TUESDAY'S SCORES
Saint Louis 3
, @Lindenwood 1
@Ohio 4,
Morehead State 2
Little Rock 4, @ULM 2
@Southern Indiana 4, Belmont 3 (11)
@Southeast Missouri 8, Southern Illinois 5
@Tennessee Tech 8, Lipscomb 1
@#9 Vanderbilt 5,
UT Martin 4
@SIUE 3, Bradley 3
@Illinois 12,
Western Illinois 1
SAINT LOUIS 3, LINDENWOOD 1
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood baseball team (13-27) dropped a midweek contest with Saint Louis (27-10), 3-1 on Tuesday night at Lou Brock Sports Complex in St. Charles, Mo.
Each team threatened in the first but were unable to score. SLU jumped ahead with three runs in the third. The two squads stayed off the board until the fifth when the Lions used their legs to get a run. Kam Edwards legged out an infield single and Evan Funkouser never broke stride from second and made it home to cut the deficit to 3-1.
The bullpen kept the Lions in the game, firing 6.2 innings of scoreless ball. Michael Walsh threw three scoreless innings during the middle of the game which kept the score at 3-1 headed to the ninth. However, Lindenwood was unable to get anything going in the ninth at fell by that 3-1 score.
OHIO 4, MOREHEAD STATE 2
OXFORD, Ohio - Isaias Guzman went 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI, but the Morehead State baseball team came up short on Tuesday, and lost to the Ohio Bobcats by a final of 4-2.
Bradley Poynter (2-2) started and took the loss on the mound for Morehead State (23-18). Joe Rotkis was a bright spot out of the bullpen, going two shutout innings without allowing a hit, walking one and striking out one.
The Eagles got on the scoreboard first, starting in the third inning. Morehead State got an RBI single from C. Becker, scoring D. Germann from third base.
The Eagles lost the lead they built in the third, but got back on the board in the fourth trailing 3-1. Morehead State picked up a run on Guzman's one-out solo home run off of A. Beery, which brought the score to 3-2 in favor of the Bobcats. The Eagles were unable to get any closer, as Ohio added one run to their tally on the way to a 4-2 final.
LITTLE ROCK 4, ULM 2
MONROE, La. - Recap coming soon.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 4, BELMONT 3 (11)
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Baseball manufactured an 11-inning, 4-3 win over Belmont University Tuesday afternoon at the USI Baseball Field. USI is 17-24, while Belmont goes to 20-21.
The Screaming Eagles had command early, scoring three times on three walks, a hit batter, and a pair of sacrifice flies in the first inning. The 3-0 lead would last until the seventh inning when Bruins cut the lead to 3-1 on a home run and tied the game 3-3 on a pair of runs in the eighth.
The score would remain tied until the bottom of the 11th when the Eagles loaded the bases on a base hit, a walk, and an intentional walk. USI sophomore shortstop Caleb Niehaus (Newburgh, Indiana) would send the Eagles home winners by getting hit by a pitch to force in junior first baseman Thomas Emerich (Ava, Missouri) with the 4-3 game winner. Emerich led off the 11th with his team-high second base hit of the game.
The win on the mound went to junior right-hander Adam Weihe (Louisville, Kentucky), who pitched three innings of scoreless relief. Weihe (1-2), who was the eighth USI hurler of the game, faced 10 batters and allowed only one hit during the three frames.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 8, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 5
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri Baseball (21-20) won the 94th meeting against rival Southern Illinois (24-17) by a final score of 8-5 to complete the season-sweep of the Salukis on Tuesday afternoon.
Left fielder Ian Riley, making his third start of the season, hit his second home run of the season for SEMO's third and final home run of the contest as the Redhawks pounded out 10 hits.
Short stop Ben Palmer recorded his team-leading 12th home run of the season in the first inning. Palmer blasted a ball the opposite way off SIU's Alec Nigut to spark a two-run opening frame.
Palmer finished the day 3-for-4 at the plate with the blast and three RBIs.
With the bases loaded, first baseman Bryce Cannon was hit by a pitch to drive in the second run of the inning as SEMO got off to a 2-0 lead.
Back-to-back RBI hits by SIU in the third inning tied the game as Jake Allgeyer and Cole Christman recorded a single and double, respectively to drive in two Salukis.
Second baseman Brooks Kettering hit his third home run of the season with two outs in the bottom half of the third to regain the lead for SEMO. Kettering lined his ball into the right field party deck to make the score 3-2.
An infield single by Jordan Bach tied the game once again for SIU in the fifth inning.
A big four run inning for the Redhawks in the seventh would be the difference as Riley homered, an RBI single by Ben Palmer, an RBI fielder's choice by Ty Stauss, and an RBI single by Bryce Cannon made it 7-3 SEMO heading to the final two innings.
SIU would get a run back in the eighth, but a perfectly executed RBI squeeze bunt by right fielder Josh Cameron recorded a big insurance run as SEMO held on for the 8-5 victory.
RHP Kyle Miller, the all-time saves leader in SEMO history, recorded his third save of the season.
TENNESSEE TECH 8, LIPSCOMB 1
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - In what has become the newest tradition for the Tennessee Tech baseball team this season, the Golden Eagle pitching staff dominated while leading the way to an 8-1 victory over in-state rival Lipscomb Tuesday evening at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
The Tech (26-15) bats provided pressure all game long against the Bisons (13-26), eventually breaking through in the fifth and the sixth to back up a brilliant combined effort on the mound from a quartet of hurlers. Senior Matt Gelorme led the way on the hill, covering the first four innings of the contest with one run allowed on just one hit. He also struck out four batters.
Rookie Drew Mattox took over for the Cookeville crew in the fifth, racking up a quick zero thanks to a pair of strikeouts surrounding a ground out. The Golden Eagle offense finally broke through in the fifth, sparked by a lead-off double off the bat of left fielder Austin Turner.
Second baseman Troy Baunsgard followed with a base knock to center field, setting up catcher Hayden Gilliland for the first monster hack of the game. The senior backstop answered the call, hammering a three-run blast to right field for his team-leading eighth home run of the year. The round-tripper also represented the 25th of Gilliland's career, moving him into sole possession of 16th on Tech's all-time rankings for long balls.
Far from finished in the frame, first baseman Preston Ford flipped a base hit up the middle to start everything over again for the home purple and gold. Third baseman Tanner Shiver followed with a blistering base hit to center field. He followed his knock by stealing seventh base of the season.
Right fielder Theo Bryant IV took his turn at the dish, watching the first three offerings miss their marks. After taking a called strike, the slugger smashed a three-run jack to right field, circling the bags for the fifth time this season to give Tech a 6-0 lead.
Mattox followed the Golden Eagle outburst on offense with another scoreless inning of work in the sixth, fanning one more batter along the way. He eventually picked up his third win of the season for his two-inning effort out of the bullpen.
Turning things back over to the offense, the Cookeville crew put the pressure on again in the bottom of the sixth, with Ford drawing a lead-off walk before Shiver was plunked with a pitch. A change on the mound by the Bisons paid no dividends, as Bryant continued his hot night by slapping an RBI single through the right side.
Shiver advanced to third base on the play, and eventually came home to score courtesy of a balk by the Bisons. The run improved the lead to 8-1.
Jack Erdman covered the seventh and eighth frames for the Golden Eagles, scattering two hits while piling up three strikeouts. Senior Andrew Guardino finished things off with a spotless ninth, inducing a ground out and fly out before punching out the final batter of the game.
The Golden Eagle pitching staff allowed more than four batters to come to the plate just once after the first inning. Tech also allowed the Bisons to reach second base just once after the first frame.
Bryant paced the Tech offense with a 3-for-5 day and four RBI while Gilliland added two hits and three ribbies in five trips to the plate. Freshman designated hitter Mack Whitcomb also tallied a pair of knocks while five other Golden Eagles added a hit.
#9 VANDERBILT 5, UT MARTIN 4
NASHVILLE - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team took No. 9 Vanderbilt down to the wire but the Commodores were able to prevail in the bottom of the ninth inning, winning by a 5-4 margin.
The Skyhawks (15-25) took a 1-0 lead in the first inning before the Commodores (30-11) scored the next four runs of the contest. UT Martin kept chipping away and eventually tied the score in the top of the eighth. The game appeared to be bound for extra innings until Vanderbilt hit a solo home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth for the walk-off victory.
Jalen Fithian went 2-for-3 with a walk out of the leadoff spot for the Skyhawks while Andrew Fernandez, Mac Danford, Garner Anderson and Zac Rice each drove in a run. Blaze Bell, Alec Beaman and Frank Micallef all scored a run to guide UT Martin offensively.
Choyce Diffey started on the mound for the Skyhawks and threw four innings with five strikeouts and three hits allowed. Zach Wager and Baylor Jones hurled scoreless frames out of the bullpen before Brock Arender (0-2) was charged with the tough-luck loss, allowing just one run in a career-best 2.2 innings of work.
UT Martin jumped out early as a Danford RBI single was the third base knock of the inning. Diffey was lights out in his first frame, striking out the side in the bottom of the first.
The Commodores scratched out a run off a wild pitch in the second before taking a 2-1 edge in the bottom of the third. Vanderbilt tacked on two runs in the fourth but was silenced by the Skyhawk pitching staff over the next four innings.
Wager took to the mound in the fifth and tossed up his second straight scoreless frame in as many appearances. Jones got the ball out of the bullpen for the sixth and responded with another zero on the scoreboard.
UT Martin began to get back within striking distance in the seventh as Beaman was issued a one-out walk and Micallef singled. Rice (double) and Fernandez (sacrifice fly) then brought home a pair of runs to leave the Skyhawks just one run away from knotting things up.
Arender sped through the bottom of the seventh with just 10 pitches. In UT Martin’s next at-bat, Bell led off with a double down the left field line. Two batters later, Anderson lifted a sacrifice fly to plate Bell and make the score 4-all.
At one point, Arender retired five of six batters with a pair of strikeouts during that time. After hitting just one ball out of the infield in the eighth and ninth frames off Arender, the Commodores struck for the walk-off win.
SIUE 3, BRADLEY 3
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE and Bradley played into the ninth inning Tuesday, before settling for a 3-3 tie at Roy E. Lee Field. The game was initially delayed before the top of the ninth and finally called due to heavy fog.
It is the first tie for SIUE baseball since March 2006 when they tied at Northern Kentucky.
Tuesday's first pitch came about 15 minutes late due to rain in the afternoon, before bright sunshine overtook the field in the middle innings.
The Cougars moved to 16-24-1. Bradley is 10-27-1.
Bradley scored twice in the third on a two-run double by Beau Durbin. Durbin doubled in another run in the seventh for a 3-0 lead.
SIUE got a leadoff hit from Lucas Spence and then did not have another hit until the sixth inning against Bradley starter Noah Edders and Reliever Jake Stellano.
In the seventh, the Cougars bats' came to life. Ryan Niedzwiedz led off the inning with a home run to right. Chase Bloomer doubled with one out and a walk to Sean Kang followed. Daniel Gierer dropped an RBI single down the left field line and Drew Mize lined a hit to center to tie the game with two outs.
Jacob Kampf started for SIUE and gave up two runs in 2.2 innings. Joseph Martin, Matthew Gist and Kyle Athmer combined for 3.1 scoreless innings.
Garrett Helsel allowed a run but struck out three. Spence tossed the final 1.2 innings while striking out three.
ILLINOIS 12, WESTERN ILLINOIS 1
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Western Illinois baseball team fell to in-state foe the University of Illinois on Tuesday night 12-1. WIU drops to 8-28 overall on the season.
The bats stayed quiet for Western Illinois, as they could only compile four hits as a team. Kyle Rosenfeld kept Western Illinois in the game from a defensive side. The senior had a strikeout in the first inning and found a double play ball in the second to start the day with scoreless innings. Illinois got on the board in the third with a solo home run as they held a 1-0 lead.
Cesar Franco kept his extra-base streak alive with a double to lead off the Leatherneck's second inning. Unfortunately, WIU could not move further then second base. Illinois broke the game open in the fifth inning with a seven-spot, going ahead 8-0. The Illini added four runs in the sixth, pushing their lead to 12-0.
Western Illinois scored their lone run in the final at-bats. This was the fourth game in a row that saw the Leathernecks score in the ninth inning. Trevor Leon had a one-out single, and Brock Lummus advanced him by reaching on an error by Illinois second basemen. Justin Jang wore a pitch off the shoulder, loading the bases for WIU. Max Slavens drove in the RBI with a ground out to first base.
Adam Juran, Cesar Franco, Trevor Leon, and Brock Lummus combined for the four hits for Western Illinois. Franco had the only extra-base hit with his double in the second. Western Illinois pitching staff struck out seven Illini hitters. Kyle Rosenfeld started the night with two, and he was followed by one by Jackson Rodgers and two by Kyle Anderson and Cole Dale.