WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
Eastern Illinois 8, @Arkansas-Pine Bluff 2
Missouri State 7,
@Southeast Missouri 3
Southern Illinois 16,
@Southern Indiana 9
@Middle Tennessee 11,
Tennessee Tech 3
@Indiana 6,
Morehead State 5 (10)
EASTERN ILLINOIS 8, ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 2
PINE BLUFF, Ark. - Eastern Illinois baseball (10-4, 0-0 OVC) secured their sixth straight win of the season after an 8-2 Wednesday win over Arkansas Pine-Bluff (7-9, 0-0 SWAC). The win marked back-to-back season with at least 10 wins before their 15th game.
Lincoln Riley collected two hits during the game along with two RBI. Cade Zalewski also had two hits including his sixth home run of the season to lead EIU. Joey Hagen and Jared Evans also had doubles for the Panthers.
Nick Laxner (W, 1-0) earned his first win in three appearances this season after throwing the first five innings of the game, only allowing three hits and two runs with five strikeouts. Andre Greene (L, 2-2) suffered the loss for the Golden Lions after throwing one inning and allowing three runs.
Eastern's offense came to play early on in the first inning with three runs in the opening frame. Riley led off the inning with a single and stole a base before making his way to third on a wild pitch. After a Ryan Ignoffo walk, Riley would score on a passed ball by Pine Bluff.
Cole Gober would ground out to the shortstop but not before scoring Ignoffo in the process. Hagen would add the final RBI in the inning with a double to bring home Evans and give EIU a 3-0 lead. The Panthers have scored first in eight of their 10 wins this season.
Laxner retired the first six Golden Lions he faced in the first two innings including three strikeouts. EIU would tack on three more runs in the third. With the bases loaded, Evans would score on a wild pitch by Brandon Little. Riley would then single to right field to bring home two more Panthers.
Already with a 6-0 lead, Zalewski delivered his sixth home run of the season in the top of the fourth to push the lead to seven. Laxner would finish off the side heading into the fifth.
The Golden Lions would get on the board in the fifth after RBI singles by Aiden Martinez and Micah Brown to cut EIU's lead to 7-2. Laxner would end his day only allowing three hits.
Jack Potteiger entered the game for the Panthers in the sixth and go right to work recording three strikeouts in just two innings. EIU also turned a 6-4-3 double play in the sixth with Ja'Lil Akbar, Lucas DiLuca and Zalewski.
Hagen put the finishing touch on the game with a sac fly in the top of the ninth to score Gober for the eighth and final run. Closer Zane Robbins pitched the ninth for EIU and struck out two.
Eastern Illinois would score eight runs on 10 hits with no errors. The Golden Lions of Pine Bluff scored two runs on four hits with no errors.
MISSOURI STATE 7, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri (7-12) fell Wednesday afternoon to Missouri State (11-5) by a final score of 7-3 to conclude the midweek series.
Freshman RHP Eddie White got the nod in the series-finale. White, from Kansas City, Mo., threw three complete innings surrendering just four hits and registering two strikeouts over 13 batters.
White (0-1) took the loss in the contest.
The Redhawks offense registered eight hits, led by Lincoln Andrews and Nolan Ackerman with two a piece, but could only scratch across three runs.
The Redhawks tallied runs in the first, fifth, and seventh innings in the ball game beginning with a single to right field off the bat of Andrews who recorded his 16th RBI of the season.
Third baseman Chance Resetich singled to the MSU short stop in the fifth inning to plate the second run of the contest for the Redhawks as Ackerman came in to score.
A wild pitch by Bears reliever Trey Ziegenbein in the bottom of the seventh inning plated the third and final run of the afternoon for SEMO as Resetich scored.
Resetich finished 1-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.
SEMO used six pitchers following White, including an inning from RHP Collin Wilma who threw a flawless eighth inning.
Logan Katen went two complete innings out of the pen, surrendering just one hit over seven batters.
LHP Jeb Callaghan made his second appearance of the season out of the Redhawks bullpen, pitching a third-of-an-inning in relief of Gavin Johnston.
MSU's Forrest Barnes (1-0) threw five complete innings and took the win Wednesday.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 16, SOUTHERN INDIANA 9
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Baseball had control early, but could not hold off Southern Illinois University, 16-9, Wednesday afternoon at the USI Baseball Field. USI watched its record go to 7-10, while SIU goes to 8-10.
The Screaming Eagles flew out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning and extended the margin to as many as 6-1 after the first three frames. SIU rallied to tie the score, 6-6, in the seventh, before the Eagles regain the lead, 9-6, with a three run seventh.
The Salukis maintained the momentum, closing the gap to one, 9-8, with a pair of unearned tallies in the eighth before exploding for eight in the ninth for the 16-9 victory.
Offensively at the plate, senior second baseman Lucas McNew (Floyds Knobs, Indiana), junior first baseman Tucker Ebest (Austin, Texas), junior designated hitter Jack Ellis (Jeffersonville, Indiana), and junior leftfielder Drew Taylor (Jeffersonville, Indiana) led the way with two RBIs each.
USI sophomore right-hander Riley Harris (Calvert City, Kentucky) took the loss for the Eagles, allowing three runs without getting an out in the ninth. Harris (0-1) was one of nine USI hurlers to throw in the game and one of three pitchers in the ninth.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 11, TENNESSEE TECH 3
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - An early deficit proved too much for the Tennessee Tech baseball team to overcome Wednesday evening, as the Golden Eagles fell to in-state rival Middle Tennessee, 11-3, at Reese Smith Jr. Field in Murfreesboro.
Both sides traded zeroes on the scoreboard over the opening three frames, but it was the Blue Raiders that struck first. In the bottom of the fourth, Middle Tennessee snagged a trio of runs to take a 3-0 advantage.
The home squad continued the offensive surge in the fifth, scoring twice to move out by five. Tech gathered its first response in the sixth, with back-to-back hit-by-pitches putting third baseman Peyton Mills and first baseman John Dyer on base for the purple and gold.
Left fielder Preston Ford provided the spark, sending an RBI single to left field to make it a 5-1 ball game. In the bottom half, the Blue Raiders looked to blow the game wide open, loading the bases with no outs and picking up a run on a walk.
Following the free pass, Tech reliever Brody Lanham locked things down, striking out the side to avoid further damage and keep the Golden Eagles within striking distance at 6-1. The Golden Eagle bats went back to work in the seventh, cutting the deficit to just two.
Catcher Hayden Gilliland drove in the first marker of the frame, singling to center field and advancing to third on an error. He scored later in the frame after Mills grounded out to shortstop, making it a three-run contest.
Middle Tennessee answered with a run in the bottom half and four more in the eighth to finish off the 11-3 decision. Designated hitter Troy Baunsgard, shortstop Nick Spardone, and Ford each recorded two hits in the contest to lead the offense.
INDIANA 6, MOREHEAD STATE 5 (10)
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Morehead State baseball team was unable to hold its late two-run lead vs. Indiana on Wednesday, falling on a walk-off single in the tenth inning.
Freshman Luke Lyman (0-1) came out of the bullpen for Morehead State (9-8) and took the loss. Freshman Riley Bradshaw was a bright spot for the Eagles, coming out of the bullpen as well and throwing 3.2 innings, giving up one run on two hits, with no walks and one strikeout. Joe Rotkis threw four solid innings for Morehead State in the loss.
Junior Jackson Feltner led the way offensively for the Eagles, going 2-for-5 in the ballgame with a home run, his team-leading sixth of the season. Jacob Ferry provided a noteworthy day at the dish as well, going 2-for-2 with a single and his first home run of the season. Chase Vinson finished 1-4 with an opposite field homer, his fifth of the season.
The Eagles got on the board immediately, starting the scoring with one run in the top of the first inning. Morehead State got an RBI single from junior Roman Kuntz, scoring Feltner from second base.
The Hoosiers then rallied to score two runs and take a 2-1 lead before the Eagles got back on the board in the third. Morehead State picked up a run on Ferry's leadoff home run off of freshman Whiteaker, which brought the score level at 2-2.
That 2-2 tie turned into a 3-2 Morehead State lead in the fourth when the Eagles added a run on Vinson's two-out solo home run off Ty Bothwell.
The Hoosiers tied the ballgame at three before Morehead State came back to retake their advantage in the eighth inning. The Eagles took a 5-3 lead on Jackson Feltner's two-run homer, but Indiana pushed across a run in the eighth and ninth before winning in walk-off fashion in the tenth.