FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Lindenwood 13-8, Butler 3-9
Eastern Illinois 8, @Northern Kentucky 5
@Tennessee Tech 2, Purdue Fort Wayne 1 (10)
Belmont 6,
@Little Rock 3
Indiana State 7,
@Southeast Missouri 1
@Murray State 10,
Western Illinois 9
Samford 15,
@UT Martin 4
@South Carolina 11,
Morehead State 7
@Oral Roberts 9,
Southern Indiana 8
LINDENWOOD 13-8, BUTLER 3-9
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood baseball team (7-7) scored 21 runs in a Friday doubleheader with Butler (5-7), picking up a split from Lou Brock Sports Complex
Game one was scoreless through three innings until Butler broke through for a pair in the fourth. Lindenwood responded with a five-spot in the bottom half. Kam Edwards drew a bases loaded walk, bringing home Tanner Simpson, cutting the deficit to 2-1. Tyler Thompson kept the line moving with a two RBI double, putting the Lions ahead 3-2. A few batters later, Bryson Arnette drove in two more, giving Lindenwood a 5-2 lead.
In the fifth, Thompson drove in his third of the day, bringing home Evan Funkhouser, pushing the lead to 6-2. Filip Sarota joined the fun, singling home Edwards, making the score 7-2 after five. The Black and Gold broke the game open with three more runs in the sixth as Tanner Simpson, Charlie Isom McCall, and Edwards drove in runs, extending the lead to 10-2.
Lindenwood added three more runs in the eighth to finish the game off, 13-3. Josh Newell was terrific on the mound, tossing 6.1 innings, giving up just one earned run while striking out five. Carson Subbert finished the game off with 1.2 scoreless innings out of the pen
In game two, Butler got on the board with a solo homer in the first. Lindenwood responded quickly with two runs in the bottom of the second, coming from a Sam Grunberg home run and an RBI single from Charlie Isom-McCall who brought home Brodie Short, putting Lindenwood in front, 2-1. Lindenwood went up by two in the third with a triple by Filip Sarota who was eventually brought home by Bryson Arnette, pushing the score to 3-1.
Isom-Mcall hit a two-run shot to left in the fourth, extending the Lindenwood lead to 5-1. Butler clawed its way back into the game with four runs in the fifth, tying the game at 5-5. The tie game didn't last for long as Sarota blasted a two-run shot to center, bringing home Tyler Thompson, making the score 7-5. The seesaw battle continued in the six, when Butler took the lead, 8-7 with three runs.
Lindenwood loaded the bases in the eighth and Bryson Arnette came through with an infield single, knotting the game up at 8-8. Butler retook the lead with a two-out homer in the ninth, putting them up 9-8. The Lions threatened in the bottom half, putting two on, but were unable to bring the tying run across, falling 9-8.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 8, NORTHERN KENTUCKY 5
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - In their first ever game against Northern Kentucky, the Eastern Illinois baseball team (4-6, 0-0 OVC) defeated NKU (6-6, 0-0 Horizon) 8-5 in Highland Heights on Friday afternoon.
The EIU offense scored eight runs, four earned, on eight hits and four errors. Three Panthers recorded multi-hit outings, including Joey Hagen, Peyton Wilson, and Chris Worcester, who all posted a pair of hits.
Four Panthers also posted RBIs, led by Worcester and Quade Peters with two apiece.
Tyler Conklin picked up the win after allowing four runs on six hits with seven strikeouts through 5.2 innings pitched.
Dalton Boruff was awarded his second save of the season after allowing no runs on no hits in the ninth inning.
EIU got the bats rolling early with a Chris Worcester single that drove in Brett Stanley and Peyton Wilson to give the Panthers an early 2-0 lead.
The Norse got one back in the bottom of the first with a Miranda RBI single, but Tyler Conklin would not allow another run until the sixth inning.
Eastern tacked on two more in the fourth after a throwing error allowed Joey Hagen to score from second base and a Quade Peters sac fly plated Ethan Rossi.
After a scoreless fifth, the sixth inning featured fireworks from both sides.
In the top half of the frame, Hagan scored on a fielder's choice before a Wilson single drove in Luke Melton. Peters also scored on a throwing error during the same play.
Later in the inning, a fielding error by the shortstop allowed Wilson to advance home to stretch the EIU lead to 8-1.
However, NKU responded with a crooked number of their own in the next at-bat, scoring three runs on a Devenport lead off homer followed by an RBI double from Paulick and RBI single from Altman.
The Norse climbed a little closer in the seventh inning Miranda sac fly to make the score 8-5.
NKU brought the tying run to the plate in both of the final two innings, but were unable to push anything across as the Panthers hung on for the win.
TENNESSEE TECH 2, PURDUE FORT WAYNE 1 (10)
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - It was a wild walk-off finish in Cookeville for the Tennessee Tech baseball team on Friday night, as the Golden Eagles picked up a 2-1 win in 10 innings in their series opener against Purdue Fort Wayne at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
A pitcher's dual from start to finish, the two sides battled through nine scoreless frames before the chaos ensued in the 10th. For the Golden Eagles (11-4), junior hurler Jaxson Pease turned in a masterful performance, completing 9.0 scoreless frames before heading back out on the hill for the 10th.
The right-hander scattered five hits while striking out six Mastodons and walking none over his nine innings of work. Pease faced the minimum in five of the nine frames on the night, finally walking to the dugout for good after surrendering a leadoff single to start the 10th inning.
Purdue Fort Wayne (1-11) greeted new Tech reliever Juan Vargas with some small ball, immediately moving the runner over to second on a sacrifice bunt. Mastodon third baseman Drew Helton provided the excitement for the visitors when he appeared to check his swing, made contact, and the ball found no man's land down the right-field line.
The two-bagger plated the first run of the ball game and set Purdue Fort Wayne for a potentially bigger frame. Following a quick second out, Vargas issued back-to-back walks to load the bases. The sophomore righty dug deep, inducing a ground ball to second base to escape the top of the 10th without further damage.
On the Mastodon's side, Dillon Fischer tossed up 6.1 innings without allowing a run, holding Tech to two hits and three walks. Tyson Greenwood covered the next inning before Sean Kasper took over in the bottom of the eighth with the Golden Eagles threatening.
After Ryan Lee smacked a ground-rule double to center field to lead off the inning, Luke Bragga pinch-ran and moved to third on a sac bunt by Riley Black. Bragga appeared to have the go-ahead run in his sights after the second offering from Kasper missed its mark and the catcher.
The ball took a fortuitous bounce for the visitors from Fort Wayne, jumping right off the padded backstop and right back to the Mastodon catcher, who flung it to Fischer in time to nab Bragga at the plate.
Kasper finished off the eighth and set the Golden Eagles down in order in the ninth, keeping his team's chances alive. After the top of the 10th, the right-hander took the hill again, this time with a win just three outs away.
Tech never let the Purdue Fort Wayne pitcher get comfortable again. Right fielder Jorsixt Jimenez ripped a 2-0 offering to left field for a lead-off knock, gladly taking the bench for pinch-runner Jackson Green. Center fielder Nicho Jordan followed by laying down a sac bunt to push Green into scoring position.
Enter the contest as a pinch hitter, senior slugger Carter Vrabel played the first hero of the night for the purple and gold, drilling a base knock through the left side and past a diving third baseman. Green never broke stride as he rounded third, sliding in easily ahead of the throw from left field to tie the ball game at 1-1.
The Mastodons picked up their second out of the frame before third baseman Preston Steele coaxed a six-pitch walk out of Kasper, ending the hurler's night. Southpaw Theo Nagy took over on the hill, but Tech's patience and approach at the plate would prove to be too good.
Rookie left fielder Landon Smelser drew a clutch walk on six pitches to load the bases and bring the top of the Tech order to the plate. Second baseman Jackson Rooker took his turn at the dish, quickly falling behind 0-2 before watching the third offering miss its mark for a ball.
Nagy tried to induce a swing and a miss on a slider cutting down and in towards Rooker, but the reliever's offering bounced early and plunked the Golden Eagle batter on the back leg for an RBI hit-by-pitch and walk-off victory for the Cookeville crew. The Tech bench mobbed the redshirt freshman after he reached first base and Vrabel scored the winning run at the plate.
Vargas (2-0) picked up his second win of the year after completing one inning of work in relief.
Game two of the weekend series is slated for a 1:00 p.m. CT first pitch on Saturday at the Quill.
BELMONT 6, LITTLE ROCK 3
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Aiden McGinnis and Cade Martin hit their first home runs of the season and Blake Van Cleve threw five innings of quality relief Friday during Little Rock's 6-3 loss to Belmont in the opening game of a three-game set at Gary Hogan Field. The Trojans will try to even the series Saturday when the teams meet for a 12 pm contest.
Both long balls came in the seventh inning, which the Trojans entered trailing 5-1. McGinnis crushed a 1-1 pitch to right center that hit the light pole, and Martin sent his first collegiate homer to left center, bringing Little Rock within two runs. The Trojans (5-8) had four extra base hits in the contest, with Zach Henry adding a double and Cooper Chaplain roping a triple to right in the opening stanza.
Van Cleve replaced starter Jackson Wells (0-1) to start the fourth and scattered four hits across five innings while allowing just one run and two walks with a pair of strikeouts. Wells gave up seven hits and five runs while fanning seven. Seth Cooper entered in the ninth and pitched a perfect frame on just eight pitches.
Belmont (3-11) struck first in the first frame, scoring on a double and a single. Little Rock cut to 2-1 in the bottom half on a single from Ryan Geck that scored Chaplain. The Bruins added three runs on four hits in the third for a 5-1 lead before the two Trojan homers made it 5-3 in the seventh. Belmont added an RBI single in the eighth.
INDIANA STATE 7, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri Baseball (6-6) fell in game one of the series with Indiana State (6-7) by a final score of 7-1 on Friday afternoon from Capaha Field.
The Redhawks could only muster four hits on the afternoon from Michael Mugan, Ty Stauss, Cole Warehime, and Shea McGahan. Stauss' single in the sixth inning broke up a no-hitter from ISU's RHP Max McEwen.
RHP Brian Strange (1-3) took the loss in the contest pitching 3.2 innings. He allowed seven runs on eight hits and struck out one hitter.
RHP Eddie White relieved Strange in the third inning. White pitched a solid 3.2 innings of scoreless baseball allowing just three hits and struck out three Sycamores in his outing.
The Sycamores had a big second inning plating five runs in the frame. All five runs from the Sycamores came with two outs in the inning as an RBI double scored two, an RBI single, and another two-RBI double proved to be the difference as the Sycamores led 5-0 after two innings.
A groundout in the top of the fourth inning was enough to score a run followed by another RBI double down the left field line pushed two more Sycamores across in the fourth inning for their seventh and final run.
Third baseman Jack Opoien recorded an RBI sacrifice fly to right field to score the Redhawks' only run of the contest in the seventh inning as ISU held on for the 7-1 victory.
MURRAY STATE 10, WESTERN ILLINOIS 9
MURRAY, Ky. - Western Illinois' bats came alive, but the Leathernecks fell just short in a 10-9 loss to Murray State on Friday afternoon at Johnny Reagan Field.
WIU jumped out to a hot start, plating three runs in the first inning and adding four more in the third to take an early 7-0 lead. Tyler Large had a big day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI double. Kenneth Perez was also a force, collecting four hits, including two doubles, and driving in two runs.
Paul Osting added to the power surge with a two-run home run, while Matt Olive chipped in a three-hit performance with a pair of RBIs. Despite racking up 15 hits, the Leathernecks couldn't hold off the Racers' late-inning rally.
On the mound, Max Tripure started for WIU, going four innings while allowing three runs on four hits with two strikeouts.
SAMFORD 15, UT MARTIN 4
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team received long balls from Garner Anderson and Jalen Fithian but fell to Samford in Game 1 of the weekend series, 15-4.
Anderson and TJ Grines (RBI, stolen base) each had multi-hit games while Brody Capps (triple, RBI, walk), Jonah Katsaboulas (stolen base), Arderrius Townsend (walk), Blaze Bell (walk), Jordan Hudson (walk) and Cameron Greene (walk) also contributed to the offensive charge for the Skyhawks (5-7).
UT Martin started Jacob Sitton (0-1) on the mound as he struck out seven batters over five innings. The bullpen featured appearances from Brandon King (two innings pitched) and Quin Long (one inning).
Sitton struck out the side to start the first inning, allowing the Skyhawks to take the early lead off an Anderson solo jack in the home half. Samford (7-7) responded with six runs during the second to take the lead.
Sitton bounced back to sit down the Bulldogs in order with two strikeouts in the top of the third. He worked through a clean fourth, leaving two on base to conclude the inning. The junior’s day was capped off by an outfield assist from Anderson for his fourth scoreless frame of the day.
Fithian blasted his first homer of the year and then Capps tripled to plate Grines in the bottom half of the inning, cutting UT Martin’s deficit down to three.
The Bulldogs then scored seven combined runs in the sixth and seventh. The Skyhawks got back on the board again in the bottom of the seventh courtesy of a Grines RBI double. However, Samford added two runs in the eighth to provide the final scoring margin.
SOUTH CAROLINA 11, MOREHEAD STATE 7
COLUMBIA, S.C. - A big eighth inning by South Carolina proved to be the dagger for Morehead State, and the Eagles fell to the Gamecocks 11-7 at Founders Park in Columbia, S.C. Friday night.
South Carolina (12-3) plated five runs in the eighth punctuated by a three-RBI home run blast by right fielder Ethan Petry. The Gamecocks also got a strong outing out of the bullpen by Brandon Stone who went 6.1 innings, allowing two runs on five hits, while striking out nine Eagle batters.
Reliever Will Grimmett (2-1) took the loss for Morehead State. South Carolina's Tyler Pitzer (3-0) got the win.
Morehead State (6-6) opened the scoring in the top of the second inning. Right fielder JJ Dutton and left fielder Davis Germann led off with singles. Shortstop Andy Cisneros walked to load the bases. Designated hitter Caden Sheridan walked to force Dutton to score, then center fielder Hayden Robbins drove a two-RBI single through the left side to make it 4-0. Germann and Dutton both finished with two hits apiece.
South Carolina got two runs back in the bottom of the second on three hits, two of them doubles, to halve the Eagle lead, 4-2.
Morehead State struck again in the fourth: second baseman Aubrey Kearns singled to left and was driven in by Robbins' single through the left side to go up 5-2. Robbins finished the night with two hits in four at-bats with three runs batted in.
The Gamecocks tied the game in the fifth, plating three runs punctuated by a two-run by USC left fielder Kennedy Jones. South Carolina took the lead in the seventh with a lead-off double and RBI single.
USC went ahead in the seventh on a leadoff double and single to go up 6-5.
MSU answered in the eighth; shortstop Andy Cisneros reached on an error, Sheridan was hit by a pitch, and Robbins walked to load the bases. Eagle third baseman Griffin Olson smashed a one-out, two-run double to deep center field to put the Eagles ahead 7-6.
ORAL ROBERTS 9, SOUTHERN INDIANA 8
TULSA, Okla. - University of Southern Indiana Baseball could not hold onto an early lead and fell to Oral Roberts University, 9-8, Friday evening at J.L. Johnson Stadium in Tulsa, Oklahoma. USI is 6-6 overall in 2025, while ORU goes 7-4 this year.
USI opened the game with a four-run first inning to lead 4-0. Junior rightfielder Patrick McLellan started the rally with a one-out triple and scored on a sac fly by junior designated hitter Cole Kitchens.
USI junior first baseman Kannon Coakley scored the second run on a RBI single by sophomore third baseman Parker Martin. Junior leftfielder BJ Banyon and sophomore second baseman Anthony Umbach finished the scoring with RBI singles.
The Screaming Eagles pushed the lead to 7-0 with three more in the second inning. McLellan extended the lead to 5-0 with a RBI-single, while the lead went 6-0 on a sac fly by Coakley. Junior shortstop Clayton Slack drove in the final run of the frame with the fifth RBI-single of the game.
ORU started to chip away at the margin with three runs in the bottom of the second and trailed, 7-3. The 7-3 score would stand until the bottom of the seventh when the Golden Eagles scored to close the gap to 7-4.
The Golden Eagles took their first lead of the game and pulled in front for good with a five-run eighth, 9-7. Kitchens pulled the Screaming Eagles back to within one run, 9-8, with his second home run of the season.
Slack would give the Screaming Eagles a chance with a one-out single and advanced to second on a passed ball, but would be stranded at second as ORU closed out the 9-8 final score.
At the plate, USI had five players with two hits each and was led by Martin. Martin was two-for-five with two RBIs.
On the mound, sophomore right-hander Aaron Rubio took the loss in relief. Rubio (1-1) allowed four runs on four hits in one-third of an inning of work.
USI junior right-hander Andres Gonzalez started and received a no-decision. Gonzalez allowed three runs, one earned, on three hits and three walks. He also struck out four in four innings of work.