SUNDAY'S SCORES
Tennessee Tech 11, @South Alabama 7
SIUE 10, @Southeastern Louisiana 3
@Austin Peay 18, Boston College 17
@Murray State 25, Butler 12
@UT Martin 13, Miami (Ohio) 8
@Little Rock 11,
Eastern Illinois 4
Morehead State 17, @Kennesaw State 5
@Belmont 3, Toledo 0
@#22 Dallas Baptist 13,
Southeast Missouri 5
TENNESSEE TECH 11, SOUTH ALABAMA 7
MOBILE, Ala. - Another strong performance with the bats and huge showing out of the bullpen led the Tennessee Tech baseball team to a perfect showing at the South Alabama Invitational over the weekend, as the Golden Eagles (3-0) defeated the host Jaguars (1-2) Sunday evening at Stanky Field, 11-7.
The purple and gold kicked off the second era under the direction of head coach Matt Bragga in style, sweeping opening weekend while also securing the 16th-year leader of the Tech program his 500th career victory in Division I baseball.
Things started off quite nicely for the Golden Eagles, with the visitors instantly lighting up the scoreboard for a five-spot in the first. Shortstop Ed Johnson provided the earliest fireworks, blasting the team's first home run of the season to left field to lead off the game.
Two batters later, left fielder Jason Hinchman singled to left-center field to set up first baseman Golston Gillespie. The junior slugger responded with an RBI double to right-center field, making it a 2-0 lead. Up next, catcher Hayden Gilliland kept the offense rolling with an RBI base knock to center field.
Later in the frame, designated hitter Will Long reached on an infield single to shortstop, beating an errant throw that allowed Gilliland to cross home plate safely. Second baseman Nick Spardone concluded the scoring for the purple and gold in the first with a sac fly to left field.
After the Jags collected a run in the bottom half, Johnson answered with another flick of the wrist. The junior hammered a solo blast to left field to lead off the second and put Tech up 6-1.
South Alabama scored once in the second on an unearned run, and provided even more offense in the third, tying the game at 6-6 with a three-run triple and sac fly. Brock Myers entered the game in the frame for the Golden Eagles, taking over on the hill and recording the final two outs.
The junior, who picked up the first win of the season on Friday out of the bullpen, went on to dominate over the next four innings. Myers finished the day with four and two-thirds frames of work with just four hits and a walk allowed while holding USA scoreless.
His performance provided the Tech bats the opportunity to regroup after being shut out for three consecutive innings. In the sixth, the offense struck back, using walks by Long and Spardone to lead off the frame. Center fielder Austin Turner laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners, leading to an intentional walk of Johnson.
Long went on to score on a wild pitch in the frame, putting the Golden Eagles back in front, 7-6. Jason Hinchman followed by blistering a tricky ball to first base, reaching on an error that allowed two more runs to cross safely for a three-run lead.
In the ninth, Johnson went back to work with the bat, providing a pair of critical insurance runs. Spardone sparked the success with a two-out single off the tip of the glove of a leaping third baseman. Turner followed with his own single to left field, a flare that was mishandled and allowed the runners to advance to second and third.
Johnson took the opportunity and ran with it, peppering a single through the left side to plate two more and send Tech to an 11-6 advantage with just three outs to go. South Alabama managed to score once in the ninth, but reliever Jackson Berry finished things off by forcing a ground ball for a 5-3 double play.
Myers picked up his second win of the year with the great showing out of the pen. Johnson finished an impressive 3-for-5 with three runs scored and four RBI on the day, drawing a walk as well. Spardone also tallied multiple hits and scored twice while eight different Golden Eagles picked up at least one hit.
SIUE 10, SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA 3
HAMMOND, La. - SIUE baseball found its offense Sunday on the way to a 10-3 win in the series finale at Southeastern Louisiana.
The Cougars, who had been limited to eight hits and four runs over the first two days of the series, scored 10 times on 15 hits, Sunday to improve to 1-2. The Cougars homered twice in the win.
SIUE plated five runs in the first inning on six hits, including four runs with two outs in the inning. Brady Bunten drove home a run with a base hit to left. Brennan Orf added a two-out, two-run single up the middle and Richie Well drove in two with a two-out double.
The Lions scored their only run in the third thanks to a leadoff home run by Tristan Welch.
Bunten connected for his first home run of the season, and the 18th of his career, in the fifth to give SIUE a 5-1 lead.
John Stallcup made it a 7-1 game in the sixth with a sacrifice fly, before the Cougars scored three more in the ninth inning.
Brett Johnson extended the lead to 9-1 when he went deep for his first home run of the year, following a Josh Ohl hit to start the inning. Brennan Orf singled to right to drive home Connor Kiffer who had reached after being hit by a pitch.
Johnson, Kiffer, Bunten, Avery Owusu-Asiedu, Orf and Well had two hits apiece for the Cougars.
Tyler Bruninga worked three scoreless innings in relief to earn his first collegiate win. He allowed two hits and struck out two.
Bruninga relieved Collin Baumgartner, who made his first appearance since the 2020 season and allowed a run over three innings in the start. Jake Bockenstedt pitched two scoreless innings, striking out four.
AUSTIN PEAY 18, BOSTON COLLEGE 17
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - For the second-straight game, Austin Peay State University's baseball team completed a come-from-behind victory with a walk-off walk, downing Boston College 18-17 in eight innings, Sunday, on Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park.
After battling back from an eight-run deficit in Saturday's win, Austin Peay (2-1) fell into a deeper hole in Sunday's finale. The Govs trailed by 10 runs, 11-1, after the top of the fourth before they began their comeback.
That effort began with an eight-run fourth-inning, highlighted by catcher Jack McDonald's 420-foot home run to straight-away center field, to slash the deficit to 11-9. Boston College scored twice in the top of the fifth, but Austin Peay scored three in the bottom of the fifth to close within a run at 13-12. The Governors tied the game in the sixth when first baseman John McDonald walked to start the inning and later scored on a wild pitch.
With the game tied, Boston College (1-2) quickly regained the lead in the seventh with four runs. Designated hitter Joe Vetrano delivered the big blow with a three-run home run to right center field, giving BC a 17-14 lead.
Austin Peay chipped away at that lead with second baseman Jonah Beamon's two-run home run in the seventh. Then in the eighth, the Governors loaded the bases with a Boston College error and back-to-back walks. Pinch hitter Ty DeLancey tied the game with a two-run double just inside the right-field line.
Boston College then loaded the bases again by intentionally walking center fielder Skyler Luna. Left fielder Knaje Guthrie stepped to the plate and battled through a 10-pitch at-bat, including five consecutive foul balls, before earning the walk-off walk to close the game.
The late rally handed junior Tyler Delong his first Austin Peay victory with 1.1 innings of scoreless relief.
Catcher Jack Alexander led the Govs with a 2-for-5, four RBI day that included a pair of home runs. Beamon and Guthrie had three RBI each.
Right fielder Cameron Leary hit home runs in each of his first two at bats to help Boston College build its early advantage and went 3-for-3 with six RBI. Ventrano suffered the loss after taking the mound in the eighth inning and issued a pair of walks and the game-tying two-run double.
MURRAY STATE 25, BUTLER 12
MURRAY, Ky. - Murray State baseball rewrote the record books on Sunday (Feb. 20) afternoon in a 25-12 win over Butler at Johnny Reagan Field in Murray, Kentucky. For the weekend the Racers scored 49 runs across three games to set a new school record for opening series scoring.
The Racers got the scoring started with another huge inning, plating seven runs on six hits in the bottom of the second. Outfielder Seth Gardner started the fireworks for the Murray State bats with a rocket of a home run to left field to score two. Redshirt senior third baseman Bryson Bloomer collected his second of six hits in the inning while catcher Alex Crump drew a walk for one of his five times reaching the bases.
Designated Hitter Jacob Pennington went 3 for 4 on the day with a triple and a double while scoring three times. The Racers would again score seven runs in the fourth inning before plating runs in the fifth, sixth, and eighth innings to bring the total count to 25, tied for fifth-most runs in a single game in MSU history.
UT MARTIN 13, MIAMI (OHIO) 8
MARTIN, Tenn. - Scoring from virtually every direction throughout Sunday afternoon's third-game finale against the Redhawks of Miami (Ohio), the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball squad avoided a sweep in an emphatic way in front on a raucous audience in the sunshine, grabbing the lead in the 3rd frame and never letting up on their way to a 13-8 dissection and the first W of the year.
JUCO transfer Matt Dickey, true freshman Noah Walters, Trey Ricko, and long-time catcher Blake Davis split time in the mound for the Skyhawks, canning 12 batters while walking only five on the way to the win. It was the UTM offense that shined brightest at the close of the weekend, however, leading to six hits put together from shortstop Casey Harford, rightfielder Jack Culumovic, and first-time starter Cameron Brady from the catching spot.
Brady and Nate Self – another 2022 first-timer in the lineup at third-base – synced up for seven of the team's 11 RBI on Sunday, helping secure two runs or more in four separate innings, most notably a five-run haul in the bottom of the 6th that kept Miami at bay.
For the third consecutive day, the Redhawks were the first ones to find home plate in the top of the 2nd, bouncing a two-run homer off of Dickey courtesy of Willie Escala. Just as quickly as the visitors struck first, UTM was right in position to deliver an answer later that same inning. It came off the bat of Harford, who lobbed his 15th career HR and the team's second of the weekend in solo form. A passed ball and a two-RBI crunch from Self in the 3rd stanza cushioned the Skyhawks with their first lead of the day at 5-2, where it would only grow larger from there.
Not one to go away quietly, Miami pushed back in the 4th period on a double from Tyler Wardwell down the rightfield curve, cutting the deficit back to one. Brady mirrored that same exact play on the opposite side of the field in the bottom of the 5th to deny the Redhawks of ever regaining the advantage, sending Self and Culumovic around the diamond to home base.
Once more trimming the lead down to a single run thanks to another long-ball from lead-off man J.J. Woolwine in the top of the 6th, Miami looked as if another rally was in full force. One more Skyhawk haymaker was enough to dispel any of those rumors, as head coach Ryan Jenkins' group landed the next six runs to put the game out of reach.
Having surrendered five runs in a single frame on three separate occasions earlier in the series, UTM dealt the Redhawks a dose of their own medicine with a 6th-inning avalanche, kicked off with an RBI base-hit by Culumovic. Two more RBI from Brady – plus a series of wild pitches and passed balls that each gave up one additional run – gave UT Martin the avenue to put on cruise control for the rest of the day with a 12-6 lead.
Said lead expanded +1 thanks to yet another Culumovic RBI, allowing the Skyhawks to salvage the weekend series after consecutive losses by nine and five runs respectively. Walters was granted the win behind three solid innings of relief throwing, tossing three out of 10 players faced while only giving up a pair of hits.
Consequently, Colin Czajowski was saddled with the loss in the circle for Miami after only lasting 2.1 innings before exiting. The Redhawk starter, Tyler Ronevich, and Brady McLean let a grand total of 10 UTM runs slide by, taking the Game 3 loss in an uncharacteristic defensive showing.
Enjoying the program's first season-opening home series since 2010, coach Jenkins and co. will be getting very familiar with the road over the next two and a half weeks, trudging across the state of Alabama for the next eight dates on the schedule starting this Tuesday. A one-and-done visit to Alabama A&M in Huntsville stands as the next go-around for the navy and orange, who will then take on their second-straight SWAC member Alabama State next weekend in a three-game set.
LITTLE ROCK 11, EASTERN ILLINOIS 4
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Eastern Illinois baseball (1-2) dropped the third game in their three game series against Arkansas-Little Rock (2-1) by a score of 11-4. Left fielder Nathan Aide had two hits during game three including an RBI single to center field. Starting pitcher Hayden Birdsong threw two innings, allowing four earned runs, two walks, and struck out two.
EIU was held scoreless in the top of the first inning. Birdsong started the bottom of the inning with two walks and a strikeout which led to a three-run homerun for the Trojans from Noah Dickerson to open up the scoring at 3-0.
Little Rock added another run in the second from a single through the infield. The Panthers would then score three runs in the third to get them on the board. Lincoln Riley was walked with one out and proceed to steal second. Lucas DiLuca reached on a throwing error to place runners at the corners. Eickhoff grounded into a fielder's choice to score Riley from third to give the Panthers their first run. Doyle got his first hit of the season to score Eickhoff from second, and Aide hit a single to right center for the Panther's third run of the inning.
Both teams went scoreless in the fourth inning with Kang striking out two for the Panthers. The Trojans extended their lead in the fifth with a three run innings. Jake Wright hit a two-run inside the park homerun for Little Rock to extend their lead to 8-3.
Aide collected his second hit of the game in the sixth, while the Trojans added another two runs on four hits. They would go on to score another run in the bottom half of the seventh on a double by Jack Stroth off of Nick Laxner.
In the top of the eighth, Dylan Drumke started the inning with a walk. Ja'Lil Akbar then reached on a fielder's choice, and Ignoffo singled to left field to put Panthers on first and second. Trevor Davis reached first on a fielding error which loaded the bases for Worcester who hit into a fielder's choice to score Akbar.
The Panthers ended the game with four runs on four hits while the Trojans posted 11 runs on 16 hits.
MOREHEAD STATE 17, KENNESAW STATE 5
KENNESAW, Ga. - After struggling to push runs across the plate during the first three games of the series, Morehead State's baseball team exploded offensively in a 17-5 rout over the Owls of Kennesaw State at Stillwell Stadium on Sunday.
The Eagles moved to 1-3 on the young season.
After going down in order in the first inning, the Eagles tied the game 1-1 thanks to a solo home run from first baseman Jackson Feltner. He smashed his first round-tripper of the season over the left-centerfield wall in the top of the second.
In the fourth inning, the Eagles tacked on two more thanks to a single from Isaias Guzman and Colton Becker grounding into a fielder's choice, bringing their lead to 3-1.
In the meantime, starting pitcher Matt Bettio (1-0) was shutting down Kennesaw State. Going 4.2 innings with five strikeouts while only giving up two runs on six hits, Bettio showed great command, especially on his breaking balls, which repeatedly fooled Owls' hitters all day long.
The offense really took off in the fifth inning, starting with a lead-off triple from Ryley Preece, which was followed by a two-run homer over the scoreboard in right-center from Roman Kuntz, who finished with three hits (including his homer) and four RBI. Not to be outdone, Feltner stepped into the box and sent a no-doubt-home run over the left field wall, giving the Eagles a 6-1 lead. Feltner finished the day 3-for-3, with two home runs and a double and five RBI.
Kennesaw State pushed a run across in the bottom half of the fifth inning, but the Eagles came out hot in the sixth, scoring five runs thanks to a double from Becker, a single from Preece, a double from Jackson Feltner, and a sacrifice fly from Ashton Roy.
Kennesaw State was able to push across three runs in the seventh inning, before veteran lefty John Bakke came on and shut down the rally with his first of five strikeouts on the afternoon. Bakke, who was nearly untouchable across 2.1 innings, didn't allow a baserunner in his first appearance of the season for the Eagles.
Morehead State was able to push across a run in the eighth and five more in the ninth, including an RBI single from Guzman who finished with four hits and two RBI. Nick Gooden also knocked in a run with a single, and Bryson Stripling ended the scoring with an RBI double.
BELMONT 3, TOLEDO 0
NASHVILLE - Jalen Borders, Will Jenkins, and Kyle Brennan combined for a complete game shutout of Toledo on Sunday to hand the Belmont University baseball team their third straight win, securing a series win over the Rockets with a 3-0 triumph at E.S. Rose Park.
The win marks the second shutout in a row for the Bruin pitching staff, who blanked Toledo (1-3) in the second game of the doubleheader on Saturday, 5-0.
Over the four games against Toledo this weekend, Bruin pitchers allowed just five runs in 32 innings. After dropping the season opener on Friday night, the Bruins have now won three in a row.
Borders (W, 1-0) went a career-high six innings without allowing a run, recording four strikeouts without a walk to earn the win. Jenkins entered the game out of the bullpen to start the seventh and promptly retired six in a row with three punchouts.
Brennan (SV, 1) picked up his first save of the season with a clean ninth inning. The senior from Franklin, Tenn., now has 18 career saves, moving into a tie with Will Tucker (2001-04) for 4th on the all-time list.
The Bruins cracked the scoreboard in the third inning when Guy Lipscomb tripled with two outs down the right field line, scoring Jack Capobianco. Belmont (3-1) immediately made it a 2-0 game when John Behrends stepped in and drilled a single to right field, scoring Lipscomb.
In the fifth inning, Logan Jarvis cranked a 400-foot home run to left center, his first of the season, to give Belmont a 3-0 lead.
After Borders exited, Jenkins and Brennan retired nine Rockets in a row to seal the win.
#22 DALLAS BAPTIST 13, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 5
DALLAS, Texas - A four-run first inning propelled #22 Dallas Baptist (1-2) to a 13-5 win over Southeast Missouri (2-1) Sunday in the season-opening series finale.
SEMO won the series with consecutive wins against DBU Friday and Saturday.
The Patriots scored multiple runs in five innings en route to its first win of the 2022 campaign.
Back-to-back home runs jumpstarted DBU in its first at-bat of the game. Cole Moore smacked a three-run shot before cleanup hitter Andrew Benefield followed that up with a solo home run giving the Patriots a quick 4-0 advantage.
A Lincoln Andrews solo home run to right field got the Redhawks on the board in the top of the second.
The Patriots ran their lead to 8-1 after scoring twice more in each of the third and fifth frames.
SEMO later cut DBU's margin in half with a three-run top of the sixth during its biggest scoring threat of the day.
Peyton Leeper led off with a walk and scored when Tyler Wilber doubled for his first hit of the season. After Andrew Keck flied out, Lincoln Andrews doubled and Wilber scored. A third double of the inning, this time a two-out hit by Joel Vaske, knocked in Andrews cutting the Patriots lead to 8-4.
DBU, however, answered with two more runs in the sixth and seventh innings and one more in the eighth to cap its 13-5 win.
Miguel Santos' single plated two runs in the bottom of the sixth and a run-scoring single by Jaxon Holder and sacrifice fly by Blayne Jones pushed across DBU's runs in the seventh. A solo home run by Nate Rombach ended all scoring in the eighth.
DBU registered 14 hits with eight coming from the first four hitters in its lineup. Nathan Humphreys, Jace Grady, Jones and Moore each had two hits and combined for nine of the Patriots runs.
Andrews went 2-for-3 with, a home run, two runs and two RBI to lead the Redhawks who posted five hits.
Jacob Meador (1-0) worked five innings and allowed only one run on one hit to go along with eight strikeouts en route to his first victory of the season.
Austin Williams (0-1), who picked up a save Saturday, fell in his first start of the season. Williams gave up three hits and four runs, struck out two and walked two in two innings.
Williams was one of seven pitchers who took the mound for SEMO. Tommy Windt, Fischer Rausch, Matt Perego, Hayden Malenfant, Anthony Klein and Ethan Osborne all made their 2022 debuts out of the Redhawks bullpen.