SUNDAY'S SCORES
Eastern Illinois 18, @SIUE 10
Tennessee Tech 8, @Belmont 1
@Southeast Missouri 11, Murray State 10
Austin Peay 12, @UT Martin 10
@Morehead State 6-18, Presbyterian 5-3
EASTERN ILLINOIS 18, SIUE 10
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Eastern Illinois (21-8, 5-1 OVC) win the series against the Cougars of SIUE (14-16, 3-6 OVC) by a final score of 18-10. The Panthers were originally supposed to play the series at Coaches Stadium, but was moved to SIUE because of maintenance. EIU was the home team for all three games. The Panthers were lead by an eight run first inning which saw seven straight batters collect a hit. Dalton Doyle was 3-5 on the day with four RBIs and two runs scored. Nicholas Rucker was 2-3 with three RBIs and added three walks. Kyle Lang earned his first win of the season after throwing in relief of Blake Malatestinic.
Malatestinic was able to go three up and three down in the first inning which lead to a strong offensive start for EIU. The Panthers would start off the game scoring eight runs with their first eight batters getting on base safely. Lincoln Riley and DiLuca started off with two singles and was followed by an RBI single by Eickhoff to get EIU on the board. After a stolen base by Eickhoff, Nathan Aide hit a single through the left side to score DiLuca.
Doyle collected his first RBI of the day in the first inning after he singled to score Eickhoff. Rucker would hit the lone EIU homerun today in the first inning that would bring the lead to 6-0. Bryce Hayman would collect a double as the DH for the game and be hit home by Riley for his second single of the inning. The Panthers would be up 8-0 after the first inning.
Malatestinic would come back in the second and collect another three and out for EIU on the mound. After two errors from the Cougars, Ja'Lil Akbar stepped to the plate and delivered and RBI single to right center field to bring home Rucker.
The third inning brought trouble to Malatestinic on the mound as SIUE would score six in the inning. Brennan Orf lead off the inning with a double and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Drew Mize would then double down the line to score Orf. After a hit-by-pitch, Richie Well would hit the first of his two homeruns in the game to score three more runs. Malatestinic would walk a Cougar and give up his second homerun of the inning after Connor Kiffer hit a two-run shot to left center. EIU would still lead 9-6 after three.
EIU's offense would get a lift in the fourth inning with two outs. With bases loaded, Doyle singled through the right side to score DiLuca and Eickhoff. Nathan Aide would then score on a wild pitch by Spencer Smith. SIUE would the walk three straight Panthers to walk in a run. Gallaher was credited with the RBI walk. EIU was walked 15 times in the game. They would leave 13-6 after four.
The Cougars kept chipping away at the lead and the fifth inning was no different. SIUE would put two runners on, and would score three more runs off of Malatestinic after Brady Bunten hit a three-run homerun to left field to bring SIUE to within four. SIUE had four homeruns in the game.
EIU would also add two insurance runs in the fifth inning. After DiLuca walked, Eickhoff hit a double to put runners on second and third. Aide hit into a groundout but still scored DiLuca. Doyle would follow that with an RBI single of his own to push the lead to 15-9.
Lang would sit down three straight Cougars to leave SIUE scoreless in the sixth. Hayman, Gallaher, and Akbar would load the bases in the sixth for EIU. DiLuca picked up an RBI single to right field that scored Hayman. The inning ended after an RBI fielder's choice from Eickhoff, but Akbar was thrown out at home after the run scored to end the inning.
The seventh saw both offenses put up zeros for the first time in the game. Well would hit his second homerun of the game in the eighth off of Jesse Wainscott to give SIUE 10 runs on the afternoon. EIU would have three batters walked in the inning which lead to a sac fly by Eickhoff to leave the score at 18-10. Zane Robbins would come in the top of the ninth inning and shut down the Cougars.
EIU would score 18 runs on 18 hits and have one error. SIUE would score 10 runs on 12 hits and have two errors.
TENNESSEE TECH 8, BELMONT 1
NASHVILLE - The home run ball was in full effect for the Tennessee Tech baseball team Sunday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles took game three of its Ohio Valley Conference series against in-state rival Belmont, 8-1.
Competing at E.S. Rose Park for the third time in as many days, the Golden Eagles used the long ball and a pair of brilliant pitching performances to salvage a victory in the final regular-season series against the Bruins as OVC foes. Much like its counterpart the previous two days, Tech took its turn delivering a comeback on Sunday.
Belmont scored an early run against Golden Eagle hurler Connor Adams, using a double, a wild pitch, and a sacrifice fly ball to take a 1-0 lead in the first. The Tech southpaw locked things down from that point on, tossing four straight scoreless frames while scattering two more hits and a pair of walks.
Picking up his third win of the season, Adams struck out four Bruins while allowing just the one earned run over five total innings of work.
The purple and gold evened things up in the third, with second baseman Noah Hattier leading off the frame with a single to right field. He advanced to third on a base hit by center fielder Austin Turner and squared up the contest after scoring on a passed ball.
In the fourth, the Golden Eagles took over the lead for good, with right fielder Eric Newsom providing the blow. The slugger crushed his first round-tripper in the purple and gold to lead off the inning, clearing the wall in center field for a 2-1 lead.
Two frames later first baseman Golston Gillespie doubled that advantage, hammering a solo blast to left field for his fifth dinger of the season, taking southpaw Jalen Borders deep from the right side.
Tech truly blew the game wide open in the seventh, with Hattier and Turner reaching to start and shortstop Ed Johnson driving in a run on a fielder's choice. With two outs, left fielder Jason Hinchman took his turn with the fireworks, blasting a two-run moon shot to left field for a 6-1 lead.
It marked his 15th homer of the year and the 59th of his career, trailing only the league's all-time leaders, former Golden Eagles Kevin Strohschein and Zach Stephens, both of whom boast 62 to their respective names.
Newsom followed with a walk, setting up Gillespie for one more strike at the dish. Following a pitching change, the switch hitter took his stance on the left side of the plate and welcomed right-hander hurler Dusty Baird to the contest by cranking out the first pitch he saw to right-center field.
His second trot around the bases of the game represented his sixth of the year and also provided more history for the junior. With the blast, Gillespie became the first known Golden Eagles to hit a home run from both sides of the plate in the same game twice in their career. He also accomplished the feat one year prior, also against Belmont, on Mar. 23.
Reliever Jackson Berry took over for Adams on the hill following the fifth, coasting through the final four frames with almost no action. The lefty scattered two hits and a walk while collecting three punch-outs to pick up his second save of the season.
Offensively, Gillespie led Tech with two hits and three RBI while Turner also added a pair of knocks. Seven different Golden Eagles secured at least one hit on the day.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 11, MURRAY STATE 10
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri baseball (23-7, 7-2 OVC) secured the 3-0 series sweep of Ohio Valley Conference rival, Murray State (15-15, 1-8 OVC), with an 11-10 walk-off victory Sunday afternoon at Capaha Field.
The 3-0 sweep of Murray State is SEMO's second in league play this season.
An offensive slugfest for the entire afternoon, the two teams combined for 21 runs and 30 hits as the Redhawks continued to scratch across runs for the one run victory.
Trailing 10-9 in the bottom of the ninth, shortstop Tyler Wilber hit a towering solo home run over the scoreboard in left field to even the game at 10. Wilber finished the day, 3-for-5 at the plate with two runs and a RBI. An Andrew Keck triple off the right-center field wall then put the winning run 90-feet from the plate. With one out in the frame, center fielder Brett Graber smacked a single up the middle to score Keck and secure the walk-off victory. Graber concluded Sunday, 3-for-5 hitting with two RBI and a run.
Murray State started the scoring in the third inning by putting up three runs. Jake Slunder hit his first of three home runs on the day, a solo shot to right field. Slunder led the Racers, going 3-for-5 with three runs and four RBI.
Back-to-back RBI doubles in the inning, extended the Murray State lead to 3-0. The Racers would add two more runs in the fifth to increase their lead to 5-0 before the Redhawks got on the board. Slunder and Jacob Pennington combined for back-to-back jacks.
Designated hitter Spencer Parker then hit a three-run homer to right field to get the Redhawks on the board in the fifth and cut the deficit to 5-3. The long ball was the first for Parker, a junior from Lee's Summit, Missouri, in his career at SEMO. A sacrifice fly from Peyton Leeper put up the fourth SEMO run of the game (5-4), later that frame.
Murray State would then add four runs in the next inning off a two-run triple by right fielder Cade Sammons. Slunders' third home run, a two-run shot, regrew the Racers advantage to 9-4.
From there the Redhawks would score runs in every inning but the eighth to chip away at the Racers lead. In the sixth inning, Ty Stauss hit a single to left to score Lincoln Andrews. Parker added an infield single to score Brett Graber and bring the margin to 9-6. Jevon Mason then hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Parker, and the Redhawks trailed 9-7 going to the seventh inning.
Murray State got a run back in the top of the seventh via an Alex Crump single to left field. Seth Gardner would come into score on the play, making it a 10-7 Racers advantage.
SEMO would respond with the next four runs to pull off the comeback. In the bottom of the seventh, SEMO scored on a RBI groundout by Lincoln Andrews and a Graber single to short that plated Tyler Wilber and Andrew Keck, respectively to make the deficit just one (10-9) heading to the ninth.
Tommy Windt started for SEMO, going four innings, allowing five runs on eight hits. He compiled five strikeouts. SEMO then handed the game to its bullpen with Anthony Klein, Austin Williams, Hunter Ralls, Blake Cisneros and Kyle Miller closing it out. Miller earned the win to improve to 5-2 in 2022, allowing just one hit in a shutout inning of work. Cisneros registered a pair of strikeouts, scattering a hit over 1.1 innings on the bump.
Malik Pogue was assessed the loss for Murray State. Starter Jacob Pennington went five innings, allowing four runs on five hits.
Keck and Parker both finished with two hits apiece. Parker knocked in four runs Sunday.
AUSTIN PEAY 12, UT MARTIN 10
MARTIN, Tenn. - Reserve center fielder Nathan Barksdale’s three-run home run in the top of the ninth inning – his first collegiate homer – proved to be the difference as Austin Peay State University’s baseball team held off UT Martin for a 12-10 Ohio Valley Conference victory, Sunday, at Skyhawk Field.
Austin Peay (13-20, 6-3 OVC) completed a sweep of the three-game OVC series against the Skyhawks. It is the Governors first OVC series sweep since taking three at Eastern Illinois late in the 2019 season. Austin Peay moves to fourth in the league standings with league-leading Eastern Illinois set to visit Raymond C. Hand Park, Thursday-Saturday.
It was a game of two halves for the Governors as they spent the first five innings battling UT Martin starter Matt Dickey. Austin Peay went just 3-of-13 at the plate in those five scoreless innings and trailed 2-0 entering the sixth.
Austin Peay head coach Travis Janssen started making changes to his lineup in the sixth and things started to pick up at the plate. Pinch hitter Knaje Guthrie singled to start the sixth inning and later scored on a double play for APSU’s first run.
In the seventh, pinch hitter John McDonald walked and pinch hitter Michael Robinson hit a two-run double to right center, giving the Govs a 3-2 lead. Guthrie then added to the lead with his two-out RBI single.
The Govs and Skyhawks each scored two runs in the eighth, leaving Austin Peay with a 6-4 lead entering what ended up being a wild ninth inning that saw both teams score six runs.
Austin Peay loaded the bases in the ninth in front of catcher Jack Alexander, who had been held hitless in his first four at-bats. The Govs leading hitter promptly got his first hit with a single up the middle to drive in two runs. Barksdale, who entered in the bottom of the eighth on defense, took a 1-0 pitch and drove it over the wall in right-center field for a three-run home run and a 12-4 lead.
UT Martin (8-21, 1-8 OVC) did not go quietly as left fielder Will Smith opened the bottom of the ninth with a solo home run. The Skyhawks then loaded the bases with one out and pinch hitter Blaze Bell drove in two runs with a double. After an Austin Peay pitching change, catcher Cameron Brady hit a two-run double and the Govs lead was narrowed to 12-9.
Center fielder Reid Halfacre made it 12-10 with his ground out for the inning’s second out. But that seemed to give the Governors the reprieve they were seeking. Reliever Luke Brown induced another ground ball from the next UTM hitter for the game’s final out.
After recording a season-high 21 hits in Saturday’s victory against UT Martin, Austin Peay had 15 hits in Sunday’s finale. The Governors went 12-for-22 at the plate and scored all 12 of their runs over the game’s final four innings.
Off the bench, Barksdale went 1-for-1 with three RBI and Guthrie went 2-for-3 with a run scored and RBI while playing all three outfield positions. McDonald went 1-for-2 with a RBI and Robinson went 1-for-2 with two RBI.
Right fielder Wil Lafaollette went 3-for-5 with three runs scored to spark the UT Martin offense. Brady, third baseman Nate Self, and center fielder Reid Halfacre – the Skyhawks 7-8-9 hitters – had two RBI each and were collectively 5-for-14 at the plate.
Austin Peay reliever Peyton Jula (1-1) notched his season’s first win courtesy the come-from-behind effort.
UT Martin reliever Tucker Reed (0-2) suffered the loss after allowing Austin Peay three runs in the seventh inning.
MOREHEAD STATE 6-18, PRESBYTERIAN 5-3
MOREHEAD, Ky. - After dropping Saturday's opener, the Morehead State baseball team returned to their winning ways on Sunday with two wins in two seven-inning games over Presbyterian. The Eagles (14-16, 4-2 OVC) came into Sunday in danger of snapping a streak of eight straight home series wins but emerged from the doubleheader victorious with their ninth straight series win at Allen Field.
Morehead State jumped on top early in the first contest Sunday, as Alex Jacobs said good morning to the Blue Hose with an RBI single in the first, scoring Ryley Preece from second.
In the third, Jackson Feltner doubled home Ryley Preece before scoring on another Alex Jacobs single. Nick Gooden singled (one of three hits in game one for him) and advanced Jacobs to third before Colton Becker beat out a bunt to score Jacobs from third to give MSU a 4-0 lead.
Presbyterian cut the lead to one in the fourth plating three runs on two hits against Alex Kafka, who worked three perfect innings before the fourth. Kafka finished with four strikeouts and no walks, giving up three runs (two earned) on two hits and left in line for the win.
Two scoreless innings in the fifth and sixth passed, as John Sherman, Jarrett Miller, and John Bakke (W, 2-1) combined to keep the Blue Hose off the board, before Jack Gorman hit a two-run blast off of Bakke to give Presbyterian the lead heading into the bottom of the seventh. Jackson Feltner led off the bottom half with a double and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt from Logan Castleman. Feltner then scored on a beautiful bunt single from Nick Gooden that barely stayed fair to tie the game at five heading into extras.
John Bakke returned to form in the eighth and ninth to keep Presbyterian off the scoreboard. The Eagles' closer may have blown the save but finished with eight strikeouts in 3.2 innings and got the win, his second of the season.
In the bottom of the ninth, Morehead State loaded the bases for pinch hitter Ashton Roy, who played hero with a drive into the gap for a walk-off single to give the Eagles the victory, tying the series at a game apiece.
Despite the close score, Morehead State outhit Presbyterian 16-6. Luke Matthews took the loss.
Contrary to the first game of the twin-bill, the second game was a one-sided affair that Morehead State took 18-3. Just like game one; however, an RBI single from Alex Jacobs that scored Ryley Preece plated the first run of game two. Four more runs crossed after Jacobs' RBI single, including one on a single by Brody Shoupe.
Presbyterian cut into that lead in the fourth, plating a run on a single from Eric Toth and another on a Brody Fahr groundout. None of those runs counted as earned against starter Grant Herron (W, 2-2) who pitched four innings, giving up no earned runs on three hits, striking out one Blue Hose batter along the way.
The Eagles blew the game open in the fifth, plating eight runs on six hits to take a 13-2 lead. Isaias Guzman (one), Ashton Roy (one), Jackson Feltner (two), Logan Castleman (one), Alex Jacobs (two), and Nick Gooden (one) all drove in runs in the inning.
In the sixth, Morehead State kept their foot on the gas pedal, plating five more runs to put the game way out of reach. Ryley Preece drove in a run on a bases loaded single before Logan Goodnight drilled the first pitch he saw out of the ballpark for a pinch-hit grand slam. That home run was the first on the season for Goodnight and the second pinch-hit grand slam of the season for the Eagles. Presbyterian scored a run in the seventh on a solo home run from Joel Draygoo, but it was too little too late as Morehead State took the series.
Alex Jacobs extended his on base streak to 28 games and his hit streak to 20 games Sunday and finished a home run short of the cycle in the second game. Jacobs hit .636 in the series with seven RBI.
Jackson Feltner starred this weekend as well, batting .583 versus the Blue Hose. Feltner finished 5-7 on Sunday, including a four-hit performance in game one Sunday.