Ohio Valley Conference

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Braving wet, frigid, and windy conditions, the Tennessee Tech baseball team finished off a four-game series sweep over Le Moyne Sunday afternoon, topping the visiting Dolphins, 4-1, at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.

Using much of the same recipe as days one and two of the weekend slate, the Golden Eagles (4-0) made clutch defensive plays to back up stellar pitching and enough offense on a day where the wind was gusting in from center field consistently at 15 miles per hour.

The Tech bats wasted little time in providing rookie starter Carter Casabella with some run support, scoring in the first inning. After shortstop Owen Lee drew a one-out walk, catcher Mack Whitcomb followed with an RBI triple to RCF for an early 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Cookeville crew struck again, loading the bases with two outs thanks to a pair of walks and a Le Moyne fielding error. Second baseman Eddie Garza scored on a wild pitch before the final out of the frame, doubling the Tech advantage.

The Golden Eagles carried the momentum into the fifth as well, once again loading the bags with a pair of outs on the scoreboard. Making his collegiate debut, Cookeville native Aaron Moffitt patiently drew a seven-pitch walk for his first career RBI.

For good measure, the purple and gold tacked on one more run in the bottom of the sixth, with Whitcomb again providing the big swing. The sophomore slugger crushed an 0-1 offering through the wind and over the wall in right-center field for a monster oppo taco and a 4-0 Tech lead. It marked the youngster's second home run of the season.

On the mound, Casabella was impressive in his collegiate debut, earning the win after completing 5.0 scoreless frames while allowing just two hits. The rookie worked through some adversity with three walks, balancing things out with three strikeouts.

Also competing in his first contest at the collegiate level, freshman righty Logan Moller covered the sixth inning and two outs in the seventh before exiting with a bases-loaded jam. The rookie allowed just one run on two hits and two walks, fanning a pair as well.

After allowing back-to-back hits to open the seventh, Moller earned a huge punch out for the first out and appeared to have his second of the frame on a check swing that hit the Le Moyne batter. The official ruling was no swing, however, loading the bags for the visitors.

Moller issued a free pass after an apparent strike three narrowly missed the zone to bring in the first run of the game for the Dolphins, sending head coach Matt Bragga to the mound to call for some help. Sophomore Drew Mattox answered the call and was dominant over the final 2.1 innings of the ball game.

The right-hander gathered a massive strike out of the Phins' three-hole hitter to get out of the jam in the seventh and wasted little time in working through the eighth. A first-pitch flyout, a four-pitch walk, and a 6-4-3 double play paved the way to the ninth.

Mattox finished off his first save of the year with three swift outs in the ninth, picking up a soft lineout to second base, another punch-out, and a two-strike ground out to first baseman Carter Vrabel, who made his Tech debut on the day.

Whitcomb and Moffitt each led the purple and gold with a pair of hits, while Whitcomb paced the team with two RBI and two runs. Both Whitcomb and Garza drew a pair of walks on the day.

LITTLE ROCK 11, EVANSVILLE 1
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - A five-run first inning was more than enough support for Little Rock pitcher Jack Cline, as he cruised on the mound in an 11-1 win in eight innings over Evansville on Sunday afternoon at Gary Hogan Field. 
 
Cline, a senior, recorded a career-high 10 strikeouts in six innings giving up just four hits while yielding one run and walking none. 
  
Evansville grabbed the college baseball world's attention by nearly upsetting eventual national champion Tennessee in the Super Regional last summer. 
 
Zach Henry and Ryan Geck each were 3-for-5 for Little Rock (3-0). Henry drove in one run and Geck three. Geck, a junior college transfer, recorded four hits in the season-opening win. Cooper Chaplain and Ty Rhoades totaled two hits and drove in a pair of runs. 
 
The Trojans scored their first run when Chaplain, who singled, stole second allowing Alex Seguine, who reached on a single, to score.
 
Geck then blasted a double, scoring Chaplain. Aiden McGinnis reached on an error, and Rhoades doubled scoring Geck. Trey Hill then grounded out scoring a run and Rhoades scored on a balk.
 
Little Rock, who banged out 13 hits, added single runs in the third and fourth innings, respectively. The Purple Aces didn't get on the board until the sixth inning when they added their lone run and Cline exited finishing that inning with a 7-1 lead with 86 pitches for the day.
 
Malcolm Brown pitched the final two innings in relief and did not give up a hit while striking out three and walking none.
 
The Trojans invoked the run-rule in the eighth inning when Geck smoked another shot off the wall scoring the 11th run.

ARKANSAS STATE 4, MOREHEAD STATE 1
JONESBORO, Ark. - Morehead State could muster just four hits off a strong Arkansas State pitching performance and fell to the Red Wolves 4-1 Sunday in Jonesboro, Ark.

Morehead State (1-1) broke open the scoring in the top of the seventh. With one out, third baseman Andy Cisneros reached safely on a throwing error by Arkansas State third baseman Daedrick Cail,  advancing to second. Cisneros advanced to third on a JJ Dutton ground out. Davis Germann singled to right drove him home with a single to right.

Arkansas State (1-1) answered in the bottom half of the inning. After catcher Kaden Amundson walked to lead off the inning, Wil French doubled to left, advancing Amundson to third. Still with no outs, ASU shortstop Patrick Engskov drove a Trevor Callahan pitch over the left field wall to put the Red Wolves up 3-1.

ASU tacked on another run in the eighth. Center fielder Ashton Quiller walked to lead off, stole second, then stole third and scored when the throw from catcher Caden Sheridan got away from third baseman Griffin Olsen.

Callahan (0-1) took the loss. The senior from Olive Hill, Ky., threw three and two-thirds innings, allowing three runs on four hits. He recorded four strikeouts and walked one ASU batter.

MSU starter Kamden Hawks went three and a third innings. The freshman from Cana, Va., allowed one hit, walked six ASU batters and recorded two strikeouts.

Arkansas State's Kole Turner (1-0) picked up the win out of the bullpen. Carson Keithley picked up the save (1). ASU starter Jack Nelson went four and two-thirds shutout innings allowing just one hit and struck out 10. In all, ASU pitching recorded 17 strikeouts on the afternoon.

SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA 6, LINDENWOOD 5
HAMMOND, La. - Lindenwood baseball (0-4, 0-0 OVC) fell on Sunday in walk-off fashion against Southeastern Louisiana (4-0, 0-0 SLC) by a final score of 6-5. The Lions led 5-2 heading into the final inning but surrendered four runs in the bottom of the ninth to close out the opening weekend of the 2025 baseball season.

Lindenwood left nine runners stranded on Sunday including three in the bottom of the first as the Lions left the bases loaded. SLU scored their first run of the day in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI single by Mo Little off of Smith.

Smith would then throw three scoreless innings including getting out of a bases loaded jam in the third inning. The Lions' offense struck in the fifth scoring four runs on four hits. After Kam Edwards and Tyler Thompson reached safely, Tanner Simpson delivered a two RBI single to the outfield which gave the Lions the lead. Arnette and Short both added RBI singles in the inning to give the Lions a 4-1, but SLU had a lead-off home run in the fifth to cut the lead to two.

Edwards then delivered the Lions' fifth run of the game in the top half of the eighth with an RBI double to score Charlie Isom-McCall as the Lions took a 5-2 lead into the ninth inning.

Paschke came out of the bullpen in the bottom of the eighth to pitch for Lindenwood. After getting two quick outs with one runner on in the ninth inning, SLU ended the game with two doubles and a single to walk it off on Sunday afternoon in Hammond, La. The Lions ended opening weekend with an 0-4 record.

SOUTHERN INDIANA 15, ALABAMA STATE 13
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - University of Southern Indiana Baseball had to hold on to defeat Alabama State University, 15-13, Sunday in Montgomery, Alabama. USI is 3-1 after two days of 2025, while Alabama State is 1-3 to begin its season.
 
USI senior centerfielder Khi Holiday gave the Screaming Eagles the first inning lead for the third time in the series, crossing the plate on an error with two outs in the opening frame. Holiday got into scoring position by singling, stealing second, and advancing to third on a bunt single by senior leftfielder BJ Banyon.
 
After USI added to the lead with a pair of runs in the top of the second and Alabama State posted a tally in the bottom half, sophomore rightfielder Cameron Boyd put the Eagles up 5-1 with a two-run blast to right field. The home run was USI and Boyd's first of the season.
 
The Eagles extended the lead for the fourth-straight frame, exploding for six runs in the fourth for an 11-1 advantage. USI sent 11 men to the plate, scoring six times on a bases-loaded hit by pitch, a single, and three bases-loaded walks.
 
The Hornets would not be outdone as they rallied with five runs in the bottom of the fourth and two more in the fifth to cut the USI advantage to 11-8.
 
USI would rebound with four in the top of the sixth to re-extend the lead to 15-8. A RBI-single by junior designated hitter Cole Kitchens and junior shortstop Clayton Slack highlighted the rally.
 
Alabama State, however, would mount a comeback, scoring five in the bottom of the eighth before sophomore right-hander Aaron Rubio closed the door on the Hornets. Rubio got the final out of the eighth and stranded the bases loaded in the ninth.
 
On the mound, freshman right-hander Sage Stout picked up his first collegiate win in relief. Stout (1-0) blanked the Hornets for an inning, striking out one batter.
 
USI senior right-hander Hiroyuki Yamada started and received a no-decision. Yamada was charged with six runs on three hits, two walks, and a hit batter in 3.1 innings of work.

EASTERN ILLINOIS 6, ULM 2
MONROE, La. - Some strong pitching performances were the headline for EIU baseball on Sunday, as the Panthers (1-2, 0-0 OVC) got in the win column for the first time of 2025 with a 6-2 victory over Louisiana Monroe (2-1, 0-0 Sun Belt).

EIU got on the board first with a Pierce Bauerle RBI single that scored Eli Hill, who had initially reached base with a single in the lead-off spot.

In the bottom of the second, the first two Warhawk batters reached on errors, but Tyler Kapraun retired the next three batters to preserve the early 1-0 lead.

ULM would load the bases with two outs in both the third and fourth innings, but Kapraun stayed cool and worked out of both jams without allowing a single run.

In the fifth, the Panthers got back into the scoring column as an Eli Hill single down the left field line drove home Quade Peters, who had previously stolen second to reach scoring position.

Kapraun would carry the shutout into the sixth inning before being relieved by Anthony Solis. The lefty finished his day with zero runs allowed and three strikeouts through five and a third innings.

Solis kept the momentum going early on as he retired his first four batters faced. However, fueled by extra-base hits from Bryce Blaser and Henry Garcia Jr., the Warhawks put together a two-out rally in the seventh that tied the game at 2-2.

The stalemate did not last long, though. With two out and two already on in the top of the eighth, three consecutive EIU batters were hit by errant pitches, which allowed the Panthers to quickly regain their two-run advantage.

Zak Goodwin extended the lead further with a single that scored Ethan Rossi and Cade Zalewski, making the score 6-2.

Now with a four-run lead, Bryce Riggs was called upon to close the game on the mound, and he certainly delivered. The 2024 OVC All-Freshman selection put out the final six ULM batters in order, including three by strikeout, to secure Eastern's first victory of the 2025 season.

SIUE 9, KENT STATE 4
MOBILE, Ala. - A five-run outburst in the fifth and sixth innings proved to be the difference as SIUE baseball picked up a 9-4 win over Kent State to finish 2-1 at the South Alabama Invitational.

The Cougars (2-1) took a two-run lead in the first inning and led 4-2 after four innings.

It was 4-3 in the fifth when SIUE scored three times. Kyle Ratliff singled in a run and Daniel Gierer drove home a pair with a single. Chase Bloomer added a two-run home run in the sixth inning to push the Cougars' lead out to 9-3.

The Cougars put up 14 hits to go along with the nine runs. Ethan Willoughby finished 3-4 with two RBIs. Bloomer and Gierer each had two hits and two RBIs. Michael Siemer and Mack Mitchell each had two hits and an RBI.

Alex Rodriguez (1-0) picked up the win in relief. He worked three innings, allowing a pair of runs. He struck out two and walked two. Freshman Brady Coon made his collegiate debut in the start. He threw three innings and gave up two runs on four hits. He struck out one.

Joseph Martin, Duncan McLaughlin and Tyler Davis combined to throw 2 2/3 scoreless innings in relief.