TUESDAY'S SCORES
SIUE 13, @Western Illinois 5
@Eastern Illinois 9, McKendree 0 (Rantoul, Ill.)
@Morehead State 13, Ohio 12
@North Alabama 6,
Murray State 4
@Middle Tennessee 3,
Belmont 1
@#5 Vanderbilt 7,
Tennessee Tech 0
@Austin Peay 11, Southern Illinois 4
Southeast Missouri 13, @Ole Miss 3
SIUE 13, WESTERN ILLINOIS 5
MACOMB, Ill. - A five-run sixth inning pushed SIUE baseball ahead for good on its way to a 13-5 win Tuesday at Western Illinois.
The Cougars improved to 15-18 with the win. WIU is 4-29.
The Cougars trailed 3-2 before scoring five two-out runs in the inning. SIUE loaded the bases with two outs when Richie Well scored on a wild pitch. Nic Roes and Josh Ohl both turned in two-run hits in the inning.
SIUE added on in the seventh. Brennan Orf blasted a three-run home run to right center following walks to Brady Bunten and Connor Kiffer to start the inning.
It was 10-5 SIUE in the eighth when Well doubled to drive in Ohl and Braedyn Brewer grounded out to drive in a run to push the Cougars' advantage to seven runs. A Well double in the ninth inning made it 13-5.
The Leathernecks scored a pair in the second inning to open the scoring, before Drew Mize tripled and scored on a Brett Johnson double in the third inning to get SIUE on the board.
The Cougars loaded the bases against reliever Tre Benjamin to start the fifth inning thanks to a walk, an error and a hit batter. The Leathernecks went to the pen and Jack Bell struck out Drew Mize for the first out. The Cougars tied the game on a groundball fielder's choice from Johnson to score Orf to tie the score but left a pair on base to end the inning.
The Cougars outhit the Leathernecks 12-5. Seven different Cougars had at least a hit and six different players had RBIs for SIUE.
Well finished with three hits and two RBIs and now has hits in seven of his last eight games. He now leads the team with 34 RBIs and is fourth on the club with a .304 batting average.
Orf finished with the home run, three RBIs and three runs. Johnson, Ohl and Roes each finished with two RBIs.
Coby Rogers started and worked his longest outing of the year, tossing 4 1/3 innings. He allowed three runs on two hits and struck out four.
Quinn Waterhouse (2-0) worked 1 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball for the win. He allowed a hit and struck out three.
Spencer Smith, Kyle Dixon and Jake Bockenstedt each worked an inning of relief. Smith allowed a pair of unearned runs in the seventh. Dixon and Bockenstedt each worked scoreless innings.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 9, MCKENDREE 0
RANTOUL, Ill. - Eastern Illinois (25-9, 7-2 OVC) won their fourth straight game at the Rantoul Family Sports Complex over Great Lakes Valley Conference opponent McKendree (12-23, 7-9 GLVC) by a final score of 9-0. Mac Hickman threw a perfect 4.0 innings in his third win this season. Hickman tossed five strikeouts while not allowing a hit. Ryan Ignoffo had two RBIs in his first game back since April 3 against Butler. Dalton Doyle, Lincoln Riley, and Nathan Aide also collected two hits each in the win.
Hickman made quick work in the first inning with three up and three down including a strikeout. Riley started the game with a double for EIU. After DiLuca was walked and both advanced on a wild pitch, Aide was able to hit a grounder to shortstop to score one. Ignoffo followed that up with another groundout but manged to score DiLuca for a 2-0 to end the first.
The Panthers defense was stout in the second and third innings for Hickman as he had not allowed a hit and posted another two strikeouts. Ja'Lil Akbar and Riley were both walked to start the third inning. Aide would load the bases for Ignoffo after a single to left field. Ignoffo would be walked to score and RBI, his second of the game. After a wild pitched scored Riley from third, Nicholas Rucker would reach on a fielder's choice play to home that would result in Aide being safe and moving the lead to 5-0.
After two more strikeouts in the fourth, Hickman's night would end on the mound. Grant Lashure and Akbar would both reach safely to start the bottom of the fourth for Eastern. Riley would hit into a 5-3 double play to keep Akbar at second. DiLuca would double to left field to score Akbar from second and put the Panthers up six.
McKendree got their first hit in the fifth inning after a leadoff single to first base off of reliever Kyle Lang. Lang would force the Bearcats into a double play and get a strikeout to end the inning. Dalton Doyle would hit an RBI single to score Rucker after he doubled down the left field line.
Jason DeCicco would enter the game for the Panthers in the sixth and get two strikeouts. Andrew Yancik would come into pitch in the bottom half of the inning and get the Panthers to strikeout twice.
Tyler Conklin would throw the seventh inning for the Panthers and go one, two, three to end the top half. Doyle was able to hit an double to right center field and was hit home by Dylan Drumke who hit his first career homerun for EIU. Travis Reaves and Riley would both single in the inning, but were left stranded. EIU was up 9-0 heading into the eighth.
After a scoreless eighth inning, Jalen Cardinal would finish off the Bearcats with a three-up three-down ninth inning to secure the Eastern Illinois victory.
MOREHEAD STATE 13, OHIO 12
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, the Morehead State baseball team's chances of pulling out a win over the Ohio Bobcats were slim to none as they trailed 12-4. However, the Eagles (16-19, 5-4 OVC) rallied, putting up nine runs with two outs in the inning to topple Ohio 13-12 Tuesday.
Colton Becker singled, putting Isaias Guzman at second before Ashton Roy pinch-hit and drew a two-out walk to load the bases for Ryley Preece. The leadoff man and centerfielder delivered, smashing a grand slam to centerfield to cut the lead to 12-8. Jackson Feltner then stepped to the plate and launched a solo home run off Braxton Kelly to cut the deficit to three.
Logan Castleman (1-3, HR, 3 RBI) and Alex Jacobs both walked before Nick Gooden was hit by a pitch to load the bases once again for Isaias Guzman. The man they call "Izzy" did not disappoint, drilling the first pitch he saw to the deepest part of the park in left-centerfield to give the Eagles their third home run, second grand slam, ninth run of the inning, and a 13-12 lead.
John Bakke took the ball from winning pitcher Sam Replogle (W, 1-0) in the ninth, getting Colin Kasperbauer to ground into a double play before striking out Mason Minzey to complete the comeback, earning his seventh save of the season.
Other highlights included Logan Castleman's first home run of the season in the third inning, a rocket off the bat to right field. Castleman finished with three RBI. Will Grimmett pitched a scoreless frame, and Jackson Feltner, Ryley Preece, and Colton Becker all had multi-hit games. Alex Jacobs extended his on-base streak to 33 games, and Morehead State's defense turned four double plays on the day.
This is the second time in 2022 that Morehead State has come back to win a game in which they were down six or more runs in the seventh inning or later. A grand slam from Bryce Ray vs. Murray State when the Eagles were down 6-0 sparked that comeback in late March, and the grand slams from Ryley Preece and Isaias Guzman as well as Jackson Feltner's home run sparked the eight-run comeback Tuesday.
NORTH ALABAMA 6, MURRAY STATE 4
FLORENCE, Ala. - Murray State (18-18) baseball fell to North Alabama 6-4 on Tuesday night at Mike Lane Field in Florence, Alabama. The Racers were able to generate four hits in the game but were unable to withstand the Lions bats.
Bryson Bloomer smacked his team-leading sixth home run of the season in the contest and collected two RBIs. Outfielder Seth Gardner drove a two-RBI double for his seventh two-bagger of the year.
Alec Whaley tossed 1.2 scoreless innings in relief for his 16th appearance of the season. The right-hander struck out two and allowed no walks and no hits in the outing.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 3, BELMONT 1
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The Belmont University baseball team dropped a close midweek contest to Middle Tennessee State University on Tuesday night, falling 3-1 at Reese Smith Jr. Field in Murfreesboro.
Belmont played outstanding defense, with diving catches in the outfield and athletic plays in the infield keeping the Bruins close throughout the contest. The Bruins also turned two double plays, helping their pitchers get out of men-on-base situations.
The glovework behind him helped freshman right-hander Jordan Zuger go a career-high five innings in his start, allowing zero runs on just three hits. The native of Hendersonville, Tenn., also collected three strikeouts on the night.
The Bruins got him an early run when they jumped ahead in the first inning on a Brodey Heaton RBI single to center field that scored John Behrends.
However, after the opening frame, Belmont would muster just one more hit across the remaining eight innings. In the loss, Bruin batters struck out looking on eight occasions.
Middle Tennessee took the lead for good with three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, and held on for the win.
Dominic Baratta and Kyle Brennan each pitched scoreless innings in relief for the Bruins.
Behrends finished 1-for-3 with a run scored and a walk. Guy Lipscomb stole his 29th base of the season in the third inning, and is now one stolen base shy of tying Matt Reynolds for the most stolen bases in a single season in program history (30, 2005).
#5 VANDERBILT 7, TENNESSEE TECH 0
NASHVILLE - It was a tough night offensively for the Tennessee Tech baseball team Tuesday, as the Golden Eagles (20-14) fell in midweek action to in-state foe and No. 5 nationally-ranked Vanderbilt at Hawkins Field, 7-0.
Commodore pitching kept the usually potent Tech attack at bay during the match-up in Nashville, holding the purple and gold to just three hits and a walk. Left fielder Jason Hinchman gathered two of the knocks for the Golden Eagles, finishing the night 2-for-3 with a double.
Vanderbilt used early scoring to do the damage on the scoreboard, plating four runs in the first inning and two more in the second. Overall on the night, the home team needed just five hits to score seven total runs, using seven walks and six hit-by-pitches to its advantage.
Five different Golden Eagle pitchers combined for four and two-thirds frames of scoreless ball on the night, allowing just one of the hits and two walks. Right-hander Colt Taylor gathered two outs in the third inning, both via the strikeout.
Matthew Meadows took over and twirled a fourth inning without a run allowed. In the seventh, Eric Newsom turned in a perfect inning with two punch-outs while Caleb Pearson followed with a scoreless frame in the eighth.
Senior Tyler Sylvester rounded out the night with one more inning for the purple and gold without allowing a run, securing one K.
AUSTIN PEAY 11, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 4
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Left fielder TJ Foreman homered to get the scoring started and Austin Peay State University’s baseball team used a trio of three-run innings to pull away for an 11-4 nonconference victory against Southern Illinois, Tuesday night on Joe Maynard Field at Raymond C. Hand Park.
Foreman and second baseman Gino Avros combined for five hits and five RBI to power the top of the Austin Peay batting order. Foreman’s home run drove in Avros who led off the first with a walk for a 2-0 lead. Two innings later, Foreman drove in center fielder Skyler Luna with a single to tie the game.
Avros then scored and Foreman moved to third on a wild pitch, giving the Govs a 4-3 lead. Then Foreman made a headsy play when first baseman Ty DeLancey flew out to shallow center field. Foreman feinted toward home and forced a throw which eluded the Southern Illinois catcher and Foreman dashed home for the third run and a 5-3 lead.
Austin Peay (15-22) tacked on three more runs in the fourth after loading the bases with one out. A wild pitch allowed a run to score before Avros struck with a double down the left field line for two more runs and an 8-3 lead.
Catcher Jack Alexander put the game away in the eighth. Austin Peay loaded the bases after Luna reached on an error, Avros was intentionally walked, and DeLancey walked. Alexander drove a 2-0 pitch into the right-center field gap where the Salukis miscommunicated and the ball fell to the ground, emptying the bases for an 11-3 lead.
Avros, batting leadoff, was 3-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored. Batting second, Foreman went 2-for-4 with three RBI and also scored twice. DeLancey and Luna also went 2-for-4 each, Luna scoring three times.
Austin Peay reliever Jacob Weaver (2-1) entered the game in the fourth and supplied four innings, allowing one run, to notch his second win. Starter Sebastian Martinez departed for precautionary reasons after three innings that saw him allow three runs on four hits.
Southern Illinois starting pitcher Jake Combs (2-1) took his first loss after allowing five runs on six hits in three innings. The Salukis offense was held to six hits with six different hitters recording a hit each. Left fielder Pier-Oliver Boucher was 1-for-3 with two RBI courtesy his two-run home run in the top of the second inning.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 13, OLE MISS 3
OXFORD, Miss. - Tyler Wilber narrowly missed hitting for the cycle when he went 4-for-6 with three runs scored, a double, home run and three RBI to lead Southeast Missouri (25-10) to a 13-3 thumping of SEC member Ole Miss (21-15) Tuesday.
SEMO, which handed Ole Miss its biggest non-conference loss of the season, knocked off a SEC opponent for the first time in five years. The win was also the Redhawks first over a Power Five conference foe since 2019 (3-2, at Purdue).
The Redhawks were in control from start to finish and scored three runs in each of the second and fifth innings to storm past the Rebels.
SEMO took a 3-0 advantage with an RBI-single by Spencer Parker and scored two more runs with the help of a fielder's choice and an error in the top of the second.
After Wilber led off the third inning with a solo home run to left field, Parker singled home Ty Stauss to put SEMO ahead, 5-0.
An inning later, Wilber scored on a double by Andrew Keck.
Parker then touched home on a sacrifice fly by Jevon Mason and Wilber ripped a two-RBI double to left center extending the Redhawks lead to 9-1 in the top of the fifth.
The Redhawks scored again when they loaded the bases with two outs in the sixth. Mason brought home Peyton Leeper on a sacrifice fly to run SEMO's lead to 10-1.
SEMO continued to pour it on and loaded the bases once more in the eighth. Leeper, Joel Vaske and Ben Palmer all walked before Mason grounded out and Leeper scored to make it a 11-1 ballgame.
Leeper delivered an RBI-single and Keck scored on a wild pitch to complete the Redhawks victory in the top of the ninth inning.
Left-hander Alex Esker (1-0) earned his first career win. Esker struck out one in two scoreless innings.
Drew McDaniel suffered the loss. McDaniel fell to 3-2 after giving up three runs on two hits in 1.2 innings. He also struck out two and walked two.
SEMO finished with 12 hits. Keck, Leeper and Parker followed Wilber with two hits apiece. Mason added three RBI, while Parker and Danny Sperling had two each.