SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Belmont 3, Eastern Illinois 2 (10)
@Tennessee Tech 10, Austin Peay 7
@Southeast Missouri 7, UT Martin 6
@Murray State 8, Western Illinois 7 (10)
BELMONT 3, EASTERN ILLINOIS 2 (10)
NASHVILLE - A walk-off home run in the bottom of the tenth inning from John Behrends lifted the Belmont University baseball team to a thrilling 3-2 win on Saturday over Eastern Illinois at E.S. Rose Park.
The solo shot from Behrends to right field came with two outs in the tenth, and sent the Bruin dugout into a frenzy after a tight, nailbiting contest that featured plenty of dramatic moments.
It marked the third time this season the Bruins have walked off an opponent, and the first time this year they have done it on a home run.
By taking the first two games of the series against the Panthers, Belmont (34-17, 15-5 OVC) maintained their hold on first place in the Ohio Valley Conference and moved to 6-1 in conference series this season.
Joshua South delivered a heroic performance on the mound, tossing a career-high 130 pitches in 90-degree heat while going eight innings and collecting 11 strikeouts.
Sitting at over 120 pitches in the eighth inning, South was nailed in the back by his catcher, Jackson Campbell, who was trying to throw down to second base to nab a baserunner. The junior from Cookeville remained in the game and got two more outs, including an emphatic 11th strikeout, to keep the game tied at 2-2 heading to the bottom of the eighth.
Kyle Brennan (W, 2-4) earned the win in relief, providing two perfect innings out of the bullpen with three strikeouts.
Belmont fell behind 2-0 after the third inning on a Ryan Ignoffo home run, but got onto the board in the fifth inning on a Grayson Taylor RBI-single through the right side that scored Logan Jarvis.
Taylor finished with a career-high four hits, going 4-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
Later, in the seventh inning, Carson Shacklett came through in the clutch with a game-tying RBI double to center field that drove in Taylor and brought the score to 2-2.
After South stranded a runner at third base in the top of the eighth inning with his 11th strikeout, the Bruins worked their way to the tenth, where Taylor led off with a double to left field before being thrown out on a fly-ball to right field for a Panther double play, setting up Behrends' solo walk-off blast.
By securing their 34th win of the season on Saturday, the Bruins now have their most wins in a season since 2013, their first year in the OVC.
TENNESSEE TECH 10, AUSTIN PEAY 7
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Another grueling day at the ballpark saw the Tennessee Tech baseball team bounce back and even its Ohio Valley Conference series with in-state rival Austin Peay Saturday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles (24-23, 8-12) took down the Governors (19-32, 10-10) by a final score of 10-7.
For the second day in a row, Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex saw a delay in play due to inclement weather in the Cookeville area, including lightning. With the score knotted at 0-0 heading into the bottom of the third, both teams sat through a two-hour and 32-minute delay, topping the two-hour and 13-minute weather delay Friday night.
Coming back into action, Tech pounced on Austin Peay starter Harley Gollert, who threw just 14 pitches in two innings prior to the delay. Second baseman Noah Hattier led off the frame with a double down the right-field line. Two batters later, shortstop Ed Johnson drew a walk to set up the first score of the game.
Third baseman Gabe Lacy took his turn in the box, fouling off a pair of pitches before seeing the one he wanted. On an 0-2 count, the slugger unloaded for a three-run jack to left field, his ninth of the year, to give Tech a 3-0 lead.
Left fielder Jason Hinchman kept the inning going, dropping a base hit into right-center field. Three batters later, designated hitter John Dyer ripped a double to left field, driving in another Tech run for a 4-0 advantage.
Austin Peay got one back in the top of the fourth, but the Golden Eagles answered right back in the bottom half. After a pair of quick outs, Johnson clutched up and smashed a laser over the fence in left field on the first pitch he saw. It marked his 10th long ball of the season and made it a 5-1 ball game.
The Govs continued to fight back, collecting a two-run home run to trim the lead to 5-3, but Golden Eagle starter Brock Smith dug deep and limited the damage. The southpaw turned in his best outing of the year, completing a season-best five innings with just three runs allowed and a season-high six strikeouts.
With his departure, Austin Peay used another big fly to do some damage. Smashing a three-run shot in the sixth, the visitors from Clarksville took a 6-5 lead. It wouldn't last.
In the bottom of the seventh, Tech struck back with another big swing from a veteran. After a lead-off walk to catcher Will Long, Dyer delivered a monster, two-run rainbow to left field. The go-ahead bomb represented the Mt. Juliet native's 22nd career dinger, ranking him in a tie for 19th in program history with Cody Littlejohn, Chris Brown, and Chad Oberacker.
Two hitters later, center fielder Austin Turner crushed his third nuke of the season to right-center field, pushing Tech's lead to 8-6. In the eighth, Austin Peay mounted one last rally, loading the bases with one out and prompting a pitching change for Tech.
Senior Brock Myers took over on the hill and immediately created soft contact for an easy out at first. The Govs scored, but Tech gathered the all-important second out. After walking the next batter on a close full count, Myers induced a fly ball to right-center field to end the threat and keep the Golden Eagles on top.
For good measure, the Tech bats provided a little insurance for the right-handed hurler, gathering a pair in the bottom of the eighth. A base hit by Ryan Guardino allowed head coach Matt Bragga to call on the speedy freshman Jackson Green to pinch run. Long laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move him over to second.
One more time, Dyer came through, peppering an RBI single up the middle for his fourth RBI of the game and leaving him just a triple shy of the cycle on the day. The Tech veteran also added his first steal of the year and fourth of his career, moving into scoring position for first baseman Golston Gillespie.
The slugger also delivered, singling to center field to make it a 10-7 contest. Myers returned to the mound in the ninth, making quick work of the Govs. After a five-pitch strikeout, he induced a pair of 0-1 ground balls to collect his second save of the year. Travis Odom earned his first win of the season, tossing one and two-thirds frames with one run allowed.
All but one Tech starter collected a base hit in the contest. Long, who finished 0-for-1, reached base three times with a pair of walks and a hit-by-pitch, scoring once.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 7, UT MARTIN 6
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Brett Graber went 3-for-4 with two runs, a home run, four RBI and two doubles, including the walkoff bases clearing extra base hit in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift Southeast Missouri (32-17, 14-6) to a 7-6 victory over UT Martin (11-33, 4-19) Saturday.
Graber stepped in with the bases loaded and delivered his game-winning double to left center for his third walkoff hit of the season. Spencer Parker and Lincoln Andrews touched home, and Danny Sperling scored the winning run on the play.
SEMO's 23rd come-from-behind win gave Andy Sawyers his 150th career victory as a head coach.
After dropping Friday's series-opener, SEMO was down, 6-4, entering its final at-bat.
Sperling was hit by a pitch, Andrews singled to left and Parker walked to give the Redhawks a golden opportunity with the bases loaded and no outs. After Ben Palmer and Mason each fouled out, Graber collected his 13th double of the year.
Both teams scored twice in the second inning and the Redhawks took their first lead of the afternoon when Graber hit a solo home run to put SEMO ahead, 3-2, in the bottom of the third.
UTM answered with three runs in the top of the fifth and SEMO then closed the Skyhawks lead to 6-4 on Andrew Keck's groundout to second that scored Graber in the eighth inning.
SEMO scored the last four runs of the game to pull off the comeback win, its 11th in Ohio Valley Conference play this year.
Kyle Miller (8-4) picked up the win in relief. Miller recorded the last two outs in the top of the ninth.
Baylor Jones (0-1) suffered his first loss out of UTM's bullpen. Jones walked two and gave up four runs on three hits in three innings.
Andrews and Ty Stauss followed Graber with two hits apiece as the Redhawks ended up with seven for the game.
MURRAY STATE 8, WESTERN ILLINOIS 7 (10)
MURRAY, Ky. - Murray State (28-21) picked up the win over Western Illinois 8-7 in 10 innings in walk-off fashion on Friday at Johnny Reagan Field in Murray, Kentucky. The win secures the series for the Racers with game three set for Sunday at 1 p.m.
Ryan Fender put together another impressive performance on the hill for MSU. Fender went 5.1 hitless innings pitched while striking out five and allowing one run. The outing is his third in a row allowing just one run while compiling 12 strikeouts across the appearances. The Racers pitching staff combined for 12 strikeouts in tonight's game with Allen Roulette striking out three in 1.1 innings pitched and Alec Whaley striking out four across two innings. Whaley would earn the win to move to 5-2 on the season.
Outfielders Jake Slunder and Carson Garner would lead the Murray State offense with three hits apiece in the game. Slunder hit his seventh triple of the season to take sole possession of second nationally in the category. Garner would perform in the clutch with a game-tying double off of the left center wall to plate Drew Vogel in the bottom of the ninth. Bryson Bloomer hit his 12th home run of the season to lead the team while also collecting two more RBIs to bring his season total to 62.
Drew Vogel would double while collecting an RBI and a run scored in the contest and hit a hard ground ball to the WIU shortstop in the 10th inning to ultimately score Jordan Holly for the winning run. Holly got a hit and scored two runs of his own in the contest.