WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 18, Marshall 7
Tennessee Tech 5, @Middle Tennessee 2
@SIUE 14, Blackburn 1
@Southern Illinois 12,
Western Illinois 11 (12)
Little Rock 8, @Central Arkansas 4
Illinois State 8,
@Lindenwood 6
Saint Xavier (Ill.) 4,
@Eastern Illinois 2
MOREHEAD STATE 18, MARSHALL 7
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Five Eagles posted multi-hit games to help power the Morehead State baseball team past the Marshall Thundering Herd 18-7 on Wednesday in a run-rule 7-inning victory.
Freshman Bradley Poynter (2-1) started on the mound and picked up the win for Morehead State (21-16). The right-hander went five innings, giving up four runs, all of them earned, on six hits, allowing five walks and striking out four. Junior Trevor Callahan also made an impact on the mound for the Eagles, throwing 1.2 shutout innings while allowing one hit, with one walk and two strikeouts.
In addition to his four hits, Ryley Preece had a double and a walk to lead the Eagles. Senior Roman Kuntz compiled a noteworthy performance at the plate as well, going 3-for-4 with a triple, a home run, a walk and five RBI. Junior Hunter Thomas also chipped in for Morehead State, putting together two hits in five trips to the plate while adding a triple, a home run and three RBI, while Hayden Robbins had three hits with a homer and Isaias Guzman had three hits with a double.
The Eagles got on the board immediately, starting their scoring with one run in the bottom of the first inning.
The Thundering Herd failed to push any runs across before the Eagles offense got back to their scoring ways the next inning. Morehead State picked up two runs when a single from Kuntz brought home freshman Hayden Robbins and Preece, which brought the Eagles lead to 5-0.
Marshall narrowed Morehead State's lead to 5-3 before the Eagles stretched the advantage to 10-3 in the fourth inning. The Eagles bats heated up in the inning, scoring five runs, including a two-run single off the bat of Isaias Guzman.
The Thundering Herd gained ground, closing the gap to 10-7 until Morehead State added some insurance in the sixth. The Eagles left the yard three times in the inning on the way to scoring five runs, bringing the score to 15-7 in favor of Morehead State.
The Eagles held Marshall off the scoreboard before expanding their lead to 18-7 the following inning. Morehead State scored three runs, all of them coming on a three-run homer off the bat of Thomas, scoring Guzman and freshman Davis Germann. The score remained 18-7 for the rest of the game, as the Eagles coasted to the win.
TENNESSEE TECH 5, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 2
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Timely offense and strong pitching were the recipe for success for the Tennessee Tech baseball team Wednesday evening, as the Golden Eagles took down in-state rival Middle Tennessee in a 5-2 rematch at Reese Smith Jr Field in Murfreesboro.
Completing the season series sweep, after taking down the Blue Raiders (13-23) in Cookeville by a score of 11-9 at the beginning of the month, the purple and gold (23-14) had to fight from behind in the early going, as the home squad took a 1-0 lead in the first.
The Golden Eagles answered in the top of the third, with center fielder Jackson Green setting the tone for the night's aggressiveness. The junior laid down a bunt single and promptly stole second base, one of his impressive three swipes on the night. After left fielder Austin Turner drew his 40th walk of the year, both speedsters took off, collecting a pair of steals in the process.
Second baseman Troy Baunsgard reached safely on an error at shortstop, driving in the first run of the game for the Cookeville crew. Catcher Hayden Gilliland followed by belting an RBI double the other way to left-center field, pushing the Golden Eagles on top, 2-1.
Middle Tennessee promptly squared the score to open the bottom half of the inning, using a lead-off home run to tie the ball game at 2-2. That would be it for the Blue Raiders, as the Tech pitching staff came together to blank the home squad over the final six frames of the ball game.
Freshman Drew Mattox took over on the hill for the fourth and fifth innings, scattering a walk and two hits with a pair of strikeouts while keeping MTSU off the scoreboard. Tech's offense rewarded the youngster's effort, providing a lead in the sixth to give Mattox his second win of the season.
After third baseman Eddie Garza reached base on a fielder's choice, rookie Mack Whitcomb provided the big swing of the night. On the second pitch he saw, the designated hitter pounded a two-run blast to right field, clearing the wall for the third time on the year for a 4-2 Tech lead.
Sophomore Brody Lanham relieved Mattox for the sixth, tossing up another zero for his squad with a strikeout. Senior Andrew Guardino covered the seventh and eighth innings, facing just seven batters and punching out three of them.
In the top of the eighth, Gilliland brought home an insurance run for the Tech effort, drawing a bases-loaded walk. Sophomore Jaxson Pease entered for the ninth, striking out two Blue Raiders on his way to picking up his third save of the season.
Green led the offense with a 3-for-3 showing, two runs scored, and a career-high-tying three stolen bases, bringing his season total to an impressive 11. Turner drew a pair of walks, numbers 40 and 41 on the year, tying for 12th in a single season in program history.
The senior also collected his 17th swipe of the year, tying for 19th in team history for a single season. With 25 total steals to his credit in his career, he sits just one back of cracking the program's top-25 career charts.
Picking up a pair of hits, Gilliland brought his career total to 177, sitting just three knocks out of the program's top-25 list. Whitcomb also tallied a pair of hits on the day.
SIUE 14, BLACKBURN 1
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - All nine starters had at least a hit Wednesday as SIUE downed Blackburn 14-1 in seven innings at Roy E. Lee Field.
SIUE improved to 14-23 with the win. Blackburn fell to 4-24.
SIUE scored three times in the first inning and never looked back. The Cougars scored runs in six of seven innings, including seven runs in a seven-hit third inning where SIUE sent 12 batters to the plate.
Dimitri Ivetic made his first career start and tossed three perfect innings striking out four hitters in the process.
Four other pitchers threw an inning apiece. Kyle Athmer (2-2) tossed a scoreless fourth inning striking out one. SIUE didn't walk a batter during the game.
Nicholas Ibrahim led the Cougars at the plate. He was 4-4 with a solo home run, three RBIs and two runs scored.
Lucas Spence was 2-3 with a pair of RBIs and three runs scored. He extended hitting streak to 22 games. Mateo Casillas was 2-3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Ethan Willoughby was 2-5 with an RBI.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 12, WESTERN ILLINOIS 11 (12)
CARBONDALE, Ill. - An eight-run first inning was not enough for the Western Illinois baseball team as they fell to Southern Illinois 12-11 in 12 innings on Wednesday night. WIU falls to 7-25 overall on the season.
Western Illinois Wednesday night could not have had a better start. Back-to-back home runs by Liam Bushey and Cesar Franco catapulted an eight-run first inning for the Leathernecks. Adam Juran kept the first inning moving with a single through the left side as WIU saw their first three batters reach base. After a flyout, Kyree Alexander had the Leatherneck's fourth hit of the inning with a single down the left-field line. Alexander and Juran both moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch, and Chris Hege cleared the bases with a two-run single as WIU doubled their lead to lead 4-0. With Hege on first base, WIU was not done scoring. Walks to Brock Lummus and Jackson Horn loaded the bases as the lineup flipped back to the top of the order. Ahead in the count 2-0, Liam Bushey went deep for the second time in the inning, bringing in four RBIs on his first grand slam as a Leathernecks. Bushey had five of the eight RBIs in the first inning as WIU led 8-0 after one.
After SIU got a run back at the bottom of the second, the Leathernecks increased their lead in the fourth. Two walks started the inning, giving J.R. Heavilin a chance to drive some runs. Heavilin did just that as he drove a ball into left field and gave WIU a ten-run lead at 11-1. Southern Illinois chipped away at the Western Illinois ten-run lead as they scored six in the bottom of the 4th, one in the 6th, and three in the 7th, tying the game at 11 heading into the 8th inning.
Caden Kratz and Eric Cunning held down the fort for WIU pitching staff in the 8th through 11th innings keeping the Salukies bats quiet. Heading into the 11th inning, Western Illinois poised their best chance at scoring the go-ahead run. J.R. Heavilin singled to start the top of the 11th after being subbed out for pinch runner Owen Sullivan. Sullivan moved up to second on a one-out single from Hege. Sullivan found himself 90 feet away from home on a Brock Lummus flyout but would be left stranded at third base.
SIU capitalized with runners in scoring position in the 12th inning as they plated one, taking the 12-11 12-inning marathon.
Liam Bushey was productive in the leadoff spot, going 5-7 and a triple away from the cycle. Bushey finished with two home runs, a double, and a pair of singles with five RBIs on the night. Chris Hege and Kyree Alexander both had three hits on the night. Hege had two RBIs. Cesar Franco reached base three times with a hit and two walks. The Leathernecks, as a team, had 18 hits and five walks.
LITTLE ROCK 8, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 4
CONWAY, Ark. - Little Rock Baseball takes game one of the Governor's I-40 Showdown with an 8-4 win over Central Arkansas. Jake Wright hits the first grand slam for the Trojans since Johnathan Davis in 2017.
How It Happened
The Trojans struck first in the second inning behind a solo shot from Tyler Williams over the left center wall to grab the lead. Williams (26) now sits one behind the Little Rock career home run record (27). In the home half of the second, UCA grabbed 2 runs to overtake the lead.
Heading into the fourth, Little Rock trailed 1-2. Noah Brewer stepped to the plate with the bases loaded and hit a 2RBI double to retake the lead. With Brewer on Second and Skyler Trevino on third, Trey Hill got hit by the pitch to once again load the bases, this time for Jake Wright. Wright sent the second pitch of the count back to Gary Hogan Field for the first grand slam since 2017. Little Rock got out of the inning with a 7-2 lead.
The score would remain unchanged until the ninth inning which saw Luke Pectol earning his 100th career hit with a single up the middle. Pectol would advance on a passed ball and wild pitch to get him in scoring position for the upcoming Ty Rhoades. Roades hit an RBI single up the middle to pad the lead 8-2. UCA would respond in the bottom of the ninth with 2 runs, but it would not be enough as the Trojans would take the win 8-4.
Thomas Kuykendall was the pitcher of record improving to 4-2 on the year adding 7 strikeouts for a total of 40 this season.
ILLINOIS STATE 8, LINDENWOOD 6
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood baseball team (12-24) fell in a midweek clash with Illinois State (19-15), 8-6 on Wednesday afternoon from Lou Brock Sports Complex. The Lions hit three homers on the day.
The Redbirds jumped on top, plating a run in the first and would score two more times in the second to grab an early 3-0 lead. Lindenwood chipped away at the deficit in the bottom of the frame as Bryson Arnette went deep for the fourth time this season, making the score 5-1. Illinois State responded with a two-run homer in the third, extending the advantage to 5-1.
Lindenwood cut into the Illinois State once again in the fifth when Ambrose Russo led off the inning with his second double of the day and he was brought home by Evan Funkhouser's first collegiate blast, making the score 5-3. Illinois State answered back with two in the sixth, pushing the score to 7-3. It didn't take long for Lindenwood to get one back. Arnette led off the bottom half with a single and Filip Sarota brought him home with a triple. A sacrifice fly by Chase Honeycutt one batter later made the score 7-5.
The Lions kept chipping away and got within one in the seventh. Kam Edwards hit his first collegiate homer to right, marking Lindenwood's third long ball of the afternoon. Illinois State padded its lead heading into the ninth with a run as the score was 8-6 in favor of the Redbirds.
Lindenwood brought the tying run to the plate after an Edwards double, but were unable to get any runs across, falling in midweek action, 8-6.
SAINT XAVIER (IL) 4, EASTERN ILLINOIS 2
CHARLESTON, Ill. - The Eastern Illinois baseball team (12-21, 6-6 OVC) closed out their latest home stand with a 4-2 loss to Saint Xavier (25-19, 17-9 CCAC) on Wednesday afternoon. The Panthers were held scoreless in all but one inning as they struggled to figure out a dialed in Cougars pitching staff.
After no runs were scored in the first two innings, SXU took an early lead with a Troy Stukenberg two-run homer in the top of the third.
Not to be outdone, EIU leadoff man Dylan Drumke crushed a two-run homer of his own to left center to leave the score tied up after three innings.
The Cougars regained the lead in the fifth after a fielding error allowed Sean Moore to score after stealing second and third. Moore would tack on one more insurance run for Saint Xavier in the seventh with an RBI single.
In their final at bat, Eastern loaded the bases with two outs, but they were unable to take advantage as SXU pitcher Heath Mann got a swinging strikeout to close the game and pick up his first save of the season.
Joey Hagen (0-1) was designated the loss, while Logan Antrim (3-0) picked up the win.
It was a frustrating day offensively for the Panthers, who combined for just six hits. Half of those hits came off the bat of Quade Peters, who went 3-4 with a trio of singles.
Meanwhile, Lucas Loos extended his on-base streak to 28 games with a pair of walks.