SATURDAY'S SCORES
Eastern Illinois 5, @Lindenwood 4
SIUE 7, @Morehead State 2
Little Rock 4, @Tennessee Tech 3
@Southeast Missouri 11, UT Martin 4
Western Illinois 12, @Southern Indiana 9 (10)
EASTERN ILLINOIS 5, LINDENWOOD 4
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Eastern Illinois scores two go-ahead runs in the 9th inning to beat Lindenwood, securing the series victory with one game remaining. EIU moves to 12-8, while the Lions fall to 10-12.
Bryce Riggs was efficient on the mound for the Panthers through the first seven innings. Riggs only allowed one run on five hits while striking out 11 Lions batters. For the Lions, Seth Benes was sharp, throwing 6.1 innings and only giving up two earned runs on five hits. A pitching duel between two of the top OVC pitchers held both offenses in check through the first six innings.
EIU drove in the game's first run in the third, fueled by Tyler Castro and Brett Stanley hitting back-to-back singles to begin the half-inning. After Chris Worcester reached on a fielder's choice, James Love collected an RBI groundout to third base, scoring Castro.
The bats were silent through the next three innings, entering the later stages of game two. However, both teams found life offensively in chaotic OVC fashion.
Zak Goodwin began the top half of the 7th with a single to left field. Quade Peters extended his hitting streak to four games, including a single to third base, beating the throw.
The Lions kept EIU off the home plate, throwing Goodwin out at home. However, Brett Stanley knocked down the door with a two-run RBI double down the right field line, scoring Drumke and Peters.
Lindenwood quickly responded with their first run of the day to cut into the Panthers' lead 3-1. In the bottom half of the 7th, Tanner Simpson singled to right center, scoring Kam Edwards.
Not too long after, Riggs surrendered two more runs in the 8th before Coach Anderson made the call to the bullpen.
Will Geary doubled to right center, followed by Jake Radosevich smashing a home run to left center.
However, EIU stayed composed and regained control in the final inning. Goodwin and Peters reached the base paths, setting up a go-ahead delivery. Worcester has now collected multiple RBIs in back-to-back games with a double to left center to give the Panthers a 5-4 lead.
The Lions attempted a final comeback, capitalizing on the Panthers' miscues, scoring one run in the 9th inning. James Geshel held on for his fourth save of the season, forcing a double play to win the second game of the series.
SIUE 7, MOREHEAD STATE 2
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Spencer Stearns tossed seven innings and SIUE baseball hit three more home runs as they picked up a series win with a 7-2 victory Saturday at Morehead State.
The Cougars are 2-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference and 10-13 overall. Morehead State is 0-2 and 10-13 overall.
The Cougars got on the board in the second inning, scoring three times with two outs. Chase Bloomer drove home a run with an RBI-triple and Ryan Niedzwiedz followed with his OVC-leading 11th home run of the season for a 3-0 lead.
Daniel Gierer tripled to lead off the fourth before a Chase Bloomer sacrifice fly extended SIUE's lead to 4-0.
Sean Kang led off the sixth inning with his second of the year to push the lead to 5-0.
The Eagles pushed two across with three hits against Stearns in the sixth inning, cutting the lead back to 5-2.
Niedzwiedz doubled home Bloomer in the eighth inning and Terrick Thompson-Allen connected for his third home run of the series in the ninth inning.
Stearns (2-2) gave up just the two runs on five hits over in seven innings, tying his longest start of the year. He struck out three.
Wyatt Doak pithed a scoreless eighth inning, striking out two. Easton Harris threw a scoreless ninth.
Niedzwiedz finished 2-3 with three RBIs. Bloomer was 2-4 with two RBIs.
LITTLE ROCK 4, TENNESSEE TECH 3
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Ryan Geck hit a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning, and the bullpen held Tennessee Tech scoreless over the final three frames as Little Rock escaped with a 4-3 win Saturday at Bush Field to clinch the series.
The Trojans (13-10, 2-0) will go for the three-game road sweep when the series concludes Sunday at 1 p.m.
"Some days you win on the strength of your hitting, and some days you've got to rely on your pitching—that's the sign of a good team," head coach Chris Curry said. "We snuck one out on the road, but we did a lot of quality things to earn that win. It was a good team effort. Being in position for a road sweep is a rare opportunity, so we've got to do everything we can to get another win tomorrow."
The Golden Eagles loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth, but Tag Andrews struck out the next batter before inducing a pair of pop-ups to escape the jam and secure his second save.
Josh Beezley earned his first win of the season, throwing 2.1 innings of relief. Preston Davis delivered an effective sixth inning, and starter Brigden Parker exited with the lead after five innings of two-hit ball, striking out five.
Jerdy Lopez drove in a pair of runs, while Easton Roe put Little Rock on the board with a double in the first inning. Cade Martin recorded two hits, as did Nolan Freund and Jack Bilski. Little Rock finished with 10 hits while allowing just three.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 11, UT MARTIN 4
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - SEMO Baseball (17-7, 2-0 OVC) secured an 11-4 victory over UT Martin (10-12, 0-2 OVC) on Saturday at Capaha Field. This win marked the Redhawks' 12th consecutive victory, extending their winning streak to the longest in Head Coach Andy Sawyers' 10 seasons at the helm of SEMO Baseball. Southeast Missouri's offense was highlighted by a five-run first inning and a three-run eighth inning, capitalizing on 14 hits throughout the game.
In the first inning, SEMO took a commanding lead. Caleb Klein was hit by a pitch to start the inning, followed by Joe Hall's single, which advanced Klein to second. Demitri Shakotko's bunt single loaded the bases, and Joe Terranova walked to bring in Klein for the first run. Dakota Joggerst then doubled to left center, driving in Hall and Shakotko. Andrew Ramirez grounded out to second base, allowing Terranova to score. Joggerst later scored after Moises Rosario was picked off, giving the Redhawks a 5-0 lead after one inning.
In the second inning, Shakotko extended the Redhawks' lead with a two-run homer to left center, scoring Hall, who had drawn a walk earlier. Southeast Missouri led 7-0 through two innings.
The Redhawks added another run in the fifth inning. Joggerst singled to left field, bringing in Ryan Lopetegui, who had advanced to third on an error. This made the score 8-0.
The Skyhawks got on the board in the sixth inning with a sacrifice fly by Payton that scored Strickland, trimming the lead to 8-1.
In the eighth inning, UT Martin added three runs on consecutive plays, including an RBI single by Popick and an RBI double from Greene, which brought the score to 8-4. However, SEMO responded in the bottom of the inning. Klein, Hall, and Shakotko all singled to load the bases, and Lopetegui walked to bring in Klein. Shakotko and Lopetegui later scored on errors, extending the lead to 11-4.
The Redhawks' defense held the Skyhawks scoreless in the ninth inning, securing the 11-4 victory.
WESTERN ILLINOIS 12, SOUTHERN INDIANA 9 (10)
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Western Illinois battled back on Saturday, taking down Southern Indiana 12-9 in 10 innings after trailing for most of the afternoon. The Leathernecks found themselves down 1-6 heading into the seventh, but everything changed in that inning. WIU exploded for seven runs, highlighted by a three-run homer from Wandel Campana, to grab an 8-6 lead.
Southern Indiana didn't back off, tying things up at 9-9 in the eighth to force an extra inning, but the Leathernecks were ready to answer. In the 10th, WIU recorded three runs with strong hits and productive at-bats to take control.
Campana led the way with five RBIs, while Liam Bushey recorded three hits and a home run. Gage Hoover also chipped in three hits as part of a 12-hit effort for the Leathernecks.
On the mound, Harrison Dubois came up clutch, keeping control over the final three innings to lock in the win.