FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Western Illinois 9, UT Martin 3
@Eastern Illinois 5, Southeast Missouri 3
@SIUE 4, Lindenwood 0
Morehead State 1, @Little Rock 0
Tennessee Tech 13, @Southern Indiana 3
WESTERN ILLINOIS 9, UT MARTIN 3
MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois opened its series against UT Martin with a strong performance Friday afternoon, defeating the Skyhawks 9-3 at Alfred D. Boyer Stadium. The Leathernecks improved to 16-28 overall and 8-11 in league play with the win.
UT Martin struck first in the top of the opening inning, but Western Illinois answered immediately in the bottom half. Isaiah Monge delivered an RBI single to tie the game after Liam Bushey scored.
The Leathernecks took the lead in the second inning when Kamryn Link singled home Gage Hoover, making it 2-1. Western Illinois added two more runs in the fifth as Monge came through again with a two-run single to center, pushing the advantage to 4-1.
Western Illinois continued to build in the sixth inning when Bushey lined a two-run single to right field, scoring Link and Krayton Morse for a 6-1 lead.
After UT Martin tried to catch up with two runs in the seventh, the Leathernecks responded with a three-run bottom half. Link doubled home a run before later scoring, and Joe Connolly added a sacrifice fly that brought in two runs to extend the lead to 9-3.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 5, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 3
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois wins a chaotic OVC series opener against SEMO 5-3. With the win, the Panthers are now tied for first place in the OVC with SIUE, who earned a victory over Lindenwood. EIU moves to 26-15 (13-6 OVC), while SEMO falls to 31-14 (12-7 OVC).
Two of the top teams in the OVC battled in a contest that featured four lead changes through the first six innings.
The Panthers broke open the scoring in the second inning with a run on two hits. Zak Goodwin and Peyton Wilson began the frame with back-to-back base hits. Dylan Drumke laid down a bunt down the third base line to move both runners into scoring position. Quade Peters knocked in the game's opening run with an RBI groundout to second base, plating Goodwin.
SEMO quickly responded with a run of their own in the third inning. Tyler Conklin surrendered a walk to Brooks Kettering. Joe Hall ripped a single right past James Love at third base, scoring Kettering.
With the game knotted up 1-1, both teams scored with power. In the 4th inning, Mike O'Conor smashed his team-high 12th home run of the season to retake a 2-1 lead.
Caleb Klein responded by outshining O'Conor's long ball with a two-run shot in the top of the 5th inning, scoring Kettering once again. However, SEMO was unable to keep their 3-2 lead intact for an extended period.
Tyler Castro threatened the RedHawks' lead early in the 5th with a base hit to center field. Castro later advanced to second on a wild pitch by Matt Wnukowski, who earned his first loss of the season. Chris Worcester punched the tying run home with a single to center field, driving in Castro.
The next time up, Dylan Drumke crushed a two-out RBI double, plating O'Conor, who began the inning with a four-pitch walk.
EIU added an insurance run on a frenzy-scoring play after the 7th inning-stretch. Castro was hit by the pitch to begin the inning. Shortly after, Brett Stanley hit a blooper back to the mound but reached safely as Wnukowski fell over as he was trying to make the throw over to first.
Castro took advantage of the situation and headed for third; Wnukowski scrambled to his feet and airmailed the throw over to third base. Castro scored on the double error to extend the Panthers lead to 5-3.
SEMO threatened James Geshel in the 8th inning with two straight walks and a hit-by-pitch, loading the bases with zero outs. However, Geshel did not panic and collected three outs to keep the short lead preserved.
Geshel struck out Ryan Lopetegui looking, followed by forcing a groundout double play. The Panthers faced no further trouble earning the narrow 5-3 win to open the weekend series.
On the mound, Tyler Conklin earned his conference-leading eighth win of the season. He allowed three earned runs with two strikeouts in 6.0 innings of work.
For SEMO, Matt Wnukowski was credited for his first loss of the season (2-1). He threw 1.1 innings, allowing two earned runs with zero strikeouts.
SIUE 4, LINDENWOOD 0
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - – Tim Teixeira, Joseph Martin and Easton Harris combined for a three-hit shutout Friday as SIUE downed Lindenwood 4-0 at Simmons Baseball Complex.
SIUE improved to 13-6 in the Ohio Valley Conference and 25-21 overall. Lindenwood fell to 10-9 in the OVC and 25-20 overall.
The shutout is the first of the year for the Cougars.
Teixeira (6-5) tossed the first 6.2 innings allowing just two hits. He walked five and struck out eight. Martin worked 1.1 hitless innings. He struck out one. Harris allowed a hit but struck out the side in the ninth to pick up his ninth save of the season.
SIUE scored twice in the first inning against Lindenwood ace Josh Newell (6-5). After back-to-back hits by Daniel Gierer and Chase Bloomer to start the inning, Ryan Niedzwiedz reached on a passed ball on a dropped third strike. Gierer scored on the play. Bloomer scored on a sacrifice squeeze by Ethan Willoughby for the 2-0 lead.
Niedzwiedz drove home a run in the third with a one-out single and Gierer added a sacrifice squeeze of his own in the seventh inning for the fourth run.
Newel went the distance for the Lions allowing all four runs on nine SIUE hits. He did not walk a batter and he fanned seven.
Bloomer finished with three hits and two runs to lead SIUE at the plate. Willoughby was 2-3.
MOREHEAD STATE 1, LITTLE ROCK 0
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Morehead State starting pitcher Callum McGill threw seven shutout innings and the Eagle offense broke through in the top of the ninth inning for a 1-0 win in a tight pitching duel in the series opener over Little Rock Friday night at Gary Hogan Field in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Morehead State (23-21, 9-10 OVC) scored the lone run of the game in the top of the ninth. Griffin Olson led off drawing a walk and, after a fly out, advanced to third on a two-base throwing error by the Little Rock pitcher on a pick-off attempt. After an intentional walk to right fielder Ian McCubbin, catcher Caden Sheridan hit a looping liner into right field to plate Olson for the first run of the game.
McGill held the Trojans hitless through the first four innings. He threw seven shutout innings, allowing just three hits and three walks. He struck out four Trojan batters.
Eagle reliever Devin Costa (5-1) earned the win out of the bullpen throwing the final two scoreless innings. He allowed one hit and struck out three Trojan batters.
McGill worked through a jam in the fifth; the Trojans third baseman Nolan Freund broke up the no-no in the bottom of the fifth inning with a leadoff double into the right-center field gap. After McGill got a strikeout, Little Rock designated hitting Nico Baumbach shot a sharp single through the left side to put runners on the corners. McGill got a strikeout and a groundout to quiet the Little Rock threat.
McGill worked out of another jam in the bottom of the seventh. He gave up a leadoff double into left center and a walk to begin the inning. A sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third with one out. McGill got a strikeout for the second out of the inning, then walked the bases full. He induced a bouncer to the second baseman Nick Griffith to end the innings and keep the game scoreless.
Little Rock starter Brannon Westmoreland turned in an outstanding start throwing seven shutout innings allowing three hits. He struck out 10 Eagle batters. Reliever Gage Haley (4-4) took the loss.
TENNESSEE TECH 13, SOUTHERN INDIANA 3
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Brilliant pitching and a complete team effort at the plate were plenty powerful enough to propel the purple and gold of the Tennessee Tech baseball team past Southern Indiana Friday evening, 13-3. The Golden Eagles silenced the Screaming Eagles in their Ohio Valley Conference series opener, shortened to just seven innings due to the league's run rule.
Toeing the rubber for the Cookeville crew with his longest performance of the season, sophomore Carter Casabella locked down a quality start and complete game with seven frames of five-hit ball. The right-hander scattered five hits and two walks while spreading out three single runs throughout a monster start on the hill for the purple and gold.
The Golden Eagle offense backed its ace before he even took the mound, sporting Casabella a 4-0 lead after the first frame for his second win of the season. Tech went on to plate multiple runs in each of the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth frames, totaling 16 hits for the evening while making it back-to-back games with double figures on the scoreboard.
Tech applied the pressure, and the USI defense couldn't handle the heat in the opening stanza, as two errors allowed the first two runs of the contest to dent the dish. Third baseman Connor Crowson kept the team's foot down on the gas, lacing an RBI single down the right-field line before designated hitter Tyler Bennett doubled down with an RBI knock to left-center field.
Casabella set the tone early in the first, gathering a pair of punch outs to set down the side in order. He set down six straight to send the game to the third, where the Tech offense got back to work. Crowson doubled to left-center field to make it a 5-0 lead before Bennett followed his lead again with an RBI single to right field.
Right fielder Jorsixt Jimenez continued his brilliant campaign with a lead-off double down the left-field line to open the fourth, advancing to third on a fielding error and scoring on a wild pitch. Later in the frame, second baseman Eddie Garza landed an RBI hit to left-center field for an 8-0 Tech advantage.
Two more crossed home plate for the Golden Eagles in the fifth, with Jimenez scoring on another defensive mistake by USI. First baseman Nash Crowell made it an even 10-spot on the scoreboard with an RBI double to left field.
Centerfielder Landon Smelser drove in a run in the sixth, slashing a knock through the right side before Jimenez continued his big night with a two-run rip up the middle.
All nine members of the Golden Eagle lineup recorded at least one hit and scored at least one run on the evening, with seven Tech bats driving in at least one. Jimenez and Crowson each tallied three hits and a pair of RBIs in the contest, while Jimenez and shortstop Owen Lee each scored three runs.
With his pair of ribbies in the affair, Jimenez became just the 21st Golden Eagle in program history to record at least 60 RBIs in a season and first since Peyton Mills in 2023.