Game 1 Box (HTML) | Game 1 Box (PDF)
Game 2 Box (HTML) | Game 1 Box (PDF)
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Drew Lee broke the Morehead State career record for total bases as MSU and IPFW split a Saturday double header at Allen Field.
Game 1 Recap
Drew Lee broke the Morehead State career record for total bases and J.D. Ashbrook hit two home runs to lead the Eagles to a 15-6 win over the Mastodons of IPFW.
Trey Smith pitched five innings of relief to pick up the win.
Lee answered a first inning two-run home run by IPFW’s Kurt Dudley with a solo jack of his own, his eighth long ball of the season. The home run also broke the MSU career record for total bases that had previously been held by Kevin Matuszek.
Andrew Deeds followed with his third home run of the season, also a solo blast in the bottom of the second. It was the first of four runs in the inning for the Eagles as they grabbed a lead they would never relinquish.
Smith came in to relieve starter
Cody Gibson in the third. Gibson pitched the first two innings giving up five hits and three runs in the first start of the freshman’s career.
Ashbrook hit the first of his home runs to highlight a four-run third, giving the Eagles a 9-3 advantage heading into the fourth.
Two more runs in the bottom of the fourth stretched the lead to 11-4.
IPFW got as close as 12-6 after seven and half innings, but a three run bottom of the seventh put the game out of reach. Ashbrook’s second round-tripper of the game drove in
Travis Redmon and
Michael Fear singled home
Daniel Pugh to stretch the Eagle lead to 15-6.
Matthew Robertson came in out of the pen to close out the final two innings, allowing just one hit as MSU ran its record to 10-11.
Lee had a perfect 4-4 game at the plate and drove in two runs, while Ashbrook finished with five RBIs on the day. Fear and
Eric Bainer also drove in a pair of runs and Redmon batted 3-3 to lead MSU at the plate.
Game 2
Morehead State and IPFW needed more than the scheduled seven innings to complete the second game of the Saturday double header. The two squads found themselves tied at five after the seventh before IPFW used a three-run top of the ninth and held off a two out rally by MSU to take a 9-8 victory.
IPFW starter Nick Optiz stymied the Eagle bats early as MSU only managed a two-run home run from Cameron Flynn in the first five innings.
The Mastodons got single runs in the first, second, and fifth to grab a 3-2 lead. IPFW then scored two in the sixth to grab a 5-2 lead.
MSU finally got it going in the bottom of the sixth,
Travis Redmon singled, #J.D. Ashbrook# walked, and
Daniel Pugh singled to load the bases with one out for
Drew Lee. The senior slugger showed why he was the OVC Preseason Co-Player of the Year, smoking a double to the power alley in left center to clear the bases and tie the game at 5.
Neither team could produce a run in the seventh and the game moved into extra innings.
A bases-loaded walk to Jordan Kohler plated a run for IPFW in the top of eighth, but Pugh responded in the bottom of the inning, singling home
Travis Redmon to tie the game.
Jake Helvey seeming pitch well enough to get MSU out of the top of the ninth, getting ground balls to a the first couple batters. The MSU infield could not come up with the plays to produce the outs however and the door was opened. IPFW eventually got three runs in the inning to take a 9-6 lead.
Luke Bainer and Redmon tried to rally the Eagles back to life with two outs in the ninth. Bainer tripled and was plated by Redmon’s fourth home run of the season. Sam Walker then got Ashbrook to line out to second to end the game.
Lee finished an excellent day at the plate, going 2-4 in the nightcap and driving in three. Pugh tallied three hits and Ashbrook, Bainer, and Redmon each picked up a pair of knocks.
Helvey was the hard luck loser, while Walker picked the win after pitching the final 3.2 innings.
The Eagles and the Mastodons finish their four-game set on Sunday. First pitch is at noon at Allen Field.
