SUNDAY'S SCORES
@Lindenwood 6-12, Morehead State 5-9
@UT Martin 10, Southern Indiana 7
Tennessee Tech 3, @Southeast Missouri 2
@SIUE 11-8, Western Illinois 2-3
LINDENWOOD 6-12, MOREHEAD STATE 5-9
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood baseball team (26-23, 12-8 OVC) picked up a series sweep over Morehead State (12-30, 2-19 OVC) with two wins on Sunday from Lou Brock Sports Complex in St. Charles, Mo.
Sam Grunberg hit a solo shot to left on the first pitch of the second inning to put Lindenwood up 1-0. In the fourth, Brodie Short led off with a double and eventually came around to score on a sac fly from Tanner Simpson. Later in the inning, Evan Funkhouser crossed the plate on a wild pitch followed by a two-out single by Jake Radosevich that made the score 5-0 after four.
Morehead State answered right back with five runs in the top of the fifth to tie the game. Th4 score remained deadlocked until the eighth when Funkhouser drove an RBI single to center bringing home Simpson to give the Lions a 6-5 lead.
Easton Rakers came on in the ninth and needed only six pitches to pick up his fourth save of the year, securing the win for Michael Walsh and the Lions.
Morehead State opened the scoring with a pair of runs in the first, going up 2-0. In the bottom half, Sam Brunberg blasted his second homer of the day, bringing home Charlie Isom-McCall, tying the game at two.
Lindenwood took the lead in the second, scoring three runs with two outs. Mitch Cummins singled to left, bringing home Tyler Thompson and later in the inning, Jake Radosevich plated two more, growing the lead to 5-2.
The Lions put another crooked number up in the third, plating five more, beginning with a two-run home run by Tyler Ellis. The Black and Gold plated one more on a wild pitch, followed by an RBI double from Isom-McCall. Radosevich capped off the scoring with an RBI double, growing the lead to 10-2. Morehead State cut the deficit to 10-5 with a three-run homer in the fourth.
Lindenwood scored two more in the bottom half, with a perfectly executed squeeze play by Thompson, scoring Filip Sarota. Cummins brought home another run with a single later in the inning, making the score 12-5. The Eagles chipped away and got four in the sixth, closing the gap to 12-9. Bennett Stice was able to shut the door with a clean ninth and secure the series sweep for Lindenwood.
UT MARTIN 10, SOUTHERN INDIANA 7
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team scored nine of its 10 runs with two outs to take the rubber match 10-7 over Southern Indiana at Skyhawk Field.
Blaze Bell (three hits, double, three RBIs) and Jalen Fithian (three hits, RBI, run scored) had multi-hit contests while Garner Anderson (two runs scored, double, walk), Brody Capps (run scored, RBI, walk), Tommy Koch (run scored, two RBIs) and Cameron Greene (double, two RBIs, two walks, two runs scored) also had base hits. JT Popick (walk, run scored), Jonah Katsaboulas (walk) and Jordan Hudson (run scored) were able to reach base safely in the comeback win.
Austin Gast began the game for UT Martin (18-28, 9-11 Ohio Valley Conference) pitching three innings and striking out three. Kaleb Baskin (two innings, no walks allowed) and Jeb Bartle (1-3, four innings, no runs allowed, four strikeouts) came in for relief appearances.
After a couple runs from Southern Indiana (21-26, 10-11 OVC) in the first, Gast shut down the Screaming Eagles in the second on three consecutive outs. The Skyhawks were down 5-0 heading into the home half of the fourth where they scored five runs with two outs. Koch put a ball through the left side to plate two then Greene doubled to score two more runs. Fithian put a cherry on top of the frame via an RBI single and it was a brand new ballgame.
Southern Indiana regained the advantage in the top of the fifth but would be sat down 1-2-3 by Bartle who made his first appearance of the weekend in the sixth. After a leadoff walk, Bartle ended the seventh inning by forcing a groundout, flyout and lineout. Anderson smacked a one-out double to the gap in left center and scored later in the frame on a failed pickoff attempt and an error by the centerfielder to pull UT Martin within one.
Bartle pitched a scoreless eighth to give the Skyhawks an opportunity to tie or take the lead in the bottom part of the inning. UT Martin capitalized on that opportunity with four runs on two outs to get its first lead of the game. Capps got hit by a pitch with bases loaded to knot the game up at seven and keep the bases juiced for Bell. The redshirt senior crushed a 1-0 count to the warning track in left field that cleared the bags and the Skyhawks assumed a 10-7 edge.
Needing three outs to capture the series win, Bartle delivered with his third and fourth punchouts of the game and retired the final batter of the rubber match on a groundout to second base.
TENNESSEE TECH 3, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 2
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - It was a bend, don't break sort of day for the Tennessee Tech baseball team on Sunday, as the Golden Eagles completed a pivotal Ohio Valley Conference weekend sweep at Southeast Missouri with a gutsy 3-2 win at Capaha Field.
Five Tech hurlers combined to hold a constantly threatening Redhawk offense to just two runs on 10 hits and four walks. The Golden Eagles (32-17, 14-7) used one big inning with the bats to provide the lead and the pitching held up the rest of the way to complete the team's first three-game sweep of the Redhawks (27-21, 13-8) since 2013, also in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
SEMO took the initial lead in the first, looking to right the ship with early momentum behind a solo home run. Tech starter Logan Moller settled in after surrendering the long ball, going on to finish off 3.1 innings with just the one run allowed.
The Golden Eagle offense backed the freshman hurler in the second, scoring all three runs for the day in the frame behind four hits. Second baseman Eddie Garza got the party started with a single to left field, and first baseman Carter Vrabel followed with a double down the left-field line on the very next pitch.
Garza squared the contest on the wild pitch while Vrabel moved up a base before the Redhawks secured the second out of the frame. Shortstop Owen Lee came up with the clutch swing, ripping an RBI double down the right-field line to push the Golden Eagles out front, 2-1.
Left fielder Landon Smelser helped keep the momentum rolling, slashing a spinning single to the pitcher. An errant throw by the SEMO hurler allowed Lee to round third and score a massive insurance run.
In the fourth, Tech head coach Matt Bragga used his first call to the bullpen, bringing in junior Reece McDuffie with one out and one on. After walking the first batter, the Golden Eagle veteran rebounded with a big strikeout on three pitches before escaping the jam with a fielder's choice.
Southeast Missouri tried to mount a two-out rally in the fifth, using a double and a base hit to put runners in scoring position. McDuffie worked out of trouble again, inducing a ground ball to Lee at shortstop for an inning-ending fielder's choice at second.
The Redhawks doubled to lead off the sixth, prompting Bragga to turn to the Tech pen again, calling on rookie Carter Casabella. After the runner advanced to third on a passed ball, the Golden Eagle defense came through for their hurler, as Lee snagged a sharp line drive just before it hit the turf and ran to the third base bag for a massive double play.
Moving on to the seventh, Casabella picked up a couple of quick outs before SEMO cut the deficit to just one run, belting a solo home run to right field. Sophomore Jack Brafa took over on the hill for the purple and gold, securing the final out via a six-pitch punch-out.
He opened the top of the eighth with another strikeout as well, before giving way to closer Juan Vargas. The incoming sophomore reliever worked around a walk to the first batter he faced, forcing a fly out to right field and a ground out to shortstop to end the inning.
Vargas fought off a strong start to the ninth by the Redhawks as well, as SEMO opened its last chance with a walk and a base knock to center field, putting runners on the corners with nobody out. The youngster bounced back, inducing a weak fly ball to shallow right field for the first out.
The Panama City, Panama native locked down his seventh save of the season with back-to-back strikeouts to close out the ball game, stranding both runners in their place. McDuffie (4-0) earned his fourth win of the season following 1.2 innings out of the pen, holding the Redhawks scoreless in that span.
SIUE 11-8, WESTERN ILLINOIS 2-3
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE Baseball picked up another series win and regained sole possession of first place in the Ohio Valley Conference with a pair of wins over Western Illinois Sunday.
Following a suspended game because of rain Saturday, the two teams resumed the second game of the series Sunday afternoon with the Cougars winning 11-2. SIUE then scored eight unanswered runs in the second game to win 8-3.
The Cougars improved to 15-6 in OVC play and 23-22 overall. The 15 wins are the most for an SIUE team since the 2015 season and the most under Sean Lyons. The Cougars have a one-game lead on Tennessee Tech atop the OVC standings.
Western Illinois dropped to 7-14 in the league and 15-28 overall.
In a scheduled seven-inning contest, WIU's Liam Bushey gave the Leathernecks a 3-0 lead with a three-run home run in the fifth.
SIUE had an answer in the bottom of the inning. John Stallcup singled with one out and Daniel Gierer and Mack Mitchell each walked to load the bases. Chase Bloomer, then drilled a triple inside the first base bag into the right field corner, clearing the bases and tying the game. Kyle Ratliff brought in Bloomer with a two-out single.
Gierer, Mitchell and Bloomer drove in runs in a three-run sixth inning for SIUE.
Bloomer was 2-4 with four RBIs in the final game of the series.
Alex Rodriguez (4-1) allowed two runs but earned the win with an inning of relief. Tyler Davis tossed two perfect innings to nail down his sixth save of the season. Garrett Helsel allowed a run over 4 1/3 innings in the start. He struck out four.
The Leathernecks struck first, when the first batter of the game Brock Lummus hit a solo home run to lead off the third inning when the second game of the series resumed earlier in the day.
The Cougars answered when Mitchell hit a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the inning. The home run, Mitchell's 17th of the season, tied him for the league lead.
Chase Bloomer followed with a single. Bloomer stole second base and went to third when the throw from catcher Krayton Moore sailed into center field. Paul Osting fumbled the ball in center and Bloomer scored to make it 3-1. SIUE scored three more in the third inning with RBIs from Gierer, Mitchell and Bloomer.
The Leathernecks got a run back in the fifth to make it 6-1.
Kyle Ratliff brought home a run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh and the Cougars added four more two-out runs in the eighth. Bloomer drove in a run with a two-out single and Ryan Niedzwiedz hit a three-run homer for the 11-2 final.
Joseph Martin (3-0) threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings for the win in relief. He followed Spencer Stearns who allowed two runs in 4 1/3 innings.
Mitchell and Niedzwiedz were both 2-4 with three RBIs to pace the Cougars. Bloomer was 3-4 with the two RBIs. Gierer was 3-4 with an RBI.