WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@Belmont 7, Evansville 4
@Lipscomb 5,
Austin Peay 3
Bellarmine 10,
@Morehead State 6
Auburn 4,
Tennessee Tech 3 (Huntsville, Ala.)
BELMONT 7, EVANSVILLE 4
NASHVILLE - Behind two home runs from Tommy Crider, the Belmont University baseball team soared to a 7-4 win over Evansville on Wednesday night at E.S. Rose Park.
It marked the first multi-homer game of Crider's career, and was the first time a Bruin hit two home runs in a single game since John Behrends did it against Tennessee Tech on April 21, 2021.
Lane Lamberth (W, 2-0) picked up the win in relief while Kyle Brennan (SV, 7) earned his NCAA-leading seventh save of the season.
Belmont (11-3) is now 3-0 in midweek games this season.
Evansville (3-10) loaded the bases in the ninth inning with one out, but the Bruins went to the bullpen and brought in Brennan, who retired two straight batters to give the Bruins their 11th win.
Belmont jumped on the board first in the opening frame when Logan Jarvis singled to right field to score John Behrends from second base.
In the second frame, Blake Barton reached on an error by the third baseman before Grayson Taylor singled, putting two men on. Crider stepped in and blasted his first home run of the season over the left-field fence to give Belmont a 4-0 lead.
Evansville responded with a two-run homer off of Dominic Baratta in the third inning, then tied the game, 4-4, in the top of the fifth with two runs on four hits.
Belmont retook control in the ensuing half inning, with Guy Lipscomb tripling to right-center field before coming in to score the go-ahead run on a wild pitch.
The Bruins tacked on some insurance with a two-run home run from Crider in the sixth inning that was tattooed to left field once again.
Ethan Harden was dominant in relief for the Bruins, going 2 2/3 innings and retiring eight in a row with seven strikeouts after giving up a leadoff single to start his night.
Will Jenkins replaced him with one out in the eighth and struck out a Purple Ace to end the inning, but allowed three straight singles with one out in the ninth inning before being replaced by Brennan, who shut the door to end the inning.
Jordan Zuger started the game on the mound for the Bruins and went two solid innings without giving up a run.
Logan Jarvis went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and John Behrends finished 2-for-4 with a stolen base. Crider's five RBIs in the game was a new career-high for the native of Madison, Ala.
LIPSCOMB 5, AUSTIN PEAY 3
NASHVILLE - Austin Peay State University’s baseball team jumped out to an early lead but a big inning by Lipscomb turned the tide as the Govs fell 5-3, Wednesday, at Ken Dugan Field.
Austin Peay (6-8) drops both halves of the home-and-home series with Lipscomb (9-4).
The Governors got on the scoreboard first, scoring a run in both the first and second innings without the benefit of a base hit. Right fielder Gino Avros led off the game with a walk, stole second base, then advanced to third on a wild pitch With two out, Lipscomb attempted to pick Avros off third base, but the throw sailed into left field allowing Avros to score for a 1-0 lead.
One inning later, center fielder Skyler Luna led off with a single, stole second base, and got to third on a wild pitch. Avros delivered the run with his fielder’s choice giving Luna the opportunity to score for a 2-0 lead.
Lipscomb battled back with the game’s next five runs. First baseman Malik Williams led off the second with a solo home run to halve the Governors lead.
But it was a four-run third inning that turned the game around. After back-to-back singles to start the inning, Govs starter Luke Brown recorded back-to-back outs with a sacrifice fly tying the game, 2-2.
However, Lipscomb wouldn’t let Brown escape the frame with third baseman Trace Willhoite providing a run-scoring double to take the lead. Williams followed with a RBI single and catcher Rudy Maxwell added a RBI double to close the inning with Lipscomb leading 5-2.
Austin Peay would have its opportunities over the final five innings. The Govs scored a run in the fifth with left fielder Jeremy Wagner doubling to start the inning and later scoring on first baseman Ty DeLancey’s sacrifice fly. The Govs would bring the tying run to the plate in each of the last three innings, but could not get the hit they needed to keep the innings alive.
Brown (1-2) suffered the loss after allowing five runs on six hits over three innings. Jacob Weaver supplied three scoreless innings and Tyler Delong chipped in two scoreless frames out of the bullpen.
Wagner and Alexander each had a double as part of their 1-for-4 outings. Second baseman John Bolton went 2-for-3 for the Govs lone multi-hit outing.
Lipscomb reliever Chandler Giles (1-0) notched his season’s first win with three scoreless innings, striking out five. Trey Nordmann picked up his second save of the season with a scoreless ninth, working around a pair of walks.
BELLARMINE 10, MOREHEAD STATE 6
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Early offense didn't prove to be enough Wednesday as Morehead State Baseball (5-8) fell to Bellarmine (2-12) 10-6. Mik Aoki's squad was unable to overcome a late surge from the Knights, falling to 0-2 in Louisville this season.
Morehead State took an early lead thanks to a two-run blast from Roman Kuntz in the first inning. Kuntz has been hot of late with a hit in four of his last five games with three multi-hit games in that span. He finished today 2-for-5 at the plate.
After Bellarmine cut the lead to one with a solo shot in the bottom of the first, Brody Shoupe hit his first home run of the season, a solo shot of his own that gave MSU a 3-1 lead. Shoupe, the longest tenured Eagle, now has a three-game hit-streak and has driven in a run in all three of those games. Shoupe drove in another run in the top of the ninth, but that unfortunately wasn't enough for Morehead State.
The Eagles extended their lead in the fourth inning. Colton Becker tripled with one out, before a two-out single from Jackson Feltner scored him. Kuntz reached on an error, scoring Feltner. The Eagles' first baseman now has a five-game hit-streak and has been on base in all 13 games this season.
After going up 5-1 in the top half of the fourth, Bellarmine pushed across their first of nine straight runs in the bottom half of the inning. They scored again in the fifth on an RBI double from Gabe Bratetic. The Knights took the lead for good in the sixth, putting up three runs. The go-ahead score came on a single down the right field line by Tommy Dilz.
Bellarmine scored three more in the seventh, giving it a 10-5 lead. Morehead State was unable to overcome that offensive output.
AUBURN 4, TENNESSEE TECH 3
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - A late rally led to the Tennessee Tech baseball team's first loss of the 2022 season Wednesday evening, as the Golden Eagles fell to Auburn, 4-3, at Toyota Field, the home of the Rocket City Trash Pandas, the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
It was a pitcher's duel early on the night, as both teams' starting hurlers delivered four scoreless frames to begin the contest. The Golden Eagles were the first to strike, plating all three of their runs in the fifth inning.
A pair of former Auburn Tigers kicked things off for the Tech offense, with centerfielder Austin Turner working a full count before lacing a double to right-center field with one out in the frame. Shortstop Ed Johnson followed with a ground-rule double to left-center field, driving in Turner for the first run of the game.
Left fielder Jason Hinchman collected an infield single to shortstop with two outs, prompting a pitching change. First baseman Golston Gillespie then delivered a big knock, singling to left field to drive in another run. Hinchman would also score on the play thanks to a miscue by the Tigers at the plate.
Auburn collected one run in the fifth, using a pair of doubles to finally get on the scoreboard. Tech starter Brock Smith turned in a solid performance, tossing four and one-third innings with just one earned run allowed on three hits and three walks. He also struck out four batters.
Matt Gelorme took over on the hill in the fifth, finishing the frame and working both the sixth and seventh. The right-hander struck out the side in the sixth and allowed just one earned run in the seventh on a single and a triple.
Right fielder Ryan Guardino came up with a huge defensive play in the seventh, with the Tigers sending a fly ball to right field with an eye on a sacrifice fly. The junior unleashed a cannon to hose the runner tagging from third at the plate to end the inning.
In the eighth, Auburn took advantage of some wildness from the bullpen, using three straight walks to open the frame to load the bases. A hit-by-pitch provided the tying run while a sacrifice fly later in the frame would secure the win for the Tigers.
Eight of Tech's nine hitters secured at least one hit in the ball game, led by Gillespie's two and catcher Will Long's pair of knocks.