TUESDAY'S SCORES
@Butler 14,
Southern Indiana 12
Eastern Illinois 11, @Northern Illinois 9
UT Martin 6, @North Alabama 5
@Morehead State 10, Ohio 2
@#22 Arkansas 7,
Little Rock 0
Southeast Missouri 6, @Southern Illinois 5
@Tennessee Tech 7, Austin Peay 5
BUTLER 14, SOUTHERN INDIANA 12
INDIANAPOLIS - University of Southern Indiana Baseball could not hold onto an eight-run lead and lost to Butler University, 14-12, Tuesday afternoon at the Bulldog Ballpark in Indianapolis, Indiana. USI is 20-14 this season, while Butler falls to 12-20.
The Screaming Eagles took control of the game in the second inning, scoring five times to lead 5-0. USI used two bases-loaded walks and a bases-loaded wild pitch to score the first three tallies, while junior catcher Drue Saenz capped off the second inning rally with a two-run single.
The lead was increased to 7-0 in the top of the fourth when senior shortstop Clayton Slack hit a two-run home run to left field. The home run was Slack's third of the season, tying for the team lead.
Following a two-run bottom of the fourth by Butler, USI got the runs back and extended the lead to eight runs with a trio of tallies for a 10-2 advantage. Junior third baseman Collin Senior and graduate leftfielder scored the first two runs on a throwing error, while Slack struck again with a RBI single.
The Bulldogs, however, exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the fifth to close the gap to 10-9. USI junior second baseman Ryan Skwarek re-extended the Screaming Eagles' lead to 12-9 on a two-run home run to left field. The home run was Skwarek's first of the season.
The bottom half of the seventh belonged to the Bulldogs as they took their first lead of the game, 13-12, with a grand slam. Butler added one more run in the seventh for the eventual final score of 14-12.
USI junior right-hander Levin East took the loss for the Screaming Eagles in relief. East (5-3) allowed a pair of unearned runs in a third of an inning, allowing three hits, while striking out one.
USI senior left-hander Jake Porter started and picked up the no-decision. Porter, who struck out a season-high seven batters, allowed two runs on five hits and two walks.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 11, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 9
DEKALB, Ill. - In a back-and-forth midweek game, Eastern Illinois made a four-run ninth inning stand-up as the Panthers beat Northern Illinois 11-9 on Tuesday afternoon in DeKalb.
The game was tied at 7-7 heading into the ninth when Peyton Wilson picked up his first hit of the game driving in the go ahead run for the Panthers. Quade Peters, Colin Horneman and Brett Stanley all followed driving in runs to stake the Panthers to an 11-7 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth.
The insurance runs proved crucial as NIU cut the margin in half with a two-run homer by Gavin Baldwin before Anthony Solis closed out the game on the mound. Dalton Boruff (2-3) picked up the win in relief getting EIU out of a jam after NIU tied the game in the bottom of the eighth.
Stanley extended his hitting streak to 26 straight games going 2-for-5 at the plate with two RBI. Chris Worcester drove in four EIU runs with a pair of doubles while Mike O'Conor also picked up two hits with an RBI.
NIU took a 3-0 lead in the second on three RBI singles by Nolan Sandee, Will Couchman and Connor Mendell.
The Panthers responded with three runs in the third with a Worcester sacrifice fly before an RBI double by James Love and RBI single by O'Conor. Worcester put the Panthers in front with an RBI double in the fourth and EIU played in front until the eighth.
Baldwin and Couchman each had three hits for NIU with Couchman driving in five Huskies runs. Gavin Micklinghoff (1-3) took the loss for NIU.
EIU improved to 18-11 on the season.
UT MARTIN 6, NORTH ALABAMA 5
FLORENCE, Ala. - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team used stellar pitching from starter Brandon King and a clutch two-run single in the ninth by TJ Grines to take down North Alabama 6-5 at Mike D. Lane Field at Bank Independent Stadium.
Andrew Lawrence led the Skyhawks (16-16) with three hits (one double) while Grines (two RBIs, two stolen bases), Cameon Greene (two runs scored, double) and Amari Conley (double, two RBIs) snagged multi-hit games.
The aforementioned King (3-3) earned his third straight win with six innings pitched, four strikeouts, two hits allowed and two runs allowed. JP Nunn threw 2.1 innings out of the bullpen and Gabe Bryant (0.2 innings) earned his second save of the year by allowing no hits and no runs.
King didn’t allow a single ball to leave the infield in the first and his offense got its first run of the game when JT Popick brought home Greene on a groundout. The Lions (14-18) grabbed hold of the advantage in the second and led by one heading into the fourth. Conley punched a single through the right side for two runs to score and the Skyhawks jumped back in front, 3-2.
King went into the sixth inning retiring nine straight batters and capped off his outing by stranding a runner in scoring position on an inning-ending strikeout. Nunn was able to strand two runners in the seventh and eighth for UT Martin to lead 3-2 going to the final frame.
Tommy Koch and Garner Anderson both reached and that allowed Grines to bring them both home safely from a single to shallow left field. Andrew Davis sent a ground ball to third base and Grines beat the throw home to put the Skyhawks up 6-2 with three outs to get in the home half. North Alabama pulled within one in the ninth, but Bryant slammed the door shut for UT Martin to get back in the win column.
MOREHEAD STATE 10, OHIO 2
MOREHEAD, Ky. - A five-run sixth inning broke open a tight game as the Morehead State baseball team ran its win streak to five games with a 10-2 victory over Ohio Tuesday night at Allen Field at Prefontaine Park.
Morehead State (16-16) scored five runs on just two hits and four errors in the decisive sixth inning. Second baseman Nick Griffith led off with a walk. After a strikeout and a fly out, Griffin Olson hit a flare into shallow right-center for a double. Kyle Krupp then walked to load the bases. Back-to-back walks to Davis Germann and Aubrey Kearns put MSU ahead 4-0. Ian McCubbin cleared the bases with a triple into the right-field corner to give the Eagles a 7-0.
Eagle starter Cole Wells (3-2) pitched four and two-thirds of shutout baseball to earn the win. He allowed two hits and struck out four batters.
Ohio (6-26) got two runs back in the top of the seventh on two singles, a walk and an Eagle error. The Eagles responded with three runs in the bottom of the frame. Griffith again set the table, this time with a single to right center. Brayton Coomer shot a single through the left side, and Jaden Correa shot a ball off the Bobcat pitcher's glove for an infield single to load the bases.
Olson was picked off of first and reached second on a throwing error by the Bobcat first baseman attempting to retire him at second. Correa scored on the play. Olson advanced to third on Krupp's single to left and scored on Germann's tapper in front of the plate.
Morehead State opened the scoring in the second inning. Olson led off with a walk, advanced to second on Krupp's sacrifice bunt and scored on Germann's double off the Big Blue Wall in center.
The Eagles' second run came in the fifth inning: Kearns delivered a two-out single to right-center, advanced to second on McCubbin's single through the left side, and scored on Caden Sheridan's liner into left-center.
#22 ARKANSAS 7, LITTLE ROCK 0
FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. - Little Rock went toe-to-toe with in-state rival and No. 22 Arkansas deep into the game Tuesday night at Baum-Walker Stadium in a 7-0 loss.
The game was scoreless after four innings. Arkansas took a 1-0 lead in the fifth and scored five in the sixth.
The Trojans (19-14) continued to show they can compete with top-level competition, holding the Razorbacks (21-13) in check for much of the night and limiting Arkansas to just four hits.
Little Rock created opportunities throughout, collecting seven hits from five different players. Kade Smith led the way with a 2-for-3 performance to raise his average to .374, while Angel Cano added two hits. Jerdy Lopez and Michael O'Brien each contributed a hit, and Blake Simpson added another as the Trojans consistently applied pressure offensively.
On the mound, the Trojans turned in a strong collective effort, highlighted by Nic Bronzini's three scoreless innings to open the game. Bronzini allowed no hits and struck out three, setting the tone early against one of the nation's top lineups.
Gage Haley followed and was charged with the loss, allowing one run over 1.1 innings, while Tag Andrews struck out two in his inning of work. Zach Busick, Malcolm Brown and Trent Jordan combined to cover the final frames, with Jordan closing the game with a scoreless inning.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 6, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 5
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southeast Missouri (23-10) secured a narrow 6-5 victory over Southern Illinois (12-19) on Tuesday night at Itchy Jones Stadium. Southeast Missouri's pitching staff recorded 15 strikeouts over nine innings, holding Southern Illinois to just six hits.
The Redhawks took an early lead in the first inning when Caleb Klein reached on an error and scored on a fielder's choice by Dakota Joggerst. The inning concluded with Southeast Missouri ahead 1-0.
In the second inning, Andrew Ramirez advanced on a throwing error and scored on a groundout by Mikey Rocha, extending the lead to 2-0.
Southern Illinois responded in the third inning, scoring an unearned run on a walk with the bases loaded, narrowing the gap to 2-1.
SEMO then added two more runs in the fourth inning with Klein's two-run homer, bringing the score to 4-1.
SIU surged in the sixth inning, scoring four unearned runs on a grand slam by Kyle Mager, taking a 5-4 lead.
The Redhawks responded right away and tied the game in the seventh inning when Ryan Lopetegui doubled and scored on an RBI single by Ramirez later in the frame. The score was 5-5.
In the ninth inning, the Redhawks regained the lead as Ramirez reached on an error and scored on a double by Tank Sims to take a 6-5 lead into the home half. LHP Jackson Kranawetter slammed the door shut and picked up his sixth save of the season.
TENNESSEE TECH 7, AUSTIN PEAY 5
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee Tech used a balanced offensive effort and a deep pitching staff to earn a 7-5 victory over Austin Peay Tuesday evening at Quillen Field at Bush Stadium at the Averitt Express Baseball Complex.
The Golden Eagles (11-22, 1-8 OVC) tallied 12 hits on the night and scored in four different innings to fend off the Governors (16-17, 7-5 ASUN).
Tech wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. In the bottom of the first inning, Owen Lee opened the rally with a double before Jorsixt Jimenez delivered an RBI triple to left field to plate the game's first run. Connor Crowson followed with an RBI groundout, giving the Golden Eagles a quick 2-0 advantage.
Austin Peay trimmed the deficit in the second, but Tech answered immediately in the bottom half of the inning. AJ Marchetti singled to right and later scored on a wild pitch before Jackson Rooker lined an RBI double down the left-field line to extend the Golden Eagle lead to 4-1.
The Governors pushed ahead briefly after scoring four runs across the third and fourth innings, but Tech reclaimed control in the sixth. Jimenez sparked the frame with a single and eventually came home on an RBI base hit by Manny Garza to tie the game.
Tennessee Tech delivered the decisive blow in the eighth inning. Eddie Garza opened the frame with a triple to deep center field before Landon Smelser reached on a fielder's choice. Rooker followed with an RBI single through the right side to score Smelser, and Lee added a sacrifice fly to bring home Marchetti for the eventual 7-5 margin.
Rooker led the Golden Eagles offensively with three hits and two RBI, while Lee added two hits and two RBI. Jimenez contributed a pair of hits, including the early RBI triple, and Manny Garza finished with three hits and an RBI in a strong night at the plate.
Six Tech pitchers combined to hold the Governors to five runs on 12 hits. Reece McDuffie earned the win after working the final 1.2 innings, stranding the tying runs in the ninth to secure the victory.