SATURDAY'S SCORES
SIUE 12-8, @Morehead State 8-13
@Belmont 10-10, Eastern Illinois 2-6
@Eastern Kentucky 9-1, Austin Peay 4-3
Jacksonville State 8-3, @Southeast Missouri 4-8
UT Martin 2, @Nicholls 0
SIUE 12-8, MOREHEAD STATE 8-13
MOREHEAD, Ky. - After visiting SIUE rallied for a six-run outburst in the ninth inning to claim game one 12-8, Morehead State baseball doubled that output in a single frame in game two today as the Eagles used a 12-run sixth-inning to defeat the Cougars 13-8 and win the series at Allen Field two games to one.
Morehead State, which has only lost three OVC home series since 2018, improved to 12-11 overall and 4-2 in the OVC. The Cougars are now 12-12 and 6-6.
The Eagles nailed 10 extra-base hits today, including five home runs, while seven pitchers combined to record 23 strikeouts of SIUE hitters in the 18 innings.
While the first-game setback did halt a 12-game winning streak in the SIUE series, the Eagles have now won 13 of the last 14 since 2014.
Senior Ryan Layne's second home run of the year put his team on top 2-1 in the second inning of game one. SIUE proceeded to take a 6-3 lead after their at-bat in the fifth, but a pair of home runs from Eagles Alex Jacobs and Jacob Ferry erased that lead for the visitors, tying the game 6-6 in the fifth. Both men recorded their first round-trippers as Eagles.
Freshman Jackson Feltner put the Eagles on top with a two-run single in the eighth inning, extending his reached-base streak to 12 games. Ritchie Well tied the game at 8-8 for SIUE in the top of the ninth, followed by a three-run double from Ole Arntsen.
In game two, Feltner belted his third homer of the year in the second inning as that was the only Eagle runs until the sixth.
17 batters came to the plate as the Eagles nearly batted around twice in the sixth-inning scoring frenzy and in fact, MSU recorded a cycle amongst its hitters in the inning.
Senior Jack Gardner smacked a game-tying three-run long ball, his team-leading sixth of the year, to get the craziness going. The inning also featured an RBI triple from Layne, an RBI double from freshman Colton Becker, a two-run double from Ferry, another two-run double by Gardner and RBI singles via Becker and Feltner.
SIUE hit home runs in the seventh and eighth innings but reliever Cory Conway, Zach Miller and John Bakke closed the game.
BELMONT 10-10, EASTERN ILLNOIS 2-6
NASHVILLE - Behind a pair of 10-run outings, the Belmont University baseball team clinched the series against Eastern Illinois by sweeping the doubleheader on Saturday at Rose Park 10-2 and 10-6.
This is the second consecutive season where Belmont has won back-to-back games by scoring double-digit runs. With every starter collecting at least one hit in game two, that marked the first time since March 3, 2020 (at Western Kentucky) that every Bruin hitter in the starting lineup had at least one hit in a game.
Sophomore John Behrends led game one offensively with a 3-for-5 outing at the plate with three RBIs while freshman Andy Bean struck out five batters in eight innings pitched on the mound. Behrends, junior Logan Jarvis and freshman Kevin Okins all collected three hits in game two, with Okins achieving a new career-high.
With freshman Jack Rando getting on third base in the bottom of the first inning, Jarvis brought in the game's first run with an RBI triple. Freshman Brodey Heaton followed that up with an RBI single to left field, giving the Bruins a 2-0 lead.
Following a single and stolen base in the top of the third inning, EIU hit an RBI single to right field to cut the deficit in half. Belmont answered back in the bottom of the sixth inning, with freshman Drew Lowry hitting an RBI single after a walk and bunt single to extend Belmont's lead 3-1.
A home run in the top of the seventh inning allowed EIU to cut the deficit to one run again, but a sacrifice fly from Rando and an RBI single from Behrends in the next half-inning pushed Belmont to a 5-2 lead. Two singles and a wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth inning put a pair of runners in scoring position, with Lowry collecting his second RBI of the day that brought in a run.
Freshman Guy Lipscomb followed that at-bat with a sacrifice fly and Okins hit a single up the middle, extending Belmont's lead to six runs. The Bruins capped off their five-run eighth inning with a Behrends single, who drove in two more runs to give Belmont the 10-2 advantage. EIU hit a one-out single in the top of the ninth inning, but a double play allowed the Bruins to take game one.
After EIU jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning, Belmont quickly responded with a pair of runs of their own. Behrends hit a two-out single, scoring off a Jarvis triple to get the Bruins' first run in the bottom of the first inning. Heaton followed that up with an RBI single, cutting the EIU lead to one run.
Behrends hit a home run in the bottom of the third inning to tie the game 3-3, with sophomore Carson Shacklett hitting an RBI single after a pair of singles in the bottom of the fourth inning that gave Belmont the lead. A single from Rando in the next at-bat scored another run and pushed the Bruins' lead to two runs.
"Hitting is contagious," Rando said. "When the whole team is hitting, then it's just going to carry on...Honestly one through nine, we're hitting the ball and it's contagious. It's allowing us to see better pitches and feel more comfortable out there."
A single and a double in the bottom of the fifth inning allowed two Belmont runs to score off a ground-rule double from freshman Mason Landers, but EIU responded with two runs in the top of the sixth inning to cut Belmont's lead to two. Following a Belmont run scoring in the bottom of the sixth inning off a wild pitch, EIU hit a home run in the next half-inning to keep it a two-run game.
Going on a two-out rally to load the bases in the bottom of the seventh inning, Jarvis brought home two more runs with a single to left center field to give Belmont a 10-6 lead. Belmont retired six of EIU's final seven batters, allowing the Bruins to clinch the series and sweep the doubleheader.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 9-1, AUSTIN PEAY 4-3
RICHMOND, Ky. - Eastern Kentucky University won the first game of an Ohio Valley Conference baseball doubleheader against Austin Peay State University on Saturday, and had a 1-0 lead in the ninth inning of game two, but couldn’t hold on and dropped the second game 3-1 in 10 innings.
The Colonels scored twice in the bottom of the first inning of game one and never trailed. Cam Ridley and Daniel Harris IV each scored on a pair of ground balls. Santiago Peralta’s single in the bottom of the fourth drove in Logan Thomason and gave the home team a 4-0 lead.
Garrett Spain homered in the sixth and seventh innings to help the Governors close the game to 4-3.
With a 5-3 edge in the bottom of the eighth, the Colonels used the home run ball to put the game out of reach. Kendal Ewell hit a two-run home run. The next two batters, Charlie Ludwick and Logan Thomason, both hit solo shots to give Eastern back-to-back-to-back dingers. Thomason’s first of the season made it 9-3.
Jake Lewis started for EKU and picked up his first win of the season. He allowed two runs on five hits, walked three and tied his career-best with eight strike outs over five and one-third innings.
Thomason had a 3-for-4 game with two runs and an RBI. Ewell was 1-for-3 with a run and two RBIs. Max Williams also hit a home run in the game and finished 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
Spain was 2-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs for Austin Peay.
Game two was a pitching duel from the start. Neither team scored until the bottom of the seventh when Harris gave Eastern Kentucky a 1-0 lead after sending a 1-1 pitch over the wall in left field.
Austin Peay starter Drew McIllwain allowed three hits and one run while striking out seven over six and one-third innings. EKU starter Darren Williams pitched shutout baseball for a career-best eight and one-third innings. He allowed a run in the ninth to tie the game. He walked four and struck out a career-high seven batters.
With one out in the 10th, Spain doubled down the left field line for the Governors (9-16, 6-6 OVC). Two batters later, and with two outs in the inning, Ty DeLancey doubled to left center to break the tie. Tyler Cotto followed with a run scoring single to cap the inning.
Spain went 2-for-4 with a walk and a run in the second game.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 8-3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 4-8
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - The Jacksonville State split a Saturday doubleheader with Southeast Missouri in Ohio Valley Conference baseball action.
The Gamecocks evened the series with an 8-4 win in the opening game, while the Redhawks claimed the rubber game to 8-3 win the series. After the weekend action, JSU stands at 12-14 overall and 5-4 in OVC play. SEMO moved to 13-13 on the season and 7-5 in the conference.
After a tough 6-5 setback on Friday to start the series, the Gamecocks had two big innings to carry them in the opener. The pitching trio of redshirt junior Dylan Hathcock, freshman Austin Downey and senior Corley Woods was able to pitch out of SEMO scoring threats throughout the game after being handed a lead in the second inning with JSU's first of two three-run frames. Jax State was able to record three double plays in critical situation.
JSU shook off a 1-0 Redhawk lead with a three-run second inning which was highlighted by a two-run home run by sophomore Carson Crowe. After a leadoff double by Alex Strachan and an RBI double from Alex Carignan, Crowe hammered a two-run home run over the right field wall. Strachan would lead JSU in the opener with a four-hit contest, including a solo home run in the ninth as an insurance run.
Strachan's two-out single sparked JSU's three-run fifth inning. Redshirt sophomore Nash Adams reached after being hit by a pitch, followed by back-to-back walks from Carignan and Crowe.
Senior Tre Kirklin had JSU's second of three home runs as he started the third inning with a home run.
Hathcock tossed the first 3.1 innings, scattering seven hits and allowed three of the four SEMO runs. He tallied four strikeouts in the outing. Downey picked up his first win of the season with 2.2 innings of work with just a pair of Redhawk hits. Woods finished the final three frames to earn his fourth save of the game. He registered three strikeouts in the contest.
In game two, SEMO scored three runs in the first two innings to take command of the contest and added four runs in the fourth inning to take a 7-0 lead. JSU scratched the scoreboard with two runs in the fifth. Carignan, who doubled in the inning, scored on a wild pitch, followed by an RBI by Cole Frederick. Frederick added his second RBI in the ninth.
UT MARTIN 2, NICHOLLS 0
THIBODAUX, La. - Senior southpaw Sam Folks carved up the Nicholls lineup through seven innings this afternoon as the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball squad claimed the series finale by a 2-0 margin.
Folks was at his best today as the Franklin, Tenn. native went a season-high seven innings without conceding a run. He allowed just two hits while tying a season-best seven strikeouts against zero walks. As a result, he improved to 2-2 on the season and won the 11th game of his career.
Tucker Reed and David Hussey also had a hand in the Skyhawks’ first shutout of the 2021 campaign, recording the final six outs of the contest. Reed made his second impressive relief appearance of the week, tossing 1.2 shutout innings before Hussey came on to lock down the final out for his first save of the season.
UT Martin (10-13) was led offensively by Wil LaFollette, who accounted for both of the team’s RBI’s after his third double of his freshman campaign. Casey Harford and Christian Hall each scored while Sean Dixson (single, hit by pitch) and Blake Daniels (double, walk) reached base safely twice out of the top two spots in the lineup.
A two-out rally in the top of the first led to the only offense of the game on either side. Harford lined an 0-1 pitch for a single out to left and Hall followed with a single to second base. LaFollette then shot an opposite-field double into the gap in left center, plating a pair to put the Skyhawks on top early.
Folks worked around a two-out triple in the bottom of the first to keep the game scoreless. At one point, he sat down nine consecutive Nicholls batters, not allowing a ball out of the infield in the second or third innings. Back-to-back called strikeouts wrapped up the second while he induced three groundouts in the third.
The Colonels put a pair of runners aboard the basepaths with two away in the fourth but Folks got out of the jam on an inning-ending groundout.
Folks was back on cruise control in the fifth, retiring the side in order on 13 pitches. After a hit batsman with two outs in the sixth, he received some help from his battery mate Blake Davis with an inning-ending caught stealing attempt.
In his final frame of the afternoon, Folks displayed impeccable command. He fired seven of his nine pitches for strikes, sitting the middle of the Nicholls lineup down in order.
Reed entered in the eighth and was very sharp, needing just eight pitches to face the minimum amount of hitters. He began the ninth with a strikeout and groundout but the Colonels tried to mount a rally after a single and walk brought the go-ahead run to the plate. Hussey then trotted in from the bullpen and made short work of Nicholls designated hitter Grant Askins, ringing him up on five pitches for his second career save.