SUNDAY'S SCORES
Eastern Illinois 9, @Lindenwood 6
SIUE 28, @Morehead State 23
Little Rock 11, @Tennessee Tech 10
@Southeast Missouri 7, UT Martin 5
@Southern Indiana 12, Western Illinois 0
EASTERN ILLINOIS 9, LINDENWOOD 6
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Eastern Illinois completes the series sweep over Lindenwood with a 9-6 victory. EIU improves to 13-8, while the Lions drop to 10-13. The Panthers remain undefeated to start OVC play with a perfect 3-0 record.
EIU trailed early on, but their offense exploded in the final half of the game, scoring seven runs to keep the Lions at arm's length.
The Panther offense collected 12 hits, four doubles, three walks, one triple, one home run, and a .875 OPS.
Eastern Illinois trailed early, with the Lions striking in the first inning. Ethan Cantareira, batting second in the Lions' order, tripled to left center and later scored on a fielder's choice.
Trailing 2-0 in the 4th inning, EIU's offense responded. Peyton Wilson erased his three-game hitless streak. Wilson hit his third home run of the season to left field to give the Panthers their first run of the day.
Both teams found the home plate in the 5th inning, keeping the Lions out in front 3-2. Brett Stanley extended his hitting streak to 18 games with a double to left center, advancing Tyler Castro to third. Casto later scored on a Worcester groundout to third base.
Then, the Panthers' offense went nuclear, scoring seven runs in the second half of the game, which was too much for the Lions to overcome.
The 6th inning was highlighted by three EIU runs, each earned by a fielder's choice. Wilson singled to center field, followed by Luke Melton and Quade Peters, who reached first on a walk and a hit by pitch. Then, Castro scored Wilson on an RBI fielder's choice. The inning was rounded out with Stanley reaching safely on a fielder's choice, scoring Peters.
Lindenwood attempted to regain control, scoring a run in the 7th, but EIU controlled the game the rest of the way, scoring four more runs to close the door on the weekend series.
The Panthers scored their final two runs with their power hitters, Stanley and Worcester. Stanley tripled to right field, scoring Castro, who reached first on a single. Shortly after, Worcester collected his second RBI and third double of the game, driving in Stanley to wrap up the offensive clinic.
The Lions threatened a stunning comeback, scoring two runs in the ninth. However, Dalton Boruff held on for the save.
On the mound for the Panthers, Anthony Solis threw 4.2 innings, allowing three runs and five hits while collecting two strikeouts. Nate Marshall threw 2.0 innings of relief, collecting three strikeouts.
For Lindenwood, Lucas Niemeyer threw 101 pitches in 5.1 innings, allowing four runs and four hits, while totaling five strikeouts.
SIUE 28, MOREHEAD STATE 23
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Terrick Thompson-Allen hit for the cycle while Chase Bloomer hit two home runs including a grand slam and Mack Mitchell and Joshua Heyder also each homered twice as SIUE baseball completed the three-game sweep of Morehead State after a wild 28-23 win Sunday.
The Cougars improved to 3-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play and 11-13 overall. Morehead State is 0-3 in the OVC and 10-14 overall.
The sweep is the first SIUE series sweep at Morehead State since 2009, which marked the first meetings between the two teams.
Sunday's total of 28 runs and 29 hits are both season highs for the Cougars, who hit .459 for the series. SIUE scored 58 runs thanks to 19 home runs and 30 extra base hits for the weekend.
Thompson-Allen finished the cycle with a ninth inning double off the Sonny Allen Field netting in right-center field. He singled in the third inning in his second at-bat of the day. He singled again in the sixth before homering in the seventh inning. He tripled in the eighth inning. He is the first SIUE player to hit for the cycle since Adam Eggemeyer did it at East Tennessee State in March 2010. Thompson-Allen finished the day 5-6 with five RBIs and five runs scored.
Bloomer hit his second career grand slam in the third inning and homered again in the ninth inning. He finished the day 3-4 with six RBIs and five runs scored. Mitchell homered in the back-to-back at-bats in the seventh and eighth innings and finished 4-7 with four RBIs in the game.
Joshua Heyder went back-to-back with Mitchell in the eighth inning and then homered again in the ninth inning. He finished the game 3-5 with three RBIs and four runs scored.
The Cougars scored four times in the first inning and led 8-2 after 2 ½ innings. Morehead State went ahead 13-9 after a six-run fifth inning. SIUE answered with five runs in the top of the sixth to go ahead 14-13.
After the Eagles tied the game in the bottom of the sixth, SIUE scored three in the seventh and never trailed again. The Cougars scored six times in the eighth and five more times in the ninth inning. The Eagles scored nine times over the final two innings.
SIUE used seven pitchers in the game. Jase Phillips started and worked 2.1 innings. Brennen Grams (2-1) earned the win, pitching the longes outing of the day-three innings in relief. He allowed three runs and struck out three.
Morehead State used eight pitchers. The Eagles' starter Connor Davis lasted just seven batters before being pulled. He gave up four runs. Luke Hayes worked 4.2 innings, the longest outing of the day for MSU. He gave up nine runs on 11 hits. Carter Owens (0-2) surrendered two runs in two-thirds of an inning to take the loss.
LITTLE ROCK 11, TENNESSEE TECH 10
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Little Rock stormed back with four runs in the ninth inning, capped by a go-ahead three-run homer from Kade Smith, to stun Tennessee Tech 11-10 on Sunday at Bush Stadium and complete a three-game Ohio Valley Conference sweep.
Trailing 10-7 entering the final frame, the Trojans (14-10, 3-0 OVC) mounted a late rally, beginning with an RBI single from Cooper Chaplain. After a base hit by Trey Hill, Smith delivered the decisive blow with a three-run shot to left, putting Little Rock back in front for good.
"Sometimes you've got to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. You just can't overstate the toughness of this team, and how much guts it took to win that game," head coach Chris Curry said. It's tough to sweep, and tough to sweep on the road. It feels wonderful to be 3-0, and we're looking forward to being back in Little Rock on Tuesday."
Little Rock built an early advantage behind home runs from Ryan Geck and Nolan Freund, the latter a three-run shot in the third inning that helped stake the Trojans to a 4-0 lead. The Trojans extended the margin to 7-3 through five innings before Tennessee Tech chipped away.
Smith finished 2-for-4 with two walks, five RBIs, and two runs scored, while Freund added two hits and three RBIs. Geck also contributed two hits and two RBIs as Little Rock totaled 15 hits.
Malcolm Brown (2-0) earned the win in relief, recording the final two outs of the eighth, and Gage Haley secured his third save after working around traffic in the ninth.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 7, UT MARTIN 5
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri Baseball (18-7, 3-0 OVC) secured a 7-5 victory over UT Martin (10-13, 0-3 OVC) on Sunday at Capaha Field. This win marks the 13th consecutive victory for the Redhawks, establishing the second longest winning streak in the nation.
SEMO recorded 13 hits, including a home run, while the pitching staff struck out 12 batters.
The Redhawks claimed a 7-5 victory over the Skyhawks, maintaining control throughout the game. The first inning saw SEMO take an early lead. After Joe Hall walked and Demitri Shakotko was hit by a pitch, Dakot Joggerst singled to bring in Hall. Joe Terranova then hit a three-run homer to left center, scoring Joggerst and Shakotko, for a 4-2 lead after UT Martin had scored two on a home run by Dunsford.
The Redhawks added to their lead in the second inning. Brooks Kettering doubled, followed by Hall's RBI single that scored Kettering. Hall later scored on Ryan Lopetegui's single, extending the lead to 6-2.
In the third inning, the Skyhawks narrowed the gap with a run scored on Payton's RBI single, making it a 6-3 game. The fourth inning saw UT Martin inch closer with a solo home run by Anderson, bringing the score to 6-4.
The fifth inning featured both teams adding runs. UT Martin scored one on a groundout by Payton, while Southeast Missouri responded with an RBI single by Kettering, scoring Andrew Ramirez, ending the fifth with a 7-5 lead.
From the sixth inning onward, both teams' defenses held firm. Southeast Missouri's pitching staff, including John-Paul Sauer and Jackson Kranawetter, shut down UT Martin's offense, sealing the 7-5 win.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 12, WESTERN ILLINOIS 0
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana junior right-hander Ean DiPasquale blanked Western Illinois in a 12-0 shutout victory Sunday afternoon at the USI Baseball Field. USI is 15-9 this season and 2-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference, while WIU falls to 5-18 and 1-2 in the OVC.
DiPasquale earned his first shutout of the season by throwing a seven-inning complete game, blanking the Leathernecks on four hits, four walks, and striking out three. He allowed only one runner past second base through the entirety of the game.
The Screaming Eagles provided the offense early in the game, scoring once in the second, five times in the third, one more in the fifth, and capped off the contest with five in the sixth. USI junior rightfielder Noah Foster led the USI hitting attack with a three-for-three performance at the plate, scoring three times, while graduate centerfielder Khi Holiday and junior catcher Drue Saenz followed with two hits each.