FRIDAY'S SCORES
Tennessee Tech 8, @Eastern Illinois 3
@SIUE 10, Southern Indiana 3
@UT Martin 13, Morehead State 9
@Southeast Missouri 10, Lindenwood 2
New Orleans 7,
@Little Rock 4
TENNESSEE TECH 8, EASTERN ILLINOIS 3
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Consistent pressure with the bats and a pair of strong pitching performances propelled the Tennessee Tech baseball team to an 8-3 victory to open its Ohio Valley Conference series at Eastern Illinois Friday afternoon.
The Golden Eagles (14-25, 5-8) were quick to give their starting pitching a lead to work behind, plating a pair in the opening frame with a hefty attack. Left fielder Austin Turner ripped a one-out single through the left side and scored all the way from first just two pitches later.
Third baseman Peyton Mills drove in the speedster, peppering a double down the left-field line for the 1-0 lead. The purple and gold doubled its lead over the Panthers (23-16, 4-9) later in the frame, with designated hitter Preston Ford lifting a base knock to center field to drive in Mills.
Junior hurler Hunter Mann opened the contest with a pair of scoreless innings before the home squad finally pegged a run off the right-hander. The Panthers used some small ball to cut the deficit in half, using a lead-off single, sac bunt, wild pitch, and sacrifice fly ball to right field to do the damage.
Following the run, Mann retired the next seven batters in order before EIU worked its way back to a tie. In the bottom of the sixth, a lead-off walk and subsequent throwing error on an attempted double play on a pop-up allowed the Panthers to put a runner on third with just one out.
Eastern Illinois scored the tying run with two outs on another Tech defensive miscue. With the EIU runner caught in no man's land on a wild offering, the Golden Eagle throw to attempt to catch him missed its target and sailed into the outfield.
The Tech offense immediately made up for the defensive mistakes, going back on top for good in the top of the seventh. Center fielder Nicho Jordan beat out a bunt to the pitcher for an infield single with one out and shortstop Troy Baunsgard made it two runners on base with a base hit to center.
Working a full count, Turner provided the biggest swing of the ball game on the sixth pitch he saw. The lefty blasted a three-run jack to right field, clearing the wall for his first round-tripper of the season and 5-2 Tech lead. For good measure, first baseman John Dyer smashed a dinger of his own two batters later, pulverizing a solo shot to left-center field for his 13th trot around the bases on the year.
The Panthers chased Mann from the ball game after the first two batters reached to open the bottom half of the frame, but right-hander Jacob Morin came on in relief and limited the home attack to just one run on another sac fly.
Tech added another run to its lead in the eighth, with right fielder Theo Bryant IV reaching on a bunt single to first base to lead off the inning. The junior scored later in the frame on a wild pitch for a 7-3 lead.
After Morin held the EIU offense off the scoreboard in the eighth, the Golden Eagles added one more insurance run for the final 8-3 score. Dyer returned to the dish and promptly clobbered a 2-2 offering to left-center field for a lead-off nuke and his second long ball of the day.
The senior's 14th blast of the season also marked the 38th of his career, breaking a tie he reached earlier in the contest with former All-American slugger Ryan Flick for sixth on the program's all-time career home run charts. With two more tanks, Dyer can become just the sixth player in program history to reach 40 home runs in their career.
Morin finished off the win for the Golden Eagles with a scoreless ninth, capping off a three-inning effort out of the bullpen. The redshirt junior earned his second save of the year while limiting the Panthers to two hits and a walk.
Mann picked up his second win of the year behind a quality start, tossing six innings with three hits, three runs, and three walks allowed. The fireballer racked up four strikeouts in the contest as well.
Turner led the bats with a 3-for-4 day at the dish, picking up a walk, two runs, and driving in a team-high three runs. Dyer, Ford, and Jordan all tallied multiple hits in the contest while all nine Tech hitters produced at least one base knock.
SIUE 10, SOUTHERN INDIANA 3
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE baseball scored five runs in the fourth inning and added four more in the sixth inning on its way to a 10-3 win over Southern Indiana open a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series at Simmons Baseball Complex.
The Cougars improved to 23-18 overall and 6-7 in the OVC. USI fell to 14-27 overall and 5-11 in league play.
USI, making its first trip to SIUE since 2008, scored a pair of runs in the first inning on back-to-back home runs from Ricardo Van Grieken and Tucker Ebest off SIUE starter Tyler DeLong.
SIUE pulled a run back in the bottom of the inning after loading the bases with one out. Brennan Orf came home on a wild pitch to cut the lead to 2-1.
Braedyn Brewer opened a five-run inning with a double and Nick Terrell followed with a one-out, two-run home run to give SIUE a 3-2 lead. Josh Ohl reached on an error and Drew Mize singled before Brennan Orf hit the first pitch from USI reliever Adam Weihe out over the right field fence for his 15th home run of the year, to give the Cougars a 6-2 advantage.
USI picked up a run in the fifth before SIUE added four more in the sixth. Josh Ohl bunted his way on to start the inning and Drew Mize singled up the middle. Orf grounded out to drive home a run before Avery Owusu-Asiedu doubled in another. Kyle Ratliff hit a two-run home run out to left for the 10-3 score.
DeLong (5-3) worked 5 2/3 innings striking out six, while allowing three runs.
Jacob Kampf threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings and Ian Benner worked a scoreless ninth to close out the win.
Ratliff finished the game 3-4 and a triple shy of the cycle. He drove in three. Orf was 1-3 with a pair of walks and four RBIs. Drew Mize and Nick Terrell each had two hits.
Ren Tachioka finished 4-5 to lead the Screaming Eagles.
UT MARTIN 13, MOREHEAD STATE 9
MARTIN, Tenn. - All nine members of the University of Tennessee at Martin starting lineup either scored or drove in a run as the Skyhawk baseball squad generated a 13-9 victory over Ohio Valley Conference-leading Morehead State today.
UT Martin recorded 16 hits and scored five of the first seven frames, breaking open a 7-7 tie with six runs spread across the sixth and seventh innings to improve to 14-29 overall and 8-8 in OVC play.
Will Smith had a career-high four RBI’s – including a go-ahead run-scoring double in the sixth – while Mac Danford had four hits to guide several significant contributors to the Skyhawk offense. Caleb Hobson (2-for-3, three runs scored, two RBI’s), Andrew Fernandez (3-for-5, two runs, two RBI’s, two stolen bases) and Zac Rice (3-for-4, three runs scored, one RBI) also lifted UT Martin at the dish.
On the mound, Zach Wager (1-1) was awarded his first collegiate victory as the freshman tossed the final 1.2 scoreless innings, not allowing a hit while striking out a pair of Eagles. Baylor Jones also excelled in a high-leverage spot in the seventh, fanning a pair of batters in a shutout frame. Seth Petry was two outs away from a quality start but received a no-decision following 5.1 innings of work.
Morehead State (25-15, 9-4 OVC) scored the first two runs of the contest but the Skyhawks erupted for the next seven runs of the game. That stretch started with a four-spot in the bottom of the second as all of their runs came with two outs. Jack Culumovic walked to lead off the inning and moved ahead 90 feet on a Blaze Bell single. Rice followed with an RBI single to get UT Martin on the scoreboard before Hobson split the gap in right center for a two-run triple, giving the Skyhawks their first lead of the day. Fernandez added an RBI single to push UT Martin on top by a 4-2 margin.
After a shutdown top of the third from Petry, the Skyhawks piled on another run in the bottom half. Culumovic was issued another walk and two pitches later, Danford roped an RBI double to push UT Martin’s advantage out to 5-2.
Petry was responsible for another scoreless frame in the fourth, allowing the Skyhawks to extend their lead even more. Rice led off the bottom of the fourth with a double and following a Fernandez single, Smith went the opposite way for a two-run single, making the score 7-2 in favor of UT Martin.
Petry mowed down the Eagles in the top of the fifth before Morehead State tied the score at 7-all after its turn up to the plate in the top of the sixth.
That’s when the Skyhawk scoring spree continued as UT Martin pushed across three runs in both the sixth and seventh innings. With the score knotted at 7-all, Smith delivered a go-ahead RBI double that plated Hobson (who reached on a walk). The Skyhawks then scored on both a passed ball and a wild pitch to lead 10-7 after six innings.
Jones struck out the final two batters he faced in another shutdown inning for the UT Martin hurlers. The Skyhawks collected three more insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh as Fernandez had an RBI single before Smith and Hunter McLean each lifted sacrifice flies.
The Eagles were able to score twice in the eighth but Wager made his appearance later in the frame and proceeded to pitch lights-out once again en route to the win.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 10, LINDENWOOD 2
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri (24-19, 12-4 OVC) dominated Lindenwood (9-33, 5-8 OVC) behind a complete game from LHP Noah Niznik by a final score of 10-2 in front of a big crowd at Capaha Field.
Niznik threw his fourth career complete game Friday night allowing just four hits, two unearned runs, with seven strikeouts and did not allow a walk over 31 batters.
Center fielder Brett Graber was dialed in at the plate finishing the game going 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored.
The Redhawks got on the board first in the second inning of the ballgame as Peyton Leeper scored on a wild pitch by Lindenwood starter Preston Salazar (1-9).
Salazar took the loss in the contest.
The Redhawks continued scoring in the fourth inning with a back-to-back two-out hits. First, Brett Graber roped a double into left-center field to plate Peyton Leeper.
Third baseman Danny Sperling was next as he crushed a single into right-center to plate Graber, and the Redhawks led 3-0 after four innings.
The Lions scored two runs in the visitor's sixth. A wild pitch and an RBI groundout gave LU two runs.
The Redhawks would respond with four of their own in the sixth inning.
Graber singled to left to plate Lincoln Andrews from third base, moving Leeper to second.
Danny Sperling drew a one-out walk from Salazar to load the bases, and the Lions would go to the bullpen.
Nolan Ackerman drew a base-on-balls off RHP Easton Rakers, picking up an RBI to make it 5-2 Redhawks.
Designated hitter Caleb Rodgers roped a single down the right-field line to bring in runs six and seven. Sperling and Graber scored to give the Redhawks a 7-2 lead heading to the seventh.
Brett Graber singled in the seventh, a Jevon Mason solo shot in the eighth, and a Josh Cameron run via a passed ball gave SEMO their 10th and final run
Five different Redhawks recorded an RBI in the ball game as SEMO pounded out 11 hits.
NEW ORLEANS 7, LITTLE ROCK 4
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The Trojans were able to push three runs across in the bottom of the ninth and brought the tying run to the on deck circle but were ultimately defeated by New Orleans by a score of 7-4 on Friday night. The loss drops Little Rock's record to 24-15 on the year and snaps a 10 game win streak for the Trojans at Gary Hogan Field.
New Orleans took the early lead, striking for three runs in the top of the third inning on an RBI single up the middle followed by a two run homerun to left-center field.
Little Rock was able to get a run back in the fourth inning, Nico Baumbach stood on first base with two outs after singling earlier in the inning when Luke Pectol hit a deep fly ball into right field that hit off of the padding as he scrambled his way around the bases for a triple. The run cut the lead to two midway through the game.
Sophomore Jackson Wells would strike out the side in the fifth as well as the first batter in the sixth to make it four straight and finished his outing with a popup to end the sixth inning.
Neither offense would score again until the top of the ninth when New Orleans was able to push four runs across, all with two outs. A failed safety squeeze bunt attempt left runners on first and second with two outs in the inning. Unfortunately, a single, wild pitch and double would bring home four runs for the Privateers and stretched the lead out to six.
Noah Brewer and Jake Wright walked in the bottom of the ninth to put two on with two outs before Tyler Williams sent a single up the middle to score them both. After stealing second, Ty Rhoades hit a single through the right side which plated Williams and brought Baumbach up to the plate. In an 0-1 count, Baumbach sent a hard line drive the other way which required a diving catch on the foul line by the New Orleans right fielder to finally end the Trojans attack and the game.
Working on a limited pitch count, Wells was solid in his start going six innings and allowing three runs on six hits while striking out five and walking none.
Baumbach was the sole Trojans to collect multiple hits on the evening in a 2-for-5 game as he also scored the first Little Rock run. This was his 15th multi-hit game of the season and the Euless, Texas native is currently on a 16 game hit streak.