TUESDAY'S SCORES
@Indiana State 10,
Southeast Missouri 1
Lipscomb 21,
@Tennessee Tech 7
@Belmont 8, Western Kentucky 7 (10)
@UT Martin 5, Southern Illinois 2
@Middle Tennessee 7,
Austin Peay 6
INDIANA STATE 10, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Indiana State (8-6) pounded out 13 hits and used an early grand slam by Diego Gines to beat Southeast Missouri (13-2), 10-1, Tuesday afternoon at Bob Warn Field.
ISU ended SEMO's 11-game winning streak.
Jake Ridgway threw a no-hitter through four innings before Andrew Keck spoiled the bid with a leadoff double in the top of the fifth.
SEMO went scoreless for seven innings before scoring its only run in the top of the eighth on a double by reigning Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week Peyton Leeper.
The Sycamores struck first with a single off the bat of right fielder Sean Ross, that plated Jordan Schaffer to make it a 1-0 game in the first inning. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the third inning, Matt Perego entered the game in relief and the Sycamores plated four runs in the third inning off the bat of Gines to take a 5-0 lead.
Catcher Andrew Keck broke up the no-hitter in the fifth inning, roping a double that bounced off the outfield fence. A walk from Brett Graber and the Redhawks had runners on first and second with one out for the first threat of the game.
A sixth inning two-run home run by Josue Urdaneta pushed the Sycamores lead to 8-0. Urdaneta hit his second homer of the day in the bottom of the eighth inning to end the scoring.
The top four hitters in ISU' lineup combined for six hits and nine runs. Gines went 3-for-3 with a run scored and five RBI to lead the way.
Leeper, Keck and Ty Stauss each had a hit for the Redhawks.
Ethan Osborne (0-1) suffered the loss for SEMO after giving up four hits and four runs in two innings. Osborne struck out four and walked one, as well.
The Redhawks fell to 8-2 against Missouri Valley Conference schools this season.
LIPSCOMB 21, TENNESSEE TECH 7
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - It was just one of those nights for the Tennessee Tech baseball team Tuesday, as the Golden Eagles dropped an in-state affair with Lipscomb at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex, 21-7.
The Bisons got off to a quick start and never looked back, plating four runs in the first, two in the second, and one more in the third for a 7-0 lead early. Another one in the fourth made it 8-0 before the Golden Eagles broke through for their own offensive showing.
In the bottom half, the home squad loaded the bases with a single out, setting up second baseman Nick Spardone for a sacrifice fly and the first Tech RBI of the night. Lipscomb responded with four more in the fifth, moving in front 12-1.
The Golden Eagles took their turn in the bottom half and looked to build some momentum with the bats, pinch hitter Cy Kerber singled to center field with one out, and left fielder Jason Hinchman followed with a base knock through the left side.
With two outs, pinch hitter Jackson Green got plunked, loading the bags for another pinch hitter, Nathaniel Allen. The insert at designated hitter reached on a miscue by the Bisons, allowing one run to score. Hayden Gilliland also pinch-hit in the inning, peppering a single to left field that drove in a pair and cut the deficit to 12-4.
Lipscomb kept its momentum rolling with another four-spot in the sixth, moving in front by 12. Tech cut it to a 10-run game in the seventh, with first baseman Luke Jones crushing a solo bomb to left-center field on the first pitch he saw. Gilliland drove in another run with an RBI single to second base later in the frame.
Jones went yard again in the eighth, hammering his second long ball of the game and third of the year down the left-field line, sneaking one inside the foul pole.
The Bisons scored five more in the ninth, providing the final 21-7 score.
Gilliland led Tech with three RBI on two hits while Jones also tallied a pair of ribbies with his two dingers. Hinchman represented the third Golden Eagle with multiple hits. On the mound, Caleb Pearson tossed a scoreless frame while Travis Odom completed one and two-thirds innings without allowing a run. Both pitchers held Lipscomb without a hit as well.
BELMONT 8, WESTERN KENTUCKY 7 (10)
NASHVILLE - Trailing by four runs and down to their final out, the Belmont University baseball team staged a comeback for the ages by rattling off four straight runs in the ninth inning before walking it off in the tenth inning for an 8-7 win over Western Kentucky at home on Tuesday.
Belmont (13-5) loaded the bases in the tenth inning before Drew Lowry stepped in for his first plate appearance of the season. With two outs, Lowry worked a 3-2 count before drawing ball four on the ninth pitch of the at-bat to send the Bruin dugout over the railing and into a frenzy.
The walk-off win is Belmont's first of the season.
The Bruins forced extra innings thanks to a wild comeback in the ninth inning. Down 7-3 with one out in the frame, Jackson Campbell earned a walk. After Eddie Lovell reached on an error by the WKU shortstop, Sam Hedges grounded into a fielder's choice, allowing for the second out to be recorded and putting Bruins on first and third base.
From there, Jackson Werth collected a pinch-hit RBI single, Guy Lipscomb singled to drive in Hedges, and Carson Shacklett delivered a game-tying two-RBI single into right field, with Lipscomb wheeling home from second base to make it 7-7. All three hits came with two outs in the ninth inning.
Kyle Brennan (W, 1-0) pitched a scoreless tenth inning to set the table for the Bruins in the bottom half of the frame.
Logan Jarvis worked a leadoff walk before two straight Bruins were retired. With a runner on first base and two outs, Belmont got walks from Jack Rando and Sam Hedges to load the bases for Lowry's game-winning RBI.
Lipscomb finished 4-for-6 with two stolen bases and a run. Carson Shacklett finished 1-for-3 with three RBIs and a walk.
The RBI single in the ninth inning with two outs was the first career hit for Werth, the freshman from Bradenton, Fla.
UT MARTIN 5, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 2
MARTIN, Tenn. - Limiting one of the most dangerous mid-major offenses in all of America to a season-low hit total, the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team enacted a sensational performance on both sides of the field Tuesday afternoon at Skyhawk Field, scooping up an impressive 5-2 triumph over Southern Illinois for a significant non-conference victory.
Entering today’s OVC vs. MVC battle, the Salukis had amassed a grand total of 173 hits in 16 outings, including a five-game streak of 10 or more hits. Thanks to a bevy of eye-popping plays from the UTM outfield and an efficient day from all five pitchers, SIU mustered a mere two hits in 29 turns at-bat, only able to register a single extra-base hit as the Skyhawks locked down the Missouri Valley Conference offensive leader to its weakest performance of the season.
Turning in quite the debut showing as the navy and orange starter on Tuesday, junior southpaw Jacob Smith immediately made his presence felt over a three-inning stretch of just one hit given up. UT Martin’s next three arms – Tucker Reed, Baylor Jones, and Trey Ricko – added up for only two runs allowed in 17 batters faced, paving the way for senior Blake Davis to burnish his third individual save of 2022 by closing out the final four Salukis and keep the hot-hitting visitors at bay.
Lead-off man Will Smith, shortstop Casey Harford, and first-baseman Ethan Whitley combined for six of the Skyhawks’ 11 hits in the fist-pumping result, although the game-clinching play arguably came from the glove of rightfielder Wil LaFollette, completing a diving grab for the last out of the 8th inning that could have put Southern Illinois right back in contention to steal a win.
As has been the case for the majority of UTM’s meetings this semester, they found themselves ahead to start off in the 3rd period. With sophomore Alec Beaman in scoring position after a walk and a steal, Harford calmly delivered his 14th RBI of the season (firmly the highest figure on the roster) with a double that expertly skirted past the third-base line.
Not content with the slim lead, the Skyhawks poured it on in the bottom of the 4th by hoisting their advantage up to 4-0 that capped off a six-hit inning. Third-baseman Hunter McLean arranged the scoring spurt by swinging the team’s second double of the day to score infield mate Whitley. Beaman and Smith suddenly piled on the lead to a quartet with back-to-back RBI singles that brought McLean and designated hitter Houston Wright around the base pads.
The only blemish on the Skyhawks’ otherwise outstanding defensive day came in the top of the 7th on an SIU solo homer, although UTM paid the Salukis right back in the bottom of that same frame with a Whitley RBI to score Smith.
Threatening to potentially take the lead with a runner on 1st and 3rd beside two outs in the top of the 8th, SIU infielder J.T. Weber – Monday’s recipient of MVC Player of the Week honors and a .441 hitter – launched a would-be extra-base hit deep into right center. Sprinting to make the grab at the last possible moment, LaFollette’s crucial snag deflated all the life out of the Salukis and it was smooth sailing for the Skyhawks from that point.
While eight separate UTM jerseys produced at least one hit, SIU starter Ben Riffe took the loss on the mound by giving up the first four scores. On the other side, Jacob Smith soared to the monstrous personal win in his Skyhawk debut, while his backing offense landed double-digit hits for the fifth time on the year.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 7, AUSTIN PEAY 6
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Designated hitter Jack Alexander went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run but Austin Peay State University’s baseball team saw a lead evaporate over the final innings in a 7-6 loss to Middle Tennessee, Tuesday night, at Reese Smith Jr. Field.
Austin Peay (7-11) scored the game’s first two runs – on Alexander’s first-inning two-run shot – but trailed 3-2 after the first inning. The Governors tied the game, 3-3, with a run on catcher Tyler Cotto’s ground out in the second.
The Governors broke the tie in the fourth inning when right fielder Gino Avros battled back from an 0-2 count to earn a bases-loaded walk for the 4-3 lead. Shortstop John Bolton followed with a run-scoring single to right field and the lead stood at 5-3. Later, second baseman Jonah Beamon extended the lead to 6-3 with his sixth-inning leadoff home run
Middle Tennessee (7-10) was stymied for five innings as Austin Peay relievers Zach Wyatt and Tyler Delong combined for 4.0 innings of scoreless relief. Wyatt opened his outing by striking out five consecutive batters and retired all seven he faced. Delong took over in the sixth and retired the first four batters he faced before running into trouble.
Blue Raiders designated hitter Jackson Galloway broke up the scoreless run in the seventh with a one-out triple that eluded the Govs outfield defense. Pinch hitter Wyatt Morgan followed with a two-run home run, slashing the Govs lead to one run, 6-5.
Middle Tennessee brought the go-ahead run to the plate in the eighth but Delong and relievers Kyle Nunn and Nick Wellman combined to deny the Blue Raiders the tying run.
The Blue Raiders threatened again in the ninth with the leadoff batter hit by a pitch, putting the tying run back on base, and an attempted sacrifice bunt eluded the Govs defense and resulted in a single and two aboard with no outs.
Wellman quickly got to two outs with a strikeout and fly out. But third baseman Brett Coker singled to shallow right to tie the game. After a walk, a wild pitch allowed reserve center fielder Brian Dillingham to score the winning run.
Wellman (0-1) took the loss after allowing two runs on two hits and a walk while recording three outs.
Sells (1-1) threw three scoreless innings to close the game and pick up the win for Middle Tennessee.
Alexander led the Govs with a 2-for-3, two RBI, two walk outing. Beamon also had two hits, including his solo home run, and an RBI.
Catcher Mason Spiers went 2-for-3 for MTSU’s lone multi-hit outing. Left fielder Nathan Sanders went 1-for-3 with two RBI, including his first-inning two-run double.