FRIDAY'S SCORES
Eastern Illinois 6, @Lindenwood 1
SIUE 23, @Morehead State 8
Little Rock 12, @Tennessee Tech 4
@Southeast Missouri 8, UT Martin 6
@Southern Indiana 3, Western Illinois 2 (10)
EASTERN ILLINOIS 6, LINDENWOOD 1
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Eastern Illinois scores five runs in the last two innings to win their first OVC game of the season in a pitching duel against Lindenwood. EIU improves to 11-8, while the Lions fall to 10-11.
Panthers win their OVC opener for the third straight year, each of the wins coming against Lindenwood.
Tyler Conklin held the Lions in check after the first inning. Conklin threw 105 pitches in seven innings of work. He struck out two and only allowed four hits. Battling with Conklin, Josh Newell was stellar on the mound for the Lions.
Newell threw 98 pitches in 7.2 innings of work, striking out five batters and allowing only five hits.
Panthers took advantage of Newell early, scoring in the first inning for the 11th time this season. Brett Stanley continues to be a consistent presence in the Panthers lineup, opening the first inning with a single to right field and advancing to second with a stolen base.
Chris Worcester earned an RBI double to right center field, scoring Stanley.
The narrow lead was short-lived for EIU as the Lions tied the game in the bottom half of the inning.
Charlie Isom-McCall singled through the left side and later advanced to second on a throwing error by Petyon Wilson. Will Geary hit a sacrifice fly to score Isom-McCall.
A tug-of-war kept both teams scoreless in a pitching duel for the next seven innings.
With six outs remaining, EIU broke open the game in the 8th inning with Stanley hitting a multi-RBI triple to left-center, clearing the bases. Zak Goodwin started the inning with a single to center, followed by Dylan Drumke collecting a walk. The Panthers took a 3-1 lead late but did not stop there, scoring three more runs in the final two innings.
With two outs, Worcester singled to left, scoring Stanley, but the Lions avoided further damage with EIU stranding two runners.
In the ninth inning, EIU shut the Lions' water off, scoring two extra insurance runs to avoid a potential comeback.
With Ethan Rossi and Wilson on the base paths, Quade Peters smacked a single down the left field line, scoring both for the final two runs.
SIUE 23, MOREHEAD STATE 8
MOREHEAD, Ky. - SIUE baseball hit a school-record nine home runs Friday on its way to a 23-8 rout of Morehead State in seven innings in the opener of a three-game series at Sonny Allen Field.
The two most prolific home run hitting teams in the Ohio Valley Conference didn't disappoint, combining for 13 home runs total in the conference opener for both teams.
SIUE improved to 1-0 in OVC play and 9-13 overall. Morehead State is 0-1 in the league and 11-11 overall.
Mack Mitchell gave the Cougars the early lead, with a one-out single in the first inning. He drove home Chase Bloomer who singled to lead off the game.
The Cougars then scored nine times in the second inning thanks to four home runs, all coming with two outs.
Bloomer hit his third home run of the year, a two-run shot, to extend the lead to 3-0. Ryan Niedzwiedz and Mitchell walked after the Bloomer home run before Joshua Heyder blasted his fourth home run of the year to make it 6-0. Terrick Thompson-Allen then connected on his sixth of the year following an infield single by Ethan Willoughby. After a walk to Brenden Fry, Sean Kang sent his first home run of the year into right field to push the lead out to 10-0.
A Jaden Correa two-run home run in the bottom of the inning got Morehead State on the board.
Heyder hit his second of the day in the third, which followed a pair of walks and made it 13-2 Cougars.
It was 13-4 in the fifth when the Cougars added two more home runs. Mitchell led off the inning with his seventh home run of the year and Willoughby homered after Heyder walked and SIUE led 16-4.
Aubrey Kearns hit a two-run home run for the Eagles in the bottom of the inning to make it 16-6.
The Cougars went ahead 20-6 with a four-run sixth inning. Thompson-Allen's second home run of the game (a two-run homer) was the eighth of the game, to tie the SIUE record. Mitchell scored on a passed ball and Willoughby added an RBI-triple.
Bloomer's second home run of the night in the seventh inning was the ninth of the night to break the school record and give SIUE a 21-6 lead. Mitchell scored on a wild pitch and Thompson-Allen added an RBI-single in the inning.
Morehead State scored twice in the bottom of the seventh.
Tim Teixeira (2-3) gave up six runs over five innings for his second consecutive win. He struck out five and walked one. Porter Conn allowed two runs over an inning and a third. Joseph Martin pitched the final third of an inning. He struck out one.
Thompson-Allen finished the night 4-5 with five RBIs. Bloomer was 4-6 with three RBIs. Mitchell and Willoughby each had three hits.
Landon Waugh (0-3) surrendered five runs in just an inning and a third to take the loss for the Eagles.
LITTLE ROCK 12, TENNESSEE TECH 4
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Nolan Freund homered twice, head coach Chris Curry made history, and the Little Rock Trojans opened Ohio Valley Conference play Friday with a 12-4 win over Tennessee Tech at Bush Stadium.
The victory marked Curry's 276th career win at Little Rock, moving him past legendary coach Gary Hogan for the most in program history. Jack Bilski added his first home run of the season as the Trojans (12-10, 1-0) built an early 8-0 lead and tacked on insurance runs late.
"It's great to be 1-0 and start conference play with a win, and it starts on the mound. Brannon Westmoreland got out of a jam early, and that's what Friday night guys do," Curry said. "Nolan was outstanding, and he and Bilski came up big. Tag Andrews was really good coming in and getting four strikeouts in two innings."
As for the milestone victory, Curry was both proud and humbled.
"It was a fun night for everybody involved. I stand on Coach Hogan's shoulders—he literally built this. I know he's fighting, and I hope he's feeling better. I just want him to know we love him. I've had so many great players and coaches come through here, and I just try to stay out of the way."
Freund and Bilski hit back-to-back home runs to right-center as part of a three-run third inning. Freund later added a three-run blast during a five-run fifth that pushed the lead to 8-0.
The Golden Eagles (9-13, 0-1) chipped away to get within 8-4 after six innings, but the Trojans responded with a run in the eighth and three more in the ninth. Little Rock finished with 15 hits, led by Freund and Cade Martin with three apiece. Kade Smith, Jerdy Lopez, and Bilski each added two hits.
Westmoreland (3-0) delivered another solid outing, going six innings with three strikeouts. Andrews followed with two hitless innings, striking out four, and Malcolm Brown closed out the ninth.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 8, UT MARTIN 6
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri (16-7, 1-0 OVC) secured an 8–6 victory over UT Martin (10-11, 0-1 OVC) Friday night. The Redhawks capitalized on UT Martin's three errors and tallied a total of 11 hits, including a home run, to gain the upper hand in their conference opener. This victory also marked SEMO's 11th straight win, tying the longest streak of head coach Andy Sawyers' career.
Southeast Missouri took an early lead against the Skyhawks with a four-run first inning. Caleb Klein singled to start the inning, and Ryan Lopetegui was hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second. Carson Schrack singled down the right field line, driving in Joe Hall. Dakot Joggerst then singled to center, scoring Lopetegui and Schrack, assisted by an error from the center fielder. Andrew Ramirez capped off the inning with an RBI double down the right field line, allowing Joggerst to score. Southeast Missouri led 4-0 after one inning.
In the fifth inning, the Redhawks extended their lead when Demitri Shakotko reached on an error and stole second. Lopetegui hit a two-run homer to left center, scoring Shakotko. This increased Southeast Missouri's lead to 6-0 through five innings.
UT Martin responded in the sixth inning, scoring three runs. A single by Lawrence, followed by an RBI single from Grines, got the Skyhawks on the board. Payton added another RBI single, and a hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded brought in a third run. Southeast Missouri's lead was cut to 6-3.
In the eighth inning, the Skyhawks scored once, but Southeast Missouri responded with two runs of its own. Andrew Ramirez singled, followed by another single from Tank Sims. Brooks Kettering added a single to load the bases. Caleb Klein walked, forcing in a run, and Caleb Champion was hit by a pitch to score another. Southeast Missouri led 8-4 after eight innings.
UT Martin made a final push in the ninth, scoring two runs on an RBI double by Payton and an RBI single by Dunsford. However, Southeast Missouri held on to win the game 8–6.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 3, WESTERN ILLINOIS 2 (10)
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana senior catcher/designated hitter Micajah Wall and the Screaming Eagles walked it off with a RBI-single in the 10th to defeat Western Illinois, 3-2, Friday evening at the USIU Baseball Field. USI, who are a perfect 9-0 at home this spring, is 14-8 this season and 1-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference, while WIU goes to 4-17, 0-1 OVC.
In the 10th, senior first baseman Patrick McLellan started the game-winning rally by being hit by a pitch with one out. McLellan advanced to second on a wild pitch to get into scoring position.
After senior shortstop Clayton Slack was intentionally passed and junior leftfielder Evan Zapp struck out, Wall sent a 1-2 pitch up the middle to score McLellan with the game-winning run.
USI senior right-hander Andres Gonzalez picked up the win in relief, throwing a scoreless 1.1 innings. Gonzalez (1-0) did not allow a hit or a walk, while striking out three to get his first victory of the season.
USI junior right-hander Abdriel Figueroa started the game and picked up a no-decision. Figueroa went six innings, allowing two runs on two hits and six walks, while striking out three.
Figueroa was followed to the mound by junior right-hander Levin East. East blanked the Leathernecks for 2.2 frames, walking one and striking out three.
USI started the scoring in the third on a double by junior third baseman Parker Martin for the 1-0 lead. WIU tied the game 1-1 in the fourth, but USI regained the lead, 2-1, in the bottom half on a single up the middle by junior catcher Drue Saenz. The Leathernecks drew the game even for a second time, 2-2, with a tally in the sixth.