THURSDAY'S SCORES
Murray State 4, @Tennessee Tech 2
@Nicholls 2,
UT Martin 1 (11)
MURRAY STATE 4, TENNESSEE TECH 2
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee Tech fell to the visiting Murray State Racers (12-12, 5-2) in their Ohio Valley Conference series opener, 4-2.
Deadlocked at 2-2 in the top of the ninth inning, the Racers put the first two batters on to prompt a Golden Eagle pitching change. Freshman Jackson Berry took over on the hill, collecting a quick out as the Racers used a sacrifice bunt to move the runners into scoring position.
After issuing an intentional walk to load the bases and create a force at every base, Berry delivered the perfect pitch, forcing a ground ball to the shortstop. Tech earned the easy out at second, but a throwing error by the second baseman allowed a pair of Murray State runners to cross the plate safely for a 4-2 lead.
The Racers managed to load the bases again, but Berry bounced back, collecting a swinging strikeout to end the top of the inning.
Tech took the initial lead in the contest, scoring quickly with some good, old-fashioned hitting. Junior Jason Hinchman led off the bottom of the first with an infield single off the third baseman's glove. Returning freshman Brett Roberts followed with a single to center field, moving Hinchman to third.
First baseman Golston Gillespie made it three straight base knocks to start the game, ripping a single through the left side to drive in Hinchman for a 1-0 lead.
Murray State answered with a two-run double in the top of the fourth, finally scoring off Tech starter Tyler Sylvester. The right-hander tossed four and one-third frames with just two hits allowed and five strikeouts.
Tech had a response of its own in the bottom half, with Will Long blasting a deep double down the left-field for an RBI. With the contest tied at 2-2, both pitching staffs took over for the next four frames while trading zeroes.
Golden Eagle reliever Brock Myers took the tough-luck loss after covering three and two-thirds inning with just one hit allowed and four strikeouts. Murray State snagged two runs off the right-hander, one earned and one unearned.
NICHOLLS 2, UT MARTIN 1 (11)
THIBODAUX, La. - The University of Tennessee at Martin pitching staff was on point from start to finish tonight but the Skyhawks dropped a tough 2-1 decision in 11 innings on the road at Nicholls.
A half-dozen UT Martin hurlers combined to allow just one extra-base hit while fanning 11 batters this evening as both Colonel runs were unearned. Nick Wohlbold made the first start of his career as the junior right-hander struck out four batters in four shutout frames. Seth Petry followed and conceded one unearned run in 1.1 innings.
Jefferey O’Doherty (0.1 innings), Eric Steensma (1.2 frames) and David Hussey (3.1 innings) were next up out of the Skyhawk bullpen and each accounted for scoreless appearances. Matthew Shunk (1-1) entered the contest with the bases empty and two outs in the bottom of the 11th but was hit with the loss after an error, a stolen base and a walk-off single.
Offensively, Houston Wright (RBI) and Christian Hall (run scored) each had multi-hit performances, joining Sean Dixson and Casey Harford in that category. Dixson also swiped a pair of bags for UT Martin (9-12), who generated 11 hits but left 11 men on base.
It was a pitcher’s duel from the beginning as Wohlbold was very effective early. At one point, four consecutive outs were recorded via a strikeout as the Columbia, Mo. native did not allow a Colonel past second base all night, stranding one runner in each of his four innings of work.
The Skyhawks had at least one runner on the basepaths in each of the first four frames but could not manufacture a run. Their best early opportunity came in the second inning when Wright and Blake Davis each singled but Nicholls kept the game scoreless.
Following a clean bottom of the fifth by Petry, UT Martin pushed across the first run of the contest in its next at-bat. Hall sent a one-out double into the gap in right center and trotted home four pitches later thanks to an RBI single through the right side off the bat of Wright.
Nicholls equaled the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth and threatened to take its first lead of the game but Steensma got out of a bases loaded jam with a clutch inning-ending strikeout.
The Skyhawks put a man in scoring position in each of the next three innings but the score stayed at 1-all. Steensma retired the side in order in the seventh before Hussey stranded a trio of Colonels on the basepaths to keep the score at 1-1 through eight frames.
In the top of the ninth, Blake Daniels and Dixson accounted for back-to-back one-out singles. Dixson soon stole second to give UT Martin a chance to take the lead but Nicholls got out of the inning unscathed.
Hussey rolled through the ninth, striking out the final two batters for a 1-2-3 inning. He then opened the 10th with a strikeout and retired each of the next two Colonels on the first pitch, resulting in a seven-pitch inning.
The bottom of the 11th opened with Hussey recording a pair of outs after deep counts. Shunk then took over on the mound and ran into some tough luck as the error was shortly followed by the game-winning hit.