TUESDAY'S SCORES
Morehead State 9, @Northern Kentucky 3
Eastern Illinois 11, @Butler 2
@Illinois State 10,
Lindenwood 6
@Southeast MissourI 6, Southern Illinois 2
@Southern Indiana 17, McKendree 7
@Memphis 4,
UT Martin 2
Little Rock 8, @Central Arkansas 2
MOREHEAD STATE 9, NORTHERN KENTUCKY 3
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - After a rough first inning, the Morehead State baseball team's pitching staff shut down the Northern Kentucky Norse on Tuesday, firing eight straight scoreless innings while getting three home runs from the offense in a 9-3 win.
Will Grimmett (2-0) got the win out of the bullpen for Morehead State (25-14). The right-hander went three shutout innings, giving up three hits, two walks and striking out two. Trevor Callahan also pitched well, going two shutout innings while allowing one hit, walking one and striking out four. Riley Bradshaw, Zach Taylor, and Matt Bettio helped out as well.
Jackson Feltner smashed his 12th homer of the season in the first, while Isaias Guzman gave Morehead State a lead it never lost with his fourth inning grand slam. Logan Castleman launched his second two-run home run in as many games as well.
The Eagles got the scoring started early, putting one run on the board in the top of the first inning. Feltner put Morehead State on the board with a one-out solo home run off A. Massie.
The Eagles lost the lead they built in the first, but got back on the board in the fourth trailing 3-1. The Morehead State offense exploded for five runs, highlighted by a grand slam off the bat of Guzman, which brought the Eagles lead to 6-3.
Morehead State kept Northern Kentucky scoreless before building their lead to 8-3 in the sixth inning. The Eagles added two to their tally on Castleman's two-run homer to left.
Morehead State kept the Norse scoreless before building on their lead in the eighth inning. Nick Gooden crossed home plate with the lone run of the inning for the Eagles, bringing the score to 9-3 in favor of Morehead State. The score remained 9-3 for the rest of the game, as the Eagles coasted to the win.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 11, BUTLER 2
INDIANAPOLIS - Eastern Illinois baseball (23-15, 4-8 OVC) defeats Butler (9-31, 2-7 Big East) 11-2 to tie the season series at two games each. EIU had four doubles in the game to lift the Panthers past the Bulldogs.
Kolten Poorman led Eastern at the plate with a double and four RBI. Nicholas Rucker continues his hot play with a bases clearing three RBI double. EIU scored 10 of their runs by the way of an RBI.
Jackson Nichols (W, 3-0) maintains his perfect record with a 6.0 inning performance allowing six hits and two runs. It was his first runs given up this season on the mound. Shane Kilfoyle (L, 0-3) suffers the loss for Butler.
Eastern's offense jumped out to the early lead after Poorman delivered an RBI single in the top of the first to score Ryan Ignoffo. After allowing an early double in the bottom of the inning, Nichols got out of the jam with an inning ending 6-4-3 double play.
Four runs would come across the plate in the second for Eastern as Poorman recorded his second RBI on the afternoon with a bases loaded walk. Rucker then cleared the bases with a double to right center field to give EIU the 5-0 lead.
After Ignoffo tripled to right field to score Lincoln Riley, he would score off of a wild pitch to the backstop. Butler would plate their first run in the bottom of the third with a Joey Urban RBI double.
Both offense's settled down in the fourth inning with zeros on the board. The Panthers then plated three more runs in the fifth with a sac fly by Ignoffo and a two RBI double by Poorman to put EIU ahead 10-1. Urban would add another RBI for Butler in the bottom of the fifth.
Jack Potteiger entered the game in the seventh for Eastern Illinois and pitched two scoreless innings allowing only one base runner while striking out three. Jared Evans would score the final run for the Panthers in the eighth with a single to score Chris Worcester.
Zane Robbins closed out the bottom of the ninth inning with three strikeouts to secure Eastern's 23rd victory of the season.
ILLINOIS STATE 10, LINDENWOOD 6
NORMAL, Ill. - The Lindenwood baseball team (9-32) lost its midweek game on Tuesday to Illinois State (14-22) by a margin of 10-6.
Senior Greg Sanders led the way offensively for the Lions, going 1-for-4 in the ballgame with a home run, a walk and an RBI. Senior Joe Copeland put together a noteworthy day at the dish as well, going 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Sophomore Marcus Heusohn also helped out, going 1-for-4 for Lindenwood with a triple and an RBI.
Trailing 3-0, the Lions first put runs on the board in the third inning. Lindenwood plated two runs off of Illinois State pitching, one of which was driven in on a run-scoring double off the bat of freshman Landon Willbrand.
The Lions deficit expanded to 7-2 before their offense got back on the scoreboard, cutting into that deficit in the sixth inning. Lindenwood picked up a run on Sanders' two-out solo home run off of senior Kolton Scherbenske, which brought the score to 7-3 in favor of the Redbirds.
Illinois State built their lead to 9-3 before the Lindenwood offense got back to work, reducing that lead to 9-4 in the seventh. The Lions scored once on an RBI single off the bat of junior Drake Roberts.
Lindenwood kept the Redbirds off the board before narrowing the gap further in the eighth. The Lions added two runs in the frame, punctuated with an RBI triple off the bat of Heusohn, tightening the Illinois State lead to 9-6. The Lions were unable to get any closer, as Illinois State added one run to their tally on the way to a 10-6 final.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 6, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 2
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri (23-19, 11-4 OVC) snapped a six-game losing streak to Southern Illinois (23-18, 10-5 MVC) on Tuesday night in front of a big crowd at Capaha Field. The Redhawks scored two in the first, two in the sixth, and two in the eighth to win the game 6-2.
RHP Payton Lawrence bounced back Tuesday night as the right-hander pitched 6.1 innings, allowing just two runs on three hits, and struck out seven over 26 batters faced.
Chance Resetich got the Redhawks on the board two hitters into the first inning following a leadoff double by left fielder Jevon Mason.
Resetich hit his fifth home run of the season off SIU starting pitcher Tanner Perry (1-2) to left field to give the Redhawks a 2-0 advantage.
For Resetich, the home run accounted for RBIs 36 and 37 on the season.
The Salukis would tie it with a single run in the second and third inning. Matt Schark singled to right-center field and left fielder Pier-Olivier Boucher hit a solo home run to left-center as the game was tied at two into the sixth inning.
With two outs and the bases-loaded in the Redhawks' sixth inning, center fielder Brett Graber came in clutch with a single to center field to score Mason and Josh Cameron to regain the lead.
Graber finished the day going 1-for-3 with a pair of RBIs and a run scored.
Lincoln Andrews and Danny Sperling provided SEMO with a pair of insurance runs with a sacrifice fly and an RBI single, respectively, to give SEMO a 6-2 lead heading to the ninth inning.
SIU made It interesting in the ninth, getting back-to-back singles off RHP Gavin Johnston.
Johnston had a great night out of the pen in relief of Lawrence as the freshman pitched 1.2 innings of scoreless baseball. He allowed just three hits and struck out four.
The Redhawks would turn to RHP Kyle Miller after the back-to-back singles. Miller came in and struck out Schark looking for the first out in the inning.
A bunt single by SIU's Mathieu Vallee loaded the bases, but Miller would end the threat with back-to-back swinging strikeouts to pick up his sixth save of the season.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 17, MCKENDREE 7
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Baseball reached double-digit runs for the fifth-straight game in defeating McKendree University, 17-7, Tuesday evening at the USI Baseball Field. USI, which was 4-1 during the homestand, watched its record go to 14-26 overall in 2023, while McKendree is 17-27 this spring.
USI, which has won five of its last six games, had to rally after allowing three McKendree runs in the first inning. The Eagles took the lead for good in the bottom of the opening frame by responding with four runs of their own.
USI senior second baseman Lucas McNew (Floyds Knobs, Indiana) increased the margin to three, 6-3, when he hit a rocket off the top of the right field wall. The round tripper was his fourth of the season and the 24th of his career.
After McKendree cut the margin to 6-4 with a tally in the top of the third, USI responded with two more runs and an 8-4 advantage when junior first baseman Tucker Ebest (Austin, Texas) hit his team-best eighth home run of the season, a two-run blast to right field.
USI and McKendree traded two-runs in the fifth, while McKendree closed to within three, 10-7, with a solo tally in the sixth. That would be as close as the Bearcats would come as the Eagles exploded six runs in the bottom of the sixth for a 16-7 lead.
Freshman third baseman Caleb Niehaus (Newburgh, Indiana) and Ebest capped off the frame with a RBI-triple and RBI-double, respectively. Niehaus, Ebest, and junior catcher Parker Stroh (Grand Forks, North Dakota) had a team-best three RBIs each in the victory.
After the Bearcats were set down in the top of the seventh, USI closed out the game in the bottom of the seventh when junior leftfielder Drew Taylor (Jeffersonville, Indiana), who had a team-best three hits in the game, knocked in the final tally for the 17-7 victory.
On the mound, senior right-hander Brady Bowling (Brentwood, Tennessee) picked up his first win of the season in relief. Bowling allowed three runs, one earned, on one hit and three walks, while striking out one in three innings of work.
MEMPHIS 4, UT MARTIN 2
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Caleb Hobson and Jack Culumovic each went yard this evening for the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team but a three-run bottom of the fourth inning proved to be the difference as Memphis claimed a 4-2 win at FedEx Park.
In addition to his home run, Hobson also doubled, walked and stole his 27th base of the season tonight for the Skyhawks (13-29). Culumovic cranked his team-best ninth homer of the season as both he and Hobson had two-hit nights at the dish.
The UT Martin bullpen was on point this evening as the trio of Baylor Jones, Campbell Cleveland and Zach Wager each tossed a scoreless inning of relief. They took over for Skyhawk starting pitcher Jordan Armstrong (2-5), who struck out three batters over five frames.
Armstrong retired the side in order in the bottom of the first, sitting the Tigers (21-20) down on seven combined pitches. After Memphis scratched out a run on a sacrifice fly in the second, UT Martin evened the score in its next turn up at the plate.
After two quick outs, Hobson creamed an 0-1 offering beyond the wall in left center for his fourth longball of the spring and third over his last eight games.
Armstrong threw up a zero on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third, allowing the Skyhawks to take their first lead of the evening. Culumovic welcomed a Tiger reliever with a solo blast to put UT Martin on top by a 2-1 margin.
Memphis scored three times in the fourth, getting a go-ahead two-run single with two away in the inning.
The Skyhawks placed a runner in scoring position in four of the final five innings but could not manufacture any more offense. Hobson walked and stole second in the top of the fifth but was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a Will Smith single.
Armstrong kept the Tigers off the scoreboard once again in the bottom of the fifth, his final inning of work for the night.
In the top of the sixth, Hunter McLean singled with one out before stealing second base. However, Memphis got out of the inning unscathed. Jones took over in the bottom half and was sharp, inducing a pair of groundouts to go along with a strikeout.
Hobson’s double occurred in the seventh but the Tigers once again worked through a potential jam to keep the score at 4-2. It was Cleveland’s turn to shine in the bottom half as the junior right-hander from Auburn, Ala. kept UT Martin within striking distance.
Wager followed with yet another impressive outing in the bottom of the eighth. Blaze Bell doubled with one out in the top of the ninth to bring the tying run to the plate but Memphis held on for the win.
LITTLE ROCK 8, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 2
CONWAY, Ark. - Little Rock scored seven early runs and never looked back in a convincing 8-2 win over Central Arkansas at Bear Stadium on Tuesday afternoon. The win improves the Trojans record to 24-14 on the season and clinches the season series against the Bears with one more game to play on May 16 at Dickey-Stephens Park in North Little Rock.
The Trojans kicked things off in a hurry with Alex Seguine shooting a single up the middle to begin the contest with a hit in a fourth straight game going back to last Friday. Tyler Williams then came to the plate and slapped a double into left-center to get a pair of runners in scoring position with nobody out. A groundout and infield single by Nico Baumbach scored the two runners before Luke Pectol stepped up to the dish and crushed his fourth homerun of the season to one of the deepest sections of the park. At the end of it all, Little Rock had managed to put the Bears in a 4-0 hole after the top of the first.
Freshman Malcolm Brown made the start for the Trojans and got out to an excellent start, retiring the first three Bears batters on just seven pitches with a little help from the defense including a leaping grab from Pectol to rob an extra base hit or potential homerun.
Christian Bernabe and Williams both singled in the second inning but it was ended by an outfield assist before any scoring chances could develop. Brown headed back out to the mound for the bottom of the second and picked up his first strikeout along with a pair of ground balls for his second straight 1-2-3 inning.
Little Rock continued to add on to the lead in the top of the third with a single from Ty Rhoades leading things off. Following a walk of Skyler Trevino and popout, the Trojans had runners on first and third with two outs. Noah Brewer hooked a line drive into left field for a single to score Rhoades and move Trevino to third. Bernabe then singled up the middle to score both Trevino and Brewer and put the Trojans up 7-0.
UCA was able to get an unearned run off of Brown in the bottom of the third after a runner was able to advance on a passed ball. The Bears continued to threaten but a 5-3 line drive double play followed by a strikeout ended the inning.
After a quiet fourth inning from the offense, Camden Sargent came out of the bullpen in relief of Brown. The Bears would score another unearned run in the inning for their final run of the game.
The Trojans would not score again until the top of the seventh with Trevino working a two out walk and then scoring on a triple off the bat of Pectol, bringing the game to its final score of 8-2.
Chance Vaught entered the game in the eighth and finished out the contest, striking out four batters over the final two innings to clinch the win and season series against the Bears.
Pectol led the offense with three runs driven in in a 2-for-5 performance, homering in the first and tripling in the seventh.
Williams led the team in hits on the day with three in a 3-for-4 game including two doubles and also scored once.
Bernabe went 2-for-3 at the plate and drove in two runs, he also walked once.
Brown earned the win for his efforts over the first three innings. The freshman from Texarkana, Texas allowed just one hit and no earned runs with two strikeouts.
Sargent was solid in the middle four innings of the game, scattering two hits and not allowing an earned run while striking out one.