FRIDAY'S SCORES
Southern Indiana 8, Bowling Green 7 (10) (Carbondale, IL)
@Southern Illinois 16,
Southern Indiana 12
@Morehead State 22, Quinnipiac 21
@Middle Tennessee 13,
UT Martin 12 (10)
Northern Illinois 5-8,
@SIUE 4-4
@Tennessee Tech 11, UIC 5
@Lindenwood 8, Illinois State 5
Murray State 9,
@Little Rock 8
@Southeast Missouri 19, Purdue Fort Wayne 3
@Austin Peay 12,
Eastern Illinois 5
Western Illinois 12, @Alabama State 1
SOUTHERN INDIANA 8, BOWLING GREEN 7 (10)
CARBONDALE, Ill. - USI junior designated hitter Cole Kitchens hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th to cap off an impressive comeback win by the Eagles over BGSU, 8-7. USI rallied from seven runs down after four-and-a-half innings for the victory.
USI started to chip away at the 7-0 deficit with two runs in the fifth, three more in the sixth, one in the eighth, and one in the ninth to tie the game, 7-7. The Eagles got on the board in the fifth on a RBI ground out by senior centerfielder Khi Holiday and a RBI single by junior leftfielder BJ Banyon to make the score 7-2.
The gap continued to shrink to 7-5 in the sixth on a RBI single by junior designated hitter Cole Kitchens and a two-run single by junior shortstop Clayton Slack. Slack would strike again in the bottom of the eighth to close the gap to a single tally, 7-6.
USI junior first baseman Kannon Coakley sent the game into extra innings tied, 7-7, with a RBI double and set the stage for Kitchens in the 10th.
On the mound, sophomore right-hander Aaron Rubio picked up his first win at USI in relief. Rubio threw a near-perfect 10th inning, hitting a batter and striking out one, to get the Eagles to the bottom half of the extra frame.
USI relievers shut the door on the Falcons in the five innings of play with no runs or hits, while striking out seven.
USI senior left-hander Mason Sweeney started and got a no-decision. Sweeney allowed two runs on three walks in two-thirds of an inning.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 16, SOUTHERN INDIANA 12
CARBONDALE, Ill. - In its second game of the day, the Screaming Eagles flew out to a big lead, but the Salukis rallied with 10 runs in the eighth to win 16-12.
USI built a 6-0 lead to get out in front, scoring once in the fourth and five times in the sixth to build a 6-0 advantage. Kitchens had the highlight of the five-run sixth with a two-run double, while Slack had a RBI-single in the rally.
The Salukis would rally in the bottom of the sixth to cut the Eagles' advantage to one run, 6-5. USI would bounce back with a pair of runs in the top of the seventh to re-extend the lead before SIU got a run back in the bottom half for an 8-6 score with two frames to play.
SIU continued to rally with the 10-run eighth inning to lead 16-8. USI would try to rally in the top of the ninth with four runs, but would fall short 16-12.
On the mound, USI freshman right-hander Marshall Loch took the loss in relief, Loch (0-1) allowed four runs on two hits and two hit batters.
USI junior right-hander Andres Gonzalez started and went five-plus innings for the Eagles. Gonzalez, who did not allow a hit through the first five frames, allowed four runs on two hits and four walks while striking out four.
MOREHEAD STATE 22, QUINNIPIAC 21
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Morehead State and Quinnipiac combined for 10 home runs, 33 hits and 22 walks and the Eagles prevailed in a wild back-forth affair 22-21 Friiday afternoon at Allen Field.
Morehead State (5-3) got two home runs from Hunter Thomas and left fielder Davis German and a solo shot from first baseman Alex Kean.
Quinnipiac (3-5) got two home runs from third baseman Sebastian Mueller and designated hitter Christian Smith and a solo shot from shortstop Alex Irizarry.
Morehead State opened the scoring in the bottom of the first plating three runs. Quinnipiac responded with a big inning in the second, scoring eight runs, sending 12 batters to the plate.
The Eagles scored five in the bottom of the inning to tie the game at 8-8. Quinnipiac answered with six in the third, two in the fourth and four in the fifth to get to 20 runs on the board. Morehead State got four runs in both the third and fourth innings, and three in the fifth to trail 20-19 through five innings.
Morehead State pitching held Quinnipiac scoreless in the sixth, seventh and eight innings. Blake Hager and Trevor Callahan combined to throw three and two-thirds scoreless innings to keep the Eagles close. Callahan (1-2) notched his first win of the season.
In the bottom of the seventh center fielder Hayden Robbins reached with one out on his third hit-by-pitch of the game, tying a school record. After an out, Thomas lifted a fly ball over the center field screen off Quinnipiac reliever Ryan O'Connell (0-1) to put the Eagles ahead 21-20.
In the bottom of the eighth, Germann slugged his second homer of the day (and the season) to make it 22-20.
Morehead State closer Will Grimmett came on in the ninth getting two ground outs, then Sebastian Mueller slammed his second homer of the game to pull the Bobcats to within one run, 22-21. Grimmett then coaxed a ground ball to end the game and collect his second save of the season.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 13, UT MARTIN 12 (OT)
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team collected five extra base hits – three of which went for home runs – but fell 13-12 in extra innings at Middle Tennessee.
Garner Anderson had a career day, going 3-for-5 with a career-best five RBI, including a two-out grand slam in the sixth. Jalen Fithian (triple, double, RBI), Jonah Katsaboulas (two hits, two RBI), TJ Grines (two runs scored, walk, three stolen bases), Brody Capps (two hits, two-run homer, walk), Arderrius Townsend (solo home run, three runs scored, two walks), Blaze Bell (RBI) and Frank Micallef (two runs scored, walk, stolen base) each contributed to the offensive attack.
Brandon King started the game on the mound for the Skyhawks (3-5), going 2.2 innings. Jeb Bartle (4.1 innings pitched, four strikeouts), Kaleb Baskin (two innings pitched, two strikeouts) and JP Nunn (0-1) saw time out of the bullpen.
Grines reached on an error in the first inning that led to Capps hitting a two-out, two-run round tripper which allowed UT Martin to pull ahead. One unearned run came across in the home half of the frame from Middle Tennessee (6-3) and the score sat 2-1 heading into the second.
The Skyhawks put up four runs in their next at-bat, starting with a Townsend opposite field home run. Fithian doubled and Katsaboulas brought home two on a single that stretched the UT Martin edge to five. The Blue Raiders had another answer, pulling within two before the Skyhawks could get out of the second.
Middle Tennessee tied things up in the third after a pair of solo homers. Bartle took care of the final out of the third and then fired off scoreless frames in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to keep the score knotted up.
One out away from the seventh inning stretch, Bell delivered with an RBI single that scored Grines and moved Townsend to third. Micallef was then hit by a pitch to bring Anderson to the plate with the bases loaded. The Martin, Tenn. native drilled a ball to the opposite field for his first career grand slam, giving UT Martin an 11-6 lead.
Middle Tennessee scored once in the seventh and then posted five runs in the eighth to take a 12-11 lead. Down to their final out, the Skyhawks were kept alive by Anderson, who laced a single up the middle to score Townsend and tie the game at 12-all.
Baskin sat down Middle Tennessee in order during the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings. UT Martin placed two runners on base with two down in the top of the 10th but failed to bring in the leading run. The Blue Raiders capitalized and hit a walk-off home run to take Game 1 of the round-robin weekend.
NORTHERN ILLINOIS 5-8, SIUE 4-4
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Northern Illinois swept a doubleheader from SIUE baseball Friday, picking up a 5-4 come-from-behind win in game one and then winning 8-4 in a seven-inning contest in game two at Roy E. Lee Field.
The Cougars fell to 2-7. Northern Illinois is now 4-4.
The Cougars scored twice in the fourth inning in game one to tie the score 2-2. Ethan Willoughby singled to drive in a run and a second run scored thanks to an error in center. Kyle Ratliff added a sacrifice fly in the eighth to give SIUE a 3-2 lead.
The Huskies scored three times in the ninth to lead 5-2 before the Cougars added a run in the ninth on a Lane Crowden double.
Freshman Tim Teixeira started and worked six innings. He allowed two runs, but struck out a career-high 10 hitters. Liam McKillop worked two scoreless innings with a strikeout. Tyler Davis (0-1) allowed three runs in the ninth and took the loss.
Willoughby finished with two hits.
Willoughby homered in the first inning of game one. NIU picked up three runs in the third and another three in the fourth to lead 6-2. Ryan Niedzwiedz walked with the bases loaded in the fourth to force home a run.
The Huskies got a run in the sixth before the Cougars scored twice in the bottom of the inning before Daniel Gierer drove home two in the bottom of the inning.
The Huskies picked up an insurance run in the seventh.
Gierer finished with two hits in the nightcap. Brady Coon (0-2) started and allowed six run in three innings. He stuck out a career-high five hitters. AQW
TENNESSEE TECH 11, UIC 5
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The offense was out in full force for the Tennessee Tech baseball team Friday evening, as the Golden Eagles picked up an 11-5 victory over visiting UIC in the two teams' series opener at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
Racking up 14 hits and 11 runs, the Tech bats created plenty of room for starter Jaxson Pease to work with, and the junior hurler delivered a gem. After surrendering one run on a pair of extra-base hits in the opening frame, the Golden Eagle ace shut down the visitors from Chicago over the next five innings.
Pease paced the purple and gold (7-3) with 6.0 innings of work on the hill, scattering six hits and a pair of walks. The right-hander struck out a season-high eight batters and allowed just the single run while moving to a perfect 3-0 on the year.
Riding a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the second, the Flames (2-8) made a pair of costly errors in the frame, allowing the Cookeville crew to take the lead for good. Unfortunately for UIC, the floodgates opened for the Golden Eagle offense, taking the momentum from the second and spreading it out over the remainder of the ball game.
Two throwing errors by the UIC defense loaded the bases with one out, allowing second baseman Jackson Rooker to open the scoring for the home team. The redshirt freshman delivered a two-run knock to center field, pushing Tech out front for the first time with a 2-1 lead.
A pair of doubles to left-center field from two Tech sluggers increased the advantage to 3-1, with designated hitter Riley Black ripping an extra-base hit with one out in the third. Two batters later, first baseman Carter Vrabel smashed a one-hopper to the wall, plating Black.
The Golden Eagles blew the contest wide open in the fourth, putting runners on first and second with one to set up Mack Whitcomb for a big swing. The catcher delivered with a two-run double down the left-field line, doubling the Tech lead to four runs.
Two pitches later, right fielder Jorsixt Jimenez updated the scoreboard for a 7-1 Tech lead, crushing his first round-tripper as a Golden Eagle to right-center field for a pair of RBI. In the fifth, Vrabel followed suit with a lead-off, moon shot to left field for an 8-1 advantage.
For good measure, the purple and gold loaded the bases again in the bottom of the seventh, this time with no outs. UIC looked to escape the jam with a pair of quick, painless outs, but Whitcomb had other plans.
After falling behind in the count 1-2, the sophomore slugger ripped a rocket down the left-field line on a hanging breaking ball. Whitcomb landed at second with a bases-clearing double, giving the youngster a five-RBI night.
UIC rallied a bit in the ninth, scoring four times on the power of four hits, including a two-run home run.
Whitcomb led the Golden Eagles with a 3-for-5 day and five RBI while Vrabel cashed in a pair of RBI on two hits. Left fielder Landon Smelser worked up a pair of knocks while scoring twice while Jimenez tallied two hits in the contest as well. Both Rooker and shortstop Owen Lee each scored twice as well.
Sophomore reliever Drew Mattox closed out the final three innings of the ball game, securing his second save of the season with one punch-out.
LINDENWOOD 8, ILLINOIS STATE 5
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood baseball team (5-5) earned a series opening win over Illinois State (1-6) by a score of 8-5 on Friday afternoon from Lou Brock Sports Complex
Illinois State scratched one across in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. Jake Radosevich hit a leadoff home run to begin the second, tying things up at one apiece. It was the Redbirds turn to respond, scoring two in the top of the third, taking a 3-1 lead. Once again, it didn't take long for Lindenwood to answer when Charlie Isom-McCall sent one over the wall for his first collegiate homer to begin the third, cutting the deficit to 3-2.
After Isom-McCall's homer, the next three Lions reached base, which brought Radosevich to the dish and he made the most of it, belting a grand slam to left center, putting Lindenwood up 6-3. Illinois State got within one, 6-5 with a two-run shot of its own in the fifth. Illinois State worked out of a jam in the bottom half, keeping the deficit at one.
Easton Rakers came out of the pen and fired two scoreless innings, getting to the eighth with a 6-5 score, In the bottom half, Lindenwood added two runs with a two-out rally when Bryson Arnette doubled home Kam Edwards and Radosevich kept his big day going with his sixth RBI of the day, bringing home Arnette, making the score 8-5 heading to the ninth.
Rakers finished off the game with a scoreless ninth and picked up his first save of the year. Josh Newell earned the win on the mound as Lindenwood took the series opener 8-5.
MURRAY STATE 9, LITTLE ROCK 8
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - For the second time in three nights, Little Rock had a chance to walk-off with a win at Gary Hogan Field. On Wednesday night, Ryan Geck did just that with a game-winning hit against Memphis. The Trojans had Geck in the same situation Friday night in the opener of a three-game weekend series against Murray State, but were unable to deliver the big hit, falling 9-8 to the Racers. Game 2 of the series starts with a 2:05 pm first pitch and can be streamed on ESPN+.
Little Rock (5-4) fell behind early again as the Racers (5-0) hung a four-spot on the board in the top half of the opening stanza. The Trojans almost matched that in the bottom half with three runs as Cooper Chaplain singled to drive in runs and Angel Cano – making his first appearance of the season – brought in the third when he reached on an error.
The Racers would go up 6-3 in the fourth before Little Rock tied it up in the fifth as Jayce Blalock, Cano, and Ryan Willbanks drew walks – Blalock would score on Willbanks' free pass – and Zach Henry singled home a pair of runs. In the sixth, Blalock delivered the lead with a two-run shot that towered over the fence in left-center for an 8-6 advantage.
The Racers took advantage of two hits, three walks, and a Trojan error to plate three runs and take the lead back for good. In the bottom of the ninth, Willbanks singled with one out and Henry walked before Alex Seguine flied out for the second out. Chaplain walked to load the bags for Geck, who hit into a fielder's choice for the final out. It is the first home loss for the Trojans this season.
Little Rock drew a dozen walks on the evening, but was outhit by a 12-7 margin. Willbanks (3), Henry (2), Blalock (2) and Cano (2) each walked multiple times. Jackson Wells battled through a tough first inning to go four innings, striking out nine while allowing nine hits, six runs (three earned) and two walks. Gage Haley tossed three strong innings in relief, while Preston Davis and Josh Beezley combined for the final two innings. Trojan pitchers totaled 13 strikeouts to just five walks.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 19, PURDUE FORT WAYNE 3
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri Baseball (4-4) got back to the .500 mark with a 19-3 drubbing of Purdue Ft. Wayne (0-8) in game one of the series on Friday night in the first game at Capaha Field this season.
The Redhawks offense recorded 19 runs while pounding out 19 hits led by first baseman Bryce Cannon. Cannon hit his second blast of the season in the second inning to blow the game wide open with a three-run jack to make it 8-2 Redhawks early on. Cannon finished the day 3-3 at the plate with the blast, five RBIs, and four runs scored.
Ty Stauss singled to right field to score Brooks Kettering for the game's first run as the Redhawks put up five first inning runs. Cannon recorded his first RBI of the game two hitters later with an RBI single to left field to make it 2-0 Redhawks.
An RBI fielder's choice for designated hitter Carson Schrack was followed by a two-out, two RBI single through the right side by short stop Andrew Ramirez to make it 5-0 SEMO after the first frame.
PFW would score two runs off starting pitcher Sam Heyman (2-1) in the top of the third inning with an RBI groundout and a RBI single to center field by the eight and nine hole hitters. Heyman finished the day with 4.0 innings pitched, allowed just two runs on six hits, and struck out two in his third start of the season.
In the bottom of the third inning, after the Redhawks scored three in the second off Cannon's home run, Stauss delivered another RBI single to left field to score Michael Mugan. After the single, SEMO led 9-2.
The Redhawks would score two runs in the fourth, four in the fifth, four in the sixth, and held on for the 19-3 victory in the home opener.
LHP Alex Hayes relieved Heyman in the fifth inning as the lefty pitched 2.1solid innings for the Redhawks. Hayes allowed just two hits and punched out four Mastadons in his second appearance of the season.
RHPs Caden Kickhaerfer and Anthony Klein finished the game off with 3.0 innings of scoreless baseball. Both pitchers made their first appearance of 2025 combining for six strikeouts.
Every single Redhawk starter registered a hit in the contest on Friday night. Michael Mugan, Ty Stauss, Cole Warehime, Demitri Shakotko (PH), and Andrew Ramirez all had multi-RBI days on Friday afternoon
AUSTIN PEAY 12, EASTERN ILLINOIS 5
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - The Eastern Illinois baseball team (3-4, 0-0 OVC) dropped their series opener at Austin Peay (6-4, 0-0 ASUN) by a score of 12-5 on Friday evening.
The Panthers offense posted five runs on ten hits and one error, stranding 10 runners on base. Ethan Rossi led the way with three hits in four at-bats, including a two-run home run.
Chris Worcester went 2-3 with a double and one RBI, while Sam Wiese recorded a hit for the fourth consecutive game with a 2-4 outing.
Christian Carew suffered the loss after giving up four earned runs on four hits with a pair of strikeouts through three innings of work.
Eli Cartwright and Elijah Green allowed zero earned runs in a combined 3.1 innings in relief.
After three of EIU's first four batters reached base to start the game, Cade Zalewski was hit by a pitch to bring home the evening's first run. The Panthers tacked on one more with a Christ Worcester RBI single in the next at-bat before Peay got out of the inning with a strikeout and fly out.
The Governors responded loudly in the bottom of the first with a pair of round trippers, including from lead-off man Kyler Proctor. Gus Freeman delivered the next homer with a man on to give Austin Peay an early 3-2 lead.
After a quiet second inning, Peay extended the lead in the third with a Cameron Nickens RBI single. Nickens scored on a throwing error later in the inning to make the score 5-2.
In the fourth, Chris Worcester reached base with a lead-off double before Ethan Rossi homered to right center to draw the Panthers back to within one.
The Governors scored the next two runs with John Bay scoring on a passed ball in the fifth before a Nickens RBI double in the seventh pushed the lead back to three.
The Panthers got one back on the eighth with a Zak Goodwin pinch hit RBI single, but after a pitching change with two on and nobody out, the next three EIU batters were set down in order to stifle the potential rally.
Austin Peay broke the game open in the bottom of the eighth with a Proctor RBI double and Nickens three-run homer that put the game out of reach for Eastern, as the Panthers were unable to mount a comeback in their final at-bat.
WESTERN ILLINOIS 12, ALABAMA STATE 1
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Western Illinois Baseball (1-5) broke out in a big way Friday night, using a late offensive surge to cruise past Alabama State, 12-1, at Wheeler-Watkins Stadium on Friday night.
After a quiet start, the Leathernecks' bats came alive in the later innings. WIU struck first with a run in the second thanks to a Matt Olive sacrifice fly that scored Tyler Large. They added two more in the third to take an early 3-0 lead on a Liam Bushey single followed by Large grounding into a double play that scored Krayton Morse. But it was the final two frames where the Leathernecks really flexed their muscle, exploding for three runs in the seventh and a staggering six-run eighth to put the game out of reach.
Tyler Large had a huge night, going 3-for-4 with a double, two triples, and two RBI, while Krayton Morse was a spark at the top of the lineup, scoring three runs and collecting three hits. Matt Olive added one hit and two RBI and both Liam Bushey and Kenneth Perez chipped in with multi-hit performances.
Junior right-hander Max Tripure turned in a strong start, tossing 6.2 innings of one-run ball while allowing just five hits. He struck out three and walked two to pick up the win. The bullpen locked things down from there, with Jackson Rodgers and Alex Esker combining for 1.1 scoreless innings to seal the deal.