FRIDAY'S SCORES
SIUE 3, @Lindenwood 1 (14)
Little Rock 11, @Morehead State 5
@UT Martin 4, Western Illinois 3
@Tennessee Tech 11, Southern Indiana 6
Eastern Illinois 6, @Southeast Missouri 3 (19)
SIUE 3, LINDENWOOD 1 (14)
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - SIUE scored twice in the top of the 14th inning to pick up a 3-1 win in the opener of a three-game Ohio Valley Conference series at Lindenwood.
With the win, the Cougars improved to 7-3 in OVC play and moved back into a tie for first place. SIUE is 14-18 overall. Lindenwood is 5-4 in the league and 16-17 overall.
The pair of extra-inning runs rewarded a stellar pitching performance by four SIUE pitchers, who combined to allow a single run on just three hits over 14 innings.
The game matched the longest (innings) that SIUE has played in the Division I era (since 2009) and the longest they have played to earn a win.
Joshua Heyder led off the 14th with a double to right center and Brendan Fry pinch ran. Kyle Ratliff singled and Lane Crowden followed with a single to drive in Fry. Ratliff and Crowden moved up on a passed ball and Ratliff scored on a squeeze bunt by John Stallcup for the 3-1 lead.
Tyler Davis struck out two in a perfect ninth inning to earn his fourth save of the year. Alex Rodriguez (3-1) pitched three scoreless innings in relief to earn the win. He allowed a single hit and struck out three. He followed Liam McKillop, who threw three scoreless hitless innings and struck out four.
The trio followed Tim Teixeira who allowed a run on two hits in a seven-inning start.
The Cougars took the initial lead in the fifth when Crowden scored on an infield single by Daniel Gierer.
The Lions tied the game in the sixth on a solo home run by Jake Radosevich.
Crowden and Ryan Niedzwiedz each had two hits to lead the Cougars at the plate.
LITTLE ROCK 11, MOREHEAD STATE 5
MOREHEAD, Ky. - An eight-run ninth inning turned a close game into a blowout for Little Rock at Morehead State Friday night. The Trojans got two home runs in the inning from Ryan Geck and ran away with an 11-5 win.
Trailing 4-3 going into the ninth, Little Rock (13-19, 3-6 OVC) sent 11 batters to the plate. Geck led off the inning with a solo home run to tie the game 4-4. As the Trojans batted around, Geck, who was 4-for-5 with 3 RBI, hit another solo shot to make it 11-4. Alex Seguine's triple was a big blow in the inning driving home two runs. Cade Martin, who was 3-for-4 with 4 RBI, also drove in two runs with a base hit and Cooper Chaplain added an RBI in the inning.
Jackson Wells started the game on the mound and went four innings. He gave up four hits, walked four and struck out six. Blake Van Cleve took the win scattering six hits over five innings while striking out six and walking one.
Geck put Little Rock on the board first with an RBI single in the first inning. The Eagles (10-21, 1-9) tied the game in the bottom of the first with a single run and took a 2-1 lead after two innings with another run.
Martin blasted a two-run homer to right center field in the fourth inning to put the Trojans ahead 3-2.
A MSU run in the fifth tied the game again and another run gave the Eagles a 4-3 lead in the seventh - an advantage they held until the eight-run Little Rock barrage in the ninth.
Eagles reliever Kamden Hawks takes the loss going to 4.1 innings and giving up three hits with 11 strikeouts.
UT MARTIN 4, WESTERN ILLINOIS 3
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team used a complete effort to capture a 4-3 Game 1 victory against Western Illinois to start the weekend series.
Every player in the batting order either recorded a hit or drove in a run in UT Martin’s sixth win at home in its last eight tries. Blaze Bell (one walk) and Tommy Koch (RBI, stolen base) doubled while Jalen Fithian (double), Brody Capps (one hit) and Jonah Katsaboulas helped drive in runs. Garner Anderson, Arderrius Townsend (stolen base), JT Popick and Cameron Greene (one walk) pitched in to help the Skyhawks outhit Western Illinois, 10-9.
Jacob Sitton (two strikeouts, two runs allowed) started the day on the mound for UT Martin (13-20, 4-5 Ohio Valley Conference) and went six innings for the third time in his last four outings. Jeb Bartle threw a flawless inning with two strikeouts while Mason Shropshire (3-1, one inning pitched, one strikeout) and Kaleb Baskin (save, one inning pitched, no runs, one strikeout) slammed the door in the final frames.
The Skyhawks jumped on the board first on a sacrifice fly from Capps after Sitton left a runner stranded in the top part of the inning for a scoreless frame. Two flyouts and a groundout to first helped Sitton post a 1-2-3 second inning which he followed up with a flyout and back-to-back groundouts to conclude the third.
A perfect inning was posted by Sitton in the fourth, but the Leathernecks (7-22, 2-8 OVC) broke through for a run in the fifth to knot the game up at one. The tie was short-lived as Fithian drove home Koch on a sacrifice fly to left field to pull UT Martin in front, 2-1.
Sitton finished his sixth inning of work off a groundout, backwards K and an outfield assist from Anderson who threw out what would’ve been the game-tying run at the plate for the third out of the frame. Bartle took over for Sitton after Western Illinois tied the game again and fanned two with a flyout to leave two runners in scoring position.
After a leadoff single in the eighth, Shropshire put down three straight Leathernecks from a sacrifice bunt, flyout and strikeout swinging. The Skyhawks added two in the home half when Katsaboulas plated Capps from a fielder’s choice and Koch continued his big day in the batter’s box with a single through the left side that scored Bell.
Baskin took over for the ninth inning and stranded the game-tying run at second on a flyout to conclude the contest.
TENNESSEE TECH 11, SOUTHERN INDIANA 6
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Everyone was working for the Tennessee Tech baseball team Friday evening, as the Golden Eagles picked up a big, 11-6 victory over Ohio Valley Conference foe Southern Indiana at Quillen Field and Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex behind a sturdy performance across the board.
The Cookeville crew (22-13, 7-3) tied the visiting Screaming Eagles (16-17, 7-3) at the top of the OVC standings with Friday's victory, along with SIUE (14-18, 7-3), who topped Lindenwood in 14 innings in St. Charles, Mo. The Tech offense set the tone early, providing the pitching staff plenty of room to work on a blustery night at the Quill, with steady winds blowing in from right field.
On a night that saw the purple and gold utilize the two-out rally on a number of occasions, none were bigger than the team's showing in the bottom of the first. The Golden Eagles took advantage of a USI mistake, with catcher Mack Whitcomb reaching first base safely on a wild pitch after striking out for what should have been the third out of the frame.
The head's up base running by the Tech slugger extended the frame to designated hitter Jorsixt Jimenez, who drew a six-pitch walk to pass the torch to center field Nicho Jordan. The senior just missed sending one out of the yard, settling for a two-run double off the top of the wall in right-center field for the early 2-0 lead.
With starter Jack Brafa tossing up a trio of scoreless frames to open the ball game, the Golden Eagle lineup rewarded the sophomore with an even bigger cushion in the third, dropping a six spot to blow the game wide open. After a quick out to open the inning, shortstop Owen Lee made it a 3-0 advantage by belting a solo blast clear over the scoreboard in right field to tie Whitcomb for the team lead with seven long balls on the year.
Whitcomb was plunked three pitches later, and Jimenez followed with a base knock to right field to keep the pressure on. A walk to Jordan loaded the bags before the Screaming Eagles picked up the second out, looking to escape with minimal damage.
First baseman Carter Vrabel had other plans and quickly fulfilled them, ripping a two-run single to left field on a 1-2 count, expanding the Tech lead to 5-0. Second baseman Eddie Garza sent the Golden Eagle dugout in a frenzy two pitches later, hammering a three-run shot well into the night sky in left field for his first round-tripper of the year.
Just like that, the Cookeville crew had an 8-0 lead after just three frames. The visitors from Evansville, Ind. refused to go down without a fight, responding immediately with three runs in the top of the fourth.
The Screaming Eagles tacked on two more in the fifth with a two-run home run down the right-field line, trimming the Tech lead to three at the halfway point. The Golden Eagles answered in kind in the bottom of the fifth, tacking on two runs of their own to the total.
Third baseman Preston Steele singled to right field with one out before Vrabel delivered a fantastic at-bat, fighting back from an 0-2 count to draw a 10-pitch walk. A balk by the USI hurler put the two Golden Eagle runners in scoring position just in time for Garza to drive them in.
The junior continued his hot evening with a two-run single the other way to right-center field, locking down a 10-5 lead. In the bottom of the seventh, Tech added one final tally thanks to a mighty hack from Vrabel. The senior slugger crushed a two-out bomb to left field, circling the bags for the fourth time on the year.
USI attempted to rally one more time in the eighth, gathering one final run before sophomore Juan Vargas took over on the hill with one out and a runner on third. The right-hander struck out the first batter he saw before inducing an inning-ending pop up to third base.
Vargas worked a scoreless ninth as well, working around a walk and a double to finish the night with two more punch-outs. Freshman Carter Casabella earned his second win of the season after completing 3.2 innings out of the bullpen in relief of Brafa, allowing just three runs on five hits while fanning a pair.
Brafa finished 3.2 innings as well on the night, scattering seven hits while allowing just three runs and striking out four.
Garza led the red-hot Tech offense in the contest, finishing 3-for-4 with five RBI and a run scored. Vrabel drove in three on the night, producing a 2-for-3 performance with a walk and three runs scored. Eight different Golden Eagles gathered at least one hit while seven dented the dish at least once.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 6, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3 (19)
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - The Eastern Illinois baseball team (15-15, 6-3 OVC) defeated Southeast Missouri (19-15, 6-4 OVC) 6-3 in an Ohio Valley Conference record 19 inning contest in Cape Girardeau on Friday night. The Panthers did not allow a run through the game's final 12 innings as part of a masterful pitching performance.
Five Eastern pitchers saw action in the game compared to nine for SEMO. Anthony Solis and Dalton Boruff carried EIU through the first 13 innings while allowing just three runs.
Christian Carew (3-1) picked up the win after surrendering zero runs on just one hit through four innings in extras. Meanwhile, Kole Bradley and Bryce Riggs both threw one scoreless and hit-less inning while adding a pair of strikeouts each.
The EIU offense did what they needed to, scoring six runs on 16 hits and one SEMO error. Ethan Rossi and Zak Goodwin led the way with three knocks apiece.
Rossi went 3-6 with a double and one RBI, while Goodwin went 3-6 with two RBIs. Jake Ottensmeier joined Goodwin for the team-lead with two RBIs of his own.
Jake Ferguson and Brett Stanley also posted multi-hit outings with two hits each.
After neither team reached base in the opening frame, EIU struck first with a Zak Goodwin RBI single to left field that plated Jake Ferguson, who had initially reached on a base hit of his own.
The score remained 1-0 until the bottom of the fourth, when Bryce Cannon put SEMO in front with a two-run homer to left field.
Both teams failed to generate any offense in the fifth before back-to-back extra base hits from the Panthers in the sixth, including an Ethan Rossi double and James Love RBI triple, tied the score. With Love on third, Zak Goodwin came through with another RBI base hit to push Eastern back in front.
The SEMO response came an inning later, when after consecutive SEMO batters were walked, a Caleb Corbin single to center field allowed Shea McGahan to score, bringing the tally to 3-3.
Both teams stranded a runner in the eighth before they both moved the go-ahead run into scoring position in the ninth, but were unable to cash in.
The first four and a half frames of extra innings were mostly uneventful, with the two teams combining for no runs on just three hits as Dalton Boruff dominated on the mound for Eastern.
Boruff threw 6.2 scoreless inning in relief while allowing just three hits with four strikeouts.
Kole Bradley entered the game in the bottom of the 14th and picked up right where Boruff left off, retiring his first three batters faced to send the game to a 15th inning.
In the top of the 15th, EIU loaded the bases after a Mike O'Conor leadoff base hit and a pair of one-out walks, but SEMO was able to escape the inning unscathed with a ground ball and strikeout in consecutive at-bats.
Christian Carew set down the Redhawks in order in the bottom of the 15th before both teams left runners in scoring position in the 16th to extend the game further.
After a 6-4-1 double play cut short the next EIU at-bat, SEMO threatened with a man on third with two outs in the bottom of the 17th, but Carew was able to shut the door with a groundout and take the game to an OVC record 18th inning.
The 18th passed by quietly, with a leadoff walk by Zak Goodwin accounting the only base runner of the frame.
However, after 11 straight scoreless innings, EIU was finally able to find a breakthrough in the 19th. The winning inning got started with Brett Stanley earning a free base before quickly moving into scoring position on a passed ball.
Following a pop up and ground out, Stanley moved to third with two outs before Ethan Rossi delivered a clutch base hit to break the stalemate and put EIU in the driver's seat.
The Panthers were not done there, though, and after James Love singled and Zak Goodwin was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Jake Ottensmeier drove in two insurance runs to open up the largest lead of the game.
With a three-run cushion, Bryce Riggs entered the game and snuffed out any SEMO hopes of a 20th inning, as he retired the side in order to pick up his second save of the season.