SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Southern Indiana 14, Eastern Illinois 3
Western Illinois 7-2, @Lindenwood 1-0
@UT Martin 15, Tennessee Tech 6
Morehead State 13, @Southeast Missouri 4
@SIUE 9-13, Little Rock 8-11
SOUTHERN INDIANA 14, EASTERN ILLINOIS 3
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana earned a convincing win at the USI Baseball Field on Saturday afternoon as the visiting team in score book due to unplayable weather conditions in Charleston, Illinois. The Screaming Eagles (19-25) used a monstrous start in the series rubber match to take down Eastern Illinois University (14-26), 14-3. The win improves their Ohio Valley Conference record to 8-10.
USI shot out of a cannon, tallying six runs in the top half of the first. Junior Terrick Thompson-Allen (Sioux City, Iowa) smoked a single to bring home senior Ren Tachioka (Saitama, Japan). The Eagles took advantage of five free passes in the inning and a clutch two-RBI single by Tachioka to build the early lead.
The Eagles chased the Panthers starter out of the game in the third inning. Junior Ricardo Van Grieken (Merida, Venezuela) lined a double into the gap to drive in junior Logan Mock (Livermore, California) to extend the lead to 7-1 after three frames.
Senior Tucker Ebest (Austin, Texas) smashed his seventh home run of the year for a two-run shot after Van Grieken led the inning off with another double in the sixth.
A trio of eighth inning doubles by senior Jack Ellis (Jeffersonville, Indiana), Mock, and Van Grieken extended the Eagles lead to 14-2. USI allowed a run in the bottom of the frame but took game three of the series by run-rule in eight innings, 14-3.
Van Grieken led the team offensively with four hits, four RBIs, two runs scored, and one walk. Along with the 14 runs, USI tallied eight extra-base hits, ten walks, and 13 total hits.
On the mound, junior Gavin Seebold (Jeffersonville, Indiana) took the start earning the win twirling six strong innings, two earned runs, three strikeouts, and only five hits allowed. Senior Carter Stamm (Jasper, Indiana) relieved Seebold throwing a scoreless seventh inning.
WESTERN ILLINOIS 7-2, LINDENWOOD 1-0
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Western Illinois baseball team swept Saturday's doubleheader against the Lindenwood Lions 7-1 and 2-0. WIU earns win number nine and ten overall and improves to 6-11 in Ohio Valley play.
After rain pushed back the opening game of the three-game set against Lindenwood to Saturday, Western Illinois bats came prepared. After two scoreless innings, Western Illinois got on the scoreboard thanks to Cesar Franco. Chris Hege started the inning with a leadoff single to center field. He advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Brock Lummus. Max Slavens drew a one-out walk, giving WIU two runners on the base paths. With two outs, Cesar Franco lined a ball the opposite way for a two-run double as WIU claimed an early 2-0 lead.
Lindenwood cut the deficit in half with a run at the bottom of the fifth, but Western Illinois responded in the sixth. Liam Bushey started the two-out rally with a single, then advanced to second base on a wild pitch. J.R. Heavilin stayed clutch as he drove a ball to the shortstop, scoring Bushey as WIU increased their lead to 3-1. The Leathernecks added an insurance run in the seventh inning with a one-out as Lummus doubled, and Slavens brought him around with an RBI single.
Franco put the finishing touches in the ninth as he smacked a three-run home run, giving WIU a 7-1 lead. Jason Buhl did it all in game one as he pitched a complete game well, striking out five batters.
Western Illinois found themselves in a dogfight in the second game of the doubleheader. Tied at 0 heading into the fourth inning, the Leathernecks cracked through the Lion's shell. Cesar Franco earned the free pass as a pitch hit him. Franco advanced 90 feet on a Kyree Alexander single to left field. A fielder's choice advanced both 90 feet further, and J.R. Heavilin had the clutch RBI single to put the Leathernecks in front.
WIU's defense stayed intact as they pitched a shutout on Saturday night. WIU used an insurance run in the 8th inning to pull away for good. Alexander walked and moved to second base on a wild pitch. He advanced to third on a single and was driven in by Trevor Leon on a sacrifice fly.
Western Illinois pitching was lights out in game two. Tyler Kapruan got the start, going seven complete innings with six strikeouts. He handed the ball over to Caden Kratz, who was locked down in the eighth and ninth innings, picking up the six-out save.
J.R. Heavilin led the team with four combined hits in the doubleheader. He went 3-4 in game two with an RBI. Cesar Franco had a big game, going 2-5 with a double and a home run well, driving in five runs. Liam Bushey, Brock Lummus, and Max Slavens had multiple hits on the day.
UT MARTIN 15, TENNESSEE TECH 6
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team used seven runs in the second inning to lead them to a 15-6 rout of in-state Ohio Valley Conference rival Tennessee Tech at Skyhawk Field.
Seven Skyhawks enjoyed multi-hit games as Jalen Fithian (3-for-4, three runs scored), Andrew Fernandez (3-for-5, three RBI’s), Mac Danford (2-for-3, three-run homer, two walks), Blaze Bell (two hits, two RBI’s), Cole Smith (two hits, one RBI), Hunter McLean (2-for-3, solo home run) and Cameron Brady (two hits, one run scored) helped UT Martin outhit the visitors by a 17-8 margin. Zac Rice (run scored, RBI), Will Smith (run scored) and Alec Beaman (RBI) also chipped in as all nine spots in the lineup accounted for at least one run scored.
On the hill, Eric Steensma (3-5) went five innings with just four hits and one walk allowed. Choyce Diffey followed with one inning before Zach Wager (1.1 innings) and Tucker Reed (1.2 innings) got the final nine outs with zero earned runs allowed between the two, closing out the game for the Skyhawks (17-25, 9-8 Ohio Valley Conference).
It was quick work for Steensma as he retired the first seven batters he faced. Meanwhile, the UT Martin offense picked up where it left off on Friday night as Bell scored Fithian on a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the first to give the Skyhawks a 1-0 lead.
The Skyhawk bats were just getting started. McLean started the home half of the second inning with his fifth blast of the season. Fernandez (double) and Bell (two-run single) both had run-scoring hits before Danford went the other way for a three-run shot (career-best 11th home run) to put the cherry on top of a seven-run frame.
Tennessee Tech (26-17, 10-7 OVC) got a run back in the third and scored two runs in the fourth to make the score 8-3. Steensma bounced back strongly in the fifth, keeping the Golden Eagles off the scoreboard in his final frame.
The offense for UT Martin went back to work in the fifth, answering those three runs with three of its own. Rice (sacrifice fly) and Fernandez (two-run single) provided the RBI’s as the Skyhawks stretched their lead back out to 11-3.
After Tennessee Tech scored twice in the top of the sixth, Cole Smith drove in a run in the bottom half on a sacrifice fly to increase UT Martin’s lead back out to seven runs (12-5).
The Golden Eagles pushed across an unearned run in the seventh but the Skyhawks quickly got the run back in the bottom half. Fithian reached on a single, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error and then managed to score on a wild pitch from third.
Wager managed a strikeout in the eighth before Reed entered and needed just one pitch to induce an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play. The relentless UT Martin offense produced two additional runs in the bottom of the eighth as Beaman lifted a sacrifice fly to score Danford and Cole Smith scored on a passed ball.
The Golden Eagles were retired in order in the top of the ninth as Reed got a flyout, groundout and strikeout to give the Skyhawks their third straight win in OVC play.
MOREHEAD STATE 13, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 4
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - The Morehead State baseball team broke through after a 3-3 tie in the sixth inning to take down the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks 13-4 Saturday.
Matt Bettio (1-1) got the win out of the bullpen for Morehead State (24-19, 9-8 OVC). The right-hander went 2.1 innings, giving up one run on one hit.
In the batter's box, the Eagles were led by junior Hunter Thomas, who went 2-for-5 on the day with a double, a home run, a walk and three RBI. Senior Roman Kuntz compiled a standout effort as well, going 1-for-2 with a home run, four walks and two RBI. Freshman Isaias Guzman provided what ultimately was the dagger, smashing a grand slam in the eighth for his fifth straight game with a home run.
The Eagles were trailing 1-0 in the fourth inning when they first put runs on the board. Morehead State scored three times, all of them coming across on a three-run homer off the bat of Thomas.
After the Redhawks rallied to tie the ballgame at three, the Eagles came back to retake the lead in the seventh inning. Morehead State scored twice on Kuntz's two-run homer, which brought the Eagles lead to 5-3.
Southeast Missouri State narrowed Morehead State's lead to 5-4 before the Eagles stretched the advantage to 10-4 in the eighth inning. The Eagles bats heated up in the inning, scoring five runs, including a grand slam off the bat of Guzman.
Morehead State held the Redhawks scoreless before their offense got in gear the next inning. The three-run frame for the Eagles was punctuated by a two-RBI double from senior Colton Becker. bringing the score to 13-4 in favor of Morehead State. The score remained 13-4 for the rest of the game, as the Eagles coasted to the win.
SIUE 9-13, LITTLE ROCK 8-11
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE baseball moved into a first-place tie in the Ohio Valley Conference with a doubleheader sweep of Little Rock Saturday at Roy E. Lee Field.
The Cougars won both games in their final at-bat, scoring three times in the bottom of the ninth to walk off with a 9-8 win in game one. A four-run eighth inning in game two, gave SIUE a 13-11 win.
SIUE improved to 10-7 in OVC play and 18-24-1 overall. Little Rock also is 10-7 in the league and 23-19 overall. Tennessee Tech and Southeast Missouri also are both 10-7 in the league.
Drew Mize provided the winner in game one, lining a one-out single into right to score Chase Bloomer. Bloomer tied the game when he smashed a two-run double to the gap in left center.
The Cougars trailed 4-0 in the game after a first inning grand slam by Little Rock's Ty Rhoades. SIUE hit three home runs in the game including a solo shot from Ethan Willoughby, a two-run homer by John Stallcup and another solo homer by Mize, who finished with three RBIs in the game.
Garrett Helsel (1-2) pitched 2.2 scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit and struck out three.
It was the Cougars who got up early in game two. A three-run home run by Bloomer was the biggest blow in a six-run SIUE first inning. Little Rock battled back, scoring at least a run in every inning from the second through the sixth.
The Trojans led 11-9 when the Cougars plated four runs in the eighth. Bloomer singled to drive home a run to cut the lead to 11-10. Daniel Gierer tied the game with a single and Lucas Spence singled to left center for the 13-11 score.
Kyle Athmer (3-2) tossed the final 2.2 innings without allowing a run. He stuck out two.
Bloomer the game 3-5 with five RBIs and drove in seven total for the day.
Willoughby was 4-5 in game two and 6-8 with two RBIs over the two games combined. Mize was 5-9 with four RBIs over the two games combined.