WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@Northern Kentucky 21,
Morehead State 6
@Saint Louis 3,
Southern Indiana 1
@Illinois 13,
Lindenwood 9
NORTHERN KENTUCKY 21, MOREHEAD STATE 6
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky offense scored in bunches and defeated Morehead State 21-6 Wednesday afternoon at the Bill Aker Baseball Complex in Highland Heights, Kentucky.
Morehead State (3-5) gave up five runs in the first and three more in the second. The Eagles got on the board in the third inning. Left fielder Kyle Krupp reached second on an error by the NKU left fielder. Center fielder Jaden Hart and catcher Caden Sheridan both walked to load the bases. First baseman Alex Kean homered to left center to make it 8-4.
The Eagles put up another run in the fourth. Shortstop Jaden Correa smacked a two-out double to left. Krupp drove him home with a single through the left side. The Eagles plated their sixth run of the game in the fifth when Kearns singled down the right field line. He advanced to second on a ground out and scored when Kean singled to center.
Eagle starter Ethan Davis (0-2) took the loss. Morehead State pitching allowed 15 hits, nine walks and hit four Norse batters in the game. MSU pitchers recorded six strikeouts.
Northern Kentucky (4-4) starter MJ Castaneda (1-0) picked up the win.
SAINT LOUIS 3, SOUTHERN INDIANA 1
ST. LOUIS - University of Southern Indiana Baseball dropped its road trip opener at Saint Louis, 3-1, Wednesday afternoon at the Billikens Sports Center in St. Louis, Missouri. USI is 6-3 after the first two weeks of the season, while SLU goes to 1-8.
The Screaming Eagles got on the scoreboard first with a tally in the second inning when senior shortstop Clayton Slack scored on a squeeze play by junior designated hitter Collin Senior. Slack had moved into scoring position after singling and moving to third on a single by senior catcher Micajah Wall. The Billikens would even the score, 1-1, with a tally in the bottom of the fourth.
Following a scoreless fifth and sixth, the Billikens jumped into the lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh. The Screaming Eagles left seven runners on in the final five innings and had a runner thrown out at the plate in the sixth.
On the mound, freshman righthander Levin East took the loss in relief. East (1-1) allowed two runs on four hits in 2.1 innings of work.
USI sophomore right-hander Ean DiPasquale started and got a no-decision for the Screaming Eagles. DiPasquale went three innings, blanking the Billikens on two hits and a walk. He also struck out four batters.
ILLINOIS 13, LINDENWOOD 9
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Lindenwood baseball team (4-4, 0-0 OVC) dropped their midweek contest at Illinois (3-4, 0-0 Big Ten) by a score of 13-9 on Wednesday afternoon. The Lions held a lead entering the bottom of the fifth before the Illini reeled off seven unanswered runs to break the game open.
The loss was the most productive outing of the season thus far for the Lindenwood offense, surpassing their previous high of six runs scored. Charlie Isom-McCall led the Lions with two hits and four RBIs, while Filip Sarota posted a three-hit, two RBI outing.
On the other hand, it was a day to forget for the Lindenwood pitching staff, as the Lions surrendered season-highs in hits (15) and earned runs (12). Ethan Milius put in a solid three innings to start the game for Lindenwood, allowing zero earned runs on three hits with a strikeout.
Following a quiet first two and a half innings, Illinois opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly that plated Groves, who had initially reached base on a throwing error by the Lindenwood infield, but Ethan Milius was able to pitch out of the inning without allowing any additional runs.
If the first three frames lacked offense, the fourth more than made up for it, with both teams scoring five runs in the inning. After loading the bases with no outs in the top of the fifth, Filip Sarota put the Lions in front with a two-RBI base hit up the middle.
Charlie Isom-McCall then took one deep to right center for a three-run homer to give LU a 5-1 advantage. It was Isom-McCall's first home run of the season.
The lead was short lived, however, as the Illini answered with five runs of their own in the bottom of the frame, including a two-run blast from Jennings, to take a 6-5 lead.
Lindenwood responded in their half of the fifth, with Charlie Isom-McCall delivering again with an RBI base hit that plated Jake Radosevich before Filip Sarota came home to score after consecutive wild deliveries by the Illinois pitcher to put LU back in front.
Back-to-back walks loaded the bases with two outs, but the Lions were unable to take advantage and the lead remained just one.
The missed opportunity loomed large in the bottom of the fifth, as Illinois was able to hang another five-spot to take a 11-7 lead. The Illini recorded a homer, triple, double, and single in the inning while also reaching base on a walk and hit by pitch.
After a scoreless sixth, Illinois tacked on two more runs in the seventh with Farina doubling down the left field line to drive in a run before scoring on a wild pitch later in the inning.
The Lions tried to put together a rally in the ninth, scoring a pair of runs to cut the deficit to four, but came one batter short of getting the tying run on deck as they stranded a runner on third to end the game.