SUNDAY'S SCORES
Southern Indiana 12, @Lindenwood 9
@Morehead State 10-4, Tennessee Tech 7-3
@Southeast Missouri 17, Little Rock 6
@UT Martin 10, SIUE 6
Butler 6-2,
@Eastern Illinois 5-0
SOUTHERN INDIANA 12, LINDENWOOD 9
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - University of Southern Indiana Baseball recorded its first Ohio Valley Conference win and snapped an 11-game losing streak with a thrilling 12-9 win at Lindenwood University Sunday afternoon in St. Charles, Missouri. USI watched its record go to 8-20, 1-5 in the OVC, while Ball State goes to 5-23, 2-4 OVC.
The Screaming Eagles had command of the game for the first seven-and-a-half innings of action by building a 9-4 lead. USI scored three in the first for a 3-0 advantage; increase the lead to 6-3 after six frames with one in the fifth and two in the sixth; and appeared to have sealed the victory with three in the top of the eighth for a 9-4 lead.
Lindenwood, however, bounced back to tie the game, 9-9, with a five-run eighth inning and set the stage for USI's three-run, game-winning rally in the ninth.
The Eagles regained the lead, 10-9, when junior rightfielder Steven Molinet (Elberfeld, Indiana) singled in junior first baseman Jack Ellis (Jeffersonville, Indiana), who had doubled to lead off the inning. Molinet, who reached third on a single by junior second baseman Nolan Cook (Edwardsville, Indiana), crossed the plate on a wild pitch to re-extend the lead to 11-9.
Cook would score the final tally of the game and capped off the 12-9 final on ground out by junior leftfielder Gavin McLarty (Buckner, Kentucky).
For the game, USI was led at the plate by senior second baseman/catcher Lucas McNew (Floyds Knobs, Indiana), who was four-for-five with two runs scored and three RBIs. McNew's three RBIs moves him into a tie for eighth all-time with former USI All-American Kevin Brown (1992-94) with 145, while climbing to 10th all-time at USI in doubles with his fifth inning two-bagger.
On the mound, USI freshman left-hander Will Kiesel (Wadesville, Indiana) picked up the victory in relief. Kiesel (1-1) got the Eagles out of the eighth inning with the scored tied at 9-9 before throwing a scoreless ninth inning, striking out two in his 1.1 frames.
MOREHEAD STATE 10-4, TENNESSEE TECH 7-3
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State baseball team roared back Sunday after dropping Saturday's series opener, sweeping the doubleheader and taking the series over Tennessee Tech to move to 5-1 in the OVC. Ryley Preece led the way with a three-homer day across two games. Exactly one year ago to the day (April 2, 2022), Preece had a three-homer game vs. Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, and matched it 365 days later.
Grant Herron was dominant in game one Sunday, striking out 10 Tennessee Tech hitters over five innings of work to help propel the Morehead State Eagles past the Golden Eagles 10-7.
In addition to his 10 strikeouts, Herron tossed five innings, giving up five runs, three earned, on four hits and walking four for Morehead State (14-12, 5-1 OVC). Senior Matt Bettio (1-0) also made an impact on the mound for the Eagles, throwing 1.2 shutout innings while allowing no hits. Bettio came in with the bases loaded and got the Eagles out of a jam. Jarrett Miller came out of the bullpen for the ninth inning for a scoreless frame, notching his sixth save of the season.
In the batter's box, the Eagles were paced by junior Ryley Preece, who went 4-for-4 on the day with two home runs, a walk and five RBI. Junior Jackson Feltner put together a standout performance at the dish as well, going 3-for-4 with a double and a walk. Junior Roman Kuntz also helped out for Morehead State, putting together one hit in four trips to the plate while adding a double and an RBI.
The Eagles got the scoring started early, putting one run on the board in the bottom the first inning with the game still scoreless. Morehead State managed to push across two runs in the inning thanks to great baserunning, as Ryley Preece scored on a wild pitch before Jackson Feltner trotted home in a designed delayed steal by Nick Gooden, who was at first base.
The Golden Eagles then tied the ballgame at two before the Eagles came back to reclaim their advantage in the fourth inning. Morehead State scored three runs, all of them coming on a three-run homer off the bat of Preece, scoring Carter Owens and Isaias Guzman, which brought the Eagles lead to 5-2.
Morehead State's lead had disappeared by the time the seventh inning came around and turned into a 7-5 Tennessee Tech advantage, when the Eagles evened up the game at seven. The Eagles scored two runs off of Tennessee Tech pitching, punctuated by a run-scoring double off the bat of Kuntz.
With the game tied in the bottom of the eighth, Morehead State retook the lead. Isaias Guzman laid down a sacrifice bunt that gave Morehead State an 8-7 lead, before the three-run frame was punctuated by a two-run homer from Preece -- his second of the game -- that moved the Morehead State advantage to 10-7. The score remained 10-7 for the rest of the game, as the Eagles held on for the win.
After two high scoring games, a pitcher's duel capped a wildly competitive series between Morehead State and Tennessee Tech, as MSU took the rubber match and the series in Sunday's finale. Luke Helton recorded five strikeouts in 6.2 innings of work in the Morehead State Eagles 4-3 win over the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles on Sunday.
Helton's 6.2 innings marked his second straight start of more than six innings of work.
Ryley Preece led the way offensively for the Eagles, going 1-for-3 with a three-run blast. Colton Becker put together a noteworthy day at the dish as well, going 2-for-2 with a double, walk, and two stolen bases. Chase Vinson also chipped in, going 1-for-3 for Morehead State with an RBI.
Trailing 1-0, the Eagles first put runs on the board in the fifth inning. Morehead State's offense started clicking and put up four runs, including a three-run home run off the bat of Preece. Tennessee Tech put two runs on the scoreboard before the game was over, but the Eagles called on Riley Bradshaw with two outs in the seventh and the tying run at third, and he delivered to record his first save as an Eagle.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 17, LITTLE ROCK 6
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri (16-14, 5-1 OVC) completed the series sweep of Little Rock (13-11, 3-3 OVC) on Sunday afternoon at Capaha Field as the Redhawks took game three by a final score of 17-6 in eight innings.
New to college baseball this season, on Sundays, a 10-run rule has been implemented as the Redhawks scored four runs in the bottom of the eighth to go up 11, ending the game with no outs in the inning.
Second baseman Chance Resetich paced the way for the Redhawks offense going 4-for-5 at the plate, including a pair of RBIs and a triple. He scored two runs in the contest.
SEMO did not take long to get on the board. With runners on the corners in the first, Josh Cameron grounded into a double play, plating Mason, to give the Redhawks a 1-0 lead.
Back-to-back RBI singles by Danny Sperling and Jevon Mason, and Resetich's triple in the second inning plated four runs for the Redhawks as the lead grew to 5-0.
Mason had a great day at the plate going 3-for-4 with an RBI and three runs scored.
A sac-fly by Peyton Leeper would give the Redhawks their sixth run of the ballgame in the third inning, scoring Carlos Aranda.
After three innings, the Redhawks led 6-0.
Little Rock made things interesting in the top of inning six as leadoff hitter Alex Seguine hit a three-run homerun to left field to cut the Redhawks lead to just three.
LR center fielder Tyler Williams went back-to-back with Seguine, this one a solo shot to right field.
With the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh, a bases clearing RBI double by first baseman Lincoln Andrews led to a seven run, seventh inning and busted the game wide open to give SEMO its fourth-straight conference victory.
Andrews finished the day going 3-for-5 including three RBIs as the big lefty reinserted himself in the Redhawks lineup all weekend following a stint with an upper-body injury.
LHP Haden Dow (2-1) got the win in the contest. The Canadian left-hander pitched five complete innings allowing just two runs on three hits. Dow struck out six en route to his second victory of the season.
Andrews, Leeper, and center fielder Brett Graber all recorded three RBIs in Sunday's contest.
LR's Noah Burkey (0-1) took the loss in the contest pitching just 1.2 innings. He allowed five earned runs over 10 batters faced.
UT MARTIN 10, SIUE 6
MARTIN, Tenn. - Senior Jack Culumovic blasted a first-inning grand slam and the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball squad never looked back, defeating Ohio Valley Conference rival SIUE by a 10-6 margin at Skyhawk Field.
Making his first start since March 18, Culumovic's majestic grand slam gave him a career-high four RBI's as the Simpsonville, SC native clubbed his second round-tripper of the year. Mac Danford and Cameron Brady also went deep for UT Martin (9-20), who improved to 4-2 in OVC play for just the second time in school history (first time since 2006).
Hunter McLean (2-for-3, two runs scored) joined Brady (2-for-3, two runs scored, two RBI's) and Danford (2-for-3, two RBI's, one run scored) with multi-hit outings. Will Smith also scored a pair of runs for the Skyhawks.
Eric Steensma (2-1) went six innings today for UT Martin, striking out five batters while scattering six hits with just one walk. J. Henry Hobson picked up his second save of the 2023 campaign after going the final three innings, firing 32 of his 46 pitches for strikes.
After Steensma breezed through a scoreless top of the first, the Skyhawks put up a four-spot in the bottom half. Andrew Fernandez, Smith and McLean all drew walks to load the bases for Culumovic, who deposited the eighth pitch of his at-bat beyond the wall in right center.
Steensma struck out the first two batters he faced in the second, retiring the side in order. UT Martin added another run in the bottom half when Danford – who won Game 2 of the series with a walk-off hit in the ninth inning – accounted for a solo homer to make the score 5-0.
The Cougars (16-10, 2-4 OVC) got on the scoreboard in the third inning but the Skyhawks responded with three more runs in the bottom of the frame. Jonah Wichman was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and advanced 90 feet on a McLean single. In his next plate appearance after the grand slam, Culumovic executed a perfect sacrifice bunt to move two runners into scoring position. That allowed Nate Self (groundout), Brady (double) and Danford (single) to each pick up RBI's and push UT Martin's lead out to 8-1.
Steensma blanked SIUE for each of the next two innings, pitching around a leadoff double that was lost in the sun in the fourth with a pair of strikeouts. He then induced a double play and needed just a dozen pitches to get through a scoreless fifth.
Brady – Steensma's battery mate – extended the Skyhawk advantage out to 9-1 with a solo homer in the bottom of the fifth for his first longball of the season.
The Cougars scored three times in the sixth but UT Martin got one run back in the bottom half. Smith singled and stole his fourth bag of the season before coming around to score on a Wichman single.
Hobson entered the game in the seventh and promptly retired the first eight batters he faced. The sophomore righty from Fort Myers, Fla. did not allow a ball out of the infield in the seventh and needed just 10 pitches to induce three more groundouts in the eighth. He then struck out a pair of batters in the ninth to seal the Skyhawk victory.
BUTLER 6-2, EASTERN ILLINOIS 5-0
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois baseball (15-8, 1-2 OVC) played the first of two games against Butler (6-20, 0-0 Big East) at Coaches Stadium on Sunday morning to the tune of a 14 inning game. EIU battled but fell to the Bulldogs 5-6 in 14 innings.
It marked the longest game for an EIU team since 2012 when Eastern Illinois and Austin Peay played a 17 inning game. Logan Eickhoff went 3-5 in game one while Grant Lashure delivered a huge two RBI double in the ninth inning.
Starting pitcher Ky Matthews-Hampton (ND) was a no decision after throwing in 6.0 innings and allowing two runs on eight hits with three strikeouts. Aaron Barokas (W, 2-2) earned the win for Butler while Colton Coca (1-1) suffered the loss.
Eastern Illinois held the early lead against the Bulldogs after scoring the first two runs in the third and fifth innings. Ignoffo hit a sacrifice fly to center to score one run while Joey Hagen had an RBI double to score Lincoln Riley in the fifth for a 2-0 lead.
Hampton allowed just five hits through the first five innings of work before giving up the tying runs in the top of the sixth inning. Kyle Van Liere had an RBI double for the first run and Cade Vota had a suicide squeeze that worked the even the game at two each.
The bats would go cold for the Panthers in the seventh and eighth innings as the Butler offense added a run in each of the next three innings to extend their lead to 5-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning.
EIU wouldn't shy away from a challenge after Lashure delivered his two RBI double to cut the lead to one. The final run came via Kolten Poorman who would enter the game with a pinch hit RBI single to tie teh game at 5-5.
The Panthers and Bulldogs would go on to play five more innings of baseball, reaching the 14 inning in the process. Barokas would pitch a strong 4.2 innings in relief while Dawson Taylor earned a save in the bottom of the 14th inning for Butler.
Zane Robbins also had a nice day on the mound after throwing in the 10th and 11th frames and allowing just two hits with four strikeouts. At last, Butler pulled through in the 14th inning off of Colton Coca to end the game.
EIU would score five runs on 13 hits with three errors while Butler scored six runs on 17 hits with two errors.
Eastern Illinois baseball (15-9, 1-2 OVC) finished off their double header with Butler (7-20, 0-0 Big East) with a 2-0 loss in seven innings. Game two on Sunday was shortened due to the first game reaching into the 14th inning.
The Panthers offense only managed four hits in the loss. Jared Evans added two of those hits including a double. Lincoln Riley and Nicholas Rucker also had singles in the game.
Blake Malatestinic (L, 2-2) suffered the loss after throwing in 6.0 innings on Sunday and allowing two runs on six hits with three strikeouts. Cole Graverson (W, 1-3) earned his first win of the season after throwing in 5.0 innings and allow just one hit with five strikeouts.
After a scoreless first inning by both teams, Butler broke out the only home run of the double header after Xavier Carter hit a solo shot to right field with two outs off of Malatestinic. EIU would get runners on second and third in the bottom of the inning but failed to produce runs.
With two outs in the bottom of the fourth, Ben Gallaher reached first by an error by Butler. Gallaher's error eventually would lead to a throw by their shortstop to home to throw Evans out at the plate to keep EIU off the board.
Butler would score their final run of the afternoon off of a Malatestinic wild pitch which scored Joey Urban. Graverson did not allow a base runner in the final three innings of the game for Butler.