FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Western Illinois 7, Southeast Missouri 5
Morehead State 7, @Eastern Illinois 6
@UT Martin 3, Lindenwood 2
@Little Rock 11, Southern Indiana 9
Tennessee Tech 13, @SIUE 6
WESTERN ILLINOIS 7, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 5
MACOMB, Ill. - Friday's series opener against SEMO was not a must-win game for the Western Illinois baseball team but it was a big one.
Taking on one of the top teams in the Ohio Valley Conference, the Leathernecks (13-32 overall, 8-14 in OVC) scored a huge victory, topping the Redhawks 7-5 in Macomb. The victory helps WIU keep pace for a spot in the OVC Tournament.
Jason Buhl (3-8) was strong on the mound, going six innings to get the win. Buhl then turned the game over to Mason Telford and Caden Kratz, who tossed a combined three innings of four-strikeout, no-run ball. Kratz tossed the final two innings, earning his ninth save of the season.
Western Illinois started the scoring as Cesar Franco homered to give the Leathernecks a 1-0 lead.
After SEMO tied the game in the top of the second, Western Illinois responded with four two-out runs in the bottom of the inning to pull ahead, 5-1.
Max Slavens tripled home Brock Lummus and Chris Hege. Adam Juran followed with a double, plating Slavens. After Franco walked, Liam Bushey singled to score Juran. SEMO battled back in the fourth, tying the game, but in the bottom of the inning, the Leathernecks took the lead on Juran's solo home run.
WIU added a single run in the bottom of the fifth as J.R. Heavilin doubled, then used a pair of wild pitches to score. Juran and Bushey each had a pair of hits for the Leathernecks. Slavens and Juran each drove in two runs.
MOREHEAD STATE 7, EASTERN ILLINOIS 6
CHARLESTON, Ill. - The Morehead State baseball team rallied from tied 6-6 in the eighth inning to win in exciting fashion, securing a 7-6 victory over the Eastern Illinois Panthers Friday.
Junior Will Grimmett (2-3) got the win out of the bullpen for Morehead State (29-20, ). The right-hander went 1.1 shutout innings, giving up one hit, no walks and striking out two. Luke Helton had a nice day on the mound, tossing 7.2 innings with nine strikeouts.
Hayden Robbins paced the Eagle offense, finishing 2-4 with a homer and 3 RBI. Hunter Thomas finished 2-4 with a homer as well, and Roman Kuntz and Nick Gooden both finished 1-3 with an RBI.
The Eagles were trailing 1-0 in the second inning when they first put runs on the board. Junior Hunter Thomas put Morehead State on the board with a two-out solo home run off junior Christian Carew.
The game remained tied until the very next inning, when the Eagles got going again on offense. Morehead State scored once on an RBI single off the bat of Nick Gooden, which brought the Eagles lead to 2-1.
Morehead State's lead had evaporated once the fourth inning arrived and turned into a 3-2 Eastern Illinois advantage, when the Eagles re-took control at 5-3. The Eagles scored three runs, all of them coming on a three-run homer from freshman Hayden Robbins that scored Thomas and senior Logan Castleman.
Morehead State held the Panthers scoreless before their offense got back to their scoring ways the next inning. The Eagles drove home a run on senior Roman Kuntz's one-out RBI double, bringing the Morehead State advantage to 6-3.
Eastern Illinois fought back to tie the contest at six before the Eagles reclaimed a 7-6 advantage in the ninth inning. Colton Becker stole second, advanced to third and came across on a wild pitch to score the lone run of the inning for Morehead State and get them on the board. The score remained 7-6 for the rest of the game, as the Eagles held on for the win.
UT MARTIN 3, LINDENWOOD 2
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team used outstanding pitching in a 3-2 win over Lindenwood in Game 1 of an Ohio Valley Conference weekend series.
Skyhawk starting pitcher Tristan Walton went seven strong innings, striking out six with only two runs allowed. The senior lefty allowed just six singles – three of which came via bunts with another coming on an infield hit – but did not factor into the decision. Fellow senior Tucker Reed improved to 4-0 on the season after getting the final six outs while fanning three batters.
At the plate, Will Smith and Garner Anderson each had RBI’s while the trio of Jalen Fithian, Mac Danford and Zac Rice each crossed the plate. Rice scored the eventual game-winning run from second base on a wild pitch in the bottom of the eighth to shift UT Martin’s record to 20-29 (12-10 OVC).
Lindenwood (14-35, 7-15 OVC) plated a run in the top of the first before Walton stranded a pair of Lions on the basepaths with his second strikeout of the opening frame. The Skyhawks would provide an immediate answer as Fithian singled, stole second and came in to score on a Smith RBI single up the middle.
Walton was then dominant for the next five innings, not conceding a single hit over that stretch. He retired seven straight batters at one point before sitting down six consecutive Lions from the fourth through sixth innings. That included efficiently perfect frames in the second (nine pitches), third (13 pitches) and fifth (eight pitches) innings.
Meanwhile, UT Martin took its first lead of the day in the bottom of the fourth. Danford lined a leadoff double into the gap in left center before moving up 90 feet on a Blaze Bell groundout to the right side. Anderson then lifted a sacrifice fly to give the Skyhawks a 2-1 advantage.
The Lions played small ball in the seventh as three consecutive Lindenwood hitters laid down bunts with one out. After two singles and a sacrifice moved two runners into scoring position with two away, an infield single evened the score at 2-all.
Reed entered in the eighth and dramatically rung up an inning-ending strikeout to strand the bases loaded. With momentum in UT Martin’s dugout, Rice was issued a leadoff walk in the bottom half and the senior speedster from Fort Mitchell, Ala. took it from there. He stole second on the first pitch of the next at-bat before scampering home all the way from second base on an errant wild pitch to nudge the Skyhawks back on top, 3-2.
Reed induced a 4-6-3 double play and once again dug deep for a clutch strikeout in the top of the ninth, stranding the potential tying run 90 feet away to give UT Martin a Game 1 victory.
LITTLE ROCK 11, SOUTHERN INDIANA 9
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Little Rock takes game one in a back-and-forth thriller with Southern Indiana which saw 6 lead changes. Trojans now sit in sole possession of first place in the conference.
The Screaming Eagles took an early lead after getting 2 on base by way of a walk and hit by pitch. A timely RBI double plated the first run of the game for Southern Indiana. USI sat on a 1-run lead through the first 3 innings.
The Trojans finally broke through in the bottom of the fourth inning. It all started with a lead off double from Tyler Williams. Andrew Pickering then hit a single to right field to move Williams to third. The red hot Christian Bernabe then brought Williams home with an RBI single down the left field line which also moved Pickering to third base. Ben Harmon then brought Pickering across the plate for the go-ahead run.
Southern Indiana responded in the top of the fifth with a 3-run inning. 2 runs scored off a costly error in the infield. The third run scored from a sacrifice fly. Little Rock grabbed one run back in the home half of the inning from a Nico Baumbach RBI single up the middle to score Alex Seguine.
After a shutdown top of the sixth, the Trojans went on a 5-run burst in the bottom of the sixth. It all started with a double down the left field line from Christian Bernabe. Ben Harmon then advanced Bernabe to third with a single to left field. Skyler Trevino then hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Bernabe. Alex Seguine hit his 100th career hit with a single through the left side to move Harmon to second. With runners on first and second, Jake Wright stepped to the plate and hit an RBI single up the middle to score Harmon. Luke Pectol then hit an RBI single of his own to score Seguine. Nico Baumbach wrapped up the big inning with a 2 RBI double down the left field line to score Wright and Pectol.
Southern Indiana answered the big inning with a 5-run inning of their own to take a one run lead. The back-and-forth continued in the bottom of the seventh with a 2 RBI double from Jake Wright to score Seguine and Trevino. The Trojans ended the inning with a 1-run lead. Christian Bernabe added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI single to score Tyler Williams.
TENNESSEE TECH 13, SIUE 6
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - The long ball was out in full force for the Tennessee Tech baseball team Friday evening, as the Golden Eagles smashed four home runs on their way to a 13-6, Ohio Valley Conference series-opening victory at SIUE at Roy E. Lee Field at the Simmons Baseball Complex.
It didn't take long for the purple and gold to flash its muscle in the tilt, as first baseman Preston Ford was quick to get the visitors on the scoreboard. The senior slugged a two-run blast to left field for the early, 2-0 advantage, his seventh dinger of the year.
The Cougars (18-30-1, 10-12) answered back with a single marker in the first and took their first and only lead of the game in the second with a two-run round-tripper of their own. Trailing by one heading into the third, the Golden Eagles (29-20, 13-9) turned to another veteran slugger to provide the big swing.
A pair of walks and a base hit loaded the bags for the Cookeville crew, and right fielder Theo Bryant IV took his cue, belting a grand slam to left-center field to put Tech back on top, 6-3. The Golden Eagles added to the lead in the fourth, thanks to a two-run double down the left-field line courtesy of shortstop Tanner Shiver.
In the seventh, Bryant returned to his bopping ways, hammering a solo jack to left-center field for his second trip around the bases of the day and his ninth of the year. Third baseman Eddie Garza peppered an RBI single through the left side for a 10-3 advantage.
For good measure, the Golden Eagles tacked on three more runs in the ninth, this time with the team's fourth bomb of the night. Garza crushed his third blast of the year to left-center field, plating three more steaks.
SIUE produced three unearned runs in the ninth for the final score of 13-6.
Tech hurler Landon Smiddy delivered a solid starter to earn his fourth victory of the season, completing 5.0 innings with three runs allowed and four strikeouts. Jack Brafa covered the next 3.2 innings, holding the Cougars scoreless until the ninth.
A Golden Eagle error with two outs in the frame allowed a small rally for the home team to build, so Tech head coach Matt Bragga turned to freshman Juan Vargas to secure the final out. Brafa struck out two in his outing, with just three, unearned rounds surrendered on three hits.
Offensively, it was Ford, Garza, and designated hitter Mack Whitcomb each supplying three hits to the cause, with Garza racking up four RBI. Ford scored a team-high three runs while driving in a pair and Bryant led the purple and gold with five ribbies on a pair of hits.