FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Lindenwood 18, SIUE 13
@Morehead State 14, Little Rock 10
Eastern Illinois 7, @Southeast Missouri 2
Southern Indiana 8-7, @Tennessee Tech 7-11
UT Martin 6, @Illinois 4
LINDENWOOD 18, SIUE 13
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood baseball team (12-42, 7-16 OVC) poured on the runs in an 18-13 victory over SIUE (26-26, 9-14 OVC) on Friday night at Lou Brock Sports Complex. Prior to the game, the Lions honored head coach Doug Bletcher who is retiring after the season.
Freshman Carson Subbert pitched well out of the bullpen, going three shutout innings while allowing two hits, walking none and striking out four.
In addition to his four hits, Landon Willbrand had a walk and three RBI to lead the Lions. Sophomore Dawson Hokuf put together a standout day at the plate as well, going 2-for-4 with a home run, two walks and four RBI. Junior Logan Stevens also helped out for Lindenwood, putting together two hits in four trips to the plate while adding a home run, two walks and four RBI.
The Lions were trailing 5-0 in the third inning when they first put runs on the board. Lindenwood's offense started clicking and put up 12 runs, including a two-run single off the bat of Stevens and a two-run single from Willbrand.
The Lions then held the Cougars scoreless before getting back on the board the very next inning. The Lindenwood offense exploded for four runs, highlighted by a one-run single off the bat of junior Anthony Stellato, which brought the score to 16-5 in favor of the Lions.
SIUE narrowed Lindenwood's lead to 16-11 before the Lions stretched the advantage to 18-11 in the sixth inning. The Lions added two to their tally on Stevens' two-run homer to right. SIUE put two runs on the scoreboard before the game was over, but Lindenwood still coasted to the 18-13 win.
MOREHEAD STATE 14, LITTLE ROCK 10
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State baseball team captured its first outright OVC Regular Season Championship since 1979 on Friday night behind six home runs -- including two from Ryley Preece, who became the first player in program history to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases in the same season.
Sophomore Will Grimmett (3-2) picked up the victory out of the bullpen for Morehead State (34-19, 16-7 OVC). The right-hander went 1.2 shutout innings while giving up one hit, allowing one walk and striking out two. John Bakke also made an impact on the mound for the Eagles, throwing one scoreless inning while allowing no hits, with no walks and two strikeouts, including the final out that clinched the title.
Preece went 4-for-6 at the plate, supplementing his two home runs with a double while driving in three runs. Nick Gooden added to Preece's awesome power-hitting performance by going 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBI along with one walk. Jackson Feltner also helped out for the Eagles, going 3-for-5 with a home run, a walk and two RBI. Roman Kuntz went 3-5 with his fourth home run of the series as well.
Trailing 2-0, the Eagles first put runs on the board in the first inning. Morehead State's offense produced a three-run output that included home runs from both Preece and Gooden.
The Trojans failed to push any runs across before the Eagles offense got back to their scoring ways the next inning. Morehead State picked up a run on Jacob Ferry's leadoff home run off of Camden Sargent, which brought the Eagles lead to 4-2.
Morehead State's lead had disappeared by the time the third inning came around and turned into a 5-4 Little Rock advantage, when the Eagles re-gained control at 12-5. The Eagles hit two home runs in the inning on the way to scoring eight runs.
The Trojans gained ground, closing the gap to 12-7 until Morehead State added some insurance in the seventh. The Eagles pushed across a run when Carter Owens drew a walk that scored junior Roman Kuntz, bringing the score to 13-7 in favor of Morehead State.
Little Rock got within 13-10 until the Eagles scored again in the eighth inning to stretch its lead to 14-10. Morehead State picked up a run on Preece's one-out solo home run off of sophomore Lukas Frers. The score remained 14-10 for the rest of the game, as the Eagles coasted to the win.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 7, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 2
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Eastern Illinois baseball (32-18, 12-11 OVC) secure their final Ohio Valley Conference series win of the season with a 7-2 victory over Southeast Missouri (26-28, 14-9 OVC) on Friday. EIU locks up the No. 5 seed in the OVC Tournament next week.
Three different Panthers earn multiple hits in the win including three from left fielder Cole Gober who had his second triple in as many games. Logan Eickhoff and Grant Lashure both had two hits and two RBI for EIU.
Starting pitcher Tyler Conklin (W, 7-5) picked up the win for the Panthers after throwing in 6.0 innings allowing just three hits and no runs with two strikeouts. Zane Robbins (S, 4) pitched the final 2.2 innings for EIU to secure the win.
Continuing their success in the first inning, Kolten Poorman delivered the first run of the game with an RBI single to bring home Ryan Ignoffo for his team leading 57th run scored.
After loading the bases with two outs in the bottom of the first, Conklin was able to get out of the jam. He allowed just one hit through the first three innings of play.
Eastern Illinois added to their lead with two more runs in the fourth inning to go up 3-0. After a double by Gober, Eickhoff added his second triple of the season to score one. Lashure then grounded out to score Eickhoff and put EIU up 3-0.
Despite giving up two doubles in the bottom of the inning, Conklin got out of the jam with runners at second and third to preserve the lead. Conklin retired seven straight Redhawks to end his performance.
With the bases loaded for EIU in the seventh, Southeast Missouri was able to get out of the jam to keep the lead at three.
Ignoffo came into pitch in the seventh inning and allowed two runs to cut the lead to one run. Robbins inherited the bases loaded and got out of the jam with an inning ending groundout.
The eighth saw the Panther regain their three-run lead. Gober led off with his second straight game with a triple. He was followed by an RBI single by Eickhoff and a safety squeeze bunt by Lucas DiLuca to put EIU on top 5-2.
Robbins had a clean bottom of the eighth inning which led to two more runs by EIU in the ninth with two outs. Gober and Lashure both had RBI singles to extend the lead to five before Robbins ended the game with two strikeouts.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 8-7, TENNESSEE TECH 7-11
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - University of Southern Indiana Baseball split a doubleheader with Tennessee Tech University Friday afternoon in Cookeville, Tennessee. Game one went to the Screaming Eagles, 8-7, while the Golden Eagles won the nightcap, 11-7.
USI watched its record go 16-37 overall and 7-15 in the OVC, while TTU is 19-31, 10-13 OVC. With the split, the Screaming Eagles are still in the hunt for a spot OVC Championship which is slated for May 24-27 at Mt. Dew Park in Marion, Illinois.
The USI Eagles need a win in the 2023 season finale or a loss by Lindenwood University tonight or Saturday to clinch a spot in the league's post-season tournament. Lindenwood leads Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, 16-11, at press time Friday.
In game one, USI junior rightfielder Ren Tachioka (Japan) posted four hits, including a two-run home run, and junior left-handed pitcher Blake Ciuffetelli (Newburgh, Indiana) pitched five strong innings to lead the Screaming Eagles to an 8-7 victory in the opening game of the double-header. The victory snapped USI's nine-game losing streak and kept the Screaming Eagles in the hunt for an OVC Championship berth.
USI scored five unanswered runs to take a 5-1 lead after TTU took a 1-0 lead with a tally in the opening frame. Freshman third baseman Caleb Niehaus (Newburgh, Indiana) put USI in the lead for good with a two-run homer in the top of the second. The home run to put the USI Eagles up, 2-1, was Niehaus' third of the season.
Tachioka doubled USI's run total in the top of the third when he gave USI a 4-1 advantage on a two-run blast, his second home run of the season. Senior centerfielder Evan Kahre (Evansville, Indiana) put USI up four for the first time in the contest when he doubled in Niehaus with the fifth run the contest and a 5-1 lead after three-and-a-half frames.
The Golden Eagles tried to catch the Screaming Eagles over the next four innings, beginning in the bottom of the fourth when they pushed a pair of runners across the plate for a 5-3 USI advantage. The USI Eagles re-extended the lead to four, 7-3, with a pair of tallies of its own in the top of the fifth.
Junior designated hitter Parker Stroh (Grand Forks, North Dakota) doubled in the sixth run of the game with one out before Tachioka scored on a RBI-ground out by Niehaus. USI would hold the 7-3 lead until the bottom of the sixth when TTU closed to within one, 7-6.
Tachioka finished the game four-for-five with a home run, two RBIs, and two runs scored, while Niehaus was two-for-five with a home run, two runs scored, and three RBIs.
The USI Eagles picked up the eventual game-winning run in the top of the eighth when junior pinch hitter Gavin McLarty (Buckner, Kentucky) crushed the ball over the right field fence for his first home run of the season and an 8-6 lead.
USI held off the Golden Eagles in the bottom of the eighth as the lead shrank to 8-7 before junior right-hander Carter Stamm came on to get the Screaming Eagles out of a bases-loaded jam by getting the final out of the frame. Stamm continued into the ninth and picked up his second save of the season by setting down three of four Golden Eagles in the final inning to preserve the 8-7 victory.
Ciuffetelli (3-1) posted his third win of the season after going five-plus innings of work. He allowed five runs on eight hits and one walk, while striking out three.
In game two, USI could not overcome 11 unanswered runs by TTU in the third and fourth and lost the nightcap, 11-7.
The USI Eagles seemed to have command of the contest after sending 10 men to the plate and finishing their half of the third with a 5-0 lead. The five-run frame was highlighted by a two-run double by junior designated hitter Parker Stroh.
The Golden Eagles responded by tying the score, 5-5, by matching USI's five-run third before pulling out in front, 11-5, with a six-run fourth inning. USI got one of the runs back in the fifth when junior leftfielder Steven Molinet (Elberfeld, Indiana) scored on a error to make the score, 11-6.
USI tried to rally in the final two innings but ran out of outs. The USI Eagles left runners at second and third in the eighth and left a pair of runners on in the ninth after pushing a run across for the 11-7 final.
On the mound in game two, junior right-hander Matthew Moore (Newburgh, Indiana) took the loss in relief. Moore (1-1) allowed three runs on three hits and two walks, while striking one in one inning.
USI junior right-hander Trent Robinson (Louisville, Kentucky) started and got the no-decision. Robinson allowed five runs on five hits and two walks in addition to striking out three in two innings.
The Screaming Eagles did receive a great relief outing from freshman left-hander Will Kiesel (Wadesville, Indiana). Kiesel threw 4.1 scoreless innings, allowing four walks and striking out six.
UT MARTIN 6, ILLINOIS 4
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Junior third baseman Mac Danford cranked a pair of home runs this evening as the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball squad earned an impressive 6-4 triumph at Big Ten Conference foe Illinois.
Tonight's result marks the third consecutive season that the Skyhawks (22-32) have knocked off a Power 5 opponent, also defeating Alabama out of the Southeastern Conference each of the past two seasons.
Danford's two-homer performance was his second of the season as he also crushed a pair of dingers against Austin Peay on April 12. His second longball was his 10th of the spring, tying him with Jack Culumovic for the team lead in that category.
Andrew Fernandez had two hits and scored a run while Hunter McLean reached base safely three times (including a program-record 19th hit by pitch), drove in a run and scored once. Blaze Bell (run scored) and Slade Taylor (RBI) also helped guide UT Martin offensively.
The Skyhawks received several quality outings on the hill, beginning with three scoreless innings from J. Henry Hobson. The sophomore right-hander out of Fort Myers, Fla. made his first start since March 7 and allowed just two baserunners. Campbell Cleveland (2-4) was downright electric over his three frames, whiffing a career-best five batters while allowing only one hit on the way to the win. Zach Wager hurled the final three innings and came away with his fourth save of the 2023 campaign.
Just as it did last night, UT Martin got off to an early lead with plenty of offense in its first at-bat. After two quick outs, Will Smith singled and set up Danford for his first round tripper of the night. Bell then singled and after a Culumovic walk, McLean lined a single to center that plated Bell and made the score 3-0 in favor of the Skyhawks.
Hobson worked quickly in the bottom of the first, retiring the side in order on three groundouts. He then pitched around a leadoff single in the second to produce another zero on the scoreboard.
UT Martin tacked on another run with two outs in the top of the third. McLean worked a walk and moved up to second base on a wild pitch. Taylor followed with a clutch RBI single to push the Skyhawk advantage out to 4-0.
In his final inning of work, Hobson recorded two groundouts and a strikeout. UT Martin padded its lead with two more runs thanks to another blast from Danford. Fernandez singled to lead off the frame and four pitches later, Danford cranked his second home run of the game to extend the Skyhawk lead out to six runs.
Cleveland entered the game with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth as the Fighting Illini (24-25) had already gotten on the scoreboard with one run. Cleveland proceeded to blow the next three Illinois batters away, shoving for three consecutive strikeouts – winning an 11-pitch at-bat to end the frame.
Cleveland stayed in the zone in the fifth, striking out the first batter he faced before inducing a pair of groundouts. The Fighting Illini were able to load the bases in the sixth but Cleveland once again prevailed, posting a strikeout and flyout to end the frame unscathed.
Wager then notched the rare three-inning save, which included a three-up, three-down eighth inning sandwiched around key double plays turned in the seventh and ninth frames.