TUESDAY'S SCORES
Austin Peay 5, @Belmont 4
@Eastern Kentucky 3, Bellarmine 2
@Murray State 5, Southern Illinois 4 (11)
@#4 Tennessee 10,
Tennessee Tech 8
@Saint Louis 10,
SIUE 7
AUSTIN PEAY 5, BELMONT 4
NASHVILLE - Right fielder Skyler Luna drove in the game-tying run then scored on an error in the eighth inning and Austin Peay State University's baseball team secured a 5-4 come-from-behind victory against Belmont, Tuesday night at Rose Park.
Austin Peay (18-29) scored the game's first run – and the only run for the first six innings – in the first inning. Second baseman Malcolm Tipler walked and center fielder Garrett Spain was hit by a pitch with one out. First baseman Bobby Head singled and Tipler scored for a 1-0 lead.
Both pitching staff's combined to keep the offenses shutdown over the next five innings. Austin Peay starter Peyton Jula and reliever Keegan Mills combined for six scoreless innings – Mills striking out six of the nine batters he faced. On the other side, Belmont starter Will Jenkins and two relievers combined to go five scoreless innings after the first, keeping the game 1-0 entering the seventh.
The offenses finally broke through in the seventh, combining for six runs. Austin Peay scored two runs in the top of the inning courtesy Tipler's two-run single. But Belmont loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the inning and second baseman Jack Rando cleared them with a double to tie the game. Catcher Jackson Campbell followed with another double to score Rando and give Belmont its first lead, 4-3.
Austin Peay would respond in its next opportunity at the plate. Catcher Jack Alexander hit a leadoff double to start the rally. Luna followed with a one-out double to score Alexander and tie the game again. Shortstop John Bolton would hit a ground ball to second but the ball was misplayed and Luna scored on the overthrow, setting the final score.
Govs reliever Michael Sturek (1-0) was the beneficiary of the eighth-inning rally, picking up his first collegiate victory. Nick Wellman notched his season's second save with a scoreless ninth inning.
Luna went 1-for-4 with a RBI and run scored. Tipler was 2-for-3 with two walks, two RBI and a run scored. Spain and Head has two hits each.
Belmont reliever Logan Bowen (2-4) suffered the loss after allowing one unearned run in his inning pitched. Rando went 1-for-3 with three RBI and a run scored.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 3, BELLARMINE 2
RICHMOND, Ky. - Eight Eastern Kentucky University pitchers combined to hold Bellarmine University to two runs on six hits in a 3-2 victory on Tuesday at Earle Combs Stadium.
The Colonels (17-29) never trailed and each time the Knights (13-31) tied the game, EKU had the answer. Matt Higgins tied it for the final time in the top of the eighth inning on a solo home run over the wall in right center. In the bottom half of the frame, Kendal Ewell led off with a double and then gave way to pinch runner Marcus Hill. Hill couldn’t advance on a ground out, but moved to third on an infield single by Caleb Upshaw. Charlie Ludwick followed with a fly ball deep enough in right for Hill to tag and score.
Will Brian came on in the top of the ninth and retired the side in order, including the final two on strike outs, to secure his eighth save of the season.
Max Williams staked Eastern to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second with an RBI double to right center. After Bellarmine tied the score 1-1 in the top of the sixth, Daniel Harris IV scored on a throwing error in the bottom of the inning to put the home team back on top.
Bryce Travis, Brennan LaBarbera, Jordan Fox, Jaxson Blair, Jake Lewis and Brian combined to pitch six scoreless innings and allowed just two hits. The eight Eastern Kentucky pitchers combined for 11 strike outs on the night.
Ewell finished 2-for-4. Ludwick and Williams each had a double and an RBI. Higgins went 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI for the Knights.
MURRAY STATE 5, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 4 (11)
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State Racers (27-20, 15-9 OVC) won in extra innings, 5-4, for the third time this season on Tuesday in Murray, Kentucky in the midweek game with the Southern Illinois Salukis (33-15, 10-10 MVC).
With the win, the Racers split the season series with the Salukis.
Jordan Cozart was on fire at the plate tonight, sparking the Racers offense the entire night. He went 4-for-6 with three RBIs including the walk-off winner in the eleventh.
Bryson Bloomer provided the other two runs for Murray State as Bloomer had two hits, two RBIs and one run scored in the game.
The Racers pitching came up big when it needed to be, working out of four bases loaded jams and stranded 17 Salukis base runners.
Murray State and Southern Illinois are two of the biggest home run hitting teams, with a combined 132 homers, but with the wind blowing in, neither team hit the long ball.
The Salukis cracked the scoreboard first, scoring two runs in the second inning.
The Racers had two good threats in the third and fourth putting runners in scoring position but were unable to push any across until the fifth.
With one out in the fifth, five consecutive Racers reached safely. Bloomer evened the game at two with a two-RBI double to the left field corner and Cozart followed with a two-RBI single to right center.
Southern Illinois put up single tallies in the sixth and seventh to tie the game at four.
The game remained deadlocked until the eleventh. Two walks and a hit batter loaded the bases with nobody out for Jordan Cozart who continued to be dangerous at the plate and grounded past the diving third basesman to win it for the Racers in extras.
The Racers used seven pitchers in the game. Cade Vernon started his fourth game of the season going two innings, giving up two runs.
Jake Jones, Alec Whaley, Jacob Pennington and Quinton Kujawa all pitched scoreless outings for the Racers.
Pennington struck out a team-high four and Kujawa threw the final two innings to pick up his second win of the season.
#4 TENNESSEE 10, TENNESSEE TECH 8
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Eight runs over the final two innings proved too little too late for the Tennessee Tech baseball team Tuesday evening, as No. 4 nationally-ranked Tennessee (38-11) held on to defeat the Golden Eagles (18-22) at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, 10-8.
After requiring a walk-off single to defeat the purple and gold by a score of 3-2 back on Apr. 20, the Vols seemed eager to provide more support on the scoreboard the second time around, plating four in the first inning alone. The home team added one additional run in each of the next five innings, speeding out to a 9-0 lead.
On the mound, Tennessee looked dominant early as well, holding the Golden Eagles to just two hits over the opening seven frames. In the eighth, however, Tech made its move.
With one out in the eighth and a pair of runners aboard, returning sophomore John Dyer delivered the first blow to the UT lead, dropping a pinch-hit, ground-rule, RBI double into left field for the first Tech run of the ballgame.
Like dominoes, the runs started to fall one after another. Second baseman Brett Roberts grounded out to second base to drive in the second Golden Eagle marker, leaving his team one out to work with in the frame.
It proved plenty with first baseman Golston Gillespie and center fielder Jason Hinchman each drawing walks to load the bases. A pitching change did nothing to scare off the purple and gold, as designated hitter Gavin Johns smashed a two-run double to right field to make it four runs for his squad.
Tennessee helped things along as well, tossing a pair of wild pitches to allow both Hinchman and Johns to dent the dish before finally closing out the inning. With the lead cut to just 9-6, the Vols looked to add some insurance, plating one and loading the bases, but southpaw Daniel Holley came on from the bullpen to force the final out of the frame.
The game seemed all but over quickly in the ninth, as the Vols sandwiched a base knock from shortstop Ed Johnson with a pair of outs. A miscue in the infield, however, allowed Roberts to reach safely and bring Gillespie to the dish. He delivered with a single to first base to load the bases.
Sophomore Owen Kiess, who came into the ballgame in the eighth as a defensive replacement, kept Tech's hopes alive for one more at bat, peppering a single up the middle for a pair of runs. The clutch hit made it a 10-8 ballgame, but the Vols forced a fly ball to center field to close things out.
Johnson led the Cookeville crew with a trio of hits and two runs scored, just a day after claiming his second Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week honors. Johns also tallied multiple hits, driving in a pair and scoring once.
SAINT LOUIS 10, SIUE 7
ST. LOUIS - In the fourth and final meeting of the season, Saint Louis knocked off SIUE baseball 10-7 Tuesday night at the Billiken Sports Complex.
The Cougars fell to 22-21. The Billikens improved to 16-28, with their first win in the season series.
Seven SIUE pitchers allowed 10 runs on 10 Billiken hits and issued 10 walks.
The Billikens wasted little time in getting on the board. Leadoff hitter Colten Schild tripled in the first inning and then scored on a wild pitch. Tyler Fogarty walked and then stole second, before scoring on single by Kyle Fitzgerald.
Cougars struck back in the third with four two-out runs.
Josh Ohl doubled into left with one out and then scored on a two-out single by Richie Well. Connor Kiffer followed with a single and both runners scored when Raul Elguezabal smashed a triple over the head of Billikens centerfielder Matt Turino. Elguezabal scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-2. Ole Arntson doubled off the left field fence, missing a home run by less than a foot. Turino then made a running leaping grab against the fence to end the end and rob Tyler Basutnas of a hit and an RBI.
The Billikens regained the lead in the fourth inning. SLU loaded the bases with nobody out on two hits and a walk. Ryan Hernandez drove home two to tie the game with a one-out single to left field. Fogarty made it 5-4 when he reached on a fielder's choice which scored a run.
Kiffer connected on his sixth home run of year with one out in the top of the sixth to even the score at 5-5. Kiffer led the Cougars at the plate going 3-4 with homer and three runs scored.
Cole Smith made it 8-5 with a three-run home run to left in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Billikens stretched the lead to 10-5 with a pair of runs in the sixth inning.
Quin Waterhouse (1-3) took the loss in relief. He allowed three runs on a hit and two walks in an inning.
SLU's Charlie Sheehan (3-2) earned the win. He allowed a run in two innings and struck out two. Marius Balandis allowed a run over the final three innings for the save. He stuck out six SIUE hitters.
Avery Owusu-Asiedu got two runs back in the seventh with a two-run singe to make it 10-7.
Six of SIUE's seven runs came with two out in the inning.