FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 13, Southern Indiana 3
@Lindenwood 5, Western Illinois 2
@UT Martin 11, Tennessee Tech 6
Little Rock 3, @SIUE 0
@Southeast Missouri 3, Morehead State 2 (12)
EASTERN ILLINOIS 13, SOUTHERN INDIANA 3
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois scores six runs in the second inning to quickly move past the Screaming Eagles in seven innings. With the series opener, EIU improves to 19-11 (8-2 OVC), while USI drops to 20-15 (4-6 OVC).
The Panthers offense wasted no time on the scoreboard, plating six runs in the second inning. Zak Goodwin singled to center field, putting runners on the corners to start the bottom half of the 2nd. Peyton Wilson hit a hard single to third base to score James Love, who reached on a walk. Ethan Rossi was hit by the USI starter Abdriel Figueroa to load the bases. Quade Peters collected one of his three RBIs on a walk, scoring Goodwin.
Shortly after, Tyler Castro pushed a full count to a ball four, scoring Wilson. With the bases still loaded, Brett Stanley extended his hitting streak to 27 games with a double to left field. Peters and Rossi scored on the hard-hit ball from Stanley. The Screaming Eagles' nightmare continued with Chris Worcester scoring Castro on a sacrifice hit to first base.
EIU kept the offensive party rolling in the next inning, scoring four runs in the next two innings.
The three-run inning in the third started with Mike O'Conor reaching on a hit by pitch, followed by Goodwin walking to first base. Peters singled to left center, scoring Goodwin and O'Conor for his third RBI of the game.
After Peters stole second, Castro singled to left field to add the ninth run on the board for EIU.
Tyler Conklin had a bounce-back performance against USI, throwing 7.0 innings, allowing only three runs while collecting three strikeouts. With the win, Conklin improved to 6-2 on the season. However, Conklin surrendered the three runs in the 4th inning.
EIU was unfazed by the attempted comeback from USI, scoring four runs in the last three innings to ensure a run-rule victory.
The 7th-inning run-rule clinch was highlighted by Castro collecting a sac bunt to score the pinch hitter, Joey Hagen. With bases loaded, Love singled to right field to score the final run as Peters walked across the home plate.
LINDENWOOD 5, WESTERN ILLINOIS 2
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood baseball team (15-18, 3-7 OVC) opened their series against Western Illinois (8-23, 3-7 OVC) with a 5-2 win at the Lou Brock Sports Complex on Friday evening. The Lions have now won three of their last four conference games.
Josh Newell was once again the headline, with the defending OVC Pitcher of the Week picking up his fifth win of the season after allowing just two runs on seven hits with a trio of punch outs through eight innings of work. Aaron Jungers finished the job, retiring the Western side in order in the top of the ninth to pick up his second save of the year.
Offensively, the Lions collected nine hits as Will Geary led the way with a three-hit, two-RBI performance. Tyler Ellis (2-3) and William Zareh (2-4) also enjoyed multi-hit outings.
Outside of two Liam Bushey hits for the Leathernecks, neither side recorded a base runner through the first three and a half innings. Will Geary reached first on a bunt single in the bottom of the fourth to give the Lions their first hit, but he was unable to score after a hard line out to the shortstop ended the inning.
However, after Josh Newell tossed his fifth shutout inning to begin the game, Lindenwood surged into the lead with a four-run, five-hit bottom of the fifth. All nine LU batters came to the plate in the frame, beginning with Tyler Ellis who led off with a base hit.
William Zareh then singled with one out before a Filip Sarota base hit up the middle allowed Ellis to score from second base. Ethan Cantareira followed that up with a single of his own to bring home Zareh to put the Lions up 2-0.
With two outs, Cantareira swiped second base to set up a Will Geary two-RBI single to left field that extended the lead to 4-0. Geary advanced to scoring position on the throw to the cutoff man, but the Lindenwood was unable to add any more runs.
They would add one more in the bottom of the sixth, with Tyler Ellis doubling off the wall in right center before another William Zareh base hit put runners on the corners with one away. Filip Sarota then recorded his second RBI of the night with a sacrifice fly to left field that plated Owen Ralph, who had replaced Ellis on the base path.
Western tightened things up in the top of the seventh with a Cordell Coburn two-run homer to left center as Josh Newell allowed his first earned runs in over 19 innings pitched. The Leathernecks brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the eighth following consecutive two-out singles by Liam Bushey and Wandel Campana, but Newell was able to record the third out to strand both runners on base.
Aaron Jungers took over in the ninth and made quick work of the middle part of Western's order with a one-two-three inning, recording the game's final out with a swinging strikeout.
UT MARTIN 11, TENNESSEE TECH 6
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team outscored Tennessee Tech 6-0 in the final five innings to win Game 1 of the Ohio Valley Conference weekend series 11-6.
Four Skyhawks had multi-hit games as UT Martin (17-16, 4-6 OVC) outhit the Golden Eagles (11-23, 1-9 OVC) 12-8. Cameron Greene (double) and TJ Dunsford both drove in three runs while TJ Grines (stolen base, double) and Andrew Lawrence (two doubles) also had two base knocks.
Jacob Sitton (4-2) earned the victory with 5.1 innings and four strikeouts. The bullpen duo of Will Turner (1.2 innings, no hits, three strikeouts) and Gabe Bryant (two innings, three strikeouts) didn't surrender a run in relief.
After Tennessee Tech grabbed the lead in the first, the Skyhawks responded with a five-run home half. Dunsford singled home two runs to tie the game then Greene smacked a double to plate the go-ahead run. Dunsford later scored on an error and Garner Anderson ended the first inning barrage on a sacrifice fly to right field to make it 5-2.
Sitton produced a 1-2-3 second frame and kept his team in front after four innings of work. The Golden Eagles claimed the lead in the top of the fifth, but the UT Martin offense made sure that it was short lived with four runs in the bottom part of the inning. Payton tied the game up at six on a single and later Dunsford brought home his catcher to pull the Skyhawks in front. JT Popick added another run from a base hit and with two outs Anderson scored Greene for a 9-6 lead.
Turner retired five straight Tennessee Tech batters and Bryant threw a spotless eighth to put UT Martin three outs away from victory. In search of insurance runs in the bottom half, Greene delivered in a lefty-lefty matchup by driving in two runs and putting the Skyhawks up 11-6. Bryant earned his second save in as many games in the ninth for his team to triumph over its in-state rival.
LITTLE ROCK 3, SIUE 0
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Behind a dominant effort on the mound and timely offense in the middle innings, Little Rock opened its pivotal Ohio Valley Conference series with a 3-0 victory over SIUE Friday night at Simmons Baseball Complex.
The Trojans (20-14, 8-2 OVC) limited the Cougars to just three hits while striking out eight in a complete-game shutout, taking an early edge in a matchup between two of the league's top teams.
Little Rock broke through in the third inning, capitalizing on a SIUE miscue to plate the game's first run. The Trojans added to their lead in the fourth, stringing together three hits to score twice and build a 3-0 advantage.
That was more than enough for Little Rock starter Brannon Westmoreland, who controlled the game from start to finish. The Trojans worked around four walks and allowed just three hits all night, keeping SIUE off the scoreboard and preserving the shutout.
Westmoreland, who retired nine batters in a row, said he stayed focused on the process rather than the scoreboard as the zeros piled up.
Isaac Evaniew sealed the effort late, closing out the shutout with two outs in the eighth inning and retiring the Cougars in the ninth.
Jerdy Lopez led the way offensively, going 2-for-4 on two infield singles with a run scored, while Easton Roe added a pair of hits and reached base three times. Michael O'Brien delivered a key RBI double as part of Little Rock's seven-hit effort.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3, MOREHEAD STATE 2 (12)
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri Baseball (24-10, 7-3 OVC) edged past Morehead State (16-17, 4-6 OVC) with a 3–2 victory in 12 innings on Friday at Capaha Field. The game-winning run came in the 12th inning, concluding a tightly contested matchup.
The game saw its first scoring in the third inning. Morehead State's Jaden Correa doubled and then scored on a throwing error, giving the visitors an early lead. The Redhawks responded in the bottom half when Cal Sullivan homered to left center, tying the game. Joe Hall doubled and later scored on Dakota Joggerst's RBI single, putting the home team ahead 2–1 by the end of the third inning.
Morehead State tied the game in the fourth inning. Aubrey Kearns singled and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly, making it 2–2. The game remained tied through regulation and into extra innings as both teams' defenses held firm.
The decisive moment came in the bottom of the 12th. Brooks Kettering singled and then stole second base. After Andrew Ramirez walked, Tank Sims delivered a double to right center, bringing home Kettering for the walk-off win.