TUESDAY'S SCORES
@Lindenwood 13, Saint Louis 8
SIUE 11, @Western Illinois 1
@Morehead State 9, Bellarmine 2
Tennessee Tech 12, @#19 Tennessee 5
Eastern Illinois 1, @Illinois 0 (12)
LINDENWOOD 13, SAINT LOUIS 8
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Freshman Landon Willbrand and sophomore Dawson Hokuf each collected three hits to help lead the Lindenwood baseball squad (9-28) to a win over Saint Louis (22-12) by a margin of 13-8 on Tuesday at Lou Brock Sports Complex.
Sophomore Bennett Stice (2-4) got the win out of the bullpen for Lindenwood. The right-hander went three innings, giving up two runs, both of them earned, on five hits, allowing no walks and striking out four. Freshman Jacob Brown also pitched well, going 3.2 innings, surrendering one run on two hits, walking one and striking out three.
In addition to his three hits, sophomore Marcus Heusohn had a double, a home run, a walk and three RBI to lead the Lions. Hokuf added an RBI to his three-hit performance as well. Senior Sam Kissane also contributed for Lindenwood, putting together two hits in six trips to the plate while adding a double and two RBI.
The Lions were trailing 3-0 in the second inning when they first put runs on the board. Lindenwood's offense started clicking and put up five runs, including a three-run home run off the bat of Heusohn.
After the Billikens rallied to tie the ballgame at five, the Lions came back to retake the lead in the fourth inning. The Lindenwood offense exploded for six runs, highlighted by a two-run single off the bat of senior Greg Sanders, which brought the score to 11-5 in favor of the Lions.
Saint Louis narrowed Lindenwood's lead to 11-8 before the Lions stretched the advantage to 13-8 in the seventh inning. The Lions picked up two runs off of Saint Louis pitching, punctuated by a run-scoring double from senior Joe Copeland. The score remained 13-8 for the rest of the game, as Lindenwood coasted to the win.
SIUE 11, WESTERN ILLINOIS 1
MACOMB, Ill. - Brennan Orf hit a pair of home runs and drove in three and Kyle Ratliff finished with four hits and three RBIs to lead SIUE to an 11-1 road win at Western Illinois in eight innings.
The Cougars are now 21-14. Western Illinois fell to 4-27.
SIUE scored in each of the first three innings. After an RBI-hit from Ratliff in the first, Josh Ohl, Avery Owusu-Asiedu, Ratliff and Braedyn Brewer all had RBIs in a six-run second inning. Orf blasted the first of his two home runs in the third inning, a two-run shot, to stretch the lead to 9-0.
Western Illinois loaded the bases with a hit, a walk and a hit batter against SIUE starter Zeus Ponder. A second walk forced in the Leathernecks' only run of the game.
Ponder (2-1) pitched three innings, allowing a run on two hits. He struck out two. Ian Benner and Jacob Kampf each worked two scoreless innings and Hayden Cooper pitched a scoreless eighth inning.
Braedyn Brewer picked up an RBI-hit in the sixth and Orf hit his second home run of the game in the eighth for the 11-1 final.
Ratliff was 4-5 with the three RBIs. Orf was 2-3 with the two home runs and two walks. He leads the Cougars with 12 homers. Ohl and Brewer each had a pair of hits.
The Cougars outhit the Leathernecks 11-3.
MOREHEAD STATE 9, BELLARMINE 2
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State baseball team played long-ball on Tuesday, smashing four home runs to kickoff the week with a 9-2 win over Bellarmine at Allen Field.
Roman Kuntz kicked off the home run derby with a solo shot in the first, his fourth homer of the year. Jackson Feltner, Isaias Guzman, and Ryley Preece all followed suit later in the game with homers of their own, as seven of MSU's nine runs came via the homer.
Senior Joe Rotkis (5-0) started on the mound and picked up the win for Morehead State (22-13). The right-hander went three shutout innings while giving up one hit, allowing one walk and striking out two. Senior Matt Bettio also made an impact on the mound for the Eagles, throwing two scoreless innings while allowing one hit, with no walks and two strikeouts. Eagle pitchers combined for eight total scoreless innings.
The Eagles got the scoring started early, putting one run on the board in the bottom the first inning with the game still scoreless. Kuntz put Morehead State on the board with a two-out solo home run.
The Eagles then held the Knights scoreless before expanding their lead in the fifth inning. Jackson Feltner launched his ninth home run of the season, a two-run blast to left that made the score 3-0.
Morehead State held Bellarmine scoreless before building their lead to 5-0 in the seventh inning. Morehead State recorded two runs, including one on a solo homer off the bat of senior Isaias Guzman, who has homered in back-to-back games.
The Knights gained ground, closing the gap to 5-2 until Morehead State added some insurance in the eighth. Colton Becker scored on a wild pitch, before Ryley Preece smashed his OVC-leading 13th home run of the season, a three-run shot that put an exclamation point on MSU's 22nd won of the year.
TENNESSEE TECH 12, #19 TENNESSEE 5
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - While not quite déjà vu, the Tennessee Tech baseball team was quite alright with picking up its second win over in-state foe Tennessee in as many years Tuesday evening, securing the 2023 version behind a decisive, 12-5 final score at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville.
Nearly a year to the day that the Golden Eagles (11-24) bested the No. 1 nationally-ranked Vols at Smokies Stadium, 3-2, in a wood-bat contest, Tech picked up another upset special over this year's No. 19 UT squad (23-14) in a very different fashion.
Unlike in 2022, when the purple and gold fought back from an early 2-0 deficit, this season's Cookeville crew took an early lead and never looked back, letting the offense set the tone for a number of impressive pitching performances.
The Tech offense was quick to strike in the Tuesday tilt, gathering three consecutive base hits from Troy Baunsgard, Hayden Gilliland, and Peyton Mills to open the night and chase the first of a whopping 11 Vol pitchers in the ball game. Designated hitter Will Long put the Golden Eagles on the board two batters later, drawing a bases-loaded walk for a 1-0 lead.
Tennessee got out of the opening frame without further damage, but two innings later, the purple and gold went back to work with the bats. In the third, Tech once again loaded the bags, this time with one out. Left fielder Preston Ford delivered for the purple and gold, ripping a two-run double to center field to make it a 3-0 advantage.
Right fielder Theo Bryant IV increased the advantage another run with an RBI single to center field and second baseman Eddie Garza brought the lead to 5-0 with a run-scoring base knock up the middle.
The Vols finally got on the board in the third, chasing Tech starter Colt Taylor with a couple of baserunners to open the frame. The right-hander finished his night with two innings of work and two earned runs allowed as Tennessee turned in a three-run home run off of Golden Eagle reliever Brock Smith as soon as he entered the game.
Still leading 5-3, Smith truly dug deep and put the Tech squad on his back putting together a spirited performance on the mound spanning five innings. The Vols picked up one on the southpaw in the fourth to pull within a single run, but the Golden Eagles made sure to give Smith some more breathing room in the sixth.
With two outs, Mills was plunked by a 1-2 offering, bringing first baseman John Dyer to the dish. The senior slugger lived up to the moment, crushing an 0-2 pitch and clearing the wall in left field for a two-run jack. Giving Tech a 7-4 lead, it marked Dyer's 10th long ball of the year and the 34th round-tripper of his Tech career, tying the Mt. Juliet native with Brandon Thomasson for seventh on the program's career home run charts.
With a scoreless fifth to his name, Smith locked down two more frames without surrendering a run. He finished the evening with five innings of work, four strikeouts, and three runs allowed, the final coming in the eighth. He also picked up the win.
The Vols chased Smith from the game with a lead-off walk to start the inning, eventually driving in the base runner to pull within a pair. Tyler Zarella covered the eighth with just one hit and a pair of punchouts to give the Tech offense one last chance at providing insurance.
The Golden Eagles bats did more than their part, erupting for a five-spot to leave no doubt in the 12-5 victory. After back-to-back base hits by Ford and Bryant, Austin Turner pinch hit and reached safely on a sac bunt that was muffed by the Vol first baseman.
With the bases loaded again, Baunsgard placed an RBI flair to center field to plate a run. With a chance at his fifth hit of the night, Gilliland produced at an elite level. The Golden Eagle catcher crushed a double off the center field wall, clearing the bases for an 11-5 lead. Dyer followed with a double smashed to left field for the fifth run of the inning.
Tech head coach Matt Bragga went straight to the bullpen for the hard-throwing Hunter Mann to secure the victory in the ninth, and the power pitcher did his job. The righty lived up to his billing, striking out the side with one hit allowed, gathering swings and misses for all three outs.
Gilliland became the 29th player in program history to record five hits in a ball game, finishing 5-for-6 with three RBI and a pair of runs scored. Ford racked up three knocks with a pair of RBI while Dyer tallied two hits with three ribbies.
Nine different Tech batters picked up a hit in the contest while nine scored a run. Tech's 18 hits marked the second most by the squad this season, just one shy of the 19 accumulated at Davidson in late March.
The Golden Eagles earned their second straight win over Tennessee for the first time since winning back-to-back meetings in the 1989 and 1990 campaigns. Tech won 16-5 in '89 and 12-6 in 10 innings in '90, both games in Knoxville.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 1, ILLINOIS 0 (12)
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Eastern Illinois baseball (20-13, 3-6 OVC) defeated the Fighting Illini of Illinois (15-18, 4-8 Big Ten) in Champaign, Ill. Tuesday evening in 12 innings by a final score of 1-0. The Panthers have now won at Illinois the past two seasons.
EIU has now played five extra innings game this season and have a 4-1 record in those games. It is the most extra inning games played in a season since the 2017 season (5). Panthers have also defeated their second Power Five school of the season (No. 3 Arkansas), the first time since 2013.
Ryan Ignoffo led the Panthers at the plate and on the mound going 3-5 with a run scored and also threw in 2.1 innings and allowed one hits and posted three strikeouts. Grant Lashure had the game winning RBI in the 12th inning to score Ignoffo.
Zane Robbins (W, 2-1) claimed the win for the Panthers after throwing in 1.2 innings in relief of Ignoffo and picked up two strikeouts. Jonathon Hanscom took home the save after throwing in the bottom of the 12th inning. Korey Bunselmeyer suffered the loss for Illinois.
Eastern Illinois and Illinois were in a pitching duel on Tuesday night as both teams used five pitchers each in an extended game. The Panthers' starting pitcher Nick Laxner went six innings for EIU and allowed only three hits with three strikeouts.
It marks the second time this season Laxner has gone at least six innings and has allowed three hits or less. Laxner got out of a jam in the fourth inning when the Illini had two runners on, but Laxner got a strike out to end the inning.
Eastern's defense continued their strong field play with two double plays turned in the ball game. The first came in the fifth inning after Illinois got a single, but Laxner got out of a jam with a 6-4-3 DP.
With a runner on second in the 10th inning, Robbins was able to pitch into a double play to end the inning. Panthers left 10 runners stranded in the game.
Eastern Illinois saw their opportunity in the top of the 12th inning after Ignoffo led of the inning with a single. Robby Taul then moved Ignoffo to second with a sac bunt. With two outs, Lashure hit a single into right field to bring home Ignoffo.
Hanscom came in during the 12th inning and shut down the Illinois offense and secured Eastern's 20th win of the season.
EIU scored one run on six hits with two errors. Illinois scored no runs on five hits with one error.