SATURDAY'S SCORES
Southern Indiana 8, @Western Illinois 5
@Eastern Illinois 4-4, Lindenwood 3-14
@SIUE 4, Morehead State 1
@UT Martin 8-6, Southeast Missouri 4-7
Tennessee Tech 14, @Little Rock 9
SOUTHERN INDIANA 8, WESTERN ILLINOIS 5
MACOMB, Ill. - University of Southern Indiana Baseball scored six times in the top of the eighth and posted an 8-5 win over Western Illinois University Saturday afternoon in Macomb, Illinois. USI is 9-13 overall and 1-1 in the OVC after today's game, while WIU goes 6-13, 1-1 OVC this year.
After a scoreless draw through the first three frames, the Screaming Eagles scored twice to take a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth. Junior third baseman Patrick McLellan started the frame by being hit by a pitch, stole second, moved to third on a hit by junior first baseman Kannon Coakley, and scored on an error for the first run of the game.
Coakley, who had moved to third on the error, crossed the plate with USI's second run on a sacrifice fly by junior shortstop Clayton Slack. The Leathernecks fought back in the bottom half of the frame with a pair of tallies and knotted the game 2-2.
WIU stayed hot in the fifth, scoring three more times to take a 5-2 lead. The score would remain 5-2 until USI broke through with six runs in the eighth.
McLellan started the scoring in the eighth, crossing the plate on an RBI single by sophomore rightfielder Cameron Boyd. Slack continued USI's parade around the diamond with a two-run double down the right-field line, scoring Coakley to cut the deficit to 5-4.
USI sophomore third baseman Anthony Umbach doubled in Boyd with the tying run before Slack scored the eventual game-winning run on a fielder's choice and a WIU error for a 6-5 score. USI finished out the scoring on a sacrifice fly by senior centerfielder Khi Holiday and an RBI double by junior designated hitter Cole Kitchens to take an 8-5 lead into the bottom of the eighth.
Kitchens and Coakley finished the game tied with a team-high three hits each.
Eagles' sophomore right-hander Brady Watts took over on the mound and set down six-straight Leathernecks in the eighth and ninth for his first save of the season and career at USI.
USI junior left-hander Jake Porter picked up his second win of the season in relief. Porter (2-0) threw 2.0 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk and striking out four.
USI junior right-hander Blake Kimball started and picked up a no-decision on the mound. Kimball struck out a season-high five batters while allowing five runs, two earned, on six hits and a walk.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 4-4, LINDENWOOD 3-14
CHARLESTON, Ill. - The Lindenwood baseball team (10-14, 1-2 OVC) split Saturday's doubleheader with Eastern Illinois (9-12, 2-1 OVC) in Charleston, Ill. The Lions dropped game one, 4-3, before bouncing back with a 14-4 win in game two,
Lindenwood opened the scoring in the second with a solo shot from Sam Grunberg and went up 1-0. Eastern Illinois responded quickly with a run in the bottom half, tying the score at one.
Chalie Isom-McCall led off the third with a double and eventually came around to score on an RBI single from Filip Sarota. The Panthers tied it with a run in the fourth, before Sarota doubled home Tyler Thompson in the fifth, putting the Lions in front, 3-2. EIU jumped back in front 4-3 with two in the bottom half.
Lindenwood's offense was unable to push another run across, falling by that score. Eli Brown had a strong afternoon on the mound, going seven innings, giving up two earned runs.
The Lions pounded out 15 hits in game two, which resulted in 14 runs. In the second inning, Bryson Arnette and Mitch Cummins had back-to-back doubles to drive in runs, followed by a two-run shot by Evan Funkhouser, giving the Lions a 4-0 lead.
Eastern Illinois put two runs on the board in the second, and two more in the third, tying the game at four. The Lions responded right away with back-to-back-to-back homer by Cummins, Funkhouser, and Charlie Isom-McCall in the fifth, making the score 7-4. Sarota doubled home Kam Edwards later in the inning, extending the lead to 8-4.
Lindenwood kept piling it on with three more in the fifth, with RBI's by Arnette and Funkhouser, pushing the lead to 11-4. The Lions scored three more in the sixth as Thompson brought in two and Funkhouser drove in his fifth run of the second game, extending the lead to 14-4.
The Black and Gold was able to finish it off in seven. Micheal Walsh pitch 4.1 innings of scoreless ball out of the pen and gave up no hits while striking out three.
SIUE 4, MOREHEAD STATE 1
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Spencer Stearns allowed a single hit over a career-high eight innings Saturday as SIUE baseball downed Morehead State 4-1 to win the Ohio Valley Conference series.
SIUE has won three in a row and improved to 9-12 overall and 2-0 in the OVC. Morehead State is 8-13 and 0-2 in the league.
Stearns (2-3) struck out a career-high 12 hitters over eight dominating innings. He allowed a solo home run to Griffin Olson and didn't allow another hit. He walked one and hit a batter, but retired the final 11 hitters he faced, striking out six of them.
Tyler Davis used just 10 pitches to retire the side in order for his second save of the season.
Olson's home run gave Morehead State the lead in the third inning, but the Cougars answered immediately in the bottom of the inning with a sacrifice fly from Ethan Willoughby.
Chase Bloomer's team-leading sixth home run of the year, a solo shot, put SIUE ahead to stay in the fifth. Bloomer picked up an RBI single and Willoughby drove home a run with a fielder's choice in the seventh to stretch the Cougars' advantage.
Bloomer was 2-4, accounting for half of SIUE's hits. Mack Mitchell and Lane Crowden had the other two hits.
Kamden Hawks (0-3) worked 4 2/3 innings in relief, allowing three runs for Morehead State. He struck out six.
UT MARTIN 8-6, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 4-7
MARTIN, Tenn. - Southeast Missouri Baseball (13-11, 1-2 OVC) spilt Saturday's doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at UT Martin (9-13, 2- 1 OVC) from Skyhawk Baseball Field. The Redhawks dropped the first game by a final score of 8-4 before winning 7-6 in game two in 10 innings.
The Redhawks jumped out to a 3-0 lead in game two with a two-run second inning and a run in the fourth inning. An RBI bases loaded walk by Brooks Kettering scored the first run of the game. A sacrifice fly by center fielder Caleb Champion made it 2-0 after the second inning.
Another RBI from Champion, this one a single up to right center, in the fourth inning scored Demitri Shakotko to make it 3-0 SEMO after the fourth inning.
UTM would tie it with a three-run fifth inning with a pair RBI singles and an RBI fielder's choice to make it 3-3 after five innings.
The Skyhawks would take the lead with another three run inning in the seventh inning with a wild pitch and a two-run home run to make it 6-3 after the seventh.
DH Demitri Shakotko crushed a two-run home run, his first of the season, in the eighth inning before Champion doubled in another run to make it a three-run eighth inning for the Redhawks to tie it at six.
An RBI fielder's choice by Champion in the 10th inning gave the Redhawks enough, making it 7-6, as SEMO would hold on to salvage the third game of the series at UT Martin.
Shakotko and Champion led a Redhawk offense that finished with 13 hits in game two. The duo finished 3-5 and 2-4, respectively, with six RBIs, a home run, and a double combined between them.
The Skyhawks took the series with a game one of the Saturday doubleheader victory. UTM won the game by a final score of 8-4.
The Redhawks jumped out to a 3-0 lead with a three-run fourth inning. A bases clearing, three RBI double by Demitri Shakotko gave the Redhawks a 3-0 lead after the top of the fourth inning.
UTM responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth inning to make it 3-3 heading to the fifth inning.
An error during the at-bat of Michael Mugan allowed Caleb Corbin to come in to score the fourth and final run of the day for the Redhawks, giving them a 4-3 lead going into the sixth inning.
Four runs in the sixth and another in the eighth gave UTM an 8-4 advantage as they held on for the 8-4 victory.
TENNESSEE TECH 14, LITTLE ROCK 9
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The bats were out in full force for the Tennessee Tech baseball team on Saturday, leading the Golden Eagles to a 14-9 victory over Ohio Valley Conference rival Little Rock at Gary Hogan Field in a contest not as close as the final score indicated.
Tech (17-7, 2-0) locked down the series victory by piling up a season-high 18 hits on the day while the pitching staff held the Trojans (9-14, 0-2) to just three runs through the first eight innings. Opening the contest with a sense of urgency, the purple and gold plated eight runs over the first three frames to set the tone.
After left fielder Landon Smelser led off the game with a base knock to left-center and shortstop Owen Lee drew a four-pitch walk, Little Rock picked up a pair of quick outs. Third baseman Preston Steele kept the inning alive by reaching on a throwing error by his Trojan counterpart, subsequently allowing the first run to score on the play for the purple and gold.
The run was big, but the error extending the inning proved to be even more important with center fielder Nicho Jordan coming to the plate. The senior delivered, drilling a line drive to center field that the Trojan's defense attempted to make a diving catch on.
The Little Rock center fielder missed the attempt at the highlight-reel play and Jordan was off to the races, using his blazing speed to circle the bases for an inside-the-park home run and three RBI. It marked his third round-tripper of the year and the first of inside-the-park variety of his career.
Back on the attack in the second inning, second baseman Jackson Rooker sparked another run of scoring with a lead-off double to left-center field. Later in the frame, with runners on first and second, Lee ripped an RBI single to right field to make it a 5-0 lead. On the same play, Smelser scored the team's sixth marker of the day thanks to an errant throw by the Trojan first baseman.
Little Rock looked to answer in the bottom of the second, loading the bases with a single, an error, and a walk, but Tech hurler Lucas Vega never wavered. The right-hander induced a pop-up to shortstop for an infield fly for the first out before forcing a ground ball that the Golden Eagle defense turned into a 6-4-3, inning-ending double play.
In the third, the Cookeville crew continued to apply the pressure with Steele drawing a lead-off walk and advancing on a wild pitch before Jordan singled to left field and stole second. With the Tech runners in scoring position, first baseman Carter Vrabel brought the first one home with a sacrifice fly to right field. Right fielder Jackson Green plated the other for the inning, reaching first safely on an RBI fielder's choice.
The Golden Eagles made it an even 10-0 lead in the fifth with continued aggressive work at the dish, with a familiar tandem at the forefront again. Steele and Jordan led off the frame with back-to-back base knocks to the outfield, finally prompting a pitching change for the Trojans.
Vrabel greeted the new Little Rock arm by ripping an RBI base knock up the middle. Green followed two batters later with a run-scoring single of his own to left field, moving the advantage to double figures.
The Trojans finally got on the scoreboard in the fifth, taking advantage of a pair of Golden Eagle and a passed ball to score two unearned runs. Vega worked through the remainder of the frame unscathed, eventually earning his fourth win of the year.
The Tech bats answered back for their starter in the sixth, starting with a one-out base hit up the middle by designated hitter Jorsixt Jimenez. Two batters later, Jordan kept his career day rolling by absolutely destroying a 2-2 offering over the wall in right field for his second four-bagger of the day and fourth of the season.
In the eighth, Little Rock managed one run on a base hit to right field before the Tech offense got one last lick in. Loading the bases with two outs, the Golden Eagles picked up two more runs thanks to a run-producing single to left field off the bat of Smelser.
Little Rock certainly made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth, scoring six times on five hits while sending 13 batters to the plate. The Trojans picked up a grand slam in the frame, but in the end, it was far too little too late as Tech's Jack Brafa came on to record the final two outs.
Jordan led the way for the Cookeville crew with a 4-for-4 showing at the dish, driving in five, scoring five, and drawing a walk for good measure. Smelser, Lee, Vrabel, Rooker, and Green tallied two hits apiece while every Golden Eagle position player to see the diamond on the day recorded at least one knock.