SUNDAY'S SCORES
@UT Martin 5, Southeast Missouri 4
@Little Rock 11, Tennessee Tech 10 (10)
@#16 Oral Roberts 5,
Southern Indiana 0
UT MARTIN 5, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 4
MARTIN, Tenn. - – A two-out double by Andrew Fernandez in the bottom of the ninth scored Zac Rice all the way from first base and capped off an impressive end to the Ohio Valley Conference schedule for the University of Tennessee at Martin, who completed a sweep over Southeast Missouri with a 5-4 victory.
One day after the Skyhawks set a new program record for OVC victories in a single season, the squad added one more to the win column as they wrap up the league slate with a 14-10 record. Although it will have to wait until the rest of the league concludes the regular season next week for its exact seed, UT Martin has already clinched a top-four spot in the upcoming OVC Championship tournament, which will be held at Mtn Dew Park in Marion, Ill. on May 24-27.
The Skyhawk pitching staff once again was on top of their game today, holding a Redhawk offense that entered the series as the league leader in on-base percentage and RBI’s to just five hits on the day. That effort helped UT Martin sweep the Redhawks for the first time since 2006 and extend its winning streak out to six games – the longest for the program since another six-game stretch from April 19-30, 2011.
Choyce Diffey began the game – making an emergency start after probable starter Eric Steensma was a late scratch – and retired the first seven batters in order. He eventually tied a career-high in both innings pitched (three) and strikeouts (four) during his first career start.
Five Skyhawk relievers then combined to allow just two hits over the final six frames. Colin Millar (0.1 innings), Baylor Jones (2.2 innings) and Tucker Reed (0.1 innings) all had scoreless appearances while Eli Martin did not allow a hit in two frames and Zach Wager got two outs in the ninth. Reed (2-2) got the final out of the ninth and received the win for UT Martin, who is now 21-31 overall.
Rice went 4-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBI’s, including a go-ahead solo homer in the bottom of the seventh. After Southeast Missouri tied the game in the top of the ninth, he singled with one away to set up Fernandez, who smoked his third hit – and second double – of the contest the opposite way for his third RBI of the game.
Diffey was the story early on as the hard-throwing righty out of Sallis, Miss. simply overpowered the Redhawks during the first three innings. He whiffed three of the first four batters he faced and stranded a runner at third base in the top of the third with another strikeout.
The Skyhawks got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third. Rice and Hobson led off the inning with back-to-back singles through the left side before Fernandez skipped a line-drive double just inside the third base line to plate a pair.
Southeast Missouri scored on a sacrifice fly and groundout in the top of the fourth to even the score at 2-2. UT Martin quickly reclaimed the advantage in the bottom half as a Rice double into the gap in left center scored Cameron Brady, who reached on a two-out infield single.
Another sacrifice fly off the Redhawk bat equaled the score at 3-all in the top of the fifth. Millar and Jones combined to hold Southeast Missouri scoreless in the sixth as Jones stranded the bases loaded following a strikeout on a 3-2 count.
Jones needed only 10 pitches to get through a perfect top of the seventh. Three pitches later, Rice launched his solo homer – the sixth of the season for the junior rightfielder out of Fort Mitchell, Ala.
Jones once again got out of a potential jam in the eighth. After quickly getting two outs, a Redhawk double put the tying run in scoring position. Jones ended the threat by inducing a groundout to first base to end the inning.
After Southeast Missouri tied the contest at 4-4 in the top of the ninth, Reed needed just two pitches to strand a runner on the basepaths. That set up Fernandez’s heroics as the Skyhawks won their second OVC contest in walkoff fashion in 2023 (also accomplishing that feat against SIUE on April 1).
LITTLE ROCK 11, TENNESSEE TECH 10 (10)
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - In a back and forth battle on a hot day at Gary Hogan Field it was Little Rock who came out on top in extra innings, walking off Tennessee Tech on a single by Skyler Trevino to bring about the final score of 11-10. The win improves the Trojans record to 29-19 and 14-6 in Ohio valley Conference play, the best mark in the league as Little Rock will hold first place going into the final weekend of the regular season.
The scoring began in the bottom of the second as Noah Brewer started off the inning with a double into left-center and scored when Ty Rhoades ripped his own double down the right field line. Rhoades tagged up to third on a flyout and then scored when Alex Seguine reached on a throwing error by the TTU third baseman.
Tennessee Tech retook the lead in the top half of the next inning, leading the inning with a solo homerun before loading the bases with one out and eventually plating all three of the runners, taking a 4-2 lead.
Little Rock scored one run in each of the next two innings to knot things up at four. In the bottom of the third Luke Pectol hit his seventh homerun of the season to cut the lead in half. Singles by Christian Bernabe and Jake Wright put runners at the corners with one out in the fourth. A stolen base attempt that saw Wright get hung up in a rundown allowed Bernabe to scamper homer to tie the game, Wright made it back to first safely and Bernabe was credited with a stolen base.
Jacob Weatherley had entered the game in the third inning and gave a gutsy performance, tossing four scoreless frames through the middle of the contest in innings four through seven, striking out three during that time.
The Trojans finally broke the tie in the bottom of the seventh inning, back to back single by Seguine and Tyler Williams put runners at first and third and Williams would get into scoring position on a passed ball. Pectol was up next and laced a triple to right, scoring both runners and putting Little Rock up by two runs. Following an out, Trevino hammered a 1-2 pitch just to the right of the scoreboard out in right field for a two run homerun to put the Trojans up 8-4 after seven.
Things took a turn when TTU began the top of the eighth with back to back homeruns and would later hit another, finishing with five runs in the frame with four coming via the long ball, retaking the lead at 9-8.
Little Rock took no time in responding as the inning again began with singles from Seguine and Williams, putting runners on the corners. Pectol would be hit by a pitch to load the bases with no outs and Nico Baumbach stepped up and hit a sac fly to left, tying the game. This would be the only Little Rock run of the inning.
Hoss Brewer took over on the mound in the ninth and struck out the first two batters he faced, who were perhaps the two most dangerous hitters in the Tennessee Tech lineup. He finished the inning with a lineout to center after a single and walk put two on with two outs. A 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the ninth then sent the game into extras.
Yet another solo homerun, the fourth of the day for TTU, put the Golden Eagles on top in the tenth and Little Rock entered the bottom of the inning needing a run to keep playing and two to win it.
Seguine worked a leadoff walk and Pectol singled to again put runners on the corners with one out. Pectol stole second and Baumbach hit his second sacrifice fly of the game, bringing Seguine home and evening things up yet again. Trevino waited patiently as Tennessee Tech reached into the bullpen for the sixth pitcher of the day, took ball one and then sent a line drive single into right-center, bringing Pectol home and winning the game for the Trojans.
Three Trojans in Seguine, Williams and Pectol each collected three hits and scored seven of the 11 runs in the top three spots in the batting order.
Trevino was 2-for-6 today at the plate with his hits being the two run homer and the walk-off single, he tied Pectol for the most RBI on the day with three and scored once.
Baumbach was the only Trojan in the lineup to not collect at least one hit on the day but still delivered in clutch situations, twice bringing home the game-tying run late in the game with a sacrifice fly.
Brewer was credited with the win for his efforts over the final two innings, allowing one run on three hits and striking out three.
Weatherley gave everything he had on a high humidity day with a heat index well into the 90's, going 5.1 innings, scattering five hits, and giving up three earned runs with three strikeouts on 82 pitches.
The Trojans now hold a half game lead in the OVC at 14-6, leading Southeast Missouri (14-7) and Morehead State (14-7) with one weekend left to play in the regular season. Little Rock will travel to Morehead for a series with massive implications that begins on Thursday and goes through Saturday.
#16 ORAL ROBERTS 5, SOUTHERN INDIANA 0
TULSA, Okla. - University of Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles were shutout by 16th-ranked Oral Roberts University Golden Eagles, 5-0, Sunday afternoon in Tulsa, Oklahoma. USI watched its record go to 15-35 overall, while Oral Roberts is 40-11.
Following a pair of scoreless frames by both teams, ORU opened the scoring with a run in the third inning. The Golden Eagles would increase the lead to 3-0 in the fifth and 5-0 in the sixth with a pair of tallies in each frame.
The Screaming Eagle bats could not get on track during the final game of the series, posting four hits with only a trio of runners reaching second or third base. Junior rightfielder Ren Tachioka (Japan) led the USI hitters with two of the four hits.
On the bump, seven USI hurlers allowed the five runs on nine hits and six walks. USI sophomore right-hander Tyler Hutson (Villa Hills, Kentucky) suffered the loss and fell to 1-7.