TUESDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 11, Butler 6
@UT Martin 9, Belmont 8
@Little Rock 5, UTRGV 4
@Southeast Missouri 5, Southern Illinois 1
SIUE 11, @Missouri 5
@Iowa 22,
Western Illinois 3
@Tennessee Tech 12, Middle Tennessee 6
EASTERN ILLINOIS 11, BUTLER 6
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois scored five runs in the 7th inning to move past the Bulldogs for a needed bounce-back win heading into the OVC weekend. With the win, EIU improves to 22-14 (10-5 OVC), while Butler falls to 15-25 (5-4 Big East).
Trailing 4-3 in the 7th inning, the Panthers plated five runs to take control of Tuesday's victory. EIU began the inning with back-to-back singles from Quade Peters and Brett Stanley. Chris Worcester quickly loaded the bases after reaching on a hit by pitch. The tying run was easily earned after James Love reached first on a walk. Moments later, Peyton Wilson cleared the bases with a three-RBI double to left field. Wilson's fifth double of the year broke open the game with a new 8-4 advantage.
Prior to the scoring barrage, the Panthers drove in three runs, including two in the second inning. Tyler Castro singled to left field, scoring Mike O'Conor, who reached on a full count walk. EIU tagged on another run by Colin Horneman laying down a bunt in front of the catcher, scoring Wilson.
Butler took their first lead in the 6th inning off of Panthers miscues. With bases loaded, Anthony Solis walked David Ayers, followed by a throwing error back to Horneman behind the plate, allowing two Butler runs. The third platted run came from Charlie Schebler grounding out to Worcester, driving in Aidan Thaxton.
With an 8-4 lead heading into the 8th inning, the Bulldogs had the Panthers on the edge of their seats. Butler scored two runs in the top of the 8th inning to cut the lead to two runs favoring Eastern Illinois.
However, EIU put the game out of reach in the bottom half, led by James Love. With Stanley and Worcester on base, Love smashed a home run to deep left field, closing the game out with an 11-6 victory.
Mac Zawistoski was stellar in his first start on the mound, throwing 5.0 innings and allowing only one earned run.
Solis earned his first win of the season, tossing 2.0 innings, allowing only one earned run while collecting three strikeouts.
James Geshel held on for his seventh save of the season, throwing 1.2 innings with two strikeouts.
For the Bulldogs, Zak White gets charged for his second loss of the season after not recording an out and allowing three earned runs.
Offensively, Love extended his on-base streak to 40 games after earning two walks and a home run. Peters pushed his on-base streak to 15 games after a three-hit performance.
With the three RBI doubles in the 7th inning, Wilson now holds eight multi-RBI games.
After earning two hits, Brett Stanley leads the team with 13 multi-hit games this season.
UT MARTIN 9, BELMONT 8
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Maritn baseball team walked off in-state rival Belmont for the first time since the 2015 season when shortstop Andrew Lawrence took a pitch off the left arm with the bases loaded to clinch a 9-8 win on Tuesday night.
Along with being the walk-off hero, Lawrence tacked on two doubles and two RBIs. Five other Skyhawks finished with two base hits including TJ Grines (double, three stolen bases, RBI), Cameron Greene (RBI), Garner Anderson (game-winning run), Tommy Koch (home run, two RBIs), Eli Huebner (two stolen bases) and Andrew Davis (RBI). UT Martin (20-20) would use those performances to outhit Belmont (14-27) 15-12.
Dean McCalla went a season-high five innings and struck out a season-best six batters with only two earned runs allowed. Mason Little (two innings, two strikeouts), Will Turner (one inning, no hits, no runs) and Gabe Bryant (2-2, one inning) threw out of the bullpen.
McCalla began the game by stranding two runners in scoring position that set his offense up to take the lead in their first trip to the plate. Lawrence smacked his first double of the game to plate Grines, and later Greene won the lefty-lefty matchup with a two-out RBI single to left field for a 2-0 advantage.
The Skyhawk defense scored a double play to end the second while the bats tacked on another run off an error. The Bruins tied the game up in the third, but McCalla fanned five of the next seven batters he faced to keep the game tied going to the bottom of the fourth.
Grines used an RBI double to score the go-ahead run and make it 4-3 while McCalla ended his day in 1-2-3 fashion in the fifth. Koch stepped up to the plate in the bottom part of the inning and proceeded to blast a two-run shot over the wall for his first long ball of the season. The Skyhawks upped their lead to four when Davis singled with two outs to give the home team a 7-3 lead.
After a 1-2-3 inning pitched by Little, UT Martin headed to the seventh still in control. Belmont cut its deficit in the seventh inning, but Turner made quick work of the visitors in the eighth with a 1-2-3 frame of his own. The Skyhawks got another run in the eighth when Dunsford came through with a two-out RBI single to give UT Martin an 8-5 advantage.
The Bruins battled in the top of the ninth, tying the game up and sending the contest to the bottom of the ninth where the Skyhawks would have a chance to walk things off. After Anderson and Huebner singled, Davis drew a walk to load the bases. With two outs and a 1-2 count, Lawrence wore an inside pitch for the winning run to score.
LITTLE ROCK 5, UTRGV 4
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - – Cooper Chaplain delivered—again.
With one out in the ninth, Chaplain ripped a walk-off double to deep center, scoring Austin Coyle from second and lifting Little Rock to a 5-4 comeback win over UT Rio Grande Valley Tuesday night at Gary Hogan Field.
The Trojans (24-17) erased a 4-0 deficit and leaned on shutdown bullpen work over the final five innings before Chaplain's latest clutch swing finished it.
UTRGV (18-22) controlled the early innings, scoring in the first and using a three-run fourth to build a 4-0 lead. Armani Raygoza drove in two runs, while Thomas Williams added two hits and an RBI as the Vaqueros piled up nine hits and seven walks.
Little Rock answered immediately—and didn't stop.
Nolan Freund ignited the comeback with a two-run single in the fourth, cutting the deficit in half. An inning later, the Trojans capitalized on pressure at the plate, with Kade Smith drawing a bases-loaded walk before Blake Simpson was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to tie it at 4-4.
From there, it became a bullpen game—and Little Rock won it.
Gage Haley, Isaac Evaniew and Tag Andrews combined to hold UTRGV to just one hit over the final 4.2 innings, stranding multiple runners to keep the game within reach. Andrews (1-0) slammed the door with a perfect ninth, striking out two.
Little Rock finished with eight hits, getting multi-hit performances from Freund and Chaplain, while Smith reached base twice and drove in a run.
UTRGV left 10 runners on base and didn't score after the fourth inning.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 5, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 1
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri Baseball (29-12) secured a 5-1 victory over Southern Illinois (16-23) on Tuesday night at Capaha Field. The Redhawks team capitalized on three home runs to build an early lead, holding the opposition to a single run across nine innings.
In the second inning, Southern Illinois took a brief lead with Gabe Petruceli's solo home run. The Redhawks responded promptly as Carson Schrack homered to right field, driving in Dakota Joggerst, who had reached base on a hit by pitch. This two-run shot put the home team ahead 2-1.
In the third inning, SEMO extended its lead. Cal Sullivan hit a solo home run to left field, followed by Joe Hall's consecutive solo home run to the same location, increasing the lead to 4-1.
The seventh inning saw the Redhawks add to its advantage. Tank Sims was hit by a pitch and advanced to third on a passed ball and a sacrifice bunt. Caleb Klein then singled to right center, bringing Sims home and making it 5-1.
SIUE 11, MISSOURI 5
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Bolstered by a pair of home runs, SIUE baseball erupted for eight runs in the eighth inning on its way to an 11-5 win over Missouri Tuesday at Taylor Stadium.
The Cougars improved to 22-19 overall and have won the last two meetings on the road against the Tigers.
The Cougars trailed 4-3 going into the inning and got home runs from Mack Mitchell and Cooper Eggert in the eighth inning. Both were two-run home runs. Ethan Willoughby hit a sacrifice fly to open the scoring in the inning and Daniel Gierer singled to drive in a run.
The Tigers used three pitchers to get through the inning. Juan Villarreal (1-1) started the inning and gave up four unearned runs to take the loss.
Mizzou led 3-0 after scoring single runs in the first, second and third innings.
SIUE tied the score in the sixth inning with a pair of home runs. Gage Franck led off the inning with his third of the season. Ryan Niedzwiedz singled and Joshua Heyder belted his 11th of the season to tie the game.
Mizzou took a 4-3 lead in the seventh with a sacrifice fly.
Brennen Grams (3-1) earned the win in relief. He worked 1.2 innings, allowing a run on a hit. He walked one and struck out two. Easton Harris struck out two in the ninth to close out the win.
Brady Coon allowed two runs in two innings in the start. He struck out one. Porter Conn allowed a run in two innings and Noah Johnson allowed a run over 2.1 innings.
Heyder, Mitchell and Eggert each finished with two RBIs. Niedzwiedz and Brenden Fry each finished with a pair of hits for the Cougars, who outhit Mizzou 11-5.
IOWA 22, WESTERN ILLINOIS 3
IOWA CITY, Iowa - Western Illinois dropped a 22–3 game at Iowa on Tuesday against the Hawkeyes.
Karsten Stotlar kept Iowa in check through two innings, allowing just one run, and the game was still within reach heading into the third. Then things unraveled. Iowa put up 13 runs in the third inning, forcing WIU to cycle through multiple pitchers and putting the game out of reach.
Offensively, WIU showed some life later in the game. Josh McClintock led the way, going 2-for-3 with a solo home run in the sixth. Isaiah Monge also had a solid night with two hits and an RBI, and Tyler Large drove in a run off the bench. The Leathernecks finished with six hits and scored all three runs in the sixth inning.
On the mound, WIU used five pitchers in total. After Stotlar's start, the bullpen struggled to slow Iowa's momentum, as the Hawkeyes capitalized on walks and timely hitting during their big inning.
TENNESSEE TECH 12, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 6
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee Tech used a decisive seven-run seventh inning to pull away from Middle Tennessee State, earning a 12-6 victory Tuesday evening at Quillen Field at Bush Stadium and splitting the season series with the Blue Raiders.
The Golden Eagles (14-27) racked up 17 hits in a balanced offensive effort, overcoming an early deficit and breaking the game open late.
Tech struck first with a pair of runs in the opening inning, as Manny Garza and Connor Crowson each delivered RBI singles to give the Golden Eagles an early 2-0 edge. Middle Tennessee answered with three runs in the third, highlighted by a pair of home runs, to briefly take the lead.
The Golden Eagles responded in the fifth, capitalizing on wild pitches and a clutch two-run double from Crowson to regain control at 5-3. The Blue Raiders chipped away with single runs in the sixth and seventh to make it a 6-5 contest before Tech's offense erupted.
In the bottom of the seventh, Tennessee Tech sent 11 batters to the plate and scored seven runs on seven hits. Garza started the surge with an RBI single, followed by a run-scoring triple from Nash Crowell. Crowson and Eddie Garza added RBI knocks before Tyler Bennett drove in another run with a single. Jorsixt Jimenez capped the inning with a two-run homer — his 16th of the season — to put the game out of reach.
Crowson led the Golden Eagles at the plate, going 4-for-5 with four RBI, while Jimenez finished 2-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBI. Garza added two hits and two RBI, and Bennett contributed three hits and an RBI as part of the 17-hit attack.
On the mound, Cooper Casteel (3-3) earned the win in relief, tossing 1.1 scoreless innings. Drew Kirby closed the door with a clean ninth inning to secure the victory. The Tech pitching staff combined to limit Middle Tennessee to seven hits despite issuing eight walks.