SUNDAY'S SCORES
Lindenwood 9, @Southern Indiana 4
Southeast Missouri 16, @Little Rock 3
@Tennessee Tech 4, Morehead State 3
LINDENWOOD 9, SOUTHERN INDIANA 4
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Lindenwood baseball team (10-21, 4-5 OVC) picked up a series win over Southern Indiana (14-18, 4-5 OVC) after defeating the Screaming Eagles 9-4 on Sunday afternoon in Evansville, Ind.
The first two innings of the game went scoreless with both teams registering just one hit combined. Southern Indiana broke out in the third with three runs on four hits, giving them an early 3-0 lead.
Lindenwood got on the board in the fifth as Kam Edwards drove in Evan Funkhouser with an RBI single to cut the deficit to 3-1. The Lions kept the pressure on in the inning with Dawson Hokuf driving in another run with a sac fly to center. Two more runs would come across in the frame, both scoring on a Southern Indiana error, giving the Lions a 4-3 lead after four and a half innings.
After a shay third inning, Josh Newell settled down to toss three scoreless innings to keep the Lions in front 4-3 heading into the seventh. Overall, the St. Charles, Mo native finished his day, going six strong innings, giving up one earned run.
The Lions tacked on five runs in the top of the eighth, first adding on with an Evan Funkhouser sac fly. One batter later, Edwards drove in his second run of the day, making the score 6-3. Lindenwood broke the game open with back-to-back doubles from Mitch Cummins and Hokuf. Those two hits brought in three runs, growing the lead to 9-3 in the eighth.
Southern Indiana pushed one across in the bottom of the ninth, but that's all the Screaming Eagles would muster. For the second-consecutive day, Preston Salazar earned the save after going the final three innings. As a result, Lindenwood picked up the series win.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 16, LITTLE ROCK 3
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Southeast Missouri Baseball (15-17, 6-3 OVC) picked up a win in the series finale against Little Rock (17-15, 6-3 OVC) in seven innings with a 16-3 win Sunday afternoon at Gary Hogan Field.
The Redhawks, who had been held in check for most of the weekend, exploded for 17 hits and 16 runs led by Ben Palmer and Cole Warehime who each had four hits and multiple RBIs. Palmer was 4-for-4 with three RBIs as Warehime was 4-for-5 with a pair of RBIs.
Outfielders Josh Cameron and Ty Stauss, infielder Caleb Corbin, and catcher Shea McGahan all had multiple-RBI days. Cameorn and Stauss finished with three and two, respectively. McGahan and Corbin each had three RBIs as all 16 runs were RBIs.
RHP Brian Strange (3-2) started the game for the Redhawks and picked up his third win of the season. He pitched 5.1 innings and allowed just three runs on seven hits.
LHP Alex Hayes threw the final 1.2 innings in a scoreless fashion. Hayes punched out two hitters and did not allow a hit to close the game.
With one out in the first inning, short stop Ben Palmer drew a walk and later came into score on an RBI single from Ty Stauss for the first run of the ball game after moving up on an infield single from Michael Mugan.
A one out walk from Josh Cameron allowed Cole Warehime to single through the left side to plate Mugan. Catcher Shea McGahan walked, with the bases loaded, to bring in the third run of the inning and the Redhawks were out to a three-run lead.
SEMO batted around in the first inning as all nine Redhawks came to the plate against Little Rock.
Another RBI single by Stauss, this one to right field brought in Brooks Kettering with no outs in the second inning. After the top of the second, SEMO led 4-0.
In the home half, LR got on the board with a strikeout from RHP Brian Strange. The ball got passed the catcher and allowed Luke Pectol to score the Trojans' first run.
In the fifth inning, the Redhawks got a crucial two-out triple from Ben Palmer that plated three runs. A Warehime single, a walk, and a Kettering walk with two outs had the baes loaded. Palmer's hit got to the right field wall and allowed all three to come across.
An RBI double with two outs in the home half by LR's Nico Baumbach got two runs back for the Trojans as they trailed 7-3 after the fifth.
A two-RBI home run from right fielder Josh Cameron, following a leadoff walk to Ty Stauss, extended SEMO's lead to 9-3 with no outs in the sixth.
McGahan continued his RBI way with a two-RBI single to left field to put SEMO ahead 11-0. A scoreless sixth inning from LR, thanks in part to back-to-back strikeouts from LHP Alex Hayes gave the Redhawks an 11-3 lead after the sixth inning.
RHP Brian Strange finished his day over 5.1 innings pitched, allowing just three runs on seven hits. He struck out four Trojans in the outing over 25 batters faced.
An RBI double by Josh Cameron, an RBI single by Cole Warehime, and a Corbin three-RBI triple plated the final seven runs for the Redhawks to win the game 16-3.
TENNESSEE TECH 4, MOREHEAD STATE 3
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - After watching each side claim a decisive victory to open the series, it seemed only fitting that Sunday's Ohio Valley Conference baseball series between Tennessee Tech and Morehead State ended in a close battle. That's just what happened at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex, as the Golden Eagles edged the visiting Eagles, 4-3, to earn a 2-1 series victory.
The purple and gold received a fantastic showing from sophomore hurler Jaxson Pease, who made his first collegiate start on the hill and picked up his fourth win of the season. The righty tossed five frames for the Golden Eagles (19-13, 6-3), scattering four hits and two walks while allowing just a single, unearned run with two punch-outs.
Supporting their first-time starter, the Tech bats provided three runs over the first four frames against the Eagles (17-14, 4-5), scoring single markers in the first, third, and fourth innings. Catcher Hayden Gilliland provided the first tally of the day, crushing the first pitch he saw way over the wall in right-center field.
The senior's seventh home run of the year also marked the 24th of his career, tying the Maryville, Tenn. native for 16th in program history for career long balls with Golston Gillespie (2021-22), David Garza (2016-18), and Matt Attaway (1997-98). Gilliland also drove in Tech's second run of the game, grounding out to the pitch with the bases loaded to make it a 2-0 ball game in the third.
The Cookeville crew earned its third marker of the contest quickly in the fourth, thanks to shortstop Tanner Shiver. The fellow Maryville product smashed the first pitch of the fourth to left field, clearing the wall with a moon shot for his seventh trot around the bags this season.
In the fifth, the visiting Eagles finally showed some life in the ball game, scoring their first run on a throwing error by the Tech defense. Pease limited the damage and turned the contest over to Jack Erdman.
The junior right-hander completed the sixth and seventh innings with little pushback, striking out three in that span. He picked up one more punch-out in the eighth before the Eagle offense loaded the bags to elicit a pitching change.
Brody Lanham took over and secured the second out with a big K. A walk allowed one run to come in before the sophomore forced a groundout to shortstop to end the threat.
Shiver came through to provide the Golden Eagle pitching staff with a huge insurance run in the bottom of the eighth, leading off the frame with a double down the third-base line. Right fielder Theo Bryant IV laid down a sacrifice bunt to get him over to third before a wild pitch allowed him to dent the dish.
Heading to the ninth, the Preseason OVC Player of the Year, Ryley Preece, also showed why he was the reigning OVC Player of the Year, working a full count before bopping a lead-off homer to right field and cutting the Tech lead to one.
Tech head coach Matt Bragga went back to the bullpen, calling upon freshman Jack Brafa to secure the final three outs of the ball game for the Golden Eagles. The rookie delivered in the biggest way, working his way through Morehead State's two, three, and four hitters in order.
Brafa sandwiched a ground out to shortstop with a pair of strikeouts, including a punchy of the OVC's leader in long balls, Roman Kuntz. He secured the first save of his young career, clinching the 4-3 win for the purple and gold.
Second baseman Troy Baunsgard and Shiver each recorded two-hit days while Gilliland led the way with a pair of RBI.