnir, who started the inning with a hit-by-pitch from Gilliland. The JSU defense aided Gilliland's outing with two double plays turned. Through seven games, JSU has posted 14 double plays, which leads NCAA Division I baseball.
Junior Christian Edwards was the first of three Gamecock relievers used on Sunday. Edwards finished the sixth inning record an out in the seventh before redshirt junior Jackson Tavel tossed an inning. Senior Corley Woods finished the final 3.2 innings and was saddled with the loss. It was his first loss since March 23, 2018 against Jacksonville. The three JSU pitchers out of the bullpen combined for six of the 10 strikeouts posted by club. For the weekend, JSU has allowed just three runs (two earned) in 29.0 innings of work.
Strachan and Webb extended their on-base streak to 12 and eight games respectively, going back to the 2019 season. Junior Isaac Alexander had a hit in his first plate appearance on Sunday.
AUSTIN PEAY 18, EVANSVILLE 11
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - A seven-run seventh inning catapulted Austin Peay State University’s baseball team to a 18-11 victory against Evansville, Sunday, in the final day of the SAF Dirt Classic on Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park.
In the top of the seventh, Evansville (0-7) jumped back into the lead thanks to a four-run outburst. First baseman Tanner Craig pushed the Purple Aces to a 10-9 lead with a three-run home run. Moments later, designated hitter Indiana Stanley added a solo home run and the visitors held an 11-9 advantage at the stretch.
Austin Peay (3-4) opened its half of the seventh with four consecutive base hits. Catcher Alex Hay drove in the first run with a double and pinch hitter Skyler Luna tied the game with an infield single.
Third baseman Gino Avros’ squeeze bunt pushed across a third run and gave the Governors the lead for good. Center fielder Garrett Spain, left fielder Malcolm Tipler and shortstop Bobby Head each had run-scoring hits as APSU pushed its lead to 16-11 and never looked back.
Austin Peay setup man Tucker Weaver (2-0) ended Evansville’s rally in the seventh and retired the side in order in the eighth to pick up the win. Closer Austin Carder tossed a scoreless ninth to secure the win.
Hay led the Govs offense with a 3-for-4, three RBI effort that included run-scoring singles in the second and fifth innings, the latter part of a five-run fifth that saw the Govs take a 9-7 lead. Head went 2-for-5 with three RBI with RBI fielder’s choice in the fifth. Second baseman Max Remy had three hits and two RBI, scoring three times.
Evansville reliever Michael Parks (0-1) was saddled with the loss after allowing six runs on five hits in 1.1 innings.
Craig went 2-for-3 with four RBI to lead the Purple Aces offense. Stanley went 3-for-5 with four RBI, with run-scoring singles in the first and second innings joining his solo home run.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 5, FLORIDA A&M 3
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Panthers defeated the Florida A&M Rattlers 5-3 in the final game of the series. Jesse Wainscott got the win after pitching four and two thirds innings. Wainscott struck out six of the 21 batters faced. He let up four hits, two walks and two runs, but the offense kept him in the winners circle.
The Panthers did the majority of the damage in the third inning; scoring four runs. Their final run came in the very next inning, but the Panthers had created a solid lead that the Rattlers ultimately couldn't overcome. Eastern finished the day with 11 hits on the day and held FAMU to eight hits.
Dane Toppel had a big day as he rattled the Rattlers pitching. Toppel went 3-4 on the day and reached on a hit by pitch as well. Toppel roped a pitch for extra bases, and stole a base for the Panthers. Keith Kerrigan, Alex Stevenson and Trey Sweeney stole a bag each as well.
Sweeney went 2-3 on the day and drew two walks. Sweeney has been incredible in his sophomore year so far at shortstop. Sweeney finished with an RBI on the day.
Trevor Nicholson came in for the Panthers after playing in yesterday's game, and got the save for EIU.