SATURDAY'S SCORES
SIUE 11, @Western Illinois 9
@Morehead State 10, Lindenwood 4
@Little Rock 8, Eastern Illinois 6
@Tennessee Tech 10, Southeast Missouri 2
@Southern Indiana 4, UT Martin 2
SIUE 11, WESTERN ILLINOIS 9
MACOMB, Ill. - SIUE baseball captured its third Ohio Valley Conference series win, knocking off Western Illinois 11-9 Saturday afternoon.
The Cougars have won four straight and improved to 8-6 in OVC play and 16-23 overall. WIU fell to 3-11 in the league and 7-27 overall.
After getting out to an early lead, the Cougars had to come back to earn the win.
The Cougars used four hits to score three times in the third inning. Gage Franck provided the big blow, doubling down the left field line to score two.
The Leathernecks answered with five runs in the bottom of the inning. JR Heavlin hit a three-run home run in the inning for WIU.
The Cougars pulled a run back in the third when Chase Bloomer came in from third on a double steal attempt. Daniel Gierer was thrown out at second. SIUE took the lead back in the seventh when Ryan Niedzwiedz drove home two on a fielder's choice play at second base.
WIU tied the game again in the bottom of the seventh, before SIUE regained the lead when Bloomer doubled and later came in on a throwing error in the top of the eighth inning. Drew Mize and Lucas Spence added sacrifice flies in the inning to extend the lead out to 9-6. The Cougars would use an error and sacrifice fly to add two in the top of the ninth to lead 11-6.
The runs proved to be important as WIU scored three times in the bottom of the ninth to trim the score back to 11-9.
Ian Benner (3-0) earned the win over four innings in relief. He allowed three earned runs and struck out three.
Liam McKillop picked up his third save of the year, coming on in with bases loaded in the ninth inning and retiring Western Illinois to finish the game. He struck out one.
Alex Rodriguez started and allowed five runs, all unearned, over four innings.
Both teams had eight hits in the game. Nobody had more than a single hit for the Cougars. Franck and Niedzwiedz each had two RBIs.
Lucas Spence finished the game 0-2 with a pair of walks and a sacrifice fly. It is his first hitless game since March 9. His 23-game hitting streak was the longest at the Division I level for SIUE and one shy of tying the all-time school record.
MOREHEAD STATE 10, LINDENWOOD 4
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State Eagles broke through after a 4-4 tie in the sixth inning to defeat the Lindenwood Lions 10-4 Saturday.
Junior Trevor Callahan (3-0) got the win out of the bullpen for Morehead State (22-17, 7-7 OVC). The right-hander went three shutout innings, giving up four hits, no walks and striking out five. Joe Rotkis also pitched well, going two shutout innings while allowing three hits, walking two and striking out two.
The Eagles were trailing 4-0 in the sixth inning when they first put runs on the board. Morehead State's offense started clicking and put up four runs, including a two-run single off the bat of senior Logan Castleman.
The score stayed at 4-4 until the very next inning, when the Eagles put runs on the scoreboard once again. The Morehead State offense exploded for four runs, highlighted by a three-run home run off the bat of senior Roman Kuntz, which brought the Eagles lead to 8-4.
Morehead State held Lindenwood without a run before expanding their lead to 10-4 the following inning. The Eagles added two to their tally on senior Ryley Preece's two-run homer to right. The score remained 10-4 for the rest of the game, as Morehead State coasted to the win.
LITTLE ROCK 8, EASTERN ILLINOIS 6
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The Little Rock Trojans complete first 5-run comeback since April 30th, 2022 to force the series deciding game on Sunday. Trojans now sit tied for first place with Tennessee Tech and SEMO.
How It Happened
EIU grabbed the lead in the second inning to go up by one. The Panthers extended the lead in the third with a 4-run inning to take a 5-0 lead. In the home half of the third, Little Rock cut into the lead with a 3-run inning. Nico Baumbach knocked an RBI double up the middle to put the Trojans on the board. Baumbach was brought home from an RBI single from Ben Harmon. Ty Rhoades then brought Harmon home with an RBI single up the middle of his own.
The Trojans would then go on a run in the bottom of the fifth inning. It all started with a lead off triple from Luke Pectol. Pectol was then brought home by another RBI from Nico Baumbach to cut the lead to just one run. Ty Rhoades then stepped to the plate with 2 runners on and doubled to right center to take the lead by one run. Skyler Trevino then hit an RBI single to right field which brought Ty Rhoades home for a 2-run lead. Jake Wright then brought Noah Brewer home and reached on a fielder's choice. The Trojans ended the inning with five runs on five hits.
Eastern Illinois would grab one run in the top of the ninth with a solo shot off of Jacob Weatherley, but would not cut into the lead anymore.
Austin Stubber was the pitcher of record improving to 5-1 on the year. Jacob Weatherley set the career appearances record at 82 and earned his seventh save on the season on 14th of his career. He now sits tied for 10th most saves in a season.
Ty Rhoades went 3/4 with 3 RBI, 2 doubles, and a stolen base while Nico Baumbach went 2/5 with 2 RBI, 1 double and 2 runs scored.
TENNESSEE TECH 10, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 2
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Yet another spectacular display on the mound from Peyton Calitri and a hefty attack with the bats led the Tennessee Tech baseball team to a clutch, 10-2 victory over Ohio Valley Conference rival Southeast Missouri Saturday afternoon at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
The victory earned the Golden Eagles (24-15, 9-5) another tie for first place in the OVC standings with both the visiting Redhawks (20-19, 9-5) and Little Rock (21-17, 9-5). It also tied the weekend series with SEMO at 1-1, setting up a critical rubber game Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. CT at the Quill.
Calitri was once again incredible on the hill for the purple and gold, carving his way through six shutout innings and eight total to help give Tech all the room it needed to earn the win. The two-time OVC Pitcher of the Week looked every bit the part on Saturday, scattering six hits and a walk while striking out eight Redhawk batters.
Securing his league-leading seventh win of the year, Calitri allowed just one earned run, and two runs total, while lowering his season ERA to a minuscule 1.85. He set the tone right from the first batter, securing the first of his eight punch outs on the day and working a 1-2-3 inning.
The Tech offense immediately rewarded their ace in the bottom of the first, providing all the room the senior would need to work the rest of the contest. Despite a double play ball to open the frame, the Cookeville crew grinded its way to a big inning.
Catcher Hayden Gilliland kickstarted the two-out rally, peppering a single through the right side. Designated hitter Nicho Jordan followed with a laser to right-center field for a knock before first baseman Preston Ford drew a seven-pitch walk to load the bags.
Falling behind 1-2 in the count, right fielder Theo Bryant IV never faltered in his approach, smashing a line drive over the wall in left-center field for a grand slam and 4-0 Tech lead. Calitri piled up two more Ks in the second inning before the bats added to the lead in the bottom half.
A four-pitch walk to left fielder Austin Turner and a base hit to center field by Troy Baunsgard set things up. Gilliland brought them both to the plate after slashing a two-run double to left-center field, increasing the advantage to 6-0.
Two more strikeouts in the third, three relatively quick outs in the fourth, and another three-up, three-down showing in the fifth kept a clean sheet intact for Calitri before his offense continued its onslaught. Ford drove in the first run with a hustle double to left-center field. Two more scored in the frame thanks to a fielding error at shortstop, bumping up the lead to a solid nine runs.
Following another swift three outs via the work of Calitri, the Golden Eagles snagged one more marker for the day. Turner lifted a base hit out into left field and then swiped second base. It marked the senior's 18th stolen base of the year and 26th of his career, moving him into the top-25 career charts in program history. He came around to score later in the frame on a double-play ball.
Calitri fanned the first two batters of the seventh and appeared to have his third on a 50-50 call that resulted in a ball. One pitch later, the Redhawks instead ripped a double down the right-field line. That followed with another double for the first run of the game.
Heading back out to the hill for the eighth, Calitri allowed a one-out single and his only walk of the contest before earning the second out with a line drive to third base. Tech attempted to double up a Redhawk runner at second base, but a pair of throwing errors ended up allowing an unearned run to cross the plate.
Brody Lanham finished off the ninth for the purple and gold, pitching around a lead-off single with back-to-back punchies and a pop-up to first base.
Bryant led the Golden Eagles attack in the contest, finishing 3-for-4 with two runs and four RBI. Both second baseman Troy Baunsgard and Gilliland recorded multiple hits in the tilt, with Gilliland driving in a pair and scoring twice.
Turner scored twice as well while securing two walks, upping his season total to a whopping 43. He moved into a tie for ninth for the most free passes in a single season in school history, tying Jason Hinchman's total from 2019. He also moved into a tie for sixth in school history in career walks with Alex Junior, boasting 116 to his name.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 4, UT MARTIN 2
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana senior first baseman Tucker Ebest (Austin, Texas) hit a third inning grand slam and junior right-hander Gavin Seebold (Jeffersonville, Indiana) took a no-hitter into the sixth as the Screaming Eagles defeated the University of Tennessee at Martin, 4-2, Saturday afternoon at the USI Baseball Field. USI is 16-23 and 6-8 in the OVC, while UTM goes to 14-24, 6-8 OVC.
Seebold (5-2) was dominating through six innings, setting down 13 of the first 15 Skyhawks. The junior right-hander allowed one run on two hits (both in the sixth) and one walk, while striking out five batters.
USI freshman right-hander Clayton Weisheit (Ferdinand, Indiana) finished the game for the Eagles, going two innings to get his third save of the season. Weisheit allowed a hit and struck out one in his two innings.
Junior right-hander Peyton Brown (Clemmons, North Carolina) followed Seebold to the mound, allowing a run on three hits and struck out two in the seventh.
Ebest provided all the offense the Eagles would need with one swing of the bat. The senior first baseman, who has hit round trippers in back-to-back games, crushed a two-out grand slam over the center field wall to give USI a 4-0 lead and the margin of victory. The home run was sixth of the season for Ebest, who had a team-high 38 RBIs this spring.
After the blast to go up 4-0, the Skyhawks challenged with a run in the sixth and seventh to cut the USI margin to 4-2 before the Eagles shut the door on the victory.