BOX SCORE (Game 1)
BOX SCORE (Game 2)
MACON, Ga. – Morehead State split a pair of games in doubleheader action versus Mercer Saturday afternoon. MSU used a ninth inning two-out rally to grab an 11-8 victory in game one, before Mercer used six first inning runs to claim a 6-3 victory in the nightcap.
Game 1 Recap
A five-run ninth inning propelled Morehead State to an 11-8 win over Mercer in the first game of it's Saturday doubleheader.
Taylor Davis hit a two-run, two-out double to tie the game at eight.
Luke Bainer followed with a two-run single and #J.D. Ashbrook
hit an RBI single to cap the inning. Freshman Cody Gibson# picked up his second save in the young season, closing out the ninth.
Cameron Flynn did everything he could with his first plate appearance of the year, jacking a two-run homer to straight away centerfield in the top of the first inning. Flynn drove in J.D. Ashbrook who doubled down the left field line to lead off the game.
The Mercer line-up got on the board in the bottom of the second when Michael Langley tripled into the right field corner and was then driven in by a Joe Winker single.
Mercer struck again in the bottom of the third stringing together two singles, a walk, and a sacrifice fly to plate two runs to take a 3-2 lead.
MSU battled right back in the top of the fourth.
Drew Lee singled up the middle and then stole second.
Andrew Deeds drew a walk and then both runners were plated by an
Eric Bainer double.
The Eagles pushed two more runs across in the top half of the fifth, but could have got more after loading the bases on two separate occasions. After Ashbrook drew a walk; Flynn doubled and Lee was intentionally walked.
Michael Bottoms hit a grounder to second base that Langley couldn’t handle and Ashbrook and Flynn came around to score effectively chasing Mercer starter Justice French. Reliever David Teasly forced Deeds to fly out to center and Bainer went down swimming.
Mercer plated two runs of its own in the bottom of the fifth on two sacrifice plays and then took the lead with three runs in the eighth, all coming with two outs. Reliever
Josh Schneider retired the first two batters of the inning before Mercer strung together four consecutive hits to plate the three runs.
Mercer closer J.T. Odom seemed to have things in hand, before the Eagle bats came alive to hand the 11-8 lead to Gibson. Gibson allowed just one hit in the inning and got help from Ashbrook in center who made a diving catch in shallow center to save a hit.
Ashbrook, Flynn and Davis all had multi-hit games for MSU. Jeff Arnold pitched five innings in his first start of the year, while Matthew Robertson and Michael Fahs teamed up to allow no runs in two innings of relief work. Schneider picked up the win for the Eagles.
Game 2 Recap
Six first inning runs from Mercer were too much to overcome for Morehead State as they were handed their first defeat of the season in game two of Saturday’s doubleheader.
Travis Redmon and Ashbrook each grabbed two hits in the game, while Lee,
Michael Fear and Redmon each drove in a run to lead MSU.
The Bears came out slugging in the nightcap, taking MSU starter
Trey Smith deep twice in the bottom of the first. Each home run drove in three runs and the Eagles were in a 6-0 hole early.
MSU got a run back in both the second and the third. In the second, Deeds was driven in by a double over the right fielder’s head after he had singled to left to get on. Redmon belted a solo homer in the third to pull the Eagles to within 6-2.
The Eagles got another run back in the top of the fifth. Redmon led off the stanza with a single, and singles followed from Ashbrook and Flynn. Lee then hit a rocket to third that Mercer third basemen Jacob Tanis corralled and turned into a double play, but Redmon scored on the play.
MSU was unable to push anymore runs across in the 7-inning game and took their first loss of the season.
To Smith’s credit, the junior hurler calmed down after his first inning and went on to pitch 3.1 innings of scoreless ball in the loss.
Hunter Hewitt came in and allowed no runs for the final 1.2 innings of the games.
