TUESDAY'S SCORES
Middle Tennessee 8,
@Southeast Missouri 2
@Missouri 5,
Lindenwood 4
ULM 11,
@Little Rock 1
@Saint Louis 14,
Western Illinois 4
@Tennessee Tech 20, Alabama A&M 9
Southern Illinois 7,
@SIUE 1
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 8, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 2
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri Baseball (6-8) dropped Tuesday's midweek matchup with Middle Tennessee (6-6) by a final score of 8-2 at Capaha Field.
Designated hitter Ty Stauss led the Redhawks offense at the plate going 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored. As a team, SEMO registered eight hits but was outhit by the Blue Raiders by a 13-8 mark.
LHP Logan Katen had a very solid outing out of the bullpen for the Redhawks. The lefty pitched the final 3.0 innings of the ball game and surrendered just two hits. He allowed no runs and only one walk over 11 batters faced.
The Blue Raiders got the scoring going in their first at-bat of the contest after a leadoff single by third baseman Greg Jennings and a sacrifice bunt by Trace Phillips got Jennings into scoring position.
MTSU's catcher Briggs Ruther lined a single into left field to score Jennings to give MTSU a 1-0 lead.
A leadoff hit batsmen in the second inning and single to left center put Blue Raiders on the corners with just one out. MTSU would rattle home five runs in the inning beginning with an RBI ground out by Clay Badylak.
An RBI single by Phillips pushed across another run for MTSU. Following a walk that would load the bases, left fielder Jackson Galloway blew the game open with a bases clearing triple to give MTSU a 6-0 lead after their second at-bat.
The Redhawks would get their only two runs of the ball game with one swing of the bat as catcher Shea McGahan hit a two-run home run to left field off MTSU's starting pitcher Bryant Beranek (1-2).
Just one more MTSU run in their sixth inning would be all the offense in the game as SEMO struggled to piece their offense together on Tuesday night.
MISSOURI 5, LINDENWOOD 4
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Lindenwood baseball team dropped a close game to the Mizzou Tigers in Columbia on Tuesday evening. The Lions played phenomenally; however, Mizzou was able to escape with a 5-4 victory.
The Lions took an early lead over the hosting Tigers in the top of the second inning, when Dawson Hokuf landed a homer over the right field wall. Lindenwood held Mizzou scoreless in the third, however, the Tigers were able to score four in the bottom of the fourth and one in the eighth.
LU scored two runs in the top of the sixth and one in the ninth. In the sixth, Logan Stevens singled through the right side, allowing Bryson Arnette the opportunity to score. A well-placed sacrifice bunt by Jack Meyer gave Hokuf the chance to score for the Lions. In the ninth, Colin Shea reached first on a fielder's choice and earned the RBI when Meyer advanced home.
Michael Walsh received the loss on the mound for the Lions. LU finished with four runs on eight hits and one error, while Mizzou tallied five runs on seven hits.
ULM 11, LITTLE ROCK 1
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Recap coming soon.
SAINT LOUIS 14, WESTERN ILLINOIS 4
ST. LOUIS - The Western Illinois baseball team fell to Saint Louis 14-4 in seven innings on Tuesday afternoon. The Leathernecks move to 3-7 on the season.
Western Illinois succeeded early on Tuesday, getting their leadoff runner on in the first three innings. Chris Hege started the first with a walk and advanced to second on a single by Maxton Polad. Liam Bushey brought in Hege on a fielder's choice as WIU held an early 1-0 lead. WIU added another run in the first as Kyree Alexander grounded into a fielder's choice.
Kyle Rosenfeld dominated the Billikens in his two innings, holding them scoreless. WIU added a run in the second inning. Trevor Leon led the inning with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Grant Palmer. Hege reached for the second time on the day with a single. Leon was thrown out at home on the play. Hege took second base on the play and came around to score as Polad singled down the right-field line. WIU held a 3-0 lead after two innings.
After Saint Louis tied it at 3-3, WIU would trail for long. A leadoff double by J.R. Heavilin started the inning and was advanced 90 feet by a Max Slavens ground out. Heavilin advanced the final 90 feet on an RBI ground out by Grant Palmer as WIU was back in front 4-3.
Eleven runs outscored Western Illinois over the next four innings as Saint Louis took the 14-4 win.
Chris Hege and Maxton Polad led WIU with two hits each as Hege reached base three times, adding a walk. Polad added an RBI and a run to his stat line. Western Illinois totaled six hits and drew five walks.
TENNESSEE TECH 20, ALABAMA A&M 9
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Truly testing its new turf surface Tuesday night, the Tennessee Tech baseball team overcame consistent rainfall and windy conditions to top visiting Alabama A&M, 20-9, while competing at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
Experiencing rainfall at the Quill for the first time since installing TruHop Turf over the offseason, the Golden Eagles (7-5) used a monster first frame to build its initial lead and never looked back. The Bulldogs (2-10) actually opened the scoring in the tilt, plating a pair behind a walk and three hits.
Tech starter Jack Erdman regrouped, striking out the side and limiting the damage to set up his offense. The Golden Eagle bats took over and wasted no time in setting the tone for the remainder of the afternoon.
Left fielder Austin Turner singled to right field to kick start the bottom half, stole second, advanced to third on a fly ball to center field, and then slid in safely at the plate on one of Alabama A&M's seven wild pitches in the match-up. A walk and two infield singles loaded the bags for the purple and gold.
First baseman Kayne Jinks delivered the big swing to provide the Cookeville crew's first lead of the day, blistering a two-run single to left field. Following another walk to refill the bases, third baseman Tanner Shiver sprinted home on a wild pitch to make it a 4-2 lead for Tech.
While right fielder Jackson Green drew his own free pass, ball four came in wild and allowed Jinks to dent the dish. Turner was plunked by a pitch to load the bases one more time before second baseman Troy Baunsgard reached on a throwing error that scored one more. Senior Hayden Gilliland and center fielder Nicho Jordan collected back-to-back bases-loaded walks to drive in the final two runs of the frame for Tech's 8-2 lead.
Erdman tossed a scoreless second to end the day with four punch-outs before turning things over to rookie right-hander Juan Garza. The freshman tossed up a quick zero in the third before his offense went back to work and increased the advantage.
Gilliland and Jordan opened the bottom half of the frame with a pair of knocks to the outfield, but it was shortstop Preston Steele providing the first set of fireworks into the rain-spattered sky. The junior smashed his team-leading fifth long ball of the season, a three-run blast to right field.
Vargas returned to the mound and threw up another circle on the scoreboard, working around a lead-off walk. He ended the night with a pair of shutout innings and three strikeouts, earning his second win of the year.
In the fourth, Turner flashed the wheels again with a triple to center field. Baunsgard followed with an RBI single up the middle to make it a 12-2 ball game. The Bulldogs finally got back on the board with a single run in the fifth, but Tech had a response.
Shiver kicked things off with his first home run as a Golden Eagle, leading off the bottom half with a solo moon shot down the left-field line. Jinks then walked and scored on a triple off the bat of catcher Ryan Lee, the junior's first hit in the purple and gold.
Green sent a sacrifice fly ball to left-center field for the team's third run of the frame. Designated hitter Mack Whitcomb peppered an RBI single to shortstop to make it a 16-3 Tech lead.
As the rain started to really come down, Alabama A&M provided its best offensive threat of the day in the top of the sixth. It began with a lead-off home run and continued with a pair of walks and wild pitches to put runners on the corners. Two RBI base knocks and another wild offering preceded a throwing error with the precipitation clearly rearing its ugly head.
The Bulldogs went on to score six runs in the inning, cutting the Tech advantage to 16-9 and requiring the Golden Eagles to get the offense rolling one more time. The bats answered the call, with Shiver leading off the bottom of the sixth with a walk. He eventually scored on another wild pitch, but it was Baunsgard who stole the show.
With two outs in the frame and runners on first and second, "Bombsgard" hammered a three-run bomb to left field, moving the Tech edge back out to double digits. The senior's third round-tripper of the year was huge in regard to the game, as both teams had agreed to a run rule after the seventh inning prior to the contest.
With just three outs standing in the way of a warm and dry locker room, Reece McDuffie leaned on his defense despite the increasing showers, pitching around a lead-off walk. After a fielder's choice to third base kept the double-play ball intact, the sophomore rolled up another ground ball that paid dividends.
Baunsgard made a good flip to Shiver, who had slid over to shortstop with Garza's entrance into the contest, and the junior fired a pellet to Jinks to complete the double play and clinch the win.
Ten different Golden Eagles picked up at least one hit while nine drove in a run. Six members of the Tech squad had multiple hits while seven scored at least two runs. Jinks led the way with three hits, two RBI, and three runs scored.
Turner scored four times on the day with a pair of hits and two walks while Baunsgard ended the tilt with two hits, two runs, and four ribbies. Shiver dented the dish three times while picking up a pair of hits Whitcomb produced a two-hit day as well. Steele drove in three runs, scored two, and racked up two hits.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 7, SIUE 1
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE baseball dropped a 7-1 decision to SIU Carbondale Tuesday at Simmons Baseball Complex.
SIUE fell to 2-11. SIUC improved to 7-5.
A five-run third inning was the big difference in the contest. The Salukis used three hits and four walks from SIUE starter Matthew Gist to take a 5-0 lead.
Gist (0-1) did not record an out in the inning. He allowed four runs in two innings. He struck out two and walked five.
In total, SIUE hitters walked ten Saluki batters and hit one.
A hit batter and walk in the fifth allowed the Salukis to take a 6-0 lead before SIUE's only run.
Chase Bloomer led off the sixth with his first home run of the year into right to cut the lead to 6-1.
Bloomer and Ethan Willoughby were each 1-4. Lucas Spence paced the Cougars offense from the leadoff spot, where he was 3-3 with a double and a walk.
A walk, a stolen base and a hit gave SIUC the 7-1 lead in the eighth inning.
Six Cougar pitchers threw in the game following Gist. Alex Rodriguez threw two scoreless innings. Zeus Ponder, Dimitri Ivetic and Liam McKillop finished out the game.
Jordan Bach had two hits and two RBIs for the Salukis.
SIUC starter Alec Nigut allowed just the run over 5.2 innings. He struck out three.