GAME ONE: BOX SCORE I PLAY-BY-PLAY
GAME TWO: BOX SCORE I PLAY-BY-PLAY
MARTIN, Tenn. – The Eastern Kentucky University baseball team bounced back from its loss to UT Martin on Saturday by sweeping a doubleheader from the Skyhawks on Sunday at Skyhawk Field. The Colonels (21-19, 8-7 OVC) won game one, 7-3, and then took game two, 7-4, to earn the crucial conference series victory.
With the losses, UT Martin drops to 19-20 (4-8 OVC) on the season.
Junior southpaw
Paul Duncan (4-2) delivered a quality start for the Colonels in game one, going seven strong innings and allowing just three runs while striking out nine batters, including Ben Brewer in the seventh inning with two outs, the bases loaded and the Colonels up by only one.
Alex Boshers (2-5) received the loss for UTM, working 6.2 innings and surrendering four runs on six hits.
Freshman
Austin Grisham led EKU offensively, going 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Senior
Anthony Ottrando and freshman
Matt Phipps both drove in a pair of runs for the Colonels.
Ty Nelson batted 3-for-4 for the Skyhawks with a run scored.
The Colonels took an early lead in the top of the third inning when junior
Ryan Faidley was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, scoring sophomore
Richie Rodriguez and making the score 1-0.
UT Martin, however, tied it with a run in the bottom of the third and then used consecutive RBI singles by Jerron Casey and Cody Terry to take a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth.
An RBI double by Grisham in the sixth made it 3-2 before a two-run double to right by Ottrando in the seventh scored juniors
Bryce Labhart and
Jayson Langfels and gave the Colonels the lead, 4-3.
The Skyhawks threatened in the bottom half of the seventh, loading the bases with just one out; however, Duncan got Brent Morris to pop out to second and then got Ben Brewer to strike out swinging to emphatically escape the jam.
EKU added to its lead in the top of the eighth as Phipps roped a doubled into right center that scored Grisham. Two batters later, Labhart scored senior
Joey Stevens with a sacrifice fly to left that made it 6-3.
An RBI fielder’s choice by Phipps in the top of the ninth made it 7-3, and then junior
Ryne Purcell came on and loaded the bases before ending the game by getting Trey Karlen to fly out to right to end the game.
In game two, sophomore lefty
Greg Terry (3-2) also delivered a quality start, going four innings and allowing three runs on eight hits in the winning effort.
Freshman right-hander
Anthony Bazzani pitched the final three innings of the game to pick up his first save as a Colonel.
Shawn Swaringen (0-4) picked up the loss for UTM, pitching three innings and allowing five runs (only two earned) on five hits.
Ottrando batted 2-for-3 in game two with two RBI and run scored. Labhart scored a team-best three runs in the game.
Nelson and Jordan Owen both recorded two hits and an RBI in game two for the Skyhawks.
Faidley got the Colonels on the board in the top of the first with a two-run double to left center that scored Labhart and Langfels.
After the Skyhawks got a run back in the bottom of the second, EKU pushed across three runs in the top of the third. Ottrando scored the first run with a base hit to left center that plated Labhart. Then, with the bases loaded, Grisham rolled a ball down the first base line that got past UTM first baseman Wes Patterson and allowed Ottrando and Langfels to score, making it 5-1.
UTM made it 5-2 in the bottom of the third, but an RBI double by Labhart and an RBI single by Ottrando in the fourth made it 7-2 in favor of the Colonels.
The Skyhawks got a solo home run by Owen in the bottom of the fourth and then added another run off an RBI base hit by Cory Stooksbury in the sixth; however, Bazzani held the Skyhawks at bay over the final three innings to earn his first career save.
The Colonels return to action this week with a midweek game at Western Kentucky on Wednesday, April 28, at 6:00 p.m.
