TUESDAY'S SCORES
Morehead State 7, @Northern Kentucky 5
Ball State 10,
@Southern Indiana 4
Belmont 9,
Tennessee Tech 8
Saint Louis 13,
@SIUE 8
@Illinois 12,
Eastern Illinois 2
@Ole Miss 12,
Little Rock 6
UT Martin 10, @Memphis 7
Southeast Missouri 8, @Missouri 3
MOREHEAD STATE 7, NORTHERN KENTUCKY 5
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Morehead State baseball team responded from down 5-4 in the eighth inning to win in exciting fashion, tallying three runs in the ninth to secure a 7-5 victory over the Northern Kentucky Norse Tuesday. For the second straight game, MSU took the lead in the ninth inning with a go-ahead home run -- this time from Roman Kuntz.
Josh Furtado (1-0) picked up the victory out of the bullpen for Morehead State (5-3) in his first appearance in a Morehead State uniform. The right-hander went two shutout innings while giving up one hit, allowing two walks and striking out two. Zach Taylor also made an impact on the mound for the Eagles, throwing one shutout inning while allowing one hit, with no walks and two strikeouts.
Offensively, the Eagles were led by Colton Becker, who went 2-for-3 on the day with a double, a home run, two walks and an RBI. Roman Kuntz furnished a noteworthy performance as well, going 1-for-3 with a home run, a walk and two RBI. Nick Gooden also helped out for Morehead State, putting together two hits in five trips to the plate while adding an RBI.
The Eagles got on the scoreboard first, starting in the second inning. Ryan Grabosch came across to score the lone run of the inning for Morehead State and get them on the board. Hayden Robbins was credited with the RBI.
The Eagles lost the lead they built in the second, but got back on the board in the third trailing 2-1. Gooden's run-scoring single highlighted an inning where Morehead State scored twice, which brought the score to 3-2 in favor of the Eagles.
Morehead State's lead had disappeared once the seventh inning came around and turned into a 5-3 Northern Kentucky advantage, when the Eagles cut that deficit to 5-4 courtesy of a home run from Colton Becker.
Morehead State held the Norse off the board before taking the lead in the ninth. The three-run fram for the Eagles was puncuated by a two-run homer from Kuntz. bringing the score to 7-5 in favor of Morehead State. Alex Kean's RBI single gave MSU an insurance run, and Furtado got out of a bases-loaded jam with two outs to secure the victory.
BALL STATE 10, SOUTHERN INDIANA 4
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Baseball allowed seven runs in the seventh and fell to Ball State University, 10-4, Tuesday afternoon at the USI Baseball Field. USI is 2-6 to start the season, while Ball State goes 5-3.
USI jumped out in front, 2-0, by manufacturing a pair of runs in the bottom of the second. Junior centerfielder Terrick Thompson-Allen (Sioux City, Iowa) was forced in on a walk by junior second baseman Lane Crowden (Jackson, Missouri) for the first tally before junior shortstop Ricardo Van Grieken (Venezuela) crossed the plate with USI's second run after freshman rightfielder Ethan Rothschild (Evansville, Indiana) reached on an error.
After Ball State picked up a tally in the top of the third, USI posted its second-straight two-run frame in the bottom of the third. Thompson-Allen lined a two-run tripled down the left field line to get the scoring going in third, plating freshman leftfielder Cameron Boyd (Villa Hills, Kentucky) and senior designated hitter Tucker Ebest (Austin, Texas) for a 4-0 lead.
Ball State chipped away at the USI lead with a tally in the fourth and the sixth to close to within one, 4-3, before exploding for seven runs to grab an 10-4 advantage. The Cardinals would cruise through the final two innings to grab the 10-4 decision.
In the game at the plate for USI, Thompson-Allen led the Eagles by going two-for-five with a triple and two RBI. Ebest also was two-for-five with a run scored and a double.
USI junior right-hander Gage Smith (Garrett, Indiana) took loss in relief as the Eagles used 10 hurlers in the game. Smith (0-1) allowed three runs on three hits in a third of an inning in the seventh.
BELMONT 9, TENNESSEE TECH 8
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - A windy night at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex led to some high-octane offense Tuesday, as the Tennessee Tech baseball team dropped a heartbreaker to in-state rival Belmont, 9-8.
The Bruins (6-3) came out swinging and made the most of its contact gathering an RBI single on soft contact in the top of the first. The Golden Eagles (6-2) answered immediately in the bottom half, with left fielder Austin Turner ripping a lead-off triple down the first-base line. Center fielder Nicho Jordan plated the speedster with a sacrifice fly to right-center field.
In the third, Belmont earned a pair of base knocks, a sawed-off blooper down the right-fielder line and an infield hit to the deep part of shortstop. Two batters later, the Bruins simply put the ball in the air toward right field and let the wind do the rest, carrying it over the wall for a three-run home run.
Again, the purple and gold responded immediately, with Turner crushing a solo laser to right-center field for a lead-off round-tripper. The Bruins fought right back in the fifth inning, taking their biggest lead of the game with another fly ball to right field that found the vortex of wind and rode it out of the park for a two-run shot.
Trailing 6-2, the Cookeville crew started to chip away, starting in the bottom of the fifth. After Turner drew a one-out walk, second baseman Troy Baunsgard laced a double to right-center field to put a pair in scoring position. Catcher Hayden Gilliland, the Ohio Valley Conference's reigning Player of the Week, spit a flair to center field that dropped in for an RBI single.
Moving on to the sixth, the Golden Eagles kept trimming the deficit thanks to a lead-off jack to center field off the bat of first baseman Preston Ford. Two batters later, shortstop Preston Ford joined the long ball club with a no-doubter to left-center field to cut the visitor lead to just 6-5.
Belmont took advantage of a pair of defensive miscues by the purple and gold in the eighth with two outs. One Bruin reached on a throwing error while the next batter singled up the middle and advanced to second on a mistaken throwing decision.
Another single up the middle plated both runners for a pair of unearned runs, but the Golden Eagles didn't let the new, three-run deficit stare them down for long. In the bottom of the eighth, Tech rallied again, kicking things off with a one-out, ground-rule double to center field from third baseman Eddie Garza.
After Steele was hit by an 0-1 offering, right fielder Theo Bryant IV delivered the biggest hit of the night to that point, sneaking a double down the right-field line that plated both runners to bring Tech within a run. Three batters later, and with two outs, Gilliland came through with an RBI single through the left side, tying the ball game at 8-8.
Tech looked well on its way to the bottom of the ninth with a chance to walk things off, but the Bruins had one more rally of its own on the day. After the Golden Eagles gathered a pair of quick outs, a double to right-center field kept the frame alive.
On the next pitch, Belmont ripped a single through the left side and sent the runner from second sprinting for the plate. The slightest hesitation from the throw from the outfield provided just enough space for the Bruin base runner to slide in safely for the 9-8 lead.
The visitors from Nashville then clinched the win with a 1-2-3 bottom of the ninth, providing Tech with just its second loss of the year.
Both Gilliland and Bryant drove in a pair on the night while Garza, Turner, and Gilliland each turned in two hits each. Gilliland reached in all five of his plate appearances, going 2-for-2 with three walks. The senior backstop has now reached base in each of his last 10 plate appearances over the past two games. Turner finished 2-for-3 with three runs and two walks.
Jaxson Pease tossed 3.1 innings out of the bullpen, scattering just three hits, two unearned runs, and a walk with three strikeouts.
SAINT LOUIS 13, SIUE 8
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE and Saint Louis combined for nine home runs Tuesday in a windy, warm home opener for the baseball Cougars. In the end, the Billikens edged the Cougars 13-8 at Roy E. Lee Field.
The Cougars fell to 1-7. Saint Louis remained unbeaten at 8-0.
The Billikens scored in each of the first three innings, including a six-run second inning, to build an 8-0 lead. Saint Louis hit four home runs in the first three innings and picked up six walks from Cougar pitchers.
SIUE scored five times in the third thanks to a three-run home run from Ryan Niedzwiedz and RBI-hits from Ethan Willoughby and Sean Kang.
Saint Louis stretched the lead out to 13-5 with three runs in the fifth inning and two in the eighth.
SIUE tacked on three more in the bottom of the ninth inning, including two on an inside-the-park home run by Nicholas Ibrahim. Ibrahim lifted a fly ball into right-center field, where neither outfielder was able to pick up the flight of the ball, which got down and went to the wall, scoring Willoughby and allowing Ibrahim to circle the bases. Chase Bloomer picked up an RBI on a sacrifice fly for the final score.
SIUE starter Alex Rodriguez (0-2) allowed seven runs in 1.2 innings and suffered the loss.
Niedzwiedz, Willoughby, Kang and Gage Franck had two hits apiece for the Cougars.
ILLINOIS 12, EASTERN ILLINOIS 2
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Eastern Illinois (1-6, 0-0 OVC) fell to in-state rival Illinois (3-5, 0-0 Big 10) 12-2 on Tuesday afternoon. Some heavy hitting and a strong five innings from Illinois starting pitcher Cooper Omans led the Illini to their first win over the Panthers since 2016.
Illinois got off to a hot start with three runs in the first inning, including a two-run homer off the bat of Drake Wescott. The Illini proceeded to double their lead in the second inning, scoring their fourth run on a sacrifice fly before a Camden Janik double brought two more runs in to score.
EIU reliever Jonathon Hanscom held Illinois in check for the next two innings, but the Panthers offense was unable to get off the ground, as Cooper Omans limited the Panthers to just three hits while recoding six strikeouts through five innings of work.
The Illini added more to their lead in the bottom of fifth with another Wescott two-run homer to make the score 8-0. Illinois would go on to score four more runs, including a pair of solo long balls, before Eastern managed to get on the board in the top of the 9th.
The Panthers' first score came by way of a Cade Zalewski single that drove Cole Gober in from third base. After Tyler Castro put runners at the corners, Danny Infante recorded his third RBI of the season with a single to left field that plated Zalewski. However, Illinois was able to get a ground out in the next at bat to seal the victory.
Christian Carew (0-2) takes the loss for the Panthers while Cooper Omans (1-0) picks up his first win of the season for the Illini.
Trenton Pallas was the only Eastern batter to record more than one hit on the afternoon with two, as the Panthers combined for just eight total.
Jonathon Hanscom put in a solid 2.1 innings on the mound for EIU, only allowing two hits and zero earned runs.
OLE MISS 12, LITTLE ROCK 6
OXFORD, Miss. - Little Rock Baseball drops the first road game of 2024 to Ole Miss after the Rebels post 3 3-run innings and 4 home runs. Trojans drop to .500 on the season.
Ole Miss scored 3 runs in the first, fourth, and sixth innings
Luke Pectol notches a 4 RBI outing including a 2-run and a solo home run
UT MARTIN 10, MEMPHIS 7
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team gained a 10-7 win over in-state rival Memphis this evening in Game 1 of a two-game midweek tilt.
The win marked the first for the Skyhawks against the Tigers since 2010 and the first victory at Memphis since 2009.
Choyce Diffey (1-0) set a new career-high in strikeouts with eight over 5.1 frames while also earning the first win of his UT Martin career. Kaleb Baskin was out on the bump for 1.2 innings and only allowed one run before Jeb Bartle allowed only one hit over the final two frames.
UT Martin (4-4) outhit Memphis by a 12-9 margin, blasting three home runs on the evening. Zac Rice recorded his second straight three-hit performance and was a triple away from the cycle. Shortstop Jalen Fithian went 2-for-4 with a long ball and a single to his name. Senior Mac Danford launched one out and landed two hits while Cole Smith had two RBI’s on a run-scoring double and single.
Fithian’s solo shot led off the bottom of the third and got the Skyhawks on the scoreboard.
Trailing by three going into the fifth inning, UT Martin uncorked seven runs (tying a season-high for one inning) to gain a lead they wouldn’t relinquish for the remainder of the game. Danford belted the first pitch of the inning for a round-tripper to lead off the scoring barrage. Following a Fithian single, a Rice RBI double and an Andrew Fernandez RBI single leveled the score at 4-all. Fernandez advanced to third on a Will Smith double and would later cross home plate on an error. Cole Smith (RBI double) and Hunter McLean (two-run single) capped off the scoring in the action-packed fifth.
After Diffey delivered a big shutdown inning in the bottom of the fifth, insurance would come in the Skyhawks’ at-bat in the top of the sixth. Rice sent a 3-1 pitch over the wall in left center and Cole Smith drove home his second run of the day with a single.
After Baskin pitched effectively in his near-two innings of work, Bartle would enter a familiar territory to close out the last two innings of the game. Bartle retired the side in order in the eighth before inducing a groundout and two flyouts in the final frame.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 8, MISSOURI 3
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Southeast Missouri Baseball (3-6) picked up its third win of the season on Tuesday evening at Southeastern Conference member Missouri (4-4) by a final score of 8-3 in a lightning-shortened ball game.
The game was paused in the eighth inning due to lightning in the area and was never resumed from that point on.
The Redhawks pounded out seven hits against eight different Missouri pitchers to pick up their first win against Missouri since 2017. The win marked the second against the in-state foe for Head Coach Andy Sawyers.
RHP Sam Heyman (1-0) made his second start of the season on Tuesday night. The right-hander pitched 4.0 innings, surrendering just two runs (one earned) on four Missouri hits. Heyman struck out three in his outing. Heyman recorded his first win in a Redhawk uniform.
First baseman Bryce Cannon clobbered SEMO's first grand slam of the season in a six run fifth inning off Missouri's RHP Miles Garrett. For Cannon, the blast was his third of the season. Cannon finished the day 2-for-5 at the plate with two hits and four RBIs.
The Redhawks got on the board in the second inning with a leadoff home run from third baseman Chance Resetich on the first pitch of his at-bat. For Resetich, the blast was his first home run of the season and gave SEMO a 1-0 lead after the second.
A ground ball double play with the bases loaded in the third inning would plate the second run of the contest for the Redhawks.
After the third inning, SEMO had a 2-0 lead over the Tigers.
SEMO blew the game open in the fifth inning with a six-run inning thanks in large part to Cannon's grand slam.
Missouri would plate two runs in the home half, but that was all the Tigers could muster as the SEMO bullpen had a nice outing.
RHP Payton Lawrence pitched a flawless inning out of the pen. The right-hander faced four hitters and did not allow a hit. He struck out one-of-the-four hitters.
Gavin Johnston and LHP Ethan Osborne combined for the final 2.0 innings as the duo allowed just two hits and one run. Osborne recorded a strikeout in the outing.