SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 4-5, Canisius 3-2
@Tennessee Tech 13, Eastern Michigan 5
@Austin Peay 9, Bowling Green 0
@Southeast Missouri 8, Bellarmine 7 (11)
@Belmont 4-5, Youngstown State 0-2
@Mercer 10,
SIUE 6
@Alabama State 13-3,
UT Martin 0-2
@Murray State 13, Northern Illinois 3
MOREHEAD STATE 4-5, CANISIUS 3-2
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State Eagle baseball team certainly had a day to remember Saturday afternoon as they took two games over Canisius after dropping the opener Friday. Great pitching and timely hitting in the doubleheader propelled Head Coach Mik Aoki's squad to victories by scores of 4-3 and 5-2.
While he may not have picked up a win in his individual stats on Saturday, game one starter Joe Rotkis was able to overcome a rocky third inning to give the Eagles a chance heading into the later stages of the contest. Rotkis finished the day with a career-best seven strikeouts, while only giving up three runs over six innings of work.
In the sixth inning, after Jacob Ferry was able to put the Eagles on the board with a sacrifice fly, Morehead State pushed across two more runs to tie the game at three thanks to an RBI double from Chase Vinson, who then scored on a double steal after advancing to third on a Nick Gooden infield single.
John Bakke came on in the top of the seventh inning, and the left-hander ended up picking up the win after striking out three of the six batters he faced, giving up only a single in his second appearance of the season.
After Bakke shut the door on Canisius in the top half of the eighth inning, the Eagles managed to load the bases before Gooden chopped a grounder that Golden Griffins' shortstop Kyle Kush was unable to handle, scoring the game-winning run and tying the series at a game apiece.
After a rough start to his season last weekend at Kennesaw State, starter Alex Kafka pitched a gem in a bounce back start in the second game of the day for the Eagles. Pitching six strong innings, Kafka struck out five Golden Griffins while only walking one, allowing only three hits and two runs (one earned) in the process.
The Eagles' offense was sparked by solid games from Ryley Preece, Jackson Feltner, and Brody Shoupe. Preece homered for the second time in as many days with a solo shot in the sixth. Feltner finished the game 2-for-3, and Shoupe got the green light on a 3-0 count and smacked a single up the middle that scored Ashton Roy from third to give the Eagles a lead they never gave up.
After Kafka's solid outing, Bakke emerged from the Morehead State bullpen again to pick up the save in the second game. Bakke was his usual self, striking out two to shut the door on a potential Canisius comeback.
TENNESSEE TECH 13, EASTERN MICHIGAN 5
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Two huge innings helped propel the Tennessee Tech baseball team past Eastern Michigan Saturday evening, as the Golden Eagles rallied from an early 3-0 deficit for a big, 13-5 victory at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
It took the purple and gold a couple of innings to get going, but once the team started to click, the runs came in droves. Eastern Michigan kicked things off on the day, smacking a two-run home run in the first and plating another runner in the second to take an early 3-0 lead.
Catcher Hayden Gilliland delivered the first response for the purple and gold, smashing an oppo taco to left-center field for his first long ball of the season. After blanking the visiting Eagles in the third, Tech took control of the game for good in the bottom half.
Following a leadoff walk to third baseman Gabe Lacy, first baseman Golston Gillespie created more fireworks for the Golden Eagle fans to celebrate. The slugger crushed his first official round-tripper of the season (he crushed a three-run bomb in Tech's midweek tilt at No. 16 Tennessee that is currently suspended due to rain and awaiting completion), plating a pair to tie the game.
Unfinished with the frame, Gilliland drew his own free pass before right fielder Ryan Guardino singled to left field. Two pitches later, designated hitter Eric Newsom laced a double to left-center field, driving in another score to push Tech on top 4-3. Later in the frame, shortstop Ed Johnson busted the game open, peppering a two-run single up the middle for a 6-3 lead.
In the fifth, Eastern Michigan looked to cut into the Tech lead with a solo home run, but the Cookeville crew was quick to answer again in the bottom half. With the bases loaded, Lacy earned an RBI the hard way, getting plunked to move the lead back out to three.
Left fielder Jason Hinchman took his turn next, rocketing a single up the middle to drive in a pair and make it a 9-4 Tech advantage. An RBI single to left-center field off the bat of Gillespie put Tech in double digits for the fourth straight game. Gilliland made it another five-run inning, sneaking his own RBI single just inside the left-field line.
Lacy took his first trot around the base paths of the year to lead off the seventh, blasting a solo jack to left-center field. In the eighth, Hinchman made it 13 runs for the Golden Eagles, racking up another RBI single up the middle.
Eastern Michigan snagged one more run on a solo shot in the ninth, but Colt Taylor wrapped the game up for the purple and gold, completing two and one-third frames. Matt Gelorme earned the win out of the bullpen on the day, tallying two and two-thirds innings of relief with a trio of punch-outs. Carter Gannaway started the contest, working the first four frames with four strikeouts.
Six Golden Eagles tallied multiple hits in the contest, led by three each from Johnson, Hinchman, Gilliland, and Newsom. Both Hinchman and Gillespie totaled three RBI while Johnson, Lacy, and Gilliland accounted for two RBI each.
AUSTIN PEAY 9, BOWLING GREEN 0
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University starting pitcher Drew McIllwain showed why he was a Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference selection, Saturday. He tossed seven shutout innings in the Govs 9-0 victory against Bowling Green on Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park.
McIllwain (1-0) tied his career-best with seven innings pitched but first had to overcome a bit of trouble in the first two innings. Bowling Green left fielder Adam Fallon led off the game with a single but McIllwain stranded him on third base as Govs left fielder Jeremy Wagner caught a line drive to end the inning. Next inning, BGSU second baseman Nathan Rose led off with a double.
But it was then McIllwain entered lockdown mode, retiring the next 11 batters he faced. He would allow two-out doubles in the fifth and sixth innings but retired the next batter each time. McIllwain retired the Falcons in order in the seventh before handing the ball to reliever Tyler Delong who faced seven batters to close the game.
Austin Peay (4-2) provided McIllwain all the run support he would need in the bottom of the first inning. The Govs scored five times while sending all nine to the plate. First baseman John McDonald drove in the first run with a double followed by catcher Jack Alexander’s sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead. Wagner supplied a two-out, two-run double to extend the lead before third baseman Michael Robinson capped the frame with a run-scoring single for the 5-0 lead they would not relinquish.
Wagner led the Govs offense with a 3-for-4, four RBI outing that included a two-run single in the seventh inning. McDonald had a pair of doubles in his 2-for-4 day while Alexander went 2-for-3 with two RBI.
McIllwain allowed four hits and Delong one hit in the five-hit shutout. The duo did not allow a walk to the 32 batters they faced and struck out six batters combined.
Bowling Green starter Owen Recker (0-2) lost after allowing seven runs on nine hits in three innings.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 8, BELLARMINE 7 (11)
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Lincoln Andrews blasted a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to provide Southeast Missouri (3-1) an 8-7 victory over Bellarmine (1-5) Saturday afternoon in the Redhawks home opener at Capaha Field.
Knotted at 7-7, Andrews, a sophomore from Canon City, Colorado, belted a solo shot to left center to complete the comeback.
All three of SEMO's victories thus far in the early 2022 season have come in extra innings.
The Knights registered a six-run second inning to take an early advantage Saturday. Robert Sproul doubled home a pair for Bellarmine before a grand slam from Matt Higgins punctuated the inning and pushed the early lead to 6-0. The Redhawks responded and cracked the scoreboard in the bottom of the third with a three-run homer from Tyler Wilber.
Wilber, the 2022 Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Player of the Year, halved the margin to 6-3 with a three-run shot to left. Jevon Mason, a 2022 OVC Preseason Selection, led off the third inning with a walk before Peyton Leeper reached on an error to set the stage for Wilber's first home run of the season.
Davis Crane increased the Bellarmine lead to 7-3 with a home run in the fifth. SEMO then gradually chipped away at the deficit with a run in the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth to even the game and force extra innings. Andrew Keck scored Leeper on a groundout in the fifth before a Ty Stauss home run in the following frame.
The home run was the first for Stauss in his career as a Redhawk. Brett Graber then drew a bases loaded walk in the seventh to cut the lead to 7-6. He finished with a pair of hits including a double with a stolen base. SEMO finally tied the ballgame at 7-7 with an RBI double from Wilber in the eighth inning.
The Los Alamitos, California, shortstop, paced the Redhawks at the dish, going 3-for-5 with four RBI and a run Saturday. Danny Sperling knocked a single before advancing to second on a walk from Mason. He then touched home on Wilber's game-tying double.
Graber kept the game tied at 7-7 in the top of the 10th with his defense. Graber, a junior centerfielder from Sacramento, California, gunned down Jack Ockerman at home for the final out of the inning to continue the game and set the table for Andrews' game-winner.
Redhawks starter Bryce Grossius allowed six runs on seven hits in four innings of work. He notched a pair of strikeouts in his second start of the season. The relieving corps of Jason Rackers, Blake Cisneros and Kyle Miller combined for seven innings, allowing just one run on six hits.
Rackers fanned three batters over 3.1 innings and limited the Knights to just a run before Cisneros and Miller closed out the game for the Redhawks. Miller was credited with his second win of the season with four strikeouts in the final three innings.
Bellarmine starter Nolan Pender pitched in six innings, allowing five runs on five hits with four walks and a strikeout. Devin Ecklar was handed the loss.
Andrews and Graber each had a pair of hits. Mason, Wilber and Andrews all posted doubles in the win. Stauss, Keck, Mason and Sperling each had a hit Saturday. Mason and Leeper each had two runs and three walks.
Higgins paced the Knights, going 3-for-5 with four RBI. Colin Bertsch, Crane, Jacob Mulcahy and Ockerman each had two hits.
BELMONT 4-5, YOUNGSTOWN STATE 0-2
NASHVILLE - Behind strong starting pitching and a pair of home runs from Carson Shacklett, the Belmont University baseball team picked up a pair of wins, 4-0 and 5-2, over Youngstown State on Saturday in a doubleheader at E.S. Rose Park.
Belmont (7-1) has now won seven straight games and is out to their best start since 2010, when they began 10-0.
The Bruin pitching staff has now recorded three shutouts and currently has a 1.29 ERA, only allowing nine runs over the first eight games of the season.
Belmont has also been aided by excellent defense, with no errors committed in their last seven games.
Andy Bean (W, 2-0) was outstanding in his second start of the season, tossing six shutout innings while scattering just four hits. The sophomore from Fisherville, Tenn., collected six strikeouts while issuing only one walk.
Bean was replaced in the seventh by Will Jenkins, who completed the seven-inning shutout by picking up a pair of strikeouts in a scoreless frame.
The game turned on a clutch base hit from Jackson Campbell, who came up in the fourth inning with the bases loaded and two outs and turned on a two-strike pitch, singling up the middle to bring home John Behrends and Guy Lipscomb and give the Bruins a 2-0 lead.
Shacklett provided some insurance with a two-run blast to right field that was measured at 376 feet.
Behrends finished 2-for-3 with a run scored in the win.
Belmont finished off the doubleheader sweep with another standout performance from a starting pitcher, this time off the left arm of Dominic Baratta (W, 2-0), who battled through a tough first inning before settling down and finding his groove.
Youngstown State struck first in the opening inning, with a solo home run and an infield RBI single, to go up 2-0.
Belmont would tie things up with a pair of runs in the third inning thanks to an RBI double from Guy Lipscomb and an RBI groundout from John Behrends.
With the game tied 2-2, Shacklett stepped into the box in the fourth inning and proceeded to hit his second home run of the day, a solo shot to right field, to hand Belmont a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
Jackson Werth would score on a wild pitch in the fifth, and Lipscomb added his second RBI with a single to center field in the sixth to bring the final margin to 5-2 in favor of the home side.
Lipscomb finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two stolen bases in the win. The sophomore from Franklin, Tenn., now has 11 stolen bases on the young season, ranked in the top five in the country in that category.
Baratta went five innings on the mound in his second start as a Bruin, scattering four hits with the two earned runs. The sophomore recorded three strikeouts and handed out only one free pass.
Aaron Hubbell replaced Baratta to begin the sixth inning and went 1 2/3 scoreless innings, not allowing a hit and picking up one strikeout.
Kyle Brennan (SV, 3) came on with two outs and two runners on in the final inning, needing just one pitch to get the final Penguin to ground out to end the game.
MERCER 10, SIUE 6
MACON, Ga. - Mercer scored eight runs in the seventh and eighth inning Saturday to come from behind to defeat SIUE 10-6 in the second game of a three-game series.
The Bears four home runs in their final two at-bats, including three in the bottom of the eighth inning.
SIUE drops to 1-5. Mercer is now 7-0.
Josh Ohl and Brett Johnson blasted back-to-back home runs to start the game for the Cougars. Following a single by Connor Kiffer and a walk by Avery Owusu-Asiedu, Matthew Klein drove a two-out, two-run single to right to put the Cougars up 4-0.
Kiffer doubled in the second inning to drive in Ohl to extend SIUE's lead to 5-0. It was 5-2 SIUE when Johnson went deep for his second home run of the day in the sixth inning.
Angelo DiSpigna hit a two-run home run off SIUE reliever Jake Bockenstedt to trim the lead to 6-4 in the seventh. The Bears exploded for six runs on five hits in the eighth. Le Bassett homered following a walk Colby Thomas hit a three-run home runs following a hit and a walk and DiSpigna followed with his second home run.
Bockenstedt allowed a total of six runs on three hits and three walks in 1 2/3 innings. Kyle Dixon allowed two runs on three hits in 1/3 of an inning.
Bockenstedt and Dixon followed Brant Glidewell, who went six innings in the start. He allowed two runs on four hits. He struck out six.
The Cougars left 10 runners on base, including in the eighth inning when they left the bases loaded.
Johnson finished with four hits including the pair of home runs. Ohl finished with four hits and two runs and has six hits so far in the series.
Kiffer had a pair of hits had a run scored.
DiSpigna, Collin Price and William Maples each had two hits for Mercer.
ALABAMA STATE 13-3, UT MARTIN 0-2
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - In what was a drastic shift opposed to the previous night’s 5-3 victory to begin a three-game set with the Hornets of Alabama State, the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball squad embarked in both Games 2 and 3 of the series on Saturday afternoon to avoid a potential weather issue at the tail end of the weekend, dropping both outings when all was said and done, 13-0 and 3-2.
Landing six hits (one of which was a solo home run from Ethan Whitley early in the finale), the Skyhawks fall to 2-4 on the young 2022 season by virtue of a single win each over Miami (Ohio) last week and yesterday’s victory in the Alabama state capitol.
In game one, producing his second starting nod of the year to begin the midway portion of the series, sophomore Lawson Russell tossed six full innings against ASU to the tune of 11 strikeouts before exiting for relief from J. Henry Hobson and Addison Parker. The Hornets were simply scorching offensively in the win, reeling off 15 hits while hurler Breon Pooler notched the W after facing 27 batters.
The top two batters in UTM’s order – centerfielder Reid Halfacre and second-baseman Will Smith – tallied both hits for the navy and orange in a losing effort, the former on the very first swing of the day while the latter echoed on a base hit in the top of the 7th.
Once the Hornets evened up the series at one win apiece, the Skyhawks tightened up their defensive efforts in the ensuing Game 3, ultimately falling narrowly by a single run.
In game two, JUCO transfer Matt Dickey earned his second consecutive series-closing start at the pitching spot for UT Martin, striking out four players in only two innings before Seth Petry landed that same number over the next five frames.
Nearly completing a three-run comeback with one score each in the 3rd and 6th periods, the Skyhawks were granted their first score of the afternoon following Whitley’s solo bomb, the senior’s second time starting at the first-base slot of the young season.
Halfacre continued the rally three innings later once shortstop Casey Harford cast a sacrifice fly ball to right field, slimming the deficit to a single run. Despite UTM’s best efforts preventing the Hornets from scoring over the final seven innings, the visitors fell just a step shy of tying things up, totaling four hits and eight pitching strikeouts in the end.
MURRAY STATE 13, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 3
MURRAY, Ky. - Murray State (4-0) baseball was victorious over Northern Illinois (0-5) on Saturday afternoon, by the score of 13-3 at Johnny Reagan Field in Murray, Kentucky. The Racers continued their sweltering offense, posting 13 more runs today on 10 hits. After today’s game, the Racers have scored 62 runs on the year in just four games.
Shortstop Drew Vogel got the scoring started for MSU with a double down the left-field line to score Seth Gardner. Vogel would finish the day 2 for 4 with two doubles and three RBI. Gardner would provide two hits of his own while adding four RBI in the game. Freshman designated hitter Carson Garner put together a three-hit day while scoring two runs and driving in an RBI of his own.
On the hill, Hayden Wynja made his Murray State debut going 4.1 innings while allowing just three runs and striking out six. Jacob Pennington would take over in the bottom of the fifth inning and would not allow another Huskies run to come across. Pennington’s final line was 4.2 innings pitched, two hits, no walks, no runs, and four strikeouts.