SATURDAY'S SCORES
Tennessee Tech 10, Radford 5 (Mobile, Ala.)
@Southeastern Louisiana 4,
SIUE 3
@Austin Peay 10, Boston College 9 (10 innings)
@Murray State 18, Butler 1
Miami (Ohio) 10,
@UT Martin 5
@Little Rock 10,
Eastern Illinois 6
@Kennesaw State 4-2,
Morehead State 0-10
@Belmont 7-5, Toledo 2-0
Southeast Missouri 6, @#22 Dallas Baptist 5 (10 innings)
TENNESSEE TECH 10, RADFORD 5
MOBILE, Ala. - An early rally and patience at the plate propelled the Tennessee Tech baseball team to its second win in as many days to start the 2022 campaign, as the Golden Eagles (2-0) defeated Radford (0-2) at the South Alabama Invitational Saturday afternoon, 10-5.
The purple and gold drew eight walks on the day, most of them coming at key moments in the ball game. The Tech pitching staff also combined to allow just two hits throughout the game.
Radford was the first to strike in the contest plating a pair of runs in the opening frame without the benefit of a hit. Newcomer Carter Gannaway entered the contest for Tech with the bases loaded and no outs and was able to hold the Highlanders to just one more run in the inning before escaping further damage.
The junior right-hander went on to deliver an impressive outing the rest of the way, tossing five innings with just three unearned runs allowed. He struck out three batters in his first action in the purple and gold, securing the win as well.
The Tech offense was quick to respond to back the pitching staff, loading the bases with two outs for junior slugger John Dyer. The Golden Eagle right fielder produced one of the key hits of the day, smashing a 1-2 offering to left field to clear the bases and give the purple and gold a 3-2 lead. He scored just one pitch later, taking advantage of a fielding error by the Highlanders.
In the second, the Golden Eagles added another marker to the scoreboard, this one courtesy of left fielder Jason Hinchman. The senior slugger ripped a single to left field to plate shortstop Ed Johnson, who led off the frame with a base knock of his own to left.
Patience proved prudent for the Tech bats in the fourth inning, with the Cookeville crew taking its turn using the walk to its advantage for a 9-5 lead. The Golden Eagles combined to draw five free passes in the frame, scoring three times on wild pitches and once more on a bases-loaded walk drawn by designated hitter Hayden Gilliland.
The Highlanders provided a response in the fifth, using a trio of uncharacteristic miscues by the Tech defense to score three unearned tallies and cut the Golden Eagle lead to 9-5. Luke Jones increased the lead back to five in the seventh, continuing his prowess as a pinch-hitter by sneaking an RBI double down the left-field line.
Out of the bullpen, veteran Connor Adam was efficient, striking out four batters while covering two and two-thirds innings. He allowed just a single hit and one walk. Eric Newsom finished off the contest, tossing the final one and a third frames without allowing a hit or walk.
Dyer paced the Golden Eagle offensive effort, driving in four runs as part of a 1-for-2, two-walk day. Johnson collected a pair of hits and three runs scored in four at-bats while Gilliland scored twice and drew a trio of free passes.
SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA 4, SIUE 3
HAMMOND, La. - For the second time in as many days, SIUE baseball dropped a one-run decision to Southeastern Louisiana. The Lions scored a walk-off 4-3 win over the Cougars Saturday at Alumni Field.
The Cougars are now 0-2. Southeastern La. Is 2-0.
Southeastern Louisiana scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth on a wild pitch after a hit batter and an infield hit.
SIUE committed three errors, after not committing an error in Friday's season opener. The Cougars surrendered two unearned runs.
The Cougars managed three runs on just three hits against four Southeastern Louisiana pitchers.
Ole Arntson, Drew Mize and Josh Ohl accounted for the three hits. SIUE scored twice in the second inning, getting a sacrifice fly from Steven Pattan and scoring a run on a wild pitch to lead 2-0. Southeastern Louisiana scored a run in the third and another in the fourth to tie the game 2-2.
Ohl hit his second career home run in the fifth to put the Cougars back on top 3-2. The Lions added an unearned run in the eighth to even the score again at 3-3.
Brant Glidewell allowed a single earned run over four innings in the start. He struck out five. Quinn Waterhouse threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings striking out two. Kyle Dixon worked two innings allowing an unearned run and struck out three. Alex Scherer worked 2/3 of an inning, allowing a run, and took the loss.
SIUE pitchers have struck out 21 hitters over the first two days of the series.
AUSTIN PEAY 10, BOSTON COLLEGE 9 (10)
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Reliever Sebastian Martinez threw four scoreless innings and right fielder Geno Avros earned a bases-loaded walk in the 10th inning, leading Austin Peay State University's baseball back from an eight-run deficit to defeat Boston College 10-9, Saturday, on Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park.
With the win, Austin Peay ties the season-opening three-game series, 1-1. The Govs and Eagles will battle for the series victory in a 1 p.m. Sunday outing.
Boston College (1-1) controlled the action early, scoring in four of its first five innings and building an 8-0 lead after a three-run top of the fifth. Meanwhile, Eagles' freshman starter Sean Hard, a 2021 MLB Draft pick, kept Austin Peay in check through four innings, allowing one hit and no runs.
Austin Peay (1-1) broke through in the bottom of the fifth with four runs off Hard and tacked on four more off the Eagle's second reliever of the game to close within 9-8 after six innings.
The Governors turned to Martinez (1-0) in the seventh, and the senior responded with four scoreless innings to finish the game. He held Boston College without a hit and allowed only one walk while striking out four batters.
Austin Peay rallied to tie the game with two outs in the ninth. Three consecutive singles by Avros, pinch hitter Matt Joslin, and third baseman Michael Robinson did the trick, Robinson's driving in the tying run.
The Govs broke the tie one inning later after reserve left fielder Harrison Brown led off the inning with a double. An intentional walk and a standard walk loaded the bases and forced Boston College not only to make a pitching change but bring five infielders in to try and stem the Govs run. But Avros earned the bases-loaded walk to thwart the Eagles' intentions and win the game.
First baseman John McDonald enjoyed another two-RBI day, going 1-for-5 with a double. Robinson went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI. Avros was 2-for-4 with a run scored and RBI.
Left fielder Travis Honeyman had Boston College's lone multi-hit outing, going 2-for-2 with two runs scored and an RBI. Shortstop Vince Cimini and catcher Peter Burns each had two RBI. Eagles reliever Max Gieg was tagged for the loss after allowing one run on a hit and two walks in one-third of an inning.
MURRAY STATE 18, BUTLER 1
MURRAY, Ky. - Murray State baseball defeated Butler in blow-out fashion on Saturday (Feb. 19) afternoon by a final score of 18-1 at Johnny Reagan Field in Murray, Kentucky. Graduate outfielder Jake Slunder led the offense with a 4 for 5 day at the plate to go along with four RBI's and two runs scored. Four Racer pitchers combined to allow just one run while striking out 12 Bulldogs.
The Racer offense erupted in the first inning for eight runs on six hits to knock out the Butler starting pitcher before recording an out. Murray State would also post a seven-run inning in the fourth highlighted by a Brennan McCullough two-run home run to expand their lead to 15-1. MSU would add runs in the fifth and seventh innings to bring the final count to 18.
The pitching staff for the Racers impressed on the day without allowing an earned run and giving up just six Bulldog hits. Six different Racer pitchers currently hold a 0.00 ERA through two games. Matt Boynton went four strong innings before giving the ball to Shane Burns. Burns earned the win while going three innings, striking out five, and allowing just two hits.
MIAMI (OHIO) 10, UT MARTIN 5
MARTIN, Tenn. - A momentous 3rd and 4th inning for the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball squad suddenly drifted into a lengthy absence of hits at the halfway point of Saturday afternoon's Game 2 with Miami (Ohio) at Skyhawk Field, held without a successful swing over the final four innings to take a 10-5 setback at the hands of the Redhawks.
In the second straight day of plentiful sunshine and temperatures in the low-40's, the two-man pitching core of Kenten Egbert and Nick Demonica provided the difference-maker – especially the latter throughout his excellent relief duties – able to scoop up the victory despite leaving a whopping 12 runners on the base pads.
Reaching seven hits collectively from seven different batters at the halfway point of the three-game season-opening series, UT Martin eventually drowned in the Redhawks' infield after piling up a 5-1 advantage, forced to watch as they surrendered their third inning this weekend of five runs scored by the opponent.
Sophomore southpaw Lawson Russell earned the starting job for the Skyhawks in Game 2 to denote only his third collegiate appearance, striking out five players in 69 throws while giving up three runs. The second-year lefty was then relieved by Seth Petry and Baylor Jones over the last five periods, where the Redhawks embarked on a game-ending 9-0 sprint to down UTM into an 0-2 record.
Striking first in the 2nd stanza as they did the previous afternoon, an RBI-double from Stephen Krause enabled Miami to find home early. UT Martin quickly evened things up in the bottom of the 3rd on Casey Harford's second hit of the weekend to score centerfielder Reid Halfacre, planting the seeds for a much more emphatic 4th frame from the navy and orange.
Starting in the nine-hole after pinch-hitting 24 hours prior, sophomore Hunter McLean gifted the Skyhawks a jolt of energy with an RBI-single to bring home Houston Wright. Preseason All-OVC member Will Smith continued the hot exchange from there, belting a double to left center that scored McLean and catcher Blake Davis.
Little did UTM know, the offense was about to come to a screeching halt following Demonica's interjection at the mound. A right-field swing from first-baseman Wil LaFollette in the 5th signaled the last hit of the entire game for the Skyhawks, whose mostly solid defense caved long enough for Miami to pounce as the sun began to settle.
Kickstarted by a three-run bomb from Dalton Back that brought the road squad within one, a sneakily-placed bunt by Brian Zapp tied the contest up at five each shortly after Petry entered the circle. The onslaught was already underway for the Redhawks, who powered in four more runs in that fateful 7th inning off of a wild pitch and another three-run homer, this one from designated hitter Cole Andrews.
Yesterday's lead-off man and today's pinch-runner Cristian Tejada added insult to injury in the top of the 9th with Miami's second conversion of a wild pitch into a home-plate slide, marking the final score at a deficit of five and the second day in a row where the Skyhawks surrendered double-digit hits. Altogether, the Redhawks have posted 25 runs since Friday to take the overall series W ahead of tomorrow's finale.
Russell, Petry, and Jones added up for 13 K's in the non-conference loss, although the batting consistency halted at an inopportune moment for UTM in what evolved into a game of missed chances at the plate.
Demonica was awarded the win for his efforts to aid Miami's comeback, not allowing a single hit over 14 batters faced. Five separate Redhawk players landed a pair of hits in the road triumph, walking nine times and picking up eight RBI.
The Skyhawks still hold the chance to salvage the season-starting series at the close of the weekend tomorrow, battling Miami for a third and final time before an eight-game road trip across the state of Alabama beginning next Tuesday. Chattahoochee Valley Community College transfer Matt Dickey will make his UT Martin debut on the mound to begin proceedings, while the Redhawks are expected to counter with a transfer of their own, former Michigan Wolverine Colin Czajkowski.
LITTLE ROCK 10, EASTERN ILLINOIS 6
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Eastern Illinois baseball (1-1) loses the second game of their three game series against Arkansas-Little Rock (1-1) by a score of 10-6. Logan Eickhoff posts two hits and two RBI for the Panthers. Cameron Doherty threw three innings allowing six runs with four strikeouts.
The Panthers and Trojans went scoreless in the first inning, while the Trojans left three stranded in the bottom of the inning. EIU struck first in the second when Aide reached first on a throwing error and Worcester tripled down the left field line to bring him home. Little Rock's Tyler Williams and Jorden Hussein both doubled to score two in the second.
The Trojans scored again the the third after Hussein's second double of the game that brought home a run. Noah Dickerson's three run homerun for Little Rock capped of a four run inning in the bottom of the fourth.
EIU battled back in the fifth scoring four of their own. Lashure singled to start the inning for the Panthers, and was followed by a HBP drawn by Lincoln Riley and a walk by Lucas DiLuca. Eickhoff brought in two on the next at-bat with a double down the left field line. Doyle's groundout was able to bring in another run, while Ignoffo hit a sac fly to bring in Eickhoff to bring the score to 6-5. Trojans would add a run in the bottom of the fifth.
Aide added the Panther's final run in the sixth with a solo homerun to left field, his first of the year. Little-Rock added a run in the seventh and eighth innings to bring the final score to 10-6. EIU had nine hits on the afternoon and left nine runners on base. The Trojans had 12 hits, and left 11 on base.
KENNESAW STATE 4-2, MOREHEAD STATE 0-10
KENNESAW, Ga. - Morehead State baseball found the offense hard to come by on Saturday at Kennesaw State. The Eagles dropped a doubleheader to the Owls, 4-0 and 10-2, with both games games going seven innings.
The Eagles slipped to 0-3 on the season.
In game one, Morehead State's quarter of pitchers - starter Joe Rotkis and newcomers Andre Crumbley, Sam Replogle and Ethan Young combined to only allow five hits, but the Eagles were held to only two hits themselves and fanned 12 times at the plate.
Rotkis (0-1) allowed all four runs, while Young and Replogle each faced the minimum in an inning of work each. Replogle had two strikeouts.
The home team put up a three-run spot in the third, including an RBI triple and RBI double.
Sophomore center-fielder Ryley Preece had a hit for the second straight game, and newcomer Logan Castleman recorded his first Eagle hit.
In game two, sophomore first baseman Jackson Feltner belted an RBI singe, and sophomore shortstop Colton Becker recorded a sac fly, but by that time the Eagles trailed 8-0 in the fifth inning.
Feltner finished 2-for-2 as the Eagles were held in check at the plate again with just four hits. Nick Gooden and Alex Jacobs also had hits.
Starter Alex Kafka was tagged with the loss to fall to 0-1. He surrendered four earned runs in three innings. Newcomer Will Grimmett tossed a scoreless inning in relief.
The Owls had 12 hits and had four batters record multi-hit games.
BELMONT 7-5, TOLEDO 2-0
NASHVILLE - Behind dominant pitching and dynamic baserunning, the Belmont University baseball team cruised to a pair of wins over Toledo, 7-2 in Game 1 and 5-0 in Game 2, on Saturday at E.S. Rose Park.
Carson Shacklett continued his torrid stretch at the plate, building off a 4-for-4 night in Friday's contest with a 3-for-4 showing across the two games on Saturday with two RBIs and a double.
Left-handers Andy Bean (W, 1-0) and Dominic Baratta (W, 1-0) each provided quality starts on the mound in their season debuts, combining for ten innings pitched with ten strikeouts and just one run allowed.
Making his first start of the season, Bean was masterful from the jump in the first game of the doubleheader, striking out six Rockets and allowing only two baserunners. Toledo was able to scratch across just one run on Bean, on an RBI groundout in the third inning.
Dusty Baird came on in relief and threw two solid innings, allowing just one run on two hits.
Offensively, Guy Lipscomb set the tone in the first inning after drawing a leadoff walk before stealing second and third base.
In the second inning, after a Shacklett single and a Jack Capobianco walk, Grayson Taylor came through with a two-out RBI single to left field to put the Bruins on the board. Shortly after, Lipscomb blazed down the line to beat out a huge infield single that scored two more runs, giving Bean a 3-0 cushion.
Belmont would tack on to their lead with a three-run fourth inning, with Shacklett, Capobianco, and Jackson Campbell all coming across to score on a throwing error and a two-RBI knock from Taylor.
The final run for the Bruins came in the fifth inning, when Campbell cashed in on a Tommy Crider double with a single to left field.
Lipscomb finished 1-for-2 with two RBI and three stolen bases, Taylor went 2-for-3 with three RBI, and Campbell ended up 2-for-3 with an RBI.
In game two, Baratta was splendid in his Belmont debut, combining with Chandler Schultz for a three-hit shutout.
The sophomore transfer went five full innings with four strikeouts and just one walk, scattering three hits.
Schultz then entered and picked up right where the lefty left off, overpowering Toledo with a dominant performance in the final two innings. The right-hander from Nashville gave up no hits and recorded four strikeouts with one walk.
Belmont jumped all over Toledo starter Connor Brandon in the first inning, with Lipscomb working a leadoff walk and then stealing second base, his fourth stolen bag of the day. John Behrends then walked before Brodey Heaton singled to load the bases.
After Lipscomb scored on a wild pitch, Carson Shacklett belted a double to left field to drive in two more and give Belmont a 3-0 lead.
The Bruins made it 4-0 in the second frame on a Logan Jarvis single that scored Grayson Taylor, who had doubled to lead off the inning.
The home side then added one final piece of insurance with an orchestrated play that saw Shacklett steal second base with the throw down allowing Crider to score from third.
Shacklett ended the game 2-for-2 with two RBI and Taylor finished his night 1-for-2 with a run and a walk.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 6, #22 DALLAS BAPTIST 5 (10)
DALLAS, Texas - Joel Vaske hit a game-tying three-run home run in the ninth and Brett Graber delivered the game-winning two-out single in the 10th to lead Southeast Missouri (2-0) to a 6-5 come-from-behind stunner to claim a season-opening series win over #22 Dallas Baptist (0-2) Saturday.
SEMO posted its second series win over a ranked opponent in school history. The Redhawks last accomplished the feat when they won two of three at then-#16 Alabama at the start of the 2009 campaign.
For the second-straight day, SEMO upset DBU by one run in extra innings.
Down, 3-1, after eight, the Redhawks scored four runs with one out in the top of the ninth to get ahead of the Patriots for the first time.
Lincoln Andrews walked and Graber singled putting runners at first and second. Ryan Malzahn greeted left-handed reliever Peyton Sherlin with a double to left and Andrews scored to make it a one-run ballgame.
On the next play, pinch-hitter Vaske smashed the first pitch of his at-bat over the center field wall to tie the game at 5-5. Malzahn and Graber scored on Vaske's first career home run which also marked SEMO's first of the season.
DBU brought the top of its lineup to the plate in the bottom of the ninth and delivered.
Following a Luke Heefner strikeout, Jones doubled out of the leadoff spot and scored the tying run on an ensuing home run by Jace Grady that sent the game to extra innings.
In the top of the 10th, Andrew Keck reached on a one-out double, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored the winning run on Graber's clutch two-out single.
Miguel Santos led off the DBU 10th with an infield single and was out at second when George Specht reached on a fielder's choice. Specht was then thrown out by Keck attempting to steal second and Austin Williams struck out Nathan Humphreys to finish off SEMO's second victory.
DBU scored once in each of the second, third and fourth innings to build an initial three-run lead.
The Patriots struck first when they loaded the bases and walked in a run with two outs in the bottom of the second. Blayne Jones drew the walk and Santos scored.
After DBU tacked on another run when Cole Moore homered in the third, Luke Heefner singled and later touched home on a wild pitch to give the Patriots a 3-0 advantage.
In the sixth inning, Ty Stauss singled to right and advanced to second on a four-pitch walk by Ben Palmer. Jevon Mason hit into a fielder's choice giving the Redhawks runners at first and third, but Peyton Leeper struck out and Tyler Wilber grounded out as SEMO came up empty.
SEMO was scoreless for seven innings before getting on the board in the top of the eighth. It then came on to score all six of its runs in the final three innings.
Stauss and Palmer drew back-to-back walks with one out in the eighth. Moments after Jevon Mason reached on a fielder's choice, Leeper knocked in Stauss on a two-out single to right to trim DBU's lead to 3-1.
Blake Cisneros (1-0) was credited with the win and Williams picked up his first save of the season.
Left-hander Noah Niznik and Tennessee transfer Jason Rackers pitched prior to Cisneros and Williams. Niznik allowed three runs on six hits, struck out four and walked three in five innings. Rackers worked six innings, scattered three hits, allowed two runs and struck out six.
SEMO registered 10 hits.
Leeper, Keck and Graber all had two hits. Six Redhawks, including Keck, Andrews, Graber, Malzahn, Stauss and Vaske all scored.
Kyle Rich (0-1) took the loss. Rich gave up the decisive run and allowed two hits in one inning. Chandler Arnold started for the Patriots and recorded nine strikeouts in 5.2 scoreless innings. Arnold walked two and gave up just two hits, as well.