SATURDAY'S SCORES
Saint Louis 17,
Western Illinois 4 (Millington, Tenn.)
Illinois State 14,
@Little Rock 5
St. Thomas 3-12,
@Southeast Missouri 2-3
@Oral Roberts 11,
SIUE 3
@Tennessee Tech 7, Sacred Heart 4
@North Alabama 9,
Morehead State 6
Eastern Michigan 7,
@Southern Indiana 4
@UT Martin 3, Brown 2
@Nicholls 4,
Eastern Illinois 0
@Arkansas State 7,
Lindenwood 6
SAINT LOUIS 17, WESTERN ILLINOIS 3
MILLINGTON, Tenn. - Western Illinois baseball fell 17-4 in game two of their three-game series to Saint Louis. The Leathernecks move 1-4 on the season.
Caden Kratz was dealing to start Saturday's matchup as he had two strikeouts through two scoreless innings. Chris Hege drew a one-out walk down 1-0 in the fourth inning. Jackson Horn moved him to third with a single, and finally, Grant Palmer drew a walk to load the bases. Maxton Polad kept his hot start to the season with a base-clearing double, putting WIU in front 3-1. Saint Louis's offense woke up as WIU cooled down, with SLU shutting down WIU and extending their lead out 17-3. Western Illinois would get a run back in the 9th as Steven Walsh would drive in Liam Bushey.
Western Illinois' offense totaled seven hits on the afternoon, with two coming off the bat of Chris Hege. Maxton Polad had the lone extra base hit with his double. Caden Kratz finished with 3.2 innings pitch, allowing just one run while striking out four.
ILLINOIS STATE 14, LITTLE ROCK 5
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Little Rock Baseball had a chance to clinch the series victory over Illinois State, but early season struggles prevented the Trojans from pulling away. Sunday's 1 p.m. game will now decide the series.
Illinois State found their stride in the middle of the game after a big 4-run inning in the top of the third. The Rebirds would go on to score 3 runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth with 1 more in the seventh. At the end of the game, the Redbirds notched 14 runs off 16 hits and no errors. Pitcher of record, Tyrelle Chadwick earned his first win of the year with a save from Matthew Donnison.
After a big come-from-behind win in yesterday's game, the Trojans were unable to carry the momentum into today's game. In the bottom of the first inning, the Trojans forced the Redbirds into a jam after 3 straight walks loaded the bases. Nico Baumbach would then ground into a double, but managed to bring Alex Seguine home giving the Trojans an early 1-0 lead. In the third, Tyler Williams added another double to his stat line just one day after setting the school record for career doubles. Williams would then be brought home by an RBI single from Baumbach, cutting the deficit to just 2. Williams would add another double in the 7th inning, this time bringing Alex Seguine home. The Trojans would add one last run in the ninth inning as Williams earned his 3rd hit of the ninth with an RBI single allowing Alex Seguine to earn his 3rd run of the night.
Skyler Trevino hit his first home run of the 2024 season in the 6th inning with a 470 foot bomb over the right field wall. Trevino now has 16 career home runs making him 1 away from being in the top 10 all-time as a Trojan.
ST. THOMAS 3-12, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 2-3
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - - Southeast Missouri Baseball (1-6) dropped both games on Saturday to St. Thomas (4-3) by a final score of 3-2 and 12-3, respectively, at Capaha Field.
SEMO was outhit 22-7 by St. Thomas over the afternoon as the Tommies picked up their third and fourth wins of the season.
Outfielder Keoni Coloma made his SEMO debut in game two, finishing with his first collegiate hit and RBI in the ball game. Coloma finished the game 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk.
RHP Payton Lawrence had a nice outing out of the bullpen for SEMO in the second game. Lawrence pitched 2.0 innings, and allowed no hits, no runs, and struck out three batters. Lawrence faced six hitters, and retired all six.
The Redhawks battled to the end in the first game on Saturday afternoon. Trailing 3-0 entering the final inning, the Redhawks hit two solo home runs in the inning to cut the Tommies' lead to just one.
After a strikeout started the inning, Josh Cameron homered to right field off St. Thomas' Jake Mrosko.
Two batters later, with two outs in the inning, short stop Ben Palmer homered to left field as the Redhawks trailed by just one.
A ground ball out ended the shortened game in seven innings.
A defensive slugfest, the starting pitchers allowed just four runs between the two of them. SEMO's RHP Brian Strange (0-1) finished his outing pitching 5.0 innings, striking out three batters. He allowed just two runs on five hits.
St. Thomas' Jacob Mrosko (1-0) dominated for six innings, allowing zero hits to Redhawk hitters. Michael Mugan broke up the no hitter in the sixth inning. Mrosko finished 7.0 innings allowing just two runs on three hits and struck out 12 batters.
The Redhawks got a good start from Tommy Windt in the second game of the day, keeping St. Thomas off the board for the first three innings. Windt surrendered just two hits through the first three innings, but a huge fourth inning for St. Thomas broke the game open for the Tommies.
A leadoff single by Tommie right fielder Ben Vujovich to right field put a runner on early. An error allowed Max Nyrop to reach base. An RBI single by Ben Richartz opened the scoring for the Tommies and they never looked back.
A five run fourth inning, followed by a four run fifth inning saw St. Thomas on their way to their second win of the day.
The Redhawks opened the scoring in the contest, with an RBI base hit by second baseman Brooks Kettering. Keoni Coloma registered his first collegiate hit, advanced to second on a Ben Palmer groundout, and was in scoring position with Kettering coming to the plate.
Kettering rifled a ball the opposite way that found the outfield grass to score Coloma from second base.
Coloma continued his hot start to his season in the nine hole, in his second at-bat he registered an RBI single that scored Gavin Baldwin from second. After the ffith inning, SEMO trailed 9-2.
The Tomies would plate three more runs in the contest, the Redhawks just one, and SEMO dropped the contest 12-3.
ORAL ROBERTS 11, SIUE 3
TULSA, Okla. - Oral Roberts broke a 2-2 tie with a six-run fifth inning Saturday and went on to down SIUE 11-3 in the second game of a three-game weekend series.
SIUE fell to 1-5. ORU improved to 3-3.
The Cougars trailed 2-0 when they scored twice on three hits in the top of fifth. Ethan Willoughby singled to lead off the inning, Chase Bloomer followed with an RBI triple and then scored on an RBI-groundout by Gage Franck. Mack Mitchell singled in the inning but was left on base.
The Golden Eagles answered with six runs on three hits in the bottom of the inning. They loaded the bases on a hit, a walk and a hit batter which forced SIUE starter Garrett Helsel out of the game. Kle Athmer relieved Helsel and allowed a two-run single to Drew Stahl. A two-out walk loaded the bases for ORU catcher Ryan Blackwell who hit a grand slam to cap the six-run inning.
It was 9-2 Oral Roberts in the seventh when Drew Mize doubled home a run for the Cougars. ORU added two more in the bottom of the inning.
Helsel (0-2) allowed five runs on five hits in 4.1 innings. He struck out four and walked four.
Mack Mitchell was the only Cougar with more than a single hit. He was 2-4.
TENNESSEE TECH 7, SACRED HEART 4
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - A gem on the mound and timely patience lifted the Tennessee Tech baseball team to its fifth consecutive win Saturday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles picked up its second series win of the year with a 7-4 victory over Sacred Heart at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
Picking up his second triumph on the hill this season, senior hurler Peyton Calitri calmly guided the purple and gold to the winner's circle. The right-hander provided 6.0 scoreless for the Golden Eagles (5-1), scattering three hits and striking out six Pioneers without issuing a walk.
After allowing a pair of base knocks with two outs in the opening frame, Calitri settled in and allowed just one more base runner the rest of the way, an infield hit in the third. The Tech veteran retired each of the last 10 batters he faced to provide the bats time to get him the lead.
The Golden Eagle delivered in the fourth, with center fielder Nicho Jordan setting the tone with a well-earned walk. He promptly stole both second and third, rattling Sacred Heart (0-5). Second baseman Troy Baunsgard was clipped by a 3-2 pitch, bringing on a pitching change by the Pioneers.
It didn't matter, as rookie designated hitter Mack Whitcomb whacked the first offering he saw through the left side for an RBI. Shortstop Preston Steele made it a 2-0 Tech lead, reaching on a fielder's choice to drive in the second marker of the frame.
The Cookeville crew went back to work in the fifth, loading the bases with two outs behind base hits from catcher Hayden Gilliland and Baunsgard, as well as a walk to Whitcomb. First baseman Preston Ford singled to shortstop to drive in the first run of the frame.
Steele kept the train rolling by getting plunked on a 1-2 pitch, earning the RBI the hard way. Right fielder Theo Bryant IV rounded out the scoring in the frame for Tech, waiting out a walk for a 5-0 advantage.
Sacred Heart plated its first two runs of the day in the seventh with a two-out, two-run double, but the Golden Eagles were quick to respond. Following the stretch, the offense returned to the patient approach that worked in the fifth.
Whitcomb collected a four-pitch free pass with one out before Steele collected a walk of his own with outs in the seventh. Bryant made it back-to-back bases on balls to load the bags before a third consecutive walk to left fielder Austin Turner produced an RBI. Steele scored on a wild pitch to provide a 7-2 Tech lead.
The Pioneers again picked up a pair of runs on a double with two outs, this time of the unearned variety. Sacred Heart tried to bring one more rally to the table in the ninth, despite Nick Vaccaro striking out the first two batters of the frame.
Clinging to a last inch of hope, Sacred Heart tallied a hit and a pair of walks to load the bases with still one out left to work with. Sophomore Brody Lanham came on to secure the win for the purple and gold and needed just one pitch to do so.
The right-hander induced a fly ball to left field, locking down his first save of the season. Baunsgard led Tech with two hits and two runs scored on the day while Whitcomb also dented the dish twice. The Golden Eagle lineup combined to draw another 11 walks in the tilt, including a team-high three from Bryant.
NORTH ALABAMA 9, MOREHEAD STATE 6
FLORENCE, Ala. - The Morehead State Eagles put together a spirited comeback, scoring four runs in the ninth inning, but the late-game rally came up short and they fell 9-6 to the North Alabama Lions Saturday.
Senior Grant Herron (0-1) got the ball to start for Morehead State (3-3) and took the loss. The right-hander went five innings, giving up seven runs, two earned, on six hits, allowing three walks and striking out six. Sophomore Zach Taylor was a bright spot for the Eagles, coming out of the bullpen and throwing one shutout inning, allowing no hits, with no walks and one strikeout.
In the batter's box, the Eagles were paced by Isaias Guzman, who went 2-for-4 on the day with a double, a walk and two RBI. Senior Colton Becker put together a standout performance at the plate as well, going 3-for-4 with a walk. Nick Gooden also chipped in for Morehead State, putting together two hits in five trips to the plate while adding an RBI.
The Eagles were trailing 9-0 in the eighth inning when they first put runs on the board. Morehead State managed to push across two runs in the inning.
The Eagles kept the Lions off the board before narrowing the gap further in the ninth. The Morehead State offense exploded for four runs, highlighted by a two-run double off the bat of Guzman, which brought the score to 9-6 in favor of the Lions. The Eagles brought the tying run to the plate with nobody out, but the ballgame ended with that ninth inning rally falling short.
EASTERN MICHIGAN 7, SOUTHERN INDIANA 4
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Baseball tried to put together a second-straight comeback against Eastern Michigan University, but fell short, 7-4, Saturday afternoon at the USI Baseball Field. USI is 1-5 to start the season, while EMU is 2-4.
After allowing two in the second and three in the third to fall behind, 5-0, USI started to chip away with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third. The Eagles loaded the bases with no outs in the third before freshman rightfielder Ethan Rothschild (Evansville, Indiana) scored on a ground out by junior third baseman Ricardo Van Grieken (Venezuela) to get the first USI tally of the game.
USI sophomore shortstop Caleb Niehaus (Newburgh, Indiana) crossed the plate to make the score 5-2 on a sacrifice fly by junior second baseman Lane Crowden (Jackson, Missouri). The EMU Eagles, however, responded in the top of the fourth with their sixth tally of the contest to get the margin back to 6-2.
The Screaming Eagles would close the deficit to three runs, 6-3, when Niehaus scored for the second time in the game on a ground out by freshman leftfielder Cameron Boyd (Villa Hills, Kentucky). EMU would respond once again with a matching tally to push the margin back to four, 7-3, in the eighth.
USI would valiantly try to make one more run at EMU in the bottom of the ninth with two outs when Van Grieken and Boyd walked. Van Grieken cut the deficit to 7-4 when he scored on a single by junior first baseman Thomas Emerich (Ava, Missouri) before EMU shut the door on the game.
USI junior right-hander Carson Seeman (Jeffersonville, Indiana) started and took the loss. Seeman (0-1) allowed five runs on eight hits in three innings, while striking out two.
UT MARTIN 3, BROWN 2
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team clinched their first series win of the season with a clutch finish to defeat Brown, 3-2.
After trailing 2-1 heading into the home half of the seventh, the Skyhawks (3-3) responded with two answered runs to close out the game.
The UT Martin pitching staff was phenomenal, allowing just one earned run on four hits with zero walks issued and 11 strikeouts. Redshirt senior Eric Steensma was electric in his first start of the season, going six innings with one earned run allowed on four hits while recording a career-high seven strikeouts. Choyce Diffey threw a scoreless seventh inning in his team-high third appearance of the season while Jeb Bartle (1-0) earned the victory – going six-up and six-down in the final two innings with three punchouts.
Five different Skyhawk batters landed a base hit as Zac Rice, Andrew Fernandez, Will Smith, Mac Danford and Jalen Fithian propelled the offense. Fithian doubled, Rice drove in the game-tying run and Danford scored the go-ahead run on an error in the bottom of the eighth.
Smith was responsible for the first run of the game, scoring on a fielding error to give UT Martin the early lead in the bottom of the second.
Steensma was perfect through 2.1 innings and retired 14 of the first 16 batters he faced (with one of those two hitters reaching via an error). Steensma whiffed the first two batters in the fifth inning before an unearned run crossed the plate and evened the score at 1-all.
The Bears were able to take a brief 2-1 lead in the sixth before Diffey breezed through a 13-pitch frame in the seventh. After Rice’s RBI single in the bottom half, Bartle did not allow a ball out of the infield in the top of the eighth.
Danford worked a seven-pitch walk to lead off the eighth and moved up 90 feet on a Cameron Brady sacrifice bunt. After Fithian reached on an error to put runners on the corners, Danford trotted home on a failed pickoff attempt to nudge the Skyhawks ahead, 3-2.
Bartle was lights out in the ninth as the sophomore righty induced a groundout before striking out the last two batters of the contest.
NICHOLLS 4, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0
THIBODAUX, La. - Eastern Illinois (1-4, 0-0 OVC) suffered a 4-0 loss against Nicholls State (6-1, 0-0 Southland) on Saturday evening. Runs were at a premium, as Nicholls limited EIU to just five hits and eight base runners in the game.
After the Panthers went down in order in the first inning, Nicholls got off to a hot start with a Parker Coddou lead-off homer to open things up. The Colonels would end up loading the bases but starting EIU pitcher Eli Cartwright shut the door with back-to-back strikeouts to get out of the inning.
Eastern threatened in the third, as a Quade Peters double followed by a Trenton Pallas single moved Peters to third base with just one out. However, Nicholls reliever Devin Desandro forced a pop out followed by a fly out in the next two at bats to prevent a Panthers score.
Peters would work himself into scoring position again in the fifth as he singled and then stole second, but EIU was unable to capitalize on what ended up being their last good scoring opportunity.
Eli Cartwright (0-1) was dealt the loss while Devin Desandro was credited with the win.
Chaney Trout had a solid showing out of the bullpen for the Panthers, allowing zero hits and no runs in 2.2 innings of relief work.
Despite the offensive struggles, newcomers Trenton Pallas and Quade Peters both had solid outings with two hits in three at bats. Pallas also reached on a walk.
ARKANSAS STATE 7, LINDENWOOD 6
JONESBORO, Ark. - It was another close game between the Lindenwood Lions and the Arkansas State Red Wolves. In their second meeting, Arkansas State was able to slide by Lindenwood 7-6.
The Red Wolves scored twice in the bottom of the second and sixth innings and their final three came in the bottom of the eighth. LU scored their first run in the top of the fourth and exploded with five in the top of the ninth.
Kam Edwards was a driving force in Lindenwood's offensive attack, scored two runs and recorded two hits. James Jett finished with one run and one RBI, while Bryson Arnette scored one run, one hit, and one RBI. A homerun by Dawson Hokuf in the ninth contributed to three of the Lions' runs.
Statistically, the Lions tallied six runs on six hits and six RBIs. Eli Brown took the loss for Lindenwood on the mound.