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The 2024 Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Championship presented by SERVPRO continued with three games on Thursday. 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 5: #4 Southern Indiana 2, #1 Little Rock 0
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Live Stats |
Photo Gallery | Postgame:
USI,
LR
Game 6: #2 Southeast Missouri 9, #3 Morehead State 4
Box Score |
Live Video |
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Photo Gallery | Postgame:
SEMO
Game 7: #3 Morehead State 4, #1 Little Rock 3
Box Score |
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MSU,
LR
#4 SOUTHERN INDIANA 2, #1 LITTLE ROCK 0
MARION, Ill. - The Eagles advance to play the winner of tonight's game between the second-seeded Southeast Missouri State University and third-seeded Morehead State University game at noon Friday. Friday's game is being moved up to noon due to the weather forecast.
The double-elimination portion of the OVC Baseball Championship runs through Saturday.
USI grabbed the lead in the third inning when junior catcher Logan Mock (Livermore, California) blasted a home run to left field. It would remain 1-0 until the top of the ninth when junior leftfielder Thomas Emerich (Ava, Missouri) sealed the 2-0 victory with a RBI-single that scored senior first baseman Tucker Ebest (Austin, Texas), who had tripled to lead off the inning.
USI junior right-handers Tyler Hutson (Villa Hills, Kentucky) and Carson Seeman (Auburn, California) made those two runs stand up on the mound. Hutson (1-4) won his first game of the year by throwing seven shutout innings, allowing five hits and three walks, while striking out five.
Seeman earned his second save of the season by throwing a scoreless eighth and ninth, allowing one walk.
#2 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 9, #3 MOREHEAD STATE 4
MARION, Ill. - #2 Southeast Missouri Baseball (32-24) picked up a huge victory in their opening game of the 2024 Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Championship with a 9-4 win over #3 Morehead State (34-23) from Mtn. Dew Park on Thursday night.
The Redhawks bullpen stifled MSU's high-powered offense as LHP Logan Katen (3-4) and RHP Collin Wilma combined for five shutout innings. Katen pitched 2.0 innings, allowing no runs on two hits.
Wilma, a senior from Tinley Park, Ill., was dominant in his home state tonight as he pitched the final 3.0 innings, picking up his fourth save of the season. He did not allow a hit and punched out five Eagles in his outing.
Offensively, the Redhawks pounded out nine runs on 11 hits led by Josh Cameron, Shea McGahan, and Keoni Coloma who all finished with two hits each.
SEMO fell behind in the top of the first inning as MSU loaded the bases against LHP Haden Dow. A huge 6-4-3 double play allowed a run to score, but Dow settled in and kept the Eagles at just the single run.
Dow finished 4.0 innings in his start allowing just three earned runs on six hits.
The Redhawks offense immediately responded with a three-run inning. The first run of the game was manufactured perfectly as second baseman Brooks Kettering led off the game with a double down the left field line.
Short stop Ben Palmer moved him to third with a perfect sacrifice bunt, and left fielder Ty Stauss drove in Kettering to tie the game.
After Cameonr's first hit of the game, a double to right field, Caleb Corbin crushed his sixth home run of the season to give SEMO a 3-1 advantage after the opening frame.
Designated hitter Keoni Coloma blasted his second homer of the season, leading off the second inning, to give the Redhawks a three-run lead after two innings.
MSU would cut the lead to just two as third baseman Isaias Guzman hit a solo home run to make it 4-2 Redhawks after the fourth.
Runs in the fourth and fifth from the Eagles would tie the game at four, but SEMO would blow the game open in the bottom of the sixth inning with a five-run inning.
A leadoff double from Stauss put him in scoring position for Josh Cameron who went the opposite way for an RBI single to regain the lead, 5-4, for the Redhawks.
With a pair of runners on, catcher Shea McGahan single to left field to score Coloma and Bryce Cannon to give the Redhawks a 7-4 lead.
With McGahan on second, center fielder Ian Riley crushed an opposite field home run, a two-run shot, to give SEMO a 9-4 lead heading into the seventh inning.
The SEMO bullpen did the rest as the Redhawks blanked the Eagles over the four innings to advance to the semifinal round.
#3 MOREHEAD STATE 4, #1 LITTLE ROCK 3
MARION, Ill. - The Morehead State baseball team broke through after a 3-3 tie in the sixth inning to beat the Little Rock Trojans 4-3 Thursday.
Joe Rotkis (3-1) picked up the victory out of the bullpen for Morehead State (35-22). The right-hander went five innings, giving up two runs, both of them earned, on five hits, allowing two walks and striking out three. Will Grimmett also made an impact on the mound for the Eagles, throwing three shutout innings while allowing three hits, with no walks and one strikeout, picking up a save and helping the Eagles live to see another dat.
The Eagles were trailing 3-0 in the sixth inning when they first put runs on the board.
The score stayed at 3-3 until the very next inning, when the Eagles put runs on the scoreboard once again. Freshman Nick Gooden came across to score the lone run of the inning for Morehead State, which brought the Eagles lead to 4-3. The score remained 4-3 for the rest of the game, as Morehead State held on for the win.