SUNDAY'S SCORES
@SIUE 11, Western Michigan 0
@Tennessee Tech 15, Purdue Fort Wayne 7
@Alabama 5,
Murray State 4
Dayton 11,
@Belmont 9
@North Alabama 8,
UT Martin 5
Eastern Illinois 11, @Grambling State 0
SIUE 11, WESTERN MICHIGAN 0
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE baseball completed the four-game sweep of Western Michigan with an 11-10 win Sunday at Simmons Baseball Complex.
SIUE has won five in a row and improved to 6-4 for the year. Western Michigan has dropped seven straight and fell to 1-9 overall.
It is the first nonconference series sweep for the Cougars since sweeping a three-game series on the road at Samford April 27-28 and the first four-game series sweep since a home sweep of Northern Illinois March 3-5
The Cougars trailed 10-9 in the bottom of the seventh inning when Avery Owusu-Asiedu double to leadoff the frame. Richie Well drove him in with a single to right, for his third RBI of the day. With two outs in the inning, Josh Ohl ripped a double to the gap in right center to plate Well with the go-ahead run.
Jake Bockenstedt (1-1) worked the final 2 2/3 innings without allowing a hit and striking out two to shut down the Broncos and earn his first win of the year.
Trailing 2-1 in the third, SIUE put a five-spot on the board. Connor Kiffer had an RBI-double and Brady Bunten and Well each hit two-run home runs in the inning.
The Cougars scored single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings while Western Michigan got three runs in the fifth and it was 9-5 Cougars after six innings.
The Broncos scored five times on three hits in the top of the seventh to pull ahead 10-9. Josh Swinehart drove home two with a hit and Ryan Missal hit a two-run home run in the inning.
Ohl was 4-4 with three runs scored in addition to the RBI. Bunten finished 2-5 with three RBIs. Owusu-Asiedu finished with two hits, two runs and the RBI.
Well finished 3-4 with the home run and three RBIs. He hit .538 (7-13) for the series with four home runs and 10 RBIs.
Collin Baumgartner started for the Cougars and allowed two runs, one earned on two hits in four innings. He struck out two.
SIUE scored 36 runs over the last three games, and 40 runs total in the four-game sweep. SIUE's batting average jumped from .223 at the start of the series to .278.
TENNESSEE TECH 15, PURDUE FORT WAYNE 7
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Six round-trippers provided more than enough of a cushion for the Tennessee Tech baseball team to continue its perfect start to the season Sunday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles (10-0) completed a series sweep of Purdue Fort Wayne (0-11) with a 15-7 victory at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
At 10-0, Tech is off to its second-best start in program history, trailing only the 14-0 mark put forth by the 1955 squad that finished the year 17-2. The Golden Eagles also represent one of just five teams still unbeaten in Division I baseball, including Clemson, Purdue, Virginia, and Wake Forest.
The offense was out in full force for the purple and gold on Sunday, providing a 10-0 lead after two innings that proved plenty for the Tech pitching staff to work with. Following a leadoff walk in the first to shortstop Ed Johnson, third baseman Gabe Lacy put the Tech squad on top for good, lacing a double to left-center field for an RBI.
Two batters later, first baseman Golston Gillespie ripped a double down the left-field line, plating Lacy for a 2-0 lead. Next at the plate, right fielder Ryan Guardino uncorked a 1-1 offering to right-center field for a monster, two-run home run to start the fireworks display for the Golden Eagles. His third dinger of the season and weekend provided Tech a 4-0 lead after one.
Things continued to trend well for the home team in the second, with the Golden Eagles scoring early on a throwing error by the Mastodons. After Lacy was hit by a pitch to load the bases, left fielder Jason Hinchman delivered yet another huge swing.
The senior slugger pulverized a full-count offering to left-center field, clearing the bases for his third career grand slam, third round-tripper of the weekend, and 49th tank of his career. With his fourth straight game with a blast, he tied Chase Chambers for fourth on the program's all-time career charts for home runs.
Hinchman's four-run circus clout increased the Tech advantage to 9-0, but the team wasn't finished in the inning. Three batters later, designated hitter John Dyer got in on the action propelling a solo nuke over the fence in left-center field, his first of the year. It provided the Golden Eagles their eighth game scoring in double figures this season.
After Purdue Fort Wayne got on the board with an unearned run in the third, the Cookeville crew gathered its next light show of the day. Center fielder Austin Turner deposited a wall-scraper to right field to lead off the bottom half, his first in the purple and gold.
The Mastodons plated four in the fourth cutting the deficit to 11-5, but Tech responded again over the next two frames. In the fourth, Dyer delivered his second moon shot of the ball game, this one a towering, solo blast to right-center field.
Lacy made it six tattoos for the Golden Eagles in the fifth, leading off the frame with a missile to deep, left-center field, his second of the season. After a double from Hinchman down the left-field line, Guardino brought him home two batters later with a sacrifice fly. Tech extended the lead back to nine.
In the sixth and seventh, Purdue Fort Wayne plated single runs, trying to climb back slowly. Tech collected one more marker in the seventh, with Hinchman singling to shortstop, advancing on a wild pitch and fielder's choice, and then scoring on another wild offering.
Hinchman led the offensive attack on the day, finishing 4-for-5 with three runs scored and four RBI. He tallied two doubles and the grand slam. Lacy turned in a 3-for-4 day with three runs and two RBI, with just a diving catch in center field robbing him of a perfect day at the dish. Second baseman Nick Spardone tallied three hits in five trips to the plate.
Five Golden Eagles delivered multiple hits in the contest while four drove in multiple runs and five scored at least twice.
Colt Taylor picked up his first win in a Tech uniform, providing an inning of scoreless relief. Right-hander Brock Myers earned his first save of the season after completing the final four and one-third frames of the contest. He struck out three and allowed just two earned runs on four hits.
ALABAMA 5, MURRAY STATE 4
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Murray State (8-3) baseball fell to SEC opposition Alabama 5-4 in a fiercely competitive contest on Sunday in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The Racers had the go-ahead run on first base in the ninth inning but were unable to capitalize against the Crimson Tide.
Offensively, the Racers were led by freshman Carson Garner with two hits, an RBI, and a stolen base in the game. Graduate second baseman Jordan Holly had a hit and a stolen base on the day. Outfielder Seth Gardner had an RBI on the day for his team-leading 15th RBI of the year. Jacob Pennington continued a solid weekend at the plate with a hit and a walk on Sunday.
Graduate starting pitcher Adrien Reese had a solid showing on the mound going three innings while allowing just two runs on the day. Jordyn Naranjo went 1.1 scoreless innings in relief and now has not allowed a run in 5.1 innings on the year. Redshirt sophomore Cade Killingsworth threw a scoreless inning in relief inning while allowing no hits.
DAYTON 11, BELMONT 9
NASHVILLE - The Belmont University baseball team ended their weekend series against Dayton with a nailbiter loss, 11-9, on Sunday afternoon at E.S. Rose Park.
Belmont (10-3) had a 9-6 lead going into the ninth inning, but the Flyers (7-3) were able to score five runs against closer Kyle Brennan to grab the lead and hold on for the series-clinching win.
Brodey Heaton had his best game of the season at the plate for the Bruins, going 3-for-4 with a triple and a double.
Belmont got off to a fast start, with Jalen Borders striking out the side in the first inning and the Bruins' offense plating five runs in the second inning on hits from Logan Jarvis, Carson Shacklett, and Tommy Crider, along with two Dayton errors.
The Flyers would erase Belmont's big lead with a five-run fourth inning that knocked Borders out of the game and tied the contest up at 5-5.
After Dayton took a 6-5 lead in the fifth inning, the Bruins responded by dramatically grabbing back the advantage with a leadoff double from Guy Lipscomb in the fifth frame.
After Lipscomb stole third, Heaton cranked a triple to center field to drive in a run, before Jarvis sent a groundball to the right side of the infield that scored Heaton and gave Belmont a 7-6 lead.
With Will Jenkins cruising on the mound, the Bruins kept Dayton scoreless through the next three frames, and added two insurance runs with a two-RBI single from Jackson Campbell that drove in Jarvis and Shacklett.
Jenkins finished his outing retiring nine in a row, going three innings with four strikeouts and no baserunners.
After Dayton's explosion in the ninth, the Bruins made things interesting in the bottom of the inning, getting back-to-back hits from Heaton and Jarvis with one out to bring the tying run to the plate.
However, the Flyers got pinch hitter Eddie Lovell out on a controversial call at the plate where it was ruled Lovell leaned into a pitch in the zone.
Campbell then popped out to end the game.
The Bruins finished with 12 hits, getting multiple knocks from Heaton, Jarvis, Crider, and Shacklett.
Sunday marked the first blown save for Brennan, who had not given up a hit or been charged with a run all season, and currently leads the country in saves (6).
NORTH ALABAMA 8, UT MARTIN 5
FLORENCE, Ala. - Another efficient batting effort by the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team on Sunday afternoon couldn’t quite grant the Skyhawks the series victory over the North Alabama Lions in a rewind of the previous afternoon’s outcome, taking an 8-5 setback on the road despite connecting on 11 hits, all of them singles.
The bottom of the 3rd proved to be the most detrimental to UTM in their attempt at taking two out of the three meetings against UNA, allowing six unanswered scores once the Skyhawks found a run beforehand. Patiently chipping away at the deficit until it was down to a single score with two turns left, the Lions put the game to bed with a two-RBI base hit in the 8th that dropped the navy and orange to a 4-6 overall record.
First baseman Ethan Whitley, catcher Chance Merithew, and shortstop Alec Beaman – the latter of which has accumulated seven total hits over the past three outings – each put themselves in favorable spots on the field with six hits between them on Sunday. In fact, eight separate UTM batters found at least one hit in the tight loss, leaving 12 runners stranded when all was done.
For the third straight day, the Skyhawks were the ones to find home plate first, this time coming off the fast legs of centerfielder Benny DeTrude, beating the throw from shortstop to catcher on a ground ball to give UT Martin the early 1-0 lead. Unfortunately, UNA’s impending 3rd-inning flare put a dent in the visitors’ time ahead.
Not one to go out quietly, the next four runs of the afternoon were provided by the Skyhawks that steadily put them back in it. The first half of that rally came off North Alabama mishaps with the bases juiced, allowing UTM to score on a walk and a passed ball in the 4th and 6th periods.
Making some more noise offensively on a two-RBI single in the top of the 7th, DeTrude’s guidance of Beaman and Wil LaFollette suddenly put the pressure back on the Lions, who came dangerously close to surrendering what was at one time a five-run cushion.
That comeback try ultimately fell just shy of completion though, as the Skyhawks weren’t able to spice up any more runs over the final two frames. UNA’s two-run smack in the bottom of the 8th sealed the final decision, concluding UT Martin’s seven-game stint across the state of Alabama with a 3-4 mark against those opponents.
Going for his first start of the 2022 season at the pitching spot, junior right-hander Seth Petry ended up taking the loss after three innings of work, relieved by Matt Dickey, Baylor Jones, Trey Ricko, and Blake Davis for a total of six strikeouts in 40 batters faced.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 11, GRAMBLING STATE 0
GRAMBLING, La. - Eastern Illinois (6-3) wins game three against Grambling State (2-8) to compete the series sweep of the Tigers by a score of 11-0 in eight innings. This marks the second shutout of the season for EIU. Starting pitcher Cameron Doherty (2-1) picked up his second win of the season after tossing a season high seven innings while allowing just four hits, zero runs, zero walks, and eight strikeouts. Nathan Aide posted four RBI for the Panthers while going 2-4 on the day.
Eastern was held scoreless in the first inning after leaving a man on base. Doherty start his afternoon off hot with two strikeouts in the bottom half of the inning. The Panthers would go three and out in the second, while Doherty got out of a jam thanks to a double play by shortstop Ja'Lil Akbar and second baseman Lucas DiLuca.
Lashure started off the third with a single to centerfield, and DiLuca doubled to left to put runners in scoring position. Aide picked up his first two RBI of the afternoon after singling up the middle to bring two Panthers home to put EIU on the board 2-0. Doherty would go back to work in the bottom of the third while striking out two Tigers.
The Panthers would break open the game with a six run inning in the top of the fourth. After a fielder's choice by Grambling State to put Lashure on first, Akbar would hit into an error in right field that brought home Lashure from first. DiLuca would then bring home Akbar after he singled to center. Eickhoff would move DiLuca to third with a double to left which put two on for EIU. Aide would capitalize on this with another two RBI single. Ignoffo would bring home the last two runs of the inning thanks to an inside-the-park home run. The bottom of the fourth saw Doherty through two more Ks to keep the score at 8-0.
Lincoln Riley earned himself a free pass to first base with a walk, and advanced to second after a pass ball. Lashure added an RBI to his day with a single to bring home Riley. Grambling State would leave one runner stranded in the bottom half of the inning.
EIU and Grambling would both go scoreless in the sixth and seventh innings. EIU produced another double play with Travis Reaves and Akbar at second and shortstop to finish Doherty's day with no runs on four hits.
In the final inning, after Eickhoff was able to get on and advance to third, Chris Worcester doubled to left field to bring home another run. Aide scored the final run of the afternoon on a wild pitch to bring the Panthers lead to 11. After giving up a leadoff hit, Trout struck out two Tigers and produced a pop-up to first base to close out the series sweep of Grambling State.
EIU posted 11 runs on 12 hits with one error on the afternoon. Grambling State had five hits and two errors.