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MOREHEAD, Ky. – Sophomore center fielder Ryan Kent was 3-for-4 to lead five Morehead State baseball players in double-figure hits and pitchers Luke Humphreys and Matt Anderson combined to strike out 11 as the Eagles opened their final regular-season series with a 9-4 win over Murray State Thursday at Allen Field.
Morehead State, which can lock up the second seed in the upcoming Ohio Valley Conference Tournament with one more victory, improved to 34-19 overall, 19-9 in the league and 15-5 at home. The Racers slid to 15-39 overall and 10-18 in the conference.
"We pitched pretty well and played solid defense," Head Coach Mike McGuire said. "When you do that, even if you don't have your best day offensively, you are going to have a good chance to win. We had some opportunities to score even more runs, and I think we had a little lack of focus there in the middle innings. We just need to be ready to play hard for nine innings because next week in the OVC Tournament, those games are going to be intense for nine innings."
Morehead State chased Murray State starter Cashtyn DeLeeuw after just four batters and plated four runs in the opening frame. Senior designated hitter Clayton Meyer knocked in two runs with a double off the wall in right field.
Following solo Racer runs in the second and third, Morehead State scored three times in the third for a 7-2 advantage. The Eagles scored on a wild pitch and passed ball in the frame.
Murray State held the Eagles off the scoreboard until the eighth, but Humphreys and Anderson kept the Racer bats at bay.
Humphreys improved to 7-2 this season and 12-4 in his two-year career by fanning six over the first six frames. Anderson collected his second save of the year with five punchouts in the final three frames. Morehead State continues to add to its single-season program record with 18 saves.
Kent led the way at the plate with his 25
th multi-hit game. Senior right fielder Brandon Rawe, senior catcher Chris Robinson, senior left fielder Nick Newell and freshman second baseman Braxton Morris contributed to the home team's 14-hit total with two each. Meyer and senior shortstop Robby Spencer led with two RBI each.
Senior first baseman Kane Sweeney was held hitless but walked twice. He now has an OVC-best 48 free passes this year to extend his team-high reached-base streak to 30.
Murray State totaled seven hits, led by shortstop Matt McGowan's two. DeLeeuw, who had only pitched 0.2 innings this year before today, suffered the loss to fall to 0-1.
The teams are set for game two on Friday. The first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET. Check MSUEagles.com, Twitter.com/MSUEagles and Facebook.com/MSUEagles for potential schedules changes.
