FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Georgia State 9,
UT Martin 3
Northern Illinois 16,
Southeast Missouri 4 (Oxford, AL)
@Nicholls 7,
Little Rock 6
@New Mexico State 9,
Western Illinois 1
GEORGIA STATE 9, UT MARTIN 3
ATLANTA - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team jumped out to a 2-0 lead but fell to Georgia State 9-3 in Game 1 of the weekend series at GSU Baseball Complex.
Brody Capps (second multi-hit game of the season, one walk, one RBI) and Jalen Fithian recorded doubles while TJ Grines (one stolen base, one walk, one RBI), Jordan Hudson (one walk), Arderrius Townsend (one walk), Blaze Bell (RBI single), Jonah Katsaboulas (single), Tommy Koch (two walks) and Garner Anderson (one walk) made contributions to the offense.
Brandon King (0-1) started the game going 2.2 innings pitched and was followed by Quincy Thornton (2.1 innings pitched), Quin Long (1.1 innings pitched, no hits, no earned runs) and Shawn Perez (1.2 innings pitched, no hits, no runs allowed).
Fithian rocketed a ball to right field to get the game started and scored when Grines reached first on an error by the first basemen. The speedy Grines proceeded to steal second and would score from there with a double by Capps. King left two runners stranded in the home half after his catcher Koch tossed out a would-be base stealer for the final out of the frame.
Georgia State (4-0) knotted the game up in the bottom of the second from a ground out and single to left field. The Panthers rattled off two more runs in the second and Thornton would make his UT Martin (2-2) debut by getting the final out of the third.
Quin Long entered the game for the Skyhawks in the sixth after Georgia State assumed a six-run advantage, inducing two flyouts with a groundout. Long got his first career punchout in the bottom of the seventh to conclude his day before Perez took to the mound. The Cutler Bay, Fla. native induced a double play groundball to conclude a scoreless seventh for UT Martin.
The top of the eighth saw the Skyhawks load the bases after three consecutive walks and Bell cashed in a run with a base hit to third. After a clean inning from Perez in the bottom half of the eighth, UT Martin got two runners on in the top of the ninth with no outs but was unable to cut in to the Georgia State lead.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS 16, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 4
OXFORD, Ala. - Southeast Missouri Baseball (1-3) fell to Northern Illinois (2-2) in the first game of a three-game series on Friday evening by a final score of 16-4 from Choccolocco Park.
Short stop Andrew Ramirez led the Redhawks offense at the plate as the only Redhawk with multiple hits in the contest. Ramirez, making his fourth-straight start, finished 3-for-4 at the plate.
The Huskies scored 14-of-their-16 runs in the first three innings of the contest and added two more in the sixth to hand SEMO its second-straight loss. NIU edged SEMO in hits by a 13-9 margin.
SEMO would fight back in the final two innings of the contest scoring three runs in the eighth inning. A one out single by Bryce Cannon got the inning started for the Redhawks as he lined a single to center field.
Making his first appearance in a SEMO uniform, infielder Jack Opoien pinch hit for Mikey Rocha as Opoien roped a double into the right centerfield gap to plate Cannon all the way from first for the Redhawks' first run of the ball game.
Catcher Shea McGahan drove in Opoien as he traded places with him with another double, this one to left field that rattled off the wall and allowed Opoien to score easily. The Redhawks trailed 16-2 at that point in the ball game and still with just one out.
Outfielder Demitri Shakotko continued the scoring trend with an opposite field single to drive in McGahan from second base for the third run of the inning. SEMO would eventually load the bases via an Andrew Ramirez single and a Brooks Kettering walk but couldn't muster any more runs.
Opoien came to the plate again in the ninth and was hit-by-a-pitch before taking second and third base on a defensive indifference. A wild pitch from NIU's Austin Graber allowed Opoien to come into score his second run of the game.
NIU would hold on for the 16-4 victory in the opening game of the series.
RHP Sam Heyman (1-1) made the start in the series opener but lasted just 2.0 innings, surrendering six runs (5 ER) on six hits. He recorded three strikeouts over 14 hitters.
LHP's Ethan Osborne and Cade Perkins, and RHP Kayden Kohlberg combined to shutout the Huskies over the final 3.2 innings. For all three of them, the appearances marked the first outing of the season.
NICHOLLS 7, LITTLE ROCK 6
THIBODAUX, La. - Little Rock dropped a see-saw affair at Nicholls Friday afternoon. The Trojans took a 6-4 lead with a four-run fourth inning but surrendered three runs in the sixth in a 7-6 loss.
Trey Hill and Cooper Chaplain were 2-for-4 at the plate. Zach Henry and Ty Rhoades were 2-for-5 and Rhoades drove in a pair of runs.
Starting pitcher Jackson Wells went five innings giving up four runs on five hits with three strikeouts and two walks. Josh Beezley took the loss giving up two hits and a run in one inning pitched.
The Trojans took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on an RBI-single by Rhoades and another run scored on a catcher's interference.
Nicholls took a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning with four runs. However, it was short-lived as the Trojans scored four runs of their own in the fifth inning to take a 6-4 lead.
In the fifth inning, Ryan Geck, who scored two runs and was walked twice, drove home a run on a ground out to tie the game. Rhoades drove Geck home with a single and Alex McGinnis doubled plating Rhoades. Jayce Blalock capped the scoring with an RBI single to center field.
Nicholls pushed three runs across in the sixth inning ,and the Trojans were held scoreless the final four frames. Little Rock banged out 10 hits and committed two errors. Nicholls totaled 7 hits and 5 errors.
NEW MEXICO STATE 9, WESTERN ILLINOIS 1
LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Western Illinois struggled offensively in a 9-1 loss to NM State on Friday night at Presley Askew Field in Las Cruces, N.M. The Leathernecks were held scoreless through eight innings before finally breaking through in the ninth but couldn't overcome New Mexico State's early lead.
The Leathernecks managed just five hits in the game, with their lone run coming in the final inning. Tyler Large had a double in the ninth inning and scored Western Illinois' only run. Justin Bogard recorded the team's only RBI, driving in Large in the ninth.
On the mound, starter Max Tripure pitched five innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits while striking out six. However, Western Illinois' bullpen struggled, surrendering six runs over the next three innings.
Defensively, the Leathernecks played cleanly, committing no errors, but they couldn't contain NM State's bats, as the Aggies hit two home runs and a triple.