TUESDAY'S SCORES
Morehead State 8, @#18 Kentucky 6
@Southeast Missouri 11, Saint Louis 3
Illinois State 9,
@SIUE 5
@Tennessee Tech 7, Lipscomb 5
Little Rock 12, @Memphis 11
MOREHEAD STATE 8, #18 KENTUCKY 6
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Morehead State pounded out 11 hits and came away with an 8-6 upset of No. 18 Kentucky Tuesday in a back-and-forth affair at Kentucky Proud Park in Lexington.
The Morehead State (3-1) attack was led by third baseman Aubrey Kearns and shortstop Jaden Correa with three hits and a home run apiece. Kearns went three for five in the game with a double, a home run and drove in three runs. Correa finished three of four at the plate in the game.
Alex Miller was outstanding out of the bullpen, throwing three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, one walk and struck out four. Luke Hayes (1-0) came out of the bullpen to get the final two outs in the fifth to earn the win. Devin Costa (2) picked up the save coming in the ninth for Miller after he allowed a leadoff walk. Costa struck out two batters in the inning.
The Eagles got on the board in the top of the first. Sheridan was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a sharp bouncer by Kean past the Kentucky third baseman, ruled an error. Sheridan scored on Kearns' liner to right.
Kentucky (3-1) surged in the second inning. The Wildcats led off with two sharp singles and a walk. UK designated hitter Braxton VanCleve cleared the bases with a three-run double to grab a 3-1 lead.
The Eagles came right back in the top of the third. Sheridan led off reaching after getting hit by a pitch. Kean followed with a looping liner to left that bounced past the UK left fielder, scoring Sheridan. Then with one out, Kearns blasted a two-run home run to right to put the Eagles ahead 4-3.
After Kentucky tied it up at 4-4 in the bottom of the third, MSU shortstop Jaden Correa led off the fourth with a liner over of the left field fence into the Kentucky bullpen to put the Eagles back on top 5 4.
Kentucky responded with two runs in the bottom of the fifth to push back ahead 6-5. The Wildcats loaded the bases with one out on a hit batter and two walks. Kentucky catcher Owen Jenkins plated the run with a sharp single through the left side of infield.
Again, Morehead State responded in the sixth inning. Right field Davis Germann lined a single to center field. Correa looped a single the left and Germann was thrown out trying to advance to third base. After a single by second baseman Nick Griffith, center fielder Kyle Krupp singled sharply through the right side to plate Correa as Griffith advanced to third. Kean lifted a sacrifice fly to left center to score Griffith and put the Eagles back ahead 7-5.
Miller and Costa shut the Wildcats down the rest of the way. The Eagles picked up an insurance run in the top of the ninth. Jaden Hart, pinch-running for Ian McCubbin who was hit by a pitch to lead off, stole second. He scored from second base on a wild pitch that rolled to the screen that Kentucky catcher Owen Jenkins couldn't locate.
Nile Adcock (0-1) took the loss for Kentucky.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 11, SAINT LOUIS 3
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri (2-2) defeated Saint Louis (0-4) with a decisive 11-3 victory at Capaha Field on Tuesday.
Southeast Missouri tallied 17 hits, including two home runs, while holding Saint Louis to eight hits and three runs.
The Redhawks secured victory over Saint Louis with a strong offensive performance. In the bottom of the third, the Redhawks responded emphatically. Demitri Shakotko singled and later scored on a throwing error, followed by Joe Hall's two-run homer to right field. Joggerst's RBI double and Moises Rosario's RBI double extended the lead to 5-1.
Saint Louis added a run in the fifth with a solo homer by M. Deutsch, trimming the deficit to 5-2. Southeast Missouri answered back in the bottom half, with Joggerst's RBI triple and Andrew Ramirez's RBI double contributing to a three-run inning, making it 8-2.
SEMO added three more runs in the sixth. Rosario homered to right field, driving in two runs, and Joggerst added an RBI single, stretching the lead to 11-2.
The Billikens managed to score one more run in the eighth inning, but Southeast Missouri maintained control, securing the win with a final score of 11-3.
ILLINOIS STATE 9, SIUE 5
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Illinois State snapped a 3-3 tie with a six-run ninth inning and went on to beat SIUE baseball 9-5 in the Cougars' home opener Tuesday at Roy E. Lee Field.
The Cougars fell to 1-3 for the year, while ISU improved to 3-1.
Illinois State scored a run in the first against SIUE starter Noah Thompson, before SIUE responded with a three-run bottom of the inning.
Terrick Thompson-Allen doubled to drive in a run, Ryan Niedzwiedz brought home another with a groundout and Ethan Willoughby added an RBI-single.
Thompson worked into the third before being relieved. He allowed just the run on one hit in his collegiate debut. He struck out four but walked five.
The Redbird tied the game with two runs in the sixth against SIUE reliever Kyle Rossy before the outburst in the ninth.
ISU used four hits and three walks to score six times in the ninth against relievers Noah Johnson (0-1) and Gabriel Nutter.
Easton Harris hit his first home run in an SIUE uniform to get two back for the Cougars in the bottom of the inning.
Harris came off the bench and finished 2-2 with the home run and a double. Willoughby finished 2-3.
Three Redbirds had two hits in the win. Reece Clapp (1-0) worked the final two innings for the win.
TENNESSEE TECH 7, LIPCOMB 5
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - — Landon Smelser hit two home runs and drove in five runs to power Tennessee Tech to a 7-5 victory over Lipscomb on Tuesday afternoon at Bush Stadium, giving the Golden Eagles their first home win of the season.
Tech (1-3) erased an early deficit with a five-run surge across the fifth and sixth innings, then held off a late Lipscomb rally behind a steady bullpen effort.
The Bisons (2-2) struck first in the opening inning, taking advantage of three hits to grab a 1-0 lead. Lipscomb added two more runs in the fourth — one on an RBI groundout and another scoring on a Tech error — to extend the advantage to 3-0.
The Golden Eagles answered in the bottom of the fourth. Smelser reached on a dropped third strike and scored from first on Owen Lee's RBI double down the right-field line, trimming the deficit to 3-1.
Lipscomb pushed its lead to 4-1 in the fifth on an RBI double, but Tech responded in emphatic fashion in the bottom half. After Eddie Garza singled and Luke Bragga reached, Smelser launched a three-run homer to right field to put the Golden Eagles in front, 4-3.
Tech added another run in the sixth. Nash Crowell worked a leadoff walk and later scored on Jackson Rooker's RBI single to make it 5-4.
Lipscomb tied the game at 5 in the seventh with an RBI double, but Smelser struck again in the bottom half. Following a walk to Bragga, Smelser crushed his second home run of the day — a two-run shot to right — giving Tech a 7-5 lead.
Jaxson Pease (1-1) earned the win in relief, tossing 2.2 scoreless innings and working out of traffic in the seventh and eighth. Reece McDuffie (1, SV) recorded the final out in the ninth to pick up his first save of the season.
Tech finished with nine hits. Smelser went 2 for 4 with two home runs and five RBIs, while Lee doubled and drove in a run. Rooker added an RBI single as the Golden Eagles went 4 for 11 with runners in scoring position.
Lipscomb totaled 13 hits but left 16 runners on base. The Golden Eagles turned two double plays and limited damage in key moments to secure the win.
LITTLE ROCK 12, MEMPHIS 11
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Little Rock Trojans blasted six home runs and scored in each of the first seven innings Tuesday night, then held off a late surge from the Memphis Tigers to secure a wild 12-11 victory at FedEx Park.
Angel Cano and Cade Martin each launched two solo home runs, Kade Smith connected for his first homer as a Trojan, and Cooper Chaplain delivered the biggest swing of the night — a three-run shot to left that pushed Little Rock ahead by five late in the contest. Josh Beezley recorded the final four outs to earn the save.
With a 15 mph wind blowing out, the two clubs combined for 10 home runs, but the Trojans (3-1) delivered the decisive blow. Chaplain's three-run homer in the seventh inning extended the lead to 12-7.
Memphis (2-2) answered with two runs in the seventh and two more in the ninth to make things interesting. Beezley entered with two outs in the eighth and, after allowing a two-out single in the ninth, induced a game-ending infield pop-up to slam the door.
All nine Little Rock starters recorded at least one hit, paced by Cano's three-hit performance. He opened the scoring with a 390-foot blast in the first inning. Smith, Martin and Jerdy Lopez each added two hits, while Chaplain drove in four runs.
The Trojans used five pitchers in the contest. Malcolm Brown started and worked two innings, and Luke Schimmels earned the win in relief.