SATURDAY'S SCORES
UT Martin 14, @Western Illinois 2
@Eastern Illinois 11, Southeast Missouri 1
@SIUE 2, Lindenwood 1
@Little Rock 8, Morehead State 5
@Southern Indiana 8, Tennessee Tech 6
UT MARTIN 14, WESTERN ILLINOIS 2
MACOMB, Ill. - The University of Tennessee at Martin baseball team run ruled Ohio Valley Conference foe Western Illinois 14-2 behind Cason Sharp's first complete game of the season.
The Skyhawks (22-24, 8-12 OVC) outhit the Leathernecks (16-29, 8-12 OVC) 17-11 with every position player reaching base safely in the contest. Andrew Lawrence (two RBIs) notched a season-high four hits and fell just a home run away from the cycle. TJ Grines (season-high four RBIs, home run) and Eli Huebner (double, home run, three RBIs) had three hits apiece while Andrew Davis and JT Popick also had multi-hit outings.
Sharp threw the full seven innings and struck out four while only allowing two runs throughout the day.
In the first, Lawrence was able to sneak home for the game's first run after Western Illinois' defense was dealing with Dunsford in a pickle. The right-hander Sharp started his outing with a scoreless inning from a flyout and inning-ending double play. Tommy Koch laid down a bunt that plated another run in the top of the second and it was 2-0. Sharp worked around a lead-off single to toss a zero up on the board to close the inning.
Lawrence used a triple to score Grines in the fourth and later Payton drove in a run on a sacrifice fly to left field. Sharp stranded a runner in scoring position in the home half to keep his outing rolling on. With two outs, UT Martin scored two more runs this time off a Grines RBI single and Lawrence RBI double to left field to up the advantage to 6-0. The Leathernecks brought a run across in the fourth but would do no further damage in the inning.
Huebner stepped up to the plate in the top of the fifth and delivered a three-run homer to left field that extended the lead to 9-1. Sharp spun back-to-back scoreless innings and his offense added on two more runs during the sixth from a balk and RBI sacrifice fly to right field.
Grines tacked on three more runs off a blast over the left field wall for a 14-1 lead. The Leathernecks brought a run across in the seventh, but Sharp closed out the game with his fourth strikeout of the afternoon.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 11, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 1
CHARLESTON, Ill. - A balanced attack led by Bryce Riggs led the Panthers to a series-clinching victory against SEMO. EIU remains tied for first place with SIUE after both teams won their Saturday contests. Panthers move to 27-15 (14-6 OVC), while the RedHawks fall to 31-15 (12-8 OVC).
With the win, Riggs improved his record to 7-1 after allowing only one earned run with three strikeouts in 7.1 innings of work.
For the RedHawks, Mason Pennington earned his third loss of the season (5-3) after giving up six earned runs in 2.2 innings of work.
Both offenses were ready to battle early, each scoring a first inning run. Riggs found himself in trouble, loading the bases with zero outs.
After a leadoff double and two straight walks, Riggs settled down, allowing only one run. SEMO scored Caleb Klein on a double play before an infield popup ended the RedHawks' scoring opportunity.
The Panthers responded with Mike O'Conor smacking an RBI infield single to score Chris Worcester, who reached on a walk and then stole second base.
SEMO's first inning was the only highlight for the RedHawks' struggling offense. After the early damage, Riggs allowed zero runs on one hit over the next six complete innings.
Eastern Illinois wasted no time breaking the tie, scoring two runs the next time up. The 2nd inning was highlighted by back-to-back RBI singles from Brett Stanley and Worcester. Peyton Wilson and Tyler Castro were plated after reaching on a single and base on balls.
EIU pulled away from the RedHawks early with three runs in the bottom of the third inning.
Trailing 6-1, the RedHawks pitching staff found life, retiring eight straight batters heading into the bottom of the 6th inning.
James Love broke the drought with a two-run deep shot to center field, scoring Worcester to extend the lead to 8-1.
The Panthers ended the game early with three final runs in the 8th inning to complete the run-rule victory. Love kicked off the inning with his 31st walk of the season, ranking 5th in the OVC. O'Conor followed suit with a four-pitch walk to first base.
Zak Goodwin's lone hit of the day was an RBI base hit to left field, scoring Love from second base. John Klus of SEMO struggled in relief, walking Wilson after falling in the count 3-0. With bases loaded, Dylan Drumke, who shined defensively with seven put-outs, provided on the offensive end. Drumke was hit by the pitch, allowing O'Conor to score the Panthers' 10th run of the game.
Quade Peters went 2-4 and earned the run-rule victory single to center field, knocking in Goodwin for the series-clinching win.
Offensively, everyone outside of Wilson earned an RBI for the Panthers. Love earned his 11th multi-RBI game of the season, while Castro improved his game total to six.
SIUE 2, LINDENWOOD 1
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - For the second day in a row, SIUE baseball prevailed in a pitcher's duel. The Cougars edged Lindenwood 2-1 Saturday for the series win at Simmons Baseball Complex.
SIUE has won four straight games and improved to 14-6 in the Ohio Valley Conference and 26-21 overall. Lindenwood dropped to 10-10 in the league and 25-21 overall.
Spencer Stearns (6-3) set the tone for the Cougars allowing a run on six hits over seven complete innings. He struck out five and walked two. Brennen Grams struck out one in two-thirds of an inning and Easton Harris finished his second save of the series working the final inning and a third. He picked up his league-leading 10th save of the year in the process.
Cooper Eggert's two-run home run in the third inning accounted for all of SIUE's runs. It came with one out in the inning and followed a leadoff double by Brenden Fry.
The Cougars' run came after Lindenwood grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the inning. Spencer Pederson led off with a triple and then scored on a groundout.
The Lions outhit the Cougars 7-5 in the game. Five different players had a single hit for SIUE. Will Geary had two hits to pace Lindenwood.
LITTLE ROCK 8, MOREHEAD STATE 5
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Trailing by five midway through the game, Little Rock erupted for seven runs over the final four innings—including a five-run eighth—to stun Morehead State, 8-5, Saturday afternoon and even the Ohio Valley Conference series.
The Trojans (27-20, 13-7 OVC) looked in trouble early as Morehead State built a 5-0 lead behind a three-run fourth and two more in the fifth.
But Little Rock never flinched.
Nico Baumbach helped ignite the comeback in the fifth, scoring the Trojans' first run before Jerdy Lopez added a sacrifice fly and Trey Hill came home on a groundout to cut the deficit to 5-2.
The Trojans chipped away again in the seventh when Cooper Chaplain drove in Baumbach to make it 5-3, setting the stage for a decisive eighth inning.
That's when everything broke loose.
Baumbach delivered the biggest swing of the day to that point, ripping a two-run double to right to tie the game. Moments later, Hill launched a two-run homer to left-center—his second of the season - to put Little Rock in front for good. Kade Smith followed with an RBI triple to cap the five-run surge and push the lead to 8-5.
Hill finished 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs, while Baumbach went a perfect 2-for-2 with two walks, two runs and two RBIs to pace the offense.
Little Rock's bullpen made sure the comeback held. Josh Beezley stabilized things with two scoreless innings before Isaac Evaniew earned the win with two shutout frames. Tag Andrews closed the door in the ninth for his fourth save of the season.
The Trojans' resilience—something Curry has preached since the first team meeting—showed once again.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 8, TENNESSEE TECH 6
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Baseball built an early lead and held on to defeat Tennessee Tech University, 8-6, Saturday at the USI Baseball Field. USI, which snapped a five-game losing streak, is 24-23 overall and 7-13 in the Ohio Valley Conference, while TTU goes to 17-31, 5-15 OVC.
The Screaming Eagles enjoyed all of the momentum early, building an 8-0 lead through eight innings. Senior first baseman Patrick McLellan, who was two-for-four with two runs scored, two RBI, a double, and a home run, started the scoring with a blast over the left center wall for a 1-0 lead in the third. The home run was McLellan's fourth of the season.
The score would remain 1-0 until the fifth when the Screaming Eagles struck for a pair of runs to lead 3-0, aided by an error by Tennessee Tech. USI extended the margin to 5-0 in the sixth on a RBI-double by junior second baseman Parker Martin and a RBI-walk by graduate rightfielder Jesse Velders. Velder tied for the game-high with two RBI in the contest.
USI sealed the victory and posted a game-high 8-0 lead with three more runs in the eighth. McLellan doubled in the sixth run of the game, while junior catcher Drue Saenz singled in a pair of RBI for the 8-0 advantage.
The Screaming Eagles would need all eight of those runs as the Golden Eagles rallied in the top of the ninth with all six of their runs in the game, three coming on a three-run home run, before USI closed out the 8-6 final.
On the bump for USI, junior right-hander Ean DiPasquale posted his fourth win of the season. DiPasquale (4-1) pitched a strong five innings, blanking the Golden Eagles on four hits and two walks, while striking out three.
With the victory, USI remains in the hunt for a spot in the 2026 OVC postseason tournament. The Screaming Eagles are ninth in the OVC after the end of today's games, one game behind Western Illinois University and UT Martin (both tied for sixth at 8-12 in the league). USI won the season series with WIU and UTM and would have the tie-breaker.