SUNDAY'S SCORES
SIUE 11-15, @Morehead State 8-16
@Belmont 5, Eastern Illinois 3
@Tennessee Tech 14, Austin Peay 5
@Southeast Missouri 15, UT Martin 2
Western Illinois 17,
@Murray State 6
SIUE 11-15, MOREHEAD STATE 8-16
MOREHEAD, Ky. - SIUE baseball split a doubleheader Sunday at Morehead State, winning 11-8 before dropping a 16-15 contest in seven innings.
The Cougars and Eagles are both 11-10 in OVC play. SIUE is now 24-24 overall, accounting for its most wins under Head Coach Sean Lyons and its most wins since the 2012 season. Morehead State is 23-26.
It is the first series win for the Cougars over the Eagles since 2014 in Edwardsville. It is their first series win on the road at Morehead State since they swept a series there in 2009.
SIUE scored early in game one and was bolstered by strong starting pitching.
Following a leadoff single by Brennan Orf in the second, Brady Bunten hit his 10th home run of the season and 27th of his career to put the Cougars up 2-0.
The Cougars then loaded the bases with nobody out in the fourth. Avery Owusu-Asiedu extended the lead to 3-0. With two outs and two on, Brett Johnson was intentionally walked to bring up Josh Ohl who proceeded to double into the left corner to score three more.
Jackson Feltner got Morehead State on the board with a one-out, solo home run in the bottom of the inning. The Eagles added an unearned run following a two-out error. Richie Well extended the SIUE lead to 9-2 in the fifth with a three-run home run to right center. It was Well's 12th homer of the year, and his first since April. Chase Vinson's home run in the fifth trimmed the Cougar lead to 9-3. Roman Kuntz made it 9-4 with a solo home run in the eighth.
Karnes (6-3) worked 7 2/3 innings allowing four runs, three earned, on 10 hits. He did not walk a batter and he struck out five. Jake Bockenstedt worked the final 1 1/3 innings.
The Cougars added two more runs in the ninth on a single by Richie Well and an error for an 11-4 lead. The Eagles tagged Bockenstedt for four in the bottom of the ninth, before the Cougars hung on for an 11-8 win.
Bunten finished the game 4-4 at the plate. Orf and Well had three hits apiece. Well finished with four RBIs.
Morehead State walked off with a win in game two of the doubleheader following a seven-run rally by the Cougars in the top of the seventh inning. Ryley Preece was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to give the Eagles a 16-15 win.
Jake Bockenstedt (3-7) suffered the loss for the Cougars.
Trailing 15-8 going into the inning, SIUE loaded the bases with nobody out before Nic Roes collected an RBI single. Brett Johnson followed his first career grand slam for his 21st home run of the year and 31st of his career. Bunten picked up another RBI with a groundout and the Cougars added a run on a wild pitch.
Brennan Orf opened game two with a three-run home run in the first inning. His 10th of the year, it gave SIUE four players with at least 10 home runs this season. The home run followed a Josh Ohl single and a Connor Kiffer walk.
The Eagles answered with six in the bottom of the inning against SIUE starter Collin Baumgartner. Morehead State added two in the second inning to lead 8-2. Feltner homered in the first inning and Alex Jacobs hit a two-run homer in the second inning.
The Cougars took advantage of two MSU errors in the third to plate two and trim the lead to 8-5.
A five-run fourth inning pushed the Eagles out to a 13-5 advantage. Avery Owusu-Asiedu picked up an RBI in the top of the fifth before a Morehead State run in the bottom of the fifth made it 15-6. Kiffer connected for a two-run home run in the sixth to cut the lead to 15-8.
SIUE outhit Morehead State 17-16 in the game.
BELMONT 5, EASTERN ILLINOIS 3
NASHVILLE - The Belmont University baseball team sent out their seniors the right way on Senior Day, taking down Eastern Illinois, 5-3, at E.S. Rose Park to remain in first place in the Ohio Valley Conference.
The victory secures a three-game series sweep over the Panthers, who had entered the weekend tied for third in the conference standings.
It's the third sweep of a conference opponent this season for Belmont (35-17, 16-5 OVC), who have now won seven of their last eight games, including six in a row over OVC foes.
John Behrends, who delivered a walk-off home run in the tenth inning on Saturday, provided another game-winning hit on Saturday with his two-RBI go-ahead triple in the bottom of the seventh inning, breaking what had been a 2-2 tie.
Behrends finished 2-for-4 with the triple and three RBIs, the only Bruin to finish with multiple hits. Belmont tallied eight hits on the day, including five doubles and Behrends' triple.
Dusty Baird (W, 1-1) earned the win in relief, tossing 1.2 innings before handing the baton off to Kyle Brennan (SV, 14) who earned his 14th save of the season and his school-record 31st of his career. Brennan is now one save shy of tying the single-season mark of 15, held by Jon Ivie.
Jalen Borders earned a no-decision in his 13th start of the season, going 6.1 innings and scattering eight hits while allowing only two runs with five strikeouts.
Eastern Illinois manufactured a run in the top of the second inning with a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead. However, Belmont responded in the bottom of the second inning with back-to-back doubles from Tommy Crider and Logan Jarvis to tie the game at 1-1.
The Bruins took their first lead in the home half of the third inning on a Behrends double to right-center field that scored Carson Shacklett from first base.
The Panthers would tie the game at 2-2 in the top of the seventh and threatend to take the lead on a fly ball to center field that sent the EIU runner from third racing for home. However, Guy Lipscomb's throw got to the plate just in time, allowing Jackson Campbell to apply the tag for the third out and keep the game knotted at 2-2, setting the table for Behrends' big triple to give Belmont the 4-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh.
Lipscomb provided an insurance run with a fly ball to the outfield that allowed Behrends to tag up and score from third, making it a 5-2 ballgame.
TENNESSEE TECH 14, AUSTIN PEAY 5
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - With a number of storylines entering the ballgame Sunday, the Tennessee Tech baseball team made sure to give them all a happy ending with a 14-5 victory over in-state rival Austin Peay at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
Most importantly, Sunday was Senior Day, with nine members of the purple and gold being honored prior to first pitch in a special ceremony to recognize their dedication over the years to Tennessee Tech baseball. Starting pitcher Connor Adams, designated hitter John Dyer, first baseman Golston Gillespie, right-handed pitcher Logan Hewitt, left fielder Jason Hinchman, left-handed pitcher Daniel Holley, third baseman Gabe Lacy, right-handed hurler Brock Myers, and right-handed pitcher Tyler Sylvester were all honored on the day.
Things looked a little bleak early on for the fans of the purple and gold, with Austin Peay plating five runs, including four unearned, in the top of the second inning. The Golden Eagles immediately flipped the script and never looked back, getting one back immediately in the bottom half on their way to 14 unanswered runs.
Drawing three consecutive walks to load the bases, Tech sent shortstop Ed Johnson to the dish to start the comeback. The slugger delivered, ripping a line drive off the outstretched glove of the Govs' second baseman into center field for an RBI single.
Austin Peay got out the inning, but control issues would want the visitors again in the third. Hinchman led things off with a double down the left-field line. Right fielder Ryan Guardino got plunked next and catcher Will Long followed by drawing a walk to fill the bags again.
After back-to-back punchouts, the Tech bats went to work, with second baseman Nick Spardone sparking the rally. The junior ripped a two-run double down the left-field line on a 1-2 count, his first extra-base hit of the season, cutting the deficit to 5-3.
Not satisfied, center fielder Austin Turner collected a free pass to load the bases once more. With Johnson threatening at the dish, the Govs threw back-to-back wild pitches to allow Long and Spardone to score and tie the game at 5-5.
While Austin Peay was able to escape the inning from further damage, the Golden Eagles were far from done. The patience at the plate continued for Tech in the fourth, with Lacy leading things off with a single to left field. Hinchman followed with the go-ahead base knock, slapping a single through the right side as Lacy took off with the pitch and pulled the second baseman with him.
Running early, Lacy rounded second and took the send from third-base coach Todd Miller around third. The Gulfport, Miss. native dove with a headfirst slide, just beating the tag from the Gov catcher to put Tech on top for good, 6-5.
Guardino followed with a five-pitch walk, as did Long to load the bases. Austin Peay went to its bullpen, but it didn't matter, as Dyer dug in and also collected a five-pitch free trip to first, driving in a run.
After a second out, Spardone continued the trend with a walk on four pitches to score another run for an 8-5 lead. Turner came on and delivered the knock-out punch, uncorking a monster swing on a 1-0 offering. The sophomore crushed a grand slam to right-center field for his fourth round-tipper of the season and second in as many games, pushing Tech out front 12-5.
For good measure, a pair of Golden Eagles took one last trot around the bags in 2022, adding solo blasts in the seventh and eighth frames. Johnson crushed a bomb to left-center field to lead off the bottom of the seventh, his 11th jack of the year. Gillespie hammered a rainbow to right-center field in the eighth, his 11th of the year and 24th of his career, moving into a tie for 15th in program history with David Garza and Matt Attaway.
Matt Gelorme (3-2) took home the win after two-and one-third masterful innings out of the bullpen, holding the Govs to two base runners and without a hit while striking out three. An injury forced his early retirement from the contest, but righty Colt Taylor was quick to take over right where Gelorme left off.
The sophomore covered the next three and one-third innings, scattering two hits and a walk while fanning three and keeping the Govs off the scoreboard. Right-hander Frankie Cresta closed out the tilt for the purple and gold, spanning the final five outs with just one hit allowed. He struck out a trio before inducing the game-ending ground out to second.
Johnson led the way offensively in the contest, finishing 3-for-5 with a pair of RBI and a run scored. Lacy and Hinchman each tallied a pair of hits while Gillespie, Spardone, and Turner all gathered one. Turner paced the team with four RBI while Spardone added three. As a team, the Golden Eagles drew 10 walks, the second most by the team this season. Seven different players earned a free pass for the Cookeville crew.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 15, UT MARTIN 2
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri (33-17, 15-6) registered 14 hits en route to throttling UT Martin (11-34, 4-20), 15-2, to win the series Sunday at Capaha Field.
SEMO finished the 2022 campaign with a program record 23-2 record at home. The Redhawks also claimed their 11th series win matching the most series victories in a season with Andy Sawyers at the helm.
The Redhawks didn't take long to hand the Skyhawks their 34th loss of the season and 20th in league play.
Already ahead, 6-0, after scoring two runs in the first and four in the second, SEMO tacked on five more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Ben Palmer scored Lincoln Andrews on a bunt single. Palmer later scored an unearned run with the help of an error. Tyler Wilber added a two-RBI double and Brett Graber scored on a wild pitch to extend the Redhawks lead to 11-2.
SEMO wasn't done there.
A two-RBI double by Danny Sperling pushed across a pair of runs in the sixth and a solo home run by Jevon Mason and double by Andrew Keck tacked on another two runs in the eighth inning to put the exclamation point on the 15-2 victory.
The Redhawks scored double-digit runs for the 15th time and pounded out 10 or more hits for the 23rd time this season.
Ethan Osborne (2-1) pitched six innings with four strikeouts. Osborne allowed only two runs on three hits and walked just one, as well.
Matt Dickey (1-7) was roughed up for six runs on four hits in just 1.1 innings.
Six Redhawks, including Mason, Keck, Andrews, Spencer Parker, Sperling and Palmer, had two hits. Mason (4), Graber (3), Andrews (3), Parker (3) and Palmer (2) each posted multiple runs. Wilber and Keck contributed three and four RBI, respectively.
WESTERN ILLINOIS 17, MURRAY STATE 6
MURRAY, Ky. - Murray State (28-22) baseball fell to Western Illinois 17-6 on Sunday afternoon at Johnny Reagan Field in Murray, Kentucky. The Racers won the series over the Leathernecks after taking the first two games of the series before dropping the finale.
Jordan Holly led the Racers in the contest, reaching base five times with three hits and two walks. Bryson Bloomer collected two more hits on the day to go with three RBIs. Bloomer had multi-hit performances across all three games of the series and now has 65 RBIs on the year. Jake Slunder added two hits while raising his batting average to .330 on the season. Shortstop Drew Vogel blasted his seventh home run of the season just inside the left-field foul pole in the fifth inning.