SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 12, Tennessee Tech 4
Southern Indiana 12, @SIUE 5
Morehead State 9, @UT Martin 3
@Southeast Missouri 12, Lindenwood 1
EASTERN ILLINOIS 12, TENNESSEE TECH 4
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois baseball (24-16, 5-9 OVC) evens the series against Tennessee Tech (14-26, 5-9 OVC) at Coaches Stadium with a 12-4 victory on Saturday afternoon. Panthers had 14 hits including three home runs.
Kolten Poorman went 3-4 in EIU's 24th victory of the season including a double, home run and a team high four RBI. Ryan Ignoffo (3-5) and Logan Eickhoff (3-5) both had solo home runs to help the Panthers' offense.
Winning pitcher Nick Laxner (W, 3-1) pitched in the first 3.1 inning of the game allowing three runs on six hits. Ignoffo then pitched the next 5.1 innings striking out five and allowing just one run. Colt Taylor (L, 1-4) suffered the loss after pitching to only the first four batters.
Eastern Illinois jumped out early in the bottom of the first inning with the game's first three runs. Ignoffo and Poorman hit back-to-back RBI before Grant Lashure hit a sac bunt to bring home Poorman from third. EIU also turned two double plays in the first two innings.
In the bottom of the second, Eickhoff and Ignoffo hit another pair of back-to-back RBI singles to increase EIU's lead to 5-0. Poorman then hit the first of three Panther home runs in the second with a three run blast.
Tennessee Tech would score three of their four runs in the top of the third off of Laxner with two home runs. Eddie Garza had a solo home run then was followed by a two-run home run by Troy Baunsgard.
After a small scoring drought by both teams, Eickhoff hit his first home run of the season in the fourth inning to push the lead to 9-3. Ignoffo did not allow his first run until the fifth with a solo home run to Josh Dyer. TTU scored all their runs by home runs.
The Panthers would close out the game with a run scored in each of the last three innings including an RBI single by Nicholas Rucker in the sixth and a solo home run by Ignoffo. TTU loaded the bases in the top of the ninth before Jackson Nicholas closed the door.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 12, SIUE 5
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - University of Southern Indiana Baseball rebounded with a 12-5 win over Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Saturday afternoon in Edwardsville, Illinois. USI watched its record go to 15-27 overall, 6-11 OVC, while SIUE is 23-19, 6-8 OVC, this spring.
USI junior first baseman Tucker Ebest (Austin, Texas) put the Screaming Eagles on the right track early with a two-run blast and his team-best 10th home run of the season down the right field line for a 2-0 advantage. The 2-0 lead would last until the bottom half of the frame when SIUE knotted the game at 2-2.
The Eagles regained the lead for good in the top of the second, 5-2, by pushing three more across. Senior centerfielder Evan Kahre (Evansville, Indiana) started the scoring with a RBI-single before Ebest struck again with a two-run single for his third and fourth RBIs of the game.
USI junior designated hitter Jack Ellis (Jeffersonville, Indiana) increased the margin to 8-2 with a three-run drive over the right field wall. The drive was Ellis' fourth of the season.
After the Cougars picked up a pair of runs in the sixth to close the gap to 8-4, the Eagles sealed the victory with a three-run seventh to re-extend the lead to 11-4. Senior second baseman Lucas McNew (Floyds Knobs, Indiana) had the big hit in the frame with a bases clearing three-run triple.
USI would add an insurance run in the top of the ninth to lead, 12-4, on a sacrifice fly by Ellis. The Cougars would get a tally to end the scoring before the Eagles closed out the 12-5 victory.
For the day at the plate, Ebest and Ellis had a team-best four RBIs each. Ebest also joined Kahre, McNew, and junior rightfielder Ren Tachioka (Japan) with three hits each.
On the mound, junior left-hander Blake Ciuffetelli (Newburgh, Indiana) took the win after going 5.1 innings. Ciuffetelli (2-0) allowed four runs on six hits, while striking out one.
USI junior right-hander Carter Stamm (Jasper, Indiana) posted his first save of the season in completing the game for Ciuffetelli. Stamm allowed one run on four hits and a walk, while striking out one in 3.2 innings of work.
MOREHEAD STATE 9, UT MARTIN 3
MARTIN, Tenn. - After falling behind early, the Morehead State baseball team rallied for a four-run second inning on Saturday before leading the rest of the way to even the series vs. UT Martin.
Junior Grant Herron (5-1) started on the mound and picked up the win for Morehead State (26-15, 10-4 OVC). The right-hander went 5.1 innings, giving up two runs, both of them earned, on five hits, allowing two walks and striking out three. Senior Matt Bettio also made an impact on the mound for the Eagles, throwing two shutout innings while allowing two hits, with no walks and three strikeouts.
Jackson Feltner led the way offensively for the Eagles, going 3-for-4 in the ballgame with a double, a triple and three RBI, finishing a home run away from the cycle. Senior Chase Vinson compiled a noteworthy day at the dish as well, going 2-for-5 with an RBI. Carter Owens also contributed, going 1-for-2 for Morehead State with two RBI.
Trailing 1-0, the Eagles first put runs on the board in the second inning. Morehead State's offense started clicking and put up four runs, including a two-run double off the bat of Feltner.
The Skyhawks then gained ground, narrowing the lead to 4-2 until the Eagles expanded their advantage in the fourth. Morehead State scored once on an RBI single off the bat of Feltner, which brought the Eagles lead to 5-2.
UT Martin narrowed Morehead State's lead to 5-3 before the Eagles stretched the advantage to 6-3 in the seventh inning. The Eagles scored once on an RBI single off the bat of Nick Gooden.
Morehead State kept the Skyhawks scoreless before their offense got back in action the next inning. The three-run frame for the Eagles was puncuated by a two-run single off the bat of Owens. bringing the Morehead State advantage to 9-3. The score remained 9-3 for the rest of the game, as the Eagles coasted to the win.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 12, LINDENWOOD 1
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri (25-19, 13-4 OVC) dominated Lindenwood (9-34, 5-9 OVC) Saturday afternoon by a final score of 12-1 behind another dominant pitching performance and a nine-run fifth inning.
RHP Esteban Hernandez (2-1) made his second career start on the mound for SEMO as the Yuma, Arizona-native tossed seven complete innings of scoreless baseball, allowing just two hits and a walk. He also punched out three Lions over 23 faced.
Brett Graber, Josh Cameron, and Jevon Mason all had multi-hit and multi-RBI days as the outfield trio each recorded a home run in the contest.
The Redhawks exploded in the fifth inning, after both teams played scoreless baseball over the game's first four innings.
Graber started the scoring with a two-run blast to left field, scoring Peyton Leeper (HBP), for his fourth home run of the season to give SEMO a 2-0 lead.
A walk to third baseman Danny Sperling, followed by a base hit by Nolan Ackerman off Lindenwood's starting pitcher Eli Brown (2-6) brought in freshman Caleb Rodgers.
Rodgers picked up where he left off last night as the designated hitter roped a single to left-center field to plate Sperling and the Redhawks held a 3-0 lead.
Jevon Mason hit an RBI groundout to plate Ackerman later in the inning, to give SEMO a 4-0 lead with only one out.
Cameron drove a single into right field for an RBI as Rodgers came around to score, and the Redhawks were not done yet.
Leading 5-0, Lincoln Andrews drove in Chance Resetich thanks to a defensive miscue by LU to push the lead to 6-0.
In the same inning that he got the scoring going, Brett Graber was back at the plate. This time the center fielder ripped his 10th double of the season to plate Cameron with two outs in the inning.
Danny Sperling continued the two-out rally as he hit a two-RBI single to left-center field to score Andrews, and Graber for the ninth and final run(s) of the inning.
A Josh Cameron two-run blast over the right-field deck gave the Redhawks runs 10 & 11, before Jevon Mason made it 12 with his seventh home run of the season in the bottom of the eighth.
LU's lone run of the game came in the top of the eighth inning. Short stop Landon Willbrand hit a home run to left field off Redhawks LHP Ethan Osborne.
Osborne pitched two innings out of the bullpen allowing just two hits and a run. He struck out two Lions over eight faced.