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The 2024 Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Championship presented by SERVPRO got underway with four single elimination games on Wednesday. This year marks the 45th OVC Baseball Tournament (the first elimination style event was held in 1979).
The event is being held May 22-25 at Mtn Dew Park in Marion, Illinois. The venue opened in 2007 and was previously known as Rent One Park. It is now home to the Prospect League Team the Thrillville Thrillbillies, who began play last summer. This year marks the third time the event has been held at the venue (2019, 2023, 2024); the Championship will also be held there in 2025.
The event has been held at five neutral site locations after moving from the campus of the regular season champions in 2001. The event has been held in Paducah, Kentucky (2001-09), Jackson, Tennessee (2010-16, 2021), Oxford, Alabama (2017-18), Marion, Illinois (2019, 2023-present)) and Lexington, Kentucky (2022).
Tickets will be $30 for an all-session pass, $10 per adult per day and $5 per day for children (18 and under) and college students with valid ID and can be purchased online or in-person at Mt Dew Park. All seats are general admission for the OVC Championship.
Fans can watch the entire 2024 OVC Baseball Tournament live on ESPN+. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for $10.99 a month (or $109.99 per year) or as part of the Disney Bundle. ESPN+, the multi-sport, direct-to-consumer video service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer & International segment, is an integrated part of the ESPN App and (on mobile and connected devices) and ESPN.com.
Game 1: #8 UT Martin 3, #5 Tennessee Tech 1
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Photo Gallery | Postgame:
UTM,
TTU
Game 2: #7 SIUE 12, #6 Eastern Illinois 4
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Photo Gallery | Postgame:
EIU,
SIUE
Game 3: #4 Southern Indiana 11, #8 UT Martin 2
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Photo Gallery | Postgame:
USI,
UTM
Game 4: #3 Morehead State 3, #7 SIUE 1
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Photo Gallery | Postgame:
MSU,
SIUE
#8 UT MARTIN 3, #5 TENNESSEE TECH 1
MARION, Ill. - Senior left-handed pitcher Tristan Walton solidified his status as one of the premiere arms in the Ohio Valley Conference today, going the distance for his first career complete game as the University of Tennessee at Martin baseball squad advanced to the second round of the league's tournament via a 3-1 triumph over Tennessee Tech.
A Clay, Ala. native who was just named to the All-OVC first team yesterday, Walton carved up the Golden Eagle lineup to the tune of just one run on three hits – striking out 10 batters against just one walk. After allowing one run in the bottom of the first, the southpaw zoned in and allowed just one hit – an infield single in the eighth – the rest of the way. When the dust settled, Walton's gem was the program's first nine-inning complete game since Rhett Fetner accomplished that feat at Central Arkansas on March 11, 2022.
Eight of the nine Skyhawks in the batting order hit safely today as Alec Beaman and Cole Smith each had big homers. Beaman's solo shot in the fifth evened the score at 1-all before Smith put a charge into a two-run jack for the go-ahead runs in the sixth. Beaman and Mac Danford both ended the day with two hits while Blaze Bell scored the second run of the contest for UT Martin (21-34), who won its fourth straight decision over Tennessee Tech this spring.
Walton generated a pair of strikeouts in the bottom of the first but the Golden Eagles (29-26) struck first on a sacrifice fly. That started a stretch of 11 straight Tennessee Tech batters retired by Walton, who picked up two more strikeouts in a perfect second before breezing through three-up, three-down frames in the third and fourth.
Beaman crushed an 0-1 pitch that carried well past the left field wall to lead off the fifth inning, knotting the score at 1-all. It marked the second homer of the season for the senior shortstop out of Franklin, Tenn.
Following a leadoff walk in the bottom of the fifth, Walton sat down the next nine Golden Eagles. He stranded a runner in scoring position in the fifth to give the Skyhawks the momentum they would need in their next time at-bat.
Bell lined a single into the gap in left center with one out in the sixth, setting the stage for Smith. The junior designated hitter from Dothan, Ala. pulverized a 3-2 offering for a no-doubt moonshot that landed past the right field wall, giving UT Martin its first lead of the game.
Walton picked up right where he left off, retiring the side in order in the bottom of the sixth before coasting through an eight-pitch inning in the seventh.
Tennessee Tech's infield single ended a stretch of 6.2 no-hit frames from Walton. His defense picked him up shortly thereafter, turning a 5-4-3 double play on the next pitch. Walton then struck out three of the final four batters he faced. The Skyhawk faithful in the Mtn Dew Park stands let out an emphatic cheer when Walton returned to toe the rubber in the bottom of the ninth as his phenomenal day was punctuated by an emphatic whiff on a 3-2 count for the final out.
#7 SIUE 12, #6 EASTERN ILLINOIS 4
MARION, Ill. - Seventh-seeded SIUE baseball used a six-run fourth inning to upset sixth-seeded Eastern Illinois Wednesday afternoon at the Ohio Valley Conference Championship at Mtn. Dew Park.
The Cougars will advance to face No. 3 Morehead State Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m.
SIUE improved to 21-31-1. EIU finished its season at 20-33.
Making his sixth start of the year, junior Kyle Athmer worked a career-high 7.1 innings, allowing just two earned runs. He struck out a career-best 10 hitters and walked just one.
Lucas Spence put the Cougars on top 1-0 in the third with a two-out home run to right field, his fourth of the year.
A two-out walk and an error allowed EIU to tie the score in the bottom of the inning.
SIUE answered emphatically in the top of the fourth. After a walk and a Chase Bloomer single, John Stallcup drilled a two-run double to left center to get the scoring started with one out. SIUE loaded the bases with a hit batter and a walk which forced out Eastern Illinois starter Casey Parrenoud. Lucas Spence lined a single to center to drive home two more for a 5-1 lead. Drew Mize made it 7-1 with a single down the left field line.
Stallcup extended the SIUE lead to 8-1 with a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning.
EIU scored single runs in the seventh and the eighth innings before the Cougars tacked on four more in the top of the 9th. Ethan Willoughby collected an RBI hit. Gage Franck was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Zack Floyd scored a run on a passed ball.
Lucas Spence was 3-6 at the plate with three RBIs. Stallcup was 2-4 with three RBIs of his own. Mize and Niedzwiedz each finished with two hits and two RBIs.
Joseph Martin finished the game on the mound allowing a run in 1.2 innings in relief. He struck out one.
#4 SOUTHERN INDIANA 11, #8 UT MARTIN 2
MARION, Ill. - University of Southern Indiana junior centerfielder Terrick Thompson-Allen (Sioux, Iowa) hit a three-run blast and junior right-hander Gavin Seebold (Jeffersonville, Indiana) threw eight strong innings to lead the Screaming Eagles to an 11-2 win over University of Tennessee at Martin in the second round of the OVC Baseball Championship Wednesday afternoon at Mtn Dew Park. The Eagles are 26-30 overall, while the Skyhawks finish their year, 21-35.
The Eagles advance to play top-seeded University of Arkansas at Little Rock Thursday at 11 a.m. Little Rock, which is 32-22 overall, 19-8 in the OVC, leads the all-time series with USI, 5-0, after sweeping a series early this month.
Thursday's action in the OVC Baseball Championship will begin the double-elimination portion of the tournament that runs through Saturday.
USI kicked off the scoring in the opening frame when junior shortstop Caleb Niehaus (Newburgh, Indiana) singled up the middle to score junior third baseman Ricardo Van Grieken (Venezuela) for a 1-0 lead. The Skyhawks bounced back to tie the score, 1-1, with a tally in the top of the fourth.
Thompson-Allen, who was two-for-four with a team-high four RBIs, put the Eagles back into command with a three-run blast to right field for a 4-1 advantage. UT Martin closed the gap in the top of the seventh, 4-2, with a home run of its own.
The Eagles put the game away with a seven-run frame in the bottom of the seventh. USI scored seven times on seven hits and a UT Martin error to lead 11-2. USI junior catcher Logan Mock (Livermore, California) highlighted the frame with a two-double to finish the scoring.
On the mound, Seebold was dominating through a season-high eight innings. The junior right-hander allowed two runs on seven hits and a walk, while striking out three.
Sophomore left-hander Trevor Geddes (Prospect, Kentucky) finished the game for the Eagles, throwing a scoreless ninth, allowing a walk and striking out one.
#3 MOREHEAD STATE 3, #7 SIUE 1
MARION, Ill. - Luke Helton was the man of the hour on Wednesday night, as he and the Morehead State baseball team defeated SIUE 3-1 in an elimination game to move into the double elimination portion of the OVC Tournament.
Helton, who just threw eight innings vs. the Cougars last Thursday, dominated SIUE once again. The graduate student right hander threw a complete game, allowing just one run in the first inning. He racked up eight strikeouts in the victory, his ninth of the season.
With the win, Helton (9-2) now has 22 career victories, tying Morehead State Hall of Famer Sean Hogan for the most in program history. After completing the third inning, Helton became the program's all-time leader in innings pitched at 312.1.
Trailing 1-0, the Eagles first put runs on the board in the first inning. Morehead State got an RBI single from senior Logan Castleman, scoring senior Colton Becker from third base.
The score stayed at 1-1 until the fifth inning, when the Eagles put runs on the scoreboard once again. Becker came across to score the lone run of the inning for Morehead State on a wild pitch, which brought the score to 2-1 in favor of the Eagles.
Morehead State kept SIUE scoreless before building their lead to 3-1 in the seventh inning. The score remained 3-1 for the rest of the game, as Morehead State held on for the win.