FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 7-5, Austin Peay 4-7
@Murray State 8-11, UT Martin 5-0
@Southeast Missouri 6-0, Eastern Kentucky 2-8
SIUE 4, @Jacksonville State 3
@Tennessee Tech 3, Morehead State 2
EASTERN ILLINOIS 7-5, AUSTIN PEAY 4-7
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois split a pair of games on Friday with Austin Peay as shortstop Trey Sweeney continued to hit and drive in runs during the contests.
EIU won the opener 7-4 in a game that included a nearly 60 minute weather delay. In the nightcap, APSU picked up the 7-5 win.
Sweeney was 3-for-3 in the opener and 1-for-3 in the second game driving in two runs with a pair of home runs. He ended the day hitting .408 with 14 home runs and 58 RBI on the season.
The two teams cruised through the first six innings on Friday with the scored tied 2-2 when a weather delayed halted action for nearly an hour. When the action resumed, APSU jumped on top with a run in the seventh on a John Bolton RBI single.
Dalton Doyle put EIU on top in the bottom of the frame with a three-run homer and Ryan Ignoffo added a two-run shot in the eighth for insurance. Ignoffo closed out the game in relief to pick up the win and improve to 4-1 on the season.
Cameron Doherty (EIU) and Luke Brown (APSU) both were solid on the mound in starting roles prior to the weather delay. Sweeney had a pair solo home runs in the fourth and sixth innings. Jack Alexander drove in the two early Governors runs with an RBI double and home run.
In the night cap, Austin Peay took the lead with two runs in the seventh inning in a contest that had several ties and several lead changes. In the seventh Malcolm Tipler drove home the first APSU run of the inning and then drew a pickoff throw attempt that went wide allowing Gino Avros to score.
Skyler Luna put APSU up 7-4 in the ninth with a solo home run, the third home run of the second game for the Governors. Tipler homered in the first and Avros had a home run in the fifth.
EIU brought the winning run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth and trailed by two after a Ryan Knerschield RBI single up the middle. Harley Gollert got a double play ball to end the game and pick hp his second save of the year.
Tarron Lawson (2nd) and Doyle (4th) added solo home runs for EIU in the game.
MURRAY STATE 8-11, UT MARTIN 5-0
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State Racers baseball team (25-20, 14-9 OVC) clinched the series with two wins over the struggling UT Martin Skyhawks (15-25, 7-13 OVC).
The Racers came back from a three-run deficit to walk-off, 8-5, on a Bryson Bloomer three-run home run in game one. Murray State then turned out an 11-0 shutout performance in game two.
UT Martin is now on a five-game losing streak and fell to last place in the OVC standings at 7-13 in conference play while the Racers remain in third place with a conference record of 14-9.
Five Racers went deep on the day, including Jake Slunder's inside the park home run and the biggest blow of Bloomer's three run homer to walk-off game one.
In the night cap, Ryan Perkins had a 3-for-3 performance, driving in a team-high four runs and scoring two as well. Tanner Booth was 2-for-3 with a home run and two runs scored.
In game one, UT Martin struck first plating two runs on four hits in the top of the first inning.
Slunder hit the first inside the park home run at Reagan Field in recent memory. He crushed the ball to right center wall and then flew around the bases, scoring without even a throw to the plate.
Murray State then tied the game at two in the next inning on David Hudleson's RBI single over an outstretched shortstop's glove.
UTM hit back-to-back home runs to give them a 5-2 lead in the fifth.
In the sixth, the Racers comeback began as a wild pitch proved costly as it moved two Racer runners into scoring position. Jordan Cozart made UTM pay with a two RBI double to cut the Skyhawks' lead to one.
Murray State evened the game the next inning when Alex Crump drew a bases load walk.
With two outs in the ninth, Brock Anderson hit a towering fly ball that went just foul to send Murray State to its second straight extra-inning game.
In the eleventh, Cozart walked and Slunder was hit by a pitch to set the table for Bryson Bloomer who did not miss, launching a walk-off three-run home run to win it for the Racers.
On the mound, Shane Burns made his tenth start of the season. He went 4+ innings allowing five runs and struck out seven.
Jacob Pennington came in and shut down the Skyhawk's offense. He tied his season long, 5.1 innings, and set a new career high in strikeouts with nine, not allowing a run.
Connor Holden came in for the final 1.2 innings, picking up his first win of the season.
Sam Gardner started game two of the doubleheader by striking out seven of the first nine Skyhawk batters.
The Racers gave him run support early as both Tanner Booth and Ryan Perkins hit long balls for a 3-0 lead.
The bats really came alive in the latter part of the game putting up eight runs over the final three innings.
A bases loaded bloop single to right center from Ryan Perkins extended the lead to 5-0 in the sixth.
The seventh saw the duo of Slunder and Cozart execute a double steal resulting in the UTM catcher's throw going into centerfield, scoring Slunder unearned.
Finally, the offense exploded in the eighth for five runs led by Trey Woosley who hit a no-doubter two-run shot. Bloomer contributed a sacrifice fly and Cozart ripped a ball down the left field line to score two.
Sam Gardner was once again solid on the mound, going seven shutout innings, setting a new career high of ten strikeouts while only giving up three hits.
Alec Whaley and Jordyn Naranjo each threw an inning with Naranjo striking out two.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 6-0, EASTERN KENTUCKY 2-8
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Eastern Kentucky University’s baseball team beat second place Southeast Missouri State University, 8-0, in the second game of a doubleheader on Friday at Capaha Field.
The Redhawks won the first game 6-1.
In game two, Eastern (16-28, 10-16 OVC) broke a scoreless tie in the top of the seventh inning. Charlie Ludwick led off with a single down the right field line. Logan Thomason followed with a walk. With a 1-0 count, freshman outfielder Max Williams blasted a shot over the right field wall to turn it into a 3-0 lead.
With two outs and runners at second and third later in the inning, Daniel Harris IV doubled to left field to bring home two more. Caleb Upshaw capped the six-run inning with a RBI single to left.
Ludwick added a RBI double in the ninth and Thomason drove in a run with a ground out.
Freshman Garret Simpson started and shutout Southeast Missouri for five innings. He allowed four hits and walked one. Louis Davenport III (3-3) earned the win after tossing three scoreless innings of relief. He did not allow a hit while striking out six. Bryce Travis came in with two on and no outs in the bottom of ninth. He got two fly balls and a ground out to second to complete the shutout.
Kendal Ewell went 3-for-5 with a run. Williams finished with two hits in five at bats, scored once and drove in three. Harris was 1-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs. Santiago Peralta and Upshaw had two hits each and both scored a run.
Four different Redhawks (22-17, 14-9 OVC) had one hit each. SEMO starter Bryce Grossius pitched six shutout innings, allowed five hits and struck out six.
The Colonels came out on the wrong end of a pitching duel in the first game. EKU starter Darren Williams pitched seven innings, allowed two runs on six hits and struck out six. Only one of the runs was earned and he retired the final 16 batters he faced.
Southeast starter Dylan Dodd pitched seven shutout innings, allowed three hits and struck out eight.
Eastern entered the top of the eighth inning down 2-0. Max Williams started it off with a pinch hit double and Cam Ridley and Ewell followed with a pair of walks to load the bases. A ground ball by Harris was enough to score one, but the Redhawks got out of the inning without another run scoring.
EKU went to the bullpen in the bottom of the eighth and a three-run home run by Wade Stauss capped a 4-run inning to turn it into a 6-1 advantage.
SIUE 4, JACKSONVILLE STATE 3
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Behind a strong start from freshman Noah Matheny, SIUE baseball edged Jacksonville State 4-3 Friday in the opener of a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series at Jim Case Stadium.
The win was the Cougars' first over the Gamecocks since March, 2015 snapping a 13-game losing streak in the series.
The Cougars improved to 21-19 overall and 11-11 in OVC play. The 11 OVC wins matches SIUE's most under Sean Lyons. Jacksonville State slipped to 22-22 overall and 12-10 in the OVC.
Matheny found himself in a jam early. After the first batter struck out, JSU loaded the bases with a walk and two hits, but Matheny struck out the next two hitters and the Gamecocks left the bases loaded.
The Cougars then took the lead in the second inning on an Ethan Copeland RBI-single. Jacksonville State catcher Alex Carignan homered in the bottom of the second inning to tie the game.
Richie Well doubled and Connor Kiffer singled to drive home runs in a two-run fifth inning to put SIUE on top 3-1. Copeland extended SIUE's lead to 4-1 with a second RBI-hit in the sixth inning.
Matheny worked into the eighth inning, but walked the leadoff hitter before leaving in favor of reliever Rob Parks.
Parks allowed a hit to the first batter he faced, before a balk was called which advanced the runners to second and third. Carson Crowe's two-out hit to right field plated both to trim the lead to 4-3. Parks got Carignan to fly out to end the frame.
Matheny (5-2) allowed two runs on five hits in seven full innings. He walked two and struck out a career-best nine hitters.
Braydon Bone worked the ninth inning, striking out one and walking one to earn the save, his third of the year and the 10th of his career, which ties him for sixth most all-time at SIUE.
SIUE finished with nine hits as a team. "We got some big hits when we need to," Lyons said.
Kiffer and Copeland each had two hits for the Cougars. Copeland drove home two.
The three Cougar pitchers limited Jacksonville State, which entered the weekend as the second best hitting team in the OVC, to just seven hits. Caignan had two.
TENNESSEE TECH 3, MOREHEAD STATE 2
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - In a fast-paced, pitcher's duel it was the long ball that made the difference for the Tennessee Tech baseball team Friday evening, as the Golden Eagles (16-21, 9-13) held off Ohio Valley Conference rival Morehead State (23-17, 12-7) at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex, 3-2.
Returning freshman Ty Fisher turned in a spectacular performance on the mound for the purple and gold, tossing seven innings while allowing just five hits, two earned runs and one walk. The southpaw punched out a season-high eight batters while earning his fifth victory of the year.
After Morehead State kicked off the scoring with an RBI triple in the top of the second, the Golden Eagle bats were quick to answer to support their own hurler. First baseman Golston Gillespie wasted no time, turning on the first pitch he saw and cracking a solo home run over the fence in right-center field.
The visitors struck again in the third, using soft contact and an RBI single to move back in front, 2-1. It took some time for the Golden Eagles to provide a response, but it was well worth the wait. While Fisher held the Morehead bats off the scent over the next four frames, Tech went to work.
The bottom of the sixth seemed fairly similar to the second, as shortstop Ed Johnson mimicked his teammate by crushing the first pitch he saw to left field. The sophomore's fourth round-tripper of the year tied the ballgame, but Tech had more to offer.
With two outs in the frame, Gillespie took his turn at the dish and delivered his second set of fireworks, hammering a solo jack to right field for a 3-2 Golden Eagle lead. His second moon shot of the game marked his ninth on the year. It also gave him his third multi-HR contest of the season, tying the program record for a single season.
Morehead threatened in the eighth, loading the bases and prompting the entrance of right-hander Grant Phillips. The senior induced a sharp fly ball to left field to end the frame and help Tech avoid any damage. He then covered the ninth, finishing a perfect inning by inducing a fly ball and a pair of ground outs to pick up his second save of the year.