TUESDAY'S SCORES
@UT Martin 17, Alabama A&M 7
@Southern Illinois 6,
SIUE 5 (10)
@#15 Kentucky 9,
Tennessee Tech 2
@Arkansas State 9,
Little Rock 8
UT MARTIN 17, ALABAMA A&M 7
MARTIN, Tenn. - Each of the nine starting position players for the University of Tennessee at Martin scored a run this afternoon as the Skyhawk baseball team rolled to another double-digit victory, downing Alabama A&M by a 17-7 margin.
UT Martin’s 17 runs only trails the 18-spot it threw on the scoreboard at Lindenwood two days ago as a season-high in offensive production. Seven of the nine Skyhawks crossed the plate at least twice today as the lethal UT Martin offense scored seven runs in both the second and fifth innings, sandwiching a 3-run frame in the fourth as well.
Andrew Fernandez tallied four hits (two from each side of the plate), three runs scored and three RBI’s while Mac Danford and Zac Rice each homered, scored twice and drove in four runs for the Skyhawks (18-31). Jack Culumovic reached base safely three times (two singles and a walk) to go along with three RBI’s while Caleb Hobson, Will Smith, Blaze Bell and Cameron Brady all scored twice.
On the mound, Jordan Armstrong (3-5) picked up the win after throwing two shutout innings on a pitch count. Tucker Reed and Zach Wager each made scoreless relief appearances while Baylor Jones, Eli Martin and Colin Millar contributed to seven total strikeouts in five innings from the UT Martin bullpen.
Armstrong worked around two-out baserunners in each of his frames, wrapping up his day on a beautiful breaking ball for a called strikeout in the top of the second.
The Skyhawk offense unloaded in the bottom half of the frame, sending 11 batters to the dish. Culumovic smoked a line drive up the middle for a two-run single, plating Hunter McLean (reached on a hit by pitch) and Bell (reached via fielder’s choice). Culumovic soon scored on a passed ball before Hobson smacked an RBI single up the middle that scored Brady (who reached on a walk). Following a Bulldog pitching change, Fernandez accounted for an opposite-field two-run single before Danford earned an RBI on a single deep in the hole at shortstop – his second hit of the inning.
Pitching with a 7-0 lead, Reed needed only eight pitches to stroll through the top of the third in his lone inning of the day.
Alabama A&M got on the scoreboard with three runs in the fourth but UT Martin got all three runs back in the bottom half of the inning. A one-out single from Fernandez and a Bulldog error set up the hot-swinging Danford, who crushed a 2-1 offering well beyond the wall in left center to make the score 10-3.
After the Bulldogs scored twice in the fifth, a dozen different Skyhawks made plate appearances in a seven-run bottom half. Brady was issued a leadoff walk and three pitches later, Rice creamed his fifth homer of the season – a no-doubter out to left center. Hobson then singled and came around to score on a Fernandez RBI double. Fernandez eventually came in to score on a balk while Smith (walk), Danford (hit by pitch) and Bell (hit by pitch) reached safely to load the bases for Culumovic, who worked a walk for an easy RBI. Rice then managed his second extra-base hit of the inning – a two-run double off the wall that just missed another homer by inches – to push the lead back out to 17-5.
Alabama A&M scored two runs in the sixth but Wager slammed the door in the seventh, striking out the first two batters he faced before inducing a flyout as part of a perfect inning.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 6, SIUE 5 (10)
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois first baseman Matt Schark's one-out single in the bottom of the 10th inning scored Nathan Bandy to give the Salukis a 6-5 win over SIUE Tuesday at Itchy Jones Stadium.
The Cougars dropped their fourth consecutive game and fell to 24-23. SIU Carbondale improved to 28-21. The win evens the season series after SIUE picked up a 5-4 win in Edwardsville in March.
The 10th began with an SIUE error allowing Steven Loden to reach. A fielder's choice and back-to-backk hits left runners at second and third for Schark. Zeus Ponder (2-2) suffered the loss-allowing the 10th-inning run.
The walk-off win followed an SIUE comeback which saw the Cougars score twice in the top of the ninth inning. The Cougars trailed 5-3 Avery Owusu-Asiedu's bases-loaded hit plated the game-tying runs.
The Salukis scored three times off SIUE starter Teague Conrad, who worked the first two innings. The Cougars tied the game in the third. Brennan Orf drove home Chase Bloomer, who had doubled to start the inning, to make it 3-1. Owusu-Asiedu followed with a home run to straight-away center to even the score.
The Salukis scored single runs in the seventh and eighth innings to take the 5-3 lead.
SIUC had a chance to win in the bottom of the ninth, loading the bases with one out against Ponder, before the right-hander picked up a strikeout and a flyout to hold the game at 5-5.
Owusu-Asiedu finished 4-5 with four RBIs to lead SIUE. He has hit six home runs in his last six games.
Bloomer was 2-4. Orf was 1-4.
Ian Benner worked three scoreless innings in relief of Conrad. Garrett Helsel allowed a run in two innings of relief. Taylor Bruninga allowed a run in an inning of work.
#15 KENTUCKY 9, TENNESSEE TECH 2
LEXINGTON, Ky. - An early lead was not enough for the Tennessee Tech baseball team to pull off its second upset over a Southeastern Conference opponent this season, as the Golden Eagles dropped its final non-conference tilt of the year Tuesday evening at Kentucky Proud Park against No. 16 nationally-ranked Kentucky.
The offense came ready to produce early for the purple and gold, with shortstop Troy Baunsgard watching the first four pitches of the ball game miss their mark. With the free pass, the junior lead-off man extended his reached-base streak to 42 games, the third-longest mark in program history.
A double to right-center field off the bat of third baseman Peyton Mills put a pair in scoring position, and, with two outs, catcher Hayden Gilliland loaded the bases after taking four consecutive misses by the UK starter. It was second baseman Eddie Garza pushing Tech (17-28) out front first, patiently taking five pitches before drawing his own free trip to first to plate a run.
The Golden Eagles doubled the advantage in the third inning, this time turning to a savvy veteran on a heater like very few have seen to provide the damage. With one out, first baseman John Dyer jumped on an 0-1 offering and belted a solo blast left field, clearing the wall for his 19th home run of the year.
The round-tripper marked the 43rd of the senior's career, ranking him in a tie for 21st on the Ohio Valley Conference's all-time home run charts and sixth in Tech's record books. It also represented his 11th long ball in the last 12 games and extended his career-long hitting streak to 17 straight contests. He now sits just one dinger shy of becoming just the fifth Golden Eagle ever to hit 20 in a single season.
Kentucky (34-13) finally got things going on offense in the bottom of the third, tying the game at 2-2 with a pair of markers. Tech reliever Andrew Guardino held the Wildcat bats at bay in the fourth after working into a bases-loaded jam with no out, inducing an infield fly to Garza for the first out. He bounced back with a clutch strikeout after watching Kentucky foul off five consecutive pitches. A ground out to Baunsgard ended the frame.
The Wildcats kept coming after the Cookeville crew, backed by a renewed vigor on the mound that saw the bullpen hold the Golden Eagles to just two hits after the third inning. With the pitching in command, the UK bats took the lead in the fifth with a lead-off dinger to right-center field.
In the sixth, the home squad's offense made the big dent in the scoreboard, plating six on six hits and two walks. Sporting a seven-run lead, Kentucky held off Tech's final threat on the base paths in the seventh.
With one out, left fielder Austin Turner flipped a base knock to center field, and Mills followed by drawing a five-pitch walk. Two batters later, catcher Hayden Gilliland was plunked on a full count to load the bases with two outs. UK escaped unscathed, using a fielder's choice at second base to move on to the stretch.
ARKANSAS STATE 9, LITTLE ROCK 8
JONESBORO, Ark. - The Trojans led by four heading into the bottom of the seventh inning but one run in the seventh, three in the eighth and one in the ninth lifted ASU over Little Rock by a final of 9-8 on Tuesday night. The loss drops the Trojans record to 27-18 on the year as Little Rock will now look forward to returning home with a conference series against Tennessee Tech.
Little Rock got out to a quick lead in the top of the first when Tyler Williams blasted his eighth homerun of the year for a solo shot that gave the Trojans a 1-0 advantage.
Arkansas State answered in the bottom of the first inning with four runs on three hits and three of the runs coming with two outs in the inning to jump back up 4-1.
The Trojans saw much of the offensive production take place in the top of the second inning as Skyler Trevino kicked things off with a moonshot to right-center field that cleared the wall and hit halfway up the light pole. Walks were then drawn by Noah Brewer and Ty Rhoades before Jake Wright dumped a single into left to score Brewer. Alex Seguine wrapped up the offensive onslaught with a three run homerun to left field, his second homer of the year. By the end of the inning Little Rock had taken the 6-4 lead.
Little Rock added two more runs to the lead with one coming in each the fourth and fifth innings. Rhoades was able to scamper home on a passed ball in the fourth and Trevino crossed the plate on a successful safety squeeze executed by Christian Bernabe in the fifth to put the Trojans up 8-4.
Hoss Brewer entered the game on the mound for the bottom of the second and twirled five scoreless innings through the middle of the game, at one point retiring 10 straight batters. The Red Wolves would get one unearned run off of the righthander in the bottom of the seventh to tighten things up and reduce the lead to three.
ASU was able to get three runs on two hits in the bottom of the eighth to tie things up before a solo homerun to left field ended things in the bottom of the ninth.
Brewer was excellent in his extended relief appearance with a final line of six innings pitched, scattering four hits with no earned runs and striking out three on just 81 pitches.
Three Trojans hit long balls today in Seguine, Williams and Trevino as the trio combined for five of Little Rock's seven RBI, Seguine being the leader with three.
Luke Pectol kept his multi-hit game streak alive in a 2-for-4 game with a pair of singles, he also walked and scored once.
The Trojans will return to action on Friday at 6 p.m. back at Gary Hogan Field to kick off a weekend series against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles.