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CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Despite holding an early 3-0 lead Friday night, the Morehead State baseball team saw Austin Peay outscore it 8-1 in the final seven frames as the Eagles fell 8-4 in an Ohio Valley Conference series opener at Raymond C. Hand Park.
The Govs improved to 22-17 overall and 13-9 in the OVC. Morehead State slipped to 25-17 overall and 11-8 in the league.
"I was mostly disappointed in our mental mistakes tonight," Head Coach Mike McGuire said. "Austin Peay is a good ball club, and we can't have the kinds of mental errors and poor execution that we had tonight and expect to win. I still believe we have a very good team, but we have to get back to doing the things we do well. We are a great club when we play as a team and execute throughout the lineup. We had plenty of chances tonight, and we did not take advantage of them."
Senior rightfielder Brandon Rawe nailed a two-run homer in the first, his seventh of the year, and sophomore designated hitter Jimmy Wright crushed a solo homer in the second for the 3-0 advantage.
APSU first baseman Dre Gleason tied the game with a two-run round-tripper in the fourth, and the hosts took the lead for good on a throwing miscue in the fifth.
Morehead State had the bases loaded with less than two outs in the fifth and seventh frames but only scored once via a wild pitch. The Govs tacked on three more in the eighth on starting pitcher Alex Robles' solo homer and a two-run single by third baseman Ridge Smith following a fielding error and a failed pickoff attempt at second base.
"In the last three games (all MSU losses), we haven't accomplished enough positive things at the plate," McGuire added. "We win because we hit well, take walks, move guys around the bases and do the little things to score. We struck out too many times in crucial situations, so we just need to get back to being the veteran hitting club I know we can be."
Robles was credited with the victory to improve to 5-2. He allowed all four runs in six frames. A.J. Gaura did not surrender a hit and fanned four in the final three innings for his sixth save.
Sophomore Luke Humphreys was saddled with the loss, his first in more than three weeks, as he gave up four earned runs in six innings.
Robles and Gleason were each 2-for-4, while Gov second baseman Logan Gray was 2-for-2 before exiting with a hand injury.
Rawe went 2-for-4, while senior shortstop Robby Spencer and senior leftfielder Nick Newell upped their reached-base streaks to a team-best 23. Sophomore centerfielder Ryan Kent (21) and senior first baseman Kane Sweeney (19) also extended their lengthy reached-base strings.
The teams will play game two on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET. Live audio will be available on MSUEagles.com and the Eagle Empire app.
