SATURDAY'S SCORES
North Alabama 13,
Southern Indiana 7 (Mobile, Ala.)
Wichita State 14,
@Little Rock 0
@Dallas Baptist 8,
Southeast Missouri 6
@Tennessee Tech 5, Bellarmine 1
@Davidson 16,
Morehead State 5
@Troy 24-6,
SIUE 13-7
NORTH ALABAMA 13, SOUTHERN INDIANA 7
MOBILE, Ala. - University of Southern Indiana Baseball brought the bats on Saturday but couldn't avoid the big innings defensively. The Screaming Eagles fell short the University of North Alabama, 13-7, Saturday afternoon in Mobile, Alabama.
Junior Carson Seeman (Auburn, California) worked his way out of trouble in the first two frames leaving two Lion runners on the base paths in back-to-back innings.
The Eagles pushed across two runs in the first off an RBI sacrifice fly from senior Lane Crowden (Jackson, Missouri) after the first three batters reached base. Freshman Cameron Boyd (Villa Hills, Kentucky) took one for the team with a bases loaded hit by pitch to bring in another run and put the Eagles up by two after the first.
Junior Terrick Thompson-Allen (Sioux City, Iowa) singled in junior Joe Ricchio (Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin) in the third to extend the lead to three. However, the USI pitching staff started to falter giving up four runs in back-to-back innings in the fourth and fifth. The Eagles countered in the bottom of the fifth after senior Ren Tachioka (Saitama, Japan) and sophomore Caleb Niehaus (Newburgh, Indiana) delivered RBIs to cut the deficit to 8-5.
The Eagles couldn't avoid the big inning on defense as the Lions tagged three more runs in the top of the sixth. Senior Tucker Ebest (Austin, Texas) and Crowden both singled and scored in the bottom of the eighth to bring the Eagles within five. Pitching and defense proved to be the demise for the Eagles today, resulting in a 13-7 loss.
Tachioka led the Eagles offensively with three hits. Neihaus, Ebest, and Thompson-Allen collected two hits each.
WICHITA STATE 14, LITTLE ROCK 0
LITTLE Rock, Ark. - Game 2 of the opening weekend series against Wichita State ends in favor of the Shockers as Little Rock could not cross the plate - marking the first time in 36 games the Trojans have been held scoreless in a game.
Hoss Brewer notched 8 strikeouts against 23 batters faced and only conceded 7 hits. The senior pitcher made his season debut with a 5 inning showing.
With the series finale set, Zach Busick is set to make his college baseball debut. The freshman pitcher will go up against Tommy Lapour.
DALLAS BAPTIST 8, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 6
DALLAS - Southeast Missouri Baseball (0-2) dropped game two of the series to Dallas Baptist (2-0) by a final score of 8-6 on Saturday afternoon.
Chance Resetich and Michael Mugan paced the Redhawks offense going 3-for-3 and 2-for-5, respectively, at the plate. Mugan finished with two home runs and three RBIs in his second start as a Redhawk.
SEMO registered six runs on eight hits, leaving just six runners on base. DBU finished with eight runs on 12 hits, strading 13. The Patriots hit .316 with runners in scoring position led by Grant Jay and Michael Dattalo who each finished 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs.
Brian Strange made his first career start for SEMO on the mound pitching 2.2 innings, allowing just three runs on five hits. Strange struck out two over 16 batters.
The Redhawks picked up where they left off scoring the first run of the game on Saturday. Outfielder Michael Mugan, making the start in center field, hit an opposite field home run that cleared the right-field fence just over the outstretched glove to give SEMO a 1-0 lead.
RHP Brian Strange recorded two strikeouts in the first inning of his first appearance in a Redhawks uniform striking out DBU's Ethan Mann and Tom Poole for a scoreless first.
The Patriots would get on the board in the second inning with an RBI double by Alex Pendergast driving in Michael Dattalo to tie the game at one.
With a runner on in the third inning, Michael Mugan hit his second home run of the game again to right field. The ball hit off the foul pole for the two-run shot. Mugan was 2-for-2 with three RBIs after the third.
DBU would respond. A two-run third inning would tie the game at three. Catcher Grant Jay singled through the infield to score Ethan Mann. Michael Dattalo would score Jay with an RBI single of his own.
A scoreless fourth and fifth inning would send it to the sixth inning where the Redhawks would break the tie.
Making his second straight start for his SEMO career, first baseman Bryce Cannon singled to right field with Ty Stauss and Chance Resetich on base. Stauss would score to give SEMO a 4-3 lead.
The bottom half of the inning would see the Patriots tie it up via a fielder's choice. Off the bat of Grant Jay, the Redhawks would get the putout at first base (3-1), but the Patriots would tie it at four.
Freshman Brooks Kettering regained the lead for the Redhawks in the top of the seventh. Ben Palmer led off the inning with a single through the right side. A sacrifice bunt by leadoff hitter Peyton Leeper would move Palmer to third base.
With one out in the inning, Kettering would line out to center field registering the sacrifice fly to bring Palmer home from third. SEMO led 5-4 after the seventh.
Caleb Corbin made his first appearance in a SEMO uniform leading off the eighth inning. Corbin drew a walk in his first at-bat. Chance Resetich continued the momentum with a single into the outfield. Bryce Cannon was hit by a pitch and the Redhawks had the bases loaded with one out.
Catcher Shea McGahan lined out to center field to bring in Corbin and the sixth run of the ballgame for SEMO.
The Patriots would respond with a four run eighth inning and held on for the 8-6 victory on Saturday afternoon.
Tommy Windt (0-1) took the loss in the contest. Windt, making his first appearance in over a year, finished two complete innings striking out four. He allowed four earned runs over 13 batters.
TENNESSEE TECH 5, BELLARMINE 1
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Brilliant pitching and a hot start with the bats propelled the Tennessee Tech baseball team to a 5-1 win over visiting Bellarmine Saturday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles evened the season-opening series with the Knights at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
The purple and gold bounced back from its 11-3 defeat on opening day thanks to a masterful showing on the mound by senior hurler Peyton Calitri. The right hander dominated with a low pitch count for much of the afternoon, tossing seven innings with just a single, unearned run allowed to pick up his first win of the year.
Calitri blanked the Knights (1-1) through the opening six frames, racking up each of his four strikeouts during the span. Allowing just four hits on the day, the Tech starter didn't surrender a run until the top of the seventh.
With two outs, Bellarmine took advantage of a miscue in the outfield, with a runner reaching second on the error. The Knights followed with a base hit to plate its only run of the game before Calitri induced a fielder's choice to limit the damage.
The Golden Eagles (1-1) backed their pitcher's fantastic outing with an early barrage of offense, providing a comfortable lead by scoring all five runs in the opening three frames. Left fielder Austin Turner set the tone right out of the gate, ripping a double down the left-field line on the first pitch he saw.
Three pitches later, center field Jackson Green drove him in, peppering his own double down the third-base line for the quick, 1-0 lead. Back-to-back walks to right fielder Theo Bryant IV and second baseman Troy Baunsgard loaded the bases for the Cookeville crew before a wild pitch made it a 2-0 Tech advantage.
In the second, it was Turner and Green again combining to provide the damage. Turner drew one of his three walks on the day to set the table for his teammate. Green made it count, smashing his second double of the ball game to left center field for his second RBI and a 3-0 Golden Eagle lead.
Looking to continue the momentum in the third, Baunsgard opened things with a hustle triple to right-center field on the first pitch of the frame. Two batters later, shortstop Preston Steele delivered his first hit as a Golden Eagle, an RBI knock the other way into right-center field.
A fielding error by the Knights extended the inning with two outs before Turner drew another walk to load the bases. Steele went on to dent the dish on a wild pitch, giving Tech a 5-0 advantage that would hold the rest of the way.
Sophomore Jaxson Pease covered the final two innings for the purple and gold, scattering one hit and a walk while earning a pair of punch-outs.
Four Golden Eagles turned in multi-hit efforts, led by Green and his two doubles and two RBI. Making his first career start, rookie designated hitter Mack Whitcomb not only gathered his first collegiate hit, but also his second. Baunsgard and Steele also produced a pair of hits.
DAVIDSON 16, MOREHEAD STATE 5
DAVIDSON, N.C. - The Morehead State baseball team battled back from a 3-0 sixth inning deficit to tie the game on Saturday, but late inning rallies from the opposition proved to be too much as the Eagles fell for the first time this season to Davidson.
Grant Herron started for MSU, allowing three runs across 4.2 innings. Junior Riley Bradshaw (0-1) took the loss on the mound for Morehead State (1-1). Sophomore Zach Taylor was a bright spot out of the bullpen, going one shutout inning while allowing one hit, walking one and striking out two.
Freshman Alex Kean led the way offensively for the Eagles, going 1-for-3 in the ballgame with a double, a walk and two RBI. Senior Colton Becker put together a standout performance at the dish as well, going 1-for-4 with a walk and two RBI. Senior Ryan Grabosch also contributed, going 2-for-4 for Morehead State.
Trailing 3-0, the Eagles first put runs on the board in the sixth inning. Morehead State scored three runs in the frame, highlighted by a two-RBI double from Kean.
The Wildcats then scored four runs to retake their advantage heading into the seventh inning, when the Eagles responded by getting back on the scoreboard themselves.
Morehead State picked up two runs when a single from Becker scored freshman Hayden Robbins and senior Ryley Preece, which brought the score to 7-5 in favor of the Wildcats. The Eagles were unable to get any closer, as Davidson added nine runs to their tally on the way to a 16-5 final.
TROY 24-6, SIUE 13-7
TROY, Ala. - SIUE baseball picked up its first win of the season Saturday knocking off Troy 7-6 in the second game of a doubleheader at Riddle-Pace field.
The Cougars and Trojans split the day with Troy picking up a 24-13 win in seven innings in game one. SIUE is 1-2 overall. Troy is now 2-1.
Ethan Willoughby's two-out single in the first put SIUE on top in game two, but Troy answered with a three-run bottom of the first.
The Cougars then scored five times on five hits in the third inning. Willoughby drove in two more with a bases-loaded single. Zack Floyd doubled to score Willoughby. Floyd scored on a throwing error and Drew Mize singled home a run.
Floyd reached on a fielder's choice in the fourth which scored a run to put the Cougars up 7-3.
Troy reliever Luke Lyon kept the Cougars at bay, working six hitless innings striking out seven.
Garrett Helsel Worked four innings, allowing three runs in his first start of the year. He struck out three and walked four. Kyle Athmer (1-0) allowed three runs over five innings of relief to earn his first win as a Cougar.
Troy took control early in game one, touching up SIUE starter Alex Rodriguez (0-1) for six runs in just one-third of an inning. The Trojans went ahead 12-0 after three innings. The Cougars scored three times in the fourth highlighted by a two-run double off the bat of Ryan Niedzwiedz. John Stallcup added a sacrifice fly in the inning to make it 12-3 Troy.
It was 16-3 when the Cougars scored seven times in the fifth thanks to four hits and two errors. Willoughby drove home two with a double. Drew Mize added two RBIs in two plate appearances. He doubled in a run and then later walked with the bases loaded. Stallcup added and RBI on a groundout and the Cougars scored runs on an error and a passed ball.
Troy stretched its lead to 20-10 before a three-run Cougar sixth inning. Zack Floyd hit a two-run home run and Stallcup followed with his first homer of the year to make it 20-13.
The Trojans scored three times in the sixth, and SIUE failed to answer in the seventh.
Willoughby finished the day 4-9 with five RBIs. Niedzwiedz was 5-7 with two RBIs.
Floyd finished with two hits and four RBIs. Daniel Gierer was 1-3 with a walk in game two after being added as a late substitute.