FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 13, SIUE 10
Murray State 7-4, @Tennessee Tech 2-5
Eastern Illinois 5, @Belmont 2
Austin Peay 15, @Eastern Kentucky 9
@Southeast Missouri 6, Jacksonville State 5
@Nicholls 7,
UT Martin 0
MOREHEAD STATE 13, SIUE 10
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Morehead State baseball continued its streak of scoring double-digit runs against SIU Edwardsville Friday, and the Eagles needed them all to take game one of the OVC series 13-10 at Allen Field.
MSU (11-10/3-1 OVC) ran its winning streak over the Cougars (11-11/5-5 OVC) to 12 games overall, scoring double-digit runs against SIUE now in 11 consecutive matchups, and to 10 times in a row in games at Allen Field.
Freshman shortstop Colton Becker had a career day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with four runs scored and two doubles. Senior catcher Jack Gardner belted his team-leading fifth home run and had three RBI, while freshman center-fielder Ryley Preece equaled Gardner with three runs knocked in.
The Eagles outlasted the Cougars in the slugfest where SIUE slammed six home runs but its pitching staff issued 13 walks, hit three batters and launched four wild pitches.
After spotting SIUE a 2-0 lead, the Eagles knotted it 2-2 in the third. Junior third baseman Stephen Hill lifted a sac fly, and Gardner drew a bases loaded walk. Hill recorded his second sac fly of the game in the fourth to make it 3-2, and then Gardner hit a mammoth shot to left field for a three-run homer to make it 6-2.
With the score 6-3, Becker singled home a run, and Preece singled home two more in the fifth as MSU built a 9-3 lead. A pair of two-run long balls in the sixth and two solo shots in the seventh ended up tying the game 9-9 for SIUE.
MSU regained the lead for good in the seventh as freshman first baseman Jackson Feltner was plunked by a pitch with the bases loaded. The Eagles tacked on the final three runs in the eighth as senior second baseman Bryce Hensor notched an RBI single, and Preece belted an RBI single to center that also scored two when the ball was misplayed.
MURRAY STATE 7-4, TENNESSEE TECH 2-5
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - A brilliant performance out of the bullpen and a quick love affair with the long ball helped the Tennessee Tech baseball team split its Ohio Valley Conference doubleheader with Murray State Friday evening. The Golden Eagles (10-12, 5-7) rebounded from an early, 7-2 loss in the first contest of the day to edge the Racers (14-12, 6-3), 5-4, in the series finale at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
There were plenty of fireworks in the second ballgame of the day between the two OVC rivals, with Murray State delivering the opening blow with a solo home run in the top of the first. Tech responded immediately, as leadoff man Cody Littlejohn crushed the first pitch he saw off the batter's eye in center field for his team-leading sixth long ball of the year.
Shortstop Ed Johnson followed by getting plunked for a free base and advancing to second on a wild pitch. The sophomore moved over to third on another wild offering from the Racers, setting up junior Jason Hinchman for an RBI single to third base and 2-1 lead.
In the top of the second, Murray State tied the game with its own leadoff dinger. Again, Tech had a quick response. Right fielder John Dyer reached first after getting hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom half and Littlejohn advanced him to third two batters later with a one-out single up the middle.
Johnson sent a fly ball to deep center field for a sacrifice fly to give the purple and gold the lead once again, driving in Dyer on the play. Second baseman Brett Roberts gave the Golden Eagles some breathing room, absolutely destroying the first pitch he saw in the frame clear over the fence in left-center field. The two-run bomb was his second of the year and gave Tech a 5-2 lead.
The Racers attempted a comeback, gathering their third round-tripper of the game off Tech hurler Jackson Berry, this one a two-run shot to left field. The freshman southpaw dug deep, however, closing out the top of the third without further damage.
Berry went on to work three more innings, holding the visitors off the scoreboard the rest of the way. With six frames under his belt, the rookie earned his second win of the year, finishing with four punch-outs and four runs on six hits.
Senior Grant Phillips took over on the hill to kick off the seventh for the Golden Eagles, beginning a nearly flawless performance on the mound. The Antioch, Tenn. native dealt three scoreless and hitless innings for the purple and gold, allowing just a single base runner on a two-out walk in the ninth.
Phillips picked up the team's first save of the year and the second of his career while striking out three Racers and using just 37 pitches.
In game one, it was a pitcher's duel early, with Murray State's Jack Wenninger and Tech's Ty Fisher blanking their respective opponents through the opening four frames. The Racers finally struck for three runs in the fifth, with a fielding error leading to a pair of unearned scores.
Fisher kept it going through another inning of work, finishing the day with six innings on the hill and just four hits allowed. He struck out five while allowing one earned run and three total, eventually taking the tough-luck loss.
Murray State blew the game open in the seventh with four runs, including a two-run homer to center field. Dyer got the Golden Eagles on the board in the bottom half of the frame, beating out an infield single to third base to drive in pinch-runner Theo Bryant IV.
One inning later, Hinchman provided Tech its second run, blasting a missile to left field for his third home run of the year. The Racers kept the Golden Eagles off the board in the ninth, earning the 7-2 win.
Roberts kept up his hot play with the bat during the doubleheader, finishing a combined 4-for-8 with a pair of RBI. Littlejohn racked up three hits in seven at-bats, scoring twice.
EASTERN ILLNOIS 5, BELMONT 2
NASHVILLE - Eastern Illinois (14-11, 5-5 OVC) clinched game one against the Belmont Bruins (9-13, 4-6 OVC) with a 5-2 victory. Ky Hampton was awarded the win after six innings and a season-high six K's. Alex Stevenson was awarded the save, his fourth of the season, after holding the Bruins hitless.
Belmont took the lead in the bottom of the second frame off a single that scored two runs. Hampton had allowed two runners off bean-balls, costing him the lead early.
The Panthers opened up the fourth inning with a Knernschield walk, followed by a Kerrigan double into left-center field. Pena pushed a single into right field to score two runners and tie the game up. Snapp's massive day continued with a double that scored Pena and took the lead.
Eastern Illinois struck again in the top of the seventh, started by a Snapp single into right. After Snapp advanced on a wild pitch, Dane Toppel drew a walk to put runners on first and second for Sweeney. The shortstop came through with a hit into right field that scored Snapp to put the Panthers lead at 4-2.
Stevenson entered in the bottom of the seventh in relief for Hampton. He pitched out of a jam, striking out the final two batters to hold Belmont scoreless in the inning. Stevenson closed out the game for EIU, holding the Bruins hitless in his three innings pitch, as the Panthers won 5-2.
AUSTIN PEAY 15, EASTERN KENTUCKY 7
RICHMOND, Ky. - Designated hitter Ty DeLancey hit a pair of home runs for the second time this season and Austin Peay State University’s baseball team eased to a 15-7 Ohio Valley Conference series-opening victory against Eastern Kentucky, Friday night at Earle Combs Stadium.
Austin Peay (8-15, 5-5 OVC) scored a season-high 15 runs, but it took a four-run fourth inning and another solid relief outing by Harley Gollert to bring the game under its control. After Eastern Kentucky scored seven runs in the first three innings, Gollert held the Colonels scoreless for five consecutive innings. Long enough for APSU to wrest away the momentum.
The Govs four-run fourth got jump started by center fielder Garrett Spain’s triple down the right field line, allowing second baseman Malcolm Tipler to score. Shortstop Bobby Head then drove in Spain with a single to shallow right field. Then DeLancey followed with his second home run of the day, the two-run blast giving the Govs an 8-7 lead.
Tipler would add two more runs to the Govs tally with a double in the fifth inning, extending the lead to 10-7. Austin Peay broke the game open in the seventh, scoring four times without using a base hit driving in a run.
Eastern Kentucky (8-16, 3-7 OVC) lost its sixth straight despite an impressive start that saw it lead 3-0 after one and 7-4 after three. Left fielder Caleb Upshaw had a two-run home run in the first inning. In the third, Right fielder Kendal Ewell hit a single to center field that eluded the Govs defense, leading to three runs. However, the Colonels used six pitchers in the game, four of them surrendering runs.
Gollert (2-3) entered the game in the fourth inning and for a second consecutive outing shutdown the opposing team’s bats. He held EKU scoreless through five innings and only a two-run home run in the ninth marred his six-inning outing, which saw him strike out eight batters and scatter five hits.
DeLancey went 3-for-6 with four RBI, with home runs in the first and fourth innings. Spain went 2-for-4 with four RBI, including a home run and a triple. Tipler had three RBI as part of his 1-for-3 outing that also saw him score three times.
Ewell, Upshaw and pinch hitter Manny Jackson each had home runs for their lone hits to lead the EKU offense. Reliever Jacob Abbott (1-1) suffered the loss after allowing six runs on six hits in two innings of relief for starter Louis Davenport, who was lifted after 2.2 innings.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 6, JACKSONVILLE STATE 5
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Tyler Wilber went 3-for-5 and knocked in the go-ahead run on a two-RBI single in the sixth inning to lead Southeast Missouri (12-12, 6-4) to a 6-5 come-from-behind win over Ohio Valley Conference co-leader Jacksonville State (11-13, 4-3) Friday night.
Wilber's team-high 10th multiple-hit game helped get Andy Sawyers his 100th win as SEMO's head coach.
Trailing, 5-3, after five-and-a-half innings, SEMO scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to edge the Gamecocks. Danny Wright led things off with a walk, Wade Stauss hit an infield single and Lincoln Andrews reached on an error to quickly load the bases.
With one out, Jevon Mason singled to left and Wright scored. After JSU made a pitching change, Wilber greeted Kyle Luigs with a two-out single that brought home Stauss and pinch-runner Brett Graber giving the Redhawks a 6-5 advantage.
A drama-filled top of the seventh inning saw Jaylyn Williams get called out with a runner at first due to an illegal bat. Williams initially hit a fly ball to center that went off Wright's glove and fell safely to the turf. Following a lengthy delay, Williams was ruled out and his bat was confiscated. The Redhawks recorded the next two outs to end the inning.
Freshman Kyle Miller came on in the eighth and got a six-out save to slam the door on the Gamecocks. Miller struck out the side in the eighth and fanned five of the six hitters he faced. Miller now has two saves this season.
Hayden Malenfant (1-1) was credited with the win, the first of his career. Malenfant struck out two and allowed two hits in two scoreless innings.
Jackson Tavel (0-2) suffered the loss. Tavel allowed two hits and two runs in two-thirds of an inning.
Wilber also added three RBI and one run scored in his fourth three-hit game of the season.
Mason, who pushed his hitting streak to eight games, followed close behind with two hits and a run scored. Mason, Peyton Leeper and Wilber combined for six of SEMO's nine hits at the top of the Redhawks lineup.
Cole Frederick, who hit the game's first pitch for a home run off the top of the wall in right center, led the Gamecocks with three hits.
NICHOLLS 7, UT MARTIN 0
THIBODAUX, La. - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team could not find its rhythm this evening, falling 7-0 in the second game of a nonconference series on the road against Nicholls.
The Skyhawks managed five hits tonight, led by Blake Daniels’ third multi-hit outing of the 2021 campaign. The left-handed swinging third baseman out of Marked Tree, Ark. doubled and singled during a 2-for-4 effort at the dish.
On the mound, Winston Cannon (4-3) was charged with the loss after allowing four runs with five strikeouts in 5.2 innings. Ryan Insco made his 10th appearance out of the UT Martin bullpen this evening, allowing one earned run to go along with a pair of strikeouts over 2.1 frames.
Will Smith singled and stole second in the opening inning but the freshman was stranded on the basepaths. Cannon wiggled out of potential trouble in the bottom half of the frame, notching a strikeout to leave the bases loaded full of Colonels.
Wil LaFolette singled to begin the top of the second and later advanced to second on a groundout to the right side but once again, the Skyhawks were kept off the scoreboard.
Cannon worked through a clean bottom of the second before Nicholls went ahead by a 2-0 margin through three innings of play. The senior righty from Cookeville, Tenn. then did a masterful job in the fourth as he zoned in for another scoreless frame after the first two Colonel hitters put themselves in scoring position.
UT Martin had its best scoring opportunity of the game in the fifth inning. Daniels led off with a single and was followed by an Ethan Whitley single to ignite a potential rally. Blake Davis laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to nudge each runner up 90 feet and place the tying run on second base. Benny DeTrude then drew a walk to load the bases with just one out but the Skyhawks could not put a ball in play as the score remained 2-0.
Nicholls then added a two-out run in the sixth before Insco came in to strand the bases loaded after a called strikeout for the third and final out of the inning.
Daniels opened the top of the seventh with a leadoff double to the deepest part of the ballpark. He would soon move up to third base on a deep flyout by Davis but one again, UT Martin wasn’t able to push across a run.
Insco induced three groundballs over a shutout seventh but the Colonels scored three runs (only one earned) in the bottom of the eighth to provide the final scoring margin of 7-0.