TUESDAY'S SCORES
Eastern Illinois 18, @Northern Illinois 10
@Belmont 7,
UT Martin 6
@#25 Western Kentucky 13,
Southern Indiana 9
@Southern Illinois 7,
Southeast Missouri 3
Missouri 11,
@SIUE 8
EASTERN ILLINOIS 18, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 10
DEKALB, Ill. - The Eastern Illinois baseball team (14-15, 5-3 OVC) scored 13 unanswered runs to pull away from NIU (12-19, 3-9 MAC) in an 18-10 midweek road victory on Tuesday afternoon. With the win, EIU splits the season series against their counterparts from the north.
The victory also improves Eastern's all-time record against Northern to 24-13 and stands as the first win over the Huskies since 2004.
The Panthers generated 18 runs, including 16 earned, on 14 hits and two NIU errors. James Love headlined the EIU offense, recording a team-high three hits with two doubles and three RBIs.
Four Panthers recorded multi-hit outings, with Ethan Rossi and Chris Worcester also posting multi-RBI performances. Eight different EIU batters recorded RBIs in the game, including Quade Peters who went 1-2 with a three-RBI double.
Nate Marshall (2-0) picked up the win after throwing three scoreless innings in relief in which he allowed just one hit with a pair of strikeouts.
NIU fired the opening salvo in the first inning with a Andrew Smart RBI double. With runners on first and second, an error in the outfield allowed a pair of unearned runs to also score, including Smart who completed the round-trip.
The Panthers wasted no time responding, and after Luke Melton was walked with two outs to load the bases, Quade Peters delivered double to right field that tied the game.
After a 1-2-3 inning for Northern in the second, the Panthers pounced into the lead behind a James Love two RBI double that plated Jake Ferguson and Pierce Bauerle, who had both reached on free passes.
However, the Huskies were quick to answer in the third with Logan Gregorio two-run homer that tied the score 5-5.
Following a scoreless fourth for EIU, NIU surged back ahead with a two-out JP Gauthier grand slam in the bottom of the inning. All four runs were unearned thanks to an error early on in the frame.
The Panthers began chipping away at the lead in the fifth, with Jake Ferguson scoring on an error before a James Love RBI single scored another. EIU completely erased the deficit in the sixth with an Ethan Rossi two RBI base hit.
Eastern kept things rolling in with a big seventh inning, as they flipped the script on Northern to take a four-run lead of their own.
The inning got started with Pierce Bauerle reaching on an error before a James Love double put runners on second and third with no outs. Tyler Castro grounded out in the next at-bat, but it was enough to score Bauerle to put EIU back in front.
After Eli Hill was walked to put runners on the corners, Chris Worcester drove in Love with a base hit to extend the lead before Brett Stanley singled to load the bases.
The Panthers scored their final two runs of the frame on a pair of mishaps from the NIU battery, with Hill scoring on a wild pitch and Worcester coming home on a passed ball to make the score 13-9.
EIU continued pouring it on in the eighth inning, this time with a five-spot. Joey Hagen walked and stole second to lead off the inning before scoring on a Colin Horneman double down the right-field line.
Tyler Castro then reached on a fielder's choice that resulted in no outs before Eli Hill loaded the bases with a bunt single. Chris Worcester was subsequently walked to score another run before an RBI fielder's choice from Brett Stanley plated Castro.
With a runner on third, Mike O'Conor drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, while Stanely would go on to score EIU's 13th consecutive run on a wild pitch.
Northern would score one more run with a Kaden Kosobucki solo homer in the bottom of the ninth, but the Huskies were unable to piece together any sort of rally as Eastern cruised to the midweek win.
BELMONT 7, UT MARTIN 6
NASHVILLE - Recap coming soon.
#25 WESTERN KENTUCKY 13, SOUTHERN INDIANA 9
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - University of Southern Indiana Baseball rallied in the final innings before falling to #25 Western Kentucky University, 13-9, Tuesday afternoon at Nick Denes Field in Bowling Green, Kentucky. USI, which saw its season-best six-game winning streak come to an end, is 16-16 overall, while WKU goes to 28-5.
USI fell behind early with WKU taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. The Hilltoppers sealed the victory three innings later when they scored 11 times in the fourth to lead, 12-0.
The Eagles began to chip away at the deficit, scoring four times in the top of the sixth to trail 12-4. USI junior designated hitter Cole Kitchens highlighted the four-run frame with a three-run blast to left. The home run was Kitchens' team-best fifth of the season.
USI closed the gap further in the seventh, scoring three times to trail, 12-7. USI senior leftfielder BJ Banyon started the scoring by crossing the plate on a balk, while junior third baseman Patrick McLellan doubled in junior shortstop Clayton Slack and junior catcher Charlie Marisca with the sixth and seventh runs, respectively.
After WKU responded with a tally to push the lead back to six, 13-7, USI rallied for the third straight inning with two more runs on an RBI walk by senior centerfielder Khi Holiday and an RBI single by Kitchens to close the margin to 13-9.
The eventual 13-9 final score would be as close as the Eagles could get after going down in order in the ninth inning.
Offensively, Kitchens finished the day two for five with four RBIs and a home run, while McLellan went two-for-five with a pair of RBIs. Marisca also had a pair of hits in the loss.
USI sophomore right-hander Brady Watts started and got the loss for the Eagles. Watts (0-1) allowed a run on one hit while striking out one in two innings of work.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 7, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southeast Missouri Baseball (19-14) fell to Southern Illinois (23-9) on Tuesday night by a final score of 7-3 from Itchy Jones Stadium.
RHP Mason Pennington had his best start of the season in his fourth start of 2025 pitching 6.0 innings. He allowed just one run (unearned) on six hits and struck out one Saluki over 26 faced.
The Redhawks jumped out to a two-run lead in the top of the first inning after a leadoff walk from Brooks Kettering started the game. Kettering stole second base and advanced to third on an error from SIU's catcher.
Left fielder Michael Mugan roped a double into left center field to score Kettering to make it 1-0 SEMO. Right fielder Cole Warehime drove in Mugan with an RBI single to left field to make it 2-0 Redhawks after the first.
SIU would score their only run of the first seven innings with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the second inning to make it 2-1 Redhawks.
The game would turn into a pitching duel after the second inning as neither team scored a run until the sixth inning. Warehime recorded his second RBI of the night with a flare single into right field to score Mugan to make it 3-1 Redhawks.
The big inning of the night came against the Redhawks as the Salukis sent 12 hitters to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning and converted it into six runs to take a 7-3 lead into the ninth.
The Redhawks got the first two hitters of the inning on base with an error and a walk, but the Salukis closed the door to take the game, 7-3.
MISSOURI 11, SIUE 8
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Mizzou scored three times in the top of the ninth, snapping an 8-8 tie and the Tigers held on to beat SIUE 11-8 Tuesday night in nonconference baseball at Roy E. Lee Field.
The Cougars fell to 13-18 overall. Mizzou improved to 12-20.
In the ninth, Cayden Nicoletto hit a two-run home run and Chris Patterson added an RBI triple in the ninth as the Tigers rallied against SIUE reliever Kyle Rossy (0-1). Mizzou's comeback came after the Cougars had fought back to tie the game the previous half inning.
Mizzou led 8-5 going into the seventh. The Cougars took advantage of four errors to add a run in the seventh and then scored twice more in the eighth. Kyle Ratliff's pinch hit tied the score 8-8.
Pierre Seals opened the scoring with a first-inning two-run home run to put the Tigers up early. SIUE answered in the bottom of the inning with two runs of its own. Mack Mitchell singled and later scored on a Missouri error. Michael Siemer doubled to drive in the second run.
After two more runs from Mizzou in the second inning, SIUE answered again. The Cougars took the lead with three runs in the inning, scoring twice on an error and getting an RBI hit from Ryan Niedzwiedz to lead 5-4.
The Tigers scored twice in the third and then put up a fourth consecutive two-run inning in the fourth to lead 8-5.
Gabriel Nutter started for the Cougars and allowed six runs, four earned on seven hits in 2 2/3 innings. He struck out two. Andrew Ressler allowed two unearned runs in an inning of work. Kieran Bailey (1 1/3 innings), Brennen Grams (1 inning) and Brady Coon (2 innings) all turned in scoreless outings in relief for SIUE.
Kadden Drew (3-1) threw four innings, allowing three unearned runs to earn the win for Missouri. Wil Libbert started and threw five innings. He allowed five runs, just one earned, on six hits He struck out five.
The Tigers overcame eight errors in the game and won on the road for the first time this season.
Mitchell, Niedzwiedz and Sean Kang and Joshua Heyder each had two hits for the Cougars.