Game 1 Box Score (HTML | PDF)
Game 2 Box Score (HTML | PDF)
MOREHEAD, Ky. – Morehead State’s offense put together an 18-hit afternoon, including a trio of home runs, as the host Eagles swept a doubleheader from visiting IUPUI Wednesday at University Field. MSU hit three homers in the opener to win 7-1 and had 11 hits to take the nightcap 8-4.
MSU improved to 27-19, while the Jaguars fell to 13-34.
Not only did the hitters produce, but the Eagles also got some strong pitching efforts as well from all four of their hurlers on the roster. Senior
Alex Gjevre (14-9) set the MSU career record for starts with her 112th in the opener as she went six full innings and allowed only three hits to go along with nine strikeouts.
Senior
Sarah Funston pitched the first four in the second game and left with MSU leading 4-3 as she improved to 12-9. Sophomore
Ashley Boyd finished the game strong with only two hits allowed in the final three to pick up her first save of the year.
Freshman
Amber Riddle, sophomore
Kayla Brill and junior
Rebecca Butler combined to hit 5-for-9 with five RBI and all three smashed home runs in the first game. In the second game MSU received three hits each from sophomore
Sam Sparks and Butler, while senior
Bethany Ellis was 2-for-2 with three RBI and junior
Kelsea Bullock collected her first three RBI as an Eagle as she went 2-for-4.
Samantha Bumbaugh lasted just one out into the third frame of the first game for IUPUI and absorbed the loss, while Nicole Natter was tagged with the loss in game two, lasting only two outs into the third inning.
The Eagles jumped on top 1-0 in the first inning of the first game as
Kayla Ashbrook singled home Brill, who had doubled earlier in the inning. Brill made it a 3-0 Eagle lead early in the bottom of the third inning as she drilled her sixth homer of the year to left center. After a Riddle single, Butler came up and hammered her seventh round-tripper of the season to left field for a 5-0 Eagle advantage.
MSU added runs each in the fourth and fifth.
Anna Sommer walked and eventually ended up on third base via a throwing error. She also scored on a fielding error in the fourth. In the fifth, Riddle hit her team-leading eighth home run extremely deep over the fence in left center.
IUPUI got a solo shot from Sydney Miller in the top of the seventh to thwart the shutout bid.
In game two, IUPUI vaulted out a 2-0 lead after three innings before the Eagles stormed back with four runs in the bottom of the third.
With one out, Brill reached on a fielding error. Another ground out should have ended the inning for the Jaguars, but another error kept the Eagles’ at-bat alive and four straight singles, including a two-run liner up the middle by Bullock, resulted in four unearned runs for MSU.
After IUPUI got one run back to make it a 4-3 game in the fourth, the Eagles tacked on a pair in the bottom of the fourth. Butler singled home Brill, who had singled two batters earlier, and Ellis doubled down the left field line to score Riddle, who had walked.
MSU made it an 8-3 lead in the sixth with two more scores. Ellis flied out deep to right field, and Riddle was able to tag up and score all the way from second base for the seventh run. Bullock dropped a single just inside the left field line to score Sommer with the eighth run.
Leah Prewitt, who was 3-for-4 at the plate in game two, hit an RBI single in the seventh to account for the Jaguars’ final run.
The Eagles are on the road for the second-to-last OVC weekend Saturday and Sunday. MSU will face first-year program Murray State in Murray. First pitch for the Saturday doubleheader is set for 2 p.m. EST.
