FRIDAY'S SCORES
Southern Indiana 11, Western Illinois 5 (Millington, Tenn.)
@Tennessee Tech 1, Bowling Green 0
@Little Rock 9, South Dakota State 6
Eastern Illinois 8, @Florida A&M 7 (10)
Southeast Missouri 11, @Central Arkansas 3
@Nicholls 4,
Lindenwood 0
SIUE 2, @Incarnate Word 0
SOUTHERN INDIANA 11, WESTERN ILLINOIS 5
MILLINGTON, Tenn. - University of Southern Indiana Baseball opened its NCAA Division I 2023 campaign and a four-game series with an 11-5 victory Western Illinois University Friday afternoon at USA Stadium in Millington, Tennessee. The Screaming Eagles start the year 1-0, while Western Illinois begins 0-1.
After spotting the Leathernecks a tally in the first inning, the Eagles exploded for three runs in the third when junior third baseman Lane Crowden (Jackson, Missouri) tripled with the bases loaded to give USI a 3-1 lead after three frames.
Western Illinois responded by loading the bases in the top of the fourth with one out, but USI was able to escape without any damage when junior second baseman Alex Archuleta (Evansville, Indiana), sophomore shortstop Alex Van Grieken (Venezuela), and junior first baseman Tucker Ebest (Austin, Texas) combined for a 4-6-3 double play.
USI's 3-1 lead would last until the fifth when Western Illinois hit back-to-back home runs to tie the game 3-3. The Eagles got the lead back, 4-3, with a home run of their own when Ebest slammed a shot over the right field wall.
The Leathernecks would regain the lead, 5-4, in the top of the sixth with a pair of tallies with two outs. WIU would hold that lead briefly as USI replied with a four-run bottom half of the frame to regain the advantage, 8-5.
The four-run sixth for USI was highlighted by a two-run blast by senior catcher Lucas McNew (Floyds Knobs, Indiana).
The Eagles would strike again in the bottom of the seventh and seal the victory with three more runs to increase the margin to 11-5. McNew led the way for the second-straight frame, crushing a two-run double down the left field line, while USI scored a third run in the inning on a ground out by Ebest.
For the game, McNew and Crowden led the way for USI by combining to drive in seven of the 11 USI runs. McNew had four of the RBIs on the home run and double, while Crowden was three-for-three with a the three-run triple.
On the mound, junior left-hander Blake Ciuffetelli (Newburgh, Indiana) picked up the first win of the year in relief. Ciuffetelli (1-0) pitched a third of the sixth inning, stopping the WIU two-run rally.
USI sophomore right-hander Gavin Morris (Brazil, Indiana) finished the game for the Eagles to earn the save. Morris threw three scoreless innings, allowing one hit and a walk, while striking out two.
TENNESSEE TECH 1, BOWLING GREEN 0
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Neither the brutal cold nor Bowling Green could stand in the way of the Tennessee Tech baseball team securing the win Friday evening, as the Golden Eagles claimed a 1-0 pitcher's dual at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex in the season opener.
Braving temperatures in the 30's and whipping wind, the Tech squad turned to junior hurler Peyton Calitri to get the 2023 campaign started in style and the veteran right-hander delivered a spectacular showing. Tossing five innings, Calitri held the Falcon bats to just four hits without issuing a walk and while fanning six.
The Golden Eagles jumped on the board in the second inning, turning in what would prove to be the lone run of the ball game. Catcher Hayden Gilliland led off the frame by getting plunked with a pitch on a 2-2 count.
Second baseman Eddie Garza followed by smashing a ground ball that bounced off the outstretched glove of the Falcons' diving second baseman and rolled into foul territory, allowing Garza to reach second safely with a double. With Gilliland sitting just 90 feet away at third, right fielder Theo Bryant IV provided the game-winning play, sending a towering fly to right-center field for a sacrifice fly.
Calitri used his defense to help him out of the one inning Bowling Green truly posed a threat to score, escaping a bases-loaded jam in the fourth with no outs. Following a pitching visit, the Collierville, Tenn. native induced a ground ball to third baseman Peyton Mills, who made a perfect throw home for the force out.
On a 1-1 count, the junior forced a fly ball by the next Bowling Green batter to center fielder Nicho Jordan. Camped under the relatively shallow fly, Jordan got a great start on his throw to Gilliland, sending a perfect one-hopper to the plate to nab the Falcon base runner trying to score for an inning-ending double play.
Right-hander Hunter Mann took over on the hill in the sixth inning, working around a walk to the first batter of the frame to record three straight outs. The junior continued to pitch effectively the rest of the way, finishing the next three innings to pick up a save and secure the victory for Calitri. Mann struck out four batters while allowing just one hit.
Mill led all batters in the contest with a pair of hits, including Tech's first triple of the year. The 1-0 shutout by the Golden Eagles marked the team's first 1-0 win since defeating Ohio Valley Conference foe SIUE by the same score back on Mar. 28, 2013.
LITTLE ROCK 9, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 6
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The Trojans won on opening day for the third time in four seasons on Friday. Little Rock was able to jump on the Jackrabbits early and hold on for an eventual 9-6 win.
Newcomer Skyler Trevino jump-started the offense with two outs in the bottom of the first inning. The Whitehouse, Texas native took the 2-1 offering and crushed it over the right field fence, bringing home Tyler Williams and Luke Pectol in the process to give the Trojans a 3-1 lead.
From there the Trojans didn't look back, after a 1-2-3 top of the second from starter Jackson Wells Little Rock went back on the attack. Taking advantage of Jackrabbit miscues to load the bases with no outs in the bottom of the second. After Nico Baumbach worked a walk to score a run, junior Noah Brewer roped a double into left field to score two more runs. Trevino would then ground out to second base, bringing home another run, and Brewer would score on a wild pitch two batters later. By the time the Trojans were finished they had a commanding 8-1 lead through the first two innings.
South Dakota State would strike back in the top of the third with a solo homerun by Ryan McDonald to cut the deficit to six, but Wells kept his composure and struck out the side in the inning.
Both offenses quieted briefly as the teams settled in before a grand slam by the Jackrabbits in the top of the fifth brought them to within two runs.
Senior Austin Stubber came in out of the bullpen in the sixth and was able to stifle a potential South Dakota State rally when he snagged a line drive back up the middle before flipping the ball to second base to turn an inning ending double play. He then threw a perfect seventh inning, facing the minimum, before handing the ball over the Jacob Weatherley to close out the final two innings.
Little Rock would add an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. Alex Seguine led off the inning by working a walk and then advanced on two balls in play before Baumbach shot a single into right field with two outs to bring home the Trojan shortstop.
Weatherley would cap the game off with a 1-2-3 ninth inning which included two groundouts and a looking strikeout to end the battle.
Stubber was credited with the win, his first as a Trojan, for his efforts in the middle innings. He faced just seven batters in his two innings of work, allowing only one hit and zero runs.
Weatherley received the save and also pitched two innings for Little Rock, allowing just one hit and striking out three.
Wells was impressive in his Trojan debut. The sophomore transfer from UA Rich Mountain completed four innings of work, giving up just one earned run on three hits while striking out seven Jackrabbit hitters.
Trevino led the way for the offense, going 1-for-3 with four RBI including the first runs for the Trojans in the 2023 season. His first inning homer was the first time that the Trojans have had a homerun on opening day since 2019.
Baumbach was the sole Trojan to collect multiple hits on the day, going 2-for-4 at the plate while bringing in two RBI of his own and scoring once.
Brewer collected two RBI in his 1-for-5 performance with his double in the second inning. He would also go on to score a run for the Trojans in that same inning.
Pectol, Seguine and Williams all scored twice in today's game. The trio reached base seven times in their combined 11 plate apparances.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 8, FLORIDA A&M 7 (10)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Eastern Illinois (1-0, 0-0 OVC) take care of business on the opening day of the 2023 baseball season with a win over Florida A&M (0-1, 0-0 SWAC) by a final score of 8-7 in 10 innings. Ja'Lil Akbar delivers the go-ahead RBI in the top of the 10th to give EIU their first win of the season.
Zane Robbins earns the win after throwing the last two innings of the ballgame and delivering four strikeouts while just allowing one run. Cole Gober also went three for six in his EIU debut with his first home run in a Panther uniform.
The Panthers opened up their season hot by scoring in the first two innings. Lincoln Riley had himself a single to start the 2023 season and was driven home by Ryan Ignoffo in the first to earn his first RBI of the day. Gober, in his first career at-bat, hit a shot down the right field line for a home run to give EIU the early 2-0 lead.
Starting pitcher Blake Malatestinic would give up back-to-back home runs in the third to give FAMU to 4-2 lead. Malatestinic would go 5.1 innings in his season debut while allowing nine hits, four earned runs and had two strikeouts.
Eastern Illinois would keep battling as they put together a three-run fourth inning to regain the lead. With the bases loaded, Riley reached safely on a fielder's choice but secured the RBI. After a Lucas DiLuca walk, Ignoffo was hit-by-pitch to drive home another run. Nicholas Rucker would earn the third run after a fielder's choice to put EIU back up 5-4.
FAMU would hit their third home run of the day off Malatestinic in the fifth after Jared Weber hit a two-run long ball to take the lead. Mac Hickman would replace Malatestinic in the sixth. Hickman went 2.2 scoreless innings of work for EIU.
Both teams struggled to drive in runs in the seventh and eighth innings with EIU leading five runners left on base and FAMU leaving one stranded. Eastern had a total of 18 runners left on base to FAMU'S nine.
In the top of the ninth, Kolten Poorman, Ja'Lil Akbar and Lucas DiLuca would load the bases for Ignoffo who was hit by a pitch for the second time and would deliver his third RBI of the game. Rucker would then hit a sac fly to score Akbar and give EIU the one run advantage (7-6).
Closer Robbins would enter the game in the ninth for the Panthers. After loading the bases with two walks and an error, FAMU would tie the game with a pass ball. Robbins would get out of the jam with two strikeouts to end the ninth.
The top of the 10th saw Ja'Lil Akbar deliver the go-ahead run to score Logan Eickhoff from third to give EIU the 8-7 lead. Robbins would come back in and close out the game with two groundouts and a strikeout.
FAMU's Weber had two home runs in the game while Ty Hanchey delivered another. The losing pitcher on the afternoon was Caleb Grander (0-1) after giving up one run and two hits in the 10th.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 11, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 3
CONWAY, Ark. - Southeast Missouri (1-0) pounded out 13 hits in a dominating 11-3 season-opening win over Central Arkansas (0-1) Friday.
SEMO scored its most runs in a season-opener in 13 years when the Redhawks began the 2010 campaign with a 13-8 victory over SEC member Auburn.
The Redhawks complemented their strong pitching with a lot of offense. Eight different players got a hit and the top four hitters in SEMO's lineup combined for seven runs.
In his first career opening day start, left-hander Noah Niznik set the tone on the mound. Niznik pitched a 1-2-3 first inning and struck out five in a row, including the side in the bottom of the third. He worked 4.2 innings with seven strikeouts and allowed two runs. The seven strikeouts matched a career-high for Niznik.
SEMO's offense went to work in the second inning and never let up.
Josh Cameron led off with a double down the left field line. Danny Sperling reached on two-out walk and Brett Graber followed with a double to score Cameron for SEMO's first run of the season. An error on the play also allowed Sperling to score giving the Redhawks a 2-0 advantage.
Chance Resetich's two-out double gave the Redhawks a spark in what turned out to be a four-run fourth. Graber and Sperling both walked to load the bases before Jevon Mason ripped a bases clearing double to left. Aided by another UCA error, Carlos Aranda stepped in and delivered a single that scored Mason putting SEMO ahead, 6-0.
A five-run sixth inning came after that. Sperling singled and Graber walked. Lincoln Andrews singled home Sperling. Ty Stauss reached on an error and both Mason and Andrews scored. Peyton Leeper then doubled home ameron and Stauss to run the Redhawks lead to 11-2.
UCA scored just twice in the fourth and once more in the seventh.
Hunter Ralls (1-0) picked up the win in relief. Ralls struck out one and allowed two hits in 3.1 innings.
Trent Gregson (0-1) took the loss. Gregson gave up four runs on five hits, struck out four and walked three in 3.2 innings.
SEMO outhit UCA, 13-8.
Four Redhawks had multiple hits with Cameron leading the way going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a double. Graber, Mason and Andrew followed with two hits each. Mason added three RBI and two runs scored, as well.
The Redhawks won their third-straight season-opener under Head Coach Andy Sawyers.
NICHOLLS 4, LINDENWOOD 0
THIBODAUX, La. - In the first game of the 2023 season, the Lindenwood baseball team (0-1) lost 4-0 to Nicholls State (1-0) on Friday night in Thibobaux, La.
The Lindenwood pitching staff had a good showing in the first game, as Preston Salazar collected seven strikeouts in four innings pitched. The Lions tallied 10 strikeouts as a staff, and allowed just one walk. Junior Brett Bowers led the way offensively for the Lions, going 1-for-3 in the ballgame with a walk.
Nicholls State went up 2-0 after the second inning, and added a run in the fourth, and another in the seventh frame. Lindenwood did not advance a runner past second base in the game. The Lions went 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position, last placing a runner as far as second in the eighth, when junior Tyson Ludwig made it into scoring position with one out. Lindenwood had two runners on base in the eighth inning, but failed to produce runs in the road loss on Friday.
SIUE 2, INCARNATE WORD 0
SAN ANTONIO - Jake Bockenstedt struck out seven over six scoreless innings Friday and combined with Garrett Helsel and Zeus Ponder on a five-hit shutout as SIUE baseball picked up a 2-0 win at Incarnate Word to open the 2023 season.
Bockenstedt worked out of a jam right out of the gate. The Cardinals put the first two on base thanks to a hit and a hit by pitch. With runners on second and third and two outs, Bockenstedt fanned Rey Mendoza to end the inning and then proceeded to strike out the next five hitters he faced over the next two innings.
Freshman Chase Bloomer drove home the first run of the year in the fourth inning. Bloomer reached on a fielder's choice which drove home Avery Owusu-Asiedu, who had walked to start the inning.
The Cougars doubled their lead in the fifth inning when Brennan Orf tripled to start the inning and then scored on a one-out double from Ole Arntson.
Helsel worked a perfect seventh inning before Incarnate Word threatened in the bottom of the eighth inning. With runners on second on third and one out, UIW catcher Hernan Yanez flied to right center field, where Owusu-Asiedu made the catch. Both runners tagged and Owusu-Asiedu unleashed a perfect throw to third base to catch Alec Carr at third keeping the Cardinals off the scoreboard.
Ponder gave up a hit and struck out one in the ninth to earn his first save of the year.
SIUE outhit Incarnate Word 7-5 with seven different Cougars finishing with a hit.
UIW starter Kayden Cassidy allowed both runs over four innings. He struck out five.