SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 9, Western Illinois 7
Tennessee Tech 26, @Morehead State 15
Southern Indiana 5, @Lindenwood 4
@Southeast Missouri 14, Little Rock 4
EASTERN ILLINOIS 9, WESTERN ILLINOIS 7
CHARLESTON, Ill. - The Eastern Illinois baseball team (29-20, 17-7 OVC) are 2025 Ohio Valley Conference regular season champions following a 9-7 Senior Day win over Western Illinois (18-32, 9-18 OVC) on Saturday afternoon. It is the Panthers' first regular season OVC title since 2009 and their fifth overall.
The game was tight throughout, with the Panthers out hitting the Leathernecks 12 to 11. The EIU offense was headlined by Jake Ottensmeier, who went 3-4 with four RBIs and a pair of triples. Tyler Castro (3-5, RBI) and Brett Stanley (2-3, RBI) also posted multi-hit performances.
Four Eastern arms saw action, with Anthony Solis giving up just one run with two strikeouts through 3.2 innings before giving way to Dalton Boruff, who picked up the win after eating up three innings in middle relief.
Christian Carew earned the save after giving up no runs on just one hit through the final inning and a third.
The opening frame was scoreless, but Western took their first lead of the series in the bottom of the second on a towering solo home run to left field by Tyler Large.
However, the Leatherneck advantage was short lived, and after a Joey Hagen single and Ethan Rossi walk in the bottom of the second, Jake Ottensmeier tripled down the left field line to clear the bases and push EIU in front.
Following scoreless third and fourth innings, WIU tied the game with a Liam Bushey RBI single in the top of the fifth before Peyton Wilson answered right back with a leadoff home run in EIU's half of the frame.
The tug-of-war continued in the next inning, with Western's Brock Lummus recording a solo shot of his own to make the score 3-3.
In the bottom of the sixth, an Ethan Rossi leadoff walk and Chris Worcester double put two runners in scoring position for Jake Ottensmeier, who promptly delivered his second two-RBI triple of the afternoon on a hard-hit ball that carried over the WIU center fielder.
The Panthers were not done there, though, and after Peyton Wilson singled and Brett Stanley was intentionally walked, Zak Goodwin was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score another run.
With three still on and one out for EIU, Mike O'Conor singled to left field to extend the lead to 7-3.
However, the Panthers were unable to push anymore runs across following a WIU pitching change, and after loading the bases themselves in the top of the seventh, Western cut the lead in half on a Liam Bushey RBI single and Krayton Morse sacrifice fly.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Panthers were able to stretch the lead back to four on a pair of RBI singles from Tyler Castro and Brett Stanley.
The Leathernecks refused to go away, though, and after loading the bases again in the top of the eighth, a run was walked home before a Krayton Morse RBI single cut the lead back to just two. With the bases still juiced, Christian Carew was able to get the inning's last out to preserve the Eastern lead.
After the Panthers were unable to find any insurance in the bottom of the eighth, Carew was brought back out to finish the job in the ninth. With a conference title on the line, the senior from Parker, Colorado retired the Western side in order to bring home the championship.
TENNESSEE TECH 26, MOREHEAD STATE 15
MOREHEAD, Ky. - It was another historic day at the plate for the Tennessee Tech baseball team on Saturday, as the Golden Eagles closed out the 2025 regular season with a monster 26-15 victory against Morehead State at Prefontaine Park and Allen Field.
For the first time in program history, the purple and gold (37-19, 18-9) dropped 20 or more runs on the scoreboard in back-to-back games, doubling down on its 27-11 victory on Friday. The Golden Eagles piled up 22 hits and 12 walks on the day, dominating at the dish from start to finish.
The Cookeville crew set the tone early against the Eagles (14-39, 4-23), scoring eight runs on five hits in the opening inning. Loading the bases without recording an out, Tech turned to right fielder Jorsixt Jimenez to get the fireworks started with a two-run double down the left-field line.
Second baseman Eddie Garza kept the inning rolling with an RBI single through the left side, and catcher Ryan Lee followed by drawing a base-loaded free pass for another RBI. Third baseman Jackson Rooker made it a 5-0 lead with a sacrifice fly ball to left field before first baseman Nicho Jordan drew a walk with the bases juiced for another run.
Designated hitter Mack Whitcomb, who walked earlier in the frame, plated two more for the purple and gold with a two-run single off the top of the wall in right-center field. Tech made it a 9-0 contest in the second thanks to a lead-off home run off the bat of center fielder Jackson Green, his third long ball of the weekend and sixth of the year.
Morehead fought back in the second and third frames, reversing course on the Golden Eagles with a single run in the second. The home Eagles then dropped eight runs on eight hits in the third, tying the contest at 9-9.
Tech didn't even blink, with Whitcomb providing an instant lead for the Cookeville crew in the fourth. The sophomore slugger blasted a lead-off pump to left field, his team-leading 15th round-tripper of the season.
Green singled to center field, stole second base, and then reached third on a throwing error. He scored later in the at-bat on a wild pitch. Two batters later, backstop Ryan Lee went bridge with a two-run dinger to center field for his sixth trot of the year. In the bottom half, Morehead got one run back on a solo home run, but Tech went back to work in the sixth.
Crafty baserunning provided a spark in the inning, with shortstop Preston Steele scoring on a wild pitch and Rooker creating chaos on the base paths. He rounded third on the wild offering, drawing a throw from the catcher and taking off for the plate, beating the ensuing throw for another run!
In the bottom of the sixth, the Eagles scored three times on a two-run long ball and an RBI single, but the Cookeville crew was far from finished. The Tech squad dropped four more runs on four hits, starting with more thievery on the base paths from Green.
The senior stole both second and third, making him a perfect 19-for-19 on the year to move into a tie for 14th on the team's single-season list and into a tie for ninth on Tech's career stolen bases charts with Chad Malone (1995-98) with 39. Garza drove him in with an RBI base knock to right field.
After taking over at shortstop in the sixth, Owen Lee made his presence felt at the plate by pulverizing the first pitch he saw to right field for a three-run bomb and his ninth tater of the year. Morehead answered with a run in the seventh, but Tech dropped one final salvo in the eighth.
It was a two-out rally for the purple and gold in the frame, with Green belting his second tank of the day to right field for a two-run shot. His seventh four-bagger of the year was also his fourth in the past two games. Tech proceeded to load the bases on three straight walks to keep things rolling.
Owen Lee singled to second base to drive in two more before Smelser peppered a two-run single to shortstop. Whitcomb followed up with an RBI single to center field to round out the scoring at 26 for the day.
Whitcomb and Green each tallied four hits in the ball game, with Whitcomb driving in four runs and scoring twice, and Green plating three with five runs scored and a walk. Owen Lee, Ryan Lee, Garza, and Smelser each produced two hits while Jimenez tacked on three with a couple of RBI. Owen Lee drove in five with two runs scored while Ryan Lee plated three.
All 10 of Tech's hitters to record an at-bat earned at least one hit while nine drew at least one walk. All 10 scored at least one run while nine drove in at least one run.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 5, LINDENWOOD 4
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - University of Southern Indiana junior shortstop Clayton Slack doubled in the game-winning run in the top of the ninth inning to give the Screaming Eagles a 5-4 victory and series win at Lindenwood University Saturday afternoon in St. Charles, Missouri. USI is 27-28 overall and 15-12 in the OVC, while Lindenwood goes to 27-28, 14-12 OVC.
With the win, USI takes hold of fifth in the OVC standings and will be the fifth seed in the OVC Championship. The OVC Championship, presented by SERVPRO, will be May 21-24 at Mtn Dew Park in Marion, Illinois. For more information about the OVC Championship, visit OVCSports.com.
The Eagles will play the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in the first round of the single-elimination day of the conference tournament at 9 a.m. May 21.
USI got on the scoreboard quickly in the first inning when junior first baseman Cole Kitchens hit a two-run blast for a 2-0 lead. The home run was Kitchens' team-best 12th of the season.
The Screaming Eagles extended the lead to 3-0 in the fourth on an RBI single by junior catcher Micajah Wall with two outs, scoring sophomore third baseman Parker Martin from third.
The Lions rallied to tie the score in the bottom of the sixth with three runs to knot the game at 3-3. Lindenwood would take its only lead of the game in the seventh with a tally to make the score, 4-3.
USI bounced back to knot the game, 4-4, in the eighth when Kitchens singled in senior centerfielder Khi Holiday with the tying run. Kitchens' third RBI of the game set the stage for Slack in the ninth.
Eagles' sophomore rightfielder Cameron Boyd extended his hitting streak to a team-best 20 games this season. The USI overall hitting streak record is 26 games, which is held by Kyle Kempf (last 12 games of 2015 and the first 14 of 2016), while the single-season record is 21 games, which is held by Logan Brown (2018).
Wall singled to start the ninth and advanced to third on a pair of groundouts. Slack doubled off the left field wall as Wall crossed the plate with the eventual game-winning 5-4 run.
USI sophomore right-hander Abdriel Figueroa closed out the game with a perfect ninth inning for his second save of the series. Figueroa got a pair of groundouts and struck out in the ninth inning.
The 5-4 victory went to junior right-hander Blake Kimball, who posted his team-best sixth win of the season. Kimball permitted a run on three hits, while striking out in 2.0 innings.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 14, LITTLE ROCK 4
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri Baseball (30-24, 16-11 OVC) secured the #4 seed in the 2025 Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Tournament by completing the sweep of Little Rock (19-32, 8-16 OVC) by a final score of 14-4 in seven innings on Saturday afternoon.
The Redhawks reached the 30-win milestone for the fourth time in the last five seasons with the series sweep of Little Rock behind 13 hits and 14 runs and a strong outing from RHP Sam Heyman (6-6).
Heyman picked up his sxith victory of the season with a 5.1 inning performance, allowing just three earned runs on five hits and struck out a pair of Trojans over 22 hitters faced.
The story of the day was the Redhawks' monstrous third inning where they recorded 11 hits, 13 runs, as they sent 18 hitters to the plate.
Trailing 3-0 to start the home half, a leadoff single from catcher Shea McGahan, a single through the right side from Carson Schrack, and a walk from Brooks Kettering loaded the bases for senior Michael Mugan.
Mugan blasted his ninth home run of the season to right field recording his second grand slam of the season to give SEMO a 4-3 lead. Back-to-back hits from Gunnar Doyle and Bryce Cannon continued the rally as Cole Warehime traded places with Cannon to drive both Redhwaks in to make it 6-3.
An RBI double by Ty Stauss and a single from Andrew Ramirez drove in two more runs for the Redhawks to make it 8-3. The Redhawks would score five more runs in the frame to take a 13-3 lead into the fourth inning.
LR would add a run on a pinch-hit, solo home run by Aiden McGinnis to make it 13-4 Redhawks in the sixth inning. Short stop Brooks Kettering stepped to the plate after a pinch-hit, hit-by-pitch by senior Caleb Corbin.
Kettering roped a double the opposite way as Corbin came around to score from first base to give SEMO a 10-run lead going into the seventh inning.
RHP Eddie White shut the door as the Redhawks picked up the 10-run, seven inning victory in the regular season finale.