TUESDAY'S SCORES
@West Virginia 7,
Morehead State 1
Southeast Missouri 8, @Saint Louis 6
Western Illinois 6,
@SIUE 5
@Eastern Kentucky 6, #7 Louisville 3
Murray State 13, @Kentucky 8
Tennessee Tech 18, @North Alabama 4
Middle Tennessee 4,
@Austin Peay 2
@#2 Vanderbilt 4,
Belmont 1
WEST VIRGINIA 7, MOREHEAD STATE 1
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Junior second baseman Bryce Hensor touched all four bases with his first home run of the 2021 season Tuesday at West Virginia, but the Mountaineer pitchers held the rest of the Eagle offense in check as MSU dropped a 7-1 decision at the Monongalia County Ballpark.
The Eagles, who had won four straight games prior to Saturday, fell for the second straight contest and slipped to 7-8 overall. WVU got above .500 at 6-5.
After a scoreless first two frames, WVU busted it open with a three-run triple into the right-field corner in the third inning off MSU reliever John Sherman.
The home team tacked on two more third-inning runs on an RBI single and another RBI single. On the second though, the Eagles pegged out the batter trying to stretch it into a double. The relay started by senior Peyton Dillingham in left field also included a run down with Hensor at second and freshman Jackson Feltner at first base.
Hensor led off the fourth inning with his long-ball, hit over the left-field wall on a 2-2 count.
The Mountaineers tacked on a pair of eighth-inning tallies via a wild pitch score and a run-producing double.
Senior righty Will Lozinak absorbed the pitching loss to fall to 0-2. He only allowed two hits in 2.2 innings but had a walk and hit batter. The three runs that came in on the triple were unfortunately charged to him.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 8, SAINT LOUIS 6
ST. LOUIS - Tyler Wilber went 3-for-4 with a home run, run scored, four RBI and drove in the go-ahead run to lead Southeast Missouri (8-7) to an 8-6 come-from-behind win over Saint Louis (4-12) Tuesday in midweek action at the Billiken Sports Complex.
SLU led the entire game until SEMO sent nine men to the plate to fuel a four-run eighth inning.
Down, 6-4, Danny Wright was hit by a pitch and Ty Stauss walked to start the eighth. After Wright and Stauss executed a double steal with one out, Connor Basler grounded out and Wright scored. Peyton Leeper singled home Stauss to tie the game.
On the next play, Wade Stauss walked and Leeper then went to third on a wild pitch. Wilber, who put together an outstanding at-bat, followed with a single and Leeper scored. One more two-out hit, this time by Andrew Keck, drove in W. Stauss putting SEMO ahead, 8-6.
Austin Williams, who entered the game in the eighth inning, secured a six-out save. Williams recorded three strikeouts and three groundball outs against the six hitters he faced. It was the first save of his career.
SLU built a 4-1 lead through four innings before SEMO made it a one-run game on Wilber's two-run home run in the top of the fifth.
After the Billikens tacked on another run in the sixth, the Redhawks again pulled within a run (5-4) when Wilber singled home Basler in the seventh.
SLU answered with one more run in the bottom of the seventh inning before SEMO overcame its two-run deficit.
Bryce Grossius (1-0) was credited with the win after tossing one inning out of the bullpen.
Six other pitchers took the mound for the Redhawks, including Hunter Ralls, Joey Kossina, Fischer Rausch, Hayden Malenfant, Matt Perego and Collin Wilma. Ralls made his first career start, while Malenfant and Wilma made their first appearances of the season.
Both teams finished with seven hits.
Wilber, who hit safely in seven of his last eight games, matched a season-high three hits and posted a season-best four RBI. The home run was Wilber's second of the season and seventh of his career.
Leeper and W. Stauss also scored two runs each, while Leeper, Keck, Wright and Basler contributed one hit apiece.
WESTERN ILLINOIS 6, SIUE 5
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE scored three times in the bottom of the eighth Tuesday, but came up short, falling to Western Illinois 6-5 at Simmons Baseball Complex.
The Cougars dropped to 6-7 overall and have lost three in a row. Western Illinois improved to 4-9.
Western Illinois broke a 2-2 tie with a run in the seventh against SIUE reliever Quinn Waterhouse. The Leathernecks then scored three times in the eighth inning on three hits and an SIUE error to make it 6-2.
The Cougars pulled within a run in the bottom of the inning. SIUE plated three runs on two hits, three walks and a hit batter. Brady Bunten picked up and RBI-double and Ole Arntson collected an RBI when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Parker Wielt forced home a run when he walked with the bases loaded. Steven Pattan appeared to be hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, which would have tied the game. Instead, the home plate umprire ruled Pattan did not get out of the way of the pitch and called the Cougar catcher out on strikes. The Cougars left the bases loaded when the inning ended.
Waterhouse (0-1) suffered the loss. He allowed the single run over 3 2/3 innings. He struck out three.
Griffin Bruder started for SIUE and allowed two runs on two hits in 3 1/3 innings. He struck out one and walked six.
SIUE managed two runs on five hits over the first seven innings. Johnny Beck started and worked five innings allowing a run on three hits. He struck out three.
Reliever Jacob Greenan (1-0) earned the win for Western Illinois. He allowed a run in two innings.
Ethan Copeland was the only SIUE player with more than a hit. He was 2-5. Raul Elguezabal was 1-3 with a double, a run and an RBI.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 6, #7 LOUISVILLE 3
RICHMOND, Ky. - Daniel Harris IV tied the game with a solo home run in the fourth, five relief pitchers combined to pitch the final six and two-thirds innings without allowing a hit and the Eastern Kentucky University baseball team scored three runs in the seventh to beat No. 7 ranked University of Louisville, 6-3, on Tuesday at Earle Combs Stadium.
With one on and one out in the top of the third for the Cardinals (11-5), Luke Brown singled through the left side. UofL would take a 3-2 lead later in the inning on a sacrifice fly, but the visitors did not record another hit the rest of the game.
Harris led off the fourth with a home run over the wall in left center to tie the game 3-3. EKU (6-9) loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh, but Tate Kuehner struck out two straight batters. One strike away from getting out of the jam, Kuehner hit Caleb Upshaw with a pitch to force in the go-ahead run. Pinch hitter Brent Lovell then singled to left to score two more and give the Colonels a 6-3 advantage.
Jacob Abbott came on after the single by Brown in the third. He walked a batter and gave up the sacrifice fly before getting a ground ball to end the frame. Freshman Jordan Fox pitched the next two innings and allowed just two walks. Freshman Garret Simpson pitched a perfect sixth inning. Freshman, and Richmond native, Bryce Travis didn’t allow a base runner and struck out two while pitching the seventh and the eighth innings. He earned his first collegiate win. Will Brian closed it out for his fourth save of the season, striking out one in a perfect ninth inning.
Harris finished 2-for-4 with a run and two RBIs. Cam Ridley went 2-for-3 and scored twice. Lovell was 1-for-1 with two driven in.
Brown had two of the Cardinals’ four hits, going 2-for-3 with a run scored.
MURRAY STATE 13, KENTUCKY 8
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Murray State Racers (8-8) defeated the Kentucky Wildcats (11-3), 13-8 for the first time since 2014.
The Racers' bats stayed hot, scoring thirteen runs on a Cats pitching staff who was fourth-ranked nationally with a 1.99 ERA and third in WHIP. The Racers also walked six times on the staff who only had allowed five free passes all year.
The top four in Murray State's lineup were on fire in Lexington, accounting for seven of the Racers ten hits, seven of their 13 runs and 10 of their 11 RBIs.
Brock Anderson had his second straight multi-home run game, going 3-for-5 with two home runs and five RBIs. Alex Crump blasted his first homer as a Racer over the Kentucky bullpen in left and Brennan McCullough was 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored.
The game was scoreless until the Racers struck first in the top of the third, using an error by the shortstop to keep the inning alive . The error proved costly as McCullough scored from second on the play and Anderson hit his first of two long balls, a three-run shot allowing Murray State jumped ahead 4-0.
Kentucky, scoring all eight of their runs courtesy of the long ball, matched the Racers' three-run home run in the bottom half of the inning to close the gap to one run and took a 5-4 lead in the fifth using back-to-back solo shots.
The one-run deficit didn't last long as Murray State blew the game open, putting up a seven-spot in the top of the sixth, all coming with two-outs. 11 of the Racers 13 runs came with two outs.
A walk, an infield single, and another walk loaded the bases for Jake Slunder, who delivered with a two-RBI double to center field. Ryan Perkins knocked in two runs of his own, singling to center, scoring Slunder and Jordan Holly. Jordan Cozart kept things rolling for the Racers, driving in Perkins on a double to left. Anderson then hit a no-doubter to right for his second dinger of the night to put Murray State up 11-5.
Kentucky pulled within three in the seventh, hitting back-to-back homers for the second time in the game.
Murray State wasn't done and in the ninth inning Alex Crump tagged the first home run of his Racer career, a two-run shot over the Cats bullpen.
The Racer pitching staff used five arms in the game. Jacob Pennington got his second start of the year, going 3.0 innings, allowing three runs on four hits while striking out three. Jake Jones earned the win, improving to 2-0 on the season.
Alec Whaley threw 1.2 innings and Jordyn Naranjo came in for one batter and struck him out. Connor Holden pitched the final 1.1 innings, striking out two to close out the game for Racers.
TENNESSEE TECH 18, NORTH ALABAMA 4
FLORENCE, Ala. - Another monster day at the plate propelled the Tennessee Tech baseball team to a midweek victory at North Alabama Tuesday evening, as the Golden Eagles (6-5) completed the season sweep of the Lions (1-13) with an 18-4 win in Florence, Ala.
Tech hit double figures in both the hits and runs columns for the third time in four games, tallying 16 knocks on the day. Ten different Golden Eagles recorded at least one hit while five accounted for at least two.
Senior Cody Littlejohn set the tone for the purple and gold right off the bat, no pun intended, smashing the second pitch of the game out of Mike Lane Field for a lead-off home run. The Lions pushed across the tying run in the third, but Tech was quick to answer back.
In the fourth, junior center fielder Jason Hinchman led things off with a first-pitch single. The Preseason Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year promptly stole both second and third base before denting home plate on an error by the Lion catcher.
Against North Alabama responded with a tying run, but Tech put things away for good in the sixth. The Golden Eagles sent 12 batters to the plate in the frame, accounting for a whopping nine runs.
Hinchman and redshirt sophomore Golston Gillespie kicked off the inning with back-to-back walks. Freshman Hayden Gilliland followed with a free pass of his own to load the bases. Raul Ortega delivered the go-ahead run with an RBI single and Gabe Lacy followed with a two-run single of his own.
Littlejohn got plunked with a pitch to load the bases once again, setting up the biggest hit of the night. Auburn transfer Ed Johnson worked a 3-1 count before releasing a mammoth swing on a hanging breaking ball. The shortstop cleared the bags by crushing a grand slam to left field, the team's second on the year.
Later in the frame, catcher Will Long continued the scoring trend with a two-run single for the team's eighth and ninth markers of the inning. Both sides traded runs in the seventh, with Tynan Shahidi delivering the damage for Tech with a sacrifice fly.
The purple and gold struck on more time in the eighth, pouring on a six-spot that started with a Hinchman RBI single. A few batters later, Nathan McMeans watched seven pitches before drawing a bases-loaded walk for an RBI. Next up in the lineup, John Dyer blasted a double to drive in two more Tech runs.
Completing the scoring for the Golden Eagles on the night was Johnson, who added to his huge performance with a two-run single. He finished 3-for-6 with six RBI to pace the visitors from Cookeville. Brett Roberts, Hinchman, Long and Lacy each recorded multiple hits as well.
Senior hurler Jacob Parham picked up his first win of the season after completing one and two-thirds innings out of the bullpen. He made easy work of the Lions, allowing zero baserunners while striking out three.
All-in-all, the Tech pitching staff accounted for 15 punch-outs against North Alabama, with each of the five Golden Eagles striking out at least two batters.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 4, AUSTIN PEAY 2
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University's baseball team had an opportunity to win in the ninth inning thwarted by Middle Tennessee's bullpen in a 4-2 loss, Tuesday night on Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park.
Trailing 4-2 entering the bottom of the ninth, Austin Peay (3-11) saw left fielder Ty Delancey double with one out followed by second baseman Malcolm Tipler's single to put men on the corners. First baseman Matt Joslin walked to load the bases and chase MT reliever Eriq Swan, who made way for David Zoz.
Zoz got the first batter he faced to strike out, keeping the bases loaded but with two out. Govs right fielder Skyler Luna hit a line drive at MTSU left fielder Bryce Symlar, who made a diving catch to end the game.
Middle Tennessee (10-5) scored its runs in the first five innings, beginning with a second-inning solo home run from second baseman JT Mabry. MTSU got third-inning solo home runs from starting left fielder Hunter Sullivan and designated hitter Jake Hagenow. MTSU added its fourth run on a wild pitch in the fifth inning.
Austin Peay took advantage of an error in the second when Joslin grounded out to get the run home. But the Govs saw a potential second run thrown out on a close play at home to end the inning. Austin Peay loaded the bases with one out in the third with three consecutive walks but shortstop Bobby Head drove in the inning's only run with a fielder's choice.
Govs starter Nolan O'Shoney (0-1) held MTSU to three runs on five hits in his first collegiate start, striking out five batters in four innings.
Jaden Hamm (1-0) the second MTSU pitcher on the mound was credited with the win after 3.2 innings of scoreless relief. Zoz picked up his season's second save by recording the final two outs.
Austin Peay third baseman Gino Avros went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored. DeLancey went 2-for-4 as the Govs were held to six hits.
Hagenow led the Blue Raiders seven-hit outing with a 2-for-4 effort at the plate.
#2 VANDERBILT 4, BELMONT 1
NASHVILLE - The Belmont University baseball team fell short to No. 2 Vanderbilt on Tuesday at Hawkins Field 4-1.
Chandler Schultz matched a career-high four strikeouts in two innings pitched, with the pitching staff combining for eight strikeouts total. Belmont had three seperate players collect a hit, with sophomore Jack Capobianco and freshman Jack Rando extending their hitting streaks to five games. Junior Jackson Campbell extended his hitting streak to four games on Tuesday.
Vanderbilt quickly got to work in the bottom of the first inning, collecting a single, double and drew a walk to load the bases. The Commodores drew a bases loaded walk to score the game's first run.
Getting a runner on base following a fielding error and moving all the way to third base after a stolen base and wild pitch, Vanderbilt scored another run in the bottom of the second inning off a groundout to second base. Belmont responded in the top of the fifth inning, with freshman Guy Lipscomb drawing a walk and stealing second to get in scoring position. Campbell brought him home thanks to a single to first base to cut Vanderbilt's lead 2-1.
Belmont only came up three hits in the game, with Vanderbilt's pitching staff forcing the Bruins to strikeout 12 times in the process.
A single and two walks in the bottom of the sixth inning loaded the bases for Vanderbilt with one out, with the Bruins only allowing one run thanks to a double play from Mason Landers to Capobianco. A solo home run from Jayson Gonzalez in the bottom of the eighth inning gave the Commodores a three-run advantage.
The Bruins, however, did not go down quietly in the top of the ninth inning. Belmont drew two base runners off a hit by pitch and an infield single, but a double at first base and a strikeout ended the game in Vanderbilt's favor.