FRIDAY'S SCORES
Saint Louis 20,
Western Illinois 6 (Millington, Tenn.)
@Little Rock 5, Illinois State 4 (12)
St. Thomas 5,
@Southeast Missouri 3
@Oral Roberts 10,
SIUE 6
@Tennessee Tech 4, Sacred Heart 1
Morehead State 5, @North Alabama 2
@Southern Indiana 11, Eastern Michigan 8
@UT Martin 12, Brown 2
@Nicholls 9,
Eastern Illinois 6
@Arkansas State 4,
Lindenwood 3
SAINT LOUIS 20, WESTERN ILLINOIS 6
MILLINGTON, Tenn. - The Western Illinois baseball team fell in game one of a three-game set to Saint Louis 20-6 in Millington, TN. WIU moves to 1-3 overall on the season.
Western Illinois was down early as the score read 11-0 before Cesar Franco drove his second home run over the outfield fence. WIU's offense kept chipping away in the 5th and 6th inning. Kyree Alexander had a one-out double in the fifth, and Cesar Franco followed it with a walk. Maxton Polad kept his hot start to the season going with an RBI double to right center, cutting the deficit to 18-2. Liam Bushey tacked on a pair of RBIs with a single to center field as WIU trailed 18-4. The Leathernecks' offense stayed hot in the 6th inning as Bushey would have another RBI, and Alexander came around to score on a Saint Louis error.
Maxton Polad led the Leathernecks offense with two hits, going 2-3, scoring a run and an RBI. Liam Bushey had three RBIs for WIU as he went 1-2 at the plate. Western Illinois collected eight hits as a team.
LITTLE ROCK 5, ILLINOIS STATE 4 (12)
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Tyler Williams sets yet another record as he passes Ryan Scott (44) with 45 career doubles. On top of Williams record setting performance, the Trojans surmount an early 0-3 deficit to stretch the game to 12 innings winning off of a walk-off walk.
Williams entered the game with 43 doubles - just one behind Ryan Scott. In the top of the fourth, he notched the record double as he sent one into left center. In his next at bat, Williams hit another double down the left field line which earned him another record under his belt. Tyler Williams also holds career records for total bases (350) and triples (15).
For the first 3 innings, the Trojans could not cross the plate. The Redbirds would begin to build their lead scoring once in the second and twice in the third.
The fourth inning saw signs of life from the Trojans as they shutout the Redbirds stopping their momentum. In the bottom of the fourth, Nico Baumbach hit a sacrifice fly to center field bringing Luke Pectol in to put the Trojans on the board. The sacrifice fly from Baumbach was followed by an RBI single up the middle from Skyler Trevino bringing Tyler Williams home. The 2-run inning chipped the Redbirds lead to 1.
The score would remain knotted up until the 7th where both teams would score once a piece. Alex Seguine hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield allowing Ty Rhoades to cross the plate. Heading into the 8th inning, the Trojans still trailed by 1.
The bottom of the 8th inning saw a walk off home run from Nico Baumbach (3) over the right field wall tying the score at 4.
In the top of the 9th inning, Chris Curry called on the team's closer, Jacob Weatherley. Weatherley pitched 4 innings, faced 18 batters, gave up 4 hits, loaded the bases twice, all while conceding 0 runs. The fired up closer provided the late spark the Trojans needed from the bullpen and ultimately earned his first win of the season.
In the 12th inning, the Trojans were able to load the bases after Luke Pectol and Tyler Williams got on base from a walk and a single. Baumbach stepped to the plate and advanced all runners after an error in right field, setting the stage for Skyler Trevino. With bases loaded, Skyler Trevino stood in the batters box and earned a walkoff RBI walk to end the game.
ST. THOMAS 5, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri Baseball (1-4) dropped game one against St. Thomas (2-3) on Friday afternoon by a final score of 5-3 at Capaha Field.
RHP Collin Wilma started the afternoon on the mound for the Redhawks in his longest outing of the season. Wilma pitched 6.1 innings, allowing four runs on six hits. He registered a strikeout over 27 batters.
The Redhawks offense was paced by Chance Resetich. Resetich finished the day 2-for-5 with a double as SEMO recorded just five hits on the afternoon. Short stop Ben Palmer had the only home run of the day from either side, a third inning solo shot over the left field fence. Palmer finished 1-for-4 with a RBI.
RHP Gavin Johnston made a nice appearance out of the bullpen in Friday's contest. Johnston pitched the final 1.2 innings and allowed just one hit. He struckout two batters over seven faced.
St. Thomas jumped out of the gate with the game's first two runs. A single by St. Thomas' Mikey Gottschalk put the first runner on-base against Wilma.
A bunt single by Ben Vujovich put two runners on with just one out. The Tommies' first baseman Max Nyrop doubled down the right field line to bring in Gottschalk for the first two runs of the game.
Two more runs by St. Thomas in the third inning would give the Tommies a four-run lead before the Redhawks responded in the home half.
Leading off the third inning, Palmer blasted a solo shot over the left field wall off St. Thomas' Walker Retz (1-0).
Second baseman Brooks Kettering drew a walk two batters later and stole second base to get himself into scoring position. Michael Mugan flied out to right field to get Kettering to third.
Josh Cameron stepped up with two outs and flared a nice single to center field to score Kettering and the Redhawks cut the four-run deficit to just two. After the third inning, St. Thomas led 4-2.
A defensive battle the rest of the way, both teams would combine for just two runs the rest of the way and not before the eighth inning.
Nyrop homered to center field with one out in the eighth inning off reliever Ethan Osborne for St. Thomas' fifth run of the ball game.
Back-to-back hits by Chance Resetich and Bryce Cannon in the Redhawks' eighth inning. Resetich doubled, Cannon singled, and the Redhawks ahd runners on the corners with just one out.
An RBI groundout by Ty Stauss plated Resetich to get SEMO to within two and trailed 5-3 entering the final inning.
SEMO would load the bases in the ninth inning after a walk to Peyton Leeper, followed by an error on St. Thomas' second baseman Tanner Recchio which allowed Kettering to reach base.
Mugan would advance the runners with a ground out to the pitcher to put Redhawks on second and third with two outs. Josh Cameron would hit next and would be plunked by the pitch of Carl Cano to load the bases.
The Redhawks would strand the bases loaded in the final inning with a pop out to the catcher as St. Thomas held on for a 5-3 victory.
Wilma (0-1) was given the loss in the contest.
ORAL ROBERTS 10, SIUE 6
TULSA, Okla. - SIUE baseball hit three home runs Friday, but dropped the opener of a three-game series 10-6 to Oral Roberts.
The Cougars fell to 1-4. ORU improved to 2-3.
The Cougars got on top with two outs in the first. Ryan Niedzwiedz singled ahead of Zack Floyd who connected for his second home run of the year to put SIUE up 2-0. ORU got back-to-back doubles in the second inning to pull within one.
The Golden Eagles scored five times on four hits and two walks to chase SIUE starter Tyler DeLong in the fourth. DeLong (0-1) allowed six runs on six hits over 3.1 innings. He was plagued by five walks. He struck out just one.
Niedzwiedz led off the top of the sixth with his first collegiate home run to straight away center, which cut the ORU lead back to 6-3.
The Golden Eagles pushed two across in the bottom of the sixth against SIUE reliever Jacob Kampf. Kampf worked 2.2 innings, allowing four runs on six hits. He struck out three.
Gage Franck hit SIUE's third home run of the day in the seventh inning for an 8-4 score. It was 10-4 in the eighth when the Cougars loaded the bases. Ethan Willoughby and Chase Bloomer each picked up RBI hits. The Cougars put a pair on in the ninth inning, but a double play thwarted the Cougars' threat.
Niedzwiedz 3-4 with the homer and three runs scored. Floyd drove in two. Willoughby finished with two hits and the RBI.
Liam McKillop pitched two scoreless innings to finish the game for SIUE. Drew Stahl and David Herring each had three hits for Oral Roberts, which outhit SIUE 14-10 in the game.
TENNESSEE TECH 4, SACRED HEART 1
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Maybe the one time it's good to sound like a broken record, the Tennessee Tech pitching staff delivered yet another stellar showing Friday afternoon, guiding the Golden Eagle baseball team to its fourth straight win with a 4-1 decision over Sacred Heart at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
Using the same recipe as their past three victories, the Tech squad (4-1) used early offense to set up its hurlers with room to land the plane. The Golden Eagles limited their opponent to one run or less for the fourth consecutive contest, with two of the three runs surrendered in that time of the unearned variety.
Bouncing back from a loss on opening day, Tech hurler Landon Smiddy set the tone early for the Cookeville crew, gathering the first of his four punch-outs on the day. He worked around a pair of baserunners to put up the first of many zeros on the scoreboard in the visitor's row.
A patient approach provided the Golden Eagles with instant offense, as left fielder Austin Turner drew a lead-off walk, right fielder Theo Bryant IV was plunked by a pitch, and catcher Hayden Gilliland collected a four-pitch free pass to load the bases. Center fielder Nicho Jordan delivered what would equate to the knock-out blow in the first, peppering a single up the middle to plate a pair.
The Pioneers (0-4) picked up their lone run of the contest in the second, scoring an unearned run behind a double, a passed ball, and a sac fly. The Tech bats responded right away, getting the run back with a little two-out rally.
Turner ripped a double to right-center field, setting up a hustle play just two pitches later. On a 1-0 count, Bryant hit a floating line drive to no-man's land between deep second and first base. The Tech speedster beat out a tough throw from by Sacred Heart's John Greene as Turner rounded third and took off for the plate.
Greene's throw was not only late, but also pulled the first baseman off the bag and took his attention away from the play long enough for Turner to slide in safely at home for another Tech run. Following the heads-up play, Tech led 3-0.
Senior catcher Hayden Gilliland made it a more comfortable 4-1 lead in the third, blasting the third pitch he saw to right field for a lead-off home run and his first trot around the bags of the year. Smiddy went on to chalk up three more clean sheets before handing things over to the bullpen.
Overall, the ETSU transfer covered 6.0 innings with just two hits allowed and a walk. In picking up his first win in the purple and gold, Smiddy struck out four Pioneers while allowing just the one, unearned marker.
Taking over on the hill was JUCO product Jack Erdman. The right-hander worked his way out of trouble in the seventh before settling down and finishing off the eighth and ninth with little drama. Knocking out the final three frames, Erdman inked his second save of the season with two hits and a pair of walks to team up with two strikeouts.
Seven of Tech's nine batters racked up hits in the contest while the pairing of Smiddy and Erdman tossed up seven scoreless frames to cement the win.
MOREHEAD STATE 5, NORTH ALABAMA 2
FLORENCE, Ala. - - Luke Helton was dominant on Friday, fanning eight North Alabama hitters over six innings of work to help power the Morehead State Eagles past the North Alabama Lions 5-2 in the series opener.
In addition to his eight strikeouts, Helton (2-0) threw six innings, giving up one run on four hits and walking none for Morehead State (3-2). Sophomore Carter Owens also made an impact on the mound for the Eagles, throwing 1.1 scoreless innings while allowing no hits, with no walks and two strikeouts. Will Grimmett picked up his second save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning.
Senior Ryley Preece led the way offensively for the Eagles, going 2-for-4 in the ballgame with a home run, a walk and two RBI. Isaias Guzman provided a standout performance at the plate as well, going 1-for-4 with two RBI. Senior Roman Kuntz also contributed, going 1-for-2 for Morehead State with a walk and an RBI.
The Eagles were trailing 1-0 in the third inning when they first put runs on the board. Morehead State scored three runs in the frame, highlighted by a two-run single off the bat of Guzman.
The Lions failed to push any runs across before the Eagles offense got back to their scoring ways the next inning. Morehead State scored once on an RBI single off the bat of Preece, which brought the Eagles lead to 4-1.
North Alabama narrowed Morehead State's lead to 4-2 before the Eagles stretched the advantage to 5-2 in the ninth inning. The Eagles added a run on Preece's two-out solo home run off junior Brycen Parrish. The score remained 5-2 for the rest of the game, as Morehead State held on for the win.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 11, EASTERN MICHIGAN 8
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Baseball rallied from five runs down to post its first win of the season with an 11-8 victory over Eastern Michigan University Friday afternoon at the USI Baseball Field. USI is 1-4 to start the season, while EMU is 1-4.
The EMU Eagles struck first with five runs in the opening frame and would hold onto the 5-0 lead through four frames before the Screaming Eagles were able to get onto the scoreboard. USI would rally to within one in the fifth with a four spot off of three hits, a walk, and a hit batter.
USI sophomore second baseman Caleb Niehaus (Newburgh, Indiana) started the fourth inning rally with a single, stole second, advanced to third on a fielder's choice and scored on a wild pitch. Junior shortstop Ricardo Van Grieken (Venezuela) crossed the plate with USI's second run of the game on a single by junior shortstop Lane Crowden (Jackson, Missouri) to make the score 5-2.
Freshman leftfielder Cameron Boyd (Villa Hills, Kentucky) cut the deficit to one, 5-4, with his first collegiate home run, a two-run shot to left to plate Crowden. EMU would rebound to get one of the runs back in the top of the sixth to lead, 6-4.
USI would rally to the tie the score in the bottom of the sixth, 6-6. Junior centerfielder Terrick Thompson-Allen (Souix City, Iowa) closed the gap to 6-5 by scoring on a ground out by senior designated hitter Tucker Ebest (Austin, Texas), while freshman rightfielder Ethan Rothschild (Evansville, Indiana) knotted the game at 6-6 by scoring on a wild pitch.s
Eastern Michigan grabbed the lead for a third time in the top of the seventh, 8-6, with a pair of unearned runs setting the stage for a third-straight multi-run frame by USI.
The Screaming Eagles tied the score, 8-8, on a two-run single by Rothschild. Rothschild, who was two-for-three with two runs scored and two RBI, would advance to second on a single by Niehaus and scored the lead run, 9-8, on a two-run single by Ebest.
USI sealed the victory with a pair of runs in the top of the ninth for eventual 11-8 victory. Niehaus, who was three-for-five with a run scored and two RBI, singled to center field for the two runs, scoring Rothschild and Thompson-Allen for the 10th and 11th runs of the game.
The winning pitcher tonight was junior lefthander Mason Sweeney (Fishers, Indiana) in relief. Sweeney (1-0) got the final two outs of the seventh, allowing a hit and an unearned run.
USI sophomore left-hander Will Keisel (Wadesville, Indiana) picked up his first save in the victory. Keisel allowed one hit in 1.2 innings on the bump, walking one and striking out two.
USI junior right-hander Gavin Seebold kept USI in the game for 4.2 innings after junior right-handed starter Gavin Morris (Brazil, Indiana) allowed five runs in the first inning. Seebold blanked the EMU Eagles on three hits and three walks, while striking out four.
Morris was touched for five runs on five hits and a walk in one-third of a frame.
UT MARTIN 12, BROWN 2
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team capitalized on a crystal-clear sunny afternoon for a 12-2 victory in seven innings of the series opener against Brown. The Skyhawks outhit the Bears 12 to 5 and held the visitors scoreless for six of the seven innings played.
Will Smith and Blaze Bell went a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate in the offensive onslaught for UT Martin (2-3). Bell recorded three RBI’s while Smith doubled and crossed home plate on three separate occasions.
Starting pitcher Tristan Walton (1-1) was on top of his game, going six innings with six punchouts with only one earned run allowed. Sophomore right-hander Kaleb Baskin pitched the seventh and made quick work of the Bears to secure the Game 1 win for the Skyhawks.
UT Martin took the lead in the second inning and wouldn’t relinquish it. Three runs went up on the scoreboard courtesy of a Bell RBI single to score Will Smith. Mac Danford then scored on a fielder’s choice before Bell swiped home on a double steal to cap off the home half.
The run support continued to pour in when Danford and Bell singled home a pair of runs in the third, padding the Skyhawk lead to 5-0.
Walton was only met with trouble in the fourth inning but he was able to get out of with an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play. The UT Martin bats quickly answered with two runs in the bottom half of the frame thanks to a Will Smith single that plated Jalen Fithian. Andrew Fernandez scored later in the inning to make the lead 7-2 for the Orange and Blue.
With a runner on third base in the top of the fifth, Walton answered the pressure by striking out three straight batters to put himself in line for the win. Cameron Brady would line an RBI single up the middle in the bottom half of the inning and later scored on a throwing error.
Walton recorded his third three-up, three-down inning in the sixth, capping off his successful second start of the season. RBI doubles from Will Smith and Cole Smith – along with a Bell run-scoring single – landed a 10-run advantage for the Skyhawks going into the top of the seventh.
That was plenty of support for Baskin, who did not allow a hit in his second appearance out of the bullpen in 2024.
NICHOLLS 9, EASTERN ILLINOIS 6
THIBODAUX, La. - Eastern Illinois baseball fell to Nicholls State on Friday evening by a score of 9-6. The Panthers were unable to overcome four errors that resulted in three unearned runs for Nicholls.
The Colonels struck first with one run in each of the first two innings, but the Panthers wasted no time punching back, plating four runs in the top of the third.
Eastern's first two runs came off a Trenton Pallas single that drove in Tyler Castro and Eli Hill. In the following at bat, a Michael O'Conor double to deep left field allowed the speedy Pallas to advance all the way home from first base.
The Panthers tacked on one more run in the inning when Lucas Loos tripled to bring home O'Conor. It was EIU's first three-bagger of the season.
Nicholls responded with two runs in the bottom of the third to tie the game before pulling back ahead with one run in the fourth.
Eastern pulled the score back to even with a Grant Lashure RBI single in the top of the sixth, but the Colonels scored three in the bottom half to break the game open.
The Panthers scored one more run in the eighth when Cole Gober doubled to bring in O'Conor, but they were unable to put a rally together as they dropped to 1-3 on the young season.
Three Panthers recorded two hits. Trenton Pallas led the team with two RBI, while Michael O'Conor scored two runs.
Christian Carew (0-1) suffered the loss for EIU, while Nicholls reliever Nico Saltaformaggio gets credit for the win.
ARKANSAS STATE 4, LINDENWOOD 3
JONESBORO, Ark. - Lindenwood baseball was edged out 4-3 to the Red Wolves of Arkansas State University on Friday evening.
Both teams were scoreless in the opening inning, but the Lions landed on the scoreboard in the top of the second, with one run scored. Bryson Arnette homered to left field to lift Lindenwood up 1-0 entering the bottom of the inning.
Arkansas State was able to score two runs in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings, taking them up 4-1. The Lions scored once in the top of the sixth and another in the top of the eighth, bringing the score to 4-3. In the sixth, Arnette stole second and Kam Edwards scored on the throw. The final LU run was scored was one for the books. Arnette struck out swinging, reached first on a wild pitch, advanced to second on a throwing error by the Red Wolves' catcher, and was eventually thrown out at third on a right field to third baseman play, while James Jett scored.
Zach Buschschulte took the loss for the Lions on the mound, after pitching 5.2 innings. He tallied 92 pitches, five hits, two walks, three strikeouts and four errors.